PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 15, 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China or Tibet should adhere to certain principles (known as the Harry Wu Principles). Declares that they should: (1) suspend the use of any merchandise that they have reason to believe was produced by convict or forced labor, and refuse to use forced labor in their projects; (2) seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, or association with dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal of an individual employed in the industrial cooperation project; (3) ensure that methods of production used in the projects do not pose unnecessary danger to workers and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment; (4) strive to use business enterprises that are not controlled by the government of China; (5) prohibit any military presence on the premises of the project; (6) promote freedom of association and assembly among the employees of the U.S. national; (7) urge the government of China to disclose a complete list of those individuals arrested since March 1989, end incommunicado detention and torture, and provide international observers access to places of detention in China and Tibet and to trials of prisoners arrested in connection with the pro-democracy events of April through June, 1989, and the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tibet since 1987; (8) discourage or prevent compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on project premises; (9) promote freedom of expression of all kinds; and (10) prevent harassment of workers who decide freely the number and spacing of their children, and prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of the project. Directs the Secretary of State to forward a copy of these principles to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and encourage them to promote similar principles. Directs each U.S. national conducting an industrial cooperation project in China or Tibet to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles.
People & committees
Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · R–NJ
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Jan 23, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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