The Congressional-Executive Commission on China was created by Congress in October, 2000, as a compromise between the Executive and Legislative branches a result of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China (PNTR) legislation vote in Congress.

In 2002 the Commission published its annual report, below is the letter wrote by Mr. Wei to members of Commission in responds to its first annual report.

View the
Executive Summary
(Chinese - HTML / PDF)
要点摘要中文翻译版

View the
Complete Report
(English - Adobe PDF)

Web Address:

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China

http://www.cecc.gov

October 2, 2002

To: Commissioners of The Congressional-Executive Commission on China

Dear ladies and gentlemen of CECC,

My name is WEI Jingsheng. I am the leading advocate for Chinese human rights and democracy. For that, I spent more than 18 years in Chinese jail. Now I am in exile in the US and still working for the cause of Chinese human rights and democracy.

I always consider you as friends of ours in the same profession. We (i.e. NGO's and hundred thousands Chinese people) expect you to talk fairly on the behalf of the oppressed and exploited Chinese people. However, your year long work has made us disappointed but the dictators in Beijing rests assured, and even consider as a victory for Jiang Zemin's ruling circle's successful maneuver in its diplomatic strategy. Your report has strengthened Jiang Zemin and the Communist one party dictatorial ruling over China.

Although every point merits a thoughtful discussion, yet I will not waste too much time on that. I will point out on the basic standing ground of your 2002 report to call your attention.

According to my understanding, the purpose for setting up this commission is not to propaganda about benefits that Chinese communist's one party ruling system had brought to the Chinese people. This is a work that all ruling parties know how to do, especially a totalitarian party, which forbids the right of free speech. They could only have done too much in that regard. There is no point for the US government to spend money to help the Chinese communists to propagate. However, the matter of fact is that Chinese generally think that the Chinese Communist Party has created far more suffering than benefits. Yet they do not have the freedom to express such opinion in China. Thus, they hope the investigation of your commission could express some just and accurate words to speak up for them, the one-fourth of the world population. Good and kind American people are willing to help this with their tax money; this is the duty for the members of this commission.

Obviously, you did not realize your basic duty - monitoring Chinese government's human rights violations in the way the opposition parties in the democratic West would monitoring the ruling parties and their governments. In the contrary, you have collaborated with the Chinese regime to conceal with its crime covering activities (such as village elections, legal training). This is to assist the Chinese government to promulgate lies, and to manipulate the American and Western people. This report has even used the Mao era as a comparison to imply the current human rights condition to be satisfactory. This shall not be the official American standard, which has its basic value of liberty and freedom. This is also difficult for me to accept, neither for my comrades and the majority of Chinese people.

I was in prison during the eighteen of last twenty-some years, which according to the commission's report, during which major progress in terms of constructing Chinese legal system was observed. However, such argument about

the major progress in Chinese legal system could neither be verified based on my own experiences, nor from recollection based on what I have heard or observed from other prison inmates' experiences. It only has gradually retrogressed on human rights law and legal system, even in terms of civil law and business law. The system has gone more backward then forward. From our Chinese perception, to see such eulogizing tongue that was used in the report was like reading a Chinese governmental newspapers' editorial. Even Communist officials will not bother to read this kind of editorial. Yet, it appears in your report, which would make the Communist officials impressed. We could imagine that soon the Chinese state's newspapers will friendly remind our Chinese people to notice your commission's high evaluation on the Chinese government. This could cause a huge setback on the confidence of Chinese people's strive from human rights. Is this your duty?

I appreciate the report's suggestion to the US government to continue to observe issues on Chinese human rights. As I have always believed, making such observation is not only important to Chinese human rights, it also directly associated with the US national interests and international peace. It should be considered as an important part of the long-term international strategy for the US.

However, the detail recommendation on US funding specific programs appears to be all related to Chinese government or their approved "official NGO's". It appears no projects are related to true civil and non-governmental NGO's, not mentioning Chinese opposition organizations. Please pardon my frankness to phrase with Chinese police's private judgment on American and European collaboration with the Chinese Governmental "Non-Governmental Organizations" -- it is "to use Yankees' money to fool Yankees." That is not laughable to me.

Without opposition, there will not be democratic system. The Nazis did not have to change laws in order to change Germany's legal system and taken away protection for human rights. They also claimed that they had done better with laws that protect business and administration. Yet, to change the Nazi regime does not require that much change of the German laws. However, to have opposition parties and groups means protection for human rights and democratic system. I hope the commission will notice this historical path.

WEI Jingsheng

Washington, DC