The Nation : Envoy to China Confirmed

The Senate confirmed the nomination of Winston Lord as ambassador to China after President Reagan assured Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) there would be no U.S. aid for China’s policy of sterilization and abortion. Lord, whose nomination has been awaiting final Senate action since Oct. 1, was approved 87 to 7 after Helms lifted his objections. Helms said that, prior to his conversation with Reagan, he was unable to secure assurances from the State Department or the Agency for International Development that no American assistance would be channeled through the United Nations for what he called China’s “programs of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization.”