104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 43

JOINT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding Wei Jingsheng;

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the next Panchen Lama of

Tibet; and the human rights practices of the Government

of the People’s Republic of China.

Whereas on November 21, 1995, the Government of the People’s Republic of China formally arrested Wei Jingsheng,

who is known internationally as the father of the democracy movement in China;

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China

has held Wei Jingsheng incommunicado and without

charge since April 1994 and has rebuffed international

calls to release him;

Whereas Wei Jingsheng has spent all but 6 months of the

last 16 years in detention because of his unwavering support for freedom of speech and the development of democracy in China;

Whereas at an October 1995 meeting in New York between

President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin of China,

the Administration urged the Government of the People’s

Republic of China to release political prisoners and specifically included Wei Jingsheng and others among such

prisoners;
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SJ 43 ES

Whereas the treatment of Wei Jingsheng by the Government

of the People’s Republic of China raises concern over the

future of other jailed dissidents in China, including Wang

Dan, a student leader in the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China;

Whereas on May 14, 1995, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced recognition of 6-year old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

as the next Panchen Lama;

Whereas recognition of the successor to the Panchen Lama

in Tibet has always been within the authority of the

Dalai Lama;

Whereas for the first time in Tibetan history, the Government of the People’s Republic of China has imposed on

Tibet its own candidate for a new Panchen Lama and

has rejected the new Panchen Lama selected by the Dalai

Lama;

Whereas Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family have been

missing for 6 months and are reportedly being held by

authorities of the Government of the People’s Republic of

China;

Whereas Chatrel Rinpoche, who is the head of the original

search committee for the new Panchen Lama and who refused to denounce the Dalai Lama’s selection of the new

Panchen Lama, is also missing and believed to be held

by authorities of the Government of the People’s Republic

of China;

Whereas the Panchen Lama is one of the highest-ranking religious official of Tibetan Buddhism;

Whereas the rejection of the Dalai Lama’s selection of Panchen Lama by the Government of the People’s Republic

of China, and the selection of its own candidate for Pan-
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SJ 43 ES

chen Lama, is seen by many Tibetans as politicizing a

purely religious affair and as a violation of fundamental

Tibetan human rights;

Whereas since the invasion of Tibet in 1949, the Government

of the People’s Republic of China has taken any expression by the Tibetan people of their distinct religious or

cultural identity as a direct challenge to that government’s political control of Tibet;

Whereas Chinese officials have repeatedly maintained that

the Tibet Autonomous Region is entitled to manage its

own cultural and religious affairs, and the intervention of

Chinese government authorities in the selection of the

next Panchen Lama is a clear violation of that principle;

Whereas for 3 consecutive years, the United States has been

a primary sponsor of resolutions criticizing the human

rights practices of the Government of the People’s Republic of China in China and Tibet at the annual meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in

Geneva;

Whereas these resolutions call upon the Government of the

People’s Republic of China to take measures to ensure

the observance of all human rights, invite that government to cooperate with all special rapporteurs and working groups, and request the Secretary General of the

United Nations to prepare a report for the United Nations Human Rights Commission on the human rights

situation in China and Tibet;

Whereas at the March 1995 meeting of the United Nations

Human Rights Commission in Geneva, the resolution lost

by only 1 vote;
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SJ 43 ES

Whereas it is important to maintain international pressure on

the Government of the People’s Republic of China in

order to induce that government to respect internationally-recognized standards of human rights; and

Whereas in May 1994, the President of the United States

pledged strong support for efforts at international forums

to criticize the human rights practices of the Government

of the People’s Republic of China: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the United States Government should—

4 (1) press for the immediate and unconditional

5 release of Wei Jingsheng and other political pris6 oners by the Government of the People’s Republic of

7 China;

8 (2) urge the Government of the People’s Repub9 lic of China to respect the wishes of the Tibetan peo10 ple by supporting the selection of the new Panchen

11 Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama;

12 (3) work to ensure the safety of the new Pan13 chen Lama as selected by the Dalai Lama; and

14 (4) sponsor and aggressively push for the pas15 sage of a resolution regarding the human rights sit16 uation in China at the annual meeting of the United
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SJ 43 ES

1 Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva

2 scheduled for March 1996.

Passed the Senate December 13, 1995.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 43

JOINT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding Wei

public of China.practices of the Government of the People’s RePanchen Lama of Tibet; and the human rightsJingsheng; Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the next