[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H8999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 UNITED STATES-CHINA MILITARY EXCHANGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, 2 days ago, the U.S. Secretary of 
Defense, William Cohen, told reporters that he hopes the U.S. military 
will resume contacts with the Communist Chinese military. At the very 
same time that Secretary Cohen was speaking, in Shanghai, Chinese 
dictator Jiang Zemin was speaking to a gathering of elite U.S. 
corporate chairmen who were in China to help celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of the communist takeover of the mainland of China.
  Jiang Zemin blatantly renewed threats by the communist regime to 
conquer Taiwan by force, and then he threatened the United States. ``We 
will not allow any foreign force to create or support Taiwanese 
independence.''
  I have in my possession, Mr. Chairman, Pentagon documents detailing 
the Clinton Administration's exchange program between the United States 
and Communist China. It is a military exchange program. This program of 
military exchanges has, in effect, assisted the Communist Chinese Air 
Force in improving its capabilities to conduct bombing raids on Taiwan.
  The May 1999 Air Force exchange, and this was an exchange in May of 
1999, this year, introduced the Communist Chinese, and these are 
military leaders in the Communist Chinese military, to our most 
advanced Air Force capabilities. This may eventually cause the death of 
Americans serving in any U.S. air or naval forces that would attempt to 
defend Taiwan against communist attack.
  This is mind boggling. I pray that those people who are listening to 
this or reading it in the Congressional Record or my colleagues will 
please pay attention. We are talking about training Communist Chinese 
military people in ways that will result in the death of thousands, if 
not tens of thousands, of American military personnel. It is 
outrageous. It is incredible. What can you say? What can we do to draw 
attention to this absolute outrage?
  The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Air Force and government 
air traffic control delegation visited the United States between May 9 
and May 20 of this year. Air traffic control certainly sounds harmless. 
The Pentagon documents used to brief these Chinese visitors show that 
they observed or participated in advanced combat Air Force exercises 
with the U.S. 389th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. 
They also observed fighter bomber operations at Edwards Air Force Base 
test center in California.
  At these exercises, they experienced the real or simulated flights of 
bombing runs and strafing runs by our most sophisticated military 
aircraft. Especially useful for the Communist Chinese in their 
potential attack by the Communist Chinese on Taiwan was the briefing 
they got, and these DOD documents verify this, that they were shown how 
the military can use civilian airfields to conduct military operations.
  What we see by these DOD documents is that our government, our 
Defense Department, showed the Communist Chinese how we would use our 
radar systems for air traffic control of fighter bombers at remote 
airfields.

                              {time}  1330

  We showed the Communists how to use AWACs in coordinating bombing 
campaigns. We showed the Communists how we coordinate our AWACS with 
in-flight refueling for long-range missions.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier in this session, when I discovered this military 
exchange program and made it public, the Congress appealed to the 
Defense Department and passed legislation to end military exchanges 
that would benefit the warfighting skills of the Chinese military.
  These DOD documents prove that the Pentagon has ignored the will of 
Congress. Instead, they have not only jeopardized the 24 million people 
who live on Democratic Taiwan but this administration is in effect 
teaching the Communist Chinese how to improve their ability to kill 
America's defenders.
  Again, this is bizarre. It is almost surrealistic. I beg my 
colleagues to pay attention to this. I beg the administration to come 
to their senses, quit trying to treat the world's worst human rights 
abuser, a regime that constantly reminds us that they do not believe in 
anything that America believes in, hates everything America stands for. 
I beg them to quit trying to call these people our strategic partners 
and training them how to do their military.
  I stand ready to give my colleagues all of these documents upon 
request.

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