_________________WTN-L World Tibet Network News _________________

Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee

Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee,

Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup

WTN Editors: wtn-editors@tibet.ca

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ISSUE ID: 00/02/1 Compiled by Tseten Samdup

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Tuesday, February 1, 2000

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Contents:

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1. China warns US to drop criticism over human rights (AFP)

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BEIJING, Jan 31 (AFP) - China warned the United States on Monday to stop

criticising the country's human rights record, accusing Washington of

peddling "groundless" allegations about Tibet and the Falungong group.

Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya said if the United States introduced a

resolution censuring China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in

March, Sino-US ties would suffer a "serious setback".

"Confrontations will not solve any problems. No one should venture to be

the teacher of others," said Wang.

"A dialogue on human rights between China and the United States will not be

possible if no concrete steps are taken by the US to eliminate the adverse

effects of the anti-China resolution," said Wang.

The Sino-US dialogue on human rights was suspended in the wake of NATO's

bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in May. Military contacts were

resumed last week but the dialogue on human rights has yet to restart.

Wang reiterated Beijing's long-held view that "China now has the best human

rights situation in its history" and he accused "elements" in the United

States of trying to undermine the country's stability.

"Scapegoating China's human rights is without justification and doomed to

failure," added Wang, who heads the Chinese delegation at Sino-US human

rights talks.

The broadside across the front page of the official English-language China

Daily comes two days after US President Bill Clinton made an impassioned

appeal to Americans to embrace China and accept their entry into the World

Trade Organisation.

Although he warned China against "the illusion that it can buy stability at

the expense of freedom," Clinton dwelt far longer on supporting Beijing and

urging Republicans not to veto a trade deal leading to WTO entry.

In what was seen by analysts as an attempt to smoothe WTO entry, China on

Saturday released a US-based academic who had been in detention for six

months here charged with leaking state secrets.

The release of Song Yongyi was hailed by US officials and lawmakers as a

vindication of Clinton's engagement policy.

The US State Department has pledged to push ahead with the human rights

censure motion, citing a "deteriorating" human rights situation last year.

In particular Washington raised the crackdown on the Falungong mystical

group and political dissidents, as well as interference on freedom of

worship.

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