[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2206-S2207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPROVING HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA
Mr. ABRAHAM. I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues
an article on ``Improving Human Rights in China'' written by Jim Dorn,
vice president for academic affairs at the Cato Institute. Dorn
advocates that Congress return to legislation ``designed to change
China's stand on human rights and to liberate the Chinese people from
religious and political persecution.'' This call is particularly timely
given the most recent wave of repression against those inside China who
seek to widen freedom and political discourse in that country. Higher
taxes in the form of higher tariffs is not the answer, as Dorn points
out. However, that does not mean America and the U.S. Congress, and,
indeed, the President, should not be strongly advocating the rule of
law and respect for political dissent in China. I recommend Jim Dorn's
piece to my colleagues and encourage continued vigilance in the defense
of civil liberties and freedom for the Chinese people. I ask unanimous
consent that the text of the article be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Journal of Commerce, Feb. 8, 1999]
Improving Human Rights in China
(By James A. Dorn)
The use or threat of trade sanctions to advance human
rights in China has done relatively little to change policy
in Beijing. Congress should consider alternative measures to
improve human rights in China.
Trade sanctions are a blunt instrument; they often fail to
achieve their objectives and end up harming the very people
they are intended to help.
In the case of China, placing prohibitively high tariffs on
Chinese products entering the United States in order to
protest Beijing's dismal human rights record would cost U.S.
consumers billions of dollars.
It would also slow the growth of China's nonstate sector,
which has allowed millions of Chinese to move to more
productive jobs outside the reach of the Communist Party.
Isolating China would reverse the progress that has been made
since economic reform began in 1978 and would create
political and social instability.
A better approach is to continue to open China to the
outside world and, at the same time, use non-trade sanctions
and diplomacy to advance human rights. When China violates
trade agreements or intellectual property rights, however, it
should be held accountable, and carefully targeted trade
sanctions may be warranted.
The piracy of intellectual property is a serious problem
for Western firms. China has been a major offender of
copyright laws and needs to comply with the rule of law.
China's membership in the World Trade Organization should be
conditioned on Beijing's adherence to international law.
The problem is that most less-developed countries, and even
some developed countries, violate intellectual property
rights. Using economic sanctions to punish pirates sounds
good in theory, but in practice sanctions are seldom
effective.
The real solution to piracy may have to wait for
technological changes that make it very costly to steal
intellectual property. And it may have to wait for the rule
of law to evolve in China and other less-developed countries.
As China develops its own intellectual property, there will
be a demand for new laws to protect property rights. The
uncertainty created by China's failure to protect these
rights can only harm China in the long run. Investors will
not enter a market if they cannot reap most of the benefits
of their investments.
Fan Gang, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, predicts that things will change in China as people
discover that clearly defined and enforced property rights
are to their advantage.
People, he said, ``are bound to find that all this cheating
and protecting yourself from being cheated consume too much
time and energy, and that the best way to do business is
playing by a set of mutually respected rules. New rules and
laws will be passed, and people will be ready to abide by
them.''
The United States has considerable leverage in dealing with
China and should not let it dictate U.S. foreign policy or
allow human rights to be a nonissue.
The United States is China's largest export market, and
U.S. investors rank third in terms of foreign direct
investment in China.
[[Page S2207]]
Clearly China would be harmed by any significant cutback in
trade with an investment from the United States.
The problem is that any sizable cutback would also harm the
United States and the world economy.
To avoid the high costs (and low probable benefits) that
stem from the use of trade sanctions, Congress should
consider using non-trade sanctions such as cutting of the
flow of taxpayer-financed aid to China--including aid from
the International Monetary Funds, the World Bank, and the
Asian Development Bank.
Another possible non-trade sanction is making public the
names of companies known to be using prison labor or
companies run by the People's Liberation Army so that U.S.
consumers can boycott their products.
The China Sanctions and Human Rights Advancement Act, S.
810, introduced in the 105th Congress by Sen. Spencer
Abraham, R-Mich., lists those and other measures designed to
move China toward a free society.
The 106th Congress should return to that and other
legislation designed to change China's stand on human rights
and to liberate the China people from religious and political
prosecution.
(The passage of H.R. 2647, one of four ``Freedom of China''
bills enacted by the 105th Congress as part of the 1999
Defense Authorization Act, is a step in the right direction.
That bill requires publication of the names of PLA-run
companies operating in the United States.)
Congess should recognize that advancing economic freedom in
China has had positive effects on the growth of China's civil
society and on personal freedom.
According to Chinese dissident Wang Dan, ``Economic change
does influence political change. China's economic development
will be good for the West as well as for the Chinese
people.''
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