Back to the Homepage6-27-98 I have just finished watching the live press conference held in Beijing China with Presidents Bill Clinton and Jiang Zemin. They covered a variety of topics and it was a very progressive dialogue with excellent comments made by both men. However, there were two topics which made a strong impact on me.
The first was the status of Tibet. In a part of my mind resides confusion over the statement made by President Clinton. He stated that he recognizes the fact that Tibet is a part of China but that China should recognize its uniqueness. When he made this statement, my mouth hung open in shock! Tibet has been and SHOULD BE an independent nation from China. But President Clinton has stated that it is not and should not be so. I am confused as to how he arrived at that conclusion. Unfortunately, he did not give such information so I will have to wait until he does so. And of course, President Jiang agreed with him.
The second topic which I believe to be extremely important to the press conference was the issue of Tiananmen (sp?) Square. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I will explain. In June of 1989, over one million Chinese people, mainly students, held a very large and public protest in support of democracy, freedom and human rights. This demonstration was violently opposed by the Chinese government which massacred many of the protesters who were not armed. Concerning this past event, President Clinton said that China's use of force was "wrong" and unnecessary. President Jiang defended his country by stating that the government's response was necessary to ensure the stability they currently enjoy. This disagreement prompted both men to "agree to disagree" and they did so while laughing gleefully. Both men realized that 100% agreement on all issues is impossible and this helped to add signifigance to the discussion.
After seeing this discussion, I believe there is a positive and strong future for the United States and China. They have "agreed to disagree" and both agreed to protect human rights. However, they did not elaborate on what basic human rights are so I believe that is still a clouded subject. Only time will tell...
