Finally - it seems - president Clinton has decided that somewhere in east Asia there are massive human rights violations even worth mentioning. I suppose that the Burmese ruling elite forgot to contribute to his reelection bid. The fact is that whatever abuses are going on there are also going on in China and Indonesia. The only difference is that billionaire investors do not have a stake in seeing that the citizenry are kept in check - like underpaid and extremely tolerant of massive poisoning of their environment and ecology. We have trade sanctions against Libya, Cuba, and North Korea; China, the beneficiary of massive infusions of investment cash, gets most favored nation status for violations that dwarf those of all these "rogue states". We are following a policy of "constructive engagement" with China - the very same policy we would have today with a South Africa that would still be practicing Apartheid if it weren't for the unity of african americans, a key constituency in the Democratic party and various southern congressional districts (no wonder Republicans wanted majority minority districts!). Will we have to await a united asian front replete with grass roots activism - the only activity among the asian community of note have been from the Riady types - to finally push for a sensible China policy? Or will it take the onset of a second Cold War - or even worse, a third world war? If we don't stand for democracy and basic human rights, then what do we stand for?
11/28/96
