SRES55sMAR4

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending March 4, 2005

Senate Resolution 55 recognizing the contributions of the late Zhao Ziyang to the people of China.

BRIEF

Zhao Ziyang, who died on January 17, 2005, was Chinese Communist Party Secretary General during the democratic uprising in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China in 1989.

Mr. Zhao fell from grace in the Communist Party when he entered Tiananmen Square and warned student demonstrators of the imminent danger their demonstration was fostering. Mr. Zhao pleaded with the demonstrators to leave, they did not, the Chinese Army broke up the demonstration the next day leaving an undetermined number dead. Mr. Zhao was arrested and has remained under house arrest until his death last month. He was 85 years old.

The anniversary of the Tiananmen Square episode was the subject of a resolution last year. This resolution, coming nearly a month after Mr. Zhao’s death may have as much to do with developing concerns about the People’s Republic of China as it does Mr. Zhao’s death. Recently, the US learned that England, Italy, Germany and France have increased weapons sales to China (TWIC Feb 11)and that the European Union may well lift the arms embargo that it and the US levied on China in protest of the Tiananmen Square killings. Coupling China’s installation of surface-to-surface missiles faced at Taiwan and Congress’ reaffirmation to protect Taiwan through the Taiwan Relations Act, this resolution may be the beginning of a good bit of saber rattling by Congress.

Sponsor: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent. (Mar. 2, 3005)

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

Recognizing the contributions of the late Zhao Ziyang to the people of China.

Whereas leading reformist and former Chinese Communist Party Secretary General, Zhao Ziyang, died under house arrest in China on January 17, 2005, at the age of 85;

Whereas Zhao implemented important agricultural, industrial, and economic reforms in China and rose to the prominent positions of premier and Secretary General within the Communist Party despite criticisms of his capitalist ideals;

Whereas, in the early summer of 1989, students gathered in Tiananmen Square to voice their support for democracy and to protest the Communist government that continues to deny them that democracy;

Whereas Secretary General Zhao advised against the use of military force to end the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square;

Whereas, on May 19, 1989, in Tiananmen Square, Zhao warned the tens of thousands of students clamoring for democracy that the authorities were approaching and urged them to return to their homes; an action that illustrated his sympathy for their cause;

Whereas Zhao was consequently relieved of all leadership responsibilities following his actions in Tiananmen Square that summer and was placed under house arrest for the remaining years of his life;

Whereas the Government of China remained indecisive regarding a ceremony for Zhao for several days before allowing a relatively modest ceremony at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, where Zhao was cremated on January 29, 2005;

Whereas the Government of China's fear of civil unrest resulted in the prohibition of political dissidents and others from the funeral, and the thousands who were in attendance were surrounded in an intimidating environment without adequate time to mourn and grieve;

Whereas news of Zhao's death was announced only in a brief notice by the Communist government and was forbidden to be covered by the radio or national television, while eulogies were erased by censors from memorial websites;

Whereas, upon the announcement of Zhao's death, Chinese news agencies were certain to reference the `serious mistake' committed by Zhao at what they refer to as a political incident in 1989;

Whereas mourning the death of Zhao in the Hong Kong Legislative Council was deemed unconstitutional and lawmakers in Hong Kong were refused the opportunity to observe a moment of silence in honor of his life;

Whereas the death of Zhao has renewed the desire of certain Chinese people for a reassessment of the crackdown in 1989 in order to acknowledge the merit of pro-democracy student demonstrations and complaints of government corruption; and

Whereas Zhao will continue to serve as a symbol of the dreams and purpose of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration, which survived the Tiananmen massacre but which have still not been realized for the people of China: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) recognizes that Zhao Ziyang made an important contribution to the people of China by providing assistance to the students in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and that through this contribution and his decisions to actively seek reform, Zhao remains a symbol of hope for reform and human rights for the people of China;

(2) expresses sympathy for Zhao's family and to the people of China who were unable to appropriately mourn his death or to celebrate his life;

(3) calls on the Government of China--

(A) to release all prisoners of conscience, including those persons still in prison as a result of their participation in the peaceful pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989; and

(B) to allow those people exiled on account of their activities to return to live in freedom in China; and

(4) stands with the people of China as they strive to improve their way of life and create a government that is truly democratic and respectful of international norms in the area of human rights.