Senator Austin and Mr. Volpe,
Vice chairs of the Executive Committee of the Canada-China Legislative Association,
Members of CCLA,



Thank you very much for taking time out of your hectic schedule to come to tonight's dinner. I have been thinking of holding this dinner for quite some time now, but it has been hard to fix a time that is convenient for all of us. I am delighted that we've finally made it.

First of all, please accept my sincere congratulations upon your membership in the newly-selected Canada-China Legislative Association. Ever since its inception, CCLA has been playing a unique role in the healthy development of the Sino-Canadian relations. The regular exchanges between the National People's Congress of China and the Canadian Parliament facilitated by CCLA have deepened the mutual understanding and friendship between our two countries. With your energy and commitment, CCLA has now grown into the second largest association in the Parliament in less than two years. We appreciate your valuable efforts in enhancing the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies of China and Canada, which I am glad to note, have constituted an increasingly important dimension of the over-all bilateral relations.

1999 was a fruitful year for our bilateral relations. On the political front, Premier Zhu Rongji paid a successful visit to Canada last April, strengthening the partnership of all-round cooperation between China and Canada. In the realms of trade, bilateral trade registered a 16% increase, making China the fourth biggest trading partner of Canada. Last November, China and Canada signed a historic bilateral agreement on China's accession to WTO, paving the way for further expansion of bilateral economic ties. In the field of bilateral legislative exchanges, the National People's Congress of China signed an action plan with the Canadian Parliament Center on the exchange projects between the two legislative bodies. In September, Mr. Bill Graham, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee of the House, paid a visit to China. In October, Senator Wilson led an ecumenical delegation to China. In the same month, Mr. Jiang Xinxong, former Minister of Energy, paid his first visit to Canada in his new capacity as Chairman of the Chinese-Canadian Parliamentary Friendship Association.

Last year also bears special significance to China. China celebrated her 50th birthday last October. Macau's return to the embrace of the motherland makes China one step closer to its complete reunification. China's GDP in 1999 attained the projected goal of around 7% growth. The total exports reached US$194.9 billion, an increase of 6.1% over the previous year. China's total import and export volume ranks the ninth in the world.

Built on stability, national unity and flourishing economy, the Chinese Government has mapped out new objectives for the start of a new century. In the just concluded 3rd Session of the Ninth National People's Congress, Premier Zhu told the delegates that China would continue to deepen reforms on various fronts. A grand cross-century development scheme of the western region of China was also announced at the session. In addition to many other measures, the Chinese Government will formulate preferential policies in the field of infrastructure development, environment protection, science, technology and education to boost the economic growth of China's western region. We welcome other countries, including Canada, to participate in our drive to open up the area.

While talking about China's domestic situation, I would also like to take this opportunity to share with you some of my observations on two particular issues of your interest, the Taiwan question and human rights. I hope it would be of some help to you for a better understanding of the Chinese Government's position.

Since last week's election of a new leader in Taiwan, the cross-straits relations has become a new focus on the international arena. What will be its implications on the cross-straits relationship?

First of all, I would say that the outcome of this local election has not and will not change two basic facts. First, there is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. Second, the overwhelming majority of countries in the world support that position. The jurisdiction over Taiwan by the Chinese central government can be traced a long way back to the ancient times. Only for a brief span of 50 years, Taiwan was separated from the mainland due to Japanese aggression and occupation. After the Second World War, Taiwan was returned to China, de jure and de facto, according to the Potsdam Treaty. On Oct. 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded replacing the government of the then Republic of China to become the sole legal government of the whole of China. Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly at its 26th session in 1971 restored all lawful rights of the government of the PRC in the UN, recognizing PRC as the sole legal government representing the whole China. Up to now, 161 countries have established diplomatic relations with the PRC, all acknowledging the one-China principle and undertaking to handle their relations with Taiwan within the one-China framework. Immediately following the election, many countries have openly declared that despite the outcome of the election, their one-China policy remains unchanged and they hope the Taiwan issue could be solved peacefully.

Our policy is clear and consistent: "One China " principle is the basis for and prerequisite to the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue. No independence in whatever form will be allowed. We maintain that under the one-China principle, negotiations and talks about reunification on the basis of equal consultation can be conducted without defining them as negotiations between the central government and the local authorities. And under the one-China principle, any topics can be discussed including issues of Taiwan's concern such as the economic, cultural matters and its future status in the international arena. But at the same time, we have never committed to renouncing the use of force, for there remains the possibility of foreign forces invading Taiwan or Taiwan declaring independence. To keep the military option open is to reduce the possibility of using force to its minimum. No country in history or around the world would sit idly by in the face of challenge to its territorial integrity. Last year, Lee Teng-hui, the outgoing leader of Taiwan, dished out the notorious "state-to-state relationship" doctrine characterizing cross-straits relations as country to country. Should such separatist momentum go unchecked, peaceful reunification would become impossible. Taiwan authorities' indefinite refusal to negotiate for the peaceful settlement with the motherland is nothing but a tactic to keep Taiwan separated for ever from China. On the side of the mainland, the door to negotiation is always open. No matter who is in power in Taiwan, if he recognizes the "one China" principle, we would welcome him to visit the mainland. At the same time, we could also go to Taiwan to discuss anything they want to discuss.

The election result is not a vote for independence, considering the vast majority of people voted against the DPP. Rather, it is a vote against any pro-independence policy. People in Taiwan want stability and a peaceful development of the cross-straits relations. As we all know, during the election only 39.3% of ballots were cast for the new leader, which accounts for merely 20% of the total population. I believe the same is also true among Chinese overseas, including one million Chinese Canadians here in Canada. Those who support Cheng account for only a small minority. Now, we are following closely the development of the post-election situation in Taiwan. We will not only listen to what the new leader of Taiwan says, but most important of all, watch what he does. We hope the Canadian government will adhere to its "one China "policy and prove its sincerity by concrete action.

Now, I would like to say something about the human rights issue. Talking about human rights, few people in the west who are concerned about the issue have the opportunity to see for themselves the great changes that are taking place in China, or listen directly to what we Chinese have got to say on this subject.

To begin with, what is the real human rights situation in China today? Has it been improved or has it deteriorated? I think the 1.3 billion people in China are most qualified to make judgments. At present, the human rights situation in China is at its best in history.

First, huge achievements have been made in guaranteeing the rights to subsistence and development, and economic, social and cultural rights. According to a United Nations estimate, China now ranks 7th in the world in terms of the size of economy; 9th in total foreign trade volume; 2nd in foreign exchange reserves and 9th in comprehensive national strength. Compared with the old China, in which the majority of the Chinese population lived in starvation or semi-starvation, things have changed completely now. The new China has created a miracle of feeding 20% of the world's population with only 10% of the world's total arable land. Isn't it something to be reckoned with? Given the fact that China is still a developing country, such achievements are by no means easy to make.

Second, in addition to promoting Chinese people's right to subsistence and development, the Chinese Government has never lost sight of the political right of its citizens and the advancement of democracy. Taking the right to the freedom of religious belief for example, let me give you some statistics. China now has more than 100 million religious believers and 85,000 venues for religious activities, with some 300,000 professional religious personnel. I would say perhaps there are more Catholics in China than in Canada now. There are more than 3,000 national and local religious organizations and 74 religious colleges. Various religions have their publications. So far, 20 million copies of the Bible have been printed. China has been working hard to build up democracy and strengthen the system of rule by law. In recent years, the Chinese Government amended the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedural Law, which have greatly improved human rights protection in the judicial area. The successive promulgation and implementation of the Administrative Procedural Law, the State Compensation Law and the Administrative Review Law have all served to better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the citizens. In 1997 and 1998, the Chinese Government signed the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights respectively which are now under intensive review by the National People's Congress and other government and academic agencies for their ratification. This shows the determination of the Chinese Government to advance human rights in all spheres. We have been making intensified efforts to deepen the building of democracy at the grassroots level in the rural areas by intruding the multi-candidate, direct elections nation wide. We have done a great deal to strengthen the legal system by vigorously advancing judicial reforms and enhancing the transparency of the judiciary. To strengthen the supervision of law enforcement, we have launched a nation-wide campaign to wipe out corruption. All this shows the Chinese Government is sincere and serious in protecting people's political rights and advancing democracy.

Third, the rights of women and children are protected by law. Women enjoy the right of equal pay for equal work of men. There are only five countries in the world where women earn 80% or more of men's salaries. China is one of them.

Fourth, all the 55 ethnic minorities in China have equal rights with the majority Han nationality. In addition, they enjoy special statutory protection. As far as medical and health conditions in ethnic minority areas are concerned, there have been great improvements. In Tibet, the average life expectancy has been prolonged from 36 years before the founding of the New China to the current 65 years. The just-finished National People's Congress mapped out a strategy to open up the vast western area of China. The development of the west bears special significance to the improvement of the living standards and level of human rights of all ethnic groups living in the area.

Achievements made by the Chinese Government in the field of human rights by no means indicate that China's human rights situation is perfect. There is still room for improvement. China is still a developing country. Restricted by historical conditions and the low level of economic well-being, China needs to make further efforts to realize the full human rights of its people. As the saying goes, one can only make one step at a time. The steps China has so far made are gigantic.

Different in social system, cultural tradition, history, and level of economic development, it is quite natural for countries to have different views on human rights and on the human rights situation of specific countries. I think there are five basic points one should always bear in mind when observing China's human rights situation.

First, one should look at the issue from a historical point of view, that is, to compare the present situation with that of 20 or 50 years ago.

Second, one should adopt the methodology of horizontal comparison, that is, to compare China with other countries with similar conditions. Do not compare China only with the United States or Japan, because we are at different stages of development. But if compared with India, China's economic and social progress is obvious and tremendous.

Third, one should always keep the majority in mind, that is, to cater to the well-being of 99% of the people instead of fixing one's eyes only on a few so-called "democracy activists" , political dissidents or the key members of the illegal cult of "Falun Gong". If one takes the trees for the forests, one will not have a fair and correct evaluation of the human rights situation in China.

Fourth, one should take into account the unique national conditions of China. China has a vast territory and a huge population. Its economy on the whole is still backward. The education level of the people is not very high. More than 12 million people are still living in poverty. That is why China has attached greater importance to the rights to subsistence and development and put them on top of our human rights agenda.

Fifth, one should not overlook another basic feature of China: it has a long history of foreign invasion and oppression. So we all the more cherish our sovereignty and will not allow foreign interference in our internal affairs.

We always hold that members of the international community should help each other, share experience with each other and solve their difference through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. The recent symposium of Asia-Pacific countries on human rights is just an outstanding example. We are opposed to confrontation, for confrontation can not solve the problem, but exacerbates the disputes.

The Chinese Government is willing to accept good-natured criticism and suggestions so that we can further improve our human rights situation. However, there are people in some countries, particularly in the U.S. who are bent on accusing other countries of their human rights practice no matter what they do while in total disregard of their own human rights problems. China is for dialogue and against confrontation. But we will not yield to pressure or outside interference.

Canada and China have managed to address our differences while carrying out cooperation in this field. We appreciate Canada's position of discarding confrontation, carrying out dialogue and promoting cooperation. This has produced concrete results. Since 1996, our two countries have held five rounds of human rights dialogue, and two international seminars on legislative issues with other countries participating as observers. The NGOs of our two countries also took an active part in the vis-a-vis discussions. We have carried out projects to strengthen China's legal system and political reform. China has sent groups of judges and lawyers to Canada for further studies. Canada has sent a religious delegation to China, and we have invited your Minster of Immigration and Chief Justice to visit China to discuss ways of cooperation. We also have held discussions on human rights between our two legislative bodies during their respective visits. The practice by our two countries in the field of human rights is a proof that dialogue is instrumental in enhancing mutual understanding and narrowing divergence. Such dialogues have not only strengthened our bilateral cooperation in the field of human rights, but also benefited the healthy development of Sino-Canadian relations. We look forward to such cooperation and exchange of views on the basis of equality and mutual respect with all countries around the world, including Canada.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Canadian relations. Over the years, with the concerted efforts, bilateral relations have developed smoothly. Exchanges and cooperation between our two countries in various fields have yielded fruitful results. To maintain a healthy momentum of development, there are going to be a series of high-level exchange of visits between our two countries this year. Mr. Li Ruihuan, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of China will pay a visit to Canada soon in May. Prime Minister Chretien is planning to lead the second "Team Canada" to China later this year. These visits will undoubtedly elevate our bilateral relations to a new high.

Over the years, you have shown great interest and high enthusiasm towards the development of the relationship between our two countries. China cherishes your friendship. You are always welcome to visit China at any time to refresh your memory and see for yourselves the drastic changes that China is undergoing. The embassy is ready to help at any time.

Finally, may I ask you to join me to raise the glasses for a toast to the continuous development of bilateral relations, the stronger ties between our two legislative bodies, the vigorous growth of CCLA, and to your health and every success of your work.

Cheers.