[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H2487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          DENY PERMANENT MOST FAVORED NATION STATUS FOR 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, in 3 weeks the Republican leadership 
will ask this body to vote for permanent most favored nation status 
trading privileges for the People's Republic of China. They tell us 
engagement with China, that more trade with China, that giving trade 
advantages to China, will make everything better. It all started back 
about a dozen years ago with Ronald Reagan, then President George Bush 
and President Bill Clinton, telling us that things would get better 
with China.
  Eleven years ago the United States had a $100 million trade deficit, 
with an ``M,'' with Communist China, the People's Republic of China. 
Today that trade deficit has grown to $70 billion, that is billion with 
a ``B,'' from $100 million in 11 years to $70 billion trade deficit 
with China.
  We sell only $15 billion worth of goods to China every year. We buy 
$85 billion worth of goods from China. We sell more to Singapore, we 
sell more to Taiwan, we sell more to Belgium, than we do to China, 
because China's markets are closed to American products by and large. 
In fact, those products we sell to those countries, Belgium, Taiwan, 
Singapore, those are countries with about \1/50\ the population of the 
People's Republic of China.
  This process of engagement and giving them most favored nation status 
and giving China trade privileges simply has not worked. Other 
conditions have worsened. The trade deficit, as I said, went from $100 
million to $70 billion in 11 years.
  Other conditions, child labor has worsened, slave labor conditions in 
China have worsened. We continue to give them trade advantages. They 
answer by continuing their thumb in the eye of the values that we hold 
dear.
  The Chinese communist party persecutes Christians and Buddhists and 
Muslims, not to mention their indigenous religious organizations such 
as the Falun Gong. The Chinese government winks at, sometimes even 
encourages, forced abortions, something that almost every country in 
the world, probably every country in the world, finds absolutely 
abhorrent.
  Today, China continues its assault on Taiwan. A few years ago, I 
believe 3 years ago when Taiwan held the first free elections in 
Chinese history, the People's Republic of China sent missiles into the 
Straits of Taiwan to warn them against democracy. Today, as Taiwan 
begins a new era where their first native Taiwanese will be inaugurated 
president later this month, the Chinese again are threatening military 
maneuvers on the east coast of China.
  If we let China in the World Trade Organization with full trading 
privileges, as the Republican leadership and the President here wants 
to do, what is to stop China from doing even more to Taiwan? They will 
not have any check on their behavior.
  Perhaps the most insidious part of this whole debate is how American 
corporations have lined up on behalf of the Communist party 
dictatorship. The CEOs of the largest businesses in America, the most 
prominent corporations in America, are walking the halls of Congress 
today and all the House and Senate office buildings imploring Members 
of Congress to vote to support the People's Republic of China, to 
support most favored nation status trading privileges for China.
  Wei Jing Sheng, a Chinese dissident, said the vanguard of the Chinese 
Communist Party revolution in the United States is America's most 
prominent and prestigious CEOs.
  There are more corporate jets at National Airport today, leading up 
to the MFN vote, the most favored nation status, trading privileges for 
China vote, than at any time during the year. Corporations understand. 
They tell us that China has 1.2 billion potential consumers, that 
America needs to sell to them. What they really mean to say is China 
has 1.2 billion workers, investments made from American companies, in 
China, people making 13 cents and 15 cents and 20 cents an hour, 
working 60 and 70 and 75 hours a week, selling products back to the 
United States, exploiting Chinese workers and costing American jobs.
  Most favored nation status privilege is permanent. MTR for China is a 
bad idea. I ask this Congress to defeat it.

                          ____________________