Sherrod Brown: “if a bill were to come before this Congress asking for the legalization of rape, torture, murder and religious…”

“if a bill were to come before this Congress asking for the legalization of rape, torture, murder and religious persecution, it would be voted down without question. If our President were to lower the working age to 15 years old and call for 14 hour workdays, 6 days a week, the people of the United States would be outraged. Why then do so many in this Congress seek to allow trade practices with a country that allows and encourages such atrocities? In the People's Republic of China, these types of events occur every day. This behavior is not punished by the Chinese Communist Party, but it is condoned and encouraged by this Chinese government. Although the government of the United States obviously has no authority to stop directly this abusive behavior, we do have the ability to check on the human rights practices of the Chinese through our current trade agreement. The U.S. State Department reports on human rights violations in China, ``Beijing's poor human rights record deteriorated markedly throughout the year, as the government intensified efforts to suppress dissent.'' Even with our investigations into the human rights issue, China has not changed. Even if we do not consider the $70 billion trade deficit or the threat of jobs going overseas to China, we should deny China permanent normal trade relations based on these human rights violations done and allowed by the Chinese government. Many of the victims of government oppression in China are young children.…”