By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A commission appointed by the White House and Congress urged lawmakers on Monday to deny permanent trading benefits to China, citing Beijing's crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement and other religious groups.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued the non-binding recommendation less than a month before a deeply-divided House of Representatives votes on the legislation, which would ensure U.S. companies benefit from President Clinton's landmark trade pact with Beijing.
Clinton's allies played down the commission's report, saying they remained confident of rounding up the 218 votes they needed to ensure passage in the 435-member House. Senate approval is virtually assured.
In its first annual assessment of religious rights around the world, the advisory panel also urged Clinton to tighten U.S. sanctions on Sudan and to deny companies that invest in Sudanese oil projects access to U.S. capital markets. In addition, it warned that religious liberties in Russia "could deteriorate significantly in the near future," and urged President-elect Vladimir Putin to reverse an edict requiring liquidation of non-registered religious groups.
But the focus of the report was China.
The nine-member commission -- made up of experts on religious and human rights issues -- criticized Beijing's nationwide crackdown on Falun Gong. Leaders were sentenced to long prison terms and thousands of practitioners were detained. "A few followers were even beaten to death or died suddenly while in custody," the independent commission said.
It also accused China of repressing Roman Catholics, Protestants and Tibetan Buddhists. "Chinese government violations of religious freedom increased markedly during the past year," according to the panel, which was set up in 1998 to advise the White House, the State Department and Congress.
Improvement In Respect For Religious Freedom
The report said lawmakers should only grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China after Beijing makes a "substantial improvement in respect for religious freedom."
The trade agreement, which would pave the way for China's entry into the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO), calls on Beijing to open a wide range of markets, from agriculture to telecommunications.
In exchange, Clinton says, Congress must grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) -- a status it now enjoys only after an annual congressional review. PNTR would guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation.
PNTR legislation faces stiff opposition in the House, particularly from Democrats allied with organized labor. But many religious conservatives in Congress also oppose the pact, and have demanded that China expand religious freedom before joining the Geneva-based WTO, which sets global trading rules.
As a precondition for PNTR, the commission said Beijing should release all religious prisoners, open a high-level dialogue with Washington on religious-freedom issues and ratify the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
The commission said Congress should hold annual hearings on human rights and religious freedom in China, extend an invitation to the Dalai Lama to address a joint session of Congress, and use its "diplomatic influence" to ensure that China is not selected as a site for the Olympic Games.
The House is scheduled to vote on PNTR in the week of May 22-26. The Senate is expected to follow in early June.:
