WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] A vote for Bush or Gore is a vote to continue Clinton policies! A vote for Buchanan is a vote to continue America! Therefore a vote for Gore or Bush is a wasted vote for America! Don't waste your vote! Vote for Patrick Buchanan! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- THE BIG DECISION China-trade vote: The bribes have it? Congressman says he rejected $200,000 to change his stance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By David M. Bresnahan � 2000 WorldNetDaily.com Following yesterday's historic and controversial vote to grant China "permanent normal trade relations" -- a high-stakes contest reportedly riddled with last-minute deal-making and arm-twisting of wavering congressman -- at least one House member now claims he was offered a $200,000 bribe by "multinational corporations" to change his no vote to yes. "I have turned down over $200,000 in multinational corporation PAC money if I would change my vote," declared Rep. Merrill Cook, a Republican who represents Utah's 2nd congressional district. "I came to Congress for a reason, and there is not enough money in the world to sway my vote. I will not sell out America's interests." Cook said he was delivering on a promise to his constituents not to support "this kind of action or the regime in China." Rep. Merrill Cook, R-Utah "This PNTR bill is spectacularly awful and abandons common sense," he added. Cook said he would support a bill that provides a rational policy for trade with China. Calling China a "hostile dictatorship," he said the bill passed yesterday ignores "inherent threats to our country." The offers of money came from "multinational corporations and through the Chamber of Commerce 200 PACs," according to Cook spokesman Richard Kuchinski. Saying that Cook "put principle over politics" when he turned down the money from the political action committees, Kuchinski said he didn't know how many other congressmen had received similar offers of money in exchange for a favorable vote on the bill. Kuchinski did not identify the "multinational corporations," but said they want to build factories in China so they can take advantage of lower wages. He said Cook believes U.S. factories will close their doors here when they can hire "slave labor for 3 to 20 cents per hour. Corporate executives and owners get richer -- American workers get poorer," he said. Cook said he regards his vote against PNTR as a vote to support his oath of office. "I have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and provide for the common defense, and I will not pervert the priorities. The strength of our constitutional republic throughout our history has been that we heed the call and understand the threats and understand the dangers," Cook stated. Other Republicans were quick to take credit for the passage of the historic legislation (H.R. 4444). Both the Republican Governors Association and the Republican National Committee gave credit to Republicans for passage of the bill in statements sent to WorldNetDaily. "Republicans deserve real credit for overcoming the short-sighted isolationists, Washington union bosses and the wavering support of Al Gore, who was trying to have his cake and eat it too," said Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, who said passage of permanent normal trade relations will "encourage freedom in China." Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush has also been a strong, vocal supporter of PNTR status for China. On a 237-197 vote, the House voted to grant permanent normal trade relations to communist China, ending 20 years of controversial annual reviews. The yes votes came to 19 more than the needed majority. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has been credited for building an alliance with Democrats through a deal with President Bill Clinton. "'The Chinese market is opening," said Hastert. "Somebody is going to have an opportunity to sell to this vast new market. The question is, who will be there when it opens?" Within moments of the historic vote, Clinton claimed victory in the Rose Garden. "At this stage in China's development, we will have more positive influence with an outstretched hand than with a clenched fist," Clinton said. Supporters of PNTR claim that opening free trade with China will bring freedoms that the Chinese will not want to lose once they experience the profits and incentives of capitalism. "I've long believed the best way to defeat communism is to introduce a free-market system. Once people become used to the free market, they will refuse to return to the old way of doing things. Such an occurrence in China would be good news for every American since it has more than a fourth of the world's population," said Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark. Cook disputes the claims made by Huckabee and others, claiming that the bill was not about freedom, but was passed, rather, to bring corporate profits to a limited few. "We've been trading with China for 30 years, yet they remain the most repressive government in the world. U.S. companies may prosper, Chinese government officials may prosper and even some of the Chinese people may be better off economically. But money cannot replace freedom or justice or security," said Cook. China has more political prisoners today than it did 11 years ago when students demonstrated in Tiananmen Square, he said. Human rights abuses have not been reduced, political oppression continues, and religious intolerance is common throughout China, according to Cook. Supporters of the PNTR bill claim that opening up free trade with China will reverse the trends criticized by Cook, resulting in greater freedoms for the Chinese people. "Free trade with China will allow for enhanced economic opportunities, higher standards of living, greater exposure to the principles of freedom and liberty, and to the freer flow of information and ideas that is the lifeblood of democracy," said Gov. George E. Pataki, R-NY. But Cook argues that working conditions for Chinese workers will not improve because of PNTR, but will cause them instead to be exploited even further, and further, that U.S. workers will suffer as well. "The big businessman has his investments guaranteed by the taxpayers, and these very same taxpayers are having their jobs taken away because they are setting up factories in China to export back to the United States. They are doing it by closing factories here and putting our own people out of work -- giving jobs in China to slave labor and average annual incomes of only about $700," complained Cook. PNTR will result in a greater opportunity for U.S. goods to be sold in China, which now has high tariffs making U.S. products too expensive, according to supporters of the bill. "I believe Chinese demand for American goods will be very strong once the tariffs come down and that will be very positive for farmers, ranchers and manufacturers in Nebraska and across the United States," said Gov. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Cook said he is very concerned about the "military, nuclear, and security threat China poses to our great nation, and its neighbors like Taiwan." Cook believes China has a long-term strategy aimed at dominating Asia on its way to becoming a global superpower. He said Pentagon officials have tried to sound a warning about the threat from China, but because their information has been classified, those warnings are not being adequately heard. "China now controls both sides of the Panama and Suez canals; has built a warship and submarine base on the Sprately Islands, which threaten our regional democratic allies of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and the vital sea lanes and trading routes of the South China Sea where half to three-quarters of the Japanese trade goes through," said Cook. "This also has to do with 13 intercontinental ballistic missiles targeted on U.S. cities," he added. "Our children are now in jeopardy to be incinerated by these high-tech weapon systems we spent billions of dollars to develop, and which were either stolen from us, given to China by the current administration, or sold to China for more profits by the very companies lobbying us. They are not over in China lobbying for democracy. They are lobbying us and offering contributions in order to protect their slave trade and their blood money," said Cook. China has agreed to a number of concessions that will provide openings for American businesses. However, the Chinese have stated firm disapproval of the commission that will be created to monitor human rights in China. China said the commission is an unacceptable form of interference with the internal affairs of the communist nation. The principal Democratic opponent of the bill was House Minority Whip David Bonior of Michigan. He agreed with Cook that the bill rewards a brutal regime at the expense of American jobs. "You can't have free markets without free people," complained Bonior. The bill now moves on to the Senate for a vote in June. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation by a wide margin. Cook faces a Republican challenger in what is predicted to be a tough June congressional primary, and if he survives, he faces an even tougher challenge from a Democratic challenger in November. 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