By Daniel J. Shepard and C. Gerald Fraser

Earth Times News Service

July 14, 1995

Three US senators and three members of the House of Representatives have asked President Clinton to boycott the Fourth World Conference on Women to punish China for the "unjust" arrest and detention of Harry Wu, "an American citizen traveling on a valid passport with a valid Chinese visa."

"We urge you," six Republican legislators said in a letter to the President, "to announce the US government will not participate--at any level or in any fashion--in the upcoming UN Conference on Women as long as Harry Wu is detained in China." The Chinese government has charged Wu with spying.

The letter, dated July 13, was signed by Senators Bob Dole (Kansas), Jesse Helms (North Carolina), and Alfonse D'Amato (New York); and Representatives Newt Gingrich (Georgia), Benjamin Gilman (New York), and Christopher H. Smith (New Jersey). Senator Dole, the Senate Majority Leader, is a declared candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination in the 1996 election. Gingrich is Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The GOP letter was delivered to the White House July 13. The development occurred on a day when Gertrude Mongella, secretary general of the Women's Conference, was meeting with high Chinese officials in Beijing. Mongella was part of a UN team that was scheduled to complete arrangements for the conference.

The First Lady, Hillary Clinton, is scheduled to lead a 50-person delegation to the conference which will be held in Beijing September 4 through 15.

The Republicans said in their letter, "In our view it would be wholly inappropriate to participate in any international conference in the People's Republic of China while an American citizen is being unjustly detained by the Chinese government."

"There is ample precedent," the letter said, "to deny American participation in international events which accord prestige to regimes which deserve condemnation--the boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in the aftermath of the invasion of Afghanistan comes to mind."

Wu had been imprisoned in China for 19 years after what the legislators termed "heroic efforts to expose Chinese human rights abuses." the legislators said.

The letter's importance is underscored by the fact that the signers include the House and Senate leadership, the heads of committees dealing with foreign affairs, and members of committees responsible for monitoring the Helsinki accords which govern human rights.

The letter called it an "outrage that access to Mr. Wu by American officials was not granted according to terms of the US-PRC [People's Republic of China] Consular Convention of 1982."

The UN selected China as the site for the women's conference in 1991 when George Bush was US President.

Bella S. Abzug, co-chair of the Women's Environment and Development Organization, said that although the legislators opposed China's violation of Wu's human rights, "there are violations of women's rights daily, that's why the UN conference on women is important." She said the site of a UN conference "is not a referendum on the host government."

If the legislators wanted to help, Abzug said, they would ratify the Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women before the 75th anniversary of women's suffrage in the US.

"They should not use Harry Wu as an excuse to deny funding for the US delegation. The Harry Wu matter is serious and the US should use its best offices to secure his release. Holding the women's conference hostage is not in the best interest of Harry Wu."

A UN official who requested anonymity said the legislators' letter is directed not at the women's conference but on behalf of Wu.

The UN official said this fourth women's conference has "engaged" the interest of women the world over to a degree greater than the three preceding world conferences.

Figuratively breathing a sigh of relief that the conference was not being attacked on its merits, the UN official said, "This is about Harry Wu; we're a pawn."

Forwarded by: Debra Guzman