From Flemming Christiansen, University of Leeds
Leeds
Andreas Frew’s remarks about Jiang Zemin in Washington Diary (29 November, p
58) are misplaced. Jiang was in the leadership of Shanghai until after the
protest movement had been repressed in Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989. He was
not even remotely responsible for the decision to use force against the
protesters in Beijing. The way he dealt with a similar movement in Shanghai has
been hailed as peaceful. His admission of “mistakes” on the part of the Party
with regard to the repression was significant, not a “platitude”.
Sniping remarks about Jiang Zemin obscure the real problems in US-China
relations, a field in the US in dire need of more knowledge and less
rhetoric.
