by Lorien Holland

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Nov 1 (AFP) - Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Saturday brushed off noisy demonstrators protesting about Tibet, Taiwan and human rights abuses but came close to apologizing for the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.

Jiang, who had earlier delivered a speech at Harvard University, was replying to a question on why China had not dealt peacefully with the pro-democracy demonstrators.

He said his was a government that aimed to serve the Chinese people and listen to their wishes.

"It goes without saying that naturally we may have shortcomings and even make some mistakes. However, we are still working to further improve our work," Jiang said.

Hundreds if not thousands of unarmed student demonstrators were killed in Beijing on June 4, 1989 when the central government sent tanks and troops in to clear Tiananmen Square following weeks of demonstrations.

The government has maintained that its actions in ending the "counter-revolutionary turmoil" were entirely justified to maintain China's stability, but the event remains a black mark domestically and internationally.

One of Jiang's main goals in his state visit has been to defend China's policies and fend off US criticism of its human rights record and of its Tibet policy. On Saturday he made light of the protests that greeted him at Harvard.

"Although I am 71 years old, my ears still work very well and when I was delivering my speech I did hear the sound from the loudspeakers outside," Jiang said when asked if he was aware of the protesters.

"My approach was to speak even louder," he added, after calling in his address for better cooperation between China and the United States.

But his stance on Tibet and negotiation with the exiled Dalai Lama remained unchanged. "Our policy (for talks) is very clear cut," he told Harvard students and professors.

"He must publicly state that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and must publicly state that he will give up the goal of Tibet independence and stop all activities aimed at splitting the motherland," Jiang said.

Deep US concerns over the mountainous region were evidenced Friday when Washington attracted Beijing's anger by nominating Greg Craig, a 52-year-old diplomat, as Washington's special envoy on Tibet.

The nomination, announced while Jiang was still visiting the United States, was seen as diplomatically ill-timed and drew a quick response from China.

"Tibet is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and no government has the right to interfere in China's internal affairs," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang.

Since his arrival in Hawaii on October 26, Jiang has been dogged by demonstrators who have protested at everything from China's claims on Tibet and Taiwan to the imprisonment of dissidents and forced abortions.

And his visit to Harvard was no exception.

Thousands of demonstrators standing in a chilly drizzle burned a Chinese flag and Jiang's portrait while chanting slogans like "Free Tibet" and "Free the Chinese" as Jiang spoke.

A speaker at one of the rallies was Harry Wu, a Chinese-American activist jailed in China two years ago after crossing the border illegally to investigate human rights abuses.

At a luncheon for Jiang in Boston afterwards, security forces were out in force. Protesters-including a group of Roman Catholic nuns decrying religious persecution in China-were kept at bay behind barricades.

One police officer described the security at Harvard as the largest deployment he had seen since the anti-war protests of the 1960s.

But the president of the world's most populous nation has not let the dissenters overshadow the first visit by a Chinese president to the United States in 12 years.

He laughed as he told the Harvard audience that he had learned "a more specific idea of US democracy" and said both the United States and China should be more tolerant of their differing values in order to safeguard peace and stability in the world.

"Exchanges and mutual understanding between our two peoples have broadened steadily. However, this is not enough," he said. "Friendship and cooperation between our two peoples are of great importance to the world."

Jiang lunched in Boston after delivering his speech and then departed for Los Angeles on the final leg of his eight-day six-city tour of America.

He was given full state honours for his summit meeting with US President Bill Clinton on Wednesday and also attracted the undivided attention of corporate America during a one-day stop in New York-although local officials stayed away over human rights concerns.