Calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to respect the human rights of refugees from North Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding, and I want to take a moment and thank Chairman John Tanner, as well as of course Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Chairman Lantos for their support in bringing this bill to the floor of the House of Representatives.

I would also like to thank Congresswoman Diane Watson. She is the coauthor of this resolution, and in August Congresswoman Watson and myself traveled to South Korea as Chair and vice-Chair of the U.S.- Republic of Korea Interparliamentary Exchange. We also had an opportunity to go to North Korea at that time. In Seoul, South Korea, we held a day-long discussion with our counterparts in the National Assembly there in South Korea and took part in a forum of parliamentarians from across the globe. We had parliamentarians there from seven different countries to discuss the plight of North Korean refugees, and this resolution is a product of those discussions and what we learned from the defectors that we talked to, and we listened to the defectors during these hearings.

Mr. Speaker, we're all too familiar with the miserable human rights conditions in North Korea, and I would just remind the Members of this body of reports by the State Department and NGOs that paint a very grim picture.

There is a total denial of political, civil, and religious liberties. There is no dissent or criticism allowed of Kim Jong-Il. The media is tightly controlled there by the regime.

Severe, severe physical abuse is inflicted on any citizen who violates these laws and restrictions. NGOs describe a system of concentration camps. They say this is akin to the Soviet gulags, and they house somewhere up to 200,000 inmates.

Food shortages are a regular problem because the regime distributes food based on perceived loyalty and, of course, favors the ruling elite and the military.

This dismal state has led a large number of North Koreans, perhaps as many as 300,000, to cross into China. There they seek food, and they're looking for work, and hopefully from their standpoint, they're looking for resettlement in South Korea. It is thought that nearly 75 percent of these refugees are women, and according to the NGOs that study this problem, 90 percent of those women end up trafficked.

In northeast China, North Korean refugees live in constant fear of being rounded up by Chinese authorities, and this despite the international obligations that China is supposed to keep.

China forcibly repatriates these refugees; and for many of them, it's effectively a death sentence. Some are shot on the spot. Some go to these concentration camps or work camps. Many of them live out their lives in these concentration camps.

The Government of North Korea deems leaving their country a crime, in some cases a capital offense. If not that, the expense is the gulag.

China's mistreatment of these refugees is not new but has really intensified, according to the State Department, in the last couple of years. During 2006, several thousand North Koreans were forcibly detained and forcibly returned to North Korea, the State Department reports.

As part of its stepped-up campaign of repatriation, Chinese authorities reportedly also have established new detention centers along the border with North Korea to accommodate greater numbers of North Korean prisoners prior to the repatriation. The Congressional- Executive Commission on China, on which I serve, recently released its annual report finding that during the past 1 or 2 years the Chinese Government has intensified its efforts to forcibly repatriate North Korean refugees, in part as security preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games.

These refugees deserve better. Certainly, Kim Chun-hee did. Ms. Kim is a North Korean woman in her 30s who sought refuge at a school in Beijing in December of 2005, only to be repatriated, this despite attempts by the United States and others to raise her case to the Chinese Government to convince the Chinese Government not to do this. To this day it is not known whether she was executed or whether she is still alive.

There are thousands of similar stories. Those associated with humanitarian groups who assist North Korean refugees in northeast China are also targeted by Chinese officials, and this includes U.S. citizens. Last month, American businessman Steve Kim was released from a Chinese prison after serving 4 years. His supposed crime was helping North Korean refugees who had escaped their homeland and were hiding in China hoping to make their way to South Korea.

Mr. Kim, who recently spoke on Capitol Hill about his experiences, recounted, ``When I was in prison, I saw North Korean defectors who I shared the prison cell with beaten to a pulp by prison guards.'' Now, this is in China. This is before they are sent back to North Korea. We have documented the kind of treatment they get when they are sent back.

This resolution sends a strong message to Beijing. This practice must stop. Specifically, the resolution calls on China to honor its obligations under the 1951 U.N. convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol, and to honor that by halting the forced repatriation of these refugees, terminating the practice of automatically classifying all North Korean border crossers as illegal economic migrants and granting the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees unfettered access to get into these areas to see these refugees.

China is signed up to respect refugees. It is past time for them to live up to the protocols they have signed to do this. The human rights situation in North Korea is a nightmare. These human rights abuses are worthy of this House's attention, because North Koreans are suffering. Two million were killed at the hands of this regime over this last decade. They also tell us something about the regime we are expecting to carry out commitments under the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. It tells you something about this regime.

I will quote Andrei Sakharov, the Soviet dissident who once said, ``A country that does not respect the rights of its own people will not respect the rights of its neighbors.'' Teeing off that quote, Jay Lefkowitz, the State Department's Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, wrote in The Wall Street Journal last year, ``North Korea is a prime example of a regime that doesn't respect either. It wouldn't have surprised Sakharov that a government that inflicts on its citizens repression reminiscent of the most cruel totalitarian rulers of the 20th century is today counterfeiting U.S. currency, trafficking in narcotics, building a nuclear arsenal, and threatening other nations.''

In testimony last week before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill reported that he is moving the ball forward with North Korea in respect to disabling their nuclear program. I hope he is right. Part of the February agreement to do so involves a U.S. commitment to move toward full diplomatic relations with North Korea.

The administration insists that it still has a clear eye on the North Korea human rights situation. However, the Congressional Research Service reports that Ambassador Hill increasingly has linked normalization of U.S.-North Korean relations solely to a satisfactory settlement of the nuclear issue. This body must let it be known that relations with North Korea will be far from normal as long as North Korea continues to treat its people as we have heard about today.

I urge the passage of this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 234) calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to respect the human rights of refugees from North Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume in speaking on behalf and in support of this resolution.

I would first like to thank our colleague, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, Ed Royce of California, for introducing this resolution.

North Korea is quite literally, as we know from satellite images, one of the darkest places on Earth. One can see that when these images are taken from space at night. It has an underdeveloped economy which cannot supply even the most basic utilities. People there live under this darkness.

It's well-known that the North Korean regime regularly uses imprisonment, forced labor, torture and execution to intimidate the people into submission. Therefore, many try to flee their country each year, thousands crossing into northeastern China.

Some are driven by starvation or desperate poverty. Some flee because they fear persecution for their thoughts and beliefs.

I would say that given this situation most North Koreans, given the choice, would leave. So the regime clamps down ruthlessly to stop this flow of refugees.

Yet, the sad fact is that those who successfully make it may face further human rights abuses by the Government of the People's Republic of China. Beijing is fearful of attracting too many refugees. So it tries to disincentivize the North Koreans.

The government sometimes imprisons these people who cross into China; and in an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under the United Nations Conventions and Protocols that govern the status of refugees, to which the PRC is a signatory, China falsely labels North Korean refugees as economic migrants.

This cynical excuse Beijing uses to thwart the legitimate needs of these refugees will not allow the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees access to northeastern China to assess the welfare of the North Koreans who are there.

The disturbing truth is that those in China go to great lengths to attract North Korean refugees through sex and labor trafficking.

H. Con. Res. 234 calls on Beijing to stop this awful charade and live up to its moral and legal obligations. It further demands that China stop repatriating North Korean refugees; that it honor the United Nations Conventions and honor the status of refugees; and that it provide unfettered access to the U.N. High Commissioner on this subject.

Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution.

North Korea is quite literally one of the darkest places on Earth. Satellite images show us that North Korea at night is covered in an eerie black, in sharp contrast to the bright lights emanating from the lively, modern cities that dot the rest of North East Asia.

This dramatic image is stark evidence of North Korea's backwards, underdeveloped economy, which cannot supply even the most basic utilities.

But it is also a cold reminder of the horrific conditions that the North Korean people, who live under the cover of this darkness, must endure.

It is well known that the North Korean regime regularly uses imprisonment, forced labor, torture, and execution to intimidate the people of North Korea into submission.

It is no wonder that so many North Koreans attempt to flee their country. Each year, thousands and thousands cross the border into Northeastern China.

Some are driven by starvation or desperate poverty. Some flee because they fear persecution for their thoughts, beliefs, or simply because a member of the regime has arbitrarily labeled them a risk.

Pyongyang knows that given the choice most North Koreans would leave, and so the regime clamps down ruthlessly to try and stop the flow, making an already dangerous trek even more perilous.

Yet, the sad fact is that those who successfully brave the hazards of the border crossing face further human rights abuses by the government of the People's Republic of China on the other side.

Beijing is fearful of attracting too many refugees, and so it brutally tries to create disincentives for North Korean refugees.

The government imprisons North Koreans who cross into China, subjecting them to terrible conditions and abuse, only to repatriate them to North Korea, where they face likely torture or execution.

In an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under the United Nations Conventions and Protocols that govern the status of refugees, to which the PRC is a signatory, China falsely labels North Korean refugees ``economic migrants.''

Using this cynical excuse Beijing stubbornly refuses to provide for the legitimate needs of these refugees and will not allow the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees access to Northeastern China to assess the welfare of North Koreans there.

The disturbing truth is that there are those in China who go to great lengths to attract North Korean refugees, through sex and labor trafficking.

H. Con. Res. 234 calls on Beijing to stop this awful charade, and live up to its moral and legal obligations. It demands that China stop repatriating North Korean refugees, that it honor the United Nations Conventions that govern the status of refugees, and that it provide unfettered access to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees so that these people who have suffered so terribly can finally receive the protection and fair treatment they so richly need and deserve.

I strongly support this resolution and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Moran of Virginia.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony that was held for His Holiness the Dalai Lama earlier this month served to remind us all once again that the Chinese leadership has a long way to go before it becomes a responsible stakeholder in the international community.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the callous disregard of Beijing of its international treaty obligations with regard to refugees, both North Korean and Tibetan.

The international press has reported incidents of Chinese border guards shooting and killing both North Korean and Tibetan refugees as they sought to flee China. These reprehensible acts must stop at once.

Earlier this month, Beijing demonstrated once again its continued contempt for the international refugee conventions. Chinese police entered the South Korean international school in Beijing to drag North Korean refugees from their hiding places. North Korean refugees had sought sanctuary there.

In the process, the Chinese police roughed up South Korean diplomats who were sent by their government to assist these refugees.

I call on Beijing to act in accordance with the international refugee conventions that it has signed and to end the disrespect that it has shown toward the diplomats of a major ally of the United States.

This resolution, put forward by my good friend, Ed Royce of California, is particularly timely and essential with the approach of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Olympic hosts should not include oppressors of refugees.

The forced repatriation of North Korean refugees is both irresponsible and immoral. If ever there was a refugee population who faced the immediate threat of persecution upon return to their homeland, it is the tens of thousands of North Korean refugees now hiding in China.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, must also do a much better job in holding Beijing accountable for its reckless disregard of its obligations. If Beijing does not begin to address this urgent issue in a

responsible way, then there should be dire consequences.

Television viewers around the world next summer could possibly see on their screens the scene of a North Korean woman with her baby seeking safe haven in an athletes' dormitory at the Olympic village as Chinese police ruthlessly pursue her.

This resolution, therefore, Mr. Speaker, is of vital importance for the reaffirmation of our commitment to the protection of refugees and, most importantly, for the North Korean refugees themselves.

I rise in strong support of Mr. Royce's resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the author and the sponsor of this resolution, Mr. Royce of California.

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

I thank Mr. Royce for bringing up this issue.

Mr. Speaker, it's terribly important, it's all about man's inhumanity to mankind. Here China envisions itself becoming a superpower in the 21st century, hosting the world's Olympics.

We, in the United States, are buying tens of billions of dollars of goods from China. China has the opportunity to take its place among the nations of the world that matter, that do the right thing, that lead us into the future. What a terrific opportunity for China to show that it has a moral fiber, that it knows right from wrong, that it is not an amoral totalitarian state.

It knows, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the horrific conditions within which the North Korean people exist today, barely surviving. Yet, out of total desperation, when they are able to escape North Korea, do the Chinese help? No. They make it worse. It's as though they have escaped from some purgatory into hell where they get beaten up by the Chinese and then sent back to North Korea, probably to be executed.

This is a situation that just cries out for people around the world to speak up. I appreciate the fact that Mr. Royce has given us that opportunity in the House of Representatives today.