Expressing Sense of House Regarding Prisoners of Conscience By Chinese Government for Their Involvement in Efforts to End Chinese Occupation of Tibet -- (Extensions of Remarks - February 04, 2004)
SPEECH OF
HON. FRANK R. WOLF
OF VIRGINIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2004
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 157 and strongly condemn the Chinese government for the continued detainment and torture of Tibetan political prisoners. I remain extremely concerned that men and women in China are routinely persecuted by the Chinese government. China has for too long been at liberty to detain, torture, intimidate and oppress its people.
The Tibetan people are denied basic human rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression and religious belief. Hundreds of Tibetans are currently in prison for peaceful expressions of political or religious belief. The majority of Tibetan political prisoners are Buddist monks and nuns.
Each year the situation in Tibet worsens. The unchecked migration of Chinese into Tibetan areas is resulting in social, economic and cultural destruction of Tibetans. His Holiness the Dalai Lama considers this demographic strategy the greatest threat to the survival of the Tibetan culture and identity. More than 6,000 monasteries and nunneries and their contents-irreplaceable jewels of Tibetan culture-have been destroyed since the Chinese occupation and thousands of monks and nuns have been kicked out of their monasteries for refusing to renounce the Dalai Lama.
The Chinese government routinely refuses to allow independent international human rights monitors, including U.N. human rights representatives, to conduct unhindered investigations into the human rights situation in Tibet. Religious freedom in Tibet is nonexistent.
Tibetans are routinely imprisoned for participation in-non-violent political activities, such as hanging flags or promoting independence. Prisoners serve lengthy sentences and are routinely mistreated and tortured while in prison. I visited Tibet in 1997 and was able to witness first hand the conditions there and the continued repression of the Tibetan people. I met with monks, nuns and Tibetans on the street who revealed to me how bad the conditions are in Tibet. I visited the prisons and heard first hand accounts of the brutality taking place deep in the shadows.
The following is a firsthand account of the arrest of Phuntsog Nyidron, a 20-year-old nun arrested in 1989 for peaceful demonstration in Lhasa. "During arrests nuns are kicked, beaten and given electric shocks on their hands, shoulders, breasts, tongue and face. During the interrogation, they are suspended by their hands, which are shackled behind their backs, for prolonged periods and beaten with iron rods."
As I close, 10 Catholic bishops are in China today under house arrest. The Protestant Church is being abused and beaten in China. The Falun Gong are being persecuted on a daily basis. The Chinese have plundered Tibet. America must do more to force China to adhere to fundamental human rights and religious freedom.
The clock is ticking for Tibet. If nothing is done, a country, its people, religion and culture will one day be lost.
END