World Tibet Network News Sunday, February 15, 1998

By Conrad Richter

TORONTO, Feb 14, WTN -- Prominent Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng told reporters at a press conference in Toronto today that if the Tibetan people decide on independence instead of autonomy he will respect their decision.

Wei, in Toronto for the first time since his release from prison in November, answered questions about his views on the Chinese pro-democracy movement.

Wei said that he has discussed the question of Tibet with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile government and found that the common enemy is the lack of democracy in China. He suggested that if a true democracy existed in China then "perhaps there is no absolute need for separation." On this point the Dalai Lama concurs with him, Wei said, adding that the immediate common goal is to replace the communist government. "The independence issue can be decided later."

Wei said that he advocates pressing the Chinese government to come to the table to negotiate the future of Tibet with the Dalai Lama. Wei expressed support for the Dalai Lama and his government and said the Dalai Lama supports the pro-democracy movement. He said that the moving forward of the Tibet issue is included in the democratization of China and that there is a common understanding between the Chinese democracy movement and the Dalai Lama. But whether Tibetans and the Chinese pro-democracy movement negotiate with China together or separately, "neither will abandon the other."

Wei was asked whether the same principles for Tibetan independence apply to Taiwan. He replied that Taiwan situation is "not quite the same." Democracy must prevail and people should have the right to express their will, but "my reading is the Taiwanese don't really want independence." Wei said he envisages a greater entity similar to the European Union that would include Taiwan. As in the case of Tibet, there may not be "an absolute need to be separate" if true democracy were to exist.

For both Tibet and Taiwan, with the communist government so staunchly opposed to splitting the country, Wei said that he does not advocate separation before democracy. In the current situation it is impossible to leave China, and efforts to separate first will be "futile," he said.

On the question of Most Favoured Nation trading status for China, Wei said it is not a long term goal of the democracy movement to deny it from China, but in the short term it is a "very effective weapon, so let's use it." He added, "All the business opportunities [derived from MFN] benefit the elite communists, not the people." The government works to ensure that all business ultimately sustains the regime. Even Chinese businessmen who come to the U.S. are under control of the regime, Wei said. This is why Western leaders tend to be supportive of the communist regime. "My assessment is that MFN only benefits the communist regime."

Is there any hope of a Chinese version of Gorbachev? Wei said that there are individuals in the Chinese Communist Party, both young and old, that are leaning toward democratic reforms. These factions may eventually become a force, but a key difference between China and the former Soviet Union is the entrenchment in China of an establishment driven by business and money. This "establishment" is a hindrance to democracy because anyone advocating reforms is "quickly taken care of." Wei concluded that there is only a "slim chance" that a Gorbachev figure will emerge in China. Wei said ultimately reform will come from within China, not from the communist elite but from the people, and not from outside.

Wei does not believe that Deng Xiao Ping had the people in mind when he introduced his economic reforms. Deng's legacy is his success in converting a vast bureaucracy into a organization with the common interest of money. The reforms have benefitted only the communist elite; their sole purpose was to ensure the continued viability of the elite.

Wei said that Chinese society needs courageous people to stand up and press for democratic reform. The aim is not to overthrow the State, but rather to establish a multiparty democratic system, one in which the communists can participate.

Wei said that he plans to return to China eventually. For the immediate future, Wei advocates building support for change through a series of practical pro-democracy actions and events. He discounted the value of building an organization to lead the fight for change. He suggested that a large organization could become distracted by internal struggles and he wants to avoid that. He said that leadership will evolve in time as pro-democracy actions are mounted. He insisted that his health prevents him from taking on the heavy load of leading the pro-democracy movement and hoped others who are stronger would step up as leaders. But the situation "may require me to step in a leadership position whether it is my desire or not."

Later, when asked if he saw himself in the mould of Nelson Mandela, of becoming president of a democratic China, Wei said that is way too far in the future for him to think about it, but "when the time comes" he will think about it.

About Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's refusal to meet him the day before in Ottawa, Wei said he was disappointed. The purpose of Wei's visit to Canada was to meet the government, parliament and people of Canada. He said Canada is built on the principles of human rights and democracy, the same ones he is fighting for in China. But when the Prime Minister is more willing to meet the Butcher of Beijing, he wonders what the real guiding principles in Canada are? At yesterday's press conference in Ottawa yesterday, Wei linked family ties to Chretien's son-in-law, chairman of the Power Corporation, a major investor in China, as a possible reason for Chretien's reluctance to meet him.

That the leaders of France and Britain also refused to meet Wei, despite their former interest in his case while he was in jail, has forced him to understand that governments are under pressure, forced to make a tradeoff between economics and human rights. But in choosing economics "they hurt the Chinese people," Wei said.