First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. R990896.01 Jeff
Conway
STATE OF COLORADO
BY SENATORS Lamborn, Andrews, Congrove, Hillman,
Musgrave, and Tebedo
SENATE RESOLUTION 99-010
CONCERNING TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED DURING THE VISIT
TO DENVER OF THE PREMIER OF CHINA.
WHEREAS, On April 10 and 11, 1999, the premier of
China, Zhu Rongji, will visit the Denver area and will meet with
Governor Bill Owens and Denver Mayor Wellington Webb; and
WHEREAS, There are three issues of concern to Coloradans
regarding our nation's relations with China: The ongoing suppression
of Chinese human rights by the government; the steady and dangerous
transfer of militarysensitive technology to the Chinese
military; and the disturbing role of Chinese nationalists in a
largescale attempt to influence an American presidential
election; and
WHEREAS, During the 1992 presidential campaign, candidate
Bill Clinton decried the Bush Administration=s
policy of separating human rights violations from trade policy
regarding China, yet President Clinton has pursued just such a
policy; and
WHEREAS, Recently, the Chinese government has stepped
up its effort to monitor and suppress "social groups",
the first such coordinated effort since the Tiananmen massacre
ten years ago; and
WHEREAS, The Chinese government continues to pursue
its policy of arresting, harassing, and torturing members of the
religious community who worship outside of official Chinese churches;
and
WHEREAS, The Chinese government continues to pursue
its policy of coercive family planning practices, including the
practices of forced abortion and forced sterilization; and
WHEREAS, While it appears the policy of both the
United States and China is to look the other way regarding Chinese
human rights violations for the sake of trade, it also appears
that China is not sincere about free and fair trade between the
countries, because China exports four times more goods to the
United States than it imports and the trade deficit is estimated
to exceed $60 billion this year; and
WHEREAS, An alarming series of defense technology
transfers to China has taken place in recent years, most notably
the theft of nuclear secrets from the Los Alamos National Laboratory,
which has created serious and lasting threats to our national
security; and
WHEREAS, Recently, the House Select Committee on
U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the
People's Republic of China unanimously approved its report that
found that China has engaged in a plan, through both espionage
and the exploitation of trade and export policies, to steal militarily
sensitive hightechnology equipment and knowhow that
directly threatens our nation's security; and
WHEREAS, Such newlydeveloped missile technology
possessed by the Chinese and shared with the North Koreans threatens
to destabilize the region, escalate tensions, and undermine our
Asian allies and American interests; and
WHEREAS, Congressional investigations into the conduct
of the 1996 presidential campaign exposed a system rife with abuse
and vulnerable to foreign influence and traced the illegal funneling
of campaign money through persons associated with foreign governments,
primarily the People's Republic of China; and
WHEREAS, Such investigations were hampered because
many of the most knowledgeable witnesses to this illegal campaign
funding fled the country or asserted their Fifth Amendment right
against selfincrimination; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixtysecond
General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
(1) That the Senate urges Governor Owens
and Mayor Webb to raise the aforementioned issues with Premier
Zhu Rongji during his visit to Denver.
(2) That the Senate urges Governor Owens
and Mayor Webb to underscore the importance of meaningful trade
relationships that take into account how a trading partner respects
the human rights of its own people.
(3) That the Senate urges Governor Owens
and Mayor Webb to underscore the importance of maintaining the
integrity of our nation's advanced technology that we rely upon
to buttress our systems of defense and to strengthen our national
security.
(4) That the Senate urges Governor Owens
and Mayor Webb to underscore the importance of an increased national
resolve to resist attempts by a foreign government to collect
our military secrets or to influence our elections.
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to Governor Bill Owens, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, all members of the Colorado congressional delegation, and the President of the United States.