CHINA IN TURMOIL : U.S. Calls Reprisals Against Dissident Leaders Repugnant

The Bush Administration, stepping up its criticism of China’s crackdown on protest, denounced the Beijing government’s reprisals against pro-democracy leaders Friday and hinted that further repression may lead to additional U.S. sanctions.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, using unusually direct language, told reporters: “Keep in mind that the government has murdered many, many of its citizens. We have had an incredible upheaval in (that) country.”

He also said: “The government has killed people there, their own citizens. And now we see reprisals being announced over the loudspeakers in the public squares. Reprisals are repugnant. We certainly watch this situation with grave concern.

“We remain prepared to take any action that we feel will be beneficial to the situation,” Fitzwater said.

Avoiding Hasty Action

He said that President Bush, who suspended U.S. military sales to China on Monday, did not want to rush into further sanctions against Beijing that might slow down a restoration of warm relations later on.

“We’re talking here about looking at the relationship between two countries, at long-term impacts . . . and those are not decisions that should be made momentarily,” he said.

But he termed Chinese authorities’ call for reprisals “a very disturbing situation” and said U.S. actions will be affected by how far Beijing pushes its repression against the students who led China’s movement for democracy.

Other officials and congressional sources said the Administration has been considering possible additional measures against the Chinese government, although it was unclear whether any decision to impose new sanctions is likely.

Commercial Space Launches

Among the measures under discussion, they said, is the suspension of U.S. participation in China’s commercial space launch venture, under which American communications satellites are launched into orbit by Chinese rockets. Several congressmen led by Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) have been urging the Administration to end the program because U.S. aerospace firms contend that the Chinese are undercutting them, and they raised the issue again this week in the wake of the crackdown in Beijing.

Some conservatives in Congress have also suggested that the Administration suspend China’s most-favored-nation trading status and cut back on China’s quota for textile exports to the United States.

Fitzwater and other Administration officials refused to discuss individual options that have been under discussion, except to say that the goal of any additional measures would be to encourage democracy and reform without imposing hardship on the Chinese populace.

Asked about the possibility of a halt to U.S. grain sales to China, for example, Fitzwater said: “We certainly would be very reluctant. . . . The President feels that grain embargoes would be harmful to the Chinese people, who are the very people we’re trying to help.” But he added: “You can never rule out any option.”

Avoid Blaming Deng

Fitzwater and other spokesmen diplomatically refused to assign blame for the repression to Deng Xiaoping, China’s paramount leader who has also been the architect of growing U.S.-Chinese relations during the past decade.

In his press conference Thursday night, Bush seemingly went out of his way to hold open the possibility that Deng had no role in ordering or approving the massacre at Tian An Men Square last weekend.

Noting that Deng himself was “thrown out of power” during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution for being “too forward-looking,” the President said, “Let’s not jump to conclusions as to how individual leaders in China feel when we aren’t sure of that.”

Fitzwater said Bush has still drawn no conclusion about whether Deng bears any responsibility for the massacre.

“We don’t know,” he said. “You can watch television and see who the government is, but in terms of individual actions and motivations . . . we don’t know.”

TV Appearance Makes It Clear

But other officials acknowledged that Deng’s appearance Friday on Chinese television congratulating the army on its success in crushing the democracy movement made it clear that the man Bush has referred to as a “friend” was solidly behind the repression--although they continued to say they did not know what role he played in ordering the crackdown.

The White House tried again Friday, as it had Thursday, to get Deng on the telephone so that Bush could directly express his concerns about China’s course. But for the second day running, the Chinese leader did not return the call.

Tension between the two governments has also been rising over the case of Fang Lizhi, a leading dissident who has taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing since Monday.