04 May 2000
Text: Rep. Frank Wolf Testimony at Ways and Means on China
(Scores China's religious persecution, human rights abuses) (2140) The United States should not grant permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status to China because of that country's human rights abuses, according to Representative Frank Wolf (Republican from Virginia). Wolf also attacked Beijing's persecution of religious leaders and groups in testimony May 3 before the House Ways and Means Committee. "China's human rights record is deplorable and it continues to worsen," Wolf, a member of the Executive Committee of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, told fellow lawmakers. Wolf also cited national security concerns as a reason not to grant China permanent NTR. "Congress cannot ignore the national security threat emanating from China. We hear the argument that PNTR will lead to economic and political growth in China, but who in China will benefit the most from increased foreign investment? Much of the capital and revenue the Chinese would gain from PNTR will go to help increase China's military build-up and to help stabilize a repressive, authoritarian regime," he said. "The U.S. should not give China PNTR until there is significant improvement in China's human rights record and until questions of national security have been adequately addressed," Wolf said. Following is the text of Wolf's testimony as prepared for delivery: (begin text) Testimony of Rep. Frank R. Wolf House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China May 3, 2000 Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Having visited prison labor camps in China in 1991 and having visited Tibet a few years ago, I firmly believe that much is at stake if the Congress abandons its annual review of China trade. Much is at stake if the Congress ignores China's continuing human rights violations. Much is at stake if the Congress ignores the national security threat arising out of Beijing. China's human rights record is deplorable and it continues to worsen. That's not just me saying that. The 1999 State Department Human Rights report on China said, "The Government's poor human rights record deteriorated markedly throughout the year, as the Government intensified efforts to suppress dissent." On May 1, 2000, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its first report on international religious freedom. This is a timely report. Its language and recommendations about whether the U.S. should give China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) are important in considering whether or not it is appropriate at this point in time to give China PNTR. The Commission "...believes that Congress should not approve PNTR for China until China makes substantial improvements in respect for religious freedom..." Right smack in the middle of this debate on PNTR, the Chinese government continues to arrest and imprison people because of their faith. It was 55 years ago Sunday, April 9, that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was marched from his prison cell at the Flossenburg concentration camp in Germany and was hung. Bonhoeffer was a Protestant minister who opposed Hitler. He refused to keep silent about the discrimination and persecution of the Jews. He spoke out repeatedly and fearlessly until the Nazis executed him. Many Protestant house church leaders, pastors, Catholic bishops, and priests in China are modern day Dietrich Bonhoeffers. Dietrich Bonhoeffer suffered in prison for two years -- from April 1943 to his death almost exactly two years later. This is a photograph of Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xue-Yan. Bishop Fan died in a Chinese prison as a result of torture and physical abuse carried out against him in prison. Bishop Fan was imprisoned by the Chinese government in 1958 and held there for 34 years because of his loyalty to the Pope. In April 1992, security officers returned his frozen and broken body in a plastic sack. The autopsy showed that he died as a result of torture wounds suffered in prison. Here is a picture of Protestant House church leader, Pastor Li Dexian, getting arrested by Chinese authorities. Pastor Li has been arrested over 13 times since last October and has been persecuted by the Chinese government for the past 10 years. He was beaten in 1995 by the police around the head and neck with a Bible in an apparent attempt to break his windpipe, and then beaten with an iron bar and jumped upon, causing him to vomit blood and leaving him with broken ribs. This picture here is of Catholic Bishop Zeng Jingmu. He has spent almost 35 years in Chinese prisons since 1955. He was released from jail in 1998 and is now under strict house arrest. At this point in life, he is very sick and is over 80 years old. This picture below is of Catholic Bishop An Shuxin who disappeared and then was discovered to be in prison. Bishop An has been in and out of prison in China, because of his faith, since 1982. Bishop An is currently in prison and was only released for one hour to visit his invalid 90-year-old mother. Bishop An's present location is unknown. The Chinese regime continues to plunder and occupy Tibet. Hundreds of Tibetan monks and nuns continue to be imprisoned and brutally tortured. Monasteries and nunneries continue to be destroyed. Those that remain open are under heavy surveillance (see photo below in Lhasa and look for the surveillance cameras) by cadres of Chinese communist party officials. China continues to coerce the Tibetan people to accept the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama instead of the young boy identified by the Dalai Lama, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima. Chinese authorities reportedly have detained the parents of the 14-year old Buddhist leader, the Karmapa Lhama, who recently fled China to India. China continues to use prison/slave labor. There are more gulag prisons in China today than in Russia when Alexander Solzhenitzen wrote the Gulag Archipelago. Over 200 Tiananmen square protestors are still in prison or forced labor prison camps or are on medical parole; many have spent more than ten years in prison because of their advocacy for democracy in China. This is a photograph of a Chinese prison labor camp I visited in 1991 with Representative Chris Smith. We visited Beijing Prison No. 1 and learned that at least 40 Tiananmen Square protestors were imprisoned there. We asked to speak with them but our request was denied. Instead, we were taken on a tour of the prison's textile and plastic shoe manufacturing facility. I obtained socks manufactured in the prison, some of which were provided to the U.S. Customs Service for thread and dye analysis to determine if they are being imported into the U.S. The Peoples Liberation Army is responsible for trafficking in human organs. People in need of organ transplants are matched with prisoners serving sentences in Chinese prisons who have their blood-type taken by the Chinese authorities. When a match is made, prisoners are taken to a remote location where the necessary medical personnel have been assembled, and summarily executed. Their organs are then removed and quickly transported to the waiting organ recipient. The Chinese government carries out policies of forced abortion and forced sterilization. The 1999 State Department Human Rights Report on China says that some 56 percent of the world's female suicides occur in China (about 500 per day), most are of child bearing age. The fines for violating government birth quotas are three times a couple's annual salary. A country that abuses its own citizens on a massive scale cannot be trusted in its dealings with the U.S. Do Members actually think that the same Chinese government that flattens its own citizens with tanks -- that kills frail 80 year-old Catholic bishops -- can be trusted? Human rights isn't my only concern, though. I am also opposed to giving China PNTR out of concern for national security. Congress cannot ignore the national security threat emanating from China. We hear the argument that PNTR will lead to economic and political growth in China, but who in China will benefit the most from increased foreign investment? Much of the capital and revenue the Chinese would gain from PNTR will go to help increase China's military build-up and to help stabilize a repressive, authoritarian regime. I'd suggest the money is going to go toward building more jails and more prison labor camps, toward more weapons purchases and toward funding more intelligence operations against the U.S. We know that this year, China has reportedly increased its military budget by close to 13 percent. In 1999, China's Defense Minister declared that war with the U.S. "is inevitable." It is estimated that China has over a dozen nuclear ballistic missiles aimed at major U.S. cities and is reportedly building three new types of long-range missiles capable of striking the U.S. Less than one year ago the Cox Committee found that China has "stolen" classified information regarding the most advanced U.S. thermonuclear weapons, giving them design information "on par with our own." The information included classified information on every currently deployed warhead in the U.S. ballistic missile arsenal. China's official military newspaper threatened the U.S. saying if the U.S. were to defend Taiwan, China would resort to "long range" missiles to inflict damage on America. China has exported weapons of mass destruction and missiles in violation of treaty commitments. The director of the CIA has said that China remains a "key supplier" of these weapons to Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea. Other reports indicate China has passed on similar weapons and technology to Libya and Syria. If one of these countries is involved in a conflict, it is very possible that our men and women in uniform could be called into harm's way. These weapons of mass destruction could then be targeted against American troops. Incidences of technology transfers from the U.S. to China have been numerous. A recent report issued by the CIA and the FBI stated that China has stepped up military spying against the United States while using political influence programs to manipulate U.S. policy. This FBI/CIA report says that the U.S. military and U.S. private corporations are the primary targets of Chinese intelligence. This report also says that Chinese companies play a significant role in China's pursuit and acquisition of secret U.S. technology. I am concerned that Members of Congress and the American public do not know enough about the national security threat that China poses to the U.S. I have been urging our colleagues to obtain a briefing by the CIA on China. I've had the briefing and what I learned has solidified even more my concern about the U.S. yielding permanent trade status to China. Members and the American public need to know the answers to questions about the national security concerns regarding China and PNTR. Have U.S. exports over time contributed to China's nuclear weapons development, missile delivery systems, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, power projection, anti-submarine warfare, encryption capabilities, and low-observable technology? Will giving PNTR to China allow China greater access to sensitive U.S. technology? Have U.S. exports to China contributed to the development of the Chinese military's command, control, communication, computer, and intelligence capabilities? Has China written that the U.S. is its main enemy? I understand that China has a defense treaty with North Korea and that this treaty might have secret implications. If the event of 1950 were to happen again, what would China do? Does the intelligence community have any evidence that China is preparing to sink U.S. aircraft carriers? Is there evidence that China has a program underway to attack U.S. satellites in space? Is China continuing to export weapons of mass destruction which could be used against American troops? In closing, I am concerned that we in the U.S. have become so enamored with China's prospective market, that we are on the verge of ignoring history, of ignoring China' abysmal human rights record, and of ignoring the threats China poses to U.S. national security and to our men and women in uniform. The U.S. should not give China PNTR until there is significant improvement in China's human rights record and until questions of national security have been adequately addressed. We must have a way to continue our annual review of trade with China. If we sign off on permanent trade, we hand over any influence we could have in promoting a China that respects its citizens and that is a non-threatening member of the community of nations. The process of reviewing trade relations with China each year is an opportunity for Congress to influence the behavior of China on matters of national security and human rights. Annual review of China's trade status is an appropriate foreign policy tool and it is the right thing to do. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. http://usinfo.state.gov)
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