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NEWS - Britain wants China to grant



Subject: NEWS - Britain wants China to grant Tibet freedoms

FOCUS-Britain wants China to grant Tibet freedoms

                                                       Updated 1:13 PM
ET October 21, 1999

 By Mike Peacock

 LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair told Chinese
President Jiang Zemin Thursday Beijing should open a dialogue with the
exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama.

 In 45 minutes of formal talks with Jiang, the first Chinese head of
state to visit Britain,
 Blair's spokesman said about 10 were devoted to human rights, with
Jiang raising the issue first.

 The spokesman said Jiang welcomed "a new chapter in relations" since
the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, adding that human rights could be
addressed and confronted.

 "(Blair) welcomed the frank way the president raised the issue of human
rights," the spokesman said. "They are well aware of our position on
Tibet. We do recognize their sovereignty over it."

 Britain wishes to see the Himalayan region have control over its
internal affairs, he said, and thinks China should open talks with its
exiled leader.

 Tibet has been occupied by Chinese troops since 1950. The Dalai Lama,
Tibet's spiritual leader, fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against
Communist rule.

 The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his peaceful
struggle for more Tibetan autonomy, but is vilified by Beijing as a
traitor who foments violence and rebellion.

 As the British government has stressed would happen, the two leaders
devoted much of their discussion, to trade -- including China's
application to join the World Trade Organization, which Britain supports
-- China's growing economy and its place on the world stage.

 NO APOLOGIES

 "The prime minister feels very strongly that China is a hugely
important country," his spokesman said. "Nor do we make any apologies
whatsoever that we have boosted Anglo-Chinese investment.

 Human rights "did not define the meeting," he said. "We do believe
there is a new chapter in our relations with China."

 British Foreign Office figures underline what is at stake, with around
a billion pounds ($1.7 billion) in exports to China and 2.9 billion
pounds in Chinese imports each year.

 Britain is already Europe's biggest investor in China and the sixth
largest investor overall, with total investments of 13 billion pounds at
the end of last year.

 Jiang assured British business leaders Wednesday of China's economic
health, as the two countries announced $3.5 billion in trade and
investment deals. The spokesman said he would not be surprised to see
 more deals in the near future.

 On Hong Kong, the two agreed that the "one country, two systems"
formula was working.

 Protesters have accused Blair's Labour government, which extols its
ethical foreign policy, of ordering heavy-handed policing to stifle
demonstrations during Jiang's visit.

 AVOIDS PROTESTERS

 London protests were not mentioned at the talks or over lunch. Jiang's
car whisked through the Foreign Office gates to reach Blair's Downing
Street residence without meeting activists.

 The spokesman said Kosovo was mentioned in passing and Blair apologised
again for NATO's bombing of China's Belgrade embassy.

 Jiang also raised the case of the Falun Gong mystical set. Thousands of
its followers have been jailed in China this year.

 Blair's spokesman said Jiang stressed China offered freedom of religion
as long as it kept within the law.

 "We were quite surprised he took it up in the way he did," the
spokesman said.

 Pressure group Amnesty International said Blair's office had refused to
accept a letter on human rights it drew up with Chinese dissident Wei
Jingsheng and the Free Tibet campaign.

 It called on Blair to have "substantive, frank discussions" with Jiang
on human rights and Tibet and make a public statement about the contents
of the discussions.

 "The prime minister's office refused to collect our letter," said
Amnesty's Richard Bunting. "This is exactly what we have feared: that
any dicussion of human rights would be confined to hushed dialogue
behind closed doors."