Melody in Prison: Ngawang Choephel
	UPDATE 23 March 2000

At a press conference held today in Washington, D.C., Senator Patrick Leahy released the following statement.

I strongly support the Administration's decision to sponsor a Resolution condemning China's human rights practices at the 56th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission. In January, shortly after the Administration announced its decision to move forward on this initiative, Senators Hutchinson, Wellstone and Kennedy joined me on a letter to President Clinton urging him to vigorously solicit cosponsors and pursue adoption of the Resolution. there is a great deal of work to be done in the coming weeks to raise this issue at the highest levels in countries around the world and to achieve our goal in Geneva.

From China's continued repression of political dissent, to restrictions on freedom of religion, to the persecution of ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang, the importance of such a Resolution this year is abundantly clear.

The State Department and human rights organizations have documented a steady deterioration in all aspects of China's human rights record. As it seeks a greater role in the global community, China should be obligated to defend its actions on human rights in an international forum. It is my hope that the European Union and other key governments will come forward as cosponsors, not only to ensure that this occurs in Geneva, but in defense of the universal right to basic freedoms that millions of people under Chinese rule are now denied.

It is ironic that at the same time China has agreed to submit itself to the international rules of the World Trade Organization, it has failed so egregiously to abide by international human rights norms. Passage of the Resolution in Geneva would send a strong signal that progress needs to be made on all fronts and that wherever they occur, the United States and the international community will not stand by silently as human rights are systematically violated.

Finally, I want to call attention to a case that is of particular concern to me and many of my constituents. Ngawang Choephel, a Tibetan and former Fulbright Scholar at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, was arrested by Chinese authorities on September 15, 1995 while he was in Tibet making a film on traditional music and dance. He was tried in secret and sentenced to 18 years in prison for espionage. The Chinese Government has never produced a shred of evidence that Ngawang engaged in any political or illegal activity. However, recent information from Chinese officials indicates that he has suffered from bronchitis, hepatitis and pulmonary infection. Ngawang's case is illustrative of the terrible hardships that Tibetans and others have endured under the Chinese regime.