Experiencing China
WILLIS P. WHICHARD Special to the Sentinel

EDITOR'S NOTE: Willis (Bill) Whichard is a former member of the North Carolina State Senate, a former Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and has recently retired as Dean of the Law School at Campbell University. He and his wife Leona are part-time residents of Clay County. A report of his trip to China is being published as a 12-part series in the Sentinel.

Part XI - At the U.S. consulate in Shanghai

The last of our professionalism sessions was at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. The Shanghai Consulate is one of four that the U.S. has in China. It serves an area with a population of 200 million, which is approximately the size of Germany. Seventy Americans and 170 Chinese are employed here. This would be a mediumsized embassy anywhere else in the world. It serves as an advocate for American business and for human rights. Last year t hosted over 300 official U.S delegations. Our delegation had a very inormative session here, some aspects of which follow:

Consulate personnel informed us that Shanghai is at the center of change occurring in China. The country is moving from a planned to a market economy, with multiple accompanying social changes. The society is much freer than formerly. Chinese citizens have economic freedom, freedom to travel, freedom to own houses and automobiles. This is all made possible by the economic progress of recent years. There is a high per capita gross domestic product (GDP).

East China is known for its extensive social and economic infrastructure. It has a tremendous pool of business resources, and its young people are fueling China's growth. Shanghai aspires to be an international city. Much construction is underway in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Exposition.

The educational system is undergoing significant reforms. Approximately 58% of the high school graduates go on to university or technical institute education - up from only 2% just a few years ago.

The media is owned and controlled by the state, which makes it very difficult for the U.S. government to get information to the Chinese people. Still, Chinese students know much about U.S. politics, and they are very skeptical about U.S. policies and motives.

The Consulate's Political and Economic Section issues reports and promotes change. It tries to encourage the Chinese to move faster, especially in the areas of human rights and religious freedom. There is still little space for freedom of expression.

The section focuses on who the upcoming leaders are, and what and how they will do. Shanghai is more conservative than other areas because leaders here "want to move up so don't want to mess up."

The foremost economic issue is intellectual property rights. Companies need to be able to protect their inventions if the economy is to move forward. Enforcement of intellectual property rights is very sketchy, but they are making progress.

The Consulate's primary mission is to promote U.S. exports and create jobs at home. If Shanghai is about anything, it is about business. Yet for many business people it is a very confusing environment. The business climate is characterized by a lack of transparency. Business people go to one agency and are told one thing, and they go to another and get an altogether different story.

It is part of the Consulate's function to help U.S. companies with advocacy - to "go to bat for them," to try to make the bidding on projects more fair. The "batting average" in helping U.S. companies solve such problems is "pretty good."

The Consulate also assists American citizens who are in China. It helps with passport problems. It makes a required monthly visit to Americans who are incarcerated in China. Last year almost 20,000 Americans requested the Consulate's services. This is not a remarkable number when considered in light of the fact that there are between 70,000 and 75,000 Americans in Shanghai on any given day.

Visa service for non- Americans who wish to travel to the U.S. is a steadily increasing aspect of the work here. There is a presumption that every non-immigrant visa applicant in fact intends to immigrate. Under a 1952 law, they must convince the issuing authorities that there are compelling reasons that will draw them back to their country. Failure to overcome that presumption is the cause of most visa denials. The refusal rate is 12% for students and 20% overall. Still, the Consulate had issued approximately 16,000 visas in the last three months. Student applications were up 40% this past summer over the one before.

Consulate personnel deem almost every official in China corrupt. There has been a prosecution of one here recently, and the American personnel are puzzled as to the reason. They say the party officials may be trying to show that they are on the right track. Most of the Chinese are happy to see the government going after corrupt officials.

Human rights issues remain a significant concern in China. The American Ambassador talks with Chinese officials about such matters about once every two weeks.

One example is a prisoner who has served eight years of a sixteen-year sentence for embezzlement. This is considerably disproportionate to what others get for this offense. A Consulate official visits him regularly and is trying to find a way "to right this wrong."

The trend toward harassment of criminal defense attorneys is very disturbing. It makes lawyers resistant to taking these cases, and it is an area in which advocating for change is difficult.

Citizens are advocating for their rights - just compensation when the power of eminent domain is exercised, for example - and this is causing problems and makes things very difficult for the central government. Last year there were 87,000 disturbances countrywide, most caused by environmental concerns. This puts the central government "in a bit of a bind."

There are officials in the Chinese government who want the rule of law, and there are others who fear it. The Consulate's objective is "to find the good people and hope they can push these things."

The central government does not want checks and balances, which are necessary to have good government. One party control is unlikely to produce these. Although this is somewhat discouraging, the Consulate officials do not think there is any "going back on" the recent reforms, which have benefited everyone.

We left this session both better informed and impressed with the caliber of personnel representing our country there.

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