[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18040-18042]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        REPORT ON FOREIGN TRAVEL: TAIWAN, CHINA, AND SOUTH KOREA

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, from August 4-11, 2001, I joined Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, Senator Paul 
Sarbanes and Senator Fred Thompson on a congressional delegation to 
Taiwan, mainland China, and South Korea, with a brief stopover in 
Honolulu, Hawaii, and Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
  During our very brief time in Hawaii, the delegation met with Admiral 
Dennis Blair, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. In 
preparation for our scheduled meetings with various Asian heads of 
state, Admiral Blair outlined U.S. preparedness and presence in the 
Asian Pacific region.
  In Taipei, following an extensive briefing from the American 
Institute of Taiwan Director Raymond Burghardt on the status of cross-
Strait relations, the delegation met with Taiwanese President Chen 
Shui-bian at the Presidential Palace on Monday, August 6, 2001. 
President Chen seemed genuinely pleased that Taiwan was the first stop 
on our delegation's multi-country jaunt, and recognized and appreciated 
the U.S. Congress's longstanding friendship with the Republic of China.
  The President discussed his efforts as Mayor of Taipei to improve 
cross-Strait relations, and stressed his resolve to continue down this 
path as President. He said he believed that he has made ``good sincere 
gestures'' to the People's Republic of China, but continues to be 
disappointed in what he sees as rebuffs of his efforts by Beijing. He 
cited Beijing's disregard for Taiwan's plan for tourism by citizens of 
mainland China as an example of this lack of Chinese engagement.
  I raised the point that many in the U.S. are concerned about several 
issues involving Southeast Asia, such as China's allegedly illegal 
sales of weapons of mass destruction and China's human rights record. 
When facing whether to grant permanent normalized trade relations, 
PNTR, with China, I let him know my view that I believed it better to 
leave trade status subject to annual review to retain leverage in U.S.-
China talks on proliferation, human rights, and many other items.
  President Chen countered that in order for all countries' 
relationships with China to improve, China must become a trustworthy 
member of the international community and abide by international laws. 
He believed that PNTR would help this process along, and he would 
support the granting of such status by the U.S.
  President Chen said he believed that the U.S. could play a more 
active role in the region, but that belief seemed to be tempered by his 
recognition that it is inappropriate for the U.S. to act as a mediator. 
He said he will continue to attempt to engage the mainland in cross-
Strait talks, and that he is not discouraged by the failure of past 
efforts.
  From Taipei we traveled to Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, August 7, 
2001, for another brief stay, and conducted a working lunch meeting 
with members

[[Page 18041]]

of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. That afternoon, we 
conducted a large ``roundtable'' discussion with a handful of 
professors and approximately 100 undergraduate students enrolled in the 
Center for American Studies at Fudan University. It was enlightening to 
learn how young Chinese men and women view the United States and our 
involvement in the region. The session provided a real opportunity to 
assess how our Southeast Asia policy is perceived among Chinese 
citizens in general and among future leaders in particular.
  Upon arrival in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Wednesday, August 
8, 2001, we immediately proceeded to the seaside town of Beidaihe, 
located 3-3.5 hours outside of the city by car. Beidaihe, a resort town 
popular among vacationing working class Chinese, is the site of the 
very private Chinese leadership retreat compound, where party leaders 
spend much of their summer months. Our delegation was honored to be the 
first Westerners invited to attend meetings on the grounds.
  The delegation first met with General Chi Hao-tian, the Chinese 
Defense Minister, and again raised the nonproliferation issue. We 
expressed our grave concerns about recent intelligence reports 
describing the sale or transfer of missile hardware and technology to 
Pakistan, despite China's November 2000 pledge to cease assisting other 
countries develop missile capabilities.
  General Chi denied the missile sales allegations, saying that China 
always sticks to its commitments. The General went on to blast the U.S. 
media for creating distrust of China, and called the reports of missile 
sales ``totally baseless.'' He also countered with his assertion that 
the U.S.'s sales of arms to Taiwan violate the ``One China'' 
articulated since the Nixon administration.
  In our discussions later that afternoon with Chinese President Jiang 
Zemin, many of the same hot-button issues such as nonproliferation and 
China-Taiwan relations were raised. However, our audience with the 
President afforded an opportunity to delve more into some human rights 
and religious freedom concerns as well. We were dismayed to hear 
President Jiang, unprovoked, refer to the Falungong movement as a 
``cult.'' But overall, the President's tone was positive, and he called 
China a connected nation with a strong market economy.
  With regard to arms sales to Pakistan, President Jiang joined General 
Chi in a blanket denial of any wrongdoing, saying China did not violate 
``any rule.'' He said that China does maintain arms sales to friendly 
nations, but always within international rules. He further claimed that 
China had done nothing to contribute to missile development in North 
Korea or Taiwan.
  I discussed briefly with President Jiang my previous two visits to 
the People's Republic of China in 1982 and 1994. On PNTR, I conveyed my 
reluctance to support normalized trade status with his country due to 
concerns about proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Despite 
his denials of such activities at the commencement of our meeting, I 
again raised the allegations of illegal weapons sales to Pakistan, 
Saudi Arabia, and Iran, as these were weighty matters on the minds of 
the international community.
  Of particular concern to me during my visit to China were questions 
of religious freedom and detention of U.S. citizens by Chinese 
authorities. I asked President Jiang about the case of Mr. Yongyi Song, 
the librarian from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania who had been held 
for five months without formal charges or the benefit of legal counsel. 
The matter of Mr. Song was only resolved after Congressional 
intervention with the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. and introduction 
of a Senate resolution calling for Mr. Song's release. I told President 
Jiang that I was extremely concerned about cases like these, and I 
called on China to develop standards of judicial practice and a 
reasonable rule of law that would sustain international scrutiny.
  President Jiang responded that I had made a good suggestion, and that 
China had been working for years to establish a rule of law. He went on 
to say that the Chinese constitution guarantees citizens religious 
freedom, with the exception of Falungong, a group he again 
characterized as a cult. The President concluded with a description of 
his hopes for the future of China in the coming decades, that his 
country will have completed the transformation to a market economy, 
accompanied by a strong infrastructure of appropriate judicial and 
political systems.
  On Thursday, August 9, 2001, the delegation traveled to Beijing's 
Great Hall of the People to meet with Chinese Premier Zhu Rong-ji. The 
Premier was quite generous with his time, and during an hour and a half 
long meeting, outlined barriers and misperceptions which can hinder 
U.S.-China relations. It was made clear that it is in both countries' 
interests to engage one another economically, but that certain actions 
on weapons proliferation and stifling of human rights will have 
consequences in the U.S. This meeting was valuable in laying out our 
countries' priorities and understanding each sides' domestic (both 
public and governmental) pressures which inevitably affect bilateral 
relations.
  I was pleased that Premier Zhu acknowledged that there are some 
deficiencies in China's human rights and judicial policies, and that he 
said that he was willing to work on both. I raised the detention of Mr. 
Song, the Dickinson librarian, a case which brought into sharp focus 
what can happen to American citizens detained in China. I pointed out 
to Premier Zhu that cases like these are major irritants to U.S.-China 
relations. I suggested that he consider an agreement with the U.S. that 
when China detains an American citizen or U.S. resident and perhaps 
others, that those individuals be guaranteed basic points of due 
process, such as written documentation of charges, a limitation of time 
in detention, the right to an attorney, and a public legal proceeding 
so the U.S. and the press can review the evidence. I further suggested 
that the Chinese government should work with programs like the Temple 
University School of Law curriculum on Chinese rule of law recently 
established in Beijing since universities can be an excellent, non-
political training ground for judges, attorneys, and other judicial 
officials.
  Premier Zhu responded that he was not familiar with the specific case 
of Mr. Song, but that whatever the circumstances surrounding his 
detention, he was confident that the Chinese could learn from his case. 
I asked Premier Zhu if China would be willing to consider an agreement 
between the United States and China dealing with due process rights for 
detained American citizens and perhaps others. Premier Zhu responded 
that such an agreement was a ``possibility''.
  Over a working lunch Thursday afternoon at Ambassador Clark Randt's 
residence in Beijing, the delegation had a fascinating discussion with 
two Chinese experts on weapons proliferation, Dr. Zhu Feng, Director of 
Beijing University's International Security Program; and Dr. Yang Ming-
Jie, Director of Arms Control and Security Studies at the China 
Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a think tank loosely 
affiliated with China's People's Liberation Army.
  Dr. Yang articulated some very interesting points about Chinese 
public opinion on weapons proliferation, that in fact one-third of the 
people believe that proliferation is a good thing. Interestingly, when 
asked about reports of illegal arms sales to Pakistan and other 
countries, neither gave the patent denials we had heard all week from 
Chinese officials. Instead, they insisted that any shipments must not 
have been new deals, but vestiges of past contracts.
  The two experts discussed the fact that the Chinese do not think the 
U.S. is setting a good example by refusing to sign the Comprehensive 
Test Ban Treaty, CTBT, and by continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. They 
wondered why China should be first to disarm when the U.S. does not 
appear to be serious about its own role in international disarmament. 
This leads to the approach, the deadly cycle of each side reacting to 
what we perceive the

[[Page 18042]]

other to be doing, thus making both countries more resolute in our 
respective positions to not disarm first.
  On Thursday afternoon, the delegation met with Chinese Foreign 
Minister Tang at the impressive new Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
building. This meeting again focused primarily on weapons issues, and 
Minister Tang's denials of violations of international nonproliferation 
agreements were startlingly similar to those made by General Chi, 
President Jiang and Premier Zhu. The Foreign Minister called 
accusations of illegal sales to Pakistan ``totally baseless'' and was 
adamant that China always honors agreements in good faith.
  With regard to general concerns about democratization, human rights, 
religious freedom and rule of law, he admitted that deficiencies remain 
but chose to describe the progress already made, such as shifting the 
culture away from rural agriculture and improving the quality of life 
for the average Chinese citizen.
  I asked Minister Tang pointedly about whether he believes that it 
still made sense for a country to develop intercontinental ballistic 
missiles, ICBMs, as deterrents to nuclear war. He then reiterated that 
China is ``firmly opposed'' to the proliferation of ICBMs and that his 
country will cooperate in further discussions on the matter. He said 
that China is therefore opposed to the U.S. development of national 
missile defense, as it will undermine international disarmament and 
upset the nuclear balance, posing a real threat to China.
  On Saturday, August 11, 2001, our delegation was received at the Blue 
House in Seoul, South Korean, to meet with President Kim Dae-jung. We 
complimented President Kim on his far-sighted commitment to democracy, 
and for his patient policy of engagement with North Korea. We were 
interested to learn his views on what the U.S. and the world can do to 
bring North Korean President Kim Jong-il to the bargaining table. 
President Kim urged the U.S. to stop calling North Korea a rogue nation 
and the principal cause of our need to develop national missile 
defense. He believed that such language was not helpful in cultivating 
a circumstance in which the North Koreans would enter into a verifiable 
agreement to end its nuclear ballistic missile program.
  I raised the issue of Jamie Penich of Derry, Pennsylvania, who was 
violently killed in a motel room in Seoul, South Korea, in March of 
this year. Jamie, a 21-year old University of Pittsburgh student, had 
stopped in Seoul on her way to study at Keimyung University in Taegu, 
South Korea, and was found stomped to death in her motel room by her 
friend. There was no evidence of a sexual assault and nothing was 
stolen from the room.
  I explained the circumstances of the case to President Kim, as well 
as my understanding that the Korean police have sole jurisdiction over 
the case, but that the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, CID, 
and the FBI are assisting in the investigation. There have been no 
leads in the case thus far. I asked President Kim if he would check on 
the progress of the investigation. Although he was not familiar with 
the case, he agreed to inquire about its status and to work with the 
Korean police force and American embassy staff on facilitating its 
swift resolution.
  I also talked to President Kim about Boeing's bid to sell F-15 
fighter aircraft to South Korea. The Republic of Korea Air Force aims 
to replace its aging fleet of F-4D/Es and F-5s, and Boeing is among 
four competitors to provide the $4 billion contract for the new 
aircrafts. The F-15s cultivated an outstanding win record during the 
Gulf War, while the competing French aircraft have never been battle 
tested. President Kim seemed familiar with the Boeing plane's exemplary 
record in the Gulf War. I also stressed to President Kim that the 
U.S.'s substantial contributions to South Korea should merit special 
consideration in awarding this contract to U.S. company. The French, 
the competitor for the contract, have contributed much less.
  For the remainder of Saturday afternoon prior to our late evening 
departure from Osan Air Force Base, the delegation was escorted to the 
Joint Security Area by Lieutenant General Daniel Zanini, Commanding 
General, Eighth U.S. Army, and Chief of Staff for the United Nations 
Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea. Upon arrival 
at Camp Bonifas at the base of the JSA, Lieutenant Colonel William 
Miller, Commander of the U.N. Command Security Battalion-JSA. gave the 
delegation a tour of the demilitarized zone and outlined the status of 
tensions at the border of North and North Korea. The group then 
proceeded down to Camp Casey and received a tour of the soldiers' 
barracks, which are in exceedingly poor shape. General Zanini also 
described the need for additional vehicle maintenance facilities and 
for generally improved living conditions for the 375,00 U.S. troops who 
help ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. It was obvious 
that the living conditions were substandard and require considerable 
improvement.

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