APNewswire: US Lawmakers Trade Visit After Arrests By JOE McDONALD

Associated Press Newswires

BEIJING (AP) - Arriving hours after China arrested more members of a banned meditation sect, a group of U.S. lawmakers began a study trip Tuesday aimed at deciding whether to pass a landmark trade deal.

Delegation members talked up potential economic benefits but expressed concern about human and religious rights. They noted the arrests Tuesday of more than 100 Falun Gong members during protests in Beijing.

"For me, it raises an initial red flag," said U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York. "I don't think we can bypass situations where human rights and workers' rights are violated."

The delegation is part of Clinton administration lobbying efforts before Congress votes on the deal next month. It would give China the same permanent low-tariff import status as other U.S. trading partners.

Labor and human rights groups oppose ending annual reviews. They have been used by critics of China's communist government to push for improvements in human, labor and religious rights.

The vote is part of a Sino-U.S. deal on Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization that requires China to lower import barriers. But it says that without permanent U.S. trade status, it will continue to impose high tariffs on American goods.

The delegation led by Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has just four congressmen instead of the 25 to 30 initially planned. That reflects in part the reluctance of many lawmakers to associate publicly with the politically sensitive issue.

Aside from Meeks, lawmakers on the trip are Democrats Rubin Hinojosa of Texas and Norman Dicks of Washington and Republican Greg Walden of Oregon. Also with the group is North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer.

The lawmakers are to meet with Chinese officials and business people and representatives of U.S. companies in China. Later in the week, they are scheduled to travel to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Dicks supports the trade deal, and said he wanted to take back to Congress the "real story" of potential increased trade with China.

"This is going to be a very tough vote," he said.

Walden also supported the deal, while Meeks and Hinojosa were undecided.

"We can come here and we can talk about trade and engagement. But at the same time, we have to make a point about human rights problems," Dicks said. "And we shouldn't be shy about doing it."