U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: The United States and China

Excerpts: House Passes Resolution Condemning China's Arrest of Uighur
(Urges Beijing to permit Rabiya Kadeer to move to America)
The Chinese government's arrest of a woman who was attempting to meet with a delegation of congressional staffers in August 1999 drew a rebuke from Congress July 24.
The House of Representatives passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 81 (Sen. Con. Res. 81), which calls on China's government to immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her son, and to permit Kadeer, her secretary, and son to move to the United States "if they so desire."
Congressional staffers in August 1999 were taking part in an official visit to China, organized under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Program of the United States Information Agency, when Rabiya Kadeer was arrested in the city of Urumqi as she sought to reach delegation members at their hotel.
Rabiya Kadeer was sentenced this year to eight years in prison "`with deprivation of political rights for two years'" for the crime of "`illegally giving state information across the border,'" the resolution says, quoting Chinese sources.
Kadeer's husband lives in the United States and works for Radio Free Asia. Sen. Con. Res. 81 notes that Kadeer's husband, Sidik Rouzi, "has been critical of the policies of the People's Republic of China toward Uighurs in Xinjiang."
Republicans and Democrats joined in their denunciations of Beijing for the arrest of the Uighur businesswoman.
"This case appears to constitute a clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," Representative Doug Bereuter (Republican of Nebraska), the chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said.
"The Chinese Government's action in this case has been reprehensible and must be reversed. This resolution makes clear the strong sense of the Congress that Ms. Kadeer should be immediately released and allowed to join her family in the United States," Bereuter continued.
S. Con. Res. 81, Bereuter said, "sends a strong message that while this body approves of improved trade relations, we are, nonetheless, mindful of the serious human rights problems that exist within the People's Republic of China."
To Representative Brad Sherman (Democrat of California), a member of the House Committee on International Relations, it appeared that "Kadeer's real crime is that her husband now works for Radio Free Asia and he has been critical of the policies of the PRC toward Uighurs in Xinjiang."
Sherman, who strongly opposed the House version of the bill that would grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, said that China, in gaining PNTR status, is "free to ignore this resolution, without the slightest risk of losing a single penny of trade benefits with the United States, where they enjoy the largest trade surplus and one of the most lopsided trading relationships that one can imagine."
Sen. Con. Res. 81, Sherman said, "is the least we could do."
Representative Tom Lantos (Democrat of California), co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said Kadeer was detained by Chinese security forces in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province on August 11, 1999.
"A particularly disturbing circumstance is the fact that shortly before her arrest, her husband, Mr. Sidick Rozi, had testified to Members of Congress before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on July 15, 1999, regarding human rights violations in Western China," Lantos said.
Lantos said Kadeer intended to give the congressional staffers "information about political prisoners in Xinjiang."
Kadeer was convicted under Article 111 of the Chinese Criminal Law, Lantos said, and according to Radio Free Asia, "neither Kadeer nor her lawyer were allowed to speak at her trial."
Lantos, who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983, criticized the trial and what he called "the totally fabricated charges brought against Ms. Kadeer, her son, and her secretary," characterizing them as "blatant violations of international judicial standards."
As the Senate prepares to consider PNTR legislation, Lantos said, "it is my hope that our colleagues keep these outrageous human rights violations in mind."
The arrest of Kadeer prior to a meeting with an official delegation "was an affront to Congress," said Representative George Nethercutt, Jr. (Republican of Washington).
"Members and staff should be allowed to travel internationally and conduct their official duties without fear that their visit will trigger retributive action by the host country," Nethercutt said.
Following are excerpts from the House members' speeches and the text of Sen. Con. Res. 81 from the July 24 Congressional Record:
(begin excerpts)

EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS
CONCERNING RELEASE OF RABIYA KADEER,
HER SECRETARY AND SON
BY GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

(House of Representatives)
July 24, 2000

Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 81) expressing the sense of the Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her son, and permit them to move to the United States if they so desire.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. Con. Res. 81
Whereas Rabiya Kadeer, a prominent ethnic Uighur from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People's Republic of China, her secretary, and her son were arrested on August 11, 1999, in the city of Urumqi;
Whereas Rabiya Kadeer's arrest occurred outside the Yindu Hotel in Urumqi as she was attempting to meet a group of congressional staff staying at the Yindu Hotel as part of an official visit to China organized under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Program of the United States Information Agency;
Whereas Rabiya Kadeer's husband Sidik Rouzi, who has lived in the United States since 1996 and works for Radio Free Asia, has been critical of the policies of the People's Republic of China toward Uighurs in Xinjiang;
Whereas Rabiya Kadeer was sentenced on March 10 to 8 years in prison `with deprivation of political rights for two years' for the crime of `illegally giving state information across the border';
Whereas the Urumqi Evening Paper of March 12 reported Rabiya Kadeer's case as follows: `The court investigated the following: The defendant Rabiya Kadeer, following the request of her husband, Sidik Haji, who has settled in America, indirectly bought a collection of the Kashgar Paper dated from 1995-1998, 27 months, and some copies of the Xinjiang Legal Paper and on 17 June 1999 sent them by post to Sidik Haji. These were found by the customs. During July and August 1999 defendant Rabiya Kadeer gave copies of the Ili Paper and Ili Evening Paper collected by others to Mohammed Hashem to keep. Defendant Rabiya Kadeer sent these to Sidik Haji. Some of these papers contained the speeches of leaders of different levels; speeches about the strength of rectification of public safety, news of political legal organizations striking against national separatists and terrorist activities etc. The papers sent were marked and folded at relevant articles. As well as this, on 11 August that year, defendant Rabiya Kadeer, following her husband's phone commands, took a previously prepared list of people who had been handled by judicial organizations, with her to Kumush Astana Hotel [Yingdu Hotel] where she was to meet a foreigner';
Whereas reports indicate that Ablikim Abdyirim was sent to a labor camp on November 26 for 2 years without trial for `supporting Uighur separatism,' and Rabiya Kadeer's secretary was recently sentenced to 3 years in a labor camp;
Whereas Rabiya Kadeer has 5 children, 3 sisters, and a brother living in the United States, in addition to her husband, and Kadeer has expressed a desire to move to the United States;
Whereas the People's Republic of China stripped Rabiya Kadeer of her passport long before her arrest;
Whereas reports indicate that Kadeer's health may be at risk;
Whereas the People's Republic of China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on October 5, 1998;
Whereas that Covenant requires signatory countries to guarantee their citizens the right to legal recourse when their rights have been violated, the right to liberty and freedom of movement, the right to presumption of innocence until guilt is proven, the right to appeal a conviction, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of assembly and association;
Whereas that Covenant forbids torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, and arbitrary arrest and detention;
Whereas the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enables the Human Rights Committee, set up under that Covenant, to receive and consider communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant; and
Whereas in signing that Covenant on behalf of the People's Republic of China, Ambassador Qin Huasun, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, said the following: `To realize human rights is the aspiration of all humanity. It is also a goal that the Chinese Government has long been striving for. We believe that the universality of human rights should be respected . . . As a member state of the United Nations, China has always actively participated in the activities of the organization in the field of human rights. It attaches importance to its cooperation with agencies concerned in the U.N. system . . .': Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China--
(1) immediately to release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her son; and
(2) to permit Kadeer, her secretary, and her son to move to the United States, if they so desire.
Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, this Member stands in strong support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 81, which was introduced by the senior senator from Delaware, Senator William Roth, and approved by the Senate on May 2.
On June 27, S. Con. Res. 81 was approved by the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, which this Member chairs, and was subsequently approved unanimously by the Committee on International Relations on June 29.
The resolution expresses the sense of the Congress that the People's Republic of China, PRC, should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her son, and allow them to move to the United States if they so desire.
Rabiya Kadeer is a prominent ethnic Uigher from China, who was arrested as she was attempting to meet a congressional staff delegation visiting Urumqi as part of an official visit to China organized under the auspices of the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Program of the U.S. Information Agency.
Subsequently, on March 10 of this year, Rabiya Kadeer was sentenced to 8 years in prison for the crime of `illegally giving state information across the border.' Previously, her son was sent to a labor camp for 2 years in November of 1999 for supporting Uighur separatism and her secretary was recently sentenced to 3 years in a labor camp. In Ms. Kadeer's case, the so-called `state information' appears to have consisted essentially of a collection of publicly available Chinese newspaper articles and speeches and a list of prisoners.
As the resolution notes, this case appears to constitute a clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Chinese Government's action in this case has been reprehensible and must be reversed. This resolution makes clear the strong sense of the Congress that Ms. Kadeer should be immediately released and allowed to join her family in the United States.
Madam Speaker, approving S. Con. Res. 81 sends a strong message that while this body approves of improved trade relations, we are, nonetheless, mindful of the serious human rights problems that exist within the People's Republic of China.
This is an entirely appropriate message to send, for the United States cannot turn a blind eye to the abuses that continue to exist in the PRC.
Madam Speaker, this Member urges adoption of S. Con. Res. 81.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and commend the chairman of the Committee on International Relations (Mr. Gilman); the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, my colleague here, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter); and the ranking Democratic members, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for their strong support.
The subject of this resolution is Rabiya Kadeer, who is well-known as a Uighur businesswoman and known throughout China as `the millionaire woman of Xinjiang.' She is also a philanthropist of many programs designed to improve the lives of Uighur women and children.
Her work led to her election as a member of a nationwide advisory body of the Chinese government from 1993 through 1997, and as a delegate to the United Nations Women's Conference in 1995. She has helped many Uighur women start businesses, and she has established English language classes for Uighur teenagers, several of whom she has sent to the United States for schooling.
Rabiya Kadeer's husband, who is of Uighur descent, fled to the United States in 1996, and she was stripped of her government position when she refused to criticize him. Kadeer was arrested last year on her way to meet with congressional staff members, charged with providing information to foreigners, and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
As my colleague from Nebraska pointed out, these charges were without merit. Unfortunately, it appears that Kadeer's real crime is that her husband now works for Radio Free Asia and he has been critical of the policies of the PRC toward Uighurs in Xinjiang. This situation is all the more troubling because Kadeer has five children and three sisters living in the United States in addition to her husband.
This resolution before the House today calls on the Chinese to release Rabiya Kadeer, as well as her son, and secretary, arrested at the same time, and allow them to come to the United States.
It is with regret that I note that this House passed a provision giving the People's Republic of China most favored nation status on a permanent basis, so the Chinese are free to ignore this resolution, without the slightest risk of losing a single penny of trade benefits with the United States, where they enjoy the largest trade surplus and one of the most lopsided trading relationships that one can imagine.
So although I doubt this resolution will have much effect, given the fact that we have cut ourselves off from any way of really pressuring the Chinese government, it is the least we could do.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Senate Concurrent Resolution 81.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. Con. Res. 81, a resolution urging the Government of the People's Republic of China to release immediately and unconditionally the prominent Uighur businesswoman, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer.
Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus I have repeatedly voiced my deepest concern regarding Ms. Kadeer to the Chinese Government. Ms. Kadeer was detained by Chinese security forces in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province on August 11, 1999. A particularly disturbing circumstance is the fact that shortly before her arrest, her husband, Mr. Sidick Rozi, had testified to Members of Congress before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on July 15, 1999, regarding human rights violations in Western China.
As a prominent businesswoman, Ms. Kadeer is well known and respected in the United States. Her efforts to promote business enterprises by Uighur women have been recognized by Chinese authorities as contributing to the overall economic and social development of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Until 1998, she even served as an elected official in the Provincial People's Political Consultative Congress.
On September 2, 1999, however, according to press reports she was charged with the serious crime of `illegally offering state secrets across the border.' Ms. Kadeer was detained on August 11, 1999, while on her way to meet with a U.S. congressional staff delegation, whom she intended to give information about political prisoners in Xinjiang. She was convicted under Article 111 of the Chinese Criminal Law. According to Radio Free Asia, neither Kadeer nor her lawyer were allowed to speak at her trial.
Chinese officials never produced evidence of criminal wrongdoing against Ms. Kadeer. She was nonetheless sentenced to 8 years in prison in a secret trial at the Urumqi City Intermediate People's Court in the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. In addition, according to information we have received, she is currently detained at Liudaowan jail, a jail notorious for mistreatment of prisoners.
In addition to Ms. Kadeer, her son, Ablikim Abyirim, and her secretary, Kahriman Abdukirim, were also detained in August and were administratively sentenced to 2- and 3-year terms, respectively, on November 26, 1999. They are currently being held at the Walabai Reeducation Through Labor School.
Madam Speaker, the trial and the totally fabricated charges brought against Ms. Kadeer, her son, and her secretary are blatant violations of international judicial standards. As the other body prepares to consider PNTR for the Peoples Republic of China, it is my hope that our colleagues keep these outrageous human rights violations in mind. The Economist reports that China executed three Uighurs as recently as the first week of July of this year, and the harassment and the crackdown against Tibetans, the Falun Gong, and political dissidents continues unabated.
Madam Speaker, it is high time to send the PRC a clear message. The resolution before the House sends a clear message. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support this resolution and join with my colleague in urging the Chinese authorities to release from Rebiya Kadeer, her secretary and her son, and permit them to move to the United States, if they desire.
Ms. Kadeer is a well respected businesswoman who was once officially touted as an inspiration to her fellow members of the Uighur ethnic group. On March 10th, 2000, Ms. Kadeer was sentenced to 8 years in jail for `giving information to separatists outside the country.' Her efforts to business enterprises have been recognized by Chinese authorities as contributing to the overall economic and social development of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, one of the poorest regions throughout China.
However, in 1997, Ms. Kadeer was stripped of her passport, and with it the right to freedom of movement as well as subjected to continual police harassments. These actions were clearly aimed at silencing her husband, Mr. Sidick Rozi, a former political prisoner who has been an outspoken critic of China's treatment of the Uighur minority in Western China. Mr. Rozi, now living in the United States, has made numerous statements on Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and testified last July before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus concerning the extremely harsh discriminations suffered by the Uighur minority. Ms. Kadeer was made a hostage in her own country, unable to join her husband and a number of her children in the United States, simply because of the political activities of her husband.
On August 11th, 1999 Rebiya Kadeer was arrested while she was on her way to meet with a group of congressional staff visiting China. She was charged in September with `providing secret information to foreigners.' Ms. Kadeer does not have access to `state secrets,' she is a businesswoman, not a political activist. After 7 months of detention and the arrest and subsequent arbitrary sentencing of her secretary and one son, Ms. Kadeer was given a 4-hour trial. During this trial, neither she nor her lawyer were able to speak, none of her children were allowed to attend and the 300 Uighurs who had gathered at the courthouse were dispersed by Chinese police.
If China wants to be a full partner in the international arena, it has to start abiding by international norms and living within the rule of law. Seven months of arbitrary detention and a trial where the defendant's lawyer is not allowed to speak is not an accepted practice within the international community and should not be an accepted practice in China.
Ms. Kadeer was traveling to meet with congressional staff, official representatives of the U.S. Government, when she was detained. This did not seem to matter to the Chinese and it appears to be one of the factors for the timing of her arrest. Clearly, the Chinese were sending a signal: Any citizen who meets with or talks to U.S. citizens is risking detention, arrest and a prison sentence.
Incidences such as this prove that now is not the time to ease the pressure on China. We in the United States, and around the world must never give up our ideals and belief in human freedom, and need to pressure dictators, oppressors and abusers around the world that lack the respect for the rule of law and for human life. Only if Ms. Kadeer's case is brought to the highest level of our administration and the Chinese Government is there any hope that Ms. Kadeer will not spend the next 8 years of her life in a Chinese prison--8 years she should be spending with her husband and 10 children--and for speaking up for the most basic human rights of her people, the Uighurs.
Mr. NETHERCUTT. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work of the International Relations Committee, particularly the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights and the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, in moving this important resolution forward. Today we are considering the Senate version of the resolution I introduced, H. Con. Res. 249, which has 11 cosponsors.
As the chairman has noted, this resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the People's Republic of China should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary and her son, and permit them to move to the United States.
Kadeer is a 53-year-old entrepreneur from China's Xingjiang Autonomous Region. As a member of the Uighur minority, she emerged as a symbol of how minorities could succeed in China. However, her relationship with the Chinese Government deteriorated after her husband's emigration to the United States in 1997. Sidik Rouzi has become a prominent critic of China's Xingjiang policies and testified last summer before the House Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
On August 11, 1999, Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and two of her sons were arrested in Urumqi, China and charged with `illegally providing intelligence for foreign organizations.' She was apparently arrested en route to a previously scheduled meeting with U.S. congressional staff. A member of my staff was part of this official delegation, organized under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Program of the U.S. Information Agency.
The arrest prior to a meeting with an official delegation was an affront to Congress. Members and staff should be allowed to travel internationally and conduct their official duties without fear that their visit will trigger retributive action by the host country. One purpose of this staff delegation was to encourage mutual understanding and cultural exchange--the arrest was clearly contrary to this purpose. Such intimidation should never accompany an official delegation visit.
Even more troubling, Kadeer was convicted and sentenced to 8 years in prison for merely mailing copies of local newspapers to her husband in the United States. Apparently, her high crime was to mark and fold the newspapers in such a way that she was illegally revealing state information.
In February, I received a letter from the Chinese Ambassador noting `Ethnic secessionism in Xingjiang and Tibet is a deep concern for us. I hope our American friends could put themselves in our shoes when approaching this issue.' I do not believe that Chinese concerns about ethnic affairs merit a suspension of human rights.
Indeed, this resolution merely calls for the People's Republic of China to adhere to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees citizens the right to legal recourse when their rights have been violated and forbids arbitrary arrest and detention. Even though a Chinese court dismissed this case last November for lack of evidence, Kadeer was tried again. The second trial lasted all of two hours, and according to Human Rights Watch, neither she nor her attorney were permitted to even speak. China signed this Covenant in 1998 and has an obligation to respect the civil and political rights of all Chinese citizens, irrespective of their ethnicity.
I urge my colleagues in the House to join the other body in passing this important resolution. China should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her son, and should allow them to move to the United States. Vote in support of this resolution and send a strong message to China that they must respect the political rights of all of their citizens.
Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairmen and ranking minority members of the International Operations and Human Rights, and the Asia and Pacific Subcommittees for their work on this important resolution.
Ms. Rabiya Kadeer, her son and secretary were arrested in Chinese-occupied East Turkestan or the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on August 11, 1999, as they were attempting to meet with a group of congressional staff. Ms. Kadeer's husband works for Radio Free Asia and has been critical of the Chinese occupation of his homeland. After their arrest, the three individuals were eventually accused of illegally giving Mr. Kadeer various news clippings and public speeches concerning the struggle in East Turkestan.
Ms. Kadeer was sentenced to 8 years in prison, her son was sent to a labor camp for 2 years and her secretary to 3 years. The resolution calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately release them and permit them to move to the United States if so they desire. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that the House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 81.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
(end excerpts)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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