•HCON 365 EH 
Whereas despite questions raised by the Government of the 
United States and others about the charges made against 
Pastor Cai Zhuohua, the Government of China sentenced 
Pastor Cai and other members of his family to 3 years 
in prison for ‘‘illegal business practices’’ for their print-
ing and distribution of religious materials; 
Whereas, according to China’s Regulations on Religious Af-
fairs, promulgated in March 2005, any religious organi-
zation that carries out activities without registering with 
the government is subject to civil punishment and to 
criminal prosecution; 
Whereas since the promulgation of the Regulations on Reli-
gious Affairs, the Government of China has stepped up 
its efforts to eliminate unregistered religious activity, 
with raids on ‘‘house church’’ Christian groups in several 
provinces, resulting in detention of hundreds of leaders of 
the house church, dozens of whom remain in custody; and 
Whereas the Government of China has, on several occasions, 
stated a commitment to ratify the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights, but has delayed ratification 
since signing the document in 1998: Now, therefore, be 
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That—
(1) Congress—
(A) commends ‘‘rights defense’’ lawyers 
and activists of China for their courage and in-
tegrity, and expresses moral support for this 
grass-roots ‘‘rights defense’’ movement in 
China;
•HCON 365 EH 
(B) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China, at all levels, to cease its har-
assment of Mr. Gao Zhisheng, overturn the sus-
pension of his license to practice law, and re-
store his legal right to represent the clients of 
his choosing as protected by China’s own Con-
stitution, its Criminal Procedure Law, and its 
Lawyers Law; 
(C) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to repeal Article 306 of the 
Criminal Code of China, which provides pen-
alties for lawyers whose clients are accused of 
perjury and has been used to curtail the active 
legal defense of individuals accused of political 
crimes; 
(D) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to undertake measures to 
further amend the Lawyers Law to ensure law-
yers’ rights to investigate charges brought 
against their clients, to provide a vigorous de-
fense of their clients, and to remain free of har-
assment and intimidation throughout the course 
of representing clients, including clients who are 
charged with offenses related to political or reli-
gious activities;
•HCON 365 EH 
(E) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to respect fully the uni-
versality of the right to freedom of religion or 
belief and other human rights; 
(F) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to ratify and implement in 
law the International Covenant on Civil and Po-
litical Rights, and to adopt such legislative or 
other measures as may be necessary to give ef-
fect to the rights recognized in the Covenant; 
(G) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to amend or repeal Article 
300 of the Criminal Code of China so it is con-
sistent with international law, and to halt its 
crackdown on spiritual movements; 
(H) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to halt arrests, harassment, 
and intimidation of leaders of unregistered reli-
gious organizations on the basis that their orga-
nizations violated the law by not registering 
with the Government of China; 
(I) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to Amend the Regulations on 
Religious Affairs to conform more closely with 
the 
internationally 
recognized 
freedom 
of
•HCON 365 EH 
thought, conscience, religion or belief and allow 
all religious believers in China to practice their 
religion without interference from the govern-
ment or from government sponsored ‘‘patriotic 
religious associations’’; 
(J) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to release Pastor Cai 
Zhuohua, his wife, and others imprisoned with 
him, and to allow Pastor Cai to resume reli-
gious activities and to resume leadership of his 
congregation in Beijing; and 
(K) urges the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China to invite the Special 
Rapporteur of the Commission on Human 
Rights on freedom of religion or belief to China 
as promised according to an agreement between 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and 
the Department of State of China in March 
2005; and 
(2) it is the sense of Congress that—
(A) the Government of the United States 
should support democracy and human rights 
programs that strengthen protection of basic 
rights and freedoms, and should initiate pro-
grams to train lawyers, judges, academics, and
•HCON 365 EH 
students in China about international human 
rights law, to inform citizens of China about 
international human rights norms, and to build 
organizations and associations to promote these 
priorities; 
(B) the Government of the United States 
should seek grant proposals and fund programs 
to promote legal protections and cultural aware-
ness of the right to the freedom of religion or 
belief commensurate to ongoing rule of law pro-
grams funded by the Human Rights and De-
mocracy Fund for Chinese workers, women, and 
public interest law training; and 
(C) the President should raise the issue of 
the Government of China’s harassment, arrest, 
detention, and persecution of rights defense 
lawyers and activists and the need for the Gov-
ernment of China to respect the basic human 
rights of its citizens and the rule of law during
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his planned meeting with Chinese President Hu 
Jintao in April 2006.
Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2006. 
Attest:
Clerk.
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 365
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Urging the Government of China to reinstate all li-
censes of Gao Zhisheng and his law firm, remove 
all legal and political obstacles for lawyers at-
tempting to defend criminal cases in China, in-
cluding politically sensitive cases, and revise law 
and practice in China so that it conforms to 
international standards.