“Feeding the Dragon,” that was the title of a hearing held on November 15th by the US House Foreign Affairs Asia Sub Committee. US congressmen were evaluating if United States should continue to send aid to China—the US’s biggest creditor.
[Brad Sherman, US Congressman, D-California]:
“We’re borrowing money from China, to give it to China, to do stuff that the Chinese don’t think is important enough to pay for.”
This year the United States will give 12-million dollars in aid money to China, and 4-million of that money is being scrutinized. It’s earmarked for clean energy development, rule of law and combating wildlife trafficking.
US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher opposes the aid on grounds that the Chinese regime doesn’t care about rule of law or wildlife trafficking.
[Dana Rohrabacher, US Congressman, R-California]:
“These are people who take their own women and put them into forced abortions, and these are the same people who murder the Falun Gong and other religious followers and we expect that we are going to help them save endangered species.”
Yet administration officials have pointed out the money won’t be given to the Chinese regime, but instead to NGOs operating in China.
US Aid says it is in the interest of Americans to help China clean up environmental pollution.
[Nisha Desai Biswal, US Aid, Assistant Administrator for Asia]:
“Almost one third of the particle pollution in California, and 30 percent of the mercury found in North American lakes comes from Chinese coal fired power plants.”
But with a 14-trillion dollar debt and high unemployment, the idea of sending money to the United States’ biggest competitor and the world’s second largest economy doesn’t sit well with many US congressmen.
[Don Manzullo, US Congressman, R-Illinois]:
“The US government needs to clean up it’s own fiscal trail before helping China clean up its own environmental mess.”
The current aid program will give 275-million dollars to China over ten years.
