Groups Say China Trade, Human Rights Should Be Concern of New Administration
By Jim Brown and Bill Fancher
(AgapePress) – A coalition opposed to the special trade privileges for Communist China is urging the new administration to reverse the Clinton-Gore policy mistakes of the past eight years.
The Family Research Council and the Population Research Institute have unveiled their new U.S.-China policy recommendations for the White House. Robert Maginnis, FRC’s military expert, says after the passage of permanent normal trade relations, “China will ultimately intensify the striking of its heavy fist against faith, family, and freedom.”
The new policy recommendations include use of economic sanctions to pressure China to deny terrorist regimes, and to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction technologies. Also suggested is that Chinese access to high-tech university research programs be limited.
The recommendations also require that China be held accountable to international standards of human rights, and that China’s hosting of Olympic events be opposed.
Maginnis also is concerned that George W. Bush says he will continue to deal with China in the same manner Bill Clinton did, calling Beijing our “strategic trading partner.” Maginnis feels that policy is a big mistake, and he says Washington continues to ignore the facts that China is not a “friend.”
“Alarmingly, China’s defense minister has publicly stated that war with the United States is inevitable,” Maginnis says.
Maginnis also says the Beijing government has a poor record regarding its “friendship” toward the United States: trying to buy an election, stealing our nuclear secrets and technology, violating nuclear treaties and human rights, and it still has missiles targeting American cities. And that is not all, he says.
“[China has] transferred strategic weapons of mass destruction technologies to those nations that sponsor terrorism,” he says.
Maginnis says we must continue to try and get the facts out to the nation regarding Communist China and its true face.
Human Rights Abuses
Meanwhile, human rights advocate William Saunders wants to see the next administration use the International Religious Freedom Act to curtail China’s human rights abuses. Saunders maintains the act gives the President various power with which to address the situation.
“You can hold countries accountable, if they are countries of particular concern, on the denial of religious freedom,” Saunders says. “That hasn’t really been used so far, and we urge the next administration to look closely at its options under the International Religious Freedom Act and to use them boldly against countries [that] deny religious freedom.”
According to Saunders, China should be particularly subject to the consequences of the act, since its human rights abuses are continuing to increase rather than decrease.
He also says the Joint Legislative and Executive Commission on China, which was formed as part of the deal granting permanent normal trade relations with Beijing, should be fully functional and operational.
“The appropriations have gone through for that [commission], and…they’re very minimal appropriations,” he says. “It’s very important that this new commission be properly appropriated, fully funded, and very vigorous in a yearly review of the situation of human rights in China.”
Saunders believes that action, along with enforcement of the International Religious Freedom Act, can help change what is happening in Communist China.
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