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President should get on his own page Closing the gap between rhetoric and true democracy promotion by Shengde Lian and John Kusumi Mr. President, your own policy becomes less and less tenable in light of your own rhetoric. If actions speak louder than words, you are off the page with your own second inaugural address--particularly in the case of Chinese democracy. Here is a cause that appeared vividly on the radar when we were college students in 1989. The uprising drew the support of millions, loomed large, and came within one meeting of altering the Chinese government--before all change and reform was cut short by the CCP's tragic decision to "shoot to kill." "Shoot to kill" should never be an order used by government against its own unarmed civilians in a peaceful protest. Mass murder is mass murder, whether or not the "color of authority" is involved. American civilians understood this, and rose to form the China Support Network, to help the cause, and to support the pro-democracy students of Tiananmen Square. The public was interested; the media was interested; the Congress was and remains interested. In American society, the uninterested corner was the executive branch of government--the White House, under then-President George Bush, Sr. The history of the Chinese democracy movement in exile is one of soaringly high hopes, dashed against executive branch indifference. The policy of the United States since then puts the lie to the soaring rhetoric of your second inaugural speech. In fairness, we also fault former President Bill Clinton, a President from the other party who went back on a campaign promise to deal with China more stiffly. A stronger China policy was offered to the American people in 1992, and they voted for it. In the result, many corners of American society have expressed interest to support Chinese democracy, but tangible support has never been rendered and delivered to our coffers. Oddly, the National Endowment for Democracy is tasked to fund pro-democracy projects, and it has spent millions ostensibly for this purpose, but its dollars have never found their way to the Free China Movement and the China Support Network, two leading names each centrally placed in our cause. If you are the U.S. President, then it is "your" NED, and if it is ostensibly targeting Chinese democracy as a goal worthy of support--it cannot hit the side of a barn. Free China Movement and China Support Network are two great brand names, but they have been left to languish as under funded collectives of starving activists. We may also have some disappointment with the American news media, because they clammed up at the same time that Bill Clinton abandoned objectives of Chinese democracy; however, success is less likely with the news media alone, and the chances of success would improve with executive branch support. We believe that your recent inaugural speech now makes it imperative that you must adjust U.S. China policy if your deeds are to be in keeping with your words. To call for China to democratize is easy; Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did so this week. Will you add your voice to his? If you really mean it; if you will follow through with your rhetoric; then, we've selected these steps to recommend. Cancel China's PNTR designation. Do we mean cut off trade? No, not immediately. Technically, PNTR is the absence of the old MFN (most favored nation) reviews that used to happen in Congress. By cancelling PNTR, the Congress gets the chance to review China trade, and to attach conditions upon its future renewal. We will then recommend human rights conditions to the Congress. In this important move, no actual business disruption is to immediately occur. Cancelling PNTR is not, in and of itself, true economic pressure; but rather, it is the credible threat of future economic pressure. Even while playing chicken with that eventuality, a timetable for same is under Congressional control. We demand that Congress return to MFN reviews! Our three remaining recommendations are, first, to oppose the site decision that made Beijing the host city for the 2008 Olympics; second, through multilateral action, you could get the World Bank to attach human rights conditions upon future Bank loans to China; and third, you could help the NED to hit the side of a barn--focusing direct aid to the China democracy movement. Your inaugural speech suggests a new policy, and the foregoing steps would get the new policy off to a great start, while not disrupting other compartments of policy. We wish the best of luck to your second term, and thank you for receiving our recommendations. # # # (01/27/2005 23:18) |