Here are excerpts from President Jiang Zemin's interview to the Washington Post. It gives an indication as to what pitch he will be making concerning Tibet. We need to be prepared to talk about the "slave system" in Tibet then and now.
Bhuchung
Sunday, October 19, 1997
The Washington Post
Following are excerpts from an interview in Shanghai on Oct. 17 with China's
President Jiang Zemin:
Jiang: Very soon I will be paying a visit
to the United States. I will meet President Clinton and discuss with him
the guiding principles governing China-U.S. relations pointing toward the
21st century. And during my visit I will also have rather extensive contacts
with other leaders of your country, people from your business community,
education and other sectors of society. And I hope that through my visit the
development of Chinese American relations will be promoted to a new level.
Q. We noticed with interest that you are
going to start your visit by laying a wreath at the Pearl Harbor Memorial in
Hawaii. That prompts us to ask what threats you see to China's security in
the years ahead? Which countries do you think may be most difficult to deal with
in China's external relations?
A. I will be very happy to begin my visit
to the United States in beautiful Hawaii. The Pearl Harbor incident, which
took place over 50 years ago, still evokes deep thinking among the people.
Lessons from that incident cannot and should not be forgotten. The Second World
War brought many countries in the world great disaster.
Peace and development are the main themes
of our world today. However, the world is still far from tranquil. The
supreme interest of China is peace and
nation-building. As to all threats to
peace and development, no matter where they come from, the Chinese people will
join hands with the people of the rest of the world to prevent and eliminate all
of them.
As permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council, both China and the United States share the responsibility
for preserving world peace and stability.
China and the United States have some
differences on some issues. However, the common ground between us outweighs
the differences, and we should proceed in the spirit of seeking common
ground despite differences and work together to promote peace and stability
in the region and the world at large.
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Jiang also made these points:
On human rights: "The theory of
relativity worked out by Mr. Einstein, which is in the domain of natural science, I believe can also be applied to the political field. Both democracy and human rights relative concepts and not absolute and general. . . . One country's human rights situation cannot be separated from the actual conditions of that country. . . . Undoubtedly, there can be [diplomatic] discussion on the human rights issue, but I hope that the West understands that our primary issue is to assure that all Chinese people have adequate access to food and clothing."
On the possibility of holding democratic
elections for major public offices in China: "How can the American way of
elections in China be organized when we have over 1.2 billion people and more
than 100 million who can't read or write? . . . We use a system of a mixture of
both direct and indirect elections. For example, I am a deputy to the National
People's Congress [China's legislature] elected by the municipality of Shanghai.
The city of Shanghai has a population of 13 million, and it's impossible for me
to be elected directly by the people of Shanghai. So I was elected to the
National People's Congress by the People's Congress of the city of Shanghai. . . . The developed capitalist countries always hope to see uniformity in the world . . . which I do not think is a manifestation of democracy."
On Tibet: (Jiang spoke of Abraham
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which he often has quoted in public.) "Lincoln was
a remarkable leader, particularly in liberating the slaves in America. When it
comes to slavery in China, most of China got rid of slavery long ago, except
in Tibet, where it was not until the Dalai Lama left that we eliminated
serfdom. . . . The impression I get is that you [Americans] are undoubtedly opposed to slavery, yet you support the Dalai Lama."
On Taiwan: (Jiang spoke of reading "Gone
With the Wind" and seeing a television series on the U.S. Civil War.)
"The purpose of your Civil War was to unite America together, yet on the issue
of Taiwan some of your people support separating Taiwan and China and cannot
understand how strongly 1.2 billion people feel about reunification of their
motherland. This makes people think that standards you apply to others are not the same as those you apply to yourselves."
JIANG ZEMIN
A BRIEF PROFILE
Has been Communist Party chief for eight
years and also holds the titles of president and chairman of the Central
Military Commission. He was selected for the leadership by his mentor, Deng
Xiaoping, in 1989.
An electrical engineer by training and a
former mayor of Shanghai, he was considered somewhat uninspiring and many
wondered whether he would be able to survive political infighting.
Since Deng's death in February, Jiang,
71, has solidified his position.
At the 15th Communist Party Congress in
September, four powerful Politburo members were forced out. They included
the party's number-three ranking official, Qiao Shi, chairman of the
National People's Congress who apparently had pushed for political reforms. Jiang also managed to secure Central
Committee seats for several key allies.
The congress also endorsed Jiang's report
on overhauling state enterprises and his proposal to enshrine the market-style
theories of Deng Xiaoping.
Jiang's image as an international leader
was boosted in July with the successful handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.
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The International Campaign for Tibet
1825 K St. N.W, Suite 520
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: +1 (202) 785-1515 / Fax: +1 (202) 785-4343
E-mail: ict@peacenet.org / Internet: http://www.savetibet.org
ICT is a non-profit human rights and democracy monitoring group that
promotes education and awareness on the current situation in Tibet.
President Jiang is coming to town. Join us on October 28 and 29 to show
your support for Tibet.
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