Week of August 3, 2001The U.S. and China This Week
U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: Powell Meets With Chinese LeadersPowell said after the meetings that he had assured
Chinese leaders National Missile Defense (NMD) will be a limited venture
and is not meant to threaten China’s strategic position. He said China
had a different viewpoint, but that “that’s why friends talk to each other.?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said China had not modified
its stance against NMD, but that it was willing to keep talking about the
issue. He refused to respond to Powell’s criticisms of China on human rights
and legal matters. Before meeting with Powell, Premier Zhu, “We attach
great importance to your visit because it comes at a critical juncture
of bilateral ties.?#060;/font>
Chinese and American officials said there would
be a series of meetings between America and China on economic and trade
issues in coming months, and that the two nations will convene a joint
military committee to prevent what Sun called “accidents?near China’s
coast. There will also be a continuation of the official human rights dialogue
that was suspended after NATO’s accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy
in Serbia in May 1999. China and the U.S. will also negotiate over the
issue of export of missile technology, as China moves toward developing
concrete regulations for such exports.
Powell told Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan that
a buildup of missiles opposite Taiwan would increase Taiwan’s insecurity
and make future weapons sales from the U.S. more likely. Tang denied the
existence of a missile buildup.
U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: U.S.-China Relations On the Upswingtold Chinese leaders that the U.S. wishes to improve economic and trade ties with China and work with it to lessen the possibility of conflicts in Asia. Powell said he was heartened by the fact that “they reinforced their view that America does belong in the Pacific ?in the Asia-Pacific region ?and they welcome American presence as a stabilizing factor.?Asked about China’s military buildup, Powell replied, “I would expect the Chinese military to modernize and transform itself and to use some of its newfound wealth to do that. This is not shocking or surprising to me.? In an interview, an edited version of which was shown on Chinese state-run
national television, Powell told Chinese that “Washington is not in a
Chinese officials have reciprocated the warm attitude in recent dealings,
American diplomats say. “Even if the Bush administration hasn’t always
been so
Kenneth Lieberthal, President Clinton’s chief China advisor and a University
of Michigan scholar, said, “The Chinese have made it clear that their concerns
U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: Scholar Returns to Hong Kong After Spying Convictionreassume his teaching post at the City University of Hong Kong. A Hong Kong government spokesman said the authorities would “not allow anybody in Hong Kong to undertake espionage activities and jeopardize the interests of Hong Kong and the state.?That statement was read to Li at the airport. However, officials indicated Li would likely be allowed to resume teaching. The decision as to whether or not he will be able to do so was to be made August 3 by the six-member executive committee of the university. According to University President Chang Hsin-kang, who is on the committee, Li met with school management August 2. “I don’t want to be a celebrity,?Li said recently,
adding that he wanted “to return to live a normal life in Hong Kong.?Li’s
father, Li Honglin, lives in Hong
A colleague at City University stated, “This indicates
that the university, as well as the Hong Kong government, are being open-minded.
So long as he can
“Granted, we are a separate jurisdiction,?commented
former solicitor general Daniel Fung. “But it is still sovereign Chinese
territory.?Experts maintain
Li’s return to Hong Kong reaffirmed the “one country,
two systems?formula, by which Hong Kong retains considerable autonomy
even as it is part of
U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: China Formally Charges U.S. Citizen46, was arrested four months ago in southern Guangdong province. Wu is a Hong Kong-based journalist who has covered the mainland and been an editor at Hong Kong’s The Express magazine, according to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. He worked at a state newspaper in southern China from 1986 to 1988, the center reported. He also formerly taught at the Communist Party School in Beijing. The center tied Wu’s arrest to the publication
of the Tiananmen Papers, which according to its editors contains transcripts
of discussions by top-level policy
The Chinese government maintains that the Tiananmen
Papers are “sheer fabrication.?According to the center, Wu will probably
be tried at a Guangzhou
Meanwhile, Xu Zerong, a Chinese-born academic
resident in Hong Kong, still has not been formally charged. He was taken
into custody in Guangzhou in
DOMESTIC: Falun Gong Member Dies From Torture, Rights Group Claimstortured to death by the Chinese police. Li, 33, was detained May 16 after he was caught downloading and printing Falun Gong material from the Internet, the center reported. Forty days later, on June 27, the police informed his family of his death. He had been detained before for Falun Gong related offenses. His mother was allowed to view his body and said it had many red bruises and scars. His neck and ears had been beaten purple, she maintained, and he had lost a significant amount of weight. She said he was healthy before he was taken into custody. Li worked at the land tax bureau of Wuhan city
in central China’s Hubei province. Another Falun Gong member detained by
the Wuhan police said five
Last month, Falun Gong in New York filed suit
a civil suit there against Zhao Zhifei, second in command of Hubei’s ?10?
office, which was set up to
Last updated: 16 July 2001 |
