Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-10-Speech-3-170"
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"en.20020410.5.3-170"2
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"Mr President, whichever way you look at it, Mr Graça Moura's report is a good report, because it deals with questions of political strategy, leaving topical or daily issues out of the equation.
There have been huge changes in China over the last decade. Ten years ago, we witnessed the dramatic events in Tiannamen Square; today we are witnessing a solution – of sorts – to the problem of both Macao and Hong Kong, improvements in Taiwan, involvement in the World Trade Organisation and, after Greece, the next Olympic Games in 2008, which all goes to show that progress has been made.
Does that mean that it is all good news? By no means. China is not doing at all well when it comes to human rights. And it is not doing well it comes to human liberties. However, when you evaluate questions of political strategy, you have to decide on a cut-off point. And our cut-off point has to be a democratic China, a pole of stability in a multipolar, peaceful world. And that is what our political strategy should be geared towards. Accusations and one-sided relations do not bring about policies, which is precisely why the whole point of political strategy is to look to the future and not get bogged down in day-to-day issues.
Moderation, stable objectives and efficiency are the common ground for joint action in such cases. China has worked with us in the fight against terrorism and that is a peak on its development curve. Our relations are improving constantly and, more to the point, I hope that we shall have more improvements in the future.
Anyone meeting Chinese delegates nowadays will find a new generation of people, very young people, 30, 40, 50 at most, with a good level of education and a good grounding in world affairs and that is most encouraging. China itself has found a formula for progress, calling the change ‘market Communism’ and shying away from the term ‘market policy’ in both economic and social relations. That is how it is developing and I think that we should help it by persuading it to correct its bad points. And there are a lot of them! Nevertheless, we must not be subversive in our persuasion.
I think China is on the right path because, for better or for worse, it is one of the lucky countries, a lucky nation with a long history of culture and civilisation and the heritage to match. And in the changes being made to the ideological and political values which every society craves for the sake of its own cohesion, China's history and culture carry great weight and, as far as I know, it is precisely these cultural elements which derive from Confucius, from humanitarian values and so on, which efforts are being made to restore as social values in China, which is a good thing because they will help bring about a balanced and humanitarian society.
Having said which, I trust that when we come to vote on Mr Graça Moura's report tomorrow, subject to a few improvements, we shall set the European Union's strategy towards China on the right political course."@en1
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