[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 17, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        U.S. VISIT BY GENERAL XU

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, let me express my appreciation for being 
allowed to interject into this debate. I wanted to make comments with 
regard to the visit of General Xu to Washington, DC. And I rise because 
I think this is a matter that freedom-loving people around the world 
have a right to be concerned about.
  General Xu arrived in Washington yesterday. He is attending meetings 
at the Pentagon, our Pentagon, both today and tomorrow. After leaving 
Washington, he will travel as a guest of our Defense Department to tour 
our Naval and Air Force facilities. General Xu will then visit the U.S. 
Naval Academy in Annapolis and will conclude his trip with a stop in 
Hawaii, meeting with the U.S. Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific.
  Mr. President, according to the Defense Department press release, on 
August 15 General Xu will be met upon his arrival at the Pentagon by 
our Secretary of Defense Perry, who will host an honor cordon.
  An honor cordon is literally a red carpet arrival ceremony in General 
Xu's honor.
  Who is this general that we honor? General Xu fought with the Chinese 
and the North Koreans in their invasion of South Korea. He has held the 
No. 2 position in the Communist Chinese army since 1987. And even 
though he is No. 2 in the army, he is considered by many Chinese 
experts to be the most powerful officer in the Chinese People's 
Liberation Army. He literally has day-to-day responsibility for the PLA 
operations, and has primary responsibility for the People's Liberation 
Army plans with regard to Taiwan and Hong Kong. He was the primary 
drafter of the Chinese defense law.
  Mr. President, we are trained from the time we are children to be 
gracious as hosts, to welcome visitors to our home and our country. But 
this individual, General Xu, is one of those who bears primary 
responsibility for ordering the Tiananmen Square massacre of peaceful 
Chinese prodemocracy demonstrators.
  Mr. President, to welcome into this country the Butcher of Beijing, 
to literally roll out the red carpet at the Pentagon for someone who 
masterminded the slaughter of innocent children in Tiananmen Square 
when they spoke out for democracy, is an outrage. It is a mark of shame 
upon everyone associated with this kind of ceremony.
  I have enormous respect for our Secretary of Defense, and I cannot 
believe that he would be comfortable with this decision if he were 
familiar with General Xu's background and past. It is an almost 
unparalleled flip-flop of policy. The President of the United States 
said this in ``Putting People First.''

       We will condition favorable trade terms with repressive 
     regimes--such as China's Communist regime--on respect for 
     human rights, political liberalization, and responsible 
     international conduct.

  How do you square this red-carpet welcome of the Butcher of Beijing 
with that statement? Mr. President, you cannot do it. This Nation is 
entitled to have our leaders act respectfully toward foreign leaders. I 
have no question about that. But to roll out the red carpet for the 
Butcher of Beijing, when we have just gotten through refusing to allow 
the democratically elected President of Taiwan even to stay overnight 
in this country, is incredible.
  Over 20 major U.S. newspapers have editorialized in favor of allowing 
President Lee, the President of Taiwan, to visit, including the New 
York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street 
Journal, the Rocky Mountain News, and the Baltimore Sun. To welcome to 
this country with a red carpet the Butcher of Beijing and to refuse to 
allow the democratically elected President of Taiwan to stay overnight 
is the kind of foreign policy I do not understand, and I do not think 
the American people understand. It is duplicitous and it adds shame 
where there should be honor.
  Mr. President, more important than anything else, we need to be true 
to ourselves in the conduct of foreign policy. The Butcher of Beijing 
does not deserve the red-carpet treatment, and our friend in Taiwan, 
who stands side by side with us, does not deserve to be prohibited from 
visiting.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________