World Tibet Network News Wednesday, April 22, 1998

New York Times

ON MY MIND / By A.M. ROSENTHAL

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.