    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [May 27, 1991]
    [Pages 565-568]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Yale University Commencement Ceremony in New Haven,
    Connecticut
    May 27, 1991

        Thank you very, very much. President Schmidt and members of the
    faculty, and the Yale community, fellows of the Yale Corporation, and
    especially with congratulations to my fellow honorands, it is an honor
    to be here today. Mayor Daniels, it's nice to be back in the city. And
    most importantly, to the graduating students, congratulate each and
    every one of you. May I single out Yale's band. They've cleaned up for
    today, and they've never been better under Mr. Tom Duffy. Thank you,
    sir. And thank you for the warm welcome. Si res prehensio en cano est
    non oves sic vacio. That means, if you're holding up the sign, you can't
    throw eggs. [Laughter]
        I remember my own commencement. Like so many of my classmates, I'd
    come to Yale fresh from war, ready to make up for ``lost time.'' I
    remember our impatience and our optimism. And we sensed upcoming
    adventure. I imagine it's the same today for all of you. It's almost as
    if life is about to begin, that is, if the commencement speech ever
    ends. [Laughter]
        Twenty-nine years ago, President Kennedy stood right here, and my
    dad was honored with him. And he said, ``I have the best of all worlds:
    a Yale degree and a Harvard education.'' [Laughter] He had it wrong.
    I've got the best of all worlds: a Yale education and a Yale degree.
        My day was no different. There's an excitement in the air. And
    Barbara and I spent a good part of our senior year thinking about,
    literally, becoming farmers. We talked about life on the land and rising
    early and working hard and raising a crop and a family. And we looked
    into the finances of running a farm. In the end, we decided against the
    whole idea. We realized that when it came to pigs and chickens and
    cattle or corn, we didn't know the first thing about farming.
        So, of course, there was only one alternative: I went west and
    became an oilman. [Laughter] The very day after the ceremony like this
    one, I traded the familiar surroundings of this beautiful old campus for
    the dust and grit and searing heat of the Lone Star State.
        Odessa, Texas, became my world. And yet, far beyond 37 Hillhouse
    Avenue where Barbara and I lived or the Flatlands of West Texas, change
    rocked the whole world in ways that would affect us all for more than 40
    years. On June 20th, 1948--my graduation day--the United Nations sent
    out its first peacekeeping force, 49 men from the United States and 6
    other nations, to bring the promise of peace to the Middle East. And on
    that day, the Soviet Union tried to clamp down on the free sectors of
    Berlin. The Berlin blockade had begun. And on

    [[Page 566]]

    that day, Congress, after an all-night session, passed a bill to help
    the nations of war-torn Europe. That package would become known, as we
    all know, as the Marshall plan.
        Today's world--your world--is every bit as astonishing. Back in my
    day, opportunity knocked. And yours, your pager beeps.
        We have seen in 2 short years the end of a long era of cold war and
    conflict. The Iron Curtain collapsed--it's gone, the wall is down--and
    with it the myth of an ideology called communism. On the barren ground
    that once separated East and West, the democratic idea sprouted anew.
        As a nation, we can take great pride in this triumph. It vindicates
    more than 40 years of American vigilance--a lesson learned on the
    battlefields of Europe and the seas of the South Pacific--that this
    nation could no longer pursue a policy of ``splendid isolation.''
        The democratic renaissance in Central and Eastern Europe, the
    blossoming of democracy here in the Americas, the emerging consensus on
    the African Continent that democracy is the road to development, none of
    this would have taken place if America had turned inward, away from the
    challenges of a new world. So today, as we seek to promote freedom and
    democracy and human rights, as we seek to strengthen stability within
    the international community, an America confident enough to engage the
    world remains our best hope for peace, security, and shared prosperity.
        Look in every corner of the globe and you will find that the
    American example has consequences. When we reach out, we offer more than
    cars or grain or MTV. We exemplify an ideal, an ideal that conquers
    circumstance and suspicion, that conquers despots and empowers people.
    Some argue that a nation as moral and just as ours should not taint
    itself by dealing with nations less moral, less just. But this counsel
    offers up self-righteousness draped in a false morality. You do not
    reform a world by ignoring it.
        East Asia is a case in point. Today, this dynamic region plays an
    important role in the world economy. As it has grown more prosperous, it
    has also grown more free. Driven forward by the engine of economic
    growth and trade, especially with the U.S., South Korea and Taiwan have
    shed their once-authoritarian rule in favor of democracy and freer
    trade.
        This same approach guides our policy towards the People's Republic
    of China, home to fully one-fifth of the world's people. China easily
    can affect the stability of the Asian-Pacific region and, therefore,
    affect the entire world's peace and prosperity. The Chinese play a
    central role in working to resolve the conflict in Cambodia and relax
    tensions on the Korean Peninsula. China has a voice now in the
    multinational organizations. And its votes in the United Nations
    Security Council against Iraq's brutal aggression helped us forge the
    broad coalition that brought us victory in the Gulf. And so, when we
    find opportunities to cooperate with China, we will explore them. When
    problems arise with China's behavior, we will take appropriate action.
        After the tragedy of Tiananmen, the United States was the first
    nation to condemn the use of violence against the peacefully
    demonstrating people of Beijing. We were the first to guarantee the
    rights of Chinese students studying on campuses across the country,
    including here at Yale. The United States was the first nation to impose
    sanctions, and we are now the last, alone among the Western democracies,
    to keep those original sanctions in place. At every high-level meeting
    with the Chinese Government, U.S. officials reiterate our position on
    human rights violations.
        Unfair trade is also high on our agenda. Just last month, we cited
    China under the trade rules of a special 301 for pirating U.S.
    copyrights and patents. And for the sake of national security, we will
    ban technologies and equipment to any Chinese company found to violate
    rules outlawing transfer of missile technologies.
        We will continue to advance our interests and ideals: for free and
    fair trade, for broader democratization, for respect for human rights
    throughout China. Let me be clear: As a member of the United Nations,
    China is bound by the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. We will hold
    China to the obligations that it has freely accepted.
        And finally, we continue urging China to

    [[Page 567]]

    exercise restraint in its weapons exports. Our recent experience with
    Iraq proves how dangerous the deadly trade can be. And very soon, I will
    announce significant new steps that we can take to control arms exports
    to the entire Middle East. Every nation must play a part in this effort.
    That's why we urge the Chinese Government to abide by the letter and
    spirit of international agreements on missile technology controls, and
    to do what 141 other nations have already done: sign the nuclear
    nonproliferation treaty.
        And this is one way that the United States can be a catalyst for
    positive change. This week, I will employ another by proposing formally
    that MFN trade status continue for China. This policy has generated
    considerable controversy. Some critics have said: Revoke MFN--or
    endanger it with sweeping conditions--to censure China. Cut our ties,
    and isolate it. We are told this is a principled policy, a moral thing
    to do. This advice is not new. It's not wise. It is not in the best
    interests of our country, the United States. And in the end, in spite of
    noble and best intentions, it is not moral.
        First, MFN is [not] special. It is not a favor. It is the ordinary
    basis of trade worldwide. Second, MFN is a means to bring the influence
    of the outside world to bear on China. Critics who attack MFN today act
    as if the point is to punish China, as if hurting China's economy will
    somehow help the cause of privatization and human rights.
        The real point is to pursue a policy that has the best chance of
    changing Chinese behavior. If we withdrew MFN or imposed conditions that
    would make trade impossible, we would punish South China, in particular,
    Guangdong Province, the very region where free market reform and the
    challenge to central authority are the strongest. Right now, there's an
    estimated two million Chinese who are working and proving that
    privatization can work--all in South China. Withdraw MFN, and their jobs
    would be in jeopardy. In addition, endangering MFN would deal a body
    blow to Hong Kong, the bastion of freedom and free trade in the Far
    East.
        But the most compelling reason to renew MFN and remain engaged in
    China is not economic, it's not strategic, but moral. It is right to
    export the ideals of freedom and democracy to China. It is right to
    encourage Chinese students to come to the United States and for talented
    American students to go to China. It is wrong to isolate China if we
    hope to influence China.
        For two decades after the Communists seized power in 1949, the
    Western world followed a policy of isolation toward China. This period
    proved to be among the most brutal episodes in Chinese history, a
    nightmare of anguish and death and suffering that will scar the soul of
    China for decades to come.

        So, it comes down to the strength of our belief in the power of the
                democratic idea. If we pursue a policy that cultivates
                contacts with the Chinese people, promotes commerce to our
                benefit, we can help create a climate for democratic change.

        No nation on Earth has discovered a way to import the world's goods
    and services while stopping foreign ideas at the border. Just as the
    democratic idea has transformed nations on every continent, so, too,
    change will inevitably come to China.
        This nation's foreign policy has always been more than simply an
    expression of American interests; it's an extension of American ideals.
    This moral dimension of American policy requires us to remain active,
    engaged in the world. Many times, that means trying to chart a moral
    course through a world of lesser evils. That's the real world, not black
    and white. Very few moral absolutes. Enormous potential for error and
    embarrassment. But all are part of the risks that we willingly take to
    advance the American ideal.
        Many times in the past 40 years, people have encouraged us to adopt
    a policy of righteous isolationism, but we remained engaged. We cannot
    advance principles if we curl up into a defensive ball. We cannot
    transform a world if we hide from its unpleasant realities. We can
    advance our cherished ideals only by extending our hand, showing our
    best sides, sticking patiently to our values, even if we risk rejection.
        Look at the way American encouragement and the American example, the
    power of the American example, is paying

    [[Page 568]]

    off in Taiwan and Korea. We will have no leverage, we will not be able
    to advance our cause or resist repression, if we pull back and declare
    that China is simply too impure a place for us. We want to promote
    positive change in the world through the force of our example, not
    simply profess our purity. We want to advance the cause of freedom, not
    just snub nations that aren't yet wholly free.
        Let me close today with some modest pieces of advice. First,
    understand that you often will confront moral ambiguity. There will come
    times when you will have difficulty distinguishing between good guys and
    bad guys. When these situations arise, identify your principles and
    stick by them. Stick by them even when people jeer, when people urge you
    to find a quick and easy out. If you remain patient and true to
    yourself, you can't go wrong. Second, remember that the corner of the
    world that matters most is one right here at home, the one you share
    with friends and family. And finally, your destiny and the currents of
    history will most likely intersect more than once. You will have ample
    opportunity to make your mark. And take care to make it count.
        To all the graduates of the class of '91 who now join me as proud
    alumni of this great university, congratulations, good luck to you, and
    may God bless the United States of America.

                        Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. in the Yale
                            University Quadrangle. In his remarks he
                            referred to Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., president of
                            the university; John Daniels, mayor of New
                            Haven; and Thomas C. Duffy, director of the Yale
                            University bands.