Political Quotes

“our attention should be drawn to a horrifying report issued this month by the respected human rights organization, Human Rights Watch/Asia, titled ``Death by Default: A Policy of Fatal Neglect in China's State Orphanages.'' The allegations raised in ``Death by Default'' are more than a little disturbing; they are shocking. Mr. President, I ask that the report's ``Summary and Recommendations'' be submitted for the Record. The report paints a grim picture of the lives of China's youngest, least fortunate citizens. With well-documented details from one institution--the Shanghai Children's Welfare Institute--and publicly available statistics for orphanages nationwide provided by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the report indicates that orphans in most of China's state-run institutions are living in horrible conditions with little hope for survival. Statistics provided by the Ministry allow Human Rights Watch to conservatively estimate a national death rate in China's orphanages of 25 percent. Critics of the report charge that terrible conditions and high death rates are to be expected in a developing country because of a lack of adequate funding, but ``Death by Default'' again uses official documents to show otherwise. The report shows, for example, that from 1989 to 1992 employees' salaries at state-run orphanages nationally increased at close to twice the rate of expenditures for the children.”