Leadership Breakfast with Chinese President Jiang Zemin
At the leadership breakfast meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin this morning, I expressed my hope for a brilliant future with the Chinese people, diplomatically, politically, economically, culturally and in every way. That can only happen when the Chinese government respects its own people, honoring the guarantees of its own constitution and the universal principles of human rights.
In regard to religious freedom, I presented President Jiang with a letter from the exiled Bishop of Shanghai, Ignatius Cardinal Kung. In this letter Cardinal Kung appeals to President Jiang in the name of eight million Roman Catholic faithful and clergy in China to defend the rights of Chinese citizens to true religious freedom. Cardinal Kung also calls for the release Bishop Su Zhimin, Bishop Han Ding Xiang, Bishop Zeng Jingmu and all other faithful and clergy who are being held in detention camps, labor camps and jails in China.
On the issue of human rights, I told President Jiang that: ‘Now that you have consolidated your power, I hope you will release Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan, and the other prisoners of conscience.' I then gave him a list of prisoners.
In addition to religious and human rights, I expressed my concerns about China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
President Jiang denied there was any repression of religious and human rights in China and Tibet, and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen denied that his government had ever proliferated weapons of mass destruction.
I would characterize the meeting as cordial. President Jiang was evasive. It is what I expected. President Jiang was not going to admit to violating the human and religious rights of his people and the people of Tibet. He was not going to admit to proliferating weapons of mass destruction. But despite his evasiveness, and the duplicity of his government, I believe the American people know the truth. They can see through this barrage of lies.
Att: Cardinal Kung Letter; List of Prisoners
