Editorial
Wailing for China W hen the young Chinese dissident, Qin Yongmin, opposed Beijing' s bid for the summer 2000 Olympics last year because of China's suppression of human and political rights, he...
...Senator Max Baucus (DMont...
...So far, Clinton's approach has delivered some positive results...
...The Communist rulers in Beijing take criticism—both internal and external—seriously...
...If you do not exert continuous pressures, the Chinese government will very soon take back what it has said...
...He must stand by his demands and watch after them with the same determination the dissident Mr...
...That is why President Bill Clinton has wisely concluded that America's future prosperity will be linked in significant measure to the economic and political emergence of China...
...The 1989 routing of democratic reformers, the Tiananmen massacre, and China's continued subjugation of Tibet are not aberrations but deliberate national policy...
...And more recently still, China's rejection of political reforms instituted in Hong Kong and its criticism of Britain for allowing such democratic experiments adds to a long list of negative reactions to international concerns about human rights...
...Wailing for China W hen the young Chinese dissident, Qin Yongmin, opposed Beijing' s bid for the summer 2000 Olympics last year because of China's suppression of human and political rights, he was sentenced to two years at hard labor without a trial...
...Wei shows...
...While Clinton must be careful not to drive the Chinese to retaliation, he must hold the line...
...With the world's largest population (1.2 billion, and an added 17 million this year alone), the world's fastest growing economy (13 percent in real growth last year), the world's largest standing army (over 3 million and a defense budget that has grown 22 percent since 1988), and a 4,000-year cultural heritage, China's political, economic, and strategic significance is commanding...
...To develop, clarify, and execute such a China policy will require both tact and resolve...
...jobs could be lost...
...Clinton can do this by spelling out the advantages of U.S.-China cooperation and by stressing America's regard for China's standing in the world...
...But economic development is furthered by the expansion of political liberties...
...Resolve...
...A break with the United States would lead to a significant economic setback for Beijing: Whereas Chinese trade with the United States measured a modest $2.5 billion in 1983, by last year it had risen to a substantial $40 billion...
...And in January President Jiang Zemin promised a visiting congressional delegation that China was "going to make an effort" to meet President Clinton's demands by June...
...But President Clinton would be foolish to back away from the threatened sanctions...
...Revoking MFN status would be costly for both countries...
...A number of dissidents have been released...
...It is now up to Mr...
...Granted, MFN is a rather blunt instrument for carrying out foreign policy (only twelve countries do not rate MFN status...
...With its burgeoning population, China's eco3 nomic development is a prerequisite for its stability...
...State Department in February gave a particularly sobering evaluation of China...
...warns that an estimated 180,000 U.S...
...Tact...
...Religious believers who refuse to give full allegiance to the Chinese government continue to be hounded and imprisoned...
...Add him to the 1,700 Asia Watch says are imprisoned in China and Tibet for their religion, politics, or race...
...Clinton's attention to U.S.-Chinese relations—in particular his executive order last June that China must improve its human-rights record if it hopes to retain most-favored-trading-partner status with the United States—is evidence of an important foreign policy initiative...
...Still, as China's most famous dissident, Wei Jingsheng—who was released only last fall after serving fourteen years in prison—recently told the New York Times (January 29), "The Clinton administration has to be alert not to be cheated...
...His playing host to Asian leaders in Seattle last November was an important signal of his intent to look East...
...Otherwise, Beijing will view him as a weak leader, more interested in avoiding immediate domestic economic losses than in promoting human rights...
...customs duties on Chinese goods would rise from 8 percent to 40 percent, and Beijing would surely retaliate...
...The annual report on human rights violations issued by the U.S...
...Clinton...
...Last summer President Clinton threatened to rescind China's most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status with the United States if Beijing does not make significant progress in human rights matters by this June...
...But they should: There is a great deal to criticize...
...He must convince China's leaders that it is in their own interest to comply...
...For the first time in forty-five years the Chinese government has agreed to talk with the International Red Cross about providing access to political prisoners...
Vol. 121 • March 1994 • No. 5
