CECC released its 2005 Annual Report

CECCs 2005 Annual Report

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has released its 2005 Annual Report, which is now available on the Commission's Web site - www.cecc.gov. The Commission finds no improvement overall in human rights conditions in China over the past year, and increased government restrictions on Chinese citizens who worship in state-controlled venues or write for state-controlled publications. The Commission notes that the Chinese government continued to pursue certain judicial and criminal justice reforms that could result in improved protection of the rights of China's citizens. The Commission's 20 Legislative and Executive Branch members approved the report by a vote of 18-1, with one Commissioner answering "present."

"This is an honest report that takes a comprehensive look at human rights and rule of law in China," said Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), the Commission's Chairman. "China's leaders will not achieve their long-term goal of social stability and continued economic development without building a future that includes human rights for all Chinese citizens. China's development will impact all of Asia, and the world. Respect for human rights must be part of that future," Hagel said.

"This report reflects the Commission's work throughout the year in deepening its understanding of the current state of human rights and the rule of law in China," said CECC Co-Chairman Representative James A. Leach (R-IA). "The report describes the areas in which more remains to be done to give the Chinese people the rights that the Chinese Constitution and laws guarantee to them," Leach said.

The report's 14 recommendations include calls for:

• Continuing U.S. support to international programs to build law enforcement capacity to prevent human trafficking in and through China, and new programs led by U.S.-based NGOs that focus on the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims.
  Funding for U.S. NGOs to help develop voluntary, independent social welfare projects and educational initiatives run by Chinese religious organizations.
  
• Chinese government engagement with the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance and a continuing dialogue with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
• Increased efforts to ensure that goods made in Chinese prisons do not enter the United States.
• New programs to educate China's minorities about their rights under China's Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law.

Congress created the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in 2000 to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The Commission is made up of nine Senators, nine House members and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President.