Melody in Prison: Ngawang Choephel
	UPDATE 19 May 2000

The following news story was released by the Associated Press in Montpelier, Vermont.

U.S. Sen. James Jeffords said the case of a Tibetan prisoner with Vermont ties has changed his mind on permanent normal trade relations between the U.S. and China.

In a key U.S. Senate committee vote Wednesday, Jeffords, who has supported normalizing trade with China in the past, was the sole vote against the trade measure. The Senate Finance Committee voted 18-1 to approve it.

The legislation, supported by the Clinton administration, would extend permanent normal trade relations to China. It would eliminate the annual U.S. government review now required for China to obtain ''normal'' trading status, which used to be referred to as ''most favored nation status.''

Many economists argue that expanding free trade will ultimately lead to more jobs in the United States and improved conditions in China. But Jeffords and other critics say an annual review of China's human rights record is necessary.

The case of Ngawang Choephel, a former Fulbright scholar at Middlebury College, has made Jeffords question China's commitment to the rule of law, he said in a statement.'' If China cannot obey its own laws in this case, how can we expect it to follow the far more burdensome rules of the World Trade Organization?'' he said. ''... Unless I see a resolution of this case, I am reluctant to give up this (annual review)leverage on the Chinese.''

Choephel returned to his native Tibet in 1995 to make a documentary about traditional music and dance. The Chinese government, which annexed Tibet in 1951, arrested him and sentenced him to 18 years in prison allegedly for spying. China has refused to allow his mother, Sonam Dekyi, to visit, despite Chinese law allowing relatives to see their loved ones in jail.

Vermont's congressional delegation and the U.S. State Department have campaigned for Choephel's release, saying his health is declining. They also have pressed Chinese officials to grant Dekyi a visa, but to no avail.

Rep. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., also opposes permanent normal trade relations with China. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said he's undecided on the current proposal. In the past, Leahy has voted against normal trade relations. The House is expected to vote on the China trade bill later this month. The Senate may vote on it in June.

Jeffords says he cannot accept the Chinese government's continued inaction on Choephel's case.

''(G)ranting a visa and a prison visit to a distraught mother is neither destabilizing nor disruptive. It is not losing face,'' he said in the statement. ''It is obeying Chinese law.''

Mary Beth Markey, director of governmental relations at the International Campaign for Tibet, said the U.S. shouldn't be rewarding China for its poor record on human rights. The annual debate over trade with China, she said, was important even if the ''normal'' status was renewed each year.

''This is a notification to the Chinese that the United States does take a principled stand,'' she said. ''We're not willing to just give the monster a cookie.''

Human rights campaigners in Vermont praised Jeffords for reversing his support of the trade measure.

''It's very good news,'' said Sonam Chophel, a Burlington resident and former member of the Tibetan government in exile in India. ''Every year the United States (in Congress) will have an opportunity to see how the Chinese are keeping track of human rights.''

''Then they can keep continuing the trade if they improve.''