Under a strong push from US President Bill Clinton, the White House has been lobbying hard for Congress to grant permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) to China. China has made such status a condition for its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Clinton is keen to accomplish this "heroic undertaking" before he steps down.
To achieve this end, Beijing has even released university librarian Song Yongyi
However, Beijing's unsavory behavior has already triggered a backlash in the US. Senate majority leader Trent Lott recently warned that the biggest obstacle to China's NTR status and WTO entry remains China itself, because it had been so prone to acts of self-destruction.
Initially, the telecoms and financial industries were the most sensitive issues in China's WTO entry -- especially the telecoms industry, because it involves the Internet market, which touches upon freedom of speech.
After some US concessions in the area of shareholding, US capital will only be able to control a maximum 50 percent of shares in Chinese companies after several years. Still unable to rest assured after these concessions, China had been jumping at whatever advantage that popped up despite being reluctant to take any risks for it -- especially political risks.
Beijing's recent creation of many repressive Internet policies attest to this.
In mid-January, the Scientific and Technological Guide
Soon after, the State Council's Information Office said during a media interview that the Internet information departments of other government agencies had to seek approval from the office before giving interviews or issuing news releases.
On Jan. 25, the State Bureau of Secrecy
Since defining what national secrets means is up to government authorities, the provisions can easily be used to incriminate people and cast a cloud of "White Terror" over the entire online population.
Discussing or sending any information blocked by the Beijing authorities can be interpreted as "leaking national secrets."
The guidelines also required foreign companies and individuals using encryption technologies to register with the government before the end of January. They also ban the sale of foreign commercial encryption products.
Many foreign companies have refused to comply with such unreasonable requirements, not least because of the hurried deadline.
This suppression of foreign businesses have triggered a strong backlash from the Western media, political figures and foreign trade associations. They call it a violation of privacy and the world's largest-scale action so far to control the Internet.
Many commentators believe the provisions will affect China's entry into the WTO, as they constitute a serious harassment to foreign business activities.
The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the regulations were set on Oct. 15 last year. They were published three months later, in an obscure section of the People's Daily. As China had not yet signed the bilateral agreement with the US for WTO entry at that time, the Chinese authorities seem to have kept the provisions secret in order to avoid US dissatisfaction and made a low-profile announcement to avoid repercussions.
Meanwhile, Clinton has completely turned a blind eye to China's actions, which violate human rights and also hurt US business interests. Instead, Clinton has been acting like China's lobbyist by pressuring Congress to grant permanent NTR.
Clinton's act may well backfire if he overdoes it. But a more important question is whether Clinton wants to get China to follow international norms, or does he want a "policy" of getting the rest of the world to follow China's orders?
Paul Lin is a commentator on Hong Kong issues currently residing in New York.
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