House Resolution Demands China End Human Rights Abuses Before Games

July 31, 2008 8:45 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The U.S. House approved a resolution on Wednesday asking China to correct its poor human rights record before next week's Olympics Games.

The measure, HR 1370, passed by a vote of 419-1 a day after Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) revealed that he obtained a document from China's Public Security Bureau ordering hotels in Beijing to install monitoring technology to "spy on and censor visitors and journalists who will be in China for the Olympic Games."

In remarks after the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) condemned China's violation of its pledge to promote the Olympics spirit of "a peaceful society," and its position to "support the genocidal regime in Sudan and the military junta in Burma."

"With passage of this resolution, the House will speak with one voice about the conditions in China and Tibet on the eve of the Olympic Games... In exchange for the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games, the Chinese government made commitments on freedom of the press, human rights, and on the environment. Many of these commitments have been violated repeatedly and blatantly," Pelosi said.

Pelosi also urged the President, who will be attending the opening ceremonies of the Games, to use his "tremendous leverage" to speak against China's human rights abuses and "the barriers to U.S. products going into China, about the dangers that are hoisted upon our children and the American people by the lack of safety in the production of food."

Brownback accused China on Wednesday of planning to spy on the online activities of Olympics visitors, particularly journalists and human rights advocates. He added that "web pages of certain human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, are to be off limits to people using the Internet in China."

In response to the House resolution, Olympics spokesman Sun Weide said in Beijing, "We have made it very clear that we oppose any attempts to politicize the Games. Regarding the human rights, preparations for the Beijing Games have promoted the social and economic progress in China, especially in Beijing, and such preparations have brought about better understanding between China and the world," according to Xinhua.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao also told Xinhua that the resolution was an attempt to "interrupt and sabotage" the Games and that the United States should keep the ""odious conduct" of its anti-China lawmakers in check.

Beijing hosts the Olympic Games for the first time from August 8 to August 24.