[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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