III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 715 

Remembering the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, and 

condemning the widespread repression against citizens, the transnational 

repression against activists and others individuals, and the systematic 

efforts to undermine human rights norms within and outside of the 

United Nations system by the People’s Republic of China. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Remembering the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square 

Massacre, and condemning the widespread repression 

against citizens, the transnational repression against activists and others individuals, and the systematic efforts 

to undermine human rights norms within and outside 

of the United Nations system by the People’s Republic 

of China. 

Whereas, on June 4, 2024, the world will mark the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, during which authorities of the People’s Republic of China 

murdered thousands of peaceful pro-democracy protestors 

who were calling for an end to corruption, an expansion 


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•SRES 715 IS 

of economic opportunity, and a rights-respecting system 

of government; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

persists in efforts to erase the memory of the Tiananmen 

Square Massacre and to harass, intimidate, and arrest 

activists, scholars, and family members of the victims of 

the massacre, including the Tiananmen Mothers, who 

have had the courage to speak out, honor the dead, and 

call for accountability, and persecuted heroic army officers, such as Major General Xu Qinxian, who refused to 

lead his soldiers during the massacre and was stripped of 

his Chinese Communist Party membership and jailed for 

4 years; 

Whereas the people of Hong Kong had held an annual 

Tiananmen Square vigil in Victoria Park since 1990, 

which had been the only such mass gathering on Chinese 

territory; 

Whereas the longstanding tradition of the Hong Kong vigils 

came to an end in 2020, when the Hong Kong police denied applications for assembly pretextually on COVID–19 

related grounds and when key organizers of the annual 

event were jailed on politically motivated criminal 

charges, including unlawful assembly and posing a threat 

to national security; 

Whereas, on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the international community is reminded of the 

sacrifices made by the Chinese people for the ideals of democracy and human rights and remains deeply concerned 

by the ongoing human rights abuses and violations by the 

People’s Republic of China against Chinese citizens and 

other individuals within the People’s Republic of China 

and abroad; 


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Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

continues to perpetrate systematic and egregious human 

rights abuses against Chinese citizens, including— 

(1) a widespread crackdown on freedom of expression and the press; 

(2) unrelenting surveillance, harassment, and imprisonment of human rights defenders, lawyers, scholars, 

journalists, and members from religious and ethnic minorities and groups; and 

(3) an Orwellian system of technological and social 

control over Chinese citizens; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

continues to commit atrocities against Uyghur Muslims 

and other ethnic and religious groups in Xinjiang, including— 

(1) mass arbitrary detention in so-called ‘‘re-education camps’’; 

(2) increased prosecutions and formal imprisonment 

for politically motivated charges; 

(3) forced labor and forced abortions and sterilizations; 

(4) involuntary political indoctrination; 

(5) severe restrictions on religious freedom; and 

(6) constant monitoring and surveillance; 

Whereas the systematic repression against the Tibetan community by the Government of the People’s Republic of 

China continues unabated and includes— 

(1) a forced campaign of ‘‘Sinicization’’ that attempts to eliminate the unique religious, linguistic, and 

cultural identity of Tibet; 

(2) indoctrination of Tibetan children through government-run boarding schools; 


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(3) efforts to co-opt Tibetan Buddhism through the 

control of Tibetan Buddhist religious practices, monastic 

communities, selection of Tibetan Buddhist lamas and efforts to interfere in the succession process of the Dalai 

Lama; 

(4) environmental degradation of the Tibetan plateau; and 

(5) forced relocation of Tibetan nomads under the 

false guise of conservation or economic development; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

abrogated international commitments under the terms of 

the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United 

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island and the 

Government of the People’s Republic of China on the 

Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing December 19, 

1984 (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Joint Declaration’’), through an unprecedented crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, including— 

(1) by passing and implementing the repressive and 

vague Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special 

Administrative Region (referred to in this preamble as 

the ‘‘National Security Law’’), which undermined the 

high degree of autonomy promised under the Joint Declaration; 

(2) by harassing, intimidating, and arresting peaceful activists, lawyers, pro-democracy legislators, journalists, and others under the guise of the National Security 

Law; and 

(3) by implementing Article 23 of the Basic Law of 

the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the 

People’s Republic of China, which further and severely 

curtails the exercise of human rights in Hong Kong; 


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Whereas the ongoing and heroic efforts of the Chinese people 

to shine a light on the abuses of the Government of the 

People’s Republic of China and to advocate for human 

rights, including through mass demonstrations in November 2022, known as the ‘‘White Paper Movement’’ to protest censorship and the harsh zero-COVID policy, have 

been met with brutal suppression and further efforts to 

monitor, control, and politically indoctrinate Chinese citizens; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

carries out a coordinated campaign of transnational repression to silence dissenting voices abroad, including 

through tactics, such as surveillance, harassment, abduction, coercion, and by imprisoning family members in the 

People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas transnational repression by the Government of the 

People’s Republic of China not only violates the fundamental freedoms of individuals and the sovereignty of 

other nations, but also engenders a climate of fear and 

self-censorship among Chinese communities abroad, including journalists, activists, scholars, and researchers; 

Whereas the rise of the People’s Republic of China as a global power has been accompanied by concerted efforts by 

the Government of the People’s Republic of China to reshape international institutions and norms, especially institutions and norms related to human rights; 

Whereas, through pressure, intimidation, economic coercion, 

and other tactics used against organizational leadership 

and sovereign nations, the Government of the People’s 

Republic of China seeks to dilute the focus on human 

rights within the multilateral system and other international fora, and to promote its model of non-interVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Jun 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR715.IS SR715

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ference inside and outside the United Nations system to 

prevent international scrutiny of domestic human rights 

abuses and use of transnational repression by the Government of the People’s Republic of China; and 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China, as Secretary of 

State Antony Blinken has said, is ‘‘the only country with 

both the intent to reshape the international order, and increasingly, the economic, military, and technological 

power to do it,’’ and the systematic efforts of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to redefine international institutions and the multilateral system according to its authoritarian worldview poses an unprecedented 

challenge to the post-World War II human rights consensus forged through the Universal Declaration of 

Human Rights and threatens the very foundation of universal human rights norms: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) stands in solidarity with families of the indi3 viduals who lost their lives, underwent torture, or 

4 were imprisoned for their involvement in the pro-de5 mocracy demonstrations during the spring of 1989, 

6 and the individuals in and outside of the People’s 

7 Republic of China who continue to face harassment, 

8 intimidation, and imprisonment for their ongoing ef9 forts to expose the truth regarding the massacre by 

10 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

11 against its own people on June 4, 1989; 

12 (2) reaffirms its steadfast support for the cou13 rageous activists, lawyers, civil society representaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:48 Jun 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR715.IS SR715

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1 tives, members of ethnic and religious minority 

2 groups, journalists, and other individuals who con3 tinue to advocate for the rule of law, political and 

4 economic freedom, the preservation of the unique 

5 identities of the ethnic and religious minorities and 

6 groups of the People’s Republic of China, and 

7 human rights; 

8 (3) condemns the Government of the People’s 

9 Republic of China for the egregious human rights 

10 abuses against Chinese citizens inside the border of 

11 the People’s Republic of China, transnational repres12 sion against activists, and systematic efforts to un13 dermine human rights within and outside of the 

14 United Nations system; 

15 (4) calls on the Government of the People’s Re16 public of China— 

17 (A) to cease censoring information and dis18 cussion within the People’s Republic of China 

19 and globally about the Tiananmen Square Mas20 sacre; 

21 (B) to allow for a full, independent, and 

22 transparent investigation into the events of 

23 June 4, 1989; 

24 (C) to cease harassing, intimidating, and 

25 imprisoning individuals who attempt to expose 


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1 the truth regarding the Tiananmen Square 

2 Massacre; 

3 (D) to cease the systematic and egregious 

4 suppression of the human rights of the citizens 

5 of the People’s Republic of China; 

6 (E) to release unconditionally all human 

7 rights defenders, lawyers, scholars, journalists, 

8 members of religious and ethnic minorities and 

9 groups, and other individuals who have been 

10 unjustly detained or imprisoned on politically11 motivated charges for exercising internationally 

12 recognized fundamental freedoms, including 

13 Ilham Tohti, Ekpar Asat, Go Sherab Gyatso, 

14 Xu Zhiyong, Li Yuhan and Ding Jiaxi, those 

15 who protested the zero-COVID lockdown and 

16 the rising repression in the People’s Republic of 

17 China under Xi Jinping, such as Peng Lifa and 

18 Li Kangmeng, who were nominated by Mem19 bers of Congress for the Nobel Peace Prize, 

20 those in Hong Kong, such as Jimmy Lai, Josh21 ua Wong, and Chow Hang-tung, and family 

22 members of activists abroad who the Govern23 ment of the People’s Republic of China impris24 oned to pressure their family members into si25 lence, including Gulshan Abbas; 


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1 (F) to reverse policies and actions in 

2 Xinjiang that have led to widespread atrocities 

3 against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic and 

4 religious groups in the region and that threaten 

5 the preservation of Uyghur identity, and to 

6 allow independent and unfettered access to the 

7 region by United Nations human rights mecha8 nisms and other international observers to con9 duct a transparent investigation into the atroc10 ities of the Government of the People’s Repub11 lic of China in Xinjiang and seek accountability 

12 and justice for victims; 

13 (G) to reverse policies and actions in Tibet 

14 that violate the human rights of Tibetans, 

15 threaten the survival of Tibetan identity, inter16 fere in the ability of Tibetan Buddhists to select 

17 their religious leaders, including the Dalai 

18 Lama, and denigrate the environment and eco19 system of the Tibetan plateau and the tradi20 tional livelihoods of Tibetan nomads, and to 

21 allow independent and unfettered access to the 

22 region by United Nations human rights mecha23 nisms and other international observers to doc24 ument abuses; 


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1 (H) to uphold international legal obliga2 tions to Hong Kong under the Joint Declara3 tion of the Government of the United Kingdom 

4 of Great Britain and Northern Island and the 

5 Government of the People’s Republic of China 

6 on the Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing 

7 December 19, 1984 (referred to in this resolu8 tion as the ‘‘Joint Declaration’’), restore inde9 pendent democratic representation to the people 

10 of Hong Kong in line with the ‘‘One Country, 

11 Two Systems’’ arrangement set forth in the 

12 Joint Declaration; 

13 (I) to cease undermining the high degree 

14 of autonomy promised to Hong Kong in the 

15 Joint Declaration; 

16 (J) to end the coordinated campaign of 

17 transnational repression against Chinese citi18 zens overseas; and 

19 (K) to cease coercing, intimidating, and 

20 pressuring member states within the United 

21 Nations and other multilateral fora in service of 

22 the goal of the Government of the People’s Re23 public of China to reshape the international 

24 order according to an authoritarian worldview 


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1 and undermine the universality of human rights 

2 under international law; and 

3 (5) calls on the United States Government— 

4 (A) through high-level unilateral and joint 

5 statements with partners and allies, to honor 

6 the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 

7 and urge the Government of the People’s Re8 public of China to immediately initiate a full, 

9 independent, and transparent investigation into 

10 the events of June 4, 1989, lift censorship re11 strictions around discussion of the Tiananmen 

12 Square Massacre, and cease harassing, intimi13 dating, and imprisoning individuals who at14 tempt to expose the truth about June 4, 1989, 

15 and seek justice; 

16 (B) to meet with participants of the 

17 Tiananmen Square protests and the families 

18 and friends of the victims of the Tiananmen 

19 Square Massacre based outside of the People’s 

20 Republic of China, and publicize such meetings 

21 when appropriate; 

22 (C) to seek the unconditional release of po23 litical prisoners in the People’s Republic of 

24 China and Hong Kong; 


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1 (D) to use credible resources, such as the 

2 Political Prisoner Database maintained by the 

3 Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 

4 to enhance information regarding political pris5 oner cases in the People’s Republic of China; 

6 (E) to hold accountable officials of the 

7 Chinese Communist Party and of the Govern8 ment of the People’s Republic of China 

9 complicit in genocide, crimes against humanity, 

10 transnational repression, the undermining of 

11 the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, 

12 and other violations of human rights, including 

13 through sanctions, visa restrictions, and other 

14 tools; 

15 (F) to use the voice, vote, and influence of 

16 the United States at the United Nations to seek 

17 urgent discussions of the human rights record 

18 of the Government of the People’s Republic of 

19 China, including on matters related to Hong 

20 Kong at the United Nations Security Council 

21 and at the United Nations’ Human Rights 

22 Council; and 

23 (G) to make clear that the people of the 

24 United States support the ability of the citizens 

25 of the People’s Republic of China to exercise 


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1 their human rights without fear, and that ac2 tion by the United States Government to hold 

3 the persons complicit in human rights abuses 

4 accountable are undertaken in solidarity with 

5 the people of the People’s Republic of China 

6 and their aspirations. 

Æ 


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