Beyond Tiananmen

THE POLITICS OF U.S.- CHINA RELATIONS 1989-2000

ROBERT L. SUETTINGER
 Copyright © 2003
the brookings institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
www.brookings.edu

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data

Suettinger, Robert L.
Beyond Tiananmen: the politics of U.S.-China relations, 1989-2000 /
Robert L. Suettinger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-8157-8206-3 (alk. paper)
1. United States—Foreign relations—China. 2. China—Foreign
relations—United States. 3. China—History—Tiananmen Square Incident,
1989—Influence. 4. United States—Foreign relations—1989–1993. 5.
United States—Foreign relations—1993-2001. I. Title.

E183.8.C5S865 2003
327.73051'09'049—dc21 2003006186

987654321

The paper used in this publication meets minimum requirements of the

American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials: ANSI Z39.48-1992.

Typeset in Sabon

Composition by Stephen D. McDougal

Mechanicsville, Maryland

Printed by R. R. Donnelley
Harrisonburg, Virginia
 To Michel Oksenberg (1938–2001)
Teacher, mentor, colleague, friend, and inspiration
 Contents

Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
chapter one
Introduction 1
chapter two
Getting to Tiananmen 12
chapter three
Escalation, Denouement, and Aftermath 41
chapter four
The Slow Road to Recovery, 1989–92 88
chapter five
New Politics, Old Problems, 1993–94 145
chapter six
Crisis over Taiwan, 1995–96 200
chapter seven
Presidential Initiatives, 1996–97 264

vii
viii contents

chapter eight
Scandals and Summits, 1997–98 328
chapter nine
Back to the Cold, 1999–2000 358
chapter ten
Epilogue and Conclusions 410
Notes 443
Index 533
 Foreword

T he transformation of U.S.-China relations is one of the

most complex and consequential developments of the twentieth century, and
it has major implications for the twenty-first. Therefore the bumpy road of
China’s integration into the international community has been a frequent
subject of work by individual Brookings scholars and authors, as well as by
our Foreign Policy Studies program and our Center for Northeast Asia Policy
Studies. This book by Robert L. Suettinger is a timely and distinguished con-
tribution to that ongoing part of the Brookings agenda.
The U.S.-China relationship was frozen for more than twenty years after
the Chinese Communists came to power on the mainland in 1949. The turn-
ing point came when President Richard M. Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong
recognized they had a common adversary in the Soviet Union. Nixon’s his-
toric trip to China in 1972 led to a period of euphoria and goodwill, allowing
the two sides to achieve even a degree of accommodation on the difficult
question of Taiwan’s status. As China moved into a period of reform and
opening to the outside world under Deng Xiaoping, the bilateral relationship
flourished. Rapid growth in trade, tourism, and many other exchanges were
undergirded by the belief on both sides in a “strategic relationship” of joint
opposition to the Soviet Union.
Then came the showdown and slaughter on Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Students and ordinary citizens of Beijing had taken over the symbolic center
of Beijing that spring, demanding dialogue, democracy, and freedom. Day
after day, Americans and others around the world watched as hundreds of
thousands of Chinese demonstrated peacefully, their student leaders implor-
ing the government for basic political rights. When units of the People’s Lib-
ix
x foreword

eration Army stormed into the city late on June 3, 1989, and regained con-
trol the next day at enormous cost in lives, the U.S.-China relationship was
damaged in a way from which it has yet, fourteen years later, fully to re-
cover. Since then, cycles of normalization and engagement, alternating with
anger, recrimination, and distrust, have characterized bilateral ties. The fall
of communist regimes in eastern Europe and then in the Soviet Union itself
made it patently obvious that the Sino-American relationship had lost its
original strategic rationale, making restoration of amicable ties that much
more difficult to achieve.
It is from that tragic and tempestuous episode that Bob picks up the story,
drawing from his perspective as a veteran analyst in the Central Intelligence
Agency and the State Department. His twenty-five-year career culminated in
an appointment to serve as director of Asian Affairs on the National Security
Council from March 1994 until October 1997, followed by a tour of duty as
national intelligence officer for East Asia on the National Intelligence Council.
Bob traces the course of relations from Tiananmen through the end of the
Clinton administration, when the U.S. Congress granted “permanent normal
trade relations” status to China. He chronicles the Taiwan crisis of 1995–96,
Jiang Zemin’s rise to dominance in the PRC’s policy process, and China’s
involvement in the campaign finance and spying scandals of 1997–99. He
also analyzes the role of economics and trade and sketches what he sees as
the prospects for U.S.-China relations in the decades ahead.
One of the virtues of this book, which was funded in part by a grant from
the Smith Richardson Foundation, is the justice Bob does to the sometimes
neglected connection between domestic politics and foreign policy. As some-
one with decades of experience working inside the government, Bob brings
to his reconstruction and analysis of events an intuitive understanding of
how state-to-state relations often hinge on human and highly personal fac-
tors, such as the pique or insecurity of individual leaders, rather than on
abstract calculations of national interests and goals. With its solid grounding
in the real world of policymaking and diplomacy, this book is a model of the
kind of research that we at Brookings are proud to support and publish.

April 2003 Strobe Talbott

Washington, D.C. President
foreword xi

Acknowledgments

I have drawn on a wide variety of materials in primary and

secondary sources, as well as the work of a growing and talented field of
sinologists in the United States and America watchers in China. For this project,
I have benefited immensely from access to and extended conversations with
key participants in the policy process, people who considered, made, and
implemented important decisions for the U.S. government on its approach to
China. Among them are Michael Armacost, Jeffrey A. Bader, Samuel R.
Berger, Kurt Campbell, William Clark, W. Bowman Cutter, William A.
Danvers, Carl Ford, Charles W. Freeman Jr., Sandra J. Kristoff, W. Anthony
Lake, Deborah M. Lehr, Kenneth Lieberthal, James R. Lilley, Winston Lord,
Joseph Massey, Michel Oksenberg, Douglas Paal, Daniel Poneman, Stanley
O. Roth, J. Stapleton Roy, Brent Scowcroft, Susan Shirk, and Richard
Solomon. I am indebted to numerous scholars and officials in the United
States and China who advised and informed me about aspects of bilateral
relations during this period but are not able or willing to be acknowledged
by name.
No book is the product of a single individual’s work, and I acknowledge
the gracious advice and assistance from people who have aided me with re-
search or read critically various portions of the manuscript. Adrianne Moore
helped out in early research on Tiananmen-related information. Thomas J.
Christensen, Paul Heer, David Michael Lampton, and J. Stapleton Roy re-
viewed the entire manuscript, while Bates Gill, Billy Huff, John Kamm, Mickey
Kantor, Dimon Liu, James Mulvenon, Alan Romberg, Lee Sands, Anne
Thurston, and Bruce Wells reviewed and commented on various chapters.
James Steinberg reviewed the manuscript twice, commenting on substantive
xi
xii acknowledgments

issues and correcting specific facts, as he was an active participant in the

policy process on China. Michael Armacost and Richard Haass were enor-
mously supportive in guiding and encouraging the project in its early stages.
The staff in the Brookings Press was remarkably helpful. Theresa Walker
edited the final manuscript, Susan Woolen supervised the cover design pro-
cess, Vicki Chamlee proofread the book, and Enid Zafran prepared the in-
dex. Janet Walker, managing editor, also contributed to the editing of the
final manuscript.
I greatly appreciate the help I received from the Smith Richardson Foun-
dation staff, especially Samantha Ravich, Allan Song, and Marin Strmecki.
Last but certainly not least, I thank my wife, Sue-Jean, my children, and
other family members for their faith and support in the long and difficult
process of writing a first book.
 chapter one

Introduction

I t has been fourteen years since soldiers of the Chinese

People’s Liberation Army (PLA) raced into the center of Beijing from their
suburban encampments, ordered to recover “at any cost” the capital city’s
most important symbolic landmark, Tiananmen Square, from student dem-
onstrators who had occupied it for seven weeks. Fourteen years since the
terror, the noise, the fires, the shooting, the bloodshed, the screams of rage
and fear. Fourteen years since the collapse of the Communist Party’s leader-
ship cohesion and what remained of its moral authority, causing it to resort
to force and intimidation to maintain its grip on power. Fourteen years since
the United States and other Western countries recoiled from China in horror
and disgust, expelling it from the company of modern civilized nations through
sanctions of various kinds. Fourteen years since the relationship between the
United States and China went instantly from amity and strategic cooperation
to hostility, distrust, and misunderstanding.
Time has healed many of the wounds of those terrible days of June 1989.
The dead have been laid to rest, if not accounted for or forgotten; the wounded
have been treated and healed. Most of those arrested and imprisoned in the
massive roundup that followed June 4 have completed their sentences and
been released. The universities that were cauldrons of unrest and dissatisfac-
tion then are thriving now, with improved equipment and better living con-
ditions attracting China’s best and brightest. Students have turned from the
youthful pursuit of democratic ideals to the pursuit of advanced degrees and
lucrative jobs in China’s growing private sector, much of it foreign funded.
Most of the Communist Party elders who decided that military force was
the only solution to the problem of the democracy activists in Tiananmen
1
2 introduction

Square have died. Many of the students who emerged as leaders of the 1989
democracy movement and the hunger strike are in exile in the United States,
having escaped during the early phases of the crackdown or having been
released from prison on “medical parole.” Most of the soldiers who took
part in the attack on the city of Beijing have left the PLA. Many of the offi-
cers who were promoted for their leadership in “quelling the turmoil” have
subsequently been retired or demoted. The Communist Party leadership “core”
under General Secretary and State President Jiang Zemin—brought in after
June 4—has been one of modern China’s most stable and successful leader-
ship groups, its rule uninterrupted by major internal strife or political
upheaval.
Tiananmen Square has been repaired—the bullet holes filled, paving stones
cleaned and later replaced for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of
the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1999. It is again the people’s
square, with casual strollers, schoolchildren, kite-flyers, and tourists in abun-
dance. People’s Armed Police and other security forces still patrol in groups
of two and three, on the lookout for practitioners of Falun Gong—a form of
breathing exercise and spiritual awareness banned by the still-nervous com-
munist government—rather than democracy activists. Traffic clogs the streets
around the square, with bicyclists making more rapid progress in their sepa-
rate lanes than the hordes of tiny red and yellow taxis, tourist buses, and
private automobiles crawling through the midday rush hours. There is no
sign, no memorial of what happened there in 1989.
The city of Beijing itself has been transformed in these fourteen years. The
streets down which the students marched and the tanks raced now are lined
with new hotels, shopping centers, and modern office buildings, and many
are adorned with neon signs advertising Western corporations and foreign
products—McDonald’s, IBM, Intel, Coca-Cola. A new “central business dis-
trict” of multistory office towers has sprung up near the intersection of
Jianguomen Dajie and the Second Ring Road, where heavily armed troops
faced east in 1989, seemingly fearing attack from other military units. Shop-
pers no longer pick through piles of shriveled cabbages piled along dusty
streets, as they did then, but walk through air-conditioned grocery stores and
shopping malls looking for well-packaged foods, designer fashions, sporting
goods, and consumer electronics. China has become one of the most dy-
namic economies in the world, and Beijing is its showcase capital city. Hav-
ing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, the city is even more eager to
show its new look, new economy, and new style to the rest of the world.
Amid all the change—the forgetting, if you will, of Tiananmen—the rela-
tionship between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of
China has remained one of wary distrust that occasionally deteriorates into
introduction 3

enmity. There has been little forgetting and less forgiving of what the two
countries accused each other of in 1989. Although the two governments have
improved their cooperation and even achieved a degree of amicability in the
wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Wash-
ington, these changes nevertheless seem tenuous, unsupported by improved
trust or understanding. There is still plenty of rancor on both sides.
The United States regularly castigates China for a broad array of human
rights abuses, with the State Department issuing in February 2002 the long-
est and most critical report about China in its annual series on human rights
practices worldwide. China responds with charges of hypocrisy, racism, and
“demonization” against the United States and issues its own critiques of
American legal and moral shortcomings.
—Beijing charges the United States with “interference” in its domestic
affairs, not only in supporting democracy activists in 1989 but in seeking to
use various sanctions since then to leverage improvements in China’s treat-
ment of religious and political dissidents. It suspects the U.S. Central Intelli-
gence Agency is supporting Falun Gong. In Washington, many believe China
sought to use illegal contributions to some candidates in the 1996 election
campaign to distort American politics and policies. Business lobbyists and
academics who seem sympathetic to China’s positions sometimes are por-
trayed as disloyal to the United States.
—Many Americans believe that China’s pressure on Taiwan—where the
government of the Republic of China retreated after it lost the Chinese civil
war in 1949—actually emanates from a post-Tiananmen fear of the Ameri-
can style of democracy that Taiwan has instituted successfully since the early
1990s. For its part, China accuses the United States of deliberately violating
its agreements on sovereignty and arms sales to Taiwan in order to keep
China from achieving unification.
—Despite a rapidly growing trade relationship between the two countries,
Washington criticizes China’s trade practices regularly as “mercantilist,” and
a special commission has been appointed by the U.S. Congress to monitor
the relationship between the bilateral trade flows and the modernization of
China’s defense industries. Many in China believe the United States is deter-
mined to prevent China from becoming the world’s largest economy.
—Washington charges China with selling the technology, know-how, and
materials to make nuclear and chemical weapons, as well as ballistic missiles,
to unstable or “rogue” states, such as Pakistan and Iran. China counters that
Washington is the world’s largest arms dealer and is only trying to prevent
China’s emergence as a competitor.
—Despite the easing of bilateral strains in light of their opposition to in-
ternational terrorism, China and the United States remained locked in strate-
4 introduction

gic distrust at the start of the twenty-first century, based largely on

misperceptions. Many in China, including in the leadership, believe the United
States has an insatiable lust to be the world’s dominant power and will go to
great lengths to prevent China from becoming a global force. They refer to
the United States as “hegemonic,” similar to the kingdom of Qin in the sec-
ond century B.C., which forcefully conquered and incorporated the various
kingdoms of China into a unified state. Some Americans see China as a mod-
ern counterpart of nineteenth-century Germany or Japan—an ambitious, ag-
gressive emerging state that will upset the international balance of power
and force a conflict. Strategic thinkers and military planners on both sides
plot future conflict scenarios with the other side as the principal enemy.
—Perhaps most important, the United States and China have developed
negative stereotypes of each other, contributing to all the above problems.
Despite warm and even improving people-to-people relations, polls since 1989
have consistently shown most Americans consider China an “unfriendly”
country that violates the rights of its citizens. Although polls in China are not
independent or systematic, there is a clear growth in the manifestation of
anti-American sentiment, particularly among students and intellectuals.

Axioms and Assumptions

How did this situation develop? What are the causes of the hostility and
what are the political factors in both countries that sustain it? What does this
situation portend for future relations between China and the United States?
Are the two sides heading for war? Or can efforts be undertaken to amelio-
rate the suspicions and hostility, and if so, how?
This book is about relations between the United States and the People’s
Republic of China from the calamitous events of June 4, 1989, to the last
days of the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton in the year 2000. It takes
as its starting point the events of Tiananmen, as I believe those events marked
a critical turning point in the bilateral relationship. Before that time, the
relationship was founded on a more or less shared set of strategic perceptions
about the nature of the threat from the Soviet Union and on a “realist” view-
point that Soviet power needed to be balanced by cooperation between its
principal opponents. Although the relationship grew and flourished in many
other ways after the visit to China by President Richard Nixon in 1972 and
the issuing of the “Shanghai communiqué” establishing the ground rules for
Sino-American cooperation, the strategic underpinning remained a con-
stant in the relationship. After Tiananmen, when American perceptions of
China were radically changed, and after the fall of first the Soviet “bloc” in
eastern Europe and then the Soviet Union itself, that constant disappeared,
introduction 5

or at least lost credibility. Justifying a close, cooperative relationship thus

became far more difficult for both sides, while all the other problems and
disagreements in the relationship became far more apparent and difficult
to manage.
Equally important, after Tiananmen, the bilateral relationship lost its insu-
lation from domestic politics. In the United States, President George H. W.
Bush found his China policy directly challenged by congressional Democrats,
as President Bill Clinton’s was by congressional Republicans. Although Deng
Xiaoping’s primacy over foreign policy was hardly challenged, even after
Tiananmen, President Jiang Zemin’s stewardship of the U.S.-China-Taiwan
relationship became an issue in his efforts to consolidate his power and au-
thority within the Chinese leadership as Deng faded from the scene. In both
countries, bureaucratic maneuvering and broader sociopolitical changes also
affected the conduct of foreign policy, particularly bilateral relations. And
both countries experienced periods of intense popular suspicion and even
revulsion that political decisionmakers could not ignore.
The principal focus of this book is decisionmaking—that very human pro-
cess by which ideas, beliefs, strategies, theories, prejudices, pressures, trade-
offs, and choices become identifiable foreign policies. It is a complex and
confusing process, often misunderstood, especially by those who look only at
the policy outcomes. Readers will find no grand theory to explain American
or Chinese actions or to put them in a lucid strategic context. Quite the
contrary. This book consists of a series of narratives about policymaking, by
which the complexity and confusion of the process of making decisions are
laid out in somewhat greater detail—from an “insider’s” perspective, in part.
From April 1989 until the end of 1998, I served in positions within the U.S.
government—on the National Intelligence Council and the National Secu-
rity Council—that enabled me to observe the policy process at close hand.
While I would by no means depict my position as a major “policy player,” I
was a participant on occasion and familiar with the events and individuals
that shaped the relationship during that period. Moreover, before that time,
I had been an analyst and observer of China’s domestic politics and leader-
ship for many years. My purposes for writing this book are, first, to tell the
stories as completely as I can and, second, to create some doubts about the
theories, suppositions, and unspoken assumptions that underlie “strategic
analyses” on both sides of the goals and intentions of the other.
There are two fundamental propositions underlying the following chap-
ters. First, foreign policies are not the product of pristine calculations of na-
tional interests by trained experts with all the facts at their disposal. Rather
policies are the result of a profoundly political process in which differing,
sometimes competing, domestic interests, bureaucracies, and individuals af-
6 introduction

fect the outcome. Although some of the key players are well-informed ex-
perts, they are often working with incorrect or incomplete information, as
well as inaccurate assumptions and cultural prejudices. Second and related,
“strategic” assessments that extrapolate historical or ideological trends and
project future policies and behavior are likely to be wrong, as they seldom
take account of the domestic politics of decisionmaking or the effect of un-
predictable events that often drive the process. Unlike a number of contem-
porary observers of bilateral relations, I believe that conflict between the
United States and China is not inevitable; there is no ineluctable war between
the two countries just waiting for the strategic paths to reach their conver-
gence. There is, in fact, considerable prospect and opportunity for coopera-
tion and improvement in what is likely to be the single most important bilateral
relationship of the twenty-first century. However, the routine misperception
of each other’s goals and policies, one of the legacies of Tiananmen, is lead-
ing to increasing hostility and distrust that could eventually have tragic con-
sequences. It is my hope that this work might contribute to an understanding
of policy decisions as outcomes of complex processes rather than the results
of grand strategic trends. To that end, I am looking at the decisions of the
relationship in a comparative context, as outcomes of internal political pro-
cesses in both countries.

Comparing Contrasting Systems

One can scarcely do justice in an introductory chapter to the enormous dif-
ferences between the political systems of the United States of America and
the People’s Republic of China. Aside from a few common titles and descrip-
tors, there is little the two states have in common in global influence, re-
gional aspirations, strategic goals, ideology, or political structure.
The United States is a global power, with interests and capabilities in vir-
tually every region of the world, and extensive international commitments
and responsibilities. China is a major player in international relations but not
a power in the sense of being able to affect outcomes, build coalitions, or
project its will far beyond its borders.
Strategically, the United States is the world’s most powerful nation militar-
ily, whether considered from the perspective of conventional or nuclear forces.
Its leaders appear determined to keep it that way by thwarting the efforts of
any other country to match American capabilities and ensuring that America
plays a major role in all international organizations. China is a defensive power,
concerned about recovering lost territory (especially Taiwan) and seeking to
deter the United States from interfering in that recovery process.
introduction 7

In the Asia-Pacific region, the United States is a status quo power, seeking
to maintain the equilibrium and tenuous stability that have enabled the re-
gion to become so economically prosperous. China is a moderately discon-
tented regional power, angry about American support for Taiwan, dissatisfied
with some of the American-determined geopolitical relationships on its bor-
ders, and resentful of American leadership pretensions and of what it per-
ceives as overbearing American behavior.
Ideologically, the United States sees itself as a model and defender of poli-
tical democracy and individual freedom, sees private property, capitalism as
the engines of progress, and free trade as the desired state of economic rela-
tions between nations. China is in an uncertain ideological condition, having
cast aside radical Marxism and the egalitarian ideals of Mao Zedong, but
having only a vague sense of what its chosen ideology—“socialism with Chi-
nese characteristics”—really means.
Structurally, the two countries are vastly different. The United States is a
federal republic with power divided among three coequal branches and a
complex set of relationships to be factored into the policymaking process.
Power relationships are defined structurally by the U.S. Constitution, and
two major political parties compete for positions in the executive and legisla-
tive branches and are accountable to the public through regular elections.
The Chinese system is a nondemocratic one-party regime, with all powers
focused in the Communist Party of China (CPC), which directs all aspects of
the executive, most of the legislative, and a large degree of the judicial func-
tions of the state. The Communist Party is a classic Leninist political party,
with a Central Committee consisting of 300 to 400 members “representing”
the more than 60 million Communist Party members who dominate many
aspects of social and economic activity and nearly all political life. The Cen-
tral Committee is controlled by the twenty-plus-member Political Bureau (or
Politburo), which is headed by a Standing Committee of five to nine indi-
viduals. The general secretary of the party and one or two others constitute
the “core” of the leadership.1
The principal problem in doing any kind of analysis of the PRC political
system—and particularly the decisionmaking process—is its lack of trans-
parency. The normative ideal for Chinese decisionmaking is called “demo-
cratic centralism,” wherein participants are free to express their views and
disagree with one another, but once a decision is made and announced, all
are expected to set aside their personal views and support the decision of the
collective. The formation of alliances or factions to support a particular issue
or set of issues is prohibited and cause for removal from power. Interest
groups and the populace at large are not considered to have a legitimate right
8 introduction

to try and influence the collective’s decision. Thus for historical and ideologi-
cal reasons, the Communist Party of China has never welcomed scrutiny of
its operations and has cloaked most of its activities and decisions in tight
secrecy. That has sharply limited the quantity and quality of reporting and
analysis on the policymaking process in China.
In the United States, by contrast, there is often too much information
available about the policymaking process, some of it contradictory, repre-
senting various interests or groups that have a stake in the outcome. More-
over, the significant influences on the process are continually shifting,
rendering consistent tracking of the process more difficult and increasing
uncertainty about how and why decisions are actually made.
Foreign policymaking is a subset of the political processes in both coun-
tries, founded on the evident premises that foreign affairs require a high de-
gree of expertise and specialized knowledge and entail a high degree of
attention from the chief executive authority. There are more points in com-
mon than might be expected, given the differences in government structure
and philosophy. Neither country entrusts both the policymaking and policy
implementation responsibilities fully to their foreign affairs bureaucracies,
and ultimate decisionmaking authority rests with the chief executive and a
small group of formal and informal advisers. In the United States, this in-
cludes the statutorily constituted National Security Council and the more
informal system of interagency working groups, the Deputies Committee
and Principals Committee, as well as informal coordination among the na-
tional security adviser, secretary of state, secretary of defense, the president’s
chief of staff, and the president. Decisions are often reached in face-to-face
meetings of senior officials, then conveyed to the president in written form
for final approval. In China, the policy process involves the heads of rel-
evant ministries, the “foreign affairs leading small group,” the personal
staffs and members of the Politburo Standing Committee, and finally, the
general secretary. More often than not, decisionmaking information is cir-
culated in the form of decision papers, which go through an extensive pro-
cess of revision and approval from the highest levels before being put into
execution.2
In both countries, the foreign policy decisionmaking process is often event
driven; that is, many important decisions are made in response to an ac-
tion—or news of action—taken by another country rather than because of a
strategy or proactive plan of action. This places a premium on the quality of
those agencies or private organizations responsible for collecting and analyz-
ing relevant information, principally the news media, diplomatic corps, and
intelligence services.
introduction 9

In the United States, the major sources of news for decisionmakers are
private corporate organizations, including the major American and British
wire services, and the key national newspapers (Washington Post, New York
Times, Wall Street Journal, and a few others), with network and cable televi-
sion news providing coverage of breaking news or information with a strong
visual impact. The Foreign Broadcast Information Service—part of the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency—provides transcriptions and translations of articles
from foreign newspapers, television, and radio broadcasts.
China’s Xinhua (New China) News Agency provides the bulk of foreign
affairs information not only for China’s many national and local newspapers
but also for the foreign affairs bureaucracies, such as the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, as well as the key members of the leadership. Xinhua provides the
Chinese leadership a broad range of materials translated from various for-
eign newspapers and wire services, in the form of “reference materials,” or
cankao ziliao, with special attention to news about China. In recent years,
the Internet has expanded manyfold the information available to all Chinese
with access to a computer and telecommunications. Although the govern-
ment attempts to block many Western press sources, a wide variety of news
and information—not produced by Xinhua—is available through a prolif-
eration of official and quasi-official websites.3
The diplomatic corps of both countries, as well as their intelligence ser-
vices, provide a broad variety of factual and analytical reports to their capi-
tals to help inform and advise the decisionmaking process. Most of this
information is classified to protect the sources and methods by which it is
collected and to maintain the security of the decisionmaking process from
public scrutiny. Classification levels are generally similar: confidential, se-
cret, and top secret in the United States (with further restrictions provided by
specific “compartments” that require special permission for access); mimi
(secret), jimi (extreme secret), and juemi (absolute secret) in China. In the
United States, the “intelligence community” consists of various agencies in-
volved in the collection and processing of sensitive information, including
the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Secu-
rity Agency (signals intelligence), National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the
State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, smaller intelligence
units within the principal service arms and the regional commands, and on
certain issues, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. China’s intelligence services
include the Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Public Security, the Second
and Third departments of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA), the Liaison Department of the PLA’s General Political Department,
and the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee.
10 introduction

A Note on Sources
Given the high importance that is attached to national security consider-
ations in both countries, the information sources, decision processes, and
even the personnel composition of key policymaking bodies are generally
shrouded from public scrutiny. The problem is magnified for China by the
lack of transparency in all matters related to politics and policy and by the
reticence of even retired senior officials to include sensitive political or for-
eign policy issues in their memoirs. I have chosen deliberately to avoid the
use of or extensive reference to classified information from the United States
or China. There are no Freedom of Information Act documents contained in
this book, nor are there internal (neibu) reports from China.4 This was done
both for the sake of maintaining consistency and because I consider that
intelligence information is generally overrated in discussions of policy pro-
cesses. Most intelligence information available to the public—whether through
leaks or authorized disclosures—is only part of the full story and often de-
ludes the reader into thinking it is more important than it was in the actual
process of formulating policy.
Over the course of a twenty-four-year career in the U.S. government, I
became familiar with both the intelligence and policy processes by observing
and participating in them. Moreover, I was fortunate to have been able to
interview a number of American policymakers and get their candid—if not
always completely accurate or objective—views on the policies and decisions
of their time. In hopes of maintaining confidentiality and accuracy, I have
sought authorization from them to use their words and ideas. American jour-
nalists and scholars also have done extensive research on the policy process,
and I have benefited greatly from the work of others in this area.
Unfortunately, I have not had comparable access to the Chinese policy
process. After the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in
1999, whatever prospect I might have had for interviewing Chinese officials
on the record disappeared entirely.5 Chinese scholars are not encouraged to
dig deeply into their own policy process to discover different perspectives or
interests or how decisions are made. Although some of them show consider-
able sophistication in their understanding of the complexity of the American
policy process, they seldom provide comparable insight about how politics
affect the foreign policy process in their own country. Their books on U.S.-
China policy issues tend to be orthodox commendations of the Chinese
government’s decisions. Neither do Chinese newspapers report the “inside
scoop” on policy decisions, for obvious reasons.
That leaves only informed analysis of the available Chinese public record,
along with the assessments of journalists and scholars from the United States,
introduction 11

Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong about China’s domestic politics.
While these are often very good, they are also sometimes ill-informed, bi-
ased, inaccurate, and speculative. Certain Hong Kong newspapers and jour-
nals, for example, report what can only be categorized as “speculative fiction”
about domestic politics in China. Sorting through these materials to discern
what is dependable and usably accurate can be a frustrating process and one
that leaves large prospects for controversy and error. Obviously, I take full
responsibility for whatever inaccuracies and mistakes may be contained in
the following account. My use of various source materials of unverifiable
authenticity should not be construed as validation based on my experience as
an intelligence analyst. I have made judgments of what is credible and sen-
sible based on my own personal appraisal, not that of the U.S. government.
Questionable sources are still questionable, as are my analytical judgments
when based upon them.
Despite these drawbacks and shortcomings, I have tried to present in the
following chapters what I believe to be the most important domestic political
dimensions of Chinese government decisions about the bilateral relationship.
Sometimes these dimensions have to do with interpersonal politics at the
topmost level, sometimes with bureaucratic differences, sometimes with the
changing tides of unmeasurable public opinion. Again, my purpose is to tell
the stories as completely and candidly as possible, rather than to provide the
larger, more theoretical explanations. I have tried to cover the politics in
both countries in the same chapters in the hope that the presentation of con-
trasting stimuli and reactions to the same events will convey a sense of the
differing manners in which the two countries develop and implement policies
toward each other.
 chapter two

Getting to
Tiananmen

I visited Tiananmen on June 4, 1999, the tenth anniversary

of the clearing of the square by troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
It looked like any other early summer day in Beijing—gray smog blanketed
the city, magnifying the oppressive heat and humidity, flattening the vivid
contrasts of China’s capital. Traffic crawled along Chang’an Boulevard,
Beijing’s “Main Street.” At the edges of Tiananmen Square, the area still
teemed with its usual activity. Pedestrians walked leisurely along broad side-
walks in groups of two or three, stepping around piles of new paving bricks
and the holes into which they were to be placed by slow-moving workers.
Students, tourists, shoppers, and strollers edged around fenced-off construc-
tion areas in front of the Forbidden City, which, like the square itself, was
undergoing a facelift in advance of the October 1 celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Ten years after the tragedy, there were few clues of what had happened in
1989. The regime went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that there was no
commemoration, no demonstration, no disturbance in or about Tiananmen.
The square was closed for refurbishment. The massive one-hundred-acre public
area that encompasses the Monument of the People’s Heroes (Martyrs’ Monu-
ment)—across from the Great Hall of the People—and the Mao Zedong Me-
morial Hall was fenced off by an eight-foot wall of blue-green corrugated
metal and cyclone fencing, topped by barbed wire. Although originally sched-
uled to be completed by May, the renovation was extended through the June
4 date as a precaution against disturbances. Security in the Tiananmen area
was exceptionally tight. Every fifty to seventy-five yards, uniformed but un-
armed People’s Armed Police (military police) patrolled in groups of three,
12
getting to tiananmen 13

watching for any untoward activity. Their presence was complemented by

hundreds of nonuniformed security officers, conspicuous by their use of
handheld radios.
Their efforts proved successful. Although two Chinese reportedly made
individual efforts to remind others of the Tiananmen tragedy—one with leaf-
lets, another with a slogan on an umbrella—they were quickly arrested and
taken away by the security officials. The police confronted more foreign re-
porters than would-be demonstrators.1 And although enough Chinese made
their views known outside the square to make clear that the issue remained a
festering sore for the government, June 4, 1999, passed quietly in Beijing.
Slightly more than three weeks later, the fencing and construction materi-
als were removed, and the square was reopened. People flocked there by the
thousands, strolling aimlessly in small groups, playing games, talking quietly
in pairs, and enjoying the almost festive atmosphere. Even as late as 11 p.m.,
several thousand people were still there, ignoring the police, almost as if
staking the people’s claim to their cherished square. The following night, as
if rising to the challenge, several hundred armed police troops efficiently and
relentlessly cleared the crowds out of the square using crisply executed block
and sweep methods unknown ten years previously. No reason for the ma-
neuvers was evident—the crowds were not unruly or threatening; perhaps it
was just practice. But it was a chilling reminder of the relationship between
the rulers and the ruled in post-1989 China. The Tiananmen incident may
have been ten years in the past, but it was not forgotten.

The Seeds of Crisis

It is a central premise of this book that the current state of U.S.-China rela-
tions cannot be understood without reference to Tiananmen and what hap-
pened there in 1989, or what each side thought happened there. People in the
United States thought they saw an incipient democratic revolution, a youth-
ful exercise in people’s power brutally and unnecessarily crushed by an over-
whelmingly superior military force, ordered into action by a cynical
Communist Party in fear of losing its power. The leaders of China’s Commu-
nist Party saw a conspiracy between “a very small number of political
careerists” and “various political forces and reactionary organizations
abroad,” who created “turmoil” and a “counterrevolutionary rebellion” aimed
at “toppling the Chinese Communist Party and subverting the socialist People’s
Republic.”2 It is beyond the scope of this book to provide a comprehensive
examination of what happened at Tiananmen. That can never be done as
long as the government of the PRC sticks with the “official” story of events
and maintains a lock on the records of what happened.3 But the purpose of
14 getting to tiananmen

chapters 2 and 3 is to review the principal events of the tumultuous period

from the death of former general secretary Hu Yaobang on April 15 through
the June 4 crackdown and the repression that followed, with an eye to under-
standing how they affected the decisions that were made about bilateral rela-
tions in both Washington and Beijing.
On June 9, 1989—five days after the PLA had charged into Beijing and, at
enormous cost, regained control of Tiananmen Square—Military Commis-
sion Chairman and Chinese “strongman” Deng Xiaoping attended a recep-
tion at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, the leadership compound adjacent
to the Forbidden City, in honor of the martial law units that had “suppressed
the rebellion.” In a rambling and defensive speech, Deng tried briefly to come
to grips with the causes of Tiananmen. “This storm was bound to come
sooner or later. This is determined by the major international climate and
China’s own minor climate. It was bound to happen and is independent of
man’s will. It was just a matter of time and scale.”4 Deng was, perhaps,
overly modest in this appraisal. There was indeed a certain inevitability to
Tiananmen, an inescapability that haunts participants and observers to this
day. But the causes of the crisis lay primarily within China’s “minor cli-
mate,” for which Deng was mainly responsible. If one accepts the idea that
the protagonists of Tiananmen were idealistic students opposed to corrup-
tion on the one side and elderly, conservative Communist Party leaders on
the other, with the PLA deciding the outcome, then Deng brought on the
contest by his policies and determined the outcome by his tragic decisions.

The Growth of Student Activism

In 1977, Deng returned to power after having been purged by Mao Zedong
and his radical left-wing supporters in 1975. Almost immediately, he began a
process of sweeping change of China’s goals, policies, methods of gover-
nance, and international relationships that can hardly be overstated in terms
of their impact on the people of China. Principal among these was the land-
mark declaration at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Com-
mittee in December 1978 that the principal task of the Communist Party was
no longer to wage class struggle but to develop China’s economy, overcome
its backwardness, and improve the living standards of the Chinese people.
That decision also marked a personal triumph for Deng, who became China’s
“paramount leader” thereafter, even though others held the principal titles
within the Communist Party and the government.5 The party plenum also
coincided with the final negotiations—after months of haggling—for the estab-
lishment of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and China,
getting to tiananmen 15

a process in which Deng made the critical decisions and concessions that
sealed the deal.6
The party plenum was followed by a period of remarkable policy change
that saw the decollectivization of agriculture (that is, the abolition of the
commune system), the establishment of special economic zones (Shenzhen,
Zhuhai, and Shantou in Guangdong Province, Xiamen in Fujian), and the
more active encouragement of foreign investment and trade. Peasants were
given production contracts for thirty years for particular plots of land and
the right to decide how to utilize it. Rural and township enterprises were
encouraged, as were other forms of entrepreneurship, and prices began to be
decontrolled on a growing list of commodities and manufactured products.
The results of these reforms were striking: agricultural production grew
sharply, and rural incomes began to advance strongly as peasants took ad-
vantage of new opportunities to sell specialized products at near-free market
prices. In the urban areas, enterprises began to pay workers bonuses for making
profits, and monetary incentives encouraged individual efforts to exceed quo-
tas. Individuals were permitted to establish small-scale services (repair and
maintenance, food preparation, and other tasks). These changes created strains
and discontent within the ministries managing urban industries and in the
party’s ideological circles, where their sharp departure from Marxist-Leninist
orthodoxy and Maoist practice was viewed as dangerous.
At the insistence of Deng and General Secretary Hu Yaobang, the Maoist
practice of disparaging and discriminating against intellectuals was termi-
nated, and they were encouraged to contribute their ideas to the process of
economic reform. Economists, historians, philosophers, scientists, educators,
and party officials were urged to “liberate their thinking,” abandon “forbid-
den zones” of party orthodoxy, and be open to new ideas on how to better
modernize and develop the Chinese economy. Competitive entrance exami-
nations for China’s major universities were reinstituted, and students and
researchers were permitted to apply to study at foreign universities and bring
foreign research materials and practices into Chinese institutions of higher
learning.
All this led to an upsurge in support for party reformers and a new intel-
lectual and literary efflorescence. It led also to a growing expression of dis-
content about some of the excesses of the past—particularly the 1966–76
Cultural Revolution—and with remaining leaders of the party who had risen
during that period. In the last two months of 1978, Democracy Wall sprang
up in Beijing’s Xidan market area. On the concrete and brick wall that sepa-
rated West Changan Boulevard from a local bus yard, ordinary citizens be-
gan to put up “big-character posters” (dazibao) exposing corruption, injustice,
and malfeasance within the Communist Party, the central government, and
16 getting to tiananmen

numerous provincial and local governments.7 Deng benefited from this opening
of literary and critical commentary, some of which attacked his remaining
detractors within the leadership.8 But the activity did not stop there. Taking
advantage of the rare relaxation of controls over free speech, some intellectu-
als and workers began to advocate a more rapid democratization of the Chi-
nese Communist Party and Chinese society. Some, such as Beijing Zoo
electrician Wei Jingsheng and others, even began to attack Deng for his anti-
democratic leadership style and aggressive pursuit of his personal political
agenda.9
Prodded by conservative members of the upper leadership, Deng reacted
to the growing critiques of Communist Party rule in March 1979 by issuing
guidelines bounding the public expression of opinion or political view. These
guidelines, known as the “four upholds” or the “four cardinal principles,”
required that political reformers and other public commentary should up-
hold the socialist road, the “people’s democratic dictatorship” (that is, the
party’s right to monopolize power by claiming to exercise it on behalf of
the people), the primacy of the Communist Party, and the relevance of
“Marxism-Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought” as China’s guiding ideology.
Gradually through the spring and summer of 1979, Democracy Wall activi-
ties were more carefully monitored, censored, restricted, and finally shut down.
Although Hu Yaobang and others continued through party channels to ad-
vocate more “liberation of thinking,” Deng’s intolerance for criticism of the
party and himself—as being conducive to “instability”—was a harbinger of
future events.
By the late 1980s, China’s intellectuals were seething with discontent. Al-
though well aware that Deng’s reforms had brought significant improve-
ments in the lives of the vast majority of Chinese people, they were extremely
frustrated by a number of all-too-visible problems. As one American ob-
server put it, official corruption had become an epidemic of many forms:
“bribery, nepotism, smuggling, trading of favors, eating and drinking on the
public dole, taking goods home to ‘test’ them, ‘borrowing’ money and not
returning it . . . The mode of corruption that provoked the most comment
and anger, however, was called guandao (‘official profiteering’). In guandao
an official or a member of his family buys commodities at low, state-fixed
prices and then sells them—with huge, unearned markups—on the free mar-
ket.”10 Only the highest-level officials or their children had the access to com-
modities to enable them to profit from guandao. And the children were
profiting mightily, another fact well known among China’s intelligentsia.
Called “princelings” or “golden youth,” the sons and daughters of China’s
top leaders mostly eschewed political office; rather, they used the perceived
clout of their parents and went into private enterprise, often with foreign
getting to tiananmen 17

firms. They lived extravagantly and flaunted their wealth with fancy cars,
clothes, and other Western consumer items.
Discontent was also growing over the increasingly obvious shortcomings
in China’s political and economic systems, especially when weighed against
the situation in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Students and intellectu-
als often concluded that China’s obvious backwardness in comparison to
these other Chinese societies was caused by the communist system rather
than other social or economic factors.11 But there was resentment against
some foreign countries—particularly over unfair pricing or labor practices or
the suborning of corruption—and xenophobic sentiments burst forth on sev-
eral occasions among university students.12
Intellectuals felt increasingly disadvantaged when they compared their lot
to that of corrupt party officials, private entrepreneurs, and employees of
foreign-invested firms (Chinese firms invested in by foreign companies). Con-
fined mostly to working in universities or government-sponsored research
institutes, they often found their fixed salaries insufficient to make ends meet
in a time of rising inflation. Moreover, their working conditions (and student
living conditions) were dismal. With scarce budgetary resources being dis-
tributed to more urgent modernization projects, universities and research
institutes—many of which had been closed and damaged during the Cultural
Revolution—were run down, poorly equipped, underheated, and over-
crowded. Faculty and student living quarters were wretched.
By far the main cause of discontent, however, was the intellectually stulti-
fying political climate. Although officially cleared from their Cultural Revo-
lution stigmatization by Hu Yaobang in the late 1970s, students and older
intellectuals were still the object of party distrust and occasional public criti-
cism.13 Although overseas study and foreign contacts were permitted, those
who took advantage of these opportunities found themselves the objects of
suspicion and job discrimination when they returned. The party pledged there
would be no more ideological forbidden zones, but those who pushed the bound-
aries in movies, plays, and literature sometimes found themselves pilloried for
violating the four cardinal principles when they did so. Although Western ideas
were welcomed in economics and science and technology, those who pro-
pounded Western philosophy, political science, or sociology were attacked for
succumbing to “bourgeois liberalism” in repeated campaigns in the 1980s.
Thus, while Deng maintained his reputation in the West as a reformer,
albeit a rather antidemocratic one, in China he was increasingly seen by stu-
dents and intellectuals as an autocrat, dedicated to maintaining his power,
allied with the gerontocrats of China’s past rather than the democrats of its
future. Hu Yaobang, by contrast, retained the loyalty of students and intel-
lectuals. Although he did not have much formal education, Hu ardently sup-
18 getting to tiananmen

ported education and the restoration of the role of intellectuals as necessary

for China’s successful modernization. Despite Deng’s caution, Hu pressed
hard for “liberation of thought” on critically evaluating Mao and the Cul-
tural Revolution. He supported somewhat greater political reform despite
opposition from Deng and other party elders. He took a tolerant approach to
literary works critical of the party and curtailed the 1983 campaign against
“spiritual pollution” as too disruptive and potentially offensive to foreign
investors.14 He defended dissident intellectuals (such as Fang Lizhi, Liu Binyan,
and Wang Ruowang) who came under attack from party conservatives, and
he even deflected Deng’s demands that they be expelled from the party.15
Relations between the two men soured all through 1986, and their differ-
ences ultimately led to a showdown.

Deng’s Failure to Reform the Party

Hu’s disagreements with Deng set in motion a train of events that led to the
tragedy at Tiananmen. Many commentators have observed that Deng es-
poused only economic reform, not political reform. Like many shorthand
assessments of complex realities, this judgment is somewhat misleading on
both counts. Although he had plenty of experience as an economic manager,
Deng was no economist. He had no comprehensive theories on how the Chi-
nese economy should be transformed but left to others the task of developing
the detailed policies and the theoretical justifications for his ideas. Deng was
driven by the need for political restoration of a properly configured and effi-
ciently operating Leninist party structure. What needed to be reformed was
Mao Zedong’s distortion of that system through his personality cult, exces-
sive focus on ideological theory, mass mobilization campaigns, and destruc-
tion of bureaucratic normalcy. Deng saw clearly the enormous damage that
Mao’s system had done to China’s economy and society, the Communist
Party, the army and the government, and the very legitimacy of the regime in
the eyes of the Chinese people. Deng seemed to recognize that Western capi-
talism had accomplished a great deal and that China, by contrast, had fallen
behind.
Deng was a flexible pragmatist, a problem solver. He saw modernization
as China’s paramount requirement and the Communist Party as the only
effective instrument for achieving that goal. Reform of the party, for Deng,
meant not transforming it into a social democratic party to compete with
other political parties in a pluralistic democracy but honing and sharpening
it to be an effective instrument of control and economic modernization. That
required, primarily, casting aside the ideological encrustations of doctrinaire
Maoism, restructuring the party and government apparatus to meet more
getting to tiananmen 19

modern requirements, putting the right people in the right positions, and
avoiding a “one-man rule,” “lifetime tenure,” and overconcentration of pow-
ers within the party.16
It is essential to note, however, that although he was generally referred to
in the West as “China’s paramount leader,” Deng was far more constrained
in his exercise of power, both by his choice and by the choice of others.
China’s leadership after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the purge of
his principal followers, the so-called Gang of Four, was an uneasy amalgam
of elderly party veterans, Cultural Revolution beneficiaries, and PLA veter-
ans. The Politburo and its Standing Committee were chosen at the Eleventh
Central Committee in August 1977, before Deng’s restoration. Many of its
members had acquiesced in Deng’s ouster by Mao and his radical followers
and were uneasy about the prospect of his return to power. Party Chairman
Hua Guofeng was particularly uncomfortable and sought to block Deng’s
restoration. Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, and the elderly Marshal Ye Jianying
supported Deng’s return, during which process Deng pledged not to take
revenge on those who had supported his purge in 1975.17
So Deng returned to power in late 1977 subordinate to Hua, beholden to
party elders, and constrained from undertaking the sweeping purge of person-
nel he might have preferred. To strengthen his position, he oversaw the reha-
bilitation of numerous other party elders who had been purged during the
Cultural Revolution—men such as former Beijing mayor Peng Zhen—and added
them and other new leaders to the Politburo, rather than seeing former antago-
nists removed. Eventually, Deng was able to make the personnel changes he
needed. He neutralized Hua Guofeng, forced several Cultural Revolution hold-
overs to resign from the Politburo, appointed Hu Yaobang as party general
secretary and Zhao Ziyang as premier of the State Council, and brought in
many younger members to the Central Committee. Deng eschewed promotion
to higher positions, holding on only to the post of chairman of the Central
Military Commission (CMC) of the party.18 But he needed the support of other
party elders—several probably considered themselves his political equal—to
reconstruct the party apparatus and improve its performance. And he needed
Hu, Zhao, and other younger leaders to provide the intellectual energy to bring
about successful economic modernization. It became clear early on that the
differences between party elders and younger reformers were becoming sharper
and more numerous. Serious disagreements arose over ideology, evaluating
Mao’s contributions, expanding or limiting economic growth, setting up spe-
cial economic zones where foreign investment would be permitted and favored,
and especially over personnel changes. Thus Deng became the power broker,
the one to whom different factional groupings within the leadership had to
turn to have their positions considered.
20 getting to tiananmen

Deng’s lack of a clear vision for China’s economic and political future
became more problematic as he vacillated between the conservative economic
theories of Chen Yun and his associates in the state economic planning bu-
reaucracy and the liberalizing intellectual predilections of Hu Yaobang and
his supporters in the party organization department and among the intelli-
gentsia.19 By the mid-1980s, it had become evident that elderly conservatives
in the party were determined to undermine Hu’s authority. For his part, Hu
was eager to enforce the party’s regulations on mandatory retirement for
elderly cadres. He was also pushing hard for political reform of the party
structure and the relationship between party and government to better sup-
port the economic reform policies that had begun to show results but were
often hampered by ideologically inflexible middle-level officials and corrup-
tion. Deng, trying to balance between increasingly polarized elements within
the leadership, supported the party elders in their demands that discussion of
reform be limited to internal party administration rather than encompassing
calls for a multiparty system. Deng’s shift may have reflected his conserva-
tive impulses on party primacy, or he may have been concerned that his role
as a balancer would have been diminished had conservatives been completely
defeated on the issue. He may also have been annoyed by Hu’s most costly
mistake, which was taking his role as designated successor seriously and urg-
ing Deng to retire, as Deng had so often promised or threatened to do.20
Chosen successors have not led charmed lives in Chinese Comunist Party
history. Mao Zedong overthrew two—Liu Shaoqi and Lin Biao—and Deng
ousted a third, Hua Guofeng, after Mao’s death. Increasingly frustrated at
having to refer all party reform proposals through a recalcitrant Deng, Hu
ignored the warning signs and pressed ahead, even though he did not enjoy
Deng’s full support.
At the Sixth Plenum in September 1986, the battle was joined over a
resolution on party work, which included language supporting political
and economic reform but also a renewal of the campaign to oppose “bour-
geois liberalization.” Hu and his allies were pitted directly against party
elders, and Deng sided with the elders, saying, “Exponents of liberalization
want to lead us down the road to capitalism . . . the struggle against liber-
alization will have to be carried out not only now but for the next ten to
twenty years.”21 Hu withheld the text of Deng’s speech from circulation, in
effect, slowing the emergence of the debate.22 But it grew sharper quickly
and led eventually to large-scale student demonstrations in Anhui Prov-
ince, Shanghai, and finally in December, Beijing. In a prelude to Tiananmen
in 1989, the students called for less party control of student organizations,
more freedom of the press, human rights, and democracy. “The students’
calls for freedom of speech and democratic reforms were meant to hasten
getting to tiananmen 21

along the political reforms supported by Hu Yaobang” and opposed by the

party elders.23
Deng demanded that Hu crack down on the demonstrators and expel key
liberal intellectuals from the party. Hu refused and held up both press criti-
cism of the demonstrations and police efforts to end them. On December 30,
Deng called Hu, Zhao Ziyang, Li Peng, and others to his home and criticized
them directly for failing to take a “clear-cut stand” against the disturbances.
He belittled concerns that a crackdown might have a negative effect on inter-
national opinion, citing foreign acquiescence in the arrest of Wei Jingsheng,
and said bloodshed might be necessary to avoid “chaos.”24
On January 2, 1987, after refusing to use police to break up another stu-
dent demonstration, Hu informed Deng of his intention to resign as party
general secretary. Fearing a trap, Deng moved swiftly on his own.
January 4, 1987, was a Sunday. Deng Xiaoping summoned Zhao
Ziyang, Peng Zhen, Wang Zhen, Bo Yibo, and Yang Shangkun to his
home to make the arrangements to dismiss Hu Yaobang before he could
resign. The upshot was that Zhao Ziyang was named to replace him.
Supposedly this was a decision of members of the Politburo Standing
Committee residing in Beijing. In reality, Deng Xiaoping and Zhao
Ziyang were the only members of the Standing Committee present.
Three of the five members were absent: Hu Yaobang was not even
invited, Li Xiannian was in Shanghai, and Chen Yun didn’t show. It
was a palace coup d’état.25
At an “enlarged” meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee on Janu-
ary 16—at which party elders not otherwise permitted even to attend Polit-
buro meetings were granted voting privileges—Hu’s resignation as general
secretary was demanded and given. Chinese television reported that Hu re-
signed after making “a self-criticism of his mistakes on major issues of politi-
cal principles in violation of the party’s principle of collective leadership.”26
Hu was permitted (as Hua Guofeng before him) to remain on the Politburo,
but he was effectively stripped of all power and was replaced as general
secretary by Zhao Ziyang. Although Zhao was considered a reformer like
Hu, his appointment was a typical Deng compromise, one that preserved
Deng’s role as balancer. Zhao had to share his authority as premier (although
he held the title until October 1987) with the far more conservative Li Peng,
with whom he had already clashed on economic policy. Hu was obligated to
undertake an extensive and humiliating process of self-criticism, with occa-
sional larger leadership sessions where party elders berated him.27 Student
demonstrators, sensing quickly that the tide had turned against them, re-
turned to their campuses.
22 getting to tiananmen

As general secretary, Zhao continued to focus his efforts on economic

modernization and reform and had comparatively little interest in the ideo-
logical issues that had preoccupied Hu. He nonetheless encountered the same
problems that had dogged earlier efforts to promote significant change in
China’s economic structure—entrenched bureaucrats, ideological resistance,
corruption, and the now enhanced authority of conservative party elders.
With Deng’s cooperation, Zhao undertook further reforms of Central Com-
mittee operations and personnel at the Thirteenth Central Committee Ple-
num in October 1987: ninety-six elderly full members of the Central
Committee were dropped, Deng and several other elders retired from the
Politburo and its Standing Committee, and a new voting method for Central
Committee membership (more nominees than positions) resulted in the fail-
ure of several conservative ideologues active in the ouster of Hu Yaobang to
be elected to the Central Committee.28 The changes were not entirely effec-
tive, however, as many of the elders still retained influence on Deng and the
Politburo through the Central Advisory Commission. Deng retained his prin-
cipal power position as chairman of the Military Commission and continued
to dominate the system through informal channels.
Zhao had wanted his ally, Tian Jiyun, to succeed him as premier but was
unable to persuade Deng, who wanted Wan Li to get the post. The elders
backed Li Peng, and Deng eventually appointed him as a compromise candi-
date.29 Li shared the elders’ distaste for radical reform or dismantling the
state-controlled economy in favor of a free market system, which Zhao fa-
vored. The issue came to a head over proposals for how to reform China’s
state-controlled price structure. Some favored a rapid decontrol of prices for
food, commodities, fuel, and other products—a “shock treatment” that would
cause initial pain and dislocation but more rapid progress in other areas there-
after. Others preferred a more gradual approach, with the state gradually
lifting price controls sector by sector. Another group favored an even more
radical solution involving a reduction in public ownership and the growth of
private property. Finally, conservative state planners favored an overall pro-
gram of economic retrenchment, taking money out of the economy and cool-
ing inflationary pressure.
In the spring of 1988, Deng suddenly pronounced himself in favor of rapid
price reform, even if mistakes were made in implementing it. Zhao, although
lukewarm to the idea, put together a plan of implementation and presented it
to party leaders in August. The plan envisioned elimination of price controls
within four to five years and currency devaluation to encourage exports.
Details of the plan were leaked, however, and set off panic buying of food-
stuffs and other commodities in some urban areas, as well as runs on several
banks. Prices skyrocketed, bringing down on Zhao the renewed wrath of
getting to tiananmen 23

conservative elders, who called for his dismissal.30 Deng retreated ahead of
Zhao, letting him take the blame for the problems, and transferred more
authority for economic decisionmaking to Li Peng and Yao Yilin.

The View from Afar—George H. W. Bush and China

By early 1989, China was rife with discontent, in the leadership, among promi-
nent intellectuals, and in the society at large. Relatively little of the discon-
tent was evident outside of China, however. The leadership kept differences
and divisions well hidden, intellectuals were considered perennially fractious
and unhappy, and the economic dislocations of the summer seemed to be
easing. Some American scholars were aware of the increasingly tense atmo-
sphere in China, as were several officials at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. But
none of them conveyed a sense that a crisis was near.
The newly elected U.S. president, George H. W. Bush, was anxious to
broaden America’s strategic relationship with China, and he expressed some
concern about indications of a thaw in Sino-Soviet relations. His foreign
policy advisers seemed unworried about internal Chinese political problems
or potential social unrest when they began making arrangements for a visit
to China shortly after Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989.31
Bush and his Republican running mate, Indiana senator Dan Quayle, had
been elected in November 1988, defeating the Democratic Party ticket of
Michael Dukakis (former governor of Massachusetts) and Texas senator Lloyd
S. Bentsen by more than 7 million popular votes and carrying forty of fifty
states to win the electoral college by 426-111. The campaign had been a
bitter one, with “attack ads” on television often distorting the main issues of
the campaign, which included taxes, a rising federal deficit, health care, edu-
cation, and Bush’s role as vice president during some of the scandals of the
Reagan administration. Foreign policy, as usual, was not a major issue in the
campaign, although Bush was credited with more experience in that area,
given his record as former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, and head of the U.S. Liaison Office in
China. Bush was an indifferent campaigner and brought little support to
other Republican candidates. He was thus faced in 1989 with a Congress
overwhelmingly dominated by Democrats (55-45 in the Senate, 259-174 in
the House of Representatives).
Bush was determined to be a “hands-on” president on foreign policy is-
sues, and he assembled a solid team of experienced and capable people to
lead the major foreign policy agencies.32 James A. Baker III, a savvy Texas
lawyer and longtime friend who had managed Bush’s election campaign,
was named secretary of state and was confirmed easily. Bush’s first choice
24 getting to tiananmen

for secretary of defense, Texas senator John Tower, was defeated in an ex-
traordinarily ugly partisan confirmation hearing that delved into his per-
sonal life. He was replaced by Congressman Richard B. Cheney, who won
easy confirmation. William Webster, former director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, was chosen to head the CIA, which had been tarnished by
scandal during the Reagan administration. For his national security adviser,
Bush chose General Brent Scowcroft, a calm, seasoned national security man-
ager who had filled the same position under President Gerald Ford.
Bush had served in 1974–75 as head of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing—
the unofficial representative office for the United States—while the two gov-
ernments worked out the complex details of formal diplomatic recognition,
particularly U.S. relations with Taiwan. Bush’s experience gave him not only
a deeper understanding of Chinese affairs than any previous president but
also a large number of Chinese friends and an undeniable affection for the
Chinese people. Bush supplemented that with a keen appreciation of the stra-
tegic importance of China in the ongoing cold war between the United States
and the Soviet Union (USSR). At the beginning of his presidency, he was
eager to re-establish contact with Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders
in order to bolster bilateral relations and steal a march on Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev, who had announced a May visit to Beijing to normalize long-
strained relations.
The death of Japan’s emperor Hirohito on January 7 and his scheduled
state funeral on February 24 provided the administration with the justifica-
tion it needed to travel on to China to seek reassurances from the Chinese
about the Sino-Soviet-U.S. strategic relationship. In a hurried advance for
the trip, Douglas Paal—then-director of Asian affairs at the National Secu-
rity Council—heard privately from one embassy officer that Beijing was “ready
to blow up,” but other reporting, including political analysis from the em-
bassy, was not so alarmist.33 Paal and others had worked hard on short no-
tice to put together a high-visibility “working” visit to Beijing and found the
Chinese leadership eager to accord Bush the highest respect. After all, the
visit of a newly elected president and “friend of China” so early in his admin-
istration augured well for continuing improvements in an already warm bi-
lateral relationship.
The intersection of domestic and foreign policies, however, caused what
was expected to be a warm and positive visit to turn sour. The precipitating
event was the president’s “return” banquet, scheduled for the last day of his
visit, February 28, as a way of reciprocating the Chinese leadership’s hospi-
tality. The gala event at the Sheraton Great Wall Hotel was to be a Texas-
style barbecue, with a guest list of 500 people, including not just Communist
Party leaders but people from “all walks of life.” Ever since President Ronald
getting to tiananmen 25

Reagan’s bold meeting with Russian dissidents during a visit to Moscow in

1988, an unspoken expectation had arisen in the United States that more
attention would be paid to human rights and promotion of democracy in
dealings with China and the USSR. Responding to this hope, Ambassador
Winston Lord—a strong believer in human rights and democracy issues—
approved the addition of Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi’s name to the guest list
that he forwarded to the State Department a week or two before the president’s
arrival. Knowing Fang’s history and reputation, he highlighted his name in a
cable to the department, which vetted the list with the National Security
Council and Defense Department.34
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific J. Stapleton
Roy approved the list and the approach taken, which he expected would not
be seen as unduly provocative: “There was a common understanding, based
on the experience from the Reagan Administration, that there had to be some
recognition during the Bush visit, of the existence of people like Fang Lizhi in
China. The problem was to find a way to do it. The Soviet method of having
Fang Lizhi to the [Ambassador’s] residence was considered undoable, be-
cause the Chinese would have blocked it. And that’s why the invitation to the
banquet was decided on, because it was considered to be the necessary sym-
bolic gesture, but one which should have been viewable in context by the
Chinese government, since it was only one of many hundreds of invitations
being issued.”35
The embassy received no formal reply from the White House to the pro-
posed list. Lord inquired a second time, but only when the advance team
came out, less than a week before the president’s scheduled arrival, did the
guest list get cleared, including Fang Lizhi. That was just in time for the
invitations to be sent out.
But Fang was not just another dissident—he was practically a declared
enemy of Deng Xiaoping. A mild-mannered, respected astrophysicist and
cosmologist who had been punished during the anti-rightist campaign of the
1950s and during the Cultural Revolution, Fang came to Deng’s attention in
the mid-1980s, when he began to publish articles critical of Marxism-Leninism
as a “scientific” theory. Despite his ideological heterodoxy, Fang became
influential among younger intellectuals around Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang.
As his bold promotion of democracy and rejection of socialism became more
pronounced, Fang became a hero to university students, and his lectures were
widely circulated. Fang also traveled to the United States in 1986 and re-
turned with even more enthusiasm for democracy and the freedom it pro-
vided for scientific inquiry. The first student demonstrations in 1986 began
at the university where Fang taught, the University of Science and Technol-
ogy in Hefei, Anhui.36 In December, Deng attacked Fang directly: “I have
26 getting to tiananmen

read Fang Lizhi’s speeches. He does not sound like a Communist Party mem-
ber at all. Why do we keep people like him in the Party? He should be ex-
pelled, not just persuaded to quit.”37
Despite his expulsion from the party (which he welcomed), Fang remained
influential. He traveled internationally until late 1988, when the government
suspended his overseas travel privileges after a trip to Australia, where he
criticized unnamed children of “senior party officials” for corruption. Deng
evidently took this accusation personally, and a libel suit was threatened but
never pressed. Fang also remained active among university students. After
being removed from his university post, Fang worked at the Beijing Observa-
tory. On January 6, 1989, Fang issued an open letter to Deng, calling on him
to free Wei Jingsheng and other “political prisoners” and subsequently sought
support from other intellectuals for similar petitions. All these activities meant
that Fang remained a high-profile figure for the party leadership and a very
troubling one.
As soon as Washington’s approved guest list was passed on to the Minis-
try of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, the Chinese immediately expressed concern
about Fang, first quietly and informally, then more forcefully in planning
meetings for the visit. Two days before Bush’s February 26 arrival, Lord was
called into Vice Foreign Minister Zhu Qizhen’s office and told that the lead-
ership would not attend the return banquet if Fang remained on the guest
list. Lord tried to explain that Fang was being invited as a prominent scien-
tist, not as a dissident, that he would be seated far from the head table—
nowhere near the leadership—and would not have a private meeting with
Bush. But the Chinese were adamant and repeated the warning the day be-
fore the president’s arrival. Lord reported these events by “Flash” priority
cables to the president’s party, warning them of a potential leadership boy-
cott if Fang did attend and a public relations nightmare if he were disinvited.38
When they arrived on Saturday morning, Scowcroft and other senior offi-
cials went immediately into consultation with the Chinese. As Scowcroft re-
called:

The first night we were in Beijing . . . I stayed up most of the night

discussing Fang Lizhi. And the position that I took was, “Look, it may
have been a mistake to invite him, and if I had understood the situation
before, he wouldn’t have been invited. But he has been now, and you
will make the situation worse, both for you and for us, if he were to be
uninvited, because everybody knows he’s been invited now.” And the
Chinese position was, “We want to honor President Bush and all of the
leadership promised to come to the party, and we cannot come if Fang
Lizhi is at the party.”39
getting to tiananmen 27

No resolution was reached, however, and the Americans thought the Chi-
nese might decide to let the situation ride, trusting in their assurances that
Fang would be far from the leadership tables.
The Chinese finally resolved the issue in a peculiarly clumsy way. In a
scene with no small degree of comic bravado, security authorities set out to
physically prevent Fang from attending the banquet by arresting his driver,
impounding his car, stopping a taxi that had picked him up, preventing pub-
lic buses from stopping for him, telling him his invitation was invalid, then
giving him erroneous directions when he set out walking to the U.S. embassy
to check on it.40 Fang never made it to the Sheraton for the banquet, but he
was not prevented from giving a press conference later, where he related the
events of the evening, to the embarrassment of both the Chinese and Ameri-
can governments. Bush protested the Chinese action at a farewell meeting
with Vice Premier Wu Xueqian the following day, prompting a waspish re-
ply from the Foreign Ministry spokesman, who accused the Americans of
inviting Fang “without consulting the Chinese side,” which it “resented.”41
The Fang incident not only cast a cloud over the otherwise successful Bush
visit to China, but it also created frictions within the administration. After
the presidential party returned to Washington, National Security Adviser
Scowcroft, in an off-the-record press backgrounder, characterized the Fang
invitation as a mistake by the embassy and said Chinese sensitivities about
the invitation were “not conveyed to top Bush advisors.”42 Although no names
were mentioned, Lord saw himself as the target of Scowcroft’s criticism and
was outraged at the implicit accusations that the embassy had “screwed up
the President’s trip.” “So I went over a cable to Scowcroft, but I waited, kept
re-drafting it . . . to tone it down and make it professional . . . I sent it
purposely through [private] channels to the Situation Room [at the White
House] to Scowcroft and only for Scowcroft. We also sent a copy to Vienna,
where Baker was.” The cable criticized the backgrounder, saying that it made
the White House look weak to the Chinese and others in Asia, would alien-
ate congressional support, would discourage reformers, and undercut not
only his own position but also that of his successor. The White House never
replied or even acknowledged receipt of Lord’s message, which only height-
ened his anger.43
Brent Scowcroft, looking back on the trip later, was impressed by the
cohesiveness of the leadership grouping that met with Bush. “It was a very
collegial atmosphere,” he recalled. “And at the dinner the President gave, all
the leadership turned out. Factionalism was not apparent at that time.”44
Hints more obvious in hindsight were dropped, of course. The Fang Lizhi
imbroglio revealed serious political strain. Yang Shangkun warned that the
U.S. Congress was pushing too hard on human rights issues, and Zhao Ziyang
28 getting to tiananmen

appeared to be pleading for U.S. support for government reformers rather

than noisy dissidents in his talks with the president.45 But Deng told Bush
what he wanted to hear—that the impending improvement in Sino-Soviet
relations was more form than substance, that the USSR was still China’s
most serious threat, while the United States was a potential “partner” for
China. And he referred to Bush repeatedly as a lao pengyou, “old friend.”46
The Americans left satisfied with a visit that reinforced the strategic relation-
ship, not realizing that it had less than two months remaining.

Hu’s Last Hurrah

Hu Yaobang, like many a tragic hero from Chinese fiction and opera, found
revenge in death for his 1987 mistreatment. He had been planning a come-
back, some said, and was buoyed by continuing public support and propos-
als that his case be reviewed by the National People’s Congress or the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Congress (the powerless body formed in 1949
to promote cooperation between the ruling Communist Party and the pre-
liberation “democratic parties”). Hu was preparing a speech on education
that would inaugurate his return to action in the Politburo. But before he
could deliver it at a Politburo session on April 8, 1989, he collapsed with a
massive heart attack. Hu died in the Beijing hospital dedicated to providing
health care for senior party and military cadres on April 15, at the age of
seventy-three.47 His death would rock China to its foundations.
Reaction was immediate but small scale. The same afternoon that Hu’s
death was announced, students at Beijing University (Beijing Daxue, often
abbreviated Beida, even in English) hung up more than a hundred big-
character posters commemorating Hu and lamenting his fall from power in
1987. Some of the posters had a hard edge to them, saying “Those who should
have died still live,” in a clear reference to party elders. Others expressed regret
that they had not protested more strenuously when Hu was ousted. Some called
for a committee to organize a formal mourning period.48 A small number of
workers from the Ministry of Textiles placed a wreath at the base of the Monu-
ment to the Martyrs of the People (Martyrs’ Monument) in front of the Great
Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.49 Party authorities, who had pub-
lished a surprisingly generous appraisal of Hu in the official obituary, did not
respond. The date of Hu’s official funeral was set for April 22.
To understand the speed with which events then transpired, it is necessary
to recognize that, when Hu died, students and intellectuals had already been
making plans for public demonstrations on another occasion, the celebration
getting to tiananmen 29

of the seventieth anniversary of China’s May Fourth Movement.50 Discon-

tented students and intellectuals had been preparing for several weeks to use
the commemoration of May Fourth to protest against corruption and the
lack of democracy within the Communist Party. Among the leaders of those
planning commemorations was Wang Dan, a twenty-two-year-old history
student who had organized an informal “Democracy Salon” at Beida. Also
prominent was Fang Lizhi, who did not regard Hu as all that important but
later noted, “In China, a leader’s death provides an excuse for people to
assemble . . . [And] it’s only when people can assemble that something can
be achieved.”51 Fang was not active in the demonstrations that followed,
but his views were well known to the students. Although much of the grief
and respect shown for Hu was genuine, there was also an element of op-
portunism—taking advantage of the party’s tolerance for displays of re-
spect and grief for senior leaders to convey a less welcome political message.
After a day in which white flowers and other symbols of mourning for Hu
brought by ordinary citizens piled up at the Martyrs’ Monument, students
began their first organized efforts to assemble for protest on April 16, when
they marched from Beida and People’s University to Tiananmen to emplace a
large memorial wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument. The following day, they
marched again, twice, and in larger numbers and stayed longer in the square,
leaving behind a large banner calling Hu the “soul of China.” They also
began making public demands on the regime, calling for a reappraisal of
Hu’s ouster and various political reforms, such as freedom of the press.52
American print journalists stationed in Beijing reported the story immedi-
ately and noted strong antiregime sentiments among some of the students,
but their editors consigned the stories to inner pages.
Late in the evening of April 18, the students got everyone’s attention by
demonstrating in front of Zhongnanhai, the restricted-access compound that
houses most of China’s senior leaders and the offices of many of the party’s
most important bureaucracies. After attempting to present a petition at the
Great Hall of the People, which was received after dark by three nameless
representatives of the National People’s Congress, about 3,000 demonstra-
tors moved across Chang’an Boulevard and west to Xinhuamen (Gate of
New China), the ceremonial front gate of Zhongnanhai, where they resumed
megaphone speeches and chanting slogans, such as “Long live freedom! Long
live democracy!” Some pushing and shoving occurred when students at-
tempted to get inside the gate—lightly guarded by PLA soldiers of the Cen-
tral Guards Unit—to present their petition. The crowds did not disperse until
4:30 the next morning, when Public Security Bureau personnel moved them
away from the gate and warned them that activities of the past two days in
30 getting to tiananmen

commemoration for Hu Yaobang would no longer be permitted. No arrests

were made, however. The story, described as a “brazen challenge to the
Government,” broke onto the front pages of major American newspapers,
but only the Cable News Network (CNN) covered the story on the evening
news in the United States.53
On April 19, the confrontation between protesters and the government
escalated into violence, as club-swinging police broke up another demonstra-
tion in front of Zhongnanhai late in the evening. Earlier in the day, as many
as 30,000 people gathered at the Martyrs’ Monument to hear increasingly
strident calls for a restoration of Hu Yaobang’s reputation, freedom of the
press, and “public disclosure of the income and assets of China’s leaders and
[their] children.”54 A smaller crowd again moved to Xinhuamen late in the
evening and began calling for Premier Li Peng—already a symbol of every-
thing wrong with the leadership—to come out for a “dialogue.” Others called
for his resignation, ridiculing him as a modern-day “Ci Xi,” China’s infa-
mous empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty. Still others chanted, for the
first time, “Down with the Communist Party.”55 Wu’er Kaixi (Uerkesh
Daolet), a Uighur student activist from Xinjiang studying at Beijing Normal
College (Beijing Shifan Daxue, known as Beishida), persuaded many demon-
strators to conduct a sit-in, then lectured them on the need for courage as
well as organization.56 The authorities cracked down after midnight, dispers-
ing the students with nightsticks and leather belts, injuring several of them.
They also used loudspeakers to attack student leaders for “insulting Party
and government leaders” and “shouting reactionary slogans.”57
Angered and more determined than ever, students spent the following day
indoors (although some 10,000 did brave a driving rain to gather in
Tiananmen), organizing themselves for April 22, the day of Hu’s official
funeral ceremony. Less noted by press commentary, several Beijing workers
also announced the formal organization of the Beijing Autonomous Workers
Federation. Independent labor unions were, of course, feared and prohibited in
China, as in other communist countries. The All-China Federation of Trade
Unions was the officially designated representative organ of the workers, even
though it hardly ever met and had little means of communicating with real
workers. The new federation issued its first statement in support of the stu-
dents.58 On April 21, Wu’er Kaixi announced the formation of the Beijing
Autonomous Students Federation at a mass rally of 60,000 students at Beishida.59
Party and government leaders were meeting to consider how to deal with
the situation—the demonstrations outside of Zhongnanhai clearly had alarmed
them. The Tiananmen Papers records numerous phone calls and bits of con-
versation (collected after the demonstrations had been put down) that re-
getting to tiananmen 31

flected the growing concern of the entire leadership. Li Peng pressed Zhao
for a Politburo meeting but was fended off. On his own initiative, Li formed
a sub-Politburo group to monitor the situation. Deng Xiaoping ordered 9,000
soldiers of the Thirty-Eighth Army to be brought into the city to reinforce the
police.60 All were concerned about demonstrations disrupting the memorial
service for Hu Yaobang, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on April 22.
On April 21, Beijing municipal authorities declared Tiananmen Square
closed to pedestrian and motor traffic as of two hours before Hu’s funeral.
Demonstrations were strictly prohibited. A commentary in the party’s offi-
cial newspaper, People’s Daily (Renmin Ribao), warned “a small number of
people doing these unlawful activities” not to mistake the regime’s forbear-
ance for weakness.61 But students literally stole a march on the government,
arriving at Tiananmen just after midnight the night before. “When troops
finally appeared early that morning, there were already over 100,000 stu-
dents in the Square, and there was nothing commanders could do other than
cordon off the entrance to the Great Hall.”62 The contrast between the crowds
inside and outside the Great Hall of the People could not have been starker.
Inside, the party elite, gray-suited, elderly, tired, and sick (many of the party
elders needed attendants to help them stand and walk), were paying false
homage to one they had rejected and purged. Zhao Ziyang read the brief
eulogy stiffly, with no mention of Hu’s ouster or a re-evaluation of his record.
Outside in the square, a massive youthful crowd of students and workers
were shouting slogans and singing China’s national anthem and the “Inter-
nationale,” communism’s official anthem. Later in the afternoon, three stu-
dents went to the top of the steps of the Great Hall and knelt in an attitude of
supplication, holding above their heads a petition with their demands for
dialogue with the government. It reminded witnesses of petitions being pre-
sented to China’s emperors. But no one came out to receive it. The gap be-
tween the two sides deepened, as each felt insulted by the other.
The days following brought something of a lull in activity. Zhao Ziyang
left for a scheduled visit to North Korea on April 23, having first secured the
approval of Deng, Li Peng, and others to his three-point plan for dealing
with the students: prevent further demonstrations and get students back to
class; punish lawbreakers; and use methods of persuasion rather than repres-
sion. He placed Li Peng in charge while he was away, enjoining him to keep
Deng informed of the situation.63 For their part, the students focused on
organization—more poster and petition writing, meetings of student organi-
zations on each of Beijing’s thirteen university campuses, and caucuses among
student representatives. Relatively little is known about the details of these
activities, apart from some post facto articles of questionable accuracy pub-
32 getting to tiananmen

lished by the regime after everything was over.64 On April 24, all university
student organizations declared a boycott of classes.
What did the students want? What were their goals? These questions caused
considerable controversy, even among the students. The PRC government
has always maintained that, though the majority of the students had good
intentions, the leadership of a “small handful” was directly planning to over-
throw the Communist Party to establish a Western-style political system.
There is little reliable information to support such a claim and little reason to
take it as other than a post facto justification for the regime’s actions. Other
commentators have taken a position defending the students, insisting they
came out of the mainstream of Chinese democratic development and did not
seek the overthrow of existing authorities.65 Most reports in American media
at the time, print and electronic, generally referred to the students as a “de-
mocracy movement.” That established an almost immediate rapport with an
American audience and unfortunately conveyed an inaccurate understand-
ing of what they represented.66 “I believe we tried to put a ‘made in the
U.S.A.’ democracy stamp on it,” said one TV reporter in a Barone Center
report.67 At times, the students contributed to this misunderstanding by wav-
ing banners or wearing T-shirts with well-known English phrases from the
Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address. This was good foot-
age but not necessarily representative of most students’ views.
In general, it seems that the students, in the early stages, wanted freedom
of speech (broadly defined), democracy (dimly understood), and honest, ac-
countable government (an improvement over the current regime). But they
appeared more united in their view of what they did not like than what they
did. They did not like the treatment accorded Hu Yaobang in 1987 and
wanted his reputation restored. They did not like their system of education
or their job prospects and wanted better treatment for intellectuals and more
money for education. They did not like the obvious corruption of party offi-
cials at all levels and the flaunting of illicit wealth and influence by the chil-
dren of high-level officials and wanted those guilty held accountable. They
did not like oppressive party controls over their rights to organize them-
selves, speak in public, and publish their opinions, and they wanted the kinds
of freedoms enjoyed by Western democracies, promised but not delivered by
their own system.
In looking back on the students’ and other protesters’ goals, organization,
and decisions, there was a chaotic element that must be borne in mind. A
broad range of ideas, prejudices, aspirations, and fears was evident in China’s
universities, with little disciplined organization to centralize or focus the en-
ergies that operated. Leadership was in many cases ad hoc and changed fre-
quently. Similarly, ideas presented in petitions and manifestos varied widely.
getting to tiananmen 33

Slogans, tactics, and spontaneous responses to the crowds, security appara-

tus, and foreign media gave student activities an aura of excitement and
genuineness but also lent themselves to a variety of interpretations. Ameri-
can reporters, many of whom spoke no Chinese, saw the student movement
through its English-speaking participants and interpreted its goals as the es-
tablishment of an American-style democratic system. At least in the print
media, journalists carefully listed the demands presented by student organi-
zations at different times, but the headlines still hailed the students as a “pro-
democracy movement.” So did the TV reporters who became more evident
as the story grew.
Observers behind the closed doors of the Great Hall of the People and in
Zhongnanhai interpreted the different voices of the student movement ac-
cording to their own ideological background, fears, and prejudices. They
focused on the sarcasm directed at Li Peng, the symbolic acts of protest (such
as the smashing of “little bottles,” or xiao ping, a homophone for Deng’s
name), and some of the slogans calling for an end to Communist Party rule.
The initial reaction of the leadership was harsh, though not necessarily force-
ful. Beijing municipal leaders, particularly Mayor Chen Xitong and Party
Secretary Li Ximing, pressed for a crackdown early, however, possibly fear-
ing being held accountable for deteriorating public order in the capital and
the possibility that the movement would spread. They insisted that the stu-
dent movement was a “planned, organized turmoil” and made their views
and interpretations of student activity known to the leadership.68 In response,
Li Peng called a Politburo meeting on the evening of April 24, a meeting
Zhao Ziyang could not attend, as he had already left for Pyongyang. Li Ximing
and Chen Xitong reported on the situation in Beijing, while the vice minister
of the State Education Commission, He Dongchang, commented on the rapid
growth of student demonstrations in twenty other Chinese cities. The meet-
ing decided to form a leadership “small group to halt the turmoil,” which
was headed by Li Peng.69

Deng’s Miscalculation
In light of his reaction to Democracy Wall in 1979 and student protests in
1986, there could have been little doubt how Deng would react to this latest
challenge, especially if it was described to him in terms that highlighted the
threats presented by students to the party’s domination and to himself. Infor-
mation that became available in May—leaked to Hong Kong newspapers
but considered accurate—makes clear that Deng was outraged by the stu-
dent activities, but he spread the blame around, particularly to Hu Yaobang.
Deng was briefed on the morning of April 25 by Li Peng, Yang Shangkun,
34 getting to tiananmen

and other members of the Politburo Standing Committee about the situation
in Beijing, as well as violent incidents in Xi’an and Changsha. Li Peng made
a point of telling Deng he was the focus of student wrath. “The spear is now
pointed directly at you,” he said. The briefers stressed the importance of
“exposing” those “few people with ulterior motives” who were fomenting
the turmoil.70 Deng minced no words in reply:
This is not an ordinary student demonstration, but turmoil (dongluan).
So we must have a clear-cut stand and implement effective measures to
quickly oppose and stop this unrest. We cannot let them have their
way. Those people who have been influenced by the liberal elements of
Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary and the Soviet Union have arisen to cre-
ate turmoil. Their motive is to overthrow the leadership of the Com-
munist Party and to forfeit the future of the country . . . A dialogue can
be held, but we cannot tolerate incorrect behavior. We must do our
best to avoid bloodshed, but we should foresee that it might not be
possible to completely avoid bloodshed. . . . The turmoil this time is
definitely national in scope, and we must not underestimate it. We must
issue a forceful editorial and make use of the law. . . . We must prepare
ourselves to enter into a nation-wide struggle, and resolutely crush the
turmoil. . . . Now the character of the student movement has changed.
We need to quickly use a sharp knife to cut the tangled weeds in order
to avoid even greater turmoil.71
Deng’s harsh evaluation was reflected and expanded in an editorial pre-
pared for publication in the People’s Daily on April 26. It was read on the
television news the night before. In language reminiscent of the Cultural Revo-
lution, the editorial attacked the “extremely small number of people with
ulterior motives” who led the students astray, who “spread all kinds of ru-
mors to poison and confuse people’s minds. . ., [who] vilified, hurled invec-
tives at, and attacked party and state leaders.” It accused them of trying to
“seize power” in the universities, instigating student strikes and preventing
students from going to class, and distributing “reactionary” handbills. “Their
purpose was to sow dissension among the people, plunge the whole country
into chaos and sabotage the political situation of stability and unity. This is a
planned conspiracy and a disturbance. Its essence is to, once and for all,
negate the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist
system.” The editorial called for the entire party and government to “op-
pose the disturbance,” prevent “illegal organizations” from being formed,
and investigate rumormongers. It called for a prohibition on demonstra-
tions, liaison activities by protestors, and interruption of classes. Claiming
the students’ demands for an end to corruption and promotion of democ-
getting to tiananmen 35

racy were the party’s demands as well, it called on all to take action to stop
the disturbances.72 Zhao Ziyang had been notified and concurred with the
Standing Committee’s decision to publish an editorial and with the draft of
the editorial.
The reaction of the students began with shock and fear. They gathered in
dormitories and courtyards that same evening to discuss the editorial. They
congregated in front of the makeshift offices of their new and independent
Beijing Autonomous Students Federation, waiting to hear how their leaders
would react. And as they listened to their representatives, student emotions
turned to indignation and defiance. All day on April 26, student representa-
tives met to plan a response. At the end of their meeting, they announced at
a press conference that there would be a major protest demonstration over
the editorial on April 27, beginning at 8:00 a.m. The government used all
available means to discourage the effort. Beijing municipality publicly reis-
sued regulations banning demonstrations. Faculty members pleaded with stu-
dent leaders not to push harder. Party-organized student organizations and
Youth League officials claimed the demonstration was canceled, and
progovernment students warned of extensive police and military prepara-
tions to quell any demonstration.73 Fearful students prepared for violence,
tear gas, and possible death. Some wrote emotional farewells to their fellow
students, others wrote wills and put them up as wall posters on campuses.
Early on the morning of April 27, thousands of students gathered at the
entrance gates of Qinghua University, Beijing University, Beijing Normal
University, and other colleges and prepared for an hours-long effort to reach
Tiananmen. Arrayed before them were police lines several rows deep, deter-
mined to prevent them from leaving the campuses. Standing alongside were
thousands of ordinary citizens, spectators at a public contest. But they were
not neutral—their sympathy for the students was overwhelming, manifested
in everything from providing food and drink to shouting at police to let them
through to joining in lines to push against the barriers. Police were unarmed
and did not use nightsticks or other weapons to attack the marchers. Student
numbers were overwhelming. The police lines bent, then broke, to the wild
cheers of spectators. The scene repeated itself numerous times as students
and citizens made the long trek from university campuses to Tiananmen
Square.
The different march groups linked up west of Tiananmen and overwhelmed
the last police barricades at Xidan and Liubukou. By the time they reached
Tiananmen, the number of marchers was estimated at 150,000 and their
roadside supporters at half a million.74 The PLA troops guarding the square
were hurriedly withdrawn to avoid a direct clash, and student demonstra-
tors, having won their symbolic victory, returned triumphantly to their cam-
36 getting to tiananmen

puses. Print media in the United States called it a “stunning humiliation” and
a “stinging rebuke” for the Chinese government and spoke of its “impo-
tence” in dealing with the “biggest display of dissatisfaction in 40 years of
Communist rule.”75 Across millions of American television sets, CNN re-
ported the events with riveting footage of the crowds and confrontation.
Beijing CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy’s “strong sense of identification
with these young protestors” came through clearly in his coverage.76 China’s
mass movement was going global.
The following day, the regime appeared to offer several partial compro-
mises. First was an offer to hold a “dialogue,” but with certain conditions,
namely, that only officially sanctioned student organizations could attend
the dialogue and that they had to end the boycott of classes. Independent
student organizations were slow to respond and were highly dissatisfied with
the proposal and the conduct of the first session of the dialogue on April 30.
They were particularly annoyed by the behavior of the government negotia-
tors—State Council Spokesman Yuan Mu and Vice Minister of the Educa-
tion Commission He Dongchang—who were considered overbearing and
arrogant in the first meeting. A far more important concession by the gov-
ernment was a statement by Hu Qili, Politburo Standing Committee member
and ally of Zhao responsible for propaganda and media issues, who told China’s
tightly controlled newspapers on April 28 that they could report on the “actual
state of affairs” regarding the student movement. That resulted in at least par-
tial television coverage of the “dialogue” and a relatively balanced appraisal in
China’s official newspapers. Least noticed of the government’s concessions
was an offer by top Beijing officials Chen Xitong and Li Ximing to disclose
their assets. Western journalists covering the dialogue focused principally on
the student demands and student reaction, downplaying what were rather strik-
ing retreats by the government, especially in light of the hard tone of the edito-
rial and the implicit threats it conveyed.
Independent student groups decided by April 30 to reject the dialogue as it
was developing, and they formulated a twelve-point proposal for the govern-
ment to consider. Wang Dan delivered the proposal personally to the State
Council on May 1. Among the proposal’s points were that the dialogue should
be “between equals,” that student representatives should be chosen by the
students, that government representatives should be from the Politburo Stand-
ing Committee, that outside observers—including foreign journalists—be
permitted and that sessions be broadcast live, and that a communiqué be
issued on the results of the dialogue. The petition demanded that the govern-
ment respond by noon on May 3 or there would be a demonstration on May
4. At the appointed time, government spokesman Yuan Mu publicly rejected
the petition, calling it an ultimatum designed to threaten the government.77
getting to tiananmen 37

Cracks in the Leadership

By far the most important development that took place that week, one largely
unreported in the press, was Zhao Ziyang’s April 30 return from North Ko-
rea and his decision to become more actively involved in the controversy.
Exactly what happened, what leadership meetings took place, and what Zhao
and his advisers decided are difficult to determine from the contradictory
and heavily biased accounts that have appeared subsequently. With Zhao
still under virtual house arrest and unwilling to engage in self-criticism for
his actions, we have only the regime’s post facto explanation of what tran-
spired in the leadership during this period as well as the testimony of some of
Zhao’s associates who escaped from China. Even the Andrew Nathan and E.
Perry Link reports, the Tiananmen Papers, provide only a partial account of
internal leadership dynamics at the time.
The official verdict on Zhao was that he “tolerated and connived at” the
activities of the students. After his return, he was said to have adopted a
“changeable attitude” toward the party’s verdict as delivered in the April 26
editorial.78 But the Nathan and Link volume makes clear that there was no
consensus in the Politburo, or even within its Standing Committee, on how
to deal with the students. From the beginning, the notion of students being
led astray by a small group of evildoers was not fully accepted. Zhao, Qiao
Shi, Hu Qili, and others repeatedly affirmed that the students were patriotic
and well meaning, and that several of their critiques of the party had merit.
The right approach for the leadership, therefore, was to establish a dialogue
with them, try to persuade them to be patient, and use appropriate methods
to express their views. Ideological conservatives, such as Li Peng, Song Ping,
Li Tieying, Chen Xitong, and others, were more critical of the students, but
they did not have a cogent proposal to counter the idea of dialogue. Yang
Shangkun and even Deng were ambivalent, admitting that dialogue was pos-
sible and even desirable. Even before Zhao returned from North Korea, the
Politburo Standing Committee had agreed to hold a dialogue with students,
but opinions were sharply divided.79
Did Zhao manipulate the students into supporting ideas that he favored
and attacking leaders he disliked, as Deng had done with Democracy Wall in
1978? This, too, is implied by the official criticisms but again is difficult to
square with available evidence. Philosophically, Zhao was considered a re-
former, but his focus was mainly on economic affairs. He was less “liberal” in
his approach to heterodox political ideas than Hu Yaobang had been. In fact,
he had strongly supported a concept called “new authoritarianism,” which
posited that backward and predominantly rural China was not yet ready for a
democratic transition but needed a strong authoritarian leader to manage the
38 getting to tiananmen

economic reform process.80 Although some of his small circle of advisers may
have had contacts with student groups, most of them were middle-aged intel-
lectuals who may have shared some of their younger counterparts’ discontent
but did not necessarily have close and regular contacts with them. Moreover,
Zhao was not a favorite among students, as his sons were considered to have
used their father’s connections to make lucrative deals in Hong Kong.
Did Zhao fear losing his position as Hu Yaobang had?And did he there-
fore decide to use the demonstrations to cast his opponents and detractors in
a bad light? Hong Kong media—which sometimes tend toward the sensa-
tional in their assessments of internal Chinese politics—had speculated that
Zhao was under intense attack from party elders, including Chen Yun, Bo
Yibo, and Li Xiannian, for his economic policies and for permitting again a
more open discourse on ideology and economics among China’s intellectu-
als. The elders had suggested that Zhao be relieved of his post, an idea Deng
supposedly rejected.81 This is plausible but again seems a rather forced expla-
nation. Zhao must have known the elders could not bring him down unless
Deng agreed, and he probably had no reason to believe he had completely
lost Deng’s support. Playing political games with a mass movement—
particularly one as volatile and unpredictable as the students of 1989 ap-
peared to be—seems a highly risky, even desperate, gamble for one whose
political instincts were as cautious as Zhao’s. In analytical hindsight, Zhao’s
actions seemed those of a conciliator, a populist leader who wanted reforms
to continue without the kind of interruption a major crackdown on students
would have brought about. He comes across in the Tiananmen Papers, as
Nathan observes, as “a liberal and a democrat” but unwilling to challenge
Deng on fundamental political and procedural principles.82
There is no doubt, however, that two speeches he gave in early May were
widely interpreted as being at odds with the tough sentiments expressed in
the April 26 editorial. Students recognized the disparity, foreign reporters
saw it, other party leaders saw it. With heavy domestic and foreign media
coverage, and with foreknowledge of the active demonstration planned for
Tiananmen Square on the May 4 anniversary, Zhao took a deliberately con-
ciliatory stance. Speaking on May 3 to a forum marking the seventieth anni-
versary of the original May 4 demonstrations, Zhao focused positively on
youth as China’s hope and treasure. He did not threaten or bluster but praised
the patriotism of Chinese students since 1919, their ardent support for sci-
ence and democracy, and their optimism about the future. He counseled them
to avoid turmoil and support the Communist Party and socialism. Zhao’s
speech carefully hit all the Dengist notes but balanced them with a sense of
shared purpose clearly aimed at the students of 1989, not 1919.83 It seemed
based on a belief that a more peaceable approach was more likely to get
getting to tiananmen 39

them back to classes than the threats of the April 26 editorial, which had so
clearly failed.
Zhao’s remarks to a May 4 meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
were more controversial. In his brief speech, Zhao appeared to be trying to
reassure nervous foreign bankers and investors that China was not on the
verge of a political meltdown. “Though demonstrations are still underway in
Beijing and some other big cities in the country, I still believe there will be no
big riots and the demonstrations will gradually calm down.” In terms clearly
in contrast with the April 26 editorial, Zhao said student demonstrations
“should also be handled through legal and democratic means in an orderly
and reasonable atmosphere. . . [and] urged that consultations and dialogues
be pursued with students, workers, intellectuals, non-Communist parties and
leading personages from all walks of life.” He stressed, “Sober-mindedness,
reason, restraint, order, and devotion to democracy and legality are most
essential for resolving the problems.”84
With perfect hindsight, many Western observers look back on Zhao’s
speeches as a watershed event that touched off a power struggle in the lead-
ership, which paralyzed the government’s efforts to deal with the student
movement in early May, when it was still relatively small and disorganized.
Journalists, in particular, seemed bemused by the leadership’s lack of action
during this period and attributed it to a power struggle. As one reporter put
it, “It’s only in retrospect that we go back and read those speeches and see
how clear the split was. At the time we didn’t know if Zhao was representing
everyone in the government by giving a more conciliatory line. As it turned
out, he was not.”85
Zhao probably was reflecting a consensus view within the Politburo on
handling the student movement cautiously—or at least within the Standing
Committee (which consisted of Zhao, Li Peng, Hu Qili, Qiao Shi, and Yao
Yilin). At a Standing Committee meeting on May 1, the divisions were clear:
Li and Yao favored the restoration of order and stability first, dialogue and
reform later. They did not prevail.86 Zhao and Li clashed again—over revis-
ing the April 26 People’s Daily editorial—shortly after the ADB speech, ac-
cording to the Tiananmen Papers.87 Party elders, who were no longer in the
formal authority structure, were consulted and in some cases participated in
Standing Committee meetings. Yang Shangkun played the key role, not only
as respected elder but also because of his authority within the Military Com-
mission and because of his influence with Deng. According to Xu Jiatun,
formerly the ranking Communist Party official in Hong Kong who defected
after Tiananmen, Zhao’s consultations with other central and provincial lead-
ers led him to believe that many others were reluctant to start a crackdown,
but he worried about crossing Deng’s hard-line views. Zhao asked Xu to
40 getting to tiananmen

prevail on Yang Shangkun (with whom Xu had long-standing close ties) to

try and persuade Deng to change his mind. Zhao would work on Li Peng and
Yao Yilin. Xu found Yang sympathetic to Zhao’s position but not confident
he could get “the old man” (laoyezi) to listen.88
Meanwhile, besides the huge demonstration in Tiananmen on May 4, large
demonstrations were reported in Shanghai and several large provincial capi-
tals.89 In Beijing, Chinese journalists protested outside of the Xinhua News
Agency headquarters, carrying banners that read “Don’t Believe What We
Write, We Print Lies.” Intellectuals also formed an “autonomous federa-
tion” of their own in early May and drafted a manifesto, which they submit-
ted to the government. Probably most worrisome to the government,
independent unions of Beijing workers began actively supporting student
demonstrators.90 Events were moving rapidly toward a crisis. But it would be
a “foreign intervention” that would take them over the top.
 chapter three

Escalation,
Denouement,
and Aftermath

A fter the May 4 demonstrations, things quieted down con-

siderably in Beijing. Students mostly remained on campus, debating their
next steps. Many wanted to end the boycott and return to classes. Final ex-
aminations were coming up, and they were tired of long marches in swelter-
ing heat. Student leaders, however, energized by the success of their April 27
and May 4 marches, insisted the boycott be continued and looked for ways
to expand their movement and keep pressure on the government. Moreover,
they were concerned that the movement would disintegrate if not faced with
new activities and challenges. The scheduled May 17 visit to China of Mikhail
Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,
provided an ideal target of opportunity.

Waiting for Gorbachev, Raising the Stakes

Gorbachev’s visit had been agreed on the previous fall, after months of care-
ful negotiation. China’s troubled relations with the USSR dated to ideologi-
cal disputes between Mao and Soviet leaders, and reached their lowest level
in 1969, when large-scale combat between Soviet and Chinese troops broke
out along their common border. Resultant military tensions were largely re-
sponsible for Mao’s decision to try and mend relations with the United States.
Mao’s death in 1976 did not lead to an easing of the relationship, however,
and was followed by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980, which Beijing
saw as threatening. Joint U.S.-Chinese arming of anti-Soviet guerrillas in
Afghanistan and joint surveillance of Soviet military programs from Chinese
territory helped cement the strategic relationship between the United States
41
42 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

and China, as well as sustain Sino-Soviet hostility and mistrust. Gorbachev’s

succession to the post of general secretary after the death of Konstantin
Chernenko in 1985 brought about sweeping changes in Soviet foreign and
domestic policy. In the mid-1980s, Soviet troops began to pull out of Af-
ghanistan and reduced their deployments in Mongolia and along the Sino-
Soviet border.
Deng Xiaoping, seeing an opportunity to reduce Chinese military expen-
ditures and strike a better balance in the triangular relationship with Mos-
cow and Washington, pushed for a formal easing of Sino-Soviet relations.
Gorbachev’s agreement to travel to Beijing in May to normalize party-to-
party relations was a major step forward—a milestone for Deng and for
China. It had the additional benefit of bringing about President George Bush’s
trip to Beijing in February; China was being courted by both superpowers.
Chinese leaders wanted the world to witness this important event and there-
fore had authorized American television networks to cover the summit as
fully as possible, including the setting up of portable satellite dishes and mi-
crowave links for live broadcasting. These journalists, however, would soon
have a far different story to tell.
Gorbachev was well known to Chinese students and popular for his advo-
cacy of political restructuring (perestroika) and openness (glasnost). They
saw him as the embodiment of reform, having replaced a tottering geronto-
cracy and brought in younger, more energetic talent. Thousands of Beijing
University (Beida) students signed an open letter asking Gorbachev to speak
on campus, a request the regime naturally rebuffed. Chinese government
leaders were less than enthusiastic about Gorbachev’s advocacy of reform
and “new thinking” about foreign policy.
During early May, Chinese party leaders had been busily engaged in final-
izing preparations for the Gorbachev visit and considering how to handle the
situation with the students. Zhao called a Politburo Standing Committee
meeting on May 8, during which he proposed measures to accommodate
student demands by appointing special commissions to investigate financial
improprieties of high-ranking officials and their children, passing new laws
on press freedom and public demonstrations, cleaning up government orga-
nizations, and promoting the rule of law. But the meeting bogged down in
wrangling by conservatives over student motives and methods. Zhao deferred
the discussion for a full Politburo meeting on May 10. That meeting also was
inconclusive but took note of the fact that protests had spread to virtually
every province in the country. It was decided, however, to continue the dia-
logue with workers, students, and journalists.1
On May 12, however, students made a decision that was to alter the entire
dynamic of China’s politics, both private and public. During a spirited dis-
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 43

cussion at Beida on the next steps to be taken, Chai Ling—a twenty-two-

year-old student from Beijing Normal University (Beishida) and the only
woman among the leaders of the Beijing Autonomous Students Federation
(BASF)—made an impassioned plea to mount a hunger strike before
Gorbachev’s visit. Her language was inspirational to the assembled student
representatives but a grim portent of what was to come. “We, the children, are
ready to die! We, the children, are ready to use our lives to pursue truth! We,
the children, are ready to sacrifice ourselves!”2 The BASF then passed a resolu-
tion that, unless the government agreed to negotiate with them as equals and
acknowledge that they were a “patriotic” movement, they would begin a hun-
ger strike the following day. Four hundred students pledged to begin the fast.
After lunch on May 13, the students left Beishida and trooped into
Tiananmen Square without resistance, setting up their fasting headquarters
at the base of the Martyrs’ Monument about 4:30 p.m. Thus began the most
dramatic phase of the protest movement, in which miscalculations and mis-
understandings by the students and the government would have the most
far-reaching implications. The hunger strikers presented striking imagery—
dressed in white, with headbands inscribed with the Chinese characters for
“no choice but to fast,” many carrying placards with patriotic slogans and
poems (some in English). Bystanders cheered them on their route, and a crowd
estimated at 20,000 surrounded them at the Martyrs’ Monument to hear
them pledge. “I hereby swear that of my own free will, and in order to pro-
mote the democratization of China, I will engage in a fast, will abide by the
rules of the Hunger Strike Group, and will not give up until our purpose is
achieved.”3 Within hours, the number of hunger strikers had grown to more
than 3,000.
Also within hours, a group of high-ranking government officials led by
Yan Mingfu (director of the party’s United Front Bureau) arrived to negoti-
ate with student representatives about the terms under which they would be
willing to withdraw from the square before Gorbachev’s arrival. Although
Zhao had earlier appointed Chen Xitong and Li Ximing to meet with stu-
dents, they were heartily disliked and unwelcome, whereas Yan, an associate
of Zhao, was considered a more sympathetic interlocutor. His mission took
on a particular urgency, as Zhao had purportedly promised Deng that morn-
ing that the students would not disrupt the welcoming ceremonies for
Gorbachev.4 According to Li Xiaowen’s account, there were three distinct or-
ganizations representing the students (the Dialogue League, the Hunger Strike
Group, and the BASF) and a few middle-aged intellectuals acting as middle-
men. Despite considerable confusion, an oral agreement was reached that the
government would start a dialogue with the students “as soon as possible” in
exchange for the students leaving Tiananmen Square on May 14.5
44 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

The following day, Yan returned with more senior leaders, including Edu-
cation Commission head Li Tieying, to negotiate the terms of the dialogue.
Although both sides evidently agreed the formal sessions would begin in the
afternoon, government negotiators were dismayed to find out that their in-
terlocutors did not know if they could persuade the hunger strikers to leave.
For their part, student representatives were skeptical that any meaningful
dialogue would continue once they no longer occupied the square. The dia-
logue was repeatedly interrupted by angry students and eventually was bro-
ken off late in the evening. An attempt by several prominent intellectuals to
mediate between the government and hunger strikers failed when the strik-
ers’ demands escalated drastically. Among their demands: that Li Peng and
Zhao Ziyang should visit them in the square to declare their movement pa-
triotic. The scholars’ efforts to convince the hunger strikers to leave the square
brought immediate accusations that they were “spineless lobbyists” for the
government. Chai Ling and her husband, Feng Congde, accused other stu-
dents and middle-aged intellectuals of “selling” the movement, and they all
took the hunger strike oath again.6 On the evening before Gorbachev’s ar-
rival, Zhao’s “multi-level, multi-channel dialogue” had failed completely.
The occupation of Tiananmen continued, abetted by the government’s
own media. Thanks to decisions by Zhao and Hu Qili to allow fuller cover-
age of domestic events—including the demonstrations—and the growing sym-
pathy of Chinese reporters for the student cause, the hunger strike was given
heavy coverage in the normally controlled central media. Television images
of fasting students surrounded by worried medical personnel, radio inter-
views with emotional youths vowing to give their lives for democracy, and
lengthy print stories about growing public support for the students had a
riveting effect on the populace of Beijing. They came out by the thousands to
see, encourage, and implore the government to meet the students’ “reason-
able” demands. Government offices were deserted, transportation snarled as
people from all over Beijing headed for Tiananmen. By midday on May 15,
more than 150,000 people filled the square, all in a surprisingly festive mood.
Although banners appeared attacking Li Peng or calling on Deng to resign,
most people were there to celebrate freedom and cheer on the students.
Tiananmen also became an international media event, thanks to the
government’s desire to have the Sino-Soviet reconciliation take place in full
view of American television cameras. Dan Rather of CBS, Bernard Shaw of
CNN, and others arrived with large teams of reporters to cover the Gorbachev
visit, and they ended up devoting far more time to the extraordinary events
in Tiananmen Square. Gorbachev’s visit became a sideshow, in part because
the Chinese government could not deliver Gorbachev to the media sites, be-
cause of enormous crowds. Gorbachev’s arrival ceremony on May 15 had to
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 45

be conducted at the airport rather than the square. Visits to the Martyrs’
Monument and the Forbidden City had to be canceled. Even Gorbachev’s
meetings with senior PRC leaders had to be adjusted so that he could enter
through the back door of the Great Hall of the People rather than the front.
As if the embarrassment of being unable to control the streets in front of the
central government headquarters were not enough, Gorbachev himself of-
fered an attractive and obvious contrast to the Chinese leadership: young,
outgoing, media-savvy, a dedicated reformer, open-minded—all the things
China’s leaders were not. Crowds in the square displayed banners that high-
lighted the irony. “I’m 58, you’re 85.”7
American journalists covering the summit got caught up instead in the
spirit of Tiananmen Square—and they were enthralled at something that
seemed even more historic than Sino-Soviet rapprochement. In ways that
magnified the shock of the later crackdown, American journalists—especially
TV journalists, and those who “parachuted” in with no language expertise,
historical context, or knowledge of the Chinese government—became over-
whelmingly sympathetic to the student movement. “‘ It was not possible to
be dispassionate,’ admitted Charles Kuralt, who was in Beijing for CBS News.
‘The most cynical journalists could not help but be caught up.’”8 Said CNN’s
Mike Chinoy, “The mere act of coming to Tiananmen Square was a liberat-
ing experience . . . I could feel the air of freedom.”9 A Canadian journalist
admitted, “We were totally involved . . . with the students . . . We lost our
objectivity for a while. I certainly did. It was hard to be objective with a
government that seemed . . . run by a group of thugs who had no real right to
kill their children.”10
Watching it all on television, knowing that socialism was declining rap-
idly in eastern Europe at the time, caught up in the hopes of idealistic and
attractive youth, Americans dared to hope that China’s students would find
a way to bring democracy to their country. As one observer mused later,
“The coverage presented a wildly optimistic picture of the protesters’ chances
of victory. For American television viewers, setting up these false expecta-
tions would prove disillusioning but ultimately harmless. For the protesters,
however, it may have been fatal. The American media’s enthusiasm for the
story may well have given the Chinese students a dangerously inflated sense
of their own power—and of their immunity to the sort of vicious counter-
measures that were eventually imposed.”11 It also reinforced the party elders’
view that the student movement was being fomented by foreigners in order
to bring down the government.
While American television focused on the square, inside the walls of
Zhongnanhai, what remained of the leadership’s cohesion was rapidly un-
raveling. “The failure to bring the occupation of Tiananmen to an end before
46 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

Gorbachev’s arrival fatally undermined Zhao Ziyang’s position in the lead-

ership.”12 Even during the Soviet leader’s visit, Zhao’s supporters entreated
students and older intellectuals alike to decamp from Tiananmen, actions
that subsequently were held against both them and Zhao. Demonstrators
took this as a sign that China’s leaders were split over how to deal with the
movement, but students were not sufficiently convinced of the value of sup-
porting one faction or another to take clear action. And so the square re-
mained full of people, taunting the leadership, heightening its embarrassment.13
Zhao’s comments to Gorbachev on the afternoon of May 16, broadcast
on Chinese television that evening, may have been the last straw, from Deng’s
perspective. In the morning, Deng had met with Gorbachev for two hours,
saying that his meeting with Zhao in the afternoon would constitute the
official reestablishment of relations between the communist parties of the
USSR and China. Zhao told Gorbachev, however, that his meeting with Deng
was actually the crucial one. He then went on to discuss what was no par-
ticular surprise to most China watchers but was not officially admitted, that
Deng was the principal decisionmaker in the Communist Party of China,
despite being retired.
As recognized at home and abroad, Comrade Deng Xiaoping has been
the leader of our party since the third plenary session of the Eleventh
CPC Central Committee [December 1978]. Comrade Deng Xiaoping
stepped down from the Central Committee and the Standing Commit-
tee of the Politburo of his own accord at the Thirteenth CPC Congress
[in September 1987]. However, all the comrades in our party hold that
in the interests of the party we still need Comrade Deng Xiaoping, his
wisdom and his experience. This is of vital importance to our party.
Therefore, the first plenary session of the Thirteenth CPC Congress
made the solemn decision that we still need Comrade Deng Xiaoping
at the helm when it comes to most important questions. Since the 13th
CPC Congress, we have always made reports to and asked for opinions
from Comrade Deng Xiaoping while dealing with most important is-
sues. Comrade Deng Xiaoping also fully supports our work and the
decisions we have made collectively.14
Although most American journalists ignored or missed the significance of
Zhao’s revelation, the Chinese interpreted it as an oblique attack on Deng: it
implied that the problems about which the students were complaining were
the results of Deng’s decisions, it referred to him in ways that evoked the
memory of Mao Zedong at his most dictatorial, and it suggested that Deng
was in favor of the conciliatory approach being taken toward the demonstra-
tions. The very fact that Zhao’s remarks were published in the party propa-
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 47

ganda organs was evidence that the center had lost control of information
altogether. Foreign media were beaming out to the world stunning images of
the party’s helplessness and embarrassment, while domestic media were openly
siding with students calling for the regime’s humiliation. On the pages of
China’s major newspapers, Gorbachev’s visit was relegated to a lower quad-
rant, while banner headlines shouted, “One Million from All Walks of Life
Demonstrate in Support of Hunger-Striking Students.”15
Now the regime was desperate, finally providing the concessions the stu-
dents had been demanding. Yan Mingfu, at Zhao’s behest, pleaded with the
students again to leave the square, publicly indicating that the government
would affirm the patriotism and correctness of the student movement (thereby
negating the April 26 editorial).16 In public remarks in a meeting with
Gorbachev, Li Peng said, “People in socialist countries should also enjoy
freedom, democracy and human rights. China is prepared to improve these
aspects of its political reform.”17 But out of the public glare, the regime was
in open disarray. At an emergency Politburo Standing Committee meeting
the evening of May 16, Zhao and Li Peng quarreled bitterly about what was
to be done, with Zhao urging retreat from the April 26 editorial’s judgment
about the “turmoil” and Li Peng insisting the editorial’s principal judgments
were “all Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s original words. They cannot be
changed.”18
The following morning, May 17, in a rancorous Politburo Standing Com-
mittee meeting held at Deng’s home, Li Peng forcefully laid the blame for the
situation on Zhao. “I think Comrade Ziyang must bear the main responsibil-
ity for the escalation of the student movement, as well as for the fact that the
situation has gotten so hard to control,” he began, and continued with a
recitation of Zhao’s errors since his return from Pyongyang.19 Yao Yilin criti-
cized Zhao for trying to shift responsibility to Deng in his remarks to
Gorbachev. Yang Shangkun put it bluntly, “Our backs are to the wall. If we
retreat any further we’re done for . . . This movement could . . . unleash
forces that can’t be controlled.” Deng insisted that the real problem was
what to do to end the demonstrations. “Beijing can’t keep going like this . . .
If things keep going like this, we could even end up under house arrest . . .
I’ve concluded that we should bring in the People’s Liberation Army and
declare martial law in Beijing . . . I am solemnly proposing this today to the
Standing Committee of the Politburo and hope that you will consider it.”
Zhao responded he had “problems” with the recommendation but would
abide by party discipline. Deng also ordered Li Peng to meet with student
representatives.20
Later that day, the Politburo Standing Committee deadlocked on Deng’s
recommendation, with Li Peng and Yao Yilin voting to support the imposi-
48 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

tion of martial law, Zhao and Hu Qili opposing it, and Qiao Shi abstaining.
Yang Shangkun and Bo Yibo expressed support for Deng’s proposal but had
no voting rights. Yang said he would refer the issue back to Deng Xiaoping
and the elders and “get a resolution as soon as possible.” Zhao asked to
resign, saying he could not carry on and implement decisions he disagreed
with. Yang and Bo rejected the idea.21
Zhao then held a meeting with his closest advisers, who leaked the story
of the Standing Committee meeting to some of the demonstrators. According
to later accounts by the regime, that led to even angrier protests the follow-
ing day and banners praising Zhao. Early in the morning of May 18, Zhao
took the highly unusual step of visiting with students in a hospital near
Tiananmen (hunger strikers had begun to collapse by the second day and
were rushed to the hospital by specially organized ambulance squads). He
was accompanied by Li Peng and several other members of the Politburo
Standing Committee—probably as much to keep an eye on Zhao as to show
solicitude to the students. Afterward, he immediately went back to his office
and drafted a letter of resignation, saying he could not implement the deci-
sion on martial law. Yang Shangkun talked him out of sending it, but Zhao
nonetheless refused to attend the meeting with Deng and the elders.22

Passing the Point of No Return

At 8:30 in the morning on May 18, Deng, Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Peng
Zhen, Deng Yingchao, Yang Shangkun, Bo Yibo, and Wang Zhen met with
the Politburo Standing Committee—minus Zhao—and three senior People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) officers representing the Military Commission. Deng
put the situation starkly: “Beijing can’t go on like this; we have to have mar-
tial law.” One by one, the elders and Standing Committee members sup-
ported Deng’s proposal, with varying enthusiasm and critiques of Zhao Ziyang
for allowing the situation to develop to such a point. The meeting decided to
place certain districts under martial law as of midnight on May 21 and to
inform party, government, and military officials on the evening of May 19.
Yang Shangkun was given the responsibility for preparing the PLA deploy-
ment plans.23
Nonetheless, the regime undertook one last effort to bring the demonstra-
tions to a halt short of using force. Premier Li Peng—the most reviled of
China’s leaders, with whom the students had been demanding a dialogue, as
well as his resignation—met with a selected group of hunger strikers at 11:00
a.m. that same morning inside the Great Hall of the People. The meeting was
filmed and broadcast later in the evening on Chinese Central Television
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 49

(CCTV). The symbolism was striking. Li and his State Council cohorts were
dressed in Mao suits (usually an indicator of conservative perspective), Wang
Dan wore a leather jacket and a headband, Wu’er Kaixi wore pajamas and
an oxygen mask, which he claimed he needed because of weakness from his
hunger strike. Li was brusque and dismissive but was interrupted by Wu’er
Kaixi and others in a striking show of effrontery. Li and the government
demanded that the students call off the hunger strike first and allow order to
be restored; Wu’er insisted that the April 26 editorial had to be retracted and
a genuine dialogue established. Even then, he hinted that the students might
not agree to give up the demonstrations. It was a dialogue of the deaf, done
for symbolic purposes on both sides.24
Wu’er Kaixi’s claim that the demonstrations were beyond the immediate
control of the student representatives in the dialogue session had become a
reality by May 18. Although the ostensible reason for the gathering in
Tiananmen was to show support for the hunger-striking students, in fact the
demonstrations had grown well beyond that stage, approaching a general
strike. Conservative estimates put the crowd in Tiananmen on May 18 at 1
million. Many came with delegations from their work units, carrying ban-
ners that not only expressed support for the students but also attacked in-
dividuals in their own government. “Dump Li Peng! Deng Xiaoping, retire!”
Banners and petitions representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Youth
League, the Xinhua News Agency, the Party School, and even units of the
People’s Liberation Army called for increased democracy in China’s gover-
nance.25 After temporizing and providing sideline support for student dem-
onstrators, some of China’s most prominent intellectuals came out fully in
support of the hunger strikers on May 16, forming a Beijing Union of Intel-
lectuals (others refer to it as the Beijing Intellectuals Autonomous Federa-
tion) and issuing a sweeping denunciation of China’s “tyrannical” government.
Even more disconcerting from the government’s point of view, Beijing work-
ers—who had been supportive of the hunger strike since its inception but
remained on the sidelines—officially announced the formation of the Beijing
Autonomous Workers Federation on May 18 and set up a headquarters area
on Tiananmen Square. They also issued a series of incendiary handbills and
threatened to call a one-day general strike if the government did not meet
student demands.26
Early in the morning of May 19, Zhao Ziyang made his first and last visit
to the students in Tiananmen Square. With Li Peng in tow, but apparently
without the permission of the rest of the leadership, Zhao boarded a bus full
of recuperating hunger strikers at about 4:45 a.m. and spoke to them briefly,
exhorting them one last time to end the hunger strike. With tears in his eyes,
Zhao told the students:
50 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

We have come too late. I am sorry, fellow students. No matter how you
have criticized us, I think you have the right to do so. We do not come
here to ask you to excuse us . . .Your fasting has entered its seventh
day. This simply cannot go on. . . . The most important thing to do now
is to immediately terminate this fasting. . . . When you end your fast,
the government will never close the door to dialogues, never. If you
have questions, we will solve them. Despite what you say and the fact
that we are a little late, we are getting closer to solving the problems
. . . But things are complicated, and there must be a process to resolve
these problems.27

Whether Zhao was acting out of genuine concern for the students, as Orville
Schell and others believe, or was trying to generate a politically significant
constituency from among student demonstrators is not known. Certainly
some of Zhao’s followers seemed to be trying to generate support for Zhao
among the students to stave off his political collapse. But the early morning
visit probably accelerated his opponents’ timetable. As Melanie Manion put
it, Zhao “made the protest movement even more threatening to hardliners:
at the top was a leader who had formed a tacit coalition with the protesters.
It was a bold and probably foolish gamble.”28 The gamble worked, at least in
part. Later that day, student leaders agreed to end the hunger strike phase of
their protest but to continue their occupation of Tiananmen Square as a “sit-
in.” But it was too late. Li Peng called a meeting of the Politburo Standing
Committee to advance the timetable for announcing martial law by one day.
Zhao refused a request from Yang Shangkun to show leadership unity and
absented himself from the meeting, claiming illness. Sometime later, he was
placed under house arrest.
Late in the evening of May 19, in a meeting held at the headquarters of
the Beijing Military Region, Beijing party chief Li Ximing, Li Peng, and
Yang Shangkun addressed a large group of party, government, and mili-
tary officials. Li Peng described a situation of a capital city badly out of
control and called for “resolute and effective measures to curb turmoil in a
clear-cut manner, to restore normal order in society, and to maintain sta-
bility and unity.”29 Although he reverted to the language of the April 26
editorial in describing the “turmoil,” Li went out of his way to reassure
students that the government’s agreement to hold a dialogue was still valid.
Curiously, he made only oblique mention of the military being called on to
aid in restoring order and never mentioned the words “martial law.” The
following day, however, Beijing municipality announced the imposition of
martial law as of 10:00 a.m., May 20. Demonstrations were banned in
Beijing municipality, journalists were prohibited from the martial law area,
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 51

and police and martial law troops were authorized to use necessary force to
handle resistance.30
From the beginning, however, things did not go according to plan. Early
calls—evidently by Deng—to bring the Thirty-Eighth Army into Beijing to
augment the People’s Armed Police and the Beijing Garrison Command had
been frustrated by the resistance of its commander, Xu Qinxian, to using the
army against Chinese citizens.31 Xu was immediately replaced. Judging by a
speech made on May 24 by Yang Shangkun, others also questioned whether
Deng had exercised the proper command authority in ordering troop move-
ments on his own before May 20.32 Nonetheless, Deng’s order brought the
following units into designated areas outside the city: from the Beijing Mili-
tary Region, division-strength units of the Twenty-Fourth, Twenty-Seventh,
Twenty-Eighth, Thirty-Eighth, Sixty-Third, and Sixty-Fifth group armies;
from the Shenyang Military Region, the Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth group
armies; and from Jinan Military Region, the Fifty-Fourth and Sixty-
Seventh group armies, bringing the total PLA strength around the city to
more than 180,000.33 Later, units from the Fifteenth and Twentieth group
armies also arrived.
But word of the pending imposition of martial law leaked to demonstra-
tors well before the meeting that formally announced it, enabling messengers
and roving motorcycle patrols to warn citizens in advance. The reaction was
nearly universal—outrage at the government and a determination to do ev-
erything possible to prevent the orders from being carried out. Barricades
were hastily put up at several major intersections on the way to Tiananmen.
Citizens stayed outside in the thousands, warily watching for signs of gov-
ernment military action.
On May 20, when PLA units began moving from their suburban encamp-
ments toward the center of the city, they were surrounded and blocked by
thousands of ordinary citizens. Workers, elderly men, and women lay down
in front of the military vehicles while others climbed aboard transport trucks
to plead with the soldiers not to move against the hunger strikers. Students
drained the gas tanks and deflated the tires of some military vehicles. Others
were stopped by barricades made of buses and other vehicles. Thousands of
citizens congregated at railway stations in order to deal with any troops that
might try to enter the city by train. Clearly unprepared for this kind of resis-
tance and possibly with their own doubts about their orders, many of the
troops returned to their encampments in confusion. In an astonishing display
of mass public defiance, millions of citizens again moved into Tiananmen
Square to surround demonstrators with a wall of protection. The students at
the center of the square were jubilant and defiant at this unexpected support.
The regime was initially shocked and perplexed but used the opportunity
52 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

provided by their forced immobility to improve indoctrination of the mostly

peasant soldiers, who had little idea of what was happening in Tiananmen.34
Although initial efforts to implement martial law did not go smoothly, the
regime’s efforts to control information at and about Tiananmen started early
and were somewhat more effective. From the American perspective, China’s
decision to sever the satellite linkages that had enabled the major networks
to deliver real-time coverage of events in the square was the most dramatic
and important development. On May 20, an hour before the official com-
mencement of martial law, “two officials of the Ministry of Posts and Tele-
communications walked into the CNN workspace on the ninth floor of the
Sheraton and ordered CNN to cease its live transmissions from Beijing in an
hour . . . ‘Gorbachev is gone. Your task is over.’”35 Other networks’ live
feeds were similarly cut, but only CNN was able to report it live. Subse-
quently, most of the high-profile news teams left Beijing, leaving CNN as the
principal news source. CNN couriered videotapes out through Hong Kong
or reported live by telephone without pictures.
Far more important, for its own purposes, was the regime’s effort to re-
store control over Chinese media channels, which also began on May 20.
Some observers have concluded that many, but not all, Chinese journalists
were inclined to support the students during the period from early May to
the imposition of martial law.36 To be sure, they had maintained some objec-
tivity and reported government statements and news accurately as well. But
the straightforward accounts of student activities in Tiananmen, full report-
ing of the “dialogue,” and fearless portrayal of antigovernment banners and
slogans in the People’s Daily and on national television clearly helped bring
the citizens of Beijing out onto the street in support of the students. Regime
charges that the coverage contributed to demonstrations in many other parts
of the country probably are accurate. If the regime was to quell the demon-
strations, it had to first restore control of the press. Beginning on May 20,
discipline began to be restored, if slowly. The loosening of restrictions on
press freedoms instituted by Zhao and Hu Qili earlier in the month was
rescinded, and press and television reporters were exhorted to return to their
previous role as “mouthpieces for the party.” This did not happen all at
once. Journalists were reluctant to give up the freedom they had enjoyed. But
within days after the declaration of martial law, newspapers and television
again were reporting the news as the government saw fit to portray it.37
The slowness with which the government reestablished controls once it
became clear that martial law would be stymied reflected the confusion within
party, army, and government bureaucracies. With conflicting signals ema-
nating from the top for at least two weeks, even officials loyal to the govern-
ment were not certain how to carry out routine duties, much less orders as
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 53

troubling as imposing martial law. Those government cadre who were not
out showing support for student demonstrators or taking time off because of
traffic tie-ups probably were reluctant to take firm measures without some
form of assurance they would not be held accountable for them later.
On May 21, two members of the Standing Committee of the National
People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp legislative body, prepared a
petition calling for a special session to be convened to review the legality of
(and, they hoped, rescind) the martial law order. Within three days, they had
gathered forty-six signatures—enough under NPC guidelines to justify the
convening of an emergency meeting.38 But the petition was never acted upon.
The chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, Wan Li, was at that time
visiting the United States and in fact was received at the White House by
President George Bush, who urged him and the PRC government to exercise
“restraint” in handling the demonstrations. Wan had evidently been asked
by Zhao to return to China to support and preside over such a meeting. Li
Peng countermanded the order through the Politburo Standing Committee.
A clearly anxious Wan cut short his visit and flew back to China on May 23,
but rather than jump into the political controversy in Beijing, Wan landed in
Shanghai and checked into a guest house, pleading illness. Although consid-
ered close to Zhao in his support for reform, Wan was also an associate—
and bridge partner—of Deng.39 Like many others confronted with the choice
between ideals and political reality, Wan opted for reality.
Probably more troubling to Deng and other so-called hardliners was evi-
dence of disagreement within PLA ranks about whether martial law was
appropriate. On May 21, students gained access to two of China’s presti-
gious “Old Marshals,” Nie Rongzhen and Xu Xiangqian, and received as-
surances from them that martial law troops would not attack students in the
square.40 Several other senior retired PLA leaders issued a strongly worded
open letter, widely quoted in the American press: “The army must absolutely
not shoot the people. In order to prevent the situation from worsening, the
army must not enter the city of Beijing.”41 It was evident that, before
Tiananmen Square could be recovered, a great deal of work needed to be
done to restore control of the government first.
Deng moved on two fronts, calling on the PLA high command and the
Old Guard of the Party. Although some Western accounts of events at the
time indicated that Deng was forced to call military officials to a conclave in
Wuhan, in central China, to secure their obedience, it is more likely that such
meetings took place in the secure leadership compound in Zhongnanhai or in
the party compound in the Western Hills outside of Beijing. Nor is there
much evidence of hesitation by China’s regional military leaders in sending
selected units to Beijing to become part of the Martial Law Command. Within
54 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

days of the May 20 order, 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers from all over China
were setting up camps outside the city.42 In the “enlarged” Central Military
Commission meeting on May 24, Yang Shangkun made a tough speech, highly
critical of Zhao Ziyang and insistent upon the maintenance of military disci-
pline. “If any troops do not obey orders, I will punish those responsible ac-
cording to the military law.”43
Along with regional military leaders, Deng also summoned the party
secretaries and local government heads of China’s twenty-nine provinces
and centrally administered municipalities to Beijing to explain the imposi-
tion of martial law and to elicit their support. Many were anxious about
student demonstrations—and some riots—in their own regions and wanted
assurance that a crackdown in Beijing would not precipitate more violent
protests.
Finally, and probably with misgivings, Deng was forced to rely on the
support of the party elders whose retirement he had so carefully arranged
over the past five years. Former president Li Xiannian had flown to Beijing
from Shanghai to express his support for Deng. Chen Yun also arrived in
Beijing to throw his weight behind Deng’s efforts to restore order. Former
NPC chairman Peng Zhen; Advisory Commission vice chairman Bo Yibo;
former vice president Wang Zhen; former premier Zhou Enlai’s widow, Deng
Yingchao; and of course, Yang Shangkun all rallied in support of Deng.
According to the Tiananmen Papers, the elders met as a group on May 21
to consider what to do about the party’s fractured leadership. They agreed
that Zhao and Hu Qili had to go but were somewhat tentative about who
should replace Zhao as general secretary. Deng asked Chen Yun for his ad-
vice. After a general description of the qualifications needed for the job, Chen
came to the point. “Comrade [Li] Xiannian has pointed out to me that Com-
rade Jiang Zemin from Shanghai is a suitable candidate. Every time I’ve gone
down to Shanghai he always sees me, and he strikes me as a modest person
with strong Party discipline and broad knowledge.” Li also extolled Jiang’s
virtues, including his strong action against a reformist newspaper in April, as
well as his intelligence and knowledge of economics. “And he’s got a good
public image—in the prime of life, full of energy. I like the idea of him as
general secretary.” Other elders mentioned other possibilities—Deng express-
ing a preference of Li Ruihuan; Yang for Qiao Shi. Deng proposed they should
think more about it.44 In the meantime, he had Yang Shangkun send Jiang
back to Shanghai to “persuade” Wan Li (chairman of the National People’s
Congress Standing Committee, who had just cut short his trip to Washing-
ton) not to return to Beijing to provide support for Zhao Ziyang.
On May 22, in an apparently enlarged Politburo Standing Committee
meeting, Zhao was formally suspended from all his positions after being
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 55

roundly criticized by several elders in attendance. The “two headquarters”

problem resolved, the party and government were more prepared for a show-
down.45
Six days later, the elders convened again, evidently at Deng’s home. This
time, Deng took the lead. “After long and careful comparison, the Shanghai
Party Secretary, Comrade Jiang Zemin, does indeed seem a proper choice. I
think he’s up to the task. Comrades Chen Yun, [Li] Xiannian and I all lean
toward Comrade Jiang Zemin for general secretary.” Deng also proposed Li
Ruihuan to be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. Chen Yun
proposed Song Ping be added. The others all concurred. Deng and Chen
having made their trade-offs, the new leadership group was set.46 In his biog-
raphy of Jiang Zemin, Bruce Gilley claims Deng selected Jiang as general
secretary on May 22, after consultations with Li Xiannian and Chen Yun,
then offered him the job the following day. Jiang asked for a few days to
consult with family and colleagues, then accepted after persuading Wan Li to
stay in Shanghai until political affairs in Beijing sorted themselves out.47 The
account in the Tiananmen Papers is somewhat more credible, in that Jiang is
offered the post after he passes the test of neutralizing Wan Li. Jiang returned
to Beijing on May 30, and Deng explained to Li Peng and Yao Yilin the
following day China needed a new leading group that would not be too
“rigid, conservative, . . . or mediocre.” Deng also lectured them on the need
to maintain the “reform and opening” policy and that they were not to try
and undermine Jiang.48
While the party and government were slowly getting organized and pre-
pared, the student movement was deteriorating. After the emotional high
point reached on the two days following the declaration of martial law, when
Beijing’s citizens prevented PLA troops from entering the city and protesters
in Tiananmen Square numbered over a million, the student organizations fell
to squabbling over goals, tactics, organization, personnel, and logistics of the
“People’s Republic of Tiananmen Square,” as reporters dubbed it. Initial
efforts to coordinate protest activities led to the formation of the “Capital
Joint Liaison Group,” which included representatives of students, workers,
intellectuals, and Beijing citizens. But although it worked diligently to focus
the efforts of the sprawling “democracy movement” and to develop a posi-
tion to negotiate with the government, the group was hampered by the dis-
organization of its constituent elements, particularly within the student
movement.49
As the threat of immediate military action subsided, students began to
contemplate staging a tactical retreat from confrontation at Tiananmen and
returning to classes. Wang Dan and Wu’er Kaixi pushed this option more
forcefully as evidence mounted that hard-line elements in the leadership were
56 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

gaining influence and more troops were reported in Beijing’s suburbs. They
were not successful in persuading others in Tiananmen, in part because the
composition of both the protest and its leadership was changing. With the
hunger strike over, many of the original student demonstrators were return-
ing to campus to rest, recover, and prepare for final examinations. Others
were repelled by the deteriorating sanitation conditions in the square and
several days of high heat and torrential rain. “By the end of May, the Square
had become a smelly squatters’ camp. Heaps of garbage baked in the hot
sun. Makeshift latrines—municipal buses with their seats removed—stank
terribly. Many Beijing students had already drifted back to campus.”50 They
were replaced by students from outside Beijing who had traveled to the capi-
tal to join in the revolution, were in no hurry to leave, and wanted to hold
out for more government concessions. They formed the Tiananmen Square
United Action Headquarters on May 24 and elected the volatile Chai Ling as
supreme commander in chief. Chai and her husband argued for defending
the square “at all costs,” so as not to squander the gains that had already
been achieved. Wu’er withdrew (or was expelled) from the student leader-
ship.51 Western reporters were offended increasingly by the officious behav-
ior of student leaders, who surrounded themselves with bodyguards and
withdrew from contact with foreign journalists.
Crowds of supporters began to diminish within three days of the declara-
tion of martial law, in part because the threat of PLA action seemed to have
disappeared, in part because government work units began restoring disci-
pline and threatening punishment for those who provided support to the
“turmoil.” Although moral support for the students’ cause and disdain for
the central government probably did not diminish in intensity, fewer citizens
felt obligated to trek to the square to demonstrate their solidarity. Increas-
ingly, those in attendance at Tiananmen were unemployed youth—so-called
hooligans (liumang)—or workers with a radical agenda for political change.
They formed “dare-to-die” brigades to provide security for student leaders
and “flying tiger squads” of motorcyclists to courier information and sup-
plies. The danger presented by these outside elements was demonstrated on
May 23, when three unemployed workers from Hunan Province threw paint
at the portrait of Chairman Mao that hung on Tiananmen Gate. Students,
wanting to avoid giving the regime an ideological pretext for taking military
action, captured the perpetrators and turned them over to public security
authorities (they eventually received very heavy sentences).
Finally, by May 27, the student movement seemed to have run out of
steam. Estimates of the number of protesters occupying the square had fallen
to about 15,000. Even Chai Ling reluctantly agreed that the time had come
to withdraw from Tiananmen. Discussions of how to accomplish the retreat
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 57

brought the student movement to the brink of dissolution. With dissident

intellectuals Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao trying to act as intermediaries,
the Beijing Autonomous Students Federation under Wang Dan and the
Tiananmen Square United Action Headquarters split irrevocably over the
date and conditions of a withdrawal. Wang Dan resigned from the BASF, as
Wu’er Kaixi had before him. Under pressure from more radical provincial
students, Chai Ling reversed herself. The final position was that the students
would withdraw from the square on May 30 only if a special session of the
National People’s Congress was called within the next few days. Otherwise,
they would stay in the square until June 20, the next scheduled regular meet-
ing of the NPC Standing Committee.52
The die was cast. Provincial students cleaned up the garbage in the square,
replaced the squalid latrines, put up new tents (received from Hong Kong),
and settled in for a long stay. Chai broke down on May 28, resigned her
position as commander in chief, and evidently left the square, turning leader-
ship of the students over to one of the provincial activists. In a chilling but
emotional interview with an Australian journalist, not translated or aired
until long after the events, she gave a clue to her own sense of the outcome.
“What we are actually hoping for is bloodshed,” she said in the tearful mono-
logue. “Only when the square is awash with blood will the people of China
open their eyes!”53
The movement received an additional breath of new life on May 29 from
the Central Academy of Fine Arts, which assembled a twenty-seven-foot
statue—the Goddess of Democracy—directly across the square from the por-
trait of Chairman Mao. Bearing a striking resemblance to the American Statue
of Liberty, the Goddess further galvanized the protest movement and brought
it additional international support. At least 100,000 people came out to
Tiananmen the following day to see the new challenge to the government.
Even American reporters covering the event found the imagery worrisome.
As CNN’s Mike Chinoy later put it: “However riveting the image and how-
ever great the TV pictures, it was extraordinarily provocative. It was almost
as if the students were taunting the authorities, daring them to act . . . To no
one’s surprise, the official media exploded in an orgy of condemnation.”54
Tragically, the symbol of students’ hopes was probably the last straw for the
government. Any chance of averting a violent showdown was now gone.

Denouement
Deng and the PRC government were ready to take action. Internal rifts had
been patched over and consensus restored by removing dissonant elements
from the leadership. Doubts about the correct course of action had been
58 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

overcome by the united position of the party’s most senior and respected
elders. Military units from outside the capital had been brought in to buttress
local troops, and all had been isolated, indoctrinated, and trained for their
mission. Central control over television and the press had been restored, and
the media now disseminated a consistent and hard-line message. Loudspeak-
ers around Tiananmen drowned out the megaphones of the various student
groups.
According to the Tiananmen Papers, the final decision to clear Tiananmen
Square was made by the elders and the rump Politburo Standing Committee
(Jiang Zemin evidently had not yet taken up his position) on June 2. Meeting
in Deng’s home, they heard an extraordinarily provocative report that had
been prepared by Chen Xitong and Li Ximing of the Beijing Municipal Party
Committee. In it, the demonstrators were no longer portrayed as misguided
youth led by a “small handful” of evil elements. Now they were depicted as
“terrorists” and “hooligans” involved in a “counterrevolutionary riot,” in-
stigated in no small part by “anti-communist, anti-China” elements from the
United States, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.55 Tiananmen Square had become
the “command center for a final showdown with the Party and government,”
Li Peng told them. The student federations were under the influence of the
United States and the Kuomintang Party in Taiwan. “It is becoming clear
that the turmoil has been generated by a coalition of foreign and domestic
reactionary forces and that their goals are to overthrow the Communist Party
and to subvert the socialist system.”56 Ideologically outraged, the elders put
themselves on record in resolute opposition to capitalism and called for quick
action to recover Tiananmen. Yang Shangkun assured them the PLA troops
were indoctrinated, disciplined, and ready to obey the Central Committee’s
orders to “clear the Square in a peaceful way.” Deng ordered Yang to carry
out the clearing in two days.57
It is not possible—using available sources—to fully and accurately de-
scribe the final decision process or the events of the night of June 3–4, 1989.
Up until now, the PRC government has chosen not to provide a detailed
explanation. The public reports it released, including the “press conference”
held on June 7, 1989, and the pamphlet, “The Truth about the Beijing Tur-
moil,” published in 1990, were primarily propaganda exercises aimed at jus-
tifying its actions and refuting Western press accounts of a “massacre.” They
are neither comprehensive nor, in all probability, accurate, especially about
the numbers of casualties inflicted on the citizens of Beijing. Western press
reporters were able to provide coverage of some of the events of the crack-
down but were generally far from the most intense “action” or had partly
obscured perspectives on the key events.58 U.S. diplomats who dodged bul-
lets and visited hospitals to look for American citizens who may have been
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 59

caught up in the crackdown reported horrifying casualties and “lots of people

killed” but could not provide a comprehensive overview of the scale of vio-
lence. Eyewitness accounts by students and others vary in detail but provide,
at best, individual snapshots of actions witnessed in terror and flight. At
worst, some of them are fabrications designed to exaggerate the brutality of
the crackdown.
Since 1989, commentators about what happened on June 4 tend to be
categorized on the basis of the noun used to describe the PLA action. Critics
of the PRC seem to prefer the term “massacre,” with its heavy emotive con-
notations. The regime calls it the “quelling of a rebellion” or a “clearing
action.” Western observers looking for more value-neutral terms talk about
the Tiananmen “incident,” or “crackdown,” “event,” or “tragedy.” In fact,
it was all of those and more. If one takes a dictionary definition of the term—
“massacre: the indiscriminate, merciless killing of a number of human be-
ings”59—then what happened the night of June 4 was indeed a massacre.
Even conservative estimates of the number of civilian casualties put the num-
ber in the hundreds. And eyewitness accounts leave little doubt that, in some
parts of Beijing, firing by PLA soldiers at unarmed civilians was indiscrimi-
nate and often deliberately cruel.
But more important than the what of Tiananmen is the how and why. On
June 3, late in the afternoon, the Central Military Commission issued the
order to martial law units on the outskirts of Beijing to “clear the Square”
(qingchang) by dawn of the following day. Deadly force was authorized to
overcome obstruction and opposition, and units likely were warned to ex-
pect violent resistance from “hooligans” and “ruffians” who were reported
to be in control of key parts of the city. The decision to use lethal force
probably was predicated on the ineffectiveness of other measures. Early in
the morning of June 3—in what may have been as much a provocation as an
effort to use nondeadly force—a group of several thousand young, unarmed
soldiers of the Twenty-Fourth Army jogged toward Tiananmen Square. Be-
fore they got there, they were intercepted by angry citizens who pushed and
shoved them into an embarrassing retreat. Weapons were discovered on buses
accompanying the soldiers, and some apparently were confiscated by the
civilians.60
That incident may have provided the excuse needed to justify a full-scale
armed assault on downtown Beijing. At the afternoon meeting, Li Peng said,
“We must be merciless with the tiny minority of riot elements. The PLA
martial law troops, the People’s Armed Police, and Public Security are autho-
rized to use any means necessary to deal with people who interfere with the
mission.” Yang relayed a two-part message from Deng: “Solve the problem
by dawn tomorrow”; and “No bloodshed within Tiananmen Square.” Troops
60 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

were to “carry away thousands of students on their backs,” if necessary, but

not to shoot them. The broadcast media were to persuade the students to
leave the square.61 To old men protected and isolated behind guarded walls,
the orders probably seemed sensible. On the streets of Beijing, they were
impossible.
At about 7:00 p.m. on June 3, all Beijing media began to broadcast the
same message to the citizens. “Stay in your homes, stay off the street, do not
go to Tiananmen Square.” It was ignored. “Flying tiger” motorcycle sentries
reported preliminary troop movements, enabling the strengthening of exist-
ing blockades (mostly municipal buses) on major routes to Tiananmen and
the emplacement of new ones. Crowds swelled on the streets, hoping to stop
military units as they had done two weeks earlier.
Sometime before 10:00 p.m., PLA units moving in earnest toward central
Beijing from all points of the compass encountered civilian resistance. Al-
though several units ran into civilian blockades north and east of the city, the
heaviest fighting and highest casualties are believed to have taken place on
the route leading into town from the west. At Muxidi, a residential housing
area about four miles west of Tiananmen where elaborate roadblocks had
been set up, troops from the Thirty-Eighth Army began firing above the heads
of citizens blocking their path. When that had no effect, they began firing
directly into the crowds at close range. The crowds exploded in rage, hurling
bricks and Molotov cocktails at PLA units. Photographs of long lines of burned
out military trucks and armored personnel carriers attest to the ferocity of
the engagement. Enraged soldiers in some cases left their units to chase down
fleeing civilians, shooting many of them in the back. Some were caught by
angry crowds and brutally killed. The same column moved on toward
Tiananmen, meeting similar large-scale resistance at the intersections of Xidan
Street and Liubukou, less than a mile from the square. Again, frenzied PLA
soldiers opened fire directly at crowds in the street and sprayed surrounding
buildings indiscriminately with gunfire, killing many ordinary citizens who
were obeying the government’s orders to stay at home.62
By about 1:00 a.m. on the morning of June 4, various PLA units began
arriving at Tiananmen Square, surrounding it and preparing for the final
clearing operation. The remaining students, estimated to number 3,000 to
5,000, huddled around the Martyr’s Monument, some angry and defiant,
others fearful but resigned. Chai Ling was back among them, although Wu’er
Kaixi and Wang Dan were not. A Taiwan-born rock singer, Hou Dejian, and
three other Beijing intellectuals—Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, and Gao Xin—
were also at the monument, having begun their own hunger strike on June 2.
Sensing that the situation was now desperate and hoping to avoid a blood-
bath, they volunteered to try and negotiate a voluntary and peaceful with-
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 61

drawal of the remaining students from the square. Many of the students
were opposed, including Chai Ling. At about 3:30 a.m., Hou and Gao took
a Red Cross–marked ambulance to the northeast corner of the square and
negotiated with the troop commander there to permit the demonstrators to
depart. After consulting with his headquarters, the commander assented.
The agreement was that an exit would be permitted in the southeast corner
of the square, but that the students would have to leave before the final
clearing operation began. All during the process, weapons firing from other
parts of the city could still be heard, and soldiers surrounding the square
seemed to have worked themselves up into a preattack furor. At about
4:00, all the lights in the square suddenly went out, heightening the sense of
fear among the students.
Hou and the other intellectuals returned to the monument to persuade the
remaining students to accept the deal, which turned out not to be an easy
process, involving a voice vote in the darkness. They also collected and de-
stroyed at least one machine gun and other handmade weapons they found
among the students. At about 4:40, the lights came back on, and government
loudspeakers announced that the clearing operation was about to begin. At
5:00, PLA troops began to close in on the Martyrs’ Monument, leaving the
agreed-upon gap in their lines in the southeast corner near Qianmen. Most,
but not all, of the students walked out quickly, carrying their banners, but
were harassed toward the end by troops completing the task of recapturing
Tiananmen Square. By 5:30, that part of the operation was over.63 Beijing
authorities subsequently used the withdrawal, and Hou’s account of it, to
validate their claim that “no one” died in Tiananmen Square during the crack-
down.64
The killing, however, did not end with the capture of Tiananmen Square.
For the next three days, Beijing became a virtual civil war zone, with scores
of violent incidents and many more deaths, some of them close enough to
Tiananmen Square to render the government’s claim meaningless. Troop
convoys raced through the streets, often firing their weapons in the air. Western
reporters, mostly restricted to the downtown hotels, reported rumors of
interunit combat and artillery firing and “tens of thousands” of casualties.65
The regime would initially claim that about 300 people were killed and over
7,000 were injured during the operation. Of these, civilian casualties were
claimed to be about 200 killed (only 23 of them students) and about 2,000
wounded.66 Although these figures have never been accepted by any observ-
ers or nongovernment participants, much less by the foreign press, they have
remained generally consistent over time.67
In an enormously unequal contest, the victor was foreordained. On June
6, the Politburo Standing Committee and several of the elders gathered to
62 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

review the situation. They congratulated themselves for taking resolute ac-
tion, denounced foreign countries (and especially the United States) for exag-
gerating casualty figures and condemning China, and commiserated with the
PLA for their suffering. Then they called for a further crackdown. Deng set
the stage: “Of all China’s problems, the one that trumps everything is the
need for stability. We have to jump on anything that might bring instability;
we can’t give ground on this point, can’t bend at all. And we can’t care what
foreigners say. . . . In the future, whenever it might be necessary, we will use
severe measures to stamp out the first signs of turmoil as soon as they ap-
pear. This will show that we won’t put up with foreign interference and will
protect our national sovereignty.” Li Xiannian followed up with a call for a
“super tough” crackdown, but Deng advised caution, moderation toward
ordinary students and demonstrators, and observance of appropriate laws.
But he made it clear that there were to be no more demonstrations. “We
can’t just allow people to demonstrate whenever they want to.”68
On June 9, Deng, Li Peng, and the rest of the leadership appeared on
television in a meeting congratulating martial law troops on the successful
quelling of the “counterrevolutionary rebellion.” In a tough and combative
speech, Deng defended his reform policies against those who evidently blamed
them for precipitating the crisis in the first place. He also blasted “bourgeois
liberalization” (that is, foreign, especially American, influence) for causing
the problems and misleading many party members. Deng credited first the
elderly veteran party members, then the PLA for saving the situation. “What
is most advantageous to us is that we have a large group of veteran comrades
who are still alive. They have experienced many storms and they know what
is at stake. They support the use of resolute action to counter the rebellion.”
And “The People’s Army is truly a great wall of iron and steel of the party
and state. . . . No matter how heavy our losses, the army, under the leader-
ship of the party, will always remain the defender of the country, the de-
fender of socialism, and the defender of the public interest.”69
As Deng looked around the room at the other attendees, he could hardly
have been optimistic about the prospects for returning to a course of eco-
nomic reform. Seated to his left were Li Xiannian (age eighty), Yang Shangkun
(eighty-two), Peng Zhen (eighty-seven), Wan Li (seventy-three), and Bo Yibo
(eighty-one); to his right: Li Peng, Wang Zhen (eighty-one), Yao Yilin
(seventy-two), and Qiao Shi (sixty-five). Chen Yun was not in attendance
but sent his congratulations.70 All the former Politburo and Secretariat mem-
bers who had enthusiastically pushed economic and political reform in the
past—Zhao Ziyang, Hu Qili, Rui Xingwen, and Yan Mingfu—were absent
and soon would be officially purged from the party leadership. Deng was
now faced with a profoundly different leadership lineup, one he could not
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 63

dominate as easily as before, one that had fewer policy disagreements for
him to broker, one that would not automatically turn to him for guidance,
and one that might see him as responsible for the worst political setback for
the party’s cause since Mao and the Cultural Revolution.

American Reaction
President Bush and his administration seem to have been caught off guard by
the rapid downward spiral of events. Coming as it did within months of his
inauguration, the crisis hit before the administration had mapped out a full
foreign policy design for Asia and before it had assembled a full team of Asia
experts. There was no assistant secretary of state for Asian affairs—Richard
Solomon was not nominated until mid-April and only confirmed after
Tiananmen in June. William Clark was acting. There was no assistant secre-
tary of defense for international security affairs, and the deputy assistant
secretary in charge of East Asia, Carl Ford, had just taken up his duties in
April. The senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council,
Karl Jackson, was not a China expert, although Douglas Paal, his deputy,
was highly knowledgeable. There was no national intelligence officer for
East Asia on the National Intelligence Council, Carl Ford having moved over
to defense. The U.S. ambassador to Beijing, James R. Lilley, arrived on May
3, in the midst of the crisis, replacing Ambassador Winston Lord, in whom
the White House had little faith. In the circumstances, National Security
Adviser Brent Scowcroft considered himself the key policymaker regarding
China.71 But none of the top policymakers had a particularly good idea of
what was taking place in China early in 1989. Neither State Department
cables, nor intelligence reporting, nor the increasing volume of U.S. media
reporting on China had given them a very clear idea of the nature of the
sociopolitical changes ongoing in China or the struggles that were going on
within the leadership.
President Bush had a strong personal interest in China and U.S. policy
toward China and made it clear from the outset that he would be very active
in promoting U.S.-PRC relations.72 Bush also was a firm believer in personal
diplomacy at the chief-of-state level and wanted badly to establish a good
working relationship with Deng Xiaoping early in his administration. Thus
the February trip to Beijing. Bush’s orientation toward China, like Scowcroft’s,
was predominantly strategic in origin and based on their mutual concern
about the military intentions and capabilities of the Soviet Union. But Bush
also believed that U.S.-China relations, especially the growing economic in-
teraction between the two countries, was important for the development of a
more open and democratic system in China.73 Bush’s hardheaded and prag-
64 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

matic secretary of state, James Baker, did not share his boss’s fondness for
China. He saw China issues as political liabilities, even before Tiananmen
and far more so afterward. Knowing that China policy was likely to be tightly
managed by the White House in any case, Baker kept aloof from most China
issues.74
As the situation deteriorated in Beijing during May, the Bush administra-
tion watched with growing anxiety and confusion. Scowcroft and others found
it surprising that Deng would tolerate the takeover of the center of the capi-
tal by unruly students. They believed Zhao had fallen afoul of others in the
Politburo but did not know how to factor in the populist element that ap-
peared nightly on television. Lilley, driving down to the square on May 3 to
see for himself whether the student movement was as momentous as Win-
ston Lord had described it, recalled that he had very uneasy feelings about
how it would turn out.75 Intelligence reporting did not fill in enough of the
blanks to enable Washington observers to measure the depth of the crisis, so
they were constantly trying to catch up with rapidly moving events. It was
not until after Gorbachev’s visit that a special task force was established in
the State Department, manned twenty-four hours a day, with an open tele-
phone line to Embassy Beijing to keep up with the latest developments.76
Only when Li Peng declared martial law on May 19 did the State Depart-
ment issue its first statement on the situation in China. “The United States
supports freedom of speech, association and peaceful assembly in China as in
the rest of the world. We regret that military action has been ordered with
the aim of restricting those freedoms,” said department spokesman Dennis
Harter. From Bush’s vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, White House
spokesman Marlin Fitzwater took a slightly different tack, saying the situa-
tion appeared “confused,” but that both sides should continue to exercise
“restraint.”77 In a press conference the following day, Bush expressed sup-
port for student demonstrators, but he urged them to follow a nonviolent
course. “We do support freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of
the press and clearly we support democracy. I don’t want to be gratuitous in
giving advice, but I would encourage restraint. I do not want to see blood-
shed. . . . And I would urge the Government to be as forthcoming as possible
in order to see more democratization and to see a peaceful resolution of this
matter.”78
Privately, Bush officials were becoming more alarmed. They knew the
martial law order could not be carried out against a million people in the
square. But neither would it be rescinded. On May 20, Ambassador Lilley
flew back to Beijing from Shanghai—where he had been welcoming the long-
awaited visit of the USS Blue Ridge, flagship of the Pacific Fleet and strategic
countermove to Gorbachev’s visit—and rebuffed a White House request that
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 65

he accompany Wan Li on his visit to Washington. He quickly established

teams of embassy officers to be on the street day and night to report on
events. Richard Solomon, although not yet confirmed as assistant secretary,
kept up with the reporting and privately advised Baker that things were likely
to get “nasty” in Beijing.79
Although Bush administration figures were as surprised as anyone at the
massive show of defiance by crowds in Beijing after the declaration of mar-
tial law, they were increasingly pessimistic about the likely outcome. As the
crowds began to dwindle after May 24, official Washington began to pre-
pare for the worst. Intelligence reported increasing numbers of PLA troops
getting into position on the outskirts of Beijing and began sketching out the
likelihood of an attack on the square. The embassy received conflicting in-
formation but sent in at least one “false alarm” late in May that the PLA was
about to move.80 Publicly, however, the administration kept its counsel. As
Douglas Paal explained it, “We knew this was going to be bloody. These are
bloody-minded people. So we were never as shocked as the public was.”81
In Congress, complaints were already being heard that the administration
was not saying more. During the last week of May, both houses debated a
concurrent resolution on supporting democracy in China (H. Con. Res. 136).
Senate Majority Leader George S. Mitchell, during the debate, criticized Presi-
dent Bush for being too cautious and neutral in his support for the Tiananmen
demonstrators. “The President’s statements have been so balanced and neu-
tral that they appear to be primarily concerned about not offending the Chi-
nese leadership.” 82 House Foreign Relations Committee East Asia
Subcommittee Chair Steven Solarz also urged a stronger U.S. warning to
China. “It is important for the Chinese to know that our relationship with
them in the future will be determined in no small measure by how they re-
solve this crisis. . . . If they should attempt to resolve it by using force, by
incarcerating demonstrators, possibly even by killing thousands of their fel-
low citizens, by incarcerating tens of thousands of others, then I have to say
. . . that it would inevitably have significantly adverse consequences for the
relationship between our two countries.”83 The resolution passed the Senate
89-0, putting the president on notice that a crackdown on the demonstra-
tions would be met by congressional action.
Meanwhile, President Bush met with visiting National People’s Congress
Standing Committee Chairman Wan Li on May 23, urging him strongly in a
private session in the White House residence that China must exercise re-
straint. Wan was the wrong messenger in the wrong place, but the adminis-
tration was not certain who was in charge at that point, and Wan was the
only Chinese official available. Under conflicting pressures from Beijing, Wan
cut short his trip and returned to house arrest in Shanghai, eventually going
66 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

along with the majority in the Politburo and supporting the violent crack-
down. Although he may have conveyed Bush’s message back through em-
bassy channels, he certainly had no opportunity to do so in person.
The events of early morning, June 4, in Beijing were reported the after-
noon of Saturday, June 3, in Washington, owing to the twelve-hour time
difference. The administration’s response was quick, but careful, given the
lack of detail about what was going on. Late in the afternoon, President Bush
issued a statement from Kennebunkport (prepared for him by the State De-
partment task force). “I deeply deplore the decision to use force against peace-
ful demonstrators and the consequent loss of life. We have been urging and
continue to urge non-violence, restraint and dialogue. Tragically, another
course has been chosen. Again, I urge a return to non-violent means for deal-
ing with the current situation.”84 Scowcroft indicated he and the president
were “alarmed and disappointed,” as they had believed the regime was on
the verge of winning without violence. Secretary Baker, in a CNN interview
Saturday evening, noted that violence had been used by both sides and re-
fused to be drawn out on what steps would be taken to punish China. The
department issued a travel advisory for China, warning tourists to avoid
Beijing.85
Congressional reaction was swift and far less cautious than the admin-
istration’s response. In public statements, various congressional leaders called
for punitive actions to be taken immediately, including a cutoff of military
cooperation and technology transfer, the imposition of punitive tariffs on
Chinese goods, the cessation of U.S. support for World Bank loans to China,
withdrawal of the American ambassador to Beijing, and cancellation of Peace
Corps assignments to China. Representative Mickey Edwards (R–Okla.) prob-
ably expressed the view of many on the Hill, both about events in China and
the administration’s response. “Diplomatic messages of disapproval are a
pretty puny reaction to the murdering of innocent civilians whose only crime
is to want the same freedoms we in the West take for granted. We need to do
something besides talk.”86 Jesse Helms, ranking Republican on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, called for a full review of the entire bilateral
relationship.
On Sunday morning, June 5, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East
Asian and Pacific Affairs William Clark chaired an emergency policy work-
ing group meeting in a seventh-floor conference room at the State Depart-
ment, where the Tiananmen task force was located. In attendance were policy
and legal specialists from various executive branch policy agencies and mem-
bers of the intelligence community, many of whom had been regular partici-
pants in the task force. After a briefing on the latest reports from Beijing,
including very high casualty estimates, the meeting got down to its main
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 67

business, drawing up a list of possible actions the U.S. government could

take in response to Tiananmen. Most of the proposals raised were not mo-
mentous, and State Department lawyers reminded participants of what sanc-
tions could and could not be applied in different circumstances. The meeting
proposed suspension of scheduled meetings of the Joint Commission on Com-
merce and Trade (JCCT) and the Joint Commission on Science and Technol-
ogy, meetings that, while symbolically important, did not have significant
impact.87
Carl Ford, deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security
affairs, having discussed matters with Defense Secretary Cheney and
Undersecretary Paul Wolfowitz, recommended the defense relationship take
the brunt of the punitive cutbacks. He said the military-to-military relation-
ship should be suspended so that other aspects of the relationship could be
sustained. He indicated that the PLA had been the obvious perpetrator of
outrageous behavior during and after the crackdown, so it was natural to
break off ties, perhaps indefinitely.88 Ford also proposed suspension of four
military technology programs:
—Grumman Aircraft Corporation’s $502 million program to upgrade the
avionics in China’s F-8 (MiG-21) fighter aircraft was the most significant.
The program, code-named Peace Pearl, was intended to replace outdated
navigation and flight control systems in fifty-five F-8 fighters, and it remained
controversial with some congressional critics.
—The sale of four MK-46 torpedoes (worth about $8.5 million);
—A plan to assist China in improving artillery production (about $28.5
million); and
—The sale of counterartillery radar sets (valued at $62.5 million).89
The following day, President Bush held a news conference, where he an-
nounced the suspension of military contacts and technology transfers worth
approximately $600 million, a “sympathetic review of requests” by Chinese
students studying in the United States to extend their stays to avoid going
back to China, the offer of humanitarian aid and medical assistance to those
wounded in the crackdown, and “a review of other aspects of our bilateral
relationship as events in China continue to unfold.” Bush spent more time
fending off questions and demands from Congress that he take more drastic
steps, such as suspending trade and investment or prohibiting high-tech ex-
ports. Bush defended his preliminary steps as consistent with “both our long-
term interests and recognition of a complex internal situation in China.”90
Privately, however, Bush was working hard to re-establish contact with
the Chinese leadership, even though he was not certain whom to contact or
how to do so. He tried calling Deng on the telephone but could not get through.
He summoned the Chinese ambassador, Han Xu, to the White House to
68 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

express his displeasure with events and to try and find out more about who
was in charge. He spoke with Richard M. Nixon, who advised him not to
disrupt the relationship.91 Clearly looking for any opportunity to keep the
relationship from deteriorating further, Bush was repelled and constrained
by the brutal revenge taking that was going under the auspices of martial
law in Beijing, graphically depicted every night on U.S. television. On June
9, in another press conference, Bush ruled out the restoration of “totally
normal” relations “unless there is a recognition of the validity of the stu-
dents’ aspirations.”92

China: The Aftermath of a Pyrrhic Victory

While the Bush administration was deciding on sanctions against the PLA,
the PLA was still dealing with the unsettled situation in Beijing municipality
and with reaction to the crackdown in other parts of the country.93 China’s
capital was awash in rage, grief, and shock at what the PLA and the Commu-
nist Party leadership had done. The regime’s reaction had been, in all likeli-
hood, deliberately excessive. “The force used on June 4 promised to end the
movement immediately, certainly, and once and for all. . . . The excessive use
of force demonstrated that the potential costs of protest were prohibitive: the
regime was willing to sanction the killing of protesters in the streets.”94 Be-
sides fear and intimidation, the public reaction to Tiananmen represented a
thorough disillusionment with the Communist Party and its leadership. While
the legitimacy of a government cannot be measured, the esteem in which it is
held by those it governs is difficult to recover once it has been lost. Without
a doubt, the legitimacy of the Communist Party after June 4 had never been
lower.
Equally damaged by Tiananmen was the reputation of the People’s Lib-
eration Army, which carried out the party’s orders brutally. Long accus-
tomed to being the object of public affection and adulation, the military now
found itself the object of hatred and derision. Serious morale problems af-
flicted the PLA during and after the martial law action. Perhaps as many as
3,500 soldiers were disciplined subsequently, most of them for refusal to
obey orders.95 While its senior leadership might have enjoyed a significant
increase in influence over the party as a result of ensuring its survival, that
hardly compensated for the resentment and distrust generated elsewhere in
society by the way it carried out its orders to recapture Tiananmen Square or
the way it flaunted its authority in the early phases of martial law.
The party’s actions immediately after order was restored in Beijing en-
sured that the bad feelings generated by the quelling of the Tiananmen dem-
onstrations were magnified manyfold. Gathering all the coercive authority
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 69

available through the massive military and police presence and its firm con-
trol of propaganda, the regime set about punishing those it held responsible
for its loss of face and loss of control in April and May. Kind words and
reassurances for the students were quickly replaced by denunciations, most-
wanted lists, and intensive investigations. All the unofficial groups that formed
during May—the Beijing Autonomous Students Federation, Beijing Autono-
mous Workers Federation, Beijing Citizens Association—were banned out-
right, and their leaders were urged to turn themselves in. Chinese television
broadcast film of the arrests of so-called ruffians. Many of them appeared to
have been badly beaten. Democracy activists were rounded up by the hun-
dreds and jailed simply because they were known to be activists, not because
they were connected to demonstrations at Tiananmen. In a chilling throw-
back to the Cultural Revolution, party leaders put out public notices that
people should inform authorities if they had knowledge of any of their neigh-
bors or coworkers having been involved in demonstrations.96 By June 17,
Beijing announced that trials of “thugs” connected with Tiananmen had com-
menced, and death sentences were handed down and carried out in Beijing
and Shanghai. Thousands of others were charged with “counterrevolution-
ary” offenses or with “disturbing social order.” Many were given quick or
no trials and sent to prison or labor reform camps.
Part of the crackdown was a matter of getting foreign news services out of
China, where they had seriously compromised the regime’s ability to control
the information available to its citizens. The task was complicated by the fact
that most U.S. news agencies and networks had expanded their Beijing op-
erations by adding reporters and camera crews in the aftermath of June 4.
China’s response, according to U.S. ambassador James Lilley, was to “close
the door and beat the dog”— get the foreigners out so they could punish the
demonstrators without fear of interference or embarrassing attention.97 Al-
though there is no definitive proof of it, several observers believe the Chinese
may have wanted to precipitate foreign flight from Beijing immediately after
the crackdown. Deliberate and extensive gunfire at the Jian Guo Men Wai
diplomatic compound on June 7 was the final act that set in motion U.S.
plans to evacuate American nationals from Beijing. Responding to orders
from the secretary of state, Ambassador Lilley and his staff spent the next
several days in an exhausting but ultimately successful effort to get hundreds
of Americans—including many embassy family members—out of the city.
Although the regime denied any intent to force foreigners out of China
and accused the United States of overreacting to the situation, there were
other indications that at least some in the Chinese military held foreigners
accountable for the events leading up to Tiananmen. Martial law authorities
focused intently on preventing foreign journalists from moving around in
70 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

Beijing. Two American correspondents were expelled from the country, oth-
ers were arrested, and some were beaten. Accusations that the Voice of
America had interfered in China’s domestic affairs became a staple of the
regime’s explanation of what had happened.
The crackdown, in its earliest and most violent stages, accomplished its
likely goals. Chinese citizens, despite the rage and grief of many, cooperated
in restoring a semblance of public order to the city. Transportation was re-
sumed, stores and factories reopened, life returned slowly to normal.
Tiananmen Square remained closed to the public while cleanup and repairs
were accomplished. The media kept up a steady barrage of news designed to
intimidate—expanded most-wanted lists, reports of widespread arrests of
“hooligans,” television accounts of trials and executions.

A Reluctant Guest
On June 5, 1989, after the initial phase of the bloodletting in Tiananmen was
over, and before the public crackdown on student dissidents had yet swung
into high gear, Fang Lizhi, along with his wife, Li Shuxian, and their son,
Fang Zhe, paid a visit to the U.S. embassy compound on North Xiushui
Street. There they met for nearly four hours with the acting deputy chief of
mission, Ray Burghardt, and the public affairs officer, McKinney Russell,
discussing political refuge and asylum. Knowing that he was likely to be
arrested and punished, even though his role in the Tiananmen events was
minimal, Fang was concerned for the safety of his family, as well as his own.
Hoping to discourage a potentially messy asylum case, the two officers out-
lined the problems Fang might cause by seeking refuge in the embassy and
offered to facilitate his travel to the United States instead. Confused and
discouraged, Fang and his family retreated to the Jianguo Hotel, a few blocks
from the embassy, where they stayed with an American journalist and a long-
time friend and discussed their plight.98
In Washington, the State Department reacted to the embassy’s handling
of Fang with anger and dismay. Believing that Fang’s arrest after having
been denied refuge at the embassy would precipitate a damaging public out-
cry, Secretary Baker and Undersecretary Robert Kimmitt instructed Acting
Assistant Secretary William Clark to have the embassy recontact Fang and
authorize refuge for him and his family. Hoping to keep the situation low
key, Clark telephoned Ambassador Lilley and urged him to “send somebody
out to tell him that if he’d like to come to the Embassy, he can.”99 Lilley
immediately dispatched Burghardt and Russell to the Jianguo Hotel, where
they invited Fang to be the “guest of President Bush” and spirited him and
his family out the back door of the hotel and into a minivan, which drove
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 71

them past PLA guards to the ambassador’s residence. Fang and his family
took up residence on the first floor there, afraid even to turn on a light for
fear of attracting attention. Somewhat later, they moved to a makeshift flat
behind the residence itself.100
The story of Fang’s being picked up at the hotel and escorted to some
form of official American protection was soon learned by the Chinese, al-
though they did not seem to realize at first exactly where he was. On June 8,
Chinese media, predictably, accused the United States of interference in Chi-
nese domestic affairs and violation of international law. In conjunction with
their accusations that American media had exacerbated the situation to un-
dermine China’s government, propagandists probably saw Fang’s sojourn in
the U.S. embassy as a golden opportunity to keep shifting the blame for
Tiananmen to external sources, namely, the United States. Within days, ar-
rest warrants for Fang and his wife were publicized, charging them with
“crimes of counterrevolutionary propaganda and instigation.”101 In his press
conference on June 8, President Bush had admitted that Fang was indeed in
U.S. hands but denied any violation of law. “It is awful hard for the United
States, when a man presents himself—a person who is a dissident—and says
that his life is threatened, to turn him back,” Bush explained.102
Fang Lizhi had little to do with the demonstrations at Tiananmen. Al-
though he supported the cause of student demonstrators in Tiananmen, he
avoided going to the square to show support for fear his presence would
taint their cause with the regime. He did, however, give interviews to West-
ern journalists in which he commented favorably on the growing enthusiasm
for democracy. There is little doubt that he would have faced arrest and
possible prosecution, since even more moderate democratic reformers like
Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao were soon on the government’s most-wanted
lists. But Fang’s flight to the U.S. embassy and the unusual circumstances of
his being granted protection (not political asylum, as the State Department
was careful to point out) probably increased Chinese suspicions of American
collusion in Tiananmen and certainly heightened Beijing’s antipathy for Fang
and unwillingness to negotiate an arrangement for his release.
Fang was a major issue in U.S.-China relations for the next year. Widely
admired in the United States for his staunch advocacy of democracy, there
was no way the Bush administration could release him into Chinese custody,
where he faced certain imprisonment and possible physical abuse; that op-
tion was never seriously considered. The United States sought some guaran-
tee of his freedom from arrest or safe passage out of China. For Beijing, the
issue was equally important, symbolically and politically. Fang’s presence—
unassailable under international law—in the American embassy smacked of
the extraterritorial privileges that foreign missions had once claimed in China
72 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

and incited genuine resentment in the leadership. Moreover, he had already

been indicted as a “counterrevolutionary criminal,” and there was no way
the regime could grant amnesty or safe passage for him without compromis-
ing its fierce crackdown on all forms of dissidence.
Thus, although Ambassador Lilley referred to the Fang issue as an “irri-
tant” in the bilateral relationship, he in fact had become a major stumbling
block, affecting all other efforts to improve the relationship, owing to the
sharply conflicting demands of domestic politics on both sides.103 There were
numerous other problems in the relationship in the summer of 1989—
economic sanctions, the evacuation of American citizens, nonproliferation,
the future of military-to-military relations, student exchanges, and trade, to
name a few. But none would prove more difficult to resolve than Fang Lizhi’s
unexpected long-term visit to the ambassador’s residence. It even led to fur-
ther tensions in and of itself, as when the regime posted additional armed
guards outside the embassy compound, probably out of fear the United States
would try to spirit Fang out of the country.104

China’s Post-Tiananmen Leadership

On June 24, the Communist Party showed it had recovered control of the
capital and of itself well enough to hold a Central Committee meeting to
display its new leadership. At the two-day party plenum, Zhao Ziyang was
officially ousted from all his positions (although he was not expelled from
the party), Hu Qili was dropped from the Politburo and its Standing Com-
mittee, and Yan Mingfu and Rui Xingwen, two Zhao associates who at-
tempted to negotiate with students in mid-May, were dropped from the party
secretariat. Three new members were added to the Standing Committee: Li
Ruihuan, age fifty-four, formerly mayor of Tianjin; Song Ping, an economic
planning expert associated with Chen Yun; and the new general secretary of
the party, Jiang Zemin. Public reaction to Jiang’s appointment was mixed—
some saw his appointment as representing an effort to reassure foreign inves-
tors and those favoring reform. Others, especially in Shanghai where he was
well known and not widely respected, viewed Jiang’s appointment with res-
ignation or dismay. Few had any doubts that Deng Xiaoping would remain
in charge. As the New York Times put it, “Whoever is the Communist Party
General Secretary will owe his position to the support of Mr. Deng, whose
virtually unquestioned personal authority has been amply demonstrated by
recent events.”105
What was less visible to Western observers, however, was the degree to
which Tiananmen had shattered the party’s unity and weakened Deng’s au-
thority. Nathan and Link’s Tiananmen Papers has excerpts of some of the
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 73

speeches made by senior Communist Party veterans at the Fourth Plenum.

Taking advantage of an opportunity to comment on the party’s formal charges
against Zhao, several of these senior officials obliquely attacked the entire
reform movement, which had been founded by Deng.106 Deng’s insistence in
his post-Tiananmen speeches that the reform and opening policy must be
maintained reflected his understanding that his policies would come under
renewed attack and that the new leadership might not be able to hold the
line. Making things even worse, Zhao Ziyang refused to admit that he had
made any mistakes. His speech at the plenum, expected to be a self-criticism,
instead was a stout defense of his actions and decisions. Calmly but firmly,
he refuted point by point Li Peng’s charges that he had “supported the tur-
moil and split the party.” Although the resolution criticizing him was passed,
Zhao was not expelled from the party, and his refusal to accept the party’s
judgment left his case open. It also left him, rather than Deng, clearly identi-
fied as the party’s strongest advocate of reform.107
Li Peng appeared to most outside observers to be the big winner in the
aftermath of Tiananmen. The New York Times, for example, proclaimed
that Li “has emerged as the victor in a bitter and complex struggle for power
and influence with Zhao Ziyang. . . . Mr. Li is now the most visible and
powerful of the younger generation of leaders in China.”108 Given the fact
that he was the one chosen to announce the imposition of martial law, was
clearly behind efforts to bring down Zhao Ziyang, and was known to be
unenthusiastic about economic reform, Li had been universally reviled by
Tiananmen protesters. From the first days of demonstrations after Hu
Yaobang’s death, Li’s ouster was a consistent demand of Beijing crowds, and
he was regularly ridiculed in student publications and posters. His survival
was not only the symbolic proof of the complete failure of the demonstrators
but reinforced the image of conservative strength within the new leading
group.
Li came by his conservative credentials naturally. Born in Sichuan Prov-
ince in 1928, his father was a Communist Party cadre who was captured and
executed by the Kuomintang in 1931. Li was raised by his mother, with
generous help for his education from former premier Zhou Enlai and his
wife, Deng Yingchao. Although most of his higher education was in the com-
munist base camp in remote Yanan (Shaanxi Province), Li focused his stud-
ies on engineering. In 1948, he was sent to study at the Moscow Power
Institute, where he remained until 1954, learning fluent Russian in the pro-
cess. After his return to China, he worked his way up through the various
strands of the electrical power bureaucracy, eventually heading Beijing’s
Municipal Electrical Power Administration. His connection to Zhou Enlai
(some considered him almost an adopted son to Zhou, who had no chil-
74 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

dren of his own) enabled him to escape persecution during the Cultural
Revolution.
After Deng returned to power in 1977, Li moved rapidly up the bureau-
cratic ladder to vice minister of Power Industry in 1979, then vice premier of
the State Council and minister in charge of the State Education Commission
in 1983. At a special party delegates meeting in 1985, Li was added to the
Politburo as a full member. Li became acting premier of the State Council
after Zhao Ziyang was moved over to be general secretary of the Communist
Party upon Hu Yaobang’s ouster in early 1987, and he was promoted to the
Politburo Standing Committee in October. At that time, Li was also placed
in charge of the Central Committee’s “leading small group” for foreign af-
fairs.109 In 1988, he replaced Zhao as the principal official in charge of eco-
nomic policy and immediately began trying to retrench on some of Zhao’s
inflationary reform measures. Already one of the party’s most powerful and
influential figures, Li’s authority was strengthened by the addition of Song
Ping to the Politburo Standing Committee after Tiananmen.
Jiang Zemin was the most prominent of the newly appointed leaders. Little
was known of him outside of China, and even within China, opinions were
mixed. Born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, in August 1926, Jiang’s early
education was interrupted by Japan’s invasion and occupation of eastern
China, but he completed high school and was admitted to Nanjing Central
University (which later merged with Shanghai’s prestigious Jiaotong Univer-
sity), where he majored in science. According to various biographies, Jiang
joined the underground Communist Party at the university but did not play
an active role.110 After graduation and the establishment of the People’s Re-
public of China in 1949, Jiang worked in various industrial enterprises, draw-
ing favorable attention from Wang Daohan, then an up-and-coming party
leader in Shanghai. Jiang became a manager in China’s “machine-building”
sector and was rewarded with a year of study in Moscow in 1955. Subse-
quently, he worked at the Changchun (Jilin Province) No. 1 Automobile
Factory, where he was known as an amiable and diligent cadre who got the
work done without threatening anyone and who had a slightly eccentric air
about him.111
Jiang returned to Shanghai in 1962 and worked in various industrial en-
terprises in the region for the next five years. During the Cultural Revolu-
tion, when Mao’s rampaging Red Guards arrested and humiliated many party
and government officials, Jiang was suspended from his work but was not
jailed or otherwise punished. Other members of his family were not so lucky—
one of his uncles reportedly was killed by Red Guards, and both Jiang’s sons
were “sent down” to the countryside and not permitted to return to take up
educational opportunities until after 1979.
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 75

In 1970, having been rehabilitated relatively early, Jiang was assigned to

Beijing, where he worked in the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the First Ministry
of Machine-Building, and managed to steer clear of the political perturba-
tions that accompanied Mao’s death in 1976 and the purge of his radical
followers, the Gang of Four, in October of that year. The Gang of Four—
Mao’s wife Jiang Qing, Politburo Standing Committee member and PLA
General Political Department Director Zhang Chunqiao, Politburo Standing
Committee Member and Party Vice Chairman Wang Hongwen, and Polit-
buro propaganda overseer Yao Wenyuan—had extensive influence through-
out China, and the party purge that followed their ouster was broad and
deep. Among the localities where the radical Maoism associated with the
Gang was strongest was Shanghai, where all four had close ties and many
followers. After 1976, Shanghai municipality was extensively purged and
reorganized, and Jiang was part of the team brought in from Beijing (under
his mentor, Wang Daohan) to ensure the city continued to operate while it
was being re-educated.112 His earliest experience with economic reform came
in 1979, when he was assigned to the State Foreign Investment Control Com-
mission, which was then setting up and managing the special economic zones
(SEZs) in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces. Jiang began a rapid rise in 1982,
when he was selected to become a member of the Twelfth Central Commit-
tee. This was followed by appointment as minister of electronics in 1983,
where he was credited with improving China’s backward and poor-quality
electrical technology.113
In 1985, Jiang was selected to replace Wang Daohan as mayor of Shang-
hai. In the rapidly changing circumstances of China under reform and with
intense debates and disputes swirling in the central and local governments, it
is not surprising that Jiang vacillated in his policy views. He eagerly em-
braced the economic reform programs promoted by Zhao Ziyang and Hu
Yaobang and worked hard to ensure that the negative effects—particularly
soaring inflation in the mid-1980s—were minimized. In late 1986 and early
1987, however, when student demonstrations against corruption and a lack
of democracy roiled Shanghai campuses, Jiang showed himself to be a staunch
political conservative. Ignoring Hu Yaobang’s recommendations for a con-
ciliatory approach, Jiang cracked down hard on campus protests, ordering
expulsion from school and, if necessary, arrests of demonstrators. After Hu
Yaobang was sacked, Jiang’s tough approach was lauded in Beijing.114 At the
Communist Party’s Thirteenth Congress in October 1987, Jiang was added
to the Politburo. After that he took over the more important post of Shang-
hai party secretary, turning over mayoral duties to Zhu Rongji.
Jiang and Zhu made a formidable team, and although very different from
each other in political style, capabilities, and interests, they worked together
76 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

successfully in Shanghai, contributing to that city’s remarkable economic

recovery and growth. During the period before the Tiananmen crisis in Beijing,
Shanghai also was beset with student activism and street protests. Jiang earned
the enmity of China’s intellectuals and students by closing down the World
Economic Herald—a Shanghai newspaper that had become celebrated for
its outspoken espousal of economic and political reform—in late April 1989
and suspending its editor, Qin Benli. But unlike leaders in Beijing, Jiang sent
representatives to negotiate with students about allowing transportation and
other business to continue during the protests. And after martial law was
declared on May 19, Jiang reportedly spent the entire evening among crowds
of angry protesters on Shanghai’s Bund, assuring them that the Shanghai
municipal government, at least, considered them patriotic and well mean-
ing and was open to honest dialogue. Jiang publicly supported the martial
law proclamation but made clear to Shanghai officials that the preferred
solution to the problems was not confrontation and violence but dialogue
and patience.115
Shortly afterward, he was called to Beijing, where Deng informed him he
was to be promoted to the topmost party position. Although Jiang was prob-
ably in Beijing at the time of the PLA’s attack on demonstrators, he held no
formal or informal position in the hierarchy at the time and probably had no
input into the decision. Shanghai exploded in anger at news of the violence in
Beijing, but its potent and competent police force was able to keep the situa-
tion under control without calling on the PLA for assistance. There was vio-
lence at the fringes of the demonstrations, and many arrests were made, but
Shanghai handled the situation far more deftly than Beijing.116
The available information suggests that the selection of Jiang Zemin was
made by Deng, with strong inputs from elders Chen Yun and Li Xiannian,
who became acquainted with Jiang when he worked in Shanghai. Jiang had
demonstrated loyalty and a tough approach to dissent, was educated and
worldly, did not appear to have strong ambitions or policy preferences, had
not engaged in faction building, and was satisfactory to other elders. He was
supportive of economic reform but had not linked his career with either Hu
Yaobang or Zhao Ziyang; he had conservative and technocratic credentials
but no strong ties to Li Peng. In other words, he had accumulated neither the
supporters nor the enemies of other prominent leaders in the ranks of poten-
tial successors. Having just overseen the purges of his two previous hand-
picked successors, Deng may have been looking for something of a blank
slate, someone he could train to carry on his legacy. As Deng said to Li Peng,
“If we present a lineup which the people think is a rigid, conservative leading
body or a mediocre leading body which cannot reflect China’s future, there
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 77

will still be a lot of trouble in the future. . . . We must establish credibility

among the people.”117

Deng in Eclipse?
What Deng may not have foreseen, however, is how much his own position
was weakened by the events surrounding June 4. Evidence is intangible and
the conclusion is intuitive rather than completely deductive. Deng was not in
obvious disgrace, and many American observers, such as Ambassador Lilley
and others in the Bush administration, saw Deng’s hand continuing through-
out 1989 to guide China’s policies, particularly toward the United States.
But in China’s power-focused political system, where authority is informal
and personal, a leader’s influence stems from a combination of elder support,
bureaucratic backing, military approval, ideological propriety, policy suc-
cess, and public reputation. Deng had enjoyed all of these before Tiananmen
and called on most of these elements of power to bring the challenge to the
Communist Party’s rule to an end. But he also squandered these resources by
using them to such a violent and appalling end.
Deng’s resort to the People’s Liberation Army as the final guarantor of the
party’s survival had enormous significance for both the party and the PLA
itself. While it did not permanently compromise Mao Zedong’s long-
standing injunction that “the Party must control the gun; the gun must never
be allowed to control the Party,” Deng’s reliance on the army to put down
the Tiananmen demonstrations probably did create an uncomfortable sense
of obligation for civilian party leaders and reduced their ability to resist PLA
requests for budgetary support. Deng’s reliance on Yang Shangkun to carry
out his wishes within the military greatly strengthened Yang in relation to
other leaders. The enormity of ordering the “people’s army” to fire on the
people created severe morale problems within the PLA and probably reduced
Deng’s esteem among the officer corps.
By actively seeking the support of Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Peng Zhen,
Wang Zhen, and other elders, Deng, in effect, was weakening his own au-
thority and strengthening theirs. He had expended considerable political capi-
tal in moving China’s conservative gerontocrats back away from the front
lines, while at the same time preserving his own powers as balancer and first
among equals. When it became clear that his own powers were insufficient
to guarantee party legitimacy and consensus, he called on the old veterans
to support his position. That support came at a high cost, namely, the re-
emergence of the elders into a more active policy advisory role—recognized
by Deng and the entire party leadership.
78 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

By turning on his own chosen successors, Deng implicitly acknowledged

the criticisms—mostly grounded in conservative Marxist dogma—that the
reform programs Hu and Zhao had pursued with such vigor did indeed weaken
China’s ideological orthodoxy and needed to be slowed down, if not rolled
back. Deng’s purge of the reformers thus brought ideological conservatism
back to life. Moreover, he compromised his reputation for integrity as well
as his repeated commitment to establishing an orderly succession.
Deng’s programmatic support for economic reform was doubly compro-
mised by the Tiananmen protests. On the one hand, the economic reforms
had brought significant economic dislocation and dissatisfaction, which had
animated many of the protests. On the other hand, the diminution of party
authority that accompanied economic reform made it far more difficult to
quell the street protests once they had begun.
Finally, and most difficult to quantify, Tiananmen cost Deng much of his
public support. While that is not essential to exercise power within the PRC,
it is important to ensuring the party’s legitimacy and to maximizing compli-
ance with party directives. In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen, de-
monstrable public support for the party—and the man who led it—plummeted
to unprecedented lows. During the demonstrations Deng’s leadership had
been disparaged and incessant calls were made for him to step down. Al-
though many Chinese initially were reluctant to accept that Deng had given
the orders for the crackdown, his appearance on June 9 with martial law
troops removed any doubts of his responsibility. Despite the leadership’s per-
sistent defense of Tiananmen as necessary, and even a “good thing,” the
public in China will never view it as anything but a shameful episode for
which responsibility—or blame—will ultimately have to be ascribed pub-
licly. The weight of that responsibility—that guilt—reduced Deng’s author-
ity and his reputation.
After his June 9 meeting with martial law troops, Deng made no public
appearances for three months. He did not even show up for the Central Com-
mittee that anointed Jiang Zemin as the “core” of the next generation of
Chinese leaders on June 24. Inevitably, speculation was aroused about his
health, power, and relations with the regime’s new leadership. There were
even rumors that he had died.118 In all likelihood, Deng was exhausted by the
ordeal of Tiananmen. At age eighty-five, he had been forced by the sudden
leadership vacuum at the center of the Communist Party to do many of the
things he had hoped to avoid when he went into semiretirement, such as
chairing meetings, negotiating policy and personnel decisions, and planning
military action. It is entirely possible that the stress and long hours dealing
with the fast-moving crisis overwhelmed Deng’s already failing health, forc-
ing him to spend a long time recuperating.
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 79

A Secret Journey

With Americans fleeing China by the planeload and Beijing in the tightening
grip of open repression, Bush was clearly conflicted about how to proceed.
Innately cautious and worried about his “friend” Deng Xiaoping, Bush con-
tinued to try and contact Deng, finally resorting to a personal letter he trans-
mitted through Chinese ambassador Han Xu. The letter is a remarkable
communication. Beginning with affirmations of his friendship for China, re-
spect for Deng, and “reverence for Chinese history, culture and tradition,”
Bush implored Deng to understand that American public opinion demanded
he take punitive actions and asked him to show “clemency” toward the stu-
dents.119 The Chinese reply was pro forma, arriving on June 12. It probably
was written by a low-level official in the Foreign Ministry, used stock phrase-
ology to describe Tiananmen, and suggested that if the United States was
interested in improving the relationship, it would need to stop taking actions
that “hurt the feelings or the interests” of the Chinese side.120 On June 21,
Scowcroft went to the Chinese embassy to meet with Han and explain that
the president wished to talk concretely about whether the relationship could
be improved and wished to send a high-level secret envoy to begin these
discussions. The Chinese quickly approved—sending word on June 24 that
they wished the relationship to continue and that a secret envoy would be
welcomed.121
The planning for the trip was very tightly held. After receiving the Chinese
reply, Bush chose Scowcroft to be the envoy for obvious reasons: closeness to
the president, familiarity with the key issues and with the Chinese, and se-
crecy. At Baker’s insistence, Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger
was added to represent the department at a suitably high level.122 Neither
Baker nor Eagleburger was fond of the idea of a secret envoy but went along
with the president. Baker did not tell his undersecretary for political affairs,
Robert Kimmitt, about the trip, even though Kimmitt had been handling the
details of the relationship for several months. To avoid sending cables through
State Department channels, Ambassador Lilley was ordered by telephone to
return to the White House for consultations and to lie to his staff about
where he was going. Upon arrival in Washington, he did not contact Assis-
tant Secretary Richard Solomon—newly approved by the Senate to head the
department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs—and “sneaked around”
both the department and the city, avoiding both official and press contacts.123
The final planning meeting was in the Oval Office, attended by Bush,
Baker, Eagleburger, Bob Gates (Scowcroft’s deputy), and Lilley. They agreed
on the broad outlines of the message to be delivered, which was that the
president was committed to preserving the important strategic relationship
80 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

between the United States and China but shared the shock and outrage of the
American people over what had been done to peaceful student demonstra-
tors. Bush wanted the Chinese to know that he had taken the actions he had
after Tiananmen because domestic pressure required it and he had to fend off
harsher sanctions from Congress. China needed to understand it had to do
its part to repair the relationship, mainly by showing clemency to the stu-
dents. Bush was particularly offended by the Chinese television pictures of
badly beaten prisoners being led off for execution, which was causing a furor
in the United States, and recommended the mission call for a halt to the
intimidation campaign. Lilley counseled the best that could be hoped for was
a reduction of Chinese publicity for the revenge taking; there was no way to
stop the regime from punishing those who had humiliated it.124 But Bush had
already made up his mind—and no one disagreed, including Lilley—that the
relationship was worth the risk to try and restore.
With anger over China still high in Washington, elaborate precautions
were taken to ensure the secrecy of the Scowcroft-Eagleburger trip. The
C-141 Starlifter that carried the delegation had all its U.S. Air Force mark-
ings removed. The flight left in the early hours of the morning from Andrews
Air Force Base, having filed a flight plan for Okinawa, and refueled in midair
to save time and avoid having to land at a U.S. base where the party might be
recognized. The crew, who had changed into civilian attire before landing,
got a scare when uninformed Chinese air defense forces scrambled a fighter
aircraft to intercept the transport, only being waved off after reassurances
from Yang Shangkun that the aircraft had official clearance to land.125
On July 1, the sleek black aircraft landed at Beijing’s international airport
and taxied to the old terminal, now unused, and was parked in a secluded
area. Only three passengers disembarked: Scowcroft, Eagleburger, and
Scowcroft’s executive assistant. No U.S. embassy officers were on the tarmac
to greet them—no embassy officers even knew they were coming. Only Am-
bassador Lilley knew about the trip, and he was in South Korea visiting his
wife (who had been evacuated from Beijing with all embassy staff families
after the Tiananmen violence) and participating in the elaborate charade by
not greeting the delegation. The Scowcroft party quickly boarded Chinese
limousines and sped off into Beijing, arriving about half an hour later at
Diaoyutai (Fishing Terrace), China’s elaborate and isolated complex for for-
eign visitors.
The morning of July 2, Scowcroft and Eagleburger met first with Deng
Xiaoping at Zhongnanhai, about a ten-minute drive from the guesthouse.
Although some observers thought Deng had looked shaky during his televi-
sion appearance on June 9, Scowcroft thought he looked fine in early July
and was as sharp as ever. Deng was accompanied by Premier Li Peng, For-
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 81

eign Minister Wu Xueqian, and Vice Foreign Minister Qian Qichen. After
the obligatory photographs, which the Chinese agreed would not be publi-
cized, they got down to tough talk, with Deng taking the lead. He acknowl-
edged that Bush was a good friend and “trustworthy” but criticized his
handling of Tiananmen, saying the United States had become “too deeply
involved.”126 He accused the United States of siding with those who were
trying to overthrow the Chinese government and warned that bilateral rela-
tions had reached a “dangerous state.” He attacked U.S. media for exagger-
ating the violence of Tiananmen and for interfering in Chinese internal affairs,
and he criticized the U.S. Congress for acting on the basis of rumors and
emotions. He vowed that China would punish those who instigated the “coun-
terrevolutionary rebellion” and said no foreign country should try to inter-
fere. Deng said he considered Bush a friend, and he hoped the president
considered him one as well, but that the problem was one that mere friend-
ship could not resolve. The United States had created the problem, he said; it
was up to Washington to “untie the knot.”127
Scowcroft responded that although what happened at Tiananmen may
have begun as an internal affair, the regime’s response had created serious
international repercussions that the president could not ignore. He told Deng
that the bilateral strategic relationship had been valuable to both sides, but
that President Bush shared the dismay of all Americans at what had hap-
pened in Tiananmen Square and had taken some necessary actions in re-
sponse. He hoped to work cooperatively with Deng and others in the Chinese
leadership to repair the relationship over time. But he faced serious opposi-
tion in Congress, as evidenced by near-unanimous votes in Congress on broad-
ening the sanctions against China, and would need some help from China if
he were to be able to turn things around. China needed to be sensitive to the
negative impact its actions were having on world opinion, he insisted.128
Deng’s reply was icy. China had fought a revolution for more than twenty
years at the cost of many lives, he said. Now it was an independent country,
and no foreign nation could interfere any longer in its internal affairs. China
would watch what the United States did. Although Scowcroft was a friend,
Deng said he disagreed with everything the president’s national security ad-
viser had said. With that, he got up and left the room.
Li Peng took up the cudgels after Deng’s departure. With his characteris-
tic combination of sarcasm and cold disdain, he denied the accuracy of U.S.
media reports about Tiananmen. He said only 310 people had been killed,
not the thousands rumored in the Western press, and only 36 of them were
students. He claimed China had shown great forbearance—more than the
United States had during antiwar protests in the 1960s and 1970s—and in-
sisted the demonstrators were trying to overthrow the government. He then
82 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

took the Americans to lunch and pointedly dropped the subject of Tiananmen,
focusing instead on a review of global strategic issues.129
It was a classic “dialogue of the deaf,” one that would be repeated numer-
ous times throughout the Bush administration. Although he believed that the
trip was useful and important in keeping lines of communication open and
having both sides review their positions, Scowcroft was aware of the depth
of the problems. “It was clear to me that the clash of cultures had created a
wide divide between us. The resentment by the Chinese of foreign ‘interfer-
ence’ was omnipresent. They were focused on security and stability. We were
interested in freedom and human rights.”130 More than that, both sides were
still extremely angry with each other. Scowcroft and Eagleburger tried to use
diplomatic phraseology to convey to Chinese leaders how revolted and shocked
the president, Congress, and the American people were at the events sur-
rounding Tiananmen. Deng and Li worried less about diplomatic nicety in
expressing their anger—and that of the rest of the Chinese leadership—over
the behavior of American media, over the punitive sanctions adopted by Bush
and the U.S. Congress, over the students’ adoption of American slogans and
symbols during their protest, and over the obvious support of many Ameri-
cans for the students’ cause. Washington expected Beijing to understand and
appreciate the complexity of its domestic political situation and make ac-
commodations to buttress and justify the relationship. Beijing expected Wash-
ington to understand that it believed it had no alternative to the violent
crackdown. Neither, in fact, had a thorough understanding of the other’s
domestic political situation, and neither trusted the other to be telling the
truth.
Scowcroft and Eagleburger left in the afternoon of July 2, slightly more
than twenty-four hours after they arrived, again using special security to
avoid publicity. Both were cautious in their reports to their bosses about how
the trip had gone. Baker related that Eagleburger had called the Chinese
“inscrutable as ever,” but that he thought some of them, at least, had gotten
the American message that relations could not be improved while they were
killing their own people.131 Scowcroft was similarly low key in his appraisal
of the trip, saying several Chinese had later told him they appreciated the
gesture of friendship and understanding at a difficult time. He made no claims
that the message was received, or that the Chinese moderated their conduct
of the post-Tiananmen crackdown, or that they became in any way more
relaxed about the relationship.132
Because the secrecy of the trip held for several more months, it is difficult
to evaluate its significance at the time. Ambassador Lilley believed that
“Scowcroft made his points” and that the public executions were somewhat
scaled back.133 More important, he conveyed a message that, despite public
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 83

pressure and congressional calls for more punishment and sanctions, the re-
lationship was personally important to the president, and he was looking
for opportunities to repair it. Less charitable observers charged later that
visiting China only strengthened “hard-liners” and showed American weak-
ness. But in fact, it is unlikely the July trip had much effect on China’s domes-
tic or international policies, owing to the continuance of leadership turmoil
and insecurity in Beijing.
One of the less publicized goals of the Scowcroft-Eagleburger trip was to
ascertain the state of the Chinese leadership. President Bush had worried
publicly and privately about who was in charge in Beijing, especially whether
Deng Xiaoping was still China’s principal leader. The Scowcroft meeting
with Deng was thus, in part, reassuring that the man whom all considered to
be the leader most favorably disposed toward the United States was still in
charge and healthy. In retrospect, however, Scowcroft was struck by Deng’s
insistence that he would not be the principal interlocutor for the Americans.
Although his health seemed satisfactory, Deng went out of his way to make
the point that he was only meeting Scowcroft as a “friend,” that he was no
longer a decisionmaker, and that the Americans would have to deal with Li
Peng and the new leadership to resolve the many new problems that con-
fronted U.S.-China relations. When he departed Beijing, Scowcroft had only
an inkling of how difficult that process would be.134

Congress, the White House, and American Anger

While Scowcroft was in Beijing trying to restore and ameliorate the relation-
ship, the U.S. Congress was moving in exactly the opposite direction. Re-
flecting growing public outrage at the widening crackdown, Congress was
calling for tighter and more punitive sanctions against China. Hoping to
head off legislative restrictions on how to deal with China, Secretary of State
Baker testified before the House Foreign Relations Committee on June 20.
He augmented executive branch sanctions already in place by pledging that
all official contacts with China above the assistant secretary level would be
suspended, canceling a commerce secretary trip scheduled for July, and by
promising to recommend the suspension of all new international financial
institution lending to China. Baker entreated Congress to moderate its anger
and support the president, whose actions had been “measured,” “carefully
targeted,” and designed to preserve a geopolitically important relationship
and to keep options open for the future.135
Congressional response was mixed. At least some in the Republican
Party—with editorial support from major publications—initially expressed
support for the president’s measured response. But as U.S. and foreign me-
84 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

dia devoted more coverage to the brutal crackdown that followed

Tiananmen—the televised arrests and trials of protesters, the quick execu-
tions of several “hooligans,” the wanted posters and manhunts for student
leaders, and the stilted propaganda denunciations of the United States for
conniving in the demonstrations—the mood in Congress changed to anger
and a desire to punish China. Led initially by Democratic Party leaders—
Senate Majority Leader Mitchell, House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt,
and Steven J. Solarz, House Foreign Affairs Asia-Pacific subcommittee chair-
man—bipartisan support grew quickly for measures to impose harsher pen-
alties on China for its actions.
The most readily available vehicle for congressional action was the for-
eign aid authorization bill, which came up for consideration in both houses
in late June. Historically a magnet for members pushing particular foreign
policy issues, the authorization bill permits the executive branch departments
to spend the money allocated to them in the appropriations bill—within cer-
tain limits established by Congress. The foreign aid authorization bill has
often been the venue for major executive-legislative branch struggles over
foreign policy, with the State Department and presidency trying to water
down amendments that restrict its flexibility or structure its handling of cer-
tain issues. Although little of the $23 billion allocated for foreign aid over
two years was to go to China, Solarz and others used the power of amend-
ment to the authorization bill to put together a package of much tougher
sanctions against China.
Among the amendments offered during hearings on the foreign aid autho-
rization bill in late June were proposals for a recall of the U.S. ambassador,
suspension of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) assistance to
U.S. firms doing business in China, and cancellation of Trade Development
Program (TDP) initiatives. Other members called for a ban on sales of all
high-technology goods on the munitions list (including satellites and police
equipment), suspension of China’s most favored nation trade status, and in-
creased U.S. efforts to block the World Bank, International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and other lending by international financial institutions to China.136
Congressional leaders initially pledged to work with the White House to
draw up a comprehensive sanctions package but found few takers in the
White House. Marlin Fitzwater told reporters, “The White House is no part
of this deal . . . Those people are aware of the President’s position,” which
was opposed to new restrictions on China.137
The final version of the amendment put into law the restrictions President
Bush had already imposed on China—munitions list bans and suspension of
technology transfers—and added a suspension of OPIC guarantees for pri-
vate investment in China, a ban on TDP activity in China, and tighter restric-
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 85

tions on dual-use nuclear technology for China. The amendment passed the
House by a vote of 418-0 on June 30—a veto-proof margin.138 The Senate
passed a similar bill in July, 81-10. Thus the stage was set for the increas-
ingly rancorous and destructive battle between Congress and the executive
branch over China policy—a battle that would last through the Bush presi-
dency and beyond.
The events of June 4 dealt an enormous setback to bilateral relations be-
tween the United States and China—a setback from which, in some ways,
they have never recovered. Indeed, one could say that the Tiananmen crack-
down set the U.S.-China relationship on an entirely different course, one that
is far more contentious and hostile than at any time since the late 1950s. The
extent of the American reaction is remarkable. Even years later—after nearly
all the leaders who ordered the PLA into action have died, retired, or been
purged; after China has moved in a completely different direction socially,
politically, and economically; after most people in China have apparently
forgiven, if not forgotten, those terrible events—the United States maintains
Tiananmen as an ongoing issue in the bilateral relationship through eco-
nomic sanctions, frequent criticism of human rights abuses that trace to 1989,
and regular commemoration of the event. An evaluation of Tiananmen on
American policy toward China needs to look at several different levels of
political decisionmaking.
As Richard Madsen points out in his post-Tiananmen study, China and
the American Dream: A Moral Inquiry, “Tiananmen . . . troubled Americans
far out of proportion to its direct cost in human life and suffering. . . . The
tragedy in China was so upsetting for many Americans because it contra-
dicted widely cherished American understandings about the meanings of their
democratic values.”139 It was, Madsen claims, a drama with the wrong end-
ing—goodness and justice did not triumph at the end, but rather, innocent
and idealistic students were suppressed and killed by a cynical and corrupt
tyranny. A yearning for freedom and democracy, for the dignity of the indi-
vidual—ideals on which many believe America was founded—was brutally
denied, not only by the use of military force, but by the revenge taking and
police-state crackdown that followed. This extraordinarily cruel and unjust
action was ordered by a leader whom many in the United States had come to
admire. Deng Xiaoping was not idealized in the way Mao Zedong was—for
a time—by the American left. But he was considered an admirable figure by
many (he was named man of the year twice by Time magazine) for his out-
spoken advocacy of economic reform and for working to undo Mao’s tragic
legacy. Moreover, he was considered by some, at least, to be moderately pro-
American—one of the chief supporters of an enduring strategic relationship
in opposition to the Soviet menace.140
86 escalation, denouement, and aftermath

Other analysts of the huge impact of Tiananmen on American opinion

have focused on the behavior and reporting of the American news media as
being in part responsible for the widespread outrage that followed June 4.
Beyond a doubt, serious questions remain about the objectivity and accuracy
of American news accounts—particularly television journalism—in the lead-
up to Tiananmen. Many reporters have been candidly critical of how their
disproportionate sympathy with, and admiration for, the student demon-
strators distorted their reporting of the demonstrations. Many admitted, in
the Barone Center Study, for example, that they found the Chinese govern-
ment’s response repellent even before the troops were brought in.
After martial law was declared and the television access of most U.S. net-
works was cut off, smaller staffs and camera crews were left to report on the
follow-up, getting film out of China not through live satellite feeds but via
videotapes taken to Hong Kong by couriers. And although they were not
present at the points west of Tiananmen where the violence was most ex-
treme, nor did they witness directly the clearing of the square itself, nonethe-
less the footage they broadcast back to the United States was dramatic and
compelling. The sight of bleeding students being carried to hospitals on make-
shift bicycle ambulances, the felling of the Goddess of Democracy (broadcast
by CCTV), and the riveting CNN video of June 5 with the lone student
blocking the passage of several PLA tanks had an enormous emotional im-
pact on U.S. television audiences.
Given the restrictions under which American reporters were operating at
the time—enormous demand for information, restricted access to Tiananmen
Square and other areas under martial law, and virtually no contact with
Chinese officials—it is not surprising that they fell victim to hoaxes, exag-
gerations, rumor spreading, and disinformation, which they reported, often
uncritically, to the American public.141 Overblown estimates of the number
of people killed in the square—based on little evidence or hearsay—and false
accounts of pitched battles between martial law units were unfortunate but
understandable in the circumstances. And at least the more responsible of the
print journalists made efforts to correct the record when more accurate in-
formation became available.
The reason why most Americans consider Tiananmen a “massacre” with
many hundreds if not thousands killed is largely because of China’s refusal to
publicize a credible accounting of what happened. The government sticks
with a version prepared for propaganda purposes. In other words, it has
perpetrated a cover-up, which in post-Watergate America is reprehensible
indeed. The Chinese government has never provided any reliable informa-
tion to corroborate its claim of “about 300” killed and 2,000 wounded. No
formal accounting of the names of civilians killed during the Tiananmen
escalation, denouement, and aftermath 87

crackdown has ever been made public, although authorities promised one.
Others who have reviewed available information cannot specify a casualty
figure, although they reject the regime figures as far too low. A year after the
event, for example, New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof seemed to
accept that death estimates “exceeding 1,000” were not supported by any
available evidence.142
Whatever its origin, the turnabout in American public opinion about China
after Tiananmen was startling. While 65 to 72 percent of Americans viewed
China favorably before June 4, only 16 to 34 percent did so afterward, ac-
cording to State Department estimates. Unfavorable views of China rose to a
figure higher than 55 percent.143
The more lasting damage to U.S.-China relations, however, was prob-
ably done in the perceptions of that small percentage of Americans for
whom foreign affairs are of consistent interest and importance. For them,
the television imagery and gruesome stories of what happened after June 4
reinforced what had already been growing concerns about the nature and
behavior of China’s government, the disparity between China’s on-again,
off-again economic reform efforts and the consistently negative attitude of
the regime toward political reform, and the failure of China’s government
to recognize and improve the human rights of its citizens. This small, rela-
tively elite audience—largely urbanized, well educated, East Coast, and
liberal—turned on China quickly and unequivocally after June 4. Allied in
their outrage with American conservatives—who despised and distrusted
China’s government for its continued allegiance to communist ideals, re-
pression of religion, and draconian birth control policies—they achieved
considerable influence within the U.S. Congress, played on the emotions of
Tiananmen, and became a political force demanding change in the basic
pattern of the U.S.-China relationship, which had persisted since the Nixon
administration.
Given rapidly unfolding changes in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union,
the fading out of the cold war, and the American “triumphalism” that had
become evident during the later years of the Reagan administration, patience
with Beijing already was wearing thin for many American foreign policy
elites well before June 4. China’s strategic importance was less acknowl-
edged, mercantilist trade policies less forgivable, repression of human rights
and democracy less acceptable, proliferation of nuclear materials and mis-
siles (such as the sale to Saudi Arabia of CSS-2 intercontinental ballistic mis-
siles [ICBMs] in 1987) less tolerable. The Tiananmen massacre and subsequent
crackdown, which fueled enormous public outrage, for them was not a sharp
break with the past but rather the last straw that broke an already weakened
consensus on maintaining China policy.
 chapter four

The Slow Road

to Recovery,
1989–92

W hen he finally did return to public visibility on Septem-

ber 16, 1989, meeting with Chinese American physicist T. D. Lee, Deng
Xiaoping appeared to be in good shape and claimed he had spent much of
the summer “swimming.” That means he was probably at Beidaihe, where
he no doubt met on several occasions with other vacationing leaders.1 In
talking about Tiananmen, Deng told Lee that China’s leaders had not been
sufficiently vigilant against corruption, a major complaint of student demon-
strators and a theme he had stressed even before Tiananmen. He admitted
that “mistakes” were made in handling the demonstrations. He also indi-
cated that the economic reforms and opening to the outside would continue.
When he reported the conversation to President George Bush several weeks
later, Lee said that Deng and Jiang Zemin had “made statements to me that
I regard as the first step toward reconciliation.”2
Deng had also told Lee—asking him to keep it a secret—that he had made
a decision to retire from the last official post he held, that of chairman of the
Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Communist Party of China. Deng
recounted to Lee that he had informed Jiang and Li Peng and others of that
decision on September 4, because the notion of the stability of the state rest-
ing on the health of “one or two persons” was still troubling him, as it had
during the last days of Mao Zedong. “Recently the story circulated in Hong
Kong that I had been assassinated or that I was seriously ill, and that rumor
caused fluctuations in the stock market there. This shows that it would be
better for me to retire soon,” Deng told Lee. “When a man gets old, he
becomes stubborn and fragile . . . I am old now, and although my mind is
fine, I am likely to lose my senses in the future.”3 We do not know the rea-
88
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 89

sons why Deng chose to retire at that time, and his own explanations put the
issue in the best light—that he was doing so for the good of the party.
It may also be, however, that Deng realized he was out of synch with what
the rest of the leadership was doing, domestically and internationally. Or he
may have wished to put his chosen successors in a position to be tested by the
responsibilities of power, without relying on the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) to back up every decision. In any case, Deng’s request to resign the
Military Commission post was approved at the Fifth Plenum of the Central
Committee, held November 6–9, 1989. In what seemed to be a political vic-
tory, Deng was able to have Jiang Zemin formally installed as CMC chair-
man, giving him the perquisites and powers of the military position that
Deng had used to anchor his own authority within the party. Although Jiang
had no military experience or ties within the armed forces, observers specu-
lated that PLA officers would accept his authority—at least so long as Deng
was supporting him.
But in a move that Deng and Jiang no doubt later regretted, the plenum
also approved Deng’s recommendation that Yang Shangkun be elevated to
the position of first vice chairman of the Military Commission, and that his
half-brother Yang Baibing (also an active supporter of the Tiananmen op-
eration) be named executive secretary of the commission. With Jiang widely
perceived as weak and dependent, that put the Yang brothers into the key
positions to control the military and the propaganda operations of the PLA
and arguably placed Yang in a position to claim Deng’s mantle as the most
influential party elder. Press accounts indicated that Chinese intellectuals were
troubled by the appointment, since it put Tiananmen hardliners in charge of
the army and the government.4
Finally, it is possible that Deng’s retirement was intended to be a signal to
the other party elders that they should resume their retreat from positions of
influence within the party. In his September 4 remarks, Deng mentioned that
the Central Advisory Commission (CAC)—which Deng had set up in 1982
to provide a transition for elderly leaders into retirement—would be com-
pletely disestablished at the party congress scheduled for 1992. Since the
CAC was headed by Chen Yun, Deng’s remarks were seen as confirming the
tensions between the two elders.5

Elderly Politicians, Old Policies

Although in much worse health than Deng, Chen (then eighty-four) appeared
to be enjoying more influence on China’s policies in 1989 than he had for
many years. A central party leader since 1943, Chen was a staunch believer
in a centralized economic system, and as such, had objected to Mao Zedong’s
90 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

policies of mass mobilization economic development (for example, the Great

Leap Forward) and to Deng Xiaoping’s promotion of market economics and
foreign investment (for example, the special economic zones). He had sup-
ported the efforts of other elders to weaken Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang
in the mid-1980s. Chen also had strong ties within the party and government
administrative apparatus, including the State Planning Commission, the Cen-
tral Discipline Inspection Commission, and the Central Advisory Commis-
sion, of which he was chairman. Chen numbered among his protégés or strong
supporters three members of the Politburo Standing Committee—Li Peng,
Yao Yilin, and Song Ping.
China’s array of post-Tiananmen policies represented a throwback to an
earlier era. Domestically, Beijing continued to press its crackdown on dis-
sent, arresting thousands for political crimes, such as “counterrevolutionary
incitement,” or for disturbing social order. American human rights activist
John Kamm, who has specialized in trying to get China to account for “coun-
terrevolutionary” criminals dating from this period, estimates that between
1,500 and 2,000 individuals were arrested and tried for counterrevolution in
connection with the June 4 disturbances, and that 10,000 to 15,000 more were
arrested and tried for “disturbing the social order” (chiefly disrupting traffic)
and “beating, smashing, looting and burning.” About 300 people were ex-
ecuted, mostly for crimes causing injury or death but also for some property
crimes as well. Thousands more were detained and sent to labor reform camps,
which entailed a maximum three-year period of incarceration.6
Although Deng told T. D. Lee that the regime would not “just blame the
demonstrators” but would try to correct its own mistakes as well, the party
began a classic repression campaign within two weeks of June 4, focusing on
those party members who had supported the demonstrations.7 The Central
Discipline Commission announced on June 24 that an investigation would
be conducted of all party members’ activities during what it called “the tur-
moils.” “Those party members who deviated from the correct political stand
. . . should be strictly punished with the disciplines, including expelling them
from the party.”8 Individual party organizations sent security teams to uni-
versities, think tanks, government bureaucracies, and other work units, with
instructions to find out who participated and especially organized participa-
tion in antigovernment demonstrations, who made antigovernment state-
ments, and so on. As had been done so often in the past, people were pressured
to inform on one another, declare their support for the crackdown, and ad-
mit their own mistakes. The campaign was particularly heavy in Beijing’s
universities, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and other academic or
scientific units that had been active in the demonstrations. Part of the inten-
sity of the campaign was in reaction to the fact that most of the student
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 91

leaders identified in wanted posters on June 13 still had not been captured
weeks after the crackdown had begun.
The efforts to root out organizers and participants in prodemocracy dem-
onstrations were accompanied by a virulent campaign to malign the ideas
that had been espoused during the democracy movement. Following an in-
tense purge of media personnel who had supported the Tiananmen demon-
strators, PLA and conservative propaganda specialists were tasked with
bringing the media back under firm party control and directing the counter-
attack. Veterans of the mid-1980s ideological campaigns against “spiritual
pollution” and “bourgeois liberalization”— such as Deng Liqun—returned
to prominence within the propaganda apparatus and used it to attack Zhao
Ziyang and his supporters, student leaders and intellectuals, and foreign ideas
and practices for contributing to the “turmoil” of June 4.
The first priority of Beijing’s new propaganda assault seemed to be shift-
ing the blame for the Tiananmen protests from the Communist Party and its
leadership to foreign forces. Starting with repeated accusations that Western
media deliberately exaggerated the violence and the casualties at Tiananmen
(which they did but not deliberately), Beijing propagandists moved on to
charge Voice of America (VOA) and other foreign broadcast media with
“spreading rumors” and attempting to undermine China’s efforts to restore
order. In ever more shrill tones, Chinese media accused the West of trying to
interfere in China’s internal affairs by supporting democracy, defending the
rights of demonstrators, and criticizing Beijing’s crackdown. Even Deng be-
lieved some of these accusations, telling a visiting Japanese delegation in
December, “Western countries, particularly the United States, set all their
propaganda machines in motion . . . to encourage and support the so-called
democrats or opposition in China, who were in fact the scum of the Chinese
nation. That is how the turmoil came about.”9
The next step was charging that the students were motivated not by anger
at the leadership’s corruption and inefficiency, but because their minds were
poisoned by “bourgeois liberalization”— shorthand for Western values, such
as democracy and freedom. Those values were conveyed through a deliber-
ate Western effort to undermine socialism in China and bring about its “peace-
ful evolution” from a socialist to a capitalist society. Beijing leaders probably
saw the efforts of Hong Kong citizens helping fugitive dissidents to escape
into exile there (a well-organized “underground railroad” called Operation
Yellow Bird) as further evidence of the West’s complicity in the plot to un-
dermine China.
Even though he attacked and clearly distrusted Western interference dur-
ing and after Tiananmen, Deng insisted in meetings with foreign visitors that
his program of reform and opening up to the outside world would continue.
92 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

Before long, however, central planners and conservative propagandists

expanded their criticism of Zhao’s economic mistakes to include some of
the fundamental principles of Deng’s own reform program, attacking
marketization—that is, the encouragement of private enterprise and struc-
tural reform of state-owned enterprises—as examples of “capitalist reform.”10
A fierce debate had already been raging in the party press over whether cer-
tain reforms should be “surnamed [that is, labeled] ‘capitalist’ or ‘socialist.’”
By the end of 1989, as conservative propagandists continued to dominate
China’s media, it appeared increasingly clear that Deng—once reviled by
Mao as a “capitalist roader”— and his policies were under growing attack.11
Despite his popular reputation as the architect of China’s economic re-
forms, Deng was no match for Chen Yun as an economist. In some ways like
Mao and his experiments with social engineering (such as the high-speed
development of the commune system in the mid-1950s), Deng seemed to
believe that willpower and concerted action could overcome economic diffi-
culties. For example, although he seemed unaware of the complexities of
reforming China’s antiquated price control system, Deng in 1988 had called
for “boldness” in implementing price reform, which led Zhao Ziyang to put
together hastily a package that not only failed to resolve price problems but
brought about panic buying, bank runs, and serious inflation that cost Zhao
his control of economic policy.
What Deng understood clearly, however, was that the party’s legitimacy
and reputation, its mandate to rule, would have to be based on its ability to
bring about economic prosperity for an increasing number of people. That
was the message of the landmark Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Com-
mittee of December 1978. Such a program required extensive reform of tra-
ditional socialist economic organization and methods, as well as opening
China up to Western capitalist markets, technology, management, and inno-
vation. Both Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang had enthusiastically embraced
Deng’s philosophy and worked to bring about reforms against significant
opposition from China’s entrenched industrial bureaucrats and hidebound
ideological satraps. When Deng purged them, and particularly after he per-
mitted Zhao to be the scapegoat for Tiananmen, Deng undermined his own
reform program, by putting its critics in charge of the economy and ideology
and by effectively silencing many who understood and supported reform.
Li Peng and Yao Yilin, beginning in 1988, had put together a program of
economic retrenchment, which was called “curing and rectification” to cor-
rect and balance the problems that had emerged during the previous three
years. They set about reversing Hu and Zhao’s programs of encouraging
rapid growth, decentralizing economic decisionmaking authority, freeing
rural markets, attracting foreign investment in special economic zones, re-
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 93

forming the price system, freeing farmers to grow the crops they wished and
establish rural enterprises, and restructuring the massive state-owned indus-
trial sector. Li and Yao instead promoted slow, stable growth, recentralization,
the primacy of planning over markets, minimizing foreign involvement, re-
storing price controls and agricultural quotas, and perfecting the state sector.
Deng, a classic balancer of conflicting opinions, had sought to define an
“organic synthesis” of the “socialist market economy,” but the balance be-
tween planning and market forces in determining economic policy after 1989
remained a matter of nearly open dispute. Li Peng oversaw the simultaneous
preparation of China’s Eighth Five-Year Plan and a Ten-Year Economic Pro-
gram in late 1990, both of which envisioned slow growth (6 percent) and
predominant central planning.12 Deng counseled that a such a low growth
rate would result in the loss of popular support for the party, but his advice
went largely unheeded.13
In these circumstances, with the United States being blamed publicly and
privately for instigating Tiananmen, with economic policy in retreat from
reform and opening up, and with Deng under oblique attack, it is not sur-
prising that U.S.-China relations did not pick up any momentum. The lead-
ers principally responsible for China’s domestic and foreign policies were
bitterly hostile toward the United States, while those who supported improved
ties were in political limbo or on the defensive. On the Chinese side, domestic
politics set the tone for the relationship, and the tone was cold. At an ambas-
sadorial conference called by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in early July
1989, Deng’s guidance for riding out the storm of foreign opinion was passed
on to the beleaguered diplomats: “Observe matters coolly, keep our own
counsel, keep our feet firm, calmly meet our responsibilities, keep in touch
with friends, keep a count in our hearts.” With respect to the United States,
he added, “A soft attitude cannot stabilize the relationship. If we are a little
tougher, we can force a turn for the better.”14

Bush Perseveres against Growing Congressional Hostility

Although genuinely troubled by the excesses of the post-Tiananmen crack-
down, President Bush was strongly motivated—out of strategic considerations
and because of his personal experience as head of the U.S. Liaison Office,
where he established good relationships with a number of senior Chinese
leaders—to try and restore the relationship. Bush also seemed to favor a
“realist” approach to international relations that subordinated ethical, hu-
manitarian, and ideological considerations to a concept of the national inter-
est.15 He repeatedly referred to America’s national interest in public statements
and press conferences after Tiananmen. For example, as Congress was con-
94 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

sidering more punitive sanctions than Bush had imposed, Bush held a press
conference on June 27, 1989, at which he said, “If you look at the world and
you understand the dynamics of the Pacific area, good relationships with
China are in the national interest of the United States. Now, it’s hard to have
them. It’s impossible at this moment to have what I would say normalized
relations, for very obvious reasons. But I am going to do my level best to find
a way to see improvement there.”16
After the Scowcroft-Eagleburger mission, Bush wrote again to Deng, ap-
pealing this time more directly for him to undertake measures that would
ease the growing hostility in the United States and provide “some kind of
opening” to repair ties. He recommended an amnesty, for example. Deng
stonewalled him with a “polite” reply that included a demand that Bush
“‘ stop permitting the criminals in the United States [meaning the Chinese
dissidents and students there] to carry out their activities against the Chinese
Government.’”17 By this time, Bush was worried that he would not be able to
maintain the relationship in its existing state, much less improve it. Congress
had passed—by overwhelming margins—additional sanctions against China
in late June and early July, including them in the Foreign Relations Authoriza-
tion Act (H.R. 1487). Congress continued to press for tougher sanctions through
the summer, with growing support from public opinion, from Chinese student
groups in the United States, and from the international media. The president
tried to do everything possible to eliminate the most objectionable elements of
the sanctions legislation and build implementing language designed to maxi-
mize the flexibility of the executive branch in dealing with China.
But there was more to the divergence over China policy than mere dis-
agreements over how angry to get at the Beijing leadership. Much larger
principles of international relations and American governance were involved.
Many members of Congress instinctively distrusted realpolitik justifications
for U.S. policy and subscribed to a more “idealist” perspective more closely
wedded to the American experience—distrustful of foreign entanglements
and guided by “American values,” such as freedom, democracy, and human
rights. The trampling of those values by the Chinese government genuinely
outraged many members of Congress and led to the demand for punishment
of China. Arguments that punishment should be mitigated because of China’s
strategic importance in the U.S. competition with the Soviet Union were re-
jected by many on the grounds that the USSR, under Gorbachev, was becom-
ing less of a strategic threat, and China’s cooperation in dealing with Moscow
was unreliable and unnecessary. Others saw Beijing’s insufficiently controlled
sales of missile and nuclear weapons–related equipment and technology to
unstable or hostile Middle Eastern regimes as inimical to American interests
and in ways not offset by Chinese support for U.S. opposition to the USSR.
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 95

George Bush clearly favored a strengthening of presidential powers in the

conduct of American foreign policy. But he also determined to ease the struggle
with the Democratic Party–controlled Congress. As national security adviser,
Brent Scowcroft made what he considered were conciliatory gestures toward
Congress, including the establishment of a Congressional Liaison office within
the National Security Council, under the capable direction of Virginia
Lampley.18 Before Tiananmen, Scowcroft, at least, believed that a high de-
gree of comity existed between Congress and the White House on foreign
policy in general and China policy in particular. “Congress was fine, pre-
Tiananmen. The love affair with China, which I think began with Nixon’s
trip, by and large lasted until Tiananmen Square . . . Because Russia, you
know, was still the big bugaboo, so China was seen as a more-or-less friendly
associate.”19
After Tiananmen, however, Scowcroft realized quickly that Congress was
going to become a major problem. Besides the resolutions and statements
condemning China and the Bush administration’s response to China, and
punitive amendments to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Congress
began considering measures clearly designed to supplant executive author-
ity. On June 21, Representative Nancy Pelosi—a Democrat representing San
Francisco, California—introduced in the House the Emergency Chinese Ad-
justment of Status Facilitation Act of 1989 (H.R. 2712). Seemingly innocu-
ous at first, the bill became the setting for a major showdown between
Congress and the Bush administration over control of China policy.
Initially, the bill was intended to make it easier for Chinese students in the
United States to extend their visas, to apply for a change in their nonimmi-
grant status, and to work in the United States, without having to return to
China for a two-year period, as required by U.S. immigration law. Its pur-
pose was to prevent Chinese students in the United States (estimated to num-
ber about 40,000 at that time) from being forced to return to China, where
they might have been subjected to punishment or discrimination because they
had participated in demonstrations against the Tiananmen crackdown while
they were in the United States. Strongly supported by Chinese student orga-
nizations in the United States, the bill proposed easing of tight Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) restrictions on Chinese nonimmigrant visa
holders so that they could remain in the United States if they feared persecu-
tion upon return to China.
Given the extensive sympathy in the United States for Chinese students,
the bill was a high priority for Congress and moved quickly through the
legislative process. Before the end of July, it had picked up 259 cosponsors in
the House and had moved through hearings in the Subcommittee on Immi-
gration, Refugees, and International Law of the House Judiciary Committee.
96 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

After amendments and markup, it passed the House by voice vote on July 31
and moved on to the Senate, where it was sponsored by Majority Leader
George Mitchell and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). After a period of
stall because of contradictory amendments and necessary conference action,
the House passed the Senate-amended version on November 19 by a vote of
403-0, while the Senate passed the measure by unanimous voice vote the
following day and presented it to the president on November 21.20 The ad-
ministration expressed repeated objections to the legislation, primarily on
the grounds that China might react by canceling the entire program of joint
academic exchanges, including the Fulbright program. Chinese students in
the United States generally supported the legislation and declared that ad-
ministration pledges issued after Tiananmen were not sufficient protection
from potential Chinese government retaliation.21 The administration’s efforts
to find friends in Congress to help head off the legislation were unsuccessful.
Observed Brent Scowroft later, “Then we knew we had a big problem.”22
On November 30, despite the overwhelming congressional support for
what had become known as the Pelosi bill, President Bush vetoed H.R. 2712
on the grounds that it constituted “congressional micromanagement of for-
eign policy.”23 At the same time, he ordered the attorney general to afford
Chinese students in the United States the same protections as had been man-
dated in the bill, namely, “irrevocable waiver of the 2-year home country
residence requirement . . . assurance of continued lawful immigration status
[for those] who were lawfully in the United States on June 5, 1989, . . .
authorization for employment,” and notice of expiration, rather than depor-
tation proceedings, for those whose nonimmigrant status had expired. Bush
insisted that his actions “accomplish the laudable objectives of the Congress
in passing H.R. 2712 while preserving my ability to manage foreign rela-
tions.”24 Bush’s veto was widely condemned on the Hill and set the executive
and legislative branches on course for a major collision.

Fitful Reconciliation—Help from Nixon and Kissinger

Bush may have been influenced in his veto of the Pelosi bill by a belief that
there had been some progress in easing of tensions in the bilateral relation-
ship. Bush’s repeated efforts to communicate with the Chinese gradually be-
gan to break down the wall of hostility and distrust that Tiananmen had
produced. He continued to write letters to Deng Xiaoping, delivering them
through various channels, including the Chinese embassy. Secretary of State
James Baker met Qian Qichen at the Paris Conference on Cambodia in July,
and again at the UN General Assembly opening in September, but found him
cold and defensive.25 Bush also sent personal envoys, such as his brother,
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 97

Prescott Bush, and former secretary of state Al Haig, not necessarily to carry
specific messages but to make appearances and show concern.
In late October, former president Richard M. Nixon visited Beijing for
formal talks with Chinese leaders. He had planned the trip well before
Tiananmen and decided to go ahead with it despite the obvious difficulties.
He spoke in detail to President Bush about his mission before he left and had
written to Deng as well, warning that he would be delivering a tough mes-
sage. Anxious to show the Chinese people that the Chinese leadership still
enjoyed the respect of international leaders and to maintain a communica-
tions link with Washington, Deng assented to the visit. Accompanied only by
former Carter administration NSC staffer and noted China scholar Michel
Oksenberg and a personal aide, Nixon arrived on October 28 for what he
hoped would be a low-key but high-impact visit. Nixon knew well the politi-
cal sensitivities in the United States and the Chinese eagerness for favorable
publicity. Having been burned repeatedly by negative press in the United
States, Nixon set out strict guidelines for press coverage of his meetings—
photographers would be allowed but not for greetings or banquets (that is,
no photographs of handshakes or toasts). Although the Chinese agreed to
the guidelines, Nixon and Oksenberg were repeatedly chagrined at Chinese
efforts to evade them to provide more favorable domestic coverage.26
In a report delivered to Congress after his return, Nixon described his
remarkable access. “In six days in Beijing from October 28 to November 2, I
had over twenty hours of one-on-one discussions with eight major Chinese
leaders, including Chairman Deng Xiaoping, Premier Li Peng, General Sec-
retary Jiang Zemin, President Yang Shangkun, the sophisticated Foreign
Minister Qian Qichen, the very able Minister of Education Li Tieying, the
brilliant Minister of Propaganda Li Ruihuan, and the extraordinarily compe-
tent Mayor of Shanghai Zhu Rongji.”27 By all accounts, he spoke to them
bluntly about the “tragedy” of Tiananmen and about the anger against China
in the United States. In remarks released to the public, Deng accused the
United States of being “involved too deeply in the turmoil and counterrevo-
lutionary rebellion that occurred in Beijing not long ago,” and he insisted
that “China was the real victim, and it is unjust to reprove China for it.”28 In
private, however, Deng was more conciliatory than his colleagues and gener-
ally agreed to a package deal for the release of Fang Lizhi in exchange for a
visit by Jiang to the United States. Nixon also secured the Chinese agreement
to an easing of the tight PLA guarding of the U.S. embassy compounds, which
had become obtrusive and menacing to American personnel.
Nixon left China with what he thought was a workable approach—that
of a sequenced series of steps by both sides that would lead eventually to the
release of Fang Lizhi and the resumption of a more “normal” relationship.
98 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

He even believed he could bring Congress along on such an effort. As he said

in his report to Congress and a much longer report he delivered to President
Bush, Nixon proposed the administration take the first step in the form of
resuming contact at a high level with the Chinese leadership. According to
Oksenberg, his initial suggestion was for Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady
to make a trip to Beijing, but he acquiesced, evidently in a private meeting at
the White House, in a (second) Scowcroft mission.29
Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s national security adviser and secretary of state,
paid a visit to Beijing shortly after Nixon left. He conveyed the same message
from Bush that the others did: the president sincerely wanted to improve the
overall relationship, but in the face of strong opposition in the United States,
could not do so unless China indicated that it would ease the crackdown and
take account of U.S. concerns about human rights. Although he continued to
resist the notion that the United States accepted any responsibility for
Tiananmen, Kissinger hinted that a deal was in the offing when he told his
hosts that “both countries should take steps together to put relations onto a
smoother path.”30 Deng sent a letter back through Kissinger reaffirming the
“package” solution, which included a resolution of the Fang Lizhi situation
in conjunction with a visit to the United States by Jiang Zemin.31 Bush as-
sented to a Jiang visit but only after the Fang Lizhi situation was cleared up.
He offered to send an envoy to China, ostensibly to brief on his summit with
Gorbachev in Malta but in fact to work more on a package deal for improv-
ing relations.
The deal was fairly straightforward but difficult for both sides to deliver.
As Ambassador Lilley put it, “The basic thing was: We wanted Fang Lizhi
out. We wanted martial law lifted, and we wanted amnesty for some of the
people at Tiananmen.” There was also a desire to get the Chinese to cease
efforts to sell medium-range missiles to troublesome countries in the Middle
East. The Chinese wanted an easing of restrictions on World Bank loans,
Bush administration waivers so China could launch American-origin com-
munications satellites on their booster rockets, and some lifting of sanctions.32
Douglas Paal, NSC Asia director, thought there was a domestic dimension as
well. “He [Deng] was looking for something . . . to show the rest of them
why it was worth relenting from their hard-ass public position in dealing
with Americans.”33
To make the deal come together, the president sent Brent Scowcroft and
Lawrence Eagleburger on a second mission to Beijing. Although secrecy was
not considered as essential on this trip as on the earlier one, it was hoped the
visit would be “low profile.” The U.S. Air Force plane still left at 2:30 a.m.,
however, and Scowcroft decided to postpone announcing the trip until after
their arrival on Sunday, December 10. Scowcroft later conceded this decision
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 99

was a mistake, as the U.S. media reported the trip as a “surprise visit” and an
“unexpected policy shift.” Because Scowcroft did not reveal the real agenda
for the trip, the American media focused on the symbolic aspects, which
seemed to favor the Chinese. More seriously, he did not follow Nixon’s ex-
ample of controlling press coverage of his meetings with Chinese leaders.
The Chinese press—reflecting the wishes of the party leadership—was again
eager to showcase symbolic aspects of the trip to demonstrate to Chinese and
foreign audiences that China was emerging from isolation and being visited
by important foreign guests. So they happily provided Western journalists
with photographs of a serious-faced Scowcroft raising a glass of wine with a
beaming Qian Qichen. As Scowcroft recalled in his book, the Chinese sud-
denly let the photojournalists in just as he had begun his toast. “It was an
awkward situation for me. I could go through with the ceremony and be seen
as toasting those the press was labeling ‘the butchers of Tiananmen Square,’
or refuse to toast and put in jeopardy the whole purpose of the trip. I chose
the former and became, to my deep chagrin, an instant celebrity—in the
most negative sense of that term.”34 The picture appeared on the front page
of nearly every major newspaper in the world the following day.
Worse still, Xinhua released selected portions of Scowcroft’s toast. “My
colleagues and I have come as friends, to resume our important dialogue on
international questions of vital interest to both our nations . . . We also come
today to bring new impetus and vigor into our bilateral relationship and seek
new areas of agreement—economic, political and strategic. . . . Speaking as a
friend, I would not be honest if I did not acknowledge that we have profound
areas of disagreement—on the events at Tiananmen, on the sweeping changes
in Eastern Europe. . . . In both our societies there are voices of those who seek
to redirect or frustrate our cooperation. We both must take bold measures to
overcome these negative forces. . . . We extend our hand in friendship and
hope you will do the same.”35 In the best of times, Scowcroft’s toast might
have seemed a bit obsequious. It was not the best of times.
American opinion makers in the media and Congress exploded with out-
rage. The Washington Post attacked the trip in editorials three times in one
week and added several critical op-ed articles. The New York Times accused
the president of “hailing the butchers of Beijing.”36 Republican commentator
George Will called Bush “a Pekingese [lapdog] curled around the ankles of
China’s tyrants.”37 Winston Lord castigated the Scowcroft mission in a Wash-
ington Post op-ed article, saying it “both erased any pretense of official in-
dignation [over Tiananmen] and weakened the true foundations of
Sino-American relations.”38 Bush quickly came to the aid of his beleaguered
national security adviser: “I do not want to isolate the Chinese people; I
don’t want to hurt the Chinese people. We have certain sanctions. I hope I
100 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

needn’t reiterate my concerns about the events that took place in Tiananmen
Square. I think we were positioned in the forefront of human rights concerns,
and I think the Chinese know that they still have to address themselves to the
problems that were inherent in this episode. But I don’t want to see that
China remains totally isolated. I don’t want to take any further steps that are
going to hurt the Chinese people.”39
The situation took a turn for the worse on December 18, when CNN
broke the story of the July trip to Beijing by Scowcroft and Eagleburger.
Thereafter, on top of indignation at dealing with Beijing at all were added
critiques of “secret” diplomacy, of “hasty” trips to “kowtow” to Beijing, of
lying and duplicity about the suspension of high-level contacts (that is, the
Baker statement of June 20), and “betrayal” of American ideals. Congres-
sional Democratic Party leaders poured scorn on the visit, the policy, and the
president personally, and promised new legislative efforts to reverse his con-
ciliatory approach. Even the chairman of the House Republican Policy Com-
mittee, Representative Mickey Edwards, called the trips “absurd, an outrage,”
and charged that Bush had “lost his moral compass on this issue.”40
Bush responded testily, saying critics should “stay tuned” for positive re-
sults of the Scowcroft mission.41 Press Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, Secre-
tary Baker, and others were left the task of explaining the secrecy of the
missions, the difference between “misleading” Congress and “lying to” Con-
gress about preserving secrecy, and other less delicate issues. The president,
of course, was hinting that the Scowcroft mission had achieved an under-
standing with the Chinese about a sequencing of events designed to make
progress in bilateral relations.42 Although not set down in any document
agreed to by both sides, the process began playing out immediately after
Scowcroft and Eagleburger left Beijing as the following events show:
—The Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to U.S. concerns about pos-
sible M-9 and M-11 missile sales to Syria and Libya, announced on Decem-
ber 12 that, except for the 1987 sale of CSS-2 ICBMs to Saudi Arabia, “China
has never sold, nor is planning to sell missiles to any Middle East country.”43
—On December 19, President Bush announced he would authorize li-
censes for three communications satellites built by Hughes Aircraft Co.—
two for AUSSAT, an Australian firm; and one for AsiaSat, a Sino-British
consortium—to be launched by Chinese carrier rockets in 1991 and 1992.
Although satellite launches were prohibited expressly by U.S. law before
and after the announcement, the president made use of the law’s granting
him the right to waive the export prohibition on the grounds of “national
interest.”44 He also announced that he would waive—again on grounds of
“national interest”— congressionally imposed limitations on Export-Import
Bank lending for China. (Congress had approved but not yet sent to him
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 101

legislation—H.R. 1487—mandating the sanctions he had imposed in June,

with additional conditions).
—On January 10, 1990, China announced that it would lift martial law in
Beijing municipality the following day. Although the gesture was largely sym-
bolic—PLA soldiers were replaced by paramilitary People’s Armed Police
troops, maintaining the same heavy security presence as before—it did repre-
sent a positive response to Scowcroft’s entreaty that China had to “help out”
the president in order to make more progress. It was welcomed by the White
House and State Department as one of a number of “positive steps” that had
recently been taken but was rejected as “meaningless” by congressional and
media critics.45
—On January 11, State Department spokesperson Margaret Tutwiler an-
nounced that the United States would support World Bank lending to China
on a case-by-case basis for “humanitarian, basic human needs-type loans.”
This was a “partial reversal” of a policy that had been in effect since
Tiananmen of opposing World Bank lending to China (project loans would
still be opposed).46
—On January 18, Beijing announced it had released 573 persons who had
been detained after the Tiananmen demonstrations. This was by no means
the amnesty that the administration had been seeking, as the number repre-
sented the total released over several months and was only a small percent-
age of the thousands that had been arrested in the wake of the “counter-
revolutionary turmoil.” It appeared rather to be a cynical effort to influence
foreign opinion, particularly in the United States, where Congress was to
take up efforts to override the president’s veto of the Pelosi bill. The Chinese
refused to give the names of those released or the dates of their release, say-
ing only that they were “lawbreakers” who had shown “repentance.” More-
over, in the weeks before the announcement, more than 800 who had been
detained in 1989 were formally sentenced to jail terms.47
Symbolically most important, the president fought hard to sustain his veto
of the Pelosi bill. After the holiday recess, Congress had returned to Wash-
ington in the mood for a fight on China policy. The second Scowcroft-
Eagleburger visit to Beijing, followed by the public revelation of the July
visit, set off a renewed burst of anger over Bush’s soft handling of China.
Republicans in Congress, including House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel
and Minority Whip Newt Gingrich counseled the president not to fight the
inevitable veto override. Gingrich called the effort to sustain the veto, led by
White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, “inexplicable” and criticized the
president’s overall approach both to China and to Congress.48 Realizing there
was little chance of gaining the one-third majority of the House needed to
block an override, the administration focused on the Senate. Even there,
102 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

Scowcroft admitted, prospects were bleak. “We did a [preliminary] head

count in the Senate, and we had five—five of the thirty-four [votes] we needed.
And Pete Wilson, who then was a Senator from California, got up out of a
sick-bed and flew back to vote against us. Rock-ribbed Republican Pete Wil-
son. It was really, really tough.”49
But with presidential popularity high after the forceful overthrow of Pana-
manian dictator Manuel Noriega and with the inherent strength a veto gives
the president, Sununu and others decided to push ahead, lobbying Republi-
can senators intensely to support their party and support the president. Op-
position was fierce. Editorials in the most influential newspapers supported
an override. Former ambassador to China Winston Lord testified against the
veto before the Senate Finance Committee. Few Republican congressmen
supported the president on January 24, when the House of Representatives
overrode his veto by a 390-25 margin. The administration, in response, is-
sued a report on how successfully it had protected the interests of Chinese
students in the United States. The president met with Senate Republican leaders
and telephoned others. Vice President Dan Quayle called numerous Republi-
can senators, as did Secretary of State Baker, Chief of Staff Sununu, and
former President Nixon. They insisted the Chinese decision to lift martial
law in Beijing, to permit VOA reporters to return to China, to discuss further
academic exchanges, and to release more than 500 prisoners were ample
evidence that Bush’s China policy was working and should be supported.
In the end, and by the barest of margins, Bush’s veto of the Pelosi bill was
sustained (62 senators favored override, 37 were against). Pugnaciously, de-
spite the nearly unanimous House vote to override and the thin four-vote
margin over the one-third needed to prevent override in the Senate, Bush
claimed the vote was an endorsement of his China policy. “The thing I like
about it, given the mournful predictions of some a couple of weeks ago, is
that it gives me the confidence that I’m going to go forward the way I think
is correct here . . . I’m very, very pleased with the result.”50 If anything,
however, the bruising battle stiffened opposition in Congress to his policy of
engagement with China. It also sharpened partisanship in Congress and dam-
aged Bush’s reputation. “This was a victory for President Bush and the Chi-
nese leadership that was responsible for Tiananmen Square,” sniped Senator
Edward Kennedy, equating the two. “It was a defeat for human rights.”51
Majority Leader Bob Dole countered, however, that it was “not a public trial
of George Bush’s China policy,” but an opportunity to “bash George Bush,
embarrass George Bush, set some Republican up for a difficult vote.”52
In reality, however, President Bush no doubt realized that any efforts to
improve relations that required congressional approval would be nearly im-
possible to carry out. He may also have noted that China’s steps were small
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 103

and nearly meaningless as far as real improvement in its human rights poli-
cies. Whatever the reason, the president took no further steps forward and in
fact took public steps backward, signing the State Department Authoriza-
tion Bill (P.L. 101-246)—which codified the economic sanctions applied to
China after Tiananmen—and publicly denying permission for a Chinese com-
pany (China Aero-Technology Import-Export Corporation) to invest in
MAMCO, a Seattle-based aircraft parts manufacturer.53
China reacted quickly and harshly, calling Ambassador Lilley to the For-
eign Ministry, where Vice Minister Liu Huaqiu expressed China’s “utmost
indignation” over the sanctions legislation, which he claimed “willfully
trampled on the basic norms governing international relations.” Liu insisted
that the lifting of post-Tiananmen sanctions was a “necessary condition for
the return of normal bilateral relations.”54 Days later, the Chinese govern-
ment issued new regulations on overseas study for Chinese students, requir-
ing applicants to have had five years of work experience before going abroad
for study. Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, testifying before
a fiercely hostile Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 7, while
still defending the Bush policy toward China, admitted that “not enough had
been done” by China in improving its human rights record.55 The brief pe-
riod of cooperation in trying to improve bilateral relations had hit an im-
passe on both sides.

Eastern European Events and China’s Domestic Politics

It is broadly accepted conventional wisdom that the downfall of eastern Eu-
ropean communist regimes, which took place at such breathtaking speed in
the latter half of 1989, contributed greatly to the decline of support in the
United States for a “strategic” relationship with China. With the communist
bloc in disarray and the Soviet Union in serious economic and political diffi-
culties, the notion of maintaining close relations with China to keep it from
returning to the Soviet orbit seemed increasingly anachronistic to American
opinion makers. George Bush’s single-minded focus on the need for “strate-
gic” ties with China rang hollow as the threat from the Soviet Union receded.
Less understood, perhaps, is the impact the successive dissolution of so-
cialist governments and disestablishment of communist parties had on the
domestic political situation in China. Still reeling from the shock of Tiananmen
and the obvious unpopularity of the Communist Party, Chinese officials must
have looked at the events in eastern Europe in the summer and fall of 1989
with shock and dread. On the same day as PLA soldiers raced into Tiananmen,
Polish citizens voted overwhelmingly for noncommunist legislators in their
parliament, the first of several elections that peaceably removed the Polish
104 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

Communist Party from power the following year. One month later, Mikhail
Gorbachev told a Warsaw Pact meeting that each nation should pursue its
own solution to national problems, that there was no “universal model of
socialism, ” and that Russian troops would begin to be withdrawn. Without
the fear of Soviet intervention in their domestic affairs, eastern Europeans
rushed to free themselves of oppressive one-party dictatorships. Hungary’s
legislature changed its constitution to allow opposition parties, abolished the
leading role of the Socialist Party, and dropped “People’s Republic” from its
name in October. In November, East Germany’s communist government
bowed to public pressure and opened all border crossings to West Germany,
which brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the eventual replacement
of the Communist Party government. Also in November, the Czech govern-
ment resigned after public outrage at the violent breakup of antigovernment
demonstrations. As happened in Hungary, the Communist Party’s “leading
role” was disestablished, and by the end of the year, Czechoslovakia had a
new government under Vaclav Havel. During the same time period, Bulgaria’s
Communist Party government resigned and the party surrendered its domi-
nant role.56
Many Chinese leaders viewed these events with alarm and consternation,
but not because they expected that they would soon fuel similar protests in
China. They had reason to feel confident that they had silenced prodemocracy
demonstrations of any significant scale. If anything, the travails of eastern
European parties reinforced the view of Deng and others that they could not
compromise with prodemocracy activists and that their decision to send in
troops in June was basically correct. China’s well-controlled media simply
stopped reporting on what was happening in Berlin, Prague, Sofia, and War-
saw. That did not prevent people in China from finding out what was going
on, but it limited the impact of the news. What China’s leaders probably
found more disquieting, however, was evidence that the West was actively
supporting the protests, economically and politically. President Bush’s travel
to Poland and Hungary in July was not seen as unrelated to changes in the
governments and policies of those two countries. The Paris G-7 summit dec-
laration of support for political reform, including debt relief, also stood in
stark contrast to its condemnation of China’s crackdown and its unanimous
recommendation that World Bank loans to China be postponed. These ac-
tions and the continuing turmoil in eastern Europe no doubt heightened lead-
ership fears and doubts about foreign plotting against socialism in China.
But it was the violent and brutal collapse of the Nicolae Ceausescu regime
in Romania that probably had the strongest impact on China. China had not
been especially close to any of the eastern European bloc countries while
they were under Moscow’s thumb, but it had developed relatively warm re-
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 105

lations with Romania. Beijing had encouraged Ceausescu’s independence from

Moscow during the Brezhnev era, and while there may have been some doubts
about the propriety of Ceausescu’s increasingly nepotistic rule in Romania,
Chinese leaders appreciated his tough-minded refusal to undertake the domes-
tic political reforms that Gorbachev was proposing. Ceausescu had even found
words to praise China’s crackdown on dissent after Tiananmen, and Beijing
reciprocated by sending Qiao Shi to the Romanian Communist Party Congress
in August 1989, at which Ceausescu was re-elected general secretary.57
Although Beijing did not publicly praise the Romanian dictator when he
ordered his troops to open fire on human rights demonstrators in Timisoara,
China’s leaders were probably disturbed by the speed with which events then
unfolded in late December, 1989—the revolt of Romanian military, Ceau-
sescu’s attempted flight, capture, trial, and execution. It was not only con-
cern about the grim fate for their last European ally. The domestic implications
were chilling—that even support from the security apparatus might not be
enough and that popular vengeance against the party leadership was a po-
tential outcome of demonstrations. The regime ordered a tightening of secu-
rity at major Beijing universities, arrested protesters in front of a government
TV building, and put security forces on alert to quell possible worker pro-
tests.58 Concern about the army’s role in Ceausescu’s downfall led to height-
ened indoctrination within military units. Aside from a few posters at Beijing
University and phone calls of celebration and support to the Romanian em-
bassy, however, Chinese students took no action in response to the Roma-
nian crisis.
Although specific evidence is elusive, it seems likely that events in eastern
Europe contributed to the party leadership’s unwillingness to undertake any
further efforts at easing its crackdown internally or cooperating with the
United States externally. Given the still restive situation on university cam-
puses and in urban factories, a stagnant economy, a serious intraparty dis-
pute about reform and opening, and strained leadership relations, the less
risky course was to maintain iron-fisted control, regardless of foreign conse-
quences. The regime took the safer course—a hard line on everything. Ac-
cording to Gilley, “Within the party, . . . Ceausescus’s sudden and violent
death sparked a clear hard-line response. The party leadership now asserted
its opposition to even moderate political reform, which was blamed for pre-
cipitating the changes in Eastern Europe.”59
Inside China, the collapse of east European communism played into an
already serious rift between those who believed that major reform of the
Communist Party’s philosophy and style of governing needed to continue,
and those who believed that the reforms had brought in dangerous ideas
from the West and needed to be halted. The debate had simmered since 1978,
106 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

when Deng Xiaoping engineered a change in the party’s work focus from
ideological purification—Mao’s goal—to the practical improvement of China’s
economy and the standard of living of the Chinese people. Deng’s approach—
rendered in common Chinese numerological fashion—was called “one cen-
ter and two basic points.” “Economic construction is the core of national
work; on the one hand, we pursue reform and the open-door policy; on the
other, we uphold the ‘Four Cardinal Principles.’”60
Although Deng’s pragmatic viewpoint was welcomed by most party mem-
bers and was greeted with relief by people weary of Mao’s constant mass
campaigns, it was not always easy to put into practice, and the habit of
filtering all policy ideas through Marxist-Leninist-Maoist orthodoxy was one
that led to nearly constant debate and disagreement. Many of the party el-
ders were highly wary of the Western-style economic reforms that Deng and
his followers proposed, such as free markets, foreign investment zones, pri-
vate enterprise, and bankruptcy for failed state enterprises. They believed
that planned economy theories were fundamentally sound and just needed to
be practiced more rigorously to prove their value. They feared the potential
chaos of uncontrolled markets and the economic leverage that foreign coun-
tries could get were they permitted to invest in China. For them, the capitalist
West was implacably hostile to China and socialism and would take every
opportunity to undermine and subvert them. Understanding ideological de-
bates in China is a difficult task for non-Marxist observers. It is hard enough
to understand equating “leftists” with “conservatives” (the latter preferring
to conserve Mao’s basically left-leaning system of social engineering) and
“rightists” with “reformers.” Moreover, it is difficult to assess how seriously
to take apparent ideological arguments, since they are sometimes the ac-
cepted political cover for interpersonal or factional clashes within the leader-
ship. Worse still, because open ideological disagreements have not been
permitted in China’s party-controlled press, fundamental disputes are often
disguised as debates over philosophical points, historical figures, or artistic
trends. The authors of such articles frequently use pen names and seldom
directly attack their target by name. While obscure to foreign observers, these
arcane disputes have been a central feature of leadership contests in China.
In the post-Tiananmen period, and especially after the dissolution of so-
cialist regimes in eastern Europe, China’s ideological debate was somewhat
more direct, asking whether the reforms carried out or considered by the
disgraced Zhao Ziyang were “surnamed socialist” or “surnamed capitalist”
and whether Zhao had been sufficiently wary of the perils of “bourgeois
liberalization.” It did not take much imagination, however, to understand
that criticism of Zhao and Hu Yaobang could be construed as criticism of
Deng Xiaoping.
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 107

It is extremely difficult to trace in detail the effect of ideological disputes

on specific policy initiatives, given the many factors that affect policy out-
comes. This is especially true with foreign policy, which has been more or
less insulated from the turbulence of Chinese domestic politics. Generally
speaking, ideological disputes tend to freeze policy initiatives in place, sus-
tain a status quo approach, and generate ideologically “safe” positions on
important issues. As far as the United States was concerned, the ideologically
safe position was one of limited cooperation, accompanied by harsh rhetoric
and an insistence that the United States make the key concessions in bilateral
disputes. The brief interlude of step-by-step improvement of U.S.-China rela-
tions was thus a casualty of east European unrest. Scowcroft speculated later
that “when Ceausescu fell, I think the Chinese . . . said, ‘We can’t afford to
let up at all.’ Because the roadmap [for restoring relations] just stopped. No
explanation.”61 Nixon also knew it was over as soon as Ceausescu fell, tell-
ing Michel Oksenberg, “There goes everything we tried to work for in
China.”62 The Bush administration acknowledged in March that it was “deeply
disappointed” in China’s response to the Scowcroft-Eagleburger efforts to
improve relations and indicated no new initiatives were likely any time soon.63

Fang Lizhi Again and the MFN Debate

In April, however, Ambassador Lilley was called to the Foreign Ministry
and asked to resume discussions on the release of Fang Lizhi. Although the
deliberations and process for that decision are unknown, most observers—
including Lilley—believed the growing threat of a revocation of China’s
most favored nation (MFN) trade status by the U.S. Congress played a
large part in reviving negotiations for Fang’s release.64 China’s MFN status
also became a dominant issue in how the United States dealt with China for
the ensuing decade.
Most favored nation treatment (now referred to as normal trade relations
status) essentially means that the exports of a country receiving MFN treat-
ment will not be subjected to discriminatory tariffs or exclusionary rules
different from those of any other country, or in other words, treatment will
be equal to that provided the most favored nation.65 The United States rou-
tinely provided MFN treatment to all its trade partners after 1934. In 1951,
Congress passed the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951 (P.L. 82-50),
which required the president to suspend MFN status for the Soviet Union
and all communist bloc countries, which then included the People’s Republic
of China. President Harry S. Truman suspended MFN for China in Septem-
ber of that year. In 1974, Congress passed the Trade Act of 1974 (much
amended since then), Title IV of which provided conditions under which so-
called nonmarket economies could qualify for MFN treatment. They were
108 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

the successful negotiation of a bilateral trade agreement approved by Con-

gress and compliance with freedom-of-emigration provisions of the Jackson-
Vanik amendment (sec. 402) of the Trade Act. Those provisions were aimed
at easing Soviet proscriptions against certain citizens (most notably Jews)
emigrating to another country. The president may formally certify that the
country in question does not block emigration or may waive the requirement
for full compliance under certain conditions.
The MFN treatment for a nonmarket economy can continue in force if the
trade agreement is renewed under satisfactory conditions every three years
and if the president recommends by midyear that the waiver authority be
maintained. Extension is automatic unless Congress enacts a joint resolution
of disapproval.66 President Jimmy Carter—having completed a trade agree-
ment with China in July 1979—extended Jackson-Vanik waivers to China
after Congress approved the trade agreement, and China was granted MFN
status on February 1, 1980. It was automatically renewed every year through
1989.
Following their failure to override President Bush’s veto of the Pelosi bill,
members of Congress interested in punishing China for Tiananmen and its
aftermath met with Chinese students and human rights groups to consider
other legislative means to offset the Bush administration approach. From
meetings held in early January between congressional staffers and Chinese
student representatives, the idea gradually took shape that the most effective
way to pressure China was to move against its MFN status.67 Congresswoman
Nancy Pelosi initiated an informal congressional “working group” in March
that began considering the possibilities for changing China’s MFN treatment.
At first, activists recommended outright revocation. Subsequently, how-
ever, a “compromise” position, involving the establishment of conditions
under which MFN would be renewed in the future, gained support. Several
bills calling for each approach were introduced into the House and Senate in
1990. One, introduced by Representative Donald Pease of Ohio, was actu-
ally passed by the House in October, but was not taken up by the Senate and
so expired.68 But as James Mann points out, the problem with a conditioned
approach to MFN was that there were many different ideas of what condi-
tions should be applied.69 Some representatives favored conditions pertain-
ing to the treatment of Tibet, some wanted amnesty for Tiananmen
demonstrators, some a cessation of prison labor exports, some wanted a
reduction in religious persecution, others stressed abortion and China’s one-
child policy, while still others wanted conditions added that would stop
China’s sale of nuclear materials or missile technology to other nations or
force it to cut off its support for Khmer Rouge guerrillas in Cambodia. The
Pease bill, which passed the House by a vote of 384-30, proposed that MFN
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 109

not be extended unless the president submitted a report to Congress stating

that China had released all Tiananmen prisoners and had made “progress in
reversing gross violations of human rights; terminating martial law (includ-
ing in Tibet); easing restrictions on freedom of the press and on broadcasts
by Voice of America; terminating harassment of Chinese citizens in the United
States; removing obstacles to study and travel abroad for students and other
citizens; taking appropriate action to observe internationally recognized hu-
man rights, including an end to religious persecution there and in Tibet; and
adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong that was entered into be-
tween the United Kingdom and it in 1984.” The bill also included a “sense of
the Congress” section (Title II) that recommended a code of conduct for
American businesses operating in China.70
Although the administration offered no support for such legislation, the
approach gained some public support, including from former ambassador
Winston Lord, who testified in favor of conditioned MFN as early as May
1990. The formal resolution of disapproval of the president’s decision to
extend MFN passed the House in October, but only by a vote of 247-174,
well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised Bush
veto. The Senate, therefore, did not take up the proposal.
According to Ambassador Lilley, he and others negotiating the conditions
for Fang Lizhi’s release stressed the congressional threat to China’s trade
privileges as an incentive to get the Chinese to relent on Fang. Bush’s mes-
sage to the Chinese was that he might well lose the MFN extension vote if
China did not do something to help him out. The point was essentially the
same one Scowcroft and Eagleburger had made in their July visit of 1989,
but this time there was something more tangible than positively influencing
American public opinion at stake—dollars and cents. Revocation of MFN
would have meant an increase of punitive duties on more than 95 percent of
China’s exports to the United States (over $18 billion in 1989, with a trade
surplus of more than $6.2 billion).71 In a period when Beijing’s austerity
program and popular discontent with government policies had led to a drop
in economic growth and a reduction in international loans to China, the
decline in competitiveness in their biggest market would have been a serious
blow for China’s economy. As the June 3 date for announcing MFN and the
first anniversary of Tiananmen approached, Bush temporized while Con-
gress seethed, looking for ways to punish China’s intransigence.
There is, of course, no available public record of Beijing’s deliberations on
what to do about this issue or about China’s larger diplomatic and economic
isolation. There is some evidence to support the notion that Beijing made a
deliberate decision to trade Tiananmen prisoners for an attenuation of sanc-
tions. The first indication was the January “release” of more than 500 pris-
110 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

oners, which was discounted in Washington. On May 11, perhaps in an ef-

fort to improve its image and prospects for MFN renewal, Beijing released
211 Tiananmen prisoners. After Bush’s announcement on June 3 that he
would renew MFN, it released another 97.
But Fang Lizhi was different. Fang had become a symbolic figure—the
embodiment of democratic opposition. To release him without subjecting
him to Chinese justice would gladden democratic activists and embolden
others to continue their resistance. Fang was the ward of America, the proof
of its interference in China’s domestic affairs. To release him in the face of
American economic threats would be to perpetuate those threats and would
be read as a sign that China was buckling in the face of American economic
pressure, which might even bring about further pressure. Moreover, Fang
was Deng’s bête noire, his antagonist. To release him would be a great loss of
face for Deng and for the entire leadership. These and other arguments sim-
mered as the terms of Fang’s release were negotiated, although the extent of
disagreements among the leadership only became evident later.
Fang did not make things any easier. He refused to plead guilty or confess
to any of the charges against him. He had to be persuaded to accept some of
the minor conditions for his release that the United States was negotiating in
his behalf, such as claiming to need medical attention overseas, not going
directly to the United States after his release, and agreeing not to engage in
“anti-China” activities.
But finally, on June 25, China granted Fang Lizhi permission to leave
China for “medical treatment” and after showing “signs of repentance,”
Fang and his wife, Li Shuxian, boarded a U.S. Air Force transport plane that
took them to England, where Fang had been offered an appointment by the
Royal Society to pursue his research and teach at Cambridge University.72 In
a brief press statement, Bush’s press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, said, “This
humanitarian action is a farsighted, significant step that will improve the
atmosphere for progress in our bilateral relations.”73 Fang, although he had
written a letter to the authorities, was hardly repentant, certainly was not ill,
and had no intention of staying in England. By mid-July, he announced he
would be moving to the United States, publicly denied he was in any way in
need of medical treatment, promised to continue supporting the democratic
movement in China, and accused President Bush of having a “double stan-
dard” on democracy in China, compared to that for eastern Europe.74
Although the resolution of the Fang Lizhi case did give both sides the
opportunity to work on the relationship free of its most immediately conten-
tious issue, neither side was ready to take another step forward. In China,
Deng was not able to sustain an initiative, while Li Peng, as head of the
Foreign Affairs Small Group, seemed to take the view that China did not
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 111

need the United States. He and Foreign Minister Qian became more actively
engaged in repairing relations with other countries to ease China’s isolation.
Qian and others traveled widely, promoting China’s visibility and taking the
initiative in solving long-standing disputes with countries on its borders. China
established formal diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and
Singapore in 1990, and laid the groundwork for further improvements in
relations with South Korea, India, and the USSR.
The release of Fang did not provide any “bounce” or encouragement for
policymakers in Washington. For many of them, China had lost its appeal
and was now considered merely a supporting player in international affairs.
For the president and his national security adviser, China had become little
more than a source of domestic political pain, its strategic significance di-
minished by its incapacity, the meltdown of communism in eastern Europe,
and the president’s improved relationship with Gorbachev. Secretary of State
Baker had little regard for China and left the problems for Deputy Secretary
Eagleburger to work. He took special delight in flying over China—without
stopping—to visit places like Mongolia and the USSR.75 For Assistant Secre-
tary of State Richard Solomon, finding a peace accord in Cambodia became
his principal task, and China helped to build a consensus among the perma-
nent members of the Security Council. But for other observers, China was
the arms supplier and principal supporter for the detested Khmer Rouge—
yet another example of the Chinese government being on the wrong side of
an issue.

The Gulf War—Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Strain

Saddam Hussein’s decision to invade Kuwait on August 2, 1990, provided
an opportunity for the United States and China to cooperate on an interna-
tional crisis of importance to both sides. Assistant Secretary of State Richard
Solomon flew immediately to Beijing for consultations, which proved fruit-
ful. Both countries agreed that Iraq’s action contravened acceptable norms
of international behavior and joined quickly in passing a United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling on Baghdad to withdraw imme-
diately or face mandatory sanctions. China also imposed an arms embargo
on Iraq on August 5 and supported a UN ban on trade with Iraq on the
following day. When President Bush ordered U.S. warships to the Persian
Gulf to enforce the embargo, however, China (and other countries) balked.
As it considered its next steps, China’s ideologically based approach to the
United States came to the fore, and cooperation became more difficult. Al-
though it ultimately voted in favor of a UNSC resolution in late August to
authorize enforcement of the blockade, China began to push its own agenda
in the deliberations.
112 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

According to Chen You-wei, who worked for China’s Foreign Ministry

during this period,76 Jiang Zemin called the Politburo Standing Committee
into session three times during August to discuss the Persian Gulf. Jiang turned
almost exclusively to Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and the Ministry of For-
eign Affairs to analyze the issue and provide policy guidance. Qian’s assess-
ment reflected the suspicion of U.S. motives that characterized China’s response
to virtually all U.S. initiatives: the United States was not resisting Iraq’s aggres-
sion in principle but was pursuing a “hegemonistic”77 goal of controlling Per-
sian Gulf oil resources; China would not support U.S. military activities in
support of the embargo, nor would it support a joint UN force; China did not
think the United States could fight a desert war effectively and would not mind
seeing the United States get entrapped in the region; and the United States
would need China’s help to extricate itself from the conflict, which might ben-
efit China. While Chen’s “insider” account cannot be verified from other sources,
it is plausible and fits with China’s behavior at the time.
Aside from its “principled” and long-standing opposition to the use of
force by coalitions of other nations to resolve disputes, China seemed to be
maneuvering to enhance its own reputation at the United Nations. It was
interested in working with the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council (China, France, the Soviet Union/Russia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States) and cooperated fully with the “P-5 Committee” to craft
language for the UNSC resolutions on Iraq and the Cambodia Peace Plan,
announced at the end of August. Within the P-5, China tried to maximize
its credentials as a third world nation better able to represent some of the
smaller Middle Eastern countries. It may have hoped its contribution to-
ward a peaceful resolution of the problem would put it in position to press
the European Union (EU) and the United States for reduction of post-
Tiananmen sanctions.78
More important, if less tangibly, Beijing was trying to restore its self-
image through the affirmation of its importance as a major power and con-
ferral of respect on its dignitaries and diplomats. Publicity for these events
was important to shore up the regime’s tattered image within China. West-
ern interpretations that China was simply looking for the lifting of sanctions
against international lending are not incorrect—without doubt, the lack of
World Bank, Japanese, EU, and U.S. financing of development projects in
China contributed to its economic malaise. But the desire to show TV pic-
tures of Chinese leaders—some of whom were reviled domestically—being
celebrated internationally cannot be underestimated. Through diplomacy,
the leadership was trying to accelerate the process of restoring its legitimacy.
Certainly that factor must have influenced the rather odd behavior of For-
eign Minister Qian in November of 1990. American expectations of China
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 113

at that point were minimal. As Secretary Baker put it, “By 1990, given the
overwhelmingly hostile climate toward China in the aftermath of the
Tiananmen Square massacre, any significant overtures to thaw the Sino-
American relationship were neither justified nor possible. We were not will-
ing simply to write off China, however. As a result, the emphasis in our
policy shifted toward multilateral opportunities, where we could deal with
the Chinese in a larger and less controversial context on issues of mutual
interest.”79 The principal goal was to dissuade China from vetoing any of the
UN resolutions that provided necessary cover for the Middle Eastern nations
participating in the U.S.-led coalition to force Iraq out of Kuwait. Washing-
ton had already put together the coalition and was making the military prepa-
rations. Working patiently with Russian, French, and Chinese dilatory tactics
had been frustrating but necessary. By November, the final UN resolution
was ready—one that set an actual deadline for Iraqi troops to be withdrawn
from Kuwait and authorized the use of force if they were not. The Bush
administration wanted it not only for international affirmation and to per-
suade Saddam Hussein of the gravity of American resolve, but also to use
against congressional critics who vigorously opposed the use of force in the
Persian Gulf.
On November 7, Baker met Qian in Cairo and received a preliminary
indication that China would not block passage of a resolution authorizing
the use of force. But Qian’s language was cryptic, both in his ninety-minute
meeting with Baker and with the press later. “I think all the resolutions adopted
by the United Nations are intended to increase the pressure on Iraq so as to
achieve a peaceful settlement,” Qian told eager journalists. Some observers
interpreted what he said as leaving open the possibility that China would
vote for the resolution.80 Li Peng drew Ambassador Lilley aside privately two
or three days later and clarified the situation, “As a matter of principle, we
will never vote for the use of force resolution. This is a matter of principle to
us. We are not going to do it. Please explain this to your people.” Lilley
passed the message on to Baker, who evidently ignored it.81
On November 19, Baker called Qian from his hotel room in Paris to try
and persuade him to vote for the resolution. He read the U.S. draft resolution
over the phone and asked how China was going to vote. Qian demurred,
having not even raised the issue within the leadership small group. Evidently
as a deal sweetener, Baker invited Qian to visit Washington on November
30, after the Security Council session, saying the president would be leaving
for a Latin American tour the following day.82 Qian happily accepted, prob-
ably thinking that he would be meeting President Bush. On November 24,
Qian met with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze in Xinjiang but
remained publicly noncommittal on China’s vote on the UN resolution.
114 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

American diplomats still held out the hope that China would support the
resolution.
On November 26, the day his visit to Washington was announced (al-
though not a meeting with Bush), Qian publicly labeled as “groundless” re-
ports that China would support the resolution. But he also indicated China
would not veto it. Curiously, observers in the press and the State Department
seemed to ignore the possibility of an abstention and continued to call Qian’s
position “ambiguous.”83 That same day, an American diplomat met with the
head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department, Liu Huaqiu,
and informed him that only a vote in support would get a meeting with the
president. An abstention would mean no Washington trip. After consulting
with Beijing—where there was opposition to his going to Washington to
“kowtow”— Qian eventually responded that if there was no Washington trip,
he would not attend the Security Council session.84 On November 27, State
Department Deputy Spokesman Richard Boucher announced that Qian would
be meeting with Baker but as a “contact,” not as a formal exchange, which
had been banned after Tiananmen. The game of sliding invitations had now
become a game of diplomatic chicken.
On November 29, with Baker in the chair at the UN Security Council
meeting, Qian abstained on the vote, saying China “has difficulty voting in
favor of this draft resolution” owing to its threat to resort to armed force.85
The final tally was twelve votes in favor, two opposed, and one abstention.
Despite the overwhelming Security Council vote and lack of a Chinese veto,
Baker was furious, feeling he had been misled by Qian.86 He therefore had
the chief of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, Kent Wiedemann,
inform the Chinese embassy that Qian’s visit was to be described as a “pri-
vate visit,” not even a contact. Baker told Qian at dinner on November 30
that, although he had tried, he could not get him on the president’s schedule.
Qian, in his turn, was outraged. After consulting with Beijing, he had Am-
bassador Zhu Qizhen call China Desk Chief Wiedemann after midnight to
find out before 7:00 a.m. whether the president would see him. If not, he
would not come to Washington. Zhu made a similar call to NSC Asia direc-
tor Douglas Paal at 1:00 a.m., demanding to speak with Scowcroft. Scowcroft
took the call about 3:00 a.m. and agreed that Qian could see Bush. He cleared
the decision with the president three hours later. As he explained in his mem-
oir, “I was only dimly aware of the understanding [with Secretary Baker]
about the arrangements, but we did not need an international crisis in the
wake of our UN success.”87
So Qian got his photo opportunity with the president on December 1,
which was displayed prominently in all the major Chinese newspapers. Sig-
nificantly, the half-hour meeting was not held in the Oval Office but in the
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 115

Cabinet Room. But Baker got to set the agenda and prepared the talking
points for the president’s meetings. And he put American concerns at the
very top, namely, human rights, missile proliferation, and intellectual prop-
erty rights. He insisted the president make a strong presentation on human
rights and that any follow-up meetings should be devoted to working on that
issue and the problems of Chinese proliferation. He had already, in his own
two-hour session with Qian, requested that Assistant Secretary of State for
Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues Richard Schifter and Reginald
Bartholomew, undersecretary for International Security Affairs, as well as
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Joseph Massey, should make separate
trips to China to work on details of problem areas. Qian had assented. Bush
again appealed to Qian that China had to “help him out” against congres-
sional critics by making progress on human rights issues and indicated he
would consider inviting Jiang Zemin to the United States in response.88 In
public, he indicated that there could be no progress in the bilateral relation-
ship unless China improved its human rights record.
Both sides put the best face on the incident, each telling the public that the
visit was evidence of the need for a more normal relationship, each telling
insiders that there was resentment about the way the other side had handled
things, each telling the other that it was principally responsible for taking
steps to improve the relationship. And in setting out a preliminary road map
for ensuing visits and issues to be discussed, Qian’s meetings made some
progress in restoring some communication. But they could hardly be consid-
ered a breakthrough. Behind the niceties of diplomacy, powerful domestic
forces were pushing the two governments further apart.
As the massive buildup of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region continued,
along with concomitant U.S. determination to use them to drive Iraqi forces
from Kuwait, China’s sense of alarm grew and its cooperation with the U.S.-
led alliance decreased. After the air attacks on Baghdad began in mid-
January, China stepped up its support for Soviet efforts to find a negotiated
solution to the conflict, efforts that many American officials resented as pro-
Iraqi interference. Chinese spokesmen began talking about “the two belliger-
ent parties,” suggesting a moral equivalence between Iraqi troops in Kuwait
and American-led forces in Saudi Arabia. In early February, word leaked out
that Deng Xiaoping had described the situation as “big hegemonists beating
up small hegemonists.”89 Despite this increasing “tilt” toward Iraq, U.S. policy
toward China did not change. As then-deputy assistant secretary of defense
Carl Ford recalled it, China’s actions “didn’t seem to be an important issue”
among Defense Department planners. They knew much of Iraq’s armor and
artillery had come from China, but “it wasn’t that big a deal.”90 As far as the
Middle East was concerned, China was a nonplayer.
116 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

For the PLA, however, what the U.S. military did in the Gulf War was a
very big deal indeed; it was an enormous shock. The “revolution in military
affairs” that had been taking place in the U. S. armed forces—so startlingly
and vividly displayed first during the high-tech air war over Baghdad, then
with the swift and methodical crushing of Iraqi ground forces after February
23—caught the Chinese off guard. U.S. technological superiority over Iraq’s
Chinese-made weapons was overwhelming and led to expressions of great
concern in China’s chain of command, about the inferiority of China’s mili-
tary technology and about the costs of equipping China’s armed forces to be
able to deal with the U.S. threat.91 In the wake of the Gulf War, the PLA high
command overhauled China’s entire concept of warfare, adopting the devel-
opment slogan of preparing to fight “modern local wars under high-tech
conditions” and ordering weapons procurement, military education, train-
ing, and doctrinal programs to adjust to the new situation.92 In most of its
training exercises, the anticipated aggressor force, the expected enemy, was
the United States.
Beijing also must have been concerned by the popular Chinese support
shown for the American side in the Persian Gulf conflict. Books, television
programs, and newspapers devoted a great deal of attention to the war—the
high-tech wizardry of pinpoint bombing, stealth aircraft, electronic counter-
measures, cruise missiles—much of it positive. China had officially condemned
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, so wishing America well against Saddam Hussein
was not prohibited. Some Chinese citizens even sent small contributions to
Ambassador Lilley to support the American effort.
Whatever Chinese citizens’ views of American operations in the Persian
Gulf, China’s leaders chose the most intense period of the conflict to deal
with some of their most controversial dissident cases. Perhaps in a deliberate
retort to the American request for amnesty for 150 Tiananmen prisoners,
raised by Assistant Secretary Schifter in late December, China publicized the
trial and sentencing of a number of student leaders and intellectuals from
early January through early March 1991. The students, even leaders of the
Tiananmen protests, usually received somewhat lighter sentences. Wang Dan
and Guo Haifeng, for example, each were sentenced to four years in prison
for “counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement.” Some others, includ-
ing Liu Xiaobo, were released without trial. Heavier sentences were meted
out to the students’ intellectual mentors and advisers: Bao Zunxin, a Beida
historian, received five years; 1979 democracy activist Ren Wanding was
sentenced to seven; economist Chen Ziming and journalist Wang Juntao each
got thirteen years for “counterrevolutionary activities,” “incitement to sub-
version,” and resisting martial law authorities. In April, China’s supreme
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 117

court chief justice told the National People’s Congress that the trials of
Tiananmen demonstrators were “basically completed.”93
Suspicions that these trials were rushed to conclusion while the Bush
administration’s attention was focused on the Gulf War made the reaction
from U.S. human rights groups and members of Congress that much more
bitter. Editorialists and human rights organizations condemned China’s court
system and its human rights record. Li Peng, on a visit to Europe, provided
additional ammunition for China’s critics by portraying the armed crack-
down as necessary and correct and justifying the government’s refusal to
account for civilian casualties—as had been promised in 1989—because the
families of the victims did not wish to have their relatives associated with a
“counterrevolutionary rebellion.”94 Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies
reported that China was seeking to sell advanced missile systems to Pakistan
and other Middle Eastern countries and was providing nuclear assistance to
Algeria, contrary to its 1984 pledge to sell nuclear-related equipment only to
countries that permitted International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.95
The Office of the U.S.Trade Representative (USTR), moreover, charged that
China was increasing nontariff barriers to U.S. goods while promoting Chi-
nese exports, causing the U.S. trade deficit to rise to $10.4 billion in 1990. It
threatened punitive sanctions unless China took steps to improve market
access for American companies.96 The stage was set for another battle over
MFN between the president and Congress.

Bush Fights, Then Retreats

When Secretary of State James Baker pressed Chinese Foreign Minister Qian,
during his December 1990 meeting in the White House, to accept three U.S.
officials for consultations, he was, in effect, signaling two important changes
in the Bush administration’s policy toward China. First, that the administra-
tion was moving from an approach focused on trying to restore strategic ties
with the PRC regime to one designed to pressure Beijing into altering its
behavior in certain important areas—namely, human rights, nonprolifera-
tion, and trade. Second, Baker was promoting a substantive agenda that was
very similar to that of the U.S. Congress, although the means by which the
administration would seek to achieve its goals were much different. Baker
and others at the State Department were probably animated by the realiza-
tion that Congress was gearing up to pass major legislation on China’s MFN
status in 1991, and with a slightly larger Democratic Party majority in the
House as a result of the 1990 midterm elections, the administration was in
for an even rougher time.
118 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

The 102d Congress came in determined to change the president’s China

policy. It intended to do so by manipulating the president’s decision on China’s
most favored nation trade status. Congressional persistence in taking a
contrarian stand on this issue is not altogether easy to grasp:
—China was not, for example, a constituency issue. Although some very
vocal citizens pressed representatives and senators on various China issues,
there was no evidence in the 1990 elections that China was an important
campaign issue—certainly no contests turned on China policy questions.
—Nor was it a partisan issue. Some Democratic Party leaders in the House
and Senate used the China issue to attack President Bush, but they did not
broaden it into an overall condemnation of his foreign policy. Neither did
they bargain China votes with the administration for other legislative issues.
But a majority of congressional Republicans also voted against Bush on China
questions, except when veto override issues came up, and they were called on
to demonstrate party solidarity.
—Lobbying was intense on the MFN question and became more so as
the struggle was repeated year after year. On the side of those wishing to
curtail or condition MFN, for example, were ad hoc groups of Chinese
students and well-established human rights organizations, such as Amnesty
International, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Asia Watch (later
Human Rights Watch-Asia), the Campaign for Tibet, and others. Business
groups—such as the American Chamber of Commerce, the Business
Roundtable, and other representatives of large U.S. corporations operating
in China—also became more involved in lobbying for extension of MFN
for China, but they were not able, at least during the Bush administration,
to prevent conditioning legislation from passing by overwhelming margins.
Lobbying was important in framing the issue; in calling attention to new
information on Chinese human rights, trade, and nonproliferation viola-
tions; and in providing policy analysis but was not crucial to the outcome
of the voting.97
—Influential American media, such as the New York Times and Washing-
ton Post, were overwhelmingly critical of China in their editorial pages and
supportive of conditioned extension of MFN from about March 1991 for-
ward. Editorials and regular op-ed commentaries by syndicated columnists,
such as A. M. Rosenthal and Leslie Gelb of the New York Times, and Jim
Hoagland, Mary McGrory, Hobart Rowen, and David Broder at the Wash-
ington Post also supported taking stronger steps to “register the aversion
most Americans feel to China’s anti-democratic and anti-human rights poli-
cies, to its suspect arms and technology exports and to its disregard for nor-
mal trading rules.”98 Such views contributed to a climate of hostility and
distrust toward China that affected both Congress and the administration,
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 119

but there is no reason to believe these opinion makers were especially influ-
ential on legislation pertaining to China.
China, for many members of Congress, had come to be seen as the epitome
of everything the United States opposed in international affairs: a tyrannical
government, oppressing democracy at every turn; intolerant of religion,
whether Christian or Buddhist; a mercantilist trade cheat, closing its own
market while dumping low-cost, pirated, and prison labor–made goods in
the United States to expand its trade surplus; an uncontrolled proliferator of
weapons of mass destruction, selling dangerous technology and weapons to
unstable governments that threatened U.S. interests; a rising military threat
to U.S. allies and friends in the Asia-Pacific, expanding its military reach
with ever-growing budgets; a murderer of unborn children, forcing abor-
tions and sterilizations to meet family planning quotas. Whether those for-
mulaic perceptions accorded with reality or not (and some clearly were
exaggerations), they were strongly held by congressional leaders. And during
the two or three years following Tiananmen, they were reinforced by events
reported from China—arrests, executions, sales of nuclear materials, threats
to stop buying American goods, and so on. Moreover, the Chinese leadership’s
stiff-necked resistance to admitting any of these flaws or accepting that any
foreign country had the right to criticize them only inflamed the critics fur-
ther. As a result, many members of Congress and their staffs were deter-
mined to take action—any action—against China or against the Bush
administration, which they viewed as being perversely blind to China’s faults.
As the June deadline approached for declaring whether the United States
would extend MFN to China, Congress tried to block it. On May 2, Repre-
sentative Nancy Pelosi submitted a bill (H.R. 2212, later known as the United
States–China Act of 1991) that again would establish strict conditions for
China to be accorded MFN treatment. (Majority Leader George Mitchell
introduced a similar bill in the Senate on May 16). The bill began with the
finding that “the Government of the People’s Republic of China . . . contin-
ues to engage in flagrant violations of internationally recognized human rights,
. . . is engaging in unfair trade practices against the United States . . ., [and]
has not demonstrated its willingness and intention to participate as a full and
responsible party in good faith efforts to control the proliferation of danger-
ous military technology and weapons.”99 Then the bill set out “additional
objectives which the Government of China must meet in order to receive
nondiscriminatory [MFN] treatment.” The act prohibited the president from
recommending a continuation of MFN unless he reported to Congress that
China had accounted for all those arrested and sentenced for Tiananmen,
released those still imprisoned, and made “overall significant progress” in
several elements of its human rights, trade, and nonproliferation policies.
120 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

Among the actions China was called upon to take were ending all religious
persecution, removing restrictions on freedom of the press, terminating prohi-
bitions on peaceful assembly and demonstration, providing American export-
ers fair access to the Chinese market, and ceasing activities inconsistent with
international control regimes for missile, nuclear, and chemical weapons.100
President Bush took his own preemptive action, telling first Republican
legislators and then reporters on May 15 that he intended to renew MFN for
China, evidently before his advisers were expecting it. His press spokesman
later insisted that no “formal” decision had yet been made, but Bush left
little room for doubt in his remarks to reporters. “I want to see MFN for
China and I made a strong pitch for it [to the Members of Congress]. We do
not want to isolate China.”101 Fitzwater implied the following day that the
administration was not entirely opposed to “adding conditions or at least
expressing our views about human rights progress in China.”102 Less than
two weeks later, however, Bush announced he would attach no conditions
on MFN. But he added an additional justification, indicating he had moved
closer toward a values-oriented China policy, “It is right to export the ideals
of freedom and democracy to China. . . . It comes down to the strength of our
belief in the power of the democratic idea. If we pursue a policy that culti-
vates contacts with the Chinese people, promotes commerce to our benefit,
we can help create a climate for democratic change.”103
Another administration official told Washington Post reporter Don
Oberdorfer that Bush’s unconditional renewal was a “tactical” decision, made
in the knowledge that he “eventually . . . may have to accept some conditions
due to the strong views in Congress against an extension.”104 Senate Demo-
cratic Majority Leader George Mitchell immediately attacked Bush’s deci-
sion as “without any moral or logical basis” and vowed Congress would
fight to overturn it.105
But while it was maintaining an open-handed approach on MFN issues,
the administration began turning up the pressure on China in other areas.
On April 26, for example, USTR announced it was beginning a special 301
investigation of China’s pirating of American pharmaceuticals, software,
music, and books, under the newly expanded authority granted in the Omni-
bus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.106 The American software in-
dustry had been pressing for such an investigation, estimating that its losses
to pirated Chinese software in 1988 amounted to over $300 million.107 China
was the first nation cited as a “priority foreign country” under the special
301 provisions, and USTR called for negotiations with the clearly implied
threat that it would impose tariff increases of up to 100 percent on selected
categories of China’s exports to the United States, up to and above the esti-
mated damage to U.S. trade by the piracy.
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 121

On April 30, presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater announced that

the administration would prohibit licenses for the sale of U.S.-origin equip-
ment for the Dongfanghong-3, a communications satellite being built in China.
The suspension was in response to intelligence reports that China was pre-
paring to sell M-9 600km-range missiles to Syria and M-11 intermediate-
range ballistic missiles to Pakistan and had secretly built a nuclear reactor for
Algeria.108 Alarmed at the possibility that China might be expanding its al-
ready troublesome weapons-of-mass-destruction sales program, Secretary of
State Baker sent Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Robert Kimmitt
and Undersecretary of State for International Security Affairs Reginald
Bartholomew to Beijing in May and June with tough warnings. “We have
made it clear that there would be potentially profound consequences for our
bilateral relationship if they were to change the missile export policies that
they might have represented to us,” Baker was quoted as saying.109
Although initially harsh, China’s response to the dispatch of two senior
U.S. officials to Beijing began to thaw a relationship that had again fallen
into a deep freeze. Chinese officials admitted to Kimmitt that Beijing had
indeed agreed to sell “short-range, tactical missiles” to Pakistan, but insisted
their range fell within the guidelines of the missile technology control regime
(MTCR) (a dubious claim, since an earlier sales brochure advertised a pay-
load of 800 kg).110 They also told Kimmitt that the Algerian reactor was a
small research reactor not intended for the production of weapons-grade
fissile material and would eventually be placed under international safeguards.
They told Bartholomew that China was considering adhering to the MTCR
guidelines and was preparing to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.111 In Au-
gust, Premier Li Peng told Japan’s prime minister, Toshiki Kaifu (the first
Western head of state to visit post-Tiananmen China), that Beijing had de-
cided “in principle” to sign the NPT, a pledge the Bush administration imme-
diately welcomed.
As the MFN debate in Congress heated up, China took some contradic-
tory steps in response. On some occasions, they made crude threats: Ambas-
sador Zhu Qizhen, for example, said that China would “use high tariffs to
drive American companies out of its markets,” costing the United States bil-
lions of dollars and thousands of jobs.112 At the end of June, Premier Li Peng
threatened the Boeing Company that it would lose all its contracts if MFN
were not renewed.113 Later, China sent two buying missions to the United
States, which contracted for more that $1.2 billion worth of U.S. agricultural
and manufactured products. Beijing also hired a Washington-based lobbying
firm to help it present its case to members of Congress. In his book, Inside
Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China and America, former
Chinese embassy official Chen You-wei claims China spent about $4 million
122 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

for the Hill and Knowlton contract but only kept it for about six months,
believing afterward it did not need professional help.114
Bush was facing two actions in Congress, one a resolution of disapproval
of his MFN decision (H.R. 263, sponsored by Representative Gerald Solomon
of New York), the other the Pelosi-sponsored United States–China Act (H.R.
2212), which set numerous conditions on renewal of MFN. As expected,
both bills passed the House of Representatives on roll call votes, the MFN
disapproval bill by 223-204, the MFN conditions by 313-112. As in the ear-
lier Pelosi bill vote, the key battle was in the Senate, and the administration
worked very hard to gain the thirty-four votes needed to block a veto over-
ride of HR 2212 (the Solomon bill was not taken up by the Senate).
Aside from the usual meetings and phone calls, Bush responded to a letter
he had received from fifteen senators from both parties, asking him to “take
appropriate action” against China to redress its unfair trade practices and to
restrict missile sales to Pakistan. The principal drafter of the letter was Sena-
tor Max Baucus, a pro-MFN Democrat from Montana, who had discussed
the letter in advance with the White House.115 Bush’s reply, timed just before
the Senate took up the conditions bill in late July, pledged that the adminis-
tration would impose tough new sanctions if China did not take substantial
measures to improve its trade practices and said it would work to facilitate
Taiwan’s entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It
was more vague on what it would do with respect to human rights and non-
proliferation issues, leading Majority Leader Mitchell to dismiss the letter as
“mostly rhetoric.”116 The Senate passed the conditioned MFN bill on July 23
by a margin of 55-44, well short of what would be needed to override the
expected Bush veto. As the White House had hoped, the vote was nearly a
party-line event, with only six Republicans voting for conditions and seven
Democrats voting against. The bill then went to a conference committee,
which delayed its final disposition by several months. Bush vetoed the mea-
sure in early 1992, and the Senate override failed by four votes.

Deng Retreats, Then Charges

In late 1990 and early 1991, Deng Xiaoping might have felt some sympathy
for Mao Zedong, who had accused Deng and other party leaders of treating
him like a “dead relative” in the period leading up to the Cultural Revolu-
tion. Deng was now in a comparable position. Although still active and in
relatively good health, the retired elder was having trouble getting his views
translated into action by the new leadership he had installed. Deng probably
saw clearly the many dilemmas China was facing—nothing was going well.
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 123

—The economy, under a deliberate cooling off and austerity program,

had slowed to about 5percent GDP growth (which Deng considered too low),
foreign investment had declined markedly, price reform had been spiked, as
had reforms of state-owned enterprises. Even the agricultural reforms that
had begun the reform movement in the late 1970s were being called into
question by Chen Yun and his fellow devotees of centralized planning, in-
cluding Jiang Zemin. China’s budget deficit increased 36 percent between
1989 and 1990, and provincial authorities were complaining bitterly about
central efforts to increase its share of revenues from local enterprise taxes.117
—Although the post-Tiananmen crackdown had effectively squelched all
popular resistance to the regime, the police seemed to be having an extraor-
dinarily difficult time rounding up their “most-wanted” dissidents. Many of
them, including Chai Ling, Wu’er Kaixi, Feng Congde, Li Lu, Yan Jiaqi, and
Chen Yizi, hid in various parts of China for months, then escaped to Hong
Kong through a well-funded underground railroad that worked in close co-
operation with local police and some of China’s most notorious criminal
gangs.118 At the leadership level, Zhao Ziyang refused adamantly to admit
that he had made any errors in handling the demonstrations, thereby pre-
venting the party from being able to close the books on the case. Chen Yun
quietly leveled criticism against Deng for allowing “bourgeois liberalization”
such free rein under Zhao and Hu.
—Efforts to root out demonstrators and “rectify” thinking even in some
of the organizations most heavily involved in the protests, such as Beijing
University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, met with indifferent
success. In sharp contrast to earlier political campaigns in which intellectuals
were intimidated into informing on their colleagues, this time there was a
sense of solidarity against the party apparatus, with the result that few pun-
ishments were meted out and mandatory study sessions were sullen and si-
lent. Students packed off to rural areas or military boot camps before
matriculation arrived on campus angry and resentful but not prepared to
undertake mass protests again.119 Within the Communist Party, although
nearly 300,000 members were expelled or disciplined in the reregistration
campaign that examined every member’s behavior during the Tiananmen
crisis, that number represented less than 1 percent of the party’s 50 million
members.120
—Not only did the failure and fall of communist parties throughout east-
ern Europe not abate, but the Soviet Union itself—under Gorbachev and
other democratic reformers—became increasingly unsteady in defense of so-
cialism, in Chinese eyes. Although uncertain about Gorbachev and still an-
gry about his role in Tiananmen, China’s leaders sent numerous officials—
including Jiang Zemin—to Moscow to support the Soviet Communist Party
124 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

and also to evaluate the leadership situation. They secretly hailed the strength-
ening of conservative forces. When Russian conservatives attempted to topple
Gorbachev on August 19, 1991, Chinese leaders privately called it a “good
deed” and quietly supported the conservatives. When Boris Yeltsin brought
down the coup plotters two days later, declared the Communist Party illegal,
and dissolved the Soviet Union, the Chinese leadership was aghast. But it
recovered quickly, using events in Moscow to toughen its opposition to fur-
ther party democratization. They blamed Gorbachev’s “new thinking” and
flirtation with the West for the crisis and strengthened China’s own cam-
paign against “peaceful evolution.”121
According to Willy Wo-lap Lam, then a reporter and China watcher for
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Deng remained convinced that a
return to reform, not a return to stringent Stalinism, was the key to overcom-
ing the malaise of socialism in China. Gorbachev’s failures were manifold
but included an inability to bring about an overall improvement in the Rus-
sian economy. China had made a good start, but now the effort seemed stalled.
Deng recognized that the kinds of economic reforms Zhao Ziyang had car-
ried out were still necessary, perhaps even more so. And so he favored a
“quickening” of reform, meaning a faster overall growth rate for the economy
as the surest means of satisfying the people’s desire for prosperity and an
improved standard of living. “Deng, however, had to wage a fierce battle
against ideologues and central planners who insisted that the lesson to be
drawn from the crumbling of the eastern bloc was that the public sector, or
the socialist road, must be shored up.” Rather than trying to choose between
a market and a planned economy, Deng favored experimentation to try and
implement the best attributes of both, an “organic synthesis of a planned
economy and market adjustment.”122
In private meetings in late 1990 and early 1991, Deng began to press more
strongly for a return to a reform agenda. But he no longer had ready access
to the power mechanisms he needed to get his message across to the larger
audience in the party and government. The economic bureaucracies were
solidly under the control of Li Peng and Yao Yilin, both of whom favored
economic austerity, modest growth rates, and centralized control along lines
laid out by Chen Yun. Propaganda was nominally under the supervision of
Li Ruihuan, but he had little real influence over the media organs. Propa-
ganda Department Director Wang Renzhi and Deputy Xu Weicheng, People’s
Daily editor in chief Gao Di, and conservative ideologue Deng Liqun fos-
tered a hard-line atmosphere that challenged the ideological underpinnings
of reforms in such a way as to prevent reform programs from recovering
significant momentum. Deng was somewhat less isolated from the PLA chain
of command, but the armed forces were not in a position to initiate economic
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 125

reform, and their dependence on China’s centralized defense industries left

them unsympathetic to the kinds of reforms Deng favored. Jiang Zemin prob-
ably supported Deng’s approach in general, but he was still learning the ropes
as party general secretary and CMC chairman and was outflanked on eco-
nomic policy matters by Li Peng. Intense debate over economic policies—
especially the relationship between planning and market mechanisms—took
place in late 1990, but Deng’s ideas did not prevail. Jiang increasingly parroted
Chen Yun’s views in his public speeches on economic matters.123
As Mao had done when he was stifled in Beijing, Deng headed for the
provinces to generate support for his ideas. His first stop in late January
1991 was Shanghai, where he raised the idea of permitting Shanghai—and
particularly the new industrial zone of Pudong—the same kind of tax and
foreign investment advantages that had been given to the special economic
zones in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces. “We say that Shanghai opened
up and developed late, now it must go all out!” Deng told Shanghai munici-
pal leaders.124 But Deng had more than that in mind. Though he was in Shang-
hai, he gave several speeches to municipal party leaders, railing against
“ossified thinking,” sloppiness, and excessive caution within the central lead-
ership. Worse still, “no one is listening to me [in Beijing] now. I have no
choice but to have my articles published in Shanghai.”125 Deng’s ideas were
incorporated into a series of four articles published in Shanghai’s flagship
newspaper, the Liberation Daily, under the byline of Huang Pu Ping (homo-
phonic for Shanghai’s principal river, the Huangpu, and the word for “com-
mentary.”) Unusually pointed, the articles called for a resurgence of reform,
boldness in implementing market economic measures, “emancipation of
minds,” and rejection of sterile arguments over whether certain reforms were
surnamed “capitalist” or “socialist,” and for promotion of leading cadre
who were intelligent, courageous, and dedicated to reform.126 The articles
created a furor in Beijing (even though they were not republished there), and
Deng Liqun sent an investigation team to Shanghai to find out who wrote
them.127
More important than the articles, however, was the support Deng gained
in April by bringing Shanghai’s strongly reformist mayor, Zhu Rongji, to
Beijing to become a vice premier of the State Council. Besides his exceptional
ability as an economic thinker and manager, Zhu was Jiang Zemin’s associ-
ate and successor in Shanghai, and although the two were not considered
close, they knew each other well and worked harmoniously. Typically, in the
post-1989 political scene dominated by several elders, Zhu’s elevation was
matched by the appointment to vice premier of an economic conservative,
Zou Jiahua, who had served as head of China’s State Planning Commission.
Foreign Minister Qian Qichen continued his rise in the government, being
126 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

appointed a “state councillor,” a rank just below vice premier. Deng also
approved the partial rehabilitation in June of three officials who had been
purged with Zhao Ziyang in 1989: former Politburo Standing Committee
member Hu Qili and secretariat members Yan Mingfu and Rui Xingwen.
Although the three were given posts far below their original level, observers
viewed their restoration as an important signal that reform was returning to
China’s political and economic agenda.
Events in Moscow in August 1991 derailed the reformist comeback, how-
ever, as the leadership retreated into dogma and paranoia in the wake of the
fall of the world’s oldest communist party. Chinese party documents exag-
gerated the disruptions that followed in Russia—accusing Yeltsin of carrying
out a “white terror” against Communist Party members—to reinforce the
conclusion that China could not follow that same route.128 Deng cautioned
against overreacting to the situation but was disregarded. Instead, party ideo-
logues suggested at an expanded Politburo meeting that included the elders
that combating “peaceful evolution” plots by the West should become the
“core” of the party’s work. Deng and Yang Shangkun fought off that chal-
lenge, but even Jiang Zemin agreed with the ideologues that the regime could
show no signs of loosening its grip by experimenting with any economic
reforms. By the end of the year, Deng was under attack from “leftists” within
the propaganda apparatus, his “year of reform” having come to naught.129
Again in early 1992, Deng left Beijing for the Spring Festival holiday,
spending much of January and February inspecting the special economic zones
in Guangdong Province, particularly Shenzhen (adjacent to Hong Kong) and
Zhuhai (next to Macao). Although frail in health, Deng pursued a rigorous
schedule of inspections, meetings, and speeches. But his purpose was more
than inspection—it was to re-energize economic reform throughout the coun-
try. This time, Deng presented well-thought-out policy positions and ideo-
logical justifications. Moreover, he was better prepared to get his message
out. Although no central media covered his trip, some Hong Kong newspa-
pers did so and included plenty of direct quotes and photographs. Slowly but
surely, the message made its way back to Beijing—Deng had thrown down
the gauntlet.
Deng’s purpose was to break the ideological and bureaucratic shackles
that continued to hold back productivity, even in more advanced economic
areas like Guangdong and Shanghai. He made clear he was tired of ideologi-
cal foot-dragging and back stabbing about reform.
We should be bolder in carrying out reforms and opening up to the
outside world and in making experimentations; we should not act like
a woman with bound feet . . . The achievements made in the construc-
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 127

tion of Shenzhen provide clear answers to people with various misgiv-

ings. The special economic zones are socialist, not capitalist. . . . Whether
the emphasis is on planning or market is not the essential distinction
between socialism and capitalism. Are negotiable securities and stock
markets good stuff after all? Are they risky? Are they peculiar to capi-
talism? Can they be used in socialism? Try them out, but try them out
resolutely. If they prove to be correct after one or two years, let’s open
them up . . . Localities with [appropriate economic] conditions should
carry out development as quickly as they can . . . Low speed develop-
ment is equal to stagnation or even retrogression.130
Deng lashed out at his critics, some by name, others by implication, and
turned the tables on his detractors by kicking off a major campaign against
“leftism.” “The party must raise its guard against rightism, but its major
task is to prevent leftism,” he stressed on numerous occasions during his
trip.131 He called on those officials who could not honestly and enthusiasti-
cally support reforms to “get off the stage” and make room for those who
could. Although Deng’s ad hominem attacks did not get picked up by the
media or the official party documents, they were widely known through the
rumor mill and had a remarkable effect. They were a prominent signal that
the political winds were changing and that those who had used ideology to
stifle reform and creativity were now to be targets. They emboldened party
reformers to resuscitate ideas and programs that Zhao Ziyang had been pro-
moting before his purge. And they were a striking wake-up call to the leader-
ship in Beijing.
Even after Deng returned to Beijing, the central propaganda organs were
reluctant to publish anything more than unattributed excerpts of his speeches
or even to acknowledge that he had made the trip. Deng went to work on
Jiang Zemin, whom he had mildly praised during his travels. Pressed hard to
finally declare which side he was on, Jiang the “weathervane” wisely chose
to support Deng. Jiang first circulated Deng’s speeches to Politburo mem-
bers, then at a Politburo meeting on March 9, he summarized them and
instructed that they be circulated to all levels of the party. He also criticized
himself for not having supported reform and opposed “leftism” vigorously
enough. Three days later, the party media organs proclaimed that the “basic
line” of reform and opening up would be carried out more daringly, and
would last for one hundred years, and that “leftism” constituted the main
threat to the party’s work.132 Not coincidentally, Yao Yilin, conservative
economist and Chen Yun’s principal protégé on the Politburo Standing Com-
mittee, resigned from his position (ostensibly for health reasons) at that time,
as did the prominent “leftist” minister of culture, He Jingzhi.
128 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

The cumulative effect of Deng’s nanxun, or “southern tour,”133 is hard to

overestimate. Willy Wo-lap Lam called it “a gigantic triumph of the will.
Almost single-handedly, [Deng] succeeded in giving the appearance of blot-
ting out the disgrace of June 4 [1989]—and re-anchoring the nation onto a
path of reform.”134 More than that, when disseminated to local officials,
Deng’s words legitimized and expanded a course of economic reform that
led to China’s emergence as one of the world’s fastest-growing and fastest-
changing economies. They energized local economic development in rural
and urban areas and fostered private entrepreneurship on a vast scale. They
renewed and accelerated the foreign trade boom in Guangdong and Shang-
hai and other urban areas of China’s east coast. They encouraged an enor-
mous increase in foreign investment, especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Of course, there were errors and excesses, and Vice Premier Zhu Rongji would
spend two years dealing with the inflation, misplaced investment, excess capital
construction, and unstable financial markets that accompanied the re-
energizing of economic reform. Economic policy would continue to be con-
troversial, as the leadership struggled to deal with an array of structural and
financial problems. But the political and ideological challenges to the general
course that Deng had set out in 1980—and that Zhao Ziyang and many
others had worked to put into effect—were basically over.
Deng did not accomplish the hard work of developing economic policies
and providing the depth of political support they needed by himself. He had—
and needed—plenty of help. On the economic front, Zhu Rongji and a bat-
tery of reformist economists quickly prepared Central Directives 4 and 5 of
1992, which laid out the economic principles and concrete plans for putting
Deng’s ideas into practice. Politically, Deng again received timely assistance
from the People’s Liberation Army. In March, General Political Department
Director Yang Baibing coined a slogan that the PLA would be the “protec-
tive imperial escort” (baojia huhang) for the party’s reform efforts. The dec-
laration served notice that the army would support Deng over others in the
leadership. It was also an effort on the part of Yang and his brother Yang
Shangkun to curry favor with the resurgent Deng Xiaoping.135 Deng also
received ample support from local officials, and to a certain degree, from the
public, who saw clear benefits to be gained from a return to a more robust
and productive economy with less interference from Beijing. Despite the dam-
age to his reputation from the Tiananmen crackdown, Deng’s southern tour
showed others that he had maintained the support and affection of many
ordinary Chinese.
Deng had, in effect, restored himself to his pre-1989 position as first among
equals, the most influential of the party elders. None of the others had the
energy, health, intellectual gifts, or broad political support that Deng had
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 129

enjoyed, and none could offset the advantages he accrued by taking the ini-
tiative on his nanxun. Deng was aided by the actuarial tables, which began
to catch up on the elders in 1992. Slowly but surely, the “longevity contest”
that characterized China’s elder politics began to sort itself out. In May, Nie
Rongzhen—the “father of China’s atomic bomb” and the last of the “Old
Marshals”— died at the age of ninety-two. He was followed in June by former
president Li Xiannian (eighty-two), who had been one of Jiang’s other pa-
trons, and in July by Deng Yingchao (eighty-eight), not herself a power player
but an important symbol as the widow of Zhou Enlai and the adoptive mother
of Li Peng. Former vice president Wang Zhen—reviled for his denunciation
of students and his active promotion of campaigns against “bourgeois liber-
alization”— was reported in rapidly failing health, as was Chen Yun, Deng’s
chief rival.136 Deng appeared to be serious in his wish to retire, but now he
wanted to do so with his restored reputation intact.137 For that to occur, he
would need a Jiang Zemin beholden to him and strong enough to survive on
his own once Deng left the scene.

Giving Up on China
Despite the frigidity of the bilateral relationship, both sides appeared anx-
ious to find ways to make progress when newly appointed ambassador to
Beijing J. Stapleton Roy arrived on post in August 1991.138 He and National
Security Council Director Douglas Paal had worked to ease Secretary Baker’s
misgivings about traveling to China. Paal was eager to solicit China’s assis-
tance in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which intel-
ligence reporting indicated was in a more advanced stage than had earlier
been believed.139 In September, Baker told Foreign Minister Qian that he and
the president had agreed the time was ripe for him to make a trip to China,
but only if positive results could be achieved, particularly in human rights
and nonproliferation. Although Beijing was also eager for a high-level visit
to ease their isolation, Qian responded with a vague message that there could
be “some success,” which Baker interpreted as sufficient to justify the trip,
especially since he was going to South Korea and Japan at the same time.140
Nonetheless the stakes were high, and Baker was anxious for success in
the human rights area. Congressional critics attacked the trip as a “pointless
exercise,” as it would give China the prestige of a Cabinet-level visit without
having to give up much in return.141 Two weeks before his arrival, China’s
State Council Information Office had issued a White Paper rebutting foreign
criticism of China’s human rights situation, and although it was basically a
whitewash, some took it as a positive sign that China was at least beginning
to conceive of the issues in Western terms.
130 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

When Baker arrived in Beijing on November 15, however, he ran into a

brick wall. He might have foreordained his rough treatment by insisting that
all leadership greetings and handshakes be conducted off camera, and that
there be no welcoming banquet. Although he avoided the embarrassment
back home of the Scowcroft-Eagleburger trip, he denied the Chinese what
they wanted most, domestic publicity for a restored relationship. They re-
sponded to incivility with incivility.
In his first meeting with Qian Qichen, Baker heard strident demands that
the United States end all sanctions against China and stop interfering in its
internal affairs. In response, Baker presented a detailed list of concessions he
wanted from China, including guarantees on assistance to the Algerian nuclear
program, agreement to abide by MTCR guidelines on missile sales, pressure
on North Korea to allow international inspection of its nuclear facilities at
Yongbyon, and most important, visible progress on human rights. Baker told
Qian, “I need concrete results—not promises, not meetings, not delays. When
I get on my airplane, judgments will be formed immediately about the suc-
cess or failure of this visit. If I am seen as having failed, the Congress will
take China policy away from the President.”142 Qian, unmoved by the threat
of congressional action to override the president’s likely veto, gave nothing.
The following day, Baker met Li Peng for what was described to the press
as a “businesslike” meeting.143 In fact, it was a bitter argument, carried on by
two men skilled at being tough in meetings. Douglas Paal described it as “the
worst meeting I’ve ever been in in my life,” while Ambassador J. Stapleton
Roy said it was “the tensest and most confrontational meeting I ever sat in
on in China.”144 The two men argued about Tiananmen, human rights in
general, American policy, Taiwan, GATT, and virtually every other topic
that was raised. By all accounts, Baker gave as good as he got, but he came
away “appalled” by Li’s “surreal performance,” and thought the meeting a
“disaster.”145 His meeting with President Yang Shangkun was nearly as bad,
although a subsequent session with Jiang Zemin provided something of a
respite from the tension.
On the last day of his visit, Baker and Qian had a “marathon” session.
Baker began by reading a letter President Bush had given him to present to
Deng Xiaoping, but since the Chinese refused to allow him to see Deng, he
had to resort to passing on Bush’s compliments secondhand. The letter re-
portedly entreated Deng to intervene personally to rescue a bilateral rela-
tionship that was seriously at risk. A five-hour discussion followed, in which
every issue was reviewed in detail. In the end, patience and persistence paid
off. Qian—who reportedly had consulted far into the night with others in the
leadership—delivered what Ambassador Roy and others considered impor-
tant concessions:
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 131

—On missile sales, the Chinese agreed orally to “observe the guidelines
and parameters” of the MTCR, which American officials took to disallow
both the sales of M-9s to Syria and M-11s to Pakistan. But the language was
vague. In return, Baker agreed the United States would remove the May and
June sanctions that had prohibited the licensing of high-speed computers and
satellite technology for China.
—On other nuclear-related issues, the Chinese reiterated their earlier
pledges on the Algerian nuclear facility and their support for the NPT and
spoke of their support for a “nonnuclear” Korean Peninsula. They did not
agree, however, to suspend exports of equipment for civilian nuclear power
programs that might be dual use.
—On trade, China accepted the need to work together to prevent prison
labor goods from reaching the United States and agreed to send a delegation
to Washington to negotiate further on U.S. charges of massive piracy and
intellectual property rights violations. They made no commitments on reduc-
ing the trade deficit, however.
—On human rights, Baker got next to nothing. The Chinese agreed to
continue a formal human rights “dialogue” with Assistant Secretary of State
Schifter; they provided a rough accounting of 733 prisoners on a list Baker
had provided at an earlier meeting and agreed to release two “prominent”
critics of the regime within a short period of time.146 Adding insult to injury,
the Chinese detained two prominent dissidents rather than allow them to
meet with a member of Baker’s traveling party.147
Not as steeped in the nuances of Chinese negotiating style as Ambassador
Roy, Baker was bitterly disappointed, and he made little effort to conceal his
dissatisfaction. He acquiesced in press characterizations of his trip as a “fail-
ure” and gave nearly apologetic briefings to Congress on his return. His
distrust and dislike of the Chinese—already high—grew as a result of his
trip, and he never had substantive meetings with them again. He left to sub-
ordinates the important work of formalizing and completing the agreements
he had reached.
In effect, the domestic politics of both sides had again intervened to pre-
vent any improvement in the bilateral relationship. In late 1991, Baker went
to China with an agenda largely dictated by congressional pressure. To avoid
press criticism, he skipped the symbolic gestures of goodwill the Chinese
consider so important. And he took the criticism of his trip by domestic opin-
ion makers as a fair evaluation of its results. The Chinese, locked in their
own ideological debates and still dealing with the aftereffects of Tiananmen,
could not give ground on sensitive human rights issues. They rejected U.S.
concerns about weapons of mass destruction as hegemonic “pressure” and
decided not to take firm action against activities by their military industries
132 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

that were lucrative in the short term but damaging in the long. They viewed
congressional protests about human rights as part of a plot to undermine
their socialist regime through “peaceful evolution.” They demonstrated no
depth of understanding of U.S. domestic politics and ended up embarrassing
and angering a key official who had hoped to make progress in restoring the
relationship.
Politically in the United States, the Baker visit was a wash—no minds
were changed, no policies revised. Administration officials, particularly in
the USTR and the State Department, worked hard to follow through on the
meager results of the trip. On November 26, seven months after she had
designated China a “priority foreign country” for violating acceptable pro-
tections of U.S. intellectual property, USTR Carla Hills announced that, be-
cause of unsatisfactory negotiations with China on solving the problems, her
office was drawing up a list of $1.5 billion in Chinese goods that would be
subject to 100 percent tariffs. The list included luggage, clothing, shoes, toys,
and watches. A thirty-day period of comment and challenge from American
businesses followed, during which China responded by publicizing its own list
of American goods to be subjected to increased tariffs—corn, aircraft, steel,
chemicals, and cotton. American business executives—importers and export-
ers—were alarmed at the situation, which portended a nasty round of retalia-
tion and counterretaliation, damaging commercial interests on both sides.148
On December 16, USTR declared a one-month extension on negotiations,
following a request by China to put together one more round of negotia-
tions. Vice Minister of Trade and Economic Cooperation Wu Yi came to
Washington in early January with one last offer and a hope for “a little bit of
sincerity.”149 Negotiations continued through the January 16, 1992, dead-
line, when an agreement was finally reached. Curiously, relatively few de-
tails of the agreement were released. The USTR insisted, “We have gotten
what we needed on the patent protection . . . we feel very happy and satis-
fied.”150 American industry groups, such as the Intellectual Property Alliance
and the Business Software Alliance, declared their satisfaction, and a more
than $2 billion trade dispute disappeared overnight. What USTR got was
promises that China would provide patent protection, join international copy-
right conventions—including on software—and honor internationally pro-
tected copyrights on computers, software, books, and recordings. In the
circumstances, it was probably the best they could get, and some industry
analysts have praised the agreement as a good start on improving China’s
primitive structure of legal protections for intellectual property rights (IPR).151
But the issue would return to haunt USTR three years later, when it turned
out that China’s promises to cut back on piracy of U.S. music, movies, and
software were empty.
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 133

The State Department, meanwhile, focused on firming up China’s com-

mitment to abide by the MTCR. Baker, edgy and distrustful of Qian Qichen’s
verbal agreement, was reluctant to lift officially the sanctions imposed the
previous year on two Chinese corporations. American diplomats sparred with
Chinese officials, at one point accusing them of trying to renege on Qian’s
agreement with Baker. The critical issue involved the inclusion of certain
additional restrictions on missile-related technology contained in the annexes
to the MTCR agreement. China agreed to abide by the “guidelines and pa-
rameters” (meaning range and payload) of the agreement but was more cir-
cumspect with respect to technology issues. Qian wrote a letter on February
1 that formally reiterated his agreement with Baker but did not resolve ques-
tions pertaining to China’s willingness to abide by the MTCR annexes. Xinhua
News Agency published the terse Chinese statement on February 19. “China
will act in accordance with the existing Missile Technology Control Regime
guidelines and parameters in its export of missiles and missile technology.”
The administration nonetheless agreed to lift the sanctions on February 22, a
move immediately criticized by Congress. Senator Joseph Biden of Dela-
ware—a persistent critic of China’s proliferation record—called for a full
Senate hearing on intelligence reports that suggested China was selling mis-
sile and nuclear-related technology to Iran, Syria, and Pakistan, despite
Qian’s commitments.152
Bush got personally involved one last time with China policy in early 1992,
when he agreed to have a meeting with China’s Premier Li Peng at the United
Nations. The meeting, a summit of the heads of state of all members of the
Security Council, was proposed by the United Kingdom’s prime minister,
John Major, for the purpose of discussing the UN’s role in a post–cold war
future and the need for better efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weap-
ons. Bush felt he “could not say no” to Major and felt obligated to accede to
the Chinese request for a private session with Li. Sharing with critics of his
China policy a strong aversion for the acerbic premier, Bush put off publicly
announcing the meeting until a few days before the February 2 summit and
tried to ensure that there were no embarrassing photo opportunities at the
beginning of an election year. National Security Council staffer Douglas Paal
told the Chinese no photographers were to be present during the initial hand-
shake and greeting—and even had the Secret Service physically remove a
member of Li’s party who deployed a camera. The “official” photo showed
a grim Bush between Scowcroft and Baker, across from a smiling Li Peng.153
Critics of the president, of course, claimed Bush handed the Chinese a
“considerable gift” and completed the process of rehabilitating China’s repu-
tation after Tiananmen.154 Clearly Li must have relished the opportunity to
make the Americans uncomfortable in his presence one more time. But if he
134 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

gained any personal prestige in China for meeting with Bush, it was short
lived. While he was in New York, Deng was in Shenzhen, putting together
the political and economic strategy that would turn Chinese politics around
dramatically and cost Li no small amount of prestige and authority. At the
National People’s Congress meeting in April, Li was publicly humiliated by
having his government work report corrected by delegates no fewer than 140
times after he delivered it and before it was finally approved.155
The standoff over MFN came to its inevitable conclusion when Congress—
after a lengthy conference to iron out differences—sent the United States–
China Act of 1991 to Bush on February 27, 1992. Bush promptly vetoed it,
saying that, although he agreed with the goals of the bill, he disagreed strongly
with the means chosen to try and achieve them. “If we present China’s lead-
ers with an ultimatum on MFN, the result will be weakened ties to the West
and further repression . . . not . . . progress on human rights, arms control, or
trade.” Bush insisted his policy of “comprehensive engagement” and “tar-
geting specific areas of concern with the appropriate policy instruments” had
achieved progress that would be undone by the bill’s restrictive provisions.156
Ten days later, the House overrode the veto 357-61, but the Senate sustained
it on March 18, falling short of the necessary two-thirds vote to override, 60-
38. That did not end the struggle, however. The day after the president de-
clared his intention to renew MFN for China, Representative Donald Pease
submitted the “China Most Favored Nation Trade Status Bill” (H.R. 5318),
again setting policy conditions (principally human rights but also nonprolif-
eration and trade) on China’s trade with the United States. Under accelerated
rules in the House and Senate, the bill sped through committees and confer-
ences and was presented to the president in late September, forcing him to
veto it just a little more than a month before the election. The veto stood
against efforts to override it, but in the end, represented not the president’s
strength but his vulnerability.

Jiang’s First Victory

Jiang Zemin’s role during this crucial period is not easy to track. Ever since
his appointment in 1989, Jiang had maintained a fairly low profile, deliver-
ing careful speeches that reflected the consensus of the times, trying not to
offend any of the elders, economic administrators, surviving reformists, and
PLA generals who populated the topmost ranks of the party leadership. Deng
at times had been obliquely critical of Jiang’s performance, but now evi-
dently decided to work closely with him to prepare for leadership changes at
the upcoming Fourteenth Party Congress. Jiang had much to gain from such
cooperation and probably knew it. With ideological and policy issues now
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 135

clarified, the two men focused on the personnel decisions needed to ensure
that the policies would be able to prevail in a still-uncertain political climate.
The most critical decisions involved the leadership of the PLA. Deng’s
effort to give Jiang a foothold in the military by making him chairman of the
Central Military Commission had not worked particularly well. Jiang, who
never actually had served in the military and who lacked military bearing,
had difficulty gaining the respect of the much-decorated heroes of World
War II and Korea who dominated the PLA. Moreover, President Yang
Shangkun and his half-brother, Yang Baibing, seemed determined to turn the
PLA into a “Yang Family Army,” dominating promotions and political work
and offering few opportunities for Jiang to enhance his authority within the
armed forces.157
Yang Baibing was particularly resented among active and professional
military cadre for focusing excessively on ideological indoctrination and for
advancing the careers of carefully selected cronies. Some officers believed he
had not absorbed the correct “lessons” from the U.S. victory in the Gulf War
and was an indifferent supporter of military modernization. There were also
concerns that his offer to “escort” Deng’s reform program represented an
inappropriate threat of interference in party affairs (even if Deng might have
solicited it). Finally, there were reports that Yang was holding secret PLA
senior staff meetings to prepare plans for maintaining order after Deng’s
death. Yang Shangkun, while loyal to Deng, appeared to be preparing to
succeed him as the country’s strongman in the event of Deng’s incapacita-
tion. He also had proposed that his brother be promoted to the Politburo
Standing Committee at the upcoming party congress.158
The combination of career officer complaints, suspicion of Yang Shangkun’s
loyalty, and probably a dose of anger at Yang Baibing’s lèse-majesté prob-
ably led Deng to take rather precipitous action. Less than a week before the
Fourteenth Party Congress was to open in October 1992, Deng reportedly
sent a letter to a specially convened Politburo meeting, recommending that
Yang Baibing be dropped from the Central Military Commission and from
the party secretariat but that he be elevated to the Political Bureau. Although
an apparent promotion, it represented a clear separation of Yang Baibing
from his power base and therefore his political emasculation. Knowing that
Yang Shangkun had already requested to resign from his CMC and Polit-
buro positions, Deng recommended that Admiral Liu Huaqing—a CMC vice
chairman—be elevated to the Politburo Standing Committee. Liu, a Deng
loyalist and respected senior general, was expected to “protect” Jiang’s posi-
tion in both the army and the party.
Deng’s “recommendations,” approved by the Politburo on October 10,
apparently caught the Yangs by surprise, and they had no choice but to ac-
136 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

cept them. It was a classic Deng political maneuver, and it worked smoothly
to protect Jiang Zemin’s flank in the PLA and to deftly move the Yang broth-
ers out of the military hierarchy without humiliating them or giving them
cause for grievance. Deng and Jiang followed their minicoup with a major
reorganization of the Central Military Commission, Ministry of National
Defense, General Staff Department, and the regional military commands,
shuffling a total of about 300 senior officers.159
The Fourteenth Party Congress, held in October 1992, was both Deng’s
last victory and Jiang’s coming-of-age on the leadership scene. Deng made
one brief ceremonial appearance but otherwise did not attend the congress.
He was nonetheless widely perceived to have scored yet another political
triumph in the restoration of a reform agenda and the appointment of younger
and more capable officials to implement it. He also received a restoration of
his status as China’s paramount leader, even though he appeared subse-
quently to be interested in “nothing more than safeguarding his place in
history.”160 Now that he had outmaneuvered his peers yet again and mobi-
lized bureaucratic, ideological, and public opinion powers to regain his
former dominance, he was prepared to retreat back to the second line, sat-
isfied that no other elder could assume his role or—after his death—under-
mine his reputation.
Deng’s reputation got a huge boost at the Fourteenth Party Congress and
thereafter. “Deng Xiaoping thought” would henceforth become enshrined
as ideological guidance for the party’s work at virtually the same level as
Mao Zedong thought once had been. Jiang, in his report to the party Con-
gress, referred to Deng’s thought as “scientific, penetrating, and brilliant.”161
It would be cited repeatedly in central guidance as the ultimate authority—a
third volume of Deng’s Selected Works would be published the following
year. Credited already for three political comebacks, Deng should probably
be credited with a fourth. Even though he had not suffered a political eclipse
as dramatic as his earlier periods of disgrace, Deng’s return to the top in
1992 was certainly evidence that, at eighty-eight years of age, he had not lost
his political skills.
But Deng’s most important achievements had to do with his helping Jiang
consolidate his position in the party hierarchy. Despite his pique at Jiang’s
lackluster support for his economic program, Deng created the conditions
for Jiang’s successful domination of the leadership by helping him eliminate
potential PLA and party elder interference in the political process. Although
he would never enjoy the kind of unrivaled power that Deng and Mao had
achieved, Jiang emerged from the Fourteenth Congress a stronger, more se-
cure, and confident leader than he had been before it. Although he was still
viewed by many as a “transitional” figure whose tenure was tied to Deng’s
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 137

longevity, Jiang was able to use the advantages he gained from the party
congress to build up his power base and reputation.
Jiang’s advantages were manifold:
—A more reformist Politburo Standing Committee. Conservative Chen
Yun supporters Song Ping and Yao Yilin were dropped, replaced by Zhu
Rongji and Hu Jintao, both with firm credentials in supporting economic
reform. Liu Huaqing—a Deng loyalist and PLA professional—was added to
maintain a military presence at the topmost level.
—A new Politburo. Aside from the four Standing Committee members
and three former members of the previous Politburo who were held over,
half of the twenty-two members elected were new. Seven of them had served
in provincial party or government positions. As a group, they were younger,
better-educated, and more professionally oriented than their predecessors.
Qian Qichen was also added as a full member of the Politburo, bringing
foreign policy expertise to the penultimate level of decisionmaking.
—Abolition of the Central Advisory Committee. Originally intended as
an honorary retirement post for superannuated cadre, the CAC under Chen
Yun had become more active and influential after Tiananmen, generally in
support of highly conservative ideological causes.
—A more pliant military. The removal of the Yangs and the installation of
a new chain of command effectively took the PLA out of the political lime-
light and focused its work more on needed professionalization of its officer
corps and modernization of doctrine, equipment, and training. Although the
armed forces would continue to expect and receive a higher proportion of
national budgetary resources, Jiang no doubt considered that a small price to
pay for, in effect, returning the PLA to its barracks.
—A revamped Central Committee. Although the Central Committee is
neither a policymaking or power-wielding body, it did debate and discuss
general political and economic policies and provided the public affirmation
of central decisions that helped guide the 50-million-member Communist
Party. Nearly half of the 319 members of the Fourteenth Central Committee
were newcomers, more than 80 percent were college educated.162 Among
those dropped from membership were several of the hard-line propagandists
whom Deng had criticized earlier in the year.
—A reconfirmation of the decision removing Zhao Ziyang as general sec-
retary. Just before the congress, a Central Committee work conference had
announced that the investigation of Zhao Ziyang’s case had been concluded,
and that the decision to strip him of his posts was upheld. Despite his dis-
grace, however, Zhao remained popular within the party because of a strong
association with the course of reform and a charismatic personality. Had his
reputation been restored, he might have staged a comeback, eclipsing Jiang.
138 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

The party’s continued ambivalence about Zhao was demonstrated by the

fact that, although his ouster was reaffirmed, he was not expelled from the
party or subjected to criminal prosecution.163
—Relatively clear guidelines for economic work. The Fourteenth Con-
gress report effectively ended the debates about the direction of economic
policy that had blown up after Tiananmen. Although conservatives would
continue to snipe at reform experiments and “leftist” commentaries would
still be written and circulated, the basic reformist orientation of the party’s
work—and its focus on economic, rather than political, reform—was as clear
as it had been since 1978. With a set of priorities on which the party had
established a basic consensus, Jiang’s leadership tasks were somewhat easier.
In his long speech to the assembled party congress delegates, the product
of extensive drafting, consultation, and redrafting, Jiang focused primarily
on economic issues, with the controversial ideological issues that had roiled
the party for a decade as an important subtext. “To accelerate economic
growth we must further emancipate our minds, speed up the reform and
opening to the rest of the world, and not get bogged down in an abstract
debate over what is socialist and what is capitalist,” he insisted. He main-
tained a hard line against “leftism” in the party and hammered away at the
appropriateness of using capitalist concepts and market mechanisms to ad-
vance a socialist economy. He also enthusiastically endorsed foreign partici-
pation in China’s economic modernization, from the special economic zones
to attracting foreign investment and capital to expanding foreign trade. But
he rejected “absolutely” the appropriateness of a “Western, multiparty par-
liamentary system” for China.
Foreign policy issues gained scant attention. Jiang put the United States
on notice—without naming it—that it could not expect to use human rights
to pressure or coerce China, and he repeated the mantra that China would
always oppose hegemonism in any form. He concluded his remarks on for-
eign policy with what seemed like advice for American policymakers, rather
than for China. “The experience of history tells us that regardless of one’s
cause, if one encroaches on another nation’s independence and sovereignty,
intervenes in the internal affairs of another country, if the large bullies the
small, the strong torments the weak, or the rich oppresses the poor, they will
never win people’s hearts. A just cause enjoys much support, while an unjust
one will find little help; the power of justice can never be defeated.”164

U.S. Politics in Command—The F-16 Sale to Taiwan

As is the norm with foreign policy concerns, China policy was not a signifi-
cant issue in the presidential campaign of 1992. It was not an issue on which
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 139

Bush could trumpet his success as a “foreign policy president.” By late 1992,
even though the relationship had begun to show signs of improvement (an
agreement on investigating prison labor export cases was signed in August,
for example), Bush did not try to take credit. Just about every major foreign
policy commentator in the principal media outlets—including Republican
heavyweights Jeanne Kirkpatrick and William Safire—was insisting it was
time for a new China policy. Democratic presidential candidate William
Jefferson Clinton, governor of Arkansas, did not raise foreign policy issues
often. His guiding campaign theme was what he perceived was Bush’s lack-
luster performance in promoting American economic growth. He supported
the Democratic Party congressional leadership, which advocated conditional
MFN for China, but otherwise steered away from taking a strong position
on most foreign policy issues. When he did speak on China-related issues,
he accused Bush of not standing up for democracy in China but rather
sending his aides to “toast China’s leaders.” Like others in the Democratic
Party, he sometimes asked for advice on China policy from former Tian-
anmen dissidents, such as Chai Ling and Li Lu. He pledged that under his
administration, America would never “coddle tyrants from Baghdad to
Beijing.”165
But it was not just the Clinton challenge, but the maverick candidacy of
H. Ross Perot that beset Bush’s candidacy for re-election. Most polls pre-
dicted Perot would take more votes away from Bush than from Clinton, and
relatively small margins of votes conceivably could affect the outcomes in
key states. As he looked for every advantage, Bush decided to make use of
the president’s considerable powers of dispensing government largesse. On
July 30, well behind Clinton in the polls, Bush told reporters he was “taking
a new look” at whether the United States should sell F-16s to Taiwan.166
Hardly more than a month later, Bush appeared at the General Dynamics
plant in Forth Worth, Texas, under a banner saying “Jobs for America.
Thanks, Mr. President,” to announce he had decided to sell 150 of the air-
craft (worth about $4 billion) to Taiwan. “This F-16 is an example of what
only America and Americans can do,” Bush told the cheering crowds, several
thousand of whose jobs he had just saved.167 About the same time, the Penta-
gon announced its approval of the sale to Saudi Arabia of 72 F-15 fighters,
worth about $5 billion and thousands of jobs at McDonnell-Douglas plants
in Missouri and California.
Most commentators at the time saw it as cynical election-year politics,
although some applauded the idea of increasing support to Taiwan. But the
decision was far more complex than that, involving intrabureaucratic wran-
gling in Washington and a fundamental misreading of China’s position and
reaction. In the end, the decision did major damage to U.S.-China relations,
140 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

exactly when prospects for improvement were good. The repercussions of

the decision were long-lasting.
In his book, About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship
with China, from Nixon to Clinton, James Mann traces the various dimen-
sions of the F-16 deal in detail.168 He includes U.S. sanctions against military
sales to China after Tiananmen (particularly the cancellation of the “Peace
Pearl” F-8 upgrade program) as a factor in China’s decision in early 1992 to
buy a number of Sukhoi-27 high-performance aircraft from Russia. That led
to increased lobbying by Taiwan and its friends in the United States for a
change in U.S. policy on selling the F-16. For a decade, Taiwan had been
asking for F-16s, fearing the erosion of its qualitative edge in air power as
aging F-104 and F-5E fighters crashed with distressing regularity. The United
States had consistently turned down the request, on the grounds that it would
violate the August 17, 1982, communiqué with China that limited arms sales
to Taiwan to “defensive” weapons systems, and that Taiwan’s aircraft needs
would be met by the so-called Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). The IDF, a
limited-range upgrade of the F-5 being manufactured in Taiwan under Ameri-
can guidance, was behind in its production schedule, and its performance
was not a match for the Su-27. As late as May 1992, at the annual meeting
on arms sales between Taiwan defense officials and American counterparts,
the request for F-16s had been turned down again.
Mann tracks the issues and their background and implications well, but
the issues did not drive the decision. The president did. The decision chain
actually started in July 1992 with President Bush deciding he wanted to go
ahead with both the F-15 and F-16 sales and tasking the Defense Depart-
ment to make it happen. First, DOD/ISA—at Secretary of Defense Cheney’s
instruction—made certain that Israel’s concerns about the F-15 Strike Eagle
sales to Saudi Arabia were dealt with appropriately. Although the Israeli
government complained about the sale, it was well compensated. Besides
$650 million worth of Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and Harpoon mis-
siles being given to Israel, roughly $200 million in U.S. munitions were
prepositioned in Israel, and the United States agreed to maintain $1.8 billion
in military assistance and provide $10 billion in loan guarantees to the Israeli
government.169 It was a classic Bush-Baker kind of deal, complex but work-
able, although some observers told the New York Times reporter Tom Fried-
man that it both undermined longer-term prospects for Middle East peace
(and Bush’s own post–Persian Gulf War diplomacy) by bringing more arms
into the region and injected the wrong kind of stimulus into the American
economy.170
Instead of giving similar consideration to China for compromising the
August 17 communiqué and other implicit agreements about arms sales to
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 141

Taiwan, Defense Department officials worked instead through the interagency

system to provide a substantive justification for the sale on the grounds that
Taiwan needed the equipment upgrade, that the F-16 A/B version was equiva-
lent in performance to the IDF, and that China should not and would not
overreact to the sale. The basic goal was to lessen bureaucratic objection to
the deal, particularly from the State Department, by demonstrating that the
sale did not violate the qualitative or quantitative restrictions of the August
17 communiqué.171 Several interagency work groups were held in August at
which the Defense Department presented its case to a rather skeptical audi-
ence of State Department, Commerce Department, and intelligence commu-
nity representatives. The end result was a briefing to the national security
adviser (not even a deputies or principals committee meeting) on the pros
and cons of making the sale).172 Given that the decision had already been
made, few were surprised when the White House announced on September 3
that it approved the sale, citing Taiwan’s need for replacement aircraft, espe-
cially as a counterweight to the Russian SU-27s, and insisting the sale did not
violate the 1982 communiqué.173
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific William Clark
suggested to the White House that a “distinguished American” be sent to
Beijing as a presidential envoy to offer some form of face-saving explanation
and compensatory gestures to the Chinese. Unbeknown to him, the Chinese
had already been notified. The day after Bush said he was “taking a new
look” at the F-16 issue, NSC Senior Director Douglas Paal—at the president’s
behest—invited Ambassador Zhu Qizhen and visiting MFA North American
and Oceanian Affairs Department Director General Yang Jiechi to the White
House residence for a drink with the president. Zhu made a preliminary
complaint about Bush’s remarks on the F-16 issue, to which the president
replied, “This is going ahead. It’s political. Tell Deng Xiaoping that this is
something I have to do.”174 The White House believed that this manner of
private communication of bad news, preventing a later surprise, would mol-
lify the Chinese and mute their reaction. But the NSC also approved Clark’s
idea of sending a presidential envoy and chose him for the job.
Beijing’s reaction to the F-16 sale was compounded by the fact that, only
two weeks before the F-16 announcement, USTR had announced a decision
to impose $3.9 billion of punitive tariffs on China in response to the failure
of negotiations to resolve a section 301 dispute over China’s market access
restrictions. The USTR gave China until October 10 to come up with a satis-
factory agreement on lowering tariffs and removing nontariff barriers to
American goods. (Although USTR may not have known at the time, the
deadline was just before the opening of China’s Fourteenth Party Congress, a
sensitive time to be exerting external pressure.) The list of goods to be sub-
142 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

jected to 100 percent tariffs included nearly everything China exported to

the United States. To notch up the pressure, American officials added that
failure to come to an agreement would result in U.S. efforts to block China’s
entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.175 The Chinese prob-
ably also were aware that another bill conditioning MFN to its own human
rights performance was on its way to the president and that an overreaction
to the sale might lead to the president allowing it to become law.
China’s public reaction was one of controlled fury. On September 4, Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Huaqiu called in Ambassador Roy to deliver
“the strongest protest” over the action. The Chinese press quoted extensively
from his remarks, saying the sale proved “American promises cannot be be-
lieved,” that it would “lead to a retrogression of Sino-American relations”
and a decrease in international cooperation, and that the consequences would
be on Washington’s head.176 National People’s Congress delegates were quoted
attacking American “lies and deceit.” Subsequently, Beijing broke off bilat-
eral discussions of both human rights and nonproliferation issues and dropped
out of a U.S.-sponsored international forum to discuss how to restrict arms
sales to the Middle East.177
When Assistant Secretary Clark arrived on September 7, he was treated
with unusual discourtesy, and his explanation for the sale was publicly re-
futed by Vice Minister Liu Huaqiu almost immediately after he presented it.
Clark did not go to Beijing empty-handed. After his explanation of the sale,
which he claimed was not inconsistent with the 1982 communiqué, he of-
fered four new initiatives for China to consider, being careful not to present
them as compensation: a return of equipment stored in the United States
from the aborted Peace Pearl program and $23 million as a “refund”; agree-
ment to reopen military-to-military talks, including on technology transfer;
agreement to resume the Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade talks,
starting with a trip by the commerce secretary to China; and agreement to
resume Joint Committee on Science and Technology talks.178 These were se-
rious concessions. As Clark put it, “We undid the things we did after
Tiananmen.”179 But Beijing failed to appreciate them.
The Chinese undid some things, too, and they would have more far-reach-
ing consequences than canceling a few dialogues. The first was to break the
agreement they had reached with Secretary Baker about shipping missiles to
Pakistan. In late November, U.S. intelligence reported that China appeared
to have shipped an unknown number of missiles from an M-11 production
plant to Pakistan—although no actual missiles were sighted.180 Even though
no “smoking gun” was discovered then or later, a strong supposition grew
within the intelligence community that Beijing—and probably Deng
Xiaoping—had decided that two could play at the game of violating vague
the slow road to recovery, 1989–92 143

agreements. If the United States felt it could violate a joint communiqué with
impunity, then China could violate an MTCR pledge. Second, China—within
a week of the F-16 announcement—very publicly signed an agreement to
provide Iran with a nuclear power reactor. Both countries agreed it would
fall under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, but the agree-
ment was seen as contributing to Iran’s efforts to develop its nuclear pro-
gram. According to Ambassador Roy, Baker had reached an agreement with
China during his November 1991 visit that such assistance would be limited.
Now it was expanded. Roy concluded that the Chinese were “thumbing their
nose at us.”181
Most important, China appears to have made a decision, after the F-16
sale, to revise its approach to the Taiwan issue. Always the central and most
controversial issue in U.S.-China relations, the U.S.-PRC-Taiwan relation-
ship took on a new sense of urgency for Beijing. Evidently perceiving the
F-16 sale, the U.S. agreement to press Taiwan’s case for GATT admission,
and the increased seniority of Taiwanese government visitors to the United
States and U.S. visitors to Taiwan as portending a U.S. shift in policy toward
the island, Beijing began to step up pressure on Washington. Henceforward,
no arms sale would go uncontested, no visit unprotested, no hint of change
in the procedures for U.S.-Taiwan relations unchallenged. Beijing had a griev-
ance, and it would henceforth work to extract every ounce of leverage it
could from what it called Bush’s “mistaken decision” on selling F-16s.
Bush did undertake a few more initiatives to mollify the Chinese. On Sep-
tember 28, he vetoed the United States–China Act of 1992 (H.R. 5218) and
saw his veto sustained by the Senate four days later. On October 10, the
USTR signed a market access agreement with China that was, again, long
on promise and short on details. While the Chinese pledge to remove most
tariff and nontariff barriers to U.S. products appeared to offer the promise
of much-improved access to the China market for U.S. corporations, and
also a reduction in China’s trade surplus, enforcement provisions were not
clearly defined. For its part, the United States also agreed to reduce Ameri-
can restrictions on high-technology goods, such as computers and telecom-
munications equipment.
Bush and his senior aides had told the Chinese that he would work to
preserve U.S.-China relations better than his Democratic rival, and he im-
plied that he would “make it up” to Beijing after the election.182 The Chinese
had made little secret of their preference for Bush over Clinton, even though
they may have felt betrayed by him over the F-16 deal. Whether Bush’s ges-
tures would have been successful in restoring the relationship to a normal
course is a moot point, since Bush lost the November 3 presidential election
to Bill Clinton. Now the Chinese were left to pick up the pieces and swallow
144 the slow road to recovery, 1989–92

their humiliation. There would be no new initiatives from Washington to

undo the damage. Although Commerce Secretary Barbara Franklin did travel
to China in December—a trip highly criticized back home—none of the other
meetings Assistant Secretary Clark promised came to pass. Even the Franklin
visit was offset, to a certain degree, by the November “unofficial” visit to
Taiwan of USTR Carla Hills, the first U.S. cabinet-level official to travel to
the island since 1979.
At the close of the Bush administration, U.S.-China relations were nearly
as icy as they had been all the way through. Neither side had been able to
generate the domestic political support to justify a serious initiative to re-
store relations. Neither side had any reason to trust what the other said or
did. Both harbored growing ideological and emotional misgivings about the
other’s intentions. And both took actions for domestic political reasons that
seriously damaged prospects for improving the situation. Both governments
professed a sincere desire to improve the relationship, but neither could take
the steps to bring it about. The Bush administration may have hoped the
Franklin trip would set bilateral relations on a positive course well into the
new year. But the Clinton administration brought so much of its own bag-
gage to the relationship that leftover problems from the Bush administra-
tion—particularly the Taiwan issue—would go nearly unnoticed.
 chapter five

New Politics,
Old Problems,
1993–94

T he period following Deng Xiaoping’s trip to southern

China in 1992 is one of the most extraordinary periods of economic growth
ever seen in any country. China had undergone economic reform sporadi-
cally since 1979 and achieved important results, going from an extremely
poor and inefficient command economy to a mixed planning and market
economy. The country also saw sharp gains in agricultural and rural indus-
trial productivity. But the period after Deng’s nanxun amounts to little short
of a takeoff into the upper ranks of the world’s economies. The statistics are
striking. Between 1991 and 1993:
—China’s nominal GNP grew by nearly 60 percent;
—The overall value of China’s foreign trade rose more than 44 percent;
—World Bank project lending committed to China more than doubled;
and
—Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China jumped nearly 450 percent.1
But the numbers do not do justice to the extraordinary amount of eco-
nomic activity that seemed to seize the Chinese government and people dur-
ing this period. With conservative command economy planners in political
retreat, reform economists who had been laying low since the purge of Zhao
Ziyang were able to push forward Zhao’s economic reform plans with re-
newed vigor. During 1992 and 1993, the central government achieved many
of the price reform goals that had eluded Zhao (decontrolling prices on most
agricultural products, industrial goods, and energy), began to set down guide-
lines for the reform of money-losing state-owned enterprises (SOEs), estab-
lished a new tax system to improve central control over revenues, formally
legitimized private enterprise, established dozens of new “economic develop-
145
146 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

ment zones” with special incentives for export-related industries, started re-
vising the state constitution to support economic reform, adopted new ac-
counting standards, reformed the banking system so it could better implement
macroeconomic control, revised China’s foreign exchange system, and broad-
ened standards for foreign participation in the Chinese economy.2 Each of
these measures involved not only making significant changes in philosophy,
attitude, and action among thousands of Chinese bureaucrats but massive
shifts in capital flows, budgetary allocations, and resource utilization.

It’s the Economy, Comrade

The process of deconstructing China’s failed economic system and the politi-
cal-ideological structure that undergirded it was complex and extremely con-
troversial. Deng and his reformist cohorts had to battle not only dogmatic
Marxists and Maoists in the Communist Party but also the enormous tradi-
tion-bound bureaucracies at central and provincial levels that implemented
and controlled the central planning process. Furthermore, Deng had only a
vague notion of what he wanted to put in place of the central command
economic structure. Fundamentally pragmatic, he was willing to accept the
idea that the capitalist system, and particularly the market system of allocat-
ing economic resources and channeling economic activity, had much to offer
China. And he believed that economic decisionmaking could and should de-
volve to lower levels. But there was no model to follow for how to blend the
economic dynamics of a free market system with a Leninist, tightly con-
trolled political structure. Furthermore, there were huge risks for the Com-
munist Party, as had been amply demonstrated in the fall of eastern bloc
countries, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and Tiananmen. Western de-
mocracy, he insisted, was not right for China, and its excesses needed to be
controlled.3
Reformers adopted a tentative approach, which they called “crossing the
river by groping for the stones.”4 In practice, it was a process of trial and
error, implementing various reform measures on an experimental basis in
different localities. Sometimes the initiative for the reform came from the
local area, sometimes it came from the think tanks that grew up around Hu
Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. If the reforms were successful in solving prob-
lems or raising production, they were gradually expanded to other areas of
China. If they failed, they were abandoned. Often, even successful reforms
created new problems that had to be addressed with further reforms.
The most important benefit for the provinces was the new freedom many
areas—particularly along the east coast and inland borders of China and
along the Yangzi River—were given to manage their own economic develop-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 147

ment. In 1992, thirty cities (beyond the original four special economic zones)
were authorized to open up important sectors of their economies, including
commerce, banking, and real estate, to foreign investment. Private sector
development—particularly small-scale rural and township industrial enter-
prises—was also given new approval, with the result that new nonstate en-
terprises emerged in large numbers very quickly. Even existing successful
state-operated firms were encouraged to become joint-stock companies and
sell shares on China’s embryonic stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen.5
Central government bureaucracies that had formerly managed all industrial
enterprises were downsized and restructured, freeing local businesses signifi-
cantly from central control or even oversight. Encouraged by the seriousness
of China’s reform plans, business executives in Hong Kong (who had gener-
ally limited their engagement in the Chinese economy following Tiananmen)
poured billions of dollars of new investment into China’s newly opened cit-
ies, contracting for hotels, leisure facilities, and industrial parks in the new
development zones.
The result was massive economic activity, fueled by a combination of for-
eign, local government, and private investment. Even outside of Guangdong
(where Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial culture had been prevalent for several
years), a new spirit of enthusiasm and risk taking began to be felt. “The
whole country is going into business” (quan min jie shang) became a popular
slogan, and communist role models were overshadowed by popular admira-
tion for bold new entrepreneurs who “jumped into the sea” (xia hai) of en-
trepreneurial commerce. Even some prominent former dissidents took up
private enterprise. Mou Qizhong, a former political prisoner-turned-deal
maker, was represented in late 1992 as China’s “first millionaire,”6 while
newly released Tiananmen student leader Wang Dan told Western reporters
in 1993, “If I have the chance to go into business, I won’t hesitate.”7
The rest of the world soon took notice, and the idea quickly took hold in
the Western business press that China had reached an economic take-off
stage for its enormous market. Starry-eyed and optimistic about the long-
hoped-for emergence of the nearly limitless China market, Western corpora-
tions were easily persuaded they would be wise to invest big and gain access
early. Motorola Corporation vice president Richard Younts told the New
York Times at the opening of a $125 million plant in Tianjin in 1992, “We
want to be ready when this market takes off, and everything we see indicates
that will come about.”8 World Bank and IMF studies speculated that China
was not only the fastest-growing economy in the world but had suddenly
become one of the world’s two or three largest economies.9 World Bank
economist and future treasury secretary Lawrence Summers rhapsodized, “It
may well be when the history of the late twentieth century is written one
148 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

hundred years from now, the most significant event will be the revolutionary
changes in China, which will soon be Communist only in a rhetorical sense.”10

Leadership Dances
The important changes that took place within the party in 1992 were soon
reflected in the government structure as well, with Li Peng stepping back,
and Jiang and Zhu stepping forward. In March 1993, China’s National
People’s Congress (NPC) met to take up issues pertinent to China’s rapidly
reforming economic, legal, and political structure. Most closely watched were
the government positions:
—Jiang Zemin replaced eighty-five-year-old Yang Shangkun as China’s
president (in Chinese, guojia zhuxi, or state chairman), completing Jiang’s
assumption of all the major positions in China: Communist Party general
secretary, chairman of the Military Commission, and head of state.11 Al-
though the position of president does not command any significant bureau-
cratic authority, Jiang’s “election” indicated that he continued to enjoy Deng’s
favor and would be given every institutional advantage to succeed him as
first among equals. From a foreign affairs perspective, Jiang’s ascension to
the presidency was a significant boost to his international reputation. As
head of state, he was now entitled to travel more often and meet with coun-
terpart heads of state, rather than just Communist Party leaders—an endan-
gered species outside of Asia after 1991. Given his clear enjoyment of the
ceremonial aspects of leadership, Jiang was certain to take advantage of new
opportunities to engage in foreign policy.
—Although he probably would have retired in any case, hard-line vice
president Wang Zhen died in early March, and his replacement was chosen
at the NPC meeting. In a gesture laden with symbolism, Rong Yiren—former
Shanghai capitalist (his family dominated the prewar textile business) and
chairman of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC)—
was named to the position. Besides being a reward for his loyalty to Deng
and the regime, Rong’s appointment demonstrated that nonparty persons
with capitalist backgrounds were fully rehabilitated and could hold high of-
fice (if they had the party’s blessing), and that business experience was now a
desirable qualification for national office.
—As expected, Li Peng was chosen to serve a second (and by constitu-
tional requirement, final) term as premier of the State Council. But in a sign
of his personal unpopularity and a new climate of reformism, more than one
in ten of the delegates (320 of 2,903) either abstained or voted against his re-
election. Zhu Rongji was confirmed as the ranking vice premier, with over-
whelming support from the delegates. Other conservative candidates for vice
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 149

premier, such as Politburo member Li Tieying, had even more negative votes
than Li Peng. Although hardly a flowering of democratic accountability, the
results were evidence of a new attitude of NPC delegates, who increasingly
felt obligated to carry out their duties of supervising the State Council and
somewhat freer to vote against the government on occasion without fear of
retribution. Moreover, the results of the voting were publicized. In a post-
NPC press conference broadcast by Chinese TV, a foreign reporter even asked
Li about his negative vote tally but got no response.12
—Qiao Shi, Politburo Standing Committee member and head of the party’s
Political and Legal Affairs Leading Group, was chosen chairman of the NPC
Standing Committee, replacing Wan Li. Although Qiao, sixty-eight, was the
senior leader most involved in China’s internal security apparatus and had
deserted Zhao Ziyang when the general secretary was under fire in 1989, he
still maintained a reputation as a moderate reformer. With active assistance
from First Vice Chairman Tian Jiyun, Qiao would accelerate the pace of
change within China’s rubber-stamp parliament, making it more active legis-
latively (it enacted sixty-seven laws in 1993, many supporting reform of the
economy), more representative of local constituencies, and more aggressive
in its supervision of government work. Although there was no definable “lib-
eral wing” of the Communist Party, Qiao and Tian appeared dedicated to
expanding gradually the rule of law in China and pursuing systemic political
reform.13
—Finally, Politburo Standing Committee member Li Ruihuan was ap-
pointed chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC) in March. A vestige of Mao Zedong’s desire for the appearance of
public support from China’s prerevolutionary noncommunist parties, the
CPPCC, representing eight separate parties and patriotic organizations, meets
annually in conjunction with the NPC to ratify its decisions and reports. The
appointment of a reform-minded Li suggested to some analysts that an effort
might be under way to breathe new life into the moribund and elderly non-
party organization, perhaps even to provide an additional forum for criti-
cism and supervision of the Communist Party and government. Although Li
did travel more in his capacity as CPPCC chairman, his organization did not
have the will, personnel, or capacity to go much beyond its traditional role as
mere “window dressing for democracy,” a yearly showcase for the fiction
that China was not completely a one-party dictatorship.14
Before the NPC session, the party had convened a Central Committee
plenary meeting at which delegates approved the revision of China’s five-
year plan growth targets from 6 percent to 8 percent. Given Li’s personal
association with the austerity program of 1989–91 and the 6 percent growth
target figure, the decision was viewed as yet another setback for the belea-
150 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

guered premier. Humiliated by the high number of votes against his re-
election as premier and the sharp change in the direction of the government’s
work, Li evidently suffered some kind of health crisis in April and disap-
peared from public view for seven weeks. Chinese press authorities denied at
first the sixty-four-year-old Li was ill, then admitted he was suffering from a
“bad cold.” Western press rumors had it that Li had suffered a mild heart
attack and was recovering in an army hospital.15 Whether his illness was
genuine or “political,” Li reappeared in mid-June and began “gradually re-
suming” his duties as premier, while still taking care of his health, according
to the Chinese press spokesman.16
However, Li’s duties had been reduced during his illness. Jiang Zemin had
already been selected in March to head the newly revived Central Committee
Leading Group on Finance and Economics, with Li and Zhu Rongji as his
deputies. During Li’s illness, Jiang replaced Li as head of the Foreign Affairs
Leading Group, responsible for guiding China’s overall foreign policy. Jiang
was already head of the Central Leading Group on Taiwan Affairs, respon-
sible for coordination of policy toward Taiwan, having taken over that posi-
tion from Yang Shangkun.17 One of his apparent initiatives was an agreement
by the heads of the two organizations responsible for cross-Strait relations
(the “Straits Exchange Foundation” on the Taiwan side and the “Associa-
tion for Relations across the Taiwan Strait” in the PRC) to meet in Singapore
in April 1993.
Although Zhu Rongji was not publicly designated as “executive vice pre-
mier” or “first vice premier” in Li’s absence, he continued his takeover of
China’s economic apparatus even after Li returned. In July, for example,
Zhu was appointed governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC—China’s
central bank), replacing a Li Peng crony who was blamed for major strains in
China’s economy caused by irresponsible banking practices. Zhu brought in
three new vice governors to do the hard work of implementing major changes
in bank procedures, while he took the top job as a guarantor of discipline
and control. In the circumstances, Li Peng probably was not unhappy to
have someone else held accountable for the wild performance of the Chinese
economy.18
Despite great public and official enthusiasm for reform and opening and
impressive statistical performance in many sectors, China’s economy was in
trouble by mid-1993. Long-delayed price reforms implemented that year
caused fuel, food, and other important commodity prices to rise sharply—in
some cases, by more than 100 percent. Even the government’s probably un-
derstated numbers showed the overall cost of living rose nearly 15 percent in
1993 and more than 24 percent in 1994.19 With fewer controls on spending,
local governments and enterprises used new infusions of funds from foreign
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 151

direct investment and central government coffers to buy foreign luxury goods,
build lavish tourist hotels and empty industrial parks, and invest in the Shang-
hai or Shenzhen stock market rather than putting the money into developing
production.
Worse still, local officials pressured local banks to make available addi-
tional funds (often disguised as interbank loans) to invest in the volatile real
estate and stock markets or other dubious speculative schemes. Land for the
real estate development projects was, of course, public land—often bought
and sold illegally by high-level cadres or their families with connections. Sto-
ries of massive corruption by Communist Party officials spread widely and
stirred up considerable public anger. The thirst for investment capital was so
great that some local areas even issued IOUs, rather than cash, to pay peas-
ants for their grain, causing some riots and destruction of government prop-
erty. Overall money circulating in the economy rose 50 percent in 1992,
while the value of China’s currency against the U.S. and Hong Kong dollars
fell by more than one-third in the swap markets.20
Zhu Rongji, who balanced a solid record of support for reform as mayor
of Shanghai with a keen understanding of the need for effective centralized
macroeconomic control mechanisms, issued a series of administrative regu-
lations first to stop uncontrolled speculation with official credit. He forbade
issuance of IOUs to farmers, insisted that bank lending practices be brought
into line with government standards, and prohibited the issuance of unregu-
lated securities. He then instituted a restructuring of the central banking sys-
tem, strengthening the role of the People’s Bank of China as a central bank,
modeled somewhat on the U.S. Federal Reserve system. He also ordered a
tightening of restrictions on interbank lending and the recall of a large num-
ber of improper interbank loans.21 To take more money out of circulation, he
mandated the purchase of government bonds by millions of urban workers
and ordered a 20 percent cut in government spending. Other aspects of Zhu’s
reported sixteen-point austerity plan included a ban on foreign automobile
imports and cancellation of approvals for many new economic development
zones.22
To some observers, Zhu’s measures looked like a return to a centralized
planned economy, although Western commentators generally appeared to
appreciate the necessity of taking rather drastic actions to rein in inflation
and stock market speculation.23 Local governments and speculators in China,
particularly in the southeastern coastal regions, protested to their friends in
Hong Kong and Beijing. Those protests, among other factors, reached the
nearly deaf ears of Deng Xiaoping, who chose to intervene in the policy
arena one last time. In September 1993, Deng reportedly called a meeting of
senior leaders, including Jiang, to put a halt to austerity measures and to
152 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

announce another round of rapid growth. His cause clearly was advanced by
the publication in early November of the third volume of his Selected Works,
which extolled again fast-paced economic liberalization. “Development at a
slow pace is not socialism,” Deng supposedly told party leaders just before the
Third Plenum of the Fourteenth Central Committee, held November 11–14.24
As he had so many times before, Deng appeared to be trying to rebalance the
political system through simplistic pronouncements on economic issues. Oth-
ers in the leadership, including a suddenly far healthier and belatedly reformist
Li Peng, echoed Deng’s remarks in advocating a high rate of growth.25
Although probably embarrassed by Deng’s about-face and forced to back
away from inflation-fighting policies that looked too much like retrench-
ment, Zhu still emerged from the Third Plenum with Central Committee
approval of a codified fifty-point program for speeding up China’s transition
to a market economy. He retained control of the State Council economic
bureaucracy, as well as of Communist Party leading groups in charge of
agriculture, finance, and trade. Given the inevitable rise in indicators of an
overheating economy in 1994, Zhu remained the one to whom the govern-
ment would turn to bring the situation back under control. But while Zhu
remained the most influential figure in China’s most important political
arena—the economy—he had been humiliated somewhat by the patriarch
and seemed to be both out of sorts and out of favor by the end of the year. Li
Peng’s return to health and Jiang Zemin’s indifferent support for Zhu’s eco-
nomic policies would have a deleterious effect on Zhu’s political prospects
and his ability to accomplish his goals.
Deng’s intervention, however, was to be his last of any significance. Increas-
ingly weakened by Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses—though evidently
not mentally incapacitated—Deng’s withdrawal from political activity was
probably not entirely voluntary. But at the age of eighty-nine, he no longer had
the energy or stamina to assert his will regularly on increasingly complex poli-
cies. Television pictures of Deng at a spring festival reception in Shanghai in
February 1994 showed a frail old man, supported by his daughters when stand-
ing, smiling vacantly, and waving shaky hands at well wishers.
Press commentators in Hong Kong and Taipei continued to report rumors
on Deng’s activities and opinions. Some American officials thought that he
was still making key decisions about bilateral relations. Deng’s family pro-
claimed his health was satisfactory. But it was unlikely that Deng was play-
ing any more than an occasional advisory role by early 1994. The same was
true of Chen Yun, who had also sunk into senescence. As rumors recurred
about the state of Deng’s health, the “third generation” of China’s leader-
ship began making its internal accommodations without him. Jiang, Zhu, Li
Peng, and Qiao Shi began a complex process of maneuvering for position
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 153

and influence, preparing for political life without Deng. In the meantime,
they used his words, prestige, and authority for maintaining the course of
economic reform and social stability. Dengism was alive and well. But Deng—
like Mao in his dotage—had become a political wraith: feared, respected,
perceived to be powerful, used by those who needed him but usually invisible
and increasingly insubstantial.

Economic Reform and Foreign Policy

China’s economic influence and performance in the early 1990s had a pro-
found impact on China’s self-image and view of the world but a somewhat
less perceptible change on its foreign policy line and practice. The World
Bank/International Monetary Fund report, which rated China’s economy as
the world’s third largest in 1993, after the United States and Japan, gener-
ated elation and shock in China. But its main effect clearly was to enhance a
sense of national pride and entitlement. “The main importance of this [IMF
report] is geopolitical,” said Paul Krugman, an economist at the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology. “It’s a reminder that China is a great power
already, which is something many people haven’t quite grasped yet.”26
China had long entertained great power aspirations, and in certain re-
spects—such as in the United Nations and its relations with some of its Asian
neighbors—had become used to being so treated. Most Chinese seemed to
believe that China merited consideration as a global power by virtue of its
size, long history, and complex culture. But in many other ways, the Chinese
perceived their country and believed it was perceived by others as poor and
backward, a victim of great power politics more than a great power itself.
The duality of Chinese nationalism—pride in China’s achievements com-
bined with hypersensitivity to its past humiliation—was heightened by its
economic success.27 Now that it was being recognized by international finan-
cial institutions and Western corporations as an economic global power—on
a scale comparable to the United States and Japan—many Chinese began to
believe China deserved to be treated with greater respect and deference. While
this did not entail throwing its weight around economically or politically,
this attitude did manifest itself in a somewhat more assertive approach to
external pressure by China’s leaders. More than ever, they “were convinced
that China ought to stand equal with other great powers and that there was
something profoundly wrong with a world that denied it this status.”28 No
country was more anxiously looked to for that respect than the United States.
But to put it mildly, China’s view of the United States was ambivalent.
China’s leaders supported and were supported by a significant change in
attitude among China’s intelligentsia during the mid-1990s. No longer al-
154 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

lowed to discuss liberal Western democratic theory as freely as in the 1980s,

and disenchanted by China’s experience and by their observations of Russia
and the eastern European postcommunist states, several of China’s promi-
nent thinkers turned toward a more conservative, traditional political phi-
losophy. “Neo-conservatism” posited the need for a strong, authoritarian,
traditional Chinese state to deal with the numerous problems involved in
economic reform.29 And it rejected Western-style democracy as being unable
to deal with China’s problems or accelerate its modernization. Zhanlue yu
Guanli (Strategy and Management—a journal begun in 1992 with rumored
support from the military) and several other conservative political journals
published sophisticated and cogent critiques of Western liberal philosophy
and persuasive inquiries into Chinese historical questions that attracted wide
readership at the time.30 Looking at China through a Third Eye, a best-seller
in 1994, was a nationalistic, critical diatribe on the failings of Western liberal
democracy to solve China’s emerging economic and social problems, replete
with sharp criticisms of the United States (chapter 1 is entitled “Don’t Inter-
fere in China.”).31
Popular culture also helped reinforce the leadership’s predisposition to-
ward a tough approach to foreign affairs. Although the immediate aftermath
of Tiananmen witnessed a crackdown on literature and the media, they were
beginning to flourish again by early 1993. Part of the cause was economic—
China’s growing middle class had more leisure time and disposable income
and consequently an interest in better-quality entertainment. Moreover, party
leaders made a conscious decision—probably also dictated by necessity—
that the publications business should be self-sustaining, not state operated.
Finally, the “opening to the outside” promoted anew by Deng in his south-
ern tour in 1992 brought a new wealth of entertainment possibilities from
Hong Kong and Taiwan, particularly cable television. China’s media indus-
try was quick to catch on and catch up. The result was an explosion in popu-
lar entertainment—television game shows, rock music, talk radio, and escapist
fiction. “By 1994 China had 561 publishing houses, about 8,000 periodicals,
more than 2,100 newspapers and over 300 audio-visual publishing compa-
nies,” all competing for the attention of the urban, as well as the rural audi-
ence.32 Some of the popular entertainment had a strongly nationalistic, even
an anti-American, flavor.

From Candidate to President—Clinton’s Rocky Transition

William Jefferson Clinton was elected the forty-second president of the United
States on November 3, 1992, defeating President George Bush and indepen-
dent candidate H. Ross Perot with 43 percent of the popular vote. The first
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 155

“baby boomer” president—born after the end of World War II—the former
governor of Arkansas won on the strength of his own qualities (youthful,
intelligent, articulate, and telegenic), Bush’s listless campaign, dissatisfaction
with twelve years of Republican control of the White House, serious eco-
nomic and social problems, and Perot’s quirky protest candidacy, which gar-
nered 19 percent of the popular vote, pulling slightly more votes away from
the Republican than the Democratic Party. Clinton’s election strategy fo-
cused on maintaining traditional Democratic Party support among organized
labor and African American voters, coupled with a strong appeal to indepen-
dents, moderate Republicans, women, and older voters. The Democratic Party
also promised to work for social change, better economic growth, and im-
proved employment for American workers.
Clinton’s campaign watch words, “It’s the Economy, Stupid,” reflected
his own and his advisers’ view that economic issues—jobs, inflation, welfare,
Social Security, trade, and taxes—counted most for American voters. He
took full campaign advantage of the public perceptions that the American
economy was still suffering from a post–Gulf War recession (it had actually
already begun a recovery) and that the enormous budget deficit required
political action to resolve. He also managed to neutralize one of Bush’s po-
litical assets—his knowledge and experience in foreign affairs—by accusing
Bush of spending too much time but not enough money on foreign affairs
and by attacking Bush’s astute political realism as “coddling tyrants from
Baghdad to Beijing.”33 He faulted Bush for not paying sufficient attention to
“American values,” such as democracy and human rights, and charged he
was “out of the mainstream.” But mostly, Clinton criticized the damage that
Bush’s handling of the U.S. economy did to foreign policy. “An anemic, debt-
laden economy undermines our diplomacy, makes it harder for us to secure
favorable trade agreements and compromises our ability to finance essential
military actions.”34
Clinton was not a novice in foreign affairs. He had majored in interna-
tional relations at Georgetown University and remained interested in it dur-
ing his two years at Oxford University in England, where he was a Rhodes
scholar. But his deep involvement in the local politics of Arkansas had turned
his interests elsewhere, and aside from a few Asian trade junkets (including
several trips to Taiwan), he came into office with little experience—and some
said, little interest—in foreign affairs. Nonetheless, Clinton announced a strong
foreign policy team in late December. He chose Warren Christopher, a
California-based lawyer who had served as deputy secretary of state to Cyrus
Vance during the Carter administration, as secretary of state. Christopher
had headed the team that helped Clinton choose Senator Albert W. Gore of
Tennessee as his vice presidential running mate and was highly regarded as a
156 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

skilled negotiator and problem solver, though not a broad foreign policy
conceptualizer.
Clinton chose Les Aspin as secretary of defense. Aspin was elected to the
House of Representatives from Wisconsin in 1970 and eventually became
chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee. He had been a
Ph.D. “whiz kid” in Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s Pentagon.
Considered brilliant, but rather folksy and disorganized, Aspin had thought
a great deal about the post–cold war U.S. military and was expected to bring
innovative approaches to bear.
Anthony Lake, a former foreign service officer who served in the Kissinger
National Security Council (NSC) during the Nixon administration but quit
in opposition to the 1970 U.S. incursion into Cambodia, became national
security adviser (assistant to the president for national security affairs, or
APNSA). Cerebral and self-effacing, Lake was head of Policy Planning at the
State Department and a key adviser to Vance during the Carter administra-
tion. After that he taught at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts and raised
cattle on his 140-acre farm.
Other key members of the foreign policy team included James R. Woolsey
as director of Central Intelligence (DCI); Madeleine Albright as ambassador
to the United Nations, a position Clinton upgraded to Cabinet rank; and
General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Woolsey
was considered an expert on nuclear weapons and arms control issues and
had served as undersecretary of the navy during the Carter administration.
Albright was on the NSC during the Carter administration, then taught po-
litical science at Georgetown University, where she had a reputation as a
strong advocate of democracy and human rights. Powell, a Bush holdover
who had once been national security adviser, was not expected to stay long.
Rounding out the top positions in the National Security Council were
Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger, a friend of Clinton’s from Yale Law School days
and Lake’s deputy at Policy Planning, and Nancy R. Soderberg, former staff
assistant to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who had been active in the cam-
paign.35 Robert E. Rubin, a successful Wall Street stockbroker and cochair-
man of Goldman Sachs, was appointed “assistant to the president for economic
policy” and chairman of the newly formed National Economic Council
(NEC).36 Press coverage of the foreign policy team noted the strong contin-
gent of Carter administration officials (and its “dovish” wing, at that), the
careful selection of women, in keeping with Clinton’s promise to build a
Cabinet that “looked like America,” and the preference for team players,
low-key personalities, and implementers rather than conceptualizers of policy.
“By the nature of his . . . choices, Mr. Clinton has in effect assigned himself
the main roles of chief policy architect, articulator and arbiter,” New York
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 157

Times columnist Tom Friedman speculated.37 That would operate satisfacto-

rily on domestic political and economic issues, but given the president’s lack
of enthusiasm for foreign affairs, it was a structure that lacked clear and
directed leadership from the top.38

Getting Organized
Activist and enthusiastic, the new policy team hit the ground running and
occasionally stumbling. They were hampered first by organizational and per-
sonnel constraints. Structurally, they set to work quickly to maximize com-
munication and coordination among the principal foreign policy bur-
eaucracies. Christopher and Aspin were confirmed easily by the Senate on
Inauguration Day, January 20. The NSC staff positions do not require Sen-
ate confirmation, so Lake also was in position by then. On January 20–21,
Clinton issued two Presidential Decision Directives (PDDs), establishing the
foreign policy decisionmaking structure for his administration and the docu-
mentary formats that were to be used.39 More important, he expanded the
formal membership of the National Security Council to include the secre-
tary of the treasury, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Na-
tions, the assistant to the president for national security affairs, the assistant
to the president for economic policy, and the chief of staff to the presi-
dent.40 In practice, however, the formal National Security Council did not
meet often.
Instead, Clinton continued the practice established by the Bush adminis-
tration of having a three-tiered foreign policy decisionmaking process. At the
highest level was the Principals Committee, which essentially was the Na-
tional Security Council without the president and vice president, namely, the
secretaries or heads of the relevant departments and agencies. Because Prin-
cipals Committee meetings were called and chaired by the national security
adviser, the NSC staff prepared the agenda and issued a written summary of
the results of the meeting, as well as any recommendations for the president
that may have been reached.41 At the next level, the Deputies Committee
operated similarly—called and chaired by the deputy assistant to the presi-
dent for National Security Affairs (DAPNSA), attended by the number two
officials of the relevant agencies. Often, but not always, the Deputies Com-
mittee recommendations fed into a Principals Committee. In both meetings,
departments were generally allowed to bring a “plus one,” usually an assis-
tant secretary–level person with knowledge of the issue at hand. Unusually
sensitive meetings sometimes dropped the “plus ones” out of concern for
leaks. In general, depending on travel schedules, there was at least one Prin-
cipals Committee or Deputies Committee meeting each week and very often
more than that.
158 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

The basic level of policy formulation and coordination was the Interagency
Work Group (IWG, usually pronounced “eye wig”), which replaced the Policy
Coordinating Committee of the Bush administration. Although formulated
and coordinated through the NSC, these meetings were often cochaired by
State Department assistant secretaries and NSC senior directors and attended
by deputy assistant secretary personnel as well as substantive desk officers
and analysts from the relevant departments and agencies. Papers for the
IWG were prepared by the office principally responsible for the issue, most
often the relevant State Department desk, with inputs as needed from other
agencies.42
Within a matter of a few months, Lake realized the formal committee and
meeting structure did not always facilitate what he perceived to be his princi-
pal role as “coordinator” of policy, or honest broker. Despite his intentions—
shared by Christopher—to avoid the kind of rivalry between national security
adviser and secretary of state that had plagued the Nixon-Ford and Carter
administrations, divergences of view came up early and often on controver-
sial issues such as Bosnia and Haiti. Recognizing that both policy coordina-
tion and initiative often flow through informal channels, Lake, Christopher,
and Aspin established events at which issues could be discussed and hashed
out without formal agendas, position papers, and decision memorandums.
One was a Wednesday morning breakfast at the White House, which in-
cluded the secretaries of state and defense, the DCI, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and UN ambassador, as well as APNSA.43 Another was a
weekly lunch, attended only by Lake, Christopher, and the secretary of de-
fense. The agenda was agreed on in advance, and each would bring staff-
prepared notes for the issues to be discussed, but the purpose was informal
dialogue, not decisionmaking. Lake acknowledged that, on occasion, some
decisions were vetted in advance of Principals Committee meetings. It was
significant, however, that the president did not attend any of these sessions.
Christopher tried to persuade him to meet informally with his foreign policy
team but was, for the most part, not successful.44
Each of the three principal foreign policy decisionmakers struggled early
with organizational difficulties. At the State Department, although most of
the undersecretaries were confirmed by mid-February, several assistant sec-
retaries were held up by Senator Jesse Helms, then-ranking Republican on
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Helms used his prerogative of put-
ting a “hold” on specific nominations as a means of leveraging the State
Department on policy or personnel issues.
At NSC, Lake, Berger, and Soderberg faced difficulties in organizing a
paper flow, determining who had what access to the president, and dividing
up the enormous workload of substantive issues among themselves. They
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 159

were further hampered by the absence of a detailed record of Bush adminis-

tration foreign policy, owing to the fact that all records were transferred to
archives for eventual storage in the Bush Presidential Library.45 Most seri-
ously, they had to start out implementing a presidential campaign promise to
reduce by 25 percent the staff in the Executive Office of the President. “Our
White House will be leaner but more effective, and designed to work both
hard and smart for the changes we seek in America,” Clinton told reporters
on February 9.46
In practice, the personnel cut created an NSC staff that was constantly
understaffed and overworked. “It was a good one-day headline and had ter-
rible consequences ever after,” Lake complained later.47 The Asia Director-
ate, for example, had only two professional officers covering issues pertaining
to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Al-
though somewhat less afflicted than other White House operations with an
overabundance of young, inexperienced staffers, the Lake NSC also suffered
somewhat from the problems of “newness, haste, hubris and naïveté” that
typify early White House actions of most administrations.48
The NSC difficulties, however, paled in comparison with the Defense
Department, where Secretary Aspin proved an inept administrator. He got
on poorly with many senior military officers, who saw his casual style as
lacking in bearing and seriousness. He tried to reorganize the Pentagon’s
policy offices, bringing in several nonmainstream academic experts, includ-
ing Morton Halperin and Graham Allison, to prepare policy on some of
Clinton’s campaign agenda issues, such as peacekeeping and humanitarian
assistance. They not only elicited significant congressional opposition (par-
ticularly Halperin, who had testified in support of Daniel Ellsberg in leaking
the Pentagon Papers) but also won little support at the State Department or
NSC. Aspin’s style of management within his own department was disorga-
nized and detached, resembling the way he had run the House Armed Ser-
vices Committee. Finally, Aspin’s handling of the question of lifting restrictions
on homosexuals in the military—a Clinton campaign promise that blew up
within days of his inauguration—was resented by most of the service chiefs
and JCS Chairman Powell.49 Undersecretary for Policy Frank Wisner and
Assistant Secretary for Regional Security Charles W. “Chas” Freeman brought
stability and professionalism to the more “traditional” issue areas of Penta-
gon policymaking, but they were hampered by the controversies that swirled
around the Defense Department during Aspin’s brief tenure as secretary.

Foreign Policy Priorities

From the first days of the new administration, Clinton’s foreign policy
agenda was to a large degree set by problems that had carried over from the
160 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

Bush administration. Vicious ethnic warfare in the former state of Yugosla-

via, with its chilling reminders of Nazi concentration camps showing up on
evening newscasts, shocked Americans and Europeans alike into calling for
military action. Desperate Haitians took to the sea in boats to escape their
brutal government and reach sanctuary in the United States. Iraq’s Saddam
Hussein, defeated but not deposed, stirred up trouble in the Middle East.
And Bush’s sudden military involvement in Somalia—turning a famine-
alleviation mission into a search-and-destroy campaign against Somali war-
lords—worried military and civilian defense officials alike.
Besides dealing with immediate crises, the new foreign policy team was
attempting to take stock of American international commitments and to de-
fine a new strategy for a post–cold war world. Within two weeks of inaugu-
ration, the NSC had commissioned twenty-nine policy review directives at
three levels of urgency on issues ranging from those cited above to Russia,
international trade, the North American Free Trade Agreement, peacekeep-
ing, democratization, and regional affairs.50 At the same time, they were try-
ing to develop a coherent and activist foreign policy in the face of public
attitudes toward foreign affairs that ranged from apathy to outright hostility
and isolationism.
In late May, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff,
speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, declared that the United States no
longer had the economic resources to provide leadership in all international
circumstances and that European allies and international organizations would
have to play a larger role. His remarks—although never officially reported—
were officially disavowed by the State Department press spokesman and by
the White House press secretary, who said, “That person does not speak for
the President, the Secretary of State, or the Administration.”51 The sharp re-
buttals—which embarrassed Tarnoff but did not damage his career—were evi-
dence of the organizational untidiness of the administration’s foreign policy
bureaucracy and the difficulty of harmonizing domestic economic consider-
ations and foreign policy. Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland fumed,
“It is not clear today what this government means by leadership, how it pro-
poses to exercise that definition abroad when it is reached or how other gov-
ernments are expected to respond.”52 Others complained increasingly of the
absence of “bold new thinking” to address the problems of a post-Soviet world.53

Winston Lord and China Policy

In light of major foreign policy problems in other regions of the world and
intense focus on domestic issues—particularly a budget deficit reduction
plan—China policy was low on the new administration’s list of priorities in
1993. But what was said and done probably caused considerable consterna-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 161

tion in Beijing. In his confirmation hearings in January, Warren Christopher

warned of troubling changes. “A complex blend of new and old forces re-
quires us to rethink our policy toward China . . . We cannot ignore continu-
ing reports of Chinese exports of sensitive military technology to troubled
areas, widespread violations of human rights, or abusive practices that have
contributed to a $17 billion trade imbalance between our two nations. Our
policy will seek to facilitate a peaceful evolution of China from communism to
democracy by encouraging the forces of economic and political liberalization
in that great country.”54 The use of a term so politically freighted in China no
doubt created instant suspicion. To Chinese Communist Party leaders, “peace-
ful evolution” was just a polite term for slowly overthrowing socialism.
Christopher asked Winston Lord in January 1993 to serve as assistant
secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific. Lord was no stranger to Asian
affairs—and particularly China policy. After his break with the Bush admin-
istration over the Scowcroft mission and the Pelosi bill, Lord had been active
in promoting more punitive approaches to the government and supporting
“progressive” forces in China, although he still supported strategic engage-
ment. By 1991, his position “evolved” toward conditioning renewal of most
favored nation (MFN) status on China’s accounting for political prisoners,
allowing more freedom of emigration, and ceasing the jamming of Voice of
America (VOA) broadcasts—conditions he believed China could meet if it
chose to do so.55 During the 1992 presidential campaign, Lake invited Lord
(with whom he had worked on Kissinger’s NSC staff) to brief candidate
Clinton on the China issue. Lord included in his discussion the issue of “mod-
erate conditions” for MFN, following up subsequently with a paper.56
Although Lord’s nomination was one of those held up by Senator Helms,
he eventually won easy confirmation from the Senate Foreign Relations Com-
mittee. In his statement to the committee on March 31, Lord sketched out his
overall approach to Asia in detail and reflected the new administration’s
efforts to balance strategic and moral considerations in policy toward China.
“Our policy challenge . . . is to reconcile our need to deal with this important
nation with our imperative to promote international values. We will seek
cooperation with China on a range of issues. But Americans cannot forget
Tiananmen Square.” Clearly reflecting a view that the Beijing regime would
not remain in power indefinitely, Lord described Chinese leaders as “gam-
bling that open economics and closed politics will preserve their system of
control,” an approach he predicted would fail. He recommended that the
United States “conduct a nuanced policy toward Beijing until a more hu-
mane system emerges” and pledged that, although Washington would not
shun Beijing, it would “condemn repression and preserve links with progres-
sive forces which are the foundations for our longer term ties.”57
162 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

Although he had several other Asian issues he believed required careful

attention, Lord focused heavily on China immediately after his confirma-
tion. He chose his former deputy chief of mission from Beijing, Peter Tomsen,
to serve as his principal deputy and persuaded Lake to hire his former eco-
nomic counselor, Kent Wiedemann, as senior director for Asian affairs at the
National Security Council.58 He started a comprehensive China policy re-
view directive, working with Wiedemann and the China desk at the State
Department to develop a broad issues-based engagement approach. One of
his most important tasks, however, was working with Congress to find a
compromise on how to deal with MFN.
The Democratic Party platform on which Clinton had run promised “con-
ditioning of favorable trade terms of China on respect for human rights in
China and Tibet, greater market access for U.S. goods, and responsible con-
duct on weapons proliferation.”59 Clinton had reiterated the intention to link
MFN and human rights at several points during the campaign. After his
election, he appeared to shift toward more neutral ground, noting some
progress had been made under the Bush administration, but he still saw a
relationship—a means of leverage—between China’s growing trade surplus
with the United States and its vulnerability to pressure on other issues. Con-
gressional leaders—and particularly Representative Nancy Pelosi in the House
and Senator George Mitchell in the Senate, who had emerged as the China
“issue leaders”— fully expected the president to follow through on his pledge
of linking MFN with China’s performance on human rights, nuclear and
missile exports, and market access.
Working with Wiedemann, Berger, and Soderberg in the White House
and quietly within the State Department at Christopher’s behest, Lord con-
tacted Mitchell’s and Pelosi’s offices not long after his confirmation and
indicated the administration wanted to work with Congress on the MFN
issue in 1993. Lord knew there were some in Congress who were proposing
outright revocation of MFN, which the administration could not support.
Other congressional proposals for conditioning MFN were far too stringent
and not practicable. Lord became, in his own words, the “point man,” “try-
ing to work out conditions that were moderate from our standpoint but enough
from their standpoint that they could deliver the House and the Senate, par-
ticularly the House” in support of renewing MFN for another year.60
On April 22, Mitchell and Pelosi announced they were introducing new
legislation to condition China’s MFN for the following year. The United
States–China Act of 1993 (H.R. 1835) was very similar to the bill President
Bush had vetoed (H.R. 5318) in 1992 and was intended to establish a clear
congressional position. As Mitchell put it, “My hope is that the bill won’t be
necessary. My hope is that it will enable the administration to bring about
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 163

the kind of changes that this legislation will impose only if no meaningful
action is taken.”61
The bill stipulated that the president

may not recommend continuation of [MFN] for the People’s Republic

of China, unless the President reports . . . that the government of that
country—
(1) has taken appropriate actions to begin adhering to the provisions
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in China and Tibet;
(2) is allowing unrestricted emigration of the citizens who desire to
leave China for reasons of political or religious persecution to join fam-
ily members abroad . . . ;
(3) has provided an acceptable accounting for and release of Chinese
citizens detained, accused, or sentenced as a result of . . . demonstra-
tions in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 . . . ;
(4) has taken effective, verifiable action to prevent export of prod-
ucts to the United States manufactured wholly or in part by convict,
forced, or indentured labor . . . ;
(5) has made overall significant progress in—
(A) ceasing religious persecution and lifting restrictions on free-
dom of religious belief in the People’s Republic of China and Tibet
...;
(B) releasing leaders and members of religious groups detained,
imprisoned, or under house arrest for expression of their religious
beliefs;
(C) ceasing unfair and discriminatory trade practices which re-
strict and unreasonably burden American business;
(D) providing United States exporters fair access to Chinese mar-
kets, including lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and in-
creasing the purchase of United States goods and services;
(E) adhering to the guidelines and parameters of the Missile Tech-
nology Control Regime and the controls adopted by the Nuclear Sup-
pliers Group and the Australian Group on Chemical and Biological
Arms;
(F) adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong that was en-
tered into between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of
China;
(G) cooperating with United States efforts to obtain an acceptable
accounting of United States military personnel who are listed as pris-
oners of war or missing in action as a result of their service in . . . the
Korean conflict or . . . the Vietnam conflict;
164 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

(H) ceasing the jamming of Voice of America broadcasts; and

(I) providing international human rights and humanitarian groups
access to prisoners, trials, and places of detention.62

Reaching Out to Clinton

China’s leaders scarcely needed any public encouragement in 1993 to take a
tough stand against Clinton. They were still highly upset with the United States
over Taiwan policy questions—particularly the sale of F-16s to Taiwan—and
were even rumored to be considering withdrawing their ambassador. They
were something less than charmed or encouraged by the election of the Arkan-
sas governor as president in November. Although Chinese leaders had been
unhappy with decisions President Bush had made in late 1992, they were even
more concerned with the statements Clinton had made during the campaign
and the signals they had received from him. Clinton’s campaign platform had
explicitly supported congressional plans to link China’s MFN status to im-
provements in its human rights, trade, and nonproliferation practices.63 Promi-
nent student leaders Chai Ling and Li Lu had appeared on the podium at the
Democratic National Convention, where they were cheered as heroes, and
another student activist, Zhao Haiching, president of the Chinese Students
Association, was known to have advised Clinton on China policy.64 Although
the Chinese government had not come out directly in support of George Bush’s
re-election, few American observers were in any doubt about its preference.
Nonetheless, Chinese leaders made carefully guarded efforts to reach out
to Clinton after his election. They sent brief and somewhat belated congratu-
lations to the president-elect on November 6. Vice Foreign Minister Liu
Huaqiu traveled to Washington in mid-November for quiet consultations
with congressional Democrats, including Senator David Boren of Oklahoma,
chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.65 Boren and Sena-
tor Claiborne Pell (chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee)
subsequently traveled to Beijing in early December, where Jiang Zemin, Qiao
Shi, and other senior leaders received them. They were given assurances that
China would cooperate with American investigators trying to account for
American fliers who might have crashed in China during the Vietnam War.
They were also permitted to travel to Tibet, if only for one day.66
Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado led a small House delega-
tion to Beijing at about the same time. Jiang chose the meeting with Schroeder
to use for the first time a sixteen-character slogan that he hoped would exem-
plify the relationship: “Increase mutual trust, reduce troubles, develop coop-
eration, and avoid confrontation” (zengjia xinren, jianshao mafan, fazhan
hezuo, bimian duikang).67
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 165

Both American delegations, however, warned the Chinese that the Clinton
administration was more likely to be tough and probably would allow Con-
gress to impose conditions on China’s MFN status. They recommended that
China make some goodwill gestures, such as an amnesty for Tiananmen po-
litical prisoners or permitting the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) to visit Chinese jails.68 Beijing’s leaders did not respond to those en-
treaties but did make some gestures, perhaps to see if they would be noticed.
Even before the delegations arrived, they had announced the purchase of 2
million tons of American wheat, after threatening to cut off all imports in the
wake of the F-16 sale.69 Neither delegation made mention of the sale. In
January 1993, the regime announced the release from prison of 1979 De-
mocracy Movement leader Wang Xizhe and Tiananmen activist Gao Shan.
The State Department noted briefly that it “welcomed the releases.”70 In
February, Wang Dan—a key student leader at Tiananmen who had been
first on Beijing’s wanted list in 1989—was released on parole, four months
ahead of schedule. Several other dissidents were released at the same time. In
March, Beijing released eighteen Catholic priests from long terms of impris-
onment and indicated to visiting Americans that it was interested in a “rea-
sonable” discussion of human rights.71 In May, as Clinton’s MFN decision
approached, Beijing released Xu Wenli, another prominent dissenter from
the Democracy Wall era. In each case, there was no official response from
Washington.

Linkage and Tension—The Human Rights Question

Winston Lord and NSC Senior Director Kent Wiedemann traveled to Beijing
in May for talks with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials. Press
accounts indicate they presented a fourteen-point list of concerns the United
States had with China’s policies, a list that corresponded closely to the four-
teen points in the Pelosi-Mitchell bill described above. The talks were con-
tentious and hard-edged and reached virtually no agreement on how to
proceed. Lord departed with a statement that “the Chinese certainly should
be under no illusions now of the seriousness of the situation and the fact that
conditions [to MFN] are very likely.” He said there would have to be “dra-
matic progress” in human rights, trade, and nonproliferation if sanctions
were to be avoided.72 Chinese officials issued no official statement but told
the Hong Kong press they were “prepared for the worst.” “No conditions
are acceptable to China,” said one trade official.73 Privately, Chinese officials
expressed anger and frustration at the visit, because it was arranged at the
last minute and because Lord provided no clear path for them to take to
avoid the humiliation of conditioned MFN.74 They sent back their own list of
166 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

seven demands they wanted the United States to address. Subsequently, there
were unsubstantiated reports that Jiang denounced the Lord visit at a Polit-
buro meeting, calling the fourteen points a “coercive ultimatum.”75
After a trip to Singapore, where they informed worried Asians that condi-
tions were likely to be attached to China’s MFN, Lord and Wiedemann re-
turned to Washington to finalize preparations for the joint congressional-
executive China policy pronouncement on MFN. They began the process of
converting a congressional action into an executive branch decision, namely,
an Executive Order, paring down the list of conditions and the standards by
which Chinese behavior would be judged. In hindsight, NSC deputy Berger
insisted they were aiming for a two-step, two-year process that would even-
tually “get to a point where we would have a human rights policy and a trade
policy, but not linking one to the other.” But the first step was getting the
policy initiative restored to the executive branch, free of a number of extra-
neous issues—such as labor standards, abortion, and nonproliferation—that
had attached themselves to congressional bills.76 This was still a very closely
held process, not handled within an Interagency Working Group context.
The economic agencies of the U.S. government—Treasury, Commerce, the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and even the National Eco-
nomic Council—were excluded from the policy formulation process. Lord
insisted that including them “wasn’t my mandate” from the White House.
“We had to have a deal before the hot-heads on either side knew what it was
about” and wanted very much to avoid leaks to the press.77
As the June 3 date required by law for the president to announce his deci-
sion on MFN drew near, Lord intensified his consultations on Capitol Hill
and received critical support from key House Democrats for the approach of
extending MFN for a one-year period via Executive Order and mandating
revocation the following year if certain human rights standards were not
achieved by the Chinese government. Besides leaving the initiative in the
hands of the executive branch, Lord’s proposal stripped out nonproliferation
and trade balance issues from the Executive Order, leaving it strictly a hu-
man rights–related document. The State Department and some members of
Congress praised the “spirit of cooperation” that underlay these efforts.78
Although the briefings and consultations went on at precisely the same time
as the president’s all-important budget plan was coming up for a vote in the
House, there was no evident political relationship between the two actions,
and it was very clear the president was far more engaged in the budget vote
than the China issue.
On May 28, 1993, the day after he won approval of his budget plan in the
House by a two-vote margin, President Clinton called key members of Con-
gress (pointedly, Senator Mitchell and Representative Pelosi), White House
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 167

and State Department officials, business leaders, representatives of human

rights organizations, and Chinese expatriate students to the White House for
the announcement of his signing Executive Order 12850, “Conditions for
Renewal of Most Favored Nation Status for the People’s Republic of China.”
Still reflecting his elation over the House budget vote, he observed how the
“annual battles between Congress and the Executive [over MFN] divided
our foreign policy and weakened our approach over China. It is time that a
unified American policy recognize both the value of China and the values of
America. Starting today, the United States will speak with one voice on China
policy. We no longer have an executive branch policy and a congressional
policy. We have an American policy.” Clinton noted how reform had begun
to change the face of China in hopeful ways but that the United States still
needed to express “our clear disapproval of its repressive policies.” After
briefly describing the seven conditions that would apply to the renewal of
MFN in 1994, he went on to discuss issues that had been excluded from the
Executive Order, particularly missile proliferation and trade balance prob-
lems, indicating that the administration intended to pursue a tougher policy
toward China across the board.79
Not surprisingly, the Executive Order bore a strong resemblance to the
Pelosi-Mitchell bill. It differed in that it gave the Chinese government, in
effect, a year’s grace period in which to revise its human rights policies. But
for the president to recommend extension again in 1994, he needed a recom-
mendation from the secretary of state that China had complied with the
standards of freedom of emigration contained in the Trade Act of 1974 and
with the 1992 Memorandum of Agreement on preventing Chinese prison
labor exports to the United States. (These two conditions were mandatory).
China also had to have made “overall, significant progress” in the follow-
ing areas:
—Adhering to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
—Releasing and accounting for persons imprisoned for expressing their
political or religious beliefs, including specifically those involved in Tiananmen;
—Permitting international humanitarian and human rights organizations
to have access to Chinese prisoners to ensure their humane treatment;
—“ Protecting Tibet’s distinctive religious and cultural heritage;” and
—Permitting international radio and television broadcasts into China (that
is, ceasing the jamming of Voice of America).80
Reaction to the Executive Order linking MFN extension and China’s hu-
man rights “performance” was mixed. Some in Congress wanted tougher
sanctions or even outright and immediate revocation. Others, such as Robert
Matsui of California and Lee Hamilton, chair of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, were wary of the president’s approach and would have preferred
168 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

unconditional renewal. But most were willing to go along with the president’s
criteria and approved his adoption of congressional standards for evaluating
China’s human rights record. Human rights organizations were appreciative
but distrustful of China’s ability to meet the conditions. Business interests
expressed concern about possible Chinese retaliation and losing competitive-
ness in the world’s potentially largest market. Editorial boards in New York
and Washington praised the decision modestly. Sinologists and U.S. govern-
ment China experts expressed skepticism, although a few indicated the presi-
dent was moving in the right direction. “Clinton has bought time,” observed
Pei Minxin, an expatriate student who had joined the faculty at Princeton
University, “but he has not dug his way out of his China problem.”81 Stapleton
Roy, U.S. ambassador to Beijing, thought the Executive Order was “doable.”
He was reasonably pleased that the conditions were not as onerous as he had
expected. “I thought they had defined them in a way that, properly inter-
preted, gave us a reasonable shot at trying to accomplish something. Al-
though it was going to be very difficult.”82
Beijing’s reaction was stern but not harsh. The Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs issued a statement on May 29, charging that the Executive Order
constituted an “open violation of the three joint communiqués and prin-
ciples of the trade agreement between the two countries, and serious inter-
ference in the internal politics of China. The Chinese Government expresses
its absolute opposition . . . and lodges a strong protest with the U.S. Gov-
ernment.” “China cannot accept” the conditioning of its MFN status and
believes “it can only seriously impair Sino-U.S. relations and their economic
and trade cooperation, which eventually will hurt the vital interests of the
United States.” It concluded with a hope that the United States will “size
up the situation, change its course and correct its erroneous practice.”83
Other Asian governments expressed views ranging from outright opposi-
tion to linkage to studied neutrality, with most opposing the principle of
linking trade and human rights.

A Summer of Discontent
Had the MFN issue been the only issue in dispute, there might have been
some hope for progress. But nearly the entire array of difficult bilateral issues
came up during the first few months of the Clinton administration. In Febru-
ary, a trade delegation from the USTR had visited China and presented a
very tough position on China’s prospects for getting into the General Agree-
ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and on its need to live up to the market
opening agreement it had signed with the Bush administration.84 In March,
the United States and several European nations sponsored a resolution criti-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 169

cal of China in the Vienna meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission,

one that China beat back through a procedural motion but which was em-
barrassing nonetheless.85 In April, President Clinton met informally with the
Dalai Lama in the White House, ignoring a sharp Chinese protest.86
After Lord’s visit in early May, reports began to circulate in Hong Kong
of serious military dissatisfaction with China’s “passive” foreign policy in
the face of American provocations. According to Cheng Ming magazine—
which has a very uneven record for accurate reporting of “insider” politics in
China—116 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals wrote a letter to Deng
Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, complaining that China’s policy of forbearance
and compromise with the United States had “impaired the dignity of the
Chinese people and damaged the image of the Chinese nation.” They de-
manded the Chinese government “resolutely and forcefully to hit back at the
rude acts of interference, subversion, and extortion by the U.S. hegemonists.”87
Although the details of the story are open to question, its broad circulation in
different forms suggests it represented a political reality: “that since late 1992
the PLA has lobbied long and hard for a tougher response to perceived U.S.
transgressions against China.”88
As the Clinton administration’s “human rights foreign policy” emerged,
Beijing was facing the possible failure of the tactics it had taken toward hu-
man rights ever since Tiananmen. China had pursued an approach to human
rights that was complex and nuanced, focused on keeping international pres-
sure at bay through a combination of resistance and compromise. As one
American observer saw it, China’s “mix of policies was designed simulta-
neously to rally Third World support, especially in multilateral settings; to
appeal to advocates of realpolitik in the West; and to construct policy dilem-
mas for human rights advocates.”89 Now, however, it appeared that, with
George Bush defeated, the principal American practitioner of realpolitik was
gone, and the new administration did not seem fully aware of the costs China
could impose if the U.S. government revoked China’s MFN status. In May,
the Chinese upped the ante, issuing warnings of retaliation against U.S. cor-
porations if MFN were lost, while at the same time appealing to Washington
to recognize the importance of good trade relations to both sides.
But if the Chinese believed they could work with Washington to find a
harmonious compromise, subsequent events caused them to reconsider. The
issue that seemed to have the most negative impact on Chinese views of the
United States involved Beijing’s bid to host the Olympic Games in the year
2000. China first announced its intention to compete for the honor in Janu-
ary 1993 and began an international and domestic campaign of great inten-
sity to persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to approve its
bid. Other contenders were Berlin, Brasilia, Istanbul, Manchester (England),
170 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

and Sydney. Banners appeared all over the capital, stickers in every taxi,
advertisements in newspapers, and posters on every blank wall, saying “Beijing
2000” and “A More Open China Awaits the 2000 Olympics.” Special ef-
forts were made during the IOC selection committee visits to persuade them
that China had the spirit and the capability to carry out all the tasks required
of an Olympics host. Chinese officials promised to spend $7 billion on infra-
structure development, including a fourth ring road and new highway to the
airport, to eliminate Beijing’s chronic coal-dust pollution, and to pay all ath-
lete expenses, including travel. China even released its most controversial
dissident—Wei Jingsheng—just a week before the IOC vote in September.90
Tiananmen leader Wang Dan publicly supported Beijing’s bid with an article
in the New York Times. One Beijing official, in a moment of excessive can-
dor, promised, “Neither now nor in the future will there emerge in Beijing
organizations opposing Beijing’s bid and the hosting of the 2000 Olympiad.”91
These sentiments—along with the appointment of Beijing mayor and
Tiananmen hard-liner Chen Xitong as chairman of China’s Olympic Bid
Committee—stirred up growing opposition outside of China, and especially
in the United States. U.S. nongovernment organizations (NGOs), such as
Human Rights Watch, began a concerted campaign to persuade the IOC not
to approve China’s bid and American corporations not to sponsor the games
if it succeeded. Editorialists and pundits railed against Beijing, comparing it
to Nazi Germany in using the 1936 Olympics as a showcase for its tyranny,
and making the case that, because of its human rights record, China did not
“deserve” the Olympics. Both houses of the U.S. Congress took up resolu-
tions opposing the selection of Beijing and urging the U.S. IOC representa-
tives to vote against it. The House passed the resolution on July 26 (287-99),
while the Senate settled for a letter, signed by 60 of its members, sent directly
to the IOC selection committee. Even some American IOC members found
those actions inappropriate. The Chinese were outraged, denouncing the ac-
tions as “gross interference” and an “insult” to the Chinese people.92
When the IOC voted on September 23, China led in the first three rounds,
then lost to Sydney by two votes after Manchester withdrew and its support-
ers switched their votes to the Australian bid. The Beijing Olympic Commit-
tee reacted appropriately and promised China would not boycott the 1996
Atlanta Olympics. But Chinese propagandists used the decision to heighten
their campaign of opposing American pressure. And because of the intense
publicity and sense of letdown after the results were announced, Chinese
around the country expressed a strong sense of grievance at the United States.
Not inclined to accept American criticism of China’s human rights situation
in the first place, Chinese citizens tended to share the government’s view that
the Olympic defeat had been carefully orchestrated to humiliate China.93
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 171

“This exercise of ‘leverage,’ more than any single event, convinced students,
intellectuals, and ordinary Chinese alike that the United States opposed China,
not [just] the Chinese government.”94

Nonproliferation Battles

Structurally, U.S.-China disputes over the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction were similar to disagreements over human rights. Substantively,
the two sides had a fundamentally different understanding of the nature of
the problem. Strong and vocal constituencies in the United States demanded
action, which usually consisted of congressionally mandated economic sanc-
tions against those countries that sold weapons. Executive branch policy con-
sisted of sequential efforts to impose and lift sanctions and a concerted effort
to get the Chinese to accept and implement international standards for weap-
ons sales. In the circumstances, it is not surprising that the results—or lack of
them—were also similar.
Nonproliferation was one of the Clinton administration’s highest-priority
concerns, and the NSC was eager to get off to a strong start. For that reason,
it held over key Bush administration officials who had developed expertise in
the issue. Daniel Poneman, who had worked the issue in the Bush White
House, stayed on and was given the new title of senior director for nonprolif-
eration and export controls, while Robert Gallucci and Robert Einhorn re-
mained, respectively, assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary of
state for political-military affairs, handling nonproliferation issues. Lynn
Davis, formerly of RAND, a defense issues think tank, was confirmed in
April as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security
affairs, the position that was delegated the authority—from the president
through the secretary—for making decisions on imposing nonproliferation
sanctions.
Even before her confirmation, Davis was under pressure from Congress
about China’s nonproliferation activities. Not long after her confirmation,
she was called on to testify before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
hearing, after CIA analysts had briefed the evidence on reported 1992 M-11
shipments. Davis and Gallucci were careful in their remarks about missile
sales to Pakistan to remind senators that there was no definitive proof of the
allegations, although they allowed that the “weight of the evidence” against
China was significant.95 Members were in no mood to split hairs on the rules
of evidence, however, and demanded the administration take tough action to
deal with China’s behavior. In his press conference announcing the condi-
tional extension of MFN, the president vowed to “take action” if the allega-
tions were proved true.
172 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

As late as July, the administration was still reported to be divided between

those who found the evidence conclusive and thought it should trigger sanc-
tions, and those who believed a high standard of proof was necessary before
invoking the costly sanctions required, which would have economic and po-
litical repercussions. Gordon Oehler, director of the CIA’s Nonproliferation
Center, told Washington Times reporters, “There is no question about what
our views are,” a remark that drew criticism from Einhorn, who insisted the
judgment on M-11s was still a “work in progress.”96 The agency testimony
also persuaded members that entire missiles were present in Pakistan (not
just components), which required the imposition of so-called category I sanc-
tions against China.97
Media commentary on this issue has usually portrayed the divisions as
being between those committed to expunging weapons of mass destruction
and punishing proliferators on the one side, and “business lobbyists” and
China sympathizers on the other. As Washington Post commentator Lally
Weymouth put it, “Most senior intelligence officials agree there is sufficient
proof that China has shipped M-11 intermediate-range missiles to Pakistan,
thereby violating . . . the Missile Technology Control Regime . . . To date, the
Clinton administration has maintained that the evidence is strong—but not
conclusive enough to act against China. American business interests are push-
ing Clinton toward a softer line on China: Businessmen point out that China
will soon be a key market for U.S. exports.”98
In fact, the issue was far more complex, involving congressional legisla-
tion and a Chinese government that were equally cumbersome and inflex-
ible. The legislation was interpreted by the State Department to require, for
example, that State Department officials pay no heed to the consequences of
imposing the sanctions—for example, whether they would further U.S. non-
proliferation goals or harm U.S. business interests—but simply enforce them
if clear evidence of a violation of MTCR guidelines was discovered.99 State
Department and NSC officials in 1993 were fairly certain that the Chinese
had shipped M-11 equipment to Pakistan, whether in retaliation for F-16
sales to Taiwan or for other reasons. Photographic evidence was not avail-
able, but other indications were plentiful and credible. But decisionmakers
reviewing the issue—many of them lawyers—considered that a standard of
“beyond reasonable doubt” was appropriate for deciding an issue with such
important consequences and repercussions. And the evidence presented was
not irrefutable.100
Moreover, past experience had shown that full imposition of sanctions
against China would not prevent further M-11 shipments but probably cause
more to be sold. Administration officials also knew that China probably
would suspend whatever bilateral agreements were in place with regard to
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 173

other nonproliferation issues, and all further progress would cease until the
sanctions were lifted by the United States. China’s record on nonprolifera-
tion issues was by no means admirable at that point, but the general trend
had been one of improvement. China had signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) in 1992 and had agreed to abide by the MTCR that same year. In
1993, it had signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, regulating the sale
of dangerous compounds and reagents used to manufacture chemical or bio-
logical weapons. No one was eager to scrap that hard-won progress just to
impose unilateral sanctions.
The only other option available to the Clinton administration to resolve
the dilemma of imposing mandatory sanctions was to find that China had
violated the MTCR but waive the sanctions under a “national security” clause
available under the law. Given China’s poor reputation in all other areas,
that option was not considered feasible. The notion that the president would
waive justifiable sanctions for a country that many in both Congress and the
executive branch considered a gross human rights violator and conscious
proliferator was simply too distasteful. Consultations with the Chinese were
tried instead, with Undersecretary Davis traveling to Beijing in mid-July to
ascertain whether the Chinese government was willing to provide informa-
tion about the suspected shipment. Davis’s mission was to present the Chi-
nese with something of a Hobson’s choice: either admit that it had shipped
the missiles to Pakistan (for which it would be sanctionable) or face sanc-
tions.101 The Chinese chose not to play, dismissing all charges relating to M-
11s as “unfounded” and refusing to discuss nonproliferation unless the United
States agreed to talk about its own proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-
tion (namely, F-16 fighters) to Taiwan.
Faced with Chinese stone walling, intelligence community certainty, and
the demands of U.S. law, the State Department—after lengthy deliberation
internally and with approval from the NSC—decided on August 25 to im-
pose category II sanctions on China for the shipment of undisclosed equip-
ment to Pakistan in 1992. The sanctions amounted to a two-year ban on
export licenses for American corporations selling advanced electronics and
satellite technology to China, a trade worth upward of $500 million a year.
The sanctions could be expanded to include Chinese exports to the United
States if further investigation showed entire missiles had been shipped. Ameri-
can high-tech corporations complained, publicly and privately, that the re-
strictions would cost thousands of American jobs but would do little real
damage to China.102
China’s reaction, nonetheless, was shrill. It denied the accusations, be-
rated a “wrong judgment” based on “inaccurate intelligence” and denounced
the decision as a “naked hegemonic act.” Vice Minister Liu Huaqiu called in
174 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

the U.S. ambassador and threatened to reverse China’s 1992 agreement to

abide by the MTCR. “Now that the U.S. side has resumed these sanctions,”
Liu was reported to have said, “the Chinese government has been left with
no alternatives but to reconsider its commitment.”103 While no one believed
China would undertake new efforts to sell missiles, its reaction was seen as a
step backward and contributed to the general deterioration of relations at
the time.
China’s October 5 detonation of a small nuclear weapon at its under-
ground nuclear test site gave further evidence of the costs of the deterioration
of the bilateral nonproliferation dialogue. While Beijing had indicated it would
be prepared to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, its decision
to break the informal moratorium among the nuclear powers was seen as a
response to U.S. sanctions and a reminder that it was capable of derailing
larger American nonproliferation efforts. The most worrisome result of the
Chinese test was a brief period of very public pressure to resume testing in
France and the United States.
Given its desire to not lose whatever cooperation was available on non-
proliferation issues, the State Department proposed to the Chinese a return
to constructive dialogue, with a specific end goal in mind: China would prom-
ise not to export M-11 missiles to Pakistan, in return for which the United
States would lift the August sanctions.104 The impetus for this offer was the
hope to have a nonproliferation “deliverable” for the November 1993 Clinton-
Jiang summit at Blake Island. To sweeten the deal, the United States ap-
proved the license for a supercomputer for China’s national weather service
and offered to lift the sanctions on certain satellites to be launched on Chi-
nese carrier rockets. In private sessions, the Chinese expressed mild interest
in the proposal but insisted that the United States must drop the sanctions
first, and China would consider a positive response afterward. The deadlock
persisted for another year.

The Peculiar Voyage of the S.S. Yin He

On July 15, 1993, the Chinese containership Yin He (Milky Way), regis-
tered to the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), made its way south
along the Chinese coast on a voyage into controversy. Early in its journey,
U.S. intelligence received a report that the 21,000-ton vessel—bound for Hong
Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, and ports in the Middle East—was carrying a large
quantity of chemicals used in the production of chemical and nerve gas weap-
ons and banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention. According to the
U.S. information, which reportedly was a cargo manifest, the suspect chemi-
cals—thiodiglycol and thionyl chloride—were bound for the port of Bandar
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 175

Abbas, Iran, where they would possibly be used in that country’s worrisome
chemical weapons program.105
Reports of Chinese violating yet another nonproliferation agreement were
greeted with alarm and anger in the White House. Shortly after receiving the
report, Senior Director for Nonproliferation Daniel Poneman convened a
classified videoconference to discuss the report and what to do about it with
nonproliferation experts in the State Department, Defense Department, Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and various parts of the intelligence community. A lawyer by
training, Poneman questioned the intelligence experts in detail and repeat-
edly about the reliability of the reporting. Reassured of their strong confi-
dence in the validity of the information, he reported the matter formally to
Berger and Lake. After consultations with Christopher and Aspin, it was
decided to have Embassy Beijing deliver a démarche to the Chinese Foreign
Ministry in general terms (not revealing details or sources), asking them to
investigate the allegations and order the ship back to its home port. Ambas-
sador Roy delivered the démarche on July 23, and received the customary
assurances that China did not violate international agreements.106
Later, as the Yin He left Singapore and headed into the Indian Ocean, it
was closely shadowed by U.S. Navy vessels. The surveillance was neither
unobtrusive nor gentle, and although no attempt was made to halt or board
the ship, that possibility was raised with the Chinese government. It was
rebuffed. Ambassador Roy told the Chinese that the ship would not be per-
mitted to unload its cargo unless and until it was searched. On August 4,
Assistant Foreign Minister Qin Huasun summoned him to the ministry to
inform him that the government had thoroughly investigated the U.S. claims
and found them to be without validity. The suspect chemicals were not aboard
the Yin He, and China was willing to allow a neutral port inspection to verify
the matter. U.S. intelligence officials dismissed Qin’s statement as a “big
bluff,” and the surveillance continued. The U.S. Navy made clear it would
not permit the vessel to dock at Bandar Abbas, and none of Iran’s neighbors
was willing to allow it to put into port for inspection.107
On August 7, the Chinese went public with the problem. Xinhua publi-
cized the content of Qin Huasun’s August 4 counterdémarche to Ambassa-
dor Roy, complaining about U.S. Navy harassment of the Yin He. In unusual
detail, the news account cited the vice foreign minister’s accusation that “ar-
bitrary” U.S. actions had “prevented the Chinese ship from reaching her
scheduled ports, . . . forced [it] to be adrift on the high sea, subjected to such
extraordinary activities of interruption and coercion, including pursuit and
photography by U.S. warships and military aircraft.” The article claimed
China had offered to have the ship inspected once it reached port, but the
United States had refused. Qin rebutted the specific charges in the earlier
176 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

U.S. démarche and claimed the U.S. information was “fabricated.” He was
also cited as accusing the United States of “unjustifiable bullyism,” tarnish-
ing China’s reputation, damaging its relations with other countries, endan-
gering the ship’s crew, and causing “great economic loss” to China.108 Stung,
the U.S. Navy and the State Department denied they were harassing the ship
or pressuring any of the Persian Gulf states to refuse docking privileges.
For the next three weeks, the Yin He anchored at various points in the
Persian Gulf, refused permission to dock by any of the emirates, while the
diplomatic battle between Washington and Beijing escalated. Intelligence
officials in the United States backgrounded the press on the “tens of tons” of
dangerous chemicals aboard the ship, “bound for Iran’s chemical weapons
plants.”109 Warren Christopher insisted, “We’re determined to inspect the
ship” to make sure the chemicals were not “delivered into the wrong hands.”110
China published increasingly detailed rebuttals of American charges, and its
leaders began to issue personal assurances that the chemicals were not aboard
the ship.
Jiang Zemin told a visiting representative, Gary Ackerman, on August 13
that there were no illegal chemicals on the Yin He, but the message did not
get through. He repeated the message for a larger congressional delegation
on August 18, but the delegates hardly mentioned it to the press, intent as
they were to report their own objections to China’s human rights practices.111
Stapleton Roy took note, however, and reported back through channels that
Jiang’s statements ought to be given credence, since an inspection proving
him wrong would be extremely damaging to his reputation.112 Washington
was not interested in Jiang Zemin’s reputation, however. Those who were
driving the decisionmaking process were mostly nonproliferation specialists
determined to make an example of China and cut into its all-too-active pres-
ence on the illicit or dual-use chemicals market. Anthony Lake recollected
being skeptical, but he did not feel he would have been able to tell the intel-
ligence community they would “take a pass” on the issue. It was too high
profile and had proceeded too far; it had to be carried through. And the
intelligence community remained certain of its information, dismissing Jiang’s
statements.113
After considerable wrangling over the particulars of an inspection, the Yin
He finally docked at Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on August 27, and was boarded
by a joint Chinese and Saudi Arabian inspection team (China refused to al-
low Americans aboard the ship but acquiesced in a sizable group of Ameri-
can chemical weapons experts being available in Dammam to advise the
Saudis on what to look for). For an entire week, they searched every one of
the 782 containers aboard the Yin He, checked all the ship’s paperwork and
logs, looking for the two dozen containers of thiodiglycol and thionyl chlo-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 177

ride the Americans said was aboard or evidence that they had ever been
aboard. There was no trace of the chemicals. On September 4, Chinese, Saudi,
and American representatives signed a certification that no chemical weap-
ons–related reagents were aboard the vessel.
China’s chief representative on the inspection team, Foreign Ministry
Deputy Department Director Sha Zukang, insisted, “The Chinese side has
every reason to demand that the U.S. side apologize in public, compensate its
loss and pledge not to create such incidents in the future.” State Department
spokesman Mike McCurry, however, only allowed that the “inconvenience”
to the ship and the Chinese and Saudi governments was “unfortunate.” “The
dangers of proliferation require us to pursue effective means of resolving
concerns when credible evidence of destabilizing transfers occurs.”114 Intelli-
gence officials continued to insist that their evidence was rock solid and that
the Chinese had had plenty of time to figure out a way to dispose of twenty-
four containers of hazardous chemicals.115
In the Washington policy community, however, the intelligence agencies—
and particularly the Central Intelligence Agency and the Nonproliferation
Center—suffered a serious loss of credibility and prestige. Their mistake had
caused a major international incident and considerable embarrassment to
the president and secretary of state. Policymakers already highly sensitive to
the double pressure of intelligence agencies and congressional committees
seeming to act in coordination became more suspicious of policy “agendas”
developed by intelligence information. Intelligence analysts already skeptical
of policymakers they suspected did not want to hear bad news about China’s
nonproliferation activities found themselves even more “out in the cold,”
having sworn near-absolute confidence in information that turned out to be
completely wrong.
What had happened? Theories abound—that the Chinese dumped the cargo
in the sea, that it was all a setup designed to embarrass the intelligence com-
munity. The most plausible scenario, however, remains that the chemicals
were scheduled to be shipped aboard the Yin He but did not arrive at the port
in time for the ship’s scheduled departure and so were left behind. In their
eagerness to prove the Chinese guilty of something, intelligence analysts failed
to account for time and tide and presented policymakers with “actionable
intelligence” that was erroneous. When indicators showed up that should
have led to questioning earlier data, they were not sufficiently analyzed and
were too readily discounted.

Slowing the Slide?

Both sides now appeared to realize that the constant ratcheting up of ten-
sions was bringing the relationship to a near crisis, and both took steps at
178 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

about the same time to stabilize a deteriorating situation and calm internal
schisms about where the relationship should be going. In Washington, Win-
ston Lord at the State Department, Chas Freeman at the Defense Depart-
ment, and Kent Wiedemann at the NSC all concurred that a new tactical
approach was needed. In their view, the limitations on meeting with senior
Chinese officials, or allowing American Cabinet-level officials to travel to
China, were having a harmful effect on nearly every aspect of American
policy, for the simple reason that lines of communication were not operat-
ing. Beginning in July, they had been preparing the groundwork for a presi-
dential decision in support of what Lord initially called “enhanced
engagement.”116 As Lord later described the policy, it was designed to allow
the United States to address a growing number of discrete bilateral problems
with China, including military issues, with “high-level meetings, much more
intensified dialogue, negotiations, and visits back and forth with China.”117
The new approach was discussed at Principals Committee meetings in July
and August and was finalized as an “action” Memorandum for the President
from the National Security Adviser, which he approved in mid-September.
The key elements of the new engagement approach were the presidential
summit at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a series
of visits to China by senior American officials, including Agriculture Secre-
tary Mike Espy, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, and Assistant Secretary
of Defense Chas Freeman, who was to reopen the military-to-military chan-
nel, closed since Tiananmen. Lake briefed Ambassador Li Daoyu on the new
policy in late September, and Secretary Christopher did the same for Foreign
Minister Qian when they met in New York for the UN General Assembly
meeting.118 Most important, however, Christopher delivered a letter from
President Clinton to President Jiang, inviting him to attend the first-ever “lead-
ers meeting” of the APEC forum in November on Blake Island, Washington,
and to have a private “summit” meeting at the same time.119
Although Beijing leaders appeared to welcome the change in the Ameri-
cans’ approach to the relationship, they remained skeptical and distrustful of
American intentions. Moreover, the impact of the “new” American approach
may have been offset by China’s reaction to speeches made by Secretary of
State Christopher and National Security Adviser Lake in late September. The
two speeches, undertaken in response to growing criticism in the United States
that the Clinton administration’s foreign policy lacked focus, were intended
to provide a strategic framework and unified set of goals for American for-
eign policy. Controversial in the United States, they were cause for alarm in
China.
Christopher addressed isolationism and American leadership in his Sep-
tember 20 speech at Columbia University. “The United States chooses en-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 179

gagement . . . We must reject isolationism for the dangerous argument that it

is. We must renew our commitment to internationalism, which has served us
so well for 50 years . . . The end of the Cold War . . . has left the United States
with a continuing responsibility—and a unique capacity—to provide leader-
ship.” Although he did not mention China in the speech, he replied to a
questioner afterward, describing the bilateral relationship as being in a state
of “testing and watching,” particularly on human rights.120
Lake’s speech the following day was broader in scope and marked the first
time any senior U.S. policymaker had tried to set out a comprehensive vision
of American policy goals in the post–cold war world. Lake insisted that en-
gagement was not enough and that America needed to convey a sense of
purpose and mission for its foreign policy. Lake’s speech described an Ameri-
can strategy of “engagement and enlargement.” Positing democracy and
market economics as America’s “core values,” he declared the highest prior-
ity of U.S. doctrine in the post–cold war world should be “to strengthen the
core of major market democracies, the bonds among them and their sense of
common interest,” and “to minimize the ability of states outside the circle of
democracy and markets to threaten it.”121 From the Chinese perspective, Lake
laid out a worrisome U.S. approach of aggressively pursuing its economic
interests as a strategic imperative, expanding the number and importance of
democracies around the world, and isolating what he called “backlash”
states—those who threaten the “circle of democracy.”122 In discussing “back-
lash states,” Lake lumped together Iran and Iraq, Burma, North Korea, and
China. Although he later insisted he did not intend to equate China with Iran
and Iraq, and did refer to China as a country that was “opting for liberaliza-
tion,” his speech was widely interpreted, in China and among American
sinologists, to convey an antagonistic attitude toward Beijing.123 “Our policy
toward such states,” he said, “must seek to isolate them diplomatically, mili-
tarily, economically, and technologically. It must stress intelligence, counter-
terrorism, and multilateral export controls. It also must apply global norms
regarding weapons of mass destruction and ensure their enforcement.”124
Lake’s address seemed to put the otherwise unconnected U.S. actions over
the summer into an understandable context and probably began tipping the
balance of the debate in China about what U.S. strategic intentions toward
China really were. According to Hong Kong press reports, military and con-
servative criticism of China’s weak reaction to the Yin He incident and mis-
sile sanctions had led to another high-level meeting in early September, at
which Jiang Zemin reiterated Deng’s policy of “not seeking confrontation,
not provoking confrontation, [but also] not avoiding confrontation and not
fearing confrontation.”125 Deng’s policy of continuing to try and work with
the United States was maintained. But a harder edge began to appear more
180 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

regularly. China’s think tanks and strategic writers began talking more openly
and frequently about America pursuing a policy of “containment” toward
China. Curiously, the arguments were in some ways driven by economic
rather than purely strategic perceptions. With China’s GDP predicted to sur-
pass that of the United States at some point in the twenty-first century, some
Chinese commentators concluded that the United States would be forced to
contain China to maintain its position as the world’s strongest economy.
Thus the new engagement policy was confusing to Chinese and to Ameri-
can policy officials. The first visits went smoothly, and China appeared to
welcome the new American approach. But a significant difference in the tone
and attitude became evident between meetings run by the different agencies
of the U.S. government. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy talked about im-
proving agricultural trade during his October visit, while Charlene Barshefsky,
assistant U.S. trade representative, laid out American dissatisfaction with
China’s adherence to the market access agreement signed in 1992 and threat-
ened punitive action against Chinese evasion of textile quotas. Assistant Sec-
retary of Defense Chas Freeman’s November trip brought the symbolic end
of ostracism of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), with his cordial and
substantive meetings with top military leaders.
But human rights remained the dominant issue in the relationship, and the
State Department kept a tight grip on it. Although the Executive Order had
made clear the importance of China’s human rights performance for the fu-
ture of the relationship, it contained no benchmarks or standards for how
the required “overall, significant improvement” would be evaluated. Despite
several attempts, the embassy could not obtain any guidance to pass along to
the Chinese on what actions on their part would enable them to “get over the
bar” on the Executive Order’s conditions. Ambassador Roy attributed this
drawback to a lack of attention to the issue and to divisions within the State
Department between those who favored a strict reliance on human rights
factors in determining the course of bilateral relations and those who viewed
the relationship in a broader context.126 Among the former was John Shattuck,
assistant secretary of state for human rights and humanitarian affairs, who
was the first visitor to China under the new “engagement” approach.
Shattuck had planned an early summer trip to Beijing to begin a dialogue
on the Executive Order and China’s human rights situation, but his travel
was put off by China because of the deteriorating overall relationship and
Shattuck’s insistence on traveling to Tibet. When he finally was permitted to
go in mid-October, he received a chilly reception from Qin Huasun, the as-
sistant foreign minister responsible for handling human rights issues, and a
carefully scripted and monitored trip to Tibet. He warned the Chinese as he
left that “as things stand now,” the president would not be able to extend
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 181

MFN, because there had been “little or no human rights progress in China
since last June.”127
The basis for making that judgment is unclear, but it was probably based on
two criteria. One was the quantifiable elements of China’s human rights situa-
tion, such as prisoners released or accounted for, new arrests, emigration cases
pending, percentage of VOA broadcasts blocked, whether or not Chinese offi-
cials had met with ICRC representatives or Tibetan leaders, and so on. The
other was subjective reporting on conditions in China from official and nonof-
ficial American sources. Although the priority placed on human rights report-
ing had increased for State Department officers after Clinton’s election, personnel
resources were still thin. Only one officer, for example, worked full time on
human rights issues at the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

First Summit

With the relationship continuing to be viewed with hostility and suspicion in

many quarters in the PRC, Jiang approached his November 19 meeting with
Clinton cautiously. Beijing had taken some steps to ease the atmospherics
somewhat. In a meeting in Washington in early November, Vice Foreign
Minister Liu Huaqiu told Undersecretary of State Peter Tarnoff that China
was “seriously considering” a U.S. offer to lift the August sanctions on M-11
missile deliveries to Pakistan in return for a detailed and binding promise by
Beijing not to ship such missiles or components in the future.128 Qian Qichen
announced on November 10 that China would give “positive consideration”
to permitting the ICRC to visit Chinese prisons to evaluate conditions, one of
the areas in which “overall significant progress” had been demanded. State
acknowledged it was one of the criteria for judgment and noted that simply
engaging in “serious” talks toward the goal of ICRC visits might be suffi-
cient, since the ICRC’s requirements were stringent and might not be quickly
met. At the same time, however, Qian made clear China’s rejection of the
principle of linking human rights and trade. “This method is a means left
over from the Cold War. It is a means to exert pressure, and therefore one
cannot expect China to accept this,” he told reporters.129 For Jiang, the meet-
ing with Clinton was a critical appearance. Still untested and considered a
Deng puppet and a consensus seeker without strong views of his own, Jiang
had a complex and nearly impossible agenda for the scheduled one-hour
meeting. He had to show himself as a tough and determined leader, reflect
the growing anger of the collective Chinese leadership at the shabby treat-
ment of China by the United States, defend China’s positions (especially on
sensitive human rights issues), but at the same time encourage the American
182 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

leader to take a more balanced, long-term approach to China and establish

some personal rapport with him. He told reporters before departing on No-
vember 17, “I hope, through my meeting with President Clinton, that we will
enhance mutual understanding, . . . handle Sino-U.S. relations from a long-
term perspective, so as to put this relationship on a normal track and to have
a new start.”130
Clinton was under similar pressure. As the summit approached, the vol-
ume of media criticism of China on human rights grounds increased. Mary
McGrory of the Washington Post charged China with “escalating its gross
and egregious human rights practices,” and Jim Hoagland recommended that
Clinton squeeze Jiang’s hand “hard enough to produce results” on the hu-
man rights and other agendas.131 Wei Jingsheng sent out an op-ed article to
U.S. newspapers charging Clinton with abandoning “policies of pressure in
favor of a policy of persuasion . . . a misguided shift.”132 Asia Watch pub-
lished a thirty-eight-page pamphlet entitled “China in 1993—One More Year
of Political Repression.” Christopher and Lord testified before separate con-
gressional hearings that China had not made sufficient progress to date to
qualify for MFN extension in 1994.133 Nancy Pelosi and 269 other members
of Congress wrote an open letter to Clinton, urging him to press Jiang harder
on issues pertaining to Tibet, where there had been “no sign of improve-
ment” since Clinton signed the Executive Order.134 Pelosi, by then head of
the Congressional Working Group on China, even advised Clinton not to
smile or greet Jiang too effusively when they met at the summit.135
Clinton followed the advice, and the meeting between the two presidents
at the APEC meeting in Blake Island on November 19, 1993, was somber
and stiff. Jiang appeared nervous and seemed to address most of his remarks
at the Chinese officials who accompanied him rather than at his American
interlocutors. But Clinton also was clearly looking to convey to the Ameri-
can audience an image of seriousness of purpose and of disdain for China’s
human rights policies and so held his natural gregariousness in check—
particularly when photographers were around.
American participants would later describe the meeting as “terrible.” Jiang
read endlessly from prepared talking points, complaining about American
policy and responding to Clinton’s question about China’s economy with a
long-winded lecture.136 Clinton was unimpressed, and the American media
amplified his displeasure by claiming he had been “stiffed” by the Chinese
leader, who gave nothing on human rights. Jiang and his staff, however,
were elated, not so much by the summit as by the exposure he got and the
way he handled himself. Chinese media were full of praise for his “prin-
cipled” approach, and senior military officers declared themselves “proud of
and inspired by Comrade Jiang Zemin.”137 By their criteria, Jiang had been
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 183

successful—he had been tough, delivered the right lines, gave away nothing,
but had made the contact and got the photo op.

Negotiating MFN
There is no way of knowing how the MFN linkage story would have turned
out had not the United States chosen to alter course and move toward
delinkage in late 1993 and early 1994. Most American accounts of events
give the Chinese more credit than they probably deserve for understanding
and manipulating political dynamics in the United States. Some analyses, for
example, assert that Beijing leaders knew Clinton would not “pull the trig-
ger” and revoke MFN and that Beijing had a well-defined strategy to force
Clinton to back down. That strategy, according to David Lampton, was to
activate the American business community and threaten loss of China’s enor-
mous market if MFN were revoked, to make some large “teaser” purchases
from prominent corporations, to release a few high-profile dissidents and
promise more, and to work carefully and cooperatively on some important
international issues, such as Cambodia and North Korea.138 Chinese officials
and academics are happy to claim retrospective credit for that sophisticated
an understanding of how delinkage would work. But there is little in the
record of China’s actions and interactions with Washington during that pe-
riod to suggest that fine a calculus of cause and consequence was in opera-
tion. The Chinese government probably was operating in accordance with its
understanding of Deng’s principles of international affairs—seek mutual re-
spect, reject efforts to interfere in China’s domestic affairs, keep economic
lines open—and implementing them as flexibly as possible, “crossing the
river by feeling the stones.”
Following the Clinton-Jiang summit, the Chinese seemed to adopt a rela-
tively optimistic and cooperative stance toward solving bilateral difficulties.
Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen visited Beijing in January to deal with imple-
mentation problems on a 1992 agreement to end export to the United States
of products made by China’s prison labor system.139 Chinese observers, of
course, took pains to point out that, while Americans complained about
China’s implementation of its laws against exporting prison labor products,
the United States had no such laws of its own. But all in all, the visit went
smoothly, and the two sides signed an additional Memorandum of Under-
standing allowing for more visits by U.S. Customs officials to suspected fa-
cilities and more effective reporting on such inspections. That appeared to be
enough to satisfy one of the mandatory requirements of the Executive Order
of 1993, but American officials were not willing to make such a statement, as
it would be up to the secretary of state to decide the matter.
184 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

China took other steps to begin meeting some of the requirements of the
Executive Order. In January, Chinese officials invited the International Com-
mittee of the Red Cross to Beijing for detailed discussion on the ICRC’s
standard “mandate” for making visits to political prisoners. Neither side
revealed details of the discussions, but they agreed to meet again, and the
visit was considered a positive indication of China’s seriousness about ad-
dressing U.S. concerns. Jiang Zemin met with House Majority Leader Rich-
ard Gephardt and former president George Bush and indicated clearly that
China was going to “make an effort” to address the Clinton administration’s
concerns, within China’s “legal limits.”140 China released two prominent Ti-
betan dissidents in January and promised a U.S. human rights activist that
more prisoners would be freed during the Spring Festival in February.
Ambassador Roy believed the United States needed to establish some spe-
cific goals for the Chinese to attain a judgment of “overall significant progress”
and made his view known to New York Times reporter Patrick Tyler early in
1994 (as he had done through channels to Lord and Shattuck). While he did
not present a view on the overall human rights situation, Roy said China had
made “dramatic” progress in improving the lives of its citizens, which “should
be taken into account” when the United States reviews its qualifications for
MFN. Asked if China had met the standards for “overall significant progress,”
Roy was blunt. “I can’t answer those questions, because the Administration is
going to have to define what it views as significant progress,” he told Tyler.141
Shattuck and others were furious at Roy for “undercutting” U.S. policy
and demanded a transcript of the interview for a review. Representative Tom
Lantos wrote a letter to Lord demanding to know if he agreed with Roy,
while human rights activists talked of a plot to let China off lightly. Someone
leaked a draft of the State Department’s annual human rights report on China,
which concluded that “China did not make significant progress in curbing
widespread abuses last year.”142 The State Department investigated Roy’s
interview for more than a week, during which time the ambassador demanded
to be exonerated or dismissed. Department spokesperson Christine Shelley
finally tried to end the controversy by affirming Roy’s experience and high
reputation within the department, denying there was any difference between
his position and the secretary’s, then stating flatly that China had not made
“the kind of progress that we’re looking for in terms of conditions that have
been set for a renewal of MFN . . . It’s clear that there is still a long way to
go.”143 Christopher repudiated Roy without naming him on a television pro-
gram two days later, saying it was “not my position” that China’s economic
progress justified easing up on human rights issues.144
Christopher met Foreign Minister Qian again in Paris in late January and
warned him sternly that China had not “made enough progress to justify my
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 185

saying that there has been ‘significant overall progress.’”145 In response, Qian
reiterated China’s opposition to the linkage of MFN and human rights but
also agreed China would review a list of 235 political prisoners that Shattuck
had delivered to them in his October 1993 visit and invited him to return to
Beijing in late February.146 He also invited Christopher to pay his first visit to
China as secretary of state, which was accepted in principle for early March.
In early 1994, China’s economy—insufficiently cooled down because of
Deng’s intervention in 1993—roared ahead, dragging consumer prices with
it. Although the causes and scale of the price increases were subjects of dis-
pute among economists, there was general agreement that the government’s
decontrol of prices in 1993 was an important cause of serious inflation. The
practical effects were felt early in 1994, particularly in urban areas, where
prices for cooking oil, rice, and vegetables shot up by more than 50 percent.
State-owned enterprises, most of which were already in the red, borrowed
further from the banks to increase urban wages, thereby increasing the infla-
tionary spiral and delaying efforts to reform both the banking and the state-
owned industrial system. Nonetheless, urban discontent grew, and reports of
industrial actions and even riots among laid-off and underpaid workers be-
came more numerous.147 Faced with a choice between implementing poten-
tially disruptive economic reform measures and maintaining social stability,
the regime opted for the latter, paying wage subsidies and reimposing price
controls to head off unrest.
Chinese critics of the regime, as well as a few dissidents who had been
released from detention, began to call for further reform and change to deal
with the economic crisis. Wei Jingsheng, defying government warnings, gave
interviews and essays to Western journalists calling for tougher U.S. pressure
on human rights questions. Wang Dan announced he would undertake an
investigation of human rights violations in China. Small groups of activists
attempted to organize discontented workers and peasants in Beijing and Shang-
hai. Others openly petitioned the government for a redress of Tiananmen
cases and for more active political reform. In a situation that must have
looked a bit like the period before Tiananmen, the leadership was faced with
a choice between its inclination to nip dissent in the bud and its desire to
avoid MFN revocation on human rights grounds.148 Although the domestic
considerations likely would have prevailed in any case, Assistant Secretary
Shattuck’s visit in late February probably tipped the balance.

Stormy Visits
Shattuck arrived in Beijing on February 26. Before his trip, the depart-
ment had released the final version of its annual report on human rights in
China, which acknowledged that some progress had been made, but it judged
186 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

that China’s record on human rights “fell far short of internationally ac-
cepted norms.”149 China had released a handful of dissidents but had ar-
rested others. In response to Wei Jingsheng’s increasing activism and meetings
with foreign journalists, Chinese authorities repeatedly had warned him that
his activities were a violation of his parole agreement and he could be re-
arrested. Wei nonetheless sent word to the American embassy that he wanted
to meet privately with Shattuck. Ambassador Roy advised against it, mainly
on grounds that it might have a negative outcome for Wei, but he did not
press the point. He instructed an embassy officer to set up the rendezvous for
Sunday, February 27, in the lobby of the China World Hotel—unlikely to be
missed or raided.
The meeting went off smoothly. Shattuck had not cleared the meeting
with Christopher and did not report it immediately through channels after it
took place.150 Nor did he make a public statement about it. Although it seems
clear the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials who met with Shattuck
after his evening rendezvous were not aware of the meeting with Wei, Chi-
nese security services observed but did not interrupt it. Had not Wei chosen
to brief the Western press about the meeting, it is possible a blowup could
have been avoided.151
During the week, Shattuck met with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials,
who complained about the annual human rights report but also gave him a
partial readout on his October prisoner list and discussed in detail all the
other aspects of the Executive Order. The human rights dialogue—the main
purpose of his visit—was businesslike and lengthy, though little real progress
was made. Shattuck presented more detailed requirements for meeting the
Executive Order criteria and added to the list of political prisoners the U.S.
government wanted China to account for.
Shattuck was surprised after the first day of his official meetings (Mon-
day, February 28) when Wei informed the American press of their private
meeting, including his gratuitous advice to President Clinton to “be as tough
as the Chinese” on human rights.152 Chinese MFA officials also seemed sur-
prised, but it was not until Wednesday that Roy was called into the ministry
to explain. Two days later, March 4—the day Shattuck left China and Chris-
topher left Washington for Australia, the first stop on his Asia trip—China’s
public security authorities got into the act, detaining Wei for about twenty-
four hours, then freeing him. The delay and quick release suggest there may
have been some bureaucratic disagreement about how to handle the issue.
When rumors began to circulate that Christopher might also seek to meet
with dissidents, perhaps even including Wei, the security services prevailed.
Wei was quietly spirited out of Beijing for a “rest,” and the Ministry of Pub-
lic Security began detaining at least fifteen other prominent dissidents, in-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 187

cluding Wang Dan, they suspected might be interested in meeting with the
secretary.153 The detentions set off charges and countercharges between Wash-
ington and Beijing that would turn Christopher’s trip into a nightmare.
Aboard his plane, Christopher told reporters on Friday that Wei’s arrest
was “unhelpful in creating what I would regard as a positive atmosphere for
my visit.” Earlier, President Clinton had sharp words for the Chinese action.
“We strongly disapprove of what was done and it obviously is not helpful to
our relations.”154 As the secretary continued to Australia and outrage built in
the United States, opinions within Christopher’s party began to fragment.
Some suggested he cancel the Beijing stop. Winston Lord and others argued
strongly against that option, saying it would “wreck the relationship” with-
out accomplishing anything positive.155 Christopher phoned back to congres-
sional leaders, who supported continuing the trip but advocated being very
tough. The traveling party chose a middle course of criticizing China harshly
and publicly before their arrival, and like Secretary Baker in 1991, canceling
Christopher’s ceremonial appearances in Beijing.
In what one participant called “escalation by press conference,” Christo-
pher stepped up his criticism of China. “It would be hard to overestimate the
strong distaste that we all feel over the recent detentions and hostile mea-
sures,” he told reporters. “Certainly these actions will have a negative effect
on my trip to China as well as on the subsequent review of the favored-
nation trade question.”156 Beijing replied in kind, saying, “No foreign coun-
try, organization or individual has the right to make irresponsible remarks or
interfere” in China’s domestic affairs.157 Although most of the dissidents de-
tained had been released after interrogation, Wei remained out of town, and
it was clear Beijing would take action to prevent any dissidents from seeing
Christopher.
Christopher arrived in Beijing on the evening of March 11. He was met by
a vice minister of foreign affairs with a “perfunctory” handshake. Security
was tight, and reporters were jostled to keep them away from the plane. No
arrival or welcoming speeches were made, and Christopher canceled both
the sightseeing tour and the banquet on the following day to “set a tone
focused on the purpose of his meetings.”158 Beijing obliged with a tone of its
own on Saturday—hard-nosed and rancorous exchanges with Foreign Min-
ister Qian in the morning and the sneering, contemptuous sarcasm of Pre-
mier Li Peng after lunch. Qian accused Shattuck of breaking Chinese law,
while Li dared Washington to revoke MFN. “The U.S. will lose its share of
the big China market,” he blustered.159 American journalists with the
secretary’s party picked up on the scent of a disaster-in-progress and reported
back in excruciating detail. Although Lord had warned the secretary that the
first day might be a bit rough, Christopher was shocked and angered at what
188 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

he called “insolent” treatment by the Chinese, and he considered cutting the

trip short. Back in Washington, the president was furious—at Christopher.
“What the hell is Chris doing there now?” he reportedly grumbled to aides.160
On Sunday, March 13, Christopher met with about 300 American busi-
ness executives at a breakfast sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. There
he heard a chorus of complaints about how U.S. policy toward China was
endangering American business investment and potential market access in
the world’s fastest-growing economy. Ending a favorable trade relationship
because of concerns over the treatment of prisoners would be a huge step
backward, executives insisted; increased commerce and contact with the rest
of the world would be a better way to modulate the government’s treatment
of its citizens. Christopher implored the business leaders to use their influ-
ence “to persuade the Chinese of our seriousness and also urge them to be
pragmatic.”161 Christopher then moved on to a meeting with Jiang Zemin,
who was characteristically more genial a host but no less firm in resisting
what he called U.S. “interference” in Chinese domestic affairs with its link-
age of trade and human rights.
Consistent with the pattern seen in earlier pummeling of American offi-
cials, Christopher’s last day of meetings was the most successful. On Mon-
day, Qian offered a few concessions: prominent dissident Wang Juntao would
be released on medical parole, a preliminary accounting was provided of the
235 dissidents on Shattuck’s list, experts’ meetings were set up to discuss
U.S. charges that China was still jamming Voice of America broadcasts, and
talks with the Red Cross on prison visits would move forward. He also pledged
to resolve the few remaining cases of Chinese who were not being permitted
to emigrate to the United States to join relatives. In a predeparture press
conference, a somber Christopher described these as “positive steps” but
hardly a breakthrough. “We’ve begun to narrow the differences,” he said,
but pointedly declined to say whether China’s progress to date was sufficient
for him to report “overall, significant progress” had been made. “I’m really
out of that business,” he told reporters.162
Beijing’s reasons for treating Christopher in so harsh a manner can only
be speculated upon. China’s spokesmen merely reiterated the party line, which
was that the linkage of human rights considerations and MFN was inappro-
priate, that Christopher did not show “sincerity,” and that the Shattuck
meeting with Wei had violated Chinese law. It can probably best be under-
stood as a calculated risk, driven by domestic and foreign policy concerns
and the interaction between them, for some of the following reasons:
—For reasons that derive from China’s modern history virtually all Chi-
nese leaders respond with outraged defiance to anything seen as pressure or
“bullying” by a foreign power. To be accused of knuckling under to such
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 189

pressure is an extremely serious and damaging charge. It carries emotional

connotations similar to an accusation of “appeasement” in the West. Qian
and Jiang had already been targets of such criticism and could not show
much flexibility.
—Li Peng, fully in character, was playing to a nationalistic domestic audi-
ence of party and military conservatives and re-establishing his authority
within the foreign policy “small group.”
—Worried by economic and social problems, the leadership chose to take
action against known dissidents to remind them of the limits of its tolerance
and to prove that seeking support from the United States was fruitless. After
Christopher departed, Wei returned to Beijing in early April, when he was
again seized by security authorities and held incommunicado. Most of the dis-
sidents detained before the Christopher visit were released afterward, but Beijing
was sending a signal domestically that another crackdown was possible.
—Finally, the leaders probably were genuinely affronted and worried by
the Shattuck-Wei meeting, and they wanted Clinton to change his human
rights–dominated China policy. Having failed to detect a willingness in Wash-
ington to engage in a give-and-take negotiation on the Executive Order and
increasingly aware of political divisions in the United States over the Clinton
policy, Beijing chose a tougher stance in hopes it would precipitate a change
in the American approach. For reasons that had more to do with U.S. politics
than Chinese perspicacity, it worked.
One other factor bears mentioning on China’s policy toward the United
States—the increasing incapacitation of Deng Xiaoping. Rumors about his
failing health had proliferated in 1993, compounded by his unwillingness to
be seen in public or meet with foreign visitors. By February 1994, when he
was shown appearing dazed and senescent on Chinese television, it had be-
come evident he was no longer a driving force in Chinese domestic or foreign
policy. Although he would live for another three years, Deng’s appearance
alarmed many observers and set off a fresh round of speculation about suc-
cession as well as political jockeying among the leaders.163 Probably aware of
Deng’s mortality and his own uncertain authority, Jiang Zemin began to
take steps to firm up his own power base, particularly with the PLA. He
oversaw the reshuffling of regional military commanders in January and pro-
moted nineteen officers to full-general status in May—likely all with little
help from Deng, although one of the officers he promoted was Wang Ruilin,
head of Deng’s private office.164 Jiang’s concern about succession, as well as
the maintenance of public order, probably inclined him even more strongly
toward conservative military officers’ views on foreign policy and domestic
issues. He knew that he still needed the military to underpin his own—and
the Communist Party’s—hold on power.
190 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

Deng’s departure from any significant role in foreign policy decisionmaking

also deprived the United States of an important voice of moderation and
patience in developing the bilateral relationship. On numerous occasions af-
ter his return to power in 1979, Deng had played a critical role in breaking
leadership deadlocks, making key concessions, or guaranteeing compromises
that enabled Chinese and American diplomats to resolve knotty problems.
With that voice muted by disease and inactivity, no one else was willing to
take a risk for the relationship. In a 1996 conversation with Anthony Lake,
Jiang claimed that Deng had “entrusted” to him (at a date not specified but
probably early 1994) the responsibility for managing Sino-American rela-
tions.165 But Jiang took no initiatives that could be detected at that critical
period or that would have risked his stature within China’s still conservative
leadership.

Changing Direction
Back in Washington, the highly visible failure of Christopher’s trip catalyzed
simmering discontents with the substance of the Clinton administration’s
China policy and its management by the State Department. The print media
were merciless, though not in accord on what had gone wrong. “Astonishing
debacle” (Charles Krauthammer); “bungled diplomatic foray . . . policy di-
saster” (Jim Hoagland); “the administration is clearly in disarray” (Hobart
Rowen).166 Former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, and
Lawrence Eagleburger criticized the policy of allowing a single dimension of
U.S. interests—advancing human rights—to dominate the entire relationship.
Sinologists and foreign policy mavens publicly lamented the amateurishness
of the Clinton team’s approach. Members of Congress criticized the State
Department openly. Clearly, a very public and messy debate was opened up
over the direction and methods of the administration’s China policy.
The trip also kicked off a messy debate within the administration. In pub-
lic, the president indicated he was “disappointed at the results of the meet-
ing,” but insisted he would hold to the policy and make the decision on MFN
in June.167 In private, however, he remained annoyed at the secretary. An-
gered and humiliated themselves, State Department officials looked to the
White House for public words of support for Christopher’s mission. None
was forthcoming. Looking back on the experience some years later, Winston
Lord was still angry: “The White House [was] deathly silent, Christopher is
twisting in the wind, and it was obviously deliberate.”168 On March 22, Chris-
topher published an op-ed article in the Washington Post, justifying the hu-
man rights–related policy approach and enumerating the positive accomp-
lishments of his trip.169 That same day, Lake convened a Principals Commit-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 191

tee meeting in the Situation Room of the White House to take stock of the
policy. The results of the meeting were leaked to the New York Times by the
evening.
State Department officials—and others, to be sure—turned the issue into
a “we versus they” struggle within the administration. “This is partly about
who is going to be in charge of the China policy,” one senior State Depart-
ment official told the New York Times after the Principals Committee meet-
ing. “The Secretary is trying to keep the Commerce and Treasury Departments
from trying to make a run over taking over the policy. He wants to make
sure State Department keeps a very strong control over the China relation-
ship, that it’s not tenable to have the economic agencies in open revolt against
the policy.”170 What transpired in the wake of the Christopher visit was a
natural outgrowth of the broadening of U.S. policy interests with respect to
China that had taken place in the years since Tiananmen. With economic
and defense ties growing rapidly and different constituencies eager to have
their views represented in policy councils, the State Department was viewed
as having too narrow a focus on human rights. And in the wake of the trip, it
was becoming clear that the policy of pressuring China on human rights was
doomed to fail, with heavy costs to be borne by other agencies. The eco-
nomic agencies were not trying to “take over” China policy; they simply
wanted to have their views better represented.
With the clear approval of the president, the NSC and the National Eco-
nomic Council (NEC) began to be more active in managing policy toward
China. First they had to get their own house in order. Like the State Depart-
ment, the NSC was divided over China policy. Lake and Soderberg had ac-
tively supported the linking of MFN and human rights conditions, hoping to
use what they perceived as China’s dependence on the U.S. market as “lever-
age” to bring about improvement in China’s human rights behavior. Sandy
Berger had gone along, but perceived early on, and with increasing anxiety in
the face of Chinese intransigence, that the policy was not workable. Carrying
through on the threat to revoke MFN if conditions were not met was the
equivalent of a “nuclear bomb” that would have terrible consequences for
both sides.
On the NEC, Robert Rubin and W. Bowman (Bo) Cutter, his deputy for
international economic policy, had entertained serious misgivings about the
linkage between MFN and human rights from early on. Their concerns were
manifold. From an economic perspective, they believed that the scale and
breadth of the economic relationship between the United States and other
large economies like China were not well understood by policymakers in
either the State Department or the White House. They thought that tinkering
with those relationships to achieve leverage on political issues was not good
192 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

policy or good economics. Cutter also felt that neither the NEC nor any of
the other “economic agencies” in the Cabinet had been properly consulted in
the process of putting together the Executive Order of May 1993. “We were
not involved in the vetting of that in any substantial way. It went by very
fast, if it went by us at all. And we were surprised, shocked, angered by how
it came out, and thought it was going to be a fairly fast disaster” for the
president.171 Owing to the press of other international economic issues—the
president’s budget agreement with Congress, the North American Free Trade
Agreement, the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade, and trade tensions with Japan—they did not register their concerns
with the president or with Lake and Berger. By the end of 1993, however,
when the American business community had begun complaining openly about
the linkage policy’s potential costs, they started speaking out more openly. “I
think probably everybody feels [trade and human rights] ought to be delinked,”
Rubin said in early 1994. “On the other hand, it has to be done in such a way
that human rights concerns are satisfied.”172
The NSC made some staff changes that played a role in the change of
policy. Shortly after the Christopher trip, Stanley Roth, deputy assistant sec-
retary of defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, exchanged positions with
NSC senior director Kent Wiedemann. Formerly staff director of the East
Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Roth
was recruited by Lake and Berger for his political savvy, as well as his broad
expertise in Asian affairs. At Roth’s suggestion, I was brought over from the
National Intelligence Council, where I had served for five years as deputy
national intelligence officer for East Asia, to help out with China policy.
Sandy Kristoff was named special assistant to the president for Asia eco-
nomic issues, which made her part of both the NSC and NEC. Roth and I
were in agreement with Berger and others that the linkage policy was not
working and should be dropped, but that it would be very difficult to resolve
the policy dilemma posed by the Executive Order unless further efforts were
made to get more cooperation from the Chinese.173
In late March, a small group of NSC and NEC staffers began meeting
informally in the White House situation room, under the joint leadership of
Berger and Cutter, to map out a plan for the end game on the Executive
Order. They had three main tasks. The first order of business was to review
the seven criteria for progress set out in the Executive Order, evaluate in
detail the steps Beijing had taken to meet those criteria, and try to establish
standards that would enable Secretary Christopher to make his judgment
about “overall, significant progress” objectively. That entailed working closely
with the China desk and John Shattuck’s staff at the State Department, as
well as the NSC’s directorate for democracy and human rights senior direc-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 193

tor Mort Halperin (who had withdrawn his nomination for assistant secre-
tary of defense after intense congressional opposition) and NSC director Eric
Schwartz.
A second priority was to develop several steps China might take that would
demonstrate further interest and intent to move toward compliance with the
Executive Order and get Beijing to take them. That was not an easy task.
First, Chinese leaders were still angry over the Christopher trip and wanted
to reinforce the message that they would not be pressured into making public
concessions. Qian claimed that because China was prepared to forgo MFN
treatment, that the pressure was on Washington and that Clinton had “en-
meshed himself in a web of his own spinning by setting the June 3 deadline
for an MFN decision.”174 And the public security apparatus was operating to
quell growing domestic dissidence, with little regard for foreign reaction.
Wei Jingsheng was detained again on April 1 and taken off into administra-
tive detention while his case was being investigated and charges were devel-
oped against him.175 His secretary was also seized. A Hong Kong journalist
was sentenced to twelve years for “spying,” while a bank clerk who gave
information on gold policy to a reporter was given fifteen years. The Minis-
try of Foreign Affairs, however, did want to demonstrate its willingness to
continue working with Washington. Wang Juntao was released and permit-
ted to travel to the United States for medical treatment. But much more was
needed.
The third task was to try and develop a rough consensus on China policy,
within the various bureaucracies and with Congress. The NEC staffers took
the lead with Congress, looking for a support coalition that would include
senators and House members from states heavily involved in trade with Asia—
such as Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and
Representative Robert Matsui (D-Calif.)—along with foreign affairs “cen-
trists,” such as Representative Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.) and Senator Richard
Lugar (R-Ind.). It was hoped that support could be maintained from human
rights activists, but it was recognized that a larger base was needed. Within
the executive branch, it was acknowledged that several important agencies
had equities in the U.S.-China relationship and that their views had not been
adequately represented by the State Department, which had focused too
heavily on human rights issues. Winston Lord had earlier established a senior
steering group to coordinate interagency China policy, but it met too infre-
quently and with too large a cast of characters to bring about a workable
consensus.
Moreover, creating consensus within the executive branch was compli-
cated by the fact that the State Department had concluded that there was no
longer a possibility for a judgment of “overall, significant progress” to be
194 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

reached before June. The Beijing trip had convinced Christopher and his staff
that there was no way the Chinese would do enough to meet even the vague
standards of the Executive Order. Under pressure from human rights groups,
many of whom began making public declarations that China had not made
any progress,176 State Department officials began to be concerned about their
“credibility” if they were to make any judgment but a negative one. At the
same time, most were increasingly aware of the high political and economic
costs of revoking MFN altogether. With support from the human rights NGOs
and from activists on Capitol Hill, such as Representative Pelosi, Winston
Lord and others began publicly musing about possible “selective sanctions”
or “targeted sanctions.”177 This idea, the germ of which was contained in the
1993 Pelosi-Mitchell bill, recommended that MFN treatment be denied only
to the products of China’s state-owned enterprise system, while those items
produced by China’s growing private sector would continue to enjoy low
MFN tariffs.
While attractive conceptually, distinguishing items produced by state-
owned enterprises from those made by private enterprise would have been
impossible to implement. Huge numbers of U.S. inspectors would have to be
added to the Customs Service, and their judgments would have been easily
avoided by changing the names and registrations of Chinese enterprises, a
common practice even without the additional incentive of avoiding punitive
tariffs. Although the issue was discussed within both the Senior Steering Group
on China and the smaller NSC-NEC forum, it was rejected early on as im-
practical. It did remain on the agenda for discussions with NGOs and mem-
bers of Congress, however. Other proposals for “targeted sanctions” included
raising tariffs on certain products known to be made largely by state-owned
enterprises, such as textiles or machine tools. Yet another would have fo-
cused sanctions solely on the products of military industries.

The End Game on Linkage

The White House remained hopeful that China could be persuaded to take a
few more steps that might get it “over the bar” for a favorable judgment on
“overall, significant progress.” Encouraged by Qian’s April 6 statement that
China would abide by the “Universal Declaration on Human Rights”178—
one of the Executive Order conditions on which progress was required—
Berger and Lake raised the idea of sending a special presidential envoy to
China to see if more progress was available. Although skeptical of the effi-
cacy of such a mission, Christopher agreed and in mid-April called Michael
Armacost, former undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassa-
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 195

dor to Japan during the Reagan-Bush years, to secure his agreement to un-
dertake such a mission. Armacost agreed after concluding that the linkage
policy, which he opposed, probably was going to be scrapped.179
At the California funeral of former president Richard Nixon on April 29,
Lake met privately with Ambassador Li Daoyu and asked him to ascertain if
Beijing would be willing to meet with a presidential envoy to work on further
steps toward meeting the conditions of the Executive Agreement. By the time
Vice Premier Zou Jiahua met with the president the following Monday, the
Chinese had agreed to meet with an envoy. Armacost flew to Washington on
Thursday, May 5, and was briefed by both the State Department and the
NSC. He suggested that if he were to be represented as a presidential envoy,
it might be useful for him to see the president, which he was able to do that
evening. He found the president somewhat distracted but able to focus enough
on his mission to leave the clear impression that the White House was lean-
ing strongly toward delinking human rights and MFN, and that his mission
was “to explore in a quiet, confidential way whether there were additional
things the Chinese might be prepared to do to make it easier to manage this
decision, which was politically difficult for the Administration.”180
Armacost arrived in Beijing on May 8, via commercial air, and was met at
the airport by Ambassador Roy. He spent the next two days in meetings—
accompanied only by the ambassador and unencumbered by detailed talking
points—with Vice Foreign Minister Liu Huaqiu, Foreign Minister Qian, and
President Jiang. The meetings were private, relaxed, and cordial. Armacost
laid out his case for more public and substantial gestures in exchange for
dropping the linkage of MFN and human rights, but the Chinese were pre-
pared to make only modest gestures—even though Armacost hinted at the
possibility of further summit meetings. He got only the promise of release on
parole for Chen Ziming, another of the “black hands” of Tiananmen; the
clearance of two remaining high-profile emigration cases; and a repeat of
assurances that VOA jamming would be discussed at the experts’ level.
Armacost and Roy reported the events of those meetings in detail by secure
phone and cable, and at the conclusion of the trip, Armacost returned to his
home in California.181
The White House by that time was focused almost equally on the sub-
stance of the decision—on which there was not yet a consensus—and on how
best to present it so as to maximize domestic support, minimize criticism and
embarrassment to the president (and others in the administration), and put
the issue aside. Three factors weighed most heavily on the substance:
—The president’s campaign commitment and base among human rights
supporters;
196 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

—His commitment to improve the American economy by opening up in-

ternational markets for U.S. goods, which American business leaders insisted
required him to delink; and
—The growing recognition that U.S. long-term goals and commitments in
the Asia-Pacific region required a stable relationship with China, which would
be impossible if he commenced a trade war over human rights.
The president was besieged with contradictory opinions during the last
weeks of May, and he tried to listen to all of them. The State Department
was divided, with Shattuck reportedly favoring MFN revocation while Lord
was arguing that larger Asian perspectives should be borne in mind.182 Clinton
met with congressional leaders from both parties and found widely variant
views there as well. Mitchell and Pelosi, of course, favored sanctions, pref-
erably targeted ones, while Republican leaders suggested the president ad-
mit his error and delink. He consulted former government officials and
sought counsel with former president Jimmy Carter, who advised him to
make a clean break. The leading newspapers provided op-ed articles and
editorials filled with gratuitous criticism of his campaign promises, the policy
process, personnel involved, problem at hand, and the Chinese government
in general.
On May 23, the Principals Committee met on the issue, with the president
in attendance. Christopher reported that the Chinese had met the two man-
datory conditions on prison labor and free emigration. But on the five other
categories in which “overall, significant progress” was required by the Ex-
ecutive Order, he said China had not satisfactorily met the standards. Beijing
had stated its adherence to the Universal Declaration and provided partial
accounting of Tiananmen prisoners; it had freed some dissidents, although it
had arrested others. It had agreed to talk with the ICRC on prison visits and
to VOA specialists about jamming but had not yet done so. Beijing had made
no progress on easing conditions in Tibet. Christopher suggested that China’s
mixed record perhaps merited a response that was short of full revocation of
MFN and suggested targeted sanctions against imports of goods produced
by the PLA.183
Three days later, on May 26, after more telephone consultations and meet-
ings with members of Congress, former president Carter, and numerous other
domestic advisers, who suggested various last-minute adjustments of posi-
tion, the president appeared in the White House pressroom to make his an-
nouncement, which by then was not a surprise. Although he appeared
somewhat uncomfortable, he made the announcement clearly and carefully:
The Chinese did not achieve overall significant progress in all the areas
outlined in the executive order relating to human rights, even though
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 197

clearly there was progress made in important areas . . . I have decided

that the United States should renew Most Favored Nation trading sta-
tus toward China . . . I am moving, therefore, to delink human rights
from the annual extension of Most Favored Nation trading status for
China. That linkage has been constructive during the past year. But I
believe, based on our aggressive contacts with the Chinese in the past
several months, that we have reached the end of the usefulness of that
policy, and it is time to take a new path toward the achievement of our
constant objectives. We need to place our relationship into a larger and
more productive framework.184
Clinton also announced that he was maintaining other Tiananmen sanc-
tions from the Bush administration, banning small-arms and ammunition
imports from China, and undertaking a more aggressive program of support
for human rights groups’ activities and broadcasting into China, as well as
developing a “code of conduct” for American businesses operating there.
Following the president’s brief remarks, Lake, Rubin, Lord, and Shattuck
took further questions but added little to what the president had already
said. There was little more to the policy than the delinkage. Proposals for
more broadcasting, support for NGOs, and a code of conduct were all cover
proposals, and little more. Shattuck had prepared a fact sheet about the
president’s new “vigorous” human rights advocacy with China, but the pro-
posals on it had not been vetted within the bureaucracies involved and were
not particularly well-supported anywhere.185
All in all, it was an unsatisfactory outcome for the president. In the fol-
lowing days, he was savaged by human rights groups, such as Asia Watch
and Amnesty International. The usual pundits said the usual things but with
more rhetorical punch, and Clinton’s criticism of Bush for “coddling dicta-
tors” was repeated endlessly. “Sellout, cop-out, kowtow, surrender, cave-in,
and smarmy reversal” were among the terms used to describe the outcome.
“Foul-up, cock-up, adhocracy, flip-flop, bungled, disarray, and fudging” were
applied to the process by which the outcome was reached. Pelosi and Mitchell
denounced the president sharply, then gathered the rest of the House Demo-
cratic Party leadership (including House Majority Leader Gephardt and
Majority Whip David Bonior) around them in June to sponsor legislative
action to revoke MFN for China’s military and state-owned industries.186
Clinton found himself in the same situation with regard to congressional
Democrats that Bush had been in. He probably did not appreciate the irony.
Implicit in the 1993 Executive Order, with its concern for using American
economic leverage to force change in China’s human rights policies—and the
highly emotional and critical response to its failure and abandonment in
198 new politics, old problems, 1993–94

1994—was a false assumption, a mistaken judgment, and a misunderstand-

ing of the relationship between actions and consequences.
—The false assumption was that China’s trade surplus with the United
States created a sense of obligation that any rational actor-policymaker would
understand. The United States was more important to China’s economic
progress than China was to America’s, it was thought, which gave Washing-
ton usable leverage. Threaten to reduce the economic benefits, and China
would come to heel.
—The mistaken judgment was that China’s leaders would only consider
their economic interest when they were making a decision about human rights
policies. But ideology, security, national pride, and the overwhelming need
to maintain social stability probably outweighed economic factors in deci-
sions on how to respond to U.S. demands. Beijing took small steps in a
negotiator’s fashion, looking for indications that the United States valued the
relationship enough to make reciprocal steps. Washington appeared con-
stantly to be moving the goalposts.
—The misunderstanding of the action-consequences relationship was a
failure to consider the serious damage that might be done to American inves-
tors in China and American retailers of Chinese goods if MFN were actually
cut off. Once those consequences began to be clarified, enthusiasm for fol-
lowing through on the threat evaporated quickly.
The president seemed instinctively to understand this situation. He did
not deliberately choose trade over human rights, as so many of his critics
charged. He wanted both and did not see a contradiction between them.
He saw correctly that China was not a country that would be easily pres-
sured. And he saw that the earlier policy was mistaken. The steps he took
to correct that mistake, however, were directed at domestic goals and a
domestic audience and had repercussions, in perpetuating partisan and ex-
ecutive-legislative disputes over China policy and in failing to impart
new momentum to the bilateral relationship. As Stapleton Roy put it, “We
could have, in fact, gotten very significant progress on human rights in
China if we’d used the breaking of the linkage as momentum . . . [But]
instead of declaring victory on the basis of what we did get, which was
substantial, we declared defeat on the basis of what we didn’t get, which
was ‘fundamental improvement’ in all the areas.”187 Thus the confronta-
tional approach toward human rights was perpetuated by a sense of anger
that China had beaten the United States in that particular round, but others
would follow.
As far as China’s leaders were concerned, they had basically opted out of
the process by mid-May, leaving Washington to make the decision with no
further input. They refrained from making any comment on congressional
new politics, old problems, 1993–94 199

discussions of “targeted” sanctions to be imposed only on PLA enterprises.

When Clinton announced on May 26 that China had not made “overall
significant progress” but that he nonetheless was renewing MFN without
conditions, the official reaction was low key. “This decision will create fa-
vorable conditions for the further strengthening and expansion of trade and
economic cooperation between the two sides and the improvement and growth
of the overall relations between the two countries. The Chinese Government
and people welcome this decision of President Clinton.” The Foreign Minis-
try statement went on to complain about previous U.S. actions on MFN and
expressed “regret” that the post-Tiananmen sanctions remained in place.
Finally, it pledged China would make “major efforts” to improve relations
and called on the United States to show “sincerity” in improving ties.188 It
was a spare statement, still containing tinges of resentment. There was cer-
tainly no gratitude for reversing a decision that Chinese leaders believed should
never have been made in the first place. And if there were any recognition in
Beijing of the difficulty of the political process Clinton went through to ar-
rive at the decision, it was not reflected in any public way. Like leaders in
Washington, China’s foreign policy decisionmakers emerged from the MFN
linkage imbroglio still surly, suspicious, and on guard for the next round of
trouble. They did not have long to wait.
 chapter six

Crisis over
Taiwan,
1995–96

S ince 1949, the issue of Taiwan (the Republic of China

[ROC]) has been one of the most persistent and intractable problems in
developing, establishing, and maintaining relations between the People’s
Republic of China and the United States. From the Korean War through
the Quemoy-Matsu crisis of 1958 to the vote for China’s United Nations
representation in 1971, the PRC and the United States have been in conflict
over the status of Taiwan for more than fifty years. The PRC claimed sov-
ereignty over Taiwan but did not exercise it owing to the interposition of
American forces, operating under a U.S.-ROC defense treaty. Even after
the United States broke the defense agreement and recognized the People’s
Republic of China as the “sole legal government of China” in 1979, it
maintained the right—under the Taiwan Relations Act—to continue pro-
viding advanced weapons systems to Taiwan for its self-defense. Beijing
acquiesced in a continuing “unofficial” relationship between Washington
and Taipei for the sake of other benefits it derived from the normalized
relationship with the United States and because it probably expected even-
tually to recover Taiwan without opposition. Deng Xiaoping announced a
policy of “one country, two systems,” toward Taiwan, providing consider-
able flexibility and continuity for the Kuomintang (KMT) government to
ease its transition to being part of a reunified China. Under the terms of
a third and final communiqué with the United States, signed in August
1982, Beijing believed it would see a gradual reduction and termination of
American arms sales to Taiwan, which would also lead toward peaceful
reunification.1

200
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 201

Taiwan Changes the Game Board

After Chiang Kai-shek’s son, Chiang Ching-kuo, died in early 1988, Beijing
grew increasingly alarmed at the policies and aspirations of his successor,
Lee Teng-hui. A native-born Taiwanese (unlike most KMT leaders, who were
transplanted mainlanders), educated in Japan and the United States, Lee set
about reforming the KMT from the bottom up and top down. And although
originally chosen as vice president because he seemed pliant and unambi-
tious, he proved to be a formidable party politician. By the time he was
elected president in his own right in 1991, Lee was restructuring the KMT so
that it better represented the Taiwanese majority and was increasingly defin-
ing Taiwan as an entirely separate entity from the PRC, not part of “one
China.”
At the same time, Lee was also reaching out to the PRC, sending secret
emissaries to arrange discussions of how to improve cross-Strait relations.2
Eventually, both sides formed “unofficial” organizations to carry out the
discussions more openly: the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) was founded
in mid-1991 in Taipei, and Beijing followed with the Association for Rela-
tions across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). Both organizations were headed by
influential elders (ARATS by Jiang Zemin mentor Wang Daohan) and ap-
peared to be making progress on developing a framework for negotiations
on improving cross-Strait relations.3 In April 1993, Wang and his Taiwanese
counterpart, Koo Chen-fu, met in Singapore and agreed on some of the
modalities of furthering a dialogue, although it was clear the Taiwan gov-
ernment was the more reluctant of the two parties to engage in substantive
negotiations.4 Taiwan’s businesses were enthusiastic in their response to
China’s “reform and opening,” pouring billions of dollars of investment
into several special economic zones in China and expanding the textile,
petrochemical, and even automobile industries across the Taiwan Strait.5
Jiang Zemin, head of the Taiwan Affairs Leading Small Group, was no
doubt pleased with the prospects.
But Lee Teng-hui was losing enthusiasm rapidly for ameliorating relations
with the PRC. “ I could not understand why there is such a high degree of
optimism toward the changing relationship between the two sides of the
Taiwan Straits,”6 Lee was quoted in early 1993. Besides the fundamental
disagreement over sovereignty, analysts said Lee had several other concerns.
He did not want Taiwan’s economic investment in China to become a means
for the PRC to exert leverage on Taiwan. He was also aware that investment
money flowing into the PRC was slowing investment in Taiwan’s multibillion-
dollar infrastructure development plan. Politically, he probably thought that
202 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

moving too fast on improving cross-Strait relations might alienate support-

ers of Taiwan’s growing pro-independence political party, the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP). Finally, he saw little reason to move Taiwan any
closer to a China that was growing militarily and politically more powerful,
yet showed no hint of the kind of political liberalization and democratization
that was taking place in Taiwan.
Lee concluded that, for its security and self-respect, Taiwan needed to
keep its distance from China and expand its international influence, its “in-
ternational living space.” So he began to pay more attention to widening
Taiwan’s circle of international contacts and broadening its political influ-
ence commensurate with its growing economic power (Taiwan was ranked
the world’s fourteenth largest economy in 1993, based on trade volume.)7
Lee called his campaign “pragmatic diplomacy,” and it involved seeking to
expand contacts even with countries that had formal diplomatic relations
with Beijing. In 1993, hoping for support from such countries, he called for
Taiwan to be readmitted to the United Nations and to have access to other
international organizations, regardless of Beijing’s opposition.8
Beijing reacted negatively to Lee’s efforts and tried to prevent them from
being successful. Lee’s attempt to change unilaterally the status quo in cross-
Strait relations was hardly something that China’s leaders would have wished
for, being in a poor position to develop a creative approach on their own.
From their perspective, policy toward Taiwan, which had been in place and
mostly unchanging since 1979, was working satisfactorily. It had an overall
framework—Deng Xiaoping’s “one country, two systems”— with a long time-
table. It had intermediate goals to ease tensions, namely, the “three commu-
nications” and the “four exchanges” (academic, cultural, economic, and
sports).9 The policy enabled both sides to develop their economies separately
and jointly, expand people-to-people contacts, and minimize military deploy-
ments and exercises.10 It brought enormous and much-needed investment to
China’s developing export industries and had the additional benefit of giving
Taiwan’s business leaders a stake in maintaining good cross-Strait relations.
Most of China’s leaders did not understand the political process going on
in Taiwan and had neither the incentive nor the desire to accommodate it.
They were suspicious of Lee and his studied indifference to cross-Strait rela-
tions and preference for broadened international contacts. They charged that
he was more sympathetic to the DPP than he let on publicly. The notion of
“Taiwan independence,” which Beijing also saw growing in importance dur-
ing Lee’s tenure, made the issue that much more sensitive. For Beijing, this
was a “core” issue, one that involved the Chinese people’s sense of history
and destiny, the Communist Party’s legitimacy, the pride of the People’s Lib-
eration Army (PLA), and the government’s claim to sovereignty, as well as
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 203

regional and global prestige. With firmly rooted principles, a sense of histori-
cal justification, a feeling of grievance against foreign intervention, and a
growing public mood of nationalism supporting a firm stance, this was hardly
a subject on which any leader—particularly one with Jiang Zemin’s weak
power base—could show much flexibility.
Finally, China’s domestic political situation made it impractical to con-
sider revising its Taiwan policy. Economic difficulties and dissension with
the United States over human rights and most favored nation (MFN) status
were already proving sufficiently difficult for a weak and insecure leader-
ship. Deng’s declining health had led to increased jockeying for position within
the Politburo Standing Committee, in anticipation of succession. More im-
portant, altering Taiwan policy was something on which the PLA had to be
consulted and involved in for reasons as follows:
—First, because the armed forces would be called on to carry out a costly
and dangerous campaign to reclaim Taiwan should all else fail—and that
was a job that realistic PLA planners could hardly look on with anticipation;
—Second, because Jiang and Deng and the rest of the party leadership
were beholden to the army for saving their mandate to rule in 1989;
—Third, because the military, by tradition and ideological training, was
the most nationalistic and xenophobic segment of the regime, and by habit
one of its most outspoken;
—And fourth, because the PLA saw Taiwan as the key challenge for the
future now that the Soviet threat had disappeared, and it would need addi-
tional budgetary resources to carry out its tasks.

Travel and Trouble

But while Beijing was not eager to change its approach to Taiwan, events
were pushing in that direction. Lee and his vice president, Lien Chan, en-
gaged in a high-profile round of “vacation diplomacy” in early 1994, travel-
ing privately to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where they
met unofficially or played golf with senior government officials. Both also
traveled to Central America, Africa, and Europe, often asking permission to
transit the United States en route. In July, Taiwan published a White Paper
on relations with the PRC (a response to a tough PRC White Paper published
in August 1993), rejecting Deng’s “one country, two systems” formula for
reunification and espousing a “‘ one China, two equal political entities’ [ap-
proach] for defining the cross-straits relationship.”11
In March 1994, the travel issue picked up greater political salience and
controversy. President Lee had been invited to attend inauguration ceremo-
nies for newly elected presidents of Costa Rica and South Africa, two of the
204 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

few nations that maintained formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In

light of his interest in expanding Taiwan’s “international space,” Lee was
inclined to accept. The State Department’s East Asia Bureau was determined
to head off a diplomatic tussle over whether Lee would be permitted to make
a rest stop in Hawaii or California en route to Central America. It drafted a
blunt démarche for the director of the American Institute on Taiwan (AIT—
the “unofficial” U.S. embassy) to present to Taiwan’s foreign minister, ad-
vising that the president’s itinerary should not include a stop on U.S. soil and
certainly not an overnight rest stop and round of golf. Lee’s “golf diplo-
macy” in Southeast Asia earlier in the year had aroused Beijing’s ire, and
China had already begun to warn U.S. officials against allowing Lee to visit
the United States. When the cable came over to the National Security Coun-
cil (NSC) for “crosshatch” clearance—standard procedure for such cables—
as director of Asian affairs, I flagged it for Anthony Lake’s attention,
complaining it was too blunt and might cause an angry reaction in Taipei.
Noting that Secretary Warren Christopher had already cleared the cable,
Lake let it go without change.
When AIT director Lynn Pascoe presented the démarche to Taiwan’s for-
eign minister, Fred Chien (Ch’ien Fu), he exploded in rage, calling American
officials “a bunch of spineless jellyfish” for giving in preemptively to Beijing’s
complaints.12 He had not calmed down by the time he met his next visitor,
former AIT director and ambassador to Beijing James Lilley, who also found
offensive the idea that the United States could not provide a courteous transit
for the president of Taiwan. On return to the United States, he began advo-
cating among Republican Party leaders that a better balance was needed in
U.S. relations with Taiwan and the PRC.
After considerable follow-up negotiation, State Department officials agreed
that Lee could make a refueling stop in Honolulu en route to Central America,
although they held fast against an overnight rest stop. Fearing that enthusi-
astic Taiwan supporters would attract the media to Honolulu International
Airport, they arranged for Lee’s plane to be refueled at adjacent Hickham
Air Force Base and asked the head of the Washington office of AIT, Natale
Bellocchi, to receive Lee at the base VIP lounge. Taiwanese officials com-
plained that the lounge was small and poorly furnished and inappropriate
for hosting a president. On hearing about the accommodations from his chief
Washington representative, Lee chose to remain on his chartered 747 when
it landed to refuel at Hickham on May 4. Bellocchi went aboard to extend a
welcome and found Lee angry and sarcastic and vowing not to accept “sec-
ond class” status from the United States any more.13 After his departure, the
story quickly spread to the news media and began to be embellished, to the
effect that Lee had not been allowed off the plane. Senior State Department
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 205

officials, who had been unaware of the conditions at Hickham’s VIP lounge,
insisted the treatment was “courteous” and represented a “step forward,” as
no Taiwan president had ever visited the United States before.14 Lilley criti-
cized the treatment as “humiliating.”
Members of Congress soon began to weigh in. Senator Paul Simon (D-Ill.)
publicized a letter he had written to President Bill Clinton, in which he criti-
cized “the cold shoulder we gave President Lee of Taiwan when his plane
landed in Hawaii to refuel. Not only did we not give him any of the usual
courtesies, we even made sure the base commander did not greet him.” “We
should no longer conduct policy toward Taiwan within the narrow limits of
Beijing’s tolerance,” he continued, calling for Cabinet-level exchanges with
Taiwan and support for its UN membership.15 Senators Frank Murkowski
(R-Alaska) and Hank Brown (R-Colo.) publicly invited Lee to visit the United
States, and Brown inserted amendments in three separate appropriations bills
in August to require the United States to approve a visa for Taiwan’s presi-
dent or other high-level officials to come to the United States for consulta-
tions. One such amendment was approved 94-0. In House and Senate
conferences on the bills, however, the amendments were removed or converted
to nonbinding “sense of the Congress” resolutions.16 The language was then
inserted into the Immigration and Nationality Technical Correction Act (H.R.
783), which contained a visa waiver program the administration was eager to
continue. The president signed the bill in late October but noted he would
instruct the secretary of state to continue to “weigh particularly carefully the
foreign policy interests of the United States in considering any application by
Taiwan’s leaders to visit the United States,” which included maintaining “the
successful balance struck between our unofficial relations with Taiwan and
our relations with the People’s Republic of China.”17

Misconstrued Review
Among the first Policy Review Directives proposed by the new Clinton ad-
ministration in 1993 was a review of American policy toward Taiwan. Ever
since the normalization of relations with the PRC and the requirement that
the United States maintain only an “unofficial” relationship with the former
Republic of China, strains and discontents had arisen over how to manage
ties with an active and confident government, one of the world’s largest trad-
ing economies and a budding democracy. Fifteen years after U.S.-PRC nor-
malization, some of the routines and regulations to maintain the symbol and
substance of unofficial relations had begun to pinch, and there was pressure
to make adjustments from within the executive branch and from outside.
Treasury Department officials complained they could not meet with Taiwan
206 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

counterparts in their offices but had to meet them in restaurants to conduct

their business. Taiwan’s representative office in Washington was called the
Coordinating Council on North American Affairs (CCNAA, which some
callers mistook as an office of Alcoholics Anonymous), and its staff members
could not set foot inside the State Department or any executive branch agency.
Taiwan’s foreign minister could travel to the United States but not to Wash-
ington. Taiwan’s president, vice president, premier, and vice premier could
not travel to the United States at all, even to visit with family members or
receive honorary degrees from universities they had attended. None of these
procedures were formally set down but had emerged in practice to maintain
the image of “unofficiality.” The policy review was intended to make appro-
priate revisions to reflect changing circumstances and Taiwan’s growing eco-
nomic importance to the United States. But the State Department’s original
draft of proposed changes was considered unsatisfactory by the NSC, and
the review was put off in the face of more pressing problems with MFN and
nonproliferation issues.
Following the delinkage of MFN and human rights in May 1994, the NSC
and State Department again took up the Taiwan Policy Review with intent
to complete it. Although obviously aware of growing congressional interest
in improving U.S. ties with Taiwan, the Interagency Working Group moved
cautiously on proposing changes, partly out of concern for Beijing’s reaction,
partly to keep Taiwan’s expectations in check. Considerable attention was
paid to how other countries structured their unofficial relations with Taiwan
and managed them on a day-to-day basis. On September 7, after the presi-
dent had approved an NSC memo outlining the proposed changes, they were
briefed to Taiwan’s chief representative, Ding Mou-shih; to the Chinese em-
bassy; and subsequently to the press. Among the changes announced:
—The name of Taiwan’s unofficial mission was changed to Taipei Eco-
nomic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO);
—Taiwan’s officials could call on American counterparts in their offices,
except for State Department and Executive Office of the President officials;
—American representatives could call upon the Taiwanese president, pre-
mier, and foreign minister in their offices;
—A regular subcabinet economic dialogue would be established to deal
with important bilateral economic issues;
—Cabinet-level exchanges could take place occasionally in both capitals
on economic and technical issues;
—The United States would support Taiwan’s entry into the General Agree-
ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and other international organizations
not requiring statehood for membership;
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 207

—Taiwan’s top leadership would be permitted to make “transit stops” in

the United States under approved conditions but were still not permitted to
make lengthy personal or official visits.18
Although Winston Lord said only half in jest that both sides should be
“ecstatic” about the review, believing it was carefully crafted to stay in the
middle on their sovereignty dispute, both sides attacked it. Taipei’s was the
milder criticism: the changes “have not sufficiently addressed the needs aris-
ing from the close relationship between the United States and Taiwan,”
TECRO said in a brief statement.19 China’s reaction was much more nega-
tive. Vice Foreign Minister Liu Huaqiu called in Ambassador J. Stapleton
Roy on September 11 to register a “strong protest” at the changes, which he
called “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs and a “serious infringe-
ment” of China’s sovereignty. He characterized the U.S. change as a “seri-
ous retrogression” of American policy, which could bring about “grave
consequences.”20 He also escalated the rhetoric by threatening that the is-
sue could become “explosive” if not handled correctly.21 Curiously, Wash-
ington seemed to miss the seriousness of Liu’s words. Undersecretary of
State Peter Tarnoff, who visited Beijing two days later, said after his talks
he was confident “China now understands that the US has a consistent
position that is not changing.”22

PLA Plaints
Hong Kong press sources reported during this period a growing controversy
within the leadership over Beijing’s response to the United States. On the one
hand, elderly “leftists” were taking advantage of the economic difficulties
and increased tensions with the United States to attack Deng Xiaoping and
his entire policy orientation.23 More seriously, senior PLA leaders were re-
ported to be giving hard-line speeches and writing protest letters to the Cen-
tral Committee about the direction of China’s foreign policy and even about
Foreign Minister Qian’s handling of it. Politburo Standing Committee mem-
ber and Military Commission Vice Chairman Liu Huaqing reportedly told a
PLA audience in April that China needed to send an “explicit and firm mes-
sage to the United States: China will never tolerate foreign interference in its
internal affairs and will never barter away its principles. China will not seek
confrontation, but will not fear confrontation and will not evade any im-
posed confrontation.”24 Chief of Staff Zhang Wannian reportedly had made
similar remarks at a Central Committee secretariat meeting earlier that
month,25 while Defense Minister Chi Haotian traveled frequently during the
summer with Jiang and began taking on a more active diplomatic role.26
208 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Hong Kong’s Hsin Pao reported in July 1994 that eighty PLA generals—
retired and active—had written a letter to the Central Committee in June,
complaining about American “attempts to subvert, penetrate, interfere in
and undermine China” and calling for China to “uphold its principles.” Jiang
met with some of the officers and praised their patriotism, assuring them
that China would not shrink from confrontation should that become neces-
sary. Also in June, military academicians and officers in PLA businesses af-
fected by President Clinton’s ban on imports of Chinese assault weapons
reportedly called for Qian Qichen’s resignation. Jiang reportedly defended
Qian strongly at a Politburo meeting, in part by invoking Deng’s praise of
him.27 In August, at a week-long high-level meeting of Taiwan specialists
from the party, government, and military bureaucracies, recommendations
were made about a staged escalation of military pressure on Taiwan over a
twenty-year period. General Liu Huaqing spoke at the conference and indi-
cated the proposals would be taken up to the highest decisionmaking levels.28
Jiang’s handling of increasing PLA restiveness on foreign policy issues was
deft but ultimately limited his policy flexibility. On the one hand, he used his
position as chairman of the Central Military Commission prudently, seeking
out senior military officials, praising and reassuring them. He referred to
hostile external forces and exhorted the armed forces to “be prepared for
danger in times of peace.” He set PLA leaders a challenge to prepare for their
greater national defense responsibilities by improving their party loyalty and
ideological training and to pay special attention to the concept that “the
Party commands the gun, the gun must never be allowed to command the
Party.”29 Jiang was able to maintain the allegiance of the military through
the party plenum in October and won more time to deal with the Taiwan
issue.
On the other hand, Jiang and Qian also were able to bring some positive
benefits to the PLA from easing relations with Washington. First was a rela-
tively cost-free agreement with Washington in October 1994 over missile
exports to Pakistan, a topic of high concern to the PLA. In exchange for a
lifting of high-technology sanctions imposed in 1993, Qian reiterated a com-
mitment to not sell to any other country missiles that exceed, or had the
“inherent capability” to exceed, missile technology control regime (MTCR)
guidelines.30 The sequence of actions was critical for China. The United States
agreed to lift the sanctions first, after which China repeated a commitment it
had made earlier on M-11s. The agreement opened the way for American
satellites again to be launched on Chinese carrier rockets, a lucrative busi-
ness for the PLA and one that afforded limited access to sophisticated Ameri-
can space technology. Subsequently, the United States offered secretly to waive
sanctions over whatever M-11s may have been delivered to Pakistan in re-
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 209

turn for a Chinese accounting of those sales, which U.S. intelligence agencies
had never been able to prove definitively.31 Not trusting Washington’s record
on applying and lifting sanctions was probably part of the reason Beijing did
not rise to the offer, even though it was made before the Clinton-Jiang sum-
mit meeting at the Bogor, Indonesia, leaders meeting of the Asia Pacific Eco-
nomic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Second, Secretary of Defense William Perry made a high-profile visit to
China in October, completely erasing the restrictions on high-level military
contacts that had been in place since 1989. Perry carried with him a proposal
for a joint U.S.-PRC commission on “defense conversion,” helping China
transform some of its inefficient state-owned military-industrial enterprises
into businesses that could produce for the civilian economy. He also offered
U.S. assistance in helping China develop more effective civilian air traffic
control. In return, Perry encouraged more “transparency” on the part of
PLA budget planners, so as to ease regional and American concerns about
China’s military intentions. PLA leaders appeared to be highly appreciative
of the Perry visit, which not only accorded considerable deference to China’s
strategic perspective but also demonstrated respect for PLA leaders and an
apparent recognition of the important role they played in China’s political
and economic affairs.32
Whatever goodwill may have been generated by the Perry visit was un-
done within two weeks, however, by an encounter in the East China Sea
between Chinese aircraft and submarines and the American aircraft carrier
Kitty Hawk. While patrolling off the coast of South Korea, the American
carrier detected the presence of a Chinese submarine in its vicinity. Anti-
submarine warfare aircraft and other planes from the Kitty Hawk engaged
the Han class submarine and pursued it back toward the Chinese coast in a
vigorous manner, dropping sonar buoys and simulating an attack. As the
U.S. planes approached China’s twelve-nautical-mile territorial waters
boundary, Chinese aircraft were scrambled and approached within visual
range. The American aircraft broke off the encounter and returned to the
Kitty Hawk.33
Although no shots were fired nor any physical damage done—and the
incident was gentle compared with some U.S.-Soviet encounters at sea—the
Chinese were outraged. U.S. diplomats were quietly asked to provide “clari-
fications” of the situation, and American military attachés were informed
that the PLA air force had issued a “shoot down” order to be carried out
against any American aircraft approaching Chinese territory.34 No formal
protests were made, however, probably because of the PLA’s embarrassment
at not being able to provide effective protection to one of its own ships oper-
ating off its own coast.
210 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

The upshot was that Jiang and Qian probably were under some pressure
to be “tough” on the Taiwan issue when they met with President Clinton on
the margins of the APEC leaders meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, in November.
Jiang’s position had been bolstered by the promotion of two of his protégés
at a late September Central Committee plenum: Huang Ju, major of Shang-
hai, was added to the Politburo, and Party Secretary Wu Bangguo was given
a position on the central secretariat. But with Deng’s health rumored to be
deteriorating, Jiang needed to move cautiously to strengthen his position.35
The November 14 summit meeting marked a slight improvement in the
relations between the two presidents. Jiang seemed more confident and out-
going than he had been at Blake Island. He deployed his sixteen-character
maxim on developing good bilateral relations. He nonetheless still read from
a prepared text toward the end of the discussion, focusing more intently on
his subordinates than on his counterpart. Clinton seemed somewhat remote,
distracted, perhaps, by the implications of the midterm elections held the
week before, in which the Democratic Party had lost control of both houses
of Congress.
The hour-long meeting moved through a set agenda of issues in a typically
tedious fashion, with both leaders intoning prepared points, followed by trans-
lation, and little real exchange of views. The principal issues were the U.S.–
North Korean nuclear agreement signed the previous month, China’s possible
entry into the GATT/WTO (the World Trade Organization was to be estab-
lished in 1995), human rights, free trade aspirations within APEC, and fi-
nally, the Taiwan issue, raised by Jiang.36 Jiang put down a firm marker,
saying that China would not “sit idly by” if Taiwan were to pursue “Taiwan
independence” with the assistance of foreign intervention. Clinton responded
with the mantra that the United States would abide by the three communiqués
and maintain a “one China” policy. The contrast between PRC and U.S.
coverage of the meeting was striking. Xinhua devoted much of its coverage
of the meeting to the Taiwan issue, while the NSC “senior official” briefing
the press afterward mentioned it almost as an afterthought.37
Again, the summit meeting provided little additional momentum to the
bilateral relationship, which remained in a state of tense dissatisfaction on
the Chinese side and gloomy disregard on the American side. The optimism
that had followed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown’s late August visit to
Beijing with a large contingent of American business executives had faded,
replaced by a simmering trade dispute over China’s failure to protect Ameri-
can intellectual property. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
threatened to draw up by the end of the year a list of $800 million worth of
Chinese products to be sanctioned, eliciting the predictable threat of retalia-
tion from the Chinese side. Transportation Secretary Federico Peña—the first
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 211

Cabinet member to visit Taiwan under the guidelines of the Taiwan Policy
Review—was disinvited to China after he met with Taiwan president Lee
Teng-hui in early December.38

Jiang’s Gambit
Despite the deterioration in relations between Beijing and Washington, Jiang
Zemin undertook an effort to ameliorate tensions with Taiwan early in 1995.
On January 30, in a lunar New Year celebration speech to a group of non-
party representatives, Jiang laid out an eight-point modification of Beijing’s
policy toward Taiwan. While in no way intended as a fundamental depar-
ture from Deng’s “one country, two systems” approach to reunification,
Jiang’s address did attempt to present some new perspectives and possibili-
ties to entice Lee Teng-hui into a more fruitful dialogue. Jiang offered nego-
tiations to “end the state of hostility”; asserted political differences should
not affect burgeoning economic cooperation and trade; reassured listeners
that the PRC threat of force was not directed against Taiwan but against
foreign meddling, because “Chinese should not fight fellow Chinese”; and
proposed high-level summit meetings to resolve difficulties.39 No doubt, Jiang’s
words were aimed as much at other PRC leaders as at Taiwan. It was none-
theless a risky move, as it depended for its success on complex and changing
politics in Taiwan.
Taipei reacted slowly and cautiously to Jiang’s initiative, which was barely
noticed in the United States. Lee Teng-hui withheld a definitive reply while
awaiting readouts from different constituencies on the island. Business ex-
ecutives seemed to think Jiang’s offer was positive, while political pundits
were skeptical, claiming Jiang’s initiative was dictated by domestic politics
rather than by a real desire to make progress in cross-Strait relations. They
noted heightened concern about Deng Xiaoping’s health and potential lead-
ership instability in the event of his death as well as Jiang’s uncertain grip on
power. Taiwan’s military was highly doubtful of Jiang’s sincerity and claimed
in late February that China was moving mobile missiles into Fujian Province
as a means of intimidating Taiwan.40 Taiwan conducted military exercises
during March and April, although it claimed they were not related to the
PRC actions.
Finally, on April 8, at a meeting of Taiwan’s National Unification Coun-
cil, Lee responded to Jiang Zemin’s late January proposal. Although billed as
an “olive branch” to Beijing, Lee’s speech was a carefully crafted rebuttal of
Jiang’s eight points. Lee called on Beijing to renounce the use of force before
negotiations on ending hostilities could begin, proposed unification talks
“based on the reality that the two sides are governed respectively by two
212 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

governments,” and suggested he would be willing to meet Jiang in a “natural

setting,” such as a meeting of an international organization to which both
sides belonged “on an equal footing.”41 The PRC reaction to Lee’s speech
was quick but relatively mild: Lee’s proposals “lacked sincerity” and were
“disappointing.”42
Meanwhile, Lee Teng-hui was accelerating his efforts to expand Taiwan’s
international prestige. Lee wanted to go to Cornell University in Ithaca, New
York, to attend a reunion event at his alma mater, where he had received a
doctorate in agricultural economics in 1968. The U.S. restrictions on the
travel of Taiwan’s topmost leaders had prevented him from accepting an
invitation to Cornell the previous year, and the Taiwan Policy Review of
1994 had not promised any change. But Lee and his supporters had begun a
vigorous and effective lobbying campaign in the United States, spurred by
publicity of the botched transit through Honolulu in May 1994. By March
1995, two resolutions were working their way through the U.S. Congress
calling for Lee to be permitted to make the trip.

Congress and the Lee Teng-hui Visit

The 104th Congress, under the flamboyant leadership of House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, took office in January 1995 and promptly mounted the most com-
prehensive and determined struggle for dominance between the legislative
and executive branches of the U.S. government that had been seen in de-
cades. The Republican Party had won a stunning victory in the 1994 mid-
term elections, picking up fifty-two seats in the House and eight in the Senate,
winning control of both houses for the first time since the end of World War
II. With an ambitious Contract with America as their master plan, congres-
sional Republicans would challenge the Clinton presidency on nearly every
domestic issue and several foreign policy questions, especially peacekeeping
and national missile defense. The challenges were posed in a confrontational
and inflexible manner that created a great deal of anger and animosity be-
tween the two parties and between the executive and legislative branches of
government.43
The changes in key committee assignments that accompanied the Repub-
lican takeover were also to prove significant. Dedicated anticommunist Jesse
Helms (R-N.C.) took over the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
tee (SFRC), while Benjamin Gilman of New York—a Republican moderate
strongly committed to human rights—became chairman of the House Inter-
national Relations Committee (HIRC). Both made clear they expected the
White House to consult more closely on foreign policy issues with Congress
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 213

and that they would not shrink from opposing Clinton policies or proposing
their own. Key opinion leaders on Taiwan—Senators Hank Brown (R-Colo.),
Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) in the Sen-
ate, Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Robert Torricelli (R-N. J.), Tom Lantos
(D-Calif.), and others in the House—gave early indications of returning to
the conflict over the Lee Teng-hui visit with a vengeance.
The Taiwan government encouraged and supported efforts by Capitol
Hill to pressure the Clinton administration on Taiwan-related issues. Lim-
ited by the “unofficial” relationship with the U.S. government, Taiwan was
under no constraints on its contacts with Capitol Hill, and it pursued them
aggressively. TECRO officials established numerous close contacts with mem-
bers of Congress and staffers, sponsoring visits to Taiwan and special events
in Washington. Both of Taiwan’s main political parties regularly sent delega-
tions through Washington, with stops in congressional offices high on their
list of priorities. Equally important, American lobbying firms were used fre-
quently to promote Taiwan’s public affairs, as well as its legislative agenda.
A deal worth $4.5 million between the KMT-sponsored Taiwan Research
Institute and the public relations firm Cassidy and Associates gained particu-
lar notoriety.44
Taipei’s influence was not just a matter of lobbying. There was also wide-
spread admiration for Taiwan’s economic prowess and for the democratic
development that had taken place under Lee Teng-hui. Moreover, the grow-
ing contrast between a thriving, open democracy in Taiwan and Beijing’s
closed, truculent, and repressive system drew most Americans almost auto-
matically to support Taiwan in its competition with the PRC. Without a
clear strategic interest to justify taking the side of Beijing, many members of
Congress were unwilling to do so. And they were also unsympathetic to the
executive branch doing so.
Executive-legislative skirmishing on Taiwan began almost immediately
after the new Congress was sworn in. The HIRC chair, Benjamin Gilman,
held hearings on January 12, at which both he and former secretary of state
James A. Baker expressed support for a Lee Teng-hui visit to the United
States. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank influential among
congressional Republicans, recommended approval of a Lee visit to Cornell
as one of several steps that could improve U.S.-Taiwan relations without
damaging U.S.-PRC ties.45 House Speaker Gingrich took things a step fur-
ther on February 2, when he not only supported a Lee visit but also said the
people of Taiwan should have “the right of self-determination; they have
every right to be in the United Nations.”46 In testimony on February 9, Assis-
tant Secretary Winston Lord defended U.S. policy against sharp attacks from
several House members on the question of a Lee visit to Cornell.47
214 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

On March 6, Frank Murkowski and thirty-five other members of Con-

gress introduced a concurrent resolution—a nonbinding “sense of the Con-
gress” resolution—in the Senate and House, recommending “that the President
should promptly indicate that the United States will welcome a private visit
by President Lee Teng-hui to his alma mater, Cornell University.”48 In a let-
ter to President Clinton on March 15, Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, expressed what was a widely held view in
Congress. Noting that provisions for Lee’s visit had already been passed into
law, Helms discounted PRC protests. “I find it hard to imagine that U.S.
relations with Red China would . . . come to a standstill because of a week-
end visit to the United States by Taiwan’s President,” he wrote.49
Winston Lord and Kent Wiedemann (who had moved back to the State
Department from the Defense Department in early 1995), Stanley Roth, NSC
senior director, and I were well aware of the growing pressure from Con-
gress about the visa , having had numerous conversations about it with House
and Senate staffers. We were also concerned that U.S.-PRC relations, after a
brief pause following the Clinton-Jiang summit, were again headed sharply
downward and could be exacerbated by a high-profile Lee visit. At the end of
1994, after months of fruitless negotiation, the USTR—with full White House
and State Department support—had raised the amount it would impose in
retaliatory tariffs against Chinese products to $2.8 billion unless China took
action by February 1995 to close down illegal compact disk (CD) manufac-
turing plants. Anthony Lake described the action as a means of restoring
U.S. “credibility” with the Chinese leadership, who were underestimating
U.S. resolve, in his view.50
Also in February, the State Department’s human rights report on China
noted no significant progress since delinkage in any area of its inquiry. The
State Department and the NSC agreed to press hard for passage of a resolu-
tion critical of China by the UN Human Rights Commission. That effort was
successful in March in overcoming the usual Chinese effort to block consid-
eration of the resolution, but the resolution was narrowly defeated. The re-
newed pressure on human rights had raised bilateral tensions significantly.51
There were also simmering problems relating to China’s naval activities in
the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea and a nuclear reactor deal it was
considering with Iran.
Contacts in Beijing had reinforced the strong—if somewhat overstated—
view of anxieties among China’s leaders about a Lee Teng-hui visit to the
United States, even a private one. We were aware of the complicated state of
cross-Strait relations and the growing strains within the Chinese leadership
over Taiwan. But the opposition to a Lee visit was adamant and widely shared
at all levels of the PRC government. Arguments we made that Americans did
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 215

not understand or support keeping Lee out, and that allowing such a visit
would not change the fundamentals of the U.S.-China relationship, fell on
deaf ears. We also understood that Lee’s travel plans were not a “sentimental
journey” to his alma mater but rather a campaign kickoff for the presidential
election in 1996, in which he was already the front runner. Stanley Roth had
hopes he could come up with a plan for a golf outing in Hawaii that would
give Lee the satisfaction of a respectful visit but also avoid public relations
embarrassment for the United States. Ambassador Roy wanted to approve
the Lee visit but also to assuage the PRC’s unhappiness with a state visit to
the United States for Jiang, which he believed would pay multiple benefits.52
Neither could get higher-level approval for their proposals, and the adminis-
tration remained largely passive in the face of growing public pressure to
allow Lee to make a speech at Cornell’s alumni reunion weekend in early
June.
By early April, both House and Senate committees had unanimously moved
respective versions of the Murkowski resolution on to full floor consider-
ation. On May 2, the House passed its version of the Murkowski resolution
by 396-0. The Senate took up the measure one week later, passing it by a
margin of 97 to 1. While “sense of the Congress” resolutions are nonbinding
and often are ignored by the executive branch, this one was different. In
early April, Congressman Torricelli and ten others had introduced H.R. 1460,
an amendment to the Taiwan Relations Act forbidding the secretary of state
from excluding any elected Taiwanese official on the grounds of “adverse
foreign policy consequences.”53 Even if the president vetoed such a piece of
legislation, an override was likely.

A Presidential Retreat Leaves State Exposed

Clinton had been talking for some time about Taiwan with congressional
moderates—members of the Democratic Leadership Council like Senator
Chuck Robb (D-Va.) and Joseph Lieberman. He was sympathetic with their
perspective. As governor of Arkansas, he had visited Taiwan four times, and
he thought highly of the island’s political and economic development. More-
over, he saw the issue in terms of the traditional American value of freedom
of travel, rather than in China-Taiwan terms.54 Lake was similarly in favor
of finding small ways to move beyond the “anachronisms” that severely cir-
cumscribed U.S. official contacts with Taiwan. His main concern was that
the administration was being “absolutely driven by the Congress” on Lee’s
visit. At the breakfast meeting with Christopher and Defense Secretary Wil-
liam Perry on May 17, the three agreed to try and find a way to allow Lee to
visit yet minimize damage to U.S.-PRC relations.55
216 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Knowing the matter was an urgent one and that the president would make
the final call (even though the secretary of state has legal responsibility for
visa decisions), NSC’s Asia Directorate had already prepared an Action Memo-
randum for the president. Stanley Roth was traveling in Asia at the time, but
we had discussed the issue and I knew his view. We believed that we should
hold out until Congress forced the administration’s hand. During that time
we could try to persuade Taiwan to accept an extended transit, perhaps in-
cluding golf, and to prepare Beijing to swallow the bitter medicine. We were
under no illusions that this was a satisfactory option, but we also believed
that the consequences of flip-flopping would be dire. I prepared a memo with
two alternative recommendations: first (and preferred), to hold out against
allowing Lee to visit Cornell; second, to work quietly with Taipei and Beijing
for several days to structure a Cornell visit that would be manageable and
appropriate, then make a public announcement. I submitted the memo on a
priority basis on the same day as the Christopher-Lake-Perry breakfast.
The following morning, I was called over to Lake’s West Wing office to
discuss the memo. Only Lake and I, Sandy Berger, and Lake’s assistant, Peter
Bass, were present. Lake said he and Christopher and Perry had discussed the
issue, and he wanted me to reverse the order of the recommendations in the
Action Memorandum, giving preference to the granting of a visa. I argued
briefly against this course, focusing on the adverse reaction likely from China
and the small benefits to be derived for the United States. Berger, who had
strongly opposed granting the visa, sat silent, frowning, believing the deci-
sion was a mistake.56 Lake repeated the order. I asked to include with the
Action Memorandum an annex on the likely PRC reaction as part of the
decision package. Lake agreed.
Recasting the memorandum was easy enough, although in retrospect I
wish I had placed more stress on the need to keep a lid on the decision. But I
focused on the annex, on the grim consequences I expected to follow the
visit: another deep freeze for U.S.-China relations, with major visits post-
poned and ongoing human rights and nonproliferation dialogues suspended;
a longer-term decline in PRC-Taiwan relations, with the PRC resorting to
military exercises and possibly even missile tests as a means of discouraging
Taiwan’s perceived movement toward “independence.” The revised memo-
randum moved quickly through “the system” and was on the president’s
desk by the afternoon of May 19. He approved it immediately. White House
spokesman Mike McCurry had told the press at noon that the visa issue was
“under consideration.” By that evening, the Taiwan press had the whole
story.57 We did not have several days to manage the process. We had none.
Tony Lake and Peter Tarnoff met with China’s ambassador, Li Daoyu, on
Saturday morning to convey the news to him. He did not take it graciously.
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 217

Kent Wiedemann and I met with the TECRO director, Benjamin Chao-chung
Lu, at the same time to pass along the obviously more welcome news. We
tried to ensure that he understood the distinct parameters of a private visit—
no large press contingent, no flag-waving receptions at airports, no meetings
with U.S. officials, no political rallies, no lengthy rest stops in other Ameri-
can cities. Lu smiled and promised full cooperation and communication.
On Monday, May 22, the State Department announced the president’s
decision to the press. The justification was that Lee’s visit was completely
private, would have no official content, and was therefore “consistent with
U.S. policy of maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan.” “Ameri-
cans treasure the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of travel and be-
lieve others should enjoy these privileges as well,” the briefer added. He also
indicated that Lee’s itinerary and other details of his trip would be discussed
with Taiwanese authorities to make sure that “his activities here, with all
due respect, are consistent with the understanding we have, which is this will
be a private visit.”58

The Last Straw

Although increasingly suspicious that the Taiwanese leader was promoting
de facto independence, and probably annoyed at Lee’s insouciance on reuni-
fication issues, Jiang and Foreign Minister Qian seemed to think in early
1995 that the United States understood the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue
sufficiently that it would not grant Lee permission to visit the United States.
Officials at all levels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made the point
repeatedly in conversations with American counterparts and had heard in
response that the revised guidelines still prohibited a visa for Lee. Qian had
heard directly from Christopher on April 17 that a Lee visit to Cornell would
be “inconsistent with . . . an unofficial relationship.”59 What Qian and others
chose to disregard were warnings from their American counterparts, and
presumably from their embassy in Washington, that congressional pressure
was becoming extremely strong.
Reluctance to deal with yet another problem in the relationship probably
contributed to Beijing’s static approach to Lee’s travel plans, along with a
recognition that their options for preventing it were limited. After some
progress in late 1994, bilateral ties were again skidding downward in early
1995. American trade officials had threatened punitive tariffs on China for
insufficient protection of American intellectual property and market access
problems, just when China’s economic boom was beset by inflation of nearly
22 percent.60 U.S. Commerce Department and Ministry of Foreign Trade
and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) leaders argued publicly about the
218 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

size of China’s trade deficit. Chinese space launch officials and American
satellite manufacturers blamed each other for the January 26 explosion of a
Chinese Long March rocket carrying a U.S.-made satellite. The United States
vigorously pushed a resolution critical of China’s human rights practices at
the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva and nearly got it
passed. Americans seemed to be reverting to pressure across the board in
dealing with China.
Internal politics were also difficult in early 1995. Deng Xiaoping’s daugh-
ter, Deng Rong (also known as Xiao Rong), alarmed the entire leadership by
revealing to an American reporter in January that her father no longer was
able to walk and was declining in health “day by day.”61 After near-public
criticism by party officials and contrary assessments of the ninety-year-old
patriarch’s health by other family members, she partially recanted her com-
ments a month later, but rumors about Deng’s health and political succes-
sion swirled anew. The death of party elder Chen Yun in early April added to
the uncertainty of the leadership picture, even though Chen had been inac-
tive for at least a year.
As Deng’s incapacitation became more apparent, maneuvering among other
top leaders became a subject of considerable speculation. Western press ob-
servers discerned significant policy differences among members of the Polit-
buro Standing Committee, noted that more than one-third of National People’s
Congress delegates voted against one of the party’s candidates for vice pre-
mier in March, and speculated on the possible return of Zhao Ziyang and
Yang Shangkun.62 Forty-five prominent intellectuals and scientists circulated
a petition appealing to the government to overturn the party’s condemnation
of the 1989 Tiananmen protests and release all political prisoners. Corrup-
tion probes were opened against Deng family members and political allies. In
April, Beijing mayor and Politburo member Chen Xitong—one of the stron-
gest proponents of the Tiananmen crackdown—was forced to resign from
the Politburo after his involvement in a massive corruption scandal in Beijing
was exposed. South China Morning Post correspondent Willy Lam observed,
“So much energy of the top cadres is consumed with skullduggery and back-
stabbing, . . . one wonders how much time is left for policy-making.”63
The Clinton administration unwittingly provided the beleaguered leader-
ship with a unifying cause by announcing that it had decided to reverse course
and permit Taiwan’s president Lee Teng-hui to pay a “private” visit to Cornell
University. Shocked and angry, the Foreign Ministry called in the American
ambassador to register a “strong protest” and demanded that Washington
rescind the decision or “pay the price.”64 But it was too late. Washington was
not about to reverse itself. And opinion in China was about to take a sharp
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 219

turn toward a much more negative and nationalistic approach toward both
the United States and Taiwan. The PLA led the charge, immediately post-
poning Defense Minister Chi Haotian’s planned trip to Washington in June
and recalling the air force commander from his travels in the United States.
On May 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs postponed MTCR discussions
with State Department officials and called off experts’ consultations on the
peaceful use of nuclear energy. Despite U.S. explanations and reassurances
about the policy, Beijing proceeded progressively to downgrade relations.
Lee’s travel plans also created serious strains in U.S.-Taiwan relations.
TECRO chief Benjamin Lu could not deliver on his pledge of full coopera-
tion, probably because leaders in Taipei viewed the turn of events as proof of
the Clinton administration’s weakness and a vindication of their congres-
sionally focused approach, and therefore treated coordination of plans with
the State Department as a nuisance or afterthought. Resentment built up at
the State Department and TECRO as every detail of the trip needed to be
negotiated, and many had to be renegotiated when unwritten agreements
were broken. They argued over the size of the press contingent, security de-
tail, and official coterie; where Lee’s aircraft would stop; what officials could
meet him; and where Taiwan’s flags could be displayed. The basic problem
was that the State Department and Lee’s office had diametrically different
agendas for the trip to Cornell: Washington wanted to show it to be an unof-
ficial trip that did no further harm to U.S.-China relations; Taipei wanted it to
be an official-looking trip that made Lee appear presidential and respected in
the United States. If it raised Sino-American tensions, that might have a posi-
tive outcome in bringing U.S. public opinion closer to Taiwan’s side.65
On June 8, Lee arrived at Los Angeles airport, where he was greeted by
hundreds of Taiwan supporters, waving flags and cheering as he stepped off
the plane. Hundreds more greeted his arrival at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where
he was met by the mayor of Los Angeles and several other California digni-
taries. Although he did not speak at the reception, Lee’s spokesman told the
press the president hoped his visit would lead to further exchanges and closer
friendship between the United States and the Republic of China. A similar
scene greeted his arrival in Syracuse, where three U.S. senators (Helms,
Murkowski, and New York’s Republican senator Alfonse D’Amato) joined
the local officials and crowds of flag-waving Taiwanese Americans in wel-
coming Lee. Any hope of maintaining the illusion of “unofficiality,” how-
ever, disappeared the following evening, when Lee delivered the Spencer T.
and Ann W. Olin Lecture at Cornell University’s alumni reunion.
In discussions with Benjamin Lu, Kent Wiedemann and Winston Lord
were assured that Lee’s speech would be a warm retrospective on Lee’s years
220 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

at Cornell and a mild discussion of economic reform in Taiwan. It was also

implied that a draft would be made available for review well in advance of
delivery. The draft arrived the day before it was to be delivered, far too late
for any changes to be proposed, much less accepted. And Lee’s staff had
already made copies available to the press. It was a classic campaign speech
by a man proud of his record, proud of his country, and eager to extol its
virtues and proper place in the world.
After a brief reference to his Cornell years, Lee launched into a passionate
advocacy of “the Taiwan Experience.” “Communism is dead or dying, and
the peoples of many nations are anxious to try new methods of governing
their societies that will better meet the basic needs that every human has
. . . In my heart, I believe that the Taiwan Experience has something unique
to offer the world in this search for a new direction.” He described the
“political and economic miracle” that had taken place in “the Republic of
China on Taiwan” and contrasted it implicitly with the absence of democ-
racy on the mainland. “The needs and wishes of my people have been my
guiding light every step of the way. I only hope that the leaders in the
mainland are able one day to be similarly guided, since then our achieve-
ments in Taiwan can most certainly help the process of economic liberal-
ization and the cause of democracy in mainland China.” Lee concluded
with a strong plea for more contact and recognition from other countries
and international organizations.66
Lee’s speech effectively put an end to any prospect in Beijing of allowing
the issue to die down. Offended by his repeated reference to the “Republic of
China on Taiwan,” his condescending offers to help the mainland find de-
mocracy, and his open pitch for international recognition, Beijing reacted
quickly and angrily. The Taiwan Affairs Office quickly canceled the planned
second round of high-level talks between Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu,
blaming Lee for “attacking and cursing the mainland, agitating to split up
the country and advertising ‘two Chinas.’”67 Beijing’s propaganda apparatus
began a personal vilification campaign against Lee, calling him a “pawn”
and “tool” of the United States, bound to be disregarded by the Chinese
nation. The defamation of Lee reached its peak in late July, when People’s
Daily and Xinhua published joint commentaries on Lee’s speech on four
consecutive days. Accusing him of trying to establish his own dictatorship,
advocating Taiwan’s independence, and endangering the people of Taiwan,
the commentaries—clearly approved at the highest levels of the party—
represented an elevation of the psychological pressure Beijing was prepared
to apply to show their displeasure with Lee in advance of the presidential
elections scheduled for March 1996. Given that the commentaries also coin-
cided with the launching of six Chinese ballistic missiles into the Taiwan
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 221

Strait approximately eighty-five miles north of Taipei, it was clear that China
had shifted to a policy of coercive diplomacy with respect to Taiwan.68 It was
a policy that eventually would lead to direct confrontation with the United
States.
The decision to grant a visa to Lee also evidently tipped a fine balance
within the Chinese leadership on policy toward the United States. Although
internal repercussions were relatively mild—Jiang and Qian reportedly made
self-criticisms at an enlarged meeting of the Politburo—the change in policy
approach toward both the United States and Taiwan was far-reaching.69
Within the Politburo Standing Committee, the Central Committee Foreign
Affairs Small Group, and the Taiwan Affairs Small Group, voices calling for
toughness and retaliation grew stronger, while the ones who had encouraged
patience and cooperation with Washington were silent. There was little pay-
off to be seen in taking a stance that could be criticized as weak-kneed to-
ward the “hegemonist” United States.
In an effort to assuage China’s aggravation over the Lee visa and to signal
the continuing importance of U.S.-China relations, President Clinton agreed
to invite China’s ambassador Li Daoyu to the White House for a brief early
evening meeting on June 8, the day Lee Teng-hui was arriving in Los Ange-
les. Clinton almost never met privately with ambassadors, and there were
hopes the Chinese would absorb the symbolic message and substantive reas-
surances that the Cornell visit did not mark a change in U.S. policy. Li, how-
ever, was angry and insolent, clenching his fists and pumping his legs to
punctuate his brusque talking points, his official anger probably augmented
by his own embarrassment. The following week, Li was called back to
Beijing “for consultations,” and rumors quickly spread that he was under
attack in China for not warning the leadership about the Lee visa. In any
case, his performance in the Oval Office did not win him, or his cause,
much sympathy.
Within hours of Li’s recall, U.S. ambassador Stapleton Roy left Beijing
for onward assignment as ambassador to Indonesia. With none of the fare-
well calls that usually attend the end of an ambassadorial tour, Roy’s de-
parture was quiet, almost somber. The relationship he had worked so hard
to rebuild from its low point when he arrived in 1991, was heading back
downhill. His advice on how to improve the relationship had gone largely
unheeded in Washington. He had watched in frustration as U.S. domestic
politics repeatedly had misguided and damaged the bilateral relationship
and what he considered larger U.S. strategic interests in the region. Unlike
Li Daoyu, he had warned of the consequences of a high-profile Lee Teng-
hui visit. Now he would watch from Jakarta as the relationship deterio-
rated further.
222 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Party, Army, and Policy

From mid-May 1995 through the spring of 1996, China adopted a series of
policies toward the outside world that appeared to represent a sharp break
with its previous approach. It pushed more vigorously its territorial claims in
the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It violated the implicit
moratorium on nuclear testing with underground blasts at Lop Nur on May
15 and August 17. It heightened the pitch of belligerent press attacks on the
United States for its purported strategy of containing China or treating it as
a threat to Asian security. But most alarmingly, it began a campaign of ex-
tremely harsh rhetoric, threats, and military intimidation toward Taiwan in
the aftermath of the Lee Teng-hui visit to the United States. Many observers
attributed this turn to a general increase in the influence or power of the PLA
in policy deliberation councils in Beijing. Few tried to detail how that influ-
ence was exerted, however, or to what ends. Of all the unknown factors in
the shrouded decisionmaking process of the PRC, gauging the policy influ-
ence of the PLA is one of the most difficult.
Since the earliest days of China’s communist revolution, the PLA, as the
military arm of the Communist Party, has always been closely entwined with
the political leadership. Most of the party’s early leaders held some position
or other within the military chain of command, and many army leaders were
given positions on the Political Bureau of the party. Mao Zedong’s dictum
that “power grows out of the barrel of a gun” did not apply only to China’s
civil war. Even after the People’s Republic was established in 1949, Mao
continued to rely on the military to carry out his often radical programs of
social engineering and political restructuring, and military men at times exer-
cised great influence within the leadership. Deng, like Mao, recognized the
importance of exercising direct party control over the military and also of
having the personal support of key military leaders in his quest for domi-
nance within the party leadership. After his restoration in 1977, he never
needed or aspired to any power position within the civilian party structure
but rather established himself as first among equals through his chairman-
ship of the party’s Central Military Commission (CMC).
That position enabled Deng to sidestep the paralyzed political leadership
during the Tiananmen crisis and bring to bear the military force needed to
crush the demonstrations and restore control of the capital. It was a reminder
that the party’s authority was still dependent on the coercive capabilities of
its security forces and armed forces and that it could not afford to disregard
military interests or allow the PLA to move out of the party’s direct control.
Deng and other party leaders considered it necessary to reward the military
for its loyalty, which they did in a number of ways. One was public praise
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 223

and recognition, which failed to restore the army’s reputation among the
citizens of Beijing or the self-esteem of those who participated in
the Tiananmen incident. Another was promotion and party recognition. At
the Fourteenth Party Congress in October 1992, the proportion of military
members on the Central Committee rose to almost one-quarter, with one-
third of new members being PLA officers.70 Although overall PLA represen-
tation on the Politburo declined, the addition of Liu Huaqing to the Standing
Committee did maintain military influence at the highest levels of
decisionmaking. Most important, however, budgetary resources devoted to
PLA modernization—a high priority for all military leaders—began a pat-
tern of double-digit growth in 1990 that has continued to the present day.71
Between 1990 and 1995, China’s announced military budget more than
doubled.72 Even considering the uncertainty about the accuracy of the figures
and China’s high inflation, there is no doubt that the party leadership was
making up for several years of relative privation, when national defense spend-
ing received a lower priority in the budget.
Deng clearly wanted Jiang Zemin to establish and strengthen his leader-
ship credentials through the CMC and ceded the chairmanship to him in
November 1989. Directing the armed forces, however, is not simply a matter
of institutional positions. Deng was able to exercise authority over the mili-
tary, in part because he had valorous and high-level military experience as
political commissar of the Second Field Army during China’s civil war. He
also had a quality of mental toughness that inspired military respect. Most
important, he had a deep guanxi network in the armed forces; that is, he
knew the top military leaders personally and had earned their esteem. Jiang
had none of those advantages, and it was only Deng’s firm support—and
Yang Shangkun’s—that enabled him to operate initially within the PLA’s
leading group.73 Deng then helped Jiang rid himself of the threat of Yang and
his half brother and persuaded Admiral Liu Huaqing and General Zhang
Zhen—both at that point past retirement age—to serve as vice chairmen of
the Military Commission in support of Jiang.
Jiang worked carefully with Liu and Zhang to bring about necessary
changes in the composition and political loyalty of the PLA high command,
breaking the grip of the Yangs. Then slowly but surely, through promotions
and transfers, he brought into the CMC and the PLA hierarchy a group of
younger officers who were beholden to him for their promotions and posi-
tions. And as Deng’s health and influence weakened, Jiang continued to work
carefully with Liu Huaqing to maintain the impression of firm military sup-
port for himself as the “core” of the party rather than any of the other poten-
tial claimants of Deng’s mantle. He regularly visited PLA units in his capacity
as CMC chairman, showing interest and concern for the lot of the common
224 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

soldier, learning more about the issues of concern to them. He issued specific
guidelines on improving political education in the military and inculcating
the idea of the armed forces loyally “safeguarding” political power in China.74
Jiang also ingratiated himself with the military leadership by addressing the
political and economic issues that were of most concern to them and, where
possible, adopting them as his own, or at least supporting them in higher
party councils. Aside from national defense spending, PLA priorities included
foreign weapons acquisition, loose constraints on PLA business operations,
strict maintenance of internal stability, assertive nationalism, and perhaps
most important of all, an uncompromising position on Taiwan.
On Taiwan, and the closely related issue of relations with the United States,
however, Jiang and at least some of the PLA’s senior cadre did not seem to be
in full agreement in 1995. The difference in approach began to emerge as
early as 1992, after the sale of American F-16s, and grew more serious as
overall U.S.-China relations deteriorated in the first years of the Clinton ad-
ministration. After Jiang’s January 1995 “eight-point” proposal—which some
in the PLA, according to Willy Lam, considered “dovish to the point of ca-
pitulation”— failed to generate a positive change in the cross-Strait dynamic
and was followed by Lee’s trip to Cornell, a major reevaluation of China’s
policy reportedly was undertaken within the Politburo Standing Commit-
tee.75 Jiang no doubt found his options severely narrowed. He needed PLA
support for his own political survival and faced greater opposition within the
party over Taiwan policy if he did not act. Now the military was pressing
through all its channels for a firmer stance toward both the United States and
Taiwan. Liu Huaqing represented the military perspective in the Politburo
Standing Committee. Liu and Zhang Zhen and other PLA leaders also had
access to Jiang in the Central Military Commission. By one account, they
delivered in a CMC meeting a letter to Jiang signed by numerous military
officers advocating a tougher approach to Taiwan and calling for the Minis-
try of Foreign Affairs to be held accountable.76
Jiang may have been more attentive to PLA opinion even within the Cen-
tral Committee’s Taiwan Affairs Leading Small Group (TALSG), which he
headed. The army had always been represented on the party’s principal
decisionmaking group on Taiwan, given that it was responsible for the ulti-
mate task of reunification if all else failed. Yang Shangkun had headed the
Leading Group from 1984 to 1992, aided by a career PLA officer, Yang Side,
as secretary general of the TALSG and director of the Central Committee’s
Taiwan Work Office (TWO).77 But Jiang had succeeded in “civilianizing”
the group somewhat when he took over as its head in 1993, dropping Yang
Side and adding United Front Work Department Director Wang Zhaoguo
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 225

as secretary general.78 Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and several other ci-
vilian officials with intelligence or trade responsibilities also were believed
to be members. In response to the pressures of 1995, however, Jiang gave
more responsibilities to its PLA representative, Xiong Guangkai, then di-
rector of the Intelligence Department of the PLA General Staff. He also
may have begun inviting senior generals Liu Huaqing, Zhang Zhen, and
PLA Chief of General Staff Zhang Wannian to attend meetings and staff
out policy papers.79
The PRC statements on Taiwan took on a more militant and threatening
cast beginning in mid-June, then escalated sharply in late July. This change
cannot be attributed solely to PLA influence in policy councils, as many other
individuals and organizations shared the Army’s outrage over Lee’s trip and
the remarks he made at Cornell. Most likely, a full leadership meeting in
Beijing set down new guidelines for the PRC’s overall approach to Taiwan.
Among its conclusions: there were no longer to be any “illusions” about Lee
Teng-hui—he intended to “split the motherland” and move Taiwan toward
independence, and he would be “taught a lesson” in return; the PRC would
do all in its power to defeat his plans of enlarging Taiwan’s “international
space;” all cross-Strait contacts and discussions would be suspended indefi-
nitely; the PRC would try to affect the domestic political dynamics on Tai-
wan by a campaign of political pressure; and the PLA would demonstrate its
commitment to “defend Taiwan by force.”80
Responsibility for the most visible form of pressure on Taiwan was given
to the PLA, which had a unique and effective means of exerting it—the move-
ment and disposition of military forces and the conduct of military exercises
on Chinese territory contiguous to Taiwan. These exercises did not require
significant civilian oversight, other than the approval of Jiang Zemin as CMC
chairman. The first exercise, called East Sea No. 5, was conducted by the
PLA navy and air force in the Taiwan Strait off Dongshan Island (about
seventy-five miles southwest of Taiwan’s Chin-men/Quemoy Island) on June
30.81 It was a more or less routine exercise, not very large in scale, and prob-
ably entailed landing craft drills.82
On July 18, Xinhua announced the PLA would be conducting from July
21 to 28 “a training for launching a surface-to-surface guided missile into the
open sea” in a ten-square-mile area roughly eighty-five miles north of Tai-
wan and informed foreign aircraft and vessels to stay out of the immediate
vicinity of the closure area.83 As intended, the announcement of such an un-
precedented and provocative exercise caused an economic and political shock
in Taiwan, where the stock market immediately tumbled and President Lee
felt compelled to make a public appeal for calm.84
226 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Washington’s reaction was more muted—the State Department spokes-

man said, “We don’t believe this test contributes to peace and stability in the
area.”85 On July 21–22, China launched four M-9 missiles with dummy war-
heads from a military base near Leping, Jiangxi Province. One of them failed
to reach the target area. Two days later, two medium-range DF-21 ballistic
missiles (range of 1,100 miles) were launched from Tonghua, in Jilin Prov-
ince.86 Hong Kong press reports suggested that ground force troops and high-
performance aircraft began moving into Fujian Province—across the strait
from Taiwan—at about this same time. As the exercises concluded, Beijing
media published authoritative attacks on Lee Teng-hui and his Cornell speech
on four consecutive days. At the end of the month, two U.S. Air Force attachés
posted in Hong Kong but traveling in Fujian to observe military activity were
arrested for spying and expelled in early August. Winston Lord nonetheless
maintained a low-key approach, stating in a press conference before leaving
for Asia that the United States wanted to “strike a balance on this missile
situation . . . We don’t think that this [test] helps stability but we also don’t
want to inflate the situation or exaggerate it.”87
Taiwan’s armed forces responded with a naval live-fire exercise north of
the island in late July. President Lee gave a defiant speech to Taiwan’s Na-
tional Assembly, calling for a speed-up in the construction of an “‘ effective
deterrent and rapid-reaction’ defense force that will offer the communist
Chinese regime an idea of the possible costs and serious consequences of
launching an armed invasion of Taiwan and keep it from acting recklessly.”88
He also announced the ROC armed forces would conduct a major exercise in
September and October. Taiwan’s stock market rebounded sharply after the
PRC tests were completed.
Beijing responded to Lee’s speech with more militant rhetoric at the Au-
gust 1 celebration of the PLA’s founding, with more attacks on Lee, and with
the announcement of another missile exercise on August 11. This one report-
edly had been planned as a routine exercise by PLA forces stationed in Fujian
but was augmented with antiship missiles, live artillery fire, and extensive air
and naval maneuvers in a 2,500-square-mile area about ninety to one hun-
dred miles north of Taiwan. The purpose was to keep up pressure on Lee
Teng-hui and demonstrate the PLA’s willingness to use force to oppose “Tai-
wan independence.”89 Again, the reaction in Taiwan was a drop in the stock
market and the value of Taiwan’s currency against the dollar, which the
Central Bank offset—at a substantial cost—with adjustments in interest rates
and reserve requirements. Taiwanese politicians vowed to resist PRC intimi-
dation and rallied popular support by accusing Beijing of trying to interfere
in Taiwan’s election process. Lee Teng-hui’s popularity hit 80 percent, ac-
cording to some polls. Washington again protested mildly that the tests were
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 227

“not conducive to peace and stability” but otherwise focused on improving

the overall U.S.-China relationship. It used stronger language to criticize
China’s August 17 nuclear test, its second in three months.

Crossed Purposes and Missed Signals

China policymakers in Washington had been caught off guard by the in-
tensity of Beijing’s reaction to the Lee visit and sought measures and oppor-
tunities to restore a sense of normalcy and progress. China’s suspension of
virtually all the elements of the American “engagement” policy created con-
siderable consternation and put Washington on the defensive. Faced with
Beijing’s demand for “concrete measures” to restore the relationship, both
the State Department and the National Security Council looked for initia-
tives to foster improvement. There were few options, however. As the reper-
cussions of the Cornell visit spread, second-guessing and blame-laying began
“inside the Beltway.” Most of the fingers pointed at the administration for
not arranging a better transit for Lee in 1994, not telling Beijing earlier about
the Cornell decision, not offsetting the Lee visit with a Jiang summit invita-
tion, not consulting with Congress more closely, and so on. Whatever the
merit of these accusations, it was apparent in mid-1995 that the Clinton
administration had not yet developed a coherent strategy for dealing with
China. Instead, it reacted to events, looking to domestic political actors to
provide direction for a multifaceted and complex problem. As a result, it had
deteriorating relationships with Beijing and Taiwan, no sympathy from the
rest of Asia, and a growing chorus of critics at home.
It also had a growing list of problems. In late June, U.S. press outlets
began reporting that the Central Intelligence Agency had delivered to the
administration reports strongly indicating that China, in apparent violation
of the agreement reached with Washington the previous year, had delivered
missile components to Iran and Pakistan.90 Intelligence sources called the
accumulating evidence, which included overhead imagery, communications
intercepts, and human-source reporting, “incontrovertible,” and some ac-
cused the Clinton administration of ignoring the evidence “for political rea-
sons.”91 Critics stepped up attacks on China and on Clinton’s foreign policy
for failing to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
called for sanctions to be imposed again. State demurred. “We have not yet
determined whether or not China has violated U.S. sanctions [on missile sales
to Pakistan] or the Missile Technology Control Regime [MTCR],” State De-
partment spokesman Nicholas Burns said in response to questions about the
missile deal. “We are treating [these reports] seriously.”92
On June 27, news of another event buffeted the relationship. On June 19,
PRC authorities in Xinjiang Province had arrested a naturalized American
228 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

citizen named Harry Wu as he tried to cross into Chinese territory from

Kazakhstan. The U.S. embassy was not informed of the arrest—which the
State Department learned from Wu’s family and a traveling companion—
and its initial requests to meet with him were rebuffed. Wu was no ordinary
Chinese American businessman traveling off-the-beaten-track, however. In
the view of the human rights community in the United States and Europe,
Harry Wu was a hero and a crusader, and when the story of his arrest broke
in the United States a week later, it stirred new outrage against both China
and the Clinton administration.93
Wu was born in Shanghai in 1937. As a university student, he got in trouble
in 1957 for criticizing the Soviet invasion of Hungary in one of his classes. In
1960, he was branded a counterrevolutionary and sentenced to “reeducation
through labor” (laogai) for his views. He spent the next nineteen years of his
life in what he would later call “China’s gulag”— the extensive system of
labor reform camps, mines, and factories used to supplement the penal sys-
tem and augment the state’s labor pool for large public projects. Originally
intended as a means of dealing with petty criminals efficiently and “reform-
ing” their behavior through hard labor for the state, the laogai system degen-
erated into a convenient means for local officials to rid themselves
of troublesome people—dissidents, religious figures, critics, and political
adversaries—without being held accountable through the court system. Dur-
ing the Cultural Revolution, millions were sent to labor reform camps of one
sort or another. Afterward, Wu and many others were released back into
society, but the system remained intact, a source of enormous abuse—and
profit for the Chinese state—that the world knew little about.
Wu emigrated to the United States in 1986 and after Tiananmen, began a
one-man campaign to inform the world of the evils and excesses of the Chi-
nese prison labor system. His first book, Laogai: The Chinese Gulag, pub-
lished in 1992, was not only a personal recollection of life in the twelve
different prison camps in which he had been incarcerated but also a detailed
listing of nearly one thousand prison labor facilities and the products pro-
duced in them.94 In post-Tiananmen Washington, Wu’s charges that China
was exporting products made by “slave labor” gained him a ready audience
with members of Congress, human rights organizations, labor activists con-
cerned with prison labor exports to the United States, and with the media.
He became, in certain circles, something of a celebrity.
In the early 1990s, Wu returned to China and surreptitiously visited sev-
eral laogai facilities to gather more information on the products they pro-
duced. CBS News sponsored two of the trips and used some of the handheld
video footage Wu obtained—at great personal risk—in a documentary seg-
ment of 60 Minutes that ultimately won an Emmy award. Wu followed up
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 229

with accusations of Chinese enterprises being engaged in prison labor ex-

ports, which were investigated under the auspices of the bilateral Memoran-
dum of Understanding reached in 1991. He also made charges that the Chinese
prison system “harvested” the organs of executed prisoners for profitable
transplants and that the World Bank was considering a loan for China that
would actually go to a prison labor facility in Xinjiang.95
The publicity obviously brought Wu the enmity of the Chinese govern-
ment, which put him on a blacklist of people not permitted to visit China. In
early 1994, after receiving his U.S. citizenship, Wu changed his name to “Pe-
ter Hongda Wu” and received a U.S. passport in the name of Peter H. Wu.
State Department officials warned him that further travels to China to gather
information on the laogai system might subject him to charges by the Chi-
nese government that he was traveling on questionable documents.96 Wu
traveled to China without incident in April 1994, then made plans for a more
extensive trip in June 1995. When he crossed the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan bor-
der with an American colleague at Horgas on June 19, however, Wu was
immediately arrested and held without charges.
The first reaction from the State Department was to try and ascertain the
facts through the Chinese government. This precipitated a testy exchange
between press spokesmen when it became apparent the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs did not know what had happened to Wu. Informal word that Wu
was being held in a hotel in the city of Karamay prompted Embassy Beijing
to dispatch a consular officer to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Autono-
mous Region. He then took a twelve-hour taxi trip to Karamay, only to find
that Wu was not there.97 Wu had been at the Karamay Guest House in Horgas,
but by the time the embassy officer arrived, Wu had already been moved.98
U.S. complaints that China was not being cooperative in honoring the bilat-
eral consular agreement—which provides for notification of the arrest of a
citizen and access by consular officials within a specified period—drew coun-
tercharges that the United States also had failed to honor the agreement for
Chinese citizens, and that the U.S. consular officer failed to obtain permis-
sion to travel in western Xinjiang.
On July 8, Embassy Beijing was informed that Wu had been charged with
“entering into China under false names, illegally obtaining China’s state se-
crets and conducting criminal activities,” namely, providing China’s secrets
to “foreign organizations and institutions”(that is, CBS News and the BBC).99
Two days later, a U.S. consular official was permitted to speak with Wu
under carefully guarded circumstances. The fact that Wu was charged and
would be tried in Wuhan—the city where he had resided before leaving for
the United States in 1985—suggested that China’s security authorities were
at least considering treating him still as a Chinese citizen. Chinese Foreign
230 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Ministry officials, unaware of how celebrated a person Wu was in the United

States, charged that his case was a deliberate distraction to avoid dealing
with what they considered the principal issue, Taiwan.100
It was imperative for the American officials dealing with this issue—mainly
in the State Department and the NSC—to reinforce the point that Wu should
be given full recognition as an American citizen and that he should not be
denied any of his legal rights under the Chinese system. In a way, the United
States had to empower the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with
a situation that was not under its jurisdiction. This would require a combi-
nation of public pressure—to reinforce the point that Wu was a special
case and a politically significant one—and private reassurances that other
issues could be dealt with but only if the Wu case was properly handled.
Despite public anger over what many Americans considered an “illegal”
arrest, care had to be taken not to impugn China’s legal system or claim
any kind of extraterritorial special privileges for Americans traveling abroad.
That would only play into the hands of the security apparatus hard-liners.
The United States could not expect to get Wu released by publicly demand-
ing it or threatening retaliation. A more subtle and careful approach was
needed.
The public pressure was provided in full by Congress and the media, which
lionized Wu and used his bravery and dedication to human rights to draw
attention to the dark side of the PRC regime and its intolerance for dissent
and criticism. The House and the Senate passed unanimous resolutions con-
demning Wu’s arrest and enjoining the president to use every means avail-
able to have him returned to the United States. Members of Congress began
to talk openly of linking Wu’s detention with their votes on China’s most
favored nation trade status, which Clinton had ordered renewed on June 2,
subject to disapproval by Congress. The usual bills of disapproval had been
introduced into the House and Senate, and preliminary counts by State and
NSC legislative affairs specialists were that the vote would be close.
Private communications with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials
in Beijing and Washington reinforced the public messages. Chinese chargé
d’affaires Zhou Wenzhong was called in to the State Department on several
occasions to meet with Undersecretary for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff and
assistant secretary Winston Lord to hear formal complaints about China’s
failure to abide by the consular agreement. Informally, lower-ranking offi-
cials meeting with Chinese diplomats told them that the Wu case would make
it very difficult to achieve any progress on any other issues, including Tai-
wan. Whatever Wu may or may not have done, prosecution and conviction
on flimsy espionage charges and lengthy imprisonment would have an enor-
mously adverse affect on U.S. public opinion of China.
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 231

Henry Kissinger also provided a channel for private communication, as he

had in the past. Heading a delegation from the “America-China Society,”
which included former secretary of state and national security adviser Al
Haig, former deputy secretary of state John Whitehead, former U.S.trade
representative Carla Hills, and American Insurance Group chairman Maurice
(Hank) Greenberg, Kissinger met with President Jiang, Li Peng, and Qian
Qichen in early July. He was treated to the full display of Beijing’s anger over
the Lee visit, including a finger-wagging lecture by Li Peng on how the Clinton
administration had “shaken the foundation” of bilateral relations and “hurt
the feelings of the entire Chinese people.”101 Kissinger was taken aback by
the depth of Chinese anger and returned to Washington with a public mes-
sage that the relationship was in “free fall” and that no one should expect
Harry Wu to be released soon.102 Privately, he met with President Clinton
(along with Haig, Whitehead, and Greenberg) and repeated his public criti-
cisms of allowing domestic political concerns to overwhelm strategic consid-
erations in developing China policy. He advised strongly that the president
should engage with the Chinese in “strategic” terms. “Even if you don’t be-
lieve in it,” he advised Clinton, “you should speak to them in the language of
strategic dialogue. They expect it.”103
During this same period, China specialists in the State Department and
the NSC were working on proposals for other means by which bilateral rela-
tions could be ameliorated. On the positive side, we considered inviting Jiang
Zemin to the United States for some kind of summit meeting with President
Clinton and what kinds of actions we could expect in response. On the nega-
tive side, we felt obliged to rebut two linked charges from Beijing: that the
visa for Lee Teng-hui had represented a fundamental shift in U.S. policy; or if
it did not, then Washington should declare formally it would never to allow
him to visit again (Lee had already been invited to attend a meeting in Alaska
in September). The scheduled meeting between Christopher and Qian at the
APEC ministerial meeting in Brunei at the end of July seemed to be an appro-
priate place to try and clear the air.
Working jointly, the State Department and the NSC developed a briefing
for Christopher that would make clear that the Lee visa did not signal a
change in U.S. policy. On whether he would be allowed to repeat the Cornell
performance, an elaborate dodge was constructed. Rather than permitting
unrestricted travel by Taiwan’s top officials (which some in the United States
believed would lead sooner or later to a Washington visit) or refusing further
transits (which would have been politically unacceptable to Congress), it
was decided to define the circumstances in which such visits would be ap-
proved. There would be four criteria of judgment: such visits were to be
strictly for personal reasons, to include health and family considerations;
232 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

they were to be rigorously unofficial; applications were to be reviewed and

approved on a case-by-case basis; and the State Department expected that
such requests would be “rare.”104
Separately, the NSC went to work on a letter from Clinton to Jiang, dis-
cussing larger issues in a post-Cornell situation.105 The principal goals were
reassurance that American policy had not changed, encouragement to reen-
gage in solving difficult problems, and an effort to calm what had become a
potentially dangerous rage against Taiwan. In consultation with the State
Department China desk, the NSC’s Asia Directorate prepared a draft Clinton-
to-Jiang letter for Christopher to deliver to Foreign Minister Qian at the
APEC ministerial. It contained several general, anodyne statements about
hopes for improved relations and cooperation, along with the kernel of the
“three noes,” which became controversial later. That is, it restated what were
standard and consistent policies of the United States but more directly than
before and at the highest level. The letter reassured Jiang that the United
States “does not support” efforts to create “two Chinas or one China, one
Taiwan,” does not support “Taiwan independence,” or Taiwan’s admission
to the United Nations.
There is some controversy about whether the letter said the United States
“does not support” or “opposes” Taiwan’s independence.106 After the “three
noes” imbroglio came out in the open in 1998, some commentators charged
that President Clinton’s use of the term “opposes” Taiwan independence in
his 1995 letter actually encouraged China’s subsequent aggressive pressure
against Taiwan. There is little to substantiate the facts or the interpretation
of such charges.107 There is ample evidence that the Chinese either missed or
ignored the difference between “does not support” and “opposes” with re-
spect to all three elements of the policy. Even as late as October, Jiang was
quoted as saying, “We have attached importance to the repeated promises
made recently by the US side to uphold the ‘one China’ policy, observe the
three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, oppose ‘two Chinas or one China, one
Taiwan’, oppose Taiwan independence and oppose Taiwan’s membership of
the United Nations.”108 This suggests that Jiang and others were overstating
the congruence between the U.S. position and their own, perhaps for domes-
tic political reasons, perhaps to increase the pressure on Taiwan. In any case,
the U.S. side reiterated the “does not support” position and emphasized in
private to Chinese officials the importance of the distinction.
The Christopher-Qian meeting in Brunei on August 1 was cordial and
businesslike but cool, and it changed little in the dynamic of the relationship.
Each side’s press coverage reflected different expectations and preparations
for the meeting. The U.S. side reported the meeting was “positive and use-
ful,” mainly because the two agreed to have further discussions at a slightly
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 233

lower level (Undersecretary for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff and Vice Min-
ister Li Zhaoxing). One of the subjects to be explored was the possibility of a
Washington summit meeting between Jiang and Clinton, which Christopher
had mentioned in the meeting. Xinhua reported that Qian emphasized the
relationship was facing “serious difficulties,” mainly because of the Taiwan
problem. The Chinese press did not mention the summit proposal.
Christopher had made a major Asia policy speech on July 27, at which he
laid out a comprehensive justification for U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific re-
gion. He discussed U.S. engagement, focusing on relations with Japan, Ko-
rea, and Southeast Asia. China’s concerns about a U.S. policy change toward
Taiwan were “unwarranted,” he said. Nonetheless, he recited the mantra of
U.S. steadfastness in its “one China” policy, then went on to catalogue the
“profound disagreements” between China and the United States, focusing
on human rights and nonproliferation. He concluded with a recommenda-
tion that “China can take an immediate step to help restore a more positive
atmosphere with the immediate release of American citizen Harry Wu.”109
Just before his meeting with Qian, Christopher told accompanying press,
“It’s very difficult for me to envision any circumstances under which Presi-
dent Jiang Zemin would be able to come to Washington to meet with the
president if Harry Wu is still incarcerated.”110
Christopher’s remarks were only a hint of the disagreements going on
within the Washington policy community over the possibility of a Jiang visit.
The NSC Asia Directorate and the China desk at the State Department pro-
posed the idea as a means of offsetting the negative effects of the Lee Teng-
hui visit and encouraging the Chinese, and particularly Jiang, to be more
forthcoming in efforts to resolve mounting problems, including the Harry
Wu issue. Other parts of the White House, particularly those involved in
domestic politics and congressional affairs, objected vehemently. Besides the
president’s dislike of the stodgy formality of state visits, there was a perva-
sive “you can’t have those human rights violators in the White House” atti-
tude that limited the range of planning.111 With Harry Wu under interrogation
in a Chinese jail, it was hard enough to generate interest in any kind of Chi-
nese visit. A state visit, with all the pomp and circumstance and implied
harmonious relations, was out of the question.
Two additional White House factors entered into the equation. First was
the desire of Hillary Rodham Clinton to attend the Fourth World Confer-
ence on Women, scheduled to be held in Beijing in early September. The First
Lady was eager to establish herself as a leader in the women’s movement and
to carry that movement to China as head of the American delegation to the
UN-sponsored conference. But China’s human rights record—further tar-
nished by its inept handling of the politics and logistics of the high-profile
234 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

conclave—and the Harry Wu case stood in the way. Hoping that a wish to
have the First Lady visit China would be an incentive for the Chinese to
“do the right thing” and release Wu, the White House temporized in a very
public way, postponing the decision on whether Hillary would attend the
meeting.112
The second factor, which would become a major part of the China policy
debate in 1997, was the freelance hostage-negotiation activities of Johnny
Chien Chuen Chung, a Taiwanese American businessman from California.
Sometime after July 28, I received a folder from the NSC documents distri-
bution office assigning the Asia Directorate responsibility to respond to a
memo to Tony Lake from a staffer named Janice Enright in the Office of the
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. The memo recounted a phone conver-
sation she had had with the executive director of the Democratic National
Committee (DNC), Bobby Watson, who had said that a DNC “trustee” (that
is, heavy financial contributor) named Johnny Chung had asked for a presi-
dential letter of recommendation to carry with him to China. Chung had
said he would be meeting with Jiang Zemin and other senior Chinese offi-
cials in an effort to get Harry Wu released from prison.
I was appalled. I immediately called Watson to find out what had hap-
pened. It was not the first time I had dealt with DNC interlopers in sensitive
foreign policy issues, nor was it the first time I had heard of Chung. Chung
had called the NSC Asia Directorate a few times in early 1995, seeking a
meeting with Stanley Roth. I demurred, as I did not think he had any unique
insights to offer and seemed only concerned with pursuing his personal busi-
ness interests. In April, I was asked by Deputy National Security Adviser
Nancy Soderberg’s office to evaluate whether it would be appropriate to give
Chung photographs of the president with a delegation of Chinese Chung had
brought to watch the taping of one of Clinton’s weekly radio addresses. In
my e-mail reply—later widely publicized—I referred to Chung as a “hustler”
who should be treated with “a pinch of suspicion.” I warned he appeared to
be trying to set up a business operation that would trade photo opportunities
with the president and First Lady—obtained through the DNC—for business
deals in China.113 I had hoped that the White House would have little more
to do with him. But I was unaware of the easy access Chung had obtained
through the First Lady’s office and that it had continued.
I was only mildly relieved to learn from Watson that they had decided not
to seek a presidential letter but only to supply Chung with a generic creden-
tials letter from DNC chairman Donald L. Fowler, describing Chung as a
“friend and great supporter of the DNC.”114 As I wrote in a memo to Lake
on July 31, Chung could “conceivably do damage” to efforts to get Wu freed
from Chinese prison. We had no idea what he was going to say, or to whom,
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 235

or by what authority. Other efforts were afoot to free Wu, both through
official contacts and through members of Congress, and I was concerned
that Chung, if he gained high-level access, might confuse the process. But
since he had already left for China, there was little that could be done to
prevent him from making his pitch. “All we can do is hope the Chinese rec-
ognize Chung’s credentials are thin and that his message should be treated
with caution,” I concluded.115 Lake called me after he had read the memo to
ask if we should contact the U.S. embassy to try to find Chung and wave him
off. I recommended against such a course, believing it would draw unneces-
sary and potentially embarrassing attention to the case.
Chung’s account of the events—some in testimony under oath before the
House Governmental Affairs Committee—provides additional interesting
details. Chung first got involved in the issue after he was called by Charles
Parish, the U.S. embassy officer dispatched to Urumqi to find Wu in late
June. At a DNC fund-raiser in California in mid-July, Chung had had an
animated exchange with President Clinton, who supported Chung’s plan to
seek Wu’s release. “Tell them they have no right to arrest U.S. citizens,”
Clinton reportedly told Chung. “We have enough problems between our
two countries. We don’t need any more.” In Chung’s mind, apparently, that
was his mission directive. In China, Chung used his connections to arrange a
meeting on August 18 with Liu Huaqiu, vice minister of foreign affairs, head
of the State Council Foreign Affairs Office, and one of Jiang Zemin’s princi-
pal advisers on relations with the United States. Liu Xiaoming, a Foreign
Ministry staffer and eventually deputy chief of mission at China’s embassy in
Washington, also sat in.116 They told him China would “do something” soon
about Wu. Chung’s access to the highest levels of Beijing’s foreign policy
decisionmaking apparatus is a testament to the enduring importance of guanxi
in Chinese politics, although it is unlikely that Chung’s views on the Harry
Wu case carried much weight.
Congressional attention to China continued through July, as China’s rhe-
torical and military pressure on Taiwan escalated. For the most part, it was
angry attention, although Senators Diane Feinstein and Bennett Johnston
traveled to China to seek Wu’s release as a means of improving bilateral
relations. To insulate the MFN issue from all the other problems, the admin-
istration encouraged and cooperated with Representative Douglas Bereuter
(R-Nebr.), who chaired the East Asia Subcommittee of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, in developing a comprehensive “China policy” bill. The
China Policy Act of 1995 (H.R. 2053) consisted of several “findings”— mostly
negative—about PRC economic and political activities and a call for “inten-
sified diplomatic initiatives” with the PRC to bring about Harry Wu’s re-
lease, improvements in China’s human rights practices, adherence to
236 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

international conventions on nonproliferation, reduction in tensions with

Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and defense policy transparency. It also man-
dated that Radio Free Asia commence broadcasting to China within ninety
days.117
The White House quietly supported the bill on the premise that it would
give Congress an opportunity to vent its anger by voting for the China Policy
Act rather than against MFN extension. Legislative liaison officials were con-
fident that the bill was unlikely to be taken up by the Senate. Bereuter’s
skillful management of the bill got it passed 416-10 on July 20, accompanied
by torrents of criticism of China and the administration’s China policy. On
the same day, the bill to revoke China’s MFN privileges was defeated, 321-
107. Beijing’s vituperation about the China Policy Act, which it predictably
accused of being “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs, probably
obscured its understanding of the fact that the more important legislation,
with far greater consequences, had been soundly defeated.
The State Department was determined to restore a sense of normalcy to
the relationship, however much U.S. public opinion—and Chinese behav-
ior—seemed to militate against it. What appeared to some U.S. observers as
excessive deference to China was actually a conscious effort to keep an al-
ready volatile situation from becoming worse. That entailed responding in a
low-key manner to some of China’s provocative actions, such as the late July
missile tests into the Taiwan Strait (“not helpful” to stability), the arrest and
expulsion of two Hong Kong–based U.S. Air Force attachés caught “spying”
on China’s military exercises in early August (State faulted the Pentagon),
the intelligence reports on M-11s in Pakistan, and the underground nuclear
test on August 17 (not enough to justify new sanctions).
In late August, with Harry Wu still in prison and the relationship heading
for crisis, Undersecretary Peter Tarnoff prepared to travel to Beijing in the
face of what a Xinhua commentator on August 23 called the “lowest ebb” in
bilateral relations since 1979. The commentary, couched in angry, polemical
terms and with little regard for accuracy, railed at “the administration,”
American journalists, “hegemonists” with a “gloomy, Cold War mentality,”
and anti-China elements, advising them to wake up before “cold war II”
emerged.118 It was not the first or the last time a senior American visitor to
Beijing would be greeted by a cold blast from the Propaganda Department.
The day before Tarnoff’s arrival, however, Beijing announced that the
Wuhan Municipal Intermediate People’s Court had tried Wu Hongda (Harry
Wu) on charges of “stealing, spying and illegally providing state secrets to
overseas institutions, organizations and people, and of passing himself off as
a government worker to carry out deceptive activities.”119 At the conclusion
of the four-hour trial, it sentenced him to fifteen years in prison and simulta-
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 237

neous expulsion from China. Within hours of the sentencing, Wu was on an

Air China flight to San Francisco. President Clinton welcomed Wu’s release
in a low-key statement by Mike McCurry from Wyoming, where the First
Family was vacationing. But little else was done to highlight Wu’s release.
Had a bargain been struck? Many in the press suspected as much, with the
main evidence being McCurry’s well-informed speculation, two days before
the trial, that “they [the Chinese] will most likely put him on trial and con-
vict him of something—from what we hear, short of espionage. Then the
issue will be, what do they . . . propose, then, to do about it?”120 But it was
never a specifically agreed-upon deal. The U.S. position had always been,
“Wu should be released for the sake of the relationship, but the United States
will not interfere in China’s legal processes.” The Chinese position had been,
“China’s legal processes must be respected, and we understand the impor-
tance of the Wu issue.” It was something of a “diplomatic gavotte,” with
both sides moving carefully and slowly because they were blindfolded. Nei-
ther side wanted to court criticism from powerful domestic forces in order to
reach a formal agreement. So there were understandings that were never
articulated, common expectations that were never formalized. But no deal.
In the end, it was a clever solution. Chinese security authorities got maxi-
mum publicity for the case, savaging Wu’s reputation, citing his “confes-
sion” of distorting facts to discredit his television reports, warning any others
of the perils of challenging the labor camp system. The fifteen-year suspended
sentence would keep Wu from undertaking any further clandestine journeys
to China. The White House got to announce on August 26 the First Lady’s
participation in the Fourth World Conference on Women, which it was ex-
tremely eager to do. But there was little progress achieved in improving bilat-
eral relations. It removed one obstacle, but only a small one.
Tarnoff arrived in Beijing on Saturday, August 26. His main purpose was
to follow up on a possible summit meeting between Clinton and Jiang. In
three hours of discussions with Vice Minister Li Zhaoxing, Tarnoff made
little progress. The Chinese, while interested in a Clinton-Jiang summit, were
more interested in talking about the Taiwan issue, and their dissatisfaction
with U.S. positions was signaled by the fact that Qian only met with Tarnoff
for a half hour. Tarnoff told reporters he was encouraged by the talks, even
though no progress had been made on any of the substantive issues raised.
He said both sides recognized the value of engagement and that both would
begin working on an agenda for the presidents’ meeting, which he suggested
would take place around the time of the celebration of the fiftieth anniver-
sary of the United Nations, in October. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokes-
man noted that the talks were “useful” but said a restoration of relations was
still dependent on “whether the U.S. side can take actions to honor its com-
238 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

mitment” to “opposing ‘two Chinas or one-China-one-Taiwan,’ Taiwan in-

dependence, and Taiwan joining the UN.”121

Struggling for a Summit

The Taiwan issue seemed to be fading in importance at the end of sum-
mer. At the annual August leadership retreat in the resort town of Beidaihe,
discussions reportedly focused on the Ninth Five-Year Plan, an anticorrup-
tion drive, and personnel issues, although the Taiwan question did receive
some consideration.122 Jiang Zemin appears to have become intrigued at the
possibilities for a significant improvement of relations and particularly the
prospect of a summit meeting and state visit to Washington, D.C. The offer
was no doubt attractive to Jiang for many reasons—his love of pomp and
ceremony, the opportunity to outshine Lee Teng-hui, a chance to take the U.S.-
China relationship out of a negative cycle, and simply the lure of Washington.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry was facing difficulties in getting the
Americans to make further progress on the Taiwan issue. Encouraged by the
initial U.S. response to their insistence that it was up to the United States to
mend the relationship by doing something “concrete,” the Chinese had pushed
hard to get a formal commitment that no more Lee Teng-hui visits would be
permitted. They were concerned about a pending invitation to Lee to attend
a September meeting of the U.S.-ROC Economic Council in Anchorage,
Alaska. Even after Lee decided to decline the invitation in late July, the Chi-
nese pressed for a promise that the Cornell visit would not be repeated. Wash-
ington focused on trying to restore the relationship to pre-visit levels and
reassuring Beijing that U.S. policy toward China had not changed. Beijing’s
goals, however, seemed to be to publicly isolate Taiwan and force it off of
what China perceived as a path toward independence.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to get a public affirmation of Clinton’s
and Christopher’s informal assurances on future Taiwanese visits, but the
State Department declined to be pinned down. After Taiwanese reporters
began asking about negotiations over a “fourth communiqué” in September,
the State Department’s approach to further movement on Taiwan-related ques-
tions stiffened publicly. Spokesman Nicholas Burns, after being badgered about
it persistently, indicated that the United States had done enough to assuage
China’s concerns about Taiwan. “I think that stage is over in the relationship
. . . And we certainly hope that we can now go beyond this issue and get on to
the nonproliferation issues which . . . are at the top of the agenda, as well as the
economic and political issues that we have to deal with.”123
Plans for the summit were not going well either, primarily because too few
people in the Clinton administration saw much need for one. Many were still
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 239

angry over what appeared to be China’s deliberately provocative behavior,

its arrogance and cynicism. That anger was most clearly demonstrated in the
First Lady’s participation in the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women,
being held in Beijing, September 4–15. Shortly after the announcement of her
attendance on August 26, the First Lady’s aides declared that she would not
be meeting with any Chinese leaders on her visit. Efforts to persuade them
that even a brief courtesy call on Jiang Zemin’s wife or a senior female Chi-
nese official might aid the process of restoring bilateral relations fell on deaf
ears. She would meet with Mongolian officials when she visited that country
after the conference. But she wanted nothing to do with the Chinese govern-
ment. The trip to Beijing was to be about women’s issues, not diplomacy.
In her speech to the delegates on September 5, the First Lady was true to
her promise not to single out certain countries for special criticism on women’s
rights issues. But in her deftly worded, powerful speech to a cheering audi-
ence of women who had braved Chinese security and a huge rainstorm to
hear her, she left little doubt about her targets:
Our goals for this conference . . . cannot be fully achieved unless all
governments here and around the world accept their responsibility to
protect and promote internationally recognized human rights. . . . It is
time for us to say here in Beijing and the world to hear, that it is no
longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human
rights. . . . Even today there are those who are trying to silence our
words. . . . It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the
right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have
abortions or being sterilized against their will. . . . It is indefensible that
many women in non-governmental organizations who wished to par-
ticipate in this conference have not been able to attend, or have been
prohibited from fully taking part.”124
The speech was well received by the delegates and by editorialists back
home. The Chinese, however, were not impressed. “We have taken note that
some people from some countries have made unwarranted remarks and criti-
cisms against other countries. We would like to caution these people to pay
more attention to the problems within their own countries,” a Foreign Min-
istry spokesman told reporters after Clinton had left.125
As already noted, there was never any serious consideration given to the
idea of inviting Jiang to Washington for a full state visit. Under the circum-
stances, with public anger at China spiking for human rights violations, non-
proliferation problems, and the growing threat to Taiwan, no one in the
White House thought such a visit—with a guard of honor, twenty-one-gun
salute, state banquet, and all—was politically sustainable. So an “official
240 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

working visit” was offered instead, first in meetings between Vice Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing and Peter Tarnoff in Washington in mid-September,
then in more detail at the late September meeting between Qian Qichen and
Warren Christopher. Tarnoff and Christopher tried to explain that such a
meeting—which could be called a “summit” but not a “state visit,” entailed a
long, substantive meeting with the president in the White House, usually a
“working lunch,” and other meetings around town. It was, in fact, the president’s
preferred style of meeting foreign heads of state. The focus would be on the
substantive issues, not the protocol, or the “trappings,” of a state visit.126
The Chinese, however, were having none of it. Their frame of reference
was not how other foreign leaders were received by Clinton, but how other
Chinese leaders had been received by American presidents. Deng Xiaoping
had paid a state visit to President Jimmy Carter in 1979, and Li Xiannian—
only a figurehead—had been given a state visit by President Ronald Reagan
in 1985. Anything less than a full state visit for Jiang was unacceptable.
Recognizing that a potentially embarrassing stalemate had arisen that could
have damaged the relationship further, Christopher and Qian agreed on an
easily available compromise—a private meeting in New York City during
the late October celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment
of the United Nations. Both sides went public with their complaints about
the way the other side had handled the issue. White House spokesman Mike
McCurry said bluntly that bilateral relations were not “at a sufficient state
of progress to warrant a state visit,” while Qian accused the White House
of lacking “political will.”127
Irritation levels increased as the October 24 date for the summit ap-
proached. After the Christopher-Qian meeting in New York on September
28, the State Department announced that China had agreed to cancel the sale
of two nuclear reactors to Iran, a deal that had drawn a lot of fire in Wash-
ington. Although the “senior official” (probably Winston Lord) insisted that
China had made the decision unilaterally, reporters were encouraged to in-
terpret it as a gesture of goodwill toward the United States. The following
day, Qian corrected the record, saying China had agreed only to “suspend
for the time being” the reactor sale, not cancel it. He attributed the discrep-
ancy to “inaccurate reports” of his meeting with Christopher.128 Subsequently,
the State Department spokesman told reporters that the Taiwan issue had
barely come up in the Christopher-Qian talks and insisted that the relation-
ship had “gotten away from a fixation on Taiwan.”129 This point was dis-
puted by both Qian and Jiang in subsequent meetings with American reporters,
where they continued to express dissatisfaction at the U.S. position, particu-
larly on the Lee visit. Just before the summit itself, the Chinese side demanded
a change of location when advance men discovered photographs of the
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 241

Tiananmen demonstrations in the New York Public Library, where the meet-
ing had been scheduled to take place.
In spite of the dismal atmospherics preceding it, the meeting between Presi-
dent Clinton and President Jiang at the Lincoln Center on the afternoon of
October 24 went remarkably well. The Lincoln Center locale had already
been checked by the Secret Service, and last minute changes demanded by the
Chinese were easily accommodated. Human rights demonstrators were kept
far enough away from the center that their chants, while faintly audible,
were not distracting inside the meeting room. Clinton was well aware of the
importance of the meeting and prepared for it thoroughly and carefully. The
premeeting briefing at the Waldorf-Astoria was longer than usual, and he
asked numerous questions as he read the information memo on the meeting
and edited his talking points.
Jiang arrived at the summit considerably strengthened back at home. The
Fifth Plenum of the Fourteenth Central Committee had concluded on Sep-
tember 28 with a significant boost for Jiang’s practical authority and his
prestige. Besides approving the party’s “proposal” for the Ninth Five-Year
Plan, the plenum formalized Jiang’s purge of his former rival, Beijing mayor
Chen Xitong, expelling him from the Politburo and Central Committee and
holding him for further judicial action.130 The plenum also added four new
members to the Central Military Commission leadership: Defense Minister
Chi Haotian and Chief of Staff Zhang Wannian became vice chairmen; soon-
to-be General Logistics Department head Wang Ke and Wang Ruilin (a Gen-
eral Political Department deputy who also headed Deng Xiaoping’s private
office) became CMC members. Observers noted that Jiang had succeeded in
bringing into the CMC leadership individuals loyal to himself, isolating Deng’s
lieutenants Liu Huaqing and Zhang Zhen, whom he had reportedly tried to
persuade to retire.131 Finally, two weeks before his summit with Clinton,
Jiang reviewed a massive military exercise in northern China, shown on Chi-
nese television, which included an outing aboard a cruiser and a speech to
the troops.132
The general secretary’s renewed self-assurance and authority were reflected
in his conduct of the summit. Jiang spoke confidently and without notes,
making eye contact with Clinton and seeking to engage him personally in a
genuine dialogue. He addressed controversial issues directly, occasionally
easing the atmosphere with mildly humorous asides, some in English. The
meeting plan was for a thirty-minute private session with a minimum of staff
(Christopher, Lake, Lord, and myself as note taker, with an equal number on
the Chinese side), to be followed by an hour-long meeting of the full delega-
tion, which included on the American side representatives of several bureau-
cracies. But the chemistry between the two presidents was good, and the
242 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

private talks lasted for almost an hour, leaving only a brief time for the larger,
more formal discussion.
Jiang picked up on themes from Clinton’s October 22 address to the com-
memorative meeting for the UN’s fiftieth anniversary, offering to expand
bilateral cooperation in fighting against international crime, narcotics traf-
ficking, and terrorism, and working to improve the environment. He talked
at length about China’s economic development and its interest in participating
in the international trading system. He also focused on Taiwan in some detail,
trying to explain why it was such a painful issue for Beijing. Clinton raised the
standard U.S. issues in a fairly standard format. Human rights was discussed in
general, but details were left to a private exchange after the summit, when I
presented a list of four priority prisoners—which included Wei Jingsheng—to
a Chinese counterpart. But it was the first time the two had relaxed a bit in
each other’s company, and the dialogue was not entirely an exchange of scripted
talking points. Clinton observed afterward that it was the first time he had
begun to understand and appreciate Jiang as a politician.133
The summit restored a sense of procedural normalization to the relation-
ship. Ambassador Li Daoyu returned shortly afterward to Washington, and
the new U.S. ambassador, former senator James R. Sasser, took up his post
in Beijing. “Engagement” was back on track, in the sense that high-level
officials, including military leaders, began scheduling meetings with one an-
other. Clinton and Jiang expressed the intention to meet again at the APEC
leaders meeting in Osaka, Japan, in November. But the relationship had not
recovered. It was still fragile, susceptible to buffeting by unpredictable events,
and under attack by domestic forces in both countries. It would not take long
for it to deteriorate again.
The sharpest shock came on November 22, less than a month after the
Clinton-Jiang summit, when China announced it would bring to trial its most
famous dissident, Wei Jingsheng, on charges of attempting to overthrow the
Chinese government. After being held incommunicado since his arrest in April
1994, Wei was to be arraigned on December 13 by the Beijing Intermediate
Court. Two former attorneys general of the United States, Richard Thornburgh
and Nicholas Katzenbach, had offered to aid in his defense but were not
permitted. The House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution
(H. Con. Res. 117) calling for his “immediate and unconditional release,”
which was ignored by Beijing. Wei’s trial lasted five hours and was closed to
all but family members and observers selected by the regime. He made a
twenty-minute speech in his own defense, claiming he was only trying to
promote democracy in China, then was pronounced guilty by a three-judge
panel and sentenced to fourteen years in prison.134
Reaction in the United States was immediate and heated. The White House,
State Department, Congress, and virtually all major media condemned the
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 243

verdict in strong terms and called for its reversal. Many of the commentators
in the press focused their criticism equally on the president’s China policy,
calling for a tougher approach to a recalcitrant and contemptuous China,
including the relinkage of trade and human rights. In the White House, there
was a sense of personal affront, that the president “went out on a limb for
the Chinese, and they sawed it off,” one senior official told New York Times
reporter David Sanger.135

Back to the Hard Line

On returning to China, Jiang and others in the leadership reviewed the situ-
ation. Clinton and his advisers had moved no further on the Taiwan issue in
terms of pledging no further visits to the United States by high-level Taiwan-
ese officials. In fact, in the wake of the summit, Winston Lord and others
were saying that Taiwan was “just one of many issues” to be resolved.136 For
its part, Taiwan evidently had not made a decision to change course and try
to improve relations with China. At a training exercise in early October, Lee
Teng-hui had boasted that China “did not dare” to attack Taiwan because of
the island’s military prowess, and he continued to insist publicly that Taiwan
had a right to seek expansion of its international influence.137 Although details
are sparse, Jiang and his advisers—particularly the senior PLA officers who
had been advocating stronger action—seem to have decided by early Novem-
ber to take an even more vigorous approach to Taiwan, including:
—A direct effort to influence Taiwanese voters in the December 2 parlia-
mentary elections and the March 21 presidential elections not to support
Taiwan’s independence, meaning especially the Democratic Progressive Party
candidates;
—Establishment of a Headquarters for Operations Targeting Taiwan
within the General Staff Department and a Nanjing War Zone headquarters,
both under the command of Zhang Wannian, to carry out larger and more
intense military exercises in the Taiwan Strait area and demonstrate the PLA’s
readiness and capability to “defend Taiwan by force”; and
—Intensified efforts to determine Washington’s military capabilities and
intentions vis-à-vis Taiwan and to warn it not to interfere.138
The mid-November visit to Beijing of American assistant secretary of de-
fense for international security affairs Joseph Nye was yet another occasion
for missed communications. Nye considered his mission one of relationship
repair, continuing the process of returning U.S.-China relations to a more
normal track, including in the crucial area of military-to-military exchanges
and “strategic” dialogue. He reassured his Chinese interlocutors, including
President Jiang, that the United States did not seek to “contain” China but
244 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

rather to engage it. PLA officers, including Defense Minister Chi and Assis-
tant to the Chief of Staff Xiong Guangkai, repeatedly stressed the dominant
importance of the Taiwan issue, urging the United States not to interfere in
what they called an “explosive” issue in the relationship.139 They also probed
repeatedly about what U.S. reaction would be if hostilities were to take place
in the Taiwan Strait. Trying carefully to measure his words in line with his
understanding of U.S. policy, Nye dodged the question, saying in essence,
“We don’t know and you don’t know” how the United States would react.140
He also reiterated the American position that disputes between Taiwan and
the PRC should be settled peacefully and that the use of force by China
would be a “serious mistake.”141
Predisposed as they were to a view that the United States was a declining
superpower unwilling to engage in combat that might entail heavy casual-
ties, PLA leaders may have mistaken Nye’s effort to maintain a balanced
U.S. approach to the Taiwan issue as a sign of weakness or indecision. In the
mood of anger and eagerness to “teach Lee Teng-hui a lesson” that prevailed
among military officials at that time, there was probably nothing that Nye
would have been authorized to say that could have turned the military away
from the path they had chosen. Jiang had given the go-ahead in early No-
vember, and troops were already being moved into place for the PLA’s next
exercise-demonstration while Nye was in Beijing.
On November 25, just two weeks after a large-scale Taiwanese military
exercise, less than a week after the APEC meeting at which Jiang met pri-
vately with Vice President Al Gore,142 and one week before Taiwan’s legisla-
tive elections, a massive PLA combined air, naval, and ground force armada
carried out a mock amphibious attack on the island of Dongshan, on the
Fujian coast about one hundred kilometers from Quemoy. Obviously in-
tended to simulate an attack on Taiwan, the exercise featured offshore artil-
lery bombardment, air strikes by China’s most modern fighter-bombers,
helicopter and landing craft assaults on a beach, and mop-up operations by
armed police units. It was accompanied by an impressive propaganda blitz:
extensive footage of the pyrotechnics was shown on Chinese television, while
radio and other PRC media outlets, especially in Hong Kong, hammered
home the message that the exercises were evidence that the PLA was capable
of and prepared for taking action to prevent Taiwan’s independence.143
Taiwanese voters—some of them, at least—evidently got the message. In
the parliamentary elections held on December 2, the ruling Kuomintang Party
saw its majority trimmed to 52 percent of the 164-seat Legislative Yuan,
while the New Party, which openly campaigned for reunification with the
mainland, gained fourteen seats. “Communist China’s military exercises drew
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 245

some votes for us from people who supported Taiwan independence before,”
a New Party spokesman said afterward. The pro-independence Democratic
Progressive Party gained marginally at the KMT’s expense, holding at about
one-third of the popular vote and the same percentage in the legislature. It
had been expected to make significant gains, however, and some of its more
strident activists were defeated in close elections. While analysts in Taiwan
quibbled over the impact of the PRC military exercises, all seemed to agree
that it was a factor in the voting and would likely be so again in the March
presidential contest.144
Beijing now appeared fully committed to a policy of threatening and pres-
suring Taiwan, while actively warning the United States to keep its hands
off. Insofar as other U.S. interests were concerned, a similar hardening of
attitude was to be expected, in some cases because the center ordered it, in
others because of the absence of concern about negative U.S. reaction. Aside
from the Wei trial, there were other indications of an overall crackdown on
religious and political freedoms in China, including the arrest of Christian
church leaders and the setting aside of the Dalai Lama’s choice to fill Ti-
betan Buddhism’s second-highest position, the Panchen Lama.145 Confronted
with an understandable international outcry and condemnation of these
actions, Beijing responded caustically: Ministry spokesman Chen Jian re-
ferred to U.S. criticisms and affirmations that Washington would continue
to press for Wei’s release as “vicious actions” and “malicious interference
in Chinese affairs.”146
Tensions also escalated in the trade arena, as Chinese authorities failed
(or refused) to carry out the terms of the agreement reached in February
1995 on improved enforcement of Chinese law against copyright infringe-
ment and CD piracy. The USTR catalogued a growing list of illegal CD manu-
facturers in central and southern China, some of which appeared to have
connections to the military or high-level leaders’ families. Beijing claimed
that it had undertaken thousands of raids to curtail the trade in pirated music
and computer software. But the USTR insisted the enforcement actions had
focused only on distributors, not producers, and threatened to impose eco-
nomic sanctions by February 1996 if its concerns were not addressed. It also
suggested that failure to satisfactorily resolve the problem would affect U.S.
support for China’s bid to enter the World Trade Organization. China warned
of unspecified retaliation in response, calling threatened U.S. special 301 pu-
nitive tariffs “unacceptable.”147
But the main issue was still Taiwan, especially for the military. It is diffi-
cult, in retrospect, to see exactly what China’s goals were during this period.
Hindsight explanations from the mainland make the point that the objective
246 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

was to heighten Taiwan’s sensitivity to the issue of reunification and foil the
plot of Taiwanese independence supposedly being carried out by Lee Teng-
hui and the DPP.148 Robert Ross claims that “China’s objective was to coerce
the United States to end the recent trend of its indirect yet increasingly sig-
nificant support for Taiwan independence by adopting a new position on
U.S.-Taiwan relations and Taiwan’s role in international politics. China also
aimed to coerce Taiwan into abandoning its effort to redefine the ‘one-China’
principle and Taiwan’s status in international politics.”149
Although these factors doubtless entered into the process of explaining
and justifying the policy choices made, Suisheng Zhao’s account of Beijing’s
motivations is somewhat more persuasive, as it focuses on domestic political
interests, such as justifying requests for continuing increases in PLA budgets,
arousing patriotism to buttress regime legitimacy, and enhancing central au-
thority above regional interests. He also cites the frustration and anger over
Lee Teng-hui’s unwillingness to engage in serious cross-Strait discussions and
his willful disregard of Beijing’s opinions and prestige in formulating Taiwan’s
foreign policy.150 Some have argued that Beijing’s goals shifted in the wake of
its “success” in affecting Taiwan’s December elections, claiming that Beijing
turned to an effort to prevent Lee from being elected in March. This seems
unlikely, as Beijing was well aware that Lee held an insurmountable lead as
he entered the final stage of his campaign.151
Aside from increasing the rhetorical attack on Lee Teng-hui and continu-
ing preparations for military exercises, Beijing sought to weaken Taipei’s
relations with the United States and keep the United States off balance about
the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Press commentators continued to stress
that the United States was intent on “containing” China’s growth and reuni-
fication, thereby prompting further denials from American defense officials.
Chinese Defense Ministry leaders claimed the military-to-military relation-
ship was being restored and agreed to reschedule Defense Minister Chi’s
postponed trip to Washington for sometime in the spring of 1996.
At the same time, PLA officers were warning Americans in secondary chan-
nels that China was prepared to go to war over Taiwan. Military intelligence
officials told former assistant secretary of defense Charles Freeman in Octo-
ber 1995, for example, that China was planning more missile tests, including
closure zones just off Taiwan’s principal ports of Kaohsiung and Chilung.
Freeman’s response—that such tests would probably cause the United States
to react militarily—was rejected by Chinese officers. Xiong Guangkai and
others appeared to believe the U.S. military was averse to situations in which
it might suffer casualties and would not respond militarily to China’s actions
in the Taiwan Strait. Freeman passed these comments on to American offi-
cials after his return from China in late October.152
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 247

The Path to Confrontation

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often a slack period in

the U.S. government. Large projects and issues are put aside as people pre-
pare for the holidays. But Tony Lake was worried. The U.S.-China relation-
ship was heading downhill again, partly because of the Wei trial and what it
implied but mainly because of Chinese aggressiveness in the Taiwan Strait.
The New York summit had not provided much “bounce” to the bilateral
relationship, and the follow-up APEC summit meeting between Jiang and
Gore had not furthered the dialogue. In late November, the Chinese had
conducted a very large military exercise off Dongshan Island, and intelli-
gence agencies were reporting plans for an even larger one before Taiwan’s
presidential elections. Lake was concerned that the Chinese leadership seemed
to be discounting U.S. interests in the region, not factoring U.S. concerns into
their decisions on Taiwan. He thought the U.S. reaction to China’s missile
tests had been too weak, but because he already was so actively engaged in
the diplomacy on Bosnia, Haiti, and Northern Ireland, he did not wish to
contest the issue with Christopher.153
After a staff meeting in early December, Lake invited me into his office
and asked me to undertake two tasks, off-line and off “the system” (formal
NSC records). First was a review of the terminology the United States used
with the PRC on the Taiwan issue, including the three communiqués, the
Taiwan Relations Act, and general discourse. He was particularly interested
in how U.S. officials responded to “what if” questions about a military at-
tack on Taiwan and was unhappy with the idea of “strategic ambiguity”
that had become a shorthand description of the U.S. efforts to avoid making
precise commitments on Taiwan’s defense.154
The second task Lake had in mind was to begin developing a varied set of
U.S. responses to different actions the PRC might take against Taiwan. I met
privately to discuss this aim with the State Department’s China desk director,
Jeffrey Bader, and Brigadier General Robert “Doc” Fogelsong, then a deputy
director for politico-military affairs in the Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) Of-
fice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Although I had hoped to avoid bureaucratic
channels, the project soon became known at the upper levels of the Pentagon,
where objections were raised to nonmilitary officials being involved in “con-
tingency planning,” which was strictly the preserve of the Joint Chiefs. I readily
relinquished the organizational and analytical task to Fogelsong but continued
to participate informally in the process, making sure that nonmilitary actions—
on the Chinese and the U.S. side—were considered in the analysis.
At the end of December, Senior Director for Asia Stanley Roth resigned
from the NSC and was replaced by Sandra J. Kristoff, who had returned
248 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

from a stint as coordinator for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

at the State Department. With Lake, Kristoff oversaw a process of bringing
the initiative for China policy back to the White House or at least strength-
ening the NSC’s—and Lake’s—oversight of China policy.155 To help him get
up to speed on China issues, Lake asked for a meeting of prominent China
experts from various fields to advise him.
The first “policy breakfast” on China took place on January 4, 1996, in
the situation room of the White House West Wing. Among the invitees were
former Clinton administration officials Chas Freeman and Stanley Roth;
former Bush staffer Douglas Paal; academic experts Michel Oksenberg, Ken-
neth Lieberthal, and Dick Solomon; human rights activists Holly Burkhalter
and John Kamm; business executive Hank Greenberg; and several NSC staff-
ers. Lake led a lively discussion of issues, covering the entire gamut of U.S.-
PRC problems. The most startling moment of the meeting came when Freeman
related the substance of conversations he had held with military leaders in
Beijing during the late fall. The PLA leaders seemed to be of the view,
Freeman said, that the United States would not come to Taiwan’s assis-
tance in the event of a Chinese attack on the island, because, as they said,
“you care more about Los Angeles than you do about Taiwan.” It was an
implicit threat to use nuclear weapons against an American city, and Lake
was incredulous, as were others. Freeman stuck by his story, reiterating the
point that it should be taken not as a threat to the United States, but as an
indicator of the unrealistic mind-set of senior PLA leaders and their fixa-
tion on Taiwan.156
The story had a larger impact on public perceptions after it was leaked to
the New York Times in late January than it had within policymaking coun-
cils. The original source of the threat—presumed to be Xiong Guangkai, a
deputy chief of the PLA General Staff, head of China’s military intelligence,
and a member of the Central Committee Leadership Small Group on
Taiwan—was authoritative enough to make such a threat. But the context of
his remarks did not lead the administration to conclude that plans were un-
der way to conduct a missile attack on Taiwan, or that it was preparing to
use its small force of nuclear missiles in a first-strike capacity. Xiong’s re-
marks were considered empty bluster—possibly fueled by maotai, the fiery
alcohol beloved by some PLA generals—or a calculated bluff. If it was the
latter, it was going to be called. “If this was some sort of serious message, we
had to make it clear that we were returning it unopened,” Lake recalled in an
interview later.157
In January, the NSC initiated an in-house review of China policy, which
then became the focus of meetings of both the Principals and Deputies com-
mittees. The intent was not to change direction but rather to alter the per-
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 249

spective on China policy: from trying to resolve problems in the context of

“engagement” to trying to manage—in cooperation with the Chinese—the
inevitable problems in the relationship; from seeking to repair the relation-
ship to preventing it from deteriorating further. For the first few months of
1996, Lake and Berger saw a series of potential crises.
—First was a growing realization that the Chinese were not close to being
in compliance with the agreement reached in 1995 on the protection of Ameri-
can intellectual property rights (IPR). U.S. Trade Representative Mickey
Kantor was eager to pressure the Chinese about the piracy of American soft-
ware and was prepared to back it with sanctions against Chinese exports to
the United States. Negotiations between the Chinese and USTR staffers Lee
Sands and Deborah Lehr were going badly. Congress was aware of the issues
and eager for the administration to get tough.
—The Taiwan issue was looking extremely grim, with military exercises
replacing any kind of dialogue. After the November PLA exercises, the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency had set up a special task force to monitor Chinese
military activities in the Taiwan Strait on an around-the-clock basis. Rheto-
ric and observable planning for military exercises suggested that the period
just before the March 23 presidential elections in Taiwan would be extremely
tense. Some military action by the PLA could not be ruled out. The Defense
Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff were proceeding with contingency plan-
ning and found that U.S. forces in the Pacific had not planned fully for the
kinds of PLA actions considered most likely.158
—Nonproliferation issues festered, as it appeared clear the Chinese were
lax in their enforcement of agreements reached with the United States on
ceasing missile cooperation and nuclear weapons development programs with
Pakistan. Most troubling were reports that a Chinese corporation had sold
5,000 “ring magnets”— probably for use in uranium enrichment—to the A.
Q. Khan Laboratory, long associated with Pakistan’s suspect nuclear weap-
ons program.159
—Human rights was shaping up to be a bruising issue again. With the
bilateral human rights dialogue still suspended, the State Department was
completing its annual human rights report on China, and it was expected to
document a deteriorating situation. Congress and the NGO community had
focused on the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission, at
which the United States had sponsored a resolution critical of China every
year since 1991, always without success.
—Finally, the annual struggle with Capitol Hill over renewing China’s
most favored nation trade status was shaping up to be more difficult, owing
to the sharp deterioration in the bilateral relationship and in China’s obser-
vance of bilateral agreements.
250 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Faced with growing pressures from Congress and the media to “get tough”
with China, the administration chose to try a higher level of dialogue with
China, namely, at the level of national security adviser. The decision was
reached at a Principals Committee meeting on February 19.160 To avoid the
appearance of an NSC takeover of China policy, it was agreed that Christo-
pher and Perry were also to intensify discussions with their counterparts as
soon as possible. But the involvement of Lake was a new development. Part
of the rationale was that as the assistant to the president for national security
affairs, Lake could speak more directly on behalf of the president. He would
be a “new” voice Lake had not met separately with Chinese leaders very
often and could present a “strategic” view of the relationship different from
the departmental views of Christopher and Perry. He would also speak
confidentially and strongly to the Chinese about the risks their recent be-
havior could have for a more confrontational relationship with the United
States. Not publicized at the time was a decision to hold a comparable
“strategic dialogue” with the head of Taiwan’s National Security Council,
Ding Mou-shih.
Unfortunately, there was no counterpart for the national security adviser
within the Chinese system. So it was decided to invite Vice Minister Liu
Huaqiu, director of the State Council Foreign Affairs Office, for a private
meeting with Lake during his scheduled visit to Washington in March. There
was some reluctance in doing so, because while Liu lately had styled himself
as “China’s Tony Lake,” neither his position nor his influence was consid-
ered comparable. But Lake had met him and was comfortable with his straight-
forward approach and knew that Liu would report directly and without
embellishment to Qian Qichen (because most of his staff came from the Min-
istry of Foreign Affairs), Jiang Zemin, and Premier Li Peng.
The principal goal for meeting with Liu was to give the Chinese a straight
readout of American strategy and policy goals; commitment to security in
the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan; and expectations of China. They
had shown evidence of misinterpreting American policy and goals, and it
was hoped that a clear and extended private conversation would at least
ensure that their decisions related to Taiwan and other subjects were not
made out of ignorance of American positions or likely responses. We did not
expect to hear new or creative commitments to improve the relationship.
The invitation was tendered in late February and immediately accepted. Liu
advanced his trip to Washington by a few days and agreed to meet with Lake
on March 8. At the suggestion of Andrew Sens, NSC executive secretary, an
off-site (out of Washington) location was chosen to ensure confidentiality
and cordiality for the meeting. The Middleburg, Virginia, estate of Pamela
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 251

Harriman—then ambassador to France—was available, and Sens thought it

ideal.
In the meantime, the sense of crisis surrounding Taiwan deepened, as mili-
tary preparations and rhetoric escalated on both sides. In late February, the
Joint Chiefs completed their review of China-related contingencies and sched-
uled a briefing for the president. General John Shalikashvili, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented the material in a late-afternoon meeting in the
Oval Office. Lake; Berger; Christopher; Perry; the vice president’s national
security adviser, Leon Fuerth; and a few others were present. It was a sober-
ing briefing, detailing extensive commitments of American air and naval
forces—as well as nonmilitary actions, called “flexible deterrent options”—
in response to a sliding scale of aggressive Chinese actions in the Taiwan
Strait. The president, contemplating combat scenarios that escalated up to
nuclear war, was silent and somber. “We’ve got to do all we can to avoid
this,” several participants recall him saying.161
In the awkward dance between the State Department and the NSC that
preceded Liu Huaqiu’s visit, political, rather than diplomatic, protocol played
a critical role. Although Liu’s meeting with Lake was to be the central event
in his visit, Secretary Christopher was not to be cut out. It was decided—
after much debate—that the secretary would host a dinner for Liu on the
evening of March 7, with several of the undersecretaries and assistant secre-
taries who covered China issues also in attendance. Lake invited Liu to the
West Wing for drinks before the dinner, at which he would give him a pre-
liminary plan for their private discussions. After the meeting in Middleburg,
Liu would return to Washington for meetings in the Chinese embassy, then
would meet with Christopher and other administration officials and mem-
bers of Congress the following week.

Missiles and Meetings

On March 5, 1996, Xinhua announced the PLA would again conduct “ground-
to-ground missile launching training” in the Taiwan Strait, specifying two
rectangular areas off the Taiwan port cities of Chilung and Kaohsiung. For-
eign ships and aircraft were advised not to enter those areas from March 8
through March 15.162 Because the closure areas extended to within about
twenty miles of Chilung and less than thirty miles of Kaohsiung, the initial
reaction in Taiwan was that the tests amounted to a virtual blockade of the
island’s principal ports. Closer examination revealed that shipping lanes would
not really be impeded, especially since no PLA vessels were expected to try
operating in the closure zones. International public reaction, nonetheless,
252 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

was harsh toward Beijing and overwhelmingly supportive of Taipei. The

missile tests were only the first of three exercises scheduled. A live-ammuni-
tion exercise with naval and air force participation was scheduled for March
12–20 in a large closure zone on the Fujian coast approximately sixty miles
southwest of Kaohsiung, and a final amphibious assault on Taiwan-like ter-
rain on Fujian’s Pingtan Island was planned for March 18–25.
But the missile tests were the main news, and this time, the PLA had mis-
calculated. This time, the intimidation factor—in effect, using the missiles as
terror weapons—was too obvious, too much like bullying. Beijing had pushed
its advantage too far and found its moral high ground lost, its psychological
advantage overcome by revulsion, resentment, and determination to resist.
In Taiwan, the government disparaged Beijing’s “crude threats” and vowed
to carry through with election plans. The Taiwan stock market dropped about
3 percent in the two days following China’s announcement, but a $7 billion
market stabilization fund used by the government largely offset the nervous-
ness. Taiwanese residents again rushed to banks to sell Taiwan’s currency
for dollars and gold, creating shortages of dollars in some locations. But
again, Central Bank intervention held the currency stable.163 Qian Qichen, at
the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), reassured Tai-
wanese “compatriots” that they had no reason to panic over the missile tests,
but that if the “independence seekers, with support from some international
forces bent on splitting China, continue on their wrong path . . . , that would
be a real disaster.”164 Although possibly meant to be conciliatory, his words
were disregarded.
The initial American response to the PRC’s announcement was frosty.
The State Department spokesman called the planned tests an “irresponsible”
effort to intimidate Taiwan’s voters and warned there would be “conse-
quences” if any Chinese missiles went off target.165 In testimony before the
Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Perry called the tests a
“bad mistake.” Congressional Republicans, in a statement prepared before
the Xinhua announcement but publicized afterward, took a much more force-
ful position. “The Communist government in Beijing must harbor no doubt
that the United States will not tolerate the PRC’s use of military force against
Taiwan or interference with her air or sea access. To this end, the United
States must stand ready to join Taiwan in her defense against any resort to
force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize her security.”166 As
public reaction to China’s “bullying” of Taiwan grew, the administration
sharpened its reaction. A day later, on March 6, the State Department char-
acterized the tests as “provocative” and “destabilizing” as well as unhelpful.
Just after midnight on the morning of March 8, China launched three
M-9 missiles from mobile launchers in Jiangxi into the designated target
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 253

zones—two landed off Kaohsiung and one off Chilung.167 U.S. intelligence
assets in the region monitored the launches and reported back to Washing-
ton,168 where it was still March 7 and where Liu Huaqiu was just arriving
for talks with Secretary Christopher and National Security Adviser Lake.
Whether the PLA timed the missile tests in consideration of Liu Huaqiu’s
meetings in the United States is not known, although it seems unlikely. In
any case, news of the launches was flashed at highest precedence to the
White House. Telephone conversations between officials at the State De-
partment, Defense Department, and the NSC began immediately, about
what the news meant for Taiwan’s security and for Liu’s visit. It was quickly
agreed that the tests seemed to pose no immediate threat to Taiwan, though
careful monitoring needed to be maintained. As for the Liu visit, Lake and
Christopher agreed to change the protocol arrangements—from a welcom-
ing banquet to a working dinner, at which America’s indignation at the
missile launches would be conveyed at a very high level. Only Secretary
Christopher and Assistant Secretary Winston Lord remained of the State
Department invitees, the others were replaced by Secretary of Defense Perry
and National Security Adviser Lake. Jeffrey Bader and I were attached as
note takers.
The dinner, held in the Madison Room of the State Department, was dread-
ful: cold soup, undercooked vegetables, dry salmon. The discussion, how-
ever, was hot. Christopher led off with a stern but calmly delivered critique
of China’s approach to the Taiwan issue, in particular the missile launches,
which he characterized as “reckless and provocative.” He said there would
be “grave consequences”— meaning American military involvement—if the
exercises got out of hand. Liu countered with a spirited attack on Taiwan
and U.S. support for Lee Teng-hui’s “Taiwan independence” aspirations. He
rejected American concerns about the missile tests, which he insisted were a
matter of Chinese sovereignty and were “normal, routine” exercises.
Perry, visibly agitated, tried to convey to Liu that the missile launches
were over the top from an American perspective: “dangerous, coercive, ab-
solutely unnecessary, and risky.” He recounted his experience as an army
artilleryman and accused China of “bracketing” Taiwan with the two clo-
sure zones, as artillery spotters do before “firing for effect.” He, too, said
there would be “grave consequences” if Taiwan were to be hit by the mis-
siles. Lake, relishing an unusual role as “good cop,” told Liu the issue would
be an important agenda item in their meeting the following day. After Liu
left, Lake confided that Perry was “really angry” and was thinking of send-
ing an aircraft carrier battle group into the Taiwan Strait. I said I thought
Beijing would get the message if the U.S. Navy just “parked them off the east
coast” of Taiwan.169
254 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

March 8 dawned clear and unusually cold. The Secret Service vans carry-
ing Lake and his small delegation were delayed by ice and accidents on the
rural roads to Middleburg. Willow Oaks, the Harriman estate, was well pre-
pared for the informal discussions between the Chinese and Americans. El-
egantly appointed but simple and rustic, the home was warm and intimate,
with a fire in the living room fireplace. Liu and his small party arrived at
about 10:00 a.m. and positioned themselves in comfortable couches and arm-
chairs, rather than across from their counterparts at a formal table. The at-
mosphere may have helped take the edge off some very tough talk.
Lake had prepared thoroughly for the meeting. Besides the background
papers from the NSC and the State Department on the context of the meet-
ing and a lengthy set of talking points, he had received personal briefings
from intelligence analysts on Chinese positions on the issues. He began with
a lengthy introduction to American policy goals and strategic intentions, tak-
ing note of where the Chinese had misconstrued it. He sketched out U.S. Asia
policy, then went into some detail about what role China and the U.S.-China
relationship played in American plans. He raised four problems that he thought
were important to managing the development of the bilateral relationship
over the next few months: Taiwan, intellectual property rights, nonprolifera-
tion, and human rights. Much of the early part of the discussion focused on
Taiwan, and Lake carefully discussed the Lee Teng-hui visit, what it meant
and what it did not mean for U.S.-PRC relations. He warned Liu explicitly
that China should not misinterpret the delicate and nuanced language of
diplomacy: “grave consequences” were grave indeed. He urged China to cease
provocative missile testing, break the cycle of competing military exercises,
stop vilifying Lee Teng-hui, and return to the cross-Strait dialogue as a means
of resolving problems.
Liu’s response was harsh, delivered without notes, making exactly the
points expected. Lee Teng-hui was at fault for “promoting Taiwan indepen-
dence,” and the United States had “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”
by allowing him to visit Cornell. Now it was up to Washington to take steps
to improve the bilateral relationship, Taiwan was a part of China and the
resolution of the problem “brooks no foreign interference,” the military ex-
ercises were normal and no threat to the United States, but the situation was
dangerous and could be “explosive” if not handled properly.
The same dynamic held for the other issues: Lake defining the problem
and U.S. goals, making explicit recommendations for Chinese behavior; Liu
responding aggressively but defensively, laying out China’s standard posi-
tions, blaming the United States for the difficulties. The lunch break pro-
vided an opportunity for discussion of other topics, such as Russia and the
Middle East, and the atmosphere lightened somewhat. But arguments re-
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 255

sumed in the afternoon and continued until the talks wrapped up at 4:00
p.m. Both sides were satisfied with the outcome. Each had listened carefully
to the other’s positions and presented its views in detail. Nuances were
discussed and common points identified. Though tough and occasionally
heated, the discussions were bracing, respectful, and effective. At the Chi-
nese embassy banquet that evening (which Lake did not attend), the Chi-
nese were elated, saying the “Willow Oaks conference” would be seen as a
turning point in the relationship.
Saturday, however, would stoke the confrontation higher. At breakfast,
the key decisionmakers on security issues gathered at Secretary Perry’s office
in the Pentagon to consider how the United States should respond to China’s
missile tests. Besides Perry and Shalikashvili and some staff members, Secre-
tary Christopher and Assistant Secretary Lord represented the State Depart-
ment, and Lake and Berger attended for the NSC. Perry was still indignant
about the missile tests and had given a great deal of thought to how the
U.S. military forces should respond to show American commitment and
resolve. He had discussed options with the Joint Chiefs on Friday, while
Lake was in Middleburg, and wanted to develop a unified position to present
to the president.170
Perry initially had favored an aggressive reaction, perhaps even sending
one or more aircraft carrier battle groups through the Taiwan Strait to dem-
onstrate that the United States could not be ignored or intimidated.
Shalikashvili (with support from Pacific Command’s admiral Joseph Prueher)
had objected, on the grounds that it was unnecessarily provocative, and be-
sides, U.S. carrier assets were already fully deployed. When Perry presented
the options on Saturday, there was a ready consensus that the United States
had to take some action to deter the Chinese from doing “something stupid”
but without further aggravating the situation. Lake reviewed his meetings
with Liu, while Christopher talked about the best means of conveying the
messages to Beijing and Taipei. In the end, after some discussion, it was
agreed that two carrier battle groups (CBGs) would be deployed in response
to the Chinese exercises and missile tests: the USS Independence, which was
already in the region, and the USS Nimitz, which would be moved from the
Persian Gulf. Neither would deploy into the Taiwan Strait itself: Indepen-
dence would relocate off the east coast of Taiwan, while Nimitz would pro-
ceed to the area as rapidly as possible and deploy west of the Philippines.171
Although the two carrier battle groups comprised thirteen ships and more
than 150 aircraft, the largest deployment of naval forces in the Pacific since
the Vietnam War, it was the lowest-level option in the briefing Shalikashvili
had provided the president in February. Later in the afternoon, the group
briefed the president, who concurred with the decision.
256 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

Christopher appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday and very cau-
tiously confirmed that the Independence would be moved closer to Taiwan.
He did not, however, mention the redeployment of the Nimitz.172 That an-
nouncement was made by the State Department on Monday, March 11, and
was confirmed by Pentagon briefers the following day. Since the Nimitz was
stationed in the Persian Gulf, enforcing the “no-fly zone” over Iraq, it would
take some time to reach East Asia, and was expected about March 23, the
date of Taiwan’s presidential elections.173
With the NPC in session, China’s reaction needed to be quick and public,
but it was also careful. Foreign Ministry officials, including Qian Qichen and
Liu Huaqiu (in Washington), denounced the deployment in some of the same
terms the United States had used for the PRC missile tests. In an NPC press
conference on March 11, Qian called the U.S. decision “reckless” and “erro-
neous.” “Foreigners should not make irresponsible remarks and, still less,
take some action to intervene in our internal affairs,” Qian said. Asked about
the carrier deployments, Qian replied, “It would be ridiculous for some people
[in the United States] to call for an open intervention by the Seventh Fleet of
the U.S. on this issue, and they even go so far as to call for the defense of
Taiwan. I think these people must have forgotten the fact that Taiwan is part
of Chinese territory, not a protectorate of the United States.”174 Jiang told
PLA delegates that China’s preference was for “peaceful reunification,” but
that it would not renounce the use of force.175
The PLA’s reaction was rather more muscular but also contained an ele-
ment of bluster—the Nimitz deployment had been a surprise. Live-fire exer-
cises began as scheduled on March 12, with at least twenty ships, as well as
high-performance fighters, including Soviet-built Su-27s, engaging in naval
and aerial bombardment of shore areas thirty-five miles from Chin-men.176
On March 13, one more M-9 was fired into the closure zone, although ob-
servers had been expecting more than that. No one was certain whether the
curtailment was a sign of China’s recognition that the tests were becoming
counterproductive or resulted from technical problems. The PLA officers in-
terviewed by pro-PRC newspapers in Hong Kong raised the symbolic ante,
discounting American technical capabilities and courage and pledging in fierce
terms to defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity from the carri-
ers. “If they interfere with China’s internal affairs, we will smash them to
smithereens!” one of them threatened.177
Officials in Washington tried first to reinforce a sense of calm, to ensure
the Chinese understood the intent and limitations of the naval deployments.
Shalikashvili told reporters that the Chinese exercises were a “dry run” in-
tended to intimidate the people of Taiwan, but that he did not expect serious
conflict. Winston Lord and others stressed the “precautionary” nature of the
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 257

deployments and insisted, “We are not on the brink of war.” He and Kurt
Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, told a House hearing that chances of a deliberate attack on Taiwan
by the PRC were “remote.” American naval commanders, including Prueher
and others, made clear without compromising operational orders that nei-
ther CBG was likely to go into the Taiwan Strait. “We will be very mindful
of restricted airspace and territorial waters,” a retired Seventh Fleet admiral
told reporters. The U.S. Navy transported Taiwanese reporters to the Inde-
pendence, where they filed stories about the readiness and proficiency of the
American flight crews, but also made clear they were well off the east coast
of Taiwan and not expecting combat.178
Privately, NSC and State Department officials were meeting with high-
level officials from Taiwan. On March 11, Deputy Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs Sandy Berger and Undersecretary of State for
Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff traveled to New York City, where they met
secretly in a midtown hotel with Ding Mou-shih, secretary general of Taiwan’s
National Security Council. The meeting had been planned for some time,
and Lake had informed Liu it would take place, though he provided no de-
tails. Like the March 8 meeting in Middleburg, the intention was to clarify
U.S. goals and expectations in the region. Ensuring that the U.S. deploy-
ments were understood by the Taiwanese government and urging Taiwan
not take advantage of the enhanced U.S. presence to provoke Beijing were
also important. Neither TECRO nor the American Institute on Taiwan had
been informed of the meeting, and Ding had taken such extraordinary pre-
cautions to avoid the relentless Taiwanese press that news of the meeting did
not surface until seven weeks afterward.179
Ding presented a striking contrast to Liu Huaqiu. Tall, urbane, and soft-
spoken, the former head of Taiwan’s representative office in Washington
conducted the entire meeting in impeccable English. Although not thought to
be a member of Lee’s innermost circle of advisers, he was well respected and
could convey Washington’s points directly to the president. After an intelli-
gence briefing on the PRC exercises, Berger and Tarnoff went straight to the
main points. The United States was deploying two CBGs to the region as a
demonstration of the American commitment to the security and stability of
the entire Asia-Pacific region. American support for Taiwan was depend-
able, and the growth of Taiwan’s democracy—as demonstrated by the presi-
dential elections—would strengthen the relationship. At the same time, the
U.S.-PRC relationship was important and needed to be managed carefully.
Taiwan’s security was better served by stable U.S.-China relations than by
instability and high tension. Both Taiwan and the PRC should avoid pro-
vocative military exercises and return to the bargaining table to resolve their
258 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

differences. Ding assured Berger and Tarnoff that Taiwan had no wish to
provoke Beijing, that it was most appreciative of U.S. support, and would
cooperate with Washington fully in its efforts to ease tensions.180
As Taiwan’s election day neared, U.S.-China tensions increased. Despite
private Chinese assurances that the PLA exercises would be confined to Pingtan
Island, rumors circulated that there might be an attack on one of the small,
Taiwan-held offshore islands. Chinese officials seemed to feel driven to prove
they were not intimidated by the U.S. naval presence, so they ratcheted up
the threatening rhetoric even further. “If someone makes a show of force in
the Taiwan Strait,” Li Peng told NPC delegates on March 17, “that will not
only be a futile act, but it also will make the situation all the more compli-
cated . . . If armed strength is used to threaten China, history has proved long
ago there will not be a good result.”181 American military officials countered
by pointedly refusing to say whether the carriers would enter the Taiwan
Strait. Rear Admiral James Ellis, commander of the Independence battle group,
told reporters it was “possible” they would do so.182
Then Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao made the quarrel personal, claiming that
U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry “deserve[d] a slap” for talking “non-
sense” about American security interests in the region.183 Stung, Perry told
some members of Congress, “Beijing should know, and this [carrier deploy-
ment] will remind them, that while they are a great military power, the pre-
mier—the strongest—military power in the Western Pacific is the United States.
America has the best damned navy in the world, and no one should ever
forget that.”184 Perry’s comments elicited the sharpest rhetoric from the Hong
Kong Wen Wei Po, which quoted an authoritative “military observer” in
Beijing, who warned, “Don’t forget the Taiwan Straits . . . is within the
combat range of Chinese planes and ships. Add the firepower of guided mis-
siles and coordinated attacks from many units, form it into concentrated
firepower and it will be enough to bury invading enemies in a sea of fire.”185
Two days later, Perry postponed indefinitely the visit of China’s defense min-
ister Chi Haotian, ostensibly out of concern about American reaction to
China’s insistence on full protocol treatment for Chi, as well as a meeting
with the president. Belatedly, China claimed it had called off the visit, owing
to Washington’s support for Taiwan.186
That, in turn, led to sharper commentary and posturing in Washington.
Congress, intent on showing the strongest support for Taiwan, passed H.
Con. Res. 148 in the House, which asserted the “sense of Congress” that
“the United States, in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the
constitutional process of the United States, and consistent with its friendship
with and commitment to the democratic government and people of Taiwan,
should assist in defending them against invasion, missile attack, or blockade
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 259

by the People’s Republic of China.”187 The Senate passed a similar, but less
provocative resolution by 97-0 two days later. Members also flooded the
White House with letters calling on the president to demonstrate stronger
support for Taiwan’s threatened democracy. China’s press spokesman de-
manded the United States “immediately stop its activities designed to inter-
fere in China’s internal affairs and to intensify the tension in the Taiwan
Strait area.”188
Part of the administration’s difficulty in convincing Congress of its com-
mitment to Taiwan’s security was the widespread interpretation of Ameri-
can policy as a studied neutrality about Taiwan’s future, which picked up the
label “strategic ambiguity.” Former assistant secretary of defense for inter-
national security affairs Joseph S. Nye Jr. had used the term in congressional
testimony in October 1995 to describe the overall nature of the U.S.-China
relationship, in which there were many strategic interests in common but
also some major disagreements on important issues.189 Unfortunately, the
term came to be used by journalists and commentators as a shorthand way to
describe the U.S. position on China and Taiwan—that Washington resisted
specifying under what conditions it would invoke the Taiwan Relations Act
and how it would respond to various types of PRC military pressure on Tai-
wan. The reluctance to provide a blanket guarantee of defensive support
sprang from the absence of a treaty commitment and from concern that am-
bitious Taiwanese politicians might use such a guarantee to declare Taiwan
an independent state and bring the United States into the resulting war.
Although Nye continued to say that “nobody knows” how the United
States would react to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, other administration offi-
cials refrained from using the term “strategic ambiguity.” It was never used
in official policy documents. Lake declared it anathema in the NSC and Lord
went to great lengths to disavow the term in public testimony and speeches.190
During the brewing crisis in the Taiwan Straits, the administration tried to
stress it was seeking clarity of policy, not ambiguity. The term, however, had
staying power and was an easy catchphrase for critics to use as a character-
ization of Clinton’s policy. Its incessant use put the administration on the
defensive.
In the midst of the war of words between Beijing and Washington, the
PLA started its large exercise on the island of Pingtan, off the Fujian coast at
the northern end of the Taiwan Strait on March 18. Like the November
1995 exercise, this one was commanded by Zhang Wannian and involved
artillery and air attacks, submarines and minesweepers, beach landings of
soldiers and armored vehicles, heli-borne infantry assaults, and coordinated
air force–navy–ground force operations, according to Chinese television and
news accounts.191 Although the total number of troops employed in the exer-
260 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

cise is not known, estimates ran as high as 150,000.192 Chinese military and
civilian officials alike reassured their American counterparts that no military
action was being planned against Taiwan.193 None of the Chinese accounts
revealed that heavy rains, fog, and high winds forced the exercises to start
late and conclude early, although not before Chinese television turned the
exercises into another propaganda special for viewers on the mainland and
in Taiwan.
However successful the exercises were in preparing the PLA for combat
on or against Taiwan, the political goals that animated them from the outset
proved elusive. On March 23, Taiwanese voters went to the polls in the first
direct popular election for president. The four main candidates were Lee
Teng-hui of the ruling Kuomintang, Peng Ming-min of the Democratic Pro-
gressive Party, Lin Yang-kang of the New Party, and Chen Li-an, an inde-
pendent favoring closer ties with the PRC. More than 75 percent of Taiwan’s
14 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots. Lee won an unex-
pectedly large plurality of the votes, 54 percent, while Peng managed only 21
percent. Lin and Chen split the remaining 25 percent between them. Although
it had been well understood for some months that Lee’s position was unas-
sailable, some elements of the PRC’s propaganda apparatus continued to
vilify him up until the day of the election, equating him with the DPP candi-
date as far as support for “Taiwan independence” was concerned. Lee had
been defiant during the campaign, traveling to areas near closure zones, dis-
missing PRC exercises, and taunting Beijing about China’s fear of democ-
racy. By playing the military card so clumsily, Beijing probably added to
Lee’s mandate by several percentage points.194

Returning to Normal?
In the end, despite sharp rhetorical clashes, no “confrontation” between the
United States and China ever took place. It was certainly tense, but there was
no sense of imminent danger. No American aircraft came close to the Pingtan
Island exercises, no ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, no U.S. soldiers
landed on Taiwan. No Chinese submarine or other vessel even came close to
the Independence or the Nimitz. No blockades had to be broken, no small
outposts were attacked. No further missiles were launched after March 13,
no “sea of fire” materialized. Taiwan’s presidential elections took place as
scheduled on March 23, and Lee Teng-hui won handily. The PLA’s vaunted
exercises concluded ingloriously in dense fog and heavy rain. No further
exercises were scheduled, and Taipei canceled its corresponding exercise at
Washington’s suggestion. The U.S. aircraft carriers returned to normal duty
stations shortly after the election, and the crisis quietly came to a close.
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 261

It is impossible to know what the leadership in Beijing concluded from

their exercise in coercive diplomacy against Taiwan and the United States.
Beijing’s propaganda organs, of course, hailed the military exercises as a
great success, demonstrating the PLA’s capabilities to carry out complex
missions, loyalty to the Central Committee, and determination to prevent
Taiwan from becoming independent. There were some who claimed that the
exercises had foiled plots of those on Taiwan and in the United States who
wanted Taiwan to become an independent state.195 Some, including Jiang
Zemin, claimed that the PLA had intimidated the United States from enter-
ing the Taiwan Strait during the crisis.196 With perfect hindsight, Chinese
strategic analysts have insisted to American interlocutors that China was
successful in cutting back American support for Lee’s independence drive,
focusing U.S. policymakers’ attention on the importance of the Taiwan issue,
and establishing a “strategic” dialogue with Washington (through Tony Lake)
that paid larger benefits over the longer run.197 All that may be true, although
it is difficult to argue those were among the goals that drove the PLA and its
exercise in coercive diplomacy.
Objective observers in Beijing might have noted that China’s reliance on
the PLA for diplomacy had decidedly mixed results, however. Although the
missile launches and robust exercises had opened up a possibility for a more
substantive strategic dialogue via the Liu-Lake channel and sharpened the
American focus on the centrality of the Taiwan issue to the relationship, the
change in U.S. policy was not entirely for the better. The exercises had drawn
the United States into a more explicit commitment to Taiwan’s defense from
both executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, brought
American military forces to China’s shores to operate with virtual impunity,
and reversed a general improvement in relations that had taken place in 1995.
Beijing’s perceived bellicosity had put China on the strategic map as “poten-
tial adversary” for more Americans than had been true for many years.
Political as well as economic relations with Taiwan were badly damaged
by the military’s efforts to intimidate Taiwan’s voters. Clearly, some were
swayed to vote for Lee Teng-hui rather than the pro-independence candi-
date. But the New Party candidate probably was hurt by association with
the PRC’s bullying and finished dead last in the voting. Combining Lee’s
total with the DPP’s, 75 percent of Taiwan’s voters had supported keeping
the PRC at arms’ length rather than moving toward reunification. Lee eased
off on his anti-PRC rhetoric and indicated he did not plan any further trips
to the United States. In his inauguration speech on May 20, he dismissed
“Taiwan independence” as “totally unnecessary or impossible” and pledged
to “embark on a journey of peace to mainland China.” But he also belittled
China’s achievements in comparison with Taiwan’s and promised to con-
262 crisis over taiwan, 1995–96

tinue his “pragmatic diplomacy” to enhance the island’s international stand-

ing.198
Various reports in the Hong Kong press suggested that the less-than-
sterling success of the PLA intimidation campaign had heightened tensions in
the Politburo and between civilians and military officers in the leadership.199
There is little hard evidence available to support this contention, although
there can be little doubt that leadership frictions and competition for power
continued throughout the period, and may have intensified, given the high
tension of the situation. Although the coercive diplomacy effort may have
appeared feckless to outside observers, within the leadership, it apparently
enjoyed considerable support. Jiang and Li Peng evidently shared a view that
this was necessary to keep Taiwan from moving further away from the
mainland’s orbit. Qiao Shi, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the
National People’s Congress and widely viewed as Jiang’s principal rival for
power, appeared to be pushing Jiang toward an even tougher position on
Taiwan issues, despite his reputation as a “reformer.” And Li Ruihuan—also
considered a reformer—frequently voiced stridently “hawkish” sentiments
during this period.200 But there was no visible fallout in the relationship be-
tween Jiang and Zhang Wannian, who if anything emerged from the exer-
cises with his powers and reputation enhanced.
For the United States, the crisis marked something of a watershed. Several
changes took place in the American policy toward China and Taiwan fol-
lowing the events of March 1996. Some were obvious and recognized by all.
Others were subtle and have seldom been publicly noted.
—Substantively, there was a recognition by the administration and some
in Congress that Taiwan and its relationship to the mainland was by far the
most significant issue on the bilateral agenda. Developments in the cross-
Strait relationship over which the United States had no control (that is, do-
mestic politics in Taiwan and China) could have a major impact on U.S.
relationships in the region.201
—The administration began in early 1996 an approach that focused on
managing the U.S.-China relationship in coordination with Beijing—to en-
sure the leadership understood U.S. goals and intentions. It was broadly rec-
ognized that better communication with Taipei and Beijing was required,
which entailed the maintenance of nonpublic channels of contact. Engage-
ment was still the chosen policy approach, but it needed to be more carefully
defined and better understood.
—Politically, the incident was viewed as a plus by the Clinton administra-
tion. The foreign policy and military experts had calculated that a minimal
show of force in the region would work to reduce tensions, show American
resolve, facilitate democracy on Taiwan, and leave room for making further
crisis over taiwan, 1995–96 263

improvements in U.S.-China relations. Despite the taunts of the critics, they

were right.
—In the increasingly bitter partisan wrangling between the White House
and the Gingrich-led Congress, politics no longer “stopped at the water’s
edge.” Partisan attacks on Clinton’s management of foreign policy were most
rancorous on Bosnia but increasingly focused on China policy, too. Taiwan
was the catalyst. Support in Congress for democratic Taiwan was enormous
and susceptible to manipulation by the Taipei government.
—China policy in a crisis was more readily managed from the National
Security Council than from the State Department, and the national security
adviser could play a key role. Although Lake remained solicitous of
Christopher’s prerogatives in the implementation of American policy, he took
the initiative for China policy more firmly into the White House.
 chapter seven

Presidential
Initiatives,
1996–97

W ith the Pingtan Island exercise completed, and new ones

not planned, the role of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China’s over-
all foreign policy decisionmaking appeared to diminish considerably in April
1996. Primacy was restored to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and
Qian Qichen. With remarkable alacrity, Beijing moved to a less combative
approach toward Taiwan once its elections were over. The decision to do so
was probably made in mid-April in the Politburo Standing Committee on
recommendations from the Taiwan Affairs Leading Small Group. In late
April, the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office held a three-day confer-
ence in Beijing, addressed by Qian Qichen and Wang Zhaoguo, who gave
the appearance, at least, of a return to normal decisionmaking channels on
Taiwan.
In his report to the meeting, Qian affirmed the correctness of the previous
policy in “dealing a heavy blow to forces for ‘Taiwan independence’ and
splittism on the island and fully revealing the Chinese people’s strong deter-
mination and capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial in-
tegrity.” He also, however, changed the tone and content of the PRC’s public
policy by pledging to “place [our] hopes on the people of Taiwan” rather
than the Taiwan authorities, whom he continued to criticize, though in a
milder tone. Qian and others focused on the need to “promote economic
cooperation and exchanges between the two sides” and called on mainland
officials to “more effectively implement the ‘Law on Protecting Investments
by Taiwan Compatriots’ and protect [their] legitimate rights and interests.”1
Suisheng Zhao makes the case that coercive diplomacy and the effort to woo
Taiwanese businessmen as part of a peaceful offensive are “two sides of the
264
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 265

same policy coin,” but China’s less belligerent approach was welcomed by
Taiwan’s government and business leaders alike.2

Confrontation, Engagement, and Sanctions

Although the obvious tensions over Taiwan eased with the departure of U.S.
aircraft carriers after Lee’s election, Beijing’s policy toward Washington re-
mained tough and confrontational. The dialogue between Tony Lake and
Liu Huaqiu began a process of improved communication and the building of
mutual respect that eventually facilitated problem solving. But initially, it
only served to identify the most urgent issues. The “American side” had raised
three issues for special concern besides Taiwan in the Middleburg, Virginia,
meetings, two of which involved the possible imposition of sanctions. The
first was about nonproliferation, concerning a sale to Pakistan of “ring mag-
nets”— used in gas centrifuges that enrich uranium for nuclear bombs. Sec-
ond was China’s failure to abide by a 1995 agreement on improving protection
of American intellectual property, that is, not cracking down on massive
piracy of U.S. computer software and music products in Chinese compact
disk factories. Third was the lack of progress in China’s human rights prac-
tices, documented in the State Department human rights report issued the
day Liu arrived in Washington.
The State Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) had similar problems with the situation. Both had been making
progress in their respective areas with Beijing bureaucrats. China’s overall
approach to international agreements on trade and the nonproliferation of
weapons of mass destruction was clearly improving, and cooperation, while
difficult, was tangible. Neither organization was under any illusions about
the efficacy of sanctions, and each preferred engagement with Chinese coun-
terparts to resolve problems. Both had used sanctions as policy instruments
and credible threats. Both the State Department and USTR had to contend
with strong lobbying groups that exerted pressure on senior bureaucrats and
lawmakers and kept the media spotlight on their subjects of concern. Both
relied on information collected by other organizations—the intelligence agen-
cies for the State Department, and trade groups such as the Business Soft-
ware Alliance for the USTR—and had no control over its dissemination.
Both were also somewhat hemmed in by legislation that mandated sanctions
in specified circumstances.
In 1996, both bureaucracies were fortunate to have highly competent
midlevel officials to make engagement work. Robert Einhorn, austere and
professorial, was deputy assistant secretary of state for politico-military af-
fairs and had worked on nearly every proliferation issue for several years
266 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

with a highly competent staff in his bureau and in the Bureau of Intelligence
and Research. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (AUSTR) Lee Sands, a
former political and economic officer at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, was
Mickey Kantor’s point man on intellectual property rights, assisted by China
desk director Deborah Lehr and a team of dedicated professionals from the
USTR, the FBI, Customs, and the departments of Commerce and Agricul-
ture. Sands and Einhorn enjoyed good contacts and cooperation with the
National Security Council (NSC). Although the State Department and the
USTR did not coordinate their approaches, at Principals Committee meet-
ings in late February and early March their representatives agreed on pro-
ceeding cautiously during the height of the Taiwan Strait crisis, then moving
to work out problems once China’s post-crisis perspective on bilateral rela-
tions became clearer.

The State Department and Nonproliferation

Warren Christopher was dismayed. On top of all the other problems that
afflicted U.S.-China relations in early 1996, there was now another nonpro-
liferation issue, one that highlighted the complexity and inadequacy of trying
to deal with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and
their associated technologies and components through embargoes and con-
gressionally mandated sanctions. In late 1995, the Central Intelligence Agency
had reported that the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) devel-
oped and shipped to the A. Q. Khan Research Laboratory in Kahuta, Paki-
stan, some 5,000 “ring magnets,” which the agency asserted would be used
in the gas centrifuges that Pakistan operated to extract enriched uranium
from uranium gas. The enriched uranium could then be used in the building
of nuclear weapons.3 Since the Khan Laboratory was a key part of Pakistan’s
“unsafeguarded” (that is, not subject to inspections by the International
Atomic Energy Agency) nuclear program, the shipment, although valued at
only about $70,000, was considered a violation of the Nuclear Proliferation
Prevention Act of 1994.4
At first blush, the ring magnets seemed a minor matter. But because China
had been accused for years of actively supporting Pakistan’s rogue nuclear
program, nonproliferation activists in the United States were eager to have
China sanctioned. Beijing’s initial response to the charges was typical: the
Foreign Ministry denied them (as did Pakistan’s foreign minister, who was
visiting Beijing), discounted the information as “hearsay,” and warned that
sanctions would “seriously harm relations between the two countries.”5 It
agreed, nonetheless, to a March visit by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Robert Einhorn to confer on the case and to further discussions between
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 267

Foreign Minister Qian and Secretary Christopher in April. Its decisions were
no doubt fostered by the State Department’s public recommendation in late
February that the U.S. Export-Import Bank should suspend consideration of
$10 billion in new loan guarantees for American companies doing business
in China.
The State Department had delivered a démarche to the Chinese about the
issue, receiving denials and obfuscations in return. When the story broke in
the Washington Times in February, members of Congress immediately
weighed in with letters to the president and statements to the press, calling
for the full imposition of sanctions against China. Although some officials
evidently suggested the sanctions could be waived on the grounds of having
a “serious effect on vital United States interests,” Senator Arlen Specter (R-
Pa.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote the
president, saying a waiver would “make our national policy a laughingstock”
and encourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons.6 The issue was compli-
cated by intelligence reports of other Chinese transgressions leaking into the
press from various sources. China was suspected of selling to Iran the chemi-
cals and the technology for producing “poison gas” weapons, in apparent
violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it had signed in Janu-
ary 1993.7 Moreover, another report of the shipment of M-11 missile tech-
nology to Pakistan surfaced in the press in early March, as did reports of
China selling the C-802 antiship cruise missile to Iran, a possible violation of
a 1992 law prohibiting the sale of advanced conventional weapons to Iran or
Iraq.8 Principals Committee meetings were held in late February and again in
March to discuss what the proper response should be to the new allegations.
Einhorn headed for Beijing in late March, just after Taiwan’s election. He
carried with him a draft statement for Beijing to sign that the State Depart-
ment believed would provide a sufficient guarantee of China’s commitment
to nonproliferation so the imposition of sanctions could be averted. The state-
ment involved a guarantee on China’s part that it would not provide support
of any kind to unsafeguarded nuclear programs of any country. Tony Lake
had first given a copy of the statement to Liu Huaqiu as a “non-paper” at
their meeting in Middleburg on March 8. Liu’s “non-response” was not
encouraging, but he did invite Einhorn to come to Beijing for further discus-
sions, which was a good opening.
Preliminary discussions in Beijing of the State Department’s proposed so-
lution to the problem were not productive. Einhorn raised several issues,
including the U.S. demand that China improve its export control regulations
to ensure that even small sales of the “ring magnets” sort would be pre-
vented. He also asked about the process of approving nuclear sales, to ascer-
tain whether anyone at the upper levels of the Chinese regime might have
268 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

been in the decision loop on the ring magnets deal. The Chinese stonewalled,
and Einhorn returned to Washington.9
Einhorn’s negative report went directly to a Principals Committee meet-
ing on March 27, but the administration remained deadlocked on what kinds
of sanctions should be applied: heavy penalties against the Pakistani and
Chinese governments on the grounds that leaders must have known of the
deal; light sanctions against only the corporations involved, CNNC and A.
Q. Khan; no sanctions in exchange for a Chinese commitment to refrain
from further support for unsafeguarded programs; or waived sanctions on
grounds that U.S. interests would be better served by not imposing economic
penalties for so minor an infraction (ring magnets, for example, are not on
the official list of items prohibited from sale under the terms of the Non-
Proliferation Treaty).10
The debate continued, however, and criticism of the administration’s han-
dling of the matter intensified. Conservatives like Charles Krauthammer ac-
cused the Clinton administration of “craven diplomacy” in not reacting to
Chinese provocations on proliferation and other issues.11 New York Times
columnist A. M. Rosenthal charged Clinton with pursuing a “failed” policy
of ignoring an evil dictatorship for the sake of American business interests.12
Both called for tough sanctions in response to the ring magnets case. Numer-
ous other scholars and pundits weighed in during the same period with con-
flicting and contradictory advice on how to deal with a China that appeared
to many to be stubborn, hostile, aggressive, and spiteful. Conservative Re-
publicans clearly hoped this issue of Clinton’s irresolute policy toward China
would become a major issue in the November presidential election.13
In mid-April, President Clinton paid a state visit to Japan—one that had
been postponed when he stayed home from the 1995 Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit in Osaka because of budget problems. Aside
from showcasing the renewed vitality of the U.S.-Japan relationship, which
had been damaged by trade disputes in the first two years of the Clinton
administration, the principal “deliverable” of the visit was a “Joint Declara-
tion on Security—Alliance for the 21st Century.” The document called for a
review of the 1978 Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation to en-
hance Japan’s role in preserving the security of the Asia-Pacific region. It also
focused on the need to “realign and reduce” U.S. forces in Okinawa, which
had become a highly controversial issue in Japan.14
The Joint Declaration was immediately attacked by Beijing, which saw
the agreement as an effort to contain China and a threat to its sovereignty
over Taiwan. “The Japan-U.S. treaty is a bilateral defense treaty left over
from history,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news con-
ference. “It shouldn’t go beyond its bilateral nature, otherwise there will be
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 269

complications.” If Japan’s self-defense forces expand beyond their current

scope, “that would cause concern among all other Asian nations.”15 Clinton
administration officials were surprised by China’s reaction. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Asian Affairs Kurt Campbell—who had been the
principal negotiator on the U.S. side—observed later, “No one at any meet-
ing—and I was in hundreds of meetings with the Japanese—conceptualized
that the rationale for the U.S.-Japan revitalization had anything to do with
the Taiwan Straits.”16 In hindsight, most officials admitted that more consid-
eration should have been given to the possible Chinese reaction to the agree-
ment, but it simply was not a factor at the time. The focus was on setting
things right with Japan and on the Korean Peninsula.
Warren Christopher flew to meet with Qian Qichen in the Hague on April
20. After four hours of intensive discussions, the two men made considerable
progress in narrowing differences on the shape of a final resolution of the
ring magnets issue, but they could not reach full closure. In public, Qian
continued to insist that China had not violated any nonproliferation agree-
ments, so sanctions were not appropriate. On human rights, trade, and intel-
lectual property rights, the two sides exchanged the usual talking points with
the usual effect.
China’s basic problem in the ring magnets case—as Qian doubtless knew—
was the absence in legal or bureaucratic practice of a workable export con-
trol system for “dual-use” items, that is, products that could be used for the
production of WMD but that could also have more benign purposes. In re-
sponse to U.S. pressure and its participation in international control regimes,
such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (which China joined in 1984),
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (to which China acceded in 1992), and the
Chemical Weapons Convention (agreed to in 1993), Beijing had sharply cut
back on sales of WMD systems and components, at least compared with
sales in the 1980s.17 Dual-use items, however, were more problematic. Chi-
nese laws and regulations lacked detail on what items were proscribed or
required special export licenses. Regulatory jurisdiction was complicated by
ongoing economic and bureaucratic reforms in China, which transformed
into quasi-independent national corporations the State Council ministries
that had previously overseen defense production.18
Five days after the Christopher-Qian meeting, the U.S. Export-Import Bank
again froze loan guarantees for China, in response to a request from the State
Department. The action, which delayed a $35 million loan guarantee for the
Guangzhou metro-rail project, was probably intended as a warning, but Beijing
had already decided to resolve the issue. Quietly, Beijing passed the word
that if the United States would announce there would be no sanctions over
ring magnets, China would issue a statement forswearing cooperation with
270 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

unsafeguarded nuclear programs. Both sides bit the bullet. “There’s no ques-
tion that there was a ring magnet transfer to Pakistan on the part of the state
entity in China,” State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said on May
10. “The Chinese, however, have assured us that the government in Beijing—
the policymakers in Beijing—were not aware of this transfer.” Therefore,
“the Secretary of State has concluded that there is not a sufficient basis to
warrant a determination that sanctionable activity occurred under Section
825 of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994.”19
“China strictly observes its obligations under the [Nuclear Non-Prolifera-
tion] treaty and is against the proliferation of nuclear weapons,” Xinhua
announced a few hours later. “China pursues the policy of not endorsing,
encouraging or engaging in the proliferation of nuclear weapons, or assisting
other countries in developing such weapons . . . China will not provide assis-
tance to unsafeguarded and unsupervised nuclear facilities.”20
Privately, Beijing also agreed to begin consultations with the United States
on establishing a workable export control administration and to discipline
the individuals responsible for the ring magnets transaction.21
The Clinton administration took a pounding from the press and Congress
for the way the ring magnets issue was handled. One could make the case,
however, that the facts did not really warrant the imposition of heavy sanc-
tions: that the size and nature of the transaction made it highly unlikely that
the Chinese government was, in fact, “knowing” of the deal. Moreover, the
Chinese public pledge not to support unsafeguarded nuclear programs was
an important step forward, one certainly worth the cost of forgoing sanc-
tions that would punish American corporations doing business with China
far more than the Chinese entity that sold the ring magnets. In testimony a
year afterward, Einhorn insisted that the May 11 commitment was holding
and that China had taken a more cooperative approach. “We have seen a
greater willingness by the Chinese to scrutinize and restrain their nuclear
exports and cooperative activities, to strengthen their national export con-
trols, and to address more promptly and seriously the concerns we have
raised,” he told a Senate subcommittee.22
But the process of making the decision was messy. In the end, the State
Department’s careful, nuanced approach—trying to keep the larger issue of
U.S.-China relations in perspective—failed to assuage the anger on Capitol
Hill and in the press over China’s seeming contempt for U.S. legislation,
interests, and values. The president expressed satisfaction that the issue had
been resolved satisfactorily, but accusations that he cared more about Ameri-
can business interests than American security would continue to dog his ad-
ministration. “Beijing is a pathological proliferator, plain and simple,” said
Representative Edward J. Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts. “I find
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 271

it disturbing that the administration has decided to let one of the most eager
vendors in the nuclear marketplace off the hook.”23

USTR and Intellectual Property Rights

U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor had been fuming for months. The
Chinese were toying with him. The landmark agreement on intellectual prop-
erty rights (IPR) he had signed in March 1995—after months of tough nego-
tiations by his China trade team—was effectively a dead letter by the end of
the summer. The American side, in accordance with the agreement, had pro-
vided training, equipment, consultations, and solid information about in-
fringement to Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
(MOFTEC) officials and others in Beijing. They had written letters, held
meetings in Beijing and Washington, cajoled, and pleaded with Chinese trade
officials that China’s implementation of the agreement was unsatisfactory by
any standard. All to no avail. The U.S. negotiators believed the downturn in
bilateral relations over Taiwan was affecting China’s willingness to enforce
the agreement.24 But there were other problems, as well, having to do with
corruption, excessive PLA involvement in business, and ineffective legal mecha-
nisms and traditions in China.
The upshot was that most of the illegal CD factories closed down as part
of the 1995 agreement were back in business, and new ones had been added.
China claimed to have conducted “thousands” of police raids, netting mil-
lions of pirated disks, but nearly all were against small-scale retailers, not the
producers. At the end of 1995, various U.S. industry sources reported that
Chinese illicit CD production had cost the American music, book, and soft-
ware industry as much as $2.3 billion that year.25 And Kantor was aware
that China’s trade surplus with the United States had grown to nearly $34
billion.26 He was determined to do something about it, and the something
was sanctions. “We will not tolerate China ignoring its obligations under
this agreement,” he told reporters.27
Compared to the State Department’s episodic conversations with Chinese
Foreign Ministry officials about the misdeeds of China’s National Nuclear
Corporation, the USTR had a much more direct, intense, and detailed set of
interactions with a broader range of Chinese officials about CD piracy. Like
the Bush administration before it, the Clinton administration U.S. Trade
Representative’s Office, frustrated by China’s unwillingness to take the steps
necessary to curtail the growing IPR piracy, resorted to pressure and sanc-
tions under special 301 provision of the Omnibus Trade and Competitive-
ness Act of 1988. The USTR negotiators—Lee Sands and Deborah Lehr—had
decided to work with the various Chinese bureaucracies, involving them in
272 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

finding a solution that met their needs and enforced their own law, rather
than relying only on sanctions. Their hard work—plus the threat of 100
percent punitive tariffs on more than $1 billion in Chinese goods at the end
of the negotiations to “get their attention,” as Lehr put it—resulted in an
agreement signed in February 1995 that provided for sweeping changes in
the IPR law enforcement regime in China.28
The Chinese central government, however, was not able (or willing) to
bring the pressures to bear on local officials to crack down hard, with the
result that the piracy problem grew significantly worse in 1995. U.S. trade
associations complained that the access to the Chinese market they had hoped
would be part of the 1995 agreement was not happening. In the latter part of
the year, with overall bilateral tensions rising, the USTR pressed its case
aggressively. Sands and his team spent weeks in China, negotiating with trade,
customs, public security, judicial, publishing, and local Communist Party
officials about the importance of rigorous enforcement of China’s relevant
laws and the 1995 bilateral IPR agreement. The meetings were often acrimo-
nious, and by the end of the year, Sands was being publicly criticized by
MOFTEC for not showing sufficient courtesy to his Chinese hosts. Unde-
terred, Kantor sent him back in February 1996 with instructions to continue
the negotiations.
The USTR levied four demands on the Chinese during this period, repeat-
edly and in detail: take action against more than thirty illegal CD production
facilities, including seizures of goods and arrests of managers; crack down
especially hard on Guangdong Province and its special economic zones, where
most of the illegal CD producers were located; rigorously enforce customs
regulations at China’s borders, to prevent damage to non-Chinese markets
of American IPR goods; and expand U.S. access to China’s IP market, includ-
ing establishment of joint ventures, licensing of American products, revenue-
sharing projects, and other easing of government restrictions on legal sales of
American entertainment and software products. MOFTEC argued that it
had taken ample actions and provided voluminous documentation. None-
theless, Kantor and his deputy, Charlene Barshefsky, escalated their warn-
ings through February and March, telling the Chinese that they faced punitive
tariffs on more than $1 billion of their exports to the United States unless the
problem was resolved satisfactorily. Privately, some officials admitted that
election-year politics and the president’s need to look “tough” were signifi-
cant factors in the USTR’s approach.29
On April 30, after a trip to Beijing by Barshefsky failed to elicit better
compliance, the USTR released its annual report on international trade per-
formance, naming China as a “priority foreign country” under the special
301 section of the trade law. Barshefsky had given the Chinese to May 15 to
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 273

come up with an “emergency action” plan to meet the four conditions, and
Sands traveled to Beijing just before the deadline in hopes of striking a last-
minute deal. On May 8, the Principals Committee recommended to the presi-
dent that he authorize USTR to draw up a preliminary list of Chinese imports
to be subjected to punitive duties to compensate for the estimated $2 billion
that China’s IPR piracy was costing the United States. Clinton—in a rare
appearance at a foreign policy deliberation meeting—approved, knowing that
congressional support for IPR sanctions was growing. He was also aware
that his likely opponent in the 1996 presidential race, Senator Robert Dole,
was planning to criticize his administration’s “vacillation” in China policy.
In light of the State Department’s decision not to impose sanctions for the
ring magnets case, the announcement of a plan to punish China was bound
to be well received.30
After MOFTEC’s refusal to budge in the face of the sanctions threat, USTR
announced, on May 15, the list of goods that would be considered for
countervailing sanctions, to be imposed in thirty days if negotiations failed.
The USTR had done its research carefully and included many of China’s
most prominent exports to the United States, such as clothing, textiles, elec-
tronic goods, and other consumer items produced in Guangdong Province.
Beijing reacted immediately, suspending approvals for U.S. joint ventures
and promising punitive tariffs on a variety of American goods. Observers on
both sides talked ominously of a “trade war.”31
But Washington was in full communications mode—though indirect—
during this period. The Principals and Deputies committee meetings of the
preceding months had developed a more comprehensive China policy, and
an eagerness to put it on the record, for domestic and foreign policy reasons.
On May 17, Warren Christopher made his first public speech devoted en-
tirely to China policy. In an address in New York to the Asia Society, Coun-
cil on Foreign Policy, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations,
he laid out a wide-ranging and nuanced approach to China that stressed
three principles: a recognition that China’s “development as a secure, open
and successful nation is profoundly in the interest of the United States”; a
goal of bringing about “China’s full integration and its active participation
in the international community”; and a “dialogue and engagement” approach
to manage differences, but a willingness to use other methods, such as sanc-
tions, when necessary. Included in Christopher’s discussion was an open call
for “regular summit meetings” between the two presidents.32
Three days later, President Clinton also stressed China policy heavily in a
speech he gave to the Pacific Basin Economic Council, a business organiza-
tion focused on Asia. “How China defines itself and its greatness as a nation
in the future,” Clinton said, coining an expression he would use throughout
274 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

the rest of his presidency, “and how our relationship with China evolves will
have as great an impact on the lives of our own people and, indeed, on global
peace and security, as that of any other relationship we have.” He pledged to
continue an engagement approach “without illusion” and indicated he would
not discard sanctions, if imposing them furthered U.S. interests. Most impor-
tant, he announced—early—that he intended to extend unconditional MFN
for the ensuing year.33
China appeared to get the message being conveyed by the administration,
and its response was reflected in the end game for the IPR negotiations.
American foreign policy commentators sometimes refer to complex and some-
times theatrical political interactions or negotiations that have a predeter-
mined outcome as “Kabuki,” after a stylized Japanese drama form. The IPR
negotiations were more like Beijing opera—with loud, banging drums and
cymbals, simulated combat, and discordant singing—but with an equally
predetermined outcome. Despite dire threats from both sides that a trade
war was looming if the other side did not back down, both were working
quietly against the deadline to develop a package acceptable to both sides.
The AUSTR Lee Sands and his team had been in Beijing almost continu-
ously since mid-May, exhorting, cajoling, educating, and warning the Chi-
nese about the importance of the issue. They were accompanied, though not
in negotiation sessions, by representatives of U.S. corporations with IPR eq-
uities in China, who also reminded their interlocutors of the benefits that
would follow a successful agreement. What the Americans were looking for
was some means of verifying that China was living up to the 1995 agreement
and, more important, guarantees of better access to the Chinese intellectual
property market, particularly in computer software. China was looking for
an explicit lifting of the threat of sanctions as well as evidence that the Ameri-
can side understood how difficult it was for Beijing to enforce laws for which
there was little public support. By June 12, five days before the deadline, they
had gotten far enough along to bring in Deputy USTR Charlene Barshefsky
to close the deal.
Barshefsky arrived on June 14, as the Chinese media were reporting a
massive crackdown on illegal CD piracy, a tightening of customs enforce-
ment in Guangdong, and the closure of bootleg CD factories in several cities.
All were portrayed, of course, not as a result of U.S. pressure, but as part of
China’s legal reform. U.S. negotiators were skeptical but not dismissive. “It
remains to be seen whether the Chinese effort . . . is sufficient to meet the
terms of our [1995] agreement,” read a USTR statement as they headed into
the final weekend of discussions.34 The final weekend was all too familiar to
the American team: late snags over language and translations, protestations
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 275

that Chinese negotiators were not empowered to make certain agreements,

the passing of the deadline for imposing sanctions, last-minute haggling over
petty details, the final June 17 meeting in the party-government leadership
compound in Zhongnanhai with a beaming Jiang Zemin, and the announce-
ment of the agreement not to impose sanctions or start a trade war. The
USTR also dropped the designation of China as a “priority foreign country”
in violation of IPR agreements.
In the end, USTR got much of what it wanted: the closure of fifteen illegal
CD factories and confiscation of their production machinery, written com-
mitments on enforcement of IPR laws by China’s public security agencies, a
title verification system for legally produced CDs, and improved market ac-
cess for American corporations.35 Not all of the problems were resolved, and
USTR officials were frank in their judgments that problems remained and
would take more time and effort to resolve. Like previous IPR agreements,
this one was partly a face-saving arrangement, to avoid the sanctions both
sides realized were not in their interest to impose. But both sides expressed
satisfaction with it, as an example of working through a difficult issue by
intense “engagement.” Engagement—with clearly defined goals, intensive
and respectful negotiations and discussions with a broad array of Chinese
officials, obvious benefits for both sides, and the threat of sanctions as a last
resort—proved workable and politically successful. And in fact, illegal CD
production in China did drop significantly in the following years, enforce-
ment of IPR regulations improved significantly, and China’s software and
computer industries flourished with improved access to American know-how
and investment. “This proves that staying involved and engaged with China
through the difficult times as well as the good ones is the right course of
action,” Clinton told reporters.36
Although the U.S. media did not give the agreement much notice, it clearly
had a salutary effect on the House of Representative’s consideration of China’s
MFN status, which came up for a vote less than two weeks later. The bill to
overturn Clinton’s decision to extend MFN—initiated, as usual, by Repre-
sentative Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.)—was defeated handily, 286-141, with
more Republicans than Democrats supporting the president’s recommenda-
tion. At the same time, however, the House passed by an overwhelming mar-
gin a bill calling for extensive hearings and legislation to deal with a lengthy
list of Chinese failings in human rights, nonproliferation, Taiwan-related
actions, and trade practices. It was a clear indication that the House, while
not prepared to stake everything on the MFN vote, still was extremely dis-
satisfied with China’s behavior on several issues and with the Clinton
administration’s policy toward China.
276 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

More Journeys to Beijing

Seven years and a week after National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft’s
controversial trip to Beijing following Tiananmen, Tony Lake was flying to
China on a comparable mission. There were, of course, plenty of differences:
Lake was flying a commercial flight, one of many that catered to the growing
number of business travelers between the United States and China, rather
than a secretive U.S. Air Force plane. And while his trip had no accompany-
ing press, it was not a secret visit. The U.S. embassy in Beijing was fully
involved in its planning and execution. Assistant Secretary of State Winston
Lord was a prominent participant and handled most of the press briefings
and liaison for the trip. Lake brought two members of his personal staff,
Sandy Kristoff and me from the Asia Directorate, and a small detail of Secret
Service. One of the purposes of the visit—like Scowcroft’s—was to try and
improve strained relationships between the two governments. But while
Scowcroft had hopes of eventually restoring the status quo pre-Tiananmen,
Lake was hoping to start a dialogue that would take the relationship to a
new and more productive level.
As he had before Liu Huaqiu’s visit to Middleburg in March, Lake made
extensive preparations for his meetings, tasking both written issue papers
and oral briefings by intelligence community analysts and his own staff. On
the fourteen-hour plane trip from Detroit to Beijing, he pored over thick
briefing books, practiced pronouncing Jiang Zemin’s sixteen-character slo-
gan for improving the relationship, and rehearsed a global overview that he
intended to use in his discussions with the Chinese.37 Lake’s strategic rap,
“strat rap,” as he characterized it, was intended as a counter to the classical,
“multipolarism,” balance-of-power notions of international politics that gen-
erally characterized Chinese presentations.
Lake’s exposition was forthright: the United States was the single most pow-
erful nation on the earth and was likely to stay so for some time. America had
no desire to dominate the globe or destroy potential adversaries but could
thrive in an era of contending great powers, if that is what it faced. American
military deployments in Europe and Asia were not extensions of empire or
hegemony but were intended to preserve stability and avert conflict.
Washington’s preference was for a world in which the “great powers”—
the United States, European Union, Russia, Japan, and China—worked
cooperatively to establish mechanisms and regulatory organizations that
would minimize conflict and help raise the living standards of smaller
nations.
On Monday, June 8, Lake and his party met for seven hours with Liu
Huaqiu and numerous MFA and State Council note takers in China’s official
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 277

guesthouse complex, Diaoyutai. Although elaborate and well equipped,

Diaoyutai lacked the informality of Willow Oaks, and the delegations were
separated by a table and microphones. Despite the higher degree of official-
ity, discussions were still lively and occasionally contentious, as the long list
of bilateral disagreements was reviewed in detail. During the lunch break,
Lake invited Liu to take a “walk in the woods,” a private one-on-one con-
versation outside, away from the rest of their respective delegations.38 In
their stroll around the grounds of Diaoyutai, Lake raised two issues, M-11
shipments to Pakistan and human rights, which were of particular concern
to President Clinton. He had hopes that a private, off-the-record discussion
might yield a path to progress. Liu was no more candid or forthcoming on
either issue than in the larger sessions, although he did agree to have one of
his staff accept what Lake called an “illustrative list” of prominent dissidents
the United States hoped China would release.39
The following day, Lake met with Defense Minister Chi Haotian for a
rather insipid discussion of strategic issues, and with Premier Li Peng, Vice
Premier Qian Qichen, and finally with President Jiang Zemin. Most of the
discussions were variations on the lengthy talks he had held with Liu Huaqiu
the previous day. Jiang, however, demonstrated why so many of his Ameri-
can interlocutors found him quirky and strange. Ignoring Lake’s efforts to
raise substantive issues, Jiang talked about the water origins of both their
surnames (Jiang means “river”), discussed computer chip technology, Chi-
nese poetry, and philosophy, much of it in idiomatic English. Lake looked at
his staff, shrugged, and put his talking points away, knowing that his ebul-
lient host was going to take the conversation in his own direction, his own
way.
Jiang’s mood reflected the Chinese side’s clear satisfaction with the con-
duct of the talks and with Lake’s reiteration of the need for more regular
summit meetings. He told them that a Jiang visit to the United States was
being considered for the following year (that is, after the presidential elec-
tion). Afterward, both sides briefed the press in an upbeat, positive manner.
No diplomatic breakthroughs had been achieved, but none had been sought
or expected. Lake and Lord tried to focus reporters’ attention on the need for
structure, process, and management of difficult problems. “Security and sta-
bility and predictability” were the words Lord used to describe American
goals. “We’re trying to be based on a little more . . . mutual expectation,”
Lord told reporters.40 Both White House spokesman Mike McCurry and
China’s MFA spokesman Cui Tiankai credited Lake with improving “the
overall climate of . . . bilateral relations,”41 although both sides cautioned
that there remained a long way to go before relations could be considered
normalized.
278 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

In late July, Secretary of State Christopher met Qian again in Jakarta for
the annual ASEAN ministerial conclave. Qian extended an invitation to Chris-
topher to visit Beijing in November, which the secretary accepted, though
with some misgivings. His previous trip, in 1994, had been a political disas-
ter, and an objective appraisal of the relationship in the summer of 1996
would have had to conclude it had improved only a little since then.
The NSC, however, began developing an initiative in the one area of “en-
gagement” in which there had been the least progress—human rights. Of the
major issues on the Sino-American agenda of dispute, none was more diffi-
cult than China’s human rights practices. From Beijing’s perspective, human
rights represented a problem with no positive elements, no “wins,” no moral
high ground, no advantage to be gained. The regime was not about to permit
the kind of political reform that underlay most of the West’s complaints
about freedom of expression, press, and religious expression—that would
simply be to cooperate in its own demise. It could not “reverse the verdict”
on Tiananmen while Deng was alive or otherwise review the decisions made
at the time without opening up a process of political accounting that would
have tarnished the reputations of many of its topmost leaders. Certainly
the PLA did not favor such a course, even though most of the officers who
had carried out the crackdown or gained from it had already been retired
or removed. No party review could be undertaken without raising the pos-
sibility of rehabilitating Zhao Ziyang, a course of action Jiang Zemin could
never support.
Moreover, many Chinese—and not just within the Communist Party lead-
ership—believed that foreign criticism of China’s human rights record, de-
mands for change, and advocacy of democratic reforms were simply a means
of pressuring and subverting China, rendering it weak, and undermining its
government. Thus despite continuing support inside China for opening up
and further democratizing the political system, the government was able to
play on patriotism to limit foreign and domestic pressures from joining forces.
The regime was willing to negotiate for the lifting or averting of sanctions or
the improvement of the atmospherics of foreign relationships, but only at the
margins, on issues that did not require important changes in the party’s rule.
Its general approach on human rights was to stonewall on the large issues,
engage in anodyne “dialogue” on a government-to-government basis, and
negotiate for small-scale, marginal goals using its most fungible human rights
asset—political prisoners. These it used cynically, in response to foreign pres-
sures and in order to send the message to potential dissidents in China that
foreign support was of little use. Beijing used Washington’s concern for high-
profile prisoner releases effectively to exile some of its most troublesome
dissidents.
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 279

Beijing was vulnerable to international criticism of its human rights record,

in the sense that it found public censure embarrassing and inconsistent with
its aspirations for greater global influence. It therefore expended consider-
able political capital to prevent the adoption of resolutions faulting its hu-
man rights practices by the United Nations Human Rights Commission
(UNHRC), which meets yearly in Geneva to consider international human
rights conditions. By mobilizing “third world,” socialist, and anti-American
countries—which usually constituted a majority on the commission—China
was able every year to block the resolution by passing a motion to take no
action on it. Nonetheless, Beijing clearly was anxious to find some way to
end the yearly struggle and was prepared to negotiate in order to do so.
On the premise that the administration’s efforts and policies had done
little for its own political constituencies or for the cause of human rights in
China, I consulted with a few Washington-based representatives of major
human rights organizations and with San Francisco businessman and human
rights activist John Kamm, who had achieved notable success in gaining the
release of Chinese political prisoners. I inquired what they thought the ad-
ministration should try to achieve to replace the feckless approach pursued
up until that point. They recommended focusing on getting China to sign
and ratify two UN-sponsored human rights covenants—the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—which would provide specific stan-
dards by which China’s future actions could be judged. They also suggested
pressing for the release of prominent dissidents, such as Wei Jingsheng and
Wang Dan, and for getting Beijing to accept International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) protocols for visiting prisoners of conscience in China.
They seemed somewhat more receptive to the idea of establishing a nongov-
ernmental organization forum on human rights, a concept they had dispar-
aged in 1994 on the grounds that China did not permit NGOs and would
simply manipulate such a forum through quasi-official channels. Having seen
how little the Clinton administration was prepared to use governmental le-
verage to pressure Beijing on human rights and how little had been achieved
through the official dialogue, they seemed amenable to giving an NGO fo-
rum a chance.
Based on these discussions, I prepared a memorandum for Tony Lake to
send to Warren Christopher with a proposition I knew much of the human
rights community would not favor. I suggested that the United States con-
sider dropping sponsorship of a resolution critical of China’s human rights
practices at the annual meeting of the UNHRC in exchange for Beijing agree-
ing to four conditions: releasing the prisoners on the list Lake had delivered
in July; signing and ratifying the two covenants; permitting international
280 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

visits to Chinese prisons under ICRC protocols; and establishing an NGO

forum to discuss human rights. The United States had failed to get a resolu-
tion passed every year since 1990; it was generally a painful experience. China
generally won the showdown but at considerable cost and loss of face. It
might be willing to make some trade-offs. I believed that if the United States
could get tangible results by forgoing the exercise, it was worth a try.
Lake was skeptical that the State Department would accept the proposal
and doubtful the Chinese would agree to any of the conditions, but he was
willing to pursue the idea quietly. He declined to send the memorandum to
Christopher officially under his own signature but agreed to forward it under
mine. Thus was born a singular document form, the NSC director-to-secre-
tary of state memorandum, the sole example of which was sent over by the
NSC executive secretary in late August 1996. Christopher also was dubious
of the idea, but the head of his Policy Planning Office, James Steinberg, was
intrigued, and the State Department posed no objections to the NSC pursu-
ing it quietly.
On the pretext of supporting a USTR mission to follow up on the IPR
agreement, I traveled to Beijing in mid-September to present the plan to de-
partment-level officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. American and
Oceanian Department counselor Liu Xiaoming listened politely and with
interest to my careful presentation—I made no commitments or specific link-
ages, and I was not authorized to follow up. Two weeks later, however, Liu
made a special effort to ensure we were seated together at a Chinese-Ameri-
can banquet in Washington to celebrate China’s national day and grilled me
for two hours on the details and authority of the proposal. That was deemed
sufficient interest to enable Steinberg to further develop the proposal when
he visited Beijing in late October to hold discussions with his MFA counter-
part and advance the Christopher visit. Steinberg’s discussions showed the
Chinese were intrigued by the proposal and willing to discuss it at a higher
level but were still uncertain whether it had top-level support within the
Clinton administration.
By that time, the proposal had already generated controversy in the State
Department. When Steinberg vetted it before making his trip, objections had
been raised by Winston Lord, who found it too easy on the Chinese, and
John Shattuck, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor.
Shattuck was concerned, correctly, that the trade-off would not be accepted
by the American human rights community and that the official bilateral hu-
man rights dialogue—though in suspension—might be eclipsed by an NGO
forum. Christopher’s doubts probably were deepened by the Chinese deci-
sion—just after Steinberg’s trip—to put Wang Dan on trial for conspiracy to
overthrow the government. In what had become all-too-typical a dissident
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 281

trial, Wang was found guilty and sentenced to eleven years in prison on Oc-
tober 30. Not surprisingly, news of the human rights “package” leaked to
the press before Christopher’s trip.42
Christopher’s November 20–23 trip to China was not nearly as disagree-
able as his 1994 visit. Apart from the trial of Wang Dan, there were no
further actions against the few remaining voices of dissent in China, and the
secretary refrained from public commentary en route. Knowing that Chris-
topher had already announced his intention to resign at the end of the year,
the Chinese treated him with respect and cordiality. Even Li Peng was less
testy than usual, although he was critical of U.S. human rights policies. In his
meeting with Qian, Christopher reviewed the entire array of U.S.-China bi-
lateral issues in standard terms. He laid out the basic agenda for the Clinton-
Jiang summit at the Manila APEC leaders meeting, which would follow later
in the week, and indicated that an exchange of state visits would be agree-
able, beginning with a Jiang visit to Washington in 1997.
When he got to human rights issues, he protested the treatment of Wang
Dan and reiterated the administration’s desire for improvements in China’s
approach to political prisoners, freedom of speech, and Tibet, among other
issues. With Shattuck and Lord in attendance, the secretary ran through
the UNHRC “package” quickly and without detail. Qian’s reply was non-
committal but not unresponsive. In my interpretation, he clearly wanted to
hear more. But Christopher interpreted his reply as a rebuff and moved
quickly off the subject, to Qian’s apparent perplexity. That effectively ended
the issue as a topic of bilateral discussion for the ensuing six months and
more.
After his Beijing meetings, Christopher proceeded to Shanghai, where he
saw the economic transformation that was changing the face of China dra-
matically. But even the nonofficial portion of his trip reflected the
administration’s ambivalence and uncertainty about China policy. To the
delight of Shanghai’s burgeoning community of foreign policy experts, Chris-
topher had agreed to give a speech and answer questions at Fudan University’s
Center for American Studies. His address was initially entitled, “Building a
Partnership for the 21st Century,” and a large blue banner with those words
was prepared and hung behind the makeshift podium. As Christopher put it
in his book, he began to have “second thoughts” about the title on the way to
China. There was also a sharp disagreement within his delegation on the
subject, with the China experts in favor of leaving the text and the banner as
they were, and his speechwriters and other political advisers suggesting chang-
ing the term “partnership” to “cooperation.” Christopher decided in favor
of the latter. As he put it, “The term ‘partnership’ described relations with
our closest allies, states like Great Britain, Germany, and Japan. Although
282 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

our relations with China had certainly improved—and I wanted to convey

exactly that— ‘ partnership’ sounded a little too cozy. It was what we were
aiming for, but we weren’t there yet. ‘Cooperation’ seemed a more apt term,
and we changed the text (and the banner) the night before I gave the speech.”43
Chinese students, of course, noticed the change and queried Christopher about
it, but he dodged the issue skillfully. He did not know that the president—on
a pre-APEC state visit to Australia—was using the term “partnership” to
describe his aspirations for U.S.-China relations.44

Clinton Triumphant, and Immediately Challenged

On November 6, 1996, William Jefferson Clinton was re-elected to a second

term as president of the United States, defeating Senator Robert J. Dole by a
popular vote of more than 47 million votes to 39 million, with 8 million
votes cast for Reform Party candidate H. Ross Perot. In the electoral college
tally, Clinton won by a resounding 379 to 159 votes. He won 48 percent of
the popular vote in an election with the lowest voter turnout in more than
sixty years. In congressional elections, the Republican Party lost seats in the
House of Representatives but maintained an easy majority of more than twenty
seats, and increased its dominance in the Senate by two additional seats.
That dampened the ardor of Clinton’s supporters, and the president called
for a new spirit of cooperation with Capitol Hill in doing the nation’s busi-
ness. But given the enormous setback he had suffered in the 1994 midterm
elections, his easy win over Dole was a huge vindication for Clinton, and he
clearly savored it.
Analysts adduced several reasons for Clinton’s victory, focusing mostly
on general contentment with the booming American economy, approval of
Clinton’s stewardship of the office of president (if not his character), wari-
ness of the seemingly radical Republican agenda, and a certain ineptitude in
the way Dole ran his campaign. There was also considerable attention paid
to campaign finance and what role it played in the outcome of the election.
By October, a month before the elections, both the Federal Election
Commission—established after the Watergate scandal of 1972 to enforce
new laws limiting donations to candidates—and independent political moni-
toring groups like Common Cause were criticizing the Dole and Clinton cam-
paigns for massive abuses of campaign finance regulations. There were
numerous appeals to the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor
to investigate how much the two parties had spent much on television adver-
tising.45 Whether television advertisements were important in the outcome of
the election is still open to debate, as Clinton maintained a significant lead in
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 283

public opinion polling throughout the campaign. But political money, and
how it was raised and spent, would be a dominant issue in Clinton’s second
term.
Foreign policy issues had played a minor role in the campaign, although
Bosnia and Haiti still excited considerable partisan controversy. China policy
did not become a prominent campaign issue, even though some segments of
the Republican Party—particularly representatives of the “religious right”
and those more committed to an anticommunist ideological approach, such
as Patrick Buchanan—wanted to make it so. Dole had been an active sup-
porter of George Bush’s China policy, believed in engagement as the most
appropriate approach to China, and consistently supported the extension of
China’s MFN privileges. He did try consistently to attack the implementa-
tion of Clinton’s policy, focusing on vacillation, inconsistency, and a lack of
clarity. But he did not press that theme very hard.
As he showed soon after the election, however, Clinton had enthusiasti-
cally adopted the idea of improving relations with China as one of the key
foreign policy goals of his second term. He did not mince his words. “The
emergence of a stable, an open, a prosperous China, a strong China confi-
dent of its place and willing to assume its responsibilities as a great nation is
in our deepest interest,” he told reporters in Australia shortly after his re-
election. “What the United States wants is to sustain an engagement with
China . . . in a way that will increase the chances that there will be more
liberty and more prosperity and more genuine cooperation in the future.”46
At the beginning of his second term, then, Clinton was fully supportive of a
positive engagement approach toward China, even some form of “partner-
ship.” Critics would later charge that his embracing of such an approach was
purchased through campaign contributions.
Although he had grown more comfortable with foreign policy issues dur-
ing his first term, Clinton still relied on the advice of others, particularly
Lake and Berger, and made few decisions outside established channels of
policymaking. With respect to China policy, by the end of 1996, the initia-
tive for China policy had passed from the State Department to the National
Security Council. Lake had become more enthusiastic about the possibilities
of engagement with China in light of his own personal diplomacy during and
after the Taiwan Strait crisis.
Sandy Berger had been consistent in support of an activist approach to
China, although he kept a relatively low profile because of his position as
deputy national security adviser and his knowledge of the complex domestic
policy issues that took precedence on Clinton’s agenda. He saw more clearly
than others the advantages of focusing on an economic and trade agenda
with China for advancing the president’s domestic interests. The November
284 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

APEC trip—which Lake did not join—was something of a “tryout” for

Berger’s bid to become national security adviser, and he pressed the presi-
dent to take a more activist approach to Asia, where he was convinced
America’s future economic prosperity lay.47 Sandra Kristoff brought to the
senior director of Asian affairs position a marked skill for organizing and
directing interdepartmental teams and was able to greatly reduce bureau-
cratic squabbling over China policy. Last but not least, the president was
aware that a high-pressure, negative approach to China had yielded few posi-
tive results, and he was prepared to try a more accommodating method. His
electoral victory appeared to give him some additional flexibility.
It was an obviously self-assured Bill Clinton who met Jiang Zemin at the
November 24 APEC leaders meeting in Manila. Buoyed by his victory and
by a vigorous state visit and golf vacation in Australia, where he was warmly
welcomed, Clinton held a one-hour-and-twenty-five-minute meeting with
Jiang in the most genial atmosphere yet of their yearly meetings. Jiang had
always put a high value on interpersonal relationships and recognized the
need to establish a personal bond with Clinton before problem solving could
be undertaken.48 Clinton, more reluctantly, owing to political pressures on
China policy, evidently came to the same conclusion. Manila, in a sense,
represented a mutual recognition that their interpersonal association would
set the tone for the larger bilateral relationship, and both men set about
deliberately to improve their rapport, despite substantial differences in style,
personality, age, culture, and background.
With a limited agenda already decided by the Christopher and Lake visits
to Beijing, the two presidents exchanged views on several subjects, including
human rights, China’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, the im-
pending handover of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, and the four-party
Korean Peninsula peace talks proposal that had been raised earlier in the
year. Jiang brought news of an American bomber that had crashed in south-
ern China during World War II and promised to turn over the remains of its
crew. Most important, the two agreed on a schedule of state visits, including
a trip to China by Vice President Al Gore in the spring, a Jiang visit to Wash-
ington in the summer or fall of 1997, and a Clinton return trip to China in
1998.49
Both sides hailed the meeting as an important breakthrough, although
press reaction in the United States was skeptical, even hostile. “America to-
day lacks a consensus on China,” Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland
observed. “Americans lack a shared perspective strong enough and deep
enough to support a consistent policy, either of hostility or of cooperation
. . . But Clinton’s Manila performance mandates a turning point in the war of
words over China policy between the president and his critics. The urgent
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 285

point now is the widening gulf between the president and his critics, who
predictably greeted Clinton’s words of comfort for Beijing with a fusillade of
attacks.”50 The Post editorialized that Clinton’s China policy was based on
“misguided and potentially dangerous” assumptions, while the New York
Times continued regular criticism of Clinton’s China policy through several
of its foreign affairs columnists.51

Countercurrents
In previous years, the determination of two chief executives to improve the
tone of the bilateral relationship might have been enough to move the rela-
tionship in a positive direction. In 1996, however, strong countercurrents
were operating in both countries. In China, policy began to be affected by
popular nationalism in ways that had not been true before. In the United
States, the dynamic of the political scandal took its toll on the implementa-
tion of Clinton’s China policy.

China: Popular Nationalism

The rise of populist nationalism in the post-Tiananmen period has been

documented by several commentators. It has been attributed to many causes,
including that the regime deliberately substituted nationalism for failed Marx-
ism-Leninism and Maoism as a unifying ideology, a more or less natural
development of Chinese intellectuals’ traditional hope for a strong country,
disillusionment with the failure of liberal democracy to provide a stable so-
cial order, and resentment against “American triumphalism” and bullying,
as demonstrated in the Yin He incident and the dispatch of American aircraft
carriers to the region in 1996.52 Whatever the origins of the phenomenon, the
Taiwan Strait crisis was the catalyst for a remarkable upsurge in popular
nationalism, mostly directed against the United States.
Taking advantage of loosened government controls and the commercial-
ization of the publishing industry in China, five young writers hastily wrote
a potent anti-American diatribe called “China Can Say No (Zhongguo Keyi
Shuo Bu) in March-April 1996.53 It was published in May and immediately
began attracting public notice. Although suspicions that it was sponsored by
the central government are unverifiable, there was no doubt that leaders in
Beijing found the book’s strident tone attractive. One member of the
government’s Human Rights Commission provided an epilogue for the book,
and Xinhua publicized favorable reviews as early as June. Officials from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs nervously mentioned the book to American coun-
terparts, admitting that it was “not very good, but everybody is reading it.”
286 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

By midsummer, it was touted as China’s “no. 1 best-seller,” having sold

more than 2 million copies.
China Can Say No is a remarkable book—acerbic, contentious, humor-
ous, xenophobic, and occasionally nostalgic. Ferociously anti-American
throughout, it reflected and propagated a distorted understanding of Ameri-
can society and culture. The product of “thirty-something” intellectuals, it
demonstrated how deeply the Communist Party’s paranoid view of the West
had sunk in. “Westerners believe they can use their monopoly of financial
and science and technology markets to constantly interfere in China’s inter-
nal affairs and achieve their colonial goals. So on the one hand, they smil-
ingly carry out economic trade, and on the other hand they use Western
culture to carry out infiltration, trying to change our cultural values and
modes of behavior.”54 At various points, it charged that the Hollywood movie
industry and the Central Intelligence Agency were part of the same plot to
subvert China.
Despite its unofficial origins, China Can Say No echoed China’s official
line on most of the bilateral issues of that time, including intellectual prop-
erty and human rights issues, and especially the Taiwan question. Sarcastic
and blunt, the authors rejected American criticism of China’s human rights
and domestic policies in terms that many officials no doubt wished they could
use. But it also occasionally advocated a degree of active resistance to U.S.
“bullying” that the Chinese government was not prepared to take. And the
authors adopted an almost openly contemptuous attitude toward those they
considered insufficiently bold in resisting Westernization. Moreover, their
ambivalence about economic reform and the social and political costs of
Western-style modernization was out of synch with the government’s overall
approach. For example, they advocated cutting back trade with the United
States to minimize the prospects for dependency. After a period of nearly
open admiration and support for the book, the regime adopted a more bal-
anced approach beginning in the autumn. Qian Qichen remarked to a for-
eign reporter that the authors were “inexperienced” in foreign policy, while
party-sponsored publications increasingly aired commentaries that were criti-
cal of the book’s stridency.55
By that time, however, the sequels had already begun. The commercial
success of China Can Say No soon led to: Why China Says No; China Still
Can Say No; Why Does China Say No? China Says No Nine Times; and the
more reasonable, government-approved China Doesn’t Just Say No. None
of these works were as fashionable as the original, but they generally shared
the same populist and nationalist sentiments that animated the first volume.
Cumulatively, the impact of these books is hard to gauge. Joseph Fewsmith
argues that they contributed to several ongoing debates within the party at
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 287

that time over the direction and pace of reform, the effect of foreign invest-
ment on China’s overall economic development, the growth of corruption
and economic inequality, the future of state-owned enterprises, and the po-
litical importance of China’s growing “middle class.”56 In the end, however,
the books contributed nothing positive but rather only aggravated the sense
of victimization that underlies Chinese nationalism, incited a yearning for
action that could not be met by the Chinese government, and provided a
distorted perspective on Chinese public opinion.

United States: The Campaign Finance Scandal

On the U.S. side, the Clinton administration’s approach to China in its
second term was beset even before it got started by a combination of domes-
tic political partisanship, the structural flaws of the U.S. election system, and
the dynamic of political scandal. The fundamental problems were the financ-
ing of American political campaigns, which had grown inordinately expen-
sive, and the intense antipathy that had bloomed between congressional
Republicans and the Clinton White House in the wake of the 1994 elections.
Believing Clinton was defeatable in 1996—despite the thriving American
economy and their own embarrassment over the 1995 shutdown of the fed-
eral government—Republicans had set about a concerted campaign to un-
dermine and discredit the president by exploiting and publicizing every
available shortcoming.
Clinton was a “target-rich environment” for political snipers: his Viet-
nam-era draft record, reputation as a womanizer, and questionable real es-
tate transactions when he was governor of Arkansas had created a cottage
industry of investigative reporters and full-time critics in conservative media.
It had also drawn the attention of a special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, who
exercised a broad mandate under congressional legislation to investigate the
president’s alleged misdeeds. First-term errors in judgment involving the White
House travel office, FBI personnel files, and the tragic suicide of a key aide
heightened media and public interest in Clinton’s character and probity in
office. But it was more than that. For a combination of reasons too complex to
recount here, American politics in the mid-1990s had taken on a decidedly
vicious tone. Partisanship had increased as both parties appealed to narrow
constituencies, tolerance and harmony decreased among members of Congress,
and the normal strains between the executive and legislative branches sharp-
ened into barely concealed contempt and animosity.57 And Clinton seemed to
inspire more partisan hatred than any president since Richard Nixon.
Reeling from the loss of House and Senate in 1994, the president’s closest
domestic advisers believed that if they were to retain the presidency, they
needed to raise an enormous amount of money to offset the Republican Party’s
288 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

usual advantage among corporate donors. It had become an article of faith

among both politicians and political commentators in the 1990s that the
more money one could raise, the more successful a politician one was likely
to be. Issues, integrity, and party affiliation still mattered, but raising funds
for media advertising, polling, rallies, mass mailings, and other campaign
purposes became far more important, and they were expensive. Clinton pushed
his staff—both inside the White House and in the Democratic National Com-
mittee—to devise new ways of raising soft political money, not subject to as
many restrictions under federal campaign finance laws.58 Clinton and Vice
President Gore were direct participants in some of these methods, which
included White House “coffees” organized by the DNC for generous con-
tributors and direct telephone contacts with potential donors.
In late September 1996, and picking up through mid-October, stories be-
gan appearing about a fund-raising scandal involving President Clinton and
some of his former associates and friends from Little Rock, Arkansas. One
was an Indonesian-Chinese banker named Mochtar Riady, whose Lippo
Bank—with an office in Little Rock—reportedly provided a large fee to presi-
dential friend Webster Hubbell after he resigned as deputy attorney general
in early 1996. The trail also led to John Huang, a Taiwan-born former ex-
ecutive of Lippo, who had served as deputy assistant secretary of commerce
in 1994–95, then was hired by the DNC to raise funds from Asian Ameri-
cans. The story grew more complicated when it was learned that the DNC
had returned some of the donations Huang had raised during the summer
because they appeared to have been acquired from Asians who were not
American citizens, a violation of American law.59
Thus began a story that transfixed the U.S. media, generated several con-
gressional investigations, damaged the Clinton second term, and significantly
affected the course of U.S.-China relations. During the next three years, an
array of charges would be leveled at China, President Clinton, members of
his staff, Chinese Americans in general, and one nuclear researcher named
Wen Ho Lee in particular. Many of these charges proved untrue—some of
them wildly so. Most were overtaken politically by the larger and more con-
troversial issue of Clinton’s sexual improprieties with a White House intern
named Monica Lewinsky and his ensuing impeachment by Congress. In the
wake of the indeterminate outcome of the scandals, numerous questions have
been left unanswered, and some of the accusations, while unproven, prob-
ably are believed by many to be true.
It is impossible to escape the conclusion, in light of subsequent convic-
tions and plea bargains of various DNC fund-raising specialists, that there
were major campaign finance law violations attributable to John Huang and
several others during this period. A few examples:
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 289

—Huang solicited a $425,000 donation to the DNC by Arief and Soraya

Wiriadinata, permanent resident aliens in the United States who happened to
be related to Mochtar Riady, a noncitizen who was the likely source of the
money;
—Huang and a Taiwan-born businesswoman named Maria Hsia orga-
nized a fund-raising luncheon for Vice President Al Gore at the Hsi Lai
Temple—a Buddhist monastery in Hacienda Heights, California—at which
$140,000 was donated to the DNC by monks and nuns who had taken vows
of poverty and were later repaid for their “contributions”;60
—Charlie Yah-lin Trie, a Taiwan-born restaurant owner from Little Rock,
donated $640,000—much of it in cash—to the president’s legal defense fund
and solicited a $325,000 contribution to the DNC from Yogesh Gandhi,
whose California foundation had failed to file tax forms. Trie was subse-
quently appointed by the White House to the Commission on United States–
Pacific Trade and Investment Policy;61
—Johnny Chien Chuen Chung, a Taiwan-born owner of a struggling “blast
fax” business in California, donated $366,000 to the DNC, after which he
gained unusual access (forty-nine visits) to the White House for special events,
photo opportunities with the president, vice president, and First Lady.62
Where did the money come from? That is what the Federal Election Com-
mission, the Justice Department, several congressional committees, and a
growing flock of investigative reporters wanted to know. The Lippo Group
of Mochtar Riady—Huang’s former employer—was an obvious suspect, with
its international reach among Chinese communities throughout Asia and in
the United States. Once on the “money trail,” investigative reporters in Wash-
ington uncovered several other stories, and some of them pointed to Taiwan
as the source of the money. These stories involved more members of Clinton’s
staff, including former aides Mark Middleton and Mark Grobmyer, and James
C. Wood Jr.—then-director of the Washington office of the American Insti-
tute on Taiwan (as noted earlier, the U.S. unofficial organization responsible
for maintaining day-to-day relations with the Taiwan government). They
allegedly solicited contributions to the DNC from Taiwanese businessmen,
including Kuomintang Enterprises chairman Liu Tai-ying, citing Clinton’s
dispatch of aircraft carriers to Taiwan in its hour of need as justification.63
The “venerable master” of the Hsi Lai Temple, at which Gore’s fund-raising
lunch was held, was one Hsing Yun, a member of the Kuomintang Advisory
Committee who later became a member of its Overseas Chinese Affairs Com-
mission.64 (I had warned the vice president’s staff about Hsing Yun’s Taiwan
affiliation before the April 1996 event, but my concerns were glossed over.)
Although the DNC leadership was concerned enough about the legality of
some of Huang’s contributions to return them to the donors, it was not just
290 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

Taiwanese money that was brought into question. The People’s Republic of
China turned out to be involved as well, a fact that drove the story to a fever
pitch. Charlie Trie had brought the head of the China International Trade
and Investment Corporation, Wang Jun, to a coffee at the White House in
February 1996. Wang, the son of China’s former vice president, was also
involved with a Chinese dealer of military equipment called Polytechnologies.
The president later admitted that Wang’s visit to the White House was “clearly
inappropriate,” although no evidence was ever presented that he had made
any political contributions.65 Johnny Chung also brought PRC business asso-
ciates to various fund-raisers and White House events. It was the PRC-
related contacts that would generate the most controversy and the most dif-
ficulty for the second-term foreign policy team.

Clinton’s Second-Term Security Team

The Donorgate scandal continued to roil the political system in the weeks
following the election, even though there was never any evidence presented
to suggest that the donations had made a significant difference in the out-
come of the election. It exacted its first political casualties during the president’s
emplacement of the “national security team” for his second term. Clinton
announced the second-term team on December 5, 1996, focusing on the quality
of its members and on the fact that he conceived of it as “a team that will rise
above partisanship and rise to the challenges of meeting the opportunities, of
dealing with the challenges that we all face.”66
Replacing Warren Christopher as secretary of state was Madeleine Albright,
who had served as ambassador to the United Nations in the first term. The
daughter of Czech immigrants, Albright had taught at Georgetown Univer-
sity and had developed a reputation at the United Nations for tough talk and
decisive action.
William S. Cohen was nominated to replace William Perry as secretary of
defense. A three-term Republican senator from Maine, Cohen was experi-
enced in defense matters (having served as chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee) and well respected by his colleagues in the Senate and
by the senior military leadership in the Pentagon.
National Security Adviser Anthony Lake was nominated to serve as direc-
tor of Central Intelligence, replacing John Deutch, who had replaced James
Woolsey as the director in 1994. Lake, while more intellectually oriented
than most directors of CIA, had distinct ideas about the need to reform and
reinvigorate the agency and a deep understanding of what the American policy
agenda needed in intelligence support.
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 291

Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger was selected to replace Lake as national secu-

rity adviser, formalizing his predominance as the president’s closest and most
influential foreign policy adviser. Experienced and incisive, Berger had been
with Clinton for many years and was expected to make an easy transition.
For his own deputy, he chose James B. Steinberg, who had served as Chris-
topher’s director of policy planning.
Between their nomination in early December and confirmation hearings
after Clinton’s second-term inauguration, the new team members were ex-
posed to intense political scrutiny by an energized investigative press corps.
Donorgate was “Issue A,” and conservative commentators were quick to
bring accusations. William Safire, a former Nixon speechwriter and colum-
nist for the New York Times, suggested that the connections between John
Huang and Lippo were not an employee-employer relationship or overzeal-
ous campaign fund-raising, but were an “economic intelligence penetration”
by the PRC intelligence services.67 The archconservative American Spectator
magazine attacked Cohen for being indiscriminate in his acceptance of gifts
and fees from foreign governments and for having contacts with some of the
principals in the Donorgate scandal.68
While Lake prepared for tough hearings before the Senate Select Commit-
tee on Intelligence, Berger also instituted a search of National Security Coun-
cil documents to turn up evidence that the NSC had not been simply a doormat
for the DNC in gaining access to the president or on any policy issues. Those
documents—148 pages, which included several e-mails and memos that I
drafted—were released on February 14, 1997. They did not have the desired
effect. Rather than cooling speculation about Chinese efforts to influence
policy, they only fed the lust for details about Chinese visitors to the White
House and what they wanted. Instead of showing the NSC effectively block-
ing DNC incursions into policymaking, they showed examples of sound ad-
vice ignored and warnings unheeded by Clinton and his domestic staff. And
rather than demonstrating Lake’s careful separation of policy and politics,
the documents and follow-on newspaper commentaries led to new questions
about his judgment, managerial style, and reliability.
In early February, after Lake’s confirmation hearings were postponed, the
Washington Post’s notable investigative reporter, Bob Woodward, reported
that “representatives of the People’s Republic of China sought to direct con-
tributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee be-
fore the 1996 presidential campaign.”69 The bombshell claim, based on vague
statements from “officials familiar with the inquiry,” was padded with innu-
endo, speculation, and rumors, drawing sinister conclusions from well-known
aspects of John Huang’s employment at the Commerce Department, phone
calls he made to Lippo, and a $5 taxicab receipt indicating he may have
292 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

visited the PRC embassy. The accusation, in conjunction with the released
NSC material, heightened the political clamor on Capitol Hill, and led Sena-
tor Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair-
man, to postpone hearings on Lake’s appointment for a second time. A media
frenzy ensued, with reporters tracking down more data points and connect-
ing them to construct a picture of a devious conspiracy.
In late February, Woodward wrote up another leak from the Justice De-
partment task force investigating illegal campaign finance activities. This one
indicated that the task force was trying to find out if “representatives of the
People’s Republic of China attempted to buy influence among members of
Congress through illegal campaign contributions and payments from Chi-
nese-controlled businesses.” While the accusation was initially considered
“less serious” than stories of illegal contributions to the president’s reelec-
tion campaign, the Washington Post story also alleged that the FBI briefed
two NSC staffers on the information in the summer of 1996, but they did not
pass the information on to senior NSC officials or to the president.70
That kicked off a scrap within the White House and between the NSC and
the Justice Department over whether the two staffers, Rand Beers and Ed
Appel, were instructed not to pass the information on to more senior offi-
cials. White House spokesman Mike McCurry insisted that the two officials
had been told by their FBI briefers not to pass the information on to anyone
else. The FBI countered publicly, saying it had placed “no restrictions what-
ever” on the information, which led to McCurry insisting, “The White House
considers the FBI’s statement to be in error.” Clinton, exasperated, told re-
porters, “Yes, I believe I should have known. No, I didn’t know. If I had
known, I would have asked the NSC and the chief of staff to look at the
evidence and make whatever recommendations were appropriate . . . It would
have provoked, at least to that extent, a red flag on my part.”71 The Justice
Department tried to ease the rift by disavowing the FBI statement as “intem-
perate,” while suggesting the NSC officials may have misunderstood the con-
trols and restrictions placed on the evidence by the originating agency, the
National Security Agency.72
At the same time as they were briefing the NSC, the FBI evidently had felt
obligated to inform Congress of the information about Chinese plans to in-
fluence legislative elections and passed on “vague” warnings to several mem-
bers of Congress, including Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of
California, Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Tom Campbell of California,
and Senator Daniel Moynihan of New York. While there was no specific
evidence that the Chinese had targeted their campaigns, the FBI took it upon
itself to brief them of the possibility, presumably on the basis of their in-
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 293

volvement in China-related issues. Initially, the bureau had considered thirty

members of Congress as potential recipients but narrowed the list down to
six. None of them took the warning very seriously, although Feinstein even-
tually returned some $12,000 in donations she thought might have been from
Lippo Bank employees.73
Feinstein’s return of donations was just the tip of the iceberg, however.
Panicked, the DNC announced on March 1 that it was returning an addi-
tional $1.5 million in donations—mostly associated with Huang, Trie, and
Chung—because it could not determine if the donors acquired or donated
the money legally. That was on top of the $1.5 million it had already re-
turned by the end of 1996. The new DNC chairman, Roy Romer, announced
strict new regulations limiting contributions, instituting a screening process
for people attending fund-raisers, and prohibiting “perquisites” in exchange
for donations.74 Observers in both parties admitted that the fund-raising sys-
tem was “broken.” Editorialists in most major papers decried the excesses
and called for a serious effort to institute campaign finance reform. That
effort, focused through the Senate Committee on Government Reform, chaired
by Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), eventually broke down in partisan
haggling, and campaign reform legislation would eventually die.75 But the
damage to the Clinton presidency was immediate and serious—his approval
rating dropped significantly in the first few months of 1997—and would get
worse.
Lake was the first high-level casualty of the scandal. His long-delayed
hearings, which began on March 11, turned quickly from a discussion of the
CIA and the need for intelligence in a post–cold war world to an examina-
tion of more details of the NSC’s involvement in campaign finance wrongdo-
ing and of Lake’s management style. Lake’s response to the focus on campaign
finance was called “anemic.”76 He was hampered by his reputation as a stand-
offish intellectual, and he had cultivated few friends on the Hill. After only
three days of questioning, his nomination was viewed as being in trouble.
Senator Robert Kerrey (D-Nebr.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Select
Committee, informed the White House by the weekend that he had devel-
oped strong reservations about the nomination on substantive grounds, par-
ticularly the access to NSC officials granted to a Lebanese American DNC
donor with a “checkered background.” Chairman Shelby suggested he might
further delay the hearings so that all committee members could review exten-
sive FBI files on Lake.77
Frustrated at the delays and the unprecedented probe of his personal life,
Lake asked the president on March 18 to withdraw his nomination to be
director of Central Intelligence. In a stinging withdrawal letter, he charged
294 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

that his nomination had become “a political football in a game with con-
stantly moving goalposts.” After incessant delays, he saw “no end in sight”
for the nomination, which had become a “political circus.” “Washington
has gone haywire,” he concluded, and the political process had become dis-
torted by partisanship and gamesmanship. He did not wish to see the CIA
and NSC further damaged and politicized by such a process.78 Reluctantly
and angrily, Clinton accepted Lake’s decision and nominated George
Tenet—a former Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staff director and
also an NSC senior director whom he had appointed as deputy director of
Central Intelligence in 1995—to replace him. Tenet won easy confirmation
and was sworn in as DCI in early July.

Donations and Policy

As an NSC director-level official at the time, I was not permitted to state
publicly my views on the relationship between DNC campaign finance ac-
tivities and the actual formulation of foreign policy and in particular China
policy. But I had my own view at the time of the relationship between the
president’s political party, the campaign finance process, and the policy pro-
cess, and it has remained consistent since then. It is a view perhaps different
from the images held in the popular press, or even of other political scientists
or commentators about the relationship between domestic politics and for-
eign policy. It is certainly different from the views of partisan polemicists like
Kenneth Timmerman, Bill Triplett, and Edward Timperlake, who constructed
elaborate arguments based on the idea that political contributions—in par-
ticular from the People’s Republic of China— “ led to concrete decisions by
the Clinton administration that have harmed our national security.”79
In my view, at least, campaign donations—no matter what the source—
are given as an expression of unqualified support for a political party and
candidate, or in the hope of gaining influence with them. The former is a
donation, the latter a form of lobbying. Lobbying through contributions is
an established practice in the United States, time-honored and deeply rooted.
What the Asian DNC donors got, in some cases, was access: invitations to
events where the president or vice president would be in attendance, a hand-
shake in a receiving line, a photograph together, an opportunity to speak
about issues over coffee, the courtesy of a reply to a letter, the opportunity to
donate more, a flashy title. For some—Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung, for
example—that was what they wanted. The perception of being influential
gained them prestige and business opportunities overseas. They, in turn, were
evidently taken advantage of by their PRC counterparts, who saw them as
access agents.
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 295

But their access decidedly did not give them influence over policy. Were
the views of Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung—or their alleged backers—
factored into policy decisions at the presidential level? Did Wang Jun con-
vince the president to extend MFN during a coffee? Did five Chinese executives
persuade him during a two-minute Oval Office photo op to permit American
satellites to be launched on Chinese rockets? Did a letter from Charlie Trie
change the president’s mind about support for Taiwan in 1996? Of course
not. The foreign policy process did not work that way under Clinton or, one
hopes, any other president. Decisions went through bureaucratic processes
that involved many government officials of unchallengeable loyalty who were
chosen for their foreign affairs experience, knowledge, and abilities. Papers
and cables were written and circulated, meetings were held, issues were dis-
cussed, consensus reached, and options finally presented to the president for
his decision. At no point was the DNC or any other political organization
brought into the process.
Still less was the NSC—the president’s foreign affairs staff—in any way
beholden to the DNC. Contacts with the DNC were prohibited unless ap-
proved by the deputy national security adviser. In three and one-half years as
an NSC staffer, I met with hundreds of people interested in having an influ-
ence on American policy: foreign and American diplomats, intelligence offi-
cers, soldiers, legislators, business leaders, academics, lobbyists, human rights
activists, religious personages, people from every country and every political
persuasion. Only a handful of them had any connection to the DNC, and
they had no more, and probably less, influence on me than most of the oth-
ers. It was my job to learn what people thought about Asia-related issues,
what were the divisions and disagreements. I was also expected to explain
and defend American policy and interests to concerned parties. They, in turn,
brought information, opinions, reading materials, and knowledge that they
hoped would be useful in the consideration of American policy.
As a policy process, it was a sensible and workable approach. But it was
not visible to the public, and ultimately, it was misperceived. In September
1997, Sandy Berger—then the national security adviser—put the issue suc-
cinctly and encapsulated the experience of the NSC staff. “I did foreign policy,
as did Mr. Lake in the last administration. I think there was no decision
made by the president that we were not engaged in. And in no situation did
I perceive, in any way, that any campaign contributor or campaign fund-
raising consideration had any influence on that policy. And I say that cat-
egorically.”80 That approach to the issue—professional insulation from
domestic politics—was widely held in the foreign policy community and was
both a strength and a liability as the campaign finance issue continued to
dominate the political agenda. It enabled the NSC staff to continue working
296 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

on the substantive issues without becoming completely distracted by the po-

litical maelstrom that swirled around them. But it also made them vulnerable
to charges of naiveté and being manipulated.

“Chinagate”: Policy Repercussions as the Scandal Intensifies

Tom Friedman, a highly respected foreign affairs reporter and columnist for
the New York Times, was unusually forceful in his March 17 commentary
on the campaign finance scandal and unusually prescient in setting out the
foreign policy consequences of the ongoing scandal.
Just when U.S. officials need to have a cool, clear head in thinking
about China policy, just when it is critical that there be a broad domes-
tic consensus on China policy, the Clinton team has made China policy
radioactive by engaging in the most tawdry fund-raising from Chinese-
Americans and overseas Chinese with dubious links to governments
and business interests. Beyond shameful, this was breathtakingly stu-
pid. Every major decision the Administration now makes on China is
going to be scrutinized for links, real or imagined, to campaign dona-
tions. Administration China experts will be reluctant to take chances.
And the prospects for bipartisanship on China will be diminished, since
the China bashers in Congress are going to have a field day using China’s
own ham-fisted efforts at influence-peddling to discredit anyone who
tries to engage Beijing on the urgent, serious agenda that needs ad-
dressing.81
The effects of the scandal soon began to be felt in the conduct of bilateral
relations, which the Clinton administration was trying to improve. Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright had asked the White House for a briefing on
alleged Chinese efforts to influence congressional elections before her late
February trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders. FBI director Louis
Freeh refused to allow the White House to have access to the material in
question, and Albright had no choice but to raise the issue only briefly and
in general terms. The Chinese leaders gave very general denials of complicity
in response.82 Shortly thereafter, Beijing began to complain about the cover-
age of the issue in the American press, calling in the chargé d’affaires, Will-
iam McCahill, to protest the publication of “ill-intentioned fabrications”
about Chinese efforts to donate money illegally to American political cam-
paigns. Typically, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded the U.S.
government put a stop to the stories. Publicly, Chinese press articles com-
plained that mainstream U.S. newspapers were “waging a verbal war on
China” because of China’s pursuit of an independent foreign policy.83
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 297

Vice President Al Gore’s trip to China in late March was intended to be a

warm-up for the exchange of presidential summits and an expansion of bi-
lateral cooperation into the realms of environmental cleanup and renewable
energy. Gore’s host, Premier Li Peng, had finally agreed to sponsor a joint
“Forum on Environment and Development,” after years of portraying Ameri-
can environmental policy as a tool for keeping the third world poor. The vice
president was eager to establish a relationship and a precedent, knowing the
more affable Zhu Rongji would succeed Li the following year. But the cam-
paign finance scandal would cast a deep shadow over the trip from start to
finish. Again, because of FBI and Justice Department concerns, no one in the
vice president’s party was given full access to pertinent information on China’s
alleged attempts to influence congressional elections.84
Reporters aboard the vice president’s plane, of course, were primarily in-
terested in the scandal, rather than environmental cooperation, and asked
incessantly whether he would raise the issue with Chinese leaders. Gore re-
sponded, “In an appropriate and sensitive way, it’ll be discussed, with every
other matter that has potential for having some effect on our important rela-
tionship,” reminding reporters that the issue was under a grand jury investi-
gation, which limited what he could say.85
In their first bilateral meeting on March 25, it was Li Peng who brought
up the allegations of Chinese interference in the American electoral process,
denying the stories firmly and asking for a reassurance that the charges would
not derail the hard-won progress in restoring bilateral relations. Gore re-
sponded that the administration was sincere in its efforts to improve rela-
tions through engagement, but that the charges were serious and would be
treated seriously. He did not go into detail, however. In an evening back-
grounder on the meetings, chargé McCahill told reporters that the vice presi-
dent had reassured the Chinese that the investigations would not affect the
overall relationship.
The following morning, seeing negative press comments about not ap-
pearing to take the issue seriously enough, Gore’s national security adviser,
Leon Fuerth, felt obligated to correct the record. The vice president, he told
reporters, had “explicitly said that we take this very seriously, and if the
allegations are true then, yes, it would be a serious matter.”86 Sensing some
vulnerability and discomfort (Gore had been heavily criticized for the Hsi
Lai Temple visit and for making fund-raising phone calls from his office), the
press bore mercilessly on campaign finance for the rest of the visit. All other
questions faded to irrelevance as they sought to pin down the vice president
on what he did or did not tell the Chinese about the investigations and their
impact on U.S.-China policy. In his press conference before departing for
Xian and Shanghai, eight of the twelve questions asked were about cam-
298 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

paign finance rather than the tougher substance of bilateral relations (which
Gore had handled extremely well in his meetings with the Chinese).
Gore’s discomfort was compounded by a protocol gaffe, courtesy of Li
Peng. His domestic staff had agreed he would witness two trade deals while
in Beijing, a $1.5 billion joint venture by General Motors for producing Buicks
in China and a $685 million sale of wide-body jets by Boeing Aircraft. At the
conclusion of the signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, wait-
resses brought out champagne to celebrate the deals. Before he realized what
was happening, Gore was confronted by a smiling Li Peng—the “butcher of
Beijing”— with glass in hand, expecting a toast. He handled it clumsily, but
Chinese photographers were there to record the moment, and the American
press had a field day. The vice president, who had managed to avoid a sensi-
tive Tiananmen arrival ceremony by substituting one inside the Great Hall of
the People and had a no-toast agreement for the welcoming banquet, was
caught and embarrassed.
The crowning blow was for the vice president to be followed into Beijing—
only two days later—by House Speaker Newt Gingrich and a group of eleven
other members of Congress. Gingrich played almost entirely to the audience
at home. According to his own account of his meeting with Zhu Rongji, he
spoke bluntly about campaign finance. “I simply said that on the assumption
that their Government statement that they were not involved is true, that
meant there were apparently renegades that were violating both our law and
Chinese government policy and that we would appreciate their help as we
seek to determine who these renegades are.”87 He also spoke out about reli-
gious persecution, freedom, and American values in a direct way, which was
inevitably contrasted with Gore’s careful portrayal of issues. Gingrich, who
was at that time also in political trouble over ethical issues, played on themes
he knew would be popular back home, with little concern about the reaction
in China. Again by his own account, Gingrich talked tough on Taiwan. “I
said firmly, ‘We want you to understand, we will defend Taiwan. Period.’”88
American commentators and reporters, of course, compared the two vis-
its, and Gore came out the poorer. That is ironic, because from the perspec-
tive of restoring a working relationship between the United States and China,
Gore’s visit was far more effective and fruitful than Gingrich’s. Gore’s suc-
cesses came in his private meetings—with Chinese leaders and with lower-
level officials—which he carried out skillfully, because of his careful
preparation and seriousness of purpose. They were closed to the American
press, and he did not boast of them later. Gore impressed his hosts as thought-
ful and considerate as well as knowledgeable and articulate. He was treated
with respect and near head-of-state protocol. Gingrich was treated some-
what better than most congressional delegations (it was reported that nearly
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 299

20 percent of Congress had visited China during 1996–97).89 But the Chinese
had learned through experience that humoring and then ignoring visiting
representatives was more practical than feuding openly with them. Gingrich’s
remarks about Taiwan thus were largely discounted, and Jiang Zemin de-
scribed the state of bilateral relations as “sunshine after the rain” following
their meeting.90

The Patriarch Passes, the Successor Succeeds

As the Clinton administration struggled with scandal and domestic politi-

cal opposition at the beginning of its second term, Jiang Zemin was facing
his most serious challenge as leader of China. In mid-January, Chinese televi-
sion began broadcasting a twelve-part prime-time series on the life of Deng
Xiaoping. Three years in the making, it was openly hagiographic but was
widely viewed as a way of preparing people for Deng’s death. It was timed to
remind them of the regime’s loyal implementation of the patriarch’s policies,
but also that the succession was complete, the new leadership in place, and
that Deng’s passage into history would be smooth and stable.91 And yet the
regime could not bring itself to admit publicly that Deng was gravely ill.
“There has been no major change” in Deng’s health, spokesmen said on
January 7 and repeated regularly, even in mid-February.
On February 19, 1997, just after 9:00 p.m., Deng Xiaoping died in a Beijing
military hospital from “failure of the respiration circulating functions,” com-
plicated by Parkinson’s disease and other ailments.92 He was ninety-three
years old. Xinhua editors held the news, awaiting final Central Committee
approval of the text of the death announcement. Because Deng’s illness had
been so extended and the final crisis so lengthy, the leadership was well pre-
pared, and the delay in announcing the death was relatively short. At about
2:00 the following morning, Xinhua released the news in a bulletin, followed
by an official obituary, which took the form of a 4,000-word letter to the
people of China from the Communist Party, National People’s Congress,
State Council, and Military Commission.93 Newspapers ran the full story in
their morning editions.
Reaction to the news was subdued—none of the emotional outbursts that
had followed the death of Mao Zedong or Zhou Enlai, none of the anger
that had attended the death of Hu Yaobang. Deng was respected, even re-
vered in some quarters. He was credited with starting China down the path
to economic reform and prosperity. But his involvement with Tiananmen
had diminished the restrained affection people had for him, so there was
little overt grief. And post-Tiananmen indifference to politics, as well as the
relatively smooth operation of the Jiang leadership, had dampened concerns
300 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

about instability or a power struggle after his death. Rumors of Deng’s death
earlier in the month had caused sharp fluctuations in the volatile stock mar-
kets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, but the Beijing government
responded to his actual passing by encouraging institutional buying. So al-
though the markets dropped nearly 10 percent in early trading, they steadied
throughout the day on February 20. As it became clear that the Beijing au-
thorities had full control of the situation, the markets returned to normal,
although investors still worried about longer-term political stability, accord-
ing to market analysts.94
Jiang had been making active preparations for Deng’s death for at least
several months. Security and military support were, of course, the key to his
plans. Deng’s lengthy illness and incapacitation had given Jiang a three-year
period in which to use his powers as Central Military Commission chairman
to build a support base within the PLA. During that period, not only did he
have the advantage over his potential civilian rivals of being able to make
military appointments with virtually no need to consult them, but Deng was
in no condition to exert significant influence, either. With the full coopera-
tion of Zhang Wannian, Jiang began replacing senior officials appointed by
Deng with ones he hoped would be loyal to him. In late 1996, the Central
Military Commission had approved a structural change in its composition,
enlarging its Standing Committee and probably weakening the command
authority of Deng loyalists Zhang Zhen and Liu Huaqing.95 Jiang and Zhang
had replaced the air force and navy commanders, the head of the Commis-
sion on Science and Technology for National Defense, and several senior
military region officers in December 1996. In December and January, both
the General Staff Department and the Beijing Garrison—responsible for se-
curity in the capital—carried out high-profile political campaigns stressing
their loyalty to the Central Committee “with Jiang Zemin as the core.”96
Other military units followed suit.
On February 24, Jiang led the official party mourners who came to the
Beijing hospital to pay their last respects to the man who had dominated
their lives for most of the past twenty years. As TV cameras provided a view
for all of China, a somber and controlled Jiang led the Politburo and other
leaders in making the ritual three bows before Deng’s bier, then he spoke
briefly with Deng’s weeping wife and children. Only Zhu Rongji, of all the
official mourners, showed any real emotion, seeming almost overwhelmed
with grief. Afterward, a long procession of official vehicles followed Deng’s
hearse to Babaoshan Cemetery, final resting place of all of China’s leaders.
Thousands lined the streets in silent respect. In accordance with his explicit
wish, Deng’s remains were cremated at Babaoshan, and his ashes were later
scattered at sea.
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 301

On February 24, 1997, the day Deng’s remains were cremated, the day
before his memorial service, one foreign guest was welcomed to Beijing, al-
though not invited to the memorial. Madeleine Albright, newly appointed
American secretary of state, had been midway through a nine-country tour
when Deng’s death was announced. Although it would have been easy to ask
her to postpone until a less sensitive time, Chinese leaders requested she pro-
ceed with her visit. Albright’s approach to China probably created some con-
cern in Beijing. Strongly committed to the U.S. human rights agenda, she had
promised to “tell it like it is” about China’s human rights practices. Her
department had just issued its annual human rights report, which criticized
China for “widespread and well-documented human rights abuses,” includ-
ing the suppression of virtually all dissent.97 Albright not only made no at-
tempt to follow up on the four-point human rights proposal Christopher had
raised the previous November, but she warned bluntly that the United States
would cosponsor a resolution at the UNHRC meeting in Geneva if China did
not make further “concessions” to U.S. demands. Nonetheless, she was re-
ceived with courtesy and something approaching warmth by Qian Qichen
and Jiang. Even Li Peng “appeared to be going out of his way to be charm-
ing,” according to American officials.98 For her part, Albright balanced blunt
criticism of China’s human rights practices with assurances that President
Clinton wanted to continue gradually improving relations, including sched-
uling a summit in the fall.
Deng had asked that there be no public funeral, but with his family’s
concurrence, a memorial service was held in the Great Hall of the People the
following day. Ten thousand of the party faithful were there, not only to pay
respects to Deng but also to hear what Jiang had to say about a future that
suddenly seemed less secure, less optimistic. Unlike Hu Yaobang’s funeral,
there were no throngs in Tiananmen. The security apparatus had done its
work well, and the square was closed off. A few brave souls who tried to
unfurl banners or place flowers at the Martyrs’ Monument were quickly
hustled away by police. Jiang’s performance was appraised highly by Chi-
nese and foreign observers alike.99 Dramatically wiping away tears of sorrow
at various points, Jiang delivered a fifty-minute eulogy forcefully and gra-
ciously, carefully setting down the party’s evaluation of Deng’s contribu-
tions, clearly articulating the leadership’s intention to stay the course on reform
and opening to the outside. It was a reassuring and carefully balanced mes-
sage, avoiding past controversies, breaking no new ground.100 It also was an
opportunity for Jiang to display his leadership qualities, and he took full
advantage of it.
But no Chinese leader would depend on charisma to ensure his succession,
and Jiang was well prepared for the follow-up. The party propaganda appa-
302 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

ratus kicked into high gear immediately, with countless articles extolling
Deng’s virtues, and special emphasis on how loyally and correctly his line
was being carried out by “the Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin
at the core.” Deng had designated Jiang as the “core” (hexin) of the leader-
ship in 1989, and the term “Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the
core” had become a mantra for the collective leadership under Jiang. Now it
became a touchstone for party loyalty. In its February 25 editorial commemo-
rating Deng’s life, for example, the People’s Daily used the term no fewer
than nine times.101
The following day, the PLA led the way in declaring its loyalty to Jiang.
All three general departments, other central military headquarters, the People’s
Armed Police, and all seven military region headquarters held special rallies
“to turn grief into strength and to rally more closely around the party Cen-
tral Committee and CMC with Comrade Jiang Zemin as the core” and to
obey Deng’s “important political instruction,” which was “to safeguard
the authority of the party Central Committee and CMC with Comrade
Jiang Zemin as the core.”102 The high command made study of Jiang’s eu-
logy for Deng mandatory for all units. And while some observers noted
that CMC vice chairmen Liu Huaqing and Zhang Zhen did not join in the
chorus of support for Jiang—their disaffection for Jiang having become
well known—their backing was no longer essential, as Zhang Wannian
had effectively taken over leadership of the Central Military Commission
and day-to-day operation of the armed forces.103 Jiang subsequently rein-
forced his authority over the PLA by urging passage of a National Defense
Law that placed the PLA under the command of the Communist Party and
by setting out new ideological and educational campaigns for the armed
forces.
Jiang had another advantage in succeeding Deng, which was the absence
of the elders who had usurped the leadership of the Politburo in the crisis of
1989. Deng had won the “longevity contest.” Of the “eight immortals” who
had ousted Zhao and installed Jiang, four had predeceased Deng, including
Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Deng Yingchao, and Wang Zhen. Peng Zhen was
mortally ill and could not even attend Deng’s funeral (he died two months
later), and Yang Shangkun had been politically neutralized in 1992. Bo Yibo
was not politically active, either. Zhao Ziyang was still in political disgrace;
his request to attend Deng’s funeral had been denied. Other senior party and
military leaders may have been unhappy with Jiang but were in no position
to do anything about it. There was, in effect, no higher authority to whom
anyone in the leadership could turn to undo the succession arrangements
Deng had put in place. And although he had remained alive, Deng had been
so ill as to have been no hindrance to Jiang in his management of party and
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 303

military affairs since 1994. In other words, even Deng could not undo his
succession arrangements.
Jiang did not lack for opposition within the party, however, and even
strong army support and the absence of elders did not make his position
unassailable. There were rivals on the Politburo Standing Committee. Pre-
mier Li Peng remained a formidable figure. Politically savvy and expert at
manipulating power relations within the State Council, Li could have mounted
a serious challenge to Jiang had he chosen to do so. But Li would have had to
construct a justifiable rationale for overturning Deng’s succession arrange-
ments and would have faced serious opposition. Li’s biggest problem was
what American political strategists would have called his “strong negatives.”
He was still reviled by many, both inside and outside of China, for his role in
Tiananmen. Acerbic, sarcastic, and temperamental, Li had the kind of per-
sonality that inspired respect—perhaps tinged with fear and loathing—but
not admiration. Li had some health problems, although he appeared to have
recovered well from his 1993 heart attack. There were rumors that his wife
and children had obtained lucrative corporate positions through Li’s influ-
ence.104 But Li was no threat to Jiang. The two had established an under-
standing, a division of labor within the leadership that ostensibly kept Li
satisfied with being number two. But the two-term limit on the premiership
meant that another job had to be found for Li after he stepped down from
that position. This created something of a dilemma for Jiang.
Li Ruihuan was also a potential rival but not a worrisome one. Vaulted to
the Politburo Standing Committee by Deng in 1989, Li was a successful party
functionary who rose through the ranks in Tianjin Municipality. One of the
few Communist Party leaders with a real proletarian background (carpen-
ter), Li was tough and outspoken, popular and by Politburo standards, rela-
tively young at sixty-three. He was not college educated, however, and had
not distinguished himself as head of the propaganda and media affairs lead-
ership group. Li owed nothing to Jiang, but Li was not in a position to chal-
lenge him.
A more troublesome challenge for Jiang came from Qiao Shi, Politburo
Standing Committee member and chairman of the Standing Committee of
the National Peoples’ Congress (NPC), a position he had held since 1993.
Born in Zhejiang in 1924, Qiao came up through the East China party appa-
ratus like Jiang and eventually was assigned to the party’s International Liai-
son Department (responsible for relations with communist parties in other
countries) in the early 1960s. In 1982, he was elevated to the Politburo and
secretariat and also was made a vice premier. Qiao headed the “political and
legal affairs” small group during that time, responsible for intelligence, pub-
lic security, and judicial affairs. A shadowy and diffident figure, Qiao was
304 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

considered a part of the “reformist” group under Hu and Zhao, but not an
enthusiastic one. During the lead-up to June 4, he took a carefully neutral
stance between Zhao and Deng, abstaining on the critical May 17 Politburo
Standing Committee vote on imposing martial law.105 Some accounts suggest
Deng even offered him the general secretary position, but he turned it down.106
As NPC chairman, Qiao—along with his ardently reformist deputy Tian
Jiyun—took an activist role, promoting the “rule of law”— even legislation
that limited the party’s powers and prerogatives—and expanding democracy
at the village level. The NPC meetings under his guidance became more col-
orful and contentious, with delegates increasingly taking more seriously their
responsibilities of overseeing government operations and representing their
constituencies. The NPC occasionally showed flashes of independence, as for
example, when 36 percent of NPC deputies voted against or abstained on the
appointment of Jiang Chunyun as vice premier in 1995. Qiao became an
outspoken advocate of enhancing the NPC’s powers. In a March 1997 inter-
view with a French newspaper, Qiao set out a clear distinction between party
and legislative roles, reminiscent of reforms pushed by Hu Yaobang and Zhao
Ziyang. He said the party should be responsible for decisions on the country’s
orientation, major issues, and high-level personnel, but that all of these “have
to go through the legislative process at the NPC or its standing committee
before becoming the state’s will.” Qiao also suggested that the chairman of
the Central Military Commission, who is elected by the NPC, is “responsible
to the NPC and its standing committee.”107
Exactly when Qiao’s disaffection for Jiang began is unknown, but by the
time of Deng’s death, it was being widely reported in the Hong Kong and
Western press, and Qiao did little to discourage the speculation that he and
Jiang were not on good personal terms. Qiao reportedly had been “openly
critical” of Jiang’s policies toward Taiwan in the 1995–96 crisis.108 After
Deng’s death, he was noticeably late in extolling the “leadership of the Cen-
tral Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core.”109 Qiao was the only Polit-
buro Standing Committee member absent from a major ideological speech
Jiang gave at the party school on May 29. While these subtle indicators may
seem insignificant from a Western perspective in which open political oppo-
sition is common and accepted, they constitute important signals of dissent
in China’s political context.

The Berger Approach

Sandy Berger was a man more interested in solving problems than defining
them, a pragmatist rather than a theorist. A graduate of Harvard Law School,
Berger had alternated between work as a trade lawyer at the Washington
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 305

law firm of Hogan and Hartson, a staffer at the State Department’s Office of
Policy Planning, and political activist for Democratic presidential candidates.
He first met Clinton when they both worked on George McGovern’s cam-
paign in 1972, and the two developed a close friendship.
While he deferred to Lake’s greater experience and academic credentials
in the first term, by 1997, Berger was ready for the top job. Unpretentious
and unkempt, Berger was known as an honest, generous, jovial, and coop-
erative person, at least when things were going smoothly. But he also was
single-minded and determined to be the dominant player on the second-term
foreign policy team. He continued Lake’s custom of meeting for lunch weekly
with the other key members and was diligent in consulting with Albright and
Cohen regularly. He continued also the practice of having regular Principals
and Deputies committee meetings to hash out issues and was credited with
running them efficiently. But he made it very clear that the NSC would be the
focal point for the important foreign policy issues.
Berger’s assumption of the duties of national security adviser was rela-
tively smooth, as he had worked closely with Lake and had very close rela-
tions with the president. He retained many of Lake’s senior staff or replaced
them gradually so as to cause no break in continuity. Within weeks of taking
the position, however, Berger had a major staff problem to resolve, part of
the fallout from the campaign finance scandal. Press revelations that NSC
staffers had had some contacts with DNC donors, that the vetting system for
foreign visitors was not working effectively, and that staffers had received
sensitive intelligence briefings they did not share with the NSC front office
led Berger to make some very public adjustments. He named James Steinberg
the sole channel of communication between the DNC and the NSC. He es-
tablished in writing a requirement for seventy-two-hour advance notice for
NSC vetting of foreign visitors to the White House, and the appropriate
channel for such requests, which focused on another deputy, Brigadier Gen-
eral Donald Kerrick. He instructed staff not to accept briefings that could
not be passed up to superiors and asked them to limit outside contacts to
those that would be seen as useful to making or explaining policy. But he
also insisted, in public and private, that in no case had NSC staffers done
anything wrong or illegal in the publicized cases, and he refused to take any
disciplinary action against them.110
As a problem solver, Berger had no shortage of foreign policy issues on his
plate in 1997. Middle East peace talks took on new impetus at the beginning
of the second term, and the expansion of NATO to include former Soviet
satellite states was still a major problem between Washington and Moscow.
While the Dayton accords had eased the situation in Bosnia, tensions were
spiraling in Kosovo, and conflict with Serbia seemed inevitable. North Korea
306 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

was mulling the joint U.S.–South Korea proposal for “four-party” talks on
settling the conflict on the peninsula. International economic issues were pick-
ing up, and the new U.S. Trade Representative, Charlene Barshefsky, was
eager to press Congress to give the administration “fast-track” authority for
signing trade agreements.
Few issues were more important to Berger, however, than the U.S.-China
relationship, and he was determined to make it work, despite the problems
besetting it. In an important speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in
June 1997, Berger outlined his thinking on the importance of U.S.-China
relations and established several of the principal themes and phrases that
would be used throughout the rest of the Clinton administration. He also
showed a clear awareness of how difficult it would be to make China policy
work. “The emergence of China as a great power that is stable, open and
nonaggressive; that embraces political pluralism and international rules of
conduct; that works with us to build a secure international order—the emer-
gence of that kind of China profoundly is in America’s interest,” Berger told
a supportive audience in New York City. “The decisions we make will influ-
ence China’s evolution. To wield our influence effectively requires sustained
domestic support for a revitalized relationship with China and a clear-eyed
approach based on our national interests. I am concerned that support is
fracturing—and convinced that rebuilding it is vital to America’s future.”111
Berger insisted that pursuing a course of engagement, of developing a stra-
tegic dialogue with China, was the right course for three reasons: China was
at a crossroads, and a turn inward toward nationalism and xenophobia would
have disastrous consequences for Asia and the United States; the complex
and multifaceted U.S.-China relationship could not be defined or dominated
by one issue; and the “one-China” policy had worked in securing Taiwan’s
survival and democratization and should not be abandoned. He concluded
his lengthy review of the problems and promise of engagement with a plea to
Congress not to disapprove the extension of MFN treatment for China, which,
he claimed, would undo virtually everything the United States had been try-
ing to accomplish in years of relations with Beijing.112 The speech was a tour
de force—comprehensive, concise, and well ordered. It was the kind of speech
China specialists and foreign policy mavens had been hoping to hear during
the first term, and they welcomed it now.
In Washington, however, it fell on deaf ears, lost in the cacophony of
variant voices and political posturing around Donorgate and other China-
related issues, especially most favored nation status. Berger’s speech was nearly
ignored by the press, but there were plenty of reports suggesting that the
MFN renewal was in serious trouble. Speaker of the House Gingrich called
for reducing the MFN renewal period to six months, so as to monitor more
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 307

carefully China’s behavior, an idea echoed by Majority Leader Dick Armey.

Minority Leader Richard Gephardt bitterly denounced both China and MFN
shortly after President Clinton announced he was planning to renew it in late
May. Berger, however, mobilized the forces available to push for approval.
Not only his congressional liaison staff but Berger himself used telephone
calls and personal visits to the Hill to impress on reluctant, often hostile,
members of Congress that MFN was essential to sustaining U.S.-China rela-
tions. The president also met with members of Congress to persuade them
that MFN was the right course. On June 25, House members voted their
constituents’ economic interests, rather than more ideological or political
concerns, approving MFN by a vote of 259-173. It was the closest margin
since 1990 but still a solid victory.113
Donorgate (or “Asiagate” or “Chinagate”— all press-bestowed names
harking back to the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon)
continued to generate juicy headlines that distracted the administration’s at-
tention. Investigative journalists discovered that one of the PRC nationals
Johnny Chung brought into the president’s company at a California fund-
raiser was a woman named Liu Chaoying—a PLA colonel, executive in a
Chinese aerospace firm, and daughter of Liu Huaqing, one of China’s most
influential military leaders.114 Charlie Trie had fled to China, refusing to re-
turn to testify before congressional committees or face Justice Department
charges. John Huang also refused to testify, pleading his Fifth Amendment
rights to avoid self-incrimination. One of his fellow donors and associates,
Ted Sioeng—a California publisher of Chinese-Indonesian descent—was al-
leged to be an “agent of the Chinese government,” reported the Los Angeles
Times.115
Bob Woodward of the Washington Post received another FBI tip, this one
claiming that unnamed “top” Chinese officials (Jiang and Li Peng were the
implied culprits) had approved the campaign to “buy influence with Ameri-
can politicians.”116 This “amazing” evidence was briefed to the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, but not to the White House or State Department,
again on orders of FBI Director Freeh, even though Chinese vice premier
Qian was coming to Washington and expected to raise the issue. Berger’s
complaint about that situation brought Freeh to the White House for what
was called a “highly general overview” that did not satisfy anyone.117

China: Donorgate Complaints and Complications

As the American investigations of Donorgate continued, and the charges
of Chinese improprieties grew more serious, Beijing could no longer afford
to play the issue at a low key. The media and public furor in the United States
focused intense interest and suspicion on nearly every aspect of U.S.-China
308 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

relations. Members of Congress were threatening legislation to revoke MFN

because of Chinese interference in electoral politics, the growth of China’s
trade surplus with the United States was under congressional attack, and
concerns were growing that the Hong Kong turnover would go awry. Ameri-
can and European Union trade officials noted China’s growing reticence on
issues connected with its bid to join the World Trade Organization, out of
fear, they surmised, that Beijing was worried that Congress would overturn
any agreements reached in retaliation for the campaign finance abuses.118
With the stakes now clearly higher, China began to make its case more
earnestly. Qian Qichen told a National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
luncheon in April that the entire issue had “nothing to do with China” and
accused American journalists of trying to “tarnish China’s image.”119 In May,
Jiang began his own presummit publicity campaign with the U.S. public,
granting a television interview to CNN’s Andrea Koppel. While he attempted
a more casual and avuncular demeanor, talking about his musical and liter-
ary tastes, Jiang still came across as very stiff and uncomfortable, frequently
looking down at notes to deliver stock answers to questions. After the inter-
view, his staff provided a written answer from Jiang to a question about the
campaign contribution issue. “My government has never been in or supported
any political contribution. Some people in the U.S. even claim that the top
leadership of China had approved of making political contributions. This has
no base in fact.”120 In an interview later in the month with a Newsweek maga-
zine editor, Zhu Rongji was more categorical, particularly about the idea of
funneling money through the Chinese embassy. “Of course, I think this is to-
tally untrue . . . This matter has been played up so much due to the political
needs of some people in the United States. It has nothing to do with China.”121
Once Clinton certified MFN renewal and Congress approved, Beijing’s
concern with the issue seemed to ease. But its stubbornness and suspicion did
not. Of all the issues that roiled bilateral relations in the post-Tiananmen
period, this was one of the most difficult for Chinese leaders to fathom. While
there was plenty of evidence to support Zhu’s assertion that it was all just
domestic U.S. politics, there are many peculiar aspects to the Chinese side of
the story. And quite likely, some fire behind a lot of smoke. Unfortunately,
much of the information about China’s activities comes from U.S. intelli-
gence reporting, unavailable to the public but leaked selectively by sources
unknown and possibly used selectively by reporters with their own agendas.
China’s reflexively secretive and suspicious government refused to cooperate
with reporters, the FBI, or congressional investigators, leaving itself open to
the most sinister explanations for its behavior. For their part, they assumed the
most invidious explanation for what was going on in the United States, charg-
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 309

ing the stories were “malicious fabrications” by “ill-intentioned, anti-China

elements.” “Why does the New York Times hate China? Because China is an
emerging power. China pursues an independent foreign policy and refuses to
dance to the tune called by the United States,” the China Daily huffed.122
One of the most troubling cases, which was revealed in full only in 1999,
again involved Johnny Chung. The case was highly damaging to both China
and the Clinton White House but must be viewed with great skepticism and
caution. Virtually all the information available comes from Chung’s testi-
mony, which he dribbled out over a three-year period, as federal charges
against him accumulated. According to Chung’s account, he met privately in
a Hong Kong restaurant on August 11, 1996, with the head of the Military
Intelligence Department (or Second Department) of the PLA General Staff,
General Ji Shengde.123 The Taiwan-born entrepreneur had gained consider-
able attention by traveling in China, flashing around pictures of himself with
the president of the United States, the First Lady, and various prominent
American politicians. He also was involved in a questionable relationship
with an American consular officer at Embassy Beijing, through which he
helped arrange visas for Chinese businessmen.
These facts alone probably would have brought him to the attention of
Chinese intelligence officials. Believing him to be influential as well as suc-
cessful, Liu Chaoying, the daughter of Liu Huaqing (and probably also con-
nected to the Second Department), had established a business relationship
with Chung in June 1996 and acted as an intermediary in the meeting with
Ji.124 Two days later, Ji promised to send $300,000 to Chung through Liu,
telling him, “We really like your president. We would like to see him re-
elected. I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars and you give it to the president
and the Democrat Party.”125 Chung eventually gave only $35,000 of the money
to the Democratic Party, using the rest for his own business purposes, as well
as to support Ji’s son, who was “studying” in the United States and working
for Chung’s company.126
Although most American media accounts of this peculiar story focus on
the effort to subvert the American political process or gain special favor for
China’s satellite launch industry (Liu Chaoying’s employer, China Aerospace
Group, was the firm responsible for launching foreign satellites on Chinese
rockets), two other factors are more important to understanding this bizarre
case. First is that Chung apparently was being set up by the PLA Military
Intelligence Department as an access agent, someone who had influence and
willingness to “do good things for China,” as Liu put it to Chung. These
included sponsoring visas, arranging meetings and photo opportunities, help-
ing set up front corporations, and other things. The money paid to Chung
310 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

probably was not intended for any particular purpose other than to enable
him to remain well-connected enough to continue providing access services.
But in this case, there is another underlying issue: the growing venality
and corruption of the sons and daughters of China’s elite political and mili-
tary leadership. Ji Shengde was the son of Ji Pengfei, formerly China’s for-
eign minister and a state councillor, while Liu Chaoying’s father was one of
China’s most powerful PLA leaders. They and many of their contemporaries
had eschewed the high-profile political careers of their parents to take up
privileged positions in China’s semiprivate trading corporations or in govern-
ment agencies with broad access to foreign goods. Using their exalted pedi-
grees and associated political guanxi networks, these children of privilege—
often referred to as the “Princes’ Party” (taizidang)—enjoyed easy access to
government resources or at least were perceived by Hong Kong and Western
businesses as having such access. This enabled them to broker numerous
business deals that brought them great wealth and even greater influence.
The misdeeds of several senior party officials’ children—including Zhao
Ziyang’s sons—had been a factor underlying student discontent in 1989, and
although Jiang and other party leaders had tried to discourage corrupt prac-
tices, the problem had grown significantly worse by 1996.
Both Liu and Ji sought out Chung under the auspices of their official or
business positions, but both then made use of his “services” for private pur-
poses. They solicited business favors of value only to themselves or their
family members and lavished money on him with little concern for opera-
tional security or for China’s larger interests. When Chung’s improprieties in
donating foreign funds to the Democratic National Committee and abusing
his White House access to obtain Chinese business favors came to light in
1996–97, Liu’s and Ji’s escapades did serious damage to China’s larger inter-
ests, at least in terms of improving relations with the United States and im-
proving its overall international image.
And yet the party’s reluctance to punish the “princelings” was evident
even in so egregious a case. Although she was somewhat tethered in her
foreign travel and contacts in the wake of the Chung affair, Liu suffered no
apparent ill effects from her involvement in the Chung scandal, no doubt
owing to her still-influential father. Ji Shengde was “transferred” as head of
the Second Department within little more than a month of Chung’s testi-
mony implicating him, then was placed under house arrest two months later
in connection with a massive corruption scandal in Fujian Province that in-
volved scores of officials and millions of dollars. His trial and sentencing
were carried out only after his father had died in February 2000, and Jiang
Zemin is said to have personally decided on Ji’s fifteen-year prison term, an
unusually harsh sentence for a senior official.127
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 311

Building toward a State Visit

Despite domestic problems on both sides, there was a clear understanding in

both the White House and Zhongnanhai that further improvement in the
bilateral relationship was possible and would pay political dividends. Like
Mao and Deng before him, Jiang as party head was expected to play a key
role in directing China’s international strategy and foreign policy, and as he
expanded his influence, he became more active in foreign affairs, gradually
encroaching on Li Peng’s powers as head of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small
Group. Shortly after Deng’s death, it appears that Jiang had taken over lead-
ership of the group, although most observers believe Li gave the position up
only after he left the premiership in 1998. Although Jiang was not eager to
develop a new world view for China (Mao had developed the “three worlds”
theory, and Deng had promoted the “multipolar world” perspective and the
“one country, two systems” approach to Hong Kong and Taiwan), he did
have evident aspirations to make his mark, according to Hong Kong observ-
ers like Willy Lam. In October 1996, at the close of the Sixth Plenum of the
Fourteenth Central Committee, Jiang delivered a strong speech that equated
socialism and patriotism and spoke of a “greater China” that included Hong
Kong and Taiwan.128 Aside from his well-known affection for symbol and
ceremony, Jiang wanted some high-profile successes in foreign affairs to im-
prove his leadership credentials in China. He focused on Sino-American rela-
tions and on Hong Kong’s reversion to the PRC.
With Jiang’s evident approval, Chinese diplomats began making prelimi-
nary gestures to follow up on the human rights “bargain” that Christopher
had introduced, even though Christopher’s successor had shown little inter-
est in pursuing it. In March 1997, China reopened discussions, after a two-
year hiatus, with the International Committee of the Red Cross on granting
unrestricted access to Chinese prisons. The Red Cross officials were hopeful
that the discussions by “experts” on the technical aspects of compliance with
its prisoner visit protocols might begin in April.129 After announcing in late
February that it was “considering” signing two UN covenants on human
rights, Jiang told the French defense minister on April 9 that China would
sign the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights by the end of
the year.130 In the UNHRC conclave in Geneva the following week, China
won a vote to take no action on the U.S.-EU resolution criticizing China’s
human rights record. Its margin of victory, 27-17, was the largest ever in its
seven-year battle against UNHRC condemnation.
Observers noted during this period that the nationalism tinged with anti-
Americanism that had been so strong the previous year began to be toned
down somewhat. The Say No books were no longer in vogue, replaced by
312 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

more objective, less emotional books, such as China Doesn’t Just Say No,
and the surprisingly insightful Studying in America (Zai Meiguo Liuxue), by
Qian Ning, son of China’s vice premier and foreign minister Qian Qichen.
Even the PLA was on its best behavior. General John Shalikashvili, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited China in May, making the rounds of
tedious formal discussions with China’s top brass. But besides the usual lec-
tures about Taiwan, he also had Jiang’s sixteen-character maxim on devel-
oping better bilateral relations quoted to him in every meeting. (Increase
mutual trust, reduce troubles, develop cooperation, and avoid confronta-
tion.) His speech at the PLA’s National Defense University, where he made a
strong pitch for improving military contacts and decreasing mutual suspi-
cions, was well received, although little progress was made in persuading
China to be more transparent in sharing information about its military bud-
get and deployments.
Frustrated at the intensive politicking over Donorgate, Sandy Berger de-
cided to press ahead with the president’s substantive agenda on China. He
encouraged his Asia Directorate staff to continue working toward resolving
the numerous problems that beset the relationship, improve communication
and trust, and realize the exchange of successful state visits that had been
agreed to in 1996. The NSC senior director Sandy Kristoff took on the prin-
cipal responsibility for putting together a package of “deliverables”— visible
progress in areas important to the president—for the Jiang visit to the United
States, which had been tentatively set for the autumn. She worked closely
with Jeffrey Bader, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and
Pacific affairs, who replaced me on the NSC in August, and Alan Romberg,
deputy director of policy planning.131 Her predominance was facilitated by
the late appointment of Stanley Roth as assistant secretary of state for East
Asia and the Pacific in August. Roth, an acknowledged Berger protégé who
had served on the NSC during Clinton’s first term, recognized that China
policy inevitably had to be run out of the White House and preferred work-
ing on other Asian issues. He was also given a political appointee to replace
Bader as deputy assistant secretary for China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Su-
san Shirk, a knowledgeable China scholar from the University of California–
San Diego, worked well with the NSC-led China team after she became
accustomed to Washington bureaucratic politics.132
Berger had developed the concept of issue “baskets” into which presummit
work could be divided and developed. There were essentially nine of them:
nonproliferation; military-to-military relations; the general “security dialogue”
(for example, Korean Peninsula, Southwest Asia); economic and commercial
interests (including China’s bid to enter the World Trade Organization); en-
ergy and the environment; human rights; rule-of-law issues; law enforcement
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 313

cooperation (against illegal alien smuggling, drugs, terrorism); and science

and technology.133 During the summer, the NSC organized or delegated in-
teragency meetings in each of these areas to summarize the bilateral state-of-
play and identify and prioritize U.S. goals and what steps the Chinese might
be able to take toward achieving them. Some of the findings were discussed
at Deputies and Principals committee meetings.

Hong Kong Worries

Berger, Albright, and the president were sufficiently concerned about Hong
Kong’s reversion to Chinese sovereignty that they held back on decisions
about the Jiang visit until it was resolved. In some ways, the American and
Chinese perception of the Hong Kong issue was a classic example of how far
apart the two governments were in their views of each other and of interna-
tional affairs.
The return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty was a long-awaited event
fraught with enormous symbolic significance for all sides, and Jiang was deter-
mined to make the most of it. Although the island of Victoria (Hong Kong)
was ceded to Britain in perpetuity after the First Opium War (1839–42)
and Kowloon after the Second Opium War (1856–60), the New Territories—
comprising most of the colony’s territory and virtually all of its arable land—
were only leased under the terms of the Convention of 1898. The
ninety-nine-year lease was to expire at midnight, June 30, 1997. The govern-
ment of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had attempted in 1982 to per-
suade Beijing to renew the lease, citing Hong Kong’s obvious economic value
to the mainland. Deng Xiaoping refused and took advantage of the opportu-
nity to undo peaceably one of the hated and humiliating “unequal treaties”
that had weakened China in the nineteenth century.
After difficult negotiations on how the handover was to be accomplished,
a Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong was signed by China and
the United Kingdom in December 1984. Under the terms of the declaration,
the entire colony of Hong Kong (including Kowloon and Victoria) would
revert to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997, as a “Special Administrative
Region” of the PRC. Under the rubric of Deng’s “one country, two systems”
approach, Hong Kong was to have “a high degree of autonomy” (except in
foreign and defense affairs); its own administrative authority, judiciary, leg-
islature, and police; and a guarantee that its economic and social systems
would not be changed by the PRC for at least fifty years.134
Negotiating Hong Kong’s “Basic Law,” codifying the declaration’s prom-
ises in a constitutional format, proved difficult and controversial. Especially
after June 4, 1989—when hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens had
poured into the streets in massive demonstrations of support for the democ-
314 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

racy activists and opposition to the Beijing government—British, Hong Kong,

and American observers grew more attentive to preserving the legal and demo-
cratic rights of the citizens of the future Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR). London sent Christopher Patten as the colony’s last gov-
ernor in 1992, and he wasted little time in trying to expand the democratic
rights of Hong Kong citizens. Beijing cut ties with him in November 1992
and resisted his efforts to strengthen Hong Kong’s legislature in advance of
the handover. Legislative elections in 1995 were ignored by Beijing, which
installed its own hand-picked “provisional legislature” to oversee the transi-
tion. The provisional legislature then “elected” Tung Chee Hwa, a pro-Beijing
shipping tycoon, as the chief executive of the HKSAR to replace Patten after
the reversion. The Clinton administration became actively involved in pro-
moting Hong Kong democracy and virtually replaced the United Kingdom
as the principal proponent of preserving Hong Kong’s democratic rights.
For democracy activists in the United States, Hong Kong’s reversion was
cause for great concern. They believed the democratic rights of Hong Kong’s
citizens were being trampled, or at least squeezed by Beijing’s hand-picked
government of tycoons and yes men, and the United States had become their
last guarantor. Hong Kong’s freedom of the press and its rule of law were at
risk of sudden extinction. As New York Times editorialists put it, “The fate
of this prosperous and freewheeling society of six million people as it comes
under the authority of one of the world’s last hard-line Communist dictator-
ships is a compelling human drama. Mr. Clinton’s ability to influence it con-
structively will be a measure of his international leadership.”135 As the largest
investor in Hong Kong and with more than 40,000 American citizens resid-
ing in Hong Kong, the U.S. government had a responsibility and right to
make its views known.
Despite the controversy, the Beijing government pressed ahead with its plans
for reversion. As the handover approached, Jiang and others used the issue to
stoke Chinese patriotism in support of its successful and peaceful reversal of
China’s past humiliation. A huge clock went up in Tiananmen Square, count-
ing down the seconds until midnight, June 30. Editorials and commentaries
hailed the coming event as a testimony to Deng’s wisdom, as proof of China’s
emergence as a world power, and as a model for eventual reunification with
Taiwan. Tension mounted as plans for the high-profile handover ceremony
were worked out, and concerns rose about whether a PLA garrison force might
have to take action against Hong Kong demonstrators.
As the June 30 turnover date came closer, worries and anxieties increased
in Washington, as the media and Hong Kong advocates mused about what
could go wrong. Secretary of State Albright had been designated as the U.S.
representative to the handover ceremony, and a number of “what if” sce-
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 315

narios were discussed. What if the Chinese snubbed her? What if the PLA
moved in early? What if there were violent protests by democracy activists?
Berger was particularly concerned about the possibility of violent protest,
having been persuaded by Hong Kong Democratic Party activist Martin Lee
that members of his party would countenance no diminution of their rights
to express their views.
In the circumstances, the United States had virtually no means to influ-
ence events in Hong Kong. The agreement between the United Kingdom and
China was legal and properly arrived at, the sovereignty issue was unassail-
able, and even issues pertaining to the selection of the chief executive and the
legislature, while discomfiting, were scarcely less “democratic” than they
had been under most of British colonial rule, when Hong Kong Chinese en-
joyed few democratic rights at all. There were no sanctions to be applied,
and U.S. “moral influence” was negligible in the face of rectifying 150 years
of colonialism. The U.S. response was therefore reduced to pledges that it
would watch over Hong Kong’s democratic rights from afar and over time
and rather fruitless symbolic words and gestures of displeasure with some of
the events of the handover.
Jiang led the delegation that traveled to Hong Kong on June 30 to observe
the transfer of sovereignty. Accompanying him were Li Peng, Qian Qichen,
Zhang Wannian, Deng Xiaoping’s widow and daughter, and numerous other
dignitaries. At a grand Beijing send-off ceremony on June 29, Jiang pledged
the delegation would “reflect the sense of glory and pride of the Chinese
people . . . for Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, . . . and reflect our
diplomatic style, which is neither servile nor bumptious.”136 Jiang’s style in
Hong Kong was stiff and formal, aloof and insensitive, as the British saw
it.137 He arrived late in the afternoon with his delegation, skipped the British
banquet, attended the formal handover ceremony at midnight, and made a
brief speech. “The return of Hong Kong to the motherland after going through
a century of vicissitudes indicates that from now on, the Hong Kong compa-
triots have become true masters of this Chinese land,” he intoned, as Prince
Charles, Prime Minister Anthony Blair, Madeleine Albright, and hundreds
of Hong Kong dignitaries and guests stood by somberly. The following morn-
ing, he attended another ceremony marking the establishment of the HKSAR
government and gave a longer speech, reiterating in detail the promises of
autonomy, preservation of Hong Kong’s economy and way of life, and even,
eventually, election of the chief executive and legislature by universal suf-
frage.138 He then returned immediately to Beijing, having spent less than
twenty-four hours in Hong Kong.
Celebrations in Beijing were much more exuberant, if no less carefully
scripted. On June 29, more than 500,000 people traveled to Tiananmen Square
316 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

spontaneously to see the lights, have family pictures taken, and celebrate
Hong Kong’s impending restoration to Chinese sovereignty. Police watched
carefully, but the largest crowd in Tiananmen since June 4, 1989, was well
behaved and patriotic. On June 30, they were kept away from the square as
about 100,000 carefully chosen representatives sat in neat rows of chairs to
watch the midnight handover ceremony. As the giant countdown clock ap-
proached zero, they spontaneously broke into applause and congratulation
while fireworks boomed overhead. The following afternoon, Jiang joined a
slightly smaller crowd in a municipal stadium to watch thousands of singers
and dancers and PLA soldiers celebrate the occasion in grand style, complete
with balloons, fireworks, and Hong Kong entertainers, turning the celebra-
tions into “an empire-sized karaoke session” that showcased China’s na-
tional anthem.139
For the record, the handover in Hong Kong went smoothly and peace-
fully. Martin Lee and members of his party demonstrated in defiance of Hong
Kong’s new laws and were ignored by the police. There was no violence of
any sort, and life in Hong Kong returned quickly to its normal, apolitical
pace. Hong Kong suffered economically during the Asian financial crisis that
began in 1997, and there were a few cases when it seemed that Beijing was
wielding undue influence, particularly in some court-related issues. But the
new Hong Kong government largely resembled the old one in its efficiency,
honesty, and integrity; the markets maintained much of their vitality; and the
press was little changed in its strengths and weaknesses under nominal PRC
sovereignty. Legislative elections were held on schedule the following year.
From a practical perspective, the issue dropped quickly off the bilateral agenda
of U.S.-China relations.
After Albright returned from Hong Kong, preparations for Jiang Zemin’s
visit to the United States began in earnest. Putting together state visits—
particularly after a hiatus of twelve years—is an extraordinarily complex
and time-consuming task. Besides overseeing work on the issue baskets, Bader
and Kristoff met regularly with the deputy chief of mission and political
counselor of the Chinese embassy to exchange views on the overall context
and expectations for the visit and to coordinate planning. They requested
issues papers from both the State Department and the CIA. They prepared
the agendas for Deputies and Principals committee meetings on China and
wrote up the conclusions or findings afterward. They maintained regular
contact by secure telephone with the U.S. embassy in Beijing to ensure Am-
bassador James R. Sasser and his staff knew what plans were being made
and what was being asked of the Chinese. They coordinated with other NSC
offices and with White House domestic policy offices—such as the chief of
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 317

staff, congressional liaison, protocols and communications—on various as-

pects of the planning for Jiang’s visit.140
Berger—along with Kristoff, Bader, and Assistant Secretary Roth—
traveled to Beijing in mid-August to continue his regular strategic dialogue
with Liu Huaqiu. His more important mission, however, was to exchange
views and harmonize expectations on the Jiang visit to Washington. In that
capacity, he was given an unusual “perk,” a visit to the leadership retreat at
Beidaihe, where Jiang and others were in the midst of final preparations for
the Fourteenth Party Congress, which was to be held before Jiang’s trip.
Berger spoke there with Qian and Li Peng, as well as Jiang, focusing on
nonproliferation, regional security, and environmental cooperation as items
of common interest to the United States and China that could be developed
in the context of a summit meeting.
As was usual in efforts to get specific commitments from Beijing, negotia-
tions for making deposits in Berger’s issue baskets were lengthy and difficult,
as the Chinese were interested mainly in more symbolic and less binding
agreements. Various American and Chinese officials shuttled back and forth
over the ensuing two months, trying to focus on nonproliferation, regional
security, human rights, and trade issues on which progress could be announced
at the summit. The Chinese balked, looking for issues on which they, too,
had something to gain. Early on, they pursued the Taiwan issue, and there
were some forays on putting together a “fourth communiqué” to further
define U.S.-Taiwan-PRC relations. Meeting unanimous resistance from the
U.S. side, however, they backed away. Instead, they pressed for a general
statement that would describe the broader Sino-American relationship. In
keeping with agreements reached with France and Russia, the Chinese pushed
for establishing a “strategic partnership.” Washington was not ready to go
quite that far. Negotiations continued as the agreed date for the week-long
trip—October 27–November 3—neared. Sandy Kristoff went to Beijing in
late September. Liu Huaqiu came to the United States two weeks before the
Jiang visit.
As another “deliverable” of the summit, both sides also had agreed to
focus on reviving a 1985 agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of
nuclear energy, which had been suspended in light of evidence of China’s
exporting nuclear-related material to Iran and Pakistan. At the time, China
was rapidly expanding its power industry and was interested in nuclear power
plants designed by American companies. American nuclear power compa-
nies, such as ABB, Bechtel, and Westinghouse, were eager to sell and lobbied
in favor of lifting the hold on implementation. But under U.S. law, the presi-
dent could not license nuclear power plant technology sales to China unless
318 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

he could certify it was not providing assistance to unsafeguarded nuclear

programs in other countries.141
The State Department’s Robert Einhorn and the NSC senior director for
arms control and nonproliferation, Gary Samore, were instructed by the Prin-
cipals Committee to push for a cessation of Chinese nuclear assistance to
Iran (even though it was provided under auspices of the International Atomic
Energy Agency and its safeguards), as well as a cutoff of cruise missile sales
to Iran (which had been highly controversial in Congress) and new guaran-
tees on Chinese export controls as the price for reinstituting the agreement.
Intensive negotiations took place in Beijing and Washington, as well as New
York. Qian agreed to cut off exports of China’s C-801 and C-802 cruise
missiles in September. China issued new regulations on nuclear exports in
early September, then publicly announced on October 16 that it would join
the Zangger Committee—an international group to monitor nuclear exports.
But the agreement to cut off all cooperation with Iran was more troublesome
for Beijing, and it did not want the agreement publicized. The night before
Jiang’s arrival, the Chinese negotiator, He Yafei, was still working with Samore
and Einhorn on details of a confidential letter Qian Qichen would send to
Madeleine Albright forgoing further nuclear cooperation with Iran. Qian
signed the letter on October 28, permitting the announcement of an overall
agreement during the summit.142
Asia senior director Sandra Kristoff also negotiated with Assistant Minis-
ter of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi far into the night before Jiang’s arrival to
work out the language to be used to describe the overall bilateral relation-
ship. In her own words:
We went back and forth on a variety of different words, and we ended
up with “building toward a constructive strategic partnership.” And
the “building toward” was important to us, and . . . it was “strategic
partnership” that was important to them . . . And at the last minute,
Yang and I went over to get a cup of coffee, and I said, “You know,
we’re down to this, why don’t you give me ‘building towards,’ and I’ll
give you ‘constructive strategic partnership.’” It says the same, it is the
answer to both of our needs. So we went back, and I sold it to Berger,
and he [Yang] had sold it as well. We reconfirmed that at the time that
they were getting ready for the White House . . . arrival ceremony, and
that’s how it came to be.143
For all the hard work that went into preparing for the summit, the
“deliverables” were rather meager, and the White House took pains to lower
expectations in advance of Jiang’s arrival. There would be no progress an-
nounced on getting China into the World Trade Organization, largely be-
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 319

cause of Beijing’s failure to address the issue forthrightly with the USTR.
There were renewed concerns reported in Beijing—fueled by the financial
crisis then sweeping the rest of Asia—about the economic costs of opening its
markets. Human rights issues were also pushed hard during discussions by
NSC and State Department officials, but China was not willing to be seen as
giving in to the United States, particularly in advance of a major party con-
gress. So although the Chinese signed the International Covenant on Eco-
nomic, Social, and Cultural Rights just before Jiang’s visit and implemented
revisions in China’s civil criminal code in September, eliminating the “coun-
terrevolutionary” category of crime altogether, there was no inclination to
give Beijing credit for any improvement. Beijing also hinted—tacitly—that
Wei Jingsheng would be released after the visit, but the details had not been
finalized, and public discussion would have doomed the initiative.144

The “Triumphs” of Jiang Zemin—Fifteenth Party Congress

and the Washington Summit
While planning for his Washington visit proceeded, Jiang was far more
actively involved in preparations for the Fifteenth Party Congress of the Chi-
nese Communist Party. In September, reports in the Hong Kong press sug-
gested the contention between Jiang and Qiao Shi was intensifying. Personnel
issues were becoming more urgent, as they generally do in the lead-up to a
major party conclave. With positions and policy influence as the principal
goals, Jiang had to try and balance competing individuals and interests. He
wanted to bring some of his former subordinates from Shanghai to Beijing to
serve in influential positions but needed support from others to do so. Li
Peng was required to step down as premier the following year, having served
the constitutional limit of two terms, but he was not yet at the mandatory
retirement age (seventy) and expected to retain his due rank and position in
the leadership. Zhu Rongji expected to replace Li as premier but had already
begun to accumulate detractors for his peremptory nature and proposals for
drastic change. Li Ruihuan and Hu Jintao were looking for evidence that
they were to continue advancing as successors. Qiao Shi, at seventy-two, was
past the generally accepted retirement age of seventy but wanted to stay on
as chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. General Liu Huaqing was also
retiring for age reasons, but decisions had to be made about whether the PLA
would continue to be represented in the Politburo Standing Committee and
who the representative would be.
The Fifteenth Congress of the Communist Party of China was held Sep-
tember 12–18 at the Great Hall of the People. Ordinarily, the party congress
is the media and propaganda show that approves decisions already worked
out in smaller work conferences. This time, however, various sources suggest
320 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

that Beidaihe and other preparatory meetings had not completely resolved
the question of what roles various senior Politburo members would play.145
Jiang had to resort to some “sleight of hand” to force Qiao Shi and Liu
Huaqing to retire from the Politburo Standing Committee without bringing
about his own resignation (Jiang had turned seventy-one in August).146 Qiao
was abruptly dropped from the Politburo Standing Committee, with no for-
mal explanation, but was not otherwise disgraced, and attended the entire
conclave. Jiang also had to deal with yet another Zhao Ziyang letter to del-
egates, this one apparently genuine, calling on the Central Committee to
“reverse the verdict” on Tiananmen.147 It was not acted upon, of course, but
did get broad publicity.
Aside from these challenges, most observers saw the congress as going
very much Jiang’s way. In sharp contrast to earlier assessments that he was a
weak leader, and predictions that he was unlikely to survive long after Deng’s
death, Jiang emerged stronger than ever, more firmly in charge of China’s
domestic and foreign policies, and the clear “first among equals” in the Polit-
buro Standing Committee. His power was not unchecked—several observers
noted the obvious compromises he had to make to get his way in personnel
matters.148 But Jiang was the dominant figure at the congress from start to
finish. He was the only top leader whose positions were unchanged. His
three-hour speech emphasizing the need for further economic reform and
active resistance to corruption dominated the substantive discussion at the
meeting. And if he was not able to bring all his Shanghai protégés and asso-
ciates into leadership positions, they still constituted the most significant “bloc”
on the Politburo. Two military men added to the Politburo were Jiang ap-
pointees, not someone else’s. Moreover, the entire “technocratic” cast of the
new Central Committee (72 percent were college educated, 56 percent had
experience in science, engineering, management, or financial work) suited
Jiang’s technocratic background and interests very well.149 More than half of
its members were “elected” for the first time.
The new Politburo was slightly larger than the previous one, although the
Standing Committee remained the same size. Two new members were pro-
moted to replace Qiao Shi and Liu Huaqing: Li Lanqing, a foreign trade
specialist considered close to both Jiang and Li Peng; and Wei Jianxing, chair-
man of the party’s Discipline Inspection Commission who was associated
with Qiao. Jiang’s strong military backers, Zhang Wannian and Chi Haotian,
were added to the Politburo, although not to the Standing Committee. Other
additions to the Politburo included two provincial party secretaries and
Wen Jiabao, a staunch reformer considered closest to Zhu Rongji. Jiang’s
right-hand man and head of his personal office, Zeng Qinghong, was added
only as an alternate (nonvoting) Politburo member, along with Minister of
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 321

Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (and the Politburo’s only fe-
male) Wu Yi.
Overall, the congress was considered a strong boost for economic reform,
especially authorizing the transformation of state-owned enterprises into “joint
stock” corporations. In 1997, the state-owned sector remained the largest
drag on the otherwise booming Chinese economy, with estimates that more
than 70 percent of the largest 13,000 enterprises were losing money and that
debt among the smaller ones had reached disturbingly high levels.150 Plans
and proposals for changing the woefully inefficient system had preoccupied
many of China’s most prominent economists for years. But plans for restruc-
turing the massive industrial sector—which employed nearly two-thirds of
China’s urban labor force—had usually foundered on the ideological objec-
tions of conservative party ideologues or on the fears of urban officials about
unrest among laid-off or unemployed workers. Others raised concerns about
the cost of replacing the many social services being provided to workers by
the enterprises—which included health care, education, and social security.
But of political reform there was virtually no sign at the congress. There
was some discussion of the need for broadening democracy in China as part
of a plan to defuse social tensions in the process of reforming the industrial
sector. Jiang used the term often in his speech but meant it mainly in terms of
the conduct of inner-party affairs. He praised democratic experiments at the
village level and suggested they could be expanded, but he provided no de-
tails. But he also made clear the regime would continue to use repressive
means to deal with dissent. There would be no reversal of verdict on
Tiananmen. There would be no tolerance for mass expression of political or
religious sentiment. There would be no adoption of “Western-style” plural-
istic democracy.
Neither was there any hint of change in China’s approach to foreign af-
fairs. The foreign policy section of Jiang’s speech was familiar territory, full
of well-known positions. It affirmed “peace and development” as “the main
theme of the present era,” then followed with a bare-bones exposition of the
emergence of a “multipolar” world, which was threatened principally by
“hegemonism and power politics” (read the United States). Jiang reiterated
that China would not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations nor
allow them to interfere in China’s; that it would join no bloc or alliance; that
it would not attempt to impose its social system on other countries.151 All
stock terminology, and no doubt reassuring to the delegates, but curiously
detached from reality, static and unchanging, nearly identical to his address
to the 1992 congress.
Jiang’s second “triumph” came at the end of October, when he departed
Beijing for his long-desired state visit to the United States. It had been twelve
322 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

years since China’s president Li Xiannian visited Ronald Reagan’s Washing-

ton; twelve years since China had enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of a
state visit to the most powerful capital in the world; twelve years since China
had stood in the international spotlight on an equal level with the United
States. It had been eight years since Tiananmen, eight years of being casti-
gated, isolated, and ignored. The trip was infused with enormous symbolic
significance, and all eyes were on Jiang. He knew it, and he was ready. He
had prepared diligently for the trip, practiced his English, read position pa-
pers, rehearsed press conferences. He met with more American dignitaries,
including at least two senators and two Cabinet secretaries. He gave careful
interviews to the American press and showed his personal side and even some
spontaneity.
Jiang’s staff continued working—until just before his arrival in Washing-
ton—to put together the “deliverables” for his visit. The itinerary and proto-
col events provided amply for the photo opportunities and symbolic statements
that Jiang and others in China found appealing. The agreement to “build
toward a constructive strategic partnership”152 for the twenty-first century,
while devoid of substantive commitments on either side, was useful to Jiang
in fending off criticism from conservative military officers and party ideo-
logues that the United States was determined to undermine or contain China.
It also put the relationship in a longer-term perspective, making it easier to
deal with some of the issues without appearing to be knuckling under to U.S.
demands. As it was, the substantive agreements were not onerous.
—Beijing agreed to provide a written guarantee (in the form of a confi-
dential letter from Qian to Secretary Albright) that it would provide no
further assistance to Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the Clinton admin-
istration certifying to Congress that China was not in violation of the Non-
Proliferation Treaty, enabling the 1985 U.S.-China agreement on peaceful
nuclear energy to be implemented (that is, nuclear power reactor technology
to be sold).
—The two sides agreed to establish a “hot line” between the White House
and Zhongnanhai, so they could contact each other in emergency situations.
They also agreed to a broader range of bilateral discussions of important
international issues, such as the growing financial crisis then beginning to
roil Asian stock markets.
—On the most sensitive issue, human rights, China officially signed the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights just before
Jiang’s trip. He had pledged in April to do so, but it was finally accomplished
so quietly in New York by China’s UN ambassador that it went virtually
unnoticed in the U.S. press. Jiang also agreed to meet with a delegation of
American clerics to discuss religious freedom when they visited China. After
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 323

the visit, Beijing released its most noted dissident, Wei Jingsheng, on “medi-
cal parole” and put him on an airplane for what amounted to exile in the
United States. Jiang’s ability to take this step was afforded by the death of
Deng Xiaoping, who had been the principal target of Wei’s sarcastic criti-
cism. It was a clear indicator that he still was interested in negotiating further
on the “deal” raised the previous year. China also reestablished contact with
U.S. businessman and human rights activist John Kamm after the visit and
resumed providing information to him on “obscure” Chinese prisoners, a
dialogue that had been suspended in 1995.153
—As it had often done in the past, Beijing also made a major purchase of
U.S. goods as a gesture of goodwill and means of strengthening its support
within the American business community. In this instance, the big winner
was Seattle aircraft manufacturer Boeing Corporation, which received an
order for fifty commercial aircraft, worth about $3 billion.154
Jiang left for the United States on October 26. His entourage was rela-
tively small (only about eighty), but included the government’s top talent on
matters relating to the United States: Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, Vice
Minister and Minister in charge of the State Council Foreign Affairs Office
Liu Huaqiu, Vice Minister Li Zhaoxing, Assistant Minister Yang Jiechi,
Ambassador Li Daoyu, and various staff members of his embassy and the
American and Oceanian Affairs Department of the Ministry. Jiang also
brought several members of his personal staff: Zeng Qinghong, Teng
Wensheng, and security chief You Xigui. There was also a substantial press
contingent, as publicity back home was the key element of the trip.
Jiang’s first stop was Honolulu, where he met with local officials and
Commander in Chief of U.S. Forces in the Pacific admiral Joseph Prueher.
Jiang placed a wreath at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, reminding all of the
World War II alliance between China and the United States against Japan.
He went for an hour-long swim in the Pacific off Waikiki, a deliberate ges-
ture probably intended to reassure Chinese viewers about his health and to
put him in symbolic company with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. At key
points in their careers, both Mao and Deng had been photographed swim-
ming. Mao swam in the Yangtze River in 1966 at the beginning of the Cul-
tural Revolution. Deng took to the waters off Beidaihe in the mid-1980s,
mainly to reassure people he was still vigorous and ready for challenges,
despite his age.155
Jiang then flew to colonial Williamsburg before proceeding to Washing-
ton on October 28, where he was welcomed by Vice President Gore at Andrews
Air Force Base, then taken to Blair House— “ America’s Official Guest
House”— across from the White House, where Secretary of State Albright
greeted him. That evening, Clinton invited Jiang, his wife, and a couple other
324 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

members of his delegation (Qian and Liu Huaqiu) for a private get-together
in the White House. The nearly two-hour meeting consisted of a tour of the
residence, refreshments, and unstructured conversation, including a “long
and probing” discussion of human rights and Tibet. Staff observers around
the two men later said the private meeting was another high point in their
personal relationship, in that they were able to discuss difficult issues calmly
and in detail, had developed cordiality and ease with each other, and had
achieved more understanding of each other’s personal qualities.156 It prob-
ably diminished any misunderstandings that might have arisen about events
the following day, when they would disagree publicly about human rights
and democracy. But it also contributed to a deeper sense of mutual respect
and even something approaching friendship. Jeff Bader summed up what he
saw as Clinton’s attitude toward Jiang:
I believe [Clinton] had very sensible views, and a pretty good under-
standing of China. Contrary to what many think, he liked and respected
Jiang. He thought he was a savvy politician, likely to consolidate his
position, not the buffoon that some saw in him. He had a good appre-
ciation of the magnitude of the challenges facing China, the historic
processes at play there, the ways in which social and economic change
were influencing the political dynamics. He cared deeply about human
rights, but had realistic expectations about what was achievable. He
had a genuine commitment to engagement, and believed . . . that push-
ing things in through China’s Open Door rather than preaching to them
was the best way of affecting their behavior. He was uncomfortable
lecturing Chinese leaders, seeing it as pointless. He approached them
with great respect for Chinese culture and history.157
The next day was devoted largely to ceremony, with some substance. Jiang
received the full protocol treatment on his formal arrival at the White House,
including the welcome on the South Lawn, honor guard review, twenty-one-
gun salute, national anthem, and ceremonial speeches. The two sides held a
ninety-minute bilateral meeting, at which the “building toward a coopera-
tive strategic partnership” was fleshed out in somewhat more detail—the
two sides would take a more positive approach to each other and look for
new areas in which to develop cooperation and agreement. In that sense, it
was more of an attitudinal change than any alteration in either side’s strate-
gic outlook or perspective.
Jiang then had lunch at the State Department, hosted by the vice presi-
dent, after which the two sides prepared for a joint press conference. The
conference was a new experience for Jiang, who was more accustomed to the
mild-mannered domestic press corps in Beijing. It was an opportunity for
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 325

him to loosen his image a bit, but more important, to be on the stage with the
most powerful leader in the world, holding his own and standing as an equal.
He may not have realized that Clinton was also under some domestic pressure
to stand up for American values and demonstrate serious resolve on critical
issues. In the circumstances, it was only a matter of time before sparks flew.
A question about Tiananmen was the catalyst. Jiang was asked whether
Beijing had any “regrets” about Tiananmen. He gave a stock reply, saying
the party had drawn the “correct conclusion on this political disturbance,”
namely, that social and political stability were required for reform to con-
tinue. Clinton stepped on Jiang’s answer, saying that intolerance for dissent,
as demonstrated by the crackdown at Tiananmen, had prevented China from
developing at the same pace as the rest of the world. He said America’s reac-
tion to that intolerance was to protest vigorously in various ways, including
continuing the “Tiananmen sanctions.”158 Jiang replied that he had heard the
protesters that had dogged him noisily at every stop, and understood what
they were doing, but hoped it would not affect bilateral relations. Clinton
shot back that on human rights, the Chinese government “is on the wrong
side of history.”159
It was a striking display of combativeness, even though brief and con-
ducted without visible rancor, and reminded observers of Richard Nixon’s
“kitchen debate” with Russia’s Nikita Khrushchev nearly forty years earlier.
Neither man gained much from the exchange. Clinton got little credit from
generally hostile editorial writers and pundits, who criticized virtually every
aspect of Jiang’s visit. Jiang’s performance was not aired in China, probably
because of the media’s timorousness about showing controversy. Chinese
viewers, in fact, got little news of the pro-Tibet protesters that greeted Jiang
at every appearance, the harsh editorials, or the warmth of the private meet-
ings. They missed the pointed remarks contrasting American freedom with
Chinese repression. They learned only with difficulty about any of the sub-
stantive agreements reached between the two presidents. Instead, they saw
the pomp and ceremony, the lavish banquets and toasts, the photo opportu-
nities at famous American landmarks. They heard the grandiose words about
strategic partnership, cooperation, and improving relations. Jiang was satis-
fied with the symbolic measures of success. Substantive achievements were
far less important. In that respect, the White House banquet on the evening
of October 30 was no doubt the highlight of the trip. Among the 234 guests
were present and past political leaders from both executive and legislative
branches, chief executive officers of some of America’s largest corporations,
and celebrities from various fields.
The following day, it was back to hard work. Jiang started with a flinty
morning meeting with U.S. congressional leaders, who bombarded him with
326 presidential initiatives, 1996–97

pointed questions about every human rights issue from abortion to religious
persecution to transplanting the organs of executed Chinese prisoners. “A
number of senators and House members really put it to him,” said Represen-
tative Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.). “To his credit, he did not get defensive,
he did not storm out.”160 Jiang of course repeated what by this time had
become standard Chinese denials of any involvement in the Donorgate scan-
dal. It was, in a way, another dialogue of the deaf, with neither side inter-
ested in hearing what the other had to say or giving it much credence.
Jiang then left Washington for Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Los
Angeles before returning home. The only notable point in the rest of the
journey was his admission, in response to another question about Tiananmen
at Harvard University, that China’s leaders “have some shortcomings and
even make mistakes in our work.”161 Again, Jiang’s brief flirtation with can-
dor was not reported in the Chinese press.
In the end, the trip was a success, if a modest one, for Jiang and for the
relationship. There is no way to know how his performance was rated inside
Zhongnanhai. Jiang’s peers had access to the full transcripts and film footage
of his visit, not the edited versions parceled out to the masses by Xinhua.
They were no doubt offended by some of what they saw, but probably ap-
proved Jiang’s forbearance in the face of protests and his spirited response to
Clinton. After the visit, many Western observers credited him with being
resilient and tolerant in the face of sometimes rude treatment, personable
and relatively open-minded, tough without being hostile or harsh. Ameri-
cans in general still disliked the Chinese government and most of its policies,
but toward Jiang, at least, there was a sense of geniality and even some es-
teem. Although still not a figure with the bearing of a Zhou Enlai or Mao
Zedong, Jiang demonstrated that he could hold his own and command re-
spect.162 He had added a foreign “triumph” to his domestic one and now
seemed to have consolidated his position of “first among equals” within the
Chinese leadership.
Moreover, in the opinions of many Chinese observers, the relationship
seemed to cross an important divide with Jiang’s trip. The Foreign Ministry’s
spokesman, Tang Guoqiang, observed that the visit marked “the end of the
twists and turns in Chinese-U.S. relations over the past few years.”163 Other
Chinese commentary spoke in far larger terms, hailing Jiang’s trip as “enter-
ing a new stage of development” or “starting an historic new chapter” in
bilateral relations.164 In important ways, Chinese observers read too much
significance into the journey, especially in light of the fact that they consid-
ered the United States had moved the greater distance in improving the rela-
tionship. It was, in a sense, as if they believed the United States had finally
come to its senses, ceased its attempts to contain China, given up its constant
presidential initiatives, 1996–97 327

badgering on minor issues, and recognized that the Chinese position on

Taiwan-related questions was correct. “As a result of exchanges between the
two nations, the United States has enhanced her understanding of China.
The growing mainstream view in the United States recognizes that China’s
policy of reform and opening up has been successful, that China will keep
growing in strength and will play a positive role in world peace and develop-
ment,” Hong Kong’s PRC-controlled Ta Kung Pao asserted.165 Wishful think-
ing, at best.
 chapter eight

Scandals
and Summits,
1997–98

B efore Jiang’s visit, both houses of Congress had made use

of just about every legislative means available to reverse or adjust the Clinton
administration’s China policy. It was not a comprehensive effort or a unified
one—but piecemeal, disaggregated, bipartisan, and issue oriented. Neither
party in Congress had developed a wide-ranging approach that it wished to
offer as an alternative to the administration’s comprehensive engagement.
Individual members had taken the lead on some aspects of policy. For ex-
ample, in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and Frank Wolf headed
what was called a Working Group on China, a congressional caucus that
highlighted China issues—mostly pertaining to human rights and religious
freedom abuses in China. They drafted letters, circulated information, and
developed legislation designed to keep China from achieving what they per-
ceived to be its goals with the United States unless significant improvements
in its human rights practices were accomplished first. Representative Gerald
Solomon usually sponsored legislation disapproving extension of most favored
nation status for China. Other members focused on China’s WMD prolifera-
tion practices, especially its dealings in nuclear materials to Pakistan and Iran,
and transfer of ballistic missile technology to Pakistan. Prompted by active
lobbying, many members sponsored legislation commending Taiwan or urg-
ing the administration to take certain actions favorable to Taiwan.

Congress and China Policy

For the most part, members were concerned with highlighting the misdeeds,
falsehoods, and shortcomings of the PRC regime, faulting the president’s
328
scandals and summits, 1997–98 329

policies for not being able to change China’s behavior patterns, preventing
significant improvement in bilateral ties without certain conditions being met,
and forcing the administration’s attention on Taiwan or Tibet. As far as
actions were concerned, there were several different types of bills:
—Some were hortatory, “sense of the House/Senate/Congress” bills that
had no binding authority. For example, S. Con. Res. 57, introduced in Octo-
ber 1997, declared several principles of U.S. policy toward China (such as
promoting freedom and democracy) and urged the president to communi-
cate them to Jiang “in the strongest possible terms” on his visit.1
—Others were intended to address a particular aspect of U.S.-China rela-
tions through the allocation of funds or tasking of reports. For example,
H.R. 2195, the “Slave Labor Products Bill,” introduced in July 1997, man-
dated a $2 million additional allocation to the U.S. Customs Service for moni-
toring forced labor products shipped to the United States from China, required
a report from the U.S. Commissioner of Customs on the use of forced labor
in manufactured products exported to the United States, and declared the
“sense of Congress” that the 1994 U.S.-China Memorandum of Understand-
ing on the issue should be renegotiated.2
—Others required punitive sanctions or other actions to be taken to re-
dress specific problems. For example, H.R. 2570, the Forced Abortion Con-
demnation Act, required the secretary of state to deny a visa to visit the
United States to any PRC government official who “has been involved in the
establishment or enforcement of population control policies resulting in a
woman being forced to undergo an abortion against her free choice.”3
—Among the most effective means of affecting administration policy was
to put amendments, or “riders,” on important bills authorizing the appro-
priations for foreign affairs bureaucracies, such as the State or Defense de-
partments. In 1997, for example, the State Department Authorization Bill
(H.R. 1253) contained a section requiring the appointment of an ambassa-
dorial-rank “special envoy for Tibet” within the State Department, an action
the Clinton administration strongly opposed. Although the bill was not passed
(a fate shared by several State Department authorization bills during the
Clinton administration), Secretary Madeleine Albright nonetheless compro-
mised by appointing a “special coordinator for Tibetan issues” without am-
bassadorial rank on October 31, 1997.4
Congressional pressure also was exerted through special committee hear-
ings on aspects of the campaign finance scandal. In the Senate, the Commit-
tee on Governmental Affairs began televised hearings on July 8, 1997.
Committee chair Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) began with a dramatic opening
statement, in which he said the committee had uncovered evidence of “a plan
hatched during the last election cycle by the Chinese Government and de-
330 scandals and summits, 1997–98

signed to pour illegal money into American political campaigns. The plan
had a goal: to buy access and influence in furtherance of Chinese Govern-
ment interests.” He charged the Chinese government attempted—through
“individuals enlisted to assist in the effort”— to influence the congressional
elections of 1996. But his most controversial claim was that “our investiga-
tions suggest it [the Chinese plan] affected the 1996 Presidential race and
state elections as well.”5 Some of the means the Chinese used were illegal,
although others were not. Democrats on the committee, notably senators
John Glenn (D-Ohio) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), immediately chal-
lenged Thompson’s claims, indicating the evidence shown the committee sug-
gested that the Chinese government had decided to step up its lobbying efforts,
but that there was no evidence of “direct funneling” of money into political
campaigns by the PRC government, still less that it had affected the outcome
of the election.6
The Thompson committee hearings degenerated into partisan bickering
and stretched out for months. Although the committee called many witnesses
and publicized a great deal of data, some of it classified, little new informa-
tion was developed to substantiate Thompson’s charges, much less some of
the wilder interpretations of the doings of John Huang, Charlie Trie, Johnny
Chung, and others that became staples on the Internet and on ultraconserva-
tive talk shows. In a late July private meeting with George Tenet, director of
the Central Intelligence Agency, and Louis Freeh, director of the FBI,
Thompson and his committee asked them directly if there was any evidence
of Chinese involvement in the presidential election. Tenet said there was not,
while Freeh said there were some reports to that effect. But neither would or
could provide the committee with definitive evidence to back up Thompson’s
charges.7 And because Majority Leader Trent Lott had refused to allow
Thompson to enlarge his committee’s mandate to cover the larger issue of
campaign finance reform, the hearings, while occasionally interesting, were
irrelevant.
The final committee report, while suggesting it was understating its case
to protect intelligence sources, flatly declared Maria Hsia, Ted Sioeng, and
James and Mochtar Riady to be “associated in some way with the Govern-
ment of China” (some of them with Chinese intelligence agencies) and their
DNC donations to be part of a larger “China Plan” to affect the outcome of
the 1996 elections.8 Democratic senators on the committee issued their own
report at the end of the process, concluding that the “nonpublic information
presented to the Committee . . . did not support the conclusion that the funds
[donated to the DNC] from a variety of Asian countries were connected to
the Chinese Government” or that “the so-called China Plan, or its imple-
mentation, was directed at, or affected, the 1996 presidential election.”9
scandals and summits, 1997–98 331

The House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, chaired by

Representative Dan Burton (R-Ind.), also conducted extensive investigations
into the Donorgate affair. Unlike the Thompson Committee, its mandate
was not limited, and the investigations stretched on well into 1999. But like
its Senate counterpart, the Burton Committee’s hearings, investigations, find-
ings, and final report were characterized by bitter partisan disputes and dia-
metrically opposite conclusions about the same evidence. Burton publicly
denounced the White House for withholding evidence, attacked “anonymous
Democratic agents” for “sleazy allegations” about his campaign finance ac-
tions, and cited Attorney General Janet Reno for contempt of Congress when
she refused to turn over internal Justice Department memos on its investiga-
tion of campaign finance issues. Ranking minority member Henry Waxman
(D-Calif.) repeatedly criticized Burton’s handling of the inquiry and demanded
his resignation as committee chair.
The proceedings hit bottom in April 1998, when Burton told the editorial
board of the Indianapolis Star, “If I could prove 10 percent of what I believe
happened, he’d [Clinton] be gone. This guy’s a scumbag. That’s why I’m
after him.”10 By the time the committee issued its report in November 1998,
the interparty rancor had far surpassed in newsworthiness any revelations
about Chinese efforts to use political donations to buy influence either with
Congress or the Clinton White House. By that time also, the case against
Clinton—and China—had taken new turns, and questions about campaign
finance were left unresolved and unremembered in their wake.

Zhu Rongji and the 1998 National People’s Congress

Jiang’s victory at the Fifteenth Party Congress was also a victory for Zhu
Rongji in terms of his ability to manage economic reform in China. Although
Zhu’s formal assumption of the title of premier would not take place until
the March 1998 National People’s Congress, it was already clear by the close
of the party congress that Zhu would replace Li Peng at the top of the gov-
ernment hierarchy. The promotion would cap the remarkable rise of a re-
markable individual. Born in Changsha, Hunan Province, in 1928, Zhu Rongji
overcame adversity and family hardship to gain admittance to Beijing’s pres-
tigious Qinghua University in the late 1940s. Assigned by the Communist
Party leadership to do statistical work in northeast China, Zhu soon fell
afoul of China’s tumultuous politics. Never one to hide his opinions, Zhu
was suspended from the Communist Party in 1958 during one of Mao
Zedong’s extreme campaigns to eliminate “anti-party rightists” he believed
had sapped the party of its revolutionary will (that is, had opposed his pre-
posterous policies and claims during the Great Leap Forward). Rehabilitated
332 scandals and summits, 1997–98

in 1962, Zhu was suspended again during the Cultural Revolution and was
sent down to the countryside to clean latrines, raise animals, and tend fields.
Zhu was not really restored to the bureaucratic level he had achieved in 1957
until 1978, when his party membership finally was restored. Thereafter, he
rose rapidly within the State Economic Commission, becoming vice minister
in 1983. In 1987, he was assigned to Shanghai as deputy secretary of the
Municipal Party Committee, and eventually as mayor, succeeding Jiang Zemin,
who was promoted to first secretary and a member of the Politburo.11
The relationship between Zhu and Jiang Zemin has been the object of
great speculation among Western and Chinese observers alike. Although they
were associates for several years in Shanghai, the two men were not consid-
ered close. Neither should they be considered rivals, however. They are very
different personalities with different leadership styles. But despite their dif-
ferences, the two men appeared to have established a symbiotic relationship
in which Jiang carried the political and symbolic weight of party leadership,
as well as its dominant authority, while Zhu shouldered the responsibility for
steering the bureaucracy toward workable solutions to China’s many prob-
lems, particularly the economic ones. Zhu did not aspire to be general secre-
tary, and Jiang understood that and backed Zhu’s programs—cautiously—
with his own authority. Both had different constituencies within the party,
Jiang’s among the military and conservative rank and file, Zhu’s with re-
formers once loyal to Zhao Ziyang and economic modernizers. Jiang recog-
nized the importance of maintaining China’s economic success, and Zhu’s
record was exemplary as vice premier and head of the State Commission on
Economics and Trade and briefly as director of the Bank of China. With the
strong support Jiang won for bold economic reform at the Fifteenth Party
Congress, the way was opened for Zhu to accelerate the pace of change.
Unlike Zhao Ziyang, however, Zhu was not interested in political reform;
nor was he attentive to the radical economic theories of the 1980s. Zhu was
pragmatic and hardheaded about what needed to be done to fix the problems
that had developed in the Chinese economy as it made the transition from a
chronically inefficient planned economy to a market-driven economic dy-
namo. Zhu’s principal concerns were with maintaining macroeconomic sta-
bility—growth without high inflation, industrial efficiency in the state-owned
enterprises (SOEs) without mass layoffs and bankruptcies, gradual restruc-
turing of the banking system, controlled development of capital markets,
and continued opening of China to foreign trade and investment without
undermining important domestic industries. Since his appointment as vice
premier in 1993, Zhu had overseen the efforts to reform—more or less si-
multaneously—the banking and financial system, the state-owned enterprise
scandals and summits, 1997–98 333

system, and the tax and revenue system, all of which were stuck in a vicious
circle of debt and unprofitability.12
As the economies of East Asia plunged into financial crisis beginning in
July 1997, Zhu was increasingly concerned not only about the relationships
between China’s economy and the other economies of East Asia but also that
China’s debt-ridden banking system bore a strong resemblance to those that
had already fallen victim to financial market breakdown and currency crashes.
As the financial crisis spread and deepened in late 1997, Zhu frequently con-
sulted other world financial leaders (including the U.S. Treasury secretary
and his deputy). Most of them implored him to resist the temptation to de-
preciate China’s currency, the renminbi, in an effort to remain competitive
with other Asian economies, like South Korea and Thailand, where currency
values against the U.S. dollar had dropped precipitously. Zhu promised China
would not do so and held to the pledge, easing concerns that Asian currency
devaluations would spin down out of control and earning great praise among
international banker and finance ministers.13
In the wake of the Asian financial crisis, Zhu made some adjustments in
plans for restructuring the Chinese economy. Earlier, for example, he had
looked on South Korean industrial conglomerates, the chaebol, as possible
models for the restructuring of China’s thousand or so larger SOEs.14 Once it
became apparent in the autumn of 1997 that the inefficiencies and corrup-
tion of the chaebol were in part responsible for South Korea’s calamitous
economic downturn, however, Zhu altered his proposals accordingly. “We
must not repeat Seoul’s errors,” he reportedly told a banking conference in
November 1997.15 He did not drop the plan to restructure the SOEs by con-
solidating large enterprises and having them absorb smaller, less efficient
companies. But he did raise the priority of banking reform and urged banks
not to focus solely on lending to the large enterprises.
Despite concerns about the Asian financial crisis, however, Zhu stuck to
plans to accelerate the pace of economic reform. At the National People’s
Congress session held in March 1998, Zhu laid out surprising plans for sweep-
ing economic and structural reform, despite concerns that some of them might
prove destabilizing. They included three-year plans to restructure the SOEs,
reform China’s banking and financial system, cut staff in government organs
by one-half, commercialize the housing market in China, reform the medical
service system, and complete the reform of the tax system. All these had been
discussed in the past, but Zhu made what amounted to open promises to
achieve results at an unprecedented press conference on March 19. In some
areas, such as cutting staff in central ministries, he pledged substantial progress
by the end of 1998.16
334 scandals and summits, 1997–98

Needless to say, Zhu’s reforms faced serious opposition in China. Conser-

vative ideological forces questioned the propriety of some of his more
forward-leaning proposals, especially housing reform, which touched on the
sensitive subject of private property. Midlevel officials in industrial minis-
tries resisted his plans to cut staff and reduce the authority of their bureau-
cracies. Provincial officials sought to evade his tax reforms, as it would
reduce the percentage of monies available to finance their pet projects. En-
terprise managers questioned the efficacy of reform proposals that would
reduce central control of China’s industrial sector. At the upper levels of
the leadership, Zhu’s rapid and drastic reform initiatives, aggressive pro-
motion of hand-picked subordinates, and impatient work-style did not win
him many friends. Li Peng doubtless was concerned that many of the senior
positions lost to Zhu’s bureaucratic “streamlining” (he reduced the num-
ber of state ministries and commissions from forty to twenty-nine) were
held by Li’s protégés.
Zhu was soon faced with a serious problem from an unexpected source,
the People’s Liberation Army. In 1998, the involvement of the PLA in China’s
economy was beginning to have a negative overall effect on the entire sys-
tem. That point had come about gradually but inexorably. As early as 1975,
Deng Xiaoping had advised military officials that the PLA’s hopes for mod-
ernizing its antiquated weapons depended on priority development of other
sectors of the Chinese economy and that the army needed to remain patient.
Central government budgetary support for the military would remain lim-
ited, as China—in a generally peaceful security environment—focused on
other areas of its comprehensive modernization. This created some unhappi-
ness among PLA leaders, but they had little alternative but to go along.
Military units were encouraged to compensate by, for one thing, develop-
ing and running their own business enterprises to generate income.17 This
they did on a massive scale and at every level. From the earliest days of the
People’s Republic, PLA units had always been responsible for producing many
of their own supplies, so military farms and factories were commonplace
throughout China. In the 1980s, they began to expand their operations to
produce goods and services for the civilian economy. Some got into foreign
trade, making increasing amounts of armaments and military matériel for
external buyers. Companies like Norinco, Xinshidai, and Polytechnologies
were formed to market China’s weaponry abroad, sometimes with little re-
gard for foreign policy implications. Chinese arms dealers, for example, made
large quantities of conventional weapons available to both sides of the Iran-
Iraq War. Chinese-origin weapons, including automatic and semiautomatic
rifles and pistols began showing up increasingly in the U.S. market in the
1990s, sometimes in “sport” versions. Even more troubling to the United
scandals and summits, 1997–98 335

States and other countries seeking to control the spread of weapons of mass
destruction were Chinese sales of missiles (for example, CSS-2 intermediate-
range missiles sold to Saudi Arabia in 1986), advanced conventional weap-
ons like antiship missiles, and even nuclear and chemical weapons components
and technology. External protests over such activity led to central govern-
ment regulations to control military exports, but these were not always effec-
tive or stringently enforced.18
Domestically, some PLA industries switched production lines and began
making consumer goods for the civilian economy, for example, going from
building tanks and trucks to civilian vehicles, washing machines, and other
durable goods. Military telecommunications plants easily made the transi-
tion into production of consumer electronics, such as radios and mobile tele-
phones. Regional PLA headquarters and central military organizations, such
as the General Logistics Department (GLD), formed large conglomerates of
military enterprises to produce and market a broad range of consumer goods
on a national scale. The GLD’s Sanjiu Corporation, for example, sold wines
and spirits, tobacco, medicines, nonmilitary uniforms, leather goods, and
camping equipment. As China’s economy developed further, PLA enterprises
got into the services sector, building and operating hotels, restaurants, bars,
and even brothels. With large amounts of capital and critical guanxi net-
works to support them, military entrepreneurs expanded into China’s na-
scent stock and financial services market in Shanghai and Shenzhen. One of
the most prominent and notorious was J and A Securities, operated jointly by
PLA and Ministry of State Security officials (the initials standing for jun—
military—and an—security). By 1997, some observers estimated that “PLA,
Inc.” operated more than 15,000 enterprises, employing more than 600,000
people, with annual sales of more than $18 billion.19
Not surprisingly, some PLA enterprises and military units were engaged
in activity that was patently illegal. The most critical was smuggling of vari-
ous foreign-made goods across China’s borders to avoid customs tariffs. As
early as the mid-1980s, U.S. intelligence analysts were amused and amazed
to see PLA facilities on Hainan Island covered with thousands of Japanese
automobiles, which subsequently made their way onto the mainland through
elaborate smuggling networks run or protected by military units. Other high-
tariff foreign goods, such as cigarettes, alcohol, computers and electronics,
and petroleum products also came into China—mostly through Guangdong
and Fujian Provinces—without passing through customs and circulated
throughout China by way of the PLA’s vast and independent transportation
network. Over the years, the problem grew worse despite central and local
government efforts to curb it, to the point that upward of $10 billion in
customs revenue was being lost annually to smuggling. There were even re-
336 scandals and summits, 1997–98

ports of armed encounters between Customs Department units and PLA navy
vessels smuggling foreign goods into China, with heavy casualties.20
Added to the growing smuggling problem, fraudulent activity in China’s
financial markets by PLA-backed firms like J and A Securities finally brought
about a full-scale crackdown by Zhu Rongji. Details vary, but the Shenzhen-
based company, with sixty branch offices and more than 3,000 employees,
had been under suspicion for some time owing to reports of unusual wealth
and lavish life-styles of its founding members—formerly officers in the
Guangzhou Military Region. Civilian investigators from the State Auditing
Administration were obstructed by military officials in their inquiries, and
some reportedly were even manhandled and detained. They discovered not
only huge amounts of money in personal bank accounts of senior officials
but also that the firm had lost enormous sums, almost $1 billion, speculating
in falling Asian stock markets.21 Zhu, angry not only at the scale of the cor-
ruption but at the presumed immunity of PLA malefactors, sought Jiang’s
support for a clean-up and got it.22
In mid-July 1998, the Central Committee held a work conference to de-
clare a “nation-wide attack on smuggling.” On July 22, Jiang presided over
a meeting of the entire PLA high command to propagate the Resolution by
the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on the Interdiction
of Further Commercial Activities by the Military, Armed Police, and Gov-
ernment Agencies. In a speech to the assembled officers, Jiang ordered that
“companies operated by units under the military and armed police forces
must earnestly conduct housecleaning, and shall without exception no longer
engage in commercial activities, effective immediately. The Central Commit-
tee has in addition determined that political and legal departments at the
local level must earnestly conduct cleanup of various companies run by units
under their direction, who shall without exception be prohibited from fur-
ther commercial activities, effective immediately.”23
Publicly, of course, the PLA’s leadership enthusiastically supported the
divestiture of the army’s business operations. Some senior military leaders—
notably former CMC vice chairman Zhang Zhen—had been warning for
years that business activities by PLA units not only reduced the army’s con-
centration on national defense responsibilities and deflated its “fighting spirit”
but also lowered its reputation within society. Periodic anticorruption cam-
paigns had taken down some of the more egregiously corrupt military offi-
cials, but the problem was so widespread that these efforts looked more like
scapegoating than any serious effort to resolve the problem.24 And with ac-
cusations of financial improprieties by leaders at the top of the Central Mili-
tary Commission (or their children), and the PLA still dependent at all levels
on extrabudgetary funding of military modernization, it is difficult to give
scandals and summits, 1997–98 337

full credence to news reports that soon began to appear about military units
quickly turning over business assets to provincial and municipal governments.
Typically, the process was more complicated and opaque than the propa-
ganda stories recounted. Two years later, there was still ample evidence that
military business enterprises were operating at various levels, domestically
and internationally. Moreover, the PLA evidently sought and received pledges
from the central government that its financial losses would be compensated
by increased budgetary resources. Hong Kong media reported that more than
10 billion yuan would come out of central coffers, while local and regional
governments would foot more bills for the enterprises and for providing the
social services to demobilized veterans that were once covered by the PLA’s
business profits.25
Whatever the financial outcome of the divestiture, the scandals had clearly
damaged the PLA’s reputation. Aware of the loss of public esteem, Jiang and
other senior military leaders pressed military units into active and visible
flood control work during August, when summer flooding was said to be the
worst since 1954. Stories of bravery and heroism by the some of the more
than 250,000 soldiers called up to fight the floods seemed somewhat forced
but were evidently considered necessary to restore the army’s tattered repu-
tation. Given the widespread abuse of military authority that had occurred,
the campaign to get the army out of business surprisingly was not accompa-
nied by any effort to weed out corrupt elements. Although there were some
rumors that CMC vice chairman Zhang Wannian might be made answer-
able for the PLA’s problems, that did not happen, and other accounts suggest
Zhang was instrumental in slowing down the divestiture process and in “saying
no to Zhu,”26 who was impatient to complete the process by the end of the
year.
The PLA was not the only Chinese bureaucracy to resist efforts to reform
it, however. Zhu’s ambitious plans to restructure the Chinese economy, es-
pecially the state-owned enterprise system and China’s massive economic
planning and management ministries, ran into difficulties at every stage. Many
of these problems were simply practical—giant bureaucracies resist rapid
change in every country, and China’s institutional inertia was a long-
standing problem. Difficulties were exacerbated by poor communications
and information exchange systems and traditional localism that had re-
emerged with the weakening of central political and economic controls.
Moreover, the SOE structure was so deeply rooted in China’s economy and
society that even minor changes were difficult to implement. State-owned
enterprises had been the main source of government revenue for many years,
they were at the heart of the social welfare system—providing health care,
retirement benefits, and even primary and secondary education services for
338 scandals and summits, 1997–98

employees—and they were the primary training grounds for the party’s eco-
nomic managers and cadres. Most important, SOEs provided employment
for more than 100 million people, an estimated 65 percent of China’s urban
work force, in 1995.27 Reforms that increased unemployment or reduced
benefits had the potential to generate significant social unrest and were viewed
with great distrust.
But the system was an enormous burden to the continued success of China’s
economic modernization. In his study of China’s financial and economic re-
form, China’s Unfinished Economic Revolution, Nicholas Lardy documents
the multiple burdens imposed on China’s economy by the massive misman-
agement of the SOEs. Many were woefully inefficient, turning out substan-
dard products that were not salable, contributing to a waste of resources and
inputs, and piling up useless inventory. They were increasingly unprofitable,
especially compared to the growing number of private and foreign-invested
firms in China. By 1996, the entire state-owned enterprise sector was in the
red, with enterprise losses more than offsetting the profits of those firms that
produced efficiently.28 They therefore required central support to continue
operating. While formerly supported directly by central budget allocations,
early economic reforms had forced the SOEs to turn to China’s banking in-
stitutions in hopes that would improve their efficiency and accountability.
But the inadequacies of China’s bankruptcy laws and procedures, the politi-
cal incestuousness of local banking authorities and enterprise managers, and
fears of social instability led to loose standards for bank lending, with the
result that they became an “insatiable” draw on bank credit.29 Essentially,
their inefficiencies were simply passed on to the banking structure, which
was not able to foreclose on outstanding debt. By 1995, the percentage of
nonperforming loans held by China’s four principal banking institutions
reached 22 percent; by the end of 1997, it was 27 percent.30
Although Zhu and others had begun to institute well-planned reforms to
privatize state-owned enterprises and commercialize the banking system, the
Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 dealt a serious setback to those plans and
exposed some of the fundamental institutional weaknesses of the Chinese
economy. It reduced foreign investment capital available to China and in-
creased pressure on the Chinese currency. It also, however, made the urgency
of reforms of the banking system and the SOEs clear. Despite some of the
advantages of the Chinese economy that distinguished it from others in Asia,
many Chinese economists saw the financial near-collapse of South Korea
and Thailand as a clear warning of what was to come for China if reforms
were not instituted. Zhu had also come to the conclusion that one of the
means necessary to force Chinese enterprises to reform themselves was to
expose them to foreign competition in a controlled fashion. One way of do-
scandals and summits, 1997–98 339

ing so, which had additional political benefits in enhancing China’s interna-
tional reputation, was to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).31
Beijing had been negotiating entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT), the predecessor organization of the WTO, since 1986,
although it was not a high priority for the leadership. Aside from the interna-
tional prestige involved and the opportunity to contribute to the formulation
of international trade policy, there were few obvious economic advantages
for China in reducing tariffs on foreign goods, opening up its markets, or
agreeing to the many other trade regulation and dispute adjudication mecha-
nisms of the GATT/WTO. After 1989, China had sought to join as a means
of normalizing its trade and political relationship with the United States, in
particular to enjoy the automatic most favored nation trade status that
members must accord one another. But the process of joining meant com-
plex negotiations of detailed bilateral trade agreements with key members
of GATT and the WTO, and Beijing was not willing to undo the complex
web of tariffs and nontariff mechanisms protecting its domestic industries
and agriculture. So the negotiations stalled, especially with Washington, as
trade bureaucracies in both countries avoided serious efforts to come to an
agreement.

Clinton under Siege

On January 21, 1998, the Washington Post published a story about the ex-
pansion of an investigation of President Clinton by Independent Counsel
Kenneth Starr to include allegations that Clinton encouraged a former White
House intern—Monica Lewinsky—to lie about her sexual relationship with
him to lawyers for Paula Corbin Jones, who was suing Clinton for sexual
harassment. The story also indicated that Clinton had given false testimony
to the same lawyers, denying under oath that he had had a sexual relation-
ship with Lewinsky.32 What followed was a political scandal of epic propor-
tions. Hundreds of media reporters wrote or filmed thousands of stories of
illicit sex, broken marriage vows, betrayed friendships, legal shenanigans,
public lies and private anguish, political cover-ups, personal feuds, and po-
litical vendettas—all swirling around the president of the United States. As
the story moved agonizingly toward its seemingly inevitable culmination in
an impeachment trial in Congress, foreign and domestic observers wondered
aloud and often what effect the scandal would have on American global
leadership and foreign policy.
Clinton’s personality and attitudes helped him maintain his focus. Those
around him were consistently struck by his ability to rise above the “feeding
frenzy” atmosphere that characterized the Lewinsky scandal and work effec-
340 scandals and summits, 1997–98

tively on specific, often complex, policy issues. “I’m doing the job the Ameri-
can people elected me to do” was a refrain he used often and clearly believed.
The scandal and movement toward impeachment, of course, diminished his
ability to work closely with Congress, hamstringing much of his domestic
agenda.33 Thus it was that a president who seemed not to be interested in
foreign policy during his first term began to pay a lot more attention and
invest a good deal more political capital on international issues in his second.
In foreign policy, there was at least a veneer of bipartisanship and respect
for the powers of the president to conduct the nation’s international busi-
ness. Clinton was also aided by a loyal and supportive national security team
determined to prevent the domestic scandal from affecting American national
interests. High-priority problems, such as Bosnia, Northern Ireland, NATO
enlargement, and Middle East Peace efforts, absorbed much of the admini-
stration’s attention. But China policy had also moved up the ladder of Clinton’s
priorities in his second term, driven in no small part by the success of Jiang’s
visit, the allure of China’s rapidly growing economy, and the challenge of
bringing Chinese behavior more in line with international standards. From
an operational perspective, the main business of the China policy team (domi-
nated by the National Security Council) in 1998 was making preparations
for a successful return visit to China by President Clinton.
The work had begun shortly after Jiang departed. The dominant issue for
the United States was human rights, as that was the issue on which the presi-
dent consistently received the most criticism from the press and Capitol Hill.
Before and during Jiang’s visit, the Chinese had signaled they were still inter-
ested in the deal to avoid a resolution on China’s human rights practices at
the UN Human Rights Commission, signing one of the two international
covenants and agreeing tacitly to organize a forum of nongovernmental or-
ganizations to discuss human rights issues. The release of Wei Jingsheng had
been hinted at, and once the Jiang visit was completed, negotiations to com-
plete Wei’s release into U.S. custody moved forward. The administration
needed a clear statement from Wei that he would be leaving voluntarily (not
forced into exile), while China’s Foreign Ministry wanted a commitment
that the U.S. government would not “use” Wei against the PRC.
Because Wei’s release was not an end in itself, but part of a larger process
involving more dissidents and more concessions, the White House played
Beijing’s November 16, 1997, freeing of its most famous dissident on “medi-
cal parole” in a restrained manner. It issued a short statement welcoming the
action and announcing Wei’s departure for the United States but otherwise
made no comment. Sandy Berger and Albright welcomed the news on week-
end talk shows but provided no details of the complex and extended negotia-
tions that had brought it about. As a result of the low-key treatment of the
scandals and summits, 1997–98 341

issue, the release was portrayed in most press accounts as a Chinese initia-
tive. Wei was treated briefly in a Detroit hospital, but he soon moved on to
New York, where he became an active critic of the PRC government and the
Clinton administration. Clinton met with him privately in the White House
on December 8, which drew a protest from Beijing even though the meeting
was handled very quietly. Wei lectured Clinton not to be deceived by the
communist leaders of China. As part of the vague pledge not to “use” Wei
and out of concern for other dissidents not yet released from the 1996 list
presented to the Chinese by Anthony Lake, the NSC sought to constrain an
interview Wei was to hold with Voice of America later that month, but be-
cause of its statutory independence from executive branch control, the effort
was not successful. The story was subsequently leaked to the press and be-
came another source of criticism of the White House efforts to engage the
Chinese on human rights.34
Early in 1998, Kristoff and Bader began to press harder for the release of
more dissidents from the list, particularly Tiananmen leader Wang Dan, and
for the signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
They urged Beijing that visible action might bring a decision not to sponsor a
resolution at the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNHRC). Their Min-
istry of Foreign Affairs counterparts balked. So did the U.S. secretary of state,
who agreed with the argument of some within her department that the Chi-
nese had not done enough to deserve a break on the annual resolution, even
though the department’s annual human rights report on China had noted
some “positive steps” in legal reform and treatment of dissidents (“some-
what more tolerant”). Albright and others were also concerned that there
would be a price to pay among human rights groups in the United States by
appearing to back away from the issue. Sandy Berger had this point rein-
forced in a meeting of major human rights leaders in the White House, when
he was told bluntly that forgoing the UNHRC resolution would be “morally
appalling.”35
Deputy National Security Adviser James Steinberg, however, argued
strongly that the president’s return trip to China might suffer if the United
States again sponsored a resolution and that the Chinese might take some
meaningful steps if the resolution were dropped. Again, it was a question of
sequencing—which side would take the risky move first. Sandra Kristoff was
dispatched to Beijing to seek a meeting with Qian, where she addressed the
issue directly. The president, she told him, had decided in principle not to
pursue a resolution at the UNHRC. To sustain the decision against political
opposition, he needed to feel confident that the Chinese would release Wang
Dan from prison and sign the second international covenant on civil and
political rights. “He should have confidence,” Qian replied.36
342 scandals and summits, 1997–98

On March 11, the White House announced that the president was moving
up his trip to China from the tentatively scheduled November date to the last
week in June.37 Qian announced on March 12 that China would sign the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On March 14, the ad-
ministration announced that it would not sponsor a resolution at the UNHRC
criticizing China’s human rights record. Slightly more than one month later,
Wang Dan was released from prison on “medical parole” and put on an
airplane for the United States. The four-point deal begun in 1996 had basi-
cally come to fruition, although two of the dissidents from the Lake list were
not released until later.
Domestically, however, the administration received no credit for Wang’s
release, the signing of the covenants, or the visit of three American clerics to
China to investigate the state of religious tolerance there. Human rights groups
were dismissive. “By this act of forced exile [Wang Dan’s medical parole],
the Chinese government continues to show its contempt for human rights,”
remarked William F. Schulz, the director of Amnesty International United
States.38 “While we certainly support efforts to use the [President’s] visit to
secure concrete human rights improvements,” said Sidney Jones, Asia direc-
tor for Human Rights Watch, “we would much prefer that Chinese authori-
ties released political detainees out of a realization that their arrest had been
unfair and unjustified in the first place.”39 Despite what had by this time
become the habitual scorn of the human rights community for any measure
pertaining to China other than concerted criticism or feckless sanctions, the
Clinton administration showed extraordinary sensitivity to human rights is-
sues as it prepared for the president’s visit. That was largely because the trip
was shaping up to be high in symbolic significance but low on substantive
progress, and because Congress—still in high dudgeon about China—was
monitoring every aspect of the planning.
In late April, Secretary Albright visited China as part of preparations for
the president’s trip and to meet with Tang Jiaxuan, who had been appointed
foreign minister at the National People’s Congress session in March.40 In a
press conference at the end of her visit, Albright responded to a question on
Taiwan policy with a formulation that reiterated the reassurances contained
in the president’s 1995 letter to Jiang Zemin, and which constituted the first
public statement of what became known as the “three noes.” “I made a point
to [the Chinese] and I can make to you, is that we have no change in our
China policy. (sic) Although we have a one-China policy—not a ‘two China,’
not a ‘one China and one Taiwan’ policy—and we do not support Taiwan
independence or their membership in international organizations that are
based on statehood.”41
scandals and summits, 1997–98 343

Administration staffers—Gary Samore, Sandra Kristoff, and Jeffrey Bader

from NSC, Robert Einhorn, Susan Shirk, and Alan Romberg from the State
Department—traveled frequently to Beijing to prepare the substantive agenda
for the trip, the issue “baskets,” the “deliverables.” With the president’s repu-
tation in free fall, Berger was anxious to avoid a trip that seemed nothing
more than a symbolic junket with no achievements, and he pushed his staff
hard. Samore wanted to use the trip to bring China into closer formal com-
pliance with the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), perhaps with
an agreement to be signed during the trip. Experts on “greenhouse gases”
traveled to China to put together cooperative agreements in environmental
areas. But progress was slow. As the date for the visit approached, NSC
staffers, in particular, found themselves also being pushed by the president’s
domestic advisers—particularly Chief of Staff John Podesta—to negotiate
some of the “formalities” of the visit. Principal among these was an earnest
desire not to have the president welcomed on Tiananmen Square.
The need to avoid having the president of the United States be seen as in
any way endorsing the 1989 crackdown became an obsession in April and
early May. It generated furious arguments between domestic and foreign
policy staff in the White House and nearly derailed the entire trip. Secretary
of State Albright raised the issue quietly in her late April trip to Beijing and
tried to get the public used to the idea that the president would visit
Tiananmen, but the press and Congress weighed in heavily against it. At
least 150 members of Congress wrote letters to the president urging him not
to go at all if he had to be greeted in the square. Several nonbinding resolu-
tions were drafted (one passed the House, 305-116, on June 4) enjoining the
president either to cancel the visit altogether or to “reconsider” the Tiananmen
welcome. Editorial opinion was scathing: Jim Hoagland of the Washington
Post said the decision proved the presidency had reached “new depths in its
continuing moral decline.”42 Former presidential adviser George Stephanop-
oulos charged it would be “shameful to go to the square . . . where people
fighting for democracy were killed, and celebrate it.” The president responded
that canceling the trip because of the welcoming ceremony would be a mis-
take, but dispatched Sandy Berger to Beijing in a last-ditch effort to explain
the situation and find an alternative.43
Berger arrived in Beijing on June 1 to raise the issue with Foreign Minister
Tang Jiaxuan, Qian Qichen, and Jiang himself. “I tried to get them, among
other things, to drop the Tiananmen arrival ceremony,” Berger recalled. “I
was unsuccessful. And I came back, and Clinton decided to go . . . He felt we
should take the long view here, suck it up, go, take the criticism and find
other ways of making sure the trip reflected our continuing concern for hu-
344 scandals and summits, 1997–98

man rights.”44 Berger did that by pressing the Chinese hard to give the presi-
dent live nationwide TV coverage for a speech he planned to make at Beijing
University, as well as live coverage for the press conference that would fol-
low the bilateral meeting. Not surprisingly, the Chinese resisted. There were
no precedents; they would have no control. Negotiations dragged on.
Negotiations continued as well for progress in the other “baskets,” and
Deputy National Security Adviser James Steinberg and Sandra Kristoff were
sent to Beijing to wrap up the final details. As usual, they were excruciating.
Although the Chinese were willing to express interest in the MTCR, there
was no movement toward signing up. The president had decided that an
agreement by the two sides not to target each other with strategic missiles
was a worthwhile agreement, even though China had less than two dozen
intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States. It be-
came clear as the talks continued that the Chinese had only one “basket” of
issues: Taiwan. And they pushed hard for something in their “basket” in
several other negotiations. In exchange for open press coverage of the
president’s speeches, for example, they asked for a public statement of the
“three noes.”
Clinton had prepared assiduously for the trip, and his staff had done all
the right “spin doctoring” before his departure. He had given another major
China policy speech on June 11, met with prominent China scholars, who
publicly reaffirmed the strategic and economic significance of the visit, and
had Sandy Berger and other administration officials speak in advance about
the “achievements” of the visit. They sought to divert the focus of the media
from the disagreements that still plagued the relationship, the lack of progress
in resolving bilateral disputes, and China’s still woeful behavior on human
rights matters. They stressed instead the long-term importance of establish-
ing predictable and cooperative relations with what would be one of the
world’s most important countries in the twenty-first century. Isolating China,
they insisted, was unworkable. Only clear-eyed and realistic engagement with
a rapidly modernizing China was in America’s real interest.45

The Clinton Visit and Presidential Images

The return visit of President Clinton to reciprocate Jiang Zemin’s tour of the
United States came at the first anniversary of the Asian financial crisis and in
the early stages of Zhu’s renewed drive to restructure China’s economy. The
nine-day (June 25–July 3) grand tour—which took the president and his fam-
ily to historic Xi’an, Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, and Hong Kong and was
given intensive media coverage in China—was considered the next step to-
scandals and summits, 1997–98 345

ward establishing the “constructive strategic partnership” the two presidents

had agreed on the previous year. All in all, there was little substantive con-
tent to the summit; its main significance lay in the realm of the symbolic,
although some of the symbolic elements would turn out to have important
political repercussions. But it was politically important for both men, in their
domestic and foreign policy responsibilities.
Jiang’s main purpose appeared to be to demonstrate that China had
achieved global status as an equal of the United States and that he was re-
sponsible for attaining that status through his relationship with Clinton.
Even before Clinton’s arrival, Jiang’s role was being highlighted. Film foot-
age of his swimming at Waikiki Beach was finally aired, contrasting his tak-
ing on the “wide Pacific Ocean” with Deng’s bathing in the coastal waters
off Beidaihe and Mao’s swim in the internal waters of the Yangtze River.46
Jiang took certain risks in order that the visit be considered a success. Most
of them were in the area of human rights, which he knew would be one of
Clinton’s principal concerns. He permitted Tiananmen leader Wang Dan to
be freed into U.S. exile in April and agreed that China would sign the second
of two human rights covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, in the autumn. He also had to deal with yet another Zhao
Ziyang letter—again leaked to the Western press—calling for an official re-
view of the June 4, 1989, events. “President Clinton’s visit to China marks a
turn for the better in Sino-U.S. relations,” Zhao wrote on the eve of the
president’s arrival. “But the United States and the whole of the West have
again and again raised the issue of June 4 and the issue of human rights in
China. Rather than let it become an obstacle to international relations, it
would be better to resolve the issue of June 4 ourselves, voluntarily.”47 Need-
less to say, there was no official response to Zhao’s entreaty, demonstrating
again that the issue remained sensitive.
From the White House perspective, Clinton’s nine-day trip to China was a
public relations success, and to some degree, at least, a political one. Opin-
ions of the trip, of course, varied widely before departure. Clinton had be-
come one of the most controversial presidents in American history, and the
scandal surrounding his personal behavior was growing. On top of that, the
China policy issue had become very divisive on partisan and substantive
grounds. The political forces opposed to the president’s trip hit a crescendo
the week before he left, and he was attacked from both left and right for
everything from callous disregard for human rights to “appeasement” and
“kowtowing” to Beijing over strategic issues, such as Taiwan’s security. He
was even charged with strategic miscalculation for avoiding stopovers in Ja-
pan and Korea en route to China. Letters of advice and protest flooded in
from members of Congress.
346 scandals and summits, 1997–98

Clinton, nonetheless, persisted on a trip designed to highlight for the Chi-

nese the importance of human rights and freedom of expression as core
American values. For the American public, he wanted to showcase the posi-
tive changes that had taken place in China—economic and political—and
reinforce the importance of establishing a “partnership” with an enormous,
complex, and rapidly growing power. The visit was a logistical extravaganza,
involving hundreds of American support personnel, security, and staffers.
Six cabinet members accompanied him, along with six members of Con-
gress, nearly 50 senior staffers, and over 300 reporters. The presidential
motorcade in Beijing consisted of sixty vehicles. Air Force One and its twin,
as well as several other U.S. Air Force planes transported the delegation, the
president’s armored limousine, and tons of communications, transportation,
and security equipment to several different Chinese airports.48
The “deliverables” of the summit were announced in advance, and they
were numerous, reflecting the many “issue baskets” that Berger had devel-
oped. The United States and China agreed not to target each other with
strategic missiles, and China agreed to give further consideration to joining
the MTCR. The two sides endorsed the goals of the UN-sponsored Biologi-
cal Weapons Convention, and China agreed to improving the process of veri-
fying end users for American high-technology exports. The two countries
approved a military-to-military consultative process designed to avoid “inci-
dents” at sea—such as the Kitty Hawk incident of 1994—and to study coop-
eration in humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Although no progress
had been made on China’s application to join the WTO, a series of economic
and trade negotiations were established, as well as consultative mechanisms
on environmental issues, science and technology, law enforcement, education,
and legal reform. Finally, the two sides agreed to a joint statement of mutual
concern about tensions between India and Pakistan over nuclear testing.49
In response to U.S. demands, Jiang evidently forged a consensus—just
before Clinton’s arrival—within the Politburo Standing Committee that
Clinton would have greater access than any previous American visitor to
speak directly to the Chinese people through China’s media. The first occa-
sion was at a joint press conference held in the Great Hall of the People on
June 27, after the two sides had held their first formal meeting. Chinese Cen-
tral Television broadcast the event live, although the fact that it had not been
announced in advance probably limited the audience somewhat.
As it had during their press conference in Washington the year before,
human rights dominated the discussion, and both men seemed eager to score
some public points. Clinton, who had braved enormous domestic opposition
and endured a formal welcoming ceremony, complete with a review of PLA
troops, in (or to be fair, near) Tiananmen Square, took pains to point out
scandals and summits, 1997–98 347

that the United States and China remained in fundamental disagreement about
what had happened there in 1989. “I believe, and the American people be-
lieve, that the use of force and the tragic loss of lives was wrong. I believe,
and the American people believe, that freedoms of speech, association, and
religion are recognized by the UN Charter as the rights of people every-
where, and should be protected by their governments.” He then pledged that
“whatever our disagreements over past action, China and the United States
must go forward on the right side of history for the future sake of the world”
and to build a “partnership and honest friendship.”50 Jiang reiterated that
the Chinese government had drawn the correct “historical conclusion” to
Tiananmen and that China’s current prosperity and stability could not have
been achieved without the “resolute measures” taken in 1989. Clinton coun-
tered with a prediction that China would have to grant more freedoms to its
people in the twenty-first century.
For his part, Jiang took the initiative to dismiss as “absurd and ridicu-
lous” press stories about Chinese contributions to American political cam-
paigns and to defend comprehensively China’s policies toward Tibet. He set
out the standard conditions for the Dalai Lama to meet in order to engage in
a dialogue with Beijing, adding that he had to make a commitment that Tibet
is an “inalienable” part of China and “recognize Taiwan as a province of
China.”51 Clinton rejoined that the Dalai Lama was a spiritual leader and
China’s dialogue with him should reflect its tolerance of religious belief and
practice. As in 1997, the two men disagreed firmly but decorously with each
other, and both reaped political benefits with their home audiences. The
American media credited Clinton with standing up for human rights, while
Chinese observers—at least those willing to speak to foreign reporters—
indicated Jiang had done well in articulating China’s views and interests. But
most of all, the Chinese were fascinated with the exchange of views on live
television. They had never seen this kind of candor and open debate on tele-
vision before. No one had provided an alternative interpretation of June 4,
1989, before.
Clinton then took his American message to Beijing University, where he
spoke at length about the need for individual freedom and the free flow of
information as China continued its modernization. Again, his speech was
broadcast live, as was a tough question-and-answer session afterward, and
although there were some difficulties with simultaneous translation, it was
vivid political theater, with Clinton in the starring role. The New York Times
said it was “a politician’s dream. In two dramatic appearances, he talked
directly to millions of people without those pesky reporters and producers
getting into the act. . . . Reporters declared this trip a political success beyond
the White House press office’s wildest dreams.”52
348 scandals and summits, 1997–98

In Shanghai, Clinton was similarly accessible, making an appearance on a

popular call-in radio program and several other well-publicized events. The
bill for the relatively unhindered access to Chinese viewers and listeners came
due on June 29, when Clinton reiterated American policy on Taiwan in an
unusually forthright manner. In a meeting with Shanghai community lead-
ers—broadcast live—Clinton responded to a comment from Fudan Univer-
sity professor Wu Xinbo that he had made a positive contribution to
U.S.-China relations by talking about American policy toward Taiwan. “I
had a chance [in meetings with President Jiang] to reiterate our Taiwan policy,
which is that we don’t support independence for Taiwan or two Chinas or
one Taiwan, one China. And we don’t believe that Taiwan should be in
membership [sic] in any organization for which statehood is a requirement.”53
The statement was the most lasting remark of the entire trip and nullified
much of the approbation his public speeches in Beijing had earned.
Administration spokespersons insisted that the statement did not repre-
sent a change in American policy. “It’s merely a reiteration of longstanding
U.S. policy that had previously been reiterated by the Secretary of State and
by the National Security Advisor,” said Mike McCurry to persistent journal-
ists on June 30.54 That was true. State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin
had first used the formulation after the Jiang visit to Washington, Secretary
Albright had said it in a press conference during her April visit to Beijing, and
Sandy Berger had repeated the “three noes” policy during his visit in May.
But the issue was highly sensitive to both Taipei and Beijing, as it presented a
clear American position on critical questions of “Taiwan independence,” the
creation of two separate nation-states, and the entry of Taiwan into interna-
tional organizations. Taipei had lobbied the Clinton administration and Con-
gress hard to ensure the policy was not enshrined in a joint U.S.-PRC
communiqué or official statement. Beijing had insisted, however, that a policy
commitment made repeatedly in private should be made public. And although
it was presented in a low-key manner far from Beijing, PRC media picked it
up immediately. Taipei at first dismissed the statement, but after some con-
sideration and consultation with the U.S. Congress, decided to decry it more
openly.55 Beijing made use of what it began publicly acclaiming as “the three
noes” in propaganda directed at Taiwan, but Jiang also made use of the
commitment as evidence that his approach to the United States could pay
useful benefits. How much influence that had on other, more skeptical, voices
in the leadership is not known.
In fact, however, the “three noes” of 1997–98 did represent a change in
one aspect of U.S. policy toward Taiwan—support for its membership in
international organizations. In the original formulation of the “three noes,”
Clinton’s letter to Jiang in July 1995, he indicated the United States did not
scandals and summits, 1997–98 349

support Taiwan’s efforts to gain admission to the United Nations (as it was
then trying to do), making no reference to other international organizations.
In the 1994 Taiwan policy review, the United States had pledged it would try
to help Taiwan gain membership in international organizations that did not
require statehood for membership. That was prompted by a hope that Tai-
wan could be brought into such organizations as the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank. Now the president was saying, in effect, that the
United States would not support efforts by Taiwan to gain access to any
international organizations whose membership was composed exclusively of
sovereign states. It is perhaps an overly fine shade of difference, but fine
points of rhetoric have often caused problems in U.S.-China-Taiwan rela-
tions in the past and did so again on this occasion.
Within a week of his return from China, Clinton was under heavy attack
in Congress and the media for his Taiwan statements. Senator John Ashcroft
(R-Mo.) accused the president of “stabbing a friend in the back,” while Senator
Frank Murkowski (R-Ala.) claimed the statement would “destabilize” Tai-
wan.56 Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott called the statement a “grave mis-
take” and promised congressional investigation to clarify what Clinton meant
and “repair the damage” he had done to Taiwan.57 Leaders from both par-
ties hastily prepared a resolution (S. Con. Res. 107) reaffirming the Taiwan
Relations Act, particularly those clauses that stated American expectations
that Taiwan’s future would be determined by “peaceful means” and that
maintained the right to sell arms to Taiwan. The resolution also enjoined the
president to seek a public renunciation by Beijing of the use or threat of
force.58 It passed the Senate on July 10 by a vote of 92-0, with the House
version passing ten days later by 390-1.
While Clinton was in Shanghai, Jiang made an unusual trip to Hong Kong
to celebrate the first anniversary of the handover and to officiate at the open-
ing of Hong Kong’s spectacular new airport in Chek Lap Kok on Lantao
Island. While there, he engaged in some of his own version of American-style
politicking, stopping in a shopping mall to mingle with Hong Kong citizens
and visiting the PLA garrison to praise the troops. Jiang had little chance of
matching Clinton’s easygoing style of communication, of course, but he did
unbend somewhat, and Chinese audiences seemed to give him credit for it.
Clinton praised Jiang at a press conference in Hong Kong on July 4: “I have
a very high regard for his abilities . . . He’s a man of extraordinary intellect,
very high energy, a lot of vigor . . . He has vision. He can visualize. He can
imagine a future that is different from the present.”59 High praise indeed, and
Jiang no doubt appreciated it.
Jiang almost seemed to prove Clinton right in his foreign policy actions
after the summit. With support from Zeng Qinghong—Jiang’s protégé and
350 scandals and summits, 1997–98

head of his personal staff office—whom Jiang reportedly promoted to the

Taiwan Affairs Leading Small Group in September, he proposed resuming
unofficial talks with Taiwan, which had been broken off in 1995 after Lee
Teng-hui’s visit to the United States.60 Uneasy about U.S. support in the wake
of Clinton’s “three noes,” Taiwanese authorities agreed to take up discus-
sions at a low level between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)
and the mainland’s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait
(ARATS). Those talks culminated in a mid-October visit to Shanghai and
Beijing by Koo Chen-fu, the wealthy Taipei businessman who headed SEF.
Koo and his delegation met with their counterparts, including Jiang’s mentor
Wang Daohan, head of ARATS, and agreed to a four-point plan for gradu-
ally improving cross-Strait relations. Discussions then moved to Beijing, where
Jiang played a major role in the discussions, extending his October 18 meet-
ing with Koo and treating him to the full-scale charm offensive, including
poetry and philosophical perorations. And although the two sides remained
far apart on substantive issues, the agreement in principle that Wang Daohan
would visit Taiwan the following year was considered a great step forward.
Jiang tried to capitalize on his foreign policy success after the APEC lead-
ers meeting in November, traveling first to Russia to meet with an ailing
Boris Yeltsin in a Moscow hospital, then to Japan for what he hoped would
be an important symbolic visit. In both cases, he sought to repeat the formula
that had worked with the American president—formal establishment of a
“partnership” and agreement to isolate Taiwan. But even though Russia agreed
in a communiqué to the same formulation Clinton had used in the “three
noes” and reaffirmed the “strategic cooperative partnership” established in
1996, the meetings were generally lackluster.61 The session with Yeltsin lasted
only half an hour, and the Russian president appeared weak and dazed in the
brief television coverage of the event.
Jiang then went to Japan, where he suffered a sharp setback in his efforts
to present himself as a successful world statesman. Paying the first postwar
visit to Japan by a Chinese head of state, Jiang had pressed his new foreign
minister, Tang Jiaxuan, to obtain two “deliverables” for his meetings with
Japanese government leaders: a formal written apology for Japan’s occupa-
tion of parts of China during World War II, similar to that provided to South
Korean president Kim Dae Jung in October; and a Japanese government con-
currence with the “three noes.” Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, under pres-
sure from conservative elements within his own party, refused to provide
either item. Whereas the Japanese government had expressed “deep remorse”
and a “heartfelt apology” to Kim for Japan’s wartime occupation of Korea
in a formal communiqué, the joint statement that followed Jiang’s summit
meetings in Tokyo fell well short of China’s expectations: “The Japanese side
scandals and summits, 1997–98 351

. . . keenly felt the responsibility for bringing serious disaster and damage to
the Chinese people in its aggression to China in the past, and expressed deep
retrospection for this.”62 No acknowledgement of “wartime atrocities,” no
apology. Obuchi expressed orally Japan’s “remorse and apology” for its “un-
fortunate relationship” with China in the past but would not commit the
words to paper, possibly out of concern it might generate endless legal claims
by Chinese citizens. Jiang, angered, refused to sign the joint statement, then
proceeded to lecture Japanese audiences sternly for the rest of his five-day
trip on the importance of history, complete with anecdotes of his own stu-
dent experiences at the hands of Japanese invaders. Having invested much in
his ability to manage China’s foreign relationships, Jiang’s embarrassing trip
to Japan did little good for the relationship or his reputation back home.

Missiles, Spies, and Donations—Again

At the same time as the Taiwan issue was taking on renewed significance, the
stakes had risen to a very high level in congressional investigations of an
older scandal and added disturbing national security allegations to the list of
charges against the Clinton administration. To understand the significance
of the new, more powerful Donorgate, it is necessary to take a closer look at
the issue of satellite launches—American telecommunications satellites being
launched on Chinese carrier rockets. Although the post-Tiananmen sanc-
tions on exports of items from the Munitions List had prohibited the use of
Chinese launch services, the president was afforded a waiver authority to
permit American producers of telecommunications and weather satellites to
contract with the China Great Wall Industry Corporation to place their sat-
ellites on Chinese launchers, which were far less expensive than American
launch services. President George H. W. Bush had used the waiver twice
after Tiananmen, and President Clinton used it nine times to permit Ameri-
can satellites to be placed aboard China’s Long March rockets for placement
in orbit.
The problem was that Chinese carrier rockets were not as reliable as Ameri-
can or European launchers. Three of these satellites—two manufactured by
the Hughes Electronic Corporation launched in 1992 and 1995, and one
made by Loral Space Systems launched in 1996—were destroyed when the
Chinese rockets exploded shortly after launch. China blamed Hughes for the
first two crashes, and although it admitted a Long March malfunction may
have caused the failure of the 1996 Loral satellite launch, American insur-
ance providers demanded an independent investigation.63
An independent review commission was established, composed of engi-
neers from several American aerospace firms, and headed by a Chinese Ameri-
352 scandals and summits, 1997–98

can scientist from Loral. In a report of more than 200 pages, the engineers
concluded that the Loral failure was caused by a flaw in the electronic flight
control system of the Long March 3B rocket, and they made general recom-
mendations for improvements in design, quality control, testing, and launch
safety procedures. The commission also discussed other aspects of the rocket’s
guidance and control systems during meetings held in China. Given the sen-
sitivity of the subjects, post-Tiananmen regulations required that the com-
pany should have had a license authorizing participation in such a review
and that the report should have been cleared by the Department of State
before being shared with the Chinese. That was not done. The final report
was faxed to China Great Wall Industry Corporation on May 10, 1996.64
Subsequently, on being informed that it may have violated the law in
transmitting the report, Loral reported its actions to the State Department,
which initiated an investigation, along with the Department of Defense and
the CIA. The Defense Department analysts initially concluded that “moder-
ate harm” had been done to American national security by Loral’s giving the
report to the Chinese, although the CIA concluded the Loral report “posed
no proliferation concerns.” The Defense Department’s Defense Technology
Security Administration, however, concluded in 1997 that the report had
provided “significant benefit” to China’s ballistic missile program “likely to
lead to improvements in the overall reliability of their launch vehicles and
ballistic missiles.”65 It recommended that the information be turned over to
the Customs Service and the Justice Department to determine whether crimi-
nal activity had taken place.
While the case was still under review, another Loral satellite license was
approved by the Clinton White House in February 1998, despite Justice De-
partment concerns. According to later reports, the license application was
hastened through the approval process out of concern for possible fines against
Loral for nonperformance of contract obligations, because stringent safe-
guards were built into the contract to prevent unauthorized transfer of tech-
nology or information, and because it was not certain how long the
investigation of Loral would take. During the approval process, which went
from the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs at State through the NSC (with
inputs from other agencies through State), Justice Department lawyers com-
plained the waiver compromised its investigation of Loral. But National Se-
curity Adviser Berger downplayed their concerns in his cover memorandum
to the president recommending approval of the license.66
The story leaked to the press at about the same time Johnny Chung, the
“hustler” who bought his way into the First Lady’s office some forty-nine
times, plea bargained with the Justice Department investigators in hopes of
scandals and summits, 1997–98 353

easing the judgment against him. Chung agreed to cooperate with Justice
Department and congressional investigators pursuing other aspects of the
case. According to leaks of his testimony to FBI investigators that appeared
in a New York Times article by Jeff Gerth, Chung told the FBI that most of
the money he provided to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in
1996 (more than $100,000) came from Liu Chaoying, the PLA officer and
China Aerospace Corporation executive Chung had escorted to see Clinton
at a California fund-raiser in July.67
Gerth, an investigative reporter who had been following Clinton scandals
for years, made a critical connection, which may have come from the FBI:
It is not clear whether other Chinese officials or executives were in-
volved in the purported payments by Ms. Liu, or what her motivation
or the Chinese military’s might have been. At the time, President Clinton
was making it easier for American civilian communication satellites to
be launched by Chinese rockets, a key issue for the Chinese army and
for Ms. Liu’s company, which sells missiles for the military . . . The
President’s decision was valuable to Ms. Liu because it enabled her
company to do more business with American companies, but it had
also been sought by American aerospace corporations, including Loral
Space and Communications and the Hughes Electronics Corporation
. . . seeking to do more business in China.68
Republican leaders in Congress, who had been looking for a link between
DNC donations and issues of more serious policy concern, now had a trail to
follow and an issue to press: the national security implications of American
satellite launches aboard Chinese rockets. When added to the fact that Loral’s
chief executive officer, Bernard Schwartz, had given $632,000 to the DNC in
1996, and Hughes’s CEO, C. Michael Armstrong, had also been a heavy
donor, the scandal machinery kicked into high gear.69 Conservative pundits
and congressional Republicans vied with each other in sensationalizing the
charges. “Was it treason? I hope not. I believe it was not,” said Representa-
tive Dan Burton, who had chaired the House Committee that investigated
the scandal in 1997. “Was it incompetence? Was it greed? Yes.”70
Administration officials, including Berger and Steinberg, rushed to defend
the process and the decisions, as did Loral’s CEO Schwartz. But Congress
moved quickly to take action. On May 21, it added amendments to the de-
fense authorization bill (H.R. 3616) restricting space and missile technology
transfer to China, prohibiting participation in launch failure investigations,
and banning the export or re-export of missile technology and any satellites
to China.71 Acting on his own authority, House Speaker Newt Gingrich an-
354 scandals and summits, 1997–98

nounced the establishment of a “select committee” to investigate the allega-

tions that China had illegally obtained missile technology through compa-
nies that received favorable treatment from the administration. The “Select
Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns
With the People’s Republic of China,” consisting of five Republicans and
three Democrats, was headed by Representative Christopher Cox (R-Calif.),
and its mandate was established by H. Res. 463, which was passed on June
18. “This has nothing to do with campaign finance. This has to do with
national security,” Gingrich told reporters. “This is a profoundly deeper ques-
tion than any other question that has arisen with this administration.”72
Because the Cox Committee, as it came to be called, and the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, which was investigating a similar set of issues,
held most of their hearings in closed session, the new Donorgate issue had
largely faded from public view by August 1998. Even the Burton Committee
had “run out of fuel,” with no new allegations or charges. Behind closed
doors, however, the congressional committees were taking testimony and
developing a story that would shock the development of U.S.-China relations
yet again and bring a virtual halt to even the consideration of a “strategic
partnership.”
To close out the Donorgate issue, however, the Justice Department, how-
ever slowly, had continued investigating, bringing charges, and carrying them
through to trial. All in all, twenty-six individuals and two corporations were
charged in connection with campaign finance abuses. Among the most promi-
nent cases:
—Johnny Chung, as noted, pled guilty to charges of bank fraud, tax eva-
sion, and conspiracy to evade campaign finance limits and was sentenced to
five years’ probation.
—Yogesh Gandhi was convicted of mail fraud charges in 1999 and sen-
tenced to one year in prison.
—Maria Hsia was convicted in March 2000 on charges of making false
statements to the Federal Election Commission and was sentenced in March
2002 to three months’ home detention and three years’ probation.
—John Huang pled guilty in 1999 to a charge of illegally funneling funds
from Lippo to the DNC and was sentenced to one year of probation and 500
hours of community service.
—Pauline Kanchanalak pled guilty to conspiracy and campaign finance
violations and was sentenced in 2001 to three years’ probation and six months
of home confinement.
—James Riady pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government
and paid a fine of $8.6 million. The Lippo Bank of California pled guilty to
eighty-six misdemeanor counts of making illegal contributions.
scandals and summits, 1997–98 355

—Charlie Trie returned to the United States in February 1998 and was
charged with two counts of illegally funneling money into the Clinton cam-
paign. He pled guilty in 1999 and was sentenced to three years’ probation.73
By the end of the year, virtually all other U.S. government business came
slowly to a stop, as the process of impeaching the president came to its wrench-
ing conclusion. Other books have evaluated this story in all its detail, and
more surely will be forthcoming. From the perspective of U.S.-China rela-
tions, the scandal seemed to have little effect, other than preventing the ad-
ministration from taking any steps to counter the malaise that was setting in
on both sides. It is not likely that more progress would have been made any
sooner even if the president and Congress had not been distracted by the
sordid details and legal intricacies of impeachment. China was going through
a conservative swing of its own, and Jiang was not prepared to offer any
concessions or changes of policy that would have made much difference. As
far as the impeachment was concerned, Chinese media gave it little atten-
tion, although many more Chinese followed the details in nonofficial media.
American policy toward China was in flux for various reasons. Sandra
Kristoff left the National Security Council for the private sector after Clinton’s
China trip and was replaced by Kenneth R. Lieberthal, a China specialist
from the University of Michigan. Lieberthal brought extraordinary depth on
China-related issues but had no bureaucratic, diplomatic, or broader Asia
experience. He was viewed with distrust by Taiwan and many of its Ameri-
can supporters for his outspoken advocacy of an “interim solution” to cross-
Strait problems. Jeff Bader was appointed to an ambassadorship in Africa
and was replaced by Jim Keith, an experienced State Department China desk
officer.

Honeymoon Over, Quarrels Resume

From Beijing’s perspective, relations with Washington went downhill quickly.
Although the Clinton visit had an overall positive impact on Chinese atti-
tudes and approaches to several issues, including nonproliferation, human
rights, and democracy, the positive atmospherics and promise of partnership
did not last long. In Washington, Clinton’s foreign travel—despite grudging
acknowledgment that he had acquitted himself well—in no way diminished
demands for his impeachment by Congress. Republican party critics sought
to devalue the China trip’s few accomplishments and to exaggerate its flaws.
Not surprisingly, they focused on Clinton’s “three noes” remarks in Shang-
hai. Within days of his return to Washington, Senate and House Republicans
had drafted “sense of the Congress” resolutions reaffirming American com-
mitments to Taiwan’s defense under the Taiwan Relations Act and counter-
356 scandals and summits, 1997–98

ing what they believed to be Clinton’s “mistake” in Shanghai. Both resolu-

tions passed nearly unanimously. Beijing, of course, denounced the bills for
infringing China’s sovereignty and interfering in its domestic affairs. The
Foreign Ministry spokesman also could not resist the opportunity to use
Clinton’s Shanghai statement to pressure Taiwan to “get a clear understand-
ing of the situation, face reality and place importance on the national inter-
est.”74 This statement was widely cited by China’s detractors in Washington
as evidence of the damage done to Taiwan’s interests by the “three noes.”
Energized to “undo the damage,” Congress, within weeks, took up more
pro-Taiwan and “anti-China” legislation. Moreover, in August, the Penta-
gon announced the sale of $350 million of antiaircraft and antiship missiles
to Taiwan. Added to the very public congressional investigations of China’s
purported campaign donations and alleged illicit acquisition of American
missile technology, it appeared to be open season on China and Clinton’s
engagement policy.
Beijing’s reaction to Clinton’s political difficulties was cautious, as there
was no wish to encourage corresponding American commentary about China’s
domestic politics. Xinhua reported sparingly but objectively on the Monica
Lewinsky scandal, ascribing it primarily to partisan politics and noting that
American public opinion still supported Clinton. Chinese authorities banned
translation and public circulation of the report put out in October by Special
Prosecutor Kenneth Starr on Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky, finding its de-
scriptions of sexual liaisons too graphic. They did not seek to suppress the
story on the Internet, however, and many Chinese kept up with it in the
many “chat rooms” that were increasingly free of government interference.75
China, in other words, was not about to risk the relationship with the United
States by taking sides on the outcome of a struggle between Clinton and
congressional Republicans.
Toward its deteriorating repute in American opinion, however, the Chi-
nese government took a strangely passive position. It routinely denied it had
undertaken any effort to buy influence with either American political party,
but it refused to cooperate with congressional efforts to investigate accusations
of Chinese citizens. It belittled accusations of Chinese spying but made no
effort to answer the many questions that arose within the American media and
in Congress about the activities of Chinese attachés, business executives, and
scientists in their interactions with American counterparts. This reticence seemed
to American observers a sort of omerta, or silence of the guilty. In August
1998, for example, China’s ambassador to the United States, Li Zhaoxing,
agreed to talk to Congressman Christopher Smith (R-N.J.)—one of China’s
most virulent critics on the Hill—and his committee, but then balked when
Smith portrayed his appearance as “testimony at a hearing.” Li’s refusal to
scandals and summits, 1997–98 357

appear in those circumstances tended to reinforce American impressions of

Chinese culpability.76 For its part, Beijing retreated into an easy but wrong-
headed delusion that all its problems were caused by “a handful of anti-China
elements,” an explanation that had resonance in China but nowhere else.
U.S.-China relations took another downward turn over human rights is-
sues in late 1998, as Beijing began a concerted effort to destroy the so-called
China Democracy Party (CDP) that had sprung up in several locations dur-
ing the year. Positive movement on human rights issues in the run-up to
Clinton’s visit had led to rumors in China of an overall political loosening
and to a return of pressures for political reform. There were even preliminary
indications that some local Communist Party officials acquiesced in CDP
efforts to register itself as a political party in early 1998. Responding, per-
haps, to reports that Clinton’s forthright comments about human rights dur-
ing his visit had re-energized the moribund dissident community in China,
conservatives in the leadership, including Li Peng, called for a crackdown.
Jiang, typically, agreed with them. Although the regime had begun harassing
CDP leaders shortly after Clinton’s visit, it took much stronger actions in the
late autumn.77 In November, Jiang made a speech to a party conclave, hard-
ening the official position on political reform. China’s one-party political
system “must not be shaken, weakened or discarded at any time,” he said,
adding, “the Western mode of political systems must never be copied.”78
Shortly afterward, prominent CDP leaders Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin, and
Wang Youcai were arrested, along with supporters in several cities, and
charged with subversion of the Chinese state. Their arrest coincided with an
announced tightening of restrictions on publications in China, an attempt to
intimidate into silence several scholars pushing for legal reform, and the clo-
sure “for repairs” of Tiananmen Square.79 International human rights groups
condemned the arrests, pointing out the irony of China’s having just signed
the UN Covenant of Civil and Political Rights in October. On December 21,
the regime announced jail terms of thirteen, twelve, and eleven years for Xu,
Qin, and Wang, respectively—sentences considered harsh for their purported
“crimes” of trying to establish an opposition party. None had been permit-
ted to retain the services of defense lawyers, and their trials were closed to
the public.80 The Clinton administration criticized the sentences as “back-
ward steps,” terms much milder than those used by the media and Congress,
some of whom declared yet again that the entire process of engagement with
the Chinese regime had proven a failure and should be discarded. In part
because of the action against the CDP, the Clinton administration decided
the following spring to sponsor another resolution critical of China at the
United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC)—a measure it had
dropped in 1998.
 chapter nine

Back to
the Cold,
1999–2000

B y the end of 1998, it was broadly held that the U.S.-China

relationship was in a serious downturn and needed concerted attention on
both sides to avoid another showdown. Many foreign observers saw the en-
tire process of engagement with China as being in jeopardy. Several Chinese
commentators about the U.S.-China relationship have noted that even-
numbered years tended to show progress and growth in relations, while odd-
numbered years often brought strife and deterioration. The year 1999 of-
fered credible evidence in support of this numerological fancy. For U.S.-China
relations, it was a genuine annus horribilis.
The year began with the Clinton impeachment by the House of Represen-
tatives and trial in the Senate on charges that he had given “perjurious, false
and misleading testimony” to a grand jury investigating the Paula Jones case
and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and had “obstructed justice” in
trying to delay and impede the investigation of those cases.1 The case was
noisy, tawdry, and repellent, but there was neither strong public nor con-
gressional support for removing the president from office, and the Senate
votes on the counts of perjury and obstruction of justice both fell well short
of the two-thirds majority needed to convict. Clinton set about the remain-
der of his term determined to establish a positive record and a worthwhile
legacy. Still angry, congressional Republicans, embarrassed that their “all-
or-nothing” strategy had netted them nothing, were determined to thwart
him at every turn.
In the realm of foreign affairs, Clinton set out to make progress on several
knotty and difficult issues, focusing on the Middle East peace effort and the
escalating crisis in Kosovo. He appeared to have hoped that his trip to China
358
back to the cold, 1999–2000 359

had eased tensions sufficiently and engendered sufficient trust, that the rela-
tionship could coast for a while. But the sharp congressional backlash over
Taiwan, a bubbling inquiry over China’s technology acquisition, along with
growing anger about Beijing’s crackdown against the China Democracy Party
led to a renewed sense of impending crisis.

Trade, Traitors, and Tradecraft—The Los Alamos Spy Scandal

By late October 1998, Kenneth Lieberthal, senior director at the National
Security Council (NSC), was convinced it had become important to find a
structural framework to facilitate China’s western orientation and to undergird
the U.S.-China relationship. He suggested to Sandy Berger that perhaps a
renewed push for a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement might suit
the purpose. Berger agreed in principle but expressed doubt that it could be
accomplished.2 The president had discussed the prospect on several occa-
sions with Jiang Zemin and had even hoped to announce progress toward
the goal of a bilateral agreement during his trip to Beijing. But the Chinese
were not ready to commit themselves to what they seemed to fear might be
destabilizing economic changes while the region was still being rocked by the
Asian financial crisis. They wanted some concessions on domestic market
protection they believed they were entitled to as a “developing nation.” And
they were still suspicious that the United States was imposing more stringent
conditions on China than it had on any other nation, perhaps for strategic
reasons. In early November, the NSC drafted for Clinton’s signature a letter
to Jiang Zemin, suggesting both sides should try to put together a viable
WTO package early in 1999.3 In January 1999, Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan visited Beijing in connection with the Asian financial crisis
and again raised the prospect of a WTO agreement, perhaps to be completed
during Zhu’s visit to Washington in the spring. Clinton sent another letter in
early February, suggesting the same to Jiang.4 During a visit by Deputy Trea-
sury Secretary Larry Summers in late February, Zhu Rongji said China was
prepared to make significant progress in the long-standing negotiation pro-
cess. In an early March visit to China, U.S.Trade Representative (USTR)
Charlene Barshefsky found that China’s position was significantly changed
and that concessions the United States had been seeking for years on issues
such as agriculture, tariffs, market access for services, and many others were
suddenly being offered by the Chinese side. Zhu had gotten serious about the
WTO, and he wanted to know if the United States would say yes to a deal.
Barshefsky could not give a clear answer.
The U.S. government was badly divided on China’s WTO accession. Even
within the USTR, views had varied for years about whether China could or
360 back to the cold, 1999–2000

would put together a “commercially viable” offer for a bilateral agreement.

Some had suggested the Chinese, in order to justify concessions, needed mainly
some reassurance that the United States was committed to signing a deal,
while others insisted the Chinese system was simply unable to make the com-
mitments that would be required. Barshefsky was ambivalent, knowing the
business community’s support for a solid agreement was strong, but congres-
sional support was not. The NSC was in favor, largely for political reasons
having to do with maintaining the momentum of bilateral relations and deep-
ening China’s involvement in international organizations; the Commerce
Department also was supportive. The Treasury Department was hesitant,
concerned that the U.S. business community would not lobby Congress to
support an agreement. The State Department was in favor of a WTO agree-
ment but was far more focused on human rights, particularly punishing China
for the persecution of the China Democracy Party.5
In early March, a story broke in the New York Times that not only com-
plicated the decision on WTO but sent the entire U.S. government into a
bizarre and confusing tailspin and damaged badly any prospect of a signifi-
cant improvement in U.S.-China relations. It also did great harm to the life
and reputation of a Chinese American scientist and to relations between the
U.S. government and the Asian American community. Like many of the is-
sues that roiled U.S.-China ties since 1989, this one also had its origins in
intelligence, espionage, and press leaks. Investigative reporters Jeff Gerth and
James Risen based their March 6 front-page story on information from con-
fidential sources and unnamed officials who spoke “on condition of ano-
nymity.”6 Like most intelligence leaks, this one came from people with an
alternative policy agenda or an axe to grind. It was incomplete, presenting
only one side of the story, and it put the administration very much on the
defensive, as it could not refute the stories without disclosing even more clas-
sified information.
The story emanated from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
and Cox Committee hearings on China and its acquisition of American
technology and know-how, which had continued through the end of 1998.
An intelligence analyst assigned to the Department of Energy (DOE), Notra
Trulock, told the Cox Committee late that year that analysis of a 1995
Chinese underground nuclear test strongly suggested the weapon was vir-
tually identical to America’s most sophisticated miniature nuclear warhead,
the W-88. Further investigation—and a strange CIA report from a Chinese
source who provided purported PRC documents on its nuclear weapons
program7—indicated that the W-88 design information evidently had been
stolen from one of the Department of Energy’s national nuclear laborato-
ries, probably the one at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The initial story ac-
back to the cold, 1999–2000 361

knowledged that there were disagreements within the intelligence commu-

nity about the conclusions of the analysis, but these were imputed to be
blocking efforts by the NSC. Members of the Cox Committee also charged
about the same time that the administration was using protection of intel-
ligence sources and methods as a pretext for holding up public release of
the committee’s report.8
The laboratories had been prime intelligence targets for the Chinese and
the Russians for many years, and their administration by the University of
California and the Energy Department made them easier targets for espio-
nage. Risen and Gerth implied that the Clinton administration had ignored
DOE and intelligence community warnings about the labs’ vulnerabilities
and had dismissed a 1997 DOE briefing on the apparent W-88 theft because
it conflicted with the desire to improve relations with China in advance of
Jiang’s trip. Furthermore, the article charged, Trulock and his DOE investi-
gators had identified a Chinese American suspect they believed had given the
warhead data to the Chinese, but little action had been taken against him,
mainly because of bureaucratic delays by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and Energy Department.9
The March story hit Washington hard, reviving allegations about Chinese
campaign finance activities, the Clinton administration’s blindness about
China, and compromises of American security. Panicked into action, the ex-
ecutive branch began a series of steps (and missteps) to show it was vigilant
and concerned. According to later accounts, FBI officials first asked the Times
to hold the story for a day, then rushed to interview the principal suspect—a
Taiwan-born scientist named Wen Ho Lee—over the weekend. Ill-prepared
investigators confronted Lee harshly, threatening him with the death penalty
for espionage. Lee—who had no lawyer present—strongly denied having stolen
nuclear secrets on behalf of Beijing, but he then refused further cooperation.
The DOE investigators searched Lee’s office, discovering that he had evi-
dently erased from his unclassified office computer improperly obtained clas-
sified files containing nuclear test data.10
Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson—a former congressman from New
Mexico—fired Lee on March 9 for “failure to properly notify Energy De-
partment and lab officials about contacts with people from a sensitive coun-
try, . . . failing to properly safeguard classified material and apparently
attempting to deceive lab officials about security matters.”11 The FBI admit-
ted, however, that it did not have enough hard evidence to bring espionage
charges against Lee. Richardson subsequently tightened up security practices
at all the labs and even closed down classified DOE computer systems out of
concern they may have been compromised. As the story picked up steam,
Trulock detailed and escalated his charges against certain individuals in the
362 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Energy Department and against Gary Samore, NSC senior director for non-
proliferation.12
Other parts of the administration reacted equally quickly and almost as
clumsily. The NSC struggled to explain charges that it had ignored earlier
reports of Chinese intelligence thefts of U.S. nuclear secrets, then claimed
that the security problems at the nuclear labs had begun during the Reagan
administration—which was true but sounded evasive. CIA Director George
Tenet appointed an outside blue ribbon commission, headed by retired admi-
ral David Jeremiah, to review the intelligence community’s earlier finding
that the Chinese had benefited from U.S. warhead research and design infor-
mation but had not necessarily obtained it through espionage.13
Fed by unknown officials in the FBI, press stories revealed more details of
the Wen Ho Lee case, and a sort of “Chinese spy mania” seemed to hit the
country. Stories soon circulated about earlier Chinese efforts to get secrets
out of the national labs and other facilities and about their success in obtain-
ing other American high technology and military knowledge. Commentators
compared the presumed loss of America’s nuclear secrets to the Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg case (American scientists executed for passing atomic bomb
secrets to the Soviet Union) and other famous incidents of damaging espio-
nage.14 Elaborate theories were spun, linking fund-raising coffees, satellite
launches, and nuclear tests, all on the theory that the Clinton administration
had sacrificed American national security for a few thousand dollars of Chi-
nese money.
For many members of Congress, this was the last straw, both for the ad-
ministration and for its China policy. Even Senator Richard Lugar, a moder-
ate Republican foreign affairs specialist from Indiana and supporter of
engagement with China, chastised the Clinton administration for its unfo-
cused approach to China. “The Clinton administration already had dug a
very deep hole for itself on Capitol Hill with respect to China,” he wrote in
an op-ed article in the Washington Post. “That hole just got wider and deeper.”
Lugar called for more cooperation and dialogue between Congress and the
White House on the overall direction and conduct of China policy.15 Others
were far less charitable, accusing the Clinton White House of “covering up”
the espionage and calling for the resignation of National Security Adviser
Sandy Berger. Several senators claimed the new revelations called into ques-
tion the administration’s entire policy toward China and insisted that it was
not an appropriate time for the United States to be discussing WTO acces-
sion. Resolutions were drafted in the House and the Senate calling for prior
congressional approval of any deal between the United States and China
over WTO membership.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 363

Mr. Zhu Goes to Washington

In the circumstances, China’s reaction to Clinton’s entreaty in early 1999 to

step up efforts to craft a WTO agreement was one of understandable cau-
tion. Aside from the growing belief that the United States was tending to-
ward “containment” of China rather than engagement and that Clinton was
a politically damaged leader who could no longer deliver on his promises,
Beijing remained divided on whether a WTO deal was even beneficial. With
China’s economy increasingly weakened by the Asian financial crisis, there
were few who thought exposing it to increased foreign competition through
enhanced market access was a good idea. Reform of state-owned enter-
prises was proceeding fitfully, sandbagged by local officials unwilling to
make the sacrifices to restructure unproductive industries. Export growth
had slowed, and foreign investment had leveled off, partly because of grow-
ing foreign anxieties about China’s willingness to establish meaningful trade
reciprocity.
Premier Zhu Rongji, however, had come around to firm support of WTO
membership as a means of improving the competitiveness of Chinese indus-
tries, and he evidently decided to make completion of a bilateral WTO agree-
ment with the United States the capstone of his planned April 1999 visit to
Washington. Clinton had encouraged Jiang to accelerate the negotiations
process and pledged that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would
make every effort to achieve an early agreement. For China’s part, Zhu in-
formed visiting U.S. officials in early 1999 that China was prepared to make
significant concessions on issues that had been in dispute for years and that
he was substantially engaged in the process.16 Negotiations intensified in Feb-
ruary and March, and USTR Charlene Barshefsky agreed to visit Beijing in
late March to try and finalize a deal before Zhu’s trip to Washington, sched-
uled for April 8. Word leaked out in the U.S. press and among American
business circles that a WTO deal was within reach and that the terms were
good for the United States. Opposition to an agreement grew in both capi-
tals, however, as it seemed that progress in crafting a trade agreement was
not being matched by improvements in other areas or was causing other
important subjects to be disregarded.
Of serious concern in China—and especially in the military—was the grow-
ing U.S. and NATO military activity in the Balkans. China had objected to
American and NATO involvement in the dissolution of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (FRY) for years. Belgrade had been considered a staunch so-
cialist ally by post-Mao Chinese leaders, and there was great interest in
Yugoslavia’s experimental approach to economic and political reforms. When
364 back to the cold, 1999–2000

the ethnic dissolution of the FRY began in the early 1980s, abetted (in China’s
view) by American and western European support for ethnic separatism,
China expressed strong support for Belgrade’s attempts to preserve its na-
tional integrity and criticized Western efforts to facilitate the breakup of a
sovereign state. It did not take any steps to help Yugoslav president Slobodan
Milosevic prevent the breaking away of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia, how-
ever. As the situation in Kosovo heated up in 1998, exacerbated by Serbian
repression of the ethnic Albanians who constituted the majority of Kosovo’s
population, China sided strongly with Milosevic. Chinese media ignored sto-
ries of Serbian atrocities and cruelty, focusing instead on Western “power
politics” and “hegemonism” in pressuring Belgrade to negotiate a solution
that would enhance Kosovo’s autonomy. When NATO and the United States
began threatening, then carrying out air attacks on Yugoslavia in October
1998, China’s propaganda apparatus moved from criticizing the effort as ill-
intended and ineffective to much stronger rhetoric.
China’s position was not simply based on sympathy for Yugoslavia or
even the secondary factor of providing support to its Russian “strategic part-
ner” in opposition to NATO expansion. Beijing saw in the allied pressure
against Serbia—done outside the context of the United Nations—a harbin-
ger of what a “unipolar” world might bring to China, namely, a growing
web of alliances that could take concerted military action against China un-
der American leadership. It viewed Washington’s justification for the Kosovo
action, so-called humanitarian intervention, as an excuse to meddle in the
internal affairs of other countries that might be applicable to China. And the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) viewed the massive NATO use of air power
and precision-guided munitions as the kind of attack that the United States
might use against China in case of a conflict over Taiwan.17
China’s concerns were no doubt heightened by congressional actions sug-
gesting the United States was prepared to provide “theater missile defense”
(TMD) equipment to Taiwan to counterbalance the growing threat of a PRC
missile attack. Passage of the Defense Authorization Act of 1999 (H.R. 3616)
authorized the secretary of defense to study a “theater ballistic missile de-
fense system in the Asia-Pacific region that would have the capability to pro-
tect key regional allies of the United States.”18 Commentators made clear
that, although not specified, Taiwan was included in the definition of “key
regional ally.” In February 1999, the PLA’s newspaper, Jiefangjun Bao, de-
manded “that the United States abide by the three Sino-US communiqués
and the relevant commitments, and that it does not extend its TMD system
and the associated technology to Taiwan in any form.”19
Growing disagreements over several international and bilateral issues, as
well as the State Department’s strong dissatisfaction with China’s human
back to the cold, 1999–2000 365

rights practices in late 1998, contributed to yet another contentious meeting

between a visiting U.S. secretary of state and her Beijing hosts. Madeleine
Albright made a brief stop in Beijing in early March and had a series of what
were called “forceful and tough” talks with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan,
as well as Premier Zhu. She was incensed by not only the reversal of China’s
policy on dissidents represented by the sentencing of China Democracy Party
leaders in late 1998 but by further arrests and harassment of dissidents just
before her arrival.20 Both sides “let off steam” in the meetings, and Albright
warned Zhu his trip to Washington would have to include progress on hu-
man rights or it would not be successful.21
Although the timing was coincidental, the fact that Jiang Zemin was
visiting Italy on March 25, 1999, the date when NATO warplanes (some
from Italian bases) began an intensified bombing campaign of Belgrade,
added to Chinese anger over NATO actions. On his return to Beijing, Jiang
convened a Politburo meeting to discuss growing opposition to Zhu’s trip
to Washington among senior officials, particularly in the PLA. Although
some characterized the debate as intense, in the end it was decided that the
potential benefits of Zhu’s visit outweighed the drawbacks.22 But it was
also agreed that China’s media would heighten its criticism of the United
States and NATO at the same time. And military leaders began openly to
advocate a change in China’s overall “security concept”— from one that
posited a world in which “peace and development” were the dominant
aspirations of the major powers to one that viewed “hegemonism and power
politics,” as practiced by the United States, as seriously threatening to China’s
future. Deputy Chief of Staff Xiong Guangkai hosted one hundred promi-
nent scholars at a forum on April 14 to discuss China’s need to “protect
itself from every angle,” including economic defense, in light of the new
situation.23
Despite the deterioration in public attitudes toward each other in both the
United States and China, Clinton and Berger pressed for a WTO agreement,
because they thought there might not be another opportunity to do so during
the second term and because they hoped to show evidence of a positive di-
mension to the relationship.24 The USTR, Charlene Barshefsky, traveled to
Beijing one last time in late March in an effort to improve still further what
already looked like a good deal. The Chinese balked at making more conces-
sions, concerned that they were being too accommodating to a country whose
strategic intentions—as demonstrated in the bombing of Yugoslavia—were
so worrisome. Barshefsky departed after one day of consultations with Zhu
Rongji and others, leaving the impression that the two sides were still far
apart. Privately, however, USTR was leaking the information on Chinese
concessions to business groups in hopes of enlisting their support. As
366 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Barshefsky had put it, “Any deal that doesn’t have the seal of approval of the
business community isn’t a deal worth doing.”25
Within the administration, the debate over a WTO deal became extremely
contentious in the week before Zhu’s arrival. White House Chief of Staff
John Podesta held meetings of the key players in his office, as Principals
Committee meetings in the situation room had come to be considered too
“leaky” on China policy issues. The leaks continued, however, straining in-
terpersonal relations within the policymaking apparatus. But no decision was
made. Sandy Berger and the president were increasingly preoccupied with
U.S. military action in Yugoslavia and had little time for China.26 Mean-
while, China’s principal negotiator, Long Yongtu, was in town to try and
hammer out the last details on such issues as agricultural inspection stan-
dards, foreign investment in Chinese telecommunications, the operations of
American banks and brokerage firms in China, and continuing protection
for the U.S. textile industry. The American side also wanted to maintain the
right—considered important to Congress—to impose unilateral trade sanc-
tions on China even after the WTO agreement was completed. But the Chi-
nese refused to budge on the main issues.27
Before and during his trip, Zhu was candid in his comments to American
interviewers, telling several that he did not really want to go to Washington,
given the intensifying controversy over allegations of Chinese nuclear espio-
nage. But he thought he could perhaps do some good in restoring momentum
to the flagging movement toward a “constructive strategic partnership” and
in presenting China’s views and explanations of bilateral problems directly
to the American audience.28 He knew Americans responded well to his style
of self-deprecating humor and blunt candor and that it was important for the
first visit to the United States by the premier of China’s State Council in
nearly fifteen years to go well. He also knew that Chinese and U.S. negotia-
tors had pieced together a bilateral agreement on China’s accession to the
WTO that both sides considered satisfactory. At his urging, the Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) had made what Zhu
called “big concessions” on market access, telecommunications, agriculture,
tariff levels, and other subjects in the run-up to his April visit. He was prob-
ably optimistic that he and President Clinton would formally sign a bilateral
agreement in a White House ceremony on April 9, ending thirteen years of
difficult and often bitter negotiations. It would be a signal accomplishment
for China and a personal triumph for him. But he was still somewhat ner-
vous and uncertain. “This visit won’t be easy for me,” Zhu told reporters.29
It was not easy for Clinton, either, and he appeared not to have made up
his mind about the WTO agreement even as Zhu was arriving in Washing-
ton. The USTR and MOFTEC teams had been negotiating almost nonstop to
back to the cold, 1999–2000 367

get all the details arranged, but a few odds and ends were still missing. In a
speech at the U. S. Institute for Peace on the morning of Zhu’s arrival, Clinton
waxed eloquent about the importance—and the complexities—of the bilat-
eral relationship. He spoke perceptively about the bitter divisions China policy
had engendered in the United States and reiterated his commitment to en-
gagement. On WTO, he appeared to favor bringing the deal to closure. “The
bottom line is this: If China is willing to play by the global rules of trade, it
would be an inexplicable mistake for the United States to say no.”30
In the afternoon, he consulted with key advisers, who provided conflict-
ing counsel. Of special importance was Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin,
who had headed the National Economic Council in Clinton’s first term and
for whom the president had great respect. He suggested the president take
the deal right to the point of closure but not to close it. Congressional oppo-
sition, he said, was extremely strong, and business community support for
the agreement was not sufficient to overcome it. With a bit more time and
effort, a sustainable agreement might be achieved. But if Clinton were to
reach an agreement now that Congress might subsequently overturn, the
damage to bilateral relations would be even worse.31
So in the evening of April 7, Clinton did what in the morning he had called
inexplicable—and said no to the agreement. Meeting privately with Zhu and
a few advisers in the White House residence, Clinton tried to soften the blow
in a peculiarly American fashion. He told Zhu the political atmospherics on
Capitol Hill were such that Congress might disavow a WTO agreement or
refuse to approve the granting of permanent normal trade relations that was
an essential part of it. That would be catastrophic, he insisted. In a gesture
common to American but not Chinese politicians, the president put his arm
around Zhu’s shoulders and said if he “really needed” an agreement back
home in China, they could do it, even though it was a bad time in the United
States. Zhu, unaccustomed to American political “body language,” and un-
willing to appear to be begging for an agreement, demurred.32 The WTO
agreement that had seemed so close slipped away in that moment; it would
take six months to get to it again.
But worse was to come. In a nearly unseemly haste to try and “lock in”
the concessions China had already made, officials at USTR compounded the
problems for themselves and for Zhu. They prepared a document summariz-
ing the agreements to date and put it on the USTR website on April 8. Unfor-
tunately, they got some of the details wrong, claiming the Chinese had agreed
on some issues when in fact the matters were still under negotiation.33 Zhu
disavowed the document publicly, and senior negotiators went into another
marathon round of talks to try and agree on what they had agreed. In their
joint statement on April 10, the president and premier agreed they would
368 back to the cold, 1999–2000

instruct their trade ministers to continue efforts to resolve the problems. “If
you want too much too soon,” Zhu warned in a speech to the America-
China Society on April 9, “you might end up with nothing.”34
Although Zhu may have been dismayed and put off by Clinton’s approach
to the WTO issue, and even more by the USTR list of China’s “concessions,”
he was determined to make the best of the situation. At the joint press con-
ference with President Clinton on April 8, Zhu refused to characterize the
lack of an agreement as a failure, and he described the remaining points of
disagreement as “not very significant.” He said most of the problems were
because of the “political atmosphere” of hostility toward China that was so
pervasive in the United States.35 Zhu confronted the political issues head-on,
with a combination of candor, humor, sarcasm, and evasion:
—He dismissed stories of Ji Shengde giving $300,000 to Johnny Chung to
buy political influence, insisting such a small amount was “too foolish” to be
effective. But he also promised to cooperate with U.S. investigators.
—He denied that China had stolen nuclear technology from America’s
national labs, issuing a “solemn pledge” as premier that neither he nor Presi-
dent Jiang had any knowledge of such matters. He acknowledged that China
had learned from foreign countries in developing its nuclear programs but
advised Americans not to “underestimate the capability of the Chinese people
to develop their own technology.”
—Zhu acknowledged that China’s human rights record had “room for
improvement” but insisted that progress was being made steadily, and he
objected to the United States and other countries criticizing China’s record at
the UNHRC meeting in Geneva.
—On Taiwan, he pledged fidelity to a “one country, two systems” deal
for Taiwan, but he refused to rule out the use of force, citing Abraham Lin-
coln—whose bust he had seen in the Oval Office—as a model for bold action
in preserving a nation’s unity.36
Using that same combination of frankness, charm, and humor, Zhu con-
tinued his tour of the United States, focusing his attention on business groups
and media outlets, telling them about the WTO “deal that wasn’t,” pointing
out the significant advantages for American business. He also covered his
domestic flanks by continuing to denounce as inaccurate the USTR list of
Chinese concessions. The American business lobby, outraged at the
administration’s rejection of the Chinese offers, sent a torrent of protest to
the Clinton administration and Congress. Concerned that he had turned down
a deal that American business would encourage Congress to support, Clinton
phoned Zhu as he left for Canada on April 14, offering to send Barshefsky to
negotiate with Long even before the Chinese party departed North America
for home.37 Zhu—probably distrustful of Clinton’s ability to deliver and well
back to the cold, 1999–2000 369

aware of divisions within the administration—demurred again, agreeing only

that the two sides would engage in “intensive negotiation” to finish the WTO
agreement. Those talks would take place, Zhu insisted, in Beijing.38
Zhu returned to Beijing to face a storm of criticism, although there was
little evidence of it in any of China’s official media. His failure to win an
agreement on the WTO cost Zhu considerable “face” within the leadership,
tarnished his reputation for skill with foreigners, and gave his numerous crit-
ics an issue on which to focus their wrath. Hong Kong media soon began
reporting that Zhu had exceeded his instructions and was being charged with
conceding too much to American demands. His offers to secure a “full pack-
age deal” were criticized as the “giveaway of the century.” At least one Chi-
nese minister reportedly tried to resign in protest, and the Internet chat rooms
began attacking Zhu as a “traitor.”39 Some Chinese reportedly also charged
that Zhu had not been sufficiently critical of the NATO bombing of Yugo-
slavia or of American support for Taiwan. Li Peng reportedly criticized Zhu
at a late May Politburo meeting for misspeaking in the United States, for
example, when he told American audiences he didn’t really want to make the
trip but came at Jiang’s insistence.40 Zhu’s American trip, begun in such high
expectations, had become a lightning rod, not only for various other discon-
tents about Zhu and his headlong rush to economic reform but also for the
growing dissatisfaction with the bilateral relationship.

The Belgrade Bombing

On May 7, thousands of miles away from both Beijing and Washington, the
U.S.-China relationship suffered its most damaging blow since Tiananmen.
At about midnight, over Belgrade, Yugoslavia, two U.S.-based B-2 “stealth”
bombers released their loads of joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs)—2,000-
pound conventional gravity bombs equipped with special guidance systems
that enable them to strike within two to ten meters of their target points—at
a variety of Serbian military installations. Among the targets was the Federal
Directorate of Supply and Procurement at 2 Bulevar Umetnosti in New
Belgrade, believed by CIA officials who selected the target to be involved in
illicit proliferation of missile-related equipment to Iraq and Libya under the
direction of close business associates of Slobodan Milosevic.41 Unfortunately,
owing to mistakes made in the targeting process and not corrected in
premission reviews, the building identified as “target 493” was not the Di-
rectorate of Supply and Procurement—which was located about three hun-
dred meters away—but the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, which
had moved to this new location in 1997.
370 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Of the five JDAMs dropped on the embassy, three struck their targets,
destroying the Chinese military attaché’ s office at the south end of the build-
ing and badly damaging a residential section. The north side of the structure
was undamaged. Three Chinese were killed and twenty injured in the explo-
sions, which took place while most staff members were sleeping. The three
killed were journalists: Shao Yunhuan, a female Xinhua correspondent; Xu
Xinghu, a reporter for the Guangming Ribao; and his wife Zhu Ying, who
worked for the same paper.42 News of the bombing reached Beijing early in
the morning of Saturday, May 8, precipitating a fast-paced series of events
that nearly went out of control.
American ambassador James R. Sasser contacted Chinese counterparts in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the morning of Saturday, May 8, to apolo-
gize for what he characterized as a “terrible mistake” and offer condolences.
But as the day wore on with no word from Washington (where it was the
middle of the night), Chinese anger began to grow. By midmorning, news
accounts of the bombing and the casualties provided gruesome details; tele-
vision coverage of Yugoslav rescue workers sifting through the smoking rubble
of the embassy and comforting bloodied, weeping survivors riveted Chinese
viewers. The MFA denounced the bombing as a “barbarian act” and said
that NATO would bear “full responsibility” for whatever happened, though
it did not detail its intended response. It summoned Ambassador Sasser to
the Foreign Ministry to hear China’s “strongest protest against the U.S.-led
NATO attack.”43
Early Saturday afternoon, angry crowds of Beijing residents began milling
around the U.S. embassy compound on North Xiushui Street, observed by
growing numbers of police and PLA guards. Late in the afternoon, university
students began arriving in buses provided by their schools, approved by the
Beijing Municipal Party Committee. Well organized, with banners decrying
American “Nazi murderers” and demanding “blood for blood,” the students
marched by the embassy in an orderly manner, shouting slogans in unison
and presenting petitions to U.S. embassy officers. They seemed to Western
reporters and other observers to be in a “controlled burn”— responding to
the government’s invitation to protest but clearly very emotional and angry
that the United States would perpetrate such an act, which they had no doubt
was deliberate.44 As the day wore on, their actions became more threatening:
rocks were thrown by some students, eliciting great cheers when they man-
aged to break windows in the embassy building.
At dusk, the buses returned to the campuses, but the crowds swelled, be-
coming angrier and less controlled. Responding to calls on Internet chat rooms
and mobile phones, as well as word of mouth, young Beijing residents flocked
to the streets near the embassy to make their voices heard or simply to watch
back to the cold, 1999–2000 371

the fun. Joined by the same kinds of liumang that had made student demon-
strations at Tiananmen so unpredictable and dangerous ten years before, the
crowds turned decidedly ugly after nightfall. Rocks and paint bombs hurled
from outside the fences—less than fifty feet from the embassy building—
defaced the chancellery badly. Some Molotov cocktails were thrown, start-
ing small fires that were quickly extinguished by the fourteen Americans—
including the ambassador—who remained inside. Some Chinese attempted
to scale the fences, but they were pulled back by police, whose numbers had
swelled to more than 7,000. They made no efforts to disperse the crowds,
however, but only prevented them from entering the compound or harming
foreigners who happened to be in the vicinity.45 Foreigners reported they
were jostled and cursed by groups of young men who clearly were not
students.
On Saturday morning, U.S. time, CIA Director George Tenet and Secre-
tary of Defense William Cohen issued a joint statement, saying the bombing
was an “error.” “Those involved in targeting mistakenly believed that the
Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement was at the location that was
hit. That military supply facility was the intended target, certainly not the
Chinese Embassy. We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries from the
bombing.”46 Later that afternoon, President Clinton, inspecting storm dam-
age in Oklahoma, spoke briefly to reporters, calling the bombing a “tragic
mistake” and expressing his “regrets and condolences” to China. But he also
lashed out at those who had called the bombing “barbaric,” insisting that it
was Milosevic’s “ethnic cleansing” policies that were barbaric.47
By early Sunday morning, May 9, the crowds outside the U.S. embassy
had become sufficiently rowdy, and police lines sufficiently ragged, that the
embassy staff began destroying sensitive documents, concerned that the po-
lice could not hold off the angry crowds much longer. “We thought the odds
were 50-50 they were coming in,” Sasser told reporters by phone.48 Unable
to reach any Foreign Ministry officials on the weekend to ask for additional
protection, Sasser telephoned China’s ambassador in Washington, Li
Zhaoxing, to solicit his help, but to no avail. The mood of the crowds outside
the embassy remained menacing, and more attempts were made to scale the
fences and enter the compound. Failing that, demonstrators unfurled vulgar
banners, burned American flags, and defaced effigies of Clinton, Secretary of
State Albright, and the Statue of Liberty. But there was also a growing un-
dertone of anger at the Chinese government’s weakness in responding to the
American attacks and a concern that, if the demonstrations were not brought
under control, it could “lead to all sorts of unexpected consequences,” in-
cluding “great pressure” on Jiang and Zhu, observed Shanghai historian Xiao
Gongqin.49
372 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Clinton sent a letter to Jiang Zemin on May 9, expressing “apologies and

sincere condolences for the pain and casualties brought about by the bomb-
ing of the Chinese embassy.”50 The previous evening, Secretary of State
Albright hand-carried a letter of apology to Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan
to the Chinese embassy, where she was jostled by Chinese reporters. Although
they expressed their condolences and apologies several times, the president
and other government spokespersons took pains to reiterate that the bomb-
ing campaign was justified and would continue. This only intensified Chi-
nese anger.
On Sunday afternoon, the central government finally began applying the
brakes. Chinese media broadcast a speech by Vice President Hu Jintao in
which he repeated harsh criticism of the NATO attack and expressed ap-
proval of the “strong patriotism” of those who were protesting at various
U.S. diplomatic establishments. But Hu warned protesters that they must
obey the law. “We believe that the vast number of people will take into
consideration the country’s fundamental interests and act consciously to safe-
guard the interests of the whole so that these activities will proceed lawfully
in an orderly fashion. We must guard against any overreactions, watch out
for people who may take advantage of the opportunity to disrupt the normal
social order, and take firm actions to safeguard social stability.” He also
assured foreign nationals that they would be protected under Chinese law.51
On Monday, May 10, the demonstrations began to take on a different
character. Propaganda outlets that morning had stridently denounced
America’s “criminal acts” in Belgrade and pledged the Chinese people would
prove they “cannot be bullied.” While not perhaps an incitement to riot, the
morning press coverage was designed to further heighten public anger over
the incident. Security forces at the U.S. embassy were well prepared, how-
ever. As on Saturday, student protesters were transported to staging areas
near the embassy, as were some government workers. But this time, they had
to show proof of having secured permission to demonstrate from the Public
Security Bureau. Near the embassy, they were organized into groups, given a
designated route of march and a schedule for completion of their protest.
Some were even given slogans to shout and banners to carry. Many sang the
Chinese national anthem. Robed Buddhist monks marched with religious
leaders of other faiths, denouncing American cruelty. Thousands marched
past the embassy until well into the evening. By Tuesday, however, the num-
bers of protesters dwindled sharply—to only a few hundred—and the Ameri-
can embassy staff were able to return to their homes. By Wednesday the
demonstrations were over.
As in the aftermath of the 1995 Lee Teng-hui incident, China cut off virtu-
ally all bilateral dialogues with the United States in the wake of the bombing.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 373

On May 10, the Foreign Ministry conveyed a four-point demand to the U.S.
government: a public and formal apology to the government and people of
China and to the families of those who were harmed in the attack; a compre-
hensive and thorough investigation of the bombing of China’s embassy in
Yugoslavia; a prompt public disclosure of the details of the investigation;
and severe punishment for those responsible for the incident.52 It also for-
mally suspended the military-to-military relations between the two coun-
tries, postponed consultations on human rights, nonproliferation, and other
subjects, and canceled several high-level American visits to Beijing. Interna-
tionally, China called for a UN Security Council meeting to condemn the
bombing and threatened to veto any UN peace plans for Yugoslavia unless
NATO first stopped its bombing campaign.
On May 13, Jiang Zemin presided over a leadership rally welcoming the
return of the bodies of the “revolutionary martyrs” killed in Belgrade. In a
lengthy speech, Jiang used the opportunity to stress the continuity and con-
sistency of China’s domestic and foreign policies. He emphasized the need to
continue working on economic reform and opening up, maintaining social
stability, and upholding Deng Xiaoping’s vision of “building socialism with
Chinese characteristics.” He did appear to take a compromise position on
China’s overall security strategy, which had been raised by conservative ideo-
logues and PLA leaders the previous month. While affirming that “the lofty
cause of peace and development” was still China’s approach to international
affairs, Jiang called on all countries to “jointly strive to oppose hegemonism
and power politics, and give new impetus to building a just and reasonable
new international order.”53
Jiang’s speech did not end the debate over policy toward the United States,
however. In early June, People’s Daily (Renmin Ribao) appeared to be pub-
lishing both sides of a virulent argument over what China’s approach to the
United States should be. On June 3, for example, it published an editorial
entitled “Unswervingly Upholding the Independent Foreign Policy of Peace,”
in which it reminded readers that “establishing and developing healthy and
stable relations between China and the United States, . . . not only are in the
fundamental interests of the two countries, but also are in the interest of
safeguarding world peace and stability.”54 The following day, however, it
highlighted a “special commentary” by Zhang Dezhen, describing in vitri-
olic terms the American “Eurasian strategy,” which included NATO expan-
sion, the “partnership for peace” with former Soviet states, and a 1996
agreement with Japan on modernizing joint defense guidelines. Zhang claimed
all these efforts were all part of the U.S. plan to “politically, economically,
and militarily check . . . China’s rise as a global power.”55 On June 7, another
editorial exhorted people to turn their anger over Belgrade into unity and
374 back to the cold, 1999–2000

strength in working “to build a more prosperous state under the banner of
Deng Xiaoping Theory and the leadership of the CPC Central Committee
with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core.”56
In Washington, the finger pointing was just beginning. How could it have
happened? NATO blamed an “intelligence error” for the bombing of the
embassy, speculating that the CIA, which had “nominated” the Federal
(Yugoslav) Directorate for Supply and Procurement as a target, had perhaps
used an outdated map of Belgrade that had inaccurately located the dir-
ectorate’s location and had not noted the move of the Chinese embassy to
Bulevar Umetnosti 2 in 1997. But the fact that the directorate was the only
target nominated by the CIA in seventy-eight days of bombing raised ques-
tions about whether it was a mistake. The National Imagery and Mapping
Agency—a joint CIA-DOD operation responsible for all military maps and
satellite imagery—pointed out in its own defense that hard-copy maps are
“neither intended, nor used, as the sole source for target identification and
approval . . . Recent news reports regarding the accuracy of NIMA maps
have been inaccurate or incomplete.”57
The Clinton White House ordered a full-scale investigation of all aspects
of the decisionmaking process that led to the bombing, and despite growing
congressional anger at China over the riots outside the embassy, it decided to
send a delegation to Beijing to present the results of its investigation to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
Thomas Pickering was chosen to head the delegation. He asked the CIA and
the Department of Defense to provide senior officials to accompany him.
The Defense Department declined to send a uniformed military officer and
provided only grudging cooperation with Pickering’s preparations. Susan
Shirk, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
recalled the department’s attitude as “completely unforthcoming, totally
hostile to the whole approach [of the Pickering delegation].”58
Pickering had been prepared to travel in late May or early June, but the
Chinese delayed the trip, explaining that “public opinion” was still too in-
flamed.59 It is more likely that leadership meetings were still ongoing to
prepare the official response. According to Hong Kong’s Cheng Ming
magazine—not always a reliable source—the debate was resolved with a
resolution by the Politburo to maintain China’s general course of peaceful
development of its economy but to sharpen its vigilance against the United
States and to prepare for future conflict. Although the notion of a “construc-
tive strategic partnership” was not abandoned in public, it was deemed “un-
realistic” by the Politburo. For Chinese military and civilian leaders alike,
the Belgrade bombing proved that the United States had resolved to treat
China as a strategic enemy. China’s response was to “say no” to the United
back to the cold, 1999–2000 375

States and prepare for a long-term hostility, possibly including war. For the
short term, “whether or not Sino-US relations can be improved or eased
depends on whether or not the United States will restrain itself in its strategy
toward China.”60
When he was finally allowed to deliver the explanation in Beijing, Pickering
stressed the bombing was a result of a concatenation of errors:
—The original targeting work done by CIA analysts used inappropriate
methods (namely U.S. Army land navigation techniques) to locate the Fed-
eral Directorate of Supply and Procurement and failed to consider the 1997
move of the Chinese embassy to the same area. They thus concluded the
embassy building was the directorate.
—Intelligence community databases maintained to avoid targeting non-
military facilities (a “no-hit list”) had not been updated to reflect the new
location of the PRC embassy.
—Backup checks at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and NATO headquarters did
not uncover the earlier errors (although one analyst questioned whether the
targeted facility was the directorate, his concerns were not highlighted), and
the mission bombing plan was approved.61
Pickering presented the report in a calm and businesslike meeting, but the
Chinese rejected it, as he knew they would. “The explanations that the U.S.
side has supplied so far for the cause of the incident are anything but con-
vincing and . . . the ensuing conclusion of the so-called mistaken bombing is
by no means acceptable to the Chinese Government and people,” the For-
eign Ministry announced the day after Pickering departed.62 There were no
further efforts to provide a fuller explanation, however.63
Four days later, Renmin Ribao published a commentary by an “observer”
(guanchajia), a format usually indicative of an officially authorized but not
approved minority view, which scathingly denounced American “hege-
monism” in language that shocked both American and Chinese observers.64
Entitled “Today’s Hegemonism Should Look at the Mirror of History,” the
observer compared American foreign policy to that of Nazi Germany. “If we
ask which country in the world wants to be the ‘lords of the earth’ like Nazi
Germany did in the past, there is only one answer, namely the United States,
which upholds hegemonism.”65 The article was noteworthy not only for the
virulence of its anti-American rhetoric but also for its unmistakable devia-
tion from the official line, which had been communicated earlier in Renmin
Ribao editorials. Politburo member and Propaganda Department Director
Ding Guan’gen—considered one of the leading “conservatives” in the lead-
ership—probably was directly responsible for the article, one of the most
obvious indicators at that time of the controversy surrounding China’s policy
toward the United States.66
376 back to the cold, 1999–2000

China and the United States have never come to an agreement on what
happened and whether the United States explained its actions appropriately.
Although not an active dispute, the issue has been a major irritant in the
relationship ever since, and as a result, most Chinese still believe the United
States deliberately attacked their embassy for nefarious but unknown rea-
sons. Some Western reporters have shared these suspicions. In October 1999,
the London newspaper the Observer claimed the bombing was a deliberate
act, undertaken because NATO had detected Chinese intelligence facilities
providing “rebroadcast” support to the Yugoslav military after their own
transmitters had been destroyed in the bombing.67 Secretary Albright dis-
missed the Observer story as “balderdash,” but the story fed Chinese suspi-
cions, as did the CIA’s customary unwillingness to comment on newspaper
stories. Even when the agency took the unusual step in April 2000 of an-
nouncing the disciplinary firing of one (unnamed) employee and administra-
tive disciplining of six others over the targeting mistakes, the Chinese still
remained unconvinced.
In the circumstances, unanswered questions will persist and sustain Chi-
nese suspicions. But whatever the cause and the unsolved mysteries of the
Belgrade bombing, believing the bombing was something other than a mis-
take is far more difficult. Certainly no one at a senior level in the administra-
tion would have condoned an act so flagrantly in violation of international
laws and conventions, no matter how desperate the situation in Kosovo.
Neither could it have been a conspiracy by “rogue elements” in the CIA or
the Defense Department—which would be impossible to carry out or cover
up in the Defense Department or Central Intelligence Agency of the 1990s.
An effort to undermine China? The idea bears no relationship whatsoever to
American strategic thinking or policy process. As implausible as the official
explanation may seem at points, all other “explanations” are far more im-
plausible. To this day, China continues to demand a “satisfactory” explana-
tion of what happened and punishment for those responsible. As so often in
the past, the Chinese are carrying a grudge over an American action they do
not fully understand.
Americans did little better in evaluating the Chinese reaction. After watch-
ing the well-organized marches on television, American politicians and pun-
dits condemned the demonstrations as a sham, a cynical farce orchestrated
by the government. “Barely disguised stage management of the riots and
demonstrations displays the manipulative nature of the Chinese government,”
Representative Chris Cox told journalists.68 Seizing on the fact that the Chi-
nese media waited until Monday to publicize the apologies of President Clinton
and Secretary Albright, some American observers dismissed the public dem-
onstrations as political theater designed to distract people’s attention from
back to the cold, 1999–2000 377

the tenth anniversary of the June 4 demonstrations.69 Many seemed to be-

lieve that the incident would soon be forgotten, and other issues on the U.S.-
PRC bilateral agenda would return to prominence. As they had been so often
in the ten years since Tiananmen, the pundits were wrong.
The bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade was a watershed event for
many Chinese, similar in emotional content, if not scale, to the effect of June
4, 1989, on many Americans. For Chinese students and urban elites, it repre-
sented the end of illusions about America’s good intentions toward China. It
was impossible to believe in a benevolent United States in the face of the
deliberate bombing of an embassy, which caused the death of innocent men
and women. Their reaction was one of confused and inchoate anger mixed
with sadness. Images presented ironically in the United States—of Chinese
students, dressed in jeans and Nike shoes, drinking Pepsi-Cola while they
waited to throw stones at the American embassy—represented deep emo-
tional trauma in China. So many young, modern Chinese had focused their
hopes and aspirations on America—to wear American-style clothes, eat
American-brand fast food, try to get an American education, learn American
English, watch American movies and television, work in an American com-
pany in China, perhaps even emigrate to America. They felt betrayed and
humiliated. Their rage was real, and the effects of it persisted. Educated elites
knowledgeable about the United States bitterly agreed with conservative ideo-
logues that the United States had “evil intentions” toward China. They even
blamed the United States for sabotaging reform. “You were the ideal for so
many of us,” one official said. “And now your stupid bombs have killed our
people. This is a perfect justification for slowing reforms. . . . And it’s really
your fault.”70

Delivered Blows: The Cox Report

If the Belgrade bombing was a tragic mistake, the Cox Committee report was
a direct attack on both China and President Clinton, and it did significant
damage. The members of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and
Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China had col-
lected thousands of documents and taken thousands of hours of testimony
from more than 150 witnesses, including many intelligence and military ana-
lysts, by the time they completed their classified report in January 1999. None
of the government analysts had any control over how the eager, sharply parti-
san, and aggressive young staffers of the Select Committee—most of whom
had little knowledge of China, nuclear weapons, or intelligence—wanted to
use what they were given. Managers in the intelligence community had no
mechanisms for reviewing the committee’s work in progress or easing the bur-
378 back to the cold, 1999–2000

den on their own personnel of constantly attending to the Select Committee’s

demands. When the intelligence community was presented with the Select
Committee’s draft of its “unclassified” version, they were shocked to find great
sections taken directly from the classified report, which had incorporated ver-
batim large amounts of raw intelligence reporting.
The Select Committee, eager to release the public report so it would factor
into the planned impeachment of President Clinton, pressed the intelligence
community and FBI for immediate approvals. The bureaucracies resisted.
Weeks of wrangling over rewrites and redactions followed, during which
members of the committee and others in the House Republican leadership
accused the Clinton administration of covering up the scandal to protect
itself and the Chinese. At the president’s order, the CIA prepared its own
“damage assessment” of Chinese spying and their nuclear program, which
concluded that “China’s technical advances have been made on the basis of
classified and unclassified information derived from espionage, contact with
U.S. and other countries’ scientists, conferences and publications, unautho-
rized media disclosures, declassified U.S. weapons information, and Chinese
indigenous development. The relative contribution of each cannot be deter-
mined.” Those findings were reviewed by an independent commission and
were confirmed in April.71
Finally, on May 25, the committee report was released. It was 874 pages
long, in ten chapters, with a twenty-nine-page “overview.” Although Cox
lamented that rewrites had caused its conclusions to be weakened, the report
made every effort to be categorical:
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has stolen classified design in-
formation on the United States’ most advanced thermonuclear weap-
ons. The stolen U.S. nuclear secrets give the PRC design information on
thermonuclear weapons on a par with our own.” (Overview)
The PRC has used access to its markets to induce U.S. business inter-
ests to provide military-related technology. The PRC also uses access
to its markets to induce U.S. businesses to lobby in behalf of common
goals, such as liberalized export standards and practices. Agents tied to
the PRC’s military industries who have illegally provided political con-
tributions may have used these contributions to gain access to U.S.
military and commercial technology.” [Overview]
Almost every PRC citizen allowed to go to the United States as part
of these [official] delegations [23,000 of them in 1996] likely receives
some type of [intelligence] collection requirement. [Chapter 1]
The stolen U.S. secrets have helped the PRC fabricate and success-
fully test modern strategic thermonuclear weapons. The stolen infor-
back to the cold, 1999–2000 379

mation includes classified information on seven U.S. thermonuclear

warheads, including every currently deployed thermonuclear warhead
in the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile arsenal. [Chapter 2]
Assistance from U.S. companies has improved the reliability of the
PRC’s military and civilian rockets, and the transfer of some of these
improvements to its ballistic missiles is possible. [Chapter 4]72
As political theater, the Cox Committee report was dramatic, bold, and
effective. It portrayed the PRC as an “insatiable” thief of American secrets
and weaponry and the Clinton administration as an appallingly inept, if not
corrupt, steward of the “crown jewels” of American technological supremacy.
Its release was accompanied by a call from eighty members of Congress (mostly
Republicans) for the resignation of National Security Adviser Berger for “der-
eliction of duty” in not calling attention to the Chinese activities earlier and
for the resignation of Attorney General Janet Reno for not authorizing the
wiretapping of Wen Ho Lee on suspicion of espionage.73
The administration reacted with a combination of cooperation, defensive-
ness, and denial. The White House issued a lengthy statement agreeing with
“the substance of nearly all the Committee’s [38] recommendations” and
claiming it was already implementing most of them.74 Berger went on na-
tional television to defend his handling of the issue as well as the overall
Clinton policy of engagement with China. Otherwise hapless candidates for
the Republican Party nomination for president, Gary Bauer and Patrick
Buchanan, as well as conservative stalwart columnist Robert Kagan declared
China to be America’s strategic adversary for the indefinite future.75 Critics
of Clinton’s China policy made it clear that any disparagement by China
specialists of the committee’s report—which was, after all, bipartisan—would
not be welcome.
But there were plenty of critics, and rightly so. As analysis, the Cox report
was dreadful: poorly written, its conclusions were overdrawn and based on
unseen (and some say, nonexistent) evidence. It was shot through with con-
ditional language attached to alarmist conclusions. Members of the Select
Committee admitted the report was written as a “worst case” assessment,
intended to shake up the national labs and Department of Energy to tighten
their security.76 But its implications went far beyond the labs, extending to
many other aspects of engagement with China, from government programs
to trade to tourism. Even Notra Trulock, the investigator from the Depart-
ment of Energy who broke open the Wen Ho Lee case, observed the report
was too categorical, omitting some of the conditional language he had used
in his testimony.77 The Chinese, of course, issued an official critique of the
report on July 15, but it was almost completely dismissed in the United States.
380 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Nuclear weapons specialists belittled the Cox report, claiming it over-

stated China’s capabilities significantly. In a stinging critique of security prac-
tices at the national laboratories carried out by a special advisory panel to
the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, panel chair Warren
Rudman criticized the Cox Committee for excessive analysis by innuendo:
“possible damage has been minted as probable disaster; workaday delay and
bureaucratic confusion have been cast as diabolical conspiracies. Enough is
enough.”78 In December, four scholars at Stanford University would issue a
blistering and lengthy critique of the numerous factual and analytical errors
they found in the Select Committee’s report.79 Nonetheless, the report was
treated in the media and Congress as something true and valuable, and ef-
forts to rebut it were seen as politically motivated or worse.80

Another Taiwan Crisis

With U.S.-China relations reeling, the Taiwan issue re-emerged to do further

damage. On July 9, Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui met with radio re-
porters of the Voice of Germany (Deutsche Welle) in his office to respond to
questions they had previously sent him. According to his autobiographical
account, Lee had been planning for some time to adjust and clarify the defi-
nition of Taiwan’s sovereignty in terms of international law and practice and
had established a special committee of young scholars to study the issue in
August 1998, shortly after the Clinton visit to China.81 Responding to the
reporters’ first question about Taiwan being treated as a “renegade prov-
ince” by the PRC, Lee launched into a well-prepared reply. Since 1949, he
said, the PRC had never ruled Taiwan, never exercised sovereignty. More-
over, by virtue of amendments to the Taiwanese constitution adopted in 1991,
Taiwan no longer claimed sovereignty over PRC-ruled territory. (Before that
time, the Republic of China still claimed sovereignty over all of Chinese ter-
ritory.) Therefore, Lee said, “The 1991 constitutional amendments have placed
cross-Strait relations in the position of being a state-to-state relationship, or
at least a special state-to-state relationship, and not like the relationship be-
tween a legal government and a renegade group, or like the relationship be-
tween the central government and a local government under ‘One China.’
And because cross-Strait relations are in the position of being special state-
to-state relations, there is no longer any need to declare Taiwan indepen-
dent.”82 Although seemingly innocuous and to many Americans a fitting and
accurate description of the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland,
Lee’s statements hit the U.S.-China relationship, as well as the cross-Strait
relationship, like another precision-guided bomb.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 381

Even Lee’s associates in Taiwan were caught by surprise, although the

issue had been discussed in private. Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman
Koo Chen-fu insisted that Lee’s remarks represented no change in Taiwan’s
policy and expected it would not affect the planned October visit of Asociation
for Relations across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Wang Daohan.83 Su Ch’i,
chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Committee, had been visiting the
United States when Lee made his remarks. Hastily returning to brief the press,
Su tried to explain that Lee was changing the language only because Taiwan
had not been successful in getting Beijing to give Taiwan equal status in
negotiations. He insisted Lee was not undertaking a major change of policy,
but only that new terms were needed so that China and Taiwan could “end
their convoluted ‘one China’ dispute of the past.”84
In the highly esoteric world of cross-Strait relations, where language is
more damaging and more frequently used than weapons, Lee’s remarks and
Su’s “clarification” were a challenge the PRC leadership could not ignore,
and they wasted little time in denouncing them in the harshest terms. A Xinhua
commentator on July 12 criticized Lee’s “naked separatist remarks” and ac-
cused him of “cheating Taiwan compatriots and the public, . . . poisoning
cross-Strait relations and threatening stability . . . and dragging the Taiwan-
ese into the mire of Taiwan independence.”85 Wang Daohan told reporters
that same day he was “shocked” at Lee’s comments and had demanded an
explanation from Koo Chen-fu. On July 14, Renmin Ribao escalated the
criticism of Lee, warning he would be “denounced by history and condemned
by the nation” if he continued his efforts to undermine the “one China prin-
ciple.”86 The PLA newspaper, Jiefangjun Bao, heightened the rhetoric the
following day. Charging that Lee was “playing with fire,” a commentator
article claimed the army was “utterly infuriated by Li Teng-hui[’s] criminal
scheme of splitting the motherland” and warned in words reminiscent of
1996 that it would not “sit idly by” and allow it to happen. “He who plays
with fire will certainly get burned! We warn Li Teng-hui not to be blinded by
inordinate ambition and not to act arbitrarily. Anyone who attempts to split
the motherland will certainly come to no good end,” the article concluded.87
As usual, suspicions in China immediately turned to whether the United
States had put Lee up to changing the language of cross-Strait relations. Of-
ficials in Washington took pains to reassure Beijing that this was not the
case, responding in part to major press accounts that seem to have misinter-
preted Su Ch’i’s “explanation” of Lee’s remarks. Although the Mainland
Affairs Council chief’s interpretation had focused narrowly on the fact that
Taiwan no longer wished to use the term “one China,” Washington Post
reporter Michael Laris and others reported (from Beijing) that Taiwan in-
tended to “scrap the ‘one China’ policy that had framed its relationship with
382 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Beijing for years.”88 On July 13, State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin
publicly reiterated that the United States maintained a “one China” policy
and supported direct negotiations between Beijing and Taipei to resolve their
differences. “We’re concerned,” he continued, “that it is not helpful for the
Taiwanese authorities to make statements that would make it harder to have
[cross-Strait] dialogue. We’re also concerned that it’s not helpful for Beijing
to make statements that indicate that a dialogue is harder to achieve.”89 The
White House spokesman weighed in with similar sentiments two days later.
As the crisis escalated during the week, with increasingly strident state-
ments from Beijing, accompanied by threats of military action, Washington
tried personal diplomacy. Darryl Johnson, director of the American Institute
on Taiwan, met with President Lee, while Deputy National Security Adviser
James Steinberg telephoned Lee’s former national security director Ding Mou-
shih, seeking clarification of Lee’s statements and warning that Washington
would not support unilateral changes in the overall status of PRC-Taiwan
relations.90 On July 19, Clinton used the “hot line” to call Jiang and counsel
patience and calm, as well as reassure him that the United States did not
support the kind of change Lee was proposing. In reply, Jiang warned Clinton
that Lee had taken a “dangerous step.” According to the account published
in the Chinese press immediately afterward, Jiang told Clinton, “There are
certain forces on the island of Taiwan and in the international community
which aim to separate Taiwan from the motherland. We will not stand
by and let this happen.” He reaffirmed the PRC position that “peaceful
reunification and one-country, two systems” remained the “main principle”
for solving the dispute. But he also reminded the American president that
“. . . we will not commit ourselves to renouncing the use of force on the
Taiwan issue.”91
The following week, Clinton ordered the postponement of a midlevel De-
fense Department delegation to Taiwan that was intended to make an assess-
ment of Taiwan’s air defense and missile defense needs. The president also
sent Assistant Secretary of State Stanley Roth and Kenneth Lieberthal, NSC
senior director, to Beijing to reiterate the U.S. position on “one China” and
to counsel restraint.92 The AIT Washington director, Richard Bush, went to
Taiwan, where he met with Lee Teng-hui and the entire foreign policy estab-
lishment. In his book, Lee Teng-hui recounts the meetings with Bush and
implies strongly that he was affronted by Bush’s lower bureaucratic rank,
which reinforced his grievance about Taiwan’s lack of equal status with
Beijing. He also describes his growing dissatisfaction with the Clinton ad-
ministration, particularly after the appointment of Kenneth Lieberthal as NSC
senior director, and his determination to use the U.S. Congress to press
Taiwan’s case.93
back to the cold, 1999–2000 383

Congress needed no encouragement to challenge Clinton on Taiwan, which

had been of consistent concern since 1994. Senate Foreign Relations Com-
mittee Chair Jesse Helms held hearings on the “Taiwan Security Enhance-
ment Act” (S. 693) in early August and accused the administration of being
“a bunch of nervous Nellies, afraid they will offend mainland China.”94 The
act itself—along with similar legislation in the House (H.R. 1838)—proposed
sharp increases in the quantity and quality of defensive weapons to be sold to
Taiwan, including submarines, missile defense equipment, state-of-the-art
antiaircraft missiles, and AEGIS-class destroyers, considered vital for a the-
ater missile defense capability. The administration strongly opposed the leg-
islation on the grounds that it would contribute to a heightening of tensions
in the region; rather than dissuading Beijing from new military deployments
in the Taiwan region, the legislation would likely spur Beijing to new deploy-
ments and new hostility.
As cross-Strait tensions mounted, nervous stock markets on both sides fell
sharply, forcing Taipei to resort to market stabilization measures to offset
the sharp decline in share prices. In a new twist to cross-Strait animosity,
computer hackers on the mainland—some traced to government offices—
mounted more than 72,000 attacks on Taiwanese websites by the end of
August, including the legislative Yuan and numerous ministries.95 Taiwanese
hackers responded in kind, defacing PRC official websites to the point that
the Communist Party and key State Council ministries were ordered to dis-
connect from the Internet in late August “to prevent the invasion and de-
struction by antagonistic elements.”96
Unlike the 1996 situation, however, Beijing’s bellicosity in 1999 was al-
most entirely rhetorical. It is difficult to tell how serious the “war fever” was
in Beijing after Lee’s remarks. Hong Kong press reports suggested senior
PLA officers were pressuring Jiang heavily—during the leadership’s summer
retreat at Beidaihe—to authorize “resolute action,” such as taking over
Quemoy or Matsu islands. Younger officers—filled with patriotic fervor—
supposedly were the principal proponents of such a course.97 The Hong Kong
press was filled with sensational stories of Chinese submarines lurking out-
side Taiwan’s ports, of troops massing in Fujian Province, of planning for
assaults on small offshore islands, of PLA leaders promising Taiwan would
fall in five days. They were wildly inaccurate, probably planted for psycho-
logical effect against Taiwan. By contrast, PRC media basically ignored the
presence of two U.S. carrier battle groups (Kitty Hawk and Constellation)
exercising in the Western Pacific at the time, as well as the presence of the
Seventh Fleet flagship Blue Ridge in Manila.98
Some military actions were taken. Beijing test launched its DF-31 ICBM—
capable of hitting the United States—in early August, a move seen as a warn-
384 back to the cold, 1999–2000

ing to the United States not to get involved in the Taiwan issue, even though
the launch had probably been planned for some time.99 The PRC fighter
pilots flew unusually aggressively near the middle line of the Taiwan Strait,
drawing Taiwanese fighters, and public complaints, in reaction. A Taiwan-
ese resupply vessel was seized en route to one of the offshore islands, on the
pretext that it had been engaged in smuggling. Small ground force training
exercises were held in Guangdong, southwest of Taiwan, in August, and a
larger exercise was hurriedly thrown together in the Zhoushan Islands far
north of the Taiwan Strait in September. Zhang Wannian and other Polit-
buro members reportedly observed the latter exercise, but it did not rival in
scale or intensity the 1995–96 exercises at Dongshan and Pingtan islands.
Chinese diplomats took up the slack, however, regaling their contacts—
particularly American China specialists—with tales of PLA outrage and a
desire to “teach Lee Teng-hui a lesson.” They fished for clues about how the
United States might react to a PLA attack on one of the offshore islands and
no doubt reported back accurately that their interlocutors counseled strongly
against any military action.100 The cold, hard facts, however, were that China
was in no position to take serious military action against Taiwan in the sum-
mer of 1999, and the exaggerated outrage of diplomats and generals could
not cover up its lack of preparedness.
In any event, Washington’s efforts to smooth over the ill effects of Lee Teng-
hui’s provocative statement were effective in the short run, easing Beijing’s
suspicions that the United States had been behind Lee’s “two states theory.”
There were no further threats of military action, air incidents over the Taiwan
Strait decreased, and eventually, Washington and Beijing moved on to other
issues. The Taiwan question, however, became even more a zero-sum issue—
for Beijing, for Taipei, and for many in Washington. Along with many of the
sacrifices to logic that a “strategic” relationship with China had entailed in
earlier years, the sacrifices of Taiwan’s dignity and esteem as a successful na-
tion-state were no longer acceptable to many Americans. Beijing’s perceived
overreaction to Lee Teng-hui’s remarks was simply proof of the unreasonable-
ness of China’s position. Efforts at neutrality from Washington did not prevent
tensions from skyrocketing in ways similar to those in 1995–96. Both Beijing
and Taipei hardened their rhetoric, with Lee gaining support from his own
cabinet and from other politicians seeking to succeed him in the presidency.
At the Beidaihe leadership retreat in late July, how to respond to Lee Teng-
hui (and his purported American supporters) was on the agenda, along with
several other domestic issues. As was often the case at Beidaihe, economic
policy was the principal focus of the beach-side leadership discussions, and
Jiang evidently sided with the beleaguered Zhu Rongji in refocusing atten-
tion on the need to complete reform of the state-owned enterprise system.101
back to the cold, 1999–2000 385

Taiwan reportedly was discussed at length, and critics were permitted to

have their say. They did not prevail, but neither did they fail entirely.
One can speculate that Jiang may have argued at Beidaihe that his per-
sonal relationship with Clinton was an asset that could be used more effec-
tively than military force in getting Lee to back down from his “two states
theory.” He might have cited as evidence that Washington had sent emissar-
ies to reassure Beijing of its intention to maintain a “one China” policy and
had agreed to provide $4.5 million to compensate the victims of the Belgrade
bombing.102 He may have taken note of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s
public criticism of Lee Teng-hui at an APEC meeting in late July, when she
complained that Taiwan’s explanation of Lee’s comments “don’t quite do
it” in terms of reassuring Washington of his intentions, and her acquiescence
in Tang Jiaxuan’s characterization of Lee as a “troublemaker.”103 Critics
would have noted, however, that Albright deflected Tang’s demand that the
United States commit not to sell theater missile defense to Taiwan, and that
immediately after the APEC meeting, the Pentagon announced it had agreed
to sell Taiwan $550 million in new aircraft and spare parts.104
In the end, the Beidaihe leadership meeting agreed on a nuanced but only
slightly less militant approach to the Taiwan issue. Qian Qichen announced
the position at a joint conference of the Central Committee and State Coun-
cil Taiwan Affairs offices, held in Beijing on August 18. It was essentially a
reiteration of existing policy, which, in the aftermath of Lee’s comments,
was a significant decision. The conference approved the condemnation of
Lee and complete rejection of his “two states theory”; it reiterated the for-
mulation of “peaceful reunification and one country two systems,” while
retaining the right to use military force; it placed special emphasis on pro-
moting economic exchanges and guaranteeing “the legitimate rights and in-
terests of Taiwan businessmen”; and it suspended quasi-official (SEF-ARATS)
contact until and unless “the Taiwan authorities openly give up the ‘two-
state theory’ and the ‘special state-to-state relations’ and genuinely return to
the position of the one-China principle.”105

Course Corrections
In the second half of the year, various changes took place that would allevi-
ate some of the tensions and pressures that had built up in U.S.-China rela-
tions. Some were deliberate choices made by the Clinton administration, some
were self-correctives brought about by bureaucratic review panels and in-
spectors general. They operated to temper the emotions that had risen in
both countries over the way the “other side” was conducting the relation-
ship, although they did not contribute to any easing of substantive disputes.
386 back to the cold, 1999–2000

At Last, a WTO Agreement

In September 1999, President Clinton met again with President Jiang on

the margins of the APEC leaders meeting, this time in Auckland, New Zealand.
His goal was—yet again—to try to put a relationship that had gone awry
back on a normal course, to recover a degree of communication and consen-
sus on basic goals. Clinton let his frustration with Lee’s July 9 press interview
show through in the public discussion of the summit with Jiang. As Sandy
Berger put it, the president told Jiang “that the statement by President Lee
had made things more difficult for both China and the United States,” but
that the United States both reaffirmed a “one China policy” and warned
China not to resort to military force.106
But Clinton’s more urgent purpose was to restart the stalled negotiations
on China’s accession to the WTO, and he achieved some success. Despite
doubts about the benefits of WTO membership, Jiang and Zhu Rongji were
persuaded that Clinton was serious about reaching an agreement and that
the overall course of the bilateral relationship would benefit from resuming
the negotiations. But they were determined to play hard to get, and it took at
least two phone calls after Auckland, and a special trip by Treasury Secretary
Larry Summers to meet Zhu in Lanzhou, before the Chinese agreed to return
to the table.107 The table, of course, was in Beijing.
Charlene Barshefsky arrived on November 10, accompanied by the head
of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling (who had helped kill a
WTO agreement in April); Ken Lieberthal; and an entourage of midlevel
officials from various U.S. bureaucracies. They faced many disadvantages.
The talks were in Beijing, making communication with Washington difficult;
President Clinton seemed to want a successful agreement more than the Chi-
nese did; Barshefsky, and particularly Sperling, could not afford to fail a
second time, and they had to try and craft an agreement that would look
better than the one they turned down in April, even though they knew full
well that the Chinese had taken some of the earlier concessions off the table.
There was still much resistance in Congress to the notion of granting perma-
nent normal trade relations to China, and they were facing Long Yongtu,
MOFTEC vice minister, a skillful and deft negotiator who had been involved
in the GATT-WTO process from the earliest stages.
The discussions were long, detailed, and frustrating for both sides.
Barshefsky fumed at the Chinese tactics of constantly going back over issues
that were thought to have been agreed. Long Yongtu disparaged the U.S.
delegation’s penchant for histrionics, such as outbursts of anger, walking out
of meetings, demanding to see senior Chinese leaders, and threatening to
return home. Chinese tactics were not without an element of theatricality.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 387

On November 12, for example, Barshefsky insisted on seeing Zhu Rongji to

determine whether there was serious intent to reach an agreement. The Chi-
nese woke Barshefsky at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday to tell her Zhu would meet
her in Zhongnanhai later that morning. Magnanimously, Zhu encouraged
the U.S. delegation with reassurances that an agreement was within sight,
and they should press on to a successful conclusion.108
Optimistic that a deal was reachable, the delegation told President Clinton
that he should plan to announce the agreement on Sunday morning, Wash-
ington time (November 14), before heading for a NATO meeting in Ankara,
Turkey. But the follow-up negotiations went badly, with both sides blaming
each other. Barshefsky spoke directly by phone to Clinton, who said she
should come home if she could not turn the talks around. She told the Chi-
nese on Sunday the delegation was packing its bags and would return home
on a Monday morning flight. The Chinese invited her to the Ministry of
Foreign Trade to wrap up the process with a brief statement for the press.
She insisted on meeting before 4 a.m., leading the Chinese to believe she was
leaving time for more discussions. They also noticed she had not confirmed
her airline flight.109
As the final act in the drama, Zhu Rongji appeared at the ministry in
midmorning to speak to the U.S. delegation one last time. By that point, the
deal hinged on certain issues on which no further progress was deemed pos-
sible. These included the permissible foreign stake in Chinese telecommuni-
cations enterprises, the mechanism by which the United States could protect
itself from Chinese “dumping” of low-cost goods, and matters related to
insurance, banking, textiles, and audiovisual products introduced in China.
Zhu offered concessions on two of the seven issues but said the U.S. side
would have to compromise on the others. Barshefsky and Sperling withdrew
to a women’s bathroom and called Clinton, who was in Ankara. He readily
agreed to the arrangements, and the U.S. delegation so informed the Chinese.
As a final gesture of goodwill, Jiang Zemin escorted Barshefsky and her del-
egation through a seldom-seen pavilion in Zhongnanhai, the guarded leader-
ship compound near the Forbidden City.110
Both sides were deliberately vague on the details of the final agreement,
trying to avoid stirring new controversy by pointing out where the other side
had given way. The USTR press release was a model of brevity and objectiv-
ity, with no hint of boasting or overstatement —Barshefsky had learned from
the mistake in April. Both presidents stressed the important economic ben-
efits for both sides of the trade agreement but also noted the positive impact
it would have on the overall relationship. In an early morning statement in
Ankara, Clinton said, “The agreement will create unprecedented opportuni-
ties for American farmers, workers and companies to compete successfully in
388 back to the cold, 1999–2000

China’s market, while bringing increased prosperity to the people of China.

The trade agreement is part of a broader agreement, designed to bring China
into global systems on issues from nonproliferation to regional security to
environmental protection to human rights. With this agreement, the overall
relationship between our countries is strengthened.”111 Clinton promised to
move quickly to implement the most important commitment on the U.S.
side, to grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status through
an act of Congress.

The Trials of Wen Ho Lee

The final act in the “Clinton spy scandals” began with yet another admin-
istrative blunder by the FBI. On December 10, the FBI formally arrested Wen
Ho Lee at his home in Los Alamos and transported him to Albuquerque,
where he was indicted on fifty-nine counts of “gross negligence,” mishan-
dling classified information, and violating secrecy provisions of the Atomic
Energy Act. Although the early press accounts and congressional inquiries
implied Lee was suspected of having delivered all of America’s top nuclear
secrets directly to the People’s Republic of China, the forty-four-page grand
jury indictment made no mention of espionage, treason, or other capital crimes.
Instead, the government charged Lee had improperly moved computer files
from a classified system to an unclassified one, then made unauthorized cop-
ies of those files—which included both the physical properties of America’s
most sophisticated nuclear warheads and simulation codes for various nuclear
explosions—onto several large-capacity computer tapes, which could not be
accounted for.112
The indictment was the result of thousands of hours of work by more than
200 FBI agents, who probed millions of computer files, interviewed more
than 1,000 witnesses, and surveilled Lee twenty-four hours a day for more
than six months. After his arrest, Lee was placed in unusually restrictive
custody, denied bail, and kept in solitary confinement for the following nine
months. His family was not permitted to see him without a Chinese-fluent
detention official present at all times. His phone calls were monitored. He
was even forced to wear shackles during his daily exercise. The presiding
judge justified these conditions on the grounds that Lee had not disclosed the
whereabouts of the tape copies of classified information he had made. That
was based on the government’s insistence that it had a strong case against
Lee and that national security demanded stringent treatment.113 In fact, the
government’s case by the time of his indictment was hopelessly inadequate,
which later reports indicated the FBI knew at the time.
Problems with the case had begun shortly after the FBI press leaks and the
Cox Committee report had propelled the issue to national prominence in the
back to the cold, 1999–2000 389

spring of 1999. Aside from the usual difficulty of prosecuting an espionage

case in open court, owing to the likely disclosures of intelligence sources and
methods, prosecutors in the Lee case were hampered because at least some of
the files Lee transferred were not classified in a formal sense but were merely
considered “sensitive.” Reports of other national lab researchers transferring
sensitive files to unclassified computers made Lee’s “crimes” seem less seri-
ous.114 In the meantime, all the FBI’s investigators could not find any solid
leads tying Lee to China or its nuclear weapons program. It appeared that, if
he had made any illicit transfers at all, they may have benefited Taiwan, not
the PRC.115
In the summer, attention began to be focused on the quality of the investi-
gation that led up to the accusations against Lee, as Energy Secretary
Richardson struggled to assuage a growing legion of Capitol Hill critics.
Richardson recommended disciplinary action against three security officers
from Los Alamos in August. Two struck back almost immediately by in-
forming the Washington Post that the investigation of the possible leak of
warhead-related information was mismanaged by Notra Trulock—the
“whistleblower” who had been a source of the February and March New
York Times stories that cracked open the case to public scrutiny. They charged
Trulock with focusing almost entirely on ethnicity in pursuing the source of
the alleged compromises of information and that Lee was the principal sus-
pect mainly because he was Chinese, not because the evidence pointed to
him.116 The inspector general of the Department of Energy released a report
in September asserting there was no evidence to support Trulock’s claim that
he had been blocked from reporting on the espionage case in 1998. Trulock,
whom Richardson had given a $10,000 award in April for exemplary ser-
vice, resigned in protest.117
In early September, the New York Times published a lengthy assessment
of China’s nuclear weapons program and the Wen Ho Lee case by one of its
science reporters, William J. Broad. In what was seen as an indirect critique
and correction of the James Risen and Jeff Gerth stories that broke open the
Lee case, Broad provided a balanced, objective assessment of China’s nuclear
weapons program and the likelihood that China had developed most of its
programs indigenously, rather than by theft and espionage, and the growing
doubts in the scientific community about the case against Lee.118 That evi-
dently encouraged other journalists to question openly the government’s case
against Lee and the ethics and the accuracy of the Times reporting on it.
Commentators in several national newspapers then began to call into ques-
tion some of the basic facts spread about the case through the media.119
The case that had been painted in such bold colors by congressional Re-
publicans and some in the press now seemed more complex and undefined.
390 back to the cold, 1999–2000

And with the issue of racial profiling that had been implicit in many of the
assessments of both Donorgate and Spygate now out in the open, there was
a sense of recoil and distrust of the accusations. Asian American groups,
silenced but angered during the Donorgate scandals, openly voiced their dis-
may at the prosecution of Wen Ho Lee and the conditions under which he
was held. Scientists offended by accusations of sloppiness or disloyalty pitched
in to discredit the accusations and the accusers. The Nation charged the gov-
ernment investigation was started by “neo-McCarthyite Republicans who
. . . hope to use the ‘China threat’ as a bludgeon against Democrats in the
upcoming presidential election.”120 Seasoned investigative reporters like
Vernon Loeb and Walter Pincus of the Washington Post and Bob Drogin of
the Los Angeles Times filed numerous stories that highlighted more instances
of FBI and DOE fumbling than of corroborating information in the case.
Despite the weakness of the case and a growing tide of controversy over
how it was being handled, the Department of Justice proceeded with the
indictment and incarceration of Lee. In the ensuing months, while the scien-
tist languished in solitary confinement, lawyers wrangled over various as-
pects of the case, repeatedly delaying its being brought to court. Justice
Department lawyers offered different “theories” of Lee’s motives and con-
tinued to insist that he was a flight risk if bail were granted. Lee’s lawyers
accused the DOE and FBI of “racial profiling” and filed ever-widening re-
quests for classified information from DOE, the FBI, and even the CIA.121
The government’s case against Lee collapsed completely in mid-August
2000, when the FBI’s chief investigator in the case, Robert Messemer, told a
bail hearing before U.S. District Judge James A. Parker that he had provided
“inaccurate testimony” about Lee and the case against him in earlier hear-
ings. Despite government witnesses who swore the national security might
be damaged and “hundreds of millions” of people might be killed if Lee were
granted bail, Judge Parker ruled on August 24 that the government’s case
against him no longer had sufficient strength or focus to justify a denial of
bail.122 Although the conditions under which bail was granted were strin-
gent, Parker’s demands of the Justice Department lawyers were tougher. He
demanded the prosecution turn over to his custody thousands of pages of
documents, many classified, which defense lawyers charged would show a
clear pattern of illegal racial profiling in Lee’s case. Serious bargaining be-
tween federal prosecutors and Lee’s lawyers began the following day.
Despite a last-minute stay from a federal appeals court in Denver on Lee’s
release on bail, the case moved rapidly toward an astonishing conclusion.
On September 13, after furious negotiations between prosecution and de-
fense lawyers, Wen Ho Lee pled guilty to one of the fifty-nine counts in his
indictment—a felony charge of illegally copying files from a classified to an
back to the cold, 1999–2000 391

unclassified computer system at Los Alamos. All other charges were dropped
by the government, and Lee walked out of the court a free man, sentenced to
time already served. He agreed to drop his suit against the federal govern-
ment for racial discrimination and to cooperate in determining what hap-
pened to the missing data tapes. In a closing statement to Lee and the assembled
legal teams of both sides, Judge Parker apologized to Lee for the way he had
been treated by the court and charged that “the top decision makers in the
Executive Branch, especially the Department of Justice and the Department
of Energy . . . have embarrassed our entire nation” by the way in which they
handled the case.123
President Clinton did not criticize directly any of his Cabinet officials, but
he told reporters he was “troubled” by the outcome of the case, particularly
the inconsistency between the prosecution’s strenuous arguments against bail
for Lee, followed by dropping fifty-eight of fifty-nine charges.124 Neither At-
torney General Janet Reno nor FBI director Louis Freeh displayed any em-
barrassment, much less apology, in their testimony before Senate panels on
September 26. Both insisted that their focus on Lee’s wrongdoing was justifi-
able and that their acceptance of the plea-bargain arrangement was the best
way to find out what had really happened to the data tapes.125
On the same day, the editors of the New York Times issued an explana-
tion of their reportorial and editorial coverage of the Wen Ho Lee case. Re-
sponding to numerous charges that the “Gray Lady” of American journalism
had published inaccurate and biased reporting, which had “stimulated a po-
litical frenzy amounting to a witch hunt,” the editors allowed that, in retro-
spect, there were “some things we wish we had done differently.” In tortured
and nuanced language that would have made a government spokesman proud,
the Times acknowledged that its journalistic standards had perhaps slipped,
its tone had been somewhat alarmist, and it had failed to follow some impor-
tant leads in the story.126
In retrospect, the Wen Ho Lee case was enormously destructive but com-
pletely inconclusive. The truth of what Wen Ho Lee did remains unknown.
But the controversy ruined the careers of several government officials, cost
millions of dollars to prosecute, and tarnished the reputations of the FBI, the
Justice Department, the Department of Energy, the federal court system, and
one of America’s premier newspapers. In combination with the Donorgate
fiasco, it alienated a large number of Asian Americans from both political
parties. It generated extreme partisan controversy in Congress and exacer-
bated the strained ties between Congress and the Clinton administration. It
sharply divided the academic and think tank “China watching” community,
and in its indeterminate conclusion, heightened popular and official American
attitudes of suspicion toward China, its leadership, intentions, and policies.
392 back to the cold, 1999–2000

PNTR and “China Fatigue”

As he entered the last year of his presidency, Clinton had identified China,
and establishing a constructive relationship with China, as one of his “legacy”
issues, one he hoped would be seen as a singular foreign policy success. With
the signing of the bilateral agreement between China and the United States
on the conditions of its entry into the WTO, Clinton knew he had one more
act to complete: the granting of permanent most favored nation status re-
quired by WTO norms (by 1998 statute, MFN was called “normal trade
relations” to correct the impression that China would receive especially fa-
vorable treatment). That required congressional approval, but it was entirely
a domestic policy issue, and Clinton set about it with deliberation and dedi-
cation. The challenge was not insignificant. Although the yearly renewal of
MFN had been approved by the House of Representatives by sizable margins
ever since 1993, China had become a major “inside-the-beltway” issue in
1999, and the president was taking no chances.
On January 10, 2000, Clinton announced his team and his plan for a full-
scale campaign to win permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status for
China as part of the effort to bring it into the WTO. Chief of Staff John
Podesta was put in overall charge, Cabinet members were to be active par-
ticipants, and Secretary of Commerce William Daley and White House Deputy
Chief of Staff Steve Ricchetti were designated to lead the congressional lob-
bying effort. Clinton tried to set a balanced tone, acknowledging there were
many aspects of Chinese government behavior that were regrettable but in-
sisting that the agreement was a step in the right direction for “reform and
respect for the rule of law” in China. He affirmed the economic benefits for
the United States—enhanced access to China’s domestic markets and a sig-
nificant lowering of tariffs on U.S. products exported to China, with no sig-
nificant improvement of China’s access to the American market.127
The process of granting PNTR to China was not especially complex, but it
would be time consuming. The first step was to prepare legislation to submit
to the Congress declaring Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (the Jackson-
Vanik amendment) no longer applied to China and to recommend that non-
discriminatory trade treatment be extended to all products from China. Once
China’s accession was approved by the WTO itself, and the president re-
ported to Congress that the terms of its accession were equal to or better
than those reached in the U.S.-China bilateral agreement, the dates for the
application of PNTR would be fixed. While USTR and legislative specialists
worked to gather the documentation, Clinton and others began the publicity
campaign, as well as the process of generating support for what would be a
difficult legislative battle.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 393

In his communications and speeches on the issue—and he made several

major addresses on China in his final year in office—Clinton spoke from a
strategic and a geopolitical perspective. The issues at stake in the debate, he
insisted, were more than just trade benefits, although the trade benefits were
substantial, and virtually all in America’s favor. “China’s entry into the WTO
. . . is about more than our economic interests. It is clearly in our larger
national interest. It represents the most significant opportunity that we have
had to create positive change in China since the 1970s. . . . The path that
China takes to the future is a choice China will make. We cannot control that
choice, we can only influence it. . . . We can work to pull China in the right
direction, or we can turn our backs and almost certainly push it in the wrong
direction. The WTO agreement will move China in the right direction.”128
Working in concert with NSC head Sandy Berger, deputy James Steinberg,
and Asia senior director Ken Lieberthal, the White House developed a so-
phisticated message on China. It was realistic, unsentimental, and sensitive
to the criticisms of China that had persisted in the United States ever since
Tiananmen. China would enter the WTO in the near future, having com-
pleted most of the necessary bilateral trade agreements with other WTO
members. If the United States chose not to grant PNTR, that would only
deny Americans the access to China’s trade and markets that the rest of the
world would enjoy. China was in a dynamic process of change, with an un-
certain outcome. There were many elements of the government’s policies
that were repugnant to the United States. WTO accession was part of a larger
trend toward reform and opening, promoting the rule of law, and engaging
China in international agreements that would, over time, make it a less au-
thoritarian, more pluralistic society that recognized democratic and individual
rights. Bringing China into the WTO would bring about economic, social,
and political change in China, perhaps in a positive direction. Rejecting China’s
efforts to join the WTO would strengthen the hands of those in China who
rejected globalization, reform, and opening up of China to international
influence.129
The administration finally submitted draft legislation to Congress on March
8. Daley and others said they hoped for a House vote before the end of May,
but they admitted they were uncertain of whether they could muster the 218
votes needed to pass the legislation. Senate passage was considered a safer
bet but still not certain. Opposition began to jell almost immediately. To
Clinton’s dismay but not surprise, much of it came from within the Demo-
cratic Party and some of its main constituencies. The largest U.S. labor union,
the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO) declared its opposition almost immediately and vowed that de-
feating PNTR would be its principal legislative agenda item for the year. It
394 back to the cold, 1999–2000

was followed by the Teamsters Union, the United Auto Workers, the United
Steelworkers of America, the American Federation of Teachers, the Ameri-
can Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union, and numerous other labor organizations
large and small. In rallies across the country, union leaders decried the ab-
sence of the right to organize independent unions in China, claimed that
better trade with China would cost millions of American jobs, and pledged
they would use their money and votes to defeat candidates who supported
PNTR.
Human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International, took a somewhat less forceful approach to WTO membership
for China but made clear they believed the United States should not give up
the option of using trade to pressure China into improving human rights.
Their general perspective was that China’s continuing poor record on human
and civil rights demonstrated a systematic contempt for international norms.
The administration should therefore condition China’s entry into the WTO
on achievement of certain human rights–related goals, such as opening up
Tibet, releasing political prisoners, and dismantling the labor reform sys-
tem.130 Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth,
the Humane Society, and others, opposed PNTR as part of their concern for
Beijing’s poor record on environmental issues and because they entertained
doubts about the wisdom of the “globalization” policy that lay behind the
agreement.
With key constituencies lining up strongly against PNTR, Democratic Party
leaders in the Congress were under pressure to declare positions early. Sev-
eral of them—notably House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt and Mi-
nority Whip David Bonior (D-Mich.)—had long been critics of China and
opponents of MFN, so their opposition was expected, and was not long in
coming. Members of the House “working group on China,” such as Nancy
Pelosi, pledged to work hard against the approval of the PNTR legislation.
Democrats who favored the president’s position—clearly in a minority—and
those who were “on the fence” waited for the inevitable lobbying from vari-
ous groups, colleagues, and administration officials. Some, such as Califor-
nia Democrat Robert Matsui, agreed to work with the administration to
generate support among undecided and centrist members.131
Vice President Al Gore found himself in a political bind. As the front-
runner to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in the 2000 elec-
tions, Gore could not afford to alienate the party’s labor base. In February,
he had spoken privately to AFL-CIO head John Sweeney, expressing some
reservations about the WTO agreement’s lack of attention to labor and envi-
ronmental issues. Sweeney told the press about Gore’s remarks, which gener-
back to the cold, 1999–2000 395

ated some concerns in the White House about whether Gore would support
PNTR.132 Gore finally wrote a letter to the president of the National Associa-
tion of Manufacturers (NAM) supporting “the agreement reached by our
Administration” on China’s entry into the WTO.133 Nonetheless, Gore would
remain on the sidelines for much of the ensuing debate, and critics on both
sides used his tepid position against him, both during the PNTR campaign
and the presidential election.
Clinton knew he could count on strong support for PNTR from the Ameri-
can business community and somewhat less support from farmers, all of
whom gained important benefits from the WTO agreement. Not unexpect-
edly, he focused attention early on business groups, such as the Business
Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NAM, the Business Software
Alliance, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and prominent corporate
executives. With the administration’s tacit support, these groups undertook
a “grassroots” campaign—comparable to the opposition effort—to publi-
cize the benefits of PNTR. Clinton called on former presidents Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter, and George Bush; former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger
and Cyrus Vance; and numerous other political and economic luminaries to
support WTO membership for China.
He also made full use of the persuasive power of the Oval Office to lobby
undecided members of Congress directly, particularly Democrats and cen-
trist Republicans. Inviting them in groups, often to the Yellow Oval Room in
the White House residence, he listened to their concerns about losing labor
support in an election year, about alienating key constituencies, then regaled
them with facts and figures about the economic benefits for their states, and
finally talked solemnly about the national interest and the importance of
doing the right thing for America’s future. In a few cases, he promised spe-
cific benefits or support for programs of individual members of Congress in
exchange for PNTR support.134
What ensued over the next several months was an extraordinary and un-
precedented public debate about China, its past and future, economy and
political system, about Taiwan and Hong Kong, U.S.-China policy, Ameri-
can strategic security, globalization, and U.S. trade policy. It was not an
organized debate, nor a clear one. It was emotional, divisive, and fueled by a
lot of lobbying money. A good deal of the information made public was
inaccurate, biased, or prejudicial. But issues were raised and ideas generated,
and both the general public and political elites benefited in their understand-
ing of the complexity and difficulty of China policy.
By early May, however, the vote counts in the House were still indetermi-
nate. Although Republicans held a 222 to 211 advantage, many of their own
number were opposed to China. Some were longtime critics of China—like
396 back to the cold, 1999–2000

Frank Wolf and Benjamin Gilman—while others were opposed to China’s

behavior on specific constituency or personal concerns, such as nonprolifera-
tion, religious freedom, and abortion. Some were concerned China might use
its WTO membership to block Taiwan’s entry. Others were worried about
the vagueness of some of the clauses in the bilateral agreement, particularly
with regard to potential Chinese “dumping” of low-cost goods on the U.S.
market. Finally, many were reluctant to give up the annual congressional
review of China policy, believing it gave Congress important leverage over
the administration and the Chinese.
With tacit administration approval, Congressmen Douglas Bereuter
(R-Nebr.) and Sander Levin (D-Mich.) introduced “draft legislation for China/
PNTR framework” on May 9. The proposal was designed to “address Con-
gressional concerns about Chinese compliance with their WTO promises,
human rights practices in China, and Taiwan’s entry into the WTO” and
included several recommendations:
—A Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which would report
annually on China’s human rights, labor, and democracy practices;
—A more detailed legislative road map for antidumping action;
—An annual report from the USTR on China’s adherence to its WTO
obligations;
—A task force to monitor China’s exports of prison labor products;
—
“ Technical assistance” to develop the rule of law in China’s commer-
cial and labor markets; and
—Support for Taiwan’s accession to the WTO at the same time as
China’s.135
Once these provisions were incorporated into the bill—increasing its length
from one page to more than sixty—it moved through the House legislative
process quickly. At the administration’s request, Ways and Means Commit-
tee Chair Bill Archer (R-Tex.), a firm supporter of PNTR, introduced on
May 15, 2000, H.R. 4444: “To authorize extension of nondiscriminatory
treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the People’s Republic of China,
and to establish a framework for relations between the United States and the
People’s Republic of China.”136 The Ways and Means Committee marked up
the bill and reported it out of committee on May 17 by the remarkable mar-
gin of 34-4. It went to the House floor on May 23, where the House Rules
Committee ordered it be considered with only three hours of general debate
and with no amendments permitted other than to recommit the bill to com-
mittee.137 The floor debate the following day, while short, was furious and
highly emotional. Democrats cheered Republican opponents, while Republi-
cans cheered Democrats for supporting the president. After defeating a re-
commit amendment, the House passed the measure on May 24 on a vote of
back to the cold, 1999–2000 397

237-197. Republicans voted in favor of the bill by a margin of 164-57, while

Democrats voted against by a margin of 138-73.
Senate approval of PNTR legislation was expected to follow in short or-
der, but partisan politics again intervened. Two factors caused the president’s
schedule to be thrown off significantly. One was Senate rules, which would
not impose the kind of debate limitation practiced by the House. The other
was a desire on the part of Senate Republicans to stretch out the process as
long as possible to maximize prospects for embarrassing Al Gore, who would
be actively campaigning for president while at the same time ignoring labor’s
opposition to PNTR. Senator Fred Thompson persuaded Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott that his bill sanctioning violations of nonproliferation
accords—clearly aimed at China—should be passed before PNTR was taken
up. Senate Democrats, who were far more supportive of Clinton’s position
than their House colleagues, pushed for a quick vote. Compromises failed,
bipartisanship broke down, and Lott had the vote postponed until after the
summer recess, despite Democratic efforts to force it onto the agenda.
When the bill did come up in September, Lott ensured that it was not
protected from amendments, and staunch opponents offered up nineteen of
them in the ensuing ten days, on issues ranging from religious freedoms to
forced abortions, nonproliferation, labor rights, trade deficits, and others.
All but one were defeated or withdrawn, and the bill was finally passed on
September 19 by a margin of 83 in favor to 15 against. Unlike the House,
Senate Democrats supported PNTR by 38-7, while Republicans voted 45-8
in favor.138
While the politics of who voted for or against and why is extraordinarily
complex, analysts agreed that President Clinton played the key role and dem-
onstrated vision and skill in organizing a winning coalition for an unpopular
cause; that domestic politicking was a more important consideration than
international relations or even trade policy; and that U.S.-China relations
would not necessarily see an improvement as a result of the vote.139 China’s
reaction was surprisingly ungracious. The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sun
Yuxi, said the measure “serves the fundamental interests of the peoples of
both China and the United States but is also of great significance to the healthy
development of China-U.S. relations,” and he thanked those who had made
“vigorous and unremitting efforts” to secure its passage. But he registered
the government’s “firm opposition” to provisions on human rights monitor-
ing, saying they “interfere in China’s internal affairs.”140
At the end of his term, Clinton would cite China’s PNTR as one of the
signal achievements of his administration. As he signed the bill, he said, “To-
day we take a major step toward . . . answering some of the central chal-
lenges of this new century. For trade with China will not only extend our
398 back to the cold, 1999–2000

nation’s unprecedented economic growth, it offers us a chance to help to

shape the future of the world’s most populous nation, and to reaffirm our
own global leadership for peace and prosperity.”141 Despite his hallmark
hyperbole, history may prove Clinton right. The WTO membership and
changes in China’s approach toward foreign competition and market access
will work untold changes on Chinese society and foreign relations.
But in the short run, the massive political effort to bring about PNTR had
little effect, whether viewed in terms of bilateral relations, public attitudes
toward China, or political support for Clinton. Bilateral relations stayed in
the deep freeze they had entered after the Belgrade bombing. The Chinese
government welcomed the legislation, lamented the fact that it had taken
nearly fourteen years to bring WTO membership to fruition, and began pre-
paring for the economic dislocations that would accompany it. The excited
and highly vocal “debate” over China policy—as colorful and important as
it was—mostly was ignored by the American public. Aside from a few “sound
bites” and an occasional argument on public television, the major visual media
paid little attention to the PNTR battle, its implications, or its drama. The
debate changed few minds among political elites in Washington—it certainly
did not achieve the national consensus on China policy that Sandy Berger
and others had hoped for. If anything, the rancorous partisanship in both
House and Senate during the PNTR process, and the numerous other chal-
lenges highlighted by the protagonists—nonproliferation, human rights, trade
deficits, and other issues—sharpened the disagreements and laid the ground
for future battles. In its formation of the Congressional-Executive Commis-
sion on China—and the subsequent establishment of the U.S.-China Security
Commission—the potential remained for even more controversy and conten-
tion over China policy.142
In the presidential election of 2000, foreign policy again played a minor
role. Whether Democratic candidate Al Gore lost some labor support be-
cause of his (reluctant) support of PNTR is a debatable point in what turned
out to be America’s closest election. China policy was scarcely mentioned
during the campaign. The Republican candidate, George W. Bush, castigated
the Clinton administration’s “strategic partnership” with China, but openly
supported PNTR. He did not dwell on China policy, or its related subject of
relations with Taiwan, in any significant way. He referred to China as a
“strategic competitor” on one occasion and promised more support for
Taiwan’s democracy but otherwise avoided the issue entirely, dwelling on
restoring American values, integrity, and leadership to the White House.
At the end of the Clinton administration, the mythical court of American
public opinion judged the bilateral relationship to be in nearly the same state
as it had been following the Tiananmen tragedy of 1989. In various polls
back to the cold, 1999–2000 399

taken in the twelve intervening years, most Americans maintained an unfa-

vorable view of China (36 percent favorable versus 57 percent unfavorable
in November 2000, compared with 16 percent favorable and 78 percent un-
favorable in 1989, after the Tiananmen events.)143 A significant majority (77
percent) of Americans polled in 2000 saw China as an adversary or rival, not
as a friend or strategic partner (12 percent). But views were more mixed on
whether China was an enemy or threat to the United States.144 Few recog-
nized the positive changes brought about by China’s transition to a market
economy, and nearly half believed China would not live up to the economic
agreements it had reached in acceding to the WTO. Only about one-third of
Americans polled in 2001 thought U.S. policies would have a positive impact
on China’s development.145 With a change in the presidency, public ambigu-
ity, at best, about the importance of good relations, and continuing deep
political animus toward China among many political actors, the bilateral
relationship remained precariously balanced, volatile, and subject to politi-
cal innuendo, misperception, and mistakes.

Taiwan Again—Beijing Fumbles, Taipei Recovers

After the August 1999 joint meeting to reiterate the leadership’s overall
policy line toward Taiwan, a special drafting committee was established in
the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to
prepare a White Paper—for public release—on Taiwan , specifically refuting
Lee Teng-hui’s idea of “state to state relations.” The paper went through
numerous drafts, with different offices or ministries adding text to reflect
their interests—a classic Chinese bureaucratic “paper chase.” After review at
the highest level, probably by Jiang and Qian and others within the Taiwan
Affairs Leading Small Group, the White Paper was released to the public on
February 22, 2000, by the State Council Information Office and the Taiwan
Affairs Office. Entitled “The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Issue,”
the paper was long, somewhat dry, and academic, refuting the historical,
legal, and political underpinnings of Lee’s July 9 remarks. It contained little
that was new or original and repeated what had become standard threats
and incentives to persuade Taiwan’s leaders to return to the “one China”
principle. But it did contain one phrase that was considered new and threat-
ening by Western news analysts: “If a grave turn of events occurs leading to
the separation of Taiwan from China in any name, or if Taiwan is invaded
and occupied by foreign countries, or if the Taiwan authorities refuse, sine
die, the peaceful settlement of cross-Straits reunification through negotia-
tions, then the Chinese Government will only be forced to adopt all drastic
measures possible, including the use of force, to safeguard China’s sover-
eignty and territorial integrity and fulfill the great cause of reunification.”146
400 back to the cold, 1999–2000

The purpose, evidently, was to increase slightly the pressure on Taiwan to

return to negotiations, to refute Lee Teng-hui’s ideas about a separate and
equal political entity, and to halt what Beijing analysts saw as Lee’s danger-
ous slide toward independence. But the execution of the document’s release
was clumsy. By the time it was completed and chopped by all the relevant
agencies, the Taiwan presidential election was only weeks away, and Beijing
was involved in another dispute with Washington over policy toward Tai-
wan. Because of an irreconcilable split within the Kuomintang between Lee
Teng-hui and James Soong Chu-yu, which had caused Soong to run as an
independent, the Taiwan presidential election was a three-way struggle among
Lee’s colorless vice president, Lien Chan; Soong; and DPP leader Chen Shui-
bian. The White Paper probably was intended mainly for the Taiwan elector-
ate, to warn of the dangers of voting for Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of the
Democratic Progressive Party, which included in its party manifesto the goal
of making Taiwan fully independent. But it had a more lasting effect on
Washington, where its carefully balanced language was lost in the outrage
over its timing and perceived threat to democracy in Taiwan. Adding insult
to injury, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs evidently was not informed of the
date the State Council had chosen to release the White Paper, and it failed to
notify a visiting American delegation—headed by the deputy secretary of
state, Strobe Talbott—of the impending policy pronouncement.
That diplomatic gaffe, whether deliberate or accidental, only magnified
the public outcry that greeted the White Paper in Taiwan and in the United
States. The addition of the third condition under which military force might
be utilized was viewed as an ultimatum by the PRC to Taiwan: negotiate or
suffer the consequences. Editorialists in Washington and New York com-
peted with one another in denouncing Beijing for its threats and the Clinton
administration for tolerating them. Members of Congress called the new for-
mulation “unacceptable,” the State Department called it “troubling,” and
the Undersecretary of Defense said it was “unfortunate and very, very un-
helpful.”147 Whatever its original intent, the White Paper had the effect of
strengthening the hand of those in the United States most eager to provide
additional arms sales and defense assistance to Taiwan.
Qian and other Chinese diplomats seemed genuinely taken aback at the
reaction of the Western press and the American government. In private, they
tried to persuade their counterparts that the White Paper was neither new
nor threatening but was intended to convey a message of encouragement for
those on Taiwan who did not support the DPP position. Publicly, Qian de-
nied that the White Paper represented any new policy initiative. “Some of the
foreign media believed that there had been a major change in China’s policy
on resolving the Taiwan issue,” Qian told the All-China Federation of Re-
back to the cold, 1999–2000 401

turned Overseas Chinese on February 29, “but this view is mistaken.”148

Jiang Zemin provided similar assurances two days later.
During the run-up to the Taiwan election, the United States took two
steps that heightened the tension significantly. On February 2, the U.S. House
of Representatives passed the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (H.R. 1838),
which directed the executive branch to strengthen cooperation in training
and education with Taiwan’s military and to expedite the process of making
high-technology weapons available to meet Taiwan’s needs.149 Although the
bill was much milder than earlier versions (which had specified inclusion of
Taiwan in American missile defense development programs), faced further
change in the Senate, and was likely to be vetoed by President Clinton, Beijing’s
reaction was disproportionate. Ambassador Joseph Prueher was called in to
the Foreign Ministry to hear China’s “utmost indignation and firm opposi-
tion,” Xinhua and Renmin Ribao published rancorous commentaries, and
various parliamentary committees in China expressed their outrage at Ameri-
can interference in China’s domestic affairs. These responses were clearly for
domestic consumption but were widely reported in the United States. If any-
thing, they increased American support for the bill, although it died when it
was not taken up by the Senate.
On March 1, just before the National People’s Congress went into its
annual session, and less than three weeks before Taiwan’s elections, Taipei
leaked the contents of its annual request for approval to buy U.S. weap-
ons.150 The list included additional batteries of Patriot antiaircraft (and anti-
missile) missiles, state-of-the-art AIM-120 long-range air-to-air missiles,
submarines, and four Arleigh Burke–class destroyers equipped with the AE-
GIS air defense radar system, considered an essential building block for a
theater missile defense shield for Taiwan.151 Taipei also made clear it wished
to be a part of any TMD programs the United States developed. Beijing’s
reaction was predictable—harsh criticism of both the United States and Tai-
wan—but in the context of its shrill rhetoric about Taiwan’s independence in
advance of the presidential election, it was little noted. On March 8, the
United States announced a modest ($106 million) sale of Hawk antiaircraft
missiles and improved air surveillance radars, which China promptly pro-
tested. Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told a news conference the continued
weapons sales “inflated the arrogance of the separatist forces in Taiwan”
and therefore made the United States responsible for “the tension in the Tai-
wan Strait.” He demanded the United States stop all arms sales to Taiwan
and provide “unambiguous” guarantees it would not provide Taiwan with
TMD.152
Confusion over whom to blame—the United States or various political
leaders on Taiwan—for the PRC’s declining influence over events on the
402 back to the cold, 1999–2000

island reached all the way to the top of the PRC leadership. Jiang Zemin
reportedly briefed National People’s Congress (NPC) leaders in early March
on a lengthy policy paper he had prepared for the Politburo in January, in
which he recommended increased preparations by the PLA for taking mili-
tary action against Taiwan.153 Jiang’s continuing need for PLA support, while
not as great as it had been in 1996, as well as his own conservative instincts
left him somewhat passive in the face of the uncertain Taiwan situation.
Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Wannian made the PLA’s
position very clear and very public. “‘ Taiwan independence’ means war,” he
told NPC delegates and promised that the PLA “will take any necessary means
to steadfastly smash the political gamble of splitting the motherland.”154
Zhu Rongji appeared to focus mainly on the voters of Taiwan when he
addressed the issue during a news conference on March 16, after the close of
the NPC meeting. Speaking with uncharacteristic emotional intensity, Zhu
responded to a question about Chen Shui-bian’s chances of winning Taiwan’s
presidential election with a rambling diatribe that included references to
China’s painful history, lines from the PRC national anthem, and late news
from Taiwan’s stock market. Zhu implied that “villains” were plotting “to
let Taiwan independence forces win.” “At present, Taiwan people are facing
an urgent historic moment. They have to decide what path to follow. They
absolutely should not act impulsively. Otherwise, it will be too late for re-
grets. We believe in Taiwan compatriots’ political wisdom. We believe Tai-
wan compatriots will make a wise historic decision. However, there are only
three days left . . . Taiwan compatriots, you must be on your guard!”155
It was a curious performance, more nuanced and subtle than the response
to it from Taipei and Washington, where it was viewed as another ultima-
tum. Zhu turned aside several follow-up questions and refused to link the
Taiwan issue to overall Sino-American relations. He may have been con-
cerned that unduly harsh rhetoric directed against the United States would
jeopardize chances for U.S. congressional approval of the WTO agreement
he had hammered out in November 1999. In any case, his statements were
repeated in numerous commentaries in Taiwan and elsewhere and were ex-
plicitly rejected. All three major candidates expressed hope for stability and
harmony, rather than continued tension, but reproached Beijing for interfer-
ing in the electoral process. The Washington Post was less charitable, com-
paring Zhu to a “Mafia kingpin.”156
Whether the Communist Party leadership had a concerted but erroneous
strategy or was in disarray in the face of the DPP’s unexpected strength, the
result of Taiwan’s presidential election was another policy disaster for Beijing.
On March 18, Taiwanese voters went to the polls in record numbers and
elected as president the “pro-independence” candidate, Chen Shui-bian, who
back to the cold, 1999–2000 403

won just over 39 percent of more than 12.5 million votes cast. Independent
candidate Soong Chu-yu finished second with 37 percent of the votes, while
the ruling party candidate, Lien Chan, polled only 23 percent. Chen had
downplayed his “Taiwan independence” credentials during the campaign
and focused on corruption in the Kuomintang (KMT) and his own record of
efficient government as Taipei’s mayor. Observers judged he won primarily
because of the Lee-Soong split of the ruling party, with additional support
coming from endorsements by influential academics and businessmen.157 Some
noted that concerns about the tensions that Chen’s party’s independence plat-
form might have caused were offset by a public backlash against Beijing’s
heavy-handed tactics.158
In his acceptance statement, Chen consciously sought to reach out to Beijing.
“In order to maintain national security and the benefits of all the people [on
Taiwan], we would like to immediately negotiate with China on the issues of
direct links, direct commerce, investment and military confidence-building
measures,” he told supporters. He offered to go to China before his inaugu-
ration if it would help improve communication between the two sides, and
he invited ARATS head Wang Daohan and even Zhu Rongji to visit Tai-
wan.159 Beijing’s response was an icy silence. Refusing even to print Chen’s
name after tersely announcing his victory, Xinhua first issued a pro forma
statement from the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO):
The election of a new leader in the Taiwan area and its result cannot
change the fact that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory. . . . We will
absolutely not permit “Taiwan independence” in any form. We
will judge Taiwan’s new leader by his deeds, not just by his words.
We will wait and see in which direction he will lead the cross-strait
relations. We are willing to exchange views with all political parties,
organizations, and public figures in Taiwan that endorse the one-China
principle on cross-strait relations and peaceful reunification.160
The TAO held a two-day conference on March 22, at which the official
line—probably hammered out in the Politburo—was enumerated by Qian
Qichen. Qian maintained a hard-line position, threatening those who would
push “Taiwan independence” but offering talks and exchanges with any
Taiwanese leaders “so long as they recognize the one-China principle.”161
Privately, the leadership was taking an even harder position, according to
Hong Kong reports. Chen Shui-bian’s election tipped the balance of opin-
ion within the Politburo even further toward so-called hawks, who favored
taking military action against Taiwan sooner rather than later. The PLA
leaders reportedly were the most demonstrative, sending petitions to Jiang
and calling for higher-priority military modernization, particularly of the
404 back to the cold, 1999–2000

missile forces. But there seemed to be little opposition elsewhere within the
leadership to making preparations to use military force against Taiwan.
Chen Shui-bian was an unknown quantity, but he was uniformly distrusted
because of the proindependence stance of his party. His vice presidential
running mate, Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, was an outspoken advocate of inde-
pendence. No credence was given to the notion that Chen had given up his
aspirations for Taiwan’s independence. Military pressure was increasingly
perceived as inevitable.162
In the period between his election and his inauguration (May 20), Chen
Shui-bian was subjected to a major pressure campaign by Beijing to see
whether he would explicitly endorse some kind of “one China” formula.
Besides low-level military maneuvers, Beijing kept the rhetorical pitch at a
high level. The ARATS vice chairman, Tang Shubei, told Hong Kong report-
ers, “If they do not recognize the ‘one China’ principle, if they do not recog-
nize that Taiwan is a part of China, then the result will not be peace but
disaster, not harmony but conflict, not goodwill but enmity.”163 Still refusing
to mention Chen’s name, Beijing propagandists focused on Lee Teng-hui—
taking grim satisfaction from his forced resignation as KMT chairman in the
wake of the election—and on Vice President–elect Lu Hsiu-lien, whom they
attacked relentlessly by name. Jiang and others issued statements to the ef-
fect that Taiwanese businesses could not support the DPP and “Taiwan inde-
pendence” and expect to do business on the mainland—a position that was
criticized even in Hong Kong.
Knowing that his narrow margin of victory did not include a mandate for
independence and that his approach toward China would be seen as the most
important facet of his new administration, Chen maneuvered adroitly and
carefully. Although he refused to accept Beijing’s definition of “one China,”
which he said “forced [Taiwan] into a corner” and was opposed by the ma-
jority of Taiwanese voters, Chen went out of his way to be conciliatory and
to signal his desire to ease tensions. He pledged he would not declare Taiwan
independent unless the PRC attacked, would not talk further of the “two
states theory,” would not hold a public referendum on independence, and
would not change the name, “Republic of China”— statements that typically
were dubbed “the four noes.”164 Beijing was obdurate. Nice words were not
enough, said a Xinhua commentator just before Chen’s inauguration, the
“one China” principle was the touchstone.165
Having won the presidency despite Beijing’s fierce opposition, Chen was
not about to knuckle under on his first day in office. His inauguration speech
on May 20 was entitled “Taiwan Has Stood Up”— a none-too-subtle evoca-
tion of Mao Zedong’s October 1, 1949, address on the occasion of the found-
ing of the People’s Republic of China, “China Has Stood Up.” The speech
back to the cold, 1999–2000 405

was devoted largely to domestic issues, and Chen pledged to be “president of

all the people” and to continue cleaning up Taiwan’s government apparatus.
He promised to continue Taiwan’s quest for “room for survival in the inter-
national arena,” which was broadly supported in Taiwan but reviled in Beijing.
On relations with China, Chen reiterated the “four noes” and invited Beijing
“to create an era of reconciliation together.” But he declined to accept Beijing’s
demand on the issue of “one China.” He stated, “The people across the Tai-
wan Strait share the same ancestral, cultural, and historical background. While
upholding the principles of democracy and parity, building upon the existing
foundations, and constructing conditions for cooperation through goodwill,
we believe that the leaders on both sides possess enough wisdom and creativ-
ity to jointly deal with the question of a future ‘one China.’”166
Beijing, of course, did not rise to the challenge. After another high-level
meeting late on May 20, the PRC leadership—which probably knew from
Taiwanese press leaks most of the content of Chen’s speech—chose to dis-
miss and criticize rather than explore his offers. A Xinhua commentary on
May 21 laid out the official disappointment. “On the key issue of accepting
the one-China principle, the new leader adopted an evasive and vague atti-
tude, saying that one-China is an issue that will be dealt with ‘in the future.’
Evidently, his so-called goodwill reconciliation lacks sincerity . . . There are
still unstable factors facing the development of relations across the Taiwan
Straits.”167 Western observers noted an easing of Beijing’s approach in the
weeks following, with fewer military threats, more invitations to non-DPP
Taiwanese politicians to visit Beijing, and a slight easing of the tone of threats
to Taiwanese business executives. But there was also a sense of an opportu-
nity having been missed, of Beijing returning to the tried and true, the same
set of policies and rhetorical vapidity that had achieved so few of its Taiwan-
related goals in the past.

Locked in Leninism
The lack of creativity or flexibility in Beijing’s approach to Taiwan was
symptomatic of a slowdown in innovation evident in other areas of policy.
Relations with the United States were a prime example. Of course, the link-
age of Sino-U.S. relations with cross-Strait ties had become, if anything,
even tighter in the wake of the “two states theory” and the election of Chen
Shui-bian. The support shown in the United States for Taiwan and its con-
tinued separation from the mainland—particularly on Capitol Hill and in
the media—was no doubt disconcerting to Beijing and appeared to offset
the efforts of the Clinton administration to clarify the executive branch’s
position and to ease cross-Strait tensions. After Lee’s Deutsche Welle inter-
view and after the Clinton-Jiang summit in September, Washington kept
406 back to the cold, 1999–2000

up a steady stream of high-level visits to Beijing. All carried a similar mes-

sage: American policy on China and Taiwan had “three pillars:” a “one
China” approach, support for cross-strait negotiations to resolve problems,
and insistence on using peaceful means.168 The Clinton administration spoke
actively against a motion to review Taiwan’s UN membership status in
September (having previously remained silent). It took the initiative to settle
the compensation for the Belgrade bombing and reopen negotiations on
China’s WTO accession.
Beijing’s response varied from tepid to dismissive. In late July or early
August 1999, Jiang had written a letter to Clinton demanding that the United
States force Lee Teng-hui to retract his “two states theory,” curb arms sales
to Taiwan, and pressure Taiwan to engage in political discussions with the
PRC.169 At their summit meeting in September, he lectured Clinton on Tai-
wan, then presented him as a gift a book criticizing the Falun Gong move-
ment in China, which some officials privately took as very bad taste, if not
deliberately offensive. China continued to insist the U.S. explanation for
Belgrade was unbelievable and unacceptable. During the ultimately success-
ful WTO negotiations, the U.S. delegation was exposed to extraordinary
psychological harassment and discourtesy by Chinese negotiators, with Zhu
Rongji ultimately sealing a deal that was, in effect, virtually identical to the
one the United States had rejected in April.170 Chinese media reacted to the
agreement, which was widely hailed in the United States, with comparative
indifference.
Beijing’s turn toward enmity in its relations with the United States did not
come about suddenly. Even before the bombing of the PRC mission in
Belgrade, Chinese “strategists,” particularly in the PLA but also in academia,
had been reviewing China’s foreign policy posture in light of changing inter-
national conditions. The Belgrade bombing advanced and intensified the de-
bate within the government and outside. Some of the positions presented,
particularly by the military leadership, were fairly extreme, according to Hong
Kong stories. Chief of General Staff Fu Quanyou, for example, was reported
as exhorting the military to “be prepared mentally, organizationally, and in
mobilization and strength to fight World War III” against the United States.171
The strategic “debate” that ensued in the summer of 1999 was far more
vigorous and open than usual. Security specialists and America experts in
Chinese universities and think tanks were encouraged to offer their views
candidly and in detail rather than simply to parrot the official line or write
what they thought the authorities might want to hear. Their views may not
have had much effect on Politburo deliberations, but they were available to
the public in books, newspaper articles, television commentaries, and Internet
postings.
back to the cold, 1999–2000 407

The debate was ended, according to a study by David Finkelstein, at the

time of the summer 1999 leadership conclave at Beidaihe. As was typical of
both domestic and foreign policy compromises under Jiang’s leadership, the
consensus was a compromise between sharply differing positions, tending
toward a more ideologically conservative, and not particularly realistic, po-
sition. The leadership decided that the fundamentals of their foreign policy
line would not change: “peace and development” remained the principal trend
in the world, economic globalization would continue, and all nations were
seen to desire a reduction of world tensions. But they unmistakably identified
the United States as the principal source of global instability, pointing out
that “hegemonism and power politics” were on the rise, there was a ten-
dency toward “intervention” in the sovereign affairs of other nations, and
the preservation of economic inequality was deliberate.172
While nuance and balance may have been agreed to at Beidaihe, they did
not last long. Chinese commentary and discussion of the United States de-
clined steeply into propagandistic exaggeration and vilification in 2000. “The
U.S. hegemonic ambition has rapidly expanded and the pace of establishing
a [unipolar] world has quickened with each passing day,” Renmin Ribao
thundered in July 2000. “The behavior of the United States has undoubtedly
aggravated the contradiction between the United States and other countries,
. . . [and] has stimulated [a] new arms race.” The influential weekly maga-
zine Outlook (Liaowang) accused the U.S. political leadership of being driven
by a “cold war mentality, a colonialist mentality, and a hegemonist mental-
ity” in attempting to split Taiwan off from China and in other “anti-China
activities.”173 It was tired, shopworn rhetoric, and while some observers be-
lieved it implanted assumptions of American hostility toward China deeply
into popular consciousness, others saw signs it was not having a significant
effect and that the Chinese, at least in the emerging middle class, were usu-
ally favorably disposed toward the United States.174
Probably no issue typified the regime’s Leninist dilemma more than the
campaign to destroy the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which began in
1999. Originally a variant of traditional Chinese qigong exercises, Falun Gong
was begun in the early 1990s by Li Hongzhi, a native of Jilin province who
attracted hundreds of thousands of adherents—mostly elderly retirees—to
his unusual style of meditation and spiritual healing.175 By 1998, his sect had
begun to attract local government attention and harassment, and Li decided
to move to New York, where he continued to guide his growing movement
by means of the Internet. In reaction to local media reports criticizing the
movement for practicing “superstition” and the arrest of sect leaders in Tianjin,
organizers mobilized more than 10,000 faithful followers, ordering them to
descend on Beijing on April 25, 1999. They arrived individually and in small
408 back to the cold, 1999–2000

groups at the appointed time, and they sat or stood for several hours in well-
organized ranks outside the gates of the leadership compound at Zhongnanhai,
openly defying the ban on demonstrations in Tiananmen. They were silent,
waving no placards, shouting no slogans. They presented two demands: that
Falun Gong be given proper recognition as a legal organization and that the
practitioners arrested in Tianjin be released. Zhu Rongji reportedly received
some of their number at the west gate of Zhongnanhai and promised a re-
sponse to their petition in three days. Late in the evening, Beijing municipal
authorities provided buses for the practitioners to return to the railway sta-
tions, and they disappeared, as silently and efficiently as they had arrived.176
Jiang Zemin and other central leaders were shocked and alarmed by the
demonstration. There had been no warning from security authorities, no hint
that thousands of loyal and disciplined people could be ordered through the
Internet to disobey laws against demonstrations. But worse news was to come.
As reports of Falun Gong’s size and influence came belatedly forward, Jiang
was appalled to discover that the movement had thousands of adherents
within the Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army, and sympa-
thizers had prevented the public security authorities from cracking down on
Falun Gong for months. The leadership also discovered that Falun Gong
differed from other qigong movements by virtue of its apocalyptic vision and
mildly anti-party perspective. With the tenth anniversary of Tiananmen only
weeks away, Jiang was in no mood to take chances. The Politburo Standing
Committee, however, was not fully in agreement about the nature of the cult
or what to do about it, so Jiang used his authority to order a renewed ban on
demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, improved vigilance against religious
organizations and their goals, and examinations of the “foreign connections”
of Falun Gong and other similar groups.177 Jiang took a special interest in the
group and was the primary voice calling for a crackdown, according to vari-
ous accounts. He used the group’s prevalence within the party as an excuse
for a party “purification” campaign, of the sort that had been common un-
der Mao Zedong.178
Falun Gong refused to cave in to regime pressure, however, and actively
resisted. The movement sent smaller numbers of activists to various public
locations, particularly Tiananmen, to defy the government’s criticisms. Some
of these demonstrations turned violent. By July, after Falun Gong followers
clashed with police in Tiananmen Square, the sect was formally outlawed,
and police took preemptive action against its leaders. Thousands were ar-
rested in sweeps of various provinces. The leadership—or at least Jiang—
decided to publicize its actions, and the propaganda apparatus weighed in
with books, pamphlets, and television “documentaries” denouncing the cult.
News programs showed film clips of elderly women being pummeled to the
back to the cold, 1999–2000 409

ground by police and dragged off by their hair to police vans. The regime
even published comic books depicting Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi as vicious
evildoers of the same type as the “Gang of Four” and Lin Biao. But the
campaign behind the comics was no laughing matter. By November, Hong
Kong human rights monitors were reporting that more than 35,000 Falun
Gong practitioners had been detained, and 2,000 had already been sent to
labor camps.179 Stories also proliferated, however, of resistance to the party’s
heavy-handed attack, of widespread party cadre disdain for what was per-
ceived as Jiang’s private vendetta, and of apathetic implementation of anti–
Falun Gong directives.
Beyond the difficulties of persuading skeptical foreigners that Falun Gong
presented a real threat to the government of China, the campaign refocused
attention on some of Jiang’s fundamental Leninist attitudes. It revealed a
man—and a party—still frightened of its own population and convinced of
the need to extirpate every organization or social movement capable of de-
veloping political alternatives to the Communist Party. It showed a party
willing to use the coercive power of public security forces preemptively to
attack a nonpolitical organization, even in the face of public apathy. It por-
trayed in stark definition a political party unprepared for political reform,
unable to resist the temptation to view the world through ideological blind-
ers. And it displayed the weakened authority of the party to work its will.
Despite a concerted effort by the full force of the Communist Party to de-
stroy its organizational structure, jail its leaders, and intimidate its practitio-
ners, Falun Gong remained intact—though greatly reduced and
weakened—nearly two years after the campaign against it had begun.
But the leadership seemed to accept the notion that Falun Gong was not a
domestic phenomenon, not a reaction to the harsh changes brought about by
China’s rapid modernization, and not a search for a spiritual alternative to
the party’s vapid ideology. Rather, like the Tiananmen demonstrations of a
decade before, it was a foreign-inspired conspiracy to undermine the com-
munist regime, a deliberate interference in China’s internal affairs for a ne-
farious and hostile purpose. Misunderstanding both its own political situation
and international environment, the Jiang leadership showed, in a sense, that
little had changed since June 4, 1989.
 chapter ten

Epilogue
and
Conclusions

N early twelve years after the terrible events of Tiananmen

Square, a book was published in the United States that purported to tell the
whole story—the political story—in the words of the participants. The book,
the Tiananmen Papers,1 was the work of two well-known American China
scholars, Andrew J. Nathan of Columbia University and E. Perry Link of
Princeton University, who translated and edited a huge collection of Chinese-
language documents, which had been copied, transcribed onto computer disks,
and smuggled out of China by a man who called himself “Zhang Liang.”2
Prepared under unusually secretive procedures, the book was given a well-
orchestrated debut with prepublication excerpts in the New York Times, an
interview with Zhang Liang, “the compiler,” on the CBS news program 60
Minutes, and lengthy excerpts in an influential magazine, Foreign Affairs.
The book is a remarkable collection of documents supposedly from cen-
tral Communist Party archives, covering the period from Hu Yaobang’s heart
attack on April 8 and death the following week through the People’s Libera-
tion Army’s (PLA’s) bloody seizure of Tiananmen Square seven weeks later
to the mass arrests and crackdown that followed.3 It includes what are claimed
to be on-the-scene reports from Ministry of State Security operatives watch-
ing student demonstrations, written reports from provincial and municipal
officials about demonstrations around China, meeting notes from Politburo
Standing Committee meetings and informal meetings of “elders,” transcripts
of conversations between senior leaders, and much other original source
material. It presents a compelling picture of indecision and disunity among
the leadership, high-level confusion and misperception, and appalling self-
delusion that what was done was necessary and right. Although many of the
410
epilogue and conclusions 411

critical details of the story had been revealed in other publications, nowhere
had they been presented in one place in such extraordinary detail and com-
plete context. And the picture they presented of the leadership of the Com-
munist Party—whether revered elders or hastily chosen successors—was
anything but flattering.
Plenty of questions were raised in the United States about the documents,
principally because of the way they were acquired. Zhang Liang, who im-
plied in several interviews that he had help from other Chinese officials in
collecting the materials—which could only have come from secret Central
Committee archives—protected himself and his sources with great care. He
disguised his face and voice in all interviews but also kept Chinese security
officials off-guard by regularly accusing them of trying to hunt him down
and silence him. His motives, as he explained them, were blatantly political.
He wanted the party’s verdict on the Tiananmen demonstrations to be re-
versed. Believing Jiang Zemin and Li Peng would never allow it, he wanted the
next generation of leaders to do so and to have a basis of support within soci-
ety and the international community to accomplish the task. “The pro-democ-
racy faction in the Party is the key force for pushing political change in China.
. . . What will replace the Chinese Communist Party will probably be a new
force that emerges from within it, a group that regrets the errors of the Com-
munist system more deeply than anyone else, a group deeply committed to
establishing a healthy democratic system,” Zhang told CNN’s Mike Chinoy.4
Nathan and Link had their doubts about the authenticity of the materials
Zhang brought them. The documents were not brought out on paper but
were copied and transcribed into text files on computer disks. Thus they
lacked the authenticating registration numbers and chops that distinguished
hard copies of Central Committee documents. The two scholars had to bal-
ance a desire to consult with their China-watching colleagues with a recogni-
tion that security was essential for the safety of their source. Link and Nathan
were well-known critics of the PRC (Link had accompanied dissident scien-
tist Fang Lizhi on his attempt to attend a banquet hosted by George Bush,
described in chapter 2) and were bound to be suspected of participating in a
hoax to discredit the PRC government. But as Orville Schell described the
situation in his appendix to the documents, they grew more confident in the
authenticity of the documents as they brought their own experience, their
investigation of the available public record, and their regular association with
Zhang Liang to bear. In the end, while they could not vouch for the accuracy
of the documents in any absolute way, they decided to go ahead. “The alter-
native to publication was to ignore this collection—in effect to yield to the
Communist Party of China’s protective shield of secrecy . . . and thereby
engage in a form of passive suppression.”5
412 epilogue and conclusions

Reaction to the appearance of the book varied sharply, as one would ex-
pect. In the United States, the book was acclaimed by critics of China as
providing the “true story” of the events of 1989. But a lively discussion was
carried out in various Western media over whether the documents were genu-
ine. Some wondered at the objectivity of the editors—who were, in effect,
“blacklisted” in China—and at the involvement of Human Rights Watch in
the publication of the book. Veteran reporters and Sinologists noted incon-
sistencies and improbabilities in the documents, a few factual errors, and the
likely distortions introduced by the highly partisan “compiler,” Zhang Liang.
Generally, they reviewed the book carefully, recalling numerous instances of
famous forgeries of Chinese documents. The book sold fairly well in the
United States and was translated into several European languages, but it did
not generate much public excitement. Neither did the new George W. Bush
administration—despite a tougher overall stance toward China—embrace
the book or its findings in any public way.
China immediately denounced the book. “Any attempt to play up the
matter again and disrupt China by the despicable means of fabricating mate-
rials and distorting facts will be futile,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman
Zhu Bangzao on January 8. Jiang Zemin—on a visit to Japan—said the 60
Minutes account “distorted the facts” and gave an “incorrect judgment”
about June 4.6 But the early Chinese critiques were oddly equivocal, seeming
almost careful not to deny completely the authenticity of the documents in
the book. Equal stress was placed on defending the crackdown as “highly
necessary.”7 Tiananmen-era dissidents, such as Bao Tong and others, told
the Western reporters the documents were “plausible,” while some families
of Tiananmen victims publicly welcomed the publication and renewed their
call for a full accounting of the events of June 4, 1989. Chinese authorities
tried to prevent the book from reaching China, confiscating copies and threat-
ening to arrest those who circulated the book through the Internet.
Jiang Zemin evidently grew more concerned as the April publication date
of the Chinese-language version drew nearer. In mid-February, before the
annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, Jiang convened a Central
Committee Work Conference in Beijing to discuss the Tiananmen Papers
and the lethargic progress of the party campaign to extirpate the Falun Gong
movement. During a three-day meeting intended to ensure there was no slip-
page of enthusiasm for Jiang’s own vision of communism’s future, each mem-
ber of the Politburo Standing Committee (Jiang, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li
Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Li Lanqing, and Wei Jianxing) was required to publicly
“reveal his attitude” (biaotai) before the Central Committee on two ques-
tions. First, each was required to show support for Jiang’s campaign against
the “evil cult” of Falun Gong, which had flagged because of lack of public
and official support. Second, each leader had to uphold publicly the correct-
epilogue and conclusions 413

ness of the party’s “verdict” on June 4, which had been delivered at the June
24, 1989, rump Central Committee plenum that had ousted General Secre-
tary Zhao Ziyang and installed Jiang Zemin in his place. With television
cameras rolling to record their words for posterity (and to ensure that none
of them would lead a movement to “reverse the verdict” on Tiananmen), all
of China’s top leaders avowed that the decision to crack down on student
demonstrators had been completely correct, and that had the “turmoil” not
been checked, the ensuing stability and successful development of China’s
economy could not have been achieved.8
In addition, the work conference reportedly focused attention on policy
toward the United States, linking the Falun Gong movement—whose spiri-
tual leader, Li Hongzhi, had fled to the United States in 1998—and the
Tiananmen Papers as two examples of the efforts of Western powers to di-
vide the Communist Party. Jiang made clear his views that Falun Gong was a
tool of the Central Intelligence Agency, which was also behind the Tiananmen
book.9 China took a series of actions, following the publication of the Chi-
nese version of the papers, that seemed markedly tougher toward the United
States, including the arrests of several Chinese Americans on charges of es-
pionage and harassment of individuals (including some in the United States)
suspected of being Zhang Liang. While probably unrelated to the discussions
at the party work conference, China also took a more aggressive approach to
American intelligence collection flights in the South China Sea. The latter
change eventually resulted in a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and
an American EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft, the loss of the Chinese pilot,
detention of the American crew, and a significant—though temporary—
deterioration of bilateral relations.

Concluding Observations
Although the publication of the Tiananmen Papers cannot be said to have
done any damage to the U.S.-China relationship, the sharply contrasting view-
points toward Tiananmen the book elicited in the early months of 2001 were
a reminder of how differently the Chinese government and the American
public viewed the June 4 tragedy.

The Prevalence of Old Ideas

For many in the United States, the Chinese leadership’s reaction indicated
that the regime remained frozen in time, still dedicated to preserving an un-
just and repressive political system that defied most American values. Added
to the unrelenting news of persecution of Chinese Christians, Falun Gong,
dissident scholars, and others perceived as opponents by the regime, this
unwillingness to confront the truth of Tiananmen acted as a reminder of how
414 epilogue and conclusions

fundamentally alien “communist China” is for many Americans. For others,

Tiananmen seemed a faded memory, irrelevant to an understanding of the
dynamic change in today’s China. People involved in business relations with
China saw an energetic, enthusiastic, hard-working, increasingly open soci-
ety eager to learn from the United States and work constructively with Ameri-
cans. They saw that many of the leaders of China’s economic elite are
American trained and look to the United States for new technology, markets,
and ideas. For these Americans, Tiananmen—and particularly the sanctions
that were imposed in 1989 and remain in effect—seemed an impediment to
developing a broader and more balanced relationship.
For some Chinese, at least in the government, publication of the Tiananmen
Papers was proof the Americans were still dedicated to undermining China’s
legitimate socialist regime and looking for opportunities to embarrass China
and hamper its progress. For others, the book was simply anachronistic. Many
Chinese, including many Chinese students, had moved on to other interests
and pursuits, such as finding good jobs and making money in China’s in-
creasingly westernized market. The Tiananmen issue was closed, and little
good would come from reopening it. For still others, publication of the pa-
pers was a ray of hope, a reminder of the dark past of the current regime and
of the need for genuine political reform if China is ever to break out of its
authoritarian shackles.
But Tiananmen will endure as a subject of contention between the United
States and China, at least as a subtext of other issues, particularly human
rights. In a sense, neither side has gotten “beyond Tiananmen.” Americans
have not forgotten the hopes that were aroused for Chinese democracy, the
admiration they experienced for the young man blocking the line of tanks,
and the anger they felt at the brutality of the Chinese troops and police round-
ing up protestors. They remain offended that the Beijing government has
never provided a full and honest account of what actually happened. Its ex-
planations have been inadequate, to say the least, for a domestic or an inter-
national audience. It has failed to follow through on pledges to account for
all casualties, or even, in its own defense, to provide the “real” documenta-
tion that might counter what it calls the “fabrications” contained in the
Tiananmen Papers. The U.S. government cannot justify a “strategic partner-
ship” or any other kind of forbearing approach to China if it requires Ameri-
cans to ignore this issue.
For its part, the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party remains a
product of Tiananmen. Few of them would have been in their current posi-
tions of power had not the events of twelve years ago taken place as they
had. Admission of error and culpability would entail a great deal of political
turmoil and blaming, retribution, and rectification of legal cases. The party
epilogue and conclusions 415

is not prepared to undertake such a task and probably will not be for some
time to come. Their legitimacy is tied to Tiananmen, and they insist that
what happened there was right and necessary. The judgments made by Deng
Xiaoping were the correct judgments. They could not have been in error. So
the party leaders have punished with jail or exile or isolation all who have
questioned those judgments, piling injustice on top of error.
Memory and anger are part of China’s modern historical legacy as well.
In the historiography of modern China, the West oppressed China for 150
years, defeating it in wars, pillaging its historical treasures, occupying its
territory, mistreating and cheating its people, and forcing them to “eat bit-
terness.” Chinese culture focuses heavily on demonstrations of respect and
loyalty. Feelings are easily bruised and disrespect or insults are remembered
for years. The Chinese Communist Party has successfully portrayed the ac-
tions of the West—and the United States in particular—as a continuation of
that attitude of contempt for China. Affronts by the United States to the
Chinese government since 1989 have been successfully portrayed by Beijing
as examples of American disregard for the Chinese people and have fueled
growth of anti-American nationalism. The boiling over of popular rage after
the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was in part manufac-
tured but also in part a genuine reaction to accumulated and remembered
instances of American disrespect.
U.S.-China relations since Tiananmen have been dominated by problems.
The list of major problems has remained generally stable—human rights,
nonproliferation, reciprocity in the trade relationship, and Taiwan. The pe-
riod from 1989 to 2000 saw a constant series of disputes, wrangling, and
tension over these four issues, occasionally interspersed with brief periods of
relative amity and optimism as well as instances of tension and outright an-
tagonism. There was no real norm, no status quo, but a constant effort
was made to move the relationship into some other status, to “normalize” it.
There seemed to be no consensus, however, on what a “normal” relationship
could or should be. The touchstones and standards of the relationship—the
“three joint communiqués” and on the American side, at least, the Taiwan
Relations Act—were twenty to thirty years old, the product of a different
global situation and far different domestic politics in both countries.
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the strategic basis for the U.S.-
China relationship—tattered though it was—disappeared entirely. In the en-
suing decade, the international situation has undergone enormous change.
The East-West adversarial dynamic, the “cold war,” has been replaced by an
enlarged NATO, U.S.-Russian cooperation, the spread of democratic gov-
ernments throughout eastern Europe, and now, the international campaign
against terrorism. Economic prosperity and the revolution in telecommuni-
416 epilogue and conclusions

cations have sparked a new global economy, with changed patterns of inter-
action, trade, and investment. In Asia, the Korean Peninsula remains a dan-
gerous and unpredictable standoff, and the Taiwan-PRC confrontation is of
continuing increasing concern, but the rest of the region has enjoyed extraor-
dinary prosperity and cooperation, facilitated by such international institu-
tions as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among others.
Domestically, the United States and China have undergone remarkable
changes since 1989, in both political and economic situations. Change in
China is more striking and dynamic, altering the physical appearance of many
of China’s major cities, the life-styles of urban dwellers, and the attitudes
and aspirations of millions of Chinese citizens. Most of the change is attrib-
utable to the remarkable growth that has taken place in the Chinese economy
since Deng’s nanxun in 1992. Whether measured by standard economic bench-
marks or by less quantifiable standards, the bottom line is that China has
grown far wealthier in the past decade than even Deng Xiaoping could have
imagined. The statistics on China’s growth tend to be controversial, generat-
ing more questions than illumination about the nature and success of China’s
economic policies during the past twelve years. But even the most cursory
examination of some elementary numbers suggests trends that can hardly be
denied. By some calculations, for example, China’s GDP grew more than
500 percent between 1989 and 2000, while per capita income rose 400 per-
cent between 1989 and 1997. China’s total trade grew in value by more than
300 percent between 1992 and 2000, while some estimate that as much as
$320 billion dollars in foreign investment flowed into China between 1991
to 2000.10 Other indicators—such as the phenomenal growth in the number
of private automobiles, televisions, personal computers (more than 10 mil-
lion in 2001), or cellular telephones (from virtually none in 1989 to 130
million in 2001)—suggest a country where life-styles and values have under-
gone an extraordinary change in the past decade. But it is traveling to China
and looking at the things and phenomena that were not present twelve years
ago that can be most impressive—such as shopping malls, fashion shows,
golf courses, private schools, upscale restaurants, call-in talk shows, children’s
television programming, new housing, domestic tourism, and environmental
activism.
In the United States, the telecommunications and Internet boom of the
1990s changed the way Americans did nearly everything from communicat-
ing with friends to buying books (and writing them) to getting the news. Late
1980s concerns about the coming U.S. economic decline nearly disappeared
in the face of extraordinary economic prosperity and growth. The Standard
and Poor’s 500 Stock Index grew from roughly 375 at the beginning of 1990
epilogue and conclusions 417

to more than 1,400 in 2000 (the Dow Jones industrial average went from
2,800 to 11,000), the country sustained an average annual GDP growth rate
of more than 3.6 percent from 1992 to 2000, while inflation fell from 5
percent to less than 2 percent a year.11
The interlinkages between the two economies is a subject that gets too
little attention. American direct investment in Chinese enterprises has been
low in comparison with that of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Japan, but
still represents a significant commitment to China’s future by some of
America’s largest and wealthiest companies. But the impact of the United
States is far larger and deeper than simple numbers suggest. Whether one
looks at dress styles, music, television, legal reforms, product marketing,
management models, banking and insurance reforms, stock market structur-
ing, or other economic phenomena in China, it seems clear that many Chi-
nese look to the United States as the model for their development, the standard
against which their success will be judged. American consumers have wel-
comed goods produced in China—from shoes and textiles to garden tools,
toys, furniture, and office equipment—contributing to an overall goods trade
deficit of over $100 billion in 2002.
In neither country, however, has there been a commensurate change in the
way U.S.-China relations are considered or in how the other country is viewed
by their respective governments. Both sides have adopted general frameworks,
or strategies, for the twenty-first century. But there is little agreement, and
not much serious discussion between the two, on what the goals and param-
eters of the relationship should be. This book does not deal in any detail with
events that took place after the end of the Clinton administration. As this
book goes to press, there is considerable speculation that U.S.-China rela-
tions took a fundamental turn for the better after the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attack on the United States, in that joint opposition to terrorism
became the new strategic underpinning for U.S.-China cooperation. I do not
subscribe to that view, although I recognize that some aspects of bilateral
relations improved markedly, particularly in comparison to the tensions that
followed the EP-3 incident of April 2001.12 But in my opinion, the funda-
mentals of the relationship were little affected by the policy changes that
took place on either side after “9-11.” Suspicions, misperceptions, and mis-
communication continue to mar the relationship and will limit the improve-
ments that may ensue as the war against terrorism plays out.
The Clinton administration’s efforts to build a “constructive, strategic part-
nership” with China fell flat, politically, and were quietly shelved, even by Vice
President Al Gore as he ran for the presidency in 2000. The ultimately victori-
ous campaign of Texas governor George W. Bush took a much harder line
toward China, at least initially, denying that China was a strategic partner and
418 epilogue and conclusions

declaring it a “competitor” or “strategic competitor” of the United States. In

rhetoric reminiscent of the cold war approach to the Soviet Union, Bush cau-
tioned Americans that China was investing in strategic nuclear weapons and
other military might, that it constituted an “intelligence threat” to the United
States, was “an enemy of religious freedom and a sponsor of forced abortion,”
and that it needed to be dealt with “without illusions.”13
After gaining office, the Bush administration’s policy toward China un-
derwent a gradual change toward engagement of the sort practiced by the
Clinton administration in its second term. Nonetheless, in its first published
“National Security Strategy” paper in 2002, it took an ambivalent attitude
toward China. “We welcome the emergence of a strong, peaceful, and pros-
perous China,” it stated and highlighted several areas of cooperation. But it
remained critical of China’s domestic political situation: “The democratic
development of China is crucial to [its] future. Yet, a quarter century after
beginning the process of shedding the worst features of the Communist legacy,
China’s leaders have not yet made the next series of fundamental choices
about the character of their state. . . . To make that nation truly accountable
to its citizens’ needs and aspirations, however, much work remains to be
done. Only by allowing the Chinese people to think, assemble, and worship
freely can China reach its full potential.”14
In China, to judge by the official and quasi-official publications—People’s
Daily or any of the other government-sponsored newspapers and magazines,
for example—there has been little development of China’s view of the United
States since the reiteration of the “peace and development/guard against
hegemonism” line after Beidaihe in 1999, despite the changed circumstances
since September 11. It was a tired approach even then. Jiang Zemin and
other Chinese leaders continue to insist that China desires to maintain a con-
structive relationship with Washington, but their rhetoric is so stilted and
formulaic that their statements carry little meaning or credibility. Jiang, for
example, told Washington Post editors in March 2001: “China is the largest
developing country. The United States is the most developed capitalist coun-
try in the world. And so there is a reason for our two countries to cooperate
with each other and our two countries should seek common ground while
putting aside differences and seek areas where joint cooperation is possible.”15
Of course, the academic discourse on bilateral relations has been rich and
varied in China and the United States. As China has opened up its media and
book publishing business, more and more commentaries became available
on foreign affairs in general and the United States in particular. Most aca-
demic articles and books are carefully calibrated by their authors to be well
within the parameters of official policy guidelines, and few would dare to
prescribe policies sharply at variance with those pursued by the regime. Among
epilogue and conclusions 419

those willing to go beyond the orthodoxy, more tend to write about outright
confrontation, even war, with the United States. Some of these works have
been noted in the United States, where they are occasionally interpreted as
representing the regime’s “real” views. A few scholars are attempting to look
at alternative options for policy toward the United States, downplaying the
notion of “hegemonism” as a guiding principle of U.S. policy and focusing
on the political realities of American policymaking.16
In the United States, the vigorous debate over China policy in the media
and academia has continued, and American contemporary China scholar-
ship provides a rich and varied literature. Since the campaign finance and
spying scandals of 1998–99, a harsh tone has crept into some of the debate
on China policy. Discussions took on a sharply partisan cast during the latter
part of the Clinton administration, with Republicans moving away from the
views of Henry Kissinger and George H. W. Bush toward a darker view of
China, in part simply to define their differences with Clinton, who had adopted
an “engagement” approach similar to that of his predecessors. Disagreements
over the nature of the Chinese threat to the United States also sharpened, in
light of China’s increased wealth, rising military expenditures, and perceived
enhanced threat to Taiwan. These had a decided effect on the China-watch-
ing community. A “blue team” organized itself, mostly among congressional
staffers and ideological critics of China, and vigorously pressed its case for a
more confrontational policy toward China.17 This group occasionally attacked
those who did not share its Manichaean view of China as the “red team,”
“panda-huggers,” or other derogatory terms.18 Others have taken even harder
lines, suggesting that China indeed needed to be contained, that it was
an aggressive, rising power similar to nineteenth-century Germany or early
twentieth-century Japan. Again, while this debate moderated as the U.S. fight
against terrorism dominated the nation’s attention, its return is likely at some
point.
In both countries, it is important to recognize that think tanks and aca-
demic discussions have only a limited and indirect impact on the thinking
and decisions of key policymakers. Scholars may or may not have direct
access to foreign policy officials, their articles may or may not be read, con-
tradictory views may or may not cancel each other out. Generally, however,
policy decisions have their own dynamic. Information flows and time hori-
zons often do not accommodate dispassionate, lengthy, well-reasoned aca-
demic analysis.

The Dilemma of Strategic Thinking

Foreign affairs specialists in the United States and China highly value “stra-
tegic thinking” as an intellectual exercise, a perspective on international af-
420 epilogue and conclusions

fairs, and a guide to policy. The U.S.-China relationship had its origins in the
anti-Soviet strategic notions of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Richard M. Nixon,
and Henry Kissinger, and both sides seem to harbor a nostalgia for the days
when the relationship was focused on greater global goals and was more
than the sum of its parts or its problems.
For the Chinese, grand strategy is the principal focus of much writing on
global issues. Many commentators on American affairs structure their expla-
nations of American actions in terms of the long-term strategic aspirations of
the United States. They focus on domination, national aggrandizement, geo-
politics, and energy sources. Mostly, however, they focus on power and par-
ticularly the unquenchable desire of the United States for power, which
constitutes the motivating force of American “hegemonism.”19 As Yong Deng
put it in a summary article in Political Science Quarterly, “China’s main-
stream strategy analysts . . . have overall perceived a consistent and malign
U.S. strategy of global domination. . . . Chinese assessment sees the United
States as a hegemon on the offensive for power aggrandizement.”20 Even
those writers more familiar with the complexities of American policymaking
are affected by traditional cultural predispositions toward “realism,” Chi-
nese style, and must occasionally alter their assessments to be congruent with
the expectations of their readers.21
In the post–cold war world, American theorists have struggled with stra-
tegic formulations to encompass the relationship between the United States
and a far more complex global situation. Before September 11, 2001, at
least, there seemed to be no overriding security threat to the United States,
but a broad array of other international issues called out for attention. It is
beyond the scope of this book to review the literature or to conclude any-
thing other than that there seems to be no consensus on what U.S. strategic
aspirations or positions should be, the war on terrorism notwithstanding. It
can probably be said, however, that even those who favor extending the so-
called unipolar moment—America’s unchallenged military supremacy—would
find Chinese conclusions about U.S. goals and intentions overstated and
inaccurate.
More important, the notion that American policy is directly driven by
strategic considerations, or that explanations can be found for specific Ameri-
can policies in theoretical speculation about the actions of nation-states in
certain circumstances, is grossly inaccurate. The American policy process is
far more intricate and involved, more politicized and changeable than can be
encompassed by even the most sophisticated theories of hegemonic behavior.
As Robert Jervis put it in a paper called “Grand Strategy: Mission Impos-
sible,” in the post–cold war world, with the United States under no obvious
or overwhelming threat, foreign policy will become more like domestic policy,
epilogue and conclusions 421

in which “courses of action will be shaped less by a grand design than by the
pulling and hauling of various interests, ideas, and political calculations,”
which he calls “pluralism with a vengeance.”22 Richard Betts makes a similar
point, noting that too few scholars who focus on strategy “learn enough
about the processes of decision-making or military operations to grasp how
hard it is to implement strategic plans, and few focus on the conversion pro-
cesses that open gaps between what government leaders decide to do and
what government organizations implementing those decisions actually do.”23
The White House publishes regularly a summary of its foreign policy plans,
goals, and initiatives under the rubric of a “National Security Strategy.”
Defense Department planners also publish yearly reviews of global and re-
gional issues, as well as forward-looking assessments of future international
challenges. Chinese strategists routinely peruse these documents and discover
the “true intention” of the United States, usually concluding, on the basis of
their own preconceptions, that it is hostile to China’s interests and is a strat-
egy of containment, bullying, and division. “The United States may not have
a global or overall strategy at all and may have too many strategic choices to
form a grand master plan,” observes Qin Yaqing of Beijing’s Foreign Affairs
College, “but in the eye of the Chinese, it does have one. It may not be called
a grand strategy, but it is represented as a grand plan to deal with China. In
this respect, whether or not the United States really has such a strategy is not
important. What is important is that in the eye of the beholder there is one.”24
There is considerable disagreement among American observers of China’s
strategy. Some take a lowest-common-denominator view of China’s long-
range goals, that is, that it seeks regime security, territorial integrity (espe-
cially the prevention of Taiwan’s independence), and enhanced international
influence.25 Some posit further that China seeks the establishment of a global
system of “multipolarity,” which necessarily requires the reduction of Ameri-
can power, and the reestablishment of China’s historically dominant role in
East Asia, which would also entail a removal of U.S. forces from Japan and
the Korean Peninsula.26 At the extreme end of the spectrum are those who
insist China has a plan for world domination and is carrying it out in the face
of American apathy, or worse, with American complicity.27
Discussions of strategic relations often focus on intentions. Nations are
assumed to have intentions, as if they were organic entities independent of
their human leaders; or the intentions of the leaders are discerned and ex-
panded to become national goals. Usually, intentions are used to describe the
motivational forces for another nation’s behavior; one’s own nation is as-
sumed to act on the basis of its interests and goals. Sometimes intentions are
abstracted from the development of capabilities—on the understandable
premise that if a country is developing a certain capability, it must intend to
422 epilogue and conclusions

use it at some point. Sometimes they are more or less plainly stated, as in
above-mentioned White House and Defense Department documents or Chi-
nese “White Papers.” Often, however, they are ascribed on the basis of
analysis of events and actions. Thus some Chinese discerned the U.S. inten-
tion of “containing” China on the basis of the Yin He incident, while the
Cox Committee perceived China’s intention to build multiple independently
targeted re-entry vehicles for their miniaturized warheads on the basis of
the Loral-Hughes case in 1998. In many cases, ascribed intentions may
have more to do with the one’s own fears than with the reality of the other
side’s goals.
U.S.-China relations have not been well served by a general overconcen-
tration on the “strategic” dimension of the relationship. First of all, the word
itself has been deprived of substantive meaning over time and especially since
the disappearance of a specific enemy or target for military action, such as
the Soviet Union. Outside the context of a military campaign, the word “stra-
tegic” tends to get rather fuzzy in definition—sometimes meaning little more
than “important in a larger context.” The first Bush administration’s ex-
pressed desire to restore a “strategic” relationship with China in the face of
the collapse of communism in eastern Europe and Russia made little sense to
the Congress or to the public. The Clinton administration’s hope to build a
“strategic partnership” with China was not well defined and created more
confusion than clarity.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, both sides have begun to use
the term “strategic” more often with the other side as the adversary rather
than as a partner. But since neither side is prepared to really treat the other as
a strategic opponent, it might be wise to focus the relationship on other defi-
nitional terms. Until such time as the two sides can agree on what term should
follow the word “strategic” in a definition of bilateral ties, and sell it to their
respective domestic audiences, Washington and Beijing should accept the
reality that they do not and will not have a strategic relationship. They can
and do talk regularly about international events and trends and even about
common interests, such as the Korean Peninsula and South Asia. But these
do not constitute even a significant portion of a “strategic” relationship, and
until the two countries can objectively define what role their military estab-
lishments play in relation to each other, the discussion of a “strategic rela-
tionship” might better be suspended.

Comity of Errors

Since 1989, the U.S.-China relationship has been shaped and buffeted by
mistakes. American and Chinese policymakers have made many mistakes
epilogue and conclusions 423

about each other: factual inaccuracies, poor intelligence, errors of judgment,

sins of commission and omission, misperceptions, mistranslations, overesti-
mates of knowledge, underestimates of sensitivity, misplaced confidence,
misread intentions, unintended consequences, unreceived rewards, missed
signals, ineffective bluffs, and violations of confidence, to name just a few.
The term “mistake” is a subjective judgment and needs to be carefully de-
fined. In a foreign policy context, it might be defined as an action that failed
to bring about the desired results or that brought consequences that wors-
ened the problem being addressed. But even in a narrowly defined sense,
there is a perceptual difficulty in talking about mistakes—what one person
might view as an error, another might consider a stroke of genius in solving
an entirely different problem.
It is not my intent to break any new ground in the extensive literature of
how mistakes are made in domestic or foreign policy. The work of Robert
Jervis, among others, provides fascinating insights into how decisionmakers
in international affairs misperceive one another, misunderstand signals, mis-
read intentions, misinterpret actions (including the other side’s mistakes),
distort and deny information, project inaccurate images, and otherwise
miscommunicate.28 The reasons for doing so are many and varied and in-
clude the nature of the relationship, patterns and channels of communica-
tion, and the social psychology of the decisionmakers. Jervis sets out a series
of hypotheses about how international actors interpret one another in differ-
ent circumstances and concludes that decisionmakers “often not only have a
limited understanding of the workings of others’ arguments, they also do not
know the structure of their own belief systems.”29 This leads individual
decisionmakers into a psychological predisposition to misunderstand the ac-
tions and decisions of others.
In his seminal work on group decisionmaking dynamics, Irving Janis de-
veloped a concept called “groupthink,” which helps account for some of the
policy errors on both sides, particularly those made by small groups.
Groupthink, according to Janis, is “a mode of thinking that people engage in
when they are deeply involved in a cohesive group, when the members’
strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise al-
ternative courses of action.”30 It manifests itself in three types, springing from
overestimation of the group’s power or morality, closed-mindedness toward
outsiders, and pressure for uniformity. Although precise parallels are impos-
sible in anything but a controlled experimental environment, Janis’s hypoth-
eses about how small groups can make completely erroneous judgments
certainly ring true in some of the evident decisions of China’s Politburo Stand-
ing Committee, Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group, or the U.S. Principals
Committee.
424 epilogue and conclusions

But no theory ever encompasses complex reality. Every decision taken by

Beijing or Washington had a complex and different train of information,
analysis, deliberation, consultation, revision, determination, dissemination,
and implementation. No two are alike, nor could be. Certain patterns might
emerge from time to time, but identifying them with any precision would be
misleading on the complexity of the process. Certainly one of the more no-
table patterns on both sides, but more on the American side, was the broad-
ening of the domestic political audience involved in the decision process, at
least in its early stages. In some cases, the broadening of the number of actors
arguably contributed to decisions that turned out to be erroneous—for ex-
ample, Clinton’s linking of human rights standards and most favored nation
status.
Equally notable as the mistakes and the damage they did to the relation-
ship, however, is that the mistakes did not cause a complete breakdown in
the relationship. Strains, certainly—some were serious and with long-lasting
repercussions. But both Chinese and American decisionmakers, in the after-
math of errors and strains, usually took specific steps to correct the balance,
sometimes in the face of opposition. There are probably several reasons, in-
cluding the preference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
U.S. State Department—key policy players—for stable, “normal” relations.
Moreover, once invested with the authority and responsibility of foreign policy
decisionmaking, most politicians, whether Chinese or American, recognize it
is far easier to carry on a “normal” relationship, despite multiple problems,
than to manage an active dispute or descent into hostility. Leaders on both
sides, regardless of their background or familiarity with international rela-
tions, recognize that the relationship between the United States and China is
going to be one of the most important in the world for some time to come.
They understand instinctively that, however they may define their world views
or strategic goals, long-term hostility and confrontation between the two
countries cannot be justified as in their national interests, are not necessary,
and not politically sustainable. Parochial interests in both countries may ar-
gue for more strain or confrontation, but at the end of the day, a certain
comity can and must be maintained.

Domestic Politics and Foreign Affairs

As tempting as it might be to decry the encroachment of low domestic poli-

tics on the pristine world of high international relations and strategy, it would
be unrealistic as to think it could or should be changed. Even in the wake of
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York and Washington,
D.C., and the ensuing Bush administration focus on a global war against
epilogue and conclusions 425

terrorism, the foreign policy processes that have developed since the Vietnam
War are not about to be changed to put exclusive power for foreign policy
back in the hands of the president and his advisers. The suspension of criti-
cism and debate between the executive and legislative branches that followed
the attack was short lived, in part because the nature of the new strategic
threat is not clear enough to produce a unanimity of purpose or policy. Argu-
ments are sure to resume over many issues, eventually including China policy.
James Lindsay attributes the heightened level of partisan bickering over
foreign policy to several societal factors as well as to the absence of a domi-
nant security threat to the United States. American public opinion, he claims,
has become apathetic and complacent about foreign policy; it is not a major
issue in electoral politics. Politicians can therefore appeal to small constitu-
encies with strongly held views on foreign policy without concern they will
alienate moderate voters. “Anyone hoping that the . . . President will be able
to restore a bipartisan foreign policy will be disappointed.”31
In Friends and Foes, Rebecca Hersman points out that organizational re-
forms in Congress have weakened party discipline and the powers of com-
mittee chairs, creating a situation in which “issue loyalties” can become crucial
in voting and the development of legislation. She also notes that congres-
sional inputs into foreign policy are now more likely to be negative and in-
tentionally disruptive, as various “issue leaders” cooperate to place their
agendas in amendments to major budget authorization bills, which are less
likely to be vetoed. The upshot is that individual members of Congress with
single-issue agendas for China—human rights, nonproliferation, abortion,
and religious freedom—may have significant influence on the larger policy
agenda. This is done not simply by introducing legislation but also by writing
letters to the president signed by many members (these are always answered
by the president, thereby bringing the issue to his attention), holding hear-
ings, mandating reports and notifications, withholding or “earmarking” funds,
holding media events, and other actions.32
This situation results in a “nearly incoherent policy process,” Hersman
argues, and she recommends that Congress and the executive branch need to
consider ways to manage the situation. Improving the informal consultation
process is a must, she asserts, along with some procedural changes to restore
party and committee discipline in Congress. Mostly, however, she stresses
the need for clear articulation and backing of policies by the president and a
willingness to use both the policy formulation authority of the executive branch
and the persuasive powers of the White House to win support.33 Both the
Bush and Clinton administrations showed this was possible—on most fa-
vored nation and permanent normal trade relations—but it was a costly ap-
proach for China policy.
426 epilogue and conclusions

Post-Tiananmen congressional attitudes on China are likely to change only

slowly and at the margins. They are determined by partisan politics and leg-
islative-executive relations and not simply by lobbyists and policy trade-offs
among “issue clusters.” They are not simply the product of memories of
Tiananmen or of ignorance of China’s present-day realities. They are largely
the result of and reaction to Chinese actions and behavior patterns, rein-
forced regularly by news and intelligence reporting on human rights viola-
tions, religious persecution, population control policy abuses, prison con-
ditions, dissident arrests, nuclear and chemical weapons sales, theft of tech-
nology, advanced weapons research, military budget increases, trade imbal-
ances, accumulation of U.S. currency, intellectual property piracy, dumping
of cheap goods on Western markets, market access barriers, missile build-
ups along the Taiwan Strait, and crude pressure tactics against Taiwan. Until
solid evidence appears that some of those troubling behavior patterns are
changing, Congress—guardian of a values-based foreign policy—will con-
tinue to be tough on China.
Within the executive branch, interbureaucratic politicking has a huge im-
pact on how China policy is developed and implemented. Despite periodic
tensions and stress, the U.S.-China relationship has reached into virtually
every arena of government interaction, from diplomacy to science, the envi-
ronment, medicine, international finance, agriculture, military affairs, and
many others. Just about every agency of the U.S. government has significant
exchanges with counterparts in the People’s Republic of China. While these
contacts develop and enrich the relationship through multilayered coopera-
tion, they also tend to fragment policy and make it difficult to focus. More or
less normal divergences among bureaucracies with different interests and con-
stituencies can easily be magnified by competing policy preferences related
to China. Although the Department of State has traditionally guided and
shaped American foreign policy, it is no longer in a position to direct the
activities of other large bureaucracies, partly because it is often divided in its
own regional and functional bureaus and partly because the scale of the bi-
lateral relationship has become so large and complex.
I believe there is no substitute for leadership by the National Security Coun-
cil on China policy. China policy is important enough in the broader scheme
of American global policy that the president’s perspective must predominate,
and no other agency can speak so directly for the president. Obviously, the
NSC must delegate and facilitate the policy formulation and implementation
of other agencies and departments—its personnel resources are far too lim-
ited to do otherwise. NSC leadership must not dominate or exclude other
executive branch departments from the policy process. Neither can the NSC
become a policy implementation agency. The dangers of that were amply
epilogue and conclusions 427

proven by the “Iran-gate” scandal during the Reagan administration. The

Principals and Deputies committee processes—managed by the NSC—work
well in coordinating and harmonizing policies within the executive branch.
Moreover, only the NSC can promote the interbureaucratic cooperation and
coordination needed to keep China policies moving in the same general di-
rection.34 The NSC can provide the necessary channels for candid and confi-
dential communication with the Chinese (and Taiwan authorities) that are
required to prevent misunderstanding and clarify policy positions. Finally,
the NSC is structured to act speedily and efficiently as a crisis management
center when that becomes necessary.
Other domestic political “policy actors” become increasingly prominent
in a generally more “atomized” foreign policy process, but their effect on
policy outcomes is manageable. Interest groups, for example, are often cred-
ited with having predominant influence over China policy in certain areas:
business groups are credited or charged with pushing through “pro-China”
policies, such as permanent normal trade relations; human rights groups are
credited or charged with having had inordinate influence over certain State
Department officials and members of Congress. Presidential campaign do-
nors and “political action committees” often are accused of having directed
policy decisions. Many of these charges are spurious, in my experience, with
respect to foreign policy. Interest groups can provide effective and important
inputs to the policy process. They may define or frame issues for public dis-
cussion and provide factual information to Congress and the executive branch,
but they exert only minor influence in the actual deliberation and decision
process for important policy matters. Regardless of sensational press charges,
the policymaking process is well defined within any administration, the main
players are established, and formal and informal processes materialize to
facilitate decisionmaking. The influence of interest groups on important policy
choices is marginal—and manageable—in comparison with bureaucratic in-
terests, the actions of China and Taiwan, and the president’s understanding
of America’s national interests.35
The power of the press and television is also limited, at least in “nor-
mal” times. Without doubt, both the legislative and executive branches of
the U.S. government spend a good deal of time and energy on the care and
feeding of various media. It is a dynamic relationship, and when it is oper-
ating smoothly, policymakers and the public are well informed, and com-
peting ideas get appropriate attention. For foreign policy issues, the standard
of journalism is rather high, particularly for some of the large urban news-
papers and news services with the resources to station reporters in China.
The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Associated
Press, and others provide objective, valuable information and insights to
428 epilogue and conclusions

public and policymakers alike (most policymakers read the press carefully
and early in the day).
Pundits, editorialists, and “news analysts” figure in the policy process,
although not definitively. Often strongly partisan, they can affect the politi-
cal atmospherics on Capitol Hill by bringing focused opinion to bear on
specific issues. Administration figures may try to cultivate them in hopes
they will support their policies but know they are not the only outlet avail-
able for elite opinion. Whatever their partisan affiliation, most journalistic
opinionmakers are negative about China and critical of any administration
that engages with it. Their reasons have principally to do with China’s ap-
proach to human rights, religious freedom, or nonproliferation. Chinese who
read the American press and complain about negative views and stereotypes
they discern there are probably attaching more importance to such commen-
taries than they merit, however.
Policymakers usually get their information from written sources, which
are more thorough than television news programs. They like to participate,
however, in the Sunday talk shows and evening news analysis programs,
such as the Lehrer News Hour, where they can expound and defend policies
and rebut critics in somewhat more detail. This is done to shape elite, rather
than public, opinion, as viewership of these programs is comparatively low.
Americans do not learn much about foreign countries from television news,
which generally concentrates on domestic stories with striking visual imag-
ery or with high controversy. In 1997, for example, a year of considerable
tension in U.S.-China relations, the main television news programs devoted
sixty-four minutes of airtime to China news, most of which was negative in
tone. By comparison, China had 881 minutes of news coverage in 1989,
most of it devoted to the events of Tiananmen.36
When the foreign policy story takes on a domestic cast, the media can
become significantly more influential, as witness the events that shook U.S.-
China relations in the Donorgate and Spygate scandals of 1997–99. During
those episodes, “investigative” reporting by the New York Times, the Wash-
ington Post and, to a lesser degree, the Los Angeles Times, and some other
publications drove the policy agenda, limiting the president’s flexibility on
China and inflaming opinion in Congress against China. The results of the
extensive Justice Department examination and prosecution of wrong-doing
in these cases suggest that there was less to the early stories than the press
initially suspected. John Huang, Ted Sioeng, Maria Hsia, Johnny Chung,
and Charlie Trie clearly violated campaign finance laws and paid heavy costs
for their misuse of the American political system. Some of them may have
had relationships with Chinese intelligence, but they had no discernible influ-
ence on the policy process. Nor does it seem likely Beijing was involved in a
epilogue and conclusions 429

complex and nefarious plot to undermine the U.S. electoral system. Neither
the Justice Department nor Congress could find enough evidence to prove
the allegations made by Senator Fred Thompson and others. But the impact
of the stories on public opinion—and particularly the notion that China is a
hostile power trying to use ethnic Chinese Americans to undermine the po-
litical system of the United States—has remained to this day.
The media’s role in the Wen Ho Lee case is troubling. Dependent on leaks
from biased sources and intelligence information they could not verify, sev-
eral reporters manufactured a story of a massive theft of extremely sensitive
information, which panicked the Department of Justice and the Department
of Energy into taking precipitous actions against Lee. A climate of fear and
suspicion of China and Chinese people was prevalent in the media, resulting
from the Donorgate investigations, the closed nature of China’s government,
and perhaps the hostile activities of some of its intelligence and military or-
ganizations. Post-Watergate distrust of government, combined with a solici-
tude for the courageous “whistleblower,” lent too much credence to a story
with tantalizing elements of espionage and government “cover-up.” In any
case, too little attention was paid to information that would have exculpated
Lee. Although subsequent reviews of how the case was handled did not re-
veal evidence of systematic racial bias, neither Lee nor many Asian Ameri-
cans would agree. Chinese American scientists at the national laboratories
and elsewhere have begun quietly to organize and monitor whether the sus-
picion that surrounded all of them during the Wen Ho Lee case has persisted
and has led to slower promotions and clearances or other forms of job dis-
crimination.37
Politics in Beijing is of a different character, and its impact on foreign
policy is more muted, generally. It is still a highly centralized yet personalis-
tic political system, with the preponderance of decisionmaking authority vested
in the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee. Obviously, policy
is affected by the outcome of interpersonal competition for power and posi-
tion at that level. Given the great importance accorded to Sino-American ties
throughout this period, responsibility for the relationship has been main-
tained by General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin as the “core” of the
party’s leadership. As he gradually solidified his hold on the levers of power
within the party after 1989, and particularly after the Fifteenth Party Con-
gress in 1997, Jiang steadily took charge of Sino-American relations, with
the active support of former foreign minister and vice premier Qian Qichen,
China’s éminence grise in foreign affairs. Jiang’s confidence increased visibly
with each summit meeting, and the overall “character” of China’s policy
began more and more to reflect Jiang’s personality and style: cautious, steady,
suspicious, preoccupied with ceremony and symbolism rather than substance.
430 epilogue and conclusions

Interbureaucratic maneuvering has become more important to Chinese

foreign policymaking as different ministries—such as foreign trade, health,
science and technology, education, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),
and others—developed their own equities in the bilateral relationship. But
these departments are still generally held in check by the tilting of
decisionmaking authority to the upper levels of the system. On major for-
eign policy questions, the record suggests that Jiang consults with other
members of the Politburo Standing Committee, as well as the Politburo
and the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group, although it is not known
how often the latter group meets or who prepares its agenda (one presumes
Jiang’s office does so). For foreign policy issues with an economic dimen-
sion, such as China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, he is
believed to solicit information from Premier Zhu Rongji, the Finance and
Economic Leading Small Group (which Jiang heads), and key leaders at the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. For issues with a
strategic or military component, such as the Taiwan crisis of 1995–96, Jiang
has resources on the Military Commission he must consult, and he appears
to have great confidence in Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelli-
gence Xiong Guangkai.
There does not appear to be a formal policy coordination mechanism in
China comparable to the National Security Council or the Principals Com-
mittee in the United States. Ministers are expected to work out differences
privately or submit them through channels to the Politburo if they are unable
to resolve disagreements. Information and policy guidelines are heavily “stove-
piped” (not shared or coordinated with other ministries) in China. Below the
level of minister, interministerial consultation is not authorized, although it
takes place increasingly on an informal basis. Neither is there a fully opera-
tional crisis management system in place that can funnel information up-
ward, focus expertise and policy guidance, and transmit orders downward in
an emergency. Beijing has considered organizing a “national security small
group,” and Hong Kong and Japanese media reported one was set up in late
2000 to deal with emergencies. In composition, however, it looked very much
like the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group and still had to work under
Politburo authority. Its existence has not been publicly acknowledged by
Beijing.38
For advice on and implementation of general policy concerning the United
States, Jiang has been advised by a group of America specialists that has
remained fairly consistent over time. Fluent English speakers, they have moved
up through the ranks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Information
Department and the North American and Oceanian Affairs Department un-
der the protection and tutelage of Qian Qichen and, to a lesser degree For-
epilogue and conclusions 431

eign Affairs Office Director Liu Huaqiu. They include former ambassadors,
assistant or vice ministers, and other department-level officials, most of whom
have served one or more tours in the United States. But the group is com-
paratively small and seems to be composed largely of foreign ministry offi-
cials, reflecting the MFA’s preponderant influence.39 The ministry has also
broadened somewhat its coordinating role, for example, by establishing de-
partments that address principal topics of concern to the United States, such
as arms control.
There is some disagreement in the China-watching field about the role of
the PLA in China’s overall decisionmaking apparatus. Since Tiananmen, there
has been a decline in the number of military officers in the Politburo and its
Standing Committee. Jiang Zemin has carefully cultivated the PLA leader-
ship and maintained his role as chairman of the Central Military Commis-
sion, but the military’s overall role is clearly subordinate to that of the party.
But as the military has focused on professionalization and kept clear of poli-
tics, the party leadership has provided ample budgetary support for military
programs and has attended to the PLA’s concerns in policy areas that involve
China’s security.40 Although there is no evidence to support the notion that
the PLA has played a decisive role in major foreign policy decisions, earlier
chapters have highlighted, however, the importance of the military in the
overall conduct of China’s relations with the United States. Whether one
looks at standard military issues—such as missile deployments opposite Tai-
wan, patrolling along China’s borders, the military budget and moderniza-
tion of China’s overall military capabilities—or at more esoteric topics, such
as intelligence collection, sales and acquisition of military equipment and
technology, and business practices of PLA-sponsored corporations, there is a
notable pattern of PLA involvement in many of the “problem” issues in bi-
lateral relations. Many of the “crises” in the relationship during the past
twelve years have involved actions taken by the PLA, beginning with the
suppression of democracy activists at Tiananmen and including the missile
tests of 1996, the sales of technology for weapons of mass destruction to
“states of concern,” the illicit acquisition of U.S. technology, development of
strategic doctrine hostile to the United States, and even the “EP-3 incident”
of 2001. For their part, the Chinese have expressed concern about U.S. sales
of advanced weaponry to Taiwan, the deployment of U.S. forces in Korea,
Japan, and elsewhere, the operation of U.S. naval forces off the Chinese coast,
and the development of theater missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region and
national missile defense for the continental United States.
The nature of engagement between the PLA and U.S. military remains
controversial on both sides. There is mutual recognition that the mainte-
nance of a “normalized” U.S.-China relationship should include a full set of
432 epilogue and conclusions

military-to-military exchanges on “strategic” and international issues, hu-

manitarian relief operations under UN auspices, military education, and pro-
cedures to handle “incidents at sea” (such as the Kitty Hawk incident of
1994). But concerns about reciprocity and the maintenance of security about
capabilities, along with uncertainty about the overall structure of the rela-
tionship (friendly, neutral, or adversarial), have made military-to-military
relations one of the most sensitive and difficult issues to manage. The PLA’s
fundamental distrust of the United States and its focus on developing the
capabilities to resolve the Taiwan issue by force and against U.S. opposition,
if need be, have presented a substantial obstacle to maintaining a stable,
predictable relationship.
China’s National People’s Congress, and even its Standing Committee,
remain largely “rubber stamp” organizations, under the tight control of the
central leadership. Although the NPC began to exercise some of its constitu-
tional authority and independence under former Standing Committee chair-
man Qiao Shi, after 1998 it became less active as a political force under the
leadership of Li Peng. It has, however, taken up some important issues that
will affect China’s foreign relations, particularly the expansion of the rule of
law in China (of concern to human rights groups and the U.S. Congress) and
the development of legislation to codify China’s trade regulations in con-
junction with its accession to the World Trade Organization. Besides its more
active legislative functions, the NPC has begun to play something of a parlia-
mentary role in questioning State Council ministers on their work. This func-
tion has not yet become as active as in other legislatures, but it can be expected
to grow in importance. Furthermore, NPC delegates have become more seri-
ous about actually representing their constituents, which eventually will bring
regional interests to bear on larger policy matters. While these have been
mostly concerned with economic and welfare issues, it is not inconceivable
that delegates may someday bring such perspectives to discussions of foreign
and security policies as well. Insofar as the U.S. Congress and the NPC are
gradually developing a more active program of exchanges, both legislatures
can be expected to pay more attention to the conduct of bilateral relations by
their respective executive bureaucracies.
The Communist Party has tried vigorously to ensure that the media in
China remain under the tight control of central authorities, and for the most
part, those efforts have succeeded. It would be difficult to argue that there is
freedom of the press in China, in the sense that the media have a right to
criticize or question the government. Certainly on major foreign policy is-
sues, and especially relations with the United States, the regime has been
successful in maintaining a generally unified public position. But it would be
misleading to posit that the regime has anything close to the level of press
epilogue and conclusions 433

control that it had immediately after Tiananmen. The number of press or-
gans directly controlled by the Communist Party has shrunk to a handful,
and they probably would not survive were it not for mandatory subscrip-
tions for party branches. Hundreds, if not thousands, of new publications
have emerged to test their appeal with China’s hungry reading public. Most
are not required to submit to prepublication censorship, although publishers
understand that they will be closed down if they are seen to be challenging
party authority, and so they practice self-censorship. But there is a constant
sense of challenge presented by the fact that the regime cannot possibly keep
up with all publications. China’s press may not be free, but it is far less
restricted than it was a decade ago.
Furthermore, the Internet has brought an enormous supply of additional
news to China, much of it with foreign content. Again, the government makes
a concerted effort through various technical mechanisms to control—or at
least monitor—the information being made available to Chinese web users,
but it is only partly successful, at best. And the trend is moving against the
controllers as the number of Internet users grows each year by several mil-
lion. China’s enthusiastic adoption of all the newest forms of telecommuni-
cations—mobile phones, pagers, instant messaging—has transformed the
world of communications in China, with far-reaching implications for the
relationship between the government and the governed. Whatever powers
the Propaganda Department (which now calls itself, in English, the “Public-
ity Department”) may have regained in the wake of Tiananmen, it has lost
far more control over the ideas that circulate within China.
The Internet has had one curious direct effect on the foreign policy pro-
cess, however. It has made the Ministry of Foreign Affairs more accessible to
Chinese surfers and web cranks. Semi-anonymous Internet users have, on
occasion, flooded the MFA with unsolicited advice and criticism, some of it
quite personal and insulting. Accustomed to working in anonymous privacy,
MFA officials now find themselves exposed to the lash of a form of public
opinion, and they do not necessarily enjoy it. The Internet also offers numer-
ous chat rooms where readers can participate in discussions of various issues.
Observers have been surprised to find that those who are willing to share
their views about foreign policy issues in the chat rooms have often proved
extremely nationalistic, even chauvinistic. Moreover, Chinese “hackers,” some
organized but most independent, have engaged in various network attacks
on what they perceive as China’s “enemies” in Taiwan, the United States,
and Japan.
Some American observers have been surprised, even alarmed, at the direc-
tion and intensity of Chinese nationalism, as it has been expressed in various
circumstances. And it has inspired varied commentaries, reflecting the range
434 epilogue and conclusions

of American opinions about China. Some see China’s nationalism as some-

thing new, anti-American, xenophobic, and threatening; others as varied,
traditional, inchoate, even benign. There is a growing literature on the sub-
ject on both sides of the Pacific, which I will not attempt to summarize here.41
But it makes clear that Chinese nationalism is an increasingly important fac-
tor in the formulation of Beijing’s policy toward the United States. It is an
outgrowth of the fact that China has progressed rapidly to become a leading
nation in the world, and its citizens are in many ways justifiably proud of
their country’s accomplishments. There is also a “chip on the shoulder” as-
pect to some expressions of Chinese nationalism, which springs from its his-
torical experience as a nation that has been downtrodden and disrespected.
Resentment is easily ignited when foreign critics of China’s government fail
to distinguish their castigation of the Beijing government from condescen-
sion or affront to the Chinese people.
The Chinese government has occasionally appealed to national pride, even
racial pride, in its efforts to maintain some semblance of legitimacy, fend off
foreign pressure or criticism, or to generate consensus on problematic poli-
cies, such as coercive diplomacy toward Taiwan. For the most part, how-
ever, it has played the nationalism “card” carefully, knowing full well that it
can slide out of control or even be used against the regime itself. The volatil-
ity of public opinion in China stems from the fact that it has few outlets for
constructive expression. Until more outlets become available—through po-
litical parties, nongovernmental organizations, the free exchange of opin-
ions, and elections—nationalism will remain an unpredictable element in
China’s domestic and foreign policy.

Event-Driven Relations, with Taiwan as the Main Event

With the fall of the Soviet Union having deprived U.S.-China relations of
their strategic imperative, while Tiananmen and the Belgrade bombing took
away illusions on both sides about liking the other, the relationship between
the two governments has been without unifying principles or concord. It has
become the sum of its disagreements and the product of mistakes and
misperceptions. Without mutually agreed-on goals, it has become mostly event
driven, subject to sharp swings of attitude or sentiment depending on the
nature and outcome of the driving events. Some of the events are mutually
planned, such as summit meetings, significant anniversaries, or the like. More
often, they are unpleasant incidents that bring the two countries’ contradic-
tory interests into sharp relief or challenge the ability of political leaders to
contain domestically driven emotions. The 1993 Olympics, the Yin He, “ring
magnets,” the Cornell speech, Donorgate, the “two states theory,” the EP-3
epilogue and conclusions 435

incident—all are examples of the susceptibility of the larger relationship to

political damage from unpredictable events.
In the past few years, Taiwan-related events or issues have become the
most likely to create dangerous tensions in the U.S.-China relationship. There
are several reasons for this situation. First, the incongruities of the so-called
foundations of the relationship—the three joint communiqués—have become
increasingly apparent. The key phrases that allowed the two sides to agree
on the Shanghai communiqué in 1972— “ The United States acknowledges
that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one
China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The U.S. government does not
challenge that position. It reaffirms its interest in a peaceful settlement of the
Taiwan question by the Chinese themselves”— are no longer accurate.42 Many
in Taiwan, including its present president, Chen Shui-bian, and his ruling
party, no longer are willing to maintain “there is only one China and Taiwan
is a part of China.” While they are not prepared to declare independence,
they now seem unwilling to conceptualize a larger “China” that could en-
compass the PRC and Taiwan. Afraid to see Taiwan drift away into indepen-
dence, Chinese leaders have raised the level of rhetorical and actual threat
employed against Taiwan, which has prompted Taipei to seek more defense-
related military equipment. The United States is obligated to provide that
equipment under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. That has
essentially mooted the August 17, 1982, communiqué, which pledged “that
it intends to reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a
period of time to a final resolution.”43
Second, both Beijing and Taipei since 1995 now seem to see the United
States as the main locus for the resolution of their disagreement. Neither side
is satisfied with the status quo, nor does either accept American recommen-
dations for a peaceful resolution brought about by dialogue. But rather than
deal directly with each other, both seem to prefer trying to swing the weight
of U.S. favor onto their side: Beijing to force Taiwanese authorities to nego-
tiate the terms of their incorporation into “one China”; Taipei to induce the
PRC leadership to renounce a military solution and deal with Taiwan as an
equal. The cross-Strait dialogue has been effectively suspended, and the two
sides are making little effort to communicate with each other. Both are deter-
mined to prevent the United States from “tilting” too far toward the other
side. That increases the chances of provocation or miscalculation, with the
United States caught in the middle.
Without a significant change in the overall attitude or structure of the
PRC regime, it is unlikely that Beijing and Taipei will be able to reach agree-
ment on a means of resolving their differences. The two governments seem
united only in their propensity to see their relationship as zero sum: what one
436 epilogue and conclusions

gains the other perceives as losing. In light of the increased importance of

Taiwan-related issues in the U.S.-PRC relationship, this means that U.S.-
China relations are, in the end, hostage to the condition of Taiwan-PRC
relations. No matter what the state of the other dimensions of bilateral
U.S.-PRC ties, the Taiwan issue can always create friction, if only on the
basis of how Taiwan’s leaders choose to “push the envelope” in terms of
expanding Taiwan’s international profile or purchasing the latest-genera-
tion U.S. weapons.
American officials have sometimes underestimated Taiwan as a bilateral
concern, not realizing how intensely important the question has become in
Chinese domestic politics. This was clearly true in 1995–96, for example,
and probably also was true in 1998, in planning for President Clinton’s trip
to China. Americans may want to believe there is plenty of time to find a
solution as the two sides converge politically and economically. Mao Zedong
was once quoted as saying reunification with Taiwan might take as long as
one hundred years to resolve. When he signed the normalization communiqué
with the United States in 1978, Deng Xiaoping seemed to be saying China
could be patient and wait for Taiwan—bereft of U.S. military support—gradu-
ally to become more isolated and persuaded by the combination of China’s
military superiority and what he thought would be an increasingly attractive
offer of autonomy under the rubric of “one country two systems.” Although
the Taiwan Relations Act and continuing U.S. military arms sales to Taiwan
were a profound shock to Deng and nearly caused a rupture in the relation-
ship, the August 17, 1982, communiqué on limiting U.S. arms sales seemed
to place the issue on the back burner.
The combination of Bush’s decision to sell F-16s to Taiwan in 1992 (with
delivery beginning in 1995) and Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui’s domes-
tic reforms and international aspirations brought the issue back to a high
pitch in 1995, and it has remained there. It salience is amplified by a combi-
nation of interpersonal politics, bureaucratic and budgetary maneuvering,
and the growing importance of popular nationalism in Chinese foreign policy
decisionmaking. In his quest for supremacy in the post-Deng leadership, and
probably because he did not want to be accused of “losing” Taiwan, Jiang
Zemin has taken reunification of Taiwan with China as one of his key “legacy”
issues. Others in the leadership have used the issue on occasion to challenge
his authority, for example, in 1995. The PLA leadership has used the issue
to press its case for priority budgetary allocations for military moderniza-
tion, which might otherwise be weakened by China’s overall improved se-
curity in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. All these factors
have increased the sense of urgency in Beijing for bringing about reunifica-
tion, whether peaceably or by use of force. There have even been rumors
epilogue and conclusions 437

that the leadership had established a timetable for the island’s restoration
to the “motherland.”
In Washington, too, Taiwan has become a more important factor in do-
mestic politics. Congress has taken a very activist approach to preserving
Taiwan’s security for a variety of reasons. Taiwan is now a full-fledged “val-
ues” issue, rather than a national security question, owing to the island’s
transformation into a thriving and colorful democracy. A “Taiwan caucus,”
organized in 2002, attracted more than 110 members. Taiwan is an issue in
the multifaceted struggle between the executive and legislative branches of
the U.S. government for control of the foreign affairs agenda. Congress in-
sists that the Taiwan Relations Act, as the law of the land, supersedes any
bilateral agreements, including the three U.S.-China joint communiqués. In-
creasingly, Congress has attached Taiwan-related measures to authorization
bills, passed “sense of the Congress” resolutions recommending expanded
support for Taiwan’s international status, and demanded regular reports from
the executive branch on Taiwan’s security status in the face of China’s buildup
of missile forces across the Taiwan Strait. The issue has become rather parti-
san, with Republicans criticizing the Clinton administration for neglecting
Taiwan’s security in its efforts to build a “constructive strategic partnership”
with China.
Repeated polls of American opinion suggest the general public has mixed
views about the Taiwan issue and U.S. policy toward the feuding parties.
Most Americans (62 percent in a 1996 Harris poll, for example) consider
Taiwan “more like an independent country than as part of China,” and 69
percent said it should be reunified with the mainland “only if the Taiwanese
want to be.”44 Nonetheless, there is greater ambivalence about selling ad-
vanced weapons to Taiwan (about 50 percent in two 2001 polls opposed
doing so), and strong opposition (more than 50 percent in several recent
polls) to committing U.S. military forces to Taiwan’s defense if it provokes a
Chinese attack.45
Taiwan’s democratization under former president Lee Teng-hui, ironically,
has made the overall situation more volatile. Although Taiwan has become
the democracy many Americans hoped China would become, its transforma-
tion from a monolithic one-party dictatorship—similar in appearance and
attitudes to the PRC—to a vibrant and noisy multiparty system has made it
more likely to provoke Beijing into taking precipitous military action. The
triumph of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party candidate
Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan’s 2000 presidential election changed significantly
the dynamics of the island’s domestic politics. In and of itself, that height-
ened Beijing’s concerns and lent support to those in China who favor a
military solution to the problem. Although Chen has been careful with his
438 epilogue and conclusions

policy pronouncements on cross-Strait issues, some of his DPP supporters

have not, and Beijing’s typically thin-skinned reactions to provocative state-
ments from Taiwanese politicians have added a new feature to an already
tense relationship.

Engagement, Communication, and Management

Ever since the earliest days of diplomatic relations, but especially since the
events of June 4, 1989, American officials and diplomats have generally used
the term “engagement” to describe the U.S. policy approach to China. Usu-
ally it is preceded by adjectives, such as “comprehensive, constructive, prin-
cipled, enhanced, or broad,” but that has not made the approach any clearer.
“Engagement,” when it is described at all, is usually defined by what it is not,
namely, not containment, isolation, punishment, or military pressure. Usu-
ally, it implies the conduct of high-level meetings with Chinese officials. This
absence of definitional clarity has led to problems on both sides. In the United
States, it left an uncertain hierarchy of goals and enabled different bureau-
cracies to pursue their own sometimes conflicting agendas under the rubric
of a single policy framework.46 China’s understanding of the U.S. approach
was complicated by the fact that the Chinese language lacks a precise trans-
lation for the term “engagement,” or an appreciation of its often implied
nuance. But there is a more important difference. As put by Wang Jisi, one of
China’s most prominent America watchers, “Americans often regard high-
ranking official engagements as opportunities to ‘solve problems’ that are
otherwise difficult to discuss, whereas Chinese officials usually attach more
‘symbolism’ to such opportunities. In Chinese eyes, high-level consultations,
if they are to take place, serve as a thermometer measuring the atmosphere in
which substantive issues can be discussed, and as an indication of a spirit of
equality and goodwill.”47
But in either definition, the quality of communications is a serious prob-
lem in U.S.-Chinese relations. President George H. W. Bush had established
good interpersonal relations with Deng Xiaoping and others in the Chinese
leadership, but he was not able to reconnect after Tiananmen and Deng’s
retreat from active management of China’s foreign relations. By the time
Deng was back in full control, Bush had been defeated and replaced by a
president who had little interest in personal communication with leaders he
distrusted and disdained. President Clinton built a personal relationship with
President Jiang only very slowly, taking more than five years to develop a
modicum of trust and candor. That paid benefits briefly in 1997–98, but it
could not be sustained in the face of domestic political pressures on both
sides.
epilogue and conclusions 439

During the period after June 4, sterile, formalized conversations between

foreign ministers became the norm for bilateral communications, even though
both sides probably recognized they were not particularly effective. They
were carefully staged and rehearsed, with each side presenting talking points
fully cleared by the relevant bureaucracies. On James Baker’s 1991 trip,
Warren Christopher’s trip in 1994, and Madeleine Albright’s in 1999, the
meetings became counterproductive, the venue for the symbolic venting of
pent-up anger. Even when operating at their best, as in 1996 meetings be-
tween Qian and Christopher, for example, they seldom solved problems but
rather clarified mutual complaints. At no point did U.S. secretaries of state
and Chinese foreign ministers build the kind of interpersonal relations that
could short-cut difficulties and find creative solutions to disagreements. As
Tony Lake put it, “You’ll never have serious, sort of personal conversations
with [the Chinese] the way you can with the diplomats of most other nations.
But you can have serious conversations . . . if you take the time and don’t just
read talking points to them, but try to build understanding.”48
There needs to be routinized and informal exchanges between officials on
both sides who are in a position to advise key decisionmakers. Ideally this
would be at the level of senior director in the NSC and assistant secretary in
the State Department, with counterparts at China’s Foreign Ministry assis-
tant or vice-ministerial level. If and as the Chinese establish the “national
security small group” within the leadership to handle crisis management and
other critical topics, it should ensure that it has regular and in-depth discus-
sions with American counterparts. Meetings at this level already take place
regularly, but they are often formalistic. The periods when frequent and can-
did communication has been operating in bilateral relations have been rare,
but they have coincided with the most successful and cooperative periods in
a troubled relationship. When such informal communications do not occur,
it is extremely difficult to manage the complex politics of the bilateral rela-
tionship.

Looking Ahead
The record of U.S.-China relations in the fourteen years since Tiananmen
does not give much cause for optimism. To be sure, both sides have recog-
nized publicly and repeatedly that the relationship between the United States
and China will be critical in shaping the course of the early twenty-first cen-
tury. Both nations have acknowledged how important it is to develop the
bilateral relationship. And it must be said that a certain equilibrium seems to
have been achieved, as both sides seem willing to avoid the provocations that
might do serious damage to the relationship. Particularly after the events of
440 epilogue and conclusions

September 11, 2001, there has been an important improvement in the tone
and content of the official relationship, as reflected by three summit meetings
between President Jiang Zemin and President George W. Bush within one
year. But one does not discern a sense of permanence about the change. It
does not seem to be grounded in a genuine strategic or political meeting of
the minds. Chinese commentators, for example, tend to attribute the im-
provement to a belated recognition by the Bush administration of the impor-
tance of China, while American observers see a new pragmatism or maturity
on the part of Chinese decisionmakers toward U.S. antiterrorist priorities.
There is a perception of progress rather than a process to bring it about.
And on a deeper level, the sources of tension remain. In the United States,
the anger, disappointment, mistrust, and antipathy that followed the tragic
events of June 4, 1989, have persisted in popular views about China, despite
a broad recognition that China has undergone great changes since that time.
For various political reasons, hostility to the government of China has be-
come nearly institutionalized in the U.S. Congress. Efforts by any adminis-
tration to change the tone or substance of the bilateral relationship have to
consider this atmosphere. Some U.S. strategic planners, looking beyond the
war on terrorism, have focused on China as a potentially hostile strategic
challenger to U.S. power and interests. But at the same time, sufficient good-
will, respect, and understanding of China’s significance in the United States
prevent a precipitous slide into confrontation and containment.
A similar ambivalence toward the United States has grown up in China
during the past fourteen years, fostered by a succession of efforts undertaken
by Washington to penalize, shame, or reprove China for its actions and atti-
tudes or by political and ideological maneuvering among bureaucracies and
individuals in a complex post-Deng China. While balanced by a broad recog-
nition that China’s economic progress remains tied to the United States, cul-
tural and historical attitudes have left most Chinese unwilling to be seen as
caving in to American pressure. American actions toward China—given par-
ticular emotional salience by the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
in 1999—are seen by the public and the government alike as bullying and
presumptuous. Positive movement in the relationship often has been checked
by actions or decisions made by Beijing out of concern for China’s internal
stability or because of sensitivity over Taiwan. American intentions toward
Taiwan are widely misperceived as being part of some nefarious strategic
plot to keep China weak and divided. And yet no country is more admired
than the United States, no country has more influence.
It is tempting to conclude that only a regime change that brings to power
a more democratic, representative, pluralistic government in China will pro-
epilogue and conclusions 441

vide the basis for a genuine and lasting improvement in bilateral relations.
Yet at the same time, the process by which such a change might be accom-
plished is difficult to envision. A breakdown in political authority in China
could just as easily bring about social destabilization, ultranationalism, or
aggressive expansionism that would be even more challenging to U.S. inter-
ests in the region. In other words, while Americans may wish for a more
democratic, less despotic regime in China, there is no course that could be
taken to guarantee such an outcome. As odious as the Communist Party of
China may be on occasion, that is the government with which the United
States must deal.
The good news is that it is a government in transition to something differ-
ent, a regime that is in the process of reforming itself. It is not seeking to
become a more perfect Marxist state, although it retains—for social control
purposes—heavy-handed instruments of propaganda, ideological education,
and repression of heterodoxy. During the past fourteen years, China has
fully embraced a vision for its future that is largely disconnected from its past
Marxist ideals. In its quest for economic success that incorporates socialism
and capitalism, the regime has assumed social, political, and ethical norms
and goals more like those of the United States than of Mao’s China. This
ongoing process is by no means accepted by all nor guaranteed to succeed.
The Communist Party of China is dedicated above all to its own survival in
power. That survival dictates that it continue on the path of reform and
opening up, of replacing the rule of men with the rule of law, of permitting
its citizens to live, work, think, and communicate as they will. Economic
progress has brought new challenges for the leaders of the Communist Party,
including a more pluralistic society, a better-educated and informed popu-
lace, and greater awareness of the freedoms and privileges enjoyed by other
modern societies. China’s leaders may run what looks like a closed political
system, and their decisions seem autocratic, but they are struggling to keep
up with a society that is changing in a direction and at a speed they cannot
fully control. American policymakers—and the general public—should never
lose sight of the importance of that larger process of change.
Maintaining balanced, beneficial, and constructive relations between the
United States and China will never be easy. There is no strategy, attitude,
communications channel, or communiqué that can make it so; the relation-
ship is simply too complex and multifaceted to allow for easy management.
But management is the key—management of complex goals, multiple dis-
agreements, sensitive emotions, cumbersome bureaucracies, countervailing
pressures, unrealistic expectations, and imperfect information. Good man-
agement requires knowledge, patience, flexibility, planning, communication,
442 epilogue and conclusions

dedication—all qualities not easy to develop in either government. But it is

possible, providing both sides agree on the value of doing so. There have
been periods during the past fourteen years when both sides have managed
their role in the bilateral relationship well, though with difficulty. And cer-
tainly we have seen that the alternatives to managing the relationship are
generally far worse and will only become more so.
 Notes

Notes to Chapter 1
1. This book assumes a reader has a basic familiarity with the overall structure
and functions of the Chinese and the American political systems. For a good intro-
duction to the overall decisionmaking system in China, see Kenneth Lieberthal and
Michel Oksenberg, Policy Making in China—Leaders, Structures and Processes
(Princeton University Press, 1988).
2. These processes are described in more detail in various following chapters. See
also Lu Ning, The Dynamics of Foreign-Policy Decision-making in China (Boulder,
Colo.: Westview Press, 1997); and Carol Hamrin and Suisheng Zhao, eds., Decision-
Making in Deng’s China: Perspectives from Insiders (M. E. Sharpe, 1995).
3. Lu, Dynamics, pp. 26–30.
4. The Freedom of Information Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1966 and
amended in 1974. Its purpose is to create processes by which the American public
can gain access to the records of any and all agencies of the federal government,
including intelligence agencies. Although the act has made it possible for some im-
portant U.S. policy documentation to become public, the approval process is cum-
bersome and time consuming, and still only provides partial, sometimes heavily
redacted, versions of the documents that can mislead as often as inform. China’s
approach to secrecy is more comprehensive than that of the United States, and many
routine procedural reports and articles are lightly classified as neibu, which means
“internal.” It is generally equivalent to U.S. government documents classified “for
internal use only,” meaning they may be sensitive in content but will not do damage
to the government or its policies if divulged.
5. Many Western scholars have utilized unattributed quotes from unnamed offi-
cials or scholars in assessments of the Chinese political process, not identifying their
interlocutors to provide them some protection from possible retribution. I have cho-

443
444 notes to pages 13–16

sen not to take that course, as I have found the anonymous officials seldom deviate
significantly from the “official” line, are not particularly candid, and sometimes seem
engaged in a form of “perception manipulation” that is of little objective value.

Notes to Chapter 2
1. MSNBC News, June 3, 1999.
2. See “The Truth about the Beijing Turmoil,” a pamphlet sponsored by the Edi-
torial Board of the Truth about the Beijing Turmoil (Beijing Publishing House, 1990),
pp. 3–5. The board was a Beijing municipal party committee effort to counter for-
eign news accounts. See also Deng Xiaoping’s June 9, 1989, address to Martial Law
Units, broadcast by Beijing Domestic Television Service, June 27, 1989, in Foreign
Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), China, June 27, 1989, pp. 8–10; and Chen
Xitong, “Report to the National People’s Congress on Quelling the Counter-Revolu-
tionary Rebellion,” in Michel Oksenberg, Lawrence R. Sullivan, and Marc Lambert,
eds., Beijing Spring, 1989: Confrontation and Conflict (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe,
1990), p. 56.
3. In January 2001 a collection of documentary evidence purportedly smuggled
out of Chinese archives and brought to the United States was published in a book
called The Tiananmen Papers, Andrew J. Nathan and E. Perry Link, eds. (New York:
Public Affairs, 2001). Compiled by a Chinese official who went by the pseudonym
Zhang Liang, the papers constitute a very detailed and compelling account of leader-
ship meetings, reports, telephone calls, and other materials from March to June 1989.
Although the Chinese government dismissed them (rather obliquely) as “fabrica-
tions,” they nonetheless strike me and many other observers as credible, if not com-
plete, accounts of meetings, communications, and decisions made by China’s
Communist Party leaders during the “turmoil” of Tiananmen. I will refer to them
frequently throughout this chapter, with the reservation that they are not absolutely
reliable.
4. Deng Xiaoping’s June 9, 1989, Address to Martial Law Units, Beijing Domestic
Television Service, June 27, 1989; in Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS),
June 27, 1989, p. 8.
5. Hua Guofeng, Mao Zedong’s chosen successor, remained chairman of the
Communist Party for another year, but Deng had already marked him for replace-
ment by his own protégé, Hu Yaobang, who subsequently became general secretary
(the party chairman position was abolished in 1982).
6. Patrick Tyler, A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China (New York: Century
Foundation, 1999), pp. 263, 267.
7. Big-character posters were a hallmark of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76),
when they were used heavily to attack and vilify “class enemies, capitalist roaders,”
and other supposed opponents of Chairman Mao, many of them party leaders. De-
nunciation in a big-character poster often was followed by “dragging out” the indi-
vidual for public criticism and, in many cases, by beating and expulsion from office.
The practice of writing posters to protest government injustice—once guaranteed in
notes to pages 16–19 445

China’s constitution—was generally not welcomed after 1976, given the revulsion
many felt at the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Press accounts of big-character
posters often noted that security authorities would tear them down.
8. Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China: Political Reform in
the Deng Xiaoping Era (Harvard University Press, 1994), p. 42.
9. After Wei criticized China’s February 1979 attack on Vietnam, he was ar-
rested, subsequently charged with subversion and leaking classified information to
foreigners, tried in October, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
10. Perry Link, Evening Chats in Beijing: Probing China’s Predicament (W. W.
Norton, 1992), p. 55.
11. Ibid., p. 157.
12. Dissatisfaction with Japanese imports helped spark student demonstrations in
1985 and 1986. See Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 202.
13. Intellectuals were referred to as the “old, stinking ninth category” of class
enemies by Mao and his radical followers during the Cultural Revolution and suf-
fered enormous persecution and personal hardship. Hu lifted the stigma in 1978, on
the premise that the modernization of China’s economy would require the active
participation of China’s best minds.
14. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 125. “Spiritual pollution” was a code word
for the adoption by Chinese of unhealthy Western influences, particularly in the
realm of political values, ideology, philosophy, and other traits. Deng, along with
other party elders and conservative ideologues, promoted the campaign in 1983, and
again in 1985, under the guise of the milder term “bourgeois liberalization.” Hu and
then-premier Zhao Ziyang are credited with stopping it on both occasions.
15. Fang Lizhi was a professor of astrophysics at the Hefei (Anhui) Branch of the
University of Science and Technology who publicly disputed the scientific validity of
Marxism; Liu Binyan was a journalist who wrote daring exposés of party corrup-
tion; Wang Ruowang was a Shanghai essayist who satirized the party in his works.
16. Deng’s views on these subjects can be seen in greater detail in Selected Works
of Deng Xiaoping, vol. 2 (1975–1982) (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1984).
See, in particular, “Things Must Be Put in Order in All Fields,” p. 47ff; “Emancipate
the Mind, Seek Truth from Facts,” p. 151ff; “Uphold the Four Cardinal Principles,”
p. 166ff; and “On the Reform of the System of Party and State Leadership,” p. 302ff.
17. Lowell Dittmer, China under Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1994),
pp. 89–90.
18. The Central Military Commission is the Central Committee’s long-established
mechanism for maintaining control of the People’s Liberation Army. Although the
State Council technically has authority over the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces
chain of command begins with the CMC. The Ministry of Defense itself is a ceremo-
nial shell organization, responsible for maintaining China’s international military
relationships. Day-to-day operational control of the armed forces is maintained
through the General Staff Department, political training and indoctrination through
the General Political Department, and matériel support through the General Logis-
tics Department, all of which are directly administered through the CMC. The Cen-
446 notes to pages 20–27

tral Military Commission itself consists of a chairman (usually the chairman or gen-
eral secretary of the party), three or four vice chairmen (usually the most senior
military leaders), sometimes a secretary general (usually the head of the General Po-
litical Department), and ordinary members consisting of the principal officers of the
PLA service arms and military regions. The CMC meets in full session before or after
Central Committee plenary meetings, although the chairman can call special meet-
ings at any time.
19. Ruan Ming, a former subordinate of Hu, recounts a highly partisan but vivid
and credible series of anecdotes about the struggle between party reformers and con-
servative elders in his book Deng Xiaoping, Chronicle of an Empire, trans. and eds.
Nancy Liu, Peter Rand, and Lawrence R. Sullivan (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press,
1992).
20. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 205; Dittmer, China under Reform, p. 98n;
Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, p. 164.
21. Deng Xiaoping, “Remarks at the 6th Plenary Session of the Party’s 12th Cen-
tral Committee” (September 28, 1986), Beijing Review, no. 26 (June 29, 1987), p.
14, quoted in Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, pp. 188–89.
22. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 205.
23. Ibid., p. 202
24. Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, p. 168; Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 204.
25. Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, p. 168.
26. Quoted in Nicholas D. Kristof, “Hu Yaobang, Ex-Party Chief in China, Dies
at 73,” New York Times, April 16, 1989, p. A38.
27. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, pp. 208–09; Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, pp. 178–79.
Ruan’s claim that Zhao colluded with Deng to bring down Hu is not corroborated in
detail by many reliable sources (Hong Kong media, notwithstanding). It is plausible,
however, that Zhao would have seen it as being in his own interest to let Hu take the
fall.
28. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, pp. 236–37.
29. Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, p. 192.
30. Dittmer, China under Reform, p. 100; Ruan, Deng Xiaoping, p. 198.
31. Interviews with Brent Scowcroft, December 1999; Douglas Paal, December
1999; and Winston Lord, April 2000 .
32. See George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, A World Transformed (Knopf, 1998),
pp. 22–23.
33. Interview with Douglas Paal.
34. Interview with Winston Lord.
35. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy, May 2000.
36. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, pp. 196–99.
37. Deng Xiaoping, Fundamental Issues in Present-Day China (Beijing: Foreign
Languages Press, 1987), p. 162.
38. Interview with Winston Lord.
39. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
40. Link, Evening Chats in Beijing, pp. 30–32; Orville Schell, Mandate of Heaven:
A New Generation of Entrepreneurs, Dissidents, Bohemians, and Technocrats Lays
notes to pages 27–30 447

Claim to China’s Future (Simon and Schuster, 1994), pp. 39–41; Tyler, A Great
Wall, pp. 346–47.
41. Daniel Southerland, “China Rebukes U.S. over Dissident,” Washington Post,
February 28, 1989, p. A1.
42. David Hoffman, “China’s Objections to Dissident Didn’t Reach Key Bush Offi-
cials, U.S. Says,” Washington Post, March 3, 1989, p. A9; see also R. W. Apple, “‘ Blun-
der’ at Beijing Dinner: U.S. Chides Embassy,” New York Times, March 3, 1989, p. A3.
43. Interview with Winston Lord.
44. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
45. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, pp. 93, 97.
46. Ibid., pp. 93–96.
47. Goldman, Sowing the Seeds, p. 301.
48. Sheryl WuDunn, “Hu’s Death Is Stirring Unrest,” New York Times, April 16,
1989, p. A38.
49. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 45.
50. On May 4, 1919, more than 3,000 students from thirteen colleges in Beijing
held a large-scale demonstration in Tiananmen against the decision of the Versailles
Peace Conference to transfer former German concessions in Shandong Province to
Japan—a decision to which the weak Republican government acquiesced. The dem-
onstrations turned violent and spread to other cities in China, resulting in several
student deaths and thousands of arrests. Merchants and citizens supported a
student-led boycott of Japanese goods, and sympathy strikes were held in several
major cities. Among the protesters were Mao Zedong and other early leaders of the
Communist Party of China, which was formed two years later. May Fourth also set
off a period of significant intellectual ferment and political activity.
51. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 45.
52. The lack of consistency in student demands was due, in part, to the fact that
they had not yet developed a coherent organizational structure. Some demands were
somewhat extreme—such as one for a “collective resignation.” See, for example,
Nicholas D. Kristof, “Chinese Students March for Democracy,” New York Times,
April 18, 1989, p. A3.
53. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 47; Nicholas D. Kristof, “Thousands Chant for
Democracy within Earshot of China’s Leaders,” New York Times, April 19, 1989, p.
A1; Mike Chinoy, China Live: Two Decades in the Heart of the Dragon (Atlanta:
Turner Publishing, 1997), p. 187.
54. Sheryl WuDunn, “Thousands Again Protest in Beijing,” New York Times,
April 20, 1989, p. A8.
55. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 49; Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers,
pp. 30–31; China Rights Forum, “Chronology of the 1989 Democracy Movement,”
special anniversary issue, June 1999 (http://iso.hrchina.org/iso/
article.adp?article_id=120&subcategory_id=20).
56. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 48.
57. Ibid., p. 49. In an April 20 report to the State Council, Ministry of State
Security officials referred to the police action as “temporary martial law.” See Nathan
and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 31.
448 notes to pages 30–34

58. Andrew J. Walder and Xiaoxia Gong, “Workers in the Tiananmen Protests:
The Politics of the Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation,” Australian Journal of
Chinese Affairs (now The China Journal), no. 29 (January 1993), p. 1, reprinted on
Gate of Heavenly Peace website (www.tsquare.tv/links/walder.html, accessed Febru-
ary 2003); see also China Rights Forum, “Chronology of the 1989 Democracy Move-
ment.”
59. China Rights Forum, “Chronology of the 1989 Democracy Movement.” Ac-
tually, this might have been a provisional committee at Beishida alone. Nathan and
Link cite Ministry of State Security documents on the formation of the Beida Au-
tonomous Students Association on April 24. See Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen
Papers, pp. 62–63.
60. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 46–47. The China Rights Fo-
rum chronology indicates a Politburo meeting was held on April 20, at which Li Peng
denounced the students, but the Nathan and Link volume does not substantiate it.
61. Nicholas D. Kristof, “100,000 Defy a Ban on Protests in Beijing to Demand
Democracy,” New York Times, April 22, 1989, p. A1.
62. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, pp. 50–51.
63. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 50.
64. See, for example, “The True Colors of the Federation of Autonomous Student
Unions in Beijing Universities and Colleges,” People’s Daily, July 7, 1989, from Xinhua
Overseas News Service, July 7, 1989 (www.freechina.net/pfdc/members/zhouxj.html,
accessed February 13, 2000).
65. See, for example, Andrew Nathan, “Chinese Democracy in 1989: Continuity
and Change,” in Problems of Communism , October 1989, pp. 2–50 (www.tsquare.tv/
themes/nathan.html, accessed February 2003).
66. Joan Shorenstein Barone Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, “Tur-
moil at Tiananmen: A Study of U.S. Press Coverage of the Beijing Spring of 1989,”
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1992 (hereafter Barone
Center Study), p. 5 (www.tsquare.tv/themes/TatTcontent.html, accessed February
18, 2003).
67. Jackie Judd, quoted in the Barone Center Study, p. 3.
68. From a report sent by the Beijing Municipal Party Committee to Party Central
on April 23, 1989, cited in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 53. The
English “planned, organized turmoil” is translated from the Chinese you zuzhi, you
jihua de dongluan. The term dongluan is more powerful in Chinese than the usual
translation of “turmoil.” Literally, dongluan means “to stir up chaos.”
69. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 59–61.
70. Ibid., pp. 71–73.
71. “A Document Circulated among Senior Party and Government Officials Ear-
lier This Month (April 25, 1989),” originally leaked to the South China Morning
Post (Hong Kong’s principal English-language newspaper) and published on May
31, 1989, probably as a warning of the coming crackdown. Republished in Michel
Oksenberg, Lawrence R. Sullivan, and Marc Lambert, eds., Beijing Spring, 1989:
Confrontation and Conflict (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1990), pp. 203–05. Nathan
notes to pages 35–40 449

and Link’s version (see The Tiananmen Papers, p. 73.), based on party secretariat
minutes of the meeting, has a briefer account of Deng’s comments, and although the
thrust is still the same, it does not contain Deng’s comments on bloodshed. Both
accounts agree the meeting decided to publish an editorial in People’s Daily, based
on Deng’s criticism of the students.
72. “It Is Necessary to Take a Clear-Cut Stand against Disturbances,” People’s
Daily, April 26, 1989, p. 1. Republished in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing
Spring, 1989, pp. 206–08.
73. Li Qiao, “Death or Rebirth? Tiananmen, the Soul of China,” in Oksenberg,
Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 30–31.
74. Ibid., pp. 32–35; Schell, Mandate of Heaven, pp. 62–63; Chinoy, China Live,
pp. 199–200; Nicholas D. Kristof, “150,000 March in Defiance of Beijing,” New
York Times, April 28, 1989, p. 1.
75. Kristof, “150,000 March.”
76. Chinoy, China Live, p. 200.
77. Li Qiao, “Death or Rebirth?” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing
Spring, 1989, pp. 39–41.
78. Chen Xitong, “Report to the National People’s Congress on Quelling the
Counter-Revolutionary Rebellion,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing
Spring, 1989, pp. 65, 68.
79. See Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 86–90.
80. Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 123.
81. See Lo Ping, “Li Xiannian Urges Changing the General Secretary,” Cheng
Ming magazine, no. 38, April 1, 1989, pp. 6–8, republished in Oksenberg, Sullivan,
and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 180–86. While open to question in terms of
its factual accuracy, Cheng Ming is widely circulated and read in China. This story,
published before Hu Yaobang’s death, would have been well known throughout
China, including among students.
82. Andrew J. Nathan, “Introduction: The Documents and Their Significance,”
in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. xxvi.
83. Zhao Ziyang, “Make Further Efforts to Carry Forward the May Fourth Spirit
in the New Age of Construction and Reform,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert,
Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 244–51.
84. Xinhua coverage of Zhao’s remarks, May 4, 1989, republished in Oksenberg,
Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 255. The Party Central Office Secre-
tariat excerpts of Zhao’s speech in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp.
115–16, are even more sympathetic to their cause and critical of party and govern-
ment mistakes, particularly their failure to curb corruption.
85. Seth Faison of the South China Morning Post, quoted in Barone Center Study,
p. 16.
86. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 102–08.
87. Ibid., pp. 116–18.
88. Xu Jiatun, Memoirs and Thoughts (Mirror Books, 1998), chapter 14 (“The
June 4th Storm—A Wave of Patriotic Anger”). Xu fled Hong Kong because of his
450 notes to pages 40–46

close ties to Zhao, and because he was to be held accountable for the enormous surge
of sympathy for the student cause that was seen in Hong Kong’s pro-PRC media
during the period. See also Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 123–24,
for notes of a private conversation between Zhao and Yang. The source for this
document, however, is particularly obscure—a “friend” of Yang Shangkun, who
cannot be further identified.
89. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Urging Chinese Democracy, 100,000 Surge Past Po-
lice,” New York Times, May 5, 1989, p. A8.
90. Sheryl WuDunn, “Workers Joining Students in Beijing Demonstrations,” New
York Times, May 5, 1989, p. A8.

Notes to Chapter 3
1. Li Xiaowen, “A Chronicle of What Happened in Beijing from May 13 to 14,
1989: Efforts to Persuade Students to Leave Tiananmen Square,” China News Di-
gest, June 3, 1995, p. 2 (www.cnd.org/CND-Global/CND-Global.95.2nd/CND-Glo-
bal.95-06-02.html, accessed August 27, 2001); Andrew J. Nathan and E. Perry Link,
eds., The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001), pp. 126–29, 131–38.
2. Orville Schell, Mandate of Heaven: A New Generation of Entrepreneurs, Dis-
sidents, Bohemians, and Technocrats Lays Claim to China’s Future (Simon and
Schuster, 1994), pp. 78–79.
3. Li Qiao, “Death or Rebirth? Tiananmen, the Soul of China,” in Michel
Oksenberg, Lawrence R. Sullivan, and Marc Lambert, eds., Beijing Spring, 1989:
Confrontation and Conflict (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1990), p. 48.
4. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 149. The source for this informa-
tion, again, is the “friend of Yang Shangkun,” who took remarkably thorough notes
of the three-way conversation between Yang, Deng, and Zhao. While the conversa-
tion reflects what most likely were the viewpoints of the three men, and it is certainly
possible the three met at Deng’s residence, the authenticity of the document, in my
view, is questionable. It is just a bit too neat, too convenient, and too sympathetic to
Zhao.
5. Li Xiaowen, “A Chronicle of What Happened in Beijing,” p. 3.
6. Ibid. See also Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 168–69.
7. Joan Shorenstein Barone Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, “Tur-
moil at Tiananmen: A Study of U.S. Press Coverage of the Beijing Spring of 1989,”
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1992 (hereafter Barone
Center Study), p. 23.
8. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 88.
9. Mike Chinoy, China Live: Two Decades in the Heart of the Dragon (Atlanta:
Turner Publishing, 1997), p. 210.
10. Jim Munson of Canadian TV, quoted in Barone Center Study, p. 21.
11. Mark Hertsgaard, “China Coverage—Strong on What, Weak on Why,” Roll-
ing Stone magazine, September 21, 1989 (republished at www.tsquare.tv/themes/
hertsgaard.html, accessed February 18, 2003).
12. Chinoy, China Live, p. 207.
notes to pages 46–51 451

13. Nicholas D. Kristof, “China Update: How the Hardliners Won,” New York
Times Magazine, November 12, 1989, p. 39.
14. From Beijing Television Service, May 16, 1989, published by Foreign Broad-
cast Information Service (FBIS), republished in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert,
Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 261.
15. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 94.
16. Sheryl WuDunn, “150,000 Lift Their Voices for Change,” New York Times,
May 16, 1989, p. A12.
17. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Soviets and China Resuming Normal Ties after 30 Years;
Beijing Pledges ‘Democracy,’” New York Times, May 17, 1989, p. A1.
18. From “Minutes of the May 16 Politburo Standing Committee Meeting,” pre-
pared by the Party Central Office Secretariat, in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen
Papers, pp. 180–81.
19. From the “‘ Minutes of the May 17 Politburo Standing Committee Meeting”
document supplied to Party Central Office Secretariat for its records by the Office of
Deng Xiaoping, in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 185.
20. Ibid., pp. 188–89.
21. Ibid., pp. 192–93.
22. Ibid., pp. 200–01.
23. Ibid., pp. 204–11.
24. Beijing Television Service video report, “Li Peng and Others Meet Represen-
tatives of the Fasting Students,” May 18, 1989, in FBIS, May 19, 1989, pp. 14–21;
Schell, Mandate of Heaven, pp. 116–17.
25. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Crowds in Street Ask Deng’s Ouster,” New York Times,
May 18, 1989, p. A1.
26. Andrew J. Walder and Xiaoxia Gong, “Workers in the Tiananmen Protests:
The Politics of the Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation,” Australian Journal of
Chinese Affairs (now The China Journal), no. 29 (January 1993), pp. 3–4.
27. “Zhao Ziyang and Li Peng Visit Fasting Students at Tiananmen Square,”
Beijing Television Service, in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989,
pp. 288–89; Nicholas D. Kristof, “Chinese Premier Issues a Warning to the Protest-
ers,” New York Times, May 19, 1989, p. A1.
28. Melanie Manion, “Reluctant Duelists: The Logic of the 1989 Protests and
Massacre,” introduction in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989,
p. xxxvi.
29. “Li Peng Delivers Important Speech on Behalf of Party Central Committee
and State Council,” Beijing Television Service, May 19, 1989, in Oksenberg, Sullivan,
and Lambert, eds., Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 309.
30. Geremie Barmé, “Beijing Days, Beijing Nights,” excerpts from Jonathan Unger,
ed., The Pro-Democracy Protests in China: Reports from the Provinces (Armonk,
N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1991) (reprinted at www.tsquare.tv/links/Beijing_Days.html,
accessed February 16, 2003).
31. Press speculation on this issue was rife in U.S. media at the time and led to
further misunderstandings later. Although General Xu may have checked himself into
a hospital to avoid ordering the Thirty-Eighth into action against demonstrators, he
452 notes to pages 51–54

evidently was replaced by one who had no such compunctions. The Thirty-Eighth was
one of the key units involved in the June 4 attack on unarmed demonstrators.
32. Tai-ming Cheung, “The PLA and Its Role between April–June 1989,” in Ri-
chard L. Yang, ed., China’s Military: The PLA in 1990/1991 (Boulder, Colo.: Westview
Press, 1991), p. 9. See also “Main Points of Yang Shangkun’s Speech at Emergency
Enlarged Meeting of the Central Military Commission,” from Ming Pao article of
May 29, 1989, in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 320–
27, especially p. 326.
33. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 212.
34. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Upheaval in China: Biggest Beijing Crowds So Far Keep
Troops from City Center,” New York Times, May 21, 1989, p. A1.
35. Chinoy, China Live, pp. 220–21.
36. Linda Jakobsen, “Lies in Ink, Truth in Blood: The Role and Impact of the
Chinese Media during the Beijing Spring of ’89,” Discussion Paper, Joan Shorenstein
Barone Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University, August 1990 (republished at www.tsquare.tv/
themes/liesink.html, accessed February 18, 2003).
37. One curious event, not yet fully explained, was the lifting of some restrictions
on international news feeds via satellite on May 23. For less than a day, CCTV
permitted foreign news agencies to broadcast live on its satellite. Coming at the same
time as rumors that Zhao Ziyang was making a comeback and Li Peng was under
attack, some reporters viewed the event as part of the power struggle at the top. One
CNN executive told the New York Times, “Our feeling is that it means that the
moderates in the party are winning the battle at the moment” (New York Times,
May 24, 1989, p. A11). Just as unexpectedly, the service was terminated May 24.
CBS broadcast the plug pulling live.
38. Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China: Political Reform
in the Deng Xiaoping Era (Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 323–24.
39. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Chinese Update: How the Hardliners Won,” New York
Times Magazine, November 12, 1989, p. 71.
40. “Students Visit Marshals Nie Rongzhen and Xu Xiangqian,” from Beijing
Domestic Radio Service, May 21, 1989, republished in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and
Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 316–17. Although long retired, Nie and Xu re-
tained considerable influence and prestige within the active duty ranks of the PLA.
41. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Standoff Persists in Beijing; 7 Top Ex-Commanders
Warn Army ‘Must Not Enter City,’” New York Times, May 23, 1989, p. A1. Also
Cheung, “The PLA and Its Role,” pp. 8–9. The authenticity of the letter—supposedly
signed by former defense minister Zhang Aiping and former chief of staff Yang Dezhi—
is somewhat open to question, although it was published by one Xinhua-related
agency. The letter was widely interpreted as being part of a counterattack against Li
Peng. Other reports had cited open letters and petitions by large groups of PLA
officers. Such reports made the rounds of protesters and the foreign journalists who
relied on them for information, but they were never confirmed by official sources.
42. Cheung, “The PLA and Its Role,” p. 6.
notes to pages 54–61 453

43. “Main Points of Yang Shangkun Speech at Emergency Enlarged Meeting of

the Central Military Commission,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing
Spring, 1989, p. 327.
44. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 256–64.
45. Ibid., pp. 268–72.
46. Ibid., pp. 308–12.
47. Bruce Gilley, Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China’s New Elite (Univer-
sity of California Press, 1998), pp. 134–37.
48. Deng’s speech to Li and Yao was widely circulated in China. See “‘ Full Text’
of Speech to Li Peng and Yao Yilin [May 31, 1989],” published in Tung Fang Jih
Pao (Eastern Daily), Hong Kong, July 14, 1989, in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lam-
bert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 333–38.
49. George Black and Robin Munro, Black Hands of Beijing: Lives of Defiance in
China’s Democracy Movement (John Wiley and Sons, 1993), pp. 216–20. Excerpts used
here are from www.tsquare.tv/chronology/BlackHMay.html, accessed August 18, 2001.
50. Jan Wong, Red China Blues (Doubleday, 1996), p. 244.
51. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 128.
52. Black and Munro, Black Hands of Beijing, pp. 216–20.
53. Patrick Tyler, “6 Years after the Tiananmen Massacre, Survivors Clash Anew
on Tactics,” New York Times, April 30, 1995, p. A12.
54. Chinoy, China Live, p. 245.
55. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 331, from a documentary report
from the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and Government to the Politburo, en-
titled “On the True Nature of the Turmoil.”
56. From the party secretariat minutes of “an important meeting, June 2, 1989,”
in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, p. 357.
57. Ibid., pp. 361–62.
58. Many Western reporters were located in the Beijing Hotel, which is located
nearly one-half mile from Tiananmen Square. Although they could certainly hear the
noise of the action, even reporters in rooms closest to the square could not really see
what was going on around the Martyrs’ Monument.
59. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (Simon and Schuster, 1983),
p. 1106.
60. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, p. 135; Chinoy, China Live, p. 248.
61. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 369–70 (emphasis added).
62. Schell, Mandate of Heaven, chaps. 13 and 14; Yi Mu and Mark V. Thomp-
son, Crisis at Tiananmen: Reform and Reality in Modern China (San Francisco:
China Books, 1989), pp. 82–83. The Twenty-Seventh group army is usually reported
to have been the unit most involved in the use of excessive violence en route to
Tiananmen, but accounts from State Security reporters cited in The Tiananmen Pa-
pers indicate it was the Thirty-Eighth.
63. Hou Dejian’s own account of June 3–4, “Blame Me If You Want,” appears in
Mu and Thompson, Crisis at Tiananmen, pp. 239–49. See also Nathan and Link,
The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 380–81; Schell, Mandate of Heaven, pp. 150–52.
454 notes to pages 61–65

64. See, for example, Chen Xitong, “Report to the NPC,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan,
and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 86.
65. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Artillery Firing in Suburbs Adds to Tensions in Beijing;
Mystery on Leaders Grows,” New York Times, June 7, 1989, p. A1.
66. Beijing television broadcast of June 6, 1989, in BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, FE/0476 B2/14, June 8, 1989. On June 6, State Council press spokesman Yuan
Mu, Martial Law Command political commissar Zhang Gong, and two Beijing mu-
nicipal officials gave a press conference for “domestic” journalists in Beijing. The
casualty figures were provided at that time.
67. Casualty figures are discussed at several points in Nathan and Link, The
Tiananmen Papers. Initial “State Security Ministry” figures are “about two hun-
dred, with about two thousand wounded” (p. 376). In his report to the Politburo
Standing Committee and the elders on June 6, Li Peng cited the following casualty
figures: PLA and People’s Armed Police—36 killed, 200 missing, 5,000 injured; civil-
ian populace—approximately 200 killed, 2,000 wounded (p. 421). In an “official”
report to the Politburo on June 19, Li Ximing claimed 23 soldiers and 218 civilians
were killed, and about 5,000 soldiers and 2,000 civilians were wounded (p. 436).
68. From “Minutes of the Central Politburo Standing Committee Meeting, June
6, 1989,” in Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 423–24.
69. Deng Xiaoping, “Address to Martial Law Units,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and
Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, pp. 377, 378–79.
70. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Deng Appears on Chinese TV, Surrounded by Hard-
Liners,” New York Times, June 10, 1989, p. A1.
71. Interview with Brent Scowcroft, December 1999.
72. George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, A World Transformed (Knopf, 1998),
p. 90.
73. Ibid., p. 89.
74. Interview with Douglas Paal, December 1999; interview with Richard Solomon,
January 2000.
75. Patrick Tyler, A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China (New York: Century
Foundation, 1999), p. 348.
76. Interview with James Lilley, February 2000.
77. Robert Pear, “U.S. Voices Regret at Events in China,” New York Times, May
20, 1989, p. A6.
78. Bernard Weinraub, “Bush Urges Protesters to ‘Stand Up’ for Beliefs,” New
York Times, May 22, 1989, p. A11.
79. Interview with Richard Solomon.
80. Interviews with James Lilley and Douglas Paal.
81. Interview with Douglas Paal.
82. “Resolution on Democracy in China (Senate—May 31, 1989),” in Congres-
sional Record, p. S5791 (http:/thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r101:1:./temp/
~101YraOo6::, accessed February 18, 2003).
83. From the Congressional Record of May 24, 1989, cited in Eric Hyer, “United
States’ Response to the Tiananmen Massacre: Congressional Values and Executive
Interests,” Conflict, vol. 11 (1991), p. 172.
notes to pages 66–71 455

84. Robert Pear, “Crackdown in Beijing: President Assails Shootings in China,”

New York Times, June 4, 1989, p. A21; interview with William Clark Jr., March
2000.
85. Pear, “Crackdown in Beijing.”
86. Thomas L. Friedman, “Administration Ponders Steps on China,” New York
Times, June 5, 1989, p. A12.
87. I was present at the meeting.
88. Interview with Carl Ford, April 2000.
89. Interviews with William Clark Jr. and Carl Ford. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Bush
Bars Arms Sales to China,” New York Times, June 6, 1989, p. A1. An additional
program, the sale of Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopters to China for civilian use, was
also suspended.
90. “The President’s News Conference,” June 5, 1989 (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/
papers/1989/89060500.html, accessed January 21, 2003).
91. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 98.
92. Bernard E. Trainor, “Bush Bars Normal Ties Now,” New York Times, June 9,
1989, p. A1.
93. According to reports cited in the Tiananmen Papers, antigovernment demon-
strations broke out in 181 Chinese cities after the Beijing operation. Most were non-
violent, but many required substantial police action. See Nathan and Link, The
Tiananmen Papers, pp. 392–96, 398–416.
94. Manion, “Reluctant Duelists,” in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing
Spring, 1989, p. xl.
95. Cheung, “The PLA and Its Role,” p. 14.
96. Sheryl WuDunn, “Chinese Arrest 400 in Beijing amid Fears of a Wide Purge,”
New York Times, June 11, 1989, p. A1.
97. Interview with James Lilley.
98. Perry Link, Evening Chats in Beijing: Probing China’s Predicament (W. W.
Norton, 1992), pp. 46–47; James Mann, About Face: A History of America’s Curi-
ous Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), pp.
201–04; interview with James Lilley.
99. Interview with William Clark Jr. In his book, About Face, James Mann credits
Jeffrey Bader, deputy director of State’s China Desk, working in conjunction with
Kimmitt and others with reversing an earlier decision and offering refuge to Fang.
Given the urgency of the situation, it is entirely possible that more than one phone
call was made to the embassy. Baker’s involvement is discussed in Thomas L. Fried-
man, “U.S. and Chinese Seek to Resolve Rift on Dissident,” New York Times, June
13, 1989, p. A1.
100. Mann, About Face, pp. 201–04; interviews with James Lilley and William
Clark Jr.
101. Nicholas D. Kristof, “China Seeks Arrest of Top Dissident, Now Living at
U.S. Embassy,” New York Times, June 12, 1989, p. A1.
102. “The President’s News Conference, June 8, 1989,” in Bush Presidential Li-
brary papers (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1989/89060803.html, accessed
January 2003).
456 notes to pages 72–81

103. Kristof, “China Seeks Arrest of Top Dissident.”

104. Lilley—a former CIA case officer—did in fact consider possible scenarios for
exfiltrating Fang (he had secretly transported Fang Zhe out less than a week after his
parents took up residence), but did not put them into effect. Chinese fears of such an
attempt led them to increase armed surveillance of the embassy for months after-
ward. Interview with James Lilley.
105. Richard Bernstein, “A Precarious Mission: Restitching a Torn China,” New
York Times, June 25, 1989, p. A12.
106. Nathan and Link, The Tiananmen Papers, pp. 432–36. From party secre-
tariat notes on the remarks of speakers at the Fourth Plenum.
107. Ibid.
108. “Victors in the Struggle among China’s Leaders,” New York Times, June 25,
1989, p. A10.
109. Ning Lu, The Dynamics of Foreign Policy Decisionmaking in China (Boul-
der, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997), p. 159.
110. The most thorough English-language biography of Jiang is Bruce Gilley’s,
Tiger at the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China’s New Elite (University of California
Press, 1998), pp. 8–24.
111. Ibid., pp. 47–48.
112. Ibid., pp. 63–64.
113. Ibid., p. 73.
114. Ibid., p. 94.
115. Ibid., pp. 126–27.
116. Ibid., pp. 128–30, 137–44.
117. Deng Xiaoping, “‘ Full Text’ of Speech to Li Peng and Yao Yilin [May 31,
1989],” published in Tung fang jih pao (Eastern Daily), Hong Kong, July 14, 1989,
in Oksenberg, Sullivan, and Lambert, Beijing Spring, 1989, p. 334. Also Gilley, Ti-
ger at the Brink, pp. 132–35.
118. Daniel Southerland, “Deng Emerges, Says Reform to Go On,” Washington
Post, September 17, 1989, p. A33.
119. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, pp. 100–02.
120. Chen You-wei, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao meimu (Inside Stories of the
Diplomacy between Communist China and America) Taipei: Cheng Chong Book
Company, 1999), p. 137. Chen was a public relations consultant on the Chinese
embassy staff at the time of Tiananmen.
121. Ibid, p. 138.
122. James A. Baker III (with Thomas M. Defrank), The Politics of Diplomacy,
Revolution, War and Peace, 1989–92 (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995), p. 109.
123. Mann, About Face, p. 206; interview with James Lilley.
124. Interview with James Lilley.
125. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 106; Tyler, A Great Wall, p.
364; Mann, About Face, pp. 206–07; interview with Brent Scowcroft.
126. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 107.
127. Ibid.
notes to pages 81–88 457

128. Ibid., p. 109.

129. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
130. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 110.
131. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 110.
132. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, pp. 110–11.
133. Interview with James Lilley.
134. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
135. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 107.
136. Eric Hyer, “United States’ Response to the Tiananmen Massacre: Congres-
sional Values and Executive Interests,” Conflict, vol. 11 (1991), p. 174; Thomas L.
Friedman, “Congress, Angry at China, Moves to Impose Sanctions,” New York Times,
June 23, 1989, p. A5.
137. Don Oberdorfer, “House Plans New China Sanctions; Bipartisan Package
Would Counter Bush’s Caution,” Washington Post, June 29, 1989, p. A1.
138. Don Oberdorfer, “House China Vote Shows Power of Domestic Politics,”
Washington Post, July 1, 1989, p. A1. As a group, these sanctions are generally
called the “Tiananmen Sanctions,” many of which are still in effect.
139. Richard Madsen, China and the American Dream: A Moral Inquiry (Univer-
sity of California Press, 1995), p. xvi.
140. Ibid., p. 4.
141. Barone Center Study, p. 38.
142. See “China’s Untold Story: Who Died in the Crackdown?” New York Times,
June 3, 1990, p. A20.
143. Barone Center Study, pp. 45–46.

Notes to Chapter 4
1. Beidaihe, a small town on the seacoast of Hebei Province about 170 miles east
of Beijing, has long been a favorite retreat from the summertime heat of the capital.
The resort area, originally built for Western businessmen in the nineteenth century,
has been used since the early days of the People’s Republic for senior leadership
working vacations. Top leaders have large villas near the seashore and usually meet
informally there to discuss important issues. Occasionally formal Central Committee
meetings are held at Beidaihe, but more often, leaders prefer informal, smaller ses-
sions, away from the demands of bureaucratic formality in Beijing. Deng no doubt
used the facilities there both to recover his health and to meet privately with other
senior leaders, including Yang Shangkun and Jiang Zemin.
2. Adi Ignatius and Walter S. Mossberg, “Deng Sends an Indirect Message to
Bush Hinting China’s Hard Line Is Softening,” Wall Street Journal, October 26,
1989, p. 1.
3. Deng Xiaoping, “We Are Confident That We Can Handle China’s Affairs Well,”
Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping: Volume 3 (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1994),
p. 314. Also Bruce Gilley, Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China’s New Elite
(University of California Press, 1998), p. 165.
458 notes to pages 89–96

4. Daniel Southerland, “Deng Resigns His Last Party Post,” Washington Post,
November 10, 1989, p. A1.
5. James A. R. Miles, The Legacy of Tiananmen: China in Disarray (University of
Michigan Press, 1996), p. 59.
6. Private communications with John Kamm, July 1999.
7. “Deng Conciliatory over Crackdown,” New York Times, October 19, 1989,
p. A12.
8. Xinhua News Agency, no. 0625047, “Communiqué of Fourth Plenary Session
of CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection,” June 25, 1989.
9. Deng Xiaoping, “First Priority Should Always Be Given to National Sover-
eignty and Security,” Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping: Volume 3, p. 335.
10. Ma Licheng and Ling Zhijun, Jiao feng: dangdai zhongguo san ci sixiang
jiefang shilu (Crossed Swords: The Real Record of Three Efforts to Liberate Thought
in Contemporary China) (Taipei: Commonwealth Publishing, 1998), pp. 117–18.
Crossed Swords was written by two People’s Daily reporters and constitutes a strik-
ingly blunt discussion of the propaganda struggle over reform policy in 1978, 1990–
92, and 1997.
11. Ibid., p. 119.
12. Willy Wo-Lap Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping: The Power Struggle in Beijing
since Tiananmen (Hong Kong: P. A. Professional Consultants, 1995), pp. 56–57.
13. See Deng Xiaoping, “The International Situation and Economic Problems,”
Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping: Volume 3, pp. 341–43. Deng’s remarks were
made at a March 1990 meeting with unspecified Central Committee members.
14. Chen You-wei, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao neimu (Inside Stories of the
Diplomacy between Communist China and America) (Taipei: Cheng Chong Book
Company, 1999), pp. 99–100.
15. David Skidmore and William Gates, “After Tiananmen: The Struggle over
U.S. Policy toward China in the Bush Administration,” Presidential Studies Quar-
terly, vol. 27, no. 3 (Summer 1997). Available at www.drake.edu/artsci/PolSci/
personalwebpage/tiananmen.html, accessed January 2003.
16. Bush news conference of June 27, 1989 (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/
1989/89062700.html, accessed January 2003).
17. George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, A World Transformed (Knopf, 1998), pp.
156–57.
18. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 31.
19. Interview with Brent Scowcroft, December 1999.
20. See Summary and Status of H.R. 2712 (101st Congress) (http://thomas.loc.gov,
accessed May 5, 2000).
21. Kenneth J. Cooper, “Chinese Students’ Stays May Not Be Extended,” Wash-
ington Post, November 23, 1989, p. A56.
22. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
23. “Statement on the Disapproval of the Bill Providing Emergency Chinese Im-
migration Relief,” November 30, 1989, Bush Presidential Library papers (http://
bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1989/89113003.html, accessed January 2003). Bush
notes to pages 96–100 459

vetoed the bill a week after Congress had adjourned for the Thanksgiving-Christmas
holiday recess, probably in hopes that achievements planned for December would
limit congressional anger.
24. “Memorandum of Disapproval for the Bill Providing Emergency Chinese
Immigration Relief,” November 30, 1989, Bush Presidential Library papers (http://
bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1989/89113002.html, accessed February 2003).
25. James A. Baker III (with Thomas M. Defrank), The Politics of Diplomacy,
Revolution, War and Peace, 1989–92 (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995), p. 111.
26. Interview with Michel Oksenberg, June 2000.
27. Richard M. Nixon, “The Crisis in Sino-American Relations,” Congressional
Record, November 21, 1989, p. S16553 (http:thomas.loc.gov, accessed February
2002). Oksenberg recalled that Nixon chose the descriptive adjectives for various
leaders with great care.
28. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Better Relations Depend on U.S., Deng Tells Nixon,”
New York Times, November 1, 1989, p. A8. In Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping:
Volume 3 (see pp. 320–22), Deng’s remarks are rendered slightly differently, but his
denunciation of American involvement—and particularly of the role played by the
VOA—is even more shrill.
29. Interview with Michel Oksenberg. Oksenberg maintains Nixon was unaware
of the July Scowcroft-Eagleburger mission and presumably learned about plans for
the December mission when Oksenberg was out of the room.
30. Sheryl WuDunn, “Kissinger, in Beijing, Seeks to Mend Fences,” New York
Times, November 9, 1989, p. A19.
31. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 158.
32. Interviews with James Lilley, February 2000, and Douglas Paal, December 1999.
33. Interview with Douglas Paal.
34. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, p. 174.
35. Steven Erlanger, “Top Aides to Bush Are Visiting China to Mend Relations,”
New York Times, December 10, 1989, p. A1; Daniel Southerland, “U.S. Envoys
Visit China to Improve Ties,” Washington Post, December 10, 1989, p. A1.
36. New York Times editorial of December 12, 1989, p. A24.
37. Will comments cited in Haynes Johnson, “China and Double Standards,”
Washington Post, December 15, 1989, p. A2.
38. Winston Lord, “Misguided Mission,” Washington Post, December 19, 1989,
p. A23.
39. “Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session with Newspaper Editors,”
December 11, 1989, Bush Presidential Library papers(http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/
papers/1989/89121103.html, accessed January 2003).
40. David Hoffman and Ann Devroy, “Bush Rejects New Sanctions for China,
Clears Satellites,” Washington Post, December 19, 1989, p. A1.
41. Maureen Dowd, “Two U.S. Officials Went to Beijing Secretly in July,” New
York Times, December 19, 1989, p. A1.
42. Don Oberdorfer, “U.S. Optimistic Dissident Fang Will Be Freed; Subject Taken
up in Recent Talks,” Washington Post, December 16, 1989, p. A28.
460 notes to pages 100–107

43. Don Oberdorfer and David Hoffman, “Scowcroft Warned China of New Hill
Sanctions; U.S. Emissaries Stressed Need for Action by Beijing, Sources Say,” Wash-
ington Post, December 15, 1989, p. A1.
44. Kerry Dumbaugh, “China: Current U.S. Sanctions,” Congressional Research
Service Report 94-92 F, updated April 14, 1995, p. 3.
45. David Hoffman and Hobart Rowen, “Quayle Sees ‘Dividends’ for U.S. China
Policy,” Washington Post, January 11, 1990, p. A26.
46. Ibid.
47. Daniel Southerland, “China Announces Release of 573 Detainees,” Washing-
ton Post, January 19, 1990, p. A13.
48. David S. Broder, “Gingrich Opposes Bush on China Veto; GOP Backs Over-
ride, White House Is Told,” Washington Post, January 19, 1990, p. A13.
49. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
50. “The President’s News Conference,” January 25, 1990, Bush Presidential Li-
brary papers (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1990/90012504.html, accessed
January 2003).
51. Thomas L. Friedman, “Senate, by 4 Votes, Fails to Override Bush’s China
Veto,” New York Times, January 26, 1990, p. A1.
52. Helen Dewar, “Senate Narrowly Votes to Sustain Veto of Chinese Student
Bill,” Washington Post, January 26, 1990, p. A1.
53. Bush criticized the “legislatively-mandated sanctions” contained in the bill as
“an unwise constraint upon the President’s ability to conduct foreign policy,” but
nonetheless signed the bill with numerous reservations about some of its provisions.
See “Statement on Signing the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years
1990 and 1991,” of February 16, 1990 (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1990/
90021601.html, accessed January 2003).
54. Sheryl WuDunn, “Upheaval in the East, China Bitterly Protests Sanctions by
Congress,” New York Times, February 3, 1990, p. A9.
55. John M. Goshko, “Eagleburger Defends China Policy, Senators Unconvinced,”
Washington Post, February 8, 1990, p. A17.
56. “1989: Annus Mirabilis—Liberalization and Struggle in Communist Coun-
tries,” Encyclopaedia Britannica (reprinted at www.britannica.com/eb/
article?au=108371, accessed February 2003).
57. See Daniel Southerland, “Deng Said to Warn against Gorbachev’s Ideas,”
Washington Post, November 23, 1989, p. A49.
58. Daniel Southerland, “Chinese Workers Seek Permission to Protest; Leader-
ship Orders Security Forces to Crush Any Demonstrations,” Washington Post, Janu-
ary 8, 1990, p. A1.
59. Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 169.
60. Quoted in Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 4.
61. Interview with Brent Scowcroft.
62. Interview with Michel Oksenberg.
63. Robert Pear, “Bush Distressed as Policy Fails to Move China,” New York
Times, March 11, 1990, p. A1.
notes to pages 107–112 461

64. Interview with James Lilley.

65. Background information on MFN in the following paragraphs from Vladimir
N. Pregelj, Congressional Research Service Issue Brief 92094, “Most-Favored-
Nation Status of the People’s Republic of China,” updated version of December 6,
1996 (found at www.fas.org/man/crs/92-094.htm, p. 2, accessed January 2003); and
Kerry Dumbaugh, “China’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Status: Congressional Con-
sideration, 1989–1998,” CRS Report for Congress, update August 1, 1998, p. 1.
66. Disapproval procedures are carefully stipulated and limit congressional flex-
ibility. By statute, a disapproval resolution must be reported out of committee within
30 days of the June 3 (mid-year) deadline for extending MFN, it is not amendable,
debate is limited to 20 hours, and the resolution must be approved by August 31.
67. James Mann, About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship with
China, from Nixon to Clinton (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), pp. 230–31.
68. See Congressional Record, “Extension of Remarks,” May 24, 1990, p. E1756,
and “Summary of H.R. 4939” (http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003.)
69. Mann, About Face, p. 233.
70. Congressional Record, “Summary of H.R. 4939.”
71. Lena H. Sun and David Hoffman, “President Is Ready to Renew China’s
Favored Trade Status,” Washington Post, May 22, 1990, p. A1.
72. Daniel Southerland, “Leading Chinese Dissident Allowed to Leave Home-
land,” Washington Post, June 26, 1990, p. A1.
73. “Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on Fang Lizhi’s Departure from China,”
June 25, 1990, from Bush Presidential Library (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/
1990/90062501.html, accessed February 2003).
74. David Hoffman, “Dissident Fang Criticizes U.S. China Policy; Professor Pre-
dicts Another Uprising,” Washington Post, July 7, 1990, p. A14.
75. Interview with Richard Solomon, January 2000.
76. Information in this paragraph from Chen, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao
neimu (Inside Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China and America),
pp. 280–83.
77. The terms “hegemon” (ba), “seeking hegemony” (cheng ba), and
“hegemonism” (baquan zhuyi) are commonly used by Chinese commentators but
not well understood in the West. The terms date from China’s “Warring States”
period (475–221 B.C.), when several small kingdoms fought bitterly and incessantly
with each other for dominance, forging and breaking alliances, plotting and colluding
to maximize their own power and prevent any of the others from achieving the goal
of unifying China under their rule. Chinese understand the “hegemon” to be pos-
sessed of an insatiable lust for power and domination, modeled after the state of Qin,
which destroyed the other kingdoms and unified all of China for the first time, estab-
lishing what was arguably its bloodiest, most tyrannical, and shortest dynasties. See
Michael Pillsbury, China Debates the Future Security Environment (Washington:
National Defense University Press, 2000), pp. xxxv–vi.
78. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Foreign Minister Will Visit Middle East; Beijing Using
Gulf Crisis to End Isolation,” Washington Post, November 4, 1990, p. A32.
462 notes to pages 113–118

79. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 588.

80. David Hoffman, “China Signals Assent to UN Vote on Force,” Washington
Post, November 7, 1990, p. A7.
81. Interview with James Lilley.
82. Ibid. Chen You-wei gives a somewhat different account. See Zhonggong yu
meiguo waijiao neimu (Inside Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China
and America), pp. 204–05.
83. Sheryl WuDunn, “Mideast Tensions, Chinese Official Leaves in Doubt How
He Will Vote on Iraq at UN,” New York Times, November 29, 1990, p. A15. Asked
whether China would abstain, Qian replied, “You will know after I vote.” It’s hard
to understand how Qian’s statements were seen as ambiguous.
84. Chen, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao neimu (Inside Stories of the Diplomacy
between Communist China and America), p. 205.
85. “Excerpts from U.S., Kuwaiti, Iraqi and Chinese Remarks on the Resolu-
tion,” New York Times, November 30, 1990, p. A10.
86. Interviews with James Lilley and Douglas Paal.
87. Bush and Scowcroft, A World Transformed, pp. 414–15n.; Chen, Zhonggong
yu meiguo waijiao neimu (Inside Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China
and America), p. 206; interviews with Douglas Paal and James Lilley.
88. Interview with James Lilley; Chen, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao neimu (In-
side Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China and America), p. 208. Chen
claims Qian would have come to Washington regardless of whether he got a meeting
with Bush, because Deng had ordered him to do so.
89. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Beijing Backs away from Full Support of the War,”
New York Times, February 1, 1991, p. A10; “China Skeptical of U.S. Gulf Role,”
New York Times, February 20, 1991, p. A14.
90. Interview with Carl Ford, April 2000.
91. Sheryl WuDunn, “War Astonishes Chinese and Stuns Their Military,” New
York Times, March 20, 1991, p. A13.
92. David Shambaugh, “China’s Military: Real or Paper Tiger,” Washington
Quarterly, Spring 1996.
93. Lena H. Sun, “China Ending Trials of Dissidents,” Washington Post, April 4,
1991, p. A29.
94. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Leader Defends Crackdown,” Washington Post, April
10, 1991, p. A29.
95. R. Jeffrey Smith, “China Aid on Algerian Reactor May Violate Pledges,”
Washington Post, April 20, 1991, p. A17.
96. John Burgess, “Bush Administration Includes China in List of Trade-Restric-
tion Offenders; Beijing’s Trade Surplus, Import Barriers Growing, Report Says,”
Washington Post, March 30, 1991, p. A14.
97. John W. Dietrich, “Interest Groups and Foreign Policy: Clinton and the China
MFN Debates,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2 (June 1999), pp.
295–96.
98. Washington Post editorial, “Message to China,” May 19, 1991, p. D6.
notes to pages 119–121 463

99. Text of H.R. 2212, the United States–China Act of 1991, as sent to the Presi-
dent, Sec. 2 Findings and Policy (http://thomas.loc.gov).
100. Ibid., Sec. 3.
101. Don Oberdorfer and Ann Devroy, “Bush Seeks to Keep China Trade Status;
Intense Debate on Benefits Expected,” Washington Post, May 16, 1991, p. A1.
102. Ann Devroy and Helen Dewar, “White House Open to Conditions on China
Trade; Mitchell Proposal Would Set 6-Month Review on Terms for Favored-Nation
Extension,” Washington Post, May 17, 1991, p. A21.
103. “Remarks at the Yale University Commencement Ceremony in New Haven,
Connecticut,” May 27, 1991 (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1991/
91052700.html, accessed February 2003).
104. Don Oberdorfer, “President Plans Major Push on Renewal of Trade Status
for China,” Washington Post, May 29, 1991, p. A23.
105. Michael Weisskopf, “Hill Democrats to Fight Beijing Trade Benefits; Chi-
nese Dissidents See Betrayal of Cause,” Washington Post, May 28, 1991, p. A5.
106. That act gave the USTR authority to designate as “priority foreign coun-
tries” those that “deny adequate and effective protection” of U.S. patents, copy-
rights, and intellectual property rights. If negotiations failed to resolve the problem,
the USTR was empowered to impose tariff increases of up to 100 percent on selected
categories of the offending country’s exports to the United States, up to and above
the estimated amount of damage to U.S. trade by the piracy.
107. Thomas T. Moga, “A Journey into China—Notes from over the Wall,” Part
2, Intellectual Property Today magazine, May 1997.
108. Clyde H. Farnsworth, “Bush Denies Satellite Parts to China,” New York
Times, May 1, 1991, p. A15. Information on the Algerian nuclear reactor—which
turned out to be a small research reactor that Algeria eventually placed under Inter-
national Atomic Energy Agency safeguards—was available as early as 1988, but no
actions were taken to try and stop the project, much to the dismay of critics. See, for
example, Elaine Sciolino and Eric Schmitt, “Algerian Reactor Came from China,”
New York Times, November 15, 1991. Rumors of possible M-9 missile sales also
dated back several years, but the deal never was consummated. The post–Gulf War
hunger for advanced weapons in the Middle East apparently led to a reopening of
the bidding. The stories about M-11s to Pakistan began circulating in early 1991,
when intelligence sources spotted M-11 transporter/launchers on the ground in Paki-
stan. See R. Jeffrey Smith, “Chinese Missile Launchers Sighted in Pakistan,” Wash-
ington Post, April 6, 1991, p. A17.
109. Cited in David Hoffman, “Selling Missile Technology Would Risk U.S. Wrath,
Baker Tells China,” Washington Post, June 13, 1991, p. A36.
110. Lena H. Sun, “On MFN, China Sends Mixed Signals,” Washington Post,
July 7, 1991, p. A22. The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), established
in 1987, was an informal agreement among G-7 countries—subsequently expanded
to include twenty-five others—that members would refrain from selling missiles or
technology for missiles whose range exceeded 300 kilometers and whose payload
exceeded 500 kilograms (considered to be the minimum range and payload for car-
464 notes to pages 121–125

rying a nuclear device). The so-called annexes to the MTCR agreement specified the
technologies that members agreed to control, including guidance and stabilization
systems, solid rocket fuel, and so on. China was not an original member of the
MTCR—and was not invited to be one—but told the United States informally that it
would abide by its guidelines in its missile sales. It insisted, however, that the provi-
sions of the MTCR annexes only technically bound those countries that had for-
mally joined.
111. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (more commonly,
the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT), signed in 1968 by the United States, the
Soviet Union, and subsequently many other countries, committed its signatories not
to assist any country not already in possession of nuclear weapons in obtaining or
developing them. China had consistently refused to sign the treaty on the grounds
that it was a plot by the two superpowers to monopolize both nuclear weapons and
nuclear power.
112. Keith Bradsher, “A Hard Line from China on Trade,” New York Times,
May 13, 1991, p. D1.
113. Lena H. Sun, “China Warns against Ending MFN; Boeing Would Lose Plane
Sales, Li Says,” Washington Post, June 26, 1991, p. A9.
114. Chen, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao neimu (Inside Stories of the Diplomacy
between Communist China and America), p. 236.
115. Ann Devroy and Guy Gugliotta, “White House Targets Senate on China
Bill; Goal Is to Ward off Terms on Trade Status,” Washington Post, June 23, 1991,
p. A5.
116. Guy Gugliotta, “Bush Lists Ways of Moderating China’s Policies,” Wash-
ington Post, July 20, 1991, p. A24.
117. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 59.
118. See Gavin Hewitt, “The Great Escape from China; How ‘Operation Yellow
Bird’ Saved Scores of Dissidents from Beijing’s Secret Police,” Washington Post, June
2, 1991, p. D1.
119. David Kelly and Anthony Reid, “Weathering a Political Winter: The Chi-
nese Academy of Social Sciences, 1990,” Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.
24 (July 1990), pp 347–55; Sheryl WuDunn, “Beijing Students Issue Leaflets on
Democracy,” New York Times, May 30, 1991, p. A8.
120. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 156.
121. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Battening Hatches; Beijing Misjudged Pre-Coup
Moscow,” Washington Post, September 11, 1991, p. A25.
122. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 52.
123. Ibid., pp. 60–61.
124. Ma and Ling, Jiao feng: dangdai zhongguo san ci sixiang jiefang shilu,
(Crossed Swords: The Real Record of Three Efforts to Liberate Thought in Contem-
porary China), p. 122.
125. Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 175.
126. Ma and Ling, Jiao feng: dangdai zhongguo san ci sixiang jiefang shilu,
(Crossed Swords: The Real Record of Three Efforts to Liberate Thought in Contem-
porary China), pp. 124–32.
notes to pages 125–130 465

127. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Chinese Advocates of Change Reportedly Make Small

Gains,” New York Times, May 23, 1991, p. A6.
128. Lena Sun, “Beijing Warns of Chaos in Wake of Soviet Coup,” Washington
Post, October 28, 1991, p. A14.
129. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 6; Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 177;
Ma and Ling, Jiao feng: dangdai zhongguo san ci sixiang jiefang shilu (Crossed Swords:
The Real Record of Three Efforts to Liberate Thought in Contemporary China), p.
136ff.
130. Deng’s speeches were eventually collected, edited, and issued as Central Di-
rectives No. 2, 4, and 5 of 1992. The more abbreviated version cited here was also
published openly—albeit more than a year later—by the Xinhua News Agency on
November 5, 1993. It is found, among other places, in Lawrence R. Sullivan, ed.,
China since Tiananmen—Political, Economic and Social Conflicts (Armonk, N.Y.:
M. E. Sharpe, 1995), pp. 151–54.
131. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 20. In China’s convoluted ideological
lexicon, “leftism” has come to mean overemphasis on Maoist dogma and resistance
to capitalistic ideas; “rightism” is equated with economic experimentation, reducing
the state’s control over the economy.
132. Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 186; Lena H. Sun, “Beijing Backs Reforms for
‘100 Years’; Politburo Vote Seen as Victory for Deng,” Washington Post, March 12,
1992, p. A20.
133. The term nan xun originally connoted an inspection of his southern domain
by a Chinese emperor.
134. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 15.
135. Tai Ming Cheung, “Following Orders,” Far Eastern Economic Review, May
28, 1992, p. 24.
136. Nicholas D. Kristoff, “Chinese Wait for Deaths of Their Leaders, Who Just
Get Older,” New York Times, January 24, 1992, p. A9; Valerie Strauss, “Setting
China’s Future: Old Men at the Beach; Deng Aims to Beat Rivals by Outliving Them,”
Washington Post, August 1, 1992, p. A14.
137. There were rumors that Deng may have suffered a minor stroke in August
1992, but rumors about Deng’s health problems were so common it is impossible to
credit any one in particular. See Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 212.
138. Roy was selected directly by President Bush in February 1991, after having
served as the State Department’s executive secretary for two years. A consummate
professional, he had served as ambassador to Singapore and deputy assistant secre-
tary of state for East Asia. Born to missionary parents in China, Roy was fluent in
Chinese (as well as Russian) and had been deputy chief of mission in Beijing during
the normalization of relations.
139. Interview with Douglas Paal. See also David E. Sanger, “Nuclear Activity by
North Koreans Worries the U.S.,” New York Times, November 10, 1991, p. A1.
140. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 590.
141. Michael Wines, “Democrats Wary on Baker’s Planned Trip to China,” New
York Times, November 5, 1991, p. A11.
142. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 590.
466 notes to pages 130–138

143. Don Oberdorfer and Lena H. Sun, “Baker, in Beijing, Holds Talks with
Chinese Leaders,” Washington Post, November 16, 1991, p. A21.
144. Interviews with Douglas Paal and J. Stapleton Roy, May 2000.
145. Baker, Politics of Diplomacy, p. 591.
146. Ibid., p. 593.
147. Thomas L. Friedman, “Baker’s Trip Fails to Produce Pledge on Rights,”
New York Times, November 18, 1991, p. A1; Don Oberdorfer, “U.S. Seeks to Res-
cue China Ties,” Washington Post, November 18, 1991, p. A1.
148. Keith Bradsher, “Chinese Goods Listed for Higher Tariffs in Trade Dis-
pute,” New York Times, November 28, 1991, p. D10.
149. Lena H. Sun, “China Says U.S. Must Show ‘Sincerity’ in Trade Talks; Beijing
Blames Politics for Lack of Accord,” Washington Post, January 6, 1992, p. A13.
150. Stuart Auerbach, “China, U.S. Reach Trade Accord; Beijing Agrees to Curb
Piracy of Products, Safeguarded Material,” Washington Post, January 17, 1992, p. A24.
151. Thomas Moga, for example, credits the USTR action for China’s 1991 en-
actment of a copyright law and its accession in 1992 to the Berne Convention, the
Universal Copyright Convention, and the Geneva Phonogram Convention. See Moga,
“A Journey into China—Notes from over the Wall.”
152. R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Lifts Sanctions against Chinese Firms; Biden Seeks
Session on Reported Violations,” Washington Post, February 22, 1992, p. A15; Lena
H. Sun, “20 Years of Changing Sino-U.S. Ties,” Washington Post, February 23,
1992, p. A21.
153. Interview with Douglas Paal.
154. “Mr. Bush Meets Mr. Li,” Washington Post editorial, January 31, 1992,
p. A18.
155. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 167.
156. “Message to the House of Representatives Returning without Approval the
United States–China Act of 1991,” March 2, 1992, at Bush Presidential Library
(http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1992/92030201.html, accessed February 2003).
157. Daniel Southerland, “Chinese Leader Has Surgery; President, 83, Reported
Recovering from Acute Appendicitis,” Washington Post, June 28, 1990, p. A34.
158. Tai Ming Cheung, “Back to the Front; Deng Seeks to Depoliticise the PLA,”
Far Eastern Economic Review, October 29, 1992, p. 15; Lam, China after Deng
Xiaoping, p. 212 (Lam’s account of Yang’s secret meetings is based on unreliable
Taiwan sources).
159. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 214; Cheung, “Back to the Front; Deng
Seeks to Depoliticise the PLA.”
160. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 24.
161. Lincoln Kaye, “Dengism Enshrined,” Far Eastern Economic Review, Octo-
ber 22, 1992, p. 10.
162. Sheryl WuDunn, “Chinese Party Congress Replaces Nearly Half of Central
Committee,” New York Times, October 19, 1992, p. A7.
163. Kathy Chen, “China Signals Peril of Political Dissent by Upholding Decision
against Zhao,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 1992, p. A7.
notes to pages 138–142 467

164. Jiang Zemin, “Accelerate the Pace of Reform and Opening and Modern
Construction, Win New Victories for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” re-
port to the Fourteenth Congress of the Communist Party of China, October 12,
1992, available (Chinese version) (www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/5089/5106/
5278/ 20010430/456848.html, accessed February 21, 2003).
165. William J. Clinton, Nomination Acceptance Speech to the Democratic Na-
tional Convention, July 16, 1992; transcript in New York Times, July 16, 1992,
p. A14.
166. Interview with Douglas Paal; Mann, About Face, p. 267.
167. Michael Wines, “The 1992 Campaign: $8 Billion Directed to Wheat Farm-
ers and Arms Workers,” New York Times, September 3, 1992, p. A1.
168. See Mann, About Face, chap. 14, pp. 254–73.
169. Jackson Diehl, “Bush Approves Sale of F-15s to Saudis; Israelis Said to Be Due
Compensation,” Washington Post, September 27, 1992, p. A1; “Strategic Plans Giv-
ing Way to Mideast Arms Flow; Israel, Saudi Arabia Appear to Prefer Military Hard-
ware to U.S. Security Enhancements,” Washington Post, October 4, 1992, p. A24.
170. Thomas L. Friedman, “The World, Selling Arms to Keep Jobs: The Signals It
Sends Abroad,” New York Times, September 20, 1992, p. A4.
171. The language of the communiqué is fairly explicit: “The United States Gov-
ernment states that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to
Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in
quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment
of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends to
reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final
resolution.”
172. Interviews with William Clark Jr., March 2000; Carl Ford; and Douglas
Paal. I also participated in the interagency meetings.
173. Thomas L. Friedman, “China Warns U.S. on Taiwan Jet Deal,” New York
Times, September 4, 1992, p. A3.
174. Interview with Douglas Paal.
175. Keith Bradsher, “U.S. Warns Chinese of Duties,” New York Times, August
22, 1992, p. D33; James Sterngold, “U.S.-China Tensions over Trade,” New York
Times, September 14, 1992, p. D1.
176. Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), September 4, 1992, p. 1. Quoted in Su Ge,
Meiguo dui hua zhengce he Taiwan wenti (U.S. China Policy and the Taiwan Prob-
lem) (Beijing: World Knowledge Press, 1998), p. 642.
177. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Renew Criticism of U.S. Jet Deal,” Washington Post,
September 8, 1992, p. A15.
178. As part of the Peace Pearl program of upgrading Chinese aircraft, prototype
models of F-8s were shipped to the United States for fitting out with American avion-
ics packages. When the United States suspended the program after Tiananmen, the
equipment was put in storage, and China was charged high storage fees, causing
them eventually to cancel the program unilaterally, thus letting Grumman off the
hook for failing to deliver on the contract.
468 notes to pages 142–148

179. Interview with William Clark Jr.

180. R. Jeffrey Smith, “China Said to Sell Arms to Pakistan; M-11 Missile Ship-
ment May Break Vow to U.S.,” Washington Post, December 4, 1992, p. A10; Mann,
About Face, p. 271.
181. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy.
182. Patrick Tyler, A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China (New York Century
Foundation, 1999), p. 378.

Notes to Chapter 5
1. In constant renminbi (RMB), not adjusted for inflation. GNP figures from the
1996 China State Statistical Bureau Yearbook, available at the China Data Center of
the University of Michigan (http://chinadatacenter.org/newcdc/, accessed February
2003). Economic statistics from China need to be used with caution, as they tend to
vary widely due to the unreliability of Chinese accounting practices and standards of
measurement. See Nicholas Lardy, China and the World Economy (Washington:
Institute for International Economics, 1994), pp. 30, 51, 63. The figure for FDI is the
amount actually used in China; that promised during the same period was up more
than 800 percent.
2. See Barry Naughton, Growing out of the Plan—Chinese Economic Reform,
1978–1993 (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 289ff; Willy Wo-Lap Lam, China
after Deng Xiaoping: The Power Struggle in Beijing since Tiananmen (Hong Kong:
P. A. Professional Consultants, 1995), pp. 82–90; Lardy, China and the World
Economy, pp. 63–70.
3. There are many books about Deng, in Chinese and in English, that discuss his
enormous impact on China’s history, political system, and economy from a variety
of perspectives. Perhaps nothing is more illuminating than his own words, even as
edited and selected by Communist Party historians. See Selected Works of Deng
Xiaoping, vol. 2 (1975–1982) (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1984).
4. Steven Goldstein, “China in Transition: The Political Foundations of Incre-
mental Reform,” The China Quarterly, no. 144 (December 1995), p. 1106.
5. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 77.
6. Lena H. Sun, “Chairman Mao’s Thought: Chinese Prefer to Become Rich,”
Washington Post, October 29, 1992, p. A22. In a further ironic twist, Mou was
indicted for bank fraud in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison.
7. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Militant Swaps Protest for a Beeper; Making Money
Seen as Step to Democracy,” Washington Post, June 2, 1993, p. A21.
8. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Foreign Investment Pouring into China,” New York Times,
June 15, 1992, p. D1.
9. Steven Greenhouse, “New Tally of World’s Economies Catapults China into
Third Place,” New York Times, May 20, 1993, p. A1. The new numbers were based
on “purchasing power parity” assessments.
10. Nicholas D. Kristoff, “Entrepreneurial Energy Sets off a Chinese Boom,” New
York Times, February 14, 1993, p. A1.
11. Jiang also was elected to head the State Military Commission, the ceremonial
front for the Party’s CMC. When the State Military Commission was established in
notes to pages 148–151 469

the mid-1980s, it was expected eventually to replace the Party Commission. After
Tiananmen, however, all such plans were dropped, and the PLA remained completely
under the control of the Communist Party.
12. Lena H. Sun, “Leaders in Beijing Duck Sharp Press Questions; What Foreign
Reporters Ask Is More Revealing than What Chinese Officials Answer,” Washing-
ton Post, April 1, 1993, p. A32.
13. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, pp. 308–09.
14. Ibid., p. 299
15. See, for example, “China: The Mystery Deepens,” The Economist, June 5,
1993, p. 41; Sheryl WuDunn, “Chinese Premier Reported to Be Ill,” New York Times,
May 13, 1993, p. A10. Lam claims Li had major heart surgery during his absence;
see China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 351.
16. Associated Press, “After Long Presumed Illness, China Leader Is Back in View,”
New York Times, June 15, 1993, p. A18.
17. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 330.
18. Some analysts believe that Zhu Rongji had been quietly given responsibility
for all economic work after the Fourteenth Party Congress and that Li Peng’s “ill-
ness” in fact was his own way of avoiding the blame for China’s economic difficul-
ties in early 1993. See Gao Xin and He Pin, Zhu Rongji zhuan—cong fandang youpai
dao deng xiaoping de jichengren (The Story of Zhu Rongji—From Anti-Party Right-
ist to Deng Xiaoping’s Successor) (Taipei: New News and Culture Publishing, 1996),
pp. 273–74.
19. China Data Center Commodities Price Index (www.umich.edu/~iinet/
chinadata/stat/ChinaStatistics /EconomyIndNation/Commodities.htm, accessed
February 2003). Economic statistics for this period vary widely, depending on
sources and analytical methods. All show consistent trends of retail inflation, sharp
increases in the money supply, uncontrolled credit expansion, declining bank de-
posits, and a credit squeeze.
20. Lena H. Sun, “China’s Output Growing at World’s Fastest Rate; 13% Tops
Goal, Fueling Inflation Concerns,” Washington Post, April 25, 1993, p. A25; “China
Tries to Chill Boiling Economy,” Washington Post, July 3, 1993, p. A1; Sheryl
WuDunn, “China Sells off Public Land to the Well-Connected,” New York Times,
May 8, 1993, p. A3; Minxin Pei, “The Political Economy of Banking Reforms in
China,” Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 7 (July 1998), pp. 321–50; David
Malpass, “Counterpoint: The Man Who’s Saving China from Soviet-Style Disaster,”
Wall Street Journal, July 29, 1993, p. A11. China’s currency, the renminbi or yuan,
is not freely convertible, but so-called swap markets were officially established where
foreign currency trading was permitted under controlled circumstances. When Chi-
nese authorities allowed the yuan to float in mid-1993, it immediately dropped in
value from the official exchange rate of 5.7 to the dollar to more than 8 to the dollar.
Black market rates reached 11 to the dollar.
21. Pei, “The Political Economy of Banking Reforms in China.”
22. Nicholas D. Kristof, “China, Barreling along the Capitalist Road, Now Posts
Strict Speed Limit,” New York Times, July 23, 1993, p. A2; Lam, China after Deng
Xiaoping, pp. 119–23; “China: Banking on Zhu,” The Economist, July 3, 1993, p. 33.
470 notes to pages 151–154

23. See, for example, “China at Boiling Point,” The Economist, July 10, 1993, p. 15.
24. Patrick E. Tyler, “Chinese End Austerity Drive in Favor of Yet More Growth,”
New York Times, November 23, 1993, p. A1.
25. Lam, China after Deng Xiaoping, p. 132. Although Lam’s sources for this
story are not clear, it is consistent with observations made by other reporters that
Zhu’s austerity program was being curtailed just as it was beginning to achieve re-
sults.
26. Quoted in Steven Greenhouse, “New Tally of World’s Economies Catapults
China into Third Place,” New York Times, May 20, 1993, p. A1.
27. There is a substantial literature about Chinese nationalism and its curious
duality, oscillating between xenophobia—the rejection of all things foreign—and
radical anti-traditionalism, which has led many Chinese scholars to reject much of
China’s historical and cultural tradition. Suisheng Zhao summarizes this literature in
“Chinese Nationalism and Its International Orientations,” Political Science Quar-
terly, vol. 115, no. 1 (Spring 2000). Other thoughtful books and articles include
Michael Swaine and Asheley Tellis, Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy—Past, Present
and Future (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 2000); Allen Whiting, “Chinese National-
ism and Foreign Policy after Deng,” The China Quarterly, no. 142 (June 1995), p.
295ff; Zi Zhongyun, “The Impact and Clash of Ideologies: Sino-U.S. Relations from
a Historical Perspective,” Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 6, no. 15 (November
1997); Jonathan Unger, ed., Chinese Nationalism (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1996);
Lowell Dittmer and Samuel S. Kim, eds., China’s Quest for National Identity (Cornell
University Press, 1993); and Michel Oksenberg, “China’s Confident Nationalism,”
Foreign Affairs, vol. 65, no. 3 (1986–87).
28. Suisheng Zhao, “Chinese Nationalism and Its International Orientations,”
p. 4.
29. Suisheng Zhao, “‘ Chinese Intellectuals’ Quest for National Greatness and
Nationalistic Writing in the 1990s,” The China Quarterly, no. 152 (December 1997),
pp. 725–45; Joseph Fewsmith, “Neoconservatism and the End of the Dengist Era,”
Asian Survey, vol. 35, no. 7 (July 1995), pp. 635–51; Feng Chen, “Order and Stabil-
ity in Social Transition: Neo-conservative Political Thought in Post-1989 China,”
The China Quarterly, no. 151 (September 1997), pp. 151–72.
30. Chen, “Order and Stability in Social Transition,” p. 596.
31. Wang Shan, trans., Luo yi ning ge er, disanzhi yanjing kan zhongguo (Look-
ing at China through a Third Eye) (Shanxi: People’s Publishing House, 1994). Al-
though ostensibly written by a German scholar, Wang Shan was clearly the author.
He published a sequel in 1996. See Joseph Fewsmith, “The Impact of WTO/PNTR
on Chinese Politics,” National Bureau of Asian Research, NBR Analysis, vol. 11, no.
2 (1999) (www.nbr.org/publications/analysis/vol11no2/essay2.html, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
32. Xinhua News Agency press release of July 19, 1995, quoted in Merle Goldman,
“Politically-Engaged Intellectuals in the Deng-Jiang Era: A Changing Relationship
with the Party-State,” The China Quarterly, no. 145 (March 1996), p. 158.
notes to pages 155–157 471

33. Clinton first used the term “coddling tyrants”— a standard term for many
members of Congress and some pundits to describe Bush’s China policy—in his ac-
ceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on July 16, 1992. At that
point, it was rather cryptic, a slogan used to describe one of many parts of what he
called a “New Covenant” for America. His “vision” for American foreign policy was
“an America that will not coddle tyrants, from Baghdad to Beijing” (New York
Times, July 17, 1992, p. 14). He expanded on it only a bit in a campaign that was
nearly devoid of significant discussion of foreign policy issues. Although some of his
supporters used the term “butchers of Beijing” to describe the Chinese leadership,
Clinton himself used it sparingly, if at all. Nonetheless, the pairing of China with
Iraq for alliterative purposes led imperceptibly to a tendency to pair the two as “rogue
states” and as equals in terms of their hostility to democracy, human rights, and
American values.
34. Quoted in Thomas L. Friedman, “Clinton’s Foreign-Policy Agenda Reaches
across Broad Spectrum,” New York Times, October 4, 1992, p. 1.
35. It was actually Berger who introduced Lake to Clinton and brought him into
the campaign in 1992. A trade lawyer and negotiator, Berger had headed the interna-
tional trade practice of one of Washington’s premier law offices, Hogan and Hartson,
before joining the Clinton election effort.
36. The NEC was created by the president by Executive Order 12835 on January
25, 1993. Intended to be a counterpart of the National Security Council, it included
eighteen senior officials in its formal makeup, including the president, vice president,
and secretaries of state, treasury, commerce, agriculture, labor, housing and urban
development, transportation, energy, the EPA, the USTR, and several others. It was in
part the brainchild of a special bipartisan commission under the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace and the Institute for International Economics. The commission’s
report was published in Foreign Affairs, vol. 71, no. 5 (Winter 1992–93), beginning on
p. 175. The commission envisioned the NEC as an “instrument for assuring that eco-
nomic policy gets attention equal to traditional national security, working closely with
the NSC and its staff when international economic issues are under consideration.”
Clinton enthusiastically supported the idea during the campaign, as it resonated with
his focus on economic issues. Even as it was formally established, however, there was
still ambiguity about the size and duties of its professional staff.
37. Thomas L. Friedman, “Clinton’s Cabinet Choices Put Him at Center, Balanc-
ing Competing Factions,” New York Times, December 27, 1992, p. A22.
38. Although senior Clinton officials have been adamant that the president was
not uninterested in foreign policy, domestic advisers and press analysts painted a
consistent picture. Controversial campaign adviser Dick Morris, for example, ob-
served that Clinton “reacted, more or less reluctantly, to global concerns when they
intruded so deeply into America’s politics that he had to do something.” Morris,
Behind the Oval Office—Winning the Presidency in the Nineties (Random House,
1997), p. 245.
39. Nearly every incoming administration since the 1950s has chosen to change
the names of its principal documents. Therefore, the Bush administration National
472 notes to pages 157–159

Security Review (NSR) series (comprehensive reviews of policy issues) became Clinton’s
Presidential Review Directives (PRD), and Bush’s National Security Directives (NSD)—
the actual decision documents on major policy issues—became Presidential Decision
Directives, or PDDs, under Clinton. See Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public
Affairs, Department of State, “History of the National Security Council, 1947–1997”
(http://fas.org/irp/offdocs/NSChistory.htm, accessed February 2003).
40. By statute (P.L. 80-253, National Security Act of 1947), the National Security
Council consists of the president, vice president, secretaries of state and of defense,
advised by the director of central intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, plus whomever else the president may “from time to time” designate. The
expansion of the NSC was fully in keeping with the original statute, particularly in
light of the fact that some of the originally stipulated positions (for example, secre-
tary of the navy) had been quietly dropped.
41. By custom, the staff of the assistant to the president for national security
affairs (APNSA) is also referred to as the National Security Council, which occasion-
ally creates confusion with the statutory organization.
42. APNSA Lake tried to structure the IWGs so as to “revitalize the Assistant
Secretary level” in the decisionmaking process, and therefore he established fewer
permanent IWGs and encouraged more ad hoc ones. Interview with Anthony Lake,
August 2000.
43. Gwen Ifill, “Security Official Guides U.S. Aims at Conference,” New York
Times, July 5, 1993, p. A5; interview with Anthony Lake.
44. Elizabeth Drew, On the Edge—The Clinton Presidency (Simon and Schuster,
1994), p. 336.
45. This problem was not unique to the Bush-Clinton transition but has been a
source of frustration for every incoming administration. Several White House staff-
ers interviewed for this book complained of the lack of a “paper trail” for policy
issues, particularly on China, where previous private White House commitments
were not completely known to successors and where continuity and precision of
language on the Taiwan issue is so essential.
46. Federal News Service, “Press Conference with President Clinton and Thomas
F. ‘Mack’ McLarty, White House Chief of Staff, Regarding Reorganization of White
House Staff,” February 9, 1993, p. 1 (Nexis-Lexis).
47. Interview with Anthony Lake.
48. See Anthony J. Eksterowicz and Glenn Hastedt, “Modern Presidential Tran-
sitions: Problems, Pitfalls, and Lessons for Success,” Presidential Studies Quarterly,
vol. 28, no. 2 (Spring 1998), pp. 299–319; also Matthew J. Dickinson, “No Place for
Amateurs: Some Thoughts on the Clinton Administration and the Presidential Staff,”
Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4 (Fall 1998), pp. 768–72.
49. R. Jeffrey Smith, “Defense Policy Posts Restructured; Aspin Seeks to Focus
More Attention on New Security Concerns,” Washington Post, January 28, 1993, p.
A4; Barton Gellman, “Rumblings of Discord Heard in Pentagon; Aspin’s Civilian
Leadership, Management Style and Agenda Irk Some Officers,” Washington Post,
June 20, 1993, p. 1; Drew, On the Edge—the Clinton Presidency, pp. 44–45, 141,
356–57; interview with Stanley Roth, August 2000.
notes to pages 160–164 473

50. Don Oberdorfer, “Balkans, Haiti, Iraq and Somalia Head NSC Policy Study
List,” Washington Post, January 31, 1993, p. A18.
51. Warren Strobel, “White House Disavows View of State Aide,” Washington
Times, May 27, 1993, p. A7.
52. Jim Hoagland, “Fumbling for a Foreign Policy,” Washington Post, June 14,
1993, p. A19.
53. See, for example, Jonathan Clarke, “The Conceptual Poverty of U.S. Foreign
Policy,” Atlantic Monthly (September 1993); Michael Mandelbaum (Clinton cam-
paign adviser), “Like It or Not, We Must Lead,” New York Times, June 9, 1993,
p. A21.
54. Warren Christopher, In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a
New Era (Stanford University Press, 1998), p. 31 (emphasis added).
55. See, for example, his broadcast interview with Morton Kondracke on May 3,
1991, in Federal News Service, “American Interests” transcript, p. 4 (Lexis-Nexis).
56. Interviews with Winston Lord, April 2000, and Anthony Lake.
57. “Winston Lord, Assistant Secretary-designate for East Asian and Pacific Af-
fairs. Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, D.C.,
March 31, 1993” (www.state.gov/www/regions/eap/930331.html, accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
58. Lord drew some criticism for putting too many “China hands” on his staff.
See Don Oberdorfer, “Foreign Policy Arm Missing Japan Hand; Asia Team Picked
by China Expert Winston Lord Draws Criticism,” Washington Post, January 30,
1993, p. A11.
59. See 1992 Democratic Party Platform, IV. Preserving Our National Security,
“China Trade Terms” (www.udel.edu/htr/American98/Texts/demoplat.html#5, ac-
cessed February 2003).
60. Interview with Winston Lord.
61. Federal News Service, “News Conference, Senator George Mitchell (D-Maine),
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California),” April 22, 1993, House Radio-TV Gallery (Nexis-
Lexis).
62. “United States–China Act of 1993 Introduced in the House,” H.R. 1835
(www.thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003 [emphasis added]).
63. In a section entitled, “Restoring American Economic Leadership,” the plat-
form called for “conditioning of favorable trade terms for China on respect for hu-
man rights in China and Tibet, greater market access for U.S. goods, and responsible
conduct on weapons proliferation.” See 1992 Democratic Party Platform, National
Security section (www.udel.edu/htr/American98/Texts/demoplat.html, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
64. Nicholas D. Kristof, “China Worried by Clinton’s Linking of Trade to Hu-
man Rights,” New York Times, October 9, 1992, p. A10; Gary Lee, “The Federal
Page—Taking on the President over China’s Trade Status,” Washington Post, June
1, 1992, p. A17; John W. Dietrich, “Interest Groups and Foreign Policy: Clinton and
the China MFN Debates,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2 (June 1999),
p. 286.
65. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy, May 2000.
474 notes to pages 164–167

66. Boren and Pell were refused visas to visit China in April 1992—it was “incon-
venient” for them to come, PRC officials said. Their request to visit Tibet was con-
sidered to be the main problem.
67. People’s Daily carried the slogan on its front page on November 30. Chen
You-wei claims the sixteen-character slogan (with some minor variations) was first
introduced by Deng Xiaoping in late 1991 but was not made public until Jiang’s
meeting with Schroeder. Chen You-wei, Zhonggong yu meiguo waijiao neimu (In-
side Stories of the Diplomacy between Communist China and America) (Taipei: Cheng
Chong Book Company, 1999), pp. 100, 183. American press commentaries read the
phrase as a clear indication the Chinese were worried about Clinton’s policies and
wanted an improvement in relations. See, for example, Lena Sun, “China Works to
Improve U.S. Relations; Rhetoric Toned down as Trade Status Viewed at Risk under
Clinton,” Washington Post, January 2, 1993, p. A1.
68. Lena H. Sun, “Congressional Democrats Tell China to Act on Rights or Face
Stricture,” Washington Post, December 1, 1992, p. A31.
69. Nicholas D. Kristof, “It’s China against the World, with a Great Deal at
Stake,” New York Times, November 29, 1992, The Week in Review, p. 4. Observers
also noted that Beijing appeared to have suspended the human rights dialogue with
Washington sometime after the F-16 sale. Whether that was a reaction to the sale or
a warning to the new administration cannot be determined.
70. Nicholas D. Kristof, “In a Nod to U.S., China Plans to Free 2 Dissidents,”
New York Times, February 2, 1993, p. A7.
71. Nicholas D. Kristof, “China Releasing Catholic Priests from Prison,” New
York Times, March 21, 1993, p. A19.
72. Geoffrey Crothall and Chris Yeung, “Top U.S. Aide Warns Beijing after Talks
Fail to Reassure Clinton,” South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), May 13, 1993,
p. 1; Nicholas D. Kristof, “Clinton Aide Ends China Trip with No Sign of Accord,”
New York Times, May 13, 1993, p. A10.
73. “China ‘Prepared for the Worst’ after MFN Talks,” Ming Pao (Hong Kong),
May 13, 1993, p. 2; in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, May 17, 1993, FE/1690/
A1.
74. Lena H. Sun, “U.S. Warns China That Renewal of Trade Status Depends on
Several Conditions,” Washington Post, May 13, 1993, p. A19.
75. Allen Whiting, “Chinese Nationalism and Foreign Policy after Deng,” The
China Quarterly, no. 142 (June 1995), p. 307.
76. Interview with Samuel R. Berger, March 2001.
77. Interview with Winston Lord.
78. Jim Abrams, “Lawmakers Give Conditional Support as Clinton Moves to-
ward China Policy,” Associated Press, May 25, 1993.
79. “Statement by the President on Most Favored Nation Status for China,” May
28, 1993 (www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1993/May/Presidents-
Statement-on-MFN-for-China, accessed February 2003).
80. Text of the Executive Order (http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/
executive_orders/pdf/12850.pdf, accessed February 2003).
notes to pages 168–171 475

81. Quoted in Peter Passell, “A Cold War Weapon Isn’t Used on China and May
Never Be,” New York Times, June 3, 1993, p. D2.
82. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy.
83. People’s Daily, May 29, 1993, p. 1, quoted in Su Ge, Meiguo duihua zhengce
yu taiwan wenti (American Policy toward China and the Taiwan Question) (Beijing:
World Knowledge Publishing, 1999), pp. 673–74.
84. Daniel Southerland, “Clinton Sending First Trade Delegation to China,”
Washington Post, February 27, 1993, p. C1.
85. Paul Lewis, “UN Rights Group Cites Indonesia in Timor,” New York Times,
March 14, 1993, p. A9.
86. In what would become the norm for such meetings, the president “dropped
by” a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Vice President Gore on April 27, avoid-
ing the publicity of a formal meeting in the Oval Office. Although China protested
that any meetings with the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet constituted support for
“splittism,” U.S. officials insisted they only met with him privately in his capacity as
one of the world’s most noted spiritual leaders.
87. Lo Ping and Li Tzu-ching, “One Hundred and Sixteen Generals Write to
Deng Xiaoping on Policy toward United States,” Cheng Ming, no. 188 (June 1, 1993),
pp. 14–16, in Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)-CHI (June 2, 1993), pp.
33–36. Other accounts cited different numbers of generals and used different adjec-
tives to describe American perfidy. There is considerable controversy among Ameri-
can sinologists as to how seriously to take this kind of story. Allen Whiting, in his
excellent study of Chinese nationalism cited in note 75, takes the stories as being essen-
tially accurate. So does John W. Garver, with reservations, in “The PLA as an Interest
Group in Chinese Foreign Policy,” in Dennison Lane, Mark Weisenbloom, and Dimon
Liu, eds., Chinese Military Modernization (Washington: American Enterprise Institute
Press, 1996), pp. 246–77. My own inclination is to treat them as “stories in circula-
tion,” or “news on the street” (xiaodao xiaoxi), rather than factually accurate ac-
counts of events in Beijing. The “angry generals writing letters of protest” theme recurs
regularly in post-Tiananmen China and was reported sufficiently often to be consid-
ered a factor in Chinese policymaking in the 1992–95 period.
88. Garver, “The PLA as an Interest Group in Chinese Foreign Policy,” p. 260.
89. Andrew Nathan, “Human Rights in Chinese Foreign Policy,” The China
Quarterly, no. 139 (September 1994), p. 633.
90. Patrick E. Tyler, “Eye on Olympics, China Frees Top Dissident,” New York
Times, September 21, 1993, p. A6.
91. The Economist, August 21, 1993, p. 75.
92. Su Ge, Meiguo duihua zhengce yu taiwan wenti (American Policy toward
China and the Taiwan Question), p. 675.
93. Suisheng Zhao, “‘ Chinese Intellectuals’ Quest for National Greatness and
Nationalistic Writing in the 1990s,” The China Quarterly, no. 152 (December 1997),
p. 731.
94. Joseph Fewsmith, “The Impact of WTO/PNTR on Chinese Politics,” NBR
Analysis, vol. 11, no. 2 (1999), National Bureau of Asian Research, p. 2.
476 notes to pages 171–175

95. Ann Devroy and R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Evidence ‘Suggests’ China Breaks
Arms Pact; Report Comes on Eve of Trade Status Debate,” Washington Post, May
18, 1993, p. A9.
96. Bill Gertz, “Two Lawmakers Say Pakistan Has Missiles; Cite CIA Report on
Chinese M-11s,” Washington Times, June 21, 1993, p. A12 (Nexis-Lexis).
97. Under the terms of the “Helms amendment” to the Arms Control Export Act
of 1990, “all activities . . . affecting the development or production of electronics,
space systems or equipment, and military aircraft” are automatically sanctioned if a
country is found to have violated the Missile Technology Control Regime. The law
differentiates between “Category I” violations, which consist of items that make a
“substantial contribution” to a missile program, and “Category II” violations, which
involve shipping items and technology—listed in an annex to the MTCR agreement—
“related to” the development of a non-MTCR-compliant missile system.
98. Lally Weymouth, “Chinese Take-out; Supplying Weapons to Rogue States,”
Washington Post, August 12, 1993, p. A27.
99. Lynn Davis, State Department Special Briefing, August 25, 1993; Lexis-Nexis.
NSC Senior Director for Nonproliferation Daniel Poneman recalled that the NSC
view differed with this interpretation somewhat. While the potential impact of sanc-
tions on China or bilateral relations could have no bearing on the factual determina-
tion of whether sanctionable activity had occurred, that impact was relevant to deciding
what conditions the U.S. should impose on China in order to justify the exercise of
the national security waiver authority provided by the statute. Interview with Daniel
Poneman, October 2000.
100. Interview with Daniel Poneman.
101. See Patrick Tyler, A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China (New York: Cen-
tury Foundation, 1999), p. 396.
102. John Mintz, “The Satellite Makers’ China Card; Martin Marietta and Hughes
Warn U.S. Sales Ban Will Cause Massive Layoffs,” Washington Post, October 20,
1993, p. C11.
103. Su Ge, Meiguo duihua zhengce yu taiwan wenti (American Policy toward
China and the Taiwan Question), pp. 679–80; also Lena H. Sun, “Sino-U.S. Ties ‘in
Serious Jeopardy’; Beijing Says New Sanctions Will Force It to Halt Compliance with
Missile Control Pact,” Washington Post, August 28, 1993, p. A17.
104. R. Jeffrey Smith and Daniel Williams, “U.S. Offers to Waive China Trade
Sanctions; Pledge Not to Export M-11 Missile Sought,” Washington Post, Novem-
ber 11, 1993, p. A39.
105. The most complete account of the Yin He (also rendered Yinhe) incident is
available in Patrick Tyler’s A Great Wall, pp. 396–99. I was on the National Intelli-
gence Council at the time, and although not directly involved in either the reporting
or analysis of information pertaining to nonproliferation matters, I was aware of the
main facts of the case. Tyler’s reporting, based on interviews with several of the key
participants, is consistent with my recollection of the incident.
106. Interviews with Daniel Poneman and J. Stapleton Roy.
107. Tyler, A Great Wall, pp. 396–98; R. Jeffrey Smith, “Mideast Allies Frustrate
Ship Inspection by U.S.; Prohibited Chemicals May Be Bound for Iran,” Washington
Post, August 10, 1993, p. A6.
notes to pages 176–179 477

108. “China Lodges Protest against U.S. over Cargo-ship Incident,” Xinhua News
Agency, no. 0807153, August 7, 1993 (Lexis-Nexis).
109. Douglas Frantz, “Chemicals on Chinese Ship Usable for Arms, U.S. Says,”
Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1993, p. A6 (Lexis-Nexis).
110. Cable News Network, “Secretary Christopher Discusses the World’s Hot
Spots,” August 12, 1993, Interview with Judy Woodruff, transcript no. 493–4.
111. Matt Forney, “U.S. Lawmakers Press China on Human Rights,” United
Press International, August 18, 1993 (Lexis-Nexis).
112. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy; Tyler, A Great Wall, p. 398.
113. Interviews with Daniel Poneman and Anthony Lake; Tyler, Great Wall, pp.
398–99.
114. Quoted in Lynne Duke, “China Seeks Apology in Ship Search; Poison Gas
Material Not Found by U.S.,” Washington Post, September 5, 1993, p. A43.
115. Patrick E. Tyler, “China Says Saudis Found No Arms Cargo on Ship,” New
York Times, September 3, 1993, p. 3; Associated Press, “Inspection Exonerates China
but U.S. Doubts Finding,” September 8, 1993 (Lexis-Nexis).
116. Terminology for describing the U.S. policy was somewhat difficult at first.
“Enhanced engagement” gave way to “comprehensive engagement,” with “construc-
tive engagement” being discarded because it connoted policy toward South Africa.
Despite becoming a shorthand term to describe an array of American policies, “com-
prehensive engagement” was not well defined within the government, nor well un-
derstood outside it. For further discussion of the problems of imprecise definition of
engagement, see Robert L. Suettinger, “Tough Engagement: U.S.-China Relations,”
in Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan, eds., Honey and Vinegar: Incentives, Sanc-
tions, and Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2000).
117. Winston Lord, address to the United States Chamber of Commerce, March
29, 1994, Federal News Service (Nexis-Lexis).
118. Tyler, A Great Wall, p. 400; Don Oberdorfer, “Replaying the China Card:
How Washington and Beijing Avoided Diplomatic Disaster,” Washington Post, No-
vember 7, 1993, p. C7.
119. Oberdorfer, “Replaying the China Card.
120. Warren Christopher, “Building Peace in the Middle East,” speech at Colum-
bia University, September 20, 1993 (http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/briefing/dossec/
1993/9309/930920dossec.html, accessed February 2003).
121. Anthony Lake, “From Containment to Enlargement,” speech at Johns
Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, September 21, 1993
(www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/lakedoc.html, accessed February 2003).
122. Su Ge, for example, devotes twenty pages to an analysis of the new U.S.
approach; see Meiguo duihua Zhengce yu Taiwan wenti (American Policy toward
China and the Taiwan Question), pp. 645–64.
123. Barton Gellman, “Reappraisal Led to New China Policy,” Washington Post,
June 22, 1998, p. A1; interview with Anthony Lake.
124. Anthony Lake, “From Containment to Enlargement,” speech delivered at
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
125. Jen Hui-wen, “Background to China’s ‘Four Nots’ Policy towards the United
States,” Xin Bao (Hong Kong), September 17, 1993, p. 24, in FBIS-CHI, pp. 1–3.
478 notes to pages 179–183

126. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy.

127. Daniel Kwan, “Beijing Not Doing Enough for MFN—Envoy,” South China
Morning Post, October 21, 1993, p. 1 (Nexis-Lexis). Shattuck’s judgment seemed to
disregard the fact that some of China’s most prominent dissidents, including Wang
Xizhe, Wang Dan, Xu Wenli, and Wei Jingsheng, had been freed from prison in the
first nine months of 1993.
128. R. Jeffrey Smith and Daniel Williams, “U.S. Offers to Waive China Trade
Sanctions; Pledge Not to Export M-11 Missile Sought,” Washington Post, Novem-
ber 11, 1993, p. A39.
129. Patrick E. Tyler, “China May Allow Red Cross to Visit Dissidents in Jail,”
New York Times, November 10, 1993, p. A1.
130. Quoted in Lena H. Sun, “China Hopes U.S. Talks Will Yield New Respect,”
Washington Post, November 18, 1993, p. A31.
131. Mary McGrory, “The Great Thrall of China,” Washington Post, November
7, 1993, p. C1; Jim Hoagland, “Human Rights—On Balance,” Washington Post,
November 18, 1993, p. A23.
132. Wei Jingsheng, “The Wolf and the Lamb,” New York Times, November 18,
1993, p. A27.
133. See Christopher testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
November 4, 1993, Federal Document Clearinghouse (Nexis-Lexis).
134. Jim Mann, “Executives Press Clinton to Smooth U.S.-China Ties,” Los An-
geles Times, November 19, 1993, p. A1.
135. Paul Quinn Judge, “Rights Issue Is Raised as China Leader Arrives in U.S.;
Clinton Urged to Take Tough Line,” Boston Globe, November 19, 1993, p. 1.
136. Interviews with Winston Lord and Stanley Roth. See also Daniel Williams,
“Chinese Leader Plays to Audience at Home; Jiang, Who May Succeed Deng, Varies
Little from Script,” Washington Post, November 21, 1993, p. A34.
137. From Hong Kong’s Jing Pao of January 5, 1994, p. 39. Bruce Gilley, Tiger
on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China’s New Elite (University of California Press,
1998), p. 212.
138. David M. Lampton, “China Policy in Clinton’s First Year,” in James R.
Lilley and Wendell L. Willkie II, eds., Beyond MFN: Trade with China and American
Interests (Washington: American Enterprise Institute Press, 1994), pp. 22–23; also
“America’s China Policy in the Age of the Finance Minister: Clinton Ends Linkage,”
The China Quarterly, no. 139 (September 1994), pp. 609–10.
139. China’s “reform through labor,” or laogai, system operates in an extrajudi-
cial fashion, enabling local authorities to send minor offenders off to labor reform
camps for up to three years without any trial or approval by the court system. Over
the years, the system became increasingly capricious and abusive. After Tiananmen,
several thousand political dissidents were sent off to labor reform without trial. In
1992 an escapee from that system, Harry (Hongda) Wu, published an exposé called
Laogai: The Chinese Gulag, in which he not only compared the labor reform system
to Russian and Nazi concentration camps, but asserted that the products produced
notes to pages 184–186 479

by labor reform facilities were being exported to the United States in large quantities.
The book—although considered dated and inaccurate by some experts—created a
furor in the United States and led to both public opinion and legislative pressure to
restrict “Chinese prison labor” exports. The Chinese government, of course, de-
nounced the book, as well as its author, who would figure prominently in U.S.-
China relations in 1995. In 1992 the Bush administration reached an agreement
with the Chinese government to allow U.S. Customs officials to inspect suspected
facilities to ascertain if they were run by the labor reform system. Differences soon
appeared, however, over numbers of visits, notifications, reporting requirements,
and other matters. Chinese officials reacted angrily when U.S. requests for infor-
mation and inspections were based on Wu’s book. By mid-1993 inspections had
virtually ceased.
140. Patrick E. Tyler, “China Promises U.S. to Try to Improve Its Human Rights,”
New York Times, January 16, 1994, p. A1; “Beijing Will Take Steps on Rights, Bush
Is Told,” New York Times, January 17, 1994, p. A2.
141. Patrick E. Tyler, “Rights in China Improve, Envoy Says,” New York Times,
January 1, 1994, p. A5; Tyler, A Great Wall, p. 401.
142. Elaine Sciolino, “A Draft State Dept. Report Finds China’s Rights Record Is
Still Poor,” New York Times, January 12, 1993, p. A1.
143. State Department briefing, January 14, 1994, Federal News Service (Lexis-
Nexis).
144. Quoted in Tyler, A Great Wall, p. 403.
145. Thomas W. Lippman, “U.S. Says China Lagging on Human Rights Issue;
Continuing Bilateral Talks Suggest Progress,” Washington Post, January 24, 1994,
p. A16.
146. The list of 235 political prisoners for whom the United States was demand-
ing an accurate accounting was cobbled together by Shattuck’s party at the last minute
through telephone consultations with American NGOs. Many of the names were
provided to Beijing without Chinese characters, while some were only a surname and
a province where that person was believed to be incarcerated, such as “Zheng, Shaanxi
Province.”
147. See Patrick E. Tyler, “Discontent Mounts in China, Shaking the Leaders,”
New York Times, April 10, 1994, p. A3.
148. Lena H. Sun, “Chinese Rebuff Christopher on Human Rights; Dissident
Movement Makes Comeback,” Washington Post, March 13, 1994, p. A1.
149. Josh M. Goshko, “Annual State Department Report Calls Chinese Human
Rights Efforts Weak,” Washington Post, February 2, 1994, p. A15.
150. Patrick E. Tyler, “Beijing Is Warning Leading Dissident,” New York Times,
February 26, 1993, p. A4; Tyler, A Great Wall, pp. 405–06; James Mann, About
Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton
(Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), pp. 297–300. Mann was told a cable was sent out before
the meeting, but those who were traveling with Christopher insist they did not see it
before he departed on March 4 for a lengthy trip to Asia.
480 notes to pages 186–190

151. See Tyler, A Great Wall, pp. 405–06, and Mann, About Face, pp. 298–99,
for details of the Wei-Shattuck meeting. Tyler suggests the different surveillance teams
assigned to Shattuck and Wei did not know whom their man was meeting, while
Mann implies the leadership knew and used the incident to justify a crackdown they
had been planning anyway. Although the facts are not clear, my own interpretation
is that Wei’s announcement forced Beijing’s hand.
152. Patrick E. Tyler, “Highest U.S. Rights Official Meets with Leading Chinese
Dissident,” New York Times, February 28, 1994, p. A2; Daniel Southerland, “Chi-
nese Dissident Asks U.S. to Get Tougher,” Washington Post, March 1, 1994, p. A15.
153. Patrick E. Tyler, “Chinese Crackdown: Challenge Is Still Prohibited,” New
York Times, March 7, 1994, p. A8; “Chinese Dissident Appears; May Meet Christo-
pher,” New York Times, March 10, 1994, p. A11.
154. David Briscoe, “Christopher Heads for Asia under Cloud of Problems with
China, Japan,” Associated Press, March 4, 1994.
155. Interview with Winston Lord.
156. Interview with Stanley Roth; Elaine Sciolino, “U.S. Showing Frustration over
China’s Human Rights Policy,” New York Times, March 9, 1994, p. A11.
157. MFA press spokesman, quoted in Daniel Williams, “China Trip Expecta-
tions Lowered; Christopher Concerned Beijing Is ‘Going in Wrong Direction,’” Wash-
ington Post, March 10, 1994, p. A34.
158. Elaine Sciolino, “China Trip Begins on a Frosty Note for Christopher,” New
York Times, March 12, 1994, p. A1.
159. Daniel Williams, “Chinese Rebuff Christopher on Human Rights; Premier
Says Beijing Is Willing to Forgo Trading with U.S.,” Washington Post, March 13,
1994, p. A1.
160. Tyler, A Great Wall, p. 408; interview with J. Stapleton Roy; Elaine Sciolino,
Thomas L. Friedman, and Patrick E. Tyler, “Clinton and China: How Promise Self-
Destructed,” New York Times, May 29, 1994, p. A1.
161. Quoted in Daniel Williams, “U.S. Softens Trade Stand with China; Human
Rights Steps Would No Longer Be Spelled Out,” Washington Post, March 14, 1994,
p. A1.
162. Ibid.; Elaine Sciolino, “Christopher Ends Beijing Talks Citing Modest Gains,”
New York Times, March 14, 1994, p. A3.
163. Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 228; Kathy Chen, “Chinese Politicians Jockey
for Position—Reports of Deng’s Ill Health Multiply as Top Officials Bolster Their
Standing,” Wall Street Journal, July 14, 1994, p. A6.
164. David Shambaugh, “China’s Commander-in-Chief: Jiang Zemin and the
PLA,” in Lane Weisenbloom, and Liu, eds., Chinese Military Modernization, pp.
227–28.
165. I was present during Lake’s conversation with Jiang on July 9, 1996.
166. Charles Krauthammer, “Mugged in Beijing,” Washington Post, March 18,
1994, p. A29; Jim Hoagland, “Battered in Beijing,” Washington Post, March 15,
1994, p. A19; Hobart Rowen, “Administration in Disarray on China Trade Policy,”
Washington Post, March 20, 1994, p. H1.
notes to pages 190–19 5 481

167. Elaine Sciolino, “Sourly, Christopher’s Talks in Beijing Come to an End,”

New York Times, March 14, 1994, p. A3.
168. Interview with Winston Lord.
169. Warren Christopher, “My Trip to Beijing Was Necessary,” Washington Post,
March 22, 1994, p. A17.
170. Elaine Sciolino, “U.S. to Try a Conciliatory Tack with China,” New York
Times, March 23, 1994, p. A12.
171. Interview with Bowman Cutter, August 2000.
172. Quoted by Peter Behr, “Offering China a Carrot on Trade; In Exchange,
U.S. Would Insist on Human Rights Improvements,” Washington Post, January 29,
1994, p. C1.
173. Interview with Stanley Roth.
174. Patrick E. Tyler, “Beijing Says It Could Live Well Even if U.S. Trade Was
Cut Off,” New York Times, March 21, 1994, p. A1.
175. Wei would be held in these circumstances for the next eighteen months, a
condition the Chinese called “depriving him of political rights” because he violated
the conditions of his parole. It was a dubious procedure, even under Chinese law.
Subsequently, the National People’s Congress passed legislation to limit the time
period in which someone could be held by the police without being charged. That did
not help Wei, however.
176. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 4, for
example, Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of Human Rights Watch-Asia,
said flatly, “At this stage, we cannot imagine how the Secretary of State could make
a credible report to the President saying that China had fully met the conditions in
the Executive Order.” “Human Rights and MFN for China,” testimony of Mike
Jendrzejczyk before the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, May 4, 1994, Federal Document Clearing House (Lexis-
Nexis).
177. Lord first raised the idea at the end of a speech to the Chamber of Commerce
on March 30 as something that should be “looked at” to resolve the U.S. dilemma of
wanting to punish China for its failure to improve human rights, but not wanting to
punish private entrepreneurs in China or expose U.S. investors to retaliation. See
Steven Greenhouse, “Aide Says U.S. May Scrap an Across-the-Board Penalty for
China,” New York Times, March 30, 1994, p. A10.
178. Qian expressed China’s support for the declaration in a conversation with
former UN secretary general Kurt Waldheim, who by that time had been accused
widely of acquiescing in Nazi Germany’s war crimes. The brief announcement of
Qian’s statement (Xinhua News Agency, no. 0406155, April 4, 1994) received al-
most no play from Western media.
179. Interview with Michael Armacost, April 2000.
180. Ibid. Armacost noted a contrast between White House and NSC attitudes on
this issue and those at the State Department, where he found more uncertainty about
how the decision would go.
181. Ibid.
482 notes to pages 196–201

182. In late April, Lord wrote and circulated widely within the Department of
State a memo entitled “Emerging Malaise in Our Relations with Asia,” in which he
lamented the overall decline of U.S. influence in the region due to a series of “unilat-
eral” actions that made the U.S. seem like a “nanny, if not bully.” He also warned
that Asians were critical of U.S. policies that seemed bent on “placating domestic
interest groups” by using “tactics that destabilize relationships which are central to
the region’s peace and prosperity.” The memo was leaked to the press in early May,
and the full text appeared in The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) on May 17, 1994 (Lexis-
Nexis).
183. Daniel Williams, “Christopher Cites Progress on Human Rights in China;
Report Could Result in Lesser Trade Sanctions,” Washington Post, May 24, 1994,
p. A1.
184. Office of the Press Secretary, “Press Conference of the President,” May 26,
1994 (www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1994/May/1994-05-26-
President-in-Press-Conference-on-China-MFN-Status, accessed February 2003).
185. Available online at www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1994/
May/1994-05-26-Briefing-by-Lake-et-al-on-MFN-Status-for-China (accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
186. Pelosi’s bill, H.R. 4590, gathered 102 sponsors, but was watered down by a
Hamilton amendment. It died in the Senate in August.
187. Interview with J. Stapleton Roy.
188. Xinhua News Agency, no. 0527070, May 27, 1994. Also Patrick E. Tyler,
“China Welcomes U.S. Trade Policy,” New York Times, May 28, 1994, p. A1; Lena
H. Sun, “Trade Status Renewal Could Boost U.S.-China Relations, Analysts Say,”
Washington Post, May 28, 1994, p. A24. On a day when Russian prime minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin was in town, this news was the last item in the evening newscast.

Notes to Chapter 6
1. The August 17, 1982, joint communiqué affirms specifically, “the United States
Government states that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales
to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in
quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment
of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends to
reduce gradually its sales of arms to Taiwan, leading over a period of time to a final
resolution” (http://ait.org.tw/817.html, accessed February 2003).
2. “Historic 1993 China, Taiwan Talks Took Five Years of Groundwork,” Agence
France-Presse, July 19, 2000 (http://taiwansecurity.org/AFP/AFP-071900.htm, ac-
cessed February 2003); also “Lee Sent Secret Envoys to China,” Taipei Times, July
20, 2000 (www.taipeitimes.com/news/2000/07/20/story/0000044446, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
3. In late October 1992, the two sides, meeting in Hong Kong, worked to try and
find common language on the meaning of “one China” as the guiding principle for
negotiations. As evidence of the difficulty of cross-Strait talks, the two sides disagree
to this day on whether they reached an agreement to disagree, that is, whether they
notes to pages 201–205 483

reached a consensus on “one China, respective interpretations.” See, for example,

Lin Cheng-yi, “The Security of Taiwan in the Year 2000: A Taiwanese Perspective”
(www.dsis.org.tw/peaceforum/symposium/2000-12/121502.pdf, accessed February
2003).
4. China was eager, for example to establish the “three communications” (san
tong)—direct shipping, mail, and air transport across the Taiwan Strait. Fearful of
subversion, the Taiwan government held off agreeing to upgrade communications.
5. The scale of Taiwan’s investment in Taiwan was difficult to measure in 1992–
93. The Economist estimated total investment at $15 billion to 25 billion. “Twixt
Handshake and Armlock,” The Economist, May 22, 1993, p. 73 (UK ed.).
6. Rajiv Chandra, “Cautious Hands across the Strait,” Inter Press Service, April
14, 1993 (Lexis-Nexis).
7. John Hughes, “Taiwan Seeks a Place at the UN,” Christian Science Monitor,
September 16, 1993, p. 18.
8. Lee made the public announcement of the UN bid in a wide-ranging press
conference on May 20, 1993, during which he welcomed the Dalai Lama to visit
Taiwan, dismissed the importance of meeting with PRC leaders, and offered to “teach”
them about accounting and taxation. See “Lee Teng-Hui Holds Press Conference on
Third Anniversary of His Presidency,” PR Newswire, Coordination Council for North
American Affairs, New York (de facto ROC consulate), May 20, 1993; “Taiwan
President Rejects Meeting with Chinese Leaders,” Agence France-Presse, May 20,
1993.
9. Suisheng Zhao, “Military Coercion and Peaceful Offence: Beijing’s Strategy of
National Reunification with Taiwan,” Pacific Affairs, vol. 72, no. 4 (Winter 1999–
2000), p. 496.
10. Although most Western analysts believe that Beijing’s acquisition of Russian
Su-27 high-performance fighter aircraft in 1991 led to the U.S. decision to upgrade
Taiwan’s fighter force with F-16s, the Chinese have never accepted that logic.
11. Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council, “Explanation of Relations across the Tai-
wan Straits,” published in Chung Kuo Shih Pao (China Times), July 6, 1994, p. 2;
English translation in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2047/S1, July 14,
1994. The PRC White Paper, “The Taiwan Question and Reunification of China”
(http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/whitepaper/7.html, accessed February 2003).
12. James Mann, About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship with
China, from Nixon to Clinton (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), p. 317.
13. Ibid., p. 315.
14. Interview with Winston Lord, April 2000; Central News Agency (Taiwan),
“U.S. Official Says Treatment of Lee in Hawaii Was ‘Courteous,’” May 19, 1994
(Lexis-Nexis). Lord is most likely the official quoted anonymously in the story.
15. Full text of letter in U.S. Newswire, “In Blunt Letter to Clinton Sen. Simon
Proposes Side Sanctions on China MFN,” May 20, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
16. The defense authorization bill with a Brown amendment on Taiwan passed
86-14. See also Central News Agency (Taiwan), “Senate Approves Brown Amend-
ment for Taiwan,” August 6, 1994. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Lee
484 notes to pages 205–208

Hamilton supported the administration’s opposition to Brown’s amendments. The

defense authorization bill (S. 2182), sec. 1073, reads, “It is the sense of Congress that
no visa should be denied for a high-level official of Taiwan to enter the United States
unless the official is otherwise excludable under the immigration laws of the United
States” (www.thomas.loc.gov).
17. “Statement by the President on Signing Visa Waiver Pilot Program,” October
24, 1994, available online at www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1994/
Oct/1994-10-25-President-on-Signing-Visa-Waiver-Pilot-Program, accessed February
2003.
18. Consistent with the “unofficial” nature of the relationship with Taiwan, Win-
ston Lord’s press briefing on the details of the Taiwan policy review was off the
record and not transcribed. His meeting with Ding Mou-shih was held in the State
Plaza Hotel, a block away from the State Department. Points presented are from
various press accounts and my own recollection.
19. Jim Mann, “U.S. Slightly Elevates Ties with Taiwan,” Los Angeles Times,
September 8, 1994, p. A4.
20. Su Ge, Meiguo duihua zhengce yu taiwan wenti (American Policy toward China
and the Taiwan Question) (Beijing: World Knowledge Publishing, 1999), p. 731.
21. Patrick E. Tyler, “China Warns U.S. on Relations with Taiwan,” New York
Times, September 11, 1994, p. A14; Jen Hui-wen, “CCP Hierarchy Works out New
Policy towards Taiwan,” Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), September 16, 1994, p. 46, BBC
Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2121/G, October 8, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis). Jen—
one of the more cautious and reliable of the China-watchers in Hong Kong, in my
view—claimed the word “explosive” had not been used with regard to Taiwan in
more than fifteen years.
22. Sheila Tefft, “China Fumes over Upgraded U.S.-Taiwan Ties,” Christian Sci-
ence Monitor, September 14, 1994, p. 2 (Lexis-Nexis).
23. Li Tzu-ching, “Leftists Are Active Again,” Cheng Ming, no. 201, July 1, 1994,
pp. 14–15, in Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)-CHI-94-129, July 1, 1994.
24. Chen Shao-pin, “Liu Huaqing Says China Will Oppose Hegemonism and
Will Not Seek Hegemony,” Ching Pao, May 5, 1994, p. 62, in BBC Summary of
World Broadcasts, FE/1996/G, May 13, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
25. Lo Ping and Li Tzu-ching, “The Chinese Military Meddles in Policy towards
United States,” Cheng Ming, May 1, 1994, pp. 10–12, in BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, FE/1996/G, May 13, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
26. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Army Boosts Diplomatic Role,” South China Morning
Post (Hong Kong), July 29, 1994, p. 12 (Lexis-Nexis).
27. Jen Hui-wen, “Beijing Political Situation” column in Hsin Pao (Hong Kong),
July 8, 1994, p. 23, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2050/G in July 18,
1994. In announcing the de-linkage of MFN and human rights on May 26, President
Clinton extended the “Tiananmen sanctions on the PLA and added a prohibition on
the import of Chinese-manufactured guns and ammunition—particularly automatic
weapons configured as “sport” rifles—into the United States.” Lo Ping, “CCP Mili-
notes to pages 208–211 485

tary Attacks Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Cheng Ming, July 25, 1994, in BBC Sum-
mary of World Broadcasts, FE/2058/G, July 27, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
28. Jen Hui-wen, “CCP Hierarchy Works out New Policy towards Taiwan,” Hsin
Pao (Hong Kong), September 16, 1994, p. 46, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts,
FE/2121/G, October 8, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
29. Jen Hui-wen, “Measures Taken by Jiang Zemin to Remove Hidden Troubles
in Army,” Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), December 23, 1994, in BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, FE/2187/G, December 28, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
30. Although China had always insisted that the missile U.S. officials called the
M-11 fell beneath the 500kg/300km-payload-range parameters of the MTCR, and
never admitted it had sold M-11s to Pakistan, Qian implicitly accepted the American
argument that the missile had the “inherent capability” of exceeding them by virtue
of its size and fuel capacity. He therefore agreed not to sell the missiles to any other
country. See “U.S., China Reach New Accords on MTCR, Fissile Cutoff Issues,”
Arms Control Today, vol. 24, no. 9 (November 1994).
31. Elaine Sciolino, “U.S. Offers China Deal to Resolve a Missile Dispute,” New
York Times, November 14, 1994, p. 1.
32. Steven Mufson, “U.S. to Help China Retool Arms Plants; Perry Received as
‘Old Friend’ in Quest of Military Ties; Human Rights Discussed,” Washington Post,
October 18, 1994, p. A28.
33. The most thorough published account of the incident is in Jim Mann and Art
Pine, “Faceoff between U.S. Ship, Chinese Sub Is Revealed,” Los Angeles Times,
December 14, 1994, p. A1.
34. John F. Harris and Thomas W. Lippman, “Chinese Watched as U.S. Navy
Tracked Sub; No Protest Has Been Lodged,” Washington Post, December 15, 1994,
p. A42; Patrick E. Tyler, “As Deng Fades, China’s Leaders Tighten Grip on Power,”
New York Times, December 19, 1994, p. 3.
35. See Kathy Chen, “Chinese Communists Turn Cautious in Attempt to Bolster
Party’s Influence,” Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1994, p. A9.
36. I was a note taker at the meeting. See also “Background Briefing on China
Bilateral Talks,” White House Office of the Press Secretary, November 14, 1994
(www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/whitehouse-papers/1994/Nov/1994-11-14-
Backgrounder-on-Bilateral-Talks-with-China, accessed February 2003).
37. See Xinhua News Agency, “Jiang Zemin and Clinton Discuss Human Rights,
Sino-U.S. Ties,” November 14, 1994, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2153/
S2, November 15, 1994.
38. Harris and Lippman, “Chinese Watched as U.S. Navy Tracked Sub; No Pro-
test Has Been Lodged; Beijing Has Withdrawn Invitation for Visit by Peña,” Wash-
ington Post, December 15, 1994, p. A49.
39. Jiang Zemin, “Continue to Promote the Reunification of the Motherland,”
Xinhua News Agency, January 30, 1995, in FBIS-CHI-95-019.
40. Agence France-Presse, “China Poses Greater Military Threat to Taiwan: Chief-
of-Staff,” February 24, 1995; “Military Official Says Chinese Denial of Moving
486 notes to pages 212–217

Missiles Totally Unbelievable,” Central News Agency, Taipei, in English 0206 GMT
3 Mar 95, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, March 8, 1995, FE/2246/F.
41. Dennis Engbarth, “Taipei Sets Six-Point Policy on Mainland,” South China
Morning Post, April 9, 1995, p. 7.
42. Beijing Central People’s Radio commentator, “The Six-Point Response Lacks
Sincerity,” April 18, 1995, 2200 GMT, in FBIS-CHI-95-076.
43. See Elizabeth Drew, Showdown: The Struggle between the Gingrich Congress
and the Clinton White House (Simon and Schuster, 1996), chaps. 1 and 2.
44. Mann, About Face, p. 320; Simon Beck, “Taiwan out from under Its Shell,”
South China Morning Post, February 16, 1995, p. 19.
45. Brett C. Lippencott, “Congress Should Chart a Steady Course in U.S.-ROC
Relations,” Heritage Backgrounder Update no. 238, January 27, 1995.
46. Slobodan Lekic, “House Speaker Gingrich Calls for Taiwan to Be Readmitted
to UN,” Associated Press, February 3, 1995.
47. See, for example, “U.S. Congress Pushes Recognition of Taiwan,” United
Press International dispatch of February 9, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
48. See S. Con. Res. 9, March 6, 1995, “Expressing the sense of the Congress
regarding a private visit by President Lee Teng-hui of the Republic of China on Tai-
wan to the United States” (www.thomas.loc.gov).
49. “Senior Republican Calls on Clinton to Allow Visit by Taiwan’s President,”
Agence France-Presse, March 15, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
50. Daniel Williams, “China Finds ‘Comprehensive Engagement’ Hard to Grasp,”
Washington Post, February 13, 1995, p. A17; David E. Sanger, “U.S. Threatens $2.8
Billion of Tariffs on China Exports, New York Times, January 1, 1995, p. A14.
51. See Patrick E. Tyler, “Chinese Aide Conciliatory Despite ‘Foolish’ U.S. Stand
on Rights,” New York Times, March 11, 1995, p. A5.
52. Interviews with Stanley Roth, August 2000, and J. Stapleton Roy, May 2000.
53. H.R. 1450, “To amend the Taiwan Relations Act to permit visits to the United
States by the elected leaders of the people of Taiwan or their elected representatives,”
April 6, 1995 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.1460, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
54. Interview with Samuel R. Berger, March 2001.
55. Interviews with W. Anthony Lake, August 2000, and Stanley Roth; Jim Mann,
“How Taipei Outwitted U.S. Policy,” Los Angeles Times, June 8, 1995, p. A1; Don
Oberdorfer, “Juggling the Two Chinas,” Washington Post, October 23, 1995, p. C4.
56. Interview with Samuel R. Berger.
57. Without doubt, it was naive to think we would be able to keep the story under
wraps for more than a day or two. The Taiwan press in Washington is extremely
competent, well-connected, and nearly hyperactive on the issues of concern to Taipei.
As I heard the story reconstructed later, the president himself told several senators
after he had signed the decision memo, and one of them evidently passed the news on
to the Taiwan press.
58. Federal News Service, State Department regular briefing, May 22, 1995 (Lexis-
Nexis).
notes to pages 217–221 487

59. Christopher had used the phraseology in testimony before a Senate committee
in February 1995. Although he used the term again in his meeting with Qian, he also
warned the Chinese strongly about congressional determination to change the
administration’s Taiwan policy, as did others (including Winston Lord, Stanley Roth,
and myself) during that period. Subsequent Chinese complaints that Christopher
misled them seem quite disingenuous.
60. Patrick E. Tyler, “Chinese Leader Says ‘Mistakes’ by Government Fueled In-
flation,” New York Times, March 6, 1995, p. A1.
61. Patrick E. Tyler, “Deng’s Daughter Opens a Long-Shut Door,” New York
Times, January 13, 1995, p. A1.
62. See Steven Mufson, “Chinese Congress Vote Shows Surprising Dissension,”
Washington Post, March 18, 1995, p. A21; Patrick E. Tyler, “Old Soldier May Take
Deng’s Mantle,” New York Times, May 15, 1995, p. A6.
63. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Cutting to the Core,” South China Morning Post, April
19, 1995, p. 17.
64. Su Ge, Meiguo duihua Zhengce yu Taiwan wenti (American Policy toward
China and the Taiwan Question), p. 739; Rone Tempest, “China Threatens U.S.
over Taiwan Leader’s Visit,” Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1995, p. A6.
65. Taking a leaf from the PRC’s book on developing influence in Washington,
Taiwan tried to time the signing of letters of intent to buy eight Boeing 777s by two
Taiwan airlines so that it would take place just before Lee’s arrival and become a
major media event. Ultimately the deal—which was preliminary, at best—was wit-
nessed by Transportation Secretary Federico Peña the day after Lee departed. See
Journal of Commerce, “Boeing Announces UPS, Taiwan Deals,” June 13, 1995,
p. 2B.
66. Lee Teng-hui, “Always in My Heart,” Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture
delivered at Cornell University alumni reunion (www.news.cornell.edu/campus/Lee/
Lee_Speech.html, accessed February 2003).
67. Xinhua News Agency, “State Council Office Cancels 2nd Round of Wang-
Koo Talks,” June 16, 1995, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2333/G, June
19, 1995.
68. “Coercive diplomacy” is generally defined as an effort “to back a demand
on an adversary with a threat of punishment for non-compliance that will be cred-
ible and potent enough to persuade him that it is in his interest to comply with the
demand . . . [C]oercive diplomacy is essentially a diplomatic strategy, one that
relies on the threat of force rather than the use of force to achieve the objective. If
force must be used to strengthen diplomatic efforts at persuasion, it is employed in
an exemplary manner . . . to demonstrate resolution and willingness to escalate to
high levels of military action if necessary.” See Alexander L. George and William E.
Simon, The Limits of Coercive Diplomacy (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1994),
p. 2.
69. Lo Ping, “There Are Serious Disputes among the Party, Government and
Military on Policy towards United States and Taiwan,” Cheng Ming (Hong Kong),
July 1, 1995, p. 8, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2358/G, July 18, 1995.
488 notes to pages 223–224

See also Willy Wo-lap Lam, The Era of Jiang Zemin (Singapore: Prentice Hall, 1999),
pp. 173–74.
70. Cheng Li and Lynn White, “The Army in the Succession to Deng Xiaoping:
Familiar Fealties and Technocratic Trends,” Asian Survey, vol. 33, no. 8 (August
1993), pp. 758–59.
71. China announces a defense budget figure every year as part of the report to
the National People’s Congress by the minister of finance. The numbers given are
considered by most analysts to be only a fraction of actual military expenditures in
China, although no methodology has been devised to provide a more accurate figure.
The budget numbers are thought to be representative of overall trends in military
expenditures, so if the figure is 12 percent higher than the previous year, it is gener-
ally accepted that PLA spending rose by that proportion.
72. David Shambaugh, “China’s Commander-in-Chief: Jiang Zemin and the PLA,”
in Dennison Lane, Mark Weisenbloom, and Dimon Liu, eds., Chinese Military Mod-
ernization (Washington: American Enterprise Institute Press, 1996), p. 233.
73. At the risk of stereotyping and overgeneralizing, PLA officers who made it to
the top ranks during Deng’s generation and the succeeding one shared some charac-
ter traits that affected how they operated politically. They were not well educated,
valued bravery in battle and candor among peers, demonstrated and expected high
degrees of personal loyalty, and were not highly rank conscious (ranks were intro-
duced in the PLA in 1955, abolished during the Cultural Revolution, and restored in
the mid-1970s). Politically, they tended to be conservative, valuing order and struc-
ture and holding fast to Maoist ideological tenets long after many others had aban-
doned them. They were strongly nationalistic, to the point of xenophobia. As the
PLA has modernized and professionalized, the officer corps has become better edu-
cated and more sophisticated about a rapidly changing set of expectations and re-
quirements. But to the degree that the PLA remains predominantly a ground-force
army made up of conscripts from China’s overwhelmingly rural population, some of
these characteristics are still applicable.
74. Jen Hui-wen, “Measures Taken by Jiang Zemin to Remove Hidden Troubles
in Army,” Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), December 21, 1994, in BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, FE/2187/G, December 28, 1994; and Jen Hui-wen, “Jiang Zemin’s Con-
cept ‘It Is First Necessary to Stabilize the Army in Order to Stabilize Political Power,’”
Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), May 24, 1995, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
2358/G, July 18, 1995.
75. Lam, The Era of Jiang Zemin, p. 173.
76. Lo Ping, “There Are Serious Disputes among the Party, Government and
Military on Policy towards United States and Taiwan,” Cheng Ming (Hong Kong),
July 1, 1995, pp. 8–10, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2358/G, July 18,
1995.
77. The relationship between the Taiwan Affairs Leading Small Group (TALSG),
the Central Committee’s Taiwan Work Office (TWO), and the State Council’s Tai-
wan Affairs Office (TAO) is not easy to describe, especially since the regime does not
publicize the activities or membership of internal party work groups. Generally, au-
notes to page 225 489

thority descends through the list, with the TALSG being under the Politburo Stand-
ing Committee, the TWO probably being under the Central Committee Secretariat,
and the TAO being overseen by the premier of the State Council. Although staffs
probably do not overlap, the leading member(s) of each subordinate organization
belongs to the one above it.
78. Michael Swaine, “Chinese Decision-Making Regarding Taiwan, 1979–2000,”
in David M. Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the
Era of Reform (Stanford University Press, 2001), p. 300.
79. Lam, The Era of Jiang Zemin, p. 174; Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Army Takes over
Policy,” South China Morning Post, March 12, 1996, p. 11; Ken E. Gause, “China’s
Policy toward Taiwan,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, vol. 7, no. 12, (December 1995).
80. Swaine, “Chinese Decision-Making Regarding Taiwan,” pp. 323–25; Wen
Min, “Beijing’s New Taiwan Policy: Use a Little Force if Necessary,” Apple Daily
(Hong Kong), July 19, 1995, p. 1, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2362/
G, July 22, 1995; Lam, The Era of Jiang Zemin, p. 176.
81. Taiwan still garrisons and controls two small island groups just off the coast
of Fujian Province. The largest is Chin-men (also rendered Jinmen, Kinmen, or
Quemoy), one of twelve islands located off the PRC port of Xiamen, having a popu-
lation of about 43,000, mostly Taiwan military forces and their dependents. The
other major group is Matsu (also known as Mazu or Nankan), nineteen small islands
just off the Min River estuary, with a total population of less than 5,000. Both the
main islands are heavily fortified, but some of the small islands, such as Tung-chiu
and Wu-chiu, have garrison forces of only a few hundred. China has threatened on a
few occasions to recover these islands by force, particularly in 1958, when it began a
major artillery bombardment of the garrisons at Chin-men and Matsu. Although the
shelling and propaganda attacks have long since ceased, most military analysts view
the larger islands as vulnerable to a determined PRC attack, and the smaller islands
as indefensible.
82. Lu Te-yung, “Table of Mainland China’s Group Army and Major Naval and
Air Exercises since 1993,” Lien Ho Pao (Hong Kong/Taiwan), July 3, 1995, p. 1, in
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2347/G, July 5, 1995. Xinhua acknowl-
edged the exercise was going on but gave no details.
83. “PLA Announces Missile Launch Training on East China Sea,” Xinhua News
Agency, no. 0718139, July 18, 1995.
84. “Taiwan Appeals for Calm after China Announces Missile Exercise,” Agence
France-Presse, July 19, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
85. Press spokesman David Johnson, as quoted by Deutsche Presse-Agentur on
July 21, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
86. David A. Fulghum and Michael Mecham, “Chinese Tests Stun Neighbors,”
Aviation Week and Space Technology, vol. 143, no. 5 (July 31, 1995), p. 23; “China
Test-Fires Two More Missiles,” Associated Press, July 25, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
87. Federal News Service, “Foreign Press Center Briefing with Winston Lord,” July
24, 1995, p. 5. Critics would later charge this low-key response and reiteration of
China’s insistence that the tests were “normal” and not directed at Taiwan served to
490 notes to pages 226–230

encourage Beijing to undertake a more adventuresome course the following year. There
is no particularly good reason to believe that a stronger U.S. response to the tests
would have had any deterrent effect on Beijing’s military exercise plans, however.
88. From Lee Teng-hui’s “State of the Nation” address to the National Assembly,
July 27, 1995, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/2372/F, August 3, 1995;
Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Lee Urges Military Buildup,” South China Morning Post, July
28, 1995, p. 1.
89. “Second Wave of Exercise Fails to Attain Expected Objectives, Beijing Makes
Follow-up Plans to Exert Pressure,” Lien Ho Pao (Hong Kong), August 24, 1995, p.
1, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2391/F, August 25, 1995.
90. Elaine Sciolino, “C.I.A. Report Says Chinese Sent Iran Arms Components,”
New York Times, June 22, 1995, p. A1.
91. R. Jeffrey Smith and David B. Ottaway, “Spy Photos Suggest China Missile
Trade; Pressure for Sanctions Builds over Evidence That Pakistan Has M-11s,” Wash-
ington Post, July 3, 1995, p. A1.
92. Martin Sieff, “U.S. Probes China on Missiles; Pakistan Sale May Trigger Sanc-
tions,” Washington Times, July 4, 1995, p. A1.
93. See Steven Mufson, “China Acknowledges Holding American,” Washington
Post, June 28, 1995, p. A25.
94. Harry (Hongda) Wu, Laogai: The Chinese Gulag, Ted Slingerland, trans.
(Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1992).
95. By 1994 the accuracy of Wu’s charges was being called into question not only
by the Chinese government, but also by some Western experts and analysts. U.S.
Customs investigations of several facilities accused of being prison labor exporters
found the charges to be unfounded. In my recollection, intelligence analysts advised
privately that some of the information Wu cataloged in his book was outdated or
inaccurate. Concerns were raised even by those who supported his work that Wu
was exaggerating his information and taking unnecessary risks in order to prove ever
more sensational charges. See Jonathan Spence, “The Risks of Witness,” New York
Review of Books, December 19, 1996, p. 50ff; Emily MacFarquhar, “Inside the
Chinese Gulag,” New York Times Book Review, November 10, 1996, p. 24.
96. Harry Wu, with George Vecsey, Troublemaker: One Man’s Crusade against
China’s Cruelty (Times Books, 1996), p. 205; Elaine Sciolino, “U.S. Says It Warned
Wu about Earlier Trip to China,” New York Times, July 14, 1995, p. A6.
97. Wendy Koch, “U.S. Says China Misled It on Scholar’s Whereabouts,” San
Francisco Examiner, July 4, 1995, p. A12.
98. Wu, Troublemaker, p. 44.
99. Xinhua News Agency, no. 0708066, July 8, 1995. It has become evident over
the years that “espionage” (jiandie), in China’s perspective, does not necessarily en-
tail working for a foreign government. Foreign news organizations, human rights
organizations, and church groups can be the sponsors of the stealing of China’s
“state secrets.”
100. Ministry of Foreign Affairs press spokesman Chen Jian, as quoted by Kyodo
News International, “China Blasts U.S. for Diverting Attention,” July 10, 1995 (Lexis-
Nexis).
notes to pages 231–233 491

101. Xinhua News Agency, “U.S. Urged to Correct Its Mistakes, According to
Chinese Premier,” no. 0704233, July 4, 1995.
102. Federal News Service, Prepared Statement of the Honorable Henry A.
Kissinger before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, July 13, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis);
Sid Balman Jr., “Kissinger: Wu Won’t Be Freed Soon,” United Press International,
July 13, 1995.
103. From my own recollection of the July 13, 1995, meeting between Kissinger
and Clinton, at which I was note taker.
104. These were confirmed publicly on October 2, 1995, by State Department
spokesman Nicholas Burns. See Federal News Service, State Department briefing,
October 2, 1995, transcript, p. 5 (Lexis-Nexis).
105. Presidential correspondence is an enormous undertaking that involves the
coordinated efforts of several different offices within the White House. Routine cor-
respondence with other foreign leaders—acknowledging national celebrations, anni-
versaries, advocating cooperation on international treaties, and more—usually is
drafted by the State Department and routed through the NSC staff to the president’s
staff assistant for correspondence. Most such letters are autopenned, with an elec-
tronic version sent through the U.S. Embassy and the hard copy sent through the
diplomatic pouch. More personal, issue-related correspondence is prepared by the
NSC staff. Staffers may consult with other bureaucracies on the content of the mes-
sage, but private presidential correspondence is carefully protected. The secretary of
state will be shown copies of important correspondence, but copies are not routed
through the department, largely out of concern for confidentiality. Final copies are
generally signed by hand, and delivery may be through pouch, through the Washing-
ton embassy of the country concerned, or by personal courier. If speed is required,
the White House Situation Room has electronic message capability and authority to
transmit messages either through State Department or CIA channels.
106. See, for example, John W. Garver, Face Off: China, the United States, and
Taiwan’s Democratization (University of Washington Press, 1997), pp. 79–80; and
Mann, About Face, p. 330.
107. The best resource on the terminological arcana of the U.S. “one China”
policy—a source of considerable confusion—is Shirley A. Kan’s Congressional Re-
search Service Study RL30341, “China/Taiwan: Evolution of the ‘One China’ Policy—
Key Statements from Washington, Beijing, and Taipei,” March 12, 2001 (http://
cnie.org/NLE/CRSreports/international/inter-71.cfm, accessed February 2003). She
quotes Mann and Garver on the text of the July 1995 letter, however.
108. Xinhua version of Jiang’s interview with Elizabeth Farnsworth of PBS, Oc-
tober 24, 1995, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2444/G, October 25, 1995
(emphasis added).
109. Warren Christopher, “U.S. National Interest in the Asia-Pacific Region,”
address to the National Press Club, July 28, 1995 (www.state.gov/www/regions/eap/
950728.html, accessed February 2003).
110. Quoted by Martin Sieff, “Clinton Writes to Qian but Seeks No Summit,”
Washington Times, July 31, 1995, p. A17. The letter was to Jiang, delivered through
Qian.
492 notes to pages 233–239

111. On Clinton’s dislike of state visits, see Donnie Radcliffe, “Stomp on Pomp;
Clinton Scuttles Lavish White House Affairs in Favor of ‘Working’ Visits,” Wash-
ington Post, June 15, 1993, p. B1; interview with Stanley Roth.
112. See, for example, Todd S. Purdum, “Hard Choice for the White House on
Hillary Clinton and China,” New York Times, August 17, 1995, p. A1.
113. The e-mail was released to the public in connection with Anthony Lake’s
hearings on his nomination to be director of central intelligence. A full text is in-
cluded in Stephen Labaton, “Clinton and Gore Received Warnings on Asian Do-
nors,” New York Times, February 15, 1997, p. A1.
114. Christopher Drew, “How Donor with Asian Ties Knitted Access and Suc-
cess,” New York Times, February 22, 1997, p. A1.
115. This memo was also released publicly in February 1997 and widely quoted
in the press. See, for example, Nancy Gibbs, “Cash and Carry Diplomacy,” Time
magazine, February 17, 1997 (http://asia.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/02/17/time/
whitehousedonors.html, accessed February 2003).
116. William Rempel, “How Big Clinton Contributor Turned into Freelance En-
voy,” Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1997, p. A1; see also Federal Document Clearing
House, “Johnny Chung Testifies before House Governmental Affairs Committee,”
May 11, 1999, transcript, p. 29. Although there is ample reason to distrust Chung,
who dribbled out various pieces of his story as federal prosecutors closed in on him,
his account of his involvement in the Harry Wu case, at least, seems credible.
117. “The China Policy Act of 1995,” H.R. 2053(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/z?c104:H.R.2053:, accessed February 2003).
118. Xinhua News Agency, “Cold War Thinking, Hegemonic Logic,” unsigned
commentary, no. 0823251, August 23, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
119. Xinhua domestic news, August 24, 1995, BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, EE/D/2391/G, August 25, 1995.
120. Michael Laris, “China Convicts American of Spying; Human Rights Activist
Harry Wu Sentenced to 15 Years, Expulsion from Country,” Washington Post, Au-
gust 24, 1995, p. A1.
121. For Tarnoff’s optimism, see Steven Mufson, “Clinton May Meet with Chi-
nese Leader in U.S.,” Washington Post, August 28, 1995, p. 20; for the Chinese
reaction, see Xinhua’s account of MFA press spokesman Chen Jian’s remarks, Au-
gust 29, 1995, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2396/G, August 31,
1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
122. Most reporting on Beidaihe discussions comes from Hong Kong publica-
tions that are not always reliable reporters of political dynamics in China. Sources
for the judgment on 1995 Beidaihe discussions include Hong Kong’s Ming Pao and
Hsin Pao, both of which generally are considered somewhat better informed.
123. Federal News Service, State Department briefing, September 18, 1995 (Lexis-
Nexis).
124. “First Lady’s Address to the UN Conference on Women in Beijing,” Federal
Documents Clearing House, September 5, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
notes to pages 239–243 493

125. “China Calls Hillary’s Human Rights Criticisms ‘Unwarranted,’” Deutsche

Presse-Agentur, September 7, 1995.
126. Elaine Sciolino, “No Appetite in Washington for a State Dinner Now,” New
York Times, October 1, 1995, p. A10.
127. Kathy Wilhelm, “China Says United States Has Agreed to Limit Taiwan
Visits,” Associated Press wire report, October 2, 1995 (Lexis-Nexis).
128. Elaine Sciolino, “China Cancels a Sale to Iran, Pleasing U.S.,” New York
Times, September 28, 1995, p. A1; Christopher S. Wren, “Mixed Signals over Status
of Iran Deal,” New York Times, September 30, 1995, p. A4.
129. Nicholas Burns, State Department briefing, October 4, 1995, provided by
Federal Information Systems Corporation (Lexis-Nexis).
130. “Communiqué of the Fifth Plenum of the Fourteenth Central Committee of
the Communist Party of China,” Xinhua News Agency, no. 0928131, September 28,
1995.
131. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Triumph Tempered by Failure to Hasten Retirement of
Generals Loyal to Patriarch,” South China Morning Post, September 29, 1995, p.
10. Lam judged that Wang Ruilin had “crossed over” to Jiang’s side.
132. “Jiang Appears at War Games,” Financial Times, October 19, 1995, p. 6;
Tan Tarn How, “Military Exercises ‘Show China Would Use Force over Taiwan if
Needed,’” Straits Times (Singapore), October 20, 1995, p. 1.
133. See “Press Briefing by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs Winston Lord and Director of Asian Affairs Robert Suettinger, October 24,
1995 (http://clinton6.nara.gov/1995/10/1995-10-24-briefing-by-winston-lord-and-
bob-suettinger-nyc.html, accessed February 2003).
134. Steven Mufson, “Why Is China Taking on World by Trying Dissident?”
Washington Post, December 12, 1995, p. A27; “China Sentences Democracy Advo-
cate; 14-Year Prison Term Elicits Condemnation from U.S. and Human Rights
Groups,” Washington Post, December 14, 1995, p. A31.
135. David E. Sanger, “U.S. Again Tries a Trade Issue as a Carrot and Stick for
Beijing,” New York Times, December 14, 1995, p. A7.
136. “Press Briefing by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs Winston Lord and Director of Asian Affairs Robert Suettinger,” October 24,
1995.
137. “Taiwan Holds Military Drill,” United Press International, October 5, 1995.
138. Jen Hui-wen, “CCP Specially Sets up Headquarters to Plan Military Exer-
cises Targeting Taiwan,” Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), December 22, 1995, p. 9, in BBC
Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/D2499/F, January 3, 1996; “Chinese Leaders
‘More Pragmatic’ towards Taiwan,” Hsin Pao (Hong Kong), October 27, 1995, p.
18, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2446/F, October 27, 1995; “Chi-
nese Military Suggests Moderate Use of Force to Compel Taiwan to Give up Presi-
dential Election Next Year,” Lien Ho Pao (Hong Kong), November 5, 1995, p. 1, in
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D454/F, November 6, 1995; Fang Hsiao-yi,
“Taiwan Experts Say Beijing Will Not Tolerate Expansion of Pro-Taiwan Indepen-
494 notes to pages 244–245

dence Forces,” Wen Wei Po (Hong Kong pro-PRC journal), November 27, 1995, p.
A1, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2473/G, November 28, 1995.
139. Patrick E. Tyler, “China Warns U.S. Again on Taiwan,” New York Times,
November 11, 1995, p. A6; “Chinese Defense Minister, U.S. Assistant Secretary Sup-
port Dialogue,” Xinhua News Agency, November 17, 1995, BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, EE/D2465/G, November 19, 1995.
140. Nye’s reference to what he told the Chinese quoted in R. Jeffrey Smith,
“China Plans Maneuvers off Taiwan; Big Military Exercise Is Meant to Intimidate,
U.S. Officials Say,” Washington Post, February 5, 1996, p. A1.
141. “U.S. Warns against ‘Serious Mistake’ over Taiwan,” Kyodo News Agency,
November 17, 1995, Information Access Company, November 20, 1995 (Lexis-
Nexis).
142. Clinton’s last-minute decision not to attend the Osaka meeting was precipi-
tated by the failure of congressional and administration leaders to come to agree-
ment on various budget issues. Budget disputes were nothing new, and Congress
usually passed “continuing resolutions” to keep the government running while nego-
tiations proceeded. In 1995 the process broke down, largely because the Gingrich-
led Republican majority in the House was trying to legislate through appropriation
bills, adding riders and amendments that forced policies on the administration. Clinton
chose to shut down the government in November rather than seek a new continuing
resolution or compromise on his budget plans. See Elizabeth Drew, Showdown: The
Struggle between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House (Simon and
Schuster, 1996), chap. 23.
143. See, for example, Fang Hsiao-yi, “Taiwan Experts Say Beijing Will Not Tol-
erate Expansion of Pro-Taiwan Independence Forces; Military Exercises Manifest
Determination to Check Separatism,” Wen Wei Po (a pro-PRC daily in Hong Kong),
November 26, 1995, translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2473/
G, November 28, 1995.
144. Agnes Cheung, “Taiwan Votes for Peace; KMT Retains Its Majority but the
Breakaway New Party Capitalises on Rising Desire for Reconciliation with Beijing,”
South China Morning Post, December 3, 1995, p. 1; “Now, a Third Force; in a Key
Election, China’s Influence Boosts the New Party,” Asiaweek magazine, December
15, 1995, p. 29.
145. The tenth Panchen Lama’s death in 1989 had set in motion a process of
searching for the successor, a boy who possessed the incarnated spirit of the deceased
leader. By unwritten agreement, this process was supervised by Tibet’s second-
largest monastery, the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Qinghai Province, with
the approval of both the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. After a six-year
search, the monastery selected its candidates and consulted first with the Dalai Lama
secretly to get his approval. In May 1995 the Dalai Lama announced that a six-year-
old boy named Gedhum Choekyi Nyima would be the eleventh Panchen Lama. Out-
raged at being cut out of the process, Beijing set aside the choice and detained the
Tashilhunpo abbot in charge as well as the boy and his family. It then convened a
large group of monks in November 1995, had them select from three other candi-
notes to pages 245–251 495

dates by lottery, and declared the winner, Gyancain Norbu, to be the eleventh Panchen
Lama. The legitimacy of Beijing’s choice and the fate of the Dalai Lama’s choice have
been extremely sensitive issues ever since, worsening already poor relations between
the Beijing government and Tibet’s government in exile in Dharmsala.
146. George Gedda, “U.S. Tells China of Its ‘Grave Disappointment,’” Associ-
ated Press, December 14, 1995.
147. David E. Sanger, “U.S. Reopens Trade Dispute, Saying China Ignores Pi-
racy,” New York Times, December 1, 1995, p. D1.
148. See, for example, He Chong, “PRC Military Exercises ‘Contain’ Indepen-
dence Forces,” Zhongguo Tongxun She (China News Service, Hong Kong), March
24, 1996, in FBIS-CHI-96-058.
149. Robert Ross, “The 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Confrontation: Coercion, Cred-
ibility, and the Use of Force” International Security, vol. 25 (Fall 2000), p. 89.
150. Suisheng Zhao, “Military Coercion and Peaceful Offence: Beijing’s Strategy
of National Reunification with Taiwan,” Pacific Affairs, vol. 72, no 4 (Winter 1999/
2000), p. 502.
151. See Yue Ren, “China’s Dilemma in Cross-Strait Crisis Management,” Asian
Affairs, An American Review, vol. 24, no. 3 (Fall 1997), p. 135ff.
152. Interview with Charles W. Freeman Jr., October 2000.
153. Interview with Anthony Lake.
154. Ibid.; Barton Gellman, “Reappraisal Led to New China Policy,” Washing-
ton Post, June 22, 1998, p. A1.
155. Interviews with Sandra J. Kristoff, September 2000, and Anthony Lake.
There had been pressure for Lake to become more involved in China policy for some
time, from within the NSC, from other segments of the foreign policy establishment
unhappy with State’s stewardship of the relationship, and from the academic com-
munity. Lake finally stopped resisting the pressure in late 1995 but was still highly
sensitive to any appearance of trying to usurp Christopher’s authority. For a general
discussion of the topic of NSC’s involvement in China policy, see “China Policy and
the National Security Council,” an Oral History Roundtable (Center for Interna-
tional and Security Studies, University of Maryland, and Brookings Institution, 2001),
pp. 36–40.
156. Interview with Charles W. Freeman Jr.; Patrick Tyler, “As China Threatens
Taiwan, It Makes Sure U.S. Listens,” New York Times, January 24, 1996, p. A3.
157. Gellman, “Reappraisal Led to New China Policy.”
158. Conversation with Admiral Joseph Prueher; interview with Kurt Campbell,
November 2000.
159. Bill Gertz, “China Nuclear Transfer Exposed; Hill Expected to Urge Sanc-
tions,” Washington Times, February 5, 1996, p. A1.
160. R. Jeffrey Smith and Ann Devroy, “U.S. to Seek Closer Ties with China;
More High-Level Talks Contemplated between Top Officials This Spring,” Wash-
ington Post, February 21, 1996, p. A27.
161. Recollections of this meeting vary among participants, and I cannot even
confirm its exact date, even though I attended it. Its content has been alluded to in
496 notes to pages 251–256

Patrick Tyler, A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China (New York: Century Founda-
tion, 1999), pp. 21–22, who believed it took place in early March. Tyler’s account
has some inconsistencies, however, and conflates the outcome of several different
meetings. Joint Chiefs’ contingency planning for a Taiwan scenario was leaked to the
Washington Times and published in a story by Bill Gertz, “Shalikashvili Doubts
Invasion of Taiwan; China Can’t Put Troops across Strait,” February 16, 1996,
p. A1.
162. “Ground-to-Ground Missile Test Coordinates Announced,” Xinhua News
Agency, March 5, 1996, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2553/G, March
5, 1996.
163. Joyce Chiang, “Taiwan Bourse Reels under Chinese Missile Test Plan,” Agence
France-Presse, March 6, 1996.
164. Keith B. Richburg, “China Fires Missiles into Sea near Taiwan; Target Areas
Are Close to Busy Port Cities,” Washington Post, March 8, 1996, p. 23; Tan Tarn
How, “Qian Tells Taiwan People Not to Panic While Some Others Are Concerned,”
Straits Times (Singapore), March 9, 1996, p. 1 (Lexis-Nexis).
165. Keith B. Richburg, “Of Missiles and Chinese Mind Games,” Washington
Post, March 7, 1996, p. A24.
166. See State Department and White House press briefings, March 5, 1996;
Perry’s comment quoted in Agence France-Presse, “Perry Says Beijing Makes a ‘Very
Bad Mistake’ with Taiwan Maneuvers,” March 5, 1996; GOP statement in congres-
sional press release, “House GOP Unambiguous in Support for Defending Taiwan
against Invasion Threat,” Federal Document Clearing House, March 5, 1996.
167. Jane’s Defence Weekly, vol. 25, no. 11 (March 13, 1996), p. 11.
168. Robert Burns, “Navy Ships, Air Force Spy Plane Monitor Chinese Missile
Tests,” Associated Press, March 9, 1996.
169. See Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry, Preventive Defense: A New Secu-
rity Strategy for America (Brookings, 1999), pp. 92–97; Tyler, A Great Wall, pp.
31–32; Barton Gellman, “U.S. and China Nearly Came to Blows in ’96; Tension
over Taiwan Prompted Repair of Ties,” Washington Post, June 21, 1998, p. A1.
170. Carter and Perry, Preventive Defense, pp. 97–99; Tyler, A Great Wall, pp.
34–35; Gellman, “U.S. and China Nearly Came to Blows in ’96”; interviews with
Anthony Lake, Samuel R. Berger, Winston Lord, and Kurt Campbell.
171. Interviews in note 170.
172. Department of State press release, “March 10: Secretary Christopher Inter-
view on ‘Meet the Press’” (www.state.gov/www/current/debate/
mar96_china_us_troops.html, accessed February 2003).
173. Captain Michael Doubleday, DOD news briefing, March 12, 1996, Federal
Document Clearing House (Lexis-Nexis).
174. China Central Television, March 11, 1996, transcript in BBC Summary of
World Broadcasts, EE/D2558/G, March 11, 1996. Qian’s point about those calling
for “defense of Taiwan” is a reference to H. Con. Res. 148, introduced on March 7,
which proposed the United States should “assist in defending” Taiwan against “in-
notes to pages 256–259 497

vasion, missile attack, or blockade by the People’s Republic of China”

(www.thomas.loc.gov).
175. China Central Television, March 11, 1996, BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, EE/D2559/S1, March 11, 1996.
176. Richard Ingham, “China Doubles Numbers in Drill, Fires Missile; Taiwan
Boosts Patrols,” Agence France-Press, March 13, 1996 (Lexis-Nexis).
177. Liu Yue-ying, “Generals of Three Forces Comment on Movement of U.S.
Aircraft Carriers,” Ta Kung Pao (Hong Kong), March 13, 1996, p. A2, in FBIS-CHI-
96-050, March 13, 1996.
178. Robert Burns, “Shalikashvili: Chinese War Games a Dry Run,” Associated
Press, March 12, 1996; Winston Lord on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, March
11, 1996, transcript 5481; Kurt Campbell testimony before the House International
Relations Committee, March 12, 1996 (www.fas.org/news/taiwan/1996/960314-
taiwan-usia2.htm, accessed February 2003); Ed Offley, “U.S. Navy Takes on a Deli-
cate Role near Taiwan,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 14, 1996, p. A2.
179. The meeting was confirmed by the State Department spokesman on May 3,
1996, after it had been reported in the Taiwan press. Subsequent meetings, at the
insistence of both the U.S. State Department and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs, included participants from AIT and TECRO.
180. Principal points as I recall them.
181. China Central Television, March 17, 1996, in BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, EE/D2564/S1, March 18, 1996; Patrick E. Tyler, “China Warns U.S. to Keep
away from Taiwan Strait,” New York Times, March 18, 1996, p. A3.
182. Steven Mufson, “China Blasts U.S. for Dispatching Warship Groups; Beijing
Resumes Maneuvers near Outlying Taiwanese Island,” Washington Post, March 20,
1996, p. A21. The Nimitz had sailed through the Strait in December 1995 en route to
Hong Kong, apparently without PRC military authorities realizing it had done so. Al-
though the U.S. Navy had chosen that route for weather reasons, most observers, par-
ticularly in China and Taiwan, believed the passage was intended to be a show of force.
183. Tze Li, “Li Peng Issues a Warning; Perry Slaps His Own Face,” Ta Kung
Pao, March 19, 1996, p. A7, in FBIS-CHI-96-054, March 19, 1996.
184. Martin Sieff, “Verbal War Heats up over Taiwan; Perry Flaunts U.S. Naval
Power,” Washington Times, March 20, 1996, p. A1.
185. United Press International, “Invaders Face Chinese ‘Sea of Fire,’” March 21,
1996 (Lexis-Nexis).
186. Elaine Sciolino, “White House Snubs China over Military Maneuvers,” New
York Times, March 23, 1996, p. A5.
187. H. Con. Res. 148, passed 369-14 on March 19, 1996 (http://thomas.loc.gov,
accessed November 8, 2000 [emphasis added]).
188. Quoted in Tan Tarn How, “Beijing Tells U.S. to Stop Interfering ‘Immedi-
ately,’” Straits Times (Singapore), March 20, 1996, p. 11 (Lexis-Nexis).
189. See his testimony before the East Asian and Pacific Subcommittee of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, October 11, 1995, provided by Federal News
Service (Lexis-Nexis).
498 notes to pages 259–262

190. See, for example, Defense Department briefing, “Remarks by Assistant Sec-
retary of Defense Joseph Nye at Asia Society Washington Center,” December 12,
1995, from Federal News Service (Lexis-Nexis); Winston Lord, “Testimony before
House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing on ‘Military Stability in the
Taiwan Straits,’” March 12, 1996, from Federal News Service (Lexis-Nexis). Lord
appealed to members of Congress to help him “stamp out” the use of the term.
191. Liu Huinian, Huang Qiusheng, and Cao Zhi, “Our Army Has Successfully
Conducted Joint War Games of the Three Services in the Taiwan Strait,” Xinhua
News Agency, March 25, 1996, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, EE/D2571/
F, March 26, 1996.
192. Steven Mufson, “China Plans Live-Ammunition Tests; Naval and Air Ma-
neuvers Could Add Pressure before Taiwan’s Vote,” Washington Post, March 10,
1996, p. A20.
193. Sarah Jackson-Han, “Top Chinese Minister Gives Mixed Message on Tai-
wan,” Agence France-Presse, March 11, 1996; Patrick E. Tyler, “China Signaling
U.S. That It Will Not Invade Taiwan,” New York Times, March 13, 1996, p. A3.
194. Patrick E. Tyler, “Taiwan’s Leader Wins Its Elections and a Mandate,” New
York Times, March 24, 1996, p. A1.
195. See, for example, He Chong, “Chinese Military Exercises Contain ‘Taiwan
Independence’ Forces,” Zhongguo Tongxun She (China News Agency, Hong Kong),
March 24, 1996, in FBIS-CHI-96-058, March 24, 1996.
196. Jiang told a group of visiting Japanese that the American carriers “lacked
courage” to cross the centerline of the Taiwan Strait. “If the U.S. aircraft carriers
come again, China will continue its military exercises,” Jiang said, implying that the
curtailment of the missile tests may have been related to the carrier deployment. See
Kyodo News Service, “Jiang Tells Japanese Guests U.S. Lacks Courage,” April 4,
1996 (Lexis-Nexis). Internally, Chinese officials subsequently spread the word that
the carrier battle groups were deterred from entering the Strait by the activities of
Chinese submarines. See Su Ge, Meiguo duihua zhengce yu taiwan wenti (American
Policy toward China and the Taiwan Question), p. 750. In fact, the Pentagon had
decided from the outset not to enter the Strait.
197. See, in particular, footnotes citing interviews with unnamed Chinese officials
in Ross, “Coercion,” pp. 92–95.
198. Vivian Pik-kwan Chan, “Lee Offers ‘Journey of Peace’ to Mainland,” South
China Morning Post (Hong Kong), May 20, 1996, p. 1.
199. See, for example, Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Diplomatic Folly,” South China
Morning Post (Hong Kong), March 27, 1996, p. 21; “Cadres Divided on Next Policy
Move,” South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), March 28, 1996, p. 10.
200. You Ji, “Changing Leadership Consensus: The Domestic Context of War
Games,” in Suisheng Zhao, ed., Across the Taiwan Strait: Mainland China, Taiwan
and the 1995–1996 Crisis (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 79.
201. See Robert G. Sutter, “China Policy: Crisis over Taiwan, 1995—A Post-
Mortem,” Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, 95-1173 F, Decem-
ber 5, 1995 (www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/95-1173f.htm, accessed February 2003).
notes to pages 264–268 499

Notes to Chapter 7

1. “Chinese Work Conference on Taiwan Ends,” Zhongguo Xinwen She (China

News Agency, Hong Kong), April 29, 1996, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts,
EE/D2600/F, April 30, 1996.
2. Suisheng Zhao, “Changing Leadership Perceptions: The Adoption of a Coer-
cive Strategy,” in Suisheng Zhao, ed., Across the Taiwan Strait: Mainland China,
Taiwan and the 1995–1996 Crisis (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 99.
3. The deal, arranged in 1994 and delivered in 1995, was monitored by U.S.
intelligence. The story was leaked to the Washington Times. See Bill Gertz, “China
Nuclear Transfer Exposed; Hill Expected to Urge Sanctions,” Washington Times,
February 5, 1996, p. A1.
4. The act specifies sanctions against any person or country that contributes “ma-
terially and with requisite knowledge . . . any goods or technology . . . to the efforts
by any individual, group, or non-nuclear-weapon state to acquire unsafeguarded
special nuclear material or to use, develop, produce, stockpile, or otherwise acquire
any nuclear explosive device.” See H.R. 2333, the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act of 1994–1995, Sec. 801, and the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994
(http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003).
5. Xinhua News Agency, “Spokesman Denies Alleged Export of Nuclear Weap-
ons Technology, Equipment,” February 15, 1996.
6. Bill Gertz, “Administration Weighs Sanctions over Nuclear Sale; Congress Seeks
Punishment for China,” Washington Times, February 9, 1996, p. A7.
7. R. Jeffrey Smith, “Chinese Exports Fuel Iran Effort on Poison Gas; U.S. Intel-
ligence Officials Say Sales of Chemical Equipment May Violate Law,” Interna-
tional Herald Tribune, March 9, 1996 (reprinted from the Washington Post). The
Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpil-
ing, and use of chemical weapons. After lengthy negotiations, it was opened for
signature in January 1993 and entered into force in April 1997. China was one of
the first to sign and last to ratify, as was the United States. See http://projects.sipri.se/
cbw/docs/cw-cwc-mainpage.html (accessed February 2003) for more information
on the convention.
8. Barry Schweid, “New Suspicions Beijing Sent Missile Technology to Pakistan,”
Associated Press, March 7, 1996.
9. R. Jeffrey Smith, “Chinese Rebuff U.S. Demand; Nuclear Shipments May Spur
Penalty,” Washington Post, March 24, 1996, p. A1.
10. R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Officials Debate Role of Chinese Leaders in Illicit Sales
to Pakistan,” Washington Post, March 27, 1996, p. A25.
11. Charles Krauthammer, “China’s Four Slaps and the United States’ Craven
Response,” Washington Post, March 22, 1996, p. A25.
12. A. M. Rosenthal, “On My Mind; The Making of an Anti,” New York Times,
March 29, 1996, p. A21.
13. Jim Hoagland, “Now, a Clinton Doctrine,” Washington Post, March 10,
1996, p. C7.
500 notes to pages 268–271

14. See “Text of Japan-U.S. Declaration on Security,” Jiji Press Ticker Service,
Tokyo, April 17, 1996.
15. Thom Beal, “China Warns U.S., Japan on Accord,” United Press Interna-
tional, April 18, 1996.
16. Interview with Kurt Campbell, November 2000.
17. In the mid-1980s, Chinese military industries pursued something of an “open
door” approach to foreign military sales, selling CSS-2 IRBMs to Saudi Arabia, nuclear
materials and chemical weapons precursor reagents to a variety of countries in the
Middle East and elsewhere, and conventional armaments to both sides in the Iran-
Iraq conflict. After intense American pressure and negative international publicity,
the Foreign Ministry was able to persuade the leadership that the political costs of
continuing such activities outweighed the economic benefits. But in a declining de-
fense budget situation, when military industries were encouraged to restructure and
reform themselves to become profitable, the temptation to sidestep rudimentary regu-
lations or unclear guidelines was strong.
18. See Bates Gill, “Twenty Years of Chinese Reform: The Case of Nonprolifera-
tion Policy” (www.future-china.org.tw/csipf/activity/19990408/mt9904_2-2.htm,
accessed February 2003).
19. U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, “Special Briefing on U.S.-
China Discussions on Non-Proliferation and Nuclear-Related Exports,” May 10,
1996 (transcript at www.state.gov/www/current/debate/510spbrf.html, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
20. Xinhua News Agency spokesman, May 11, 1996, BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, EE/D2610/G, May 12, 1996.
21. Robert Einhorn testimony at a hearing of the Subcommittee on International
Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services of the Senate Committee on Governmen-
tal Affairs, April 10, 1997 (www.fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1997_h/s-hrg-105-
242.htm, accessed February 2003).
22. Robert J. Einhorn, “Engaging China on Nonproliferation,” prepared testi-
mony before the Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal
Services, April 10, 1997, Federal News Service (Nexis-Lexis).
23. Quoted in R. Jeffrey Smith and Thomas W. Lippman, “U.S. Relents On Chi-
nese Sanctions; Beijing Vows to End Nuclear Sales,” Washington Post, May 11,
1996, p. A1.
24. Interview with Deborah M. Lehr, March 1999.
25. USTR Factsheet, “Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement in China”
(www.ustr.gov/releases/1996/05/96-42/96-42.fact.html, accessed February 2003).
26. Wayne M. Morrison, CRS Issue Brief for Congress, “China-U.S. Trade Is-
sues,” updated April 13, 2001. Trade balance figures are a controversial subject in
U.S.-China relations, in part because the two countries use different standards of
measurement for goods re-exported through Hong Kong. The yearly American defi-
cit with China, which had gone from $6.2 billion in 1989 to $33.8 billion in 1995,
was a source of political difficulty rather than economic strain—principally because
notes to pages 271–277 501

China pursued a variety of protectionist and discriminatory trade policies designed

to maximize its exports and minimize imports.
27. Gretchen Cook, “US Puts Business Loans on Hold over Row with China,”
Agence France-Presse, February 28, 1996.
28. Interview with Deborah M. Lehr. Among the actions China agreed to under-
take: a six-month nationwide special enforcement period for IPR, closing or licens-
ing twenty-nine illegal CD factories, implementation of new guidelines on trademark
and copyright protection for computer software, and a gradual phaseout of illegal
software on government computers. See USTR transcript of Deputy USTR Charlene
Barshefsky press conference, February 26, 1995, p. 2.
29. David Sanger, “U.S. Warns China over Violations of Trade Accord,” New
York Times, February 4, 1996, p. A1; USTR Fact Sheet, “Intellectual Property Rights
Enforcement in China,” May 15, 1996 (www.ustr.gov/releases/1996/05/96-42/96-
42.fact.html.)
30. R. Jeffrey Smith, “Clinton Renews Threat of Trade Sanctions on China,”
Washington Post, May 9, 1996, p. A18.
31. Paul Blustein and Steven Mufson, “U.S., China Take Risks in Threatening
Tariffs,” Washington Post, May 17, 1996, p. A29.
32. Warren Christopher, “American Interests and the U.S.-China Relationship,”
May 17, 1996 (www.state.gov/www/current/debate/96517qa.html, accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
33. William J. Clinton, “Remarks to the Pacific Basin Economic Council,” May
20, 1996 (www.state.gov/www/regions/eap/960520.html, accessed February 2003).
34. Cited in Keith B. Richburg, “China’s ‘Get Tough’ Publicity Doesn’t Tell the
Whole Story,” Washington Post, June 14, 1996, p. A39.
35. China had resisted allowing more than a minimal number of U.S. films to be
shown in Chinese theaters, both out of fear of competition from a more advanced
U.S. movie industry and out of concern for “cultural infiltration” and “contamina-
tion” from Western ideas. For details of the agreement, see the press briefing by
National Economic Adviser Laura Tyson and Secretary of Commerce Michael Kantor,
June 18, 1996, M2 Presswire (Lexis-Nexis).
36. Quoted in Keith B. Richburg, “U.S. Withdraws Its Threat of Sanctions against
China; Trade War Averted; Officials Cite Beijing Crackdown on Pirated Goods,”
Washington Post, June 18, 1996, p. C1.
37. See note 103 in this chapter. Lake remembered enough of his student study of
Chinese to make a creditable attempt at reciting Jiang’s aphorism. His purpose was
to demonstrate respect and provide a pleasant, human touch to what might other-
wise be sterile exchanges of talking points.
38. The “walk in the woods” metaphor originated in a 1982 discussion between
U.S. arms control negotiator Paul Nitze and his Soviet counterpart, Yuli Kvitsinsky.
Taking a break from formal and fruitless negotiations on arms control, the two men
walked together by themselves in a park near Geneva, Switzerland, and worked out
methods to get arms control discussions onto a more productive track. Both the U.S.
and Soviet governments rejected the agreement, but it facilitated further progress later.
502 notes to pages 277–284

39. Interviews with Anthony Lake, August 2000, and Sandra J. Kristoff, Septem-
ber 2000. The list, which I had earlier drawn up in consultation with State Depart-
ment China desk officials and John Kamm, included Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, Xi
Yang, Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Guoqiang, Liu Nianchun, Bao Tong, and Ulanshuvo.
40. Quoted in Keith Richburg, “U.S., China Optimistic after Talks in Beijing;
Lake Says Clinton, President Jiang Likely to Meet, Reaffirms Commitment to Hu-
man Rights,” Washington Post, July 11, 1996, p. A21; Seth Faison, “Clinton Likely
to Visit China in 1997 if He Is Re-Elected,” New York Times, July 10, 1996, p. A3.
41. “Lake’s China Visit Makes Positive, Useful Contribution: Spokesman,” Xinhua
News Agency, no. 0711175, July 11, 1996; Maggie Farley, “Top U.S. Envoy Tries to
Repair Ties with China,” Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1996, p. A4.
42. See Michael Dobbs, “Dissident’s Long Prison Sentence Tangles Christopher’s
China Visit,” Washington Post, November 3, 1996, p. A28; Steven Erlanger, “Chris-
topher to Go Ahead with Visit to China,” New York Times, October 31, 1996, p. A12.
43. Warren Christopher, In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a
New Era (Stanford University Press, 1989), p. 514.
44. See, for example, “Transcript of Press Conference with President Clinton and
Australian Prime Minister Howard,” U.S. Newswire, November 20, 1996 (Lexis-
Nexis); also Michael Dobbs, “Letter from Shanghai; When Is a Partnership Not
Partnership? When It’s ‘Cooperation,’” Washington Post, November 23, 1996, p.
A19.
45. Marcy Gordon, “Justice Department Reviewing Campaign Spending Allega-
tions,” Associated Press, October 10, 1996. Amendments to the Federal Election
Campaign Act in 1974 set specific limits on how much an individual could give to a
candidate and a political party, and in total. They also limited spending by candi-
dates and by so-called political action committees. Many of those limitations were
struck down in 1976 by the Supreme Court as inconsistent with First Amendment
rights, although they did retain limits on individual contributions. Even these were
evaded as distinctions were made between so-called hard money given directly to a
candidate and soft money given to a political party or other organization for the
purpose of developing or publicizing their issues. According to the Annenberg Cen-
ter at the University of Pennsylvania, more than $150 million of such soft money was
spent in 1996 on issue advertisements on television and radio, many of them “attack
ads” on candidates. See Annelise Anderson, “Political Money: The New Prohibi-
tion,” Hoover Essays in Public Policy, October 15, 1997 (http://andrsn.stanford.edu/
Other/polmoney.html, accessed February 2003).
46. Quoted in John F. Harris, “Clinton Waxes Idyllic on Pacific Rim’s Future;
Optimistic Views Draw Cheers in Australia,” Washington Post, November 21, 1996,
p. A28.
47. Interview with Sandra J. Kristoff.
48. See Bruce Gilley, Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China’s New Elite
(University of California Press, 1998), p. 71.
49. Charles Hutzler, “Deep Divisions Remain, but Manila Meeting Marks a Turn-
ing Point,” Associated Press, November 24, 1996; John F. Harris, “Clinton, Chinese
notes to pages 285–289 503

Leader Meet; After 1½-Hour Talk, Presidents Agree to Exchange Visits,” Washing-
ton Post, November 24, 1996, p. A1.
50. Jim Hoagland, “Mouseketeer Diplomacy,” Washington Post, December 1,
1996, p. C7.
51. Washington Post editorial, “Selling Cheap in China,” November 26, 1996,
p. A14.
52. Geremie Barmé, “To Screw Foreigners Is Patriotic: China’s Avant-Garde Na-
tionalists,” The China Journal, no. 34 (July 1995) (www.tsquare.tv/themes/
toscrew.html, accessed February2003); Suisheng Zhao, “Chinese Intellectuals’ Quest
for National Greatness and Nationalistic Writing in the 1990s,” The China Quar-
terly, no. 152 (December 1997), pp. 725–45; Feng Chen, “Order and Stability in
Social Transition: Neo-Conservative Political Thought in Post-1989 China,” The
China Quarterly, no. 151 (September 1997), pp. 593–613; Joseph Fewsmith, China
since Tiananmen (Cambridge University Press, 2001), especially chap. 5.
53. In the early 1990s, the central government ceased subsidizing most newspa-
pers and magazines and made publishing houses responsible for their own profits
and losses. By 1994, 540 publishing houses were turning out more than 90,000 titles
per year (Xinhua News Agency, September 16, 1994) for increasingly affluent urban
audiences with sophisticated tastes. This led to a boom in popular fiction and to the
virtual abandonment of prepublication censorship for most publications. Song Qiang,
Zhang Zangzang, Qiao Bian, and others, Zhongguo keyi shuo bu (China Can Say
No) (Beijing: China Industrial and Commercial United Press, 1996). The title is adapted
from a Japanese book, The Japan That Can Say No, by Shintaro Ishihara and Akio
Morita, which caused a sensation in Japan in 1989 by questioning the benefits to
Japan of American dominance of the alliance.
54. Song and others, Zhongguo keyi shuo bu (China Can Say No), p. 209.
55. Joseph Kahn, “Chinese Writers Increasingly Blast Anti-U.S. Bestseller,” Wall
Street Journal, September 19, 1996, p. A18.
56. Fewsmith, China since Tiananmen, chap. 6.
57. Elizabeth Drew, The Corruption of American Politics—What Went Wrong
and Why (Secaucus, N.J.: Birch Lane Press, 1999), especially chap. 2.
58. Ibid., p. ix.
59. Ruth Marcus and Ira Chinoy, “A Fund-Raising ‘Mistake’; DNC Held Event
in Buddhist Temple,” Washington Post, October 17, 1996, p. A1.
60. Ibid.
61. Ruth Marcus, “Oval Office Meeting Set DNC Asian Funds Network in Mo-
tion,” Washington Post, December 29, 1996, p. A1.
62. Glenn F. Bunting, Alan C. Miller, and Rich Connell, “Donor Enjoyed Broad
Access to White House,” Los Angeles Times, November 28, 1996, p. A1.
63. Keith Richburg, “Taiwanese: Ex-Clinton Aide Said He Was Raising Money;
No Direct Request Made, Political Scientist Says,” Washington Post, October 30,
1996, p. A16. Wood was dismissed by Christopher.
64. See the “Investigation of Illegal or Improper Activities in Connection with
1996 Federal Election Campaigns,” Final Report of the Committee on Governmen-
504 notes to pages 290–294

tal Affairs, Senate Rept. 105-167—105 Cong. 2 sess.—March 10, 1998 (www.fas.org/
irp/congress/1998_rpt/sgo-sir/2-17.htm, accessed February 2003).
65. Susan Schmidt and Lena H. Sun, “Clinton Calls Wang Meeting ‘Inappropri-
ate,’” Washington Post, December 21, 1996, p. A1.
66. Public Papers of the Presidents, “Remarks Announcing the Second Term Na-
tional Security Team and an Exchange with Reporters,” December 5, 1996.
67. William Safire, “I Remember Larry,” New York Times, January 2, 1997,
p. A19.
68. Byron York, “Six Degrees of William Cohen,” American Spectator, January
19, 1997, pp. 22–27.
69. Bob Woodward and Brian Duffy, “Chinese Embassy Role in Contributions
Probed; Planning of Foreign Donations to DNC Indicated,” Washington Post, Feb-
ruary 13, 1997, p. A1.
70. Brian Duffy and Bob Woodward, “FBI Probes China-Linked Contributions;
Task Force Examines Influence on Congress,” Washington Post, February 28, 1997,
p. A1.
71. Quoted in the Associated Press, “Clinton: Should Have Been Told of FBI
Suspicions of Chinese,” March 10, 1997; David G. Savage and Richard A. Serrano,
“Clinton Not Told of China Donation Plan, Aides Insist,” Los Angeles Times, March
10, 1997, p. A1; Warren P. Strobel and Jerry Seper, “FBI Opens Tiff with Clinton;
Says Warning on Gifts Was Ignored,” Washington Times, March 11, 1997, p. A1.
72. David Johnston, “U.S. Agency Secretly Monitored Chinese in ’96 on Political
Gifts,” New York Times, March 13, 1997, p. A1. The involvement of the National
Security Agency—responsible for collecting electronic and signals intelligence—as
the originator of the reports helps explain why they were so sensitive. NSA reporting
is always disseminated in an especially secure manner, with careful restrictions placed
on those who are cleared to see it.
73. Robert Pear, “FBI Warned of Donations from China, Senator Says,” New
York Times, March 10, 1997, p. B8.
74. Sharon LaFraniere and Lena H. Sun, “DNC Returns Another $1.5 Million;
Refunds to Include Donations from Foreigners and a Deceased Woman,” Washing-
ton Post, March 1, 1997, p. A1.
75. See Drew, The Corruption of American Politics, for a comprehensive discus-
sion of this complex and controversial issue.
76. “The Anthony Lake Nomination,” New York Times, March 14, 1997,
p. A32.
77. Elaine Sciolino, “Leading Democrat Tells of Doubts on C.I.A. Nominee,”
New York Times, March 19, 1997, p. A1; transcript of Jim Lehrer interview of
Senators Shelby and Kerrey, Online NewsHour, March 19, 1997 (www.pbs.org/
newshour/bb/fedagencies/march97/lake_3-18a.html, accessed February 2003).
78. Anthony Lake, “Letter to the President,” March 18, 1997 (www.nytimes.com/
library/politics/0318lake-cia-text.html., accessed February 2003).
79. Kenneth R. Timmerman, “Partners in Crime (What China Got for Its Money),”
American Spectator, August 1999 (www.freerepublic.com/forum/
a379758597e0b.htm, accessed February 2003); see also William C. Triplett II and
notes to pages 294–300 505

Edward Timperlake, The Year of the Rat: How Bill Clinton Compromised American
Security for Chinese Money (Washington: Regnery Press, 1998). Works such as these,
and there are many more of them, are so poorly researched and fraught with errors
and misrepresentations that they scarcely bear mention as scholarship. They are more
a testament to the extremes of partisanship and scare-mongering that ultimately be-
came associated with this issue.
80. Samuel Berger’s testimony at a hearing of the Governmental Affairs Commit-
tee, chaired by Sen. Fred Thompson, September 11, 1997, Federal News Service
(Nexis-Lexis).
81. Thomas L. Friedman, “Beyond Stupid,” New York Times, March 17, 1997,
p. A15.
82. David Johnston, “FBI Denied Data the White House Sought on China,” New
York Times, March 25, 1997, p. A1.
83. Steven Mufson, “China Objects to Post’s Coverage,” Washington Post, March
11, 1997, p. A7.
84. As a member of Gore’s delegation, I made one attempt to find out from the
FBI liaison office in the NSC what had been in the intelligence briefing of the previ-
ous year, but was told I could not have access to it, as it was now the subject of a
grand jury investigation.
85. James Bennet, “Gore to Raise Prickly Issue, Campaign Finance, in China,”
New York Times, March 23, 1997, p. A24.
86. Quoted in James Bennet, “Chinese Ask Gore about the Inquiry on Campaign
Gifts,” New York Times, March 26, 1997, p. A1.
87. Quoted in Patrick E. Tyler, “Now, Beijing Hears Another U.S. Voice:
Gingrich’s,” New York Times, March 29, 1997, p. A3.
88. Cited by Seth Faison, “Gingrich Warns China That U.S. Would Step in to
Defend Taiwan,” New York Times, March 31, 1997, p. A1.
89. Steven Mufson, “Gingrich Presses Hot China Issues; Speaker, Following Gore,
Brings His Own Agenda,” Washington Post, March 29, 1997, p. A1.
90. “China, U.S. See Improved Relations,” Xinhua News Agency, item 0328198,
March 28, 1997.
91. Seth Faison, “Chinese Wonder if TV Documentary Means Deng Is Slipping,”
New York Times, January 9, 1997, p. A10.
92. “Deng Xiaoping Passes Away,” Xinhua News Agency, no. 0219303 and no.
0219013, February 19, 1997.
93. “Chinese Media Given Early Notice of Deng Death,” United Press Interna-
tional, February 19, 1997.
94. Leu Siew Ying, “China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Stocks Mixed after Deng’s Death,”
Agence France-Presse, February 21, 1997 (Lexis-Nexis).
95. Wei Ming, “China’s Top Military Body to Adjust Structure at Party Con-
gress,” Ming Pao, January 3, 1997, p. A10, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
D2808/G, January 4, 1997.
96. “Military Leader Stresses Awareness of Strategy, Politics,” Xinhua News
Agency, December 25, 1996; “Beijing Garrison Party Plenum Stresses ‘Democratic
Centralism,’” Beijing Ribao, January 10, 1997. Hong Kong’s Ping Kuo Jih Pao (Apple
506 notes to pages 301–305

Daily) had reported in December that Jiang had ordered the strength of the Beijing
Garrison augmented with 8,000 soldiers from other military regions, although this
cannot be confirmed.
97. Thomas W. Lippman, “State Dept. Human Rights Report Chastises Several
U.S. Allies,” Washington Post, January 31, 1997, p. A16.
98. Michael Dobbs, “Albright Takes Balancing Act to Beijing,” Washington Post,
February 25, 1997, p. A12.
99. Foreign observers were restricted to watching on television, since no foreign
dignitaries were invited to participate in the memorial service itself.
100. Xinhua News Agency, no. 0225055, February 25, 1997, contained excerpts
of Jiang’s memorial speech.
101. People’s Daily editorial, “Recalling Contributions, Inheriting the Legacy,
and Jointly Accomplishing the Great Cause,” February 25, 1997, Xinhua News
Agency, no. 0225007. See also Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 295.
102. Xinhua News Agency, February 26, 1997, in BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, FE/D2854/G, February 27, 1997.
103. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “PLA General Consolidates Power Base,” South China
Morning Post, January 13, 1997, p. 6; “Generals Pledge Loyalty to Jiang,” South
China Morning Post, February 23, 1997, p. 7; “Old Guard Generals Snub Jiang,”
South China Morning Post, February 25, 1997, p. 1.
104. Steven Mufson, “Once the ‘Butcher of Beijing,’ Premier Li Takes Reconciler’s
Role,” Washington Post, March 25, 1997, p. A13.
105. Andrew J. Nathan and E. Perry Link, eds., The Tiananmen Papers (New
York: Public Affairs, 2001), p. 192.
106. Ming Pao, September 19, 1997, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
D3030/S1, September 22, 1997.
107. Xinhua News Agency, English summary of Qiao’s interview with Alain
Peyrefitte, March 30, 1997, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/D2882/G,
April 2, 1997. Qiao was on perilous ground. Zhao Ziyang had advocated turning
the PLA into a “state army” (guojun) in the mid-1980s and was strongly opposed by
nearly the entire senior PLA leadership. Although a state military commission was
established—and approved by the NPC—it was an empty shell, a carbon copy of the
party’s military commission, where the actual power rested. Qiao was careful to say
that his idea “to fix . . . the status of the army within the state system . . . does not
change the leadership of the party over the army.” But it opened up questions of why
he was proposing a restriction on Jiang Zemin’s powers.
108. Bill Gertz, “Jiang’s Control Shaky, CIA Says; Deng’s Successor Faces Ri-
vals,” Washington Times, February 21, 1997, p. A1.
109. In a process called biaotai, or “stating one’s position,” the time elapsed
between the announcement of a change in central policy or personnel and declara-
tions of support by subordinates is carefully watched, as is the sincerity of the state-
ment itself. Prior to his March 1 opening of the NPC, Qiao had passed up several
opportunities to publicly support Jiang as the “core” of the leadership.
110. Alison Mitchell, “New Measures to Separate Foreign Policy from Politics,”
New York Times, April 21, 1997, p. A9.
notes to pages 306–309 507

111. Remarks by Samuel R. Berger, assistant to the president for national security
affairs, “Building a New Consensus on China,” at the Council on Foreign Relations,
New York, released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary, June 6, 1997.
112. Ibid.
113. John E. Yang, “House Backs Clinton on China Trade Privileges,” Washing-
ton Post, June 25, 1997, p. A1.
114. Michael Hirsch and Melinda Liu, “Beijing’s Secret Wish List,” Newsweek,
April 21, 1997, p. 36.
115. James Risen, “FBI Said to Suspect Donor as Agent for China,” Los Angeles
Times, May 17, 1997, p. A1.
116. Bob Woodward, “Top Chinese Linked to Plan to Buy Favor,” Washington
Post, April 27, 1997, p. A1.
117. John F. Harris, “Freeh Briefs Clinton Adviser on China Probe; More Fre-
quent Meetings Are Being Considered,” Washington Post, May 1, 1997, p. A6.
118. David E. Sanger, “China, Wary on Mood of Congress, Balks at Opening
Markets,” New York Times, April 30, 1997, p. A13.
119. Xinhua News Agency coverage of Qian’s speech, April 30, 1997, in BBC
Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/D2908/G, May 2, 1997.
120. CNN interview with Jiang Zemin, transcript no. 97050910V18, May 9,
1997 (Lexis-Nexis).
121. “Asiagate’ Is ‘Just U.S. Politics,’” interview with Zhu Rongji, Newsweek,
May 26, 1997, p. 34.
122. Quoted in Steven Mufson, “China Objects to Post’s Coverage,” Washington
Post, March 11, 1997, p. A7.
123. Chinese intelligence agencies are organized and operate somewhat differ-
ently from those in the United States. The principal bureaucracies are the Ministry of
State Security (MSS), the Military Intelligence Department (also known as the Sec-
ond Department, responsible for human source intelligence) of the PLA General Staff
Department, and the Third Department of the General Staff Department (respon-
sible for technical intelligence collection), corresponding roughly with the Central
Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Security Agency, re-
spectively. The Ministry of Public Security also conducts counterintelligence opera-
tions, and other bureaucracies have discrete intelligence-related responsibilities of a
minor nature. See Nicholas Eftimiades, Chinese Intelligence Operations (Annapolis,
Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1994) for a detailed, if somewhat sensationalized, study
of the Chinese intelligence system.
124. Liu Chaoying was also a colonel in the PLA, as well as an official in a private
Chinese company subsidiary to China Aerospace Group, the corporate entity that
replaced China’s Ministry of Aerospace Industry. The story of her involvement with
Chung, which came out in 1998–99, has been widely covered in various American
newspapers. See, for example, Francis X. Clines, “U.S. Inquiry Opens on the Mili-
tary Elite of China,” New York Times, May 16, 1998, p. A1.
125. Quoted in David Johnston, “Committee Told of Beijing Cash for Demo-
crats,” New York Times, May 12, 1999, p. A1. The Los Angeles Times first broke
the story, using nearly the same quote, on April 4, 1999. See William Rempel, Henry
508 notes to pages 309–315

Weinstein, and Alan C. Miller, “Testimony Links Top China Official, Funds for
Clinton; Ex-Democratic Fund-Raiser Chung Told U.S. Investigators That Military
Intelligence Chief Secretly Directed $300,000 to Help President in ’96; Embassy
Spokesman Denies Beijing Was Involved in Elections,” Los Angeles Times, April 4,
1999, p. A1.
126. See Chung testimony before the House of Representatives Government Re-
form and Oversight Committee, May 11, 1998, available through the Federal News
Service on Lexis-Nexis.
127. Henry Chu and Jim Mann, “Chinese Reassign Intelligence Chief Implicated
in Fund-Raising Scandal,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1999, p. A4; Wu Zhong, “PRC
Ex-Spy Chief Faces Court Martial in Graft Probe,” South China Morning Post (Internet
version), May 24, 2000; Erik Eckholm, “China Widening Crackdown on Corrup-
tion,” New York Times, December 23, 2000, p. A10.
128. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Jiang Theory Extols ‘Greater Civilisation,’” South China
Morning Post, October 17, 1996, p. 10.
129. Patrick E. Tyler, “China and Red Cross Agree to New Talks on Jail Visits,”
New York Times, March 2, 1997, p. A16.
130. American media paid almost no attention to the announcement, with the
New York Times giving it only a brief note on April 9. The State Department spokes-
man said the announcement would not affect U.S. support for a resolution criticizing
China’s human rights at the annual UNHRC meeting.
131. My own involvement in China policy issues dropped off sharply after the
vice president’s visit to China and with the continuation of the “Donorgate” scandal.
As the bureaucratic pieces were put in place to have Jeff Bader come to the NSC from
State, it was proposed that I would return to the National Intelligence Council as
national intelligence officer for East Asia. Much of my time in the last six months at
the NSC (I left in October 1997) was taken up with testifying before various congres-
sional committees investigating the scandal and dealing with non-China issues.
132. Interviews with Jeffrey Bader, July 2000; Stanley Roth, August 2000; and
Susan Shirk, August 2000.
133. The term “baskets” was only used internally and informally. In public, they
were generally referred to as “issue areas.” See the unofficial transcript of Jeff Bader’s
briefing at the United States Information Agency’s Foreign Press Center, October 22,
1997, where he identifies them (http://usinfo.org/sino/102303.htm, accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
134. For full text see http:/www.info.gov.hk/cab/topical/bottom1_2.htm, accessed
February 2003.
135. “Speak Up for Hong Kong,” New York Times editorial, April 18, 1997,
p. A32.
136. Xinhua News Agency, June 29, 1997, in BBC Survey of World Broadcasts,
FE/D2959/S1, July 1, 1997.
137. Teresa Poole, “Hong Kong Handover: China’s New Top Brass Sweep in
Like Emperors; There Were No Words of Thanks or Even Soft Words to the British
for Their Stewardship,” The Independent (London), July 1, 1997, p. 16 (Lexis-Nexis).
notes to pages 315–321 509

138. Agence France-Presse, “Jiang Zemin’s Speech at Ceremony Marking Trans-

fer of Rule,” July 1, 1997 (Lexis-Nexis).
139. Jasper Becker, “The Sovereignty Song-Fest,” South China Morning Post,
June 29, 1997, p. 9; Xinhua News Agency, no. 0701251, July 1, 1997.
140. Interviews with Sandra J. Kristoff, Jeffrey Bader, and Susan Shirk.
141. The Peaceful Nuclear Energy Agreement of 1985 stipulated that the presi-
dent would certify that China was not violating section 129 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, which “places restrictions on exports to nations that assist or encourage
non-nuclear weapon states to acquire nuclear weapons.” See Dianne E. Rennack,
“Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Proliferation Sanctions: Selected Cur-
rent Law,” Congressional Research Service Report 98-116, updated January 17, 2001,
note 5 (www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/international/inter-
31.cfm?&CFID=6723979&CFTOKEN=46773367, accessed February 2003).
142. Wayne M. Morrison, “China’s Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruc-
tion,” Congressional Research Service Issue Brief 980717, updated July 15, 1998
(www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/980717CRSWeapons.htm, accessed October 11, 2000);
Barton Gellman, “Reappraisal Led to New China Policy; Skeptics Abound, but U.S.
‘Strategic Partnership’ Yielding Results,” Washington Post, June 22, 1998, p. A1.
143. Interview with Sandra J. Kristoff.
144. Interviews with Sandra J. Kristoff and Jeffrey Bader.
145. See “Beidaihe Meeting Ends, Seventh Plenary Session to Open in Early Sep-
tember,” Ming Pao, August 16, 1997, p. A11, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts,
FE/D3001/G, August 19, 1997; “Cross-Century Personnel Arrangements Reflect Sta-
bility,” Ming Pao, September 15, 1997, p. A15, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts,
FE/D3027/S1, September 18, 1997; Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Beidaihe Stalemate on Se-
nior Party Positions,” South China Morning Post, August 7, 1997, p. 9.
146. See Gilley, Tiger on the Brink, p. 306; Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Qiao ‘Retired’ by
Scheming Party Veterans,” South China Morning Post, September 20, 1997, p. 1;
also Lam, Era of Jiang, pp. 335–36.
147. Seth Faison, “Ghost at China’s Communist Banquet Recalls Tiananmen,”
New York Times, September 16, 1997, p. A3.
148. Richard Baum, “The Fifteenth National Party Congress: Jiang Takes Com-
mand?” The China Quarterly, no. 153 (March 1998), pp. 141–42; Li Cheng and
Lynn White, “The Fifteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party:
Full-Fledged Technocratic Leadership with Party Control by Jiang Zemin,” Asian
Survey, vol. 38, no. 3 (March 1998), p. 240; Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Jiang Holds Strength
but Balance Tips,” South China Morning Post, September 20, 1997, p. 10.
149. Baum, “The Fifteenth National Party Congress: Jiang Takes Command?” p.
150; Li and White, “The Fifteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist
Party,” pp. 248–51.
150. Wu Guoguang, “Normalizing Authoritarianism—The Meaning of the CCP’s
15th Congress,” American Asian Review, vol. 16, no. 2 (Summer 1998), p. 92; Seth
Faison, “Major Shift for Communist China: Big State Industries Will Be Sold,” New
York Times, September 12, 1997, p. A1.
510 notes to pages 321–326

151. Jiang Zemin, “Hold High the Great Banner . . . Building Socialism with
Chinese Characteristics to the Twenty-First Century,” Political Report to the Fif-
teenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, sec. 9, September 12, 1997.
152. “Joint United States–China Statement,” October 29, 1997, from Public Pa-
pers of the Presidents, 33 Weekly Comp. President. Doc 1680 (Lexis-Nexis).
153. China had revised its criminal code in March, eliminating the term “counter-
revolutionary” from its catalog of criminal behavior. Rather than review the more
than 2,000 cases of individuals imprisoned on charges of counterrevolutionary be-
havior, the Chinese government simply recategorized them all as “endangering [the]
state security” and left them in jail. Kamm used his dialogue with Chinese Justice
Ministry officials to press for a more rigorous review.
154. Elizabeth Shogren, “Jiang’s State Visit . . .,” Los Angeles Times, October 30,
1997, p. A12. China’s propensity to conclude large commercial deals just before
important bilateral events had ceased being an effective incentive and, in both press
and official eyes, became more an embarrassment than a benefit to the relationship.
Chinese motives for continuing the practice probably involved a desire to maintain
leverage on American business as a means of influencing the U.S. government and to
deflect the inevitable complaints about China’s ever-growing trade surplus.
155. Curiously, the censors in Beijing decided not to show Jiang’s swim, even
though it received wide international publicity. (See Erik Eckholm, “At Home, Rosy
News for Jiang’s Trip,” New York Times, October 31, 1997, p. A8.) They may have
decided that the president—in pink and white swimming cap and goggles, his large
swimming suit hiked up over his paunch—might have excited more mirth than admi-
ration. Deng’s and Mao’s most famous photos pictured them in the water, mostly
submerged. Or, as Eckholm speculates, they may have had in mind Li Peng’s Beidaihe
photos after his heart attack in 1993, which did not go over well with the public.
156. A review of the meeting was provided by a “senior administration official”
(undoubtedly National Security Adviser Sandy Berger) the following day. See White
House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Background Press Briefing,” October 29, 1997
(http://clinton6.nara.gov/1997/10/1997-10-29-background-press-briefing-on-meet-
ings-with-jiang-zemin.html, accessed February 2003); also interviews with Samuel
R. Berger; Sandra J. Kristoff, March 2001; and Jeffrey Bader.
157. Interview with Jeffrey Bader.
158. The “Tiananmen sanctions” were restrictions on munitions list and other
nuclear and high-technology exports to China, as well as blocking of various kinds
of developmental assistance. See chap. 3, “American Reaction.”
159. “Press Conference by President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin,” Octo-
ber 29, 1997 (www.state.gov/www/regions/eap/971029_clinton_china2.html, ac-
cessed February 2003).
160. Helen Dewar and John E. Yang, “Jiang Vows Cooperation, but on China’s
Terms; Defiant Leader Gives No Ground on Rights,” Washington Post, October 30,
1997, p. A1.
161. “Excerpts from Question-and-Answer Session after Chinese Pres Jiang Zemin’s
Speech at Harvard,” New York Times, November 2, 1997, p. A14.
notes to pages 326–330 511

162. See, for example, John Pomfret, “Successful Visit Bolsters Jiang; Stronger
Relationship Built with Clinton, Chinese in U.S.,” Washington Post, November 3,
1997, p. A12; Seth Faison, “Beijing’s New Face: Better Image for Jiang,” New York
Times, November 3, 1997, p. A1.
163. Steven Mufson, “Chinese Media Hail Jiang upon Return from U.S.; Image-
Building Visit Called ‘Highly Successful,’” Washington Post, November 5, 1997, p.
A29; Seth Faison, “Beijing’s New Face: Better Image for Jiang.”
164. From an editorial in Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), “A New Stage of Devel-
opment: Warmly Congratulating President Jiang Zemin on the All-Around Success
of His Visit to the United States,” November 5, 1997; and Xinhua News Agency, “A
New Chapter in the History of Sino-American Relations,” November 3, 1997. Both
in Xing Hua, ed., Jiegong jianshexing zhanlue huoban guanxi—zhongmei shounao
hufang jishi (Building a Constructive Strategic Partnership—A Record of Sino-Ameri-
can Summit Exchanges) (Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 1998), pp. 67–69, 70–
71, respectively.
165. Xinhua News Agency, “Hong Kong Media on Jiang Zemin’s Successful U.S.
Visit,” October 31, 1997, in FBIS-CHI-97-304, October 31, 1997.

Notes to Chapter 8

1. S. Con. Res. 57 IS was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,

where it died (http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003).
2. H.R. 2195 EH passed the House by a vote of 419-2 on November 5, 1997, but
it died in the Senate Finance Committee (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/
D?c105:3:./temp/~c1058yVAKm::, accessed February 2003).
3. H.R. 2570 passed the House by a vote of 415-1 on November 6, 1997, and was
referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where hearings were held the
following year. It was not referred out of that committee during the 105th Congress
(http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003).
4. See section 306 of H.R. 1253 (http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003).
See also press statement by spokesman James P. Rubin, “China: Special Coordinator
for Tibetan Issues,” on October 31, 1997 (http://secretary.state.gov/www/briefings/
statements/971031a.html, accessed on February 2003). The appointee was concur-
rently the director of policy planning.
5. “Excerpts from Remarks on First Day of Campaign Finance Hearings,” New
York Times, July 9, 1997, p. B9 (emphasis added).
6. Edward Walsh and Guy Gugliotta, “Chinese Plan to Buy U.S. Influence Al-
leged,” Washington Post, July 9, 1997, p. A1.
7. Elizabeth Drew, The Corruption of American Politics—What Went Wrong
and Why (Secaucus, N.J.: Birch Lane Press, 1999), p. 103.
8. “Final Report of the Special Investigation,” secs. 12–20 (www.senate.gov/
~gov_affairs/sireport.htm, accessed February 2003).
512 notes to pages 330–336

9. Ibid., “Additional Views of the Minority on the Special Investigation,” sec. 2, p. 2.

10. Quoted by Edward Walsh, “Panel Split over ‘Scumbag’ Comment,” Wash-
ington Post, April 22, 1998, p. A6.
11. See Gao Xin and He Pin, Zhu Rongji Zhuan—Cong Fandang Youpai dao
Deng Xiaoping de Jichengren (The Zhu Rongji Story—From Anti-Party Rightist to
Deng Xiaoping’s Heir) (Taipei: New News Books, 1993), pp. 13–60 passim.
12. See Nicholas Lardy, China’s Unfinished Economic Revolution (Brookings,
1998), especially chap. 1, for a comprehensive review of economic reform efforts in
the 1990s and the strategy used by the government to address its massive problems.
13. In light of the fact that China’s currency was not internationally convertible,
it did not face the same kinds of pressures that had weakened other Asian currencies.
Nonetheless, there was some advocacy from coastal exporters for an easing of the
currency against the dollar. Beijing ignored it.
14. Mark L. Clifford and others, “Can China Reform Its Economy?” Business
Week, September 29, 1997, p. 116.
15. Antoaneta Bezlova, “China: Seoul’s Woes Prompt Review of Homegrown
‘Chaebol,’” Inter Press Service, February 19, 1998 (Lexis-Nexis).
16. Chinese Central Television, March 19, 1998, broadcast of press conference
by Zhu Rongji and other State Council leaders, in BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, FD/D3180/S1, March 20, 1998.
17. For a comprehensive assessment of “PLA, Incorporated,” see James Mulvenon,
Soldiers of Fortune: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Military-Business Complex,
1978–1998 (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2001).
18. Susan V. Lawrence and Bruce Gilley, “Bitter Harvest,” Far Eastern Economic
Review, April 29, 1999.
19. Dexter Roberts, Mark Clifford, and Stan Crock, “China’s Army under Fire,”
Business Week, August 10, 1998, p. 18. Estimates of the size of “PLA, Inc.,” vary
considerably. Mulvenon points out that it is difficult to put a precise numerical esti-
mate on the value of PLA industries, as many of them under-reported their earnings,
particularly when acquired illegally. See Mulvenon, Soldiers of Fortune, chap. 7.
20. Michael Sheridan, “Army Runs China’s Smuggling Boom,” Sunday Times
(London), September 2, 1998 (Lexis-Nexis). Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported in
September 1998 that a pitched battle between twelve Customs Department vessels
and seven PLA navy vessels protecting a smuggled oil shipment resulted in seventy-
four casualties on the Customs’ side, including thirteen killed. (Ping Kuo Jih Pao
story of September 24, 1998, reported by BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
D3342/G, September 26, 1998.) China admitted eight hundred law enforcement of-
ficers were killed fighting smugglers in 1997.
21. Roberts, Clifford, and Crock, “China’s Army under Fire”; Lu Ning, “Zhu’s
Financial Clean-up Takes on PLA,” Business Times (Singapore), July 18, 1998, p. 8;
Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Army in Probe for Overseas Hoards,” South China Morning
Post, July 25, 1998, p. 7; David Evans and Patricia Lee, “J&A Denies Its HK Office
Lost [Hong Kong] $6b on Speculation,” Hong Kong Standard, July 17, 1998 (Nexis-
Lexis).
notes to pages 336–342 513

22. See Mulvenon, Soldiers of Fortune, pp. 177–78, for yet another variation of
the story.
23. Quoted in Financial Times Intelligence Wire, “PLA Business Activities Fraught
with Abuses,” November 1, 1998 (Lexis-Nexis); see also John Pomfret, “Jiang Tells
Army to End Trade Role,” Washington Post, July 23, 1998, p. A1.
24. See Mulvenon, Soldiers of Fortune, chap. 6. Also Tai-ming Cheung, “The
Tainted Millions—Corruption Raises Its Ugly Head in the Army,” Far Eastern Eco-
nomic Review, August 12, 1993, p. 13; Yueh Shan, “General Zhou Keyu Dismissed,”
Tung Hsiang magazine, no. 137–138, January 15, 1997, pp. 19–20, BBC Summary
of World Broadcasts, FE/D2825/G, January 24, 1997.
25. Mulvenon, Soldiers of Fortune, pp. 178–86. Also, “Government Reportedly
Planning to Compensate Army Firms,” Ming Pao, July 25, 1998, p. 12, in BBC Sum-
mary of World Broadcasts, FE/D3290/G, July 28, 1998; Willy Wo-lap Lam, “PLA
Gets Payoff for Business Loss,” South China Morning Post, August 3, 1998, p. 1.
26. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Critics Besiege Great Rectifier,” South China Morning
Post, November 18, 1998, p. 18.
27. Lardy, China’s Unfinished Economic Revolution, p. 27.
28. Ibid., p. 34.
29. Ibid., p. 137.
30. Ibid., p. 5, note 15. Although reliable statistics are scarce, Lardy makes the
point that, by Western standards, China’s four largest banks are all technically insol-
vent (see p. 119).
31. Joseph Fewsmith, “China and the WTO: The Politics behind the Agreement,”
National Bureau of Asian Research, November 1999 (www.nbr.org/publications/
report.html, accessed February 2003).
32. Susan Schmidt and Peter Baker, “Clinton Accused of Urging Aide to Lie,”
Washington Post, January 21, 1998, p. A1; Ruth Marcus, “Allegations Could Lead
to Impeachment,” Washington Post, January 22, 1998, p. A12.
33. Helen Dewar and Barbara Vobejda, “Scandal Weakens Clinton’s Leverage on
Hill for Other Issues,” Washington Post, September 16, 1998, p. A34.
34. Neil A. Lewis, “Voice of America Was Warned on China Interview,” New
York Times, December 18, 1997, p. A3.
35. See www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1997_hrp-report/china.html,
accessed February 2003. Interview with Jeffrey Bader, July 2000.
36. Interviews with Sandra J. Kristoff, September 2000; and Jeffrey Bader.
37. Some newspaper accounts suggested the schedule change was made so that a
high-profile foreign trip would distract attention from the late May trial of the presi-
dent on sexual misconduct charges brought by Paula Jones. That rumor had no basis
in fact. The president did prefer an earlier visit—as did the NSC—so as not to lose
momentum in improving the relationship. Domestic political advisers to the president,
in fact, preferred a visit later in the year, after the mid-term congressional elections.
38. William Branigan and Steven Mufson, “Chinese Dissident Arrives in U.S.;
Release of Key Leader in ’89 Protest Smooths Way for Clinton Visit,” Washington
Post, April 20, 1998, p. A1.
514 notes to pages 342–348

39. Human Rights Watch Bulletin, “Wang Dan’s Release Welcome but Does Not
Signify Improvement” (www.hrw.org/press98/aprl/wan-dan.htm, accessed February
2003).
40. Tang, a protégé of Vice Premier Qian Qichen, beat out U.S. specialist Liu
Huaqiu, considered closer to Li Peng. Liu, who had evidently alienated Qian, was
dismissed as vice foreign minister shortly afterward, although he still held the posi-
tion of director of the State Council Foreign Affairs Office. Tang, experienced in
Japanese and Asian affairs, was expected to help in particular with the summit meet-
ing with Japanese prime minister Obuchi.
41. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright press conference at Beijing International
Club Hotel, April 30, 1998 (http://secretary.state.gov/www/statements/1998/
980430b.html, accessed February 2003).
42. Jim Hoagland, “Brazen Road to China,” Washington Post, May 7, 1998,
p. A23.
43. Peter Baker, “Calling off China Trip Bad Idea, Clinton Says; Avoiding
Tiananmen Square a Possibility,” Washington Post, May 27, 1998, p. A4.
44. Interview with Samuel R. Berger, March 2001.
45. See, for example, “Press Briefing by National Security Advisor Sandy Berger,
Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin and Director of the National Economic Council Gene
Sperling, June 17, 1998” (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/uschina/visitbrf.htm,
accessed February 2003).
46. Erik Eckholm, “Movie before Clinton Visit Stars Jiang as the Statesman,”
New York Times, June 16, 1998, p. A10.
47. Excerpts of Zhao’s letter taken from Seth Faison, “Ex-Chinese Leader Con-
fronts Beijing on 1989 Massacre,” New York Times, June 25, 1998, p. A1.
48. John F. Harris and Steven Mufson, “A Presidential Face in the Crowd; Throng
of Aides and Journalists with Clinton in China Sets a Record,” Washington Post,
July 3, 1998, p. A30.
49. See White House Fact Sheet: “Achievements of U.S.-China Summit” (http://
clinton4.nara.gov/textonly/WH/New/China/19980627-7898.html, accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
50. Chinese Central Television, June 27, 1998, transcript of Jiang-Clinton press
conference, BBC Worldwide Monitoring, June 28, 1998 (Lexis-Nexis); also in New
York Times, June 28, 1998, p. A1.
51. Ibid.
52. Caryn James, “Clinton’s Dream Media Opportunity,” New York Times, June
30, 1998, p. A9.
53. White House Briefing, “President and Mrs. Clinton’s Discussion with Shang-
hai Community Leaders,” June 29, 1998, provided by Federal Information Systems
Corporation, transcript acquired through Nexis-Lexis.
54. Transcript of press briefing by Mike McCurry, Lael Brainard, and William
Daley, June 30, 1998 (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/uschina/otrbrief.htm, accessed
February 2003).
55. See John Pomfret, “Clinton Declaration on Independence Irks Taiwan,” Wash-
ington Post, July 1, 1998, p. A26.
notes to pages 349–35 4 515

56. Cited by Tom Raum, “GOP Attacks Clinton’s China Policy,” Associated Press,
July 7, 1998 (Lexis-Nexis).
57. Quoted in Herman Pan and Flor Wang, “Murkowski Charges Clinton with
Making Compromise over Taiwan,” Central News Agency (Taiwan), July 19, 1998
(Lexis-Nexis).
58. Text of resolution at http://thomas.loc.gov (accessed February 2003).
59. Excerpts from Clinton’s news conference appeared in the Washington Post on
July 4, 1998, under the headline, “We Can Build a Good, Positive Partnership,”
p. A20.
60. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Key Jiang Aide ‘to Run Taiwan Affairs Unit,’” South
China Morning Post, September 16, 1998, p. 8.
61. From Xinhua’s “tentative” translation of the “joint press communiqué” is-
sued after the meeting: “Russia gives no backing to concepts of ‘independence of
Taiwan’ in any form, supports the stand of the People’s Republic of China against
‘two Chinas’ or ‘one China, one Taiwan,’ and opposes the admission of Taiwan into
the United Nations and other international organizations that only sovereign states
have the right to join.” See Xinhua News Agency of November 24, 1998, supplied by
BBC Worldwide Monitoring (Lexis-Nexis).
62. From a Xinhua report on the joint statement, November 26, 1998, supplied
by BBC Worldwide Monitoring (Lexis-Nexis).
63. Jeff Gerth, “Satellite Maker Gave Report to China before Telling U.S.,” New
York Times, May 19, 1998, p. A19.
64. Jeff Gerth and Raymond Bonner, “Companies Are Investigated for Aid to
China on Rockets,” New York Times, April 4, 1998, p. A1; Jeff Gerth, “U.S. Busi-
ness Role in Policy on China Is under Question,” New York Times, April 13, 1998,
p. A1. See also Final Report of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and
Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China (Cox Commit-
tee), chap. 6 (“Satellite Launches in the PRC: Loral”) (www.house.gov/coxreport/
chapfs/ch6.html, accessed February 2003).
65. Cox Committee report, chap. 6.
66. Jeff Gerth and John M. Broder, “The White House Dismissed Warnings on
China Satellite Deal,” New York Times, June 1, 1998, p. A1.
67. Jeff Gerth, “Democrat Fund-Raiser Said to Detail China Tie,” New York
Times, May 15, 1998, p. A1.
68. Ibid (emphasis added).
69. Roberto Suro, Juliet Eilperin, and others, “Loral Denies Any Benefits in Re-
turn for Donations,” Washington Post, May 19, 1998, p. A3.
70. Quoted in Marc Lacey, “House Votes to Restrict China Technology Deals,”
Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1998, p. A1.
71. See Shirley Kan, “China: Possible Missile Technology Transfers from U.S.
Satellite Export Policy: Background and Chronology,” Congressional Research Ser-
vice Issue Brief 98-485 F, August 13, 1998. Kan’s study is the most comprehensive
and balanced work available on this complex topic.
72. Quoted by Juliet Eilperin, “Gingrich to Create Special Panel to Probe China
Technology Deal,” Washington Post, May 20, 1998, p. A4.
516 notes to pages 355–359

73. Department of Justice Bulletin, “Thai Businesswomen Sentenced on Cam-

paign Financing Charges,” April 20, 2001 (www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2001/April/
182crm.htm, accessed February 2003).
74. John Pomfret, “China Tells Taiwan to ‘Face Reality’; Call for Talks on Unifi-
cation Follows Statement by Clinton,” International Herald Tribune, July 10, 1998.
75. After being introduced to Chinese computer users in 1995, the Internet has
grown enormously in China. As Chinese manufacturers increased their production
of personal computers rapidly, the estimated number of Chinese using the World
Wide Web grew from 50,000 in 1996 to nearly 9 million in 1999 to more than 22
million in 2000 (see Seth Faison, “Chinese Tiptoe into Internet, Wary of Watch-
dogs,” New York Times, February 5, 1996, p. 3; “9 Million Switch on to Internet,”
South China Morning Post, January 19, 2000; “Survey on China’s Internet Develop-
ment,” ChinaOnline, January 29, 2001 [www.chinaonline.com/internet_policy/
NewsArchive/Secure/2001/January/C01011718.asp, accessed February 10, 2001]).
The Communist Party has attempted to control Internet content and usage because
of the Internet’s ability to circulate information broadly and rapidly. While licensed
Internet service providers, official portals, and control of the telecommunications
network by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications have restricted informa-
tion available on Chinese websites somewhat, the government’s efforts to control it
have not been entirely successful. See, for example, “China Sets up Office to Regulate
Internet News,” Reuters, April 21, 2000 (www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/
biztech/articles/22china-internet.html, accessed February 2003).
76. Simon Beck, “Diplomacy in Retreat,” South China Morning Post, August 9,
1998, p. 7.
77. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Jiang Goes Slow on Reforms,” South China Morning
Post, September 30, 1998, p. 19; Erik Eckholm, “Beijing Sends Potential Dissidents
a Message: Don’t,” New York Times, December 25, 1998, p. A3; Elizabeth Rosenthal,
“Spring Turns to Winter in Beijing,” New York Times, December 27, 1998, p. D5.
78. Elizabeth Rosenthal, “Chinese Reminded: No Opposition Allowed,” New
York Times, December 19, 1998, p. A6.
79. Ostensibly part of the regime’s efforts to beautify Beijing in advance of the
fiftieth anniversary of its founding, the repairs were a convenient excuse to keep the
square closed during the tenth anniversary of the June 4, 1989, uprising.
80. Erik Eckholm, “China Sentences 3 for Their Dissent,” New York Times, De-
cember 22, 1998, p. A1.

Notes to Chapter 9

1. From the “Approved Articles of Impeachment,” passed by the House of Repre-

sentatives, December 19, 1998 (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/
clinton/stories/articles122098.htm, accessed February 2003).
2. Interviews with Kenneth Lieberthal, November 2000, 2001; and Samuel R.
Berger, March 2001.
notes to pages 359–365 517

3. Joseph Fewsmith, “China and the WTO: The Politics behind the Agreement,”
National Bureau of Asian Research, November 1999 (www.nbr.org/publications/
report.html, accessed February 2003).
4. Ibid. Citing Chinese sources, Fewsmith claims a third letter was sent in early
February, but this seems unlikely.
5. Interviews with Kenneth Lieberthal, Samuel R. Berger, and Susan Shirk, Au-
gust 2000.
6. James Risen and Jeff Gerth, “China Stole Nuclear Secrets for Bombs, U.S. Aides
Say,” New York Times, March 6, 1999, p. A1.
7. Ibid. Subsequently, it was revealed that the Chinese source was a “walk-in”
who appeared at the American Institute on Taiwan and volunteered to spy for the
United States (see Bob Drogin, “Chinese Had Details of U.S. Nuclear Missiles,” Los
Angeles Times, May 11, 1999, p. A1). Walk-ins are traditionally treated with great
skepticism by intelligence professionals, as they often have unknown personal agen-
das, have been directed to try and provoke an American reaction or uncover Ameri-
can intelligence officers, or have carried misleading and false information designed
to obfuscate an issue or compromise other intelligence reporting.
8. Jeff Gerth and Eric Schmitt, “White House, Congress at Odds over Releasing
China Spy Report,” New York Times, March 10, 1999, p. A1.
9. Risen and Gerth, “China Stole Nuclear Secrets for Bombs, U.S. Aides Say.”
10. Laurie P. Cohen and David S. Cloud, “How Federal Agents Bungled the Spy
Case against Lee,” Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2000, p. 1.
11. James Risen, “U.S. Fires Scientist Suspected of Giving China Bomb Data,”
New York Times, March 9, 1999, p. A1.
12. James Risen, “White House Said to Ignore Evidence of China’s Spying,” New
York Times, March 13, 1999, p. A14.
13. Vernon Loeb, “CIA Probe Gets Outside Review; Retired Admiral to Examine
Report on China Spy Case Damage,” Washington Post, March 16, 1999, p. A16.
14. John F. Harris and Vernon Loeb, “Spy Case Tests U.S. Openness with China,”
Washington Post, March 14, 1999, p. A1.
15. Dick Lugar, “Threats from China,” Washington Post, March 10, 1999, p. A23.
16. James Kynge, “Chinese PM Backs Effort to Join WTO,” Financial Times,
February 24, 1999, p. 5; James Mann, “U.S. and China Working to Get Beijing into
WTO,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1999, p. C1.
17. See Ellis Joffe, “China’s Military Assesses Kosovo,” International Herald Tri-
bune, July 23, 1999; also Yossef Bodansky, “Beijing and the Kosovo Crisis,” De-
fense and Foreign Affairs Strategy Policy, May–June 1999, p. 4 (Lexis-Nexis).
18. H.R. 3616, sec. 1533, “Report on Requirements for Response to Increased
Missile Threat in Asia-Pacific Region” (http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed February 2003).
19. Zhang Zhaozhong, “Resurgence of the ‘Star Wars’ Programme,” Jiefangjun
Bao (Liberation Army Daily), February 4, 1999, translated by BBC Summary of
World Broadcasts, FE/D3469/F, February 26, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
20. Matthew Lee, “Deep Rift over Human Rights Dominates Albright’s China
Talks,” Agence France-Presse, March 1, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
518 notes to pages 365–369

21. Bob Drogin, “U.S., China ‘Let off Steam’ in Talks,” Los Angeles Times, March
3, 1999, p. A4.
22. “Chinese Premier’s U.S. Visit Reportedly Nearly Canceled Due to NATO Air
Strikes,” Zhongguo Tongxun She (Hong Kong), April 5, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis); Cary
Huang, “Last-Minute Debate Gave Zhu Go-Ahead,” Hong Kong Standard, April 6,
1999; Kyodo News Agency (Japan), “Jiang Called Top Secret Meeting to Save Zhu’s
U.S. Visit,” April 8, 1999.
23. Xinhua News Agency, “China’s Strategists Put Forward New Security Con-
cept,” April 14, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis). The “new security concept” was widely and
actively debated throughout the remainder of the year and particularly after the U.S.
bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade. See David M. Finkelstein, “China Recon-
siders Its National Security: The Great Peace and Development Debate of 1999”
Arlington, Va: CNA Corporation (December 2000), pp. 3–6.
24. Interview with Samuel R. Berger.
25. Quoted in David E. Sanger, “A China Trade Deal Is Now up to Clinton,”
New York Times, April 7, 1999, p. C1.
26. Interview with Kenneth Lieberthal.
27. Sanger, “A China Trade Deal Is Now up to Clinton.”
28. See, for example, Zhu’s April 2 interview with Peter Kann and several other
members of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, published on April 6, 1999, p.
A23, and reprinted by Xinhua on April 9, 1999.
29. Ibid.
30. White House Press Office, “President Clinton’s 4/7 Speech on U.S. Policy
toward China,” Mayflower Hotel, April 7, 1999 (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/
uschina/clint407.htm, accessed February 2003).
31. Interviews with Samuel R. Berger and Kenneth Lieberthal.
32. Steven Mufson and Bob Kaiser, “Missed U.S.-China Deal Looms Large,”
Washington Post, November 10, 1999, p. A1, citing an unidentified Chinese
diplomat.
33. The document in question is entitled “Market Access and Protocol Commit-
ments” (www.ustr.gov/releases/1999/04/Ch-Memo.html, accessed February 2003).
No one has ever taken responsibility for posting it on the Internet.
34. Quoted in Steven Mufson, “U.S. Is Asking Too Much, Zhu Complains,”
Washington Post, April 10, 1999, p. A12.
35. Bob Drogin, “Trade Accord Eludes Clinton, China’s Zhu,” Los Angeles Times,
April 9, 1999, p. A1; “Joint Press Conference of the President and Premier Zhu
Rongji of the People’s Republic of China,” April 8, 1999 (www.state.gov/www/re-
gions/eap/990408a_clinton_zhu_china.html, accessed February 2003).
36. “Joint Press Conference,” April 8, 1999.
37. Interview with Kenneth Lieberthal. Chinese Central Television also mentioned
the telephone call, though not its content, in its April 14 newscast.
38. Harvey Sicherman, “The Inscrutable Americans, Zhu Rongji, and the Deal
That Wasn’t,” Foreign Policy Research Institute E-Note, April 23, 1999; Chinese
notes to pages 369–372 519

Central Television report of April 14, 1999, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts,
FE/D3509/G, April 15, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
39. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Zhu Goes for Broke,” South China Morning Post, April
18, 1999, p. 10; “Zhu Deal Backlash,” South China Morning Post, May 5, 1999,
p. 19.
40. Joseph Fewsmith, “China and the WTO: The Politics behind the Agreement,”
National Bureau of Asian Research, November 1999, p. 8 (www.nbr.org/publica-
tions/report.html, accessed February 2003). The source for the account of Li’s criti-
cism of Zhu is unclear.
41. Of the many accounts of the events of May 7, 1999, the most authoritative is
Steven Lee Myers’s lengthy research article, “Chinese Embassy Bombing: A Wide
Net of Blame,” which appeared in the New York Times on April 17, 2000, p. A1
(www.nytimes.com/library/world/global/041700embassy-bombing.html, accessed
February 2003).
42. Subsequent American accounts have observed that the three may have been
involved in intelligence work, as China sometimes uses journalistic “cover” for
overseas intelligence officers. While this has furthered speculation that the bomb-
ings were deliberate, there is no corroborating information available to support the
allegations.
43. Text of MFA statement in Wang Shubai, ed., Zhongguo buke qi (China can-
not be bullied) (Beijing: China Books Publishing House, 1999), pp. 161–62.
44. Elisabeth Rosenthal, “China Protesters Rage at America,” New York Times,
May 9, 1999, p. A1.
45. Similar protests were held outside U.S. consulates in Shenyang, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, and Chengdu, with more than 10,000 protesters reported at each loca-
tion. In Chengdu on Saturday night, the situation deteriorated sharply when protest-
ers gained access to the consul general’s residence and set it on fire. See Henry Chu,
Maggie Farley, and Anthony Kuhn, “Crisis in Yugoslavia; Chinese Attack U.S. Mis-
sions as Protests Intensify,” Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1999, p. A1.
46. “U.S. Deeply Regrets Bombing of Chinese Embassy,” Joint Statement by Sec-
retary of Defense William S. Cohen and CIA director George J. Tenet, May 8, 1999
(http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/uschina/prccohn8.htm, accessed February 2003).
47. “Furor over Embassy Attack—CIA May Have Used Outdated Map,” Seattle
Times, May 9, 1999, p. 1 (Lexis-Nexis).
48. Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Envoy Says Stoning Will End, Ties Won’t,” New York
Times, May 11, 1999, p. A11.
49. Quoted in Erik Eckholm, “After Protests Spill out, China May Find Senti-
ments Cannot Be Recorked,” New York Times, May 11, 1999, p. A3.
50. Cited by Xinhua News Agency, May 10, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
51. Xinhua News Agency, “Televised Speech by Hu Jintao, Member of the Chi-
nese Communist Party Central Committee Political Bureau Standing Committee and
Vice-President of the State,” May 9, 1999, transcribed by BBC Worldwide Monitor-
ing (Lexis-Nexis).
520 notes to pages 373–375

52. Wang, Zhongguo buke qi (China Cannot Be Bullied), p. 168. Foreign Minis-
ter Tang Jiaxuan actually summoned U.S. ambassador Sasser to the Foreign Minis-
try, but he refused to go, citing demonstrations outside the embassy. Tang read the
demands over the phone.
53. Text of Jiang’s speech from Xinhua News Agency, May 13, 1999, in FBIS
(OW1305175899), May 13, 1999.
54. “Unswervingly Upholding the Independent Policy of Peace,” Renmin Ribao,
June 3, 1999, p. 1, translated in FBIS-CHI-1999-0604, June 4, 1999.
55. “Special Commentary” by Zhang Dezhen, “On U.S. Eurasian Strategy,”
Renmin Ribao, June 4, 1999, p. 6, in FBIS-CHI-1999-0605, OW0506041699, June
4, 1999.
56. Xinhua News Agency, “‘ People’s Daily’ Editorial Urges Unity for Nation’s
Growth,” June 7, 1999, in BBC Worldwide Monitoring, June 8, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
57. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) press release no. 990516-2,
May 16, 1999 (http://164.214.2.59/general/embassy.html, accessed November 22,
2001).
58. Interview with Susan Shirk.
59. I was in Beijing in early June and talked directly with Foreign Ministry offi-
cials, who made it clear that nothing Pickering said would be accepted by the Chi-
nese government as a satisfactory explanation of the bombing. They indicated they
would hear the undersecretary out but that his explanation would be rejected.
60. Lo Ping, “The Military Is Heating up Its Anti-Americanism Again,” Cheng
Ming magazine, no. 261, July 1, 1999, pp. 10–11, FBIS OW1907235499, July 19,
1999. Cheng Ming’s account of the Politburo meeting in late May cannot be cor-
roborated, but its report on the meeting’s conclusions are consistent with China’s
subsequent behavior.
61. Pickering’s “talking points” for his briefing of Chinese officials, which took
place on June 16, 1999, were released by the State Department spokesman on July 6,
1999 (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/uschina/bombrpt.htm, accessed February
2003). CIA Director George Tenet and Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre
gave a similar account in testimony to the House Select Committee on Intelligence on
July 22, 1999.
62. “U.S. President’s Personal Envoy in China to Present the U.S. Government’s
Report on Its Investigation into the Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 18, 1999 (www.fas.org/
news/china/1999/0622.htm, accessed February 2003).
63. Pickering had been authorized to raise the issue of compensation for victims
and their families, and U.S. negotiators worked that issue diligently until December,
when Beijing accepted a U.S. offer of $28 million for damage to the Belgrade Em-
bassy, and China agreed to pay $2.87 million for damage to U.S. facilities in China.
See “China-U.S. Agree on Compensation over Embassy Bombing,” Agence France-
Presse, December 15, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
64. Lyman Miller, formerly a Chinese media analyst with the Foreign Broadcast
Information Service, communicated this interpretation of the significance of “ob-
notes to pages 375–380 521

server” articles in private correspondence. Nomenclature, authorship, and placement

of opinion pieces in Renmin Ribao is a time-honored tool of China watching. For a
detailed discussion, see Wu Guoguang, “Command Communication: The Politics of
Editorial Formulation in the People’s Daily,” The China Quarterly, no. 137 (March
1994), p. 194ff.
65. “Observer,” Renmin Ribao, June 22, 1999, p. 6, in BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, FE/D3570/G, June 25, 1999.
66. Joseph Fewsmith, “The Impact of the Kosovo Conflict on China’s Political
Leaders and Prospects for WTO,” National Bureau of Asian Research, July 1999, note
6 (www.nbr.org/publications/briefing/fewsmith99/index.html, accessed June 3, 1999).
67. John Sweeney, Jens Holsoe, and Ed Vulliamy, “NATO Bombed Chinese De-
liberately,” The Observer, October 17, 1999 (www.guardian.co.uk/Kosovo/Story/
0,2763,203214,00.html, accessed February 2003).
68. Quoted by E. J. Dionne, “Blunder and Bluster,” Washington Post, May 14,
1999, p. A33.
69. See, for example, “The Tempest in China,” New York Times editorial, May
12, 1999, p. A24. Other newspapers were similarly dismissive.
70. Quoted in John Pomfret and Michael Laris, “Thousands Vent Anger in China’s
Cities,” Washington Post, May 9, 1999, p. A1.
71. The full version of the damage assessment remains classified. The remarks of
the review panel and the DCI’s version of the document’s key findings can be found
at www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/press_ release/1999/0421kf.html, accessed Febru-
ary 2003.
72. Emphasis added. The online version of the Cox Committee report
(www.house.gov/coxreport/, accessed February 2003).
73. Stephen I. Schwartz, “A Very Convenient Scandal,” Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists, vol. 55, no. 4 (May–June 1999), available online (www.bullatomsci.org/
issues/1999/mj99/mj99schwartz.html, accessed February 2003).
74. Office of the Press Secretary, “Clinton Administration’s Response to Cox
Committee Report on Chinese Espionage,” May 25, 1999 (www.clw.org/coalition/
whcox052599.htm, accessed February 2003).
75. Robert Kagan, “China’s No. 1 Enemy,” New York Times, May 11, 1999,
p. A23.
76. Tim Weiner, “Nuclear Secrets: Questions; How Right Is the Report? Caveats
by Experts,” New York Times, May 26, 1999, p. A20.
77. William J. Broad, “Spies versus Sweat: The Debate over China’s Nuclear Ad-
vance,” New York Times, September 7, 1999 (www.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/
090799china-nuke.html, accessed February 2003).
78. “Science at Its Best, Security at Its Worst,” a special report by the President’s
Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, June 1999 (www.fas.org/sgp/library/pfiab/
foreword.html, accessed February 2003).
79. Alastair Iain Johnston, W. K. H. Panofsky, Marco Di Capua, and Lewis R.
Franklin, “The Cox Committee Report: An Assessment,” edited by M. M. May
(www.ceip.org/files/projects/npp/pdg/coxfinal3.pdf, accessed February 2003).
522 notes to pages 380–383

80. See, for example, Frank Gaffney Jr., “The Empire Strikes Back,” Washington
Times, December 21, 1999.
81. Lee Teng-hui, with Tsou Ching-wen, Li Tenghui chicheng kaopai shihlu (A
True Record of Lee Teng-hui in Power) (Taipei: INK Publishing, 2001), p. 223.
82. Ibid., p. 230, my own translation, emphasis added. Slightly different trans-
lated text also available at www.taiwandc.org/nws-9926.htm (accessed May 28, 2001).
83. “Lee’s ‘2-Nation’ Remark Sparks Mixed Reaction,” China Post (from Finan-
cial Times News Global News Wire), July 11, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
84. Bear Lee, “No Major Change in China Mainland Policy: MAC Head,” Cen-
tral News Agency (Taiwan), July 12, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis). See also Lee, with Tsou, Li
Tenghui chicheng kaopai shihlu (A True Record of Lee Teng-hui in Power), pp. 240–
42. Lee is coy about his own intentions in using the term in the German radio inter-
view and faults both the Western media for exaggerating the situation and Su Ch’i
for not consulting enough with Lee’s office before making follow-up statements.
85. Xinhua commentator, July 12, 1999, Xinhua News Agency, no. 0712013,
July 12, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
86. Commentator’s article, “Undermining the One China Principle Is the Crucial
Issue,” Renmin Ribao, July 14, 1999 (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/other/
archive.html, accessed February 2003).
87. Commentator, “Lee Teng-hui, Don’t Play with Fire,” Jiefangjun Bao, July 15,
1999, carried by Xinhua on July 14, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
88. Michael Laris, “Taiwan Jettisons ‘One China’ Formula; Irate Beijing Warns
Step Is ‘Dangerous,’” Washington Post, July 12, 1999, p. A14.
89. State Department daily briefing, July 13, 1999, from Federal News Service
(Lexis-Nexis).
90. Jane Perlez, “U.S. Asking Taiwan to Explain Its Policy after Uproar,” New
York Times, July 14, 1999, p. A3.
91. “Clinton Reaffirms Commitment to ‘One China,’” China Daily, July 19, 1999,
from Financial Times Intelligence Wire (Lexis-Nexis).
92. Philip Shenon, “U.S. Cancels Military Aides’ Visit to Taiwan,” New York
Times, July 22, 1999, p. A8.
93. Lee, with Tsou, Li Tenghui chicheng kaopai shihlu (A True Record of Lee
Teng-hui in Power), pp. 239–45; 292–96.
94. Hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on S. 693, the Taiwan
Security Enhancement Act, August 4, 1999, Federal News Service (Lexis-Nexis).
95. “Asia’s Lethal Computers,” The Economist, October 30, 1999.
96. Quoted in William J. McMahon, “Citing Security, China Unplugs Govern-
ment Web Sites from Internet,” China Online, August 25, 1999.
97. See Willy Wo-lap Lam, “PLA Elite Moved to Taiwan Region,” South China
Morning Post, August 10, 1999, p. 1; “Reality Ebbs from Beidaihe,” South China
Morning Post, August 11, 1999, p. 15.
98. Micool Brooke, “U.S. Navy Ready if Taiwan Crisis Explodes, Admiral Says,”
Associated Press, August 12, 1999; “U.S. 7th Fleet Monitors China-Taiwan Ten-
sion,” Agence France-Presse dispatch, July 22, 1999 (Lexis-Nexis).
notes to pages 384–387 523

99. David A. Fulghum, “Words Will Fly, but Bombs Won’t as China, Taiwan
Huff and Bluff,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 9, 1999, p. 83. As
further evidence that the launch was part of a normal test cycle rather than a political
signal, analysts noted that the target area was in western China rather than in the
Pacific Ocean.
100. I attended one such session and spoke with others who held similar conver-
sations. See also Michael Laris and Steven Mufson, “China Mulls Use of Force off
Taiwan, Experts Say; Warnings Perceived as Effort to Gauge Likely U.S. Reaction,”
Washington Post, August 13, 1999, p. A1.
101. “Wavering, Not Drowning,” Financial Times, August 12, 1999; Todd
Crowell, “Time for Decisions,” Asiaweek, August 20, 1999, p. 26; Steven Butler and
Thomas Omestad, “Why Beijing’s Grumpy Old Men Are So Grumpy,” U.S. News &
World Report, August 9, 1999, p. 31.
102. Seth Faison, “U.S. Agrees to Pay China for Embassy Bombing,” New York
Times, July 31, 1999, p. A5.
103. Michael Richardson, “Clinton Sets Talks with Jiang over Strained Ties,”
International Herald Tribune, July 26, 1999, p. 1 (Lexis-Nexis). Albright’s views
were mild compared to those of Commander in Chief of U.S. Forces in the Pacific
admiral Dennis Blair, who, in remarks intended to be private, referred to Taiwan as
the “turd in the punchbowl” of U.S.-China relations. See Bill Gertz and Rowan
Scarborough, “Inside the Ring,” Washington Times, July 30, 1999, p. A11.
104. Bill Gertz, “Pentagon to Sell 2 E-2 Planes, Radar Equipment to Taiwan,”
Washington Times, July 31, 1999, p. C5.
105. Xinhua News Agency, August 18, 1999, in BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, FE/D3618/F, August 20, 1999.
106. Press briefing by National Security Adviser Sandy Berger and National Eco-
nomic Adviser Gene Sperling, September 11, 1999 (http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/
New/APEC1999/brief4.html, accessed February 2003).
107. Fewsmith, “China and the WTO: The Politics behind the Agreement,” Na-
tional Bureau of Asian Research, November 1999. China’s chief negotiator, Long
Yongtu, also provided an account of the last series of negotiations in the monthly
magazine Caijing (November 5, 2001), making the point that the larger relationship
was the principal reason for resuming talks.
108. David E. Sanger, “At the Last Hour, Down to the Last Trick, and It Worked,”
New York Times, November 17, 1999, p. A1; Hu Shuli, Long Yongtu: Tanpan shi
zheyang wancheng de (Long Yongtu: This Is How the Negotiations Were Completed),
Caijing (Finance) magazine, November 5, 2001 (www.caijing.com.cn/lbi-html/caijing/
monthly/20011105/index.html, accessed December 12, 2001).
109. John F. Harris and Michael Laris, “‘ Roller-Coaster Ride’ to an Off-Again,
On-Again Trade Pact,” Washington Post, November 16, 1999, p. A26; Hu Shuli,
Long Yongtu: Tanpan shi zheyang wancheng de (Long Yongtu: This Is How the
Negotiations Were Completed). Curiously, NSC Senior Director Lieberthal proceeded
to the airport and boarded his flight for Washington, missing the final session and
successful result.
524 notes to pages 387–391

110. Hu Shuli, Long Yongtu: Tanpan shi zheyang wancheng de (Long Yongtu:
This Is How the Negotiations Were Completed); “Briefing by USTR Charlene
Barshefsky and Economic Council Director Gene Sperling Following Negotia-
tions with China on the WTO,” Federal News Service, November 15, 1999 (Lexis-
Nexis).
111. White House Press Office, “Remarks by the President to U.S. Embassy in
Ankara,” November 15, 1999 (www.state.gov/www/regions/eap/
991115_clinton_china.html, accessed February 2003).
112. See Vernon Loeb, “Physicist Is Indicted in Nuclear Spy Probe; Wen Ho Lee
Accused of Mishandling Secrets,” Washington Post, December 11, 1999, p. A1; the
text of the actual indictment can be found at www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/
lee_indict.html (accessed February 2003).
113. Vernon Loeb, “No Bail in Atomic Data Case,” Washington Post, December
30, 1999, p. A1.
114. Bill Mesler, “The Spy Who Wasn’t: National Insecurity State,” The Nation,
August 9, 1999, p. 13.
115. See Walter Pincus, “Lee’s Links to Taiwan Scrutinized,” Washington Post,
December 31, 1999, p. A1. A native of Taiwan, Lee in 1998 had visited the Chung
Shan Institute in Taiwan—where much of the country’s advanced weapons research
is done—and may even have tried to access his classified computer from there.
116. Vernon Loeb, “Ex-Official: Bomb Lab Case Lacks Evidence; Suspect’s
Ethnicity ‘a Major Factor’ in China Spy Probe,” Washington Post, August 17, 1999,
p. A1.
117. Vernon Loeb, “Espionage Whistleblower Resigns; Energy’s Trulock Cites
Lack of Support as Debate about His Tactics Grows,” Washington Post, August 24,
1999, p. A1.
118. William J. Broad, “Spies versus Sweat: The Debate over China’s Nuclear
Advance,” New York Times, September 7, 1999 (www.nytimes.com/library/world/
asia/090799china-nuke.html, accessed February 2003).
119. See, for example, Mesler, “The Spy Who Wasn’t”; “What, No Smoking
Gun?” Village Voice, September 21, 1999, p. 42; Robert Scheer, “Government Owes
Wen Ho Lee an Apology,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1999.
120. See Mesler, “The Spy Who Wasn’t,” p. 13.
121. Bob Drogin, “Nuke Secrets Deemed Vital to Scientist’s Case,” Los Angeles
Times, June 16, 2000.
122. James Sterngold, “Agent Concedes Faulty Testimony in Secrets Case,” New
York Times, August 18, 2000, p. A1; “Accused Scientist to Go Free on Bail in Los
Alamos Case,” New York Times, August 25, 2000, p. A1; Bob Drogin, “Defense
Shows Holes in Case against Scientist,” Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2000, p. A1.
123. “Wen Ho Lee Freed after Pleading Guilty to One Count,” Associated Press,
September 13, 2000 (Lexis-Nexis).
124. See “The President’s Remarks upon Departure on Patients Bill of Rights,”
September 14, 2000 (www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/whl_clinton.html, accessed February
2003).
notes to pages 391–398 525

125. See their testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 26,
2000, Federal Document Clearing House Transcripts (Lexis-Nexis).
126. See “The Times and Wen Ho Lee,” by the editors of the New York Times,
September 26, 2000 (http://tms.physics.lsa.umich.edu/214/other/news/
092600edno.html, accessed February 2003).
127. Office of the Press Secretary, “President Clinton on Trade Relations with
China,” January 10, 1999 (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ca/uschina/clin0110.htm,
accessed February 2003).
128. Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on China,” at the
Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, March 8, 2000. See www.sais-
jhu.edu/events/clinton.html, among other sites (accessed February 2003).
129. These themes recur in numerous speeches by the president, Sandy Berger,
and others in early 2000. A full catalog of administration comments, speeches, and
documents on China’s entry into the WTO can be found at http://usinfo.state.gov/
regional/ca/uschina/pntrpres.htm (accessed February 2003).
130. See the statement by Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director, Asia Division
of Human Rights Watch at the HIRC hearing, May 10, 2000 (www.hrw.org/cam-
paigns/china-99/china-testimony-051100.htm, accessed February 2003).
131. Charles Babington, “Clinton Softens Push for China Trade Bill,” Washing-
ton Post, May 21, 2000, p. A6.
132. David E. Sanger, “Threat Seen to Trade Deal to Let China Join WTO,” New
York Times, February 24, 2000.
133. Gore’s careful letter to NAM president Jerry Jasinowski was released by
Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in late February.
134. Interview with Samuel R. Berger; Babington, “Clinton Softens Push for China
Trade Bill,” p. A6.
135. See “Narrative of Draft Legislation for China/PNTR Framework,” May 10,
2000 (http://info.state.gov/regional/ca/uschina/pntrbrtr.htm, accessed February 2003).
136. See the text of the H.R. 4444, as passed (http://thomas.loc.gov, accessed
February 2003). For many Chinese, the bill number must have evoked deep forebod-
ing, because the number “4” is homophonic with the word for “death” and is avoided,
just as the number “13” is avoided by many Westerners.
137. See Overview and Action Summary of H.R. 4444 (http://thomas.loc.gov,
accessed February 2003).
138. Ibid.
139. See James Gerstenzang, “In Vote, Clinton Wins a Laurel for His Legacy,”
Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2000; David E. Sanger, “Rounding out a Clear Clinton
Legacy,” New York Times, May 25, 2000.
140. “Remarks by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sun Yuxi on the Passage of the
Bill on China’s PNTR by U.S. Senate,” September 21, 2000 (www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/
5153.html, accessed February 2003).
141. Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President . . . at Signing of
China Permanent Normal Trade Relations,” October 10, 2000 (www.
usconsulate.org.hk/uscn/wh/2000/101001.htm, accessed December 15, 2001.) China
526 notes to pages 398–401

acceded to the WTO on November 11, 2001, followed immediately and without
difficulty by Taiwan. President George W. Bush, who succeeded Clinton, certified in
December 2001 that the terms of China’s accession were equal to or better than the
terms negotiated by the USTR in November 1999, then declared nondiscriminatory
treatment would be offered permanently to products from the People’s Republic of
China, effective January 1, 2002.
142. Established via section 1238 of H.R. 4205, the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act of 2001, P.L. 106-398 of October 30, 2000 (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/
cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ398.106, accessed
February 2003).
143. Different polls cited in the study had different percentages, but the overall
results were that “public attitudes toward China changed [after 1989] from favor-
able to divided, leaning toward unfavorable—where they have stayed for over a
decade. A majority has a negative view of China’s human rights record. There is little
optimism that the human rights record will improve or that China will become more
democratic. Trust in China is fairly low.” See Americans and the World: Public Opin-
ion on International Affairs, “U.S. Relations with China,” a database maintained by
the Program on International Policy Attitudes, data at www.americans-world.org/
digest/regional_issues/china/china1.cfm (accessed July 24, 2001).
144. See “U.S. Relations with China—Nature of the U.S.-China Relationship,” at
www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/china/china2.cfm (accessed Febru-
ary 2003).
145. See “U.S. Relations with China—Trade with China,” data at www.americans-
world.org/digest/regional_issues/china/china5.cfm (accessed February 2003).
146. “The One China Principle and the Taiwan Issue,” published by the State
Council Information Office and the Taiwan Affairs Office, February 22, 2000 (em-
phasis added). The State Council English language version used the Latin term sine
die (later rendered as “indefinitely”) to translate the Chinese term wu xianqi, which
means, literally, “without a limited time period.”
147. Jane Perlez, “Warning by China to Taiwan Poses Problem to U.S.,” New
York Times, February 27, 2000, p. A1.
148. “Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Says Taiwan White Paper Not New Policy,”
Xinhua News Agency, February 29, 2000, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
D3778/F2, March 2, 2000.
149. Art Pine, “House Votes to Strengthen Military Ties with Taiwan,” Los An-
geles Times, February 2, 2000, p. A4.
150. Erik Eckholm and Steven Lee Myers, “Taiwan Asks U.S. to Let It Obtain
Top-Flight Arms,” New York Times, March 1, 2000 (www.nytimes.com/library/
world/asia/030100china-us-taiwan.html, accessed February 2003).
151. The AEGIS Combat System (originally Advanced Surface Missile System,
renamed in 1969 after the mythical shield of Zeus) is the U.S. state-of-the-art inte-
grated radar tracking and missile launch system used aboard U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-
class cruisers and Arleigh Burke–class destroyers. At its heart is a “multi-functional
phased-array” radar system, capable of tracking more than 100 targets simultaneously.
notes to pages 401–405 527

It is computer linked to a variety of shipboard missile systems, including antiaircraft,

antiship, antisubmarine, and land-attack cruise missiles. It is currently being upgraded
to be capable of ballistic missile defense under the navy’s area-wide and theater-wide
programs. It is this missile defense capability—even though not yet fully developed—
that makes the question of selling Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to Taiwan so con-
troversial in a cross-Strait context. See Jane’s Information Group, “AEGIS Weapon
System MK-7” (www.janes.com/defence/naval_forces/ news/misc/aegis010425.shtml,
accessed June 23, 2001).
152. Tang Jiaxuan press conference of March 10, 2000, China Daily, March 11,
2000, p. 1 (Lexis-Nexis).
153. Vivian Pik-kwan Chan, “Jiang Stresses Firm Stance on Taiwan,” South China
Morning Post, March 4, 2000.
154. From Renmin Ribao, “PLA General on Taiwan Issue,” March 6, 2000 (http://
english.peopledaily.com.cn/200003/06/print20000306N115.html, accessed February
2003).
155. Press conference transcript from CCTV, Beijing, March 15, 2000, provided
by BBC Worldwide Monitoring, March 16, 2000 (Lexis-Nexis).
156. “Premier Zhu Don Corleone,” Washington Post editorial, March 16, 2000,
p. A26.
157. Nicholas D. Kristof, “Party Undone by Liberty It Nurtured,” New York
Times, March 18, 2000.
158. See Erik Eckholm, “After 50 Years, Nationalists Are Ousted in Taiwan Vote,”
New York Times, March 19, 2000.
159. Lin Chieh-yu and William Ide, “Chen Offers Peace, Sovereignty,” March
19, 2000 (www.taipeitimes.com/news/2000/03/19/story/0000028411, accessed Feb-
ruary 2003).
160. Xinhua News Agency, March 18, 2000, provided by BBC Worldwide Moni-
toring, March 22, 2000 (Lexis-Nexis).
161. Xinhua News Agency, March 24, 2000, from BBC Summary of World Broad-
casts, FE/D3799/F2, March 27, 2000 (Lexis-Nexis).
162. Willy Wo-lap Lam, “Military Pressure Builds over Taiwan,” South China
Morning Post, March 29, 2000 (www.scmp.com/News/Columns/Article/
Column_asp_NodeKey-IE2-2FChina-2FWilly.asp, accessed March 29, 2000). See also
interview with Xin Qi, a research fellow at the China Peace and Development Study
Center, in Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao, April 27, 2000.
163. “Taiwan Threatened with Disaster,” Reuters, April 28, 2000.
164. See Suzanne Ganz, “Chen Won’t Yield to China Threats, Shelve Sovereignty
Issue,” Kyodo, Japan Economic Newswire, May 19, 2000; “Taiwan Forced into
Corner, Says President-Elect,” South China Morning Post, April 29, 2000.
165. “The Only Way Out for Relaxing the Cross-Straits Ties,” Xinhua News
Agency commentary, May 16, 2000.
166. Chen Shui-bian, “Taiwan Stands Up: Advancing to an Uplifting Era,” speech
delivered May 20, 2000 (http://th.gio.gov.tw/pi2000/dow_1.htm, accessed February
2003).
528 notes to pages 405–408

167. “The One China Principle Allows for No Evasion or Ambiguity,” Xinhua
News Agency commentary, May 21, 2000.
168. President Clinton first used the “three pillars” phrase in a July 21, 1999,
press conference.
169. Bill Gertz, “Jiang Pressed Clinton to Force Taiwan’s Hand,” Washington
Times, August 20, 1999, p. A4.
170. Margaret M. Pearson, “The Case of China’s Accession to GATT/WTO,” in
David M. Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the
Era of Reform (Stanford University Press, 2001), p. 345. Opinions vary on the sub-
ject of whether the WTO agreement reached in November 1999 was significantly
better than what was available in April.
171. Lo Ping, “The Military Is Heating up Its Anti-Americanism Again,” Cheng
Ming magazine, no. 261, July 1, 1999, pp. 10–11, translated by FBIS OW1907235499,
published July 17, 1999. Cheng Ming is known occasionally to provide exaggerated
news coverage of Chinese domestic politics.
172. See David M. Finkelstein, “China Reconsiders Its National Security: The
Great Peace and Development Debate of 1999” (Arlington, Va.: CNA Corporation,
December 2000), pp. 6–7, 21–23.
173. Renmin Ribao opinion, “Egoism, Overbearing Psychology,” July 7, 2000
(www.fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/ 200007/07/eng20000707_44955.html, accessed
May 13, 2001); Liu Jianfei, “Erroneous Areas of Mentality of U.S. Anti-China Forces,”
Liaowang, June 5, 2000, p. 59, FBIS translation CPP20000612000039.
174. Joseph Fewsmith and Stanley Rosen, “The Domestic Context of Chinese
Foreign Policy: Does Public Opinion Matter?” in David M. Lampton, ed., The Mak-
ing of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform (Stanford University
Press, 2001), p. 186; Alastair Iain Johnston, “Chinese Middle Class Attitudes to-
ward International Affairs: Nascent Liberalization?” Unpublished manuscript, Oc-
tober 2001.
175. Qigong is a system of physical exercises, breathing, and meditation training,
the purpose of which is to strengthen the body’s internal energy by controlling the
circulation of qi, the breath or energy. Numerous schools of qigong have developed
over many years, generally headed by a master who is often believed to have mystical
powers. Some have become political opposition movements, such as the Boxer Move-
ment of the late nineteenth century.
176. “Sect Members Deliver Their Demands to Beijing in Huge Petition,” Ming
Pao (Hong Kong), April 26, 1999, p. A1, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/
D3519/G, April 27, 1999; John Pomfret and Michael Laris, “Silent Protest Draws
Thousands to Beijing,” Washington Post, April 26, 1999, p. A11.
177. “Mainland Schools ‘Invaded’ by ‘Cult’ of Falun Gong,” Ming Pao (Hong
Kong), April 27, 1999, p. A13, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/D3520/G,
April 28, 1999; John Pomfret, “Cracks in China’s Crackdown,” Washington Post,
November 12, 1999, p. A1.
178. Susan V. Lawrence, “Jiang’s Two Faces,” Far Eastern Economic Review,
December 2, 1999, available at www.feer.com/articles/1999/9912_02/p16china.html
(accessed February 2003).
notes to pages 409–417 529

179. John Pomfret, “China Said to Detain 35,000 in Sect,” Washington Post,
November 30, 1999, p. A22.

Notes to Chapter 10
1. Andrew J. Nathan and E. Perry Link, eds., The Tiananmen Papers, compiled
by Zhang Liang (pseudonym) (New York: Public Affairs, 2001).
2. In a review of the book, Yale University historian Jonathan Spence identified a
historical antecedent for the pseudonym Zhang Liang: that being a third-century
B.C. Han Dynasty official who “was a strategist of the highest order, a man whose
subtlety at analyzing the nuances of political life, military realities and personal rela-
tionships was exceptional.” See Jonathan Spence, “Inside the Forbidden City,” New
York Times, January 21, 2001 (www.nytimes.com/books/01/01/21/reviews/
010121.21spencet.html, accessed February 2003).
3. A Chinese-language version, with more background material and a wider selec-
tion of documents, was published in April 2001 under the title Liu-si zhen xiang
(June Fourth: The True Story) (Mirror Books, 2001).
4. Zhang Liang, “Reflections on June Fourth,” in Nathan and Link, Tiananmen
Papers, pp. xii–xiii. See also Zhang’s interview with CNN’s Mike Chinoy, June 3,
2001 (http://asia.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/tiananmen/papers.html, accessed January
8, 2002).
5. Orville Schell, “Reflections on Authentication,”in Nathan and Link, The
Tiananmen Papers, p. 474.
6. “Jiang Zemin Refutes the Tiananmen Papers,” Ming Pao (Hong Kong), Janu-
ary 8, 2001, p. 1.
7. Quoted in Allen T. Cheng and Tim Healy, “The Ghosts of Tiananmen,”
Asiaweek, January 19, 2001 (www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/magazine/nations/
0,8782,94722,00.html, accessed February 2003).
8. Erik Eckholm and Elizabeth Rosenthal, “China’s Leadership Pushes for Unity,”
New York Times, March 8, 2001, p. A1; Vivien Pik-kwan Chan, “Film Used to
Counter Tiananmen Papers,” South China Morning Post, March 15, 2001
(www.special.scmp.com/june42001/tiananmen_papers/ZZZZEBRCFNC.html, ac-
cessed February 2003); “Greater Things to Come,” South China Morning Post, March
17, 2001, p. 1.
9. Eckholm and Rosenthal, “China’s Leadership Pushes for Unity.”
10. Figures from Business Week, China’s State Statistical Bureau, People’s Daily,
and the University of Michigan’s China Data Center.
11. Data from Moore Research Center (www.mrci.com/pdf/stocks.pdf, accessed
February 2003); Glencoe Economics Update (www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/
curevents/econupdate/2000/econ.html, accessed February 2003). Of course, the
Internet and “dot-com” booms eventually collapsed, and the stock market and other
economic indicators plummeted in 2001, but the economy generally remained healthy
and the driving force for other world economies, including China’s.
12. In April 2001 a U.S. EP-3 intelligence collection aircraft collided with a Chi-
nese Air Force fighter patrol aircraft, destroying the fighter and causing damage to
530 notes to pages 417–421

the U.S. plane, which landed at a military airfield on Hainan Island. There the air-
crew was held for eleven days, while the two governments argued vociferously over
who was at fault and how the crew and aircraft were to be repatriated. The incident
caused considerable strain between the newly elected administration of President
George W. Bush and the PRC government.
13. Quotes from speech by then-governor George W. Bush, “A Distinctly Ameri-
can Internationalism,” delivered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Novem-
ber 19, 1999.
14. From “The National Security Strategy of the United States,” a report to Con-
gress, published in the New York Times, September 20, 2002 (www.nytimes.com/
2002/09/20/international/20STEXT_FULL.html?tntemail0, accessed February 2003).
15. “A Conversation with President Jiang Zemin,” Washington Post, March 23,
2001.
16. See Phillip C. Saunders, “China’s America Watchers: Changing Attitudes to-
ward the United States,” China Quarterly 161 (March 2000), pp. 41–65, for a more
comprehensive review of the state of scholarship on the United States in contempo-
rary China.
17. Terminology taken from standard war games and exercises, in which the
American side, the defenders, are called the “blue team,” while the aggressors are
called the “red team.”
18. See Robert G. Kaiser and Steven Mufson, “‘ Blue Team’ Draws a Hard Line on
Beijing,” Washington Post, February 22, 2000, p. A1.
19. The lack of mutual understanding on this critical point of strategic thinking is
aptly demonstrated by the fact that most English-language dictionaries carry no en-
try for “hegemonism.” “Hegemony,” from the Greek, is generally taken to mean
“dominant or preponderant authority over others.” Postmodern Marxist theory—
especially that of Antonio Gramsci—has discussed “hegemony” as domination that
does not rely entirely on force. Chinese terminology puts a completely negative spin
on the term “hegemonism” (baquan zhuyi), which is defined as domination by force
and rule by power rather than by virtue.
20. Yong Deng, “Hegemon on the Offensive: Chinese Perspectives on U.S. Global
Strategy,” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 116, no. 3 (Fall 2001), pp. 344, 352.
21. Saunders, “China’s America Watchers,” pp. 45–48; see also Thomas J.
Christensen, “Chinese Realpolitik,” Foreign Affairs, vol. 75, no. 5 (September–
October 1996).
22. Robert Jervis, “Grand Strategy: Mission Impossible,” Navy War College Re-
view, Summer 1998, pp. 22–36 (www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/1998/summer/
art2su98.htm, accessed February 2003).
23. Richard K. Betts, “Is Strategy an Illusion?” International Security, vol. 25, no.
2 (Fall 2000), p. 7.
24. Qin Yaqing, “Power, Perception and the Cultural Lens,” paper presented at a
Stanley Foundation Conference on the Global Role of the U.S. and Implications for
the PRC, July 21–23, 2000; conference papers available at www.
emergingfromconflict.org/china/voices00/report.html (accessed February 2003).
notes to pages 421–431 531

25. See, for example, Michael Swaine, Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy—Past,
Present, and Future (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 2001), chap. 4, pp. 112 ff;
Thomas J. Christensen, “China,” in Richard J. Ellings and Aaron L. Friedberg, eds.,
Strategic Asia 2001–2002—Power and Purpose (Seattle: National Bureau of Asian
Research, 2001), p. 30.
26. See Michael Pillsbury, China Debates the Future Security Environment (Wash-
ington: National Defense University Press, 2000), chap. 7.
27. Bill Gertz, The China Threat—How the People’s Republic Targets America
(Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2000).
28. See Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics
(Princeton University Press, 1976).
29. Ibid., p. 410.
30. Irving L. Janis, Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decision and
Fiascoes, 2d ed. (Houghton Mifflin College Press, 1982), p. 9.
31. James M. Lindsay, “The New Partisanship: The Changed Politics of Ameri-
can Foreign Policy,” in The American Agenda, September 2000 (www.brookings.edu/
views/articles/Lindsay/2000usfpa.htm, accessed February 2003).
32. Rebecca K. C. Hersman, Friends and Foes: How Congress and the President
Really Make Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2000), pp. 11, 16, 43–44.
33. Ibid., pp. 110–16.
34. See “China Policy and the National Security Council,” an Oral History
Roundtable (Center for International and Security Studies of the University of Mary-
land and Brookings, 2001).
35. See John Dietrich, “Interest Groups and Foreign Policy: Clinton and the China
MFN Debates,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2 (June 1999), pp.
280–96.
36. Teresa Lawson, “U.S. Media Coverage of China,” a conference report, Na-
tional Committee on U.S.-China Relations, Policy Series no. 14, June 1998, p. 15
(www.ncuscr.org/Old%20website/Publications/conferen.htm, accessed February
2003).
37. See Murray Hiebert, “A New McCarthyism?” in Far Eastern Economic Re-
view, January 13, 2000 (www.feer.com/0001_13/p19foreign2.html, accessed Janu-
ary 24, 2000); Fox Butterfield and Joseph Kahn, “Chinese Intellectuals in U.S. Say
Spying Case Unfairly Casts Doubt on Their Loyalties,” New York Times, May 16,
1999, p. A32; Robert Scheer, “No Defense: How the New York Times Convicted
Wen Ho Lee,” Nation, vol. 271 (October 2000), p. 11.
38. Lu Ning, The Dynamics of Foreign-Policy Decisionmaking in China (Boul-
der, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997), pp. 8–12, 16, 34; Vivien Pik-Kwan Chan, “Na-
tional Security Group to React Rapidly to Crises,” South China Morning Post (Internet
edition), December 12, 2000.
39. Lu, The Dynamics of Foreign-Policy Decisionmaking in China.
40. See Ellis Joffe, “The Military and China’s New Politics: Trends and Counter-
trends,” in James Mulvenon and Richard H. Yang, eds., The People’s Liberation
Army in the Information Age (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 1999), pp. 22–47; David
532 notes to pages 431–439

Shambaugh, Modernizing China’s Military: Progress, Problems, and Prospects (Uni-

versity of California Press, Berkeley, 2003), pp. 11–55.
41. For varying perspectives, see Xiu Guangqiu, “The Chinese Anti-American
Nationalism in the 1990s,” Asian Perspective, vol. 22, no. 2 (1998), pp. 193–218;
Zhao Suisheng, “Chinese Intellectuals’ Quest for National Greatness and National-
istic Writing in the 1990s,” The China Quarterly, no. 152, December 1997, pp.
725–45; Suisheng Zhao, “Chinese Nationalism and Its International Orientations,”
Political Science Quarterly, vol. 115, no. 1 (Spring 2000), pp. 1–33; John Fitzgerald,
“China and the Quest for Dignity,” The National Interest, no. 55 (Spring 1999), pp.
47–59; Allen Whiting, “Chinese Nationalism and Foreign Policy after Deng,” The
China Quarterly, no. 142 (June 1995), p. 29ff.
42. Shanghai Communiqué, signed by President Richard M. Nixon and Premier
Zhou Enlai, February 27, 1972.
43. U.S.-PRC Joint Communiqué, signed August 17, 1982.
44. Americans and the World: Public Opinion on International Affairs, “U.S.
Relations with China” (www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/china/
china7.cfm, accessed February 2003), cites polls showing 62 percent of Americans
think of Taiwan as an independent state, 69 percent believe it should not be forced
into reunification, and 72 percent support its inclusion in various international orga-
nizations.
45. In several polls taken in 2001, for example, about half of respondents dis-
agreed with making provocative arms sales to Taiwan, and a strong majority op-
posed committing U.S. troops to Taiwan’s defense should it provoke a PRC attack.
See Americans and the World: Public Opinion on International Affairs, “U.S. Rela-
tions with China—Defending Taiwan.”
46. For a fuller discussion, see Robert L. Suettinger, “Tough Engagement: U.S.-
China Relations,” in Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan, eds., Honey and Vin-
egar: Incentives, Sanctions and Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2000).
47. Wang Jisi and Wang Yong, “The Interaction of Policies: An Account of U.S.-
China Relations since 1989,” draft paper presented to the conference on “Forging a
Policy Consensus: Making China Policy in the Bush and Clinton Administrations,”
held at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, 1999.
48. Interview with Anthony Lake, August 2000.
 Index

Afghanistan, 41–42 ARATS. See Association for Relations

Agriculture, 15, 180 across the Taiwan Strait
AITS (American Institute on Archer, Bill, 396
Taiwan), 204 Armacost, Michael, 194–95
Albright, Madeleine: as ambassador to Armey, Dick, 307
UN, 156; appointment as secretary Arms trade. See Iran; Military
of state, 290; and bombing of technology; Pakistan
Chinese embassy in Belgrade, 372, Armstrong, C. Michael, 353
376; and campaign fund-raising Ashcroft, John, 349
scandal, 296; criticism of Lee Teng- Asian financial crisis, 333, 338
hui, 385; at Deng’s funeral and trip Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
to China, 301; and Hong Kong (APEC) forum: Clinton-Jiang
handover to China, 313, 314–15; meeting at, 178, 182–83, 210, 284,
on human rights issues, 301, 341, 386, 406; effect on Asian prosperity
365; at Jiang visit to U.S., 323; and cooperation, 416; ministerial
preparing for Clinton trip to China, conference, 233
342, 343; on Taiwan, 348; on Asia Watch, 197
Tibetan issues, 329; on Wei’s Aspin, Les, 156, 157, 158, 159, 175
release, 340 Association for Relations across the
Algeria, 117, 121, 131 Taiwan Strait (ARATS), 201, 350,
Allison, Graham, 159 381, 385
American Institute on Taiwan
(AIT), 204 Bader, Jeffrey: on Clinton’s attitude
American public opinion. See Public toward Jiang, 324; involved in
opinion, U.S. Taiwan issues, 247, 253;
Amnesty International, 197, 394 preparation for Clinton-Jiang talks,
Appel, Ed, 292 316, 317, 343; replaced by Keith,

533
534 index

355; seeking release of Chinese 283–84, 291, 305; handling of

prisoners, 341 Taiwanese president’s travel, 216;
Baker, James A., III: appointment as on Hong Kong handover, 315; on
secretary of state, 23; on Chinese human rights issues, 341; on Loral
weapon sales, 121, 142, 143; satellite license, 352, 353; on MFN
congressional testimony by, 83, status of China, 306–07; as
213; on Fang asylum, 70; Gulf War national security adviser to Clinton,
negotiations, 113–15; involvement 291, 304–10; on National Security
with sending secret envoy to China, Council, 156; organizational
79, 100; meeting with Li Peng, difficulties faced by, 158, 305;
130–31; meeting with Qian Qichen, preparing for Clinton trip to China,
96, 113, 114, 115, 117, 129–30; 343, 344, 346; resignation called
seeking support to veto legislation for, 362, 379; on response to
to extend visas of Chinese students, Chinese missile tests off of Taiwan,
102; views on China, 64, 66, 111, 249, 251, 255, 257, 258; setting
113, 129, 131, 133 Clinton’s second-term China
Banking system, 151, 333, 338 agenda, 312–13, 317, 318, 346; on
Bao Tong, 412 Taiwan issues, 348, 386; trip to
Bao Zunxin, 116 China, 317; on Wei’s release, 340;
Barone Center Study, 86 working on MFN status of China,
Barshefsky, Charlene: on intellectual 162, 166, 191, 192, 194; on WTO
property agreement and sanctions, entry for China, 365, 393, 398
272, 274; on textile quotas, 180; as Berman, Howard L., 326
U.S. Trade Representative, 306; on Betts, Richard, 421
WTO entry of Chinese, 359, 360, Biden, Joseph, 133
363, 365–66, 368, 386–87 Bombing of Chinese embassy in
Bartholomew, Reginald, 115, 121 Belgrade, 369–77, 415
Baucus, Max, 122, 193 Bonior, David, 197, 394
Bauer, Gary, 379 Boren, David, 164
Beers, Rand, 292 Boucher, Richard, 114
Beijing Autonomous Students Boxer, Barbara, 292
Federation, 30, 35, 43, 57, 69 Bo Yibo, 21, 38, 48, 54, 62, 302
Beijing Autonomous Workers Brady, Nicholas, 98
Federation, 30, 49, 69 Broad, William J., 389
Beijing Citizens Association, 69 Broder, David, 118
Beijing Union of Intellectuals, 49 Brown, Hank, 205, 213
Belgrade bombing of Chinese embassy, Brown, Ron, 210
369–77, 415 Buchanan, Patrick, 283, 379
Bellocchi, Natale, 204 Buddhist monastery and Gore fund-
Bentsen, Lloyd S., 23, 178, 183 raising, 289, 297
Bereuter, Douglas, 235, 236, 396 Burghardt, Ray, 70
Berger, Samuel R. (Sandy): busy with Burkhalter, Holly, 248
Kosovo, 366; on campaign fund- Burns, Nicholas, 227, 238, 270
raising, 295; Clinton’s reliance on, Burton, Dan, 331, 353
index 535

Burton, Jim, 353 Campbell, Kurt, 257, 269

Bush, George H.W.: on asylum for Campbell, Tom, 292
Feng, 71; Chinese views on, 104, Capitalism, views on, 106, 138;
110, 164; criticism for Chinese rehabilitated capitalists, 148
policy of, 5, 65, 99, 118, 133, 197; Carter, Jimmy, 97, 108, 196, 240, 395
on F-16 sales to Taiwan, 140–41; CCNAA (Coordinating Council on
foreign policy of, 23, 63, 84, 95, North American Affairs), 206
422, 425, 439; Gulf War, 111; CDP. See China Democratic Party
history with Chinese, 42; on human Ceausescu, Nicolae, 104–05, 107
rights issues, 28, 98, 103, 115; Central Committee: crackdown on
meeting with Jiang on human rights commercial activities of military,
issues, 184; meeting with Li Peng at 336; Jiang as the core of, 302;
UN, 133–34; meeting with Qian, reconfirming of Jiang’s vision of
113, 114–15; on MFN status for communism, 412–13; revamped
China, 108–10, 120–22; policy on under Jiang, 137, 149
Tiananmen, 53, 63–68, 79–83; post- Central Military Commission:
Tiananmen efforts, 93–103; authority of, 304; revamped under
presidential election of 1992, 139, Jiang, 241, 300, 302
154–55, 164; Republicans moving Chai Ling: Clinton’s seeking advice of,
away from views of, 419; and 139; at Democratic National
satellite launches, 351; secret envoy Convention, 164; escape from
sent to China by, 79–83; support for China, 123; organizing hunger
WTO membership for China, 395; strike, 43, 44; as student leader at
veto of China Most Favored Nation Tiananmen, 56, 57, 60, 61
Trade Status Bill, 134; veto of Pelosi Chao-chung Lu, Benjamin, 217
bill, 96, 101–02; veto of United Chemical exports by China, 174–77
States-China Act of 1991, 122, 134, Chemical Weapons Convention, 173,
143; visit to China, 23–28. See also 174, 267
United States-China relationship Cheney, Richard B., 24, 140
Bush, George W., 398, 412, 417–18, Chen Jian, 245
424, 440 Chen Li-an, 260
Bush, Prescott, 97 Chen Shui-bian, 400, 402–05, 435,
Bush, Richard, 382 437–38
Business Software Alliance, 265 Chen Xitong: involvement in
Tiananmen and student protests,
Cambodia, 111, 112 33, 36, 37, 43, 58; on Olympics
Campaign finance and Clinton (2000) in China, 170; purge of,
administration, 3, 282, 287–90; 241; resignation due to corruption,
Chinese officials’ reaction to 218
allegations, 307–09, 347, 356, 368; Chen Yizi, 123
congressional hearings, 329–31; Chen You-wei, 112, 121
investigations of, 291–304, 307–10; Chen Yu, 76
media coverage of, 428–29; and Chen Yun: Central Advisory
satellite launches, 351–54 Committee under, 137; criticizing
536 index

Deng, 123; criticizing Zhao, 38; rights issues, 279, 280, 281, 301,
death of, 218, 302; Deng’s reliance 311; Lake taking lead on China
on, 77; economic approach of, 19, from, 263, 283; meeting with Qian,
20, 92, 123, 124, 125; ill health of, 178, 184–85, 187, 231–33, 240,
129, 152; involvement with 267, 269, 278, 439; on MFN status
Tiananmen and student activism, for China, 162, 182, 196;
48, 54, 55, 62; political policies of, organizational difficulties faced by,
21, 89–90 157, 158; and proliferation issue,
Chen Ziming, 57, 71, 116, 195 26, 266, 267; replaced by Albright,
Chiang Ching-kuo, 201 290; on response to Chinese missile
Chien, Fred (Ch’ien Fu), 204 tests off of Taiwan, 251, 253, 255,
Chi Haotian: added to Politburo, 320; 256; setting agenda for Clinton-
as Central Military Commission Jiang meeting at APEC, 284;
leader, 241; delay of U.S. visit of, strategic view of Chinese, 161, 250,
219, 246, 258; diplomatic role of, 273, 281–82; visit to China, 185–
207; meeting with Lake, 277; on 89, 281
Taiwan, 244 Chung, Johnny Chien Chuen:
China Can Say No, 285–86, 311–12 congressional hearings and
China Democratic Party (CDP), 357, allegations about, 330; conviction
360 of, 354; and corruption of children
China Doesn’t Just Say No, 286, 312 of Chinese officials, 309–10; effort
Chinagate. See Campaign finance and to secure Wu release, 234–35; fund-
Clinton administration raising by, 289, 294; influence
China Great Wall Industry Corp., peddling by, 290, 295, 307, 368;
351–52 media coverage of, 428; return of
China Most Favored Nation Trade donation from, 293; testimony as
Status Bill (proposed), 134 part of plea bargain of, 352, 353
China Policy Act of 1995, 235–36 CIA, 3, 290–91, 352, 369, 374, 376,
China’s Unfinished Economic 413. See also Tenet, George
Revolution (Lardy), 338 Clark, William, 63, 66, 141, 142, 144
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 233–34,
123, 399 237, 239
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Clinton, William Jefferson: on
Conference (CPPPC), 149 bombing of Chinese embassy in
Chinoy, Mike, 36, 45, 57, 411 Belgrade, 371, 372, 374, 376;
Christopher, Warren: appointed as campaign finance scandal, 287–
secretary of state, 155, 157; 304, 351–55; and Cox Committee
attempts to set meeting between report on Chinese spying efforts,
Clinton and Jiang, 221; change in 377–80; foreign policy team of,
attitude toward China, 178, 190– 155–59, 283, 290–94, 340;
94; on chemical weapon shipments handling of Chung in Wu situation,
by China, 175, 176; handling of 235; impeachment, effect on foreign
Taiwanese president’s travel, 204, policy, 355, 358; Lewinsky scandal,
215, 216, 217, 238; and human 288, 339–40, 356, 358; meeting
index 537

with Jiang at APEC meeting, 178, approach to China, 190, 212–13,

182–83, 210, 284, 386, 406; 328–29, 362; on human rights
meeting with Jiang in China, 340– issues, 28; legislation on extending
51; meeting with Jiang in U.S., 231, visas of Chinese students, 95–96,
233, 237, 239–43, 321–27; meeting 101–02; meeting with Jiang, 326;
with Kissinger on Wu situation, on Olympics (2000) in China, 170;
231; meeting with Li Daoyu, 221; sanctions against China post-
nonproliferation agenda of, 171– Tiananmen, 83–85, 93–96, 103,
74, 266–71, 277; and 104th 119–20; on space and missile
Congress, 212; on permanent technology transfer to China, 353;
normal trade relations (PNTR) Taiwan caucus in, 437; on Taiwan
status, 392–99, 425; Policy Review issues, 258–59, 263, 349, 355, 364,
Directives, 205–07; presidential 383, 437, 438; on Wei Jingsheng’s
election of 1992, 139, 143, 154–55, trial and sentence, 242–43; on
164; presidential election of 1996, WTO entry for China, 392–99; on
282–83; on Taiwan issues, 205, Wu’s arrest in China, 230, 235. See
215–17, 232, 243, 348, 382, 383; also Most favored nation (MFN)
and trade sanctions, 273–74, 275; status of China
views on China, 139, 162, 187, Coordinating Council on North
287, 324, 439; visit to Japan, 268– American Affairs (CCNAA), 206
69; on Wen Ho Lee spying case, Corruption: children of Chinese
391; on WTO entry of China, 359, officials engaging in, 16–17, 310;
363–69, 386–88. See also Human exposure and probes of, 15–16,
rights issues; Most favored nation 218, 336; land sales, 151; student
(MFN) status of China; United opposition to, 32, 310. See also
States-China relationship Guandao
Cohen, William S., 290, 291, 371 Cox, Christopher, 354, 376, 378
Communist Party of China (CPC): Cox Committee, 354, 361,
anti-American nationalism fostered 377–80, 422
by, 415; Deng’s failure to reform, CPC. See Communist Party of China
18–23; Fifteenth Congress, 319–27; CPPPC (Chinese People’s Political
future trends, 441; leadership crisis Consultative Conference), 149
in, 54, 62, 77; leadership post- Cui Tiankai, 277
Tiananmen, 72–77, 148; proposal Cutter, W. Bowman (Bo), 191–92
that military be placed under Czechoslovakia, 104
command of, 302; purification
campaign aimed at Falun Gong, Dalai Lama, 169, 245, 347
408; reregistration campaign post- Daley, William, 392, 393
Tiananmen, 123; role of, 7, 14 D’Amato, Alfonse, 219
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, 174 Davis, Lynn, 171, 173
Congress, U.S.: China policy Defense Authorization Act of
development, 328–31, 425–26; 1999, 364
criticism of Bush’s approach to Democratic Progressive Party
China, 99; criticism of Clinton’s (Taiwan), 400
538 index

Deng Liqun, 91, 124, 125, 126 Eagleburger, Lawrence: Baker’s

Deng Rong, 218 delegation of China to, 111; on
Deng Xiaoping: American view of, one-dimensional Chinese policy,
64, 85; attempt to reform Party, 190; second mission to China, 98,
18–23, 73; choice of Jiang Zemin 100, 101, 107; in secret envoy to
for leadership role, 54, 55, 76–77, China, 79–83; testimony to
223; criticisms of, 16, 33–34, 207; Congress on Bush’s China
death of and passing of leadership, policy, 103
299–304; economic policies of, 78, Eastern Europe and collapse of USSR,
90, 92, 93, 123–28, 146, 151–53, 103–07
185, 416; on Gulf War, 115; on East Germany, 104
Hong Kong, 313, 314; illness and Economic reforms, 146–54, 416;
reduced role of, 88–89, 152, 189, Chen’s views on, 20, 90, 92; curing
210, 211, 218; intellectuals’ and and rectification under Li and Yao,
students’ view of, 17, 49; 92–93; under Deng, 15, 20, 78, 92,
involvement in Tiananmen and 93, 123–28, 151–53, 416; and
student protests, 14, 31, 33–40, Fifteenth Party Congress, 321;
47, 48, 51, 57–58, 59, 62, 88, growth of China between 1991 and
415; meeting with Carter, 240; 1993, 145; under Jiang, 123, 125,
meeting with Nixon (1989), 97; as 126, 138, 150–52; trends between
party leader, 14, 72, 148; policies 1991 and 1993, 145–46; troubles
of, 5, 15, 278; relationship with and inflation, 150–51, 185; under
Fang, 25, 110; relationship with Zhao, 22–23, 92; under Zhu
military, 77, 128, 130, 135, 203, Rongji, 331–39, 384
222, 334; relationship with Edwards, Mickey, 66, 100
Soviets, 42–44, 46; relationship Einhorn, Robert, and nonproliferation
with U.S., 15, 28, 63, 79–83, 88, issues, 171, 172, 265–68, 270,
94, 190, 439; reputation and 318, 343
ideology of held in high regard, Elections: Hong Kong, 314; Taiwan
106, 136, 152–53; resurgence presidential elections, 244–45, 246,
post-Tiananmen, 127–29, 134, 260, 261, 400, 402–03; U.S.
135–36; on Taiwan issue, 200, presidential election of 1992, 139,
202, 436; view on USSR collapse, 143, 154–55, 164; U.S. presidential
104; weakened position after election of 1996, 282–83, 287–90;
Tienanmen, 77–78, 122–27 U.S. presidential election of 2000,
Deng Yingchao, 48, 54, 73, 129, 302 398; warning from FBI about
Deutch, John, 290 Chinese plans to influence U.S.
Ding Guan’gen, 375 elections, 292–93
Ding Mou-shih, 206, 250, 257, Ellis, James, 258
258, 382 Emergency Chinese Adjustment of
Dole, Robert J., 102, 273, 282, 283 Status Facilitation Act of 1989
Donorgate. See Campaign finance and (proposed), 95–96
Clinton administration Enright, Janice, 234
Drogin, Bob, 390 Entertainment industry, 154
index 539

Environmental issues, 297, 343, Foreign policy, Chinese: criticisms of,

346, 394 207; event-driven, 8; isolation
Espy, Mike, 178, 180 approach, 111; under Jiang, 138,
Executive Order on most favored 153–54, 311–18, 321, 349–50,
nation status of China, 167–68, 407, 429. See also Qian Qichen;
183, 184, 189; false assumptions United States-China relationship
in, 197–98; measuring compliance Foreign policy, U.S.: under Bush
with, 192–93 (G.H.W.), 23, 63, 84, 95, 422, 425,
Export-Import Bank lending for 439; under Bush (G.W.), 424–25;
China, 100, 269 change after collapse of USSR, 415–
Exports. See Trade issues 16; under Clinton, 159–60,
178–79, 290–94; event-driven, 8;
Falun Gong, 2, 3, 406, 407–09, isolationism of U.S., 179. See also
412, 413 Most favored nation (MFN) status
Fang Lizhi: background of, 25–26; of China; United States-China
Hu’s protection of, 18, 26; relationship
invitation to dinner with G.H.W. Foreign trade, 15
Bush, 25–29; seeking political Fowler, Donald L., 234
refuge from U.S., 70–72, 97, 98, Franklin, Barbara, 144
107–11 Freedom of press. See Public
FBI: and alleged Chinese plans to expression
influence U.S. elections, 292–93, Freeh, Louis, 296, 307, 330, 391
307; investigation of satellite Freeman, Charles W. “Chas,” 159,
launch contracts and campaign 178, 180, 246, 248
finance links, 353; Wen Ho Lee Friedman, Tom, 140, 157, 296
spying case, 388–91. See also Freeh, Friends and Foes (Hersman), 425
Louis Fuerth, Leon, 251, 297
Feinstein, Diane, 193, 235, 292, 293 Fu Quanyou, 406
Feng Congde, 44, 123
Fewsmith, Joseph, 286 Gallucci, Robert, 171
Finkelstein, David, 407 Gandhi, Yogesh, 289, 354
Fitzwater, Marlin, 64, 84, 100, 110, Gang of Four, 19, 75
120, 121 Gao Di, 124
Flood control work of military, 337 Gao Shan, 165
Fogelsong, Robert “Doc,” 247 Gao Xin, 60, 61
Forced Abortion Condemnation Act GATT. See General Agreement on
(proposed), 329 Tariffs and Trade
Ford, Carl, 63, 67, 115 Gelb, Leslie, 118
Ford, Gerald, 395 General Agreement on Tariffs and
Foreign aid to China, 67, 84, 95 Trade (GATT), 142, 143, 206,
Foreign Broadcast Information 210, 339
Service, 9 Gephardt, Richard, 84, 184, 197,
Foreign direct investment in China, 307, 394
145, 147, 417 Gerth, Jeff, 353, 360–61, 389
540 index

Gilley, Bruce, 55, 105 Hills, Carla, 132, 144, 231

Gilman, Benjamin, 212, 213, 396 Hoagland, Jim, 118, 160, 182, 190,
Gingrich, Newt: on Bush desire to veto 284, 343
Pelosi bill, 101; and Contract with Hong Kong, 109, 147, 284, 313–19,
America, 212; on MFN status of 349; direct investment in China,
China, 306; on missile technology 417
transfer to China, 353–54; on Hot line between China and White
Taiwan relations, 213, 263; trip to House, 322, 382
China, 298–99 Hou Dejian, 60, 61
Glenn, John, 330 Hsia, Maria, 289, 330, 354, 428
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 24, 41–47, 104, Hsing Yun, 289
111, 123, 124. See also Soviet- Hua Guofeng, 19, 20, 21
Chinese relationship Huang, John: background and
Gore, Albert W.: and campaign fund- employment of, 288, 289, 292;
raising, 288, 289, 297–98; foreign congressional hearings and
policy skills of, 155; lack of interest allegations about, 330; conviction
in Chinese relations, 417; meeting of, 354; fund-raising by, 288–90,
with Jiang, 244, 247; and 291, 293; media coverage of, 428;
permanent normal trade relations refusal to testify, 307
status for China, 394–95, 397; Huang Ju, 210
presidential election of 2000, 398; Huang Pu Ping, 125
trip to China, 284, 297–98 Hubbell, Webster, 288
Greenberg, Maurice (Hank), 231, 248 Hughes Electronic Corp., 351, 353
Greenspan, Alan, 359 Hu Jintao, 137, 319, 372, 412
Grobmyer, Mark, 289 Human rights issues: Albright’s efforts
Groupthink, 423 on, 365; Baker’s efforts on, 131;
Guandao (official profiteering), 16 Bush’s efforts on, 28, 98, 103, 115;
Gulf War (1990), 111–17 Chinese view of Western efforts on,
Guofang Shen, 268 3, 132, 169, 286, 368; Clinton
Guo Haifeng, 116 administration’s focus on, 180–81,
185–94, 249, 265, 277, 278–79,
Haig, Al, 97, 231 301, 319, 342, 346–47, 357, 360,
Haiti, 160 365; crackdown on China
Halperin, Morton, 159, 193 Democratic Party, 357; delinking
Hamilton, Lee, 167, 193 from most favored nation status,
Han Xu, 67, 79 194–99, 235–36; International
Harter, Dennis, 64 Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to
Havel, Vaclav, 104 visit Chinese prisons, 181, 184,
He Dongchang, 33, 36 196, 311; tied to most favored
He Jingzhi, 127 nation status, 109, 119–20, 163–
Helms, Jesse, 66, 158, 161, 212, 214, 68, 181, 191–92, 424; and trials of
219, 383 dissidents from Tiananmen, 117;
Hersman, Rebecca, 425 UN resolution proposed to criticize
He Yafei, 318 China, 214, 218, 249, 279. See also
index 541

International Covenant on International Atomic Energy

Economic, Social, and Cultural Agency, 269
Rights; Prisoners International Committee of Red Cross
Human Rights Watch, 170, 394 (ICRC) to visit Chinese prisons,
Hungary, 104 181, 184, 196, 311
Hu Qili: involvement in Tiananmen International Covenant on Economic,
and student protests, 36, 37, 39, Social, and Cultural Rights, 311,
44, 48; purged from party 319, 322, 341, 342, 357
leadership, 62, 72; rehabilitation International Monetary Fund (IMF),
of, 126 147, 153, 349
Hussein, Saddam, 111, 113, 116, 160 Internet: effect on economy, 416;
Hu Yaobang: appointment as party hackers attacking each other’s
general secretary, 19; attitude government websites, 383, 433; as
toward intellectuals and students, news source, 9, 356, 433
17–18, 21; Chen’s opposition to, Iran: China’s sales of weapons to Iran,
90; death of, 28–33, 301; economic 3, 318, 334; China’s sales to enable
policies of, 92, 146; policies of building nuclear weapons, 133,
(generally), 15, 16; relationship 143, 214, 318; China’s suspension
with Deng, 18, 20–21, 78, 106; of reactor sale to, 240
resignation/dismissal Iraq. See Gulf War (1990); Hussein,
of, 21 Saddam
Israel, 140
ICRC. See International Committee of
Red Cross Jackson, Karl, 63
Ideological disputes, 106–07; and Jackson-Vanik amendment of Trade
economic reform, 124, 126–27 Act, 108, 392
IMF. See International Monetary Fund Jand A Securities, 335, 336
Immigration and Nationality Technical Janis, Irving, 423
Correction Act, 205 Japan: Clinton’s visit to, 268; direct
Institute of Taiwan Studies of the investment in China, 417; Jiang’s
Chinese Academy of Social visit to, 350–51; security issues for,
Sciences, 399 268–69
Intellectual property rights and Jeremiah, David, 362
Chinese violations, 120, 131, 132, Jervis, Robert, 420, 423
214, 245, 249, 265–66, 271–75 Jiang Chunyun, 304
Intellectuals: Deng’s encouragement of, Jiang Qing. See Gang of Four
15; discontent of, 16–17; Hu Jiang Xiaoping, 215, 217
Yaobang’s attitude toward, 17–18, Jiang Zemin: and alleged Chinese
21; manifesto drafted by, 40; influence-peddling through
Maoist treatment of, 15. See also campaign contributions, 307, 308,
Student activism; Universities 347; attitude toward students, 76;
Intelligence services, 9 attitude toward U.S., 88, 179, 217,
Interest groups in U.S., 427. See also 299, 418; background of, 74–76;
Lobbying and bombing of Chinese embassy in
542 index

Belgrade, 371, 372–74; on chemical government under, 149–50, 189;

weapon shipments by China, 176; rivals of, 302–04; sentencing of Ji
chosen for leadership role, 54, 55, Shengde, 310; on spying
72, 76–77, 89, 134–38; in accusations, 368; successes of, 319–
conservative period, 355; 27, 331; support from Deng, 127,
crackdown on China Democratic 129, 135–36, 148, 189, 223, 302;
Party, 357; crackdown on on Taiwan issues, 211–12, 217,
commercial activities of military, 221, 243–45, 262, 382, 383, 385,
336; and economic policies, 123, 399, 401, 402, 404, 406, 430; on
125, 126, 138, 150–52; on Falun Tiananmen Papers, 412; view of
Gong, 408, 409; following death of Tiananmen events, 411; visit to
Deng, 300–04; foreign policy Italy, 365; on WTO entry, 359,
under, 138, 153–54, 311–18, 321, 386–88
349–50, 407, 429; and Gulf War, Ji Shengde, 309–10, 368
112; on Hong Kong, 314–15, 349; Johnson, Darryl, 382
on human rights issues, 195, 278; Johnston, Bennett, 235
interview by CNN’s Andrea Jones, Paula Corbin, 339, 358
Koppel, 308; invitation to APEC Jones, Sidney, 342
forum, 178; meeting with Albright,
301; meeting with Baker, 130; Kagan, Robert, 379
meeting with (G.W.) Bush, 440; Kaifu, Toshiki, 121
meeting with Bush (former Kamm, John, 90, 248, 279, 323
president), 184; meeting with Kanchanalak, Pauline, 354
Christopher, 188; meeting with Kantor, Mickey, 249, 266, 271, 272
Clinton at APEC meeting, 178, Katzenbach, Nicholas, 242
182–83, 210, 284, 386, 406; Keith, Jim, 355
meeting with Clinton in China, Kennedy, Edward M., 96, 102, 156
340–51; meeting with Clinton in Kerrey, Robert, 293
U.S., 231, 233, 237, 239–43, 321– Kerrick, Donald, 305
27; meeting with Gore, 244, 247; Kimmitt, Robert, 70, 79, 121
meeting with Lake, 277; meeting Kirkpatrick, Jeanne, 139
with Nixon (1989), 97; meeting Kissinger, Henry, 98, 190, 231, 395,
with U.S. congressional leaders, 419, 420
164; meeting with Yeltsin, 350; on Kitty Hawk incident with Chinese
military exercises off of Taiwan, aircraft and submarines, 209
261, 262; on most favored nation Koo Chen-fu, 201, 220, 350, 381
status, 166; possible visit to U.S. in Koppel, Andrea, 308
exchange for Fang release, 97, 98; Kosovo, 305, 358, 363–64
as president, 148; relationship with Krauthammer, Charles, 190, 268
military, 203, 208, 223–25, 300, Kristoff, Sandra J.: appointment to
302, 431; relationship with U.S., NSC, 247–48; Clinton’s reliance
188, 190, 210, 275, 276, 429–30; on, 284; departure of, 355; on
relationship with Zhu Rongji, 75– preparing for Clinton-Jiang summit,
76, 125, 137, 332; revamping of 312, 316, 317, 318, 343, 344;
index 543

seeking release of Chinese 240, 254; dissatisfaction with

prisoners, 341; as special assistant Clinton administration, 382;
to president for Asia Economic domestic reforms and international
Issues, 192; trip to China with aspirations of, 436, 437; election
Lake, 276 of, 260, 261; meeting with Peña,
Kristof, Nicholas, 87 211; provocative speeches by, 220,
Krugman, Paul, 153 225, 226, 243; relations with
Kuomintang (KMT) government. See China, 201–03, 211; resignation of,
Taiwan 404; on Taiwan’s sovereignty, 246,
Kuralt, Charles, 45 253, 380–85, 405, 406. See also
Taiwan
Lake, Anthony: on building Lehr, Deborah, 249, 266, 271, 272
understanding with China, 439; Leninism. See Marxism-Leninism
change of attitude toward China in Levin, Sander, 396
first Clinton term, 178, 179; on Lewinsky scandal, 288, 339–40, 356,
chemical weapon shipments by 358
China, 176; on Chinese piracy, Li Daoyu, 178, 195, 216, 221, 242,
214; Clinton’s reliance on, 283, 323
284; dialogue with Liu, 253, 254– Lieberman, Joseph, 213, 215, 330
55, 257, 265, 267; handling of Lieberthal, Kenneth R., 248, 355, 359,
Chung in Wu situation, 234; 382, 386, 393
handling of Taiwanese president’s Lien Chan, 203, 400, 403
travel, 204, 215, 216; on human Li Hongzhi, 407, 409, 413
rights issues, 191, 194, 195, 279– Li Lanqing, 412
80; as lead on China policy instead Lilley, James R.: appointment as
of Christopher, 263, 283; as ambassador to China, 63; on
national security adviser, 156, 157; asylum for Fang, 70, 72, 107, 109;
nomination to be CIA director and on eviction of foreign news services,
withdrawal, 290–94; organizational 69; Gulf War negotiations with
difficulties faced by, 158–59; policy China, 113; involvement with secret
meetings on China held by, 248; on envoy to China, 79–80, 82; on
Taiwan issue, 247–51; visit to Taiwan president in U.S., 204, 205;
China to improve relations, 276–82 view of Deng, 77; view of
Lam, Willy Wo-lap, 124, 128, 218, Tiananmen, 64
224, 311 Li Lu, 123, 139, 164
Lampley, Virginia, 95 Lin Biao, 20, 409
Lantos, Tom, 184, 213 Lindsay, James, 425
Lardy, Nicholas, 338 Link, E. Perry, 37, 38, 410, 411
Laris, Michael, 381 Lin Yang-kang, 260
Lee, Martin, 315, 316 Li Peng: and alleged Chinese influence-
Lee, T.D., 88, 90 peddling through campaign
Lee Teng-hui: background of, 201; contributions, 296, 307; on arms
controversy over presence in U.S., sales, 121; attitude toward U.S.,
203–05, 212–22, 231, 233, 238, 110–11, 189; background of, 73–
544 index

74; crackdown on China 223, 225; need to be tough on U.S.,

Democratic Party, 357; criticism of 207; retirement of, 319, 320; on
Zhu’s trip to U.S. on WTO entry, Taiwan, 208
369; criticized by Deng, 21; Liu Huaqiu: accompanying Jiang on
criticized by students, 30, 33; U.S. visit, 323, 324; dealings with
differences with Zhao, 22, 47; Clinton administration, 164, 181,
economic policy of, 23, 92–93, 195, 250–51, 265, 267, 276–77,
124, 125, 152; Gulf War 317; foreign policy role, 431; Gulf
negotiations, 113; at Hong Kong War negotiations, 114; handling of
handover, 315; illness of and Taiwan-China possible military
reduction of duties, 149–50; confrontation, 253–57; meeting
involvement in Tiananmen and with Chung over Wu situation,
student protests, 31, 33–34, 37–40, 235; on sanctions against China,
44, 47, 48–50, 53, 58–59, 62, 64, 103, 142, 173–74; on U.S. Taiwan
117, 298, 411; meeting with policy, 207, 256
Albright, 301; meeting with Baker, Liu Shaoqi, 20
130; meeting with Berger, 317; Liu Tai-ying, 289
meeting with Bush at UN, 133–34; Liu Xiaobo, 60, 116
meeting with Christopher, 187, Liu Xiaoming, 235, 237, 280
281; meeting with Gore, 297–98; Li Xiannian: as aged leader, 62, 129;
meeting with Kissinger, 231; criticizing Zhao, 38; death of, 302;
meeting with Lake, 277; meeting Deng’s reliance on, 76, 77; meeting
with Nixon (1989), 97; on most with Reagan, 240; political dealings
favored nation status, 121; as of, 54, 55; on quelling dissidents,
premier of State Council, 148; 48, 49, 62
relationship with Zhu Rongji, 331, Li Xiaowen, 43
334, 369; as rival to Jiang, 303, Li Ximing, 33, 36, 43, 50, 58
311, 319; role post-Tiananmen, 73, Li Zhaoxing, 233, 240, 323, 356–57,
80–83; as supporter of Chen, 90; 371
on Taiwan issues, 258, 262 Lobbying, 294, 330
Li Ruihuan: in leadership positions, Loeb, Vernon, 390
54, 72, 149; media controlled by, Long Yongtu, 366, 386
124; meeting with Nixon (1989), Looking at China Through a Third
97; as rival to Jiang, 303–04, 319; Eye, 154
on Taiwan issues, 262 Loral Space Systems, 351–54
Li Shuxian, 70, 110 Lord, Winston: on Bush
Li Teng-hui. See Lee Teng-hui administration’s secret missions to
Li Tieying, 37, 44, 97, 149 China, 99, 161; on Christopher
Liu Binyan, 18 visit to China, 187; in Clinton
Liu Chaoying, 307, 309–10, 353 administration, 160–64; handling
Liu Huaqing: appointment to of media for Lake trip to China,
Politburo Standing Committee, 276, 277; handling of Taiwanese
135, 137, 223; lessened status of, president’s travel, 214, 219;
241, 300, 302; military role of, handling of Wu situation, 230; and
index 545

human rights issues, 280, 281; on McCahill, William, 296, 297

legislation to extend visas of McCurry, Mike, 177, 216, 237, 240,
Chinese students, 102, 161; at Liu 277, 292, 348
meeting in U.S., 253; on most McGrory, Mary, 118, 182
favored nation status, 109, 161, Media, Chinese: on APEC meeting of
165–66, 182, 196; policy change Jiang with Clinton, 182; Clinton
toward China in Clinton first term, 1998 visit allowed to be covered,
178, 190–94; replacement of, 63; 118; critical of U.S. and NATO,
on response to Chinese missile tests 365; on Deng’s death and his choice
off of Taiwan, 255, 256–57, 259; of Jiang as successor, 302; on
setting list of invitees for (G.H.W.) foreign policy issues, 9, 432–33; on
Bush dinner, 25, 26, 27; on Taiwan Lee’s speeches about Taiwan, 381;
relations, 207, 213, 226, 243 on 1993 State Council election,
Los Alamos spy scandal. See Wen 118; protesting outside of Xinhua
Ho Lee News Agency, 36, 40; publishing
Lott, Trent, 330, 349, 397 and entertainment industry, 154,
Lu, Benjamin Chao-chung, 219 357; on U.S.-China relationship in
Lugar, Richard, 193, 362 2002, 418; on U.S.-China
Lu Hsiu-Lien, Annette, 404 relationship post-Belgrade bombing
of Chinese embassy, 373, 375; on
Madsen, Richard, 85 U.S. interference in China’s affairs,
Major, John, 133 401; on U.S. media coverage of
Manion, Melanie, 50 alleged Chinese influence-peddling,
Mann, James, 108, 140 296; warning to Beijing citizens
Maoist ideals, rejection of, 7, 15, 16, about Tiananmen, 60. See also
18, 85, 106 Xinhua (New China) News Agency
Mao Zedong: Chinese People’s Media, U.S.: on APEC meeting of
Political Consultative Conference Clinton and Jiang, 210; on
founded by, 149; ouster of Deng campaign fund-raising, 291–92,
by, 19; ouster of successors, 20; 296, 307, 353; on Chinese human
purges by, 14; relationship with rights policies, 118, 182; on Chinese
military, 77, 222; relationship with threat to Taiwan, 248; on Chinese
U.S., 420; relationship with USSR, violations of non-proliferation
41; on Taiwan issue, 436 issues, 268, 270; on Christopher’s
Markey, Edward J., 270 visit to China, 190; on Clinton
Martial law: declared due to arrival ceremony in Tiananmen
Tiananmen, 50–57, 64; lifted in Square, 343; on Clinton foreign
1990, 101 policy administration, 156–57, 160,
Marxism-Leninism: Deng’s desire to 243, 284, 291; on Clinton remarks
reinstitute, 18; locked into about Taiwan, 349; on Clinton’s
following, 106, 405–09; rejection 1998 visit to China, 243; on
of, 16, 25, 441 delinking human rights from trade
Massey, Joseph, 115 issues, 196; eviction after
Matsui, Robert, 167, 193, 394 Tiananmen, 69–70; on Gore’s versus
546 index

Gingrich’s trip to China, 298; power Chinese commitment to honor

of, 427–28; revelation of Bush MTCR guidelines, 208; Chinese
administration’s secret missions to level of, 116; Chinese sales abroad,
China, 100; on slave labor, 228; on 334–35; U.S. sale to Taiwan, 138–
Taiwan issues, 402; on Tiananmen 44, 164, 401, 431, 435, 436. See
events, 36, 39, 44, 45, 46–47, 48, also Iran; Middle East; Nuclear
52, 57, 61, 86, 428; Wei informing weapons; Pakistan
of his meeting with Shattuck, 186; Military-to-military programs, 67, 84,
on Wen Ho Lee spying case, 360– 142, 209, 312, 346, 432
62, 389–90, 391, 429 Milosevic, Slobodan, 364, 371
Messemer, Robert, 390 Ministry of Foreign Trade and
MFN. See Most favored nation (MFN) Economic Cooperation
status of China (MOFTEC), 366
Michel, Robert H., 101 Missile tests. See Military, Chinese
Middle East: chemical exports by Mitchell, George S.: on legislation to
China to, 174–77, 267; Chinese extend visas of Chinese students,
sales of weapons to, 94, 100, 115, 96; on MFN status of China, 119,
117, 121, 133, 227, 334; peace 120, 122, 162–64, 166, 196, 197;
talks, 305, 340, 358; U.S. fighter on U.S. handling of Tiananmen, 65,
aircraft sales to, 140. See also Gulf 84; views during Clinton
War (1990); Iran administration, 162
Middleton, Mark, 289 Most favored nation (MFN) status of
Military, Chinese: American view on, China: Berger’s policy on, 306–07;
419; commercial activities and during Bush (H.G.W.)
corruption of, 334–37; exercises off administration, 107–11, 117–22,
of Taiwan, 225–26, 236, 243, 244, 134; during Clinton administration,
249, 251–63, 383–84; flood control 162–65, 183–90, 196–97, 230,
work of, 337; policy on Taiwan, 236, 249, 274, 275, 306–07, 328;
203, 211, 224–27, 243, 436; delinking from human rights issues,
recognition of by Chinese leaders, 194–99, 235–36; revocation tied to
222–23; relationship with U.S., alleged Chinese interference in U.S.
209, 431; revamped under Jiang, elections, 308; targeted sanctions,
137, 189; Shalikashvili visit to, 194, 196; tied to human rights
312; smuggling goods into China, issues, 109, 119–20, 163–68, 181,
335–36; support for Deng, 77, 128, 191–92, 424; tied to Wu’s release,
130, 135; support for Jiang, 203, 230. See also Executive Order on
300, 302, 431; on theater missile most favored nation status of China
defense system for Taiwan, 364, Mou Qizhong, 147
401, 431; urging tough response Moynihan, Daniel, 292
toward U.S., 169, 207–11, 406; Murkowski, Frank, 205, 213, 214,
view of Kosovo and NATO action, 215, 219, 349
364, 406
Military technology: ban on import of Nathan, Andrew J., 37, 38, 410, 411
Chinese assault weapons, 208; National Defense Law (China), 302
index 547

Nationalism in China, 285–87, 306, Paal, Douglas: on Baker’s China trip,

415, 433–34 129, 130; on Bush meeting with Li
National People’s Congress: Peng at UN, 133; dealings with
independence and powers of, 304, Chinese at time of F-16 sale to
432; meeting on Tiananmen and Taiwan, 141; dealings with
martial law, 53 Chinese at time of Gulf War,
National Security Council (U.S.), 8, 114; as expert on China at
426–27. See also specific time of Tienenman, 24, 63, 65;
individuals such as national security on Fang asylum negotiations, 98;
adviser and staff members at Lake’s policy meetings on
NATO, 305, 340, 363–65, 369–77 China, 248
Neo-conservatism, 154 Pakistan: China’s sale of missiles to,
News media. See Media 117, 121, 131, 142, 227, 236, 267,
Nie Rongzhen, 53, 129 277; China’s sales to enable
Nixon, Richard M., 4, 68, 97–98, 102, building nuclear weapons, 3, 133,
107, 420 236; sanctions for Chinese sales to,
Non-proliferation issues, 171–74, 249, 171–74, 181, 208, 267; tension
265, 266–71, 322, 328. See also with India as topic of Clinton-Jiang
Middle East; Pakistan discussion, 346
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 121, Panchen Lama, 245
173, 268, 269, 322 Parish, Charles, 235
North Korea, 129, 210, 306 Parker, James A., 390, 391
NPT. See Non-Proliferation Treaty Pascoe, Lynn, 204
Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act Patten, Christopher, 314
of 1994, 266, 270 Pease, Donald, 108, 134
Nuclear weapons: Chinese investing in, Pei Minxin, 168
418; components sold by Chinese, Pell, Claiborne, 164
335; Pakistan-India situation as Pelosi, Nancy: on extending visas of
topic of Clinton-Jiang discussion, Chinese students, 95–96, 101; head
346; peaceful use of nuclear power, of Working Group on China, 328;
agreement with Chinese, 317–18, on MFN status of China, 108, 119,
322; spying alleged by Wen Ho Lee, 122, 162–64, 166, 196, 197;
360–62, 388–91; testing by Chinese, opposed to permanent normal trade
222, 227, 236. See also Iran; Non- relations status for China, 394; on
proliferation issues; Pakistan Tibet, 182; views during Clinton
Nye, Joseph S., Jr., 243–44, 259 administration, 162, 182, 194;
warning from FBI about Chinese
Obuchi, Keizo, 350–51 plans to influence U.S. elections,
Oehler, Gordon, 172 292
Oksenberg, Michel, 97, 98, 107, 248 Peña, Federico, 210
Olympic Games (2000), 169–70 Peng Ming-min, 260
Olympic Games (2008), 2 Peng Zhen, 19, 21, 48, 54, 62, 77, 302
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness People’s Liberation Army (PLA). See
Act of 1988, 120 Military, Chinese
548 index

Permanent normal trade relations students seeking freedom of speech,

(PNTR) status for China, 388, 32; U.S. support for, 64
392–99, 425 Public opinion, U.S.: of Bush for
Perot, H. Ross, 139, 154–55, 282 Chinese policy post-Tiananmen,
Perry, William: handling of 133; of China-U.S. relations, 398–
Taiwanese president’s travel, 215, 99; of Taiwan issue, 3, 437; of
216; at Liu meeting in U.S., 253; Tiananmen, 86–87
replaced by Cohen, 290; on Publishing industry, 154, 357, 418
response to Chinese missile tests
off of Taiwan, 251, 252, 255, 258; Qian Ning, 312
strategic view of Chinese, 250; visit Qian Qichen: accompanying Jiang on
to China, 209 U.S. visit, 323, 324; and alleged
Pickering, Thomas, 374–75 Chinese influence-peddling through
Pincus, Walter, 390 campaign contributions, 307, 308;
Piracy. See Intellectual property rights appointment as state councillor,
and Chinese violations 125–26; appointment to Politburo,
PLA. See Military, Chinese 137; attempts to set meeting
PNTR. See Permanent normal trade between Clinton and Jiang, 221;
relations (PNTR) status for China attitude toward U.S., 188, 217;
Podesta, John, 343, 366, 392 criticisms of, 207; and Gulf War,
Poland, 103 112–17; at Hong Kong handover,
Politburo Standing Committee: Jiang’s 315; on human rights issues, 181,
clear leadership role, 320; power 184–85, 193, 194, 195, 341–42; as
base for foreign policy, 429, 430; lead on foreign relations, 111, 264,
reconstituted to support Jiang, 137 286, 429, 430; meeting with
Political systems, comparison of, 6–9 Albright, 301; meeting with Baker,
Poneman, Daniel, 171, 175 96, 113, 114, 115, 117, 129–30,
Popular nationalism. See Nationalism 133; meeting with Bush, 113, 114–
in China 15; meeting with Bush secret envoy,
Powell, Colin, 156, 159 81; meeting with Christopher, 178,
Prisoners: disclosure of list of, 186, 184–85, 187, 231–33, 240, 267,
188, 196, 323; forced labor goods, 269, 278, 439; meeting with
131, 183, 196, 228–29, 329; Clinton, 210; meeting with Lake,
International Committee of Red 277; meeting with Nixon (1989),
Cross (ICRC) inspection, 181, 184, 97; on MFN status, 193; on
196, 311; release of, 184, 186, 193, military actions off of Taiwan, 252,
242, 277, 278. See also Human 256; preparation for Clinton visit
rights issues; Tiananmen Square to China, 343; and proliferation
events; specific detainees and issue, 267, 269, 317, 318, 322;
prisoners by name relationship with military, 208; on
Prueher, Joseph, 255, 257, 323, 401 Taiwan issues, 221, 225, 233, 385,
Public expression: China’s opening up, 399, 400–01, 403
418; and “four upholds,” 16, 17; Qiao Shi: as aged leader, 62;
freedom of press, 52, 432–33; involvement in Tiananmen and
index 549

student protests, 37, 39, 48; in on sales of arms, 143; on Executive

leadership positions, 54, 149, 152, Order conditioning MFN status,
319, 432; meetings with U.S. 168, 198; on human rights issues,
congressional leaders, 164; as rival 180, 184; on Lee Teng-hui’s
to Jiang, 303, 304, 319, 320; sent proposed visit to U.S., 215; on
to Romania, 105; on Taiwan Shattuck meeting with Wei, 186;
issues, 262 as U.S. ambassador to China,
Qin Benli, 76 129, 221
Qin Huasun, 175–76, 180 Rubin, Jamie, 348, 382
Qin Yaqing, 421 Rubin, Robert E., 156, 191, 192,
Qin Yongmin, 357 197, 367
Quayle, Dan, 23, 102 Rudman, Warren, 380
Rui Xingwen, 62, 72, 126
Radio Free Asia, 236 Russell, McKinney, 70
Reagan, Ronald, 24–25, 240, 427 Russian-Chinese relationship, 140,
Reno, Janet, 331, 379, 391 350. See also Soviet-Chinese
Ren Wanding, 116 relationship
Republic of China (ROC). See Taiwan
Riady, James, 330, 354 Safire, William, 139, 291
Riady, Mochtar, 288, 289, 330 Samore, Gary, 318, 343, 362
Ricchetti, Steve, 392 Sands, Lee, 249, 266, 271, 272, 273,
Richardson, Bill, 361, 389 274
Risen, James, 360–61, 389 Sanger, David, 243
Robb, Chuck, 215 Sasser, James R., 242, 316, 370, 371
Rohrabacher, Dana, 213 Satellites: Baker’s agreement to relax
Romania, 104–05 sanctions on, 131; explosion of
Romberg, Alan, 312, 343 Chinese rocket carrying U.S.-made
Romer, Roy, 293 satellite, 218, 351–52; launches by
Rong Yiren, 148 Chinese carrier rockets, 100, 208,
Rosenthal, A.M., 118, 268 351–54; Liu Chaoying’s efforts to
Ross, Robert, 246 gain favor for Chinese industry,
Roth, Stanley: background of, 192; 309, 353; report on missiles and
with Berger on China trip, 317; at problems shared with Chinese, 352;
Lake’s policy meetings on China, sale of U.S.-origin equipment
248; NSC role on China, 192, 312; prohibited for, 121, 173
resignation from NSC, 247; on Saudi Arabia, 139
Taiwan relations, 214, 215, 216 Schell, Orville, 50, 411
Rowen, Hobart, 118, 190 Schifter, Richard, 115, 116, 131
Roy, J. Stapleton: approval of invitees Schroeder, Patricia, 164
for G.H.W. Bush dinner in China, Schulz, William F., 342
25; on Baker meeting with Li Peng, Schwartz, Bernard, 353
130; on chemical weapon Schwartz, Eric, 193
shipments by China, 175, 176; on Scowcroft, Brent: appointment as
Chinese failing to honor agreement national security adviser, 24; on
550 index

Feng invitation to Bush dinner, 26– report on Chinese spying efforts,

27; on Qian’s meeting with Bush, 377–80; U.S. accusations against
114; relationship with Congress, China, 356, 368; U.S. Air Force
95, 96, 102; second mission to attachés expelled from China for,
China, 98–100, 101, 107; as secret 226, 236; Wen Ho Lee case, 360–
envoy to China, 79–83, 100; on 62, 388–91, 429
Tienanmen events, 63, 64, 66; on Starr, Kenneth, 287, 339, 356
U.S.-China relationship, 107 State-owned enterprises (SOEs), 337–
Sens, Andrew, 250, 251 38. See also Economic reforms
Shalikashvili, John, 251, 255, Steinberg, James B., 382, 393; as
256, 312 Berger’s deputy, 291, 305; on
Shanghai communiqué, 4, 435 human rights issues, 280, 341; on
Shattuck, John: on human rights Loral satellite licenses, 353;
issues, 180, 184, 280–81; on preparing for Clinton-Jiang
satisfying Executive Order on most summit, 344
favored nation status, 192, 196; Stephanopoulos, George, 343
trip to China, 185–86, 187 Stock markets, 147, 383. See also
Sha Zukang, 177 Asian financial crisis
Shelby, Richard, 292, 293 Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF),
Shelley, Christine, 184 201, 350, 381, 385
Shevardnadze, Edouard, 113 Strategic thinking on foreign relations,
Shirk, Susan, 312, 343, 374 419–22
Simon, Paul, 205 Student activism: and bombing of
Sioeng, Ted, 307, 330, 428 Chinese embassy in Belgrade, 370–
Slave labor issues. See Prisoners 71, 377; growth of, 14–18, 20;
Smith, Christopher, 356 hunger strike, 43–44, 48–49, 50;
Soderberg, Nancy R., 156, 158, 162, upon death of Hu, 28–33; U.S.
191, 234 legislation to allow Chinese
Solarz, Steven J., 65, 84 students to extend visas, 95–96,
Solomon, Gerald, 122, 275, 328 101. See also Tiananmen Square
Solomon, Richard, 63, 65, 79, Studying in America (Qian Ning), 312
111, 248 Su Ch’i, 381
Somalia, 160 Suettinger, Robert: on campaign
Song Ping, 37, 55, 72, 74, 90, 137 finance, 294–96; disclosing Chinese
Soong, James Chu-yu, 400, 403 visitors to White House, 291;
South Korea, 333, 338, 350 handling of Chung in Wu situation,
Soviet-Chinese relationship, 24, 28, 234–35; handling of Taiwanese
41–48, 94, 104; during collapse of president’s travel, 192, 216, 217;
USSR, 123, 126. See also Russian- on human rights and prisoners
Chinese relationship issues, 279, 280; at Liu meeting in
Specter, Arlen, 267 U.S., 253; role in foreign
Sperling, Gene, 386, 387 policymaking, 5, 192; on Taiwan
Spying: Chinese arrests of Chinese issue, 214, 247–51; trip to China
Americans, 413; Cox Committee with Lake, 276
index 551

Suisheng Zhao, 246, 264 American Affairs (CCNAA), 206;

Summers, Lawrence, 147, 359, 386 future trends, 441; lobbying
Sununu, John, 101, 102 Congress, 213; Policy Review
Sun Yuxi, 397 Directives, 205–07; Taipei
Sweeney, John, 394 Economic and Cultural
Representative Office (TECRO),
Taipei Economic and Cultural 206, 213; theater missile defense
Representative Office (TECRO), (TMD) proposal, 364, 401, 431;
206, 213, 219 U.S. support for, 7, 143, 253–60,
Taiwan, 200–263, 380–85; appeasing 348; weapon sales to Taiwan, 138–
China about U.S. treatment of, 44, 164, 356, 401, 431, 435, 436
231–38, 240; and Clinton Talbott, Strobe, 400
campaign contributions, 289; direct Tang Guoqiang, 326
investment in China, 417; GATT Tang Jiaxuan, 342, 343, 350,
entry sought by, 206; hackers 365, 401
attacking government websites, Tang Shubei, 404
383; independence and election Tarnoff, Peter: attempts to set meeting
victory of candidates for, 399–405, between Clinton and Jiang, 240; on
435, 437; investment in China, ending Chinese shipments to
201; military exercises near and Pakistan, 181; handing of Wu
threats of China against, 225–26, situation, 236; meeting with
236, 243, 244, 248, 249, 251–63, Chinese officials at APEC
383–84; presidential elections, 244– ministerial conference, 233; on
45, 246, 260, 261, 400, 402–03; Taiwan issues, 207, 216, 257, 258;
relations with mainland, 201–03, trip to China, 236–37; on U.S.
211–12, 222–45, 249, 350, 368, inability to provide international
380–85; United Nations admittance leadership, 160
sought by, 202, 349, 406; White Telecommunications, 415–16
Paper on Chinese position on, 399– Tenet, George, 294, 330, 362, 371
400. See also Lee Teng-hui; Teng Wensheng, 323
Military, Chinese Terrorism, effect on U.S.-China
Taiwan Relations Act, 200, 215, 258, relationship, 3, 417
355, 415, 435, 436, 437 Thatcher, Margaret, 313
Taiwan Security Enhancement Act Theater missile defense (TMD), 364,
(proposed), 383, 401 401, 431
Taiwan-United States relations: Thompson, Fred, 293, 329–30,
American public view of, 437; 397, 429
balance in relations with Taiwan Thornburgh, Richard, 242
and PRC, 3, 204, 210–21, 243–45, Tiananmen Papers (Nathan and Link),
262, 317, 381–84, 435–38; Chinese 410–13, 414
view of, 3, 245–46; congressional Tiananmen Square: ban on
resolutions and interests, 263, 349, demonstrations in, 408; celebration
355, 364, 383, 437, 438; in, of Hong Kong handover, 315–
Coordinating Council on North 16; controversy over Clinton arrival
552 index

ceremony in, 343; description of, prison-labor goods, 131, 183, 196,
fourteen years later, 2; Falun Gong 228–29, 329; sanctions for Chinese
clash in, 408 missile sales to Pakistan, 172–74;
Tiananmen Square events: American smuggling goods into China, 335–
reaction to, 63–68, 325, 413–14; 36; USTR concerns over Chinese
blamed on Western influences, 91; goods, 3, 132, 210, 245, 249, 265;
as catalyst for present U.S.-China website posting of USTR on
relationship, 13–14; Chinese negotiations, 367–68. See also
officials’ views on students in, 31– Barshefsky, Charlene; General
40; Chinese reaction to, 68–70, Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
411, 414; description decade later, (GATT); Kantor, Mickey; Most
12–13, 412; differences in Chinese favored nation (MFN) status of
and American views of, 347; Jiang China; World Trade Organization
questioned about while in U.S., (WTO)
325, 326; martial law declared, 50– Trie, Charlie Yah-lin: congressional
57, 64; petitions for redress of cases hearings and allegations about,
from, 185, 218; punishment of 330; conviction of, 355; fund-
dissidents after, 69, 90–91; quelling raising by, 289, 294; media
student uprising in, 1, 14, 57–63; coverage of, 428; refusal to testify,
release of prisoners from, 101, 109– 307; return of donations from, 293;
10, 165, 195; trials of dissidents ties to Clinton White House, 290,
from, 116–17; Western observers 295
on, 59; Zhao Ziyang letter calling Triplett, Bill, 294
for reversal of verdict on, 320 Trulock, Notra, 360–62, 379, 389
Tian Jiyun, 22, 149, 304 Truman, Harry S., 107
Tibet, 109, 182, 329, 347. See also Tung Chee Hwa, 314
Dalai Lama Tutwiler, Margaret, 101
Timmerman, Kenneth, 294 Tyler, Patrick, 184
Timperlake, Edward, 294
TMD. See Theater missile defense Uerkesh Daolet. See Wu’er Kaixi
Tomsen, Peter, 162 Union opposition to permanent
Torricelli, Robert, 213, 215 normal trade relations status for
Trade Act of 1974, 107–08, 392 China, 393–94
Trade Agreements Extension Act of United Kingdom and Hong Kong,
1951, 107 313–15
Trade issues: Chinese purchase of U.S. United Nations: Bush and Li Peng
goods in connection with Jiang visit meeting at, 133–34; condemnation
to U.S., 323; Clinton-Jiang summit of NATO bombing of Kosovo
to discuss, 346; Omnibus Trade (Chinese proposal), 393; World
and Competitiveness Act of 1988, Conference on Women (Beijing),
120; permanent normal trade 233–34, 237, 239; covenants on
relations (PNTR) status for China, human rights, 311, 319, 322, 341,
388, 392–99, 425; piracy issues, 342, 357; Gulf War (1990), 111–
120, 131, 132, 214, 245, 249, 265; 13; resolution critical of Chinese
index 553

human rights, 169, 218, 249, 311, (MFN), 107. See also Soviet-
340, 357; Taiwan seeking entrance Chinese relationship
to, 202, 349, 406 U.S. Trade Representative. See
United States-China Act of 1991 Barshefsky, Charlene; Kantor,
(proposed), 119, 122, 134 Mickey; Trade issues
United States-China relationship:
Afghanistan strategic relationship
Vance, Cyrus, 155, 190, 395
of, 41–42; American opinion on, 3–
Voice of America, 70, 109, 196
4, 133, 398–99; Berger’s policy on,
306–07; Bush (G.H.W.) policy, 23–
28, 63–68, 79–83, 111–22, Wang Dan: on business climate in
129–34, 143–44, 425, 439; Bush China, 147; detention of at time of
(G.W.) policy, 417–18; Chinese Christopher’s visit, 187; on human
opinion on, 3–4; Clinton policy, rights issues, 185; on Olympics
159–60, 164–94, 227, 385–409, (2000) in China, 170; organizing
425, 439; congressional approach commemoration of Hu, 29; release
to, 328–31, 425–26; engagement, of, 165, 279, 341–42, 345; at
communication, and management, Tiananmen, 36, 49, 55, 57, 60; trial
438–40; event-driven relations, and sentencing of, 116, 280–81
434–38; and F-16 sale to Taiwan, Wang Daohan, 74, 75, 201, 220, 350,
138–44, 164; future trends, 440– 381, 403
42; Gulf War, 111–17; Wang Hongwen. See Gang of Four
interbureaucratic politicking of, Wang Jisi, 438
426–27, 430; and military exercises Wang Jun, 290, 295
off of Taiwan, 251–63; mistakes Wang Juntao, 57, 71, 116, 193
characterizing, 6, 422–24; Wang Ke, 241
nationalism in China, effect of, Wang Renzhi, 124
285–87, 306, 415, 433–34; Wang Ruilin, 189, 241
National Security Council in Wang Ruowang, 18
leadership role, 426–27; negative Wang Xizhe, 165
stereotypes, 4; strategic partnership Wang Youcai, 357
concept for, 317, 318, 325, 398, Wang Zhaoguo, 224, 264
422; strategic thinking on, 419–22. Wang Zhen: as aged leader, 54, 62,
See also Most favored nation 129; death of, 148, 302;
(MFN) status of China; Taiwan- involvement in Tiananmen and
United States relations; Trade student protests, 48; relationship
issues; specific presidents with Deng, 21, 77
Universities: conditions at, 1; entrance Wan Li, 22, 53, 54, 55, 62, 65, 149
exams and liberalization of Watson, Bobby, 234
curriculum, 15; punishing dissidents Waxman, Henry, 331
at, 90; rooting out demonstrators Weapons. See Military technology;
from, 123. See also Student activism Non-proliferation issues; Nuclear
USSR: collapse of, 103–07, 123, 126, weapons
415–16; most favored nation status Wei Jianxing, 320, 412
554 index

Wei Jingsheng: arrest of, 21, 187, 189, World War II bomber found in China,
193; attacks on Deng by, 16; Fang 284
calling for release of, 26; on human Wu Bangguo, 210
rights issues, 182, 185, 186; Wu’er Kaixi, 30, 49, 55, 56, 57,
meeting with Shattuck, 186, 188; 60, 123
release of, 170, 242, 245, 279, 319, Wu, Harry, 228–31, 233–37
323, 340–41; trial of, 242 Wu, Peter Hongda, 229, 236. See also
Wen Ho Lee, 288, 360–62, 379, 388– Wu, Harry
91, 429 Wu Xinbo, 348
Wen Jiaboa, 320 Wu Xueqian, 27, 81
Weymouth, Lally, 172 Wu Yi, 132, 321
Whitehead, John, 231
Wiedemann, Kent: arranging Qian’s Xiao Gongqin, 371
U.S. visit, 114; China policy during Xiao Rong. See Deng Rong
Clinton first term, 178, 192; Xinhua (New China) News Agency: on
handling of Taiwanese president’s APEC meeting of Clinton and
travel, 217, 219; as Lord’s deputy, Jiang, 210; on Chinese sales of
162; on Taiwan relations, 214; visit arms, 133; on Clinton scandals,
to China, 165–66 356; on Deng’s death, 299;
Will, George, 99 involvement in Tiananmen, 49; on
Willow Oaks conference, 251–60 Lee’s speeches about Taiwan, 220,
Wilson, Pete, 102 381; on PLA exercises off of
Wiriadinata, Arief, 289 Taiwan, 225; as source of foreign
Wiriadinata, Soraya, 289 affairs information, 9; on Taiwan
Wisner, Frank, 159 election of Chen, 403, 405. See also
Wolf, Frank, 328, 396 Media, Chinese
Wolfowitz, Paul, 67 Xiong Guangkai, 225, 244, 246, 248,
Wood, James C., Jr., 289 365, 430
Woodward, Robert, 291, 292, 307 Xu Jiatun, 39–40
Woolsey, James R., 156, 290 Xu Qinxian, 51
World Bank: on Chinese economy, Xu Weicheng, 124
147, 153; lending to China, 101, Xu Wenli, 165, 357
104, 145, 229; Taiwan’s possible Xu Xiangqian, 53
entry to, 349
World Trade Organization (WTO): Yang Baibing, 89, 128, 135–36, 223
agreement with U.S. on Chinese Yang Jiechi, 141, 318, 323
entry, 386–88; China’s desire for Yang Shangkun: as aged leader, 62;
entry, 245, 284, 308, 318, 363–69, and economic reforms, 126; on
430; criticism of U.S. role in helping human rights, 28; involvement in
China gain entry, 362; and Tiananmen and student protests,
permanent normal trade relations 33, 37, 39, 40, 47–48, 51, 54, 58,
status for China, 392–99; renewed 59; meeting with Nixon (1989), 97;
push for Chinese entry, 359–60; political dealings of, 21, 50;
stall on Chinese entry, 339 promotion after Tiananmen, 89;
index 555

removal from military post, 135– Zhang Zhen, 223, 224, 225, 241, 300,
36, 148, 150, 223, 302; support for 302, 336
Deng, 77, 128, 130, 135; Western Zhao Haiching, 164
press speculating on, 218 Zhao Ziyang: American view of, 64;
Yang Side, 224 appointment as general secretary,
Yan Jiaqi, 123 21; appointment as premier of State
Yan Mingfu: involvement with Council, 19; criticized by Deng and
Tiananmen and student activists, others, 21, 54, 90, 91, 92, 106; and
43, 44, 47; purged from party economic reform, 22–23, 78, 92,
leadership, 62, 72; rehabilitation 124, 127, 128, 145, 146; house
of, 126 arrest of, 50; involvement in
Yao Wenyuan. See Gang of Four Tiananmen and student protests,
Yao Yilin: as aged leader, 62; criticism 31, 35, 37–40, 42, 43–44, 46, 47–
of Zhao, 47; dropped from 48, 49–50; letter calling for review
Politburo Standing Committee, of Tiananmen events, 320, 345;
137; economic policy of, 23, 92– meeting with G.H.W. Bush, 28;
93, 124; involvement in Tiananmen purged from leadership position,
and student protests, 39, 40; 62, 72, 78, 137–38; refusal to
resignation of, 127; as supporter of accept party’s criticism, 73, 123;
Chen, 90, 127 refused permission to attend Deng’s
Ye Jianying, 19 funeral, 302; Western press
Yeltsin, Boris, 124, 126, 350 speculating on, 218
Yin He (Chinese container-ship), 174– Zhou Duo, 60
77, 422 Zhou Enlai, 54, 73, 129, 420
Yong Deng, 420 Zhou Wenzhong, 230
Younts, Richard, 147 Zhu Bangzao, 412
You Xigui, 323 Zhu Qizhen, 26, 114, 121, 141
Yuan Mu, 36 Zhu Rongji: and alleged Chinese
Yugoslavia, 160, 363–64, 366. See influence-peddling through
also Belgrade campaign contributions, 308, 368;
background of, 331–32; and
Zangger Committee, 318 bombing of Chinese embassy in
Zeng Qinghong, 320, 323, 349 Belgrade, 371; crackdown on
Zhang Chunqiao. See Gang of Four corruption by, 336; criticism of,
Zhang Dezhen, 373 319, 369; at death of Deng, 300;
Zhang Liang, 410–13 and economic reforms, 128, 150,
Zhang Wannian: added to Politburo, 151–52, 331–39, 384; on Falun
320; commanding military exercises Gong, 408; Gore’s eagerness to
near Taiwan, 243, 259, 262, 384; establish relationship with, 297; as
cooperating with Jiang after death of mayor of Shanghai, 75, 332;
Deng, 300, 302; at Hong Kong meeting with Albright, 365;
handover, 315; military role of, 225, meeting with Gingrich, 298;
241, 337; need to be tough with meeting with Nixon (1989), 97;
U.S., 207; on Taiwan issues, 402 relationship with Jiang, 75–76,
556 index

125, 137, 150, 319, 332; on spying April 1999, 363–69; on WTO entry
accusations, 368; on Taiwan issues, of China, 359, 363–69, 386, 387,
402; as vice premier of State 406, 430
Council, 125, 148; visit to U.S. in Zou Jiahua, 125, 195
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