Calling on the international community to condemn the Laogai, the system of forced labor prison camps in the People's Republic of China, as a tool for suppression maintained by the Chinese Government.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 294) calling on the international community to condemn the Laogai, the system of forced labor prison camps in the People's Republic of China, as a tool for suppression maintained by the Chinese Government, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution which calls for the condemnation of the vast Laogai labor system of more than 1,000 prisons, camps and mental institutions maintained by the government of the People's Republic of China, and of the use of forced labor as an integral part of China's economy.

I would note parenthetically that, back in 1992, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and I gained access to one of those prison camps, Beijing Prison Camp Number 1, a horrible place where 40 Tiananmen Square activists were being punished for their peaceful activities. Hundreds of others were also imprisoned there for political, religious and other alleged crimes. The place reeked of cruelty and sadness and was a nightmarish insight into the dark soul of the Chinese Communist dictatorship. Today, sadly, the Laogai continues its cruelty unabated.

Indeed, the continued operation of this network of Stalinist camps within

China's borders raises grave questions about Beijing's commitment to engage in reform even after it seeks to be recognized as a leader among the community of nations.

The Laogai, which was created by the Chinese Communist party under Mao Zedong and modelled after the Soviet Gulag system, serves the one- party dictatorship as a tool to maintain control of a population yearning to be free. The Laogai system has tormented more than 50 million people since its founding and still contains as many as 4 million prisoners today. It not only provides the government a source of cheap labor, it also serves to instill fear in its citizens lest they be forced to go through ``reeducation'' through hard labor and compulsory political indoctrination.

The low cost of maintaining these prisons provides additional incentive for the PRC to continue its use of the Laogai system. The use of slave labor to manufacture a product for export as an integral part of its economy represents not only a violation of international law and labor standards but represents an unfair trade practice which widens the trade deficit and threatens American jobs.

As is so common in authoritarian regimes, the PRC represses freedom of religion and expression through this system of more than 1,000 prisons. As we know, Mr. Speaker, these prisoners are given no legal rights and are often tortured in order to induce confessions. All Laogai prisoners are forced to labor in order to remake them as new socialist persons. New arrivals are subjected to immediate, daily, lengthy interrogation sessions and forced to admit their ``crimes.'' These sessions may last days, weeks and even months. In some cases, they last years. If a prisoner resists, he or she is tortured.

The horrifying trade in human organs from China is the latest development of the Laogai system. The organs of more than 1,000 executed prisoners have reportedly been harvested for money. In the 1990s and to the year 2005, as part of the series of about 24 Congressional hearings that I have chaired on human rights abuses in China, I conducted one extraordinary hearing on this grizzly business. In that hearing, with the help of the great Harry Wu, a survivor of the Laogai himself, we heard from a former PRC police officer who testified and brought compelling proof as to how prisoners were shot, but not killed, and moved to awaiting ambulances to begin the process of removing their organs for transplantation.

The practice reminded me and many others in that hearing of the atrocities committed by the infamous Nazi, Dr. Joseph Mengele.

Despite numerous human rights treaties, Mr. Speaker, to which the PRC is a signatory, the government continues to use the Laogai as a means to suppress groups such as the Falun Gong and other religious believers, but in the case of the Falun Gong, up to 50 percent of the Laogai prisoner population is made up of those individuals.

Cyber dissidents and journalists are increasingly being crushed by the Laogai system as well. As in the case of Shi Tao, a journalist who is now serving a 10-year forced labor sentence at a jewelry factory attached to the Chishan prison for sending an e-mail through his Yahoo account warning journalists of the dangers of social destabilization and the risks of return of certain dissidents on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

I point out to my colleagues, and I hope that each and every one of you will read this, there is a very, very strong statement on torture by the U.N. rapporteur on torture who has just finished his report, Manfred Nowak.

He said that the abuse of suspects and prisoners remains widespread. His report describes some of the torture methods used by China's police and prison officers to extract confessions and maintain discipline: Emersion in sewage, sleep deprivation, cigarette burns and beating with electric prods. Not surprisingly, Mr. Nowak also accused the Chinese officials of systematically interfering with his investigations.

Victims and family members were intimidated by security personnel during the visit, placed under surveillance or instructed not to meet with Mr. Nowak. Among the prisoners, Mr. Nowak said he observed ``a palpable level of fear and self-censorship'' that he had not seen in missions in other countries.

One cannot be optimistic given recent events, but killings by gunfire last week of at least 20 residents in the village of Dongzhou in southern China by Beijing's security forces is further evidence that China has a long way to go in achieving the rule of law.

The cold-blooded murder of these villagers protesting over land use and the corruption demonstrates clearly that, 16 years after Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao's famous dictum that ``all political power comes from the barrel of the gun'' is still the credo of Beijing's leaders.

Those among our friends in Europe who seek removal of an arms embargo against China should reflect on the use of guns and bullets to kill the innocent villagers in Dongzhou and to keep 4 million inmates, many prisoners of conscience, locked up in the vast Laogai system.

This resolution sends a strong message, and I urge its passage.

Special Rapporteur on Torture Highlights Challenges at End of Visit to

China

Introduction

Beijing, 2 December 2005.--The Special Rapporteur of the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights on torture and

other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

concluded a two-week visit to the People's Republic of China

(PRC) today.

Nearly a decade after the initial request, the visit to the

PRC by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture,

Manfred Nowak, finally materialised from 20 November to 2

December, and included visits to Beijing, Lhasa, Tibet

Autonomous Region (TAR) and Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur

Autonomous Region (XUAR). The long-awaited visit of the

Special Rapporteur on Torture to China has its origins in a

1995 request by the then Special Rapporteur, Sir Nigel

Rodley, for an invitation to carry out a fact-finding visit.

The Government responded in 1999 with an invitation for a

``friendly visit'' in May 2000, however, differences between

the Government and the Special Rapporteur on the standard

methodology for country visits by United Nations human rights

experts (including unannounced visits to detention centres

and private meetings with detainees) prevented it from being

realized. In spring 2004, the Government extended an

unconditional invitation to the then Special Rapporteur, Theo

van Boven, for a two-week visit in June of that year, which

was then postponed by the Government. Upon Manfred Nowak's

appointment as Special Rapporteur on Torture in December

2004, the Government of China renewed its invitation for a

visit in 2005, accepting his Terms of Reference.

The mission's aim was two-fold: fact-finding and starting a

process of cooperation aimed at the common goal of

eradicating torture in the PRC.

The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his deep

appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in

particular Dr. Shen Yongxiang, Special Representative on

Human Rights Affairs, and his team for their professionalism,

cooperation, and shared commitment to the objectives of the

mission. The Special Rapporteur credits the Ministry for its

great efforts in ensuring that the mission proceeded as

smoothly as possible and that his Terms of Reference were in

principle respected. All meetings with detainees were carried

out in privacy and in locations designated by the Rapporteur.

No request for a meeting or interviewing of a particular

individual was refused. Prison staff were generally

cooperative. The Special Rapporteur was also able to meet

with a number of individuals outside of his official

programme, notwithstanding the obstructions elaborated upon

below.

While visits were also planned for Jinan in Shandong

Province and Yining in the XUAR, the Special Rapporteur

sincerely regrets that he had to cancel these visits due to

time constraints, and expresses his gratitude to the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs and the respective leaderships of Shandong

Province and Yining Autonomous Prefecture for accommodating

these last minute changes to the programme.

While in Beijing, the Special Rapporteur met with

Government officials, including the Assistant Foreign

Minister, the Vice Ministers of Justice and Public Security,

the Deputy Procurator-General, as well as prominent members

of civil society including the All China Lawyers'

Association, the Beijing Lawyers' Association, China

University for Political Science and Law, Renmin University,

Tsinghua University, Beijing University, the Chinese Academy

of Social Sciences, and the Beijing Child Legal and Research

Centre. Meetings were also held with individual lawyers,

human rights defenders, academics, and members of the

diplomatic corps and UN country team. In Lhasa and Urumqi,

the Special Rapporteur met with local officials including

from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Court, the

Procuratorate, and Departments of Justice and Public

Security.

In Beijing, the Special Rapporteur visited the Municipal

Detention Centre, Prison No. 2

(twice), and the Municipal Women's Re-education Through

Labour (RTL) Facility. In Lhasa he visited Lhasa Prison,

Tibet Autonomous Region Prison (also known as Drapchi

Prison), and the recently-opened Qushui Prison. In Urumqi, he

visited Prison Nos. 1, 3, and 4, as well as the Liu Dao Wan

Detention Centre. In all facilities, the Special Rapporteur

met with prison management and interviewed detainees in

private.

Particular circumstances of the fact-finding mission

The Special Rapporteur feels compelled to point out that

some Government authorities, particularly the Ministries of

State Security and Public Security, attempted at various

times throughout the visit to obstruct or restrict his

attempts at fact-finding. The Special Rapporteur and his team

were frequently under surveillance by intelligence personnel,

both in their Beijing hotel as well as in its vicinity.

Furthermore, during the visit a number of alleged victims and

family members were intimidated by security personnel, placed

under police surveillance, instructed not to meet the Special

Rapporteur, or were physically prevented from meeting with

him.

Prison officials imposed their own working hours as limits

for interviews which curtailed the number of facilities that

could be visited and the number of detainees interviewed. The

Special Rapporteur and his team were also prevented from

bringing photographic or electronic equipment into prisons.

Furthermore, in contrast to his previous country visits,

the Special Rapporteur was unable to obtain a letter of

authorization from the relevant authorities to visit

detention centres on his own. Consequently, officials from

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied him to detention

centres in order to ensure unrestricted access. As the

authorities were generally informed an hour in advance, the

visits could not be considered to have been strictly

``unannounced.'' Nonetheless, this practice significantly

improves upon the modalities employed in previous visits

to China of Special Procedures of the Commission on Human

Rights.

In his interviews with detainees, the Special Rapporteur

observed a palpable level of fear and self-censorship, which

he had not experienced in the course of his previous

missions. A considerable number of detainees did not express

a willingness to speak with the Rapporteur, and several of

those who did requested absolute confidentiality.

Under these conditions and taking into account the size and

complexity of China as well as the limited duration of the

mission, the Special Rapporteur acknowledges the limitations

in drawing up a comprehensive set of findings and conclusions

on the situation of torture and ill-treatment in China.

situation of torture and ill-treatment

The Special Rapporteur recalls that over the last several

years his predecessors have received a significant number of

serious allegations related to torture and other forms of

ill-treatment in China, which have been submitted to the

Government for its comments. These have included a consistent

and systematic pattern of torture related to ethnic

minorities, particularly Tibetans and Uighurs, political

dissidents, human rights defenders, practitioners of Falun

Gong, and members of house-church groups. These allegations

have been and continue to be documented by international

human rights organizations.

The methods of torture alleged include, among others:

beatings; use of electric shock batons; cigarette burns;

hooding/blindfolding; guard-instructed or permitted beatings

by fellow prisoners; use of handcuffs or ankle fetters for

extended periods (including in solitary confinement or secure

holding areas), submersion in pits of water or sewage;

exposure to conditions of extreme heat or cold, being forced

to maintain uncomfortable positions, such as sitting,

squatting, lying down, or standing for long periods of time,

sometimes with objects held under arms; deprivation of sleep,

food or water; prolonged solitary confinement; denial of

medical treatment and medication; hard labour; and suspension

from overhead fixtures from handcuffs. In several cases, the

techniques employed have been given particular terminologies,

such as the ``tiger bench'', where one is forced to sit

motionless on a tiny stool a few centimeters off the ground;

``reversing an airplane'', where one is forced to bend over

while holding legs straight, feet close together and arms

lifted high; or ``exhausting an eagle'', where one is forced

to stand on a tall stool and subjected to beatings until

exhaustion. On the basis of the information he received

during his mission, the Special Rapporteur confirms that many

of these methods of torture have been used in China.

Although he cannot make a detailed determination as to the

current scale of these abuses, the Special Rapporteur

believes that the practice of torture, though on the

decline--particularly in urban areas--remains widespread in

China. Indeed, this is increasingly recognized by Government

officials and reports. According to the 2005 Supreme People's

Procuratorate's (SPP) report to the National People's

Congress presented on 9 March 2005, covering the year

2004), 1595 civil servants had been investigated for

suspected criminal activity in cases involving ``illegal

detention, coercion of confessions, using violence to

obtain evidence, abuse of detainees, sabotaging elections,

and serious dereliction of duty resulting in serious loss

of life or property.'' The report goes on to note that

this is a 13.3 percent increase over the previous year's

totals and that the SPP personally investigated 82 of the

most serious cases. When compared with other national

statistics, these official figures are clearly the tip of

the iceberg in a country the size of China and demonstrate

that most victims and their families are reluctant to file

complaints for fear of reprisal or lack of confidence that

their complaints will be addressed effectively.

efforts by the government to combat torture

In recognizing the problem, the Government has undertaken a

number of measures to tackle torture. In August 2003, the

Minister of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang, issued a set of

unified regulations on the standardization of law-enforcement

procedures for public security institutions entitled,

``Regulations on the Procedures for Handling Administrative

Cases'', including procedures defining police powers in

respect of time limits for confiscation of property, legal

means for gathering evidence, time limits on investigation

and examination of suspects, etc. In 2004, the Ministry

issued regulations prohibiting the use of torture and threats

to gain confessions. The Supreme People's Procurotorate

announced that eliminating interrogation through torture

would be a priority of their work agenda and has instructed

procurators that confessions obtained as a result of torture

cannot form a basis for the formal approval of arrests and

that prosecutors must work to eliminate illegally obtained

evidence.

In addition to initiatives at the central level, the

Zhejiang provincial Public Security Department issued

regulations on forced confessions stating that local police

chiefs will be expected to resign in any district where there

are more than two cases of forced confessions resulting in

injuries, miscarriages of justice or public order problems.

In mid-April 2005, Sichuan law enforcement and judicial

authorities issued a joint opinion that prohibits the use of

illegally obtained evidence, such as coerced confessions in

criminal trials, and requires courts to exclude coerced

statements and confessions if police cannot provide a

rational explanation of the alleged coercion or refuse to

investigate allegations of abuse.

Practical measures to combat torture have included piloting

systems of audio and video recording in interrogation rooms,

strengthening representation during the investigative and

pre-trial phase of the criminal process by placing lawyers on

a 24-hour basis in pilot police stations, designing

interrogation rooms which separate suspects from

interrogators, and placing resident procurators in places of

detention and near public security bureaux to supervise law

enforcement personnel.

The Special Rapporteur also observes positive developments

at the legislative level including the planned reform of

several laws relevant to the criminal procedure, which he

hopes will bring Chinese legislation into greater conformity

with international norms, particularly the fair trial

standards contained in the International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights (CCPR) which China signed in 1998 and is

preparing to ratify. He also welcomes the resumption by the

Supreme People's Court (SPC) of its authority to review all

death penalty cases, particularly given the fact that the

quality of the judiciary increases as one ascends the

hierarchy. The Special Rapporteur suggests that China might

use the opportunity of this important event to increase

transparency regarding the number of death sentences in the

country, as well as to consider legislation that would allow

direct petitioning to the SPC in cases where individuals do

not feel that they were provided with adequate relief by

lower courts in cases involving the use of torture, access to

counsel, etc.

Need for further efforts to prevent and address torture

The Special Rapporteur notes that China was among the first

States to ratify the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) in

1988, which requires States parties to take measures for the

prevention of torture and to punish every act of torture with

appropriately serious penalties. Although Chinese law

prohibits gathering evidence through torture and provides for

punishment of those guilty of torture, the Chinese definition

of torture does not fully correspond to the international

standard contained in CAT. In particular, physical or

psychological torture that leaves no physical trace is

difficult if not impossible to punish with appropriate

penalties in China (indeed, the Chinese word for torture,

``kuxing,'' principally connotes physical torture).

Combating torture in China is further impeded by the

absence of essential procedural safeguards necessary to make

its prohibition effective, including: the effective exclusion

of evidence from statements established to be made as a

result of torture; the presumption of innocence; the

privilege against self-incrimination; timely notice of

reasons for detention or arrest; prompt external review of

detention or arrest; granting of non-custodial measures, such

as bail; the right of habeas corpus; and timely access to

counsel and adequate time and facilities to prepare a

defence.

Other serious shortcomings are the lack of an independent

monitoring mechanism of all places of detention and a

functional complaints mechanism. A number of authorities have

pointed out that mechanisms exist in

China for individuals to report instances of torture,

particularly procurators, some of which are resident in

prisons and near police stations. However, the Special

Rapporteur believes that it is difficult to rely on the

vigilance of procurators whose interest in convicting

suspects as charged might compromise their ability to oversee

the police and prison guards. In addition, procurators

encounter many difficulties in practice to exercise their

supervisory role, including because detainees are afraid to

report instances of torture to them.

During his mission, the Special Rapporteur noted the

inefficiency of current complaint mechanisms. He was

informed, for example, that in Prison No. 4 in Urumqi, the

procurators have not received a single torture complaint

during the last decade. In the Tibetan Autonomous Region,

he was told that no complaint had been received since 2003

and in the Beijing Municipal Detention Centre, none were

received since its establishment in June 2004. In the

Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, two cases of torture

were established by the courts since 2000, and in the

Tibet Autonomous Region one such case had been confirmed.

The Deputy Procurator-General of the PRC informed the

Special Rapporteur that only 33 law enforcement officials

had been prosecuted for torture throughout the country

during the first nine months of 2005.

Indeed, an important element in combating torture is

judicial oversight. However, China lacks an independent

judiciary, and the judiciary suffers from relatively low

status in comparison to other State organs. Without a court

system that judges cases fairly and independently according

to law, thereby redressing grievances in a timely manner, the

problem of torture cannot be brought under effective control,

particularly in a context where police exercise wide

discretion in matters of arrest and detention and are under

great pressure to solve cases.

Forced re-education as a form of inhuman and degrading treatment

The Special Rapporteur also pointed to conceptual or

ideological constraints to the effective implementation of

the prohibition of torture. The criminal justice system is

focused on admission of culpability, and the role of

obtaining confessions continues to be central to successful

prosecutions. In fact even after persons, who have not

confessed to an offence, have been convicted and sentenced,

these persons are subject to restrictions within prison, such

as limited restricted access to telephone or visiting

privileges until they confess, or are provided the incentive

of a reduced sentence if they confess. Moreover, the system

as such places a strong emphasis on change and re-education

of the criminal, and the acceptance of punishment.

Societies that have been successful in establishing a human

rights culture differ from others in the degree of tolerance

of the majority towards those whose behavior deviates from

standard moral and social norms. This right to be different,

which finds its legal expression in the human rights to

privacy, freedom of expression, religion, assembly and

association, lies at the very heart of any democratic

society. These freedoms and political rights were not enacted

to protect conformist behavior, but non-conformist behavior.

Under international human rights law, Governments are only

permitted to interfere with the expression of political

opinions, religious convictions, moral values or minority

views when they constitute incitement to hatred or violence

or a direct threat to national security or public safety in

the country. A system of State surveillance of citizens with

non-conformist views and with severe punishments for such

``deviant behavior'', such as Re-Education through Labour

(RTL), seems to be incompatible with the core values of a

society based upon a culture of human rights and leads to

intimidation, submissiveness, self-censorship and a ``culture

of fear'', which interferes with the right not to be

subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

Every society has the right, and indeed is required by

article 10 of the CCPR, to assist convicted criminals during

their prison term through vocational training, education, and

measures aimed at ensuring their equal access to the labour

market in order to become law-abiding citizens. However,

efforts aimed at the rehabilitation and re-socialisation of

persons who committed crimes should be clearly distinguished

from forms of deprivation of liberty aimed at the forceful

re-education of human beings with deviant behaviour through

labour and coercion.

The system of RTL in China and similar methods of re-

education in prisons and even in pre-trial detention centres

go well beyond legitimate rehabilitation measures and aim at

breaking the will of detainees and altering their

personality. Such measures strike at the very core of the

human right to personal integrity, dignity and humanity, as

protected by Articles 7 and 10 of the CCPR, as well as

articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. RTL constitutes not only a

serious violation of the human right to personal liberty, but

must also be considered as a systematic form of inhuman and

degrading treatment or punishment, if not torture. RTL and

similar measures of forced re-education in prisons, pre-trial

detention centres and psychiatric hospitals should therefore

be abolished.

circumstances surrounding capital punishment

The Special Rapporteur also expressed concern about the

circumstances surrounding the death penalty, including the

situation of prisoners on death row. At the Beijing

Municipality Detention Centre, where the Rapporteur spoke

with prisoners sentenced to death at first instance and

awaiting appeal, he noted that these prisoners were

handcuffed and shackled with leg-irons weighing approximately

3kg, 24 hours per day and in all circumstances (Le. including

during meals, visits to the toilet, etc). Prison officials

indicated that the average length of appeal was two months.

This practice is reportedly based on a nation-wide regulation

for detention facilities. When questioned by the Special

Rapporteur on the reasons for the handcuffs and shackles

around the clock, prison officials indicated that this was

necessary for their own safety, the security of others, to

prevent them from fleeing, and to prevent suicide. However,

in the Liu Dao Wan Detention Centre in Urumqi, death row

prisoners were ``only'' shackled and not handcuffed. In the

opinion of the Special Rapporteur this practice is inhuman

and degrading and serves only as an additional form of

punishment of someone already subjected to the stress and

grievance associated with having been sentenced to death. The

Special Rapporteur also expressed concern at the high number

of crimes for which the death penalty can be applied. He

encouraged the Government to both narrow its scope and to be

more transparent towards family members and the public at

large regarding its use; including by making statistics on

the death penalty public information.

Recommendations to the Government of the PRC

Among his key preliminary recommendations to the

Government, the Special Rapporteur recommended:

Reform the criminal law by adding the crime of torture in

accordance with the definition contained in CAT (Art. 1) with

appropriate penalties.

Ensure that the reform of the criminal procedure law

conforms to ICCPR fair trial provisions, including by

providing for the following: the right to remain silent and

the privilege against self-incrimination; the right to cross-

examine witnesses and the effective exclusion of evidence

extracted through torture.

Reform the criminal justice system by transferring several

functions of the procurators to the courts, for example,

authorization of detention and supervision of the police.

Allow lawyers--particularly criminal defense lawyers--to be

more effective in representing the rights and interest of

their clients including through involvement at the earliest

stages of police custody and pre-trial detention.

Abolish Section 306 of the Criminal Law, according to which

any lawyer who counsels a client to repudiate a forced

confession, for example, could risk prosecution.

Take measures to enhance the professionalism, efficiency,

transparency, and fairness of legal proceedings; and raise

the status and independence of judges and courts within the

Chinese legal system.

Reduce the number of pre-trial detainees by enlarging the

use of noncustodial measures such as bail.

Establish an independent complaints mechanism for detainees

subject to torture and ill-treatment.

Accept the right of individual petition to the Committee

against Torture and its competence to initiate an inquiry

procedure in accordance with Articles 20 and 22.

Abolish imprecise and sweeping definitions of crimes that

leave large discretion to law enforcement and prosecution

authorities such as ``endangering national security'',

``disrupting social order'', ``subverting public order,''

etc.

Abolish ``Re-Education through Labour'' and similar forms

of forced reeducation of detainees in prisons and pre-trial

detention centres and psychiatric hospitals.

Bring conditions on death row into conformity with the

right of detainees with humane treatment.

Limit the scope of the death penalty by abolishing it for

economic and nonviolent crimes.

Utilize the opportunity of the planned restoration of

Supreme Court review for all death sentences to publish

national statistics on the application of the death penalty.

Establish a national human rights institution in accordance

with the Paris Principles. The United Nations Commission on

Human Rights and General Assembly have adopted a set of

guiding principles on the role, composition, status and

functions of national human rights institutions commonly

known as the Paris Principles. Commission on Human Rights

Resolution 1992/54 of March 1992 and General Assembly

Resolution A/RES/48/134 of 20 December 1993. With the

authority to carry out unannounced visits to all places of

detention.

Ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against

Torture.

Ratify the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

That OHCHR provide support to the above through its

technical cooperation programme within the framework of the

recent MOU signed between the High Commissioner for Human

Rights and the Chinese Government.

The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation to the

Government for inviting him to visit the country and looks

forward to a long-term process of cooperation with the

Government to combat torture and ill-

treatment. He also expresses his appreciation for the support

of the UN Country Team in China, and the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Special Rapporteur will submit a comprehensive written

report on the visit to the UN Commission on Human Rights at

its sixty-second session in 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank my good friend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his very eloquent statement. This is an issue that very few Americans, very few lawmakers are really aware of, and it is about time the gross cruelty of the Laogai become much more well-known and action needs to be taken.

Mr. Speaker. I am attaching an exchange of letters between Chairman Hyde and Chairman Thomas concerning H. Con. Res. 294 ``Calling on the international community to condemn the Laogai, the system of forced labor prison camps in the People's Republic of China, as a tool for suppression maintained by the Chinese Government'' for insertion into the Congressional Record.

Committee on Ways and Means,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, December 13, 2005.

Hon. Henry J. Hyde,

Chairman, Committee on International Relations, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Hyde: I am writing in regard to H. Con. Res.

294, which is scheduled for floor consideration on Wednesday,

December 14, 2005. The second clause of the resolution

relates to the use of prison labor in China.

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means has

jurisdiction over matters concerning imports. The second

resolved clause calls on the Government of the United States

to fully implement its laws prohibiting the importation of

products made in Chinese forced labor camps, and thus falls

within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means.

However, in order to expedite this resolution for floor

consideration, the Committee will forgo action on this

resolution. This is being done with the understanding that it

does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to

the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional

prerogatives on this or similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H. Con. Res. 294, and

would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this

matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration.

Best regards,

Bill Thomas,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I want to commend my friend from New Jersey for his eloquent and powerful statement.

It was my great pleasure, Mr. Speaker, to join my good friend and colleague, my co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) in introducing this important measure regarding China's continued use of forced labor.

Mr. Speaker, the horrendous treatment of prisoners of conscience in China's legal system is legendary. Courtrooms are closed to families. Defense lawyers are imprisoned if they defend their clients vigorously. And the judges themselves make their decisions based on orders from the Communist Party, not based upon the law or the facts of the case.

The other failure of the Chinese State to allow freedom of expression and religion is only exacerbated by the treatment of prisoners upon their arrival in forced labor camps. Prisoners of conscience are forced to work under horrendous, life-threatening conditions for years on end, often with little or no contact with their families.

Thanks to the groundbreaking work of former political prisoner, our friend Harry Wu, we now have documentation that political prisoners have been forced to labor in dangerous mines and in toxic chemical factories with no protective clothing. Other prisoners of conscience are forced to work on assembly lines for up to 18 hours a day, generating cheap clothing and other products destined for sale in the United States and other developed Nations.

Despite two different agreements between the United States and China on the forced labor issue in the early 1990s, prison labor products continue to flow into our Nation and are sold by some of America's largest retailers.

It is also important to remember, Mr. Speaker, that many people are dispatched to the Laogai prison labor system without any trial whatsoever. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong members have been sent involuntarily to psychiatric institutions and other labor camps. Upon arrival, they have been subjected to forced labor, cruel beatings, violent torture, and even death.

Mr. Speaker, our resolution once again puts Congress firmly on record against the Laogai prison labor system, and it demands that the Chinese open up their prisons and work camps to international inspectors. Our resolution also calls on the United States to aggressively implement laws prohibiting the importation of forced labor products.

Mr. Speaker, the existence of the Soviet Gulag is now acknowledged as one of the darkest chapters of modern Russian history. When the history of Communist rule in China will be written, maybe 50 years from now, China's Laogai prison labor system will undoubtedly be treated as a tragic and despicable act perpetrated by the Chinese leadership upon the people of China.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was granted a leave of absence for December 16-17, 2005, due to a medical treatment. I would like to state for the record that had I been present, I would have voted the following:

Rollcall 642: Motion to close portions of the Defense Authorization Conference to the Press and Public when matters of National Security are under consideration--Yea.

Rollcall 643: Skelton Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1815-- National Defense Authorization Act for FY06--Yea.

Rollcall 644: Previous Question on Rule for H. Res. 612--Yea-- Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq.

Rollcall 645: Adoption of Rule for H. Res. 612--Yea--Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq.

Rollcall 646: Adoption of Rule for H.R. 4437--Yea--Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005.

Rollcall 647: H. Con. Res. 294--Yea--Calling on the international community to condemn the Laogai, the system of forced labor prison camps in the People's Republic of China, as a tool for suppression maintained by the Chinese Government.

Rollcall 648: Final Passage of H. Res. 612--Yea--Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq.

Rollcall 649: H. Res. 409--Yea--Condemning the Government of Zimbabwe's ``Operation Murarnbatsvina''.

Rollcall 650: H. Res. 575--Yea--Providing that Hamas and other terrorist organizations should not participate in elections held by the Palestinian Authority.

Rollcall 651: H. Res. 534--Yea--Recognizing the importance and credibility of an independent Iraqi judiciary in the formation of a new and democratic Iraq.

Rollcall 652: Spratt Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 4241-- Deficit Reduction Act of2005--NAY.

Rollcall 653: Goodlatte/Herseth Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 654: Stearns Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 655: Sensenbrenner Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 656: Norwood Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 657: Westmoreland Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 658: Gonzalez Amendment--NAY.

Rollcall 659: Sullivan Amendment--Yea.

Rollcall 660: Democrat Motion to Recommit--NAY.

Rollcall 661: Final Passage of H.R. 4437--Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005--Yea.

Rollcall 662: H. Res. 598--Condemning actions by the Government of Syria that have hindered the investigation of the assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri conducted by the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission--Yea.

Rollcall 663: Adoption of the Rule providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules--Yea.

Rollcall 664: H.R. 2520--Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005--Yea.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Hyde and Ranking Member Lantos for expediting the consideration of H. Con. Res. 294, which condemns the Laogai prison system in China. I would also like to thank the 44 cosponsors of this resolution.

This system of over 1,000 prisons, camps and mental institutions serves as one of the Chinese Communist Party's main tools of political and religious repression. Chinese citizens held in these prisons have no right to due process, no trial, and are often arrested because of their political or religious views. Thousands of pro-democracy activists, Internet dissidents, labor activists, and religious and spiritual believers, including Han Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and ``house church'' Christians are languishing in the Laogai today.

The conditions in the Laogai prisons are abysmal. The system is based on a philosophy of reform through labor. Prisoners are forced to work extremely long hours in shocking conditions that often result in serious injury and even death.

In direct violation of several international treaties of which China is part, the Laogai prisoners are used as free labor to generate products sold on the international market. Next time you buy a product made in China, know that it may have been made by a Laogai prisoner in slave-like conditions.

Even more horrifying is the regular organ harvesting conducted in the prisons. Last week the deputy health minister of China even admitted to this horrific practice. Thousands of foreign patients and Chinese citizens receive organs harvested from Laogai prisoners. Can you imagine receiving an organ cut from someone arrested and killed because of their religious faith?

The Laogai prisons are truly modern day gulags.

I especially want to thank Harry Wu for his work in raising awareness about the Laogai system. Harry knows the system all too well, after spending 19 years behind bars in the Laogai after he was arrested because of his political beliefs. Harry has been courageous and relentless in his advocacy for human rights in China.

I am hopeful that this resolution will bring light to this abysmal system and urge a unanimous vote in support.

Mr. Speaker, on December 16, 2005, I was absent from several votes for personal reasons. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall vote No. 642 (Motion to close portions of the Defense Authorization Conference to the Press and Public when matters of National Security are under consideration): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 643 (Rolled Vote on Skelton Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1815): ``No''; Rollcall vote No. 644 (Previous Question on Rule for H. Res. 612): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 645 (Adoption of Rule for H. Res. 612): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 646 (Adoption of Rule for H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 647 (Rolled Suspension Vote on H. Con. Res. 294): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 648 (Final Passage of H. Res. 612): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 649 (Rolled Suspension Vote on H. Res. 409): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 650 (Rolled Suspension Vote on H. Res. 575): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 651 (Rolled Suspension Vote on H. Res. 534): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 652 (Spratt Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 4241): ``No''; Rollcall vote No. 653 (Goodlatte/Herseth Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 654 (Stearns Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 655 (Sensenbrenner Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``No''; Rollcall vote No. 656 (Norwood Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 657 (Westmoreland Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 658 (Gonzalez Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``No''; Rollcall vote No. 659 (Sullivan Amendment to H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; Rollcall vote No. 660 (Motion to Recommit with Instructions): ``No''; Rollcall vote No. 661 (Final Passage of H.R. 4437): ``Aye''; and Rollcall vote No. 662 (Rolled Suspension Vote on H. Res. 598): ``Aye''.