ALBRIGHT: The international community does not believe India’s actions in terms of nuclear explosions has increased its status or its security. They are not going to blast their way into nuclear-power status or greater respect. [The Sino-U.S. joint statement] has added value because it [says] the Chinese are not going to be engaged in missile-technology transfers to other countries and [are] not going to test themselves again.
The president said exactly the kind of thing that previous presidents have said. I think there’s been an overinterpretation here. We have been for a peaceful dialogue. The authorities on Taiwan understand the one-China policy and the need for peaceful cross-straits dialogue.
The U.S.-Japan relationship is the cornerstone of our strategic interests in Asia. We are very close in every conceivable way.
Taboo subjects were [discussed before an audience of] hundreds of millions of Chinese. The issue of Tibet and the Dalai Lama was mentioned; so was Tiananmen, and the need for more freedom and openness. These are landmark statements. Information is power. I had a momentary sense of ““My goodness, to be witness to this kind of development.''
I think President Jiang feels he perhaps–I say perhaps–can have a different relationship with his public, and may understand that trusting your own people is the best way towards stability.
The history is so totally different it’s very hard to make a comparison. The most immediate is economic vibrancy. People talk about the Chinese entrepreneurial spirit. When I was in Shanghai in 1978, obviously everyone was in their Mao suits, all blue and gray. But when I went out in the morning walking, I looked around and saw all the colorful underwear hanging on the clotheslines. I realized that underneath the drab blue and gray there was imagination! Now the colorful underwear has been translated into colorful neon signs. The vibrancy shows.
