[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             CORPORATE INVESTMENT IN AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooksey). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it is an interesting time to be in 
our Nation's capital. There are more chief executive officers, more 
CEOs, of the country's largest corporations roaming the halls this week 
and next week than perhaps anytime in recent American political 
history.
  The reason? The United States Congress is considering giving 
Permanent Most Favored Nation status trading privileges to the People's 
Republic of China.
  When it comes to competing for U.S. trade and investment dollars, 
democratic countries in the developing world are losing ground to more 
authoritarian countries in the developing world, like China.
  The CEOs that come to our offices and implore us to support permanent 
trade advantages for the People's Republic of China and its communist 
regime tell us that China is a lucrative market, with 1.2 billion 
potential consumers.
  What they do not tell us, but what is the most important to them, is 
that China is a nation of 1.2 billion potential workers, workers who 
are paid 30 cents an hour, workers who do not talk back, workers who 
cannot form unions, workers who do not benefit from any worker safety 
legislation or environmental laws or food safety standards.
  In the post-Cold War decade, the share of developing country exports 
to the U.S. for democratic nations fell from 53 percent to 34 percent, 
a decrease of 18 percentage points.
  American CEOs prefer doing business in totalitarian countries like 
China because western investors enjoy the benefits of child labor and 
slave labor and 25-cent-an-hour wages.
  In manufacturing goods, developing democracies' share of developing 
country exports fell 21 percentage points, from 56 to 35 percent. 
American CEOs prefer doing business in countries like China, 
authoritarian countries like China, where workers can never speak up, 
where human rights are dismissed, where worker rights are simply 
nonexistent.
  Nations that do not support democracy have gained five percent of 
U.S. investment over the last 10 years. China was responsible for 95 
percent of foreign investment gained for non-democratic countries.
  American CEOs prefer doing business in authoritarian nations like 
China with an obedient, docile workforce that has no ability to 
organize unions. Western corporations have shown they want to invest in 
countries that have below poverty wages, poor environmental standards, 
no opportunities for unions. They love to invest in authoritarian 
countries that suppress labor rights, allow slave labor, allow child 
labor, pay 25 cents an hour.
  The United States talks a good game about democratic ideals worldwide 
through all of our trade programs. But, as developing nations make 
progress toward democracy, something we say we applaud in this 
institution, the American business community penalizes those countries 
that are becoming more democratic by pulling its trade and investment 
in favor of totalitarian countries like China.
  CEOs tell us that engaging with China will bring more democracy to 
that country and more freedom and more enterprise and all of that. But 
who are the real decision-makers in China? Who gains from the system 
the way it is in China? Who is in charge in the People's Republic of 
China?
  First, the Chinese Communist Party makes most decisions in that 
country; second, the People's Liberation Army, which owns many of the 
export businesses in China, the big manufacturing concerns; and third, 
the western investors are very influential that have businesses set up 
in China.
  Which of those groups wants to see change? Which of those groups 
wants China to democratize? Which of those groups wants workers in that 
country to have more rights, to have more ability to speak up, to be 
able to form unions and bargain collectively and bring their wages up? 
The Chinese Communist Party? I do not think so. The People's Liberation 
Army? I do not think so. Western investors in China? I do not think so.
  Those three groups, the Chinese Communist Party, the People's 
Liberation Army, western investors, lump them all together and they are 
all aiming for the same thing. They like doing business. They like the 
synergism that results when the three of them work together. They like 
the way things are in the People's Republic of China.
  That is why we should vote ``no'' on Permanent Most Favored Nation 
status for China.
  Shame on us, shame on this Congress if we give Permanent Most Favored 
Nation status trading privileges to the People's Republic of China, a 
communist government that flies in the face of all human rights, that 
cares nothing about its workers, that exploits child labor, slave 
labor, that persecutes Christians, allows and encourages forced 
abortion. Shame on us in this Congress if we give Permanent Most 
Favored Nation status to that country.

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