WASHINGTON — Religious freedom is under such serious attack in China that America should delay awarding it Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) until improvement comes, a U.S. commission said Monday.
That hard-nosed recommendation was announced by Michael Young, vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Young is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The commission also urged more U.S. pressure on Russia, where it said groups including the LDS Church have been harassed and may face expulsion in some areas. It also urged U.S. pressure on Sudan, where it said religious persecution is worst in the world.
The commission was created by a 1998 law to study religious freedom worldwide and report to Congress on it every year on May 1. The report Monday was the first it has issued.
While President Clinton has formed an unusual alliance with congressional Republicans to push for awarding China Permanent Normal Trade Relations as it seeks to join the World Trade Organization, the commission said that may send a bad signal.
"Many, and I am one, believe in free trade and that engaging China is far more likely to benefit everyone than trying to isolate Beijing," Young told a press conference at the National Press Club.
"But we were convinced that for Congress to simply grant China PNTR at this moment, with no significant improvement in the state of religious freedom, would be to send Beijing a signal that these awful, inexcusable, inhumane policies did not require a more immediate response.
"And this we could not recommend," Young said.
He listed some of the abuses found in China against people seeking to practice religion.
"We're talking about three-year labor camp sentences without a trial, about multiyear prison terms, about people — including women — beaten to death by police," he said.
Young said areas where Congress should seek improvement before allowing Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China include: China should open a high-level dialogue with the United States on religious freedom; it should ratify the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights; and it should allow the commission access to imprisoned religious leaders in China.
Also, he said China should respond to inquiries about religious prisoners, and it should release all religious prisoners.
"We have not said China should not be granted PNTR. We have said that it should make substantial improvements in religious freedom before Congress votes to do so or before PNTR takes effect," Young said.
Young also noted the commission is urging the United States "to use its influence to ensure China is not selected as a site for the Olympic Games until it makes significant improvements in human rights, including religious freedom."
The commission also urged Congress and the administration to keep a close eye on developments in Russia, which it worries could otherwise soon act to expel many churches.
It noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law that extends until Dec. 31 the deadline for churches to register in Russia — but it orders the "liquidation" of unregistered churches after that.
The commission noted that various regional officials "have denied registration and sought the liquidation of unpopular religious communities — including Baptists, Pentecostals, charismatic churches, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists and Orthodox groups not associated with the Moscow Patriarchate."
The commission also urged the United States to increase aid to regions in Sudan it said are under attack in a long civil war because of predominant religious beliefs that do not match extremist Muslim beliefs of country leaders.
"The government has escalated an appalling policy of deliberately bombing civilian facilities in the south: It has repeatedly hit churches, schools, hospitals and the facilities of aid organizations," said commission chairman David Saperstein, who is a rabbi.
You can reach Lee Davidson by e-mail at lee@desnews.com