Political, Chinese Rivalries to Color Li’s Visit to L.A.

Chinese President Li Xiannian will visit Los Angeles this weekend against a background of internal divisions among Chinese-Americans and political rivalry between Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who is his host, and Gov. George Deukmejian, who plans to remain in Sacramento.

Bradley, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and a coalition of Chinese-Americans will roll out the red carpet for Li in an airport welcoming ceremony Saturday, followed by a dinner that night and a banquet on Sunday.

However, Deukmejian said Wednesday that “a longstanding personal family commitment” will prevent him from attending the welcoming ceremony or the Saturday banquet co-hosted by Bradley and the World Affairs Council.

Deukmejian declined to elaborate on the nature of the family commitment.

Deputy Mayor Tom Houston called Deukmejian’s planned absence “unfortunate” and added, “If I were the governor, I would clear my schedule. . . . I think the governor should have the courtesy to come down and greet the president of China.”

“I think it’s highly unusual,” Bee Lavery, the mayor’s chief of protocol, said of Deukmejian’s decision not to attend. “I think it’s an insult to a major friend--to a country that is a friend of the United States.”

Some political observers speculated that rivalry between the Republican governor and the Democratic mayor, who is expected to challenge Deukmejian in next year’s gubernatorial race, may have played a role in the governor’s decision to give priority to the unspecified family commitment, rather than participate in events likely to be dominated by Bradley.

Not Political

A spokesman for the governor said, however, that “there was just no political consideration in our passing this up.”

Larry Thomas, Deukmejian’s press secretary, said the governor’s decision to remain in Sacramento “is not a snub and it would be wrong if so interpreted.” The governor will be represented at events welcoming Li by Don Mulford, the state’s chief of protocol.

Deukmejian, talking to a reporter in Sacramento, pointed out that Li is in the United States “at the invitation of President Reagan.”

“I think it is only appropriate that President Reagan, if his health permits, be able to attend and to meet with the (Chinese) president,” Deukmejian said. “On the other hand, his visit in Los Angeles is not for the purpose of a governmental discussion between the president of China and the state of California. I was not requested to meet with him to have any kind of governmental policy-type of discussions.”

No Comment

Bill Lenderking, a State Department spokesman for Chinese affairs, said he was not familiar with the circumstances of Deukmejian’s decision and that he had no comment on it.

The governor is not the only elected official who has declined to attend the ceremonies.

Recently elected Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo said he will not attend the weekend events because to do so might be seen as backing off from his declared support of Taiwan as a separate political entity. Reunification of Taiwan with China is a major Chinese foreign policy goal.

Woo said he faces “a very difficult situation, because the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China is a very divisive issue in the Chinese community.”

“Most of my supporters in the Chinese community are pro-Taiwan, and I think it doesn’t make sense to inject myself into the middle of that particular struggle,” he said. “I am in favor of the preservation of the status of Taiwan as a sovereign nation, as opposed to incorporation under one flag. . . . I think an appearance by me at one of the events Saturday or Sunday could be interpreted as turning away from that position, and that’s not the case.”

Protest Planned

The situation surrounding Li’s visit is further complicated by a protest being organized by a coalition of pro-Taiwan Chinese-American organizations.

Yuen-sang Wong, past president of the Chinatown-based Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., said anti-Communist ethnic Chinese from 17 organizations, headed by the association, will cooperate in staging a protest Saturday afternoon outside the Century Plaza, where Li and his party will be staying and where the World Affairs Council banquet will take place.

Wong said the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn. will provide three buses from Chinatown, two from Monterey Park and one from Orange County to carry protesters to the hotel. He also said individuals are being mobilized from other cities throughout the state. Organizers hope to bring out 1,000 demonstrators, he said.

Lavery deplored the planned protest.

“The streets of the United States once more become the battleground for something we can’t have anything to do with: a battle between mainland China and Taiwan,” Lavery said.

Internal Issue

The issue of Taiwan’s reunification with China is an internal Chinese political issue, as outlined in agreements reached between the United States and China during President Richard M. Nixon’s 1972 visit and in establishing diplomatic relations in 1979, Lavery said.

“They’re trying to fight it out on the streets of Los Angeles,” she said. “The streets of our city should not be used as the battleground for other country’s problems. . . .

“I would hope that all citizens of Los Angeles would treat an official guest of the City of Los Angeles with courtesy. There are other ways to show their protest or dissatisfaction with the policies of the United States.”

Laurance Liu, president of the Los Angeles-Guangzhou Sister City Assn. and an organizer of an ethnic Chinese welcoming banquet scheduled for Sunday evening at the Beverly Hilton, dismissed the planned protests as insignificant.

Li will fly to Hawaii on Monday for a visit.