[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 27, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H6427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LIVABLE COMMUNITIES IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, one aspect of the livable community in 
a global economy is the struggle of this Congress to understand the 
huge and complex nation, that is China. An ancient society, over 4,000 
years old, and a large country, almost beyond our comprehension, more 
than four times the United States, a quarter of the world's population. 
In my lifetime, we have turned a blind eye to the cruelty and 
corruption of the Kuomintang government, headed by Chiang Kai-Shek.
  We chose to support that effort during World War II. We ended up 
making some unfortunate decisions perhaps only history will judge, but 
the recent evidence suggests that we did not have to make as much of an 
enemy of Mao Tse-Tung and the communists.
  This tragic miscalculation came into fore during the Korean war, when 
General MacArthur defied President Truman and enlarged the conflict and 
ultimately cost thousands of United States lives that was unnecessary. 
At the time, of course, in the well of this Congress, MacArthur was 
viewed as a hero and Truman was vilified.
  History has shown that President Truman was, in fact, a visionary in 
a number of respects; one of our greatest presidents, praised by no one 
less than Ronald Reagan, but we have seen the ebb and flow on this 
floor where Congress simply has not exercised proper perspective.
  We saw where Richard Nixon, who was characterized during his early 
career as a red baiter, as someone who was against the Communist 
Chinese, yet he was able during his presidency, one of the most 
enduring and lasting contributions was to swing the balance of power 
towards a more strategic alliance with China, and that hastened the 
collapse of the former Soviet Union.
  We have seen China behave as a nation of what appears to be to us in 
excess. The great leap forward, costing millions of lives of their own 
people, the cultural revolution of the seventies, the current turmoil 
that is in this context is perhaps a little more understandable, but 
one thing is very clear, that we are seeing unprecedented access to the 
Chinese people, more and more educated abroad, particularly in the 
United States.
  Even with the Internet access, it is transforming the internal 
dynamics of China. The United States does not have to sit back 
helplessly as we look at forces in China but nonetheless it seems to me 
important that we do not use heavy-handed, clumsy behavior, assuming 
that the United States can isolate China and make it bend to our 
dictates. It is important that we use trade and our economic 
relationship as tools.
  There is no turning back. Our history, both of the United States and 
of the West in general, has been mixed with the Chinese and there is 
much to make them apprehensive, but the United States has paid a heavy 
price for miscalculating during World War II, during the Korean War and 
Vietnam.
  The United States and China spies on each other continuously but we 
really do not know each other very well. I am hopeful that this week on 
this floor Congress will reject the notion that we ought not to treat 
China as we do 180 other countries, with normal trade relations, 
because if we are able to take that important step, it is only going to 
hasten the further change and progress within China, strengthening our 
country, strengthening the Chinese people and their economy, and 
ultimately the world itself will be a better place.

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