Chinese lectured on freedom and God

Press, 1 May 1984, Page 10

Chinese lectured on freedom and God

NZPA-Reuter Shanghai President Ronald Reagan called on China yesterday to play down differences with the United States over Taiwan and focus instead on peace and economic progress in the Pacific. Mr Reagan made his appeal at Fudan University, in Shanghai, at the end of a four-day visit to Peking and talks marked by strong objections by Chinese leaders to the United States arms sales to Taiwan.

Mr Reagan also lectured the Chinese again on the virtues of democracy and belief in God, despite the refusal of the State-con-trolled Chinese news media to report similar sentiments he voiced in speeches in Peking. Mr Reagan’s meetings with Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders led to agreements to strengthen Sino-American bilateral relations, notably with an agreement under which China will be able to buy nuclear reactors worth billions of dollars from American firms if the accord is approved by Congress. But the talks failed to resolve differences on Taiwan. Mr Reagan refused to end the arms sales or turn his back on “old friends.”

Mr Deng told Mr Reagan on Saturday that National-ist-ruled Taiwan remained the key issue in Sino-Ameri-can relations.

He said that China was doing all it could to achieve peaceful reunification with the island, which Peking considers a rebel province, and he hoped that Washing-

ton would do nothing which might impede the process. At Fudan University Mr Reagan called China a friend with whom the United States had developed close relations since President Richard Nixon visited Peking in 1972 to end more than 20 years of separation and hostility. “It (friendship) will flourish if we remember certain things,” he said in what American officials described as a reference to Taiwan.

“We must never exaggerate our problems nor overstate them. We must never exaggerate our difficulties or sound alarms for small reasons. “We must remember that it is a delicate thing to oppose the wishes of a friend — and when we are forced to do so, we must be understanding of each other.” In his latest comments about Democracy and belief in God, which he said were the foundations of American society, Mr Reagan was once again giving the Chinese people a sample of the political rhetoric and missionary zeal that has been a hallmark of his term of office and is being carried into his re-election campaign. The refusal of the Chinese news media to carry sections of his speeches in Peking did not deter Mr Reagan from saying yesterday that, “We believe in the dignity of each man, woman and child ... of his special right to make his own decisions and lead his own life.

“I draw your special at-

tention to what I am about to say because it is so important to an understanding of my country ...” he said.

Quoting the Declaration of Independence, Mr Reagan said, “We believe — and we believe it so deeply that Americans know these words by heart — we believe that, ‘all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness .. ’ “We elect our Government from the vote of the people ... we say of our country, ‘here the people rule’ — and it is so.

“There is one other part of our national character I wish to fepeak of. Religion and faith are very important to us.”

Summing up his visit and Mr Nixon’s breakthrough, Mr Reagan said, “The silence between our governments has ended. Now our relationship is maturing and we are at the point where we can build the basis for a lasting friendship.” Earlier in Peking Mr Reagan and Chinese leaders signed four agreements and protocols and initialled a pact on nuclear co-opera-tion.

The Chinese Premier, Mr Zhao Ziyang, told Mr Reagan at the signing ceremony, at the Great Hall of the People, that the accords had marked significant achievements in the development of Sino-United States co-operation. Apart from the nuclear pact, opening the way for

United States companies to bid for contracts worth billions of dollars to help China’s ambitious nuclear energy programme, the agreements concerned:

® Avoidance of double taxation of United States companies doing business with China.

@ Cultural exchange programme for 1984 and 1985. ® Co-operation in management of industrial science and technology. @ Co-operation in scientific and technical information.

Mr Zhao, who was accompanied at the ceremony by the Head of State, Mr Li Xiannian, announced that several other important agreements were being negotiated but did not give details.

Mr Reagan and his wife, Nancy, went sightseeing at one of China’s most spectacular archaeological sites on Sunday. Mr Reagan posed for photographers beside ranks of terracotta warrior-sta-tues after flying to Xian to view what the Chinese call the world’s largest excavated military museum.

A monument to a brutal ruler called Qin Shi Huangdi, the terracotta warriors and their steeds guarding Qin’s 2200-year-old tomb were discovered in 1974 and are one of the country’s most famous tourist attractions. The ghostly figures were deployed around the tomb by the eccentric emperor to guard his mortal remains. They are now sheltered by a giant structure that resembles an aircraft hangar.