It would seriously erode American influence there and would play into the hands of the hard liners in the Chinese Government at the expense of citizens and leaders seeking economic and political reform. Under current law. MFN for China is conditioned only on emigration policies. The annual renewal procedures were designed to promote free emigration and to remove MFN only if China. or any other nonmarket country abandoned free emigration policies or made no effort to improve and reform their practices. Although Chinas record is not perfect in this regard. they have continued to apply a relatively free emigration policy. The principal restraint on emigration is not Chinese policy. but the capacity and willingness of other nations to absorb Chinese Immigrants. In addition. China continues to pursue a relatively open foreign travel policy. 255.000 people were issued passports for private travel in 1990. more than a threefold increase since 1986. Emigration policies should not become the mask to punish China for other human rights violations. Such deplorable human rights abuses must be addessed directly. preferably with a unified U.S. policy that Congress and the President have formulated together. Can returning China to isolationism. undermining United States business and investment in that country. tossing aside jobs generated by $5 billion in United States exports. and abandoning reformist elements in China be justified by the United States in trying to achieve its human rights and foreign policy goals?
Keywords matched
emigration Immigrants Emigration