Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 18:21:48 -0400 Reply-To: IFCSS HQ Sender: "China-Net (The Coordination Network for IFCSS)" From: IFCSS HQ Subject: IFCSS NR-4042: Senator Gorton's Speech on S1216 ************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 4042 September 29, 1992 SENATOR SLADE GORTON'S SPEECH ON S1216 ************************************************************** Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) 733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 440, Washington, D.C.20005 Tel. (202)347-0017 Fax: (202)347-0018 Email: ifcss@wam.umd.edu Senator Slade Gorton's Speech on S1216 ====================================== (Excerpts) Sept. 24, 1992 Note by IFCSS: Senator Slade Gorton is the sponsor of S1216, the Gorton Chinese Student Protection Act. Without the tremendous efforts he has made, the bill would never have become reality. IFCSS urges all the Chinese students in this country, particularly those in Senator Gorton's home state, Washington, to express, through news media or letters directly addressed to his office, our appreciation to him. The following passages are taken from Senator Gorton's speech on the Senate floor. All the examples he used were provided by IFCSS HQ. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. President: Last night the Senate passed the Gorton Chinese Student Protection Act which I introduced on June 4, 1991, two years after the bloody massacre at Tiananmen Square. I would like to begin my remarks by first thanking Senators Kennedy and Simpson for their assistance and support of this measure, and Congressman Barton from Texas, and Congresswoman Pelosi of California, for their efforts in the House of Representatives. Without their efforts and particularly those of Michael Meyers with Senator Kennedy and Curtis Hom, formally with my staff, this legislation would have only remained a dream for the thousands of Chinese nationals who will benefit from it. I would also like to request unanimous consent that the full text of S.1216, the Gorton Chinese Student Protection Act, be inserted into the Record following my remarks. ... Shen Tong is a yound Chinese national who, for the past 3 years, has been a student at Boston University. He is slightly built, with a look of sharp intelligence etched on his features. He stands tall and straight, and moves quickly, with purpose. ... But Shen Tong, in spirit if not in body, was with the students [in Beijing] in both cases, defying oppression, demanding freedom. And because of those activities and sympathies, we know where Shen Tong is now, Mr. President. He is in detention in China. He left Boston several weeks ago to return to his home, responding to intimations by the Chinese Government that returning students would be treated fairly and without retribution for their parts in the protests of 1989. ... Shen Tong's terrifying experience has only increased the anxiety of those student dissidents currently residing in the United States. Mr. President, last night Congress passed legislation which will address the fear and uncertainty that must grip those Chinese students remaining in the United States since the Tiananmen massacre. Unwilling either to return home to the type of faithless promises that met Shen Tong, and yet unable, legally, to go forward with their lives, schooling, or careers here in America, these young people have been in a 3-year limbo. There is the young Chinese student who writes that he has been seeking employment here as an actuarial in the insurance industry, a position that requires only a B.S. in mathematics and passing an actuarial exam. This young man holds a B.S. in mathematics, an M.S. in statistics, an M.S. in operations research, has passed four actuarial exams, and has been unable to find even an entry level position in more than a year of searching. Why? Most American companies have policies that correctly give hiring priority to American citizens or permanent residents. There is no prioritization category for those with indeterminate status. His story is validated by another recent graduate, this one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who tells of the frustration of being unable to sign up for on-campus interviews with the vast majority of American companies who, again, require the minimum status of permanent resident for even preliminary consideration of employment. ... Mr. President, if we doubt the sincerity of these people's fears and frustrations, be aware that I purposely did not identify any of them---at their request. They anxiously await the time when they may freely and publicly speak out for the cause of democracy in China without fear that in so doing, they might one day to be forced to return to that country before it is safe to do so. Permanent residency will provide the safety net to let them fight for their country of birth without fear of eventual retribution. ... The Chinese Student Protection Act will increase the pressure on the Chinese Government to encourage the return of their best and brightest, and to keep their promises of safety and freedom--- including intellectual freedom---for those who choose to return. Because for every Shen Tong who is imprisoned, there will be a Chinese student who chooses to remain in the United States. For every promise broken by the Chinese Government, our Government will extend the promise of democracy, a promise that the students know will not be broken. China cannot withstand this kind of self-imposed purge of the most talented of its young generation. To draw them back, they must behave honorably, for we will have given the students an alternative---to become Americans, where their freedom is ensured, and where their ideals and love of democracy are welcomed as the foundation of our culture. ... Mr. President, the Chinese Student Protection Act is designed to assist China as it moves into the modern world by insisting that they treat their citizens with dignity and truth or risk losing them. We do not wish to steal away China's premier citizens without cause. But China should make no mistake: this country would be privileged and proud to have as citizens the likes of Shen Tong. ... In the memory of Wang Wei Lin, and for the cause of Shen Tong, I congratulate and thank the Members of this body for their bi- partisan efforts, and urge the President to immediately sign the Chinese Student Protection Act into law. *************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters Office Signature ***************************************************************