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China US visit



passing this on, is the Free Burma Movement planning reception
demonstrations to slam protests against Chinese military, economic and
political support for Slorc drug junta.  See here also how Disney is
paying off Kissenger to fix things with China. Kissenger doesn't work
for peanuts. His own public relations firm, exploiting his long close
contacts with foreign leaders, is a multimillion dollar business.

dawn star
EuroBurmanet, Paris

------------------- World Tibet Network News
-------------------------------
>   Published by:     The Canada-Tibet Committee
> -
> Sunday, October 19, 1997
> -
> 1. Jiang faces furious US reception over Tibet (Daily Telegraph)
> 2. Kissinger to advise Disney on row over Tibet film (Daily Telegraph)
> 3. China's Jiang Urges U.S. Tolerance (Reuters)
> 4. China Leader Asks for Understanding (AP)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -
> 1. Jiang faces furious US reception over Tibet
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -
> By Ivo Dawnay in Washington
> The Daily Telegraph, Sunday, 19 October 1997
>     =20
> CAN alliance of showbiz liberals, Christian activists and conservative
> Congressmen plans to make the imminent state visit of Jiang Zemin, China's
> leader, one of the most controversial in US history.
>   =20
> >From the moment he sets foot on American soil in Honolulu, a week today,
> President Jiang must brace himself for protests and demonstrations that will
> continue through Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles.
>   =20
> Tensions will be fuelled by three Hollywood films - two on Tibet and one on
> human rights abuses in Beijing. When the $70 million epic Seven Years in
> Tibet starring Brad Pitt opened last week, cinemagoers were given briefing
> kits on how to protest about Chinese treatment of the kingdom, annexed in
> 1949. Buddhism is religious flavour of the month in the canyons of Los
> Angeles and the lofts of New York. It was the cover story in Time and
> China-hating is chic on campus. A more restrained version has long been
> respectable in churches and synagogues where prayers are offered weekly for
> victims of religious intolerance.
>   =20
> Last week, the actor Richard Gere was flying back from a meditating session
> with the Dalai Lama in northern India to co-ordinate protests. They will
> include a "stateless banquet", timed to coincide with the official state
> banquet at the White House, where stars like Harrison Ford, Uma Thurman and
> Sharon Stone will urge diners to give generously to Tibetan and other
> charities. Elsewhere in Washington as many as five bills are being submitted
> for debating time on the floor of the House of Representatives. While=
>  largely
> symbolic, each intends to demonstrate Congress's readiness to penalise
> China's growing US trade if there is no rapid improvement in the communist
> regime's treatment of religious groups and dissidents.
>   =20
> There is a growing clamour for retaliatory action against China for its
> burgeoning and indiscriminate arms trading. Anger towards China has united
> the black civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson on the far Left and Jesse
> Helms, the crusty Senate foreign relations committee chairman, on the
> conservative Right.
>   =20
> President Bill Clinton, faced by growing protests at home over his desire to
> develop closer relations with China, must negotiate a week full of potential
> diplomatic and political challenges.
>   =20
> In the shuttle diplomacy that precedes all such state visits, US envoys have
> quietly urged the Chinese to offer symbolic gestures. Instead, they have=
>  been
> reminded of the notorious sensitivities of Chinese leaders and their
> obsession with appearances and "face".
>   =20
> Beijing objected to a plan to hold the state dinner in a vast marquee on the
> White House lawn, insisting on the smaller but more formal state dining=
>  room.
>   =20
> The Chinese were also upset by a decision not to offer Mr Jiang a speech to
> a joint session of Congress, an option that might merely have offered a new
> protest-opportunity for Congressmen considering elections next year. The
> state visit comes 18 months after the Straits of Taiwan incident in which
> aggressive Chinese military manoeuvres prompted America to send two carrier
> groups to the region, plunging Sino-US relations to a 25-year low.
>   =20
> The Chinese authorities want to use the tour to show their people that China
> is again respectable and that political repercussions of the Tiananmen=
>  Square
> massacre have been consigned to history.
>   =20
> Some gestures have come from both sides. America has given assurances that=
>  it
> will make no arms transfers to Taiwan and that it is faithful to the
> principle that there should eventually be one China, the policy shift that
> launched the Nixon-Kissinger detente with China of the Seventies. China has
> assured Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House of Representatives, that it will
> halt sales of its C802 missile to Iran and introduce regulations on=
>  exporting
> nuclear materials.
>   =20
> Most experienced China experts, however, remain sceptical. Douglas Paal,=
>  head
> of the Asia Pacific Policy Centre and a former adviser to Presidents Bush=
>  and
> Reagan, blames the Clinton administration for lack of coherence in its
> dealings with Beijing.
>   =20
> By mixing up different issues like trade and human rights, he says, the
> administration is squandering behind-the-scenes gains that brought
> improvements in China's behaviour.
> =20
> Whatever the outcome of the visit, the censors' pencils and photograph
> retouchers in Beijing will deliver a diplomatic triumph. President Clinton's
> "spin doctors" may have a tougher task.
>   =20
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -
> 2. Kissinger to advise Disney on row over Tibet film
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -
> By Hugh Davies in Washington
>   =20
> October 14, 1997, ((Daily Telegraph) -- HENRY Kissinger, now 74, has been
> assigned his most delicate diplomatic mission relating to China since his
> secret visit to Beijing in July 1971 to set up President Nixon's historic
> handshake with Mao Tse-tung.
>   =20
> The former United States Secretary of State has been hired discreetly to
> advise Michael Eisner, the Walt Disney chairman, on how to handle the
> problems surrounding Kundun, Martin Scorsese's $28 million (=A317.5 million)
> film chronicling the life of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader who fled his
> homeland in 1959 after the Chinese invasion.=20
>   =20
> In Tibetan, the title means "the presence of a great incarnation". The=
>  movie,
> to be released in America on Christmas Day, depicts China as brutal in
> crushing Tibet's religious and political traditions.
>   =20
> The Chinese are incensed because of the Dalai Lama's close ties with its
> makers. His niece is playing his mother. Namlha Taklha, his brother's widow,
> is the chief technical adviser and several other Tibetans have small parts.
> There has been discussion of changing some names in the credits to conceal
> their participation.
>   =20
> Particularly troubling for the makers is the fact that the parents of a man
> playing a main character still live in China.=20
> 
> Beijing is also furious that Melissa Mathison, the script-writer, spent six
> days in Dharmsala, India, with the exiled leader. She is best known for
> writing ET The Extra-Terrestrial.
>   =20
> Her husband, Harrison Ford, read the script aloud to the Dalai Lama. His=
>  wife
> said: "His Holiness would make corrections, or his memory would be jogged=
>  and
> he'd say, 'This reminds me of something', and tell us a story. And when
> Harrison got to the end of the script, his Holiness said: 'Good. Very Good.
> Very strong. Very beautiful.' "
> 
> The Dalai Lama also talked four times in India to Dante Ferretti, the
> production designer, making drawings of the layout of the interior of the
> Potala in Lhasa, which is controlled by the Chinese.
> 
> Mr Scorsese has had to shoot the film in Morocco, transforming the town of
> Ouarzazate in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains into Lhasa, complete with
> Buddhas painted on the hillside and golden rooftops topping houses in the
> casbah below. He also created a replica of the Dalai Lama's summer palace at
> Norbulingka, near Lhasa.
> 
> There have been reports from the set of Tibetans in the cast weeping and
> praying at seeing the re-creation of their sacred past.
> 
> All that Disney officials will say is that Dr Kissinger would be "advising=
>  us
> on various initiatives we've been discussing over there".=20
> 
> The move could be a masterstroke in coping with the growing furore over the
> film as the Chinese have high regard for the renowned statesman. Ever since
> he faked a stomach upset in Pakistan to talk in Beijing to Zhou Enlai, the
> ailing premier, the Chinese have called him an "old friend", as they do with
> all those they think helped to pave the way for better relations with the
> West.
> 
> Disney has become a business with revenues of $24 billion a year and is
> desperate to break into the Chinese market, with its potentially vast
> appetite for films and videos, as well as a theme park or two.
>   =20
> But despite Mr Scorsese's reputation as perhaps America's most respected=
>  film
> maker - he directed Raging Bull and Taxi Driver - Kundun was rejected by
> Warner Brothers and Universal before being accepted by Disney.
>   =20
> Universal's owner, Seagram, sells cognac and whisky to China. It, too, is
> thinking about a theme park as well as expanding its television and cable
> interests in China.
>   =20
> The Chinese say that if the film is released it will damage Disney's
> expansion efforts. A senior official in Beijing said: "We are resolutely
> opposed to this movie. It is intended to glorify the Dalai Lama, so is an
> interference in China's internal affairs."
>   =20
> Hollywood observers are wondering how far Disney will commit itself to the
> marketing and distribution of the film since Tibet, too, is a potential
> money-spinner.
> 
> It is thought likely that Dr Kissinger will meet President Jiang Zemin or=
>  his
> aides later this month when the Chinese leader comes to Los Angeles in his
> state visit to the United States.
>   =20
> Mr Scorsese said: "Obviously the Chinese, on principle, won't be happy with
> the film. I just hope it gets the best release it can. I'm going to fight=
>  for
> this film."
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 3. China's Jiang Urges U.S. Tolerance
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> =20
> =20
> WASHINGTON, Saturday, October 18, 1997 (Reuters) - Chinese President Jiang
> Zemin, preparing for a U.S. state visit, urged Americans in an interview
> published Sunday to tolerate China's political system and to seek "common
> ground despite differences."
>   =20
> Jiang, whose visit begins next weekend, told The Washington Post he hoped to
> raise Chinese-American relations "to a new level." He said China and the
> United States "share the responsibility for preserving world peace and
> stability."
>   =20
> Chinese and American sources outlined a series of initiatives to achieve
> Jiang's aim of forging a strategic partnership with the Clinton
> administration during the state visit, the newspaper said.
>   =20
> China is expected to pledge to end sales of cruise missiles to Iran, and=
>  most
> likely the two countries will agree to implement a 1985 agreement on nuclear
> cooperation that would allow U.S. companies to sell China nuclear power
> plants and equipment.
>   =20
> The Post said the two sides would also sign an accord at the Oct. 29 summit
> pledging coordination to avoid naval incidents at sea.
>   =20
> More broadly, according to the newspaper, the Chinese are pressing a
> reluctant Clinton administration to make a joint declaration affirming the
> common strategic interests of the two nations and pledging to work together
> to guarantee stability in the 21st century.
>   =20
> "China and the United States have some differences on some issues," Jiang
> told his interviewers. "However, the common ground between us outweighs the
> differences, and we should proceed in the spirit of seeking common ground
> despite differences and work together to promote peace and stability in the
> (Asia-Pacific) region and the world at large."
>   =20
> The interview took place in Shanghai on Friday. Jiang at times read from a
> prepared script and at other times spoke extemporaneously, interspersing his
> comments with snippets of Russian and English, a line from Abraham Lincoln's
> Gettysburg Address and Chinese proverbs, the Post said.
>   =20
> He defended the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student uprising,=
>  said
> Chinese leaders were on "high alert" over the U.S.-Japanese security=
>  alliance
> and explained that under China's market reforms the Communist Party played a
> role in helping foreign investors manage labor problems.
>   =20
> He reasserted China's sovereignty over Tibet and Taiwan and said China must
> limit the scope of direct democratic participation to ensure stability and
> economic progress.
>   =20
> "The theory of relativity worked out by Mr. Einstein which is the domain of
> natural science, I believe can also be applied to the political field,"=
>  Jiang
> told the Post. "Both democracy and human rights are relative concepts and=
>  not
> absolute and general."
>   =20
> Asked about the possibility of holding democratic elections for major public
> offices in China, he replied: "How can the American way of elections in=
>  China
> be organized when we have over 1.2 billion people and more than 100 million
> who can't read or write? ... We use a system of a mixture of both direct and
> indirect elections. ...  "The developed capitalist countries always hope to
> see uniformity in the world ... which I do not think is a manifestation of
> democracy."
>   =20
> Jiang said he hoped his trip would relieve the tensions of recent years
> between Washington and Beijing.
>   =20
> "We have to seize this opportunity to promote understanding between our two
> countries," he said. "No matter how telecommunications develop, they cannot
> replace face-to-face talks. They are very important for carrying out an
> exchange of feelings and sentiments."
>   =20
> The Post said that in the interview the 71-year-old Chinese leader was
> animated, cheerful and friendly but the conversation was carefully
> structured.
>   =20
> The Post said it was asked to submit questions in advance and Jiang was=
>  ready
> with written replies, which he read word for word as the presubmitted
> questions were asked.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 4. China Leader Asks for Understanding
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> WASHINGTON, October 19, 1887 (AP) - Chinese President Jiang Zemin says he
> hopes to raise Chinese-Americans relations ``to a new level'' on an upcoming
> visit to the United States.
> 
> In an interview with The Washington Post conducted Friday in Shanghai, Jiang
> urged Americans to tolerate China's political systems and seek ``common
> ground despite differences.''
> 
> He also said China and the United States ``share the responsibility for
> preserving world peace and stability.''
> 
> The interview appears in the Post's Sunday's editions, a week before Jiang
> leaves on for an official state visit to the United States. The trip=
>  includes
> a stop in Hawaii to lay a wreath at a memorial for U.S. soldiers killed in
> the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a news conference with President
> Clinton, several television interviews and a speech at Harvard University.
> 
> The Post quoted unidentified Chinese and American officials as outlining a
> series of initiatives, including a pledge by China to end sales of anti-ship
> cruise missiles to Iran, that will be discussed by Jiang and Clinton at the
> White House.
> 
> The report said the two countries will sign an accord pledging coordination
> to avoid naval incidents at sea and probably will agree to implement a 1985
> agreement on nuclear cooperation that would allow U.S. companies to sell
> China nuclear power plants and equipment.
> 
> The Post said Jiang, 71, read from a prepared text at times during the
> interview, interspersed his comments in Russian and English and quoted a=
>  line
> from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as well as quoting from Chinese
> proverbs.
> 
> ``The theory of relatively worked out by Mr. (Albert) Einstein, which is in
> the domain of natural science, I believe can also be applied to the=
>  political
> field,'' Jiang told the newspaper. ``Both democracy and human rights are
> relative concepts and not absolute and general.''
> 
> At another point, the Chinese president said: ``We have to seize this
> opportunity to promote understanding between our two countries. No matter=
>  how
> telecommunications develop, they cannot replace face-to-face talks. They are
> very important for carrying out an exchange of feelings and sentiments.''
> 
> Turning to Tibet, Jiang referred to the Gettysburg Address, which he often
> quotes in public, and said:
> 
> ``Lincoln was a remarkable leader, particularly in liberating the slaves in
> America. When it comes to slavery in China, most of China got rid of slavery
> long ago, except in Tibet, where it was not until the (spiritual leader)
> Dalai Lama left that we eliminated serfdom. ... The impression I get is that
> you (Americans) are undoubtedly opposes to slavery, yet you support the=
>  Dalai
> Lama.''
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> end WTN 97/10/19  22:00 GMT=1A
> ____________________________________________________________________________=
> ___
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>                                  National Office
> 
>                                  4675 Coolbrook
>                                 Montreal, Quebec
>                                  Canada H3X 2K7
> 
>                                Tel: (514) 487-0665
>                                Fax: (514) 487-7825
>                              E-Mail: cantibet@xxxxxxxx
> ____________________________________________________________________________=
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