February 22, 2000
PRESS BRIEFING BY JOE LOCKHART
2:20 P.M. EST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 22, 2000
PRESS BRIEFING BY
JOE LOCKHART
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:20 P.M. EST
..................
Q On China, you talked about it this morning, but I'd like to
address it again for camera, if you don't mind -- some tough talk out of
China regarding Taiwan. What's the administration's position on that?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't have much to add to what
I said this morning, but I'll say that the U.S. government rejects any use
of force or any threat of force in this situation. We believe that a
peaceful dialogue and bilateral engagement between the two sides is the
best way to move forward.
Q Has there been any attempt to clarify or find out what
they're talking about or if this is very factual stuff from China?
MR. LOCKHART: I think this is, as described for me, as something
like an 11,000-word white paper with lots of different issues in it that
our China people are looking very closely at. But as far as any suggestion
that this situation can be resolved through the use of force, that is
something that our policy opposes.
Q It comes at a time when you're dealing with Congress on WTO.
Doesn't that hurt your cause, then?
MR. LOCKHART: I don't think so. I think that this has to be
looked at with some perspective. I think the WTO case, on its merits, are
very clear. The benefits to opening the Chinese market to American
businesses, to American families, are quite clear and quite one-sided, and
that's the case we're going to continue to make.
Q You don't think that the opponents per se against trade and
so forth would use this?
MR. LOCKHART: I can't speak to what opponents of this agreement
will or won't use. I can only speak to what I believe are the merits of
the WTO deal and providing normal trade relations.
Q How far along are you in lobbying for this?
MR. LOCKHART: Well, the President will speak to a business group
later this week. He had two meetings last week with small groups of
members, about 15 to 20 in each. I expect him to have at least two more
before this month is over and to continue to make the case, both publicly
to the American public, to the American business community, urging them to
do what they can to generate support, and also privately to members. That
process is well underway and will continue.
Q Before Mr. Talbott and Mr. Steinberg left for China, we were
told that one of the things that they would discuss with the Chinese
leaders in Beijing was trying to discourage them, or at least have a
dialogue with them about stopping or preventing any provocative statements
from the Chinese government before the Taiwanese election. Considering the
length of this document, were either of them given any heads up that this
was coming, or does the administration in any way view it a provocative act
in light of those recent conversations?
MR. LOCKHART: I don't know that we equate one with the other. I
don't know if any heads-up was given. If there was, I haven't been made
aware of it. I think the purpose of those meetings was to discuss the
state of our relations, to make sure that we were doing what we can to put
them back on the right track, in a follow up to the meeting that the
President had in Auckland and in light of the events of last year. So I
just don't know whether there was any sort of heads-up on the existence or
preview of the document.
.............
Q Joe, back on China, could you explain why the administration
views China's threat of force against Taiwan as a grave concern, as you put
it this morning, yet you don't believe that China's actions should become a
stumbling block on WTO debate?
MR. LOCKHART: I think, as I said this morning, if they were to
take action, which would try to resolve the issue between China and Taiwan
through force, we would view that with grave concern. That's the position
articulated in the Taiwan Relations Act and that continues. They haven't
done that.
Q What will we do besides view? Will we just view or will we
take action, like sending --
MR. LOCKHART: We would work with Congress, as administrations
going back three decades have, to take the appropriate action.
Q That would include military action, wouldn't it?
MR. LOCKHART: I'm not telling you what it would or wouldn't
include.
...........
END 2:48 P.M. EST
#167-02/22
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