This is the first human rights resolution on the People's Republic of China in the post-Permanent Normal Trade Relations era. Many of my colleagues on this floor argued that the passage of PNTR legislation in the last session of Congress did not bring our concern with human rights in China to an end. Now we must demonstrate that. The detention of pro-democracy dissidents has not ceased. The problem of slave labor persists.
Ethnic minorities continue to be subject to discrimination and repression.
Falun Gong and Zong Gong practitioners still are being systematically intimidated and physically abused. The Chinese government may reject criticism of its suppression of these groups, but freedom of association and freedom to practice one's beliefs peacefully are at stake. Earlier this week, Amnesty International issued a report cataloguing widespread torture in China. Torture to extract confessions, to collect taxes, to enforce birth control policies, to harass migrant workers, to intimidate reporters, and to punish prisoners is growing. The report describes hundreds of cases of beatings, whippings, electric shocks and sexual abuse.