[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9694-S9695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH COMMUNIST VIETNAM

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, President Clinton's announcement today that 
the United States will establish full diplomatic relations with 
Communist Vietnam, is a mistake, in my judgment, of 

[[Page S 9695]]
the highest order. It is not timely yet. Vietnam has not earned 
recognition.
  While the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the President is solely 
responsible for sending and receiving Ambassadors, Congress has the 
power of the purse. I fully support the able majority leader, Mr. Dole, 
and the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. Smith, in their 
efforts to exercise that power by withholding funding for this 
normalization until all American POW's are fully accounted for.
  Mr. President, Congress has the inescapable responsibility to weigh 
in on this decision if we believe President Clinton is wrong. And I 
believe him to be terribly wrong.
  The President has not yet fulfilled his commitments to resolve the 
POW/MIA issue. The Vietnamese know much more than they are telling us 
about the fate of our missing American POW/MIA's. Yet, despite the $100 
million we paid the Vietnamese Government each year to assist our 
Government in investigating those POW and MIA cases, the Vietnamese 
still renege on giving us a full accounting. Until the Vietnamese give 
us the full accounting of all missing American servicemen, it makes no 
sense whatsoever to confer upon them the honor of U.S. recognition.
  The President insists that normalization of relations will result in 
the United States
 gaining more access to the Vietnamese Government--the more dialog, he 
argues, the faster they will move toward democracy. The trouble with 
this spurious argument is that it has been used in Washington to 
justify United States accommodation of Red China--and just take a look 
at where that policy has gotten us.

  The Chinese have certainly moved toward a greater opening of their 
economy--foreigners can not invest fast enough, and China is taking in 
dollars hand over fist. But what has China sacrificed for all that 
Western hard currency? Has our policy of engagement persuaded the 
Chinese Communists to adopt any democratic reforms whatsoever?
  No, to the contrary, the Chinese leadership is today more hard line 
and authoritarian than it has been since Mao's Cultural Revolution. 
Today, China is once again rounding up dissidents; they are using 
prison slave labor to create products for export abroad; they are 
executing prisoners on demand to sell their organs to wealthy 
foreigners; and they are enforcing a brutal forced abortion policy that 
has resulted in the mass execution of millions of Chinese children. 
Clearly United States recognition and engagement of Red China hasn't 
bought us any influence with the Communist thugs in Beijing. If anyone 
doubts this, just ask Harry Wu how much the Communist regime there 
values our opinion.
  I think it is a disgrace that, at the same time this administration 
refuses to support the efforts of Taiwan--a friendly, free market 
democracy--to even gain admission to the United Nations, and 
practically had to be forced by Congress to issue a visa to Taiwan's 
democratically elected President for a private United States visit, 
they are enthusiastically conferring full diplomatic recognition on 
Vietnam's recalcitrant Communist dictatorship. What kind of message 
does that send about our Nation's priorities?
  If the President insists on going through with the normalization of 
relations, I can only say this: as chairman of the committee that 
confirms ambassadorial nominations, it's going to be a tough road to 
confirmation for nay ambassadorial nominee to Vietnam before the 
Vietnamese have accounted for the unresolved POW-MIA cases.
  As long as Vietnam remains an unrepentant Communist dictatorship, as 
long as they refuse to provide all information they have about missing 
American servicemen, the United States should not reward their leaders 
by welcoming them into the community of friendly nations.
  The President's announcement today is just the first step of many. 
The administration will have to approach Congress to discuss the 
conferral of benefits such as MFN, GSP, or OPIC insurance. Those will 
be a matter of great debate here in Congress and there is no reason for 
us to move on those until the Vietnamese have earned it. We should take 
the Vietnamese Government for what it is: a Communist one. It should 
continue to be treated as such until it makes true political reform by 
establishing a legal code and respect for the general human rights of 
all Vietnamese citizens as individuals, rather than merely supporters 
of the State.
  Vietnam has a long way to go if it wants to reestablish its position 
in the international community. We should not put the cart before the 
horse and extend them U.S. recognition before they have earned it.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gorton). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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