RESTRICTED
investigate to see if China was using "slave or gulag labour" to manufacture products for export to the US.
3.
Their message to the Chinese leadership was that the Congressional attitude to Chinese human rights records was very important. They were disappointed by Lee Peng's assertion that a key principle in US/China relations was non-interference in internal affairs. The Congressmen emphasised that
-
post-Tiananmen human rights considerations were top of the agenda, and likely to grow in importance. They suggested that the Chinese permit a UN rapporteur on religious freedom, or a general rapporteur on human rights to investigate human rights in China. But they did not get a direct response.
4.
The Congressmen said they had not given the Chinese explicit conditions for MFN renewal, and had stressed that they wanted better US/China relations and better trade. But there was genuine concern in the United States about human rights abuses. They wanted amnesties for priests and political prisoners. They wanted families who were separated because members stayed in the West for fear of persecution to be reunited. Clearly MFN was an option for expressing American concern. Both Congressmen had been involved in the 1980s debate on MFN for Romania (and had eventually succeeded in having it revoked).
Stalemate, the
meni appts. мене перери
5.
Asked
by Michael Chugani ( South China Morning Post) about the impact on Hong Kong, Congressman Wolf said that if everyone in Hong Kong could visit Beijing Prison they might be inclined to forego MFN. Furthermore, The American Congress could not be expected to allow religious persecutions to continue. Nor could the United States continue to run a $15 billion (sic) trade imbalance with a country that would not even buy US products.
6. In addition to the Congressmens' press conference, the Washington Post published an editorial on 30 March on China trade. This focused on the USTR's recent report on trade barriers, and noted that the Chinese had been tightening restrictions on foreign goods. One particular irritation was a proliferation of undisclosed policies, never available to foreigners, that took precedence over public law. At the same time the Chinese were voraciously pirating copyrighted products. While the US/Japan trade deficit was coming down, the US/China deficit was increasing. The editorial said that the President was right a year ago to support MFN on the grounds that it might strengthen reformers who were trying to open up the Chinese economy. But there was little sign that the reformers were succeeding. On the contrary, the Chinese themselves seemed to be doing everything possible to increase the majority in Congress opposing the extension of MFN.
RESTRICTED