An extract.
>
>Jiang: Human rights advance (09/5/2000) China is making progress on human
>rights, President Jiang Zemin told a US newsman recently. Jiang made the
>remark in an interview with Mike Wallace, 82-year-old anchorman of "60
>Minutes,'' a programme for the Columbia Broadcasting System, in the seaside
>resort of Beidaihe, about 300 kilometres east of Beijing, on August 15. "I
>often ask myself how to ensure a happy life for and how to constantly improve
>the living standards of the 1.2 billion Chinese people,'' Jiang said. "First I
>joined the student movement fighting against Japanese imperialism,'' Jiang
>recalled. "After World War II, we fought against the reactionary regime of the
>Kuomintang, because at that time there was no democracy and no freedom in the
>country. "But ever since the People's Republic of China was founded, we've
>always been working to promote people's democracy in our country,'' the
>Chinese President said. Jiang went on to say: "We cannot allow those people,
>who all have ulterior motives, to overthrow the government using the pretext
>of democracy and freedom.'' Under China's Constitution and its laws, people
>have the freedom of religious belief. Jiang stressed that Falungong is a cult
>and that it is totally different from religion. "I think China and the United
>States differ greatly in their values,'' Jiang said. "Every day, 52,000 babies
>are born in our country, which adds up to 20 million a year,'' Jiang said.
>"So, it is indeed a very tough job to improve the living standards of the
>Chinese people,'' he said. Jiang said that the Communist Party of China and
>the Chinese people are unequivocal in their belief that the development of
>China is dependent on the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
>Jiang said that the policy of reform and opening-up initiated by Deng Xiaoping
>has been a great success, and added that although the theory of building
>socialism with Chinese characteristics, as advocated by Deng Xiaoping, does
>allow some people and certain areas to become prosperous before others, the
>ultimate objective is to achieve prosperity for all. China has always attached
>great importance to spiritual civilization and moral integrity, he said. "We
>want to learn what is advanced and progressive from the West, including its
>science and technology and its experience in managing the economy. Of course,
>what we learn must be combined with China's specific conditions,'' he said. It
>is exactly because China has been following these principles that the country
>has scored great achievements in the past few decades, he said. People in the
>West hope that China will become a capitalist country, Jiang said, adding that
>"if capitalism prevails throughout the world, won't the world be a very dull
>place? I believe the world should be diverse and colourful.'' On the issue of
>press freedom in China, Jiang said that "we do have freedom of the press in
>China.'' He told the American newsman that China carries out the policy of
>"allowing one hundred different flowers to blossom and one hundred different
>schools of thoughts to contend.'' Jiang stressed that freedom of the press
>"should be subordinate to, serve and defend the interests of the nation and
>the public,'' Jiang stressed. "I suppose it is the same in the West.'' "I
>think all countries and parties must have their own publications to publicize
>their ideas and propositions,'' he said. "The only thing I want to say is that
>in such a big country with a population of over 1.2 billion, the media does
>indeed play a very important role in shaping public opinion,'' Jiang said. "I
>think for both the Chinese media and Western media, one thing is very
>important, which is that they should never distort facts though they are free
>to have their own opinions,'' Jiang said. People in China pay great attention
>to the media, especially the People's Daily, Jiang noted, and if there is a
>factual error, people would take it for the truth. He told the American
>reporter that "it is not like in your country where some people may sometimes
>make up stories at will and where it doesn't matter if you don't tell the
>whole truth.'' He said that he hoped people will learn a lot of useful
>information from the Internet. However, on that point, he said that the
>Internet also sometimes contained unhealthy things, such as pornography, which
>does great harm to China's young people. "We need to be selective, as you are
>in the United States,'' Jiang said. "For instance, as far as I know, there is
>little US coverage of news in China.'' Jiang also told the anchorman that
>China continues to resolutely combat corruption. The purposes and principles
>of the Chinese Communist Party are to serve the people, Jiang said. He added
>that in this process "we win the trust and confidence of our people''. Jiang
>said that he thinks "corruption is a historical phenomenon in that it has
>happened in all countries, both in the past and the present.'' "In order to
>gradually eradicate corruption, we need to depend on our legal system, on our
>media and also on education,'' Jiang said. On Sino-US relations, Jiang said
>that as the new century proceeds, it is imperative to "move towards a
>constructive strategic partnership'' between China and the United States. "I
>believe that whoever becomes the next president of the United States must try
>to improve Sino-US relations, for this is in the strategic interests of the
>whole world,'' said Jiang. There are some people in the United States who
>would not be happy to see the two countries become friends. He said that it is
>possibly because of the economic power and leading edge in science and
>technology that the United States enjoys that it tends to overestimate itself
>and its position in the world, adding that there may be a touch of hegemonism
>in the position of the United States. China is a country with a 5,000-year
>history and culture and more than 1.2 billion people, Jiang said, noting that
>"we have established a significant economic foundation and national strength
>over the past 20 years of reform and opening-up. So I am afraid that the
>United States simply cannot afford to look down on China.'' Jiang also said
>that the National Missile Defence and the Theatre Missile Defence programmes
>the United States is bent on developing are not in the interest of world
>peace. He said: "The programmes will create a world in which not all people
>are committed to the common cause of peace and development. It may be
>perceived by peace-loving people as a threat.'' On China's political system,
>Jiang said the election systems of China and the United States could never be
>exactly the same because the historical traditions, levels of education,
>cultural and economic development and social systems of the two countries
>differ. (Xinhua)
_______________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki - Finland
+358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081
e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
_______________________________________________________
Kominform mailing list for general information.
Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Anti-Imperialism mailing list for global anti-imperialist news.
Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________________
