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If the United States intends to develop a relationship of mutual respect with China, it must defend its interests as vigorously as Beijing does. Now is the time, for China has shown a dangerous new bellicosity in matters from human rights to military threats.
Last week Beijing again showed its contempt for the rights of Chinese citizens by convicting Wei Jingsheng of sedition and sentencing him to 14 years in prison. The activities the court cited included organizing art exhibitions to benefit democracy and writing articles that advocated Tibet's independence. This heavy-handed muzzling of the country's leading dissenter is a measure of the Chinese belief that America and other Western countries will not make them pay a diplomatic or economic price for the abuse of human rights.
Chinese behavior has been equally provocative in other fields. In recent months Beijing has bullied the Philippines over contested islands in the South China Sea, twice conducted missile tests in the waters off Taiwan, resumed irresponsible weapons transfers and imposed its own choice as the reincarnated Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure in Tibet. Meanwhile, as The Times's Patrick Tyler reports, influential military commanders have begun pushing for military action against Taiwan and turned to confrontational rhetoric against the United States.
Washington has minimized these provocations, setting them in the larger perspective of China's encouraging economic reforms and Washington's hopes for political liberalization. That was the same logic that led the Administration, early last year, to abandon its efforts to link trade privileges for China to Beijing's record on human rights, arguing that anything that helped China's booming economy would ultimately advance political freedom as well.
It is working out that way. The 19 months since that policy change have been marked by a serious deterioration in China's responsiveness on human rights and other issues. Discouragingly, this seems to be happening not simply because a new generation of leaders is maneuvering to succeed the failing Deng Xiaoping. Nationalist military officers are steadily gaining political influence, and the two top civilian leaders, President Jiang Zimen and Prime Minister Li Peng, seem committed advocates of political repression. That suggests the newly belligerent policies may not be just a transitional phase, or a sign or insecurity in the leadership group, as some China scholars in the West have said.
The Clinton Administration, having done all it reasonably could to smooth relations, including an October meeting between Presidents Clinton and Jiang, now needs to recognize that a less indulgent policy is required to encourage more responsible behavior by China. The first step is to respond far more sharply to Wei Jingsheng's sentence, beginning with a concerted diplomatic drive to condemn China before the United Nations Human Rights Commission next March. U.N. condemnation would be an international embarrassment for China, one it desperately wants to avoid.
Another step is to oppose non-humanitarian World Bank loans to China, as already provided for under United States law. Some Administration officials also want to consider human rights issues in judging China's application to join the new World Trade Organization, even though that is likely to bring objections from other W.T.O. members.
The Administration still refuses to reconsider the simpler, more obvious step of restoring a link between trade and human rights. In this critically important diplomatic game, the United States may no longer be able to deny itself the leverage that link could bring.
In an era that believes America's future lies in Asia, what is the Asian democratic model? Singapore and Malaysia are single party states refreshed a bit by economic freedom.
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