*EPF507 04/06/01
Text: Senator Introduces Bill to Grant Gao Zhan U.S. Citizenship
(China currently detaining scholar on espionage charges) (1090)

Senator George Allen (Republican of Virginia) introduced a bill April 5 that would grant imprisoned American University scholar Gao Zhan U.S. citizenship.

Allen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced Senate Bill 702 (S. 702) with an explanation of the case of Gao Zhan, a U.S. legal permanent resident currently being detained in China on charges of espionage.

The proposed legislation would permit Gao Zhan to become a U.S. citizen without having to take the oath of renunciation and allegiance, with the Attorney General delivering Gao Zhan's citizenship certificate to her husband if it cannot be delivered personally to her, Allen said.

Following are the texts of Allen's remarks and the proposed legislation:

(begin text)

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Senate
April 05, 2001

By Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. HELMS, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. HUTCHINSON):

S. 702. A bill for the relief of Gao Zhan; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation on behalf of myself, Senators WARNER, HELMS, SPECTER, BROWNBACK, FEINSTEIN and TIM HUTCHINSON. This bill will grant citizenship to a Chinese woman, Gao Zhan, who has been living in Virginia and is a researcher at American University.

Early this year, Gao Zhan, her husband, Dong Hua Xue and their 5-year-old son, Andrew, went to the People's Republic of China to visit the parents of Gao Zhan and Dong Hua. On February 11, 2001, Gao, Dong Hua, and Andrew were detained as they were leaving the People's Republic of China. They were separated, blindfolded and taken incommunicado to unknown locations.

After 26 days of separated detention, Chinese authorities released Dong Hua and Andrew. Dong Hua and Andrew returned to their home in Virginia. Gao Zhan has remained in a Chinese prison. We do not know where she is and no one has been permitted to visit her.

The U.S. Department of State has made over a dozen protests to the government of the People's Republic of China about this matter but the government of the People's Republic of China has refused to permit access to Gao Zhan.

The requirements to become a U.S. citizen are: Establishing residency for five years prior to application; Passing the INS test on U.S. history, government and language; Passing the FBI background investigation; and Taking the oath of renunciation and allegiance.

Gao Zhan and her husband, Dong Hua, have been permanent resident aliens of the United States since September 28, 1993. They filed applications to become citizens on August 3, 1998. Their applications to become citizens were granted on November 24, 1999. The only step that remained before they could become citizens was to take their oath of renunciation and allegiance.

Gao Zhan and Dong Hua had completed the first three of these requirements before they visited the People's Republic of China. Last Friday, March 30, Dong Hua took his oath of renunciation and allegiance.

This legislation would permit Gao Zhan to become a U.S. citizen without her having to take the oath. In addition, the legislation provides that the Attorney General may deliver the certificate indicating that Gao Zhan is a citizen to her husband if it cannot be delivered personally to her.

This bill will be referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. I have spoken with Senator Brownback, chairman of the Subcommittee, as well as Senator Feinstein ranking member, and Senator Hatch, chairman of the full Committee, and urged them to move this bill as rapidly as possible.

The first step that will be taken by the Subcommittee on Immigration is to request a report on this case from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS, which will provide the Subcommittee with a factual record from which to operate. I have been told that this report may take about two weeks to prepare.

When the Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China visited the United States last month, President Bush raised the issue of Gao Zhan's continued detention and the refusal to permit officials of the U.S. government to visit her.

Secretary of State Colin Powell recently called for the release of Gao Zhan on humanitarian grounds and criticized the People's Republic of China for holding Andrew, Gao Zhan's 5 year old son and a U.S. citizen, without notifying our Embassy in Beijing as required by treaty.

It has been reported that this past Tuesday, the People's Republic of China formally accused Gao Zhan of ``accepting money from a foreign intelligence agency and participating in espionage activities in China.'' If Gao Zhan is tried on this charge, she is likely to be convicted and given a long prison sentence. China tries such security cases in secret and allows little chance for defendants to respond to the charges.

I hope the introduction of this bill and its consideration by the Congress will improve Gao Zhan's conditions in the People's Republic of China, afford her protections and rights that she doesn't currently have as a permanent resident alien and hopefully lead to her release. I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 702

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. NATURALIZATION OF GAO ZHAN.

(a) NATURALIZATION.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General shall naturalize Gao Zhan as a citizen of the United States, without her being administered the oath of renunciation and allegiance pursuant to section 337(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1448(a)), not later than 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION.--Not later than 5 days after the date of naturalization under paragraph (1), an appropriate official of the United States Government designated by the Attorney General shall deliver to Gao Zhan a certificate of naturalization prepared by the Attorney General. If the Attorney General determines that delivery of the certificate of naturalization cannot be made within the period specified, the Attorney shall furnish the certificate to Gao Zhan's spouse, Xue Donghua, on her behalf.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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