chi@vlsi.waterloo.edu (Bob Y. Chi) (06/21/91)
>From CHINA-NT@uga.cc.uga.edu Thu Jun 20 18:08 EDT 1991
From: Baichen Liu/ <baichen%SEAS.UCLA.EDU@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: Bush's speech in CA
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* Asian/Pacific American Salute to the President *
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* Date: June 16, 1991 *
* Place: Mile Square Regional Park, Fountain Valley *
* Organized by Asian/Pacific Coalition *
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Dear CSSA/UCLA Members:
As you may have seen on the TV the President Bush gave a speech on that
event. In his speech, he has addressed the issue of renewal of China's
MFN for next year (You may find a transcript of Bush's speech at the
end of this message).
We have learned two days before the event, that the Chinese consulste
was activily organizing students from Southern California (including
UCLA) to represent the Chinese students in the area to show their support
to Bush's decision on China's MFN. Those students were brought to a meeting
in Long Beach by a consul from LA consulate. After the meeting, the
consul distributed tickets and told those students to prepare some signs
for the event, and asked them to further distribute the extra tickets among
students who support UNCONDITIONAL RENEWAL only.
Fully understanding the controversy over this issue, the elected board of
CSSA/UCLA felt what the Chinese Consulate was doing was UNFAIR. Therefore,
we decided to let people to hear the voice from both sides. Four out of five
elected board members held a meeting and reached an agreement on a motion
to send those messages to Bush during the event.
Members of CSSA/UCLA, including the former president Ms. Zhang, Guofeng,
one of the board members, several other CSSA members, and myself,
the current president, attended the event. We brought two three-yard-long
signs: "We Support CONDITIONAL Renewal of MFN" and "We Concern HUMAN
RIGHTS in China." The sighs were raised in front of the President, with
a distance about twenty yards from the stage.
In his speech to more than 40,000 Asian Americans, Bush emotionally defended
his position on renewal of MFN to China. He also refered that right before
his speech, he had met with some "real Chinese student leaders" who "stood
in Tiananmen Square" and supported his position. He then pointed to the
signs those students held up, including those four whom Bush thought were
the "real leaders from Tiananmen Square" (two of them are from UCLA). The
signs said "President Bush, your decision to renew MFN to China is great!"
"Renewal of MFN serves the interest of America", "We don't want trade war
with China", etc. The two UCLA students were later identified as students
who have no positions in our CSSA nor in Tiananmen movement.
After Bush's speech, people with different opinion had a debate. But
the debate was cut short before reaching an understanding because the
supporters of UNCONDITIONAL RENEWAL did not want to continue. They left
together with Ms. Li, Yunfei, the broadcastwoman of Panda TV in Los
Angeles. For information about the political stance of Panda TV, you
may like to watch Channel 18 in southern California.
Ms. Wang, Chaohua, on of the wanted Tiananmen student leaders, was also
there. She supports CONDITIONAL RENEWAL. Channel 13 interviewed her
after the speech.
It is my duty to clarify that those students who attended the Long Beach
meeting held by the Chinese consulate and who met with Bush were not
authorized by UCLA CSSA to represent our organization.
Baichen Liu
President
Chinese Students and Scholars Association
University of California, Los Angeles
(CSSA/UCLA)
For your interest, I hereby attach the following:
Transcripts of Bush Speench in the Orange County gathering
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"...I don't want to be the President to isolate China. I want to be the
the President to facilate change for human rights in China. Let me give
you one more minder on this and I will get on to another. I want to talk
about these guys. you guys wait and I am going to get to you. When I ask
you to hold that sign up, please do it. Because I agree with you. Now let
me finish this one point here. I have another example. In December of
1990, over strong objections through many of the Congress, I vetoed the
so called "Pelosi bill." I don't mistrust her intentions, but She was
wrong. Unnecessary legislation. If that bill had becone law, I am
convinced in my mind that Beijing would use it as pretext to stop
permitting Chinese young people to study in the United States. And
instead, I extended even greater pretections in provided for in the
Pelosi bill, first throughj presidential memorandum, and then through
far reaching executive order. And you know, in the last year alone, we
issued 11,500 visas to Chinese students and scholars to study in the
United States. And that would have been 11,500 opportunities lost if
we had turn our back on Chian. And I might say I met with some of the
student leaders, the real student leaders, just a minute ago, Chinese
people studyig in the United States, four of them having stood in
Tiananmen Square. And these signs say it: "Renew MFN for China without
condition," because we want to be able to affect change through human
rights in China. We will be continuing to reform, in urge China to
reform internally, and to rejoin the community of nations, and we can
be assure of success. What we can be assure that without American dialogue,
without your commitment to freedom being understood in China, the movement
for reform in China will be set back. And I don't want to be here as
president when we set back the chance for huamn rights in any country. ..."