[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 93 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1351-E1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         DISAPPROVAL OF MOST-FAVORED-NATION TREATMENT FOR CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT, JR.

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 1997

  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my support for normal 
trade relations with China, which is our best option for promoting 
long-term progress in Chinese society. I am deeply concerned by the 
efforts of the Chinese Government to interfere with the basic human 
rights of Chinese citizens, including freedom of faith and religious 
practice, freedom of speech and thought and the freedom to assemble and 
petition the government without being crushed by tanks. I believe that 
every government, every leader has the duty to respect basic human 
rights, and that no government may use tradition as an excuse for 
oppressing its own citizens.
  I support MFN status for China because I deplore the repressive 
tactics of the Chinese Government. I believe in the appeal of the 
United States and the values of freedom this country represents. 
Engagement with China means a continuation of the trade, investment and 
personal interaction which breaks down the tyranny of the Chinese 
state. While engagement has not improved human rights conditions in 
China as rapidly as any of us would like, I believe interaction with 
the world economy and American values will help the Chinese people 
create the conditions necessary for social change. By increasing access 
to phones, faxes, the Internet and Western media, American engagement 
has helped the Chinese people circumvent government controls over 
information. By spurring stupendous growth in China's coastal regions, 
trade has helped break down government controls over migration from 
province to province. By introducing western ideas, engagement has 
spurred a growing ``home-church'' movement of Chinese who refuse to 
entrust their souls to state-sanctioned, state-controlled churches. 
This is real progress.

[[Page E1352]]

  Severing normal trade relations with China would disrupt the process 
of social change. This action would hurt the people we really want to 
help, like the citizens of Hong Kong and the Chinese who now owe their 
livelihood not to the mercy of the Chinese state but to their own 
contribution to the free market system. Now is not the time to walk 
away from our ability to promote change.
  Severing normal trade relations with China would also harm American 
workers, American unions and American businesses. I have recently 
spoken with aerospace workers and union leaders who disagree with the 
anti-trade position of their national organizations and who support 
continued trade with China. They fear that, if Congress chooses to 
raise trade barriers, American businesses will lose the China airplane 
market to Airbus and thousands of good, hard-working Americans will 
lose their jobs without any real change in Chinese policy. The union 
workers' arguments are persuasive. In 1980, the farmers of Washington 
State were devastated by a futile attempt to change Soviet policy with 
a unilateral grain embargo. I hope we will not be destructive and 
short-sighted as we once again contemplate unilateral trade sanctions. 
We owe it to the workers and farmers of Washington State and this 
Nation to learn from the painful, embarrassing experience of 1980 and 
refrain from adopting more unilateral sanctions.
  Finally, severing normal trade relations with China would impose 
costs on American consumers. The Congressional Research Service has 
recently estimated that denying China MFN status would cost American 
families 27 to 29 billion dollars in higher prices. This resolution of 
disapproval represents a hidden tax on my constituents, fewer jobs for 
my State and, most important, less freedom for the people of China. I 
support normal trade relations with China and I hope to work with my 
colleagues to develop constructive policies which expand freedom in 
China and convince China's leaders to change their behavior.

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