Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said he will soon introduce new legislation to hold China accountable for its human rights violations, while pushing forward stalled legislation to stop China’s state-sanctioned practice of harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. The upcoming bill would see China lose its permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status unless the communist regime shows “serious and sustained efforts to, or record of, human rights protections,” Smith said in a recent interview with EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders.” “We have leverage. They’re [China] an export economy, without that the economy grinds to a halt,” Smith said. “If that’s what it takes to protect their people from the slave-like conditions, then we have to do it.” In 2000, Congress passed legislation to give China permanent most-favored-nation status, now known as PNTR, which paved the way for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. The status opened the U.S. market to Chinese …