POLITICS: Bush Tell EU Not To Lift China's Arms Ban, page 1

During his European trip, President George Bush urged his counterparts not to lift the arms embargo against China, citing the change would shift the balance in China/Tiawan relations. The arms embargo was the result of international reaction to the horrible Tiananmen Square violence. The EU has had talks with China and has basically said it's not "if" but "when" the arms ban would be dismantled. Bush warned that Congress would take action if such a decision should be made.

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Bush said lifting the embargo, imposed after the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy activists, "would change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan and that's of concern." But French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the ban should go. "It will happen," Schroeder said.

The China quarrel was a jarring note on an otherwise upbeat day of reconciliation, handshakes and hopes for better relations.

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I am in agreement with President Bush that before China can continue it's ambitions to becoming a super power, it must first stop oppressing its people. France on the other hand seems too eager to want the embargo lifted and is turning a blind eye to the human rights violations that China still commits.

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