Shop at Land's End
EIN Media EIN Media
HOME NEWS BUSINESS WEB NEWS NEWS BY EMAIL COUNTRY INFO HOT SITES DISCUSSION CHAT CLASSIFIEDS E-COMMERCE FEEDBACK
CHINAHONG KONGTAIWANPUBLISHING PARTNERSFREE NEWS TICKERWIRE SERVICES                                             

Beijing: 78°F 26°C More
US$ = 8.28 yuan More
Hang Seng: 15314.07 (-1.69%) More

Quote of the Day
"If we give China PNTR now ... If Communist China were to be certified as "normal" in its currently abnormal state, why should the government make further reforms?"
Who said it and on what occasion?

This Day in History
May. 4

K'ang-hsi, fourth emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty, was born.
What year was it?

Students demonstrated in China against the Versailles Peace Conference decision to hand Germany's possessions in Shantung Province to Japan. Known as the May Fourth Movement it led to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party.
What year was it?

Search the Web
Search term:

Search engine:

Site of the Day
South China Morning Post The South China Morning Post, founded in 1903, is Hong Kong's oldest and most established English-language newspaper. The online publication, which recently won Best Web Site award from Editor and Publisher, provides excellent coverage of events in Hong Kong and the region.

Poll
How can the Chinese further develop the Tibet province for the benefit of the local population? (May. 1, 2000)
Cast your vote!

Book of the Day
Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting (The Culture & Civilization of China)
400-page chronicle of one of the great cultural achievements of the last three millennia--as much a delight for the amateur lover of art as it is indispensable for the student of the field.
Order now!

Search The Site   Advanced Search
Thu, May 4 at Prague 06:02 pm, N.Y. 12:02 pm
Editor's Pick: Taiwan Invites Beijing Leaders to Preach Reunification Message

Save Money with NextCard Visa - As low as 2.9% Intro APR! Sign Up Today!!

Chat Today! Join Inside China's Free Chat Rooms to Make Online Friends and Get To Know The Region.

 Home > General News

Dissidents, Labor Dismiss Clinton's Compliance Initiative On PNTR For China

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Exiled Chinese dissidents and the United States' powerful labor alliance on Wednesday dismissed the White House's latest effort to win over critics of its trade deal with China.

"I'm not impressed," said Richard Long, a Chinese dissident and founder of an independent e-mail service covering human rights and democracy in China.

President Bill Clinton's administration, anxious to appease critics of granting Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) to China as a precursor to joining the World Trade Organization, on Wednesday unveiled an unprecedented five-point plan to monitor Beijing's compliance with the pact.

At present, the U.S. Congress reviews China's trade status every year.

Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers called the initiative "the most intensive enforcement and compliance effort ever mounted for a single trade agreement."

But Long insisted enforcement would not be that simple. "It's not easy to implement it," he said, adding his fears that once in the world trade body, members would bend the rules to accommodate Beijing and its huge market.

Dissidents and labor, which have presented formidable opposition to the PNTR legislation up for a vote the week of May 22, believe that granting China PNTR would wipe out any U.S. leverage over Beijing, particularly in the areas of human rights and labor practices.

"It's not enough," AFL-CIO spokesperson Naomi Walker said of the initiative. The AFL-CIO is the main U.S. labor organization.

"Even if they do comply with the trade provisions of the agreement, it still does not address in any way the human rights abuses, and that we give up any economic leverage if China continues to abuse its workers," she told AFP.

The enforcement plan, outlined in remarks to the committee by Commerce Secretary William Daley, is part of an intensive administration lobbying drive to win congressional backing for the measure.

Many U.S. lawmakers, including Democrats, have said they will vote against the measure exactly because they fear U.S. sway over China would disappear. Agreeing with labor and human rights groups, they have also charged that China has a poor record of compliance with previous commercial deals.

"If we give China PNTR now ... If Communist China were to be certified as "normal" in its currently abnormal state, why should the government make further reforms?" added exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng.

Last November, Beijing and Washington signed a trade deal providing sweeping market access for U.S. goods as a first step for China joining the World Trade Organization, but Beijing made it clear it wanted congressional approval of PNTR first.

The vote will be tough as the support of 30 to 40 representatives still hangs in the balance, but if PNTR passes into law, the AFL-CIO believes a major opportunity will have been missed.

"We won't have a lot left to do," acknowledged Greg Woodhead, a senior economist at the AFL-CIO.

"Now is the time to be doing something," he insisted. "Assuming it's passed, then we will no longer have the annual review and ... China gets a free pass on egregious violations of human rights and workers' rights." ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)


http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=156740

Dissidents, Labor Dismiss Clinton's Compliance Initiative On PNTR For China

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Exiled Chinese dissidents 
and the United States' powerful labor alliance on Wednesday dismissed the 
White House's latest effort to win over critics of its trade deal with China.

"I'm not impressed," said Richard Long, a Chinese dissident and founder of an 
independent e-mail service covering human rights and democracy in China.

President Bill Clinton's administration, anxious to appease critics of 
granting Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) to China as a precursor to 
joining the World Trade Organization, on Wednesday unveiled an unprecedented 
five-point plan to monitor Beijing's compliance with the pact.

At present, the U.S. Congress reviews China's trade status every year.

Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers called the initiative "the most intensive 
enforcement and compliance effort ever mounted for a single trade agreement."

But Long insisted enforcement would not be that simple. "It's not easy to 
implement it," he said, adding his fears that once in the world trade body, 
members would bend the rules to accommodate Beijing and its huge market.

Dissidents and labor, which have presented formidable opposition to the PNTR 
legislation up for a vote the week of May 22, believe that granting China 
PNTR would wipe out any U.S. leverage over Beijing, particularly in the areas 
of human rights and labor practices.

"It's not enough," AFL-CIO spokesperson Naomi Walker said of the initiative. 
The AFL-CIO is the main U.S. labor organization.

"Even if they do comply with the trade provisions of the agreement, it still 
does not address in any way the human rights abuses, and that we give up any 
economic leverage if China continues to abuse its workers," she told AFP.

The enforcement plan, outlined in remarks to the committee by Commerce 
Secretary William Daley, is part of an intensive administration lobbying 
drive to win congressional backing for the measure.

Many U.S. lawmakers, including Democrats, have said they will vote against 
the measure exactly because they fear U.S. sway over China would disappear. 
Agreeing with labor and human rights groups, they have also charged that 
China has a poor record of compliance with previous commercial deals.

"If we give China PNTR now ... If Communist China were to be certified as 
"normal" in its currently abnormal state, why should the government make 
further reforms?" added exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng.

Last November, Beijing and Washington signed a trade deal providing sweeping 
market access for U.S. goods as a first step for China joining the World 
Trade Organization, but Beijing made it clear it wanted congressional 
approval of PNTR first.

The vote will be tough as the support of 30 to 40 representatives still hangs 
in the balance, but if PNTR passes into law, the AFL-CIO believes a major 
opportunity will have been missed.

"We won't have a lot left to do," acknowledged Greg Woodhead, a senior 
economist at the AFL-CIO.

"Now is the time to be doing something," he insisted. "Assuming it's passed, 
then we will no longer have the annual review and ... China gets a free pass 
on egregious violations of human rights and workers' rights." ((c) 2000 
Agence France Presse) 


News Headlines    Top Stories    Business News

Click here


Rapid Link

Virtual China

WorldQuest PhoneCards! Only 19 cents/min calls to China!

Amazon

 Connectivity: Illuminati Online
 Ad Serving: Open Ad Stream
About EIN     Advertising Info     Privacy Policy  

  © 1995-2000 European Internet Network Inc. All rights reserved.