Local Chinese Reaction Mixed to Trade Issue

Chinese American business leaders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties said Friday that they support President Clinton’s decision to reverse his policy to link China’s trading status with its human rights record.

But pro-democracy activists said Clinton should have pushed his original position, and warn that it sends an ominous signal about human rights on the eve of the five-year anniversary of the Tian An Men Square massacre.

In Ventura County, which is home to a growing Asian population, many Chinese residents said the day after Clinton’s decision that the President had done the right thing because trade with China is too important to cut off. In Los Angeles, Chinese American business leaders also supported the President’s decision to grant most-favored-nation status to China.

“The economy is more important,” said Peter Chen, a Camarillo physician who immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1980. “China will be a strong economic partner in the future.”

Allan Jue, whose family members were the earliest Chinese settlers in Ventura County, said every one gains from Clinton’s reversal.

“We have to realize that this world is shrinking and we’re dependent on each other for our economic well-being and survival,” Jue said. “And as the old regimes begin to fade out and the newer leaders come on board, we’ll see human rights improve.”

Phillip Pan, store manager of the Hong Kong Supermarket in Monterey Park, said he gives Clinton hesitant support.

“I think it’s a good thing to do; both countries need the partnership,” Pan said. “Of course, the human rights issue is pretty important, but . . . we should separate the issues and work on both at the same time.”

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Lou Chang, a Thousand Oaks computer consultant and principal of the Thousand Oaks Chinese School, said Clinton should not have tried to dictate to China.

“I agree with the Chinese government,” said Chang, who emigrated from Taiwan in 1979. “This is really an internal affair. The people there should be treated like people, but it takes time for a society or country to change. I don’t think force is the right way.”

Chinese American leaders in both counties said they thought that Clinton had bungled in the first place by making the issue so public during his 1992 presidential campaign and during his first year in office. They said the President did not take into account the Chinese national character, which is concerned about “saving face.”

“Even if the Chinese government knows they are wrong, they don’t want to lose face,” said Arthur Chiou, chairman of the Conejo Valley Chinese Cultural Assn. “I don’t think they will want to publicly admit they are wrong.”

But now Clinton has lost face by backing down from his original stance, said Chris Wu, Monterey Park-based leader of the Alliance for a Democratic China, who opposed the President’s reversal.

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“Now the Chinese government is thinking thS. is soft,” Wu said. “We’re afraid for human rights in China.”

Aline Yee Grossman, a fifth-grade teacher in Ventura, said she was disappointed by the President’s action, although she characterized herself as a Clinton supporter.

“My parents were refugees of the Communist takeover,” said Grossman, who is first-generation Chinese American. “I remember their stories of how oppressive it was. I’ve never been there, but I’m not going until they improve how they treat people.”

Angered by the decision to “de-link” human rights and most-favored-nation status, several pro-democracy groups plan demonstrations in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on June 3 and 4, the anniversary of Tian An Men, when police opened fire on students rallying for democratic change and killed an unknown number.

But they appear to be in the minority.

“It’s very surprising. Last year, people were up in arms, but this year, I’ve rarely heard of an individual who doesn’t support it,” said Llewellyn Chin, an Alhambra attorney who is active in the Chinese American community.

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Some Chinese residents said it was unreasonable of the Clinton Administration to forcS. standards onto the Chinese, who have different values.

“I don’t think we can make policy on our standards and expect them to comply,” said Patty Chan, a fifth-generation Chinese American who works as an occupational therapist in Oxnard.

Other Chinese Americans said they favored Clinton’s decision because they feared that diplomatic relations with China would worsen.

“We don’t want that to happen again,” said Joan Tang, an office manager in Camarillo. “We worked so hard to get back into China.”

Times staff writer Denise Hamilton contributed to this story.

* MAIN STORY: A1