P 090933Z AUG 89
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5693
INFO AIT TAIPEI
AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
AMCONSUL HONG KONG
AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
AMCONSUL SHENYANG
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY SEOUL
AMEMBASSY TOKYO
USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
AMCONSUL CHENGDU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 21902 
 
NSC FOR DOUG PAAL 
USCINCPAC FOR FPA FINNEY 
 
E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR 
TAGS: PGOV CH
SUBJECT:  PRC GOALS AFTER TIANANMEN:  THE 
          OFFICIAL VIEW FROM THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE 
 
¶1.  CONFIDENTIAL ENTIRE TEXT. 
 
¶2.  SUMMARY:  ACCORDING TO A MINISTRY OF JUSTICE 
OFFICIAL, THE PRC NOW HAS FOUR PRESSING GOALS: 
COMPLETE ERADICATION OF "COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY 
ELEMENTS"; CONTINUATION OF ECONOMIC OPENNESS AND 
REFORM; POLITICAL EDUCATION OF THE MASSES; AND THE 
WEEDING OUT OF CORRUPTION.  ZHAO'S LAXITY AND 
ACCEPTANCE OF FOREIGN PRINCIPLES HAD LED TO 
COUNTER-REVOLUTION, A MISTAKE THAT THE NEW LEADERSHIP 
WOULD NOT REPEAT.  WELCOMING SECRETARY BAKER'S 
MEETING IN PARIS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN, THE 
OFFICIAL STRESSED THAT CHINA'S POLICY OF OPENNESS TO 
THE OUTSIDE WORLD REMAINED UNCHANGED DESPITE EFFORTS 
TO PUNISH THE PRC FOR EVENTS OF JUNE 3-4.  WHILE THE 
OFFICIAL REPEATEDLY STRESSED THE LEADERSHIP'S 
DETERMINATION TO CHECK CORRUPTION, HE REVEALED THAT 
THE GOVERNMENT HAD NOT YET DRAWN UP THE REGULATIONS 
TO IMPLEMENT THE CAMPAIGN -- AND TACITLY ADMITTED 
THAT THOSE REGULATIONS WOULD HAVE LOTS OF LOOPHOLES 
WHEN THEY WERE FINALLY PROMULGATED.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  ON AUGUST 8, POLOFFS MET WITH ZHANG YAOCHEN, 
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF 
THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE.  ZHANG, A PRE-CRACKDOWN 
CONTACT OF THE EMBASSY, HAD CAREFULLY PREPARED A 
LENGTHY PRESENTATION ON THE STEPS THE PRC LEADERSHIP 
HAS TAKEN SINCE THE TIANANMEN CRACKDOWN TO SOLIDIFY 
COMMUNIST PARTY RULE. 
 
CRUSHING THE COUNTER-REVOLUTION 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  ZHANG NOTED THAT THE CCP HAD WON A "DECISIVE" 
VICTORY AGAINST THE COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY ELEMENTS 
WHO WERE TRYING TO OVERTHROW CHINA'S SOCIALIST 
SYSTEM.  THE AUTHORITIES HAD RESTORED ORDER 
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND THE SITUATION HAD 
STABILIZED.  STILL, THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO CONTINUE 
ITS EFFORTS. 
 
¶5.  ZHANG SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD NOT YET 
ARRESTED ALL THOSE WHO HAD HELPED ORGANIZE THE 
COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY CONSPIRACY, ADVOCATED BOURGEOIS 
LIBERALIZATION, LIAISED WITH HOSTILE FOREIGN 
ORGANIZATIONS, OR ENGAGED IN LOOTING, ARSON, AND 
MURDER.  SO LONG AS THAT WERE THE CASE, MARTIAL LAW 
WOULD CONTINUE IN BEIJING.  ZHANG NOTED THAT CHINESE 
PEOPLE WERE NOT NEARLY AS CONCERNED AS FOREIGNERS 
ABOUT HOW LONG MARTIAL LAW WOULD REMAIN IN EFFECT. 
ACCORDING TO ZHANG, MOST CHINESE VIEWED MARTIAL LAW 
MERELY AS A MEANS TO ENSURE THAT THE SITUATION 
REMAINED CALM. 
 
¶6.   ZHANG REFUSED TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH LONGER IT 
WOULD TAKE THE GOVERNMENT TO ROUND UP ALL THE 
UNDESIRABLES AND WEAPONS.  HE ALSO SAID HE DID NOT 
KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAD BEEN ARRESTED OR SENT TO 
PRISON AND WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO ESTIMATE HOW MANY 
COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES REMAINED AT LARGE. 
 
ECONOMIC REFORM AND OPENNESS TO THE OUTSIDE 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  ZHANG STRESSED THAT ALTHOUGH ECONOMIC REFORM HAD 
LED TO SOME SOCIAL PROBLEMS, SUCH AS UNEVEN 
DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, IT WAS THE ONLY PATH THAT 
CHINA COULD FOLLOW.  ECONOMIC OPENNESS MUST CONTINUE 
IF CHINA WERE TO DEVELOP.  ACCORDINGLY, CHINA WOULD 
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ITS RELATIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE 
WORLD. 
 
¶8.  THUS, THE PRC LEADERSHIP WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT 
"DISTORTED" ACCOUNTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA OF 
THE TURMOIL IN BEIJING HAD LED SOME WESTERN COUNTRIES 
TO IMPOSE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS.  IN CONTRAST, ZHANG 
SAID, MOST OF THE THIRD WORLD HAD SUPPORTED CHINA'S 
POSITION THAT THE TIANANMEN INCIDENT HAD BEEN 
STRICTLY AN INTERNAL AFFAIR.  SANCTIONS WERE DOOMED 
TO FAIL, ZHANG SAID.  HE NOTED THAT WESTERN NATIONS 
WERE ALREADY RESUMING NORMAL CONTACTS WITH BEIJING 
AND WERE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAD "REALLY" 
HAPPENED IN BEIJING.  ZHANG POINTED, IN PARTICULAR, 
TO FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN'S MEETING WITH SECRETARY 
BAKER WHICH, ZHANG ASSERTED, STRONGLY UNDERLINED THE 
FUTILITY OF TRYING TO ISOLATE CHINA. 
 
¶9.  ZHANG MORE THAN ONCE REITERATED HIS DESIRE FOR 
FRIENDLY SINO-U.S. RELATIONS.  HE REGRETTED THE 
CANCELLATION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S VISIT TO 
CHINA, BUT SAID THAT THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE LOOKED 
FORWARD TO CONTINUED CONTACT WITH THE U.S.  ZHANG 
STRESSED THAT, WHILE TWO COUNTRIES MIGHT DISAGREE ON 
CERTAIN ISSUES BECAUSE OF THEIR DIFFERENT HISTORIES, 
CULTURES, AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS, CONTINUED DIALOGUE WAS 
NECESSARY. 
 
EDUCATING THE MASSES 
-------------------- 
 
¶10.  ACCORDING TO ZHANG, WHEN DENG XIAOPING  HAD 
BEGUN HIS POLICY OF OPENNESS TOWARDS THE OUTSIDE 
WORLD, HE HAD INSISTED THAT IDEOLOGICAL TRAINING 
WOULD HAVE TO BE EMPHASIZED IN ORDER TO INSULATE 
CHINA FROM CORRUPTING FOREIGN INFLUENCES. 
UNFORTUNATELY, ZHANG NOTED, ZHAO ZIYANG, WHILE HE WAS 
GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE PARTY, HAD SADLY NEGLECTED 
IDEOLOGICAL TRAINING OF THE MASSES. 
 
¶11.  THE NEW LEADERSHIP HAD LEARNED FROM ZHAO'S 
MISTAKES AND WOULD RELENTLESSLY PUSH FORWARD WITH 
IDEOLOGICAL TRAINING.  THE TRAINING WOULD EMPHASIZE 
THE FOUR CARDINAL PRINCIPLES:  KEEPING TO THE 
SOCIALIST ROAD; UPHOLDING THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE 
PROLETARIAT; UPHOLDING THE LEADERSHIP OF THE 
COMMUNIST PARTY; AND UPHOLDING MARXISM-LENINISM AND 
MAO ZEDONG THOUGHT.  ZHANG NOTED THAT PROPAGANDA 
MEETINGS WOULD HAVE TO BE A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.  "THE 
LESSONS THEY TEACH ARE FORGOTTEN QUICKLY." 
 
¶12.  ZHANG SAID THAT HE SAW NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN 
A PROFESSED POLICY OF OPENNESS AND A CAMPAIGN AGAINST 
BOURGEOIS LIBERALIZATION.  HE ARGUED THAT THE THE 
LATTER WAS NOT INTENDED TO EXCLUDE ALL WESTERN 
THOUGHT, BUT RATHER TO EDUCATE THE CHINESE PEOPLE SO 
THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO ANALYZE AND REJECT 
UNSUITABLE IDEAS. 
 
ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION 
---------------------- 
 
¶13.  ZHANG LAID GREATEST EMPHASIS ON THE CENTRAL 
LEADERSHIP'S DETERMINATION TO WEED OUT CORRUPTION. 
CORRUPTION, WHICH HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN A PROBLEM IN 
POST-LIBERATION CHINA, HAD FLOURISHED UNDER ZHAO, WHO 
LOOKED UPON IT AS "INEVITABLE" IF CHINA WERE TO 
PURSUE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.  IN CONTRAST, ZHANG 
SAID, THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP REALIZED THAT 
COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY ELEMENTS HAD USED THE 
CORRUPTION ISSUE TO UNDERMINE POPULAR SUPPORT FOR THE 
GOVERNMENT.  CORRUPTION THUS HAD TO BE BROUGHT UNDER 
CONTROL. 
 
¶14.  ZHANG MAINTAINED THAT ONE IMPORTANT REASON WHY 
THIS ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN WOULD SUCCEED WHILE THE 
1987 ONE HAD FAILED WAS THAT IT WOULD START AT THE 
VERY HIGHEST LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND WORK ITS WAY 
DOWN.  PEOPLE WOULD SEE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS 
SERIOUS ABOUT FIGHTING CORRUPTION AND SPECIAL 
PRIVILEGES AMONG HIGH-LEVEL CADRES, AND WOULD THUS BE 
INSPIRED TO HELP IMPLEMENT THE CAMPAIGN AT LOWER 
LEVELS. 
 
¶15.  ZHANG ADMITTED, HOWEVER, THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD 
NOT YET PREPARED THE REGULATIONS NECESSARY TO 
IMPLEMENT THE 7-POINT ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN WHICH 
THE POLITBURO HAD ANNOUNCED ON JULY 28.  FOR EXAMPLE, 
IT WAS DIF FICULT TO DETERMINE WHO SHOULD BE AFFECTED 
BY THE BAN ON HIGH-LEVEL CADRES' CHILDREN ENGAGING IN 
BUSINESS -- AND INDEED, WHAT KIND OF BUSINESSES 
SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE BAN.  (NOTE:  THE POLITBURO 
ANNOUNCEMENT SINGLED OUT THE CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF 
MEMBERS OF THE CENTRAL POLITICAL BUREAU, THE 
SECRETARIAT AND THE STANDING COMMITTEE -- A 
FORMULATION THAT WOULD NOT INCLUDE DENG XIAOPING'S 
CHILDREN, NOR A HOST OF OTHERS WHO HAVE PROFITTED 
FROM OFFICIAL CONNECTIONS.)  SIMILARLY, THE BAN ON 
THE IMPORT OF FOREIGN-MADE CARS ALSO COULD NOT BE 
INTERPRETED TOO RIGIDLY.  "THAT, TOO, COULD LEAD TO A 
WASTE OF MONEY."  ZHANG SAID THAT THE MINISTRY OF 
JUSTICE, ALONG WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AND PARTY 
ORGANIZATIONS, WAS STUDYING THESE QUESTIONS. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶16.  ZHANG'S REMARKS WERE A CAREFULLY PREPARED 
PRESENTATION OF CCP GOALS DURING THE POST-CRACKDOWN 
PERIOD.  ZHANG SPOKE VIRTUALLY NON-STOP FOR ALMOST 
NINETY MINUTES, NOTING THAT ANY QUESTIONS POLOFFS 
MIGHT HAVE WOULD BE ANSWERED IN THE COURSE OF HIS 
COMMENTS.  READERS OF THE CHINESE PRESS WILL FIND 
MOST OF HIS COMMENTS FAMILIAR.  ZHANG, LIKE THE 
PRESS, WAS LONG ON THEORY AND SHORT ON DETAILS AND 
FACTS.  HIS PRESENTATION, HOWEVER, MADE IT CLEAR 
THAT THE PRC VIEWS THE ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN AS 
KEY IN ITS EFFORTS TO REGAIN THE CONFIDENCE OF THE 
CHINESE PEOPLE.  THUS, WE WERE STRUCK THAT NEARLY TWO 
WEEKS AFTER AFTER THE POLITUBRO ANNOUNCED ITS 
SEVEN-POINT ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM, THE CAMPAIGN, AT 
LEAST AS PRESENTED BY THE JUSTICE MINISTRY,  CONSISTS 
LARGELY OF RHETORIC -- WITH PLENTY OF LOOPHOLES FOR 
WELL-CONNECTED CADRES AND THEIR RELATIONS. 
 
 
LILLEY