************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 5113 Feb 25, 1993 ************************************************************** 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 IFCSS Vice President Testified Before the U.S. Congress On MFN and Human Rights (I) On February 24, IFCSS Vice President Heping Shi testified at a hearing conducted by the Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives. Using his own experience as well as those of two political prisoners, Tang Yuanjun and Chen Lantao, Heping Shi illustrated the current human rights situation in China and requested that human rights conditions be continually attached to China's MFN trade status. Also present at the hearing were Professor Fang Lizhi, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Assistant Secretary Winston Lord, Mike Jendrzejczyk from Asia Watch, President-elect of the US-China Business Council, and other members of Congress, delegates from the business community, and representatives of human rights organizations. The following is the complete text of Heping Shi's testimony. Selected excerpts of statements made by others at the hearing will follow this news release. ============================================================= Statement by Heping Shi Vice President, Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars February 24, 1994 Dear Mr. Chairman, Honorable Members of the Subcommittee on Trade, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am here today to request, on behalf of the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the U.S.A., that human rights conditions be continually attached to the renewal of China's MFN status. The recent economic boom in China has led some to question whether MFN should be conditioned on human rights. While my organization welcomes and applauds the efforts made by the Chinese government to move towards a market-oriented economy, it feels called upon to insist that significant improvement be made in regard to human rights as outlined in President Clinton's Executive Order. In the past, our organization has presented the U.S. Congress with ample evidence of human rights violations; today I will only present two individual cases, which I believe will speak volumes for the continued necessity of associating China's MFN status with its human rights situation. In addition, I have a number of letters to the U.S. government written by family members of political prisoners and I would like to ask the permission of Mr. Chairman that they be included in the records. Mr. Tang Yuanjun, a 36-year-old engineer, was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for"organizing a counter-revolutionary group" and "engaging in counterrevolutionary propaganda" in the wake of June 4th Massacre. In prison, he was repeatedly beaten and one of his ribs was broken. He contracted TB and hepatitis in the detention center in 1989 and, because of inadequate medical attention, is still suffering from the diseases. Mr. Tang's parents are in their sixties, his brother is paralyzed, and his daughter is six years old. The burden of supporting the whole family is now on his wife, who has pleaded to our organization to help make her voice heard. Mr. Chen Lantao, a graduate of Ocean University in Qingdao, was only 25 years old when he was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. His "crime" was "posting leaflets containing news from Voice of America" and "spreading rumors that 'army tanks dashed around Tian An Men Square.'" The only evidence listed in his indictment consisted of "two armbands made of black cloth and a diary." Eight other people were put in prison together with Mr. Chen. Among them was an 18-year-old who was also sentence to an 18-year term. Mr. Chairman, my organization fully understands the importance of the trade relations between the United States and China and is willing to work with the Chinese government as well as the U.S. government to bring about improvement in these relations. However, we also believe that the moral principle of safeguarding human dignity should not be compromised for economic contingencies. Unconditional renewal of China's MFN may result in higher profits for some U.S. corporations, but it will certainly not command respect for the United States as a country that claims to value human lives above everything else. As a footnote to my testimony, I would like to tell you my own story. Last week, I went to the Chinese Embassy to have my passport renewed. Having learned my name, the officer in charge told me that my passport would not be renewed unless I submitted "a written statement" on my involvement in the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars, which means that I had to express my repentance for the human-rights-related work in which our organization has been engaged. According to the officer, this requirement was set by the Department of Education of the P.R.C. Embassy in Washington DC. As a P.R.C. citizen, I do not know any law that gives a government agency at this level the power to deprive me of my right to a passport. It is ironic that while I am asking that human rights conditions be attached to China's MFN status, the embassy is attaching conditions to my passport renewal. This violation of my constitutional right may well reflect the overall human rights situation in China today. Thank you. ********************************************************************* * IFCSS Headquarters Office * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * President: Lin Changsheng Vice President: Shi Heping * * Exec. Director: Liu Xiaozhu Chief of Staff: Huang Songyun * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * PBS-L is IFCSS's news distribution list for individuals. To sign * * on or off from IFCSS E-mail mailing list, please send email to : * * listserv@ifcss.org * * leave the subject line open and put in the mail body: * * (For signing on) sub PBS-L last_name first_name * * (For signing off) unsub PBS-L last_name first_name * * * * For IFCSS Service Program: ftp: ifcss.org:/services * * * * For more information about IFCSS, write to ifcss-info@ifcss.org * *********************************************************************