GOP Contenders Pounce on Clinton China Policy

Led by Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Republican presidential hopefuls Tuesday were quick to denounce President Clinton’s China policy--effectively bringing the political blame game full circle.

Reacting from Austin after release of a congressional report on the issue, Bush accused the administration of essentially ignoring evidence of Chinese espionage, thus hastening China’s emergence as a major nuclear power and a potential threat to U.S. interests.

His attack and others from GOP candidates echoed the assault launched seven years ago by then-candidate Clinton, who accused President George Bush--father of the Texas governor--of appeasing China and “coddling” its repressive regime by reaching out to Beijing.

Gov. Bush acknowledged that Chinese espionage occurred during his father’s terms as president and vice president, as well as under Presidents Carter and Reagan. The distinction, he said, is that Clinton alone failed to act once presented with evidence of wrongdoing. ‘Only one administration knew,” Bush asserted.

Administration officials insisted Clinton and other officials responded appropriately upon learning of security problems.

Among other Republican hopefuls, Steve Forbes charged that Clinton’s China policy “has deeply wounded the U.S.’ ability to defend itself.” The White House, he said, “demonstrated incompetence, ineptitude and insincerity on a scale never before witnessed in the history of U.S. defense.”

Elizabeth Hanford Dole said that the new report “raises the most fundamental questions about our national security and the administration’s commitment to it. Of all the crises that have occurred during the Clinton administration, this one appears to be the most serious.”