human rights throughout the world. The murder of Henry Liu, a citizen of the United States, constitutes a matter of grave concern to all those committed to the defense of human rights. Should the murder have been a consequence of conscious government policy on the part of the officials of the ROC, U.S. sanctions would seem to be justified. Since there is no probative evidence that the murder was an expression of ROC government policy, any suggestion that sanctions be imposed seems premature and inappropriate at best, and counterproductive in principle. All the best evidence indicates that the ROC has systematically enhanced fundamental, civil and political human rights over the longterm. Department of State reports 1 confirm that "the past quarter century has brought significant advances in the observance of internationally recognized rights ..2 " on Taiwan. There has been a steady progression toward a full realization of fundamental, civil and political human rights on Taiwan. In the judgment of the Department of State, the "outlook for continued improvement of human rights appears "3 favorable. There has been no suggestion of "killings for political reasons" for some considerable time. The fact is that the human rights record of the Republic of China on Taiwan is considerably better than that of most 4 East Asian nations. It is demonstrably better than that of the People's Republic of China with whom the United States is developing more and more intimate diplomatic relations. In that regard, the most recent report of Amnesty International cites grave infractions of human rights on the part of the authorities in Beijing, ranging from restrictions on the mobility of their own citizens, systematic pressure to compel women to submit to abortion, as well as the suppression of political dissidence. The infractions of basic civil and political rights on the part of the authorities in Beijing cover a range of concerns, more inclusive and more fundamental, than any charged to the authorities in Taipei. If the Congress of the United States elects to intervene in the effort to enhance the availability of human and political rights to citizens of countries with whom we have relations, the rights of the citizens of the People's Republic of China are in more immediate jeopardy than those of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Amnesty International has indicated that the rights of the citizens of the PRC have been systematically undermined by the "anti-crime" campaign currently being pursued on the mainland of China. More than a hundred thousand citizens of the PRC have been incarcerated under the current campaign against crime, and perhaps as many as ten thousand have been executed in procedures that hardly satisfy the minimum judicial requirements for a fair hearing. The authorities in Beijing have modified their own criminal procedure code in order to increase the number of crimes subject to capital 6 sanction. If the Congress of the United States wishes to defend the civil and political rights of citizens in East Asia, their concern might well be directed toward the plight of the citizens of the PRC. It is not only the case that there is prima facie evidence that the rights of the citizens of the PRC are being violated within the territorial confines of mainland China. There is some compelling evidence that the authorities of the PRC have sought to obstruct the efforts by their citizens to seek political asylum in the United States. The most recent cases of gross interference with the activities of Chinese in the United States involve two individuals, Zhang Zhenggao and Zhang Xin. It is not clear to what extent the representatives of the PRC were involved in the unfortunate circumstances that saw Mr. Zhang Zhenggao disappear in July 1984 after having sought political asylum from U.S. Immigration authorities in April, and Mr. Zhang Xin commit suicide in the PRC's New York Consulate only three days after he asked for political asylum in the United States. But it is eminently clear that any concern with human rights would engage U.S. Congressional interest in the service of Messrs. Zhang and Zhang no less than in the service of Mr. Henry Liu. Unless that interest is so engaged, the present sub committee hearings on the case of Henry Liu give every appearance of an appeal to a double standard. There is no doubt that Mr. Liu's case deserves the attention of American is to be made into the murder of Henry Liu, no less should At the moment, the United States government is contemplating the sale of lethal military equipment to the People's Republic of China. No one has suggested that those sales be denied as a consequence of putative human rights violations by the government in Beijing. There are critical security, economic and diplomatic issues involved in such sales and those issues seem to enjoy priority. No less can be said about U.S. relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan. The Issues The foreign policy interests of the United States touch upon an entire range of concerns. In East Asia it is evident that the U.S. has trade, investment, diplomatic and security preoccupations of significant magnitude. The Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96-8, April 10, 1979), which now governs our relations with the ROC, affirms the major preoccupation of the U.S. with the security, integrity and economic viability of Taiwan.7 Not only is Taiwan the sixth largest trading partner of the United States--exchanging about $15 billion annually in bilateral trade--and an investment outlet of considerable importance, the island and associated territories are of manifest importance in maintaining the security structure of the West Pacific region. Section 2b.2 of the Taiwan Relations Act affirms that "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait region "are in the political, security, and economic interests of the United States," and are, moreover, "matters of international concern.. ... Military sales to the authorities in Taipei thus serve the interests of the United States and the international community in order to maintain the military balance in the region--a balance that deters any adventure by the authorities in Beijing, or any military initiatives by Moscow. The military balance in the Taiwan Strait, at best, is 50-408 0-85--5 |