Under the current arrangement, we in Congress are able to open a door into the human rights situation in China every year. Along with our attention comes the attention of the world. Our hearings and debates focus the cameras and tape recorders and word processors of the news media. We have the bully pulpit on this issue, and I am very concerned that once we give it away, we will never get it back. I believe that they are the most important in the world today.
China has the world s largest population, and one of the fasted growing economies.
The Beijing regime has fought a vigorous public relations battle to win this philosophical argument. They have manipulated prisoner releases, effectively black mailed dozens of countries and nearly corrupted some of our very own American corporations with their efforts. We cannot shrink from this battle of values. Public opinion polls show that many Americans have deep reservations about our policies toward China and the proposal to extend normal trade relations to that country. By granting PNTR to China, we will sacrifice much of our ability to affect public opinion on Chinese human rights practices.