Letter: No reason to reward China

Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 | 8:38 a.m.

"Free" trade. What has China done to earn a de-linking of human rights issues in free trade negotiations? Can it be we want to reward them for their sales of arms to the Taliban? Maybe we want to reward them for holding the crew of the EP3 surveillance plane hostage on Hainon Island?

Free trade and entrance into the World Trade Organization for China are part of the utopian goal of "trade expansion will bring peace." It hasn't worked yet in the last 40 years. Maybe I missed it.

Free trade without a link to human rights and environmental issues will bring us more disasters like NAFTA (Not A Fair Trade Agreement). If NAFTA were a success illegal immigration would have slowed -- instead it accelerated. If NAFTA were a success the border area wouldn't be polluted in the air, water and soil.

China is not our friend and I hope that we will not be fighting them in the future. In case no one noticed they are Communists and will continue to export their poisonous policies.

"Free" trade will only be free when it is equitable, fair and reciprocal. Running a trade deficit of $50 billion to $80 billion a year with China is poor, shortsighted policy.

Have the Chinese workers in Boeing plants lost 12,000 jobs like American workers have?

FRANK PERNA