April 21, 1998
ON MY MIND
/
By A.M. ROSENTHAL
Balance Sheet on China
Four years ago this spring, President Clinton reversed his policy on
trade with China. That is enough
time to draw up a balance sheet on
the new policy.
Before his election in 1992, Mr. Clinton said economic pressure through
raised tariffs was the best way to
push China into relaxing terrorism
against human rights -- and against
political and religious dissidents.
Since June 1994 he has dropped
economic penalties for Chinese human rights abuse. The new policy is to
encourage trade with China, despite
the huge loss to the U.S. balance of
payments. He says encouraging business with China will soften Beijing's
treatment of Chinese and Tibetans
who talk of political and religious
liberty. The Administration also says
trade would bring Beijing to security
cooperation with America.
This past weekend, China gave
early release to Wang Dan, a leader
of the Chinese democracy movement
before Tiananmen Square. After the
massacre there in 1989, he served
seven years in prison, sleeping on
concrete floors. But to keep him
away from other brave Chinese, he
was deported to exile in the U.S. and
will be arrested if he returns.
The release of Mr. Wang is certainly a fruit of the Clintonian reversal of China policy -- Beijing's political gift to Mr. Clinton's reputation.
So was the release of Wei Jingsheng
-- also sent to forced exile in the U.S.
But Chinese still courageous
enough to complain about religious or
political regimentation go on being
arrested, sentenced to long terms,
handed suddenly extended sentences,
put under house arrest when released,
or sent far from their homes -- just as
before Mr. Clinton made trade his
overriding China policy.
The human rights trickle-down he
promised has not been felt in the
political cells, or on the torture
blocks.
In December 1996, Chinese
officials said that 2,026 Chinese were
in Ministry of Justice prisons for
"counterrevolutionary" affairs, now
called "endangering state security."
But the figure did not include "non-ministry" prisons: the forced-labor
camps, detention centers where prisoners can be held for years before
trial, lockups for Communist Party
members, "old age" homes where
elderly religious dissidents are sometimes imprisoned, or house arrest after completion of prison sentences.
About one kind of prison where
religious and political dissidents are
often sentenced, certain "re-education" camps, Chinese officials did
say there was a change. They said
the inmates increased from 125,000
to twice that number. Dissidents
sometimes say: In China there are
lots of shelves to put prisoners.
About Tibet -- the whole nation
was imprisoned when Mr. Clinton
made his switch. The Tibetan cell
remains as deep and dark.
Before Mr. Clinton arrives in Beijing, the Communists may release
more prisoners. But other Chinese
will be arrested to "keep safety."
The Communists are not at all embarrassed by arrests. Earlier this
year Mr. Clinton sent a three-clergy
"inquiry" to China, to try to take
some heat out of U.S. public anger at
the persecution of Chinese Christians.
The mission reported nothing that
was unknown and ignored most of
what is known about religious persecution in China. Just before the mission arrived, Chinese Protestant
clergymen were seized by police. After the mission left, two more Catholic priests were arrested.
Security: Mr. Clinton did his personal part for cooperation. He allowed a U.S. company to give China
more of the important space and
missile technology that it had already provided to Chinese specialists.
The company was one of two
that were already under U.S. investigation for the first transfer, which
did nothing to diminish the Presidential spirit of cooperation.
After the Clinton turnaround on
China, Beijing went on with its version of security cooperation. Chinese
batteries dropped missiles into the
Taiwan Strait to punish Taiwan for
holding a fair election. And China
continued selling missiles to Iran,
plus chemicals that can enrich uranium in nuclear warheads.
Supporters of human rights welcome Mr. Wang, with embraces.
We
are glad he will not have to suffer in
prison longer -- glad, but not grateful, neither to the Politburo nor the
American President who made himself the prisoner of Beijing.