10May2000

CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE

CLINTON LOBBIES FOR PNTR WITH COMMUNIST CHINA; EXILED DISSIDENTS URGE REJECTION
President Clinton pushed hard for granted Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the People�s Republic of China in a speech to business leaders and diplomats in the White House East Room on Tuesday. Communist China insisted on PNTR as part of the trade deal that would bring it into the World Trade Organization. Of course, the PRC won�t enter the WTO at all if trade talks with the European Union remain at an impasse.

�If Congress votes against this,� Clinton said in his speech, �they will be kicking themselves in the rear 10 years from now because the American people will be paying for it.� Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee Al Gore also spoke in favor PNTR, claiming it would mean �good jobs for American workers.� Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford were there to offer support, as were former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker. Ford said the economic impact of a no vote would be �catastrophic.� Former President George Bush also came out in favor of PNTR this week, though he was not at the White House on Tuesday. Bush was U.S. envoy to Communist China in the 1970s, and as President maintained close relations with the PRC during and after the Tiananmen Square massacre, so his position was certainly no surprise.

This week, six Democratic and five Republican Representatives announced they would support PNTR. Most of the new PNTR backers were from agricultural districts or California. However, Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), fourth-ranking House Democrat and Cuban-American, announced this week he would oppose PNTR. The outcome in the House is still uncertain.

Meanwhile, the White House has come out in favor of a proposal for Congressman Sander Levin (Democrat-Michigan) to create a special �congressional-executive� commission to monitor human-rights abuses in Communist China. Levin�s proposed commission would also examine national security issues regarding the PRC, and would recommend sanctions so long as they are consistent with WTO rules. The commission is considered vital to win over House Democrats currently undecided on PNTR.

Dissidents exiled from Communist China did not share the White House�s enthusiasm. Harry Wu, a former political prisoner of the PRC, flatly rejected the idea in a letter sent to Levin this week in which he wrote, �Proposals you have presented for �parallel legislation� to supposedly maintain leverage over Beijing is entirely inadequate.� Wei Jingsheng, forced into exile in 1997 after being a political prisoner for 19 years, wrote in his own letter to Levin, �Although the businessmen may view human rights as "inconvenience" to profit making, you, having been elected to a position of responsibility, should not be covering for their shortsightedness.� Wang Xizhe, who was imprisoned for 17 years for speaking out on human rights in Communist China, wrote, �It is sad that the American businessmen are putting profit before human rights.�

UN TORTURE COMMITTEE SLAPS COMMUNIST CHINA ON THE WRIST
The United Nations Committee against Torture �urged� Communist China to investigate torture allegations by Communist officials. They called for legal reforms in a statement denounced by human rights groups as woefully insufficient in its language regarding torture in Communist China.

Amnesty International slammed the committee for omitting references to �numerous cases of torture leading to death� and �attempts by the Chinese authorities to suppress information on torture by imprisoning those who report it.� As the last update reported, such torture included a protestor having his tongue removed for complaining about being beaten by local police.

�Under China's legislative system, evidence obtained through torture is still used in the courts. The committee didn't pay enough attention to this,� said Yu Ping, of Human Rights in China, another human rights organization. �Women in China are particularly vulnerable to torture, especially in family-planning programs where there are enforced abortions, sterilizations, illegal detentions and sometimes monetary fines," he added. "We wish that the Committee against Torture had highlighted these problems.�

Communist China had earlier claimed they were reducing torture on the mainland, which was quickly challenged by human rights groups. Qiao Zonghuai, the PRC�s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told the committee last week that stronger anti-torture legislation and judicial training have led to �cases of torture in China (dropping) over the last few years.� Human Rights in China flatly rejected Qiao�s happy words in a statement released as Qiao delivered his statement. The group said �minimal safeguards now available in China's Criminal Procedure Law for the rights of detainees contain so many loopholes that police can ignore them at will.� Amnesty International also called torture in Communist China �commonplace.�

COMMUNIST CHINA WIPES OUT UNSUPERVISED JOURNALISM FROM ABROAD
Perhaps it was something they said. Foreign journalist can now no longer enter Communist China on individual tourist visas. The South China Morning Post reported on Saturday that Beijing had ended the practice of granting individual visas to journalists from abroad eager to get around cumbersome rules restricting access to the mainland. The paper reported journalists from Hong Kong were having their applications to enter the mainland rejected. Foreign journalists wishing to enter the country are now compelled to do so as part of a �government-supervised tour group.� Foreign journalists based in Communist China are already accredited with Beijing, but they also face access restrictions. For example, they are required to reside in government-designated compounds for journalists and diplomats and official approval is required for the hiring of translators.

COMMUNIST CHINA SLAMS US COMMISSION REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sadly, but not surprisingly, Communist China attacked the report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom which, as reported here last week, recommended against granting Communist China PNTR until they have made a �substantial improvement in respect for religious freedom.� Xinhua, Beijing�s state-run news agency, quoted Sun Yuxi, spokesmen for the Foreign Ministry, who charged the report �confounded black and white.� Pro-PNTR forces, including the White House, have played down the report.

COMMUNIST CHINA EXPANDS �ONE CHILD� POLICY
On Sunday, the Communist Chinese government vowed to continue the �one child� policy, despite its reported weakness in rural areas. Agence France Presse reported that the Communist Party has produced a directive for the mainland to keep population growth at 1.5% per year until mid-century, when supposedly the population will top out at 1.6 billion. The �one child� policy has led to numerous forced abortions and sterilizations since the 1980s. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan were not included in the directive.

Communist China also stated in the directive that lax enforcement for ethnic minorities, which make up about 9% of the mainland population, will end. The Tibet Information Network reported in February that many Tibetan women have been threatened with forced sterilization if they have more than two children.

FEMALE KIDNAPPINGS RUN RAMPANT IN COMMUNIST CHINA
After years of denial, Communist China finally admitted trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and wife purchasing is a major problem on the mainland. BBC reported the Communists claimed to have identified 10,000 suspects and rescued an equal number of women and girls. For decades the Communists have claimed they eliminated women trafficking. Many believe the trafficking is fueled by high male to female ratios in many areas as a result of the Communists �one child� policy. The government said the campaign would last three months.

VATICAN REJECTS COMMUNIST APPOINTED BISHOPS IN �PATRIOTIC� CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church has again rejected the appointment of bishops by Communist China to the �Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics,� a Communist-controlled organization that split from the Vatican over 40 years ago. The Vatican also exhorted their loyal followers within Communist China, who must meet and worship in secret, to continue growing in faith.

�No human power can hope to change the constitution of the Catholic Church based on Peter,� said Cardinal Jozef Tomko, the Vatican's prefect of the congregation for evangelization, in a homily broadcast on Vatican Radio. The Slovak priest also said this did not mean the Church �wants to replace political powers or intervene in their domain.� At present, there are about 10 million followers of the Roman Catholic Church, or �Church of silence.� Pope John Paul II plans to canonize 120 Chinese martyrs of anti-Catholicism, going back four centuries, in October. Communist China has criticized the pope for the event, which would fall on the 51st anniversary of the founding of the People�s Republic of China.

COMMUNISTS ADD MORE RELIGIONS TO THEIR LIST OF �EVIL SECTS�
The Information Center on Human Rights and Democracy has reported that Communist China has expanded their crackdown on independent religions to include 14 Christian groups and a Buddhist faith based in Taiwan. The crackdown has been under way since October, and began under the usual cover of labeling the groups as �evil sects.� The Buddhist group, known as Guanyin Method, spread from Taiwan to the mainland in 1992 and now claims about 500,000 members. During a Tuesday meeting of Guanyin in Hong Kong, several hundred followers from the mainland told of arrests by Communist authorities. Communist China has been attempting to snuff out several independent religions for quite some time, most notably the Roman Catholic Church and Falun Gong.

COMMNIST CHINA WON�T PROMISE NOT TO HELP OTHER NATIONS GO NUCLEAR
The Washington Times reported this week that the Clinton Administration has been unable to get Communist China to agree to implement prior agreements not to resale nuclear technology to other nations. The Energy Department is now holding up a number of export licenses because the PRC refuses to rule out re-exporting militarily usable technology, particularly to newly nuclear Pakistan. Communist China had assured the U.S in 1998 they would not militarily convert the technology they imported or resell it to other nations in exchange for U.S. certification as a non-exporter to rogue states. Without the certification, U.S. exports of nuclear technology could not go to Communist China under an agreement signed in 1985. Earlier this year, the CIA noted that Communist China�s pledge not to aid Iran�s attempts to go nuclear seemed intact, but the pledge not to help Pakistan�s nuclear program was routinely violated.

INDIA, JAPAN, AND VIETNAM TO CONDUCT JOINT NAVAL EXERCISE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
According to the Washington Times, India, Japan, and Vietnam have scheduled a joint naval exercise in the South China Sea, home to the hotly disputed Spratley Islands. While the exercise is scheduled for October, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said it could occur �at any time.� The paper also reported that India intends to leave a fleet of about four or five ships in the area after the exercise ends. Vietnam, who has one of four claims to the Spratleys � Communist China has another � will be directly involved, while Japan�s role will be more limited. Analysts say the move is certain to antagonize Communist China, which likes to think it owns the entire South China Sea. India has fought three wars with the PRC�s ally Pakistan, and it is becoming increasingly worried about countering Communist China. Fernandes himself said �China is potential threat number one . . . the potential threat from China is greater than that from Pakistan.� Vietnam, meanwhile, has fought two conflicts with Communist China since 1979, one involving the Spratleys.

COMMUNIST LEADER JIANG ZEMIN TO LEAVE PARTY POST IN 2002
Jiang Zemin, President of Communist China, told members of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo that he plans to step down from his post as general secretary of the CCP in 2002, according to the South China Morning Post. Jiang asked the Politburo to support Vice President Hu Jintao to succeed him as party boss. The paper said Jiang would leave as President of the PRC in 2003, but remain chairman of the military commission � which will effectively keep him de facto leader � until 2007. The military chairmanship is the same post Deng Xiaoping used to wield power from �behind the scenes� until his death. It would also keep Jiang officially in charge of defense issues and relations with Taiwan, according to the Post. Jiang has been general secretary of the party since 1989, shortly after the Tiananmen Sqaure massacre.

CORRUPTION NEWS
In Fujian province, a former chief of a traffic control unit in the mainland city of Guangzhou tried to kill himself to avoid inquiries into his �unexplained wealth,� as Agence France Presse put it. Authorities were investigating the ex-issuer of motorcycle licenses for his acquisition of roughly $24 million, for which he couldn�t account. Ten other officials in Guangzhou are also under investigation begun as a probe into the massive Xiamen smuggling ring led by Li Jizhou, Vice Minister for Public Security, and Xu Ganlu, Communist China�s immigration chief.

Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that elsewhere in Fujian province, a second major smuggling racket has led to three trials and two firings. Chen Nenggeng, Zheng Ping and Fang Lei, all high ranking customs officials with various Fujian cities, are slated for trial. They were arrested in 1998 and charged in 1999. Cai Shuiguan and Zheng Xianggeng, two other customs officials, were dismissed. Dozens of other officials were under investigation. State officials anonymously confirmed the paper�s story, except for the report that over $6 million was involved. One official said it was �definitely not� that high.

TAIWAN NEWS
Chen Shui-bian, will be inaugurated as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on May 20, assured the world, particularly the United States, that he would not further anger Communist China in his inauguration address. While he wouldn�t guarantee Beijing would be happy with his address � and no one can guarantee that on anything these days � he pledged to avoid any provocations.

�The international community would definitely affirm it,� said Chen. �Even if China is not satisfied, at the very least we will not give the Chinese Communists any excuse to say we are provoking them or that we are creating trouble.� He said his address will �at the very least definitely satisfy the U.S. side.� He also said he would pursue high-level talks with Beijing and sign a peace treaty with the Communists if they accepted Taiwan as a political equal. Communist China responded with the usual demands for Chen to accept Beijing�s �One China� policy.

Meanwhile, Chen�s party, the Democratic Progressives, has invited the Communist leadership to Taipei to discuss with the people governed by the ROC �the good points of reunification.� Lin Yi-hsiung, chairman of the DPP, made the invitation on Thursday, the same day a Chinese Communist Party office opened in Taipei.

�The Democratic Progressive Party seeks a public consensus on the future of the island," Lin said. �If Jiang Zemin and other leaders would like to come, we welcome them. They can tell the people here the good points of reunification. If the public is convinced, if the majority of the people agree with them, then we will have to reevaluate our party charter.� Polls before the March 18 elections showed most ROC voters preferred the status quo to either reunification with Communist China or formal independence.

A Taiwanese Internet newspaper reported that Communist China�s People�s Liberation Army was planning special wargames directed at Taiwan on May 25, five days after Chen�s inauguration. Taiwan�s Defense Ministry dismissed the report, however, saying they had �not found relevant information or signs of the report that Communist troops would conduct 'Hainan Island No. 4' exercises in the near future.� Hainan is an island off the southern coast of the mainland.

On the intelligence front, a leading spy for the ROC offered to surrender to Beijing in exchange for fellow operatives already held by the Communists. Chang Chih-Peng led the spy ring that had discovered Communist China�s missile launches over Taiwan ahead of the 1996 presidential elections were dummies. When President Lee Tegn-Hui made the information public to calm the people�s fears, Communist authorities immediately became suspicious. Chang's military sources � Communist Chinese Major General Liu Liankun and Colonel Shao Zhengzhong � were executed last August. Accoridn to Agence France Presse, the crackdown has led to charges against 24 people.

TIBET NEWS
The World Bank�s Inspection Panel, an internal watchdog group, is highly critical of the bank�s move to provide low-interest loans to Communist China�s plan to resettle 60,000 Chinese farmers in Tibet. The loan was approved last year despite the opposition of the United States and Germany, two of the bank�s biggest shareholders. Tibetan leaders, particularly the government-in-exile, called the plan �cultural genocide.� In fact, it was the International Campaign for Tibet that first asked the Inspection Panel to examine the loan. The Campaign suggested the bank could have violated its own rules on environmental assessment, involuntary resettlement and the rights of indigenous people. While the report itself is under wraps, sources said it slammed numerous decisions made during the process of the loan approval.

�We are hoping that this project will be withdrawn,� said John Ackerly, spokesperson for the International Campaign. �This project was terrible, both in concept and design . . . We expect this is going to be an extraordinarily critical report, although we have not seen it.� The bank�s board was given six weeks by the three-member Inspection Panel to decide the fate of the loan. The report will not be released until then.

Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen began a one-week trip to Communist China this week. He is being closely watched due to his expected meeting with the Dalai Lama in Denmark on May 21. Like most European leaders, he said he would discuss human rights in talks with Communist President Jiang. He arrived with an entourage of leading Danish businessmen.

Communist China has repeatedly told Rasmussen to cancel his meeting with the Dalai Lama. Zhu Rongji, the PRC�s Prime Minister, hinted at the meeting this week when he asked Rasmussen to �respect the position of China on all these subjects . . . whether it concerned Taiwan or Tibet.� Rasmussen has repeatedly refused, saying, �I have taken note of China�s reservations but I intend to meet the Dalai Lama.� Denmark has had a history of outspoken criticism of Communist China�s massive human rights abuses.

QUOTE
�Anyone who kicks his dog, beats his wife and maintains a constant threat to his neighbors should not expect to have normal relations with us."
Stephen H. Martin, Virginia State Senator and Republican Congressional candidate, on PNTR for the PRC

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