*EPF303 03/28/01
House Panel Approves Two Proposed Resolutions Critical of China
(Panel also passes bill on Taiwan's participation in WHO) (400)
By Steve La Rocque
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The House International Relations Committee approved by a 27-8 vote a proposed resolution opposing the possible selection of China as the site for the 2008 Olympics unless the Chinese government frees all its political prisoners.

Chairman Henry Hyde (Republican of Illinois) backed House Concurrent Resolution 73, introduced March 21 by Representative Tom Lantos (Democrat of California), the ranking minority member on the committee.

H. Con. Res. 73, citing Beijing's persecution of religious groups and other human rights violations, would request President Bush to call for the release of "all Chinese political prisoners and Chinese ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" when he visits Shanghai in October to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting.

Lantos, the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, has been a persistent critic of China's human rights record.

As of March 28, the measure had 54 co-sponsors.

The committee also passed two other pieces of legislation relating to China. By unanimous consent the committee approved H.R. 428, a bill regarding Taiwan's participation in the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO), and House Resolution 56 (H. Res. 56), a proposed resolution calling on the United States to bring up China's human rights record at the current meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) in Geneva.

H. Res. 56, which has 28 co-sponsors, says the United States "should solicit" co-sponsorship for a resolution "calling upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to end its human rights abuses in China and Tibet," and adds that the United States "should take the lead" in organizing support for such a resolution.

H.R. 428, which has 92 co-sponsors, would direct the Secretary of State to draw up a plan "to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan" at the WHO's World Health Assembly in May in Geneva, and have the American delegation in Geneva implement the plan.

The proposed measures will now be scheduled to go to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN