Text: House Resolution Urges China to End Religious Persecution
(Government should stop persecution, safeguard human rights)The Government of the People's Republic of China should "take the necessary measures to stop persecution of all religious practitioners and safeguard fundamental human rights," says a resolution introduced March 20 in the House of Representatives.
Introduced by Representative Peter King (Republican of New York), a member of the House International Relations Committee, House Concurrent Resolution 68 (H. Con. Res. 68) says the United States should "continue to insist that the People's Republic of China adhere to fundamental human rights."
H. Con. Res. 68, which currently has 18 co-sponsors, would have the Congress itself urge Beijing to release all jailed "religious practitioners, Falun Gong members, and prisoners of conscience."
The Congress would also call upon the Chinese government to end immediately "practices of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment"; allow the Chinese people to "pursue their personal beliefs in accordance with article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China"; and adhere to the provisions and guidelines of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Following is the text of the resolution:
(begin text)
Condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its poor human rights record(Introduced in the House)
HCON 68 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st SessionH. CON. RES. 68
Condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its poor human rights record.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2001
Mr. KING (for himself, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr. WOLF, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. TOWNS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its poor human rights record.
Whereas on February 26, 2001, the Department of State issued the 2000 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in China which noted that the Government of the People's Republic of China continued to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in violation of internationally accepted norms, continued to commit numerous other serious abuses, and intensified crackdowns on religion;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that, in Tibet, the Government of the People's Republic of China intensified its harsh treatment of political dissent, including the suppression of persons or groups perceived to threaten the Government;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that thousands of unregistered religious institutions had been either closed or destroyed, hundreds of Falun Gong leaders had been imprisoned, and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners remained in detention or were sentenced to reeducation through labor camps or incarcerated in mental institutions;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that respect by the People's Republic of China for religious freedom deteriorated as the Government conducted crackdowns against underground Christian groups and Tibetan Buddhists and destroyed many houses of worship;
Whereas some minority groups, particularly Tibetan Buddhists and Muslim Uighurs, came under increasing pressure as the Government limited dissent and separatist activities;
Whereas unapproved religious groups, including Protestant and Catholic groups and members of nontraditional religious groups, continued to experience varying degrees of official interference, repression, and persecution;
Whereas the People's Republic of China does not permit independent domestic non-governmental organizations to monitor publicly human rights conditions;
Whereas on March 12, 1998, the People's Republic of China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and signed on October 27, 1997, and ratified on February 28, 2001, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and
Whereas the 2000 Report notes that Constitution and laws of the People's Republic of China provide for fundamental human rights, however, the protections of these rights are ignored in practice: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That--
(1) it is the sense of Congress that--
(A) the Government of the People's Republic of China should take the necessary measures to stop persecution of all religious practitioners and safeguard fundamental human rights; and
(B) the United States Government should continue to insist that the People's Republic of China adhere to fundamental human rights; and
(2) the Congress urges the Government of the People's Republic of China--
(A) to release from detention all religious practitioners, Falun Gong members, and prisoners of conscience and to put an immediate end to the practices of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment;
(B) to allow the Chinese people to pursue their personal beliefs in accordance with article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and its criminal procedure law; and
(C) adhere to the provisions and guidelines of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Return to The United States and China.Return to IIP Home Page.