Senate Proceeding on Apr 23rd, 2009 :: 3:06:05 to 3:15:30
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3:05:49 to 3:06:09( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: recognize that has to be a part of that look-back. and so i would -- i would find myself amendment because it ought to be part of the look-back and, therefore, i would urge my colleagues to support that amendment along with the kohl amendment and the schumer amendment that has been offered. and with colleagues from north dakota and utah anxious to speak, and i

3:06:05 to 3:15:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan

3:06:10 to 3:06:30( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: mr. dorgan: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: well, madam president, let me colleague from connecticut, and let me also thank my colleague from utah for his forbearance so that i might make a few comments. i appreciate the courtesy of senator hatch. madam president, i am chairman of the congressional executive

3:06:31 to 3:06:51( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: commission on china and i wanted to say just a few words and ask that it be placed in the morni business section of today's record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan bil dorgan: i want to say a few words about china and a very courageous man in china who we believe now is in a chinese prison and likely believe he is being tortured and i think it's very important for our country

3:06:52 to 3:07:12( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to speak out about this issue. let me say first there are many thoughtful and independent people in china today who understand the importance of human rights, individual rights, the importance of legal institutions. some -- a few -- work for the chinese government. many wor at universities. many are with u.s. companies and law firms. they care about the rule of law.

3:07:13 to 3:07:34( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: they work with our agencies in our country on food safety, improving safety for coal miners and others. those are the folks in china who get it. there are independent men and women in china who also take a different appach. they apply what they know about the law and rights in a very aggressive way and they choos to send the alarm when the rights of vulnerable people are violated.

3:07:35 to 3:07:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and they do so at great, great risk. they defend the interests of consumers whose children are poisoned by powdered milk. they help the families of earthquake victims. they represent the rights of illegally detained tibetan monks. they stand up for their country and its people. and for doing this, they are claimed to be enemies of the state. so who are the enemies of the state?

3:07:57 to 3:08:20( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: i want to tell you about one m today, a man that is very courageous. a man named gaox jur jing. his wife is visiting washington, d.c. today, and i want to tell you about him because it is so important for me to do so. this is a photograph of courageous lawyer from china gao jurjing.

3:08:21 to 3:08:43( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: his son, his wife, his daughter. he disappeared 80 days ago, has not been heard from. we know that two years ago he was arrested by the chinese secret police and put in prison and tortured. tortured with electric shock and other devices i won't describe. what was his transgression then? he wrote an open letter to the united states congress asking us

3:08:44 to 3:09:06( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to pay some attention to the lack of human rights that existed in for writing an open letter to members of the united states congress in 2007, gao jurjing, one of the most dismoatd distinguished human rights -- noted and distinguished human rights lawyers in china was imprisoned for 58 days and brutally tortured.

3:09:07 to 3:09:27( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: now, in 2009, he was detained 80 days ago by ten members of the secret police in china and has not been heard from since. let me tell y what his transpired. mr. gao jurjing has represented some of the most vulnerable people in china. they include christians, coal miners and

3:09:28 to 3:09:49( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: others. he always believed in the power of law, using the law to battle corruption, to overturn illegal property seizures, to expose police abuses, to defend religious freedom. he's a devout christian. he fought to protect those who engage in peaceful spiritual and religious practice in china. and in 2005, they took away his license to practice law, closed

3:09:50 to 3:10:10( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: his law practice. as i said, arrested him, threw him in prison and tortured him. eventually he was released and brought back home and placed under police surveilnce at home. the surveillance proved almost harsher than prison. in fact, a member of the communist police moved into their living room, prevented his

3:10:11 to 3:10:32( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: daughter from going to school, his 16-year-old daughter barred from attending schools. 24-hour surveillance. the treatment for that family in recent months was so brutal that they decided their survival depended on escaping china. but gao was too closely monitored and could not think of leaving them without pla family at great, great risk.

3:10:33 to 3:10:53( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and so in january, gao's six-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter were smuggled out of china. they then traveled to the united states. and after his family fled china 80 days ago, ten security agents took gao from his bed and he hasn't been seen or heard from since.

3:10:54 to 3:11:14( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: now, we know this situation is extremely grave because we know what the chinese have done to him in their prison system previously. they have not offered the slightest word about his whereabouts, despite the repeated denials by united nations agencies. we know he was seized by ten agents of the chinese government government.

3:11:15 to 3:11:35( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and our government, foreign governments, n.g.o.'s and the media have all asked for information about this courageous human rights lawyer. and the chine government has said nothing. chinese government has signed or ratified most of the international human rights commitments that require it to come clean about mr. gao. and i call on and we call on

3:11:36 to 3:11:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: today the chine government to allo a lawyer, access to his family and to publicly state and justify the grounds for the continued detention of this courageous person. the right to speak freely and the right to challe government, all of these are enshri constitution, yet it appears the

3:11:57 to 3:12:18( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: chinese government and the communist party that runs that government upholding the violation of these basic constitutional rights in the case of mr. gao. as i indicated, i am chairman of the congressional executive committee on china. we have the largest and the most significant repository of those who are imprisoned in china

3:12:19 to 3:12:39( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: based on human rights violations and other issues, those who are being held in chinese prisons, we have the largest repository of information about all of them. there are many today that languish in dark cells cells of chinese prisons, just because they spoke out to defend the rights of others. none have done

3:12:40 to 3:13:01( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: mr. gao, who is a noted and celebrated human rights lawyer, who has lost his law office, lost his license, been imprisoned now twice, has now been disappeared into the prison system, we expect is we need to put a stop to it. we need to find a way to convince the chinese government to tell us what has happened to

3:13:02 to 3:13:23( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: mr. gao, what have they done with him, how do they justify it and when, when, when will they tell us that they will release this man to be with his family and begin to accord people like mr. gao and others who stand up for the rights of others same human rights that we would expect them to be given? china will be a significant part of our future. i understa

3:13:24 to 3:13:45( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: my -- my plea today with respect to china is to ask the government of right thing with respect to this courageous and brave man. and as i indicated, his wife is with us today washington, d.c. and i am not permitted to point her out but she too is a very courageous woman and she would like very much to have this courageous

3:13:46 to 3:14:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: man, her husband, released detention in china and be given his freedom. the presiding offi senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: i want to thank our colleague if north dakota. we're in the middle of debates on mters here, but -- and i know it's taking time away from the discussion at hand, but this is a -- this is a very valuable contribution my colleague has

3:14:08 to 3:14:29( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: it made only be on one fearnlings but i think when we speak -- one family, but i think when we speak up on behalf of one individual, such as mr. gao, we do so for a lot of other people across the globe who face the same kind of restrictions he's going through. and i want to join with him in expressing our concern, urge my colleague to maybe craft a letter of some kind we might be able to send to the ambassador here in washington or to the

3:14:30 to 3:14:52( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: appropriate governmental permits or agencies in -- personalities or agencies in china to express our collective concern on this. i'm the second ranking member of the foreign relations committee and i have a deep interest in what he's talking about so i thank him immensely for tak few minutes this afternoon to address this issue. and as the senator points out, we aren't allowed to recognize people who are in the chamber listening to these remarks but let it be said that there is an

3:14:53 to 3:15:18( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: these remarks who is the wife of this individual and we thank for her courage, her family's courage and we will do everything we can colleague from north dakota's efforts here particular case. mr. dorgan: madam president, let me be -- the presiding officer: north dakota. mr. dorgan: i know the senator from utah will be recognized. i do want to say that this week and again tomorrow i will -- or later today i will be

3:15:20 to 3:15:31( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: here to talk roxana saberi who's imprisoned in iran. constituent of mine. roxana saberi, my thoughts and prayers are with her and her