|
China Under Cover
Monday, September 2, 2002; Page A22
AFEW DAYS AGO a leading AIDS activist in China
disappeared. In many countries, such an event might
prompt worries about the activist's health or fears of
foul play. In China, the assumption is that Wan Yanhai
has been put in prison for being too truthful about
the AIDS catastrophe facing the country. Nor does it
surprise anyone that police might spirit Dr. Wan off
to jail without bothering to let anyone know.
It's worth keeping this incident in mind for a couple
of reasons as the Bush administration establishes
closer relations with China's Communist regime.
President Bush has extended one of his coveted ranch
invitations to President Jiang Zemin, who will visit
next month. The U.S. government recently delighted
Chinese officials by labeling a small separatist
organization in western China as terrorist, apparently
in gratitude for China promising -- yet again -- to
crack down on missile-technology exports. And Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage, visiting China
recently, extolled the "mutual trust and confidence"
between the two governments.
What gives Mr. Bush such trust and confidence in a
regime that is so impenetrably secretive? It's not
only on the street-level that China's Communists feel
no need to account to their people -- on the level of
disappearing dissidents and burned-down churches and
tortured Falun Gong practitioners -- but on the
biggest questions as well. China is believed to be
approaching, in November, a change of power in which
Mr. Jiang, 76, will give way to Vice President Hu
Jintao, 59 -- but, then again, maybe not. Maybe Mr.
Jiang is maneuvering to hold onto power, if not his
official title -- or, again, maybe not. Outside a tiny
elite, no one knows; nor is anyone clear on whether
Mr. Jiang and Mr. Hu hold different positions on
important issues. Yet the fates of 1.2 billion
Chinese, not to mention the nature of their relations
with the rest of the world, depend on these opaque
maneuverings.
The East Turkestan Islamic Movement may indeed be a
terrorist organization, as Mr. Armitage maintained.
But when China seizes on the designation as further
justification to arrest and imprison peaceful Muslims
in western China who want more religious freedom or
cultural autonomy, how loudly will the United States
protest? For China's rulers, Rebiya Kadeer, a
businesswoman sentenced in March 2000 to eight years
in prison for sending newspaper clippings to her
husband in the United States, is also a terrorist. And
given its secrecy and media control, how much trust or
confidence can there be in the regime's descriptions
of violent Muslim separatism in its western regions?
The other striking conclusion that emerges from Dr.
Wan's disappearance, aside from the atmosphere of
secrecy, is how shortsighted are the regime's policies.
Facing the risk of an Africa-style AIDS crisis that
could decimate its population and economy, any
forward-looking government would welcome the efforts
of such activists. But Mr. Jiang and his cronies care
more about their reputations. News of an AIDS
catastrophe in China, after all, might spoil a
friendly Crawford barbecue.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
|
