Commerce secretary goes to China

More Commerce Department jaunts to China during the middle of an
investigation into nuclear espionage scandal? That’s what one watchdog
group is asking.

Commerce Secretary Bill Daley is currently leading Presidential
Business Missions in China and Korea to pursue what he considers to be
U.S. economic interests. But Judicial Watch, a non-partisan legal
watchdog, has expressed concern that these missions could supply China
with even more sensitive U.S. technology thereby fueling China’s nuclear
and military machine.

The trade missions, which began March 25 and will continue through
April 1, have been planned to help American companies get back into the
Asian market. With U.S. exports down by more than a third from last
year, Daley believes that now is the time to help American companies get
back into the Asian market since Korea, according to Daley, is “poised
for recovery.”

“This visit comes at a critical time for both countries (China and
Korea) and the interests of the United States in Asia,” Daley said.
“Still dealing with the worst economic downturn in its history, Korea is
beginning to come out of the turmoil that has devastated so much of
Asia.”

This trade mission to China includes 17 mission members who will go
to Korea and 18 who will go to China. Comprising these 35 mission
members are representatives from high-technology companies in the U.S.
Also accompanying Daley on the trip are officials from the departments
of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and the Export
Import Bank.

Although Daley believes that the trade mission will help U.S. exports
to Asia, Judicial Watch, which is suing the Clinton Commerce Department
for its part in the Chinagate scandal, believes that the trade mission
could have national security ramifications if sensitive technology
information is once again transferred to China.

“Kosovo is bad enough, but the Clinton-China crisis deserves
attention,” said Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. “We know that
Clinton made himself and government services available in exchange for
campaign cash from Communist China. We have evidence that he allowed
technology to be sent to China for that cash as well, all the while
pretending not to notice that Chinese spies were running amok throughout
the government.”

One of the reported Chinese “spies” is John Huang, an ex-Democratic
National Committee fund-raiser. Huang, who has already been deposed by
Judicial Watch is set to be further deposed by the group on April 13.

Klayman told WorldNetDaily that it is his belief that the Kosovo
crisis is an attempt by the president to divert the nation’s attention
away from the Chinagate scandal.

“I think, in part, they (the Kosovo bombings) were precipitated now
to divert attention away from the Chinese scandal,” Klayman said.

However, Daley, in defense of the president, said that Clinton was
very concerned about national security in light of the espionage that
took place in national laboratories based in Los Alamos and is
determined to protect the country’s national secrets.

Concerning the involvement of U.S. firms in China, Daley went on to
say, “The involvement of U.S. firms provides China’s public and private
sector with more exposure to U.S. safety and health standards; more open
communications; respect for the rule of law in business dealings and
other business and workplace practices. That, in turn, helps to promote
our broader goal of encouraging China to become a more open society.”

Klayman, however, doesn’t believe that Clinton is trying to open up
trade with China in the interest of American companies but thinks that
Clinton’s actions are an effort by the administration to appease Chinese
politicians.

“As one more favor for his paymasters in Beijing, he sends his
Commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative to China to give away
the store in terms of American technology and trade interests,” Klayman
said.

The late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown made many such trips to China
before his death.