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105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 967
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prohibit the use of United States funds to provide for the
participation of certain Chinese officials in international
conferences, programs, and activities and to provide that certain
Chinese officials shall be ineligible to receive visas and excluded
from admission to the United States.
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 967
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prohibit the use of United States funds to provide for the
participation of certain Chinese officials in international
conferences, programs, and activities and to provide that certain
Chinese officials shall be ineligible to receive visas and excluded
from admission to the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President should make
freedom of religion one of the major objectives of United States
foreign policy with respect to China. As part of this policy, the
Department of State should raise in every relevant bilateral and
multilateral forum the issue of individuals imprisoned, detained,
confined, or otherwise harassed by the Chinese Government on religious
grounds. In its communications with the Chinese Government, the
Department of State should provide specific names of individuals of
concern and request a complete and timely response from the Chinese
Government regarding the individuals' whereabouts and condition, the
charges against them, and sentence imposed. The goal of these official
communications should be the expeditious release of all religious
prisoners in China and Tibet and the end of the Chinese Government's
policy and practice of harassing and repressing religious believers.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF CERTAIN
CHINESE OFFICIALS IN CONFERENCES, EXCHANGES, PROGRAMS,
AND ACTIVITIES.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
fiscal years after fiscal year 1997, no funds appropriated or otherwise
made available for the Department of State, the United States
Information Agency, and the United States Agency for International
Development may be used for the purpose of providing travel expenses
and per diem for the participation of nationals of the People's
Republic of China described in paragraphs (1) and (2) in conferences,
exchanges, programs, and activities:
(1) The head or political secretary of any of the following
Chinese Government-created or approved organizations:
(A) The Chinese Buddhist Association.
(B) The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
(C) The National Congress of Catholic
Representatives.
(D) The Chinese Catholic Bishops' Conference.
(E) The Chinese Protestant ``Three Self'' Patriotic
Movement.
(F) The China Christian Council.
(G) The Chinese Taoist Association.
(H) The Chinese Islamic Association.
(2) Any military or civilian official or employee of the
Government of the People's Republic of China who carried out or
directed the carrying out of any of the following policies or
practices:
(A) Formulating, drafting, or implementing
repressive religious policies.
(B) Imprisoning, detaining, or harassing
individuals on religious grounds.
(C) Promoting or participating in policies or
practices which hinder religious activities or the free
expression of religious beliefs.
(b) Certification.--
(1) Each Federal agency subject to the prohibition of
subsection (a) shall certify in writing to the appropriate
congressional committees no later than 120 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, that it
did not pay, either directly or through a contractor or
grantee, for travel expenses or per diem of any national of the
People's Republic of China described in subsection (a).
(2) Each certification under paragraph (1) shall be
supported by the following information:
(A) The name of each employee of any agency of the
Government of the People's Republic of China whose
travel expenses or per diem were paid by funds of the
reporting agency of the United States Government.
(B) The procedures employed by the reporting agency
of the United States Government to ascertain whether
each individual under subparagraph (A) did or did not
participate in activities described in subsection
(a)(2).
(C) The reporting agency's basis for concluding
that each individual under subparagraph (A) did not
participate in such activities.
(c) Definition of Appropriate Congressional Committees.--For
purposes of this section the term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 3. CERTAIN OFFICIALS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA INELIGIBLE
TO RECEIVE VISAS AND EXCLUDED FROM ADMISSION.
(a) Requirement.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
national of the People's Republic of China described in section 2(a)(2)
(except the head of state, the head of government, and cabinet level
ministers) shall be ineligible to receive visas and shall be excluded
from admission into the United States.
(b) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirement in subsection
(a) with respect to an individual described in such subsection if the
President--
(1) determines that it is vital to the national interest to
do so; and
(2) provides written notification to the appropriate
congressional committees (as defined in section 2(c))
containing a justification for the waiver.
SEC. 4. SUNSET PROVISION.
Sections 2 and 3 shall cease to have effect 4 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives November 6, 1997.
Attest:
Clerk.
Pages: 1 Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
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