Forbes Faults Clinton Administration on China Policy

As he prepared to launch a wave of campaign ads touting himself as the true conservative candidate for president, Steve Forbes blasted the Clinton administration on Friday for what he saw as its lenient “amateur hour” treatment of China and called for a renewed hard line on an “unstable country” that threatens the world order with a “major military buildup.”

Continuing to cast himself as the ideological successor to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, the wealthy publishing heir stopped by the shrines to both former presidents during a California campaign swing and used Nixon’s birthplace of Yorba Linda to show he, too, believes in being tough on communism.

“No more shutting our ears to the cries of Christians, Buddhists and others suffering religious persecution in Chinese gulags. No more turning a blind eye to Chinese spies in our nuclear labs,” Forbes said to applause from about 400 supporters at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace. “No more leaving our children and our allies vulnerable to Chinese nuclear missiles. And no more sweetheart trade deals.”

Forbes vowed to place economic sanctions on businesses owned by the Chinese army--and perhaps even remove China’s most-favored-nation trade status--if Chinese leaders refuse to comply with American demands. He also said he opposes the Clinton administration’s support for allowing China to join the World Trade Organization “on concessionary terms, as though they were some Third World nation.” Taiwan, he said, should be granted special entry into the WTO, a position sure to irritate the island’s mainland rival.

Nixon, whose tough, plain-spoken approach to China is widely credited with opening the nation to the world in 1972, would have been “deeply concerned” if he had lived to see the rise of China today, Forbes said.

Forbes’ harsh words represent a calculated new emphasis on showcasing his conservative views and came days before his campaign embarks on a multimillion-dollar national ad campaign. His media blitz has been widely anticipated for weeks--in part because the campaign of GOP front-runner George W. Bush has repeatedly told the media it fears a negative strike from Forbes, who trails him badly in the polls.

“We’re going up next week, through the primaries and caucuses, and we won’t come down until we win,” vowed Forbes’ communications director, Greg Mueller. “This will be one of the most aggressive ad campaigns in political history.”

Mueller said the new ads would be “civil and respectful of Gov. Bush” when he is mentioned at all. “People will be hard-pressed to say any of these ads are negative.”

Television ads will be aired on national cable stations, such as CNN, and the larger local stations in Iowa and New Hampshire. Radio spots will also run on Rush Limbaugh’s conservative talk show and “the little Rush Limbaughs” that air regionally.

Forbes clearly displayed a less folksy posture at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley on Thursday and again at the Nixon Library, saying the United States must boost its military presence in Asia to defend Taiwan and others from China. He said Taiwan, which mainland China still views as a province, must be allowed to purchase missile defense systems.

“When a Chinese general made a not-so-veiled threat to ‘nuke’ Los Angeles over the Taiwan crisis several years ago, he made one thing abundantly clear,” Forbes said. “We must not allow China’s growing nuclear arsenal to continue to threaten American cities.”

Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer, who is competing with Forbes for the “true conservative” mantle, quickly criticized Forbes’ China position Friday, noting he had previously said he supported China’s most-favored trade status.

Forbes does not appear to be worried about Bauer, however. His ads, aides said, will focus on establishing differences between himself, Bush and Sen. John McCain of Arizona by laying out in detail Forbes’ plans on specific issues.

The Bush camp has been nervously anticipating the ads for weeks and warned again Friday that Forbes would suffer if he tried a repeat of the harshly negative ads he ran against GOP rival Bob Dole in 1996. “I do think Republican voters will reject the type of negative campaigning we saw in 1996,” said Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker.

Mueller thanked the Bush campaign for talking publicly and frequently about the ads.

“Hollywood couldn’t have done better,” he joked. “Thanks to Bush, these are the most anticipated political ads ever.”

Times staff writer Anne-Marie O’Connor contributed to this story.