,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cfa  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february 
#bd1 #bjad ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 and ,mr4   
,corker7 submitted the following        
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,recognizing the threats  
to freedom of the press and expression  
in the ,people's ,republic of ,china and
 urging the ,government of the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china to take meaningful 
steps to improve freedom of expression  
as fitting of a responsible             
international stakeholder4  ,whereas1 in
 its #bjac ,world ,press ,freedom       
,index1 ,reporters ,without ,borders    
ranked ,china #agcrd out of #agi        
countries in terms of press freedoms2   
,whereas ,china's media regulator1 the  
,state ,administration of ,press1       
,publication1 ,radio1 ,film and         
,television1 enforces a system of strict
 controls1 including an extensive       

licensing system and government         
supervision by the ,chinese ,communist  
,party2 ,whereas domestic radio and     
television broadcast journalists in     
,china must pass a government-sponsored 
exam that tests their basic knowledge of
 ,marxist views of news and ,communist  
,party principles2 ,whereas this state  
supervision of the media distorts and   
blocks free and open coverage of key    
issues including ,tibet1 political      
unrest1 and corruption by government    
officials1 as well as ,chinese foreign  
policy2 ,whereas ,china's media         
regulator officially bans journalists   
from using foreign media reports without
 authorization and forbids news editors 
from reporting information online that  
has not been verified through official  
channels2 ,whereas the                  
,congressional-,executive ,commission on
 ,china 7,,cecc7 has documented several 
instances of reprisals against and      
harassment of independent journalists   
and newspaper staff by the ,government  

of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1   
including ,chinese journalists working  
for foreign-based websites and          
newspapers2 ,whereas the ,foreign       
,correspondents' ,club of ,china has    
noted that foreign journalists continue 
to face challenging work conditions1    
visa denials or delays1 and various     
forms of harassment1 and #gj percent of 
journalists surveyed in the ,,fccc's    
#bjac annual survey stated that         
conditions have worsened or stayed the  
same as the year before2 ,whereas1      
according to the ,,cecc1 authorities in 
,china appeared to maintain or enhance  
policies to block and filter online     
content1 particularly sensitive         
information about rights activists1     
official corruption1 or collective      
organizing2 ,whereas ,china is the      
world's second largest economy and the  
,united ,states second largest trading  
partner and has been a member of the    
,world ,trade ,organization since #bjja2
 ,whereas ,china's growing economic     

importance increases the need for the   
,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china to act transparently and      
respect international trading           
regulations2 and ,whereas official      
government censorship denies the people 
of ,china1 including nearly #fjj1jjj1jjj
 ,internet users1 their freedom of      
expression1 undermines confidence in    
,china's safety standards1 and causes   
increasingly serious economic harm to   
private firms that rely on unfettered   
access to social media as a business    
model3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the
 ,senate-- 7#a7 reaffirms the importance
 of freedom of the press to efforts by  
the ,united ,states ,government to      
support democracy1 mitigate conflict1   
and promote good governance domestically
 and around the world2  7#b7 expresses  
concern about the threats to freedom of 
the press and expression in the         
,people's ,republic of ,china2  7#c7    
condemns actions taken by the           
,government of the ,people's ,republic  

of ,china to suppress freedom of the    
press1 including the increased          
harassment of ,chinese and international
 journalists through denial of visas1   
harassment of sources1 physical threats1
 and other methods2 and  7#d7 urges the 
,president to use all appropriate       
instruments of ,united ,states influence
 to support1 promote1 and strengthen    
principles1 practices1 and values that  
promote the free flow of information to 
the people of ,china without            
interference or discrimination1         
including through the ,internet and     
other electronic media4