World Tibet Network News Wednesday, March 18, 1998
BEIJING, March 17 (UPI) _ China is gearing up for a late June visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (``Joo Pang-zow'') says ``active preparations'' are under way for the state visit, the first by a U.S. president in nearly 10 years.
Zhu said the visit is expected to mark a ``new stage of development'' in Sino-U.S. ties.
But he refused to elaborate, saying both sides are still discussing details of the trip.
Clinton's visit, originally scheduled for November, will mark the first time a U.S. president has set foot in China since the bloody June 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Former President George Bush traveled to Beijing in February 1989, just two months before the death of a senior Chinese leader sparked student protests and a brutal military response.
Bilateral ties froze in the wake of the Tiananmen massacre, rebounding only after Vice President Al Gore visited Beijing last March, followed by an October trip to Washington by Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Although he provided no reason for the schedule change, Zhu denied the shift was related to Washington's decision not to sponsor a resolution critical of Beijing's human rights record at a forthcoming meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
Zhu also denied reports that Beijing has agreed to release a number of jailed dissidents on the eve of Clinton's arrival as a goodwill gesture.
``China is a country ruled by law,'' Zhu said. ``The release of prisoners has nothing to do the visit.''
China freed veteran dissident Wei Jingsheng (``Way Jing-shung'') shortly after Jiang returned from the U.S., and administration sources have hinted other releases are in the works.
A number of thorny issues are expected to be on the agenda during Clinton's visit, including Chinese concerns about U.S. support for Taiwan, dispute over freedom of religion in Tibet, and allegations China is providing weapons technology to rogue nations.
