What Bush won on China trip

W's message will inspire millions of Chinese thanks to an Internet underground railroad

In preparation for President Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972, the Chinese authorities were busy whitening the walls of a number of streets in Beijing. Some families on these streets were allotted extra colorful cloth to make new curtains to hang on their windows. When the motorcade of the President passed, he was supposed to have the impression that the people in Mao's empire were living in well-to-do conditions. However, it was only a brief joy these lucky families experienced, because the cloth had to be returned to the authorities after the presidential visit. Instead of bringing joy, President Bush's third official visit to China brought shock to certain Beijing citizens, because police and security officers started to "clear up" the city days before the President arrived. Tens of thousands of "petitioners" live in Beijing. They come from all over the country: peasants whose land has been expropriated for industry or commercial use; people who have lost their homes through the resettlement plans of their hometowns; victims of legal injustice; family members of tortured or killed Falun Gong practitioners, etc. Since the city authorities tore down the temporary shelters of these petitioners, they huddled in train stations, public buildings or simply on the sidewalks, anywhere they could find some space. In order to provide President Bush with a beautiful image of Beijing, these people had to be swept out. The police arrested and deported hundreds of these filthy, shabby creatures from the nation's capital.

The police indeed had a stressful time, because they needed as many helping hands as possible in order to produce a pleasant atmosphere in Beijing for President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. All disturbing elements had to be eliminated before the arrival of the guests. The protesters, the dissidents and the active members of the democratic movement had to be kept either under house arrest or sent out of town. The renowned dissident writer Liu Xiaobo saw his connections to the outside world cut off before and after Bush's visit. He had no phone connection and no Internet access until the presidential couple had left the capital. However, Liu did not begrudge the U.S. President these inconveniences. "No, I do not complain; I am thankful that President Bush visited China," said Liu. "He urged the Chinese leaders to grant more freedom to the Chinese people in his Kyoto speech. He went to a church in Beijing. Bush has not abandoned us, even though the authoritarian regime greeted him with 150 Boeing contracts."

Bush's visit has prompted, in some small way, freedom of speech for the Chinese. The President's remarks encouraging human rights have been disseminated to students and others by the country's intellectuals, who are able to bypass the government's Internet blocks. These leaders, among the 80 million to 100 million Web users, are tapping into the U.S. State Department's site to pass along Bush's remarks urging freedom and democracy.

Neither China's elite nor its common people care how many billions of dollars in contracts have been signed by the two countries. They now know that George Bush has spoken on behalf of their rights and their views. They are not angry that they suffered a temporary loss of freedom because of Bush's visit. They hope to gain lasting freedom, which Bush has pleaded for on their behalf.

2 posted on 11/23/2005 2:02:47 PM PST by knighthawk (We will always remember We will always be proud We will always be prepared so we may always be free)

I just read a review (WSJ) of Peggy Noonan's biography of John Paul the Great. The review focused on the Pope's visit to Poland in 1979. He said mass for a crowd of 2 million people. He told them not to be afraid.

The next day, the Polish media published pictures that showed only the Pope. No crowd. They made it appear that no one really showed up. But 2 million people knew that it was a lie. The realized that everything the government stood for was a lie. And they were no longer afraid. After that, everything changed.

I doubt that Bush's visit will have an equivalent impact. But it may make a contribution to changing China.

China has three major problems besides lack of freedom:
1. Lack of women.
2. Lack of water.
3. 47 million government bureaucrats.

Something has to happen. Some have argued that for all its military might, Hitler's Germany was done in by government factions.

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