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“PASSING PNTR WILL ONLY CONFIRM THAT CHINA'S BEHAVIOR WILL CONTINUE AND WORSEN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2954-H2955 on May 11, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PASSING PNTR WILL ONLY CONFIRM THAT CHINA'S BEHAVIOR WILL CONTINUE AND
WORSEN
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, this Congress is built upon a common desire to promote democratic ideals throughout the world. But as we strive to encourage democracy in developing nations, something is sorely amiss in our China policy.
When the CEOs of multinational corporations lobby for increased trade with China, they talk about access to 1.2 billion Chinese consumers. What they do not say is that their real interest is 1.2 billion Chinese workers, workers whom they pay 10 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents, 40 cents an hour.
These CEOs will tell us that increasing trade with China will force China to improve, that engagement with China will bring democracy to that Communist dictatorship. But as we engage with developing countries in trade and investment, democratic counties in the developing world are losing ground to more authoritarian countries. Democratic nations such as India are losing out to more totalitarian governments such as China where the people are not free and the workers do as they are told.
In the post-Cold War decade, the share of developing country exports to the U.S. for democratic nations fell from 53 percent in 1989 to 34 percent in 1998. Corporate America wants to do business with countries with docile work forces that earn below poverty wages and are not allowed to organize to bargain collectively.
In manufacturing goods, developing democracies' share of developing country exports fell 21 percent, from 56 percent to 35 percent. Corporations are relocating their manufacturing to more authoritarian regimes where the workers do not talk back for fear of being punished.
Western corporations want to invest in countries that have below poverty wages, that have nonexistent environmental standards, that have no worker safety standards, that have no opportunities to bargain collectively. As developing nations make progress toward democracy, as they increase worker rights, as they create regulation to protect the environment, American business punishes them by pulling its trade and pulling its investment in favor of other totalitarian governments.
Decisions about the Chinese economy are made by three groups: the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Liberation Army, which controls a significant number of the business that export to the United States, and, third, Western investors. Do any of these three want to empower workers? Does the Chinese Communist Party want the Chinese people to enjoy human rights? No. Does the People's Liberation Army want to close the labor camps? I do not think so. Do Western investors want Chinese workers to bargain collectively? Obviously no. None of these groups, I repeat, none of these groups, the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Liberation Army, and Western investors, none of these groups have any interest in changing the current situation in China. All three profit too much from the status quo to want to see human rights and labor rights improve in China.
The People's Republic of China ignores the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. The People's Republic of China ignores the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. They ignore the State Department's country reports, and the People's Republic of China has broken almost every agreement they have made with the United States. Why would the Chinese government pay any attention to the congressional task force? Passing PNTR, passing permanent Most Favored Nation status trading privileges for China, will only confirm that China's behavior will continue and worsen.
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