Published by: World Tibet Network News Friday, November 7, 1997

Sovereignty question dogs Premier on Chinese business visit

Thursday, November 6, 1997

By Rod Mickleburgh

China Bureau

BEIJING -- Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard wants sovereignty for his province, but not necessarily for minorities elsewhere, specifically in Tibet.

"I have absolutely no desire to get involved in that," Mr. Bouchard said here

yesterday when asked whether, as an independence aspirant himself, he had any

sympathy for Tibetans seeking to break away from Chinese rule.

China "is a sovereign country and I am here to do business. That's my goal, and I am doing business, good business," declared Mr. Bouchard, who is heading a large Quebec trade delegation to China, the biggest commercial mission ever mounted by the province.

"I am not concerned with political questions in China. I have my hands full with our own political situation."

Pressed on how Quebec might regard Tibet if the province achieved its own sovereignty, Mr. Bouchard again sidestepped the question.

"Quebec is not yet a sovereign country. It's not my fault. I tried, and I will try again. But right now Quebec is in Canada because of the will of the people in the last referendum, and I am travelling as a Canadian."

Canada recognizes Chinese sovereignty over Tibet while at the same expressing

concern over the state of religious freedom in the remote mountainous region.

Mr. Bouchard also refused to discuss publicly China's human-rights situation,

repeating a vow to leave the subject alone until he returns to Quebec.

His remarks were made at a press conference on the fourth day of his 1-week-long mission, which includes nearly 200 industry representatives from Quebec eager for Chinese business.

So far, in what has become a ritual of Canadian trade missions, 26 contracts and memorandums of intent worth an estimated $822-million have been signed with Chinese enterprises.

"This is beyond our hopes," Mr. Bouchard said. "Some of these agreements were

not even on the horizon when we left Quebec. A lot fell into place at the last minute."

However, Mr. Bouchard is rarely free of the sovereignty question wherever he goes, and China has been no exception.

The high-profile visit by Quebec's most prominent separatist has caused considerable private nervousness among Chinese officials, anxious not to be seen as inadvertently helping Mr. Bouchard's quest for sovereignty.

"They wanted firm assurances there would be nothing political about this mission," a Canadian official said. "They were very afraid of being used."

Chinese officials giving a banquet for the Quebec delegation Tuesday night made sure only Canadian and Chinese flags were on display. They were also careful to refer to Mr. Bouchard as sheng zhang (head of a province), rather than zong li, the Mandarin word for premier or prime minister.

And, speaking at yesterday's signing ceremony, China's minister of water resources, Nui Maosheng, stressed "the long history of good relations between

Canada and China. . . .

"We want very much to co-operate with Canada and also with the province of Quebec," Mr. Nui said.

He invited Quebec companies to bid for contracts on several future massive water projects, including a 1,200-kilometre channel to carry water from the Yangtze River to Beijing.

"Of course I don't know who will get the contracts, but the Canadian ambassador to China [Howard Balloch] knows much better than I do which Canadian firms are the strongest.

"Just now, the ambassador recommended to me the firms of Quebec," Mr. Nui said. "I think Mr. Bouchard was very proud when he learned this."

Such are national tensions in Quebec that one reporter felt it necessary to ask the Quebec leader whether it was true Mr. Balloch decided which contracts were awarded to which Canadian companies.

Mr. Bouchard reassured the reporter that the Chinese minister was only joking. "If China allowed the Canadian ambassador to determine contract awards, it wouldn't be much of a country."

There has been speculation there might be tension between Mr. Bouchard and the Canadian embassy here, since Mr. Balloch spearheaded federal government strategy during the 1995 sovereignty referendum in Quebec. He is widely believed to be responsible for leaking a politically damaging remark made by then Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau to a visiting European politician that likened Quebeckers who voted Yes to lobsters in boiling water -- there would be no turning back.

But Mr. Bouchard has gone out of his way to praise embassy officials.

"Our relations are the best they've ever been," he told reporters. "Quebec is

paying one quarter of the salaries of these very capable people. . . . I have

absolutely nothing but grateful comments to offer."

Delegation member Andr=E9 Berard, chief executive officer of the National Bank

of Canada, agreed: "The co-operation with the embassy has been terrific. They

fully deserve [Mr. Bouchard's] praise."

Despite the best efforts of the embassy, however, Mr. Bouchard was unable to secure a meeting with any of China's top leaders. A scheduled meeting with seventh-ranked politburo member Li Lanqing fell through. Instead, Mr. Bouchard met with relatively obscure vice-premier Jiang Chunyun at China's private leadership compound close to Tiananmen Square.

Mr. Bouchard said he was satisfied. "The meetings we had have been relevant meetings for us. I came here to create jobs and open doors for Quebec, and we

are doing that very well."

Mission Quebec, as it is called, leaves today for several days in northeast Liaoning province, followed by three days in Shanghai.