China funds" charges against Clinton
A new phase in Washington's political warfare
By Martin McLaughlin
A new front has been opened up in the political warfare in Washington, with claims by congressional Republicans that the Clinton administration agreed to reverse US policy on the export of satellite technology to China after large campaign contributions from aerospace companies and the Chinese government itself.
The Republican charges are based on press accounts, mainly from the New York Times, and on leaks from the US Justice Department, which is conducting a criminal investigation of possible Chinese government efforts to influence the 1996 presidential and congressional elections, including funneling contributions into the campaigns of particular candidates, among them Clinton.
Two aspects of the most recent revelations bear examination: the influence on Clinton administration policy of Loral Corporation and Hughes Aerospace, and the reported testimony of Johnny Chung, a Taiwanese-American businessman who gave a total of $366,000 to Democratic Party campaigns in 1996.
In the case of Loral and Hughes, the issue was a US government policy, enacted after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which limited exports of satellite technology to China and required a specific presidential decision to permit American satellite manufacturers to use Chinese rockets as launching vehicles to place their satellites in orbit.
After the Clinton administration initially denied permission for such satellite launches, Loral Corporation Chairman Bernard Schwartz became the largest personal contributor to the Democratic Party, giving more than $600,000 for the 1996 campaign and another $421,000 for the current 1998 campaign.
His contributions were not in vain. In February 1996 Clinton gave approval to four launches of US-built satellites using Chinese Long March missiles. A month later the authority over such deals was transferred from the State Department, which had opposed the launch approval, to the Commerce Department, which was committed to promoting US corporate access to the lucrative Chinese market. |
