Tell Congress: GAO must give a FULL accounting of the debt CHINA owes to AMERICA

From 1900 to 1949 the Chinese Government issued hundreds of millions of dollars in sovereign debt-most notably, a large tranche of £25,000,000 issued at 5 percent in 1913. Backed by the full faith and credit of the Chinese Government, these bonds were sold to investors in the United States, Japan and Europe by international banks, primarily HSBC and Deutsche Bank, and were widely acquired by both banks and governments. The U.S. government holds a substantial portion of these bonds and, like more than 20,000 private U.S. investors, is entitled to remuneration.

When the Communist Party overthrew the government in 1949, the new People's Republic of China (PRC) has selectively refused to recognize or honor the bond obligations of the governments it succeeded. In the case of the debt owed to the United Kingdom, however, the PRC settled its obligations in 1987. Now, they need to settle their obligations to US.

The GAO needs to conduct a complete and accurate inventory of all U.S. Government holdings of all Republic of China sovereign bonds issued between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 1949, whether considered to be in default or not. In an era when sovereign debt obligations are critical, the U.S. Government should recognize ALL of its creditor relationships.

We need to add up exactly what China owes America, and refuse to pay them what they say we owe THEM until they pay US back -- instead of any more increases in our debt ceiling. GAO must give a FULL accounting of the debt CHINA owes to AMERICA. Congress has to WITHHOLD the interest owed China as an offset to the $750 billion THEY owe American citizens.