Washington Post/ By Charles Babington, Washington Post Staff Writer / Monday, May 22, 2000
With Congress scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to grant permanent normal trading relations to China, both camps yesterday flooded television talk shows with advocates and paid commercials, and President Clinton called the pact essential on moral, economic and national security grounds.
Proponents and opponents alike agreed that neither side had secured the 218 House votes needed to pass or kill the measure, one of the most bitterly debated issues of Clinton's presidency. Thus they continued to woo the few dozen undecided members whose yeas or nays will determine the outcome in Wednesday's scheduled roll call.
Besides guests who discussed the China trade issue, talk show commercial breaks often featured 30-second spots hailing or condemning the proposal. Business groups or firms including Motorola Corp. aired ads portraying China as a burgeoning market that will turn to other suppliers if the United States does not boost trade between the two nations. Opponents, including organized labor groups, countered with commercials saying China does not deserve a permanent trade accord because of its record on human rights, the environment and militarism.
Clinton, who once planned a nationwide TV address for last night, instead opted for an afternoon speech in Hyde Park, N.Y., at a gathering of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
He gave special emphasis to the issue of human rights in China, which he said will improve if the nation is forced to abide by international laws and customs governing trade.
"The biggest issue is, what can we do to promote human rights?" the president said. "What can we do to promote the rule of law? What can we do to minimize the chances that there will be another war in Asia in our lifetime, or in our children's lifetime?"
Opponents of permanent normal trading relations, or PNTR, say China's poor record on human rights, which includes the jailing of political dissidents, is a key reason to reject the proposed pact. The AFL-CIO has aired a TV ad featuring Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, who says: "I voiced my opinion that China ought to protect workers' rights, people ought to have human rights. For that, I spent 18 years in prison and was very nearly executed."
Clinton and his PNTR allies have noted that several other prominent Chinese dissidents support the trade proposal, contending it will strengthen the advocates of greater openness and freedom.
In past years, Congress has conducted an annual debate and vote on whether to continue normal trade relations with China. Clinton, most GOP leaders and major business groups want to make those normal trade relations permanent, which they say will open China's markets and encourage greater democracy.
With Senate approval of PNTR all but assured, all eyes have focused on the House. Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) told "Fox News Sunday" he is confident that supporters of PNTR will gather the needed votes. "We're moving toward that magic number of 218 votes and I think, in the end, we'll be able to pass it," he said.
Commerce Secretary William Daley was more cautious. "We don't have the 218 to pass it, and the opposition [does] not have 218 at this point to stop it," Daley told CBS's "Face the Nation."
Opponents of PNTR used the same talk shows to criticize the plan. The House's second-ranking Democrat, David E. Bonior (Mich.), told CNN's "Late Edition:" "China is a brutal, authoritarian police state" that should not be rewarded with permanent trade status.
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