Hi there,

In this chaotic news cycle it may be tempting to tune out, but we hope you won’t—only an informed and engaged public can defend democracy. In these times of deep political polarization we need news that goes beyond play-by-play headlines, news that goes to the heart of each story by asking people to tell their own stories of abuses of power and injustice in their own words. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

China and Most Favored Nation Trade Status

Listen
Media Options
Listen

President Clinton yesterday began a campaign to renew most favored
nation trade status with China. The move comes as no surprise
following yet another lobbying blitz of what is now referred to as
the China lobby — major corporations like Boeing, Coca-Cola and
Motorola.

But most favored nation trade status must be approved by Congress
and opponents of the measure have vowed a tough fight. Human rights
groups say that the Clinton administration has once again
sacrificed basic freedoms on the altar of commerce. Last week in
Los Angeles, New York, Portland and Seattle, human rights groups
and writers highlighted the case of Chinese author and dissident
Wei Jingsheng, one of the most important political prisoners in the
world today.

He is considered the paramount leader and symbol of the ongoing
struggle for democracy and human rights in China and has spent all
but six months of the last seventeen years in prison. Once an
electrician at the Beijing Zoo, Wei Jingsheng emerged as an
eloquent and utterly fearless fighter for individual rights in
China during the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s. He is
now serving a 14-year-sentence on round-the-clock surveillance and
his health has continued to deteriorate.

TAPE: KATI MARTON, chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

TAPE: ARTHUR MILLER, author and playwright.

TAPE: PETER GABRIEL, popular singer..

Related Story

StoryApr 24, 2025“Ultimate Grifter”: Bob Kuttner on How Trump Could Drop His Tariffs & Take Credit for Saving Economy
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top