[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 155 (Friday, November 5, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PROTEST TRADE POLICIES WITH PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, most Americans and, for that matter, 
most Members of Congress probably have not perhaps until recently heard 
of Falun Gong. I had never heard of it until last summer, when the 
People's Republic of China banned it and started throwing thousands of 
people in jail for practicing their faith.
  It is hardly surprising, Mr. Speaker, that China systematically is 
arresting and torturing and even killing its own citizens for 
practicing Falun Gong. After all, this is the same gang of dictators 
that persecutes Christians, that tolerates, maybe even encourages, 
forced abortions, the exact same regime that had the People's 
Liberation Army crush hundreds of democracy advocates 10 years ago at 
Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
  But even though this latest purge is completely in character, it is a 
perfect illustration of the fact that 10 years of giving the Chinese 
government trading privileges with the United States, giving them most-
favored-nation status, still has not brought about the rule of law in 
China.
  I cannot recall ever seeing less respect for human life, nor do I 
think there is better evidence to contradict the incessant drum beat 
from corporate America and the Republican allies in Congress that free 
trade is the magic bean that is going to sprout democracy in China. 
There is simply no evidence for that, because when Beijing decided to 
make practicing Falun Gong a capital offense, which is exactly what the 
rubber-stamped Chinese Congress did last week, we see that life in the 
People's Republic of China is exactly the same as it was before 
American CEOs streamed into Shanghai last month to celebrate 50 years 
of communism. Topping off this event was a presentation by one major 
American CEO of a bust of Abraham Lincoln to Chinese President Jiang 
Zemin.
  Regardless of what the business community or the lawyers at the 
Commerce Department or their Republican allies tell us, our trade with 
China is completely one-sided. Just look at our trade deficit figures 
and tell any of us otherwise. Walk into a Wal-Mart, count the number of 
items that are stamped ``made in China,'' and you can see the picture. 
If you are still not convinced, then read the administration's own 
report on the effects of a WTO deal with China on our economy.

                              {time}  1215

  That report tells us that even under the best possible circumstances, 
which might mean that the totalitarian government actually lives up to 
the promises they made any time in the last 10 years to our government, 
even under those circumstances, the best of circumstances, our exports 
to China would barely increase and our trade deficit, even under the 
best of circumstances, would continue to balloon out of control.
  Mr. Speaker, this not a report by a college student or a Washington 
think tank, this is a determination of our own International Trade 
Commission. These are the men and women that our constituents pay to 
analyze just what kind of deal we are getting from letting China dump 
its goods here, from letting it keep our goods and services out of 
their market.
  The men and women of the ITC are telling us that a WTO deal for China 
could not help our economy any more than a WTO deal for Mars would help 
stop the factory closings or help sell American cars or help sell 
American planes to China's 1 billion consumers.
  That is because there are not really 1 billion consumers in the 
People's Republic of China. That is not how corporations of the United 
States look at China. There are 1 billion potential low-wage workers. 
That is what excites American corporations. The average person in China 
makes less than $800 a year, and we are supposed to believe they are 
going to buy our products. Even the ITC has concluded that that is a 
preposterous assumption.
  Mr. Speaker, before we close one more factory, before we permit one 
more forced abortion in China, before we allow China to continue to 
operate its slave labor and child labor camps and sell goods to the 
United States, we need to stop kidding ourselves and get out of the 
business of trading with dictators, because as I speak, there are 
thousands of men and women in China who are being beaten and killed for 
choosing to believe in ideals that we take for granted in this country, 
ideals from Abraham Lincoln that Jiang Zemin really does not admire, 
clearly, whether it is our faith in God, our right to vote, or simply 
wanting to go on an early morning jog.
  I urge all of my colleagues to protest and oppose any more trading 
privileges with the People's Republic of China until its government 
proves it actually is capable of respecting law.

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