China
Citation
Source: "China.” By James Ruoco. Just Facts, 1998. Accessed at http://justfacts.com/china.html. Revised 12-30-05.
* As of 1998, China is the world's largest country, with a population of 1.2 billion. (1)
* China is a dictatorship dominated by the country's Communist party established under Mao Tse-Tung in 1949. (1)(2)(3)
Human Rights
[Note: For the Congressional votes detailed below, the makeup of the House of Representatives was 52% Republican and 48% Democrat. For the Senate, the makeup was 55% Republican and 45% Democrat. (58)
* China's human rights record includes documented cases of: harvesting of human organs, religious oppression, torture, forced abortion, slave labor camps, and involuntary sterilization. (49)(52)
* In 1989, Chinese troops killed over 1,000 students and civilians demonstrating for greater freedom and democracy in Tiananmen Square. (59)
* MFN refers to "Most Favored Nation" trading status. It is a recognition that the U.S. gives to countries which allows them to export their products to the U.S. with low tariffs. (52)
* In March of 1992, Bill Clinton said, "I do not believe we should extend Most Favored Nation trading status to China unless they make significant progress in human rights, arms proliferation, and fair trade." (53)
* In Bill Clinton's and Al Gore's 1992 book, "Putting People First," they wrote, "We should not reward China with improved trade status when it has continued to trade goods made by prison labor and has failed to make significant progress in human rights since the Tiananmen massacre." (53)
* In 1992, Bill Clinton said, "We will link China's trading privileges to it's human rights record and it's conduct of trade of weapons sales." (53)
* In 1994, Bill Clinton said, "I am moving, therefore to de-link human rights from the annual extension of the Most Favored Nation trading status for China." (47)(18)
* In March of 98, the Senate voted 95-5 to take all necessary measures to pass a resolution at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights that condemns China for it's human rights abuses. The House passed a similar resolution unanimously. (49)(51)
* The Clinton administration decided that it would not pursue such a resolution. (49)(51)
* At a House hearing in June of 1998, the head of a Chinese "planned birth" office (Gao Xiao Duan) spoke of forcing thousands of abortions on unwilling women, and ordering the destruction of their homes if they refused to comply. (17)
* Gao Xiao Duan defected from China in April of 1998, taking with her a video that shows a jail cell in her office used for detaining women who resisted abortion. The video shows homes that were destroyed for non-compliance. (17)
* From 1984 until April of 1998, Duan oversaw the computerized records of 60,000 women who lived in her town (Yonghe in the Fujian Province). Her permission was required in order to get married or pregnant. Computerized information included birth dates, marital status, menstrual cycles, and state imposed birth control. (17)
* Duan spoke of finding a woman who was nine months pregnant and taking her for an abortion: She said, "In the operating room, I saw how the aborted child's lips were sucking, how it's limbs were stretching. ... A physician injected poison into it's skull and the child died, and it was thrown in the trash can." (17)
* As of 1998, there is a 60% mortality rate in Chinese orphanages. (18)
Technology Received from USA
* The U.S sold weapons to China from 1980-1989, as part of a Reagan administration plan to play China against the Soviet Union. The weapons included anti-tank missiles, naval torpedoes, and aircraft avionics. (27)
* After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, the U.S. banned the sale of military weapons to China. (27)
* The European Union promised to join the U.S. in imposing sanctions on China because of Tiananmen Square. (27)
* England, France, and Italy made weapons deliveries to China between 1990 and 1997.(27)
* Dual use technology is a term used to describe technology that has both military and civilian applications.(27)
* The Tiananmen Square sanctions prohibit the sale of dual use technology to China, except in the case of a Presidential waiver. (27)
* The U.S. is the only country in the world to regulate the sale of dual use technologies. (27)
* In March of 1996, the Clinton administration transferred control of satellite sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department. (28)(32)
* A classified memo obtained by the Washington Times dated Sept. 22, 1995, states that the Secretary of State at the time (Warren Christopher - appointed by Bill Clinton) rejected plans to transfer control of satellite sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department. The memo says that the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies were also opposed to the policy change. (54)
* A defense specialist from the General Accounting Office (Katherine V. Shinasi) told the Senate in June of 1998, that the decision to transfer control of satellite sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department has "diminished" the Pentagon's "power to influence the decision making process. ... By design, Commerce's system gives greater weight to economic and commercial concerns, implicitly accepting greater security risks. ... And by design, State's system gives primacy to national security and foreign policy concerns, lessening, but not eliminating, the risk of damage to U.S. national security interests." (28)
* In Sept. of 1996, The Clinton administration notified the Senate that it was removing commercial satellites from the Munitions Control List of dual use items. The letter stated that "enhanced regulations have been developed" to protect national security. (33)
* As of 1998, U.S. commercial satellites sold to China are being used for military communications. The satellites have been used for military purposes since the failure of a Chinese military satellite in 1996. (26)
* In responding to criticism regarding the transfer of technology to China, the Clinton administration said they were continuing George Bush's policy. (34)
* A statement issued on April 30, 1991 by the Bush administration reads: "The President has decided not to license the export of U.S. satellite components to China for a Chinese domestic communications satellite, the Dong Fang Hong 3 (DFH-3). The President has made this decision because certain activities of Chinese companies raise serious proliferation concerns." (34)
* On May 20,1998, the House of Representatives voted 364-54 to block future satellite exports to China. (23)
* U.S. satellite manufacturers sometimes send their satellites to China, where they are launched into orbit by Chinese missiles in order to save money. (55)
* In February 1996, a Loral satellite worth $200 million was being launched on board a Chinese "Long March" missile when the missile blew up. (35)
* As a part of the accident investigation, Loral and Hughes shared restricted missile related technology with the Chinese. (26)
* A Pentagon analysis has determined that the transfer of this technology harmed U.S. national security. (26)(29)
* 5 Chinese satellite launches failed between Sept of 1991 and Aug of 1996. Since the sharing of this technology in 1996, no Chinese launches have failed. (26)
* The Justice Department opened an investigation into this matter. Before charges were filed, Bill Clinton signed a waiver to allow Loral to export similar technology to China. (35)
* Justice Department officials objected to this waiver, as it would make their case difficult to prosecute. Defense and State Department officials argued against this waiver, due to the nature of this technology. (35)
* The chairman of Loral (Bernard Schwartz) was the largest individual contributor to the Democratic Party in 1997. (56)
* On May 20, 1998 The House of Representatives voted 417-4 in support of a resolution that declared the Loral waiver was "not in the national interest of the U.S." and warned Bill Clinton not to grant any new waivers during his trip to China. (23)(24)
* The Washington Times reported in March of 1998 that the Clinton administration had drafted an agreement between the U.S. and China that included the sharing of missile technology. (7)
* In response, the acting Undersecretary of State (John Holum) said there were no plans to sell missile technology to China.(21)
* In response, the Washington Times printed a classified memorandum they had obtained. The document is dated March 12,1998, is labeled "Secret", and has John Holum's name on the distribution list. Under the heading, "What the U.S. Does", the memo states,"1. Support Chinese MTCR [Missile Technology Control Regime] membership, upon implementation of 1 and 2 above. This would provide China with political prestige, the ability to shape future MTCR decisions, substantial protection from future U.S. missile sanctions, and would expedite somewhat the consideration of MTCR-controlled U.S. exports to China." (21)
* On May 21,1998 the House of Representatives voted 405-9 to give Congress a case by case veto over Clinton administration export decisions involving nuclear technology. (22)(57)
* On June 18,1998 the House of Representatives voted 409-10 to create a committee to investigate charges that the Clinton administration helped the Chinese develop nuclear missiles in exchange for campaign contributions. (29)
* The Clinton administration relaxed controls on the export of U.S. supercomputers.(25)
* According to a January 1998 Senate report, none of the 47 supercomputers that have been exported to China have received a pre-license or post shipment verification to determine if the equipment is being used in nuclear weapons work. (25)
* In 1997, Congress asked the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to write a report analyzing whether U.S. and Allied supercomputer exports have helped China (and other countries) improve their fighter planes, missiles, submarines, and other weapons. (31)
* The Commerce Department records the specifics of supercomputer sales. The DIA asked Commerce for this info in Dec of 1997. In Feb of 98, Commerce told the DIA that only the CIA Director (George Tenet) can release this information. (31)
* The CIA offered to get this information and pass it on the DIA, but the Commerce Department objected. A month later the Commerce Department gave the DIA derivative information. (31)
* The derivative info proved not helpful and the DIA went back to the Commerce Department in April of 1998 to request the raw data. (31)
* In May of 1998, Congress passed an amendment demanding that Commerce give the info to the DIA. (31)
* As of June of 98, the DIA still does not have the information and the Commerce Department has declined to answer why. (31)
* In 1994, the Clinton Administration allowed the sale of machine tools to China that were used by McDonnell Douglas to build B-1, C-17, and F-15 aircraft. (30)
* A senior strategic trade analyst at the Pentagon (Peter Leitner) objected and was overruled. (30)
* As of June of 1998, some of these machine tools are in a plant in China producing cruise missiles. (30)
Military
* In October of 1996, Bill Clinton said, "There is not a single solitary nuclear missile pointed at an American child tonight. Not one. Not one. Not a single one." (7)
* A CIA report from April of 1998 says that 13 of China's 18 intercontinental nuclear missiles are targeted at U.S. cities. (7)
* Bill Clinton visited China in June/July of 1998, and an agreement was reached for the U.S. and China not to target each other with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's). ICBM's can be retargeted in 10 minutes. (19)
* According to Pentagon officials, China produced 6 new ICBM's in the first 4 months of 1998. (12)
* The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska (Air Force General Eugene Harbinger) said in March of 1998 that the Chinese "are modernizing their forces. ... The Chinese do have an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach most of the United States, except Southern Florida." (13)
* The United States has no defense against an ICBM attack. (14)
* According to a memo released to workers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in mid 1998, "China has been extremely aggressive in it's HUMINT (human intelligence) collection activities in the United States. A "substantial percentage" of China's 2,600 diplomats and commercial officials in the U.S. "are actively involved" in collecting intelligence. "Many" of the 40,000+ Chinese students attending U.S. schools "have been tasked to collect information by the Chinese government. ... The FBI has stated that virtually all Chinese allowed to leave" China "for the U.S. are given some sort of collection requirement to fulfill." (15)
* According to a check performed by the U.S. Army in mid 1998, the Peoples Liberation Army of China is the most frequent visitor to the U.S. Army website. (16)
* In 1996, China fired guided missiles and live projectiles into the Taiwan Strait to intimidate Taiwan on the verge of Taiwan's first presidential election. (1)
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
* China promised the U.S. in 1994 that they would not sell any dangerous missiles or related equipment to other countries. (6)
* The CIA stated in a 1997 report that China "was the most significant supplier of weapons-of-mass-destruction-related goods and technology to foreign countries" in 1996. (7)
* U.S. law requires the Executive branch of our government to impose sanctions on countries who proliferate certain types of dangerous weapons. (5)
* A Chinese company sold 5,000 ring magnets to Pakistan in 1996. Ring magnets are special bearings that are used in centrifuges to enrich uranium for weapons use. (11)(37)
* The sale of these ring magnets to Pakistan warrants the Clinton Administration to impose sanctions on China. The Clinton Administration did not sanction China, saying that the State Department could not determine whether the transfer was a "willful aiding and abetting" to Pakistan's nuclear program. (25)
* The company who sold the ring magnets is owned by Chinese government authorities. (25)
* The former director of the CIA's non-proliferation center (Gordon Oehler) told Congress in June of 98, that the Clinton administration used "loopholes" in our law to avoid sanctions required by law against China. He said they did this by requiring unrealistic standards of proof from the intelligence community. (5)
* U.S. intelligence officials told reporters in May of 1998, that Chinese M-11 missiles are deployed in Pakistan and may be armed with nuclear warheads. (5)
* The former director of the CIA's non-proliferation center (Gordon Oehler) told Congress in June of 1998, that China delivered 34 M-11 missiles to Pakistan in Nov of 1992, within months of a promise not to do so. (5)
* In June of 98, the Clinton administration State Department spokesman stated, " It is the position of the United States that we have not determined that Pakistan has received M-11 missiles from China." (5)
* A U.S. Air Force intelligence report lists Pakistan as having "fewer than 50 M-11 launchers." (5)
* The sale of M-11 missiles would require the Clinton administration to impose sanctions on China. (5)
* The Clinton administration imposed sanctions on China for selling missile components, as opposed to complete M-11 missiles. The sanctions for selling components are less than the sanctions required for selling entire missiles. The sanctions were lifted after a year. (5)(36)
* Bill Clinton said in 1998 that U.S. sanction laws caused his administration to "fudge" the facts to avoid the penalties. (5)
* On May 28th and 30th of 98, Pakistan exploded nuclear test bombs. (10) A Chinese government spokesman expressed "deep regret" and said China opposes "any form of nuclear weapon proliferation." (11)
* According to U.S. intelligence officials, the former CIA director (James Woolsey), the former director of the CIA's non-proliferation center (Gordon Oehler), and private experts, China has been supplying Pakistan with nuclear related technology since the 1980's. (5)(11)
* China attempted to sell Pakistan nuclear weapons related equipment in early 1998, but the sale was blocked after the Clinton administration protested. (11)
* The Clinton administration imposed sanctions on China in 1996 for selling chemical weapons equipment to Iran. (36)
* As of March of 98, the Clinton administration had announced plans to certify that China had halted all efforts to export dangerous nuclear weapons technology. (8)
* According to a CIA report made public in July of 1998, China supplied Iran with missile technology and chemical warfare materials in 1997. (9)
* This CIA report is required by law to be given to Congress every 6 months and was overdue by more than a year. (9)
* According to U.S. intelligence, Iran had talks with China in May of 1998 concerning the purchase of telemetry equipment. Telemetry equipment monitors in-flight missile data and is vital for developing missiles. (6)
* China has sold anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran. The Clinton administration has not called the sales "destabilizing". Doing so would force the Clinton administration to sanction China. (5)(38)
* Congress passed a bill in mid 1998 (392-22 in the House, 90-4 in the Senate) that automatically sanctions companies and individuals (not countries) who sell missile technology to Iran. (36)
* Bill Clinton vetoed this bill on June 23,1998. (36)
* In 1992, while campaigning for President, Bill Clinton promised, "an America that will never coddle tyrants, from Baghdad to Bejing." (52)
* 1998 intelligence data indicates that Chinese technicians are working with Libya to help them develop missiles. (6)
* The leader of Libya (Moammar Gadhafi) has said that he would like to have a missile system capable of attacking New York. (6)
* China has sold missile components to Syria. (6)
Taiwan
* Communists took over China in 1949. The existing government fled to Taiwan. From 1950 until 1972, the U.S. recognized the government of Taiwan as the sole legitimate ruler of the lands encompassing present day China and Taiwan. (39)
* In 1972, the Nixon administration ended this policy.(39)
* In 1979, the Carter administration recognized the Communist government in China as the sole legitimate ruler of both China and Taiwan. Taiwan was diplomatically derecognized. (39)
* In response, Congress passed the "Taiwan Relations Act." This law obligates the U.S. to help Taiwan defend itself against a Chinese attack. (39)
* Between 1972 and 1998, Taiwan has gradually changed from a one party dictatorship to a multi party democracy. (39)
* During the 1990's, Taiwan has tried to reestablish itself in diplomatic circles by trying to regain it's lost seat at the United Nations. As of August of 98, Taiwan does not have representation at the United Nations. (39)
* As of 1998, Taiwan has a population of 21 million people and has one the 20 largest economies in the world. It is superior in population and wealth to 85% of the United Nations. Taiwan has freedom of religion, speech, and assembly. (41)(43)(45)
* In 1996, China fired guided missiles and live projectiles into the Taiwan Strait to intimidate Taiwan on the verge of Taiwan's first presidential election. The Clinton administration responded by sending aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait. (1)(39)
* Bill Clinton planned a trip to China in June/July of 1998. Before the trip, Taiwan's Priemier (Vincent Siew) said that "Taiwan is highly concerned about the meeting of Clinton and Jiang Zemin." Jiang Zemin is China's President. (40)
* During his visit to China, Bill Clinton said, "I had a chance to reiterate our Taiwan policy, which is that we don't support independence for Taiwan, or two Chinas, or one Taiwan, one China. And we don't believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for which statehood is a requirement." (42)
* All other U.S. Presidents have deliberately withheld from making this statement, even though it has been U.S. policy since 1979. (42)(43)
* In response, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (390-1) that reassures Taiwan that the U.S. is committed to arming Taiwan, and that "the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait should determine their own future" through peaceful means. The Senate passed a similar measure 92-0. (46)
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59) MULTIPEDIA-Copyright 1995 by SoftKey International
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