Lack of respect for intellectual property (IP) rights and govt. c...

The U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission created by Congress in 2000 submitted a 300-page report to Capitol Hill that said trends in China have “negative implications” for long-term U.S. security. Commission Chmn. Roger Robinson said the U.S. trade deficit with China was $214 billion in 2003, but would have been less if China had adhered to its WTO obligations. Vice Chmn. Richard D'Amato said that when China was admitted to the WTO, “certain assumptions were made,” including that China would have “new openness in information flows [and] enhanced respect for the rule of law.” IP rights and media restrictions were 2 of the 9 areas of the U.S.-China relationship examined by the Commission. One of the report’s key findings was that China has a poor enforcement record on IP rights protection, and it recommended Congress “press the administration to make more use of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and/or U.S. trade laws to redress unfair Chinese trade practices.” The report also found “there has in practice been no fundamental change in the Chinese government’s approach to controlling the media, including information available through the Internet.” Content monitoring goes beyond the Internet, the report said. For instance, China has 277 million cell phones that are used regularly by citizens, but the Chinese govt. is monitoring cell phone users’ text messages. The Internet “is a growing focus of China’s information control efforts,” the report said, with web sites blocked and content filtered. Combined with China’s continued control over traditional media, Chinese citizens receive a distorted image of the U.S. and its policies, the report said. The Commission recommended Congress increase funding for Bcstg. Board of Governors’ (BBG) programs “aimed at circumventing China’s Internet firewall through the development of anticensorship technologies.” The Commission specifically endorsed the Global Internet Freedom Act, HR-48 by House Select Homeland Security Committee Chmn. Cox (R-Cal.) and S-1183 by Senate Judiciary Technology Subcommittee Chmn. Kyl (R-Ariz.), which would create an Office of Global Internet Freedom in BBG to target China and other countries. The Commission also said the Commerce Dept. and other agencies should review export administration regulations “to determine whether restrictions are needed on the export of U.S. equipment, software, and technologies that permit the Chinese government to surveil its own people or censor free speech.”