Our number
one export should be freedom.In 1987, President Reagan stood at
the Brandenburg Gate of the Berlin Wall and demanded "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This
Wall.'' Today, you can buy pieces of it as souvenirs. President Clinton’s policy of
"constructive engagement" allows China to export billions of dollars to the
United States. They have no motivation to reform.
In exchange for cheap toys with our Happy Meals, we are exporting American jobs. We see
a potential market of a billion cola drinkers, and CD listeners but are turning a deaf ear
to the cry for freedom. We need a principled relationship, not a "cash
register" foreign policy.
Shortsightedness has sold technology to China to ensure that their missiles will not
just land near the White House, but right in the Oval Office. They claim that their
missiles are no longer targeted at the United States. However, changing that targeting
back is as quick as changing channels on your television with your remote control that was
made in China.
The Nazi concentration camps are now museums, the Soviet Gulags seem to be closed, but
in China, there are 1,200 documented Laogai, present day gulags, with millions of
prisoners. At the Auschwitz concentration camp, it was "Arbeit Macht Frei,"
"work makes free." In China, it is Laogai, "reform through labor." How
little has changed! Laogai are prison camps that frequently bring in entire families to
perform forced labor, and be "re-educated."
From industrial equipment to clothing, much of the output from these camps is sold in
the United States. Most American’s would find it repugnant to learn that the raincoat
they bought at Kmart was one of 73 tons of raincoats made by slave labor and sold in the
US. Since China is such a closed society, how do we know what is and what is not made from
slave labor when it is stamped "Made in China?"
Abandoning Chairman Mao’s policy of population growth, the Chinese government now
forcibly limits the size of families through "pregnancy certificates," forced
abortion, IUDs, and sterilization. This callousness for life has now developed a market
for human organs. Organs are harvested from as many as 17 prisoners a day. Some, perhaps,
before the prisoner is executed. Free societies do not offer organs on demand.
The Chinese people have a rich history, a fascinating culture, and a great deal to
offer. I welcome those who have come to the United States to be a part of this great
"Melting Pot." However, doing business with a Communist Regime only strengthens
the regime’s power over its people. We can never accept this kind of abusive regime
as a trading partner! There must be a heavy price to pay for the atrocities they commit.
I personally avoid the purchase of Chinese-made products out of respect for the Chinese
people. I will vote against Most Favored Nation status for China, or any other policy that
promotes the multi-billion dollar trade deficit with China. I will stand against the
exportation of American jobs, especially to slave labor camps. I will stand against any
technology transfers to China, especially those that can be used for military purposes.
I will be an advocate for the people of China who are yearning to be free.
