[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE CONNECTING LINE

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, those who think the investigation into the 
scandals surrounding the Clinton White House are sadly mistaken if they 
dismiss it as a merely partisan attack.
  The New York Times has never been known as a mouthpiece for the 
Republican Party, and could not be accused of aiding or abetting such 
partisanship. All the more significant, then, is the Tuesday column by 
A.M. Rosenthal, entitled ``The Connecting Line.''
  The ``connecting'' is done to the bewildering and seemingly 
unconnected scandals, and establishes a common theme.
  That common theme, Mr. Speaker, is the manipulation of the United 
States by the People's Republic of China, and the extent to which the 
actions of the Clinton administration made that manipulation possible. 
The column is a must-read for anyone who still thinks, and dares to 
claim, that this scandal is only about campaign finance reform.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no reason why preparation should not be made 
for the consideration of impeachment of the President, a suggestion I 
do not make lightly.
  I place the Rosenthal column in today's Record.

                [From the New York Times, July 22, 1997]

                          The Connecting Line

                          (By A.M. Rosenthal)

       In just one day last week three stories were reported that 
     told of the stunning successes the Chinese Politburo has 
     achieved in manipulating America and diminishing it as a 
     credible political player in the Far East.
       Americans can find similar stories almost every day in 
     their press. But American journalism, like American diplomacy 
     and politics, has failed to show the clear line that connects 
     the stories. And historically--meaning from tomorrow deep 
     into the next century--that failure can be the Politburo's 
     biggest triumph of all.
       One story dealt with China's plan to influence the American 
     Presidential race and how President Clinton insisted that the 
     agent of Beijing's chief overseas economic commercial partner 
     be given a role in the campaign.
       This agent, John Huang, received regular C.I.A. briefings. 
     If the White House does not understand that anything 
     interesting the C.I.A. told him found its way through his 
     Indonesian masters to their Beijing partners, it would be 
     obscene self-delusion amounting to dereliction of duty.
       Another story was about the growing worry in Congress that 
     U.S. intelligence has not kept track of how China's 
     increasing military and political power affect America. The 
     house has called for a report within a year. It appropriated 
     $5 million to hire academics to help our multi-billion-dollar 
     intelligence machinery.
       The third story told of how the dissident movement has been 
     crushed in China. The Communists got a free hand when the 
     Clinton Administration dropped human rights as a goal of its 
     foreign policy. The Communist then had no worry about 
     economic penalty for the torture and murder of Chinese guilt 
     of trying to express themselves. So they set to work.
       Just another human rights story. But the connecting line 
     among all the successes of China is human rights. The line 
     begins with President Clinton's decision in 1994 to renege on 
     promises he had made to use economic pressure to help 
     imprisoned Chinese and Tibetan dissidents.
       Human rights for Chinese--the right to speak, write and 
     worship as they choose--should be important in themselves to 
     Americans. They should make us cherish and protect our own, 
     inspire us to give a hand to those who have none.
       The apologists for China sneer at all that. What are we, 
     missionaries? They say Americans supporting human rights 
     thirst for enemies after the Soviet breakup and select China 
     for the role.
       This is a knowing falsehood. The opposite is true. Like 
     other police-state rulers, Chinese Communists live in fear of 
     their people's desire for liberties. They see American 
     democracy as the danger to the Communist Party, the 
     inevitable enemy. They search out other dictatorships for 
     help in damaging America.
       That is why China sells nuclear technology to the likes of 
     Iran. To weaken America--that is the connecting line in 
     Politburo policy.
       For Mr. Clinton, the decision to betray Chinese human 
     rights was the beginning of the line to the other 
     accommodations and appeasements that flowed from it. Could he 
     have brought into his campaign a man useful only because of 
     his links with China, direct or indirect, if he were still 
     standing up to what the Communists were doing to dissidents?
       The President's men, and women, walk the line with him. For 
     career reasons, they pretended to believe his cynical fantasy 
     that deserting human rights would somehow make the Communists 
     improve human rights. They said straight-faced that it would 
     also persuade the Politburo to safeguard America's security 
     interests--no more sales of cruise missiles and nuclear 
     technology to the Irans of the world.
       So when American intelligence did report those sales, the 
     Administration whined a bit but accepted Beijing's insulting 
     answer that it knew nothing about the sales. They expected 
     Americans to believe even pistols could be exported from 
     China without Beijing's approval.
       Only one thing prevents Beijing from fully relishing its 
     double victory over Chinese human rights and American's 
     claims to international moral leadership.
       Beijing has not yet stamped out one human rights struggle--
     the passion for freedom of worship. Yesterday the U.S. again 
     acknowledged the persecution of Christians in China. 
     America's Government will try to remain detached. Amerca's 
     people may not.

     

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