March 2, 2000
| The China Trade Impactt |
Good For American
Business. |
"The biggest advantage is the cheap and disciplined labor force. It is actually good for U.S. business to have a strong communist party, because then they do not have to worry about giving workers benefits, or dealing with strikes. Don’t tell me that setting up a sweatshop to make cheap sports shoes to export back to the United States is good for the Chinese people." – Harry Wu, a human rights activist who was arrested and imprisoned for 19 years in a Chinese Gulag. Today he is a Research Fellow at Stanford University.
Mr. Wu goes on to say that "increased trade will not lead to democratic reforms in China, but will hinder them. The United States, through its trade policy, has been financing the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army in their attempts to repress the Chinese population. There is no influential middle class in China. There is only an elite class, dependent on the CCP – a red bureaucratic class."
By granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to China, the U.S. Government would be giving up any chance to hold China accountable for their inhumane actions – and there’s more. By granting PNTR to China our American multinational corporations will have the freedom to move U.S. jobs out of this country without any fear of China having its Most Favored Nation Status revoked. You think job loss to Mexico is bad, it’s only just the start as even more work is moved to China where people are imprisoned for speaking up for their rights.
The Chinese Government refuses to recognize the "internationally accepted norms on human rights" but instead restricts freedom of religion, speech and press. Chinese Citizens are not free to assemble or join free trade unions as proven by the killings in Tiananmen Square. Nothing has changed in fact it’s gotten worse. Other violent acts against the Chinese citizens include: forced prostitution, abortion and sterilization; trafficking of children and women; abuse of children; and discrimination against the disabled and minorities.
"It is tragic that this regime refuses to recognize the basic fact that democracy is the best way to stability. It is even more tragic that these abuses continue without any serious consequences in the international arena." – Harry Wu
As citizens of the United States, we need to speak out. We need to let our Government know that we will not stand for our jobs to be traded to a country that will not enforce human rights, worker’s rights and environmental protections. Do your part today. Join the rest of us and write to your Senators and Congressperson. Tell them to vote no on PNTR for China. Turn your letters in to your Local Rapid Response Coordinator for mailing.
Ignoring this will not make the seriousness of this issue go away. Remember – we are the ones who can speak out.
