05 May 2000
Excerpts: House Members Speak For and Against China PNTR May 3
(House Majority Leader Armey urges PNTR status for China) (1680) The debate over granting China permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status continues to draw out lawmakers to take a stand one way or the other before the vote scheduled for late May on the issue. In speeches in the House May 3, four lawmakers split on the issue, with two Republicans saying permanent NTR status for China was a good idea, and one Republican and one Democrat arguing the opposite. Representative Dick Armey (Republican from Texas) urged his colleagues to support granting permanent NTR status to China. The House Majority Leader, in seeking support for legislation that would end the annual review process for granting China full access to U.S. markets, stressed the importance to the Chinese people of being able to engage freely with America and bringing about change in their government. "If we want to see the Chinese people free from an oppressive government, if we want to see a Chinese Government reform, put freedom in the hands of the Chinese people," the number two person in the House of Representatives said. Representative Randy Cunningham (Republican from California) said trade is a way of modifying a communist regime. He noted that Taiwan supports China's accession to the World Trade Organization and permanent NTR status for China. "They want China in 20 to 30 years to move in a direction of pro democracy, not back to a totalitarian Communist state," Cunningham said. On the other side of the issue, Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a fellow Republican from California, spoke out against granting China permanent NTR status, as did Representative Sherrod Brown (Democrat from Ohio). Following are excerpts of remarks from the Congressional Record: (begin excerpts) GRANTING PERMANENT NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS TO CHINA (House of Representatives - May 03, 2000) Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, in 3 1/2 weeks, we will take what will be, I believe, the most important vote in this Congress, the vote to extend permanent normal trade relations to China. Mr. Speaker, this vote is important. It is not only important to our own domestic industries, our driving high-tech industry or to America's workers in other industry or to America's farmers, but it is very, very important, perhaps even more important, to the sense of freedom and dignity to the Chinese people. Mr. Speaker, this vote is not about allowing Chinese product access to American markets, it is about allowing American product access to Chinese markets. It is about having the Chinese Government accept the discipline of conforming to a worldwide trade regime of rules and proper conduct and behavior. That can be infectious, Mr. Speaker. If they can accept those disciplines with respect to commerce, they are most likely going to accept them with respect to other aspects of their life. It is about allowing the Chinese people, the normal everyday working Chinese man or woman, the opportunity to enjoy the information, the freedom, the cultural experience, the sharing of America's freedom and, by doing so, getting a case to freedom in their own life. History has proven, Mr. Speaker, that once people acquire the experience of freedom through commerce, they then require freedom in a greater share of their life. If we want to see the Chinese people free from an oppressive government, if we want to see a Chinese Government reform, put freedom in the hands of the Chinese people. They, Mr. Speaker, will reform the Chinese Government, improve their human rights; and while doing that, we will be able to maintain, not only an American economic boom, but a world economic boom to the greater good of all the world's people. Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, last year I went to Vietnam with Hal Rogers, chairman, at the behest of Pete Peterson, who is the ambassador, and was asked to raise the American flag over Ho Chi Minh City for the first time for over 25 years. On that trip, I met with the prime minister, Communist prime minister in Hanoi, and I asked the prime minister, `Why do you not get involved in trade?' In perfect English, the Communist prime minister said, `Congressman, we are Communist. If we get involved in trade, we will be out of power as Communists.' At that moment, I said trade is good. If we take a look at whether there are problems with the trade with China, whether it is humanitarian or whether it is with national security issues, it is in our best interest. That is why Taiwan supports trade with China. They want China in 20 to 30 years to move in a direction of pro democracy, not back to a totalitarian Communist State. Regardless of how one feels on the trade issue, both human rights and national security, it is in the United States' best interest to support the trade with China. Mr. ROHRABACHER. What I wanted to mention today is that we have heard a lot about trade with China this morning and we will hear more about it. The trade that we have had with Communist China these last 10 years have not made this world a safer world. In fact, it has done nothing but build up the powerful forces in Communist China that now threaten the peace of the world. Furthermore, it has not worked to the benefit of the people of the United States. What we have in China is the building up of their infrastructure. Our trade with them is building up their technological capabilities; building them factories so that they can then export to the United States and get enough money to buy weapons in order to put us under a threat. I would oppose any of this WTO for China. Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, in 3 weeks the Republican leadership will ask this body to vote for permanent most favored nation status trading privileges for the People's Republic of China. They tell us engagement with China, that more trade with China, that giving trade advantages to China, will make everything better. It all started back about a dozen years ago with Ronald Reagan, then President George Bush and President Bill Clinton, telling us that things would get better with China. Eleven years ago the United States had a $100 million trade deficit, with an `M,' with Communist China, the People's Republic of China. Today that trade deficit has grown to $70 billion, that is billion with a `B,' from $100 million in 11 years to $70 billion trade deficit with China. We sell only $15 billion worth of goods to China every year. We buy $85 billion worth of goods from China. We sell more to Singapore, we sell more to Taiwan, we sell more to Belgium, than we do to China, because China's markets are closed to American products by and large. In fact, those products we sell to those countries, Belgium, Taiwan, Singapore, those are countries with about 1/50 the population of the People's Republic of China. This process of engagement and giving them most favored nation status and giving China trade privileges simply has not worked. Other conditions have worsened. The trade deficit, as I said, went from $100 million to $70 billion in 11 years. Other conditions, child labor has worsened, slave labor conditions in China have worsened. We continue to give them trade advantages. They answer by continuing their thumb in the eye of the values that we hold dear. The Chinese communist party persecutes Christians and Buddhists and Muslims, not to mention their indigenous religious organizations such as the Falun Gong. The Chinese government winks at, sometimes even encourages, forced abortions, something that almost every country in the world, probably every country in the world, finds absolutely abhorrent. Today, China continues its assault on Taiwan. A few years ago, I believe 3 years ago when Taiwan held the first free elections in Chinese history, the People's Republic of China sent missiles into the Straits of Taiwan to warn them against democracy. Today, as Taiwan begins a new era where their first native Taiwanese will be inaugurated president later this month, the Chinese again are threatening military maneuvers on the east coast of China. If we let China in the World Trade Organization with full trading privileges, as the Republican leadership and the President here wants to do, what is to stop China from doing even more to Taiwan? They will not have any check on their behavior. Perhaps the most insidious part of this whole debate is how American corporations have lined up on behalf of the Communist party dictatorship. The CEOs of the largest businesses in America, the most prominent corporations in America, are walking the halls of Congress today and all the House and Senate office buildings imploring Members of Congress to vote to support the People's Republic of China, to support most favored nation status trading privileges for China. Wei Jing Sheng, a Chinese dissident, said the vanguard of the Chinese Communist Party revolution in the United States is America's most prominent and prestigious CEOs. There are more corporate jets at National Airport today, leading up to the MFN vote, the most favored nation status, trading privileges for China vote, than at any time during the year. Corporations understand. They tell us that China has 1.2 billion potential consumers, that America needs to sell to them. What they really mean to say is China has 1.2 billion workers, investments made from American companies, in China, people making 13 cents and 15 cents and 20 cents an hour, working 60 and 70 and 75 hours a week, selling products back to the United States, exploiting Chinese workers and costing American jobs. Most favored nation status privilege is permanent. NTR for China is a bad idea. I ask this Congress to defeat it. (end excerpts) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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