China wins House vote

0 Comments | Insight on the News, July 21, 1997 | by Tiffany Danitz, | Timothy W. Maier, | Michael Rust

* All three approaches call for publication of the names of companies owned or affiliated with the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, which owns or operates hundreds of business fronts in the United States. But Cox goes so far as to deny MFN to such front companies, and Abraham adds one year worth of sanctions against Poly Group and China North Industries Group, companies with ties to the Chinese military and caught last year in sting operations involving the sale of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles to California street gangs. Porter-Dreier adds a voluntary "code-of-conduct" provision to introduce Chinese workers to American values through U.S. companies.

* Porter-Dreier calls on the State Department to maintain a registry of political prisoners inside China. Cox takes the issue of prisoners a step further by prohibiting the importation of all goods made with slave labor.

* House versions emphasize human rights throughout, calling for annual reports on abuses and on Red Chinese espionage efforts. They would fund more human-rights officers at the U.S. Embassy and consulates in China. Notification of any PRC attempts to influence US. politics is added in Cox's package.

* The Senate bill and Cox's legislation will cut off loans from international financial institutions. But Abraham makes an exception for natural-disaster and famine relief. Cox adds an approval for the sale of defensive-weapons systems to Taiwan, and requests the support of Congress for Taiwan's admission into the World Trade Organization, or WTO, ahead of China.

* Cox and Abraham attempt to shame the Clinton administration for not slapping sanctions against China when the PRC violated the 1992 Gore-McCain Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act by transferring 60 C-802 cruise missiles to Iran. Abraham calls for an explanation by the president and Cox urges sanctions.

* Both Porter-Dreier and Abraham would increase funding for student, cultural and legislative exchanges between the United States and China. The task-force bill establishes a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia, akin to the Helsinki Commission in an effort to promote understanding.

Abraham's proposal has gathered support from many on the right who are under pressure for having supported renewal of MFN. Before the vote, a number of influential conservatives affiliated with Empower America, including former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Education Secretary Bill Bennett and 1996 GOP vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, signed a Wall Street Journal opinion piece opposing the anti-MFN effort. At the same time, Kirkpatrick wrote that Abraham's bill "targets Chinese practices that are deeply offensive to American values. It ensures that American taxpayer monies will not be used to subsidize China's military buildup. It moves against improper PLA operations in the United States, and acts to prevent further US. participation in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

The Abraham bill also is supported by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the editors of National Review, all receiving criticism for their support of MFN. National Review went so far as to argue in its editorial supporting MFN that conservatives would strengthen labor unions by joining the AFL-CIO in the anti-MFN effort.