House Slams China On Human Rights

The House, in a near unanimous vote Wednesday, pressed the government to take up a resolution condemning China's human rights record at a meeting this month of the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

The United States should call upon China to end human rights violations and meet internationally recognized standards, the House resolved in the 402-2 vote.

The U.N. Human Rights Commission convenes in Geneva on March 15 for its annual session, and U.S. officials have indicated that, unlike last year, they will seek international criticism of China's record.

Secretary of State Colin Powell did not respond directly when asked at a Senate hearing Wednesday whether he would recommend taking a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

Powell said he wanted to first make his recommendation to President Bush. But, suggesting where he stands, Powell said, "We're disappointed," and he added that China's record had worsened.

The State Department, in its recent annual report, accused Beijing of backsliding in the past year, citing arrests of political activists and a crackdown on Internet dissent.

Rep. Christopher Smith, R-NJ., chief sponsor of the resolution, said China has six times in the past blocked attempts to get the U.N. commission to approve language critical of its human rights record. But "we have a moral duty and obligation" to raise the issue, he said.

He said trade with China has not brought the expected easing of political oppression. "We trade, they torture, we trade, they abuse, we trade, they incarcerate," Smith said.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said that last year the United States did not seek a resolution, asserting that China had made progress. "That was a profound mistake," she said. "China took U.S. unwillingness as a sign of weakness."

Voting against the resolution were Reps. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Jim McDermott, D-Wash.