Published by: World Tibet Network News Saturday, November 29, 1997

Nov 28, 1997

OTTAWA (CP) Satisfaction over burgeoning trade was tempered by a less fruitful exchange on human rights Friday as Prime Minister Jean Chretien met Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

The visit did produce agreement for Canada and China to co-chair a multilateral symposium on human rights to be held next year, likely in Vancouver in March.

But there was sharp disagreement on the fate of a dozen political prisoners held by China in jail or under house arrest.

Chretien aides said the prime minister mentioned the cases to Jiang, reiterated his belief that the dissidents should be freed and said Canada would welcome any who want to move here.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy has raised the matter before, but this was the first time Ottawa has said it's willing to offer political sanctuary.

The suggestion drew a quick response from Shen Guofang, the official spokesman for Jiang's delegation.

"As far as I know there is no such list," Shen told reporters.

"I think the Canadian government has no right to demand (that) the judicial department of China release people, for the same reason the Chinese government has no right to demand the Canadian government release people. This is within the judicial competence of the respective countries."

A spokesman for Chretien acknowledged that no list changed hands Friday. That happened in April, when Axworthy handed over the names on a visit to Beijing.

The prime minister made specific reference to the same list, said the spokesman. "He said `We would like to see these people freed and furthermore we would be ready to take them into Canada.' "

According to the Canadian version, Jiang acknowledged the offer but did not respond.

The list includes political, student, religious, Tibetan nationalist and other activists.

Among them are Wang Dan, a leader of the Tiananmen Square protest sentenced to 11 years in prison, Ngawang Choepal, a musicologist whose 18-year sentence for espionage sparked outrage, and Bao Tong, a former senior official of the Communist Party who served eight years in jail and remains under house arrest.

There was no mention of the list when Chretien and Jiang made public statements following the private meeting the seventh the two leaders have had over the years.

Both lauded growing trade ties, the $2.3 billion in business deals signed during Jiang's visit and a general air of co-operation on scientific, technological and cultural issues.

Chretien announced agreement on the joint human rights symposium, part of a continuing effort by Ottawa to further diplomatic dialogue on the subject.

Axworthy said the meeting would include private groups as well as governments, but was unable to predict how many countries will attend or exactly what the focus will be.

Among the potential topics are individual liberties, social and economic rights, judicial training and the rule of law, he said.

Chretien, often accused of subordinating human rights to trade in his foreign policy, said Canada can have more influence by building economic and diplomatic contacts than by isolating Beijing.

"We in Canada feel strongly about good governance," he said.

"What has been very important is that we have been able to engage a dialogue with them, and we are probably more advanced in that dialogue than any other country."

Jiang drew a distinction between the general principle of human rights which he says he supports and the "specific conditions" that make China different from the West.

Asked how he would deal with future protests like those in Tiananmen Square in 1989, he said freedom of assembly and speech are constitutionally guaranteed in China.

"However, the freedom of speech is totally different from the attempt or the deliberate attempt to create chaos, endangering the safety of the government operation."

The Chinese president arrived on Parliament Hill to a noisy welcome from about 100 demonstrators, about evenly split between those against the visit and those in favor.

Police had them corralled in separate pens on the lawn facing the Peace Tower. Many demonstrators carried signs calling for a free Tibet, for China to keep its hands off Taiwan and for religious freedom and human rights.

Typical were the comments of Tsamcho Nylosong, who watched her brothers and sisters die during her family's escape from Tibet in 1959.

"They destroyed my country. They destroyed my relatives," she said, face wrapped in a scarf to protect against the falling snow and biting cold.

"They destroyed everthing we had."