DATE=5/10/2000 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=U-S / CHINA / PNTR - HUMAN RIGHTS NUMBER=5-46288 BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN DATELINE=WASHINGTON INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: As members of the U-S Congress consider whether to grant China permanent normal trading relations, they are hearing from some outspoken opponents. At a recent debate sponsored by eight American research institutions, advocates of human rights, workers' rights, and environmental protection said China does not deserve favorable trade treatment from Washington. V-O-A correspondent Stephanie Mann reports. TEXT: The House of Representatives plans to vote this month (5/23 or 24) on whether to grant China permanent normal trade relations - called P-N-T-R. The vote is expected to be close. If the House approves it, a favorable Senate vote is expected soon afterward. Until now, the United States has required an annual review of China's trade practices and human rights record before granting an extension of the favorable tariff treatment. In 1994, the administration took away the direct linkage between improvements in human rights and continuation of trade privileges, but the yearly decision on renewing trade privileges continues. U-S approval of permanent normal trade relations for China is necessary if both countries are to benefit from the trade regime of the World Trade Organization. /// OPT /// If Washington does not grant P-N-T-R to China, W-T-O rules and its dispute resolution process will not apply to U-S / China trade. /// END OPT /// American labor unions oppose granting P-N-T-R to China and oppose its accession into the W-T-O. Steven Beckman, an assistant director of the United Auto Workers, says U-S labor takes that view because Chinese workers who try to organize independent unions are beaten or arrested. In addition, he says Chinese workers receive low pay for long hours, and there are serious concerns about health and safety of the workplace. Before the U-A-W can support normal trade relations with China, Mr. Beckman says China has to demonstrate its compliance with internationally recognized standards for worker rights and the ability of workers to enforce compliance through domestic laws and regulations. /// BECKMAN ACT /// Since none of these was achieved, we oppose establishing a W-T-O relationship with China and insist on the continuation of Congress' annual N-T-R (normal trade) review in order to exert pressure on China to change its labor laws, policies and practices. China's W-T-O accession agreement makes no mention of worker rights. /// END ACT /// // OPT // Mr. Beckman adds that when China is a member of the World Trade Organization, he expects it will become an obstacle to the trade body's adopting any rules protecting worker rights. // END OPT // Another group that looks out for the interests of workers and consumers says denying China permanent normal trade relations will be better for American trade -- and the Chinese people. Lori Wallach is director of Global Trade Watch at the organization Public Citizen. She believes that by denying P-N-T-R to China, the United States would retain more leverage in the relationship. She says Washington would be able to threaten China with the loss of access to U-S markets unless it improves its human rights situation. If the United States approves P-N-T-R for China and it becomes a full member of the World Trade Organization, the United States loses that leverage. Ms. Wallach says, before 1994, when the U-S government linked human rights improvements to favorable tariff treatment, China's human rights situation showed progress. She says that is no longer the case. /// WALLACH ACT /// Year after year, the State Department, since the 1994 de-linkage, has reported that conditions have gotten worse. And while it is the case . that laws have been changed, the continued absence of the rule of law means that on a random basis, those workers who seek to use those laws end up jailed, with no due process, as we see in other contexts, such as the recent crackdowns on religious freedoms. /// END ACT /// But a specialist on labor issues in China, Doug Guthrie, says China has made slow but radical changes in the last 20 years to improve the rights and conditions of workers. Professor Guthrie, a sociologist at New York University, has visited many factories in China. He says by enacting new laws on wages, prison labor reform and arbitration, China is building a framework for an industrial sector based on workers' rights. Professor Guthrie says those policy changes are driven by China's economic engagement with the outside world. /// GUTHRIE ACT /// Of course, the Chinese society still has a great distance to go in the realm of human rights, and I'm not an apologist for this regime. But there's no evidence that the isolation position will help the citizens of China, and there's a great deal of evidence that the engagement position has been a boon for people in China and it will continue to be. /// END ACT /// Professor Guthrie points out that U-S corporations operating in China pay higher wages than local Chinese businesses and provide better working conditions. // OPT // Environmental advocates point to China's failure to comply with agreements on environmental protection. And they call on the U-S government to incorporate environmental requirements in its trade relations with China. A representative of the National Wildlife Federation, Paul Joffe, says if Congress passes P-N-T-R for China, that will decrease the American public's confidence in their government. // END OPT // A visiting Hong Kong politician attended the debate on P-N-T-R. The chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, Martin Lee, is highly critical of China for its lack of democratic reforms and for the way Beijing handles Hong Kong. But Mr. Lee agrees with Beijing and Washington that China should be granted permanent normal trading status and should join the World Trade Organization. Mr. Lee says such steps can be the beginning in China's process to develop the rule of law. /// LEE ACT /// If we all hold China to the terms of entry, to the terms of W-T-O arrangement, then there is hope that China will develop the rule of law. Now, that is only a hope. But then, what is the contrary? If we vote NO, I don't see how things can improve. Do we expect China to let more prisoners free because Congress has voted No? Do we expect China to improve the environment because Congress has voted No, or to improve the workers' rights because Congress has voted No? That is my concern. There is no perfect answer, but there is hope. /// END ACT /// Martin Lee says it is important for those who want to see the rule of law firmly established in China to give reformers like Premier Zhu Rongji the tools and support they need. (Signed) NEB/SMN/KL 10-May-2000 13:15 PM EDT (10-May-2000 1715 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .