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3. That said, Shattuck seemed to regard the visit as a satisfactory first step in a new US/CHINA human rights dialogue, which was itself, he said, part of a wider bilateral "re-engagement". He had given the Chinese a much clearer idea than hitherto about the areas in which the US expected progress, namely:
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Release of political prisoners. Shattuck had handed over
List of around 250 names, with additional lists of those
with medical problems and religious prisoners. He had not given the Chinese numerical targets, but made clear that the numbers of releases from the Lists would be seen as an
important yardstick of progress. The US expected a significant proportion to be freed.
Honest accounting of prisoners. The US wanted China to acknowledge the true number of those detained for counter-revolutionary offences, and give names.
Better access to prisoners, for example by the Red Cross.
- An easing of repression in Tibet, including the release of prisoners. Shattuck had handed over a separate List of 100 Tibetans who had been detained for political offences this year. Again, the US would regard the number of those released from the list as a measure of progress.
Shattuck's responses to questions also suggested that the Administration attached less importance to some of the other issues covered by the President's Executive Order. He did not for example think that Chinese birth control policy would feature strongly in the President's eventual decision, unless there were new revelations of abuses in this area.
4. The Chinese response to Shattuck's approach had been carefully measured. He had been received courteously enough and given reasonable though not spectacular access (e.g. Vice Minister Liu Huagiu at the MFA). A Last minute request to visit Drapchi Prison in Tibet had been granted. The Chinese had told him for the record they regarded the US demands as infringement of sovereignty, but that nevertheless, as a sign of their commitment to improving US/CHINA relations, they were
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