-Caveat Lector-
"George Bush, formerly an ENVOY to Beijing, ``believed deeply that a
relationship'' between [the US and China] was in the best interest of
<whatever> and ``wanted to MANAGE short-term events in such a way as to
assure [certain long-term goals]."
Bush Appealed to China on Tiananmen
By JIM ABRAMS
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Envoys of President Bush traveled to Beijing shortly after
the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown with the message that the United States
wanted good relations with China but needed an end to the arrests and
killings.
Talking points for the mission, made public Tuesday, conveyed to the Chinese
that what they did with their citizens was an ``internal affair'' but how
Americans reacted to the oppression was an internal affair of the United
States.
The memo told the Chinese they had to realize that Congress was eager to
toughen sanctions imposed by Bush, and ``further arrests and executions will
inevitably lead to greater demands in the U.S. to respond.''
The declassified document was among 35 concerning the events surrounding the
Tiananmen crackdown made public by the National Security Archive, a
nongovernmental research institute at George Washington University. Many are
memos from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing informing the State Department of
developments.
The June 29, 1989, memo is a list of themes that National Security Adviser
Brent Scowcroft and Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger were to
discuss on their mission to Beijing, which was secret at the time but was
disclosed soon afterward. The trip came less than four weeks after the
military assault on pro-democracy students occupying Tiananmen Square.
The memo emphasized that Bush, a former envoy to Beijing, ``believes deeply
that a solid relationship'' between the countries was in the interest of
world peace and ``wants to manage short-term events in a way that will best
assure a healthy relationship over time.''
But it says the Chinese had to realize that Congress is a co-equal branch of
the U.S. government, and China's cooperation was required if the president
was to be able to resist congressional demands for stronger anti-Chinese
measures.
The first documents were from an era of much smaller student demonstrations
in 1985 and 1986. One, in late 1986, warned that a crackdown was inevitable
if the demonstrations were to become too strident.
``The entire affair could become a net liability for reform with seriously
negative policy consequences,'' the embassy told Washington.
A memo on June 2, 1989, prepared for Secretary of State James Baker, noted
that students had erected a Statue of Liberty-like ``Goddess of Democracy''
on Tiananmen Square with the hope that it would ``anger top leaders'' and
prompt a reaction that would ``breathe new life into their flagging
movement.''
The documents detailed events starting on June 3 that led to the final
military assault on the square. One cable on June 4 said casualty estimates
varied from 500 to 2,600 dead, with injuries up to 10,000. A June 5 memo said
troops were firing indiscriminately into crowds of unarmed civilians, often
with automatic weapons.
A June 22 account of a source who witnessed the violence on the square said
students had believed that the soldiers would be firing rubber bullets, but
``he had a sickening feeling when he noticed the bullets striking sparks off
the pavement near his feet.''
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