|
¡@
US diplomat praises Wen Jiabao¡¦s calls
for reform
¡¥MOST IMPORTANT¡¦:The US ambassador to China said US
President Barack Obama saw bilateral relations with China as key because they
affect almost everything
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter, with AP,
BEIJING
Getting the US-China relationship right will ¡§take a generation¡¨ through mutual
understanding of young generations on both sides, US Ambassador to China Jon
Huntsman told a town hall meeting in Beijing yesterday.
The ambassador¡¦s presentation was seen in Taipei via Web cast at an event
co-hosted by the US-based National Committee on US-China Relations and the
American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei.
In his introduction, Huntsman said US President Barack Obama defined the
relationship between the US and China as ¡§the most important bilateral
relationship in the world,¡¨ as it goes beyond simple bilateral issues and has an
impact on all corners of the world.
Forty years ago, when then-US national security adviser Henry Kissinger made his
breakthrough visit to China, followed by then-US president Richard Nixon¡¦s visit
in 1972 and again in 2001, China was ¡§preparing to enter the world,¡¨ Huntsman
said. ¡§China is now on the world stage.¡¨
Despite some progress being made, the US and China have a long way to go to work
out major disagreements ¡X which includes some of the biggest issues of our time,
Huntsman said.
Huntsman said he had complete faith and confidence that the young generations on
both sides would be able to understand each other to get the US-China
relationships right.
¡§I can¡¦t imagine the kinds of conversations that I have on college campuses
today with young kids taking place 20, 30, 40 years ago,¡¨ he said.
Asked if the US government had any plans to pressure Beijing to release Chinese
dissident Liu Xiaobao (¼B¾åªi), who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, from prison
and his wife, Liu Xia (¼BÁø), from house arrest, Huntsman was evasive.
That Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Prize was a very important gesture for
freedom and democracy because he is a symbol of the democratic movement in
China, he said.
¡§I have met his wife and we have [had] many conversations. What¡¦s interesting is
today¡¦s environment. She has access to a computer and she has been sending out
messages. People can read about it,¡¨ he said.
Huntsman said the award¡¦s long-term impact on China was difficult to know, but
he was confident that in a country with 400 million Internet users and tens of
millions of bloggers, things would change.
Despite tight Web censorship, Huntsman noted that Chinese bloggers manage to
share information online and debate politically sensitive issues, including Liu
Xiaobo¡¦s Nobel.
¡§Although blocked from time to time, messages still get through ... They¡¦re out
there pushing the envelope in ways that never would have been imagined in years
past,¡¨ he said. ¡§Now where this goes and what it all means in terms of further
loosening up, I am not in a position to be able to say.¡¨
¡§The important thing is that we stay engaged and keep our communication alive
and well,¡¨ he said.
Huntsman said he was heartened by a recent speech by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
(·Å®aÄ_) in which he spoke positively about expanding democratic rights and freedom
of speech.
¡§There¡¦s a dynamic of change that is occurring here,¡¨ Huntsman said in response
to an online viewer¡¦s question about whether US engagement with China should be
scaled back because of Beijing¡¦s slow pace of political reform.
Huntsman said he had observed a freer flow of information in China than in the
past, as well as positive signals from top leaders such as Wen.
¡§It¡¦s hard to know exactly where it goes or what it means to democracy as
defined by Americans,¡¨ Huntsman said. ¡§But in terms of the level of mobility,
the flexibility, having a premier come out recently and talk about freedom and
democracy in terms that I¡¦ve never heard before ... Something is happening here
that is quite interesting.¡¨
¡@
|
