IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 73
Expressing the sense of Congress that the 2008 Olympic Games should
not be held in Beijing unless the Government of the People’s Republic
of China releases all political prisoners, ratifies the International Cov-
enant on Civil and Political Rights, and observes internationally recog-
nized human rights.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 21, 2001
Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. COX, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr.
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HORN,
Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. HOYER, Mr. EVANS,
Mr. FRANK, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. HOEFFEL,
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WAMP, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. DELAY, Mr.
FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. PALLONE,
Mr. BONIOR, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. LEE, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. JONES of
North Carolina, Mr. STARK, Mr. KIRK, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. SLAUGH-
TER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GOODE,
Mr. SOUDER, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. SCHAF-
FER, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DOOLITTLE,
Mr. SHADEGG, and Mr. PENCE) submitted the following concurrent reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the 2008 Olympic
Games should not be held in Beijing unless the Govern-
ment of the People’s Republic of China releases all polit-
ical prisoners, ratifies the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, and observes internationally recog-
nized human rights.
•HCON 73 IH
Whereas the International Olympic Committee is in the proc-
ess of determining the venue of the Olympic Games in
the year 2008 and is scheduled to make that decision at
the IOC meeting scheduled for Moscow in July 2001;
Whereas the city of Beijing has made a proposal to the Inter-
national Olympic Committee that the summer Olympic
Games in the year 2008 be held in Beijing;
Whereas the Olympic Charter states that Olympism and the
Olympic ideal seek to foster ‘‘respect for universal funda-
mental ethical principles’’;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly Resolution
48/11 (October 25, 1993) recognized ‘‘that the Olympic
goal of the Olympic Movement is to build a peaceful and
better world by educating the youth of the world through
sport, practiced without discrimination of any kind and
the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding,
promoted by friendship, solidarity and fair play’’;
Whereas United National General Assembly Resolution 50/13
(November 7, 1995) stressed ‘‘the importance of the
principles of the Olympic charter, according to which any
form of discrimination with regard to a country or a per-
son on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise
is incompatible with the Olympic Movement’’;
Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 2000 reports the following:
(1) ‘‘The [Chinese] government continued to commit
widespread and well-documented human rights abuses, in
violation of internationally accepted norms.’’.
(2) ‘‘Abuses included instances of extra judicial
killings, the use of torture, forced confessions, arbitrary
arrest and detention, the mistreatment of prisoners,
•HCON 73 IH
lengthy incommunicado detention, and denial of due proc-
ess.’’.
(3) ‘‘The Government infringed on citizens’ privacy
rights.’’.
(4) ‘‘The Government maintained tight restrictions
on freedom of speech and of the press, and increased its
efforts to control the Internet; self-censorship by journal-
ists continued.’’.
(5) ‘‘The Government severely restricted freedom of
assembly and continued to restrict freedom of associa-
tion.’’.
(6) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom
of religion and intensified controls on some unregistered
churches.’’.
(7) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom
of movement.’’.
(8) ‘‘The Government does not permit independent
domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to mon-
itor publicly human rights conditions.’’.
(9) ‘‘[The Government has not stopped] violence
against women (including coercive family planning prac-
tices—which sometimes include forced abortion and
forced sterilization).’’.
(10) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict tightly
worker rights, and forced labor in prison facilities re-
mains a serious problem. Child labor exists and appears
to be a growing problem in rural areas as adult workers
leave for better employment opportunities in urban
areas.’’.
(11) ‘‘Some minority groups, particularly Tibetan
Buddhists and Muslim Uighurs, came under increasing
pressure as the Government clamped down on dissent
and ‘separatist’ activities.’’;
•HCON 73 IH
Whereas the egregious human rights abuses committed by
the Government of the People’s Republic of China are in-
consistent with the Olympic ideal;
Whereas 119 Chinese dissidents and relatives of imprisoned
political prisoners, from 22 provinces and cities, issued
an open letter on January 16, 2001, signed at enormous
political risk which expresses the ‘‘grief and indignation
for each of China’s political prisoners and their families’’,
asks the Chinese Government to release all of China’s po-
litical prisoners, and asserts that the release of China’s
political prisoners will improve ‘‘Beijing’s stature in its
bid for the 2008 Olympics’’; and
Whereas, although the Government of the People’s Republic
of China signed the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights in 1998, but has failed to ratify the trea-
ty, and has indicated that it will not fully implement the
recently ratified International Covenant on Economic, So-
cial and Cultural Rights: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) acknowledges and supports the January 16,
2001, open letter released by Chinese dissidents and
the families of imprisoned Chinese political prisoners
stating that the release of China’s political prisoners
would improve Beijing’s stature in its bid to host the
2008 Olympic Games;
(2) expresses the view that, consistent with its
stated principles, the International Olympic Com-
mittee should not award the 2008 Olympics to Bei-
•HCON 73 IH
Nordic countries, and all other countries engaged in
human rights dialogue with China;
(5) requests that the President, during his ex-
pected participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Shanghai
in October 2001, call for the release of all Chinese
political prisoners and Chinese ratification of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
(6) recommends that the Congressional-Execu-
tive Commission on the People’s Republic of China,
established under title III of the U.S.-China Rela-
tions Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–286), devote sig-
nificant resources to monitoring any violations of the
rights of political dissidents and political prisoners,
or other increased abuses of internationally-recog-
nized human rights, in the preparation to the 2008
Olympic Games and during the Olympic Games
themselves; and
(7) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent-
atives to transmit a copy of this resolution to the
senior International Olympic Committee representa-
tive in the United States with the request that it be
circulated to all members of the Committee.
Æ