Speech #1010036395

Humanitarian concerns require that we ensure that these individuals be permitted to remain in this country and not be forced to return to China. President Bush has taken an important first step in protecting Chinese nationals in the United States from being forced to return to China. I commend him for authorizing a "deferral of enforced departure." a special immigration status that will allow Chinese citizens to remain in the United States through June 5. 1990. The Presidents action. however. is only a temporary solution for the Chinese students who fear the fate that awaits them upon their return to their native land. And. because it is only temporary in nature it does not send a sufficiently strong message to the Chinese Governmenta message that if they continue the current repressive campaign they will not see the return of thousands of their best and brightest students. scholars. and others who may choose to remain in the United States. Under the legislation I am introducing today. Chinese students and exchange visitors would be presumed to qualify for asylum status. In other words. these individuals will not have to provide additional or independent evidence of a wellfounded fear of persecution. While the bill does create a presumption that these individuals have a wellfounded fear of persecution and. therefore. are eligible for asylum. it does not eliminate the requirement for a casebycase review of asylum applications. This legislation is needed for a number of reasons. If the President does not extend the "deferment of enforced departure" beyond June 5. 1990. and if conditions in China have not drastically improved by that time. and there is no reason to believe now that they will. Chinese students in the United States without valid visas face the possibility of being deported. Forcing these individuals back into the hands of the Chinese Government would be both cruel and inhumane. and would violate our countrys sacred tradition of offering protection to people persecuted in their native countries. Of more immediate concern to Chinese students and exchange visitors in the United States may be the decision of whether or not to apply for the deferment of deportation authorized by the President. If they do so and are eventually required to return to China. what awaits them upon their return? Will they automatically be labeled as counterrevolutionaries or prodemocracy sympathizers by the Chinese Government for seeking to avoid or delay their return to the Peoples Republic of China? Many Chinese may be afraid to request deferment of enforced departure because of the retribution they will face from Chinese officials for taking advantage of the opportunity to remain longer in the United States. For the very same reason. many Chinese students may be afraid to apply for asylum because. if they fail to qualify. they could be deported and. if deported. will face reprisals for what their government may consider an act of treason. The legislation I am introducing is an attempt to calm those fears. and to provide a greater degree of certainty that the Chinese students and exchange visitors who fear returning to China and wish to remain in the United States will be permitted to do SO. Mr.