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CLINTON
PRESS CONFERENCE
EAST
ROOM, THE WHITE HOUSE
2:09
P.M. EST WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2000
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Q Mr.
President, when you finished your trip to China two years
ago, you gave a news conference in Hong Kong in which you
praised Chinese President Jiang Zemin as a visionary, a man
of goodwill, and someone who was the right leadership at the
right time for China. Since then, China's record on abusing
human rights and threatening Taiwan has, of course, continued
to be quite checkered.
I wonder
if today you still think Jiang's leadership deserves that
praise you gave it or if your judgment today would have to
be more severe?
PRESIDENT
CLINTON: Well, I still think, given the alternatives of who
could have been the president of China, that I'm aware of,
and who could have been the premier, I think that President
Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji are the best team that could have
been in their positions at that time.
As you
know, I generally strongly disagree with the Chinese view
that to preserve stability in their society they have to repress
political and sometimes religious activists to the extent
that they do. I think that's wrong. And there have been several
cases in the last couple of years that have deeply disappointed
me. I know that China has a historic, almost a phobia of internal
disintegration because of the problems that they faced in
the last -- if you just take the last 100 years, problems
that our society has never faced.
I know
that they say that to some extent their cultural views are
not as oriented toward individual rights and liberties as
ours are. But I believe that the U.N. Declaration of Human
Rights is a universal document, and I believe it should be
observed. And that's why we voice our disagreements with China
every year. And so I don't like that. And I hope that -- I
will say again, I hope that we will say again, I hope that
we will see a lessening of tensions across the Taiwan Straits.
I support the one China policy. But part of our one China
policy is the differences between China and Taiwan must be
resolved by dialogue, and I feel very strongly about it.
But having
said all that, I still believe that given the available alternatives
with which I am aware, these two men have been the best team
that was available for China, and I think this decision they've
made to join the WTO is a decision basically to modernize
China in ways that will go far beyond the economy. I think
it will lead with -- You get all this telecommunications revolution
permanently manifest in China, they will not be able to control
the Internet, they will not be able to control access to information,
they will not be able to control freedom of expression, it
will become a more free country and a more open country. And
that is a very, very good thing.
That's
another big reason we ought to sign on to this, because we
ought to be a part of their opening.
There
will be more openness in the next five years if China enters
the WTO and all the telecommunications revolution hits it
full force than there has been in the last
20 years,
since Deng Xiaoping started this.
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Q Mr.
President, back on China for a second. This morning the Chinese
told Sandy Berger that U.S.-Chinese relations were at a critical
juncture. Do you agree that things are critical right now?
And also, you mentioned your continued support for the one-China
policy. Do you envision any circumstances in which you could
support Taiwanese independence?
PRESIDENT
CLINTON: Well, first, I think they're at a critical stage
primarily because of this -- of the China WTO decision before
the Congress. And secondly, I think that they would be at
a critical stage if we were to abandon our one-China policy.
But you
know, we made an agreement with the Chinese a long time ago,
when we normalized relations under President Carter, after
a period of years of developing them, starting with President
Nixon's historic trip there. It has been the unanimous bipartisan
position of the -- of every president and every administration
that that was the right decision. It has also been, to this
point, the position of all elected leaders in Taiwan. I remember
I was there as a governor in 1986, at their (1010 ?) day celebration,
and they had a map of China which showed Taiwan being a part
of China, too, even though they had the political tilt the
other way.
And I
think that they have so much to gain from each other. I mean,
the investment of Taiwanese in China, for example, as you
know, is enormous. And if they just keep talking, they'll
work this out. They'll find a way to work this out.
The Chinese
have been quite clear that they were willing to be patient
and to negotiate an arrangement which might even be different
from that in Hong Kong. And I think that Taiwan's got a lot
going for it, and I don't think either one of them need this
crisis right now.
So I just
think they need to -- and I've been very impressed by the
president-elect in Taiwan and the way he's handled this since
his election, what he's had to say. And he seems to be quite
well aware of the weighty responsibility he now has and the
great opportunity he has. And so I just think they need --
this is a big issue. They need to get together, start the
dialogue again, and figure out where to go from here.
But if
you look at the future that awaits the Chinese, and that is
already embracing the Taiwanese, you know, they -- they have
huge market percentage globally in a lot of the various components
of the computer industry, for example -- huge. And I just
don't think they want a political problem to take all that
away from their people. And they'll find a way to do it. They
need to stick with this frame work and find a way to get their
dialogue going again.
End
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