CONFIDENTIAL
067376
ME AN 1412
THE PRIME MINISTER NOTED THIS POLITELY.
HUMAN RIGHTS.
10. THE VISIT TOOK PLACE IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE FAILED COUP IN THE SOVIET UNION. THE PRIME MINISTER HAD RAISED THE QUESTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS COURTEOUSLY BUT FIRMLY. HE HAD ACCEPTED THAT WE AND THE CHINESE HELD DIFFERENT VIEWS. BUT THE VIEWS HE EXPRESSED WERE GENERALLY SHARED IN THE WEST. HE WANTED TO RAISE THE ISSUE CONSTRUCTIVELY AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A GENERAL TREND TOWARDS GREATER DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY. THE PRIME MINISTER THEN RAISED THE QUESTION OF THE TREATMENT OF RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS IN TIBET, THE QUESTION OF FOUR HONG KONG RESIDENTS DETAINED FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITY (LI RESPONDED THAT ONE, LUO HAIXING, WOULD BE RELEASED SHORTLY ON MEDICAL GROUNDS). HE HAD THEN MENTIONED FIVE OTHER TIANANMEN DETAINEES BY NAME (WANG JUNTAO, CHEN ZIMING, REN WANDING, BAO ZUNXIN, LIU GANG AND WANG DAN) AND HAD PASSED ON OTHER CONCERNS PUT TO HIM BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. HE HAD ALSO MENTIONED A LETTER FROM A VETERAN LABOUR MP URGING BETTER RELATIONS WITH CHINA BUT ASKING HIM TO RAISE HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.
11. LI HAD RESPONDED IN LOW KEY AND WITHOUT ANGER. HE HAD
MENTIONED A LETTER FROM A CHINESE HISTORIAN LAMENTING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD SUMMER PALACE BY BRITISH AND FRENCH TROOPS IN 1860 AND THE OCCUPATION OF PEKING BY FOREIGN FORCES IN 1900. CHINA HAD DIFFERENT HUMAN RIGHTS CRITERIA AS DID OTHER ASIANS AND MUSLIMS. MANY VISITORS HANDED OVER LISTS. CHINA ACCEPTED THEM BUT AS MANY AS HALF OR TWO THIRDS OF THE PEOPLE ON THEM TURNED OUT NOT TO EXIST. CHINA WOULD TAKE THE BRITISH LIST AND CHECK. THE PRIME MINISTER HAD GONE OVER THE GROUND AGAIN REMINDING CHINA OF RELEVANT UN INSTRUMENTS AND THE CONCERN
OF CHINA'S FRIENDS AT HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS.
OTHER MEETINGS.
12. I SAID THAT THE MEETINGS WITH YANG SHANGKUN AND JIANG ZEMIN
HAD NOT INVOLVED SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION. YANG AND JIANG HAD LARGELY CONFINED THEMSELVES TO REMARKS ABOUT COOPERATION ON HONG KONG AND BILATERAL RELATIONS. YOUR SEPARATE DISCUSSION WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN QICHEN HAD COVERED BILATERAL ISSUES, INCLUDING HONG KONG, CONSULAR CASES, COMMERCIAL MATTERS AS WELL AS INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. ON THE QUESTION OF THE NEW UN SECRETARY- GENERAL, QIAN HAD SAID THAT CHINA SUPPORTED THE PRINCIPLE OF AN
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