U.S. Relations With China

The official party line given by the Chinese authority for the brutal crackdown on the democracy movement has been the necessity to restore social stability so that economic reform and business ties with the outside world can continue. Deng Xiaoping obviously believes that he can cut off Western reporters, kill and imprison Chinese who believe in Western democratic values, and at the same time, attract Western businessmen and tourists to spend money in China.

In deciding to order the murderous assault on the students, Deng must have figured that his old friend President Bush would put American business interests ahead of American principles, and business with the United States would remain as usual. The reluctance of the Bush Administration to go any further than symbolic gestures and halting minor military sales might have been the confirmation Deng was waiting for.

To continue trade with China would strengthen the hands of the progressive wing in China, some Administration officials argued. But for the past 10 years, trade with China did strengthen the hand of Deng Xiaoping, whom we thought to be the most progressive leader in China, and we saw how he used that strength against the people. Further sanctions would only hurt the Chinese people, President Bush insisted. But without serious threat to his economic program, Deng has nothing to worry about in his relentless effort to suppress the Chinese people.

In this time of turmoil, it is certainly prudent to keep all diplomatic channels open, but we must also call into question the economic policies that benefit the unpopular rulers in China.

In this country, we witnessed the efforts of the Jewish community to focus our government’s attention on the plight of Soviet Jews and the economic pressure by the U.S. did help change the Soviet treatment of Jews. The black community is doing the same for the blacks in South Africa. As the outcry from Chinese-Americans can be heard across the country, can we expect some sympathetic consideration from Washington?

CHARLES WOO

Rancho Palos Verdes