| COMMUNITY |
| Message Boards Chat Feedback |
| SITE SOURCES |
| Contents Help! Search CNN Networks |
| SPECIALS |
| Quick News Almanac Video Vault News Quiz |
 |
Clinton to China this summer
Chinese say they'll sign human rights treaty
In this story:
March 12, 1998
- Human rights in China to come up next week in Geneva
- Trip pushed up from fall to summer
- Related sites and stories
Web posted at: 9:30 p.m. EST (0230 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bill Clinton is planning to visit China in late June or early July, the first trip there by a U.S. leader since the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
While no firm date has been set, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Thursday that a mid-summer trip to China "is something that's seriously under consideration."
And in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese officials announced that they would sign the U.N.'s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty that would commit China's communist government to principles such as freedoms of expression and religion.
Human rights in China to come up next week in Geneva
The announcement came one week before the annual meeting of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission in Geneva, which will discuss human rights violations in China and other countries. China's decision was hailed as a positive step in Washington.
"It's a very significant development that will ensure a regularized process under international law for shining the spotlight on the abuses of human rights that we have long talked about in China," said State Department spokesman James Rubin.
"By announcing its intention to sign the covenant, China has indicated in more concrete terms than ever before that it accepts the universality of human rights," McCurry said.
The United States has not yet decided whether it will sign on to a resolution in Geneva condemning China's human rights practices, and U.S. officials say Thursday's announcement could have an impact on that decision.
But on Capitol Hill, U.S. senators were sending China a different message, voting 95 to 5 in favor of a resolution urging Clinton to push for a U.N. resolution condemning China "for its human rights abuses in China and Tibet."
Trip pushed up from fall to summer
Clinton's trip to China has originally been planned for the fall. But sources familiar with internal planing for the trip said there were strong differences within the administration over whether the trip should proceed in the fall or be moved up to avoid November's congressional election.
If it proceeds in late June, the trip will also come right after Clinton is scheduled to testify in Paula Jones' sexual harassment suit against him.
The White House strategy for deflecting Jones' allegations has been to show Clinton absorbed in official duties -- an image that could be strengthened by having him attend an important summit immediately after the trial.
But McCurry strongly denied speculation that the Jones trial played any role in moving up the China trip.
"It has nothing to do with that," he said. "It has everything to do with one of the most important relationships that we maintain on the face of this Earth."
McCurry said Clinton "had a number of reasons" for changing the date of the summit, including trying to "keep momentum in this relationship that has been progressing because of the exchange of high-level leaders and delegations."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- China's 'boss' being promoted to premier - March 9, 1998
- Albright says China's Jiang 'a reformer' - October 26, 1997
- Jiang urges China move closer to capitalism - September 12, 1997
- A CNN interview with President Jiang Zemin - May 9, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards & chat |
|
© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.