The 1991 Battle for Human Rights in China

Bibliographic Data

ID11673085
AuthorsRobert F Drinan (corresponding author), Teresa T Kuo
Year1992
Volume14
Issue1
Pages21-21
Publication date1992-02-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Rights Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0275-0392 • E-ISSN: 1085-794X
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/762550
OpenAlexW2323973517
LanguageEN
Citations received4

In the two-and-a-half years since the Tiananmen Massacre, the extension of Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) trade status to China has become the focal issue in Sino-US relations.' Prior to June 1989 the yearly renewal of China's MFN status occurred without controversy. However, the situation changed when the Chinese government ordered the brutal slaughter of pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square. Since then, the administration and Congress have been locked in a continuous battle, unable to find a common approach to deal with China's egregious violations of human rights. A clear majority of Congress, angered by evidence of flagrant human rights violations in China,2 has called for the attachment of conditions to MFN renewal. Last year the growing trade imbalance and China's weapons sales to developing countries in the wake of the Persian Gulf Crisis increased congressional concerns to a new height. On 15 May 1991 President Bush reopened the MFN battle by announcing his intent to renew China's MFN status without any conditions.3 The President's announcement drew approval from the rulers in Beijing,4 but it lit the fuse for the latest round of rancorous public debates over what the US policy should be toward China

Ancient history · Battle · China · Geography · Human rights · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · History · International Law and Human Rights · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Law

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