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“SENATE RESOLUTION 44--RELATING TO THE CENSURE OF WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S1652-S1655 on Feb. 12, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENATE RESOLUTION 44--RELATING TO THE CENSURE OF WILLIAM JEFFERSON
CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Daschle, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Reid, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Bryan, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Breaux, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Reed, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Levin, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Robb, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Akaka) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration:
S. Res. 44
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee in the White House, which was shameful, reckless and indefensible;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, deliberately misled and deceived the American people, and people in all branches of the United States government;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, gave false or misleading testimony and his actions have had the effect of impeding discovery of evidence in judicial proceedings;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton's conduct in this matter is unacceptable for a President of the United States, does demean the Office of the President as well as the President himself, and creates disrespect for the laws of the land;
Whereas President Clinton fully deserves censure for engaging in such behavior;
Whereas future generations of Americans must know that such behavior is not only unacceptable but also bears grave consequences, including loss of integrity, trust and respect;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton remains subject to criminal actions in a court of law like any other citizen;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton's conduct in this matter has brought shame and dishonor to himself and to the Office of the President; and
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton through his conduct in this matter has violated the trust of the American people;
Resolved
The United States Senate does hereby censure William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, and does condemn his wrongful conduct in the strongest terms; and
The United States Senate recognizes the historic gravity of this bipartisan resolution, and trusts and urges that future congresses will recognize the importance of allowing this bipartisan statement of censure and condemnation to remain intact for all time; and
The Senate now move on to other matters of significance to our people, to reconcile differences between and within the branches of government, and to work together--across party lines--for the benefit of the American people. SENATE RESOLUTION 45--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Mack, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Helms, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Lott, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Lugar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
S. Res. 45
Whereas the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, provides a forum for discussing human rights and expressing international support for improved human rights performance;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State and international human rights organizations, the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in China and Tibet and continues the coercive implementation of family planning policies and the sale of human organs taken from executed prisoners;
Whereas such abuses stem from an intolerance of dissent and fear of unrest on the part of authorities in the People's Republic of China and from the absence or inadequacy of laws in the People's Republic of China that protect basic freedoms;
Whereas such abuses violate internationally accepted norms of conduct;
Whereas the People's Republic of China is bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recently signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but has yet to take the steps necessary to make the covenant legally binding;
Whereas the President decided not to sponsor a resolution criticizing the People's Republic of China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 1998 in consideration of commitments by the Government of the People's Republic of China to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and based on a belief that progress on human rights in the People's Republic of China could be achieved through other means;
Whereas authorities in the People's Republic of China have recently escalated efforts to extinguish expressions of protest or criticism and have detained scores of citizens associated with attempts to organize a legal democratic opposition, as well as religious leaders, writers, and others who petitioned the authorities to release those arbitrarily arrested; and
Whereas these efforts underscore that the Government of the People's Republic of China's has not retreated from its longstanding pattern of human rights abuses, despite expectations to the contrary following two summit meetings between President Clinton and President Jiang in which assurances were made regarding improvements in the human rights record of the People's Republic of China: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that at the 55th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, the United States should introduce and make all efforts necessary to pass a resolution criticizing the People's Republic of China for its human rights abuses in China and Tibet.
Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, today I, along with Senators Wellstone, Mack, and Feingold, submit a simple sense of the Senate resolution. This resolution urges the Administration to take the necessary steps to introduce and pass a resolution criticizing the People's Republic of China for its human rights abuses in China and Tibet at this year's meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. With this resolution, we send a clear signal to the Administration that the U.S. must not be silent on the human rights abuses perpetrated by the government of the People's Republic of China.
The U.N. Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, will take place in March and April this year. The Commission is the most valuable multilateral forum for monitoring and investigating human rights abuses around the world. Resolutions offered at the Commission both highlight human rights abuses and pressure governments to correct them. The U.S. has appropriately supported resolutions critical of China eight times in recent years.
The Communist government of China has long committed a litany of human rights abuses. Thousands of political prisoners remain in prison, many sentenced after unfair trials, others without any trial. At least two hundred of these prisoners are still suffering because of their participation in or support of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Religious persecution runs rampant in China. People who dare to worship outside the aegis of officially sponsored religious organizations face fines, detention, arrest, imprisonment, and torture. Thousands of peaceful monks and nuns have been detained and tortured in Tibet, where the Chinese government is imposing a harsh patriotic education campaign. Under China's one family, one child policy, couples face punitive fines and loss of employment for having unapproved children. But it doesn't stop with monetary penalties. Local authorities, with or without the approval of the Communist Party cadre, forcibly perform abortions or sterilizations on women who are pregnant with their second child. Relatives are held hostage until couples submit to this coercion. Furthermore, prisoners are executed after grossly unfair trials, their organs sold on the black market. What do these people all have in common? They oppose the Chinese Communist government or its policies. Opposition bears a high price.
What has been the Administration's response? Last year, President Clinton decided not to pursue a resolution critical of China at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, citing China's commitment to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as other avenues for change. In July, President Clinton granted the Communist government undeserved legitimacy by making a state visit to China. China did sign the ICCPR, a covenant which affirms free speech and free assembly, in October, only to turn around and violate its every principle.
Since July 1998, the Communist government of China has renewed its crackdown on all who would dare to oppose the Communist Party. Some 100 members of the fledgling Chinese Democracy Party (CDP) have been detained. Some have been released, others await trial, and the most unfortunate have been sentenced to long prison sentences. Three visible leaders of the CDP, Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin, and Wang Youncai were sentenced to 13, 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively, on charges of subversion and endangering state security, after dubious trials. In reality, these democracy activists exercised their legal rights under Chinese law to form a political party. There true crime, in the eyes of the Communist Party, was their love of democracy.
But the crackdown does not end there. In fact, incidents of harassment and imprisonment are almost too numerous to list here. I will highlight a few examples. The Communist government sentenced businessman Lin Hai to prison for two years for providing email addresses to a pro-democracy internet magazine based in the U.S. Zhang Shanguang is in prison for ten years for providing Radio Free Asia with information about farmer protests in Hunan province. The government sentenced poet and writer, Ma Zhe, to seven years in prison on charges of subversion for publishing an independent literary journal. In addition, the Communist government has cracked down on film directors, artists, computer software developers, and the press, and continues to harass and detain religious activists. In November 1998, police imprisoned 70 worshipers from house churches in Henan province. The pattern of human rights violations is undeniable. It must be stopped.
In light of these abuses, it is critical that the U.S. push for a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Commission highlighting these abuses. Last year, the Administration chose not to pursue a resolution, despite clear signals from Congress. In this body, we passed a resolution similar to the one before us today by a 95 to 5 vote. We cannot afford to stand by idly as the Chinese Communist government thumbs its nose at internationally accepted norms--norns to which it claims to subscribe.
There are some in the Administration who argue that a resolution critical of China at the Human Rights Commission is pointless because it is certain to fail. This very sentiment is self-fulfilling. The more half-hearted the Administration is in its attempts to advance such a resolution, the less chance it has to pass. The longer the Administration refrains from exercising leadership in the international community on this matter, the less likely it is that the resolution will be successful.
Bringing forth a resolution at the Commission is a matter of principle. Success will be measured by the statements of truth that flow from debate at the Commission. A resolution at the Commission will proclaim boldly that the human rights abuses in China are an affront to the international community.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan sense of the Senate resolution.
I further ask unanimous consent that any statements by Senators Wellstone, Mack, or Feingold regarding this resolution be inserted at the conclusion of my remarks.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today as an original co-sponsor of S. Res. 45 with regard to human rights in China.
The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should initiate active lobbying at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for a resolution condemning human rights abuses in China. It calls specifically for the United States to introduce and make all efforts necessary to pass a resolution on China and Tibet at the upcoming session of the Commission, which is due to begin in March in Geneva.
This resolution makes a simple, clear statement of principle: The Senate believes that there should be a China resolution in Geneva, period.
Mr. President, the Commission on Human Rights first met in 1947, spending its first year drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the next two decades, the Commission was responsible for drafting an impressive body of international human rights law and set the global standards for human rights. In the 1990s, the Commission has increasingly turned its attention to assisting states in overcoming obstacles to securing human rights for their citizens. It has been a focal point for protection of human rights for vulnerable groups in society, and as such, the Commission serves as an ideal multilateral forum for a resolution and debate on China's human rights practices.
The effort to move a resolution is particularly important this year, in light of the Administration's decision, contrary to the nearly unanimous sentiment of the Senate, not to sponsor such a resolution last year. Their misguided belief that progress could be achieved by other means was clearly not borne out by events in 1998, when, particularly in the last quarter, China stepped up its repression.
As we all know, for the past few years, China's leaders have aggressively lobbied against efforts at the Commission earlier and more actively than the countries that support a resolution. Last year, Chinese officials basically succeeded in getting the European Union Foreign Ministers to drop any European cosponsorship of a resolution. In the past, China's vigorous efforts have resulted in a ``no action'' motion at the Commission, however, in 1995 a ``no action'' motion was defeated and a resolution almost adopted, losing by only one vote. I sincerely hope we will not have the same results again at this year's meeting.
It is essential to have a resolution on China under the auspices of the Commission on Human Rights. The multilateral nature of the Commission makes it a very appropriate forum to debate and discuss the human rights situation in China. The Commission's review has led to proven and concrete progress on human rights in other countries, and the expectation is that such scrutiny could also lead to progress on human rights in China. Under the pressure of previous Geneva resolutions, China signed in 1997 the UN Covenant of Social, Economic and Cultural Rights and in October 1998 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Neither has yet been ratified or implemented.
Nearly five years after the President's decision, which I deeply regretted, to delink most-favored-nation status from human rights, we cannot forget that the human rights situation in China and Tibet remains abysmal. While the State Department has not yet provided its most recent human rights report, I have no doubt it will be as critical of China as the 1997 report was when it noted that ``the Government of China continued to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in violation of internationally accepted norms, including extrajudicial killings, the use of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced abortion and sterilization, the sale of organs from executed prisoners, and tight control over the exercise of the rights of freedom of speech, press, and religion.''
According to testimony to Congress by Amnesty International, the human rights situation in China shows no fundamental change, despite the recent promises from the government of China. At least 2,000 people remain in prison for counter-revolutionary crimes that are no longer even on the books in China. At least 200 individuals detained or arrested for Tiananmen Square activities nearly a decade ago are also still in prison. By China's own statistics, there are nearly a quarter of a million people imprisoned under the ``re-education through labor'' system. One of these, Yang Qinheng, received a three year term in March after he was arrested for reading an open letter on Radio Free Asia citing workers' right to unionize.
The litany of specific violations of human rights also has continued unabated in the last several months. Attempts to register the fledgling opposition China Democratic Party resulted in at least six arrests of opposition political leaders. In December, Wang Youcai, a student leader during Tiananmen Square protests, Xu Wenli, and Qin Yongmin were each sentenced to over 10 years in prison allegedly for ``attempting to overthrow state power'' because of their roles in the Democratic Party.
China took great strides to keep overseas dissidents out of China. In April, less than an hour after her arrival at her parents home, Li Xiaorong, a research scholar at University of Maryland, who was traveling on a US passport with a valid visa, was taken into custody. Her crime, according to police, was that her work in the US on behalf of human rights in China was unacceptable. Similarly, in October, Shi Binhai, a journalist at the state-run China Economic Times and co-
editor of a book on political reform was indicted for collusion with overseas dissident organizations. As recently as February 4, Wang Ce was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally reentering China and providing financial support to the banned Democratic Party.
Demonstrating that the range of potential crimes has moved into the computer era, this year in late January, Lin Hai received the distinction of being sentenced to two years in prison for providing e-
mail addresses to an Internet pro-democracy magazine. These are but a few of the many detentions, arrests, and assignments to forced labor that befell individuals for expressing their views since the President's human rights dialogue at the June 1998 summit in Beijing.
Mr. President, the situation is just as bad in Tibet, where, according to Human Rights Watch, at least ten prisoners reportedly died following two protests in a prison in the Tibetan capital in May. In the weeks following, scores of prisoners were interrogated, beaten and placed in solitary confinement. Other deaths in prison reportedly occurred in June, with Chinese authorities claiming that many were suicides. Further, during the 1998, Chinese officials continued the
``patriotic education campaign''' designed to force Tibetans, especially Buddist monks and nuns, to denounce the Dalai Lama and to attest that Tibet has always been a part of China. As a result of the campaign, authorities reported that 76 percent of Tibetan monasteries and nunneries had been ``rectified''.
In a December speech Secretary Albright said, ``As we look ahead to the new century, we can expect that, perhaps, the greatest test of democracy, human rights and the rule of law will be in China.'' If the Administration believes this, perhaps it should use the time left in this century to take positive steps to encourage international condemnation of China's human rights practices.
In January, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Harold Koh held a bilateral human rights dialogue with the Chinese, the first such discussions in four years, and notified them of the possibility that the United States would sponsor a resolution in Geneva. In testimony to Congress following these discussions, he further promised that
``The Administration supports the Geneva process, and intends to participate vigorously in this year's Commission activities.'' I was encouraged to hear these words and I hope they will translate into determination by the Administration actively to pursue this issue, in this forum, this year.
I urge the Administration to make a decision to sponsor a resolution and to begin high level lobbying of governments around the world to support a resolution before Secretary of State Albright travels to Beijing on March 1 and 2.
Mr. President, the situation in China indeed remains troubling. The United States has a moral responsibility to take the lead in sponsoring and pushing for a resolution at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. I believe that there is a strong bipartisan consensus in the Foreign Relations Committee--and I predict on the floor--that we must send a message to China and that this is the appropriate time and place in which to do it.
I strongly commend my friends, the Senator from Arkansas and the Senator from Minnesota, for their leadership on this terribly important issue.
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