LAROUCHE PRESS CONFERENCE
A Great Bond Between
China and the U.S.A.
Here is an edited transcript of a press conference given by Lyndon LaRouche in Los Angeles, on Nov. 23, in advance of the Nov. 24 Forum on U.S.-China Relationship and Peaceful Reunification of China, sponsored by the Institute for Sino Strategic Studies. LaRouche's comments and responses, in the brief discussion that followed his opening remarks, were translated into Chinese.
Moderator: I have the great pleasure to introduce Mr. Lyndon LaRouche!
LaRouche: Thank you. Obviously I shall speak English. [laughter]
But, in short, as you have noticed, the dollar took another plunge in international value today, and this process will continue. This collapse of the dollar is not good for China; it is not good for the United States. China needs to invest in capital improvements, over many generations to come, in order to achieve for the Chinese people, for a time to come, the necessary improvement in the standard of living and conditions of life. Much of this will depend upon China's investment in U.S. dollars, either to buy U.S. goods, which is good for the U.S. economy, or to buy goods from other countries, using U.S. dollars to buy those goods. This means infrastructure investment that would benefit the Chinese people as a whole. It is also in our national interest to defend our dollar.
So this creates a great bond of common interest between China and the United States. And it is extremely important, that we reverse some very silly antipathy toward China from a number of our members in Congress, here in the United States. And those of us who are influential, in one degree or another, in our own respective countries, should work to bring about that agreement.
I should say, also, that the crisis of the U.S. dollar can be solved. It will require important, sweeping, deep changes in current U.S. policy, but these measures are possible; they are feasible; they will work.
And this brings up another great principle of statecraft: From 1492 to 1648, all of Europe was torn apart by religious warfare. A great figure, Cardinal Mazarin of France, [was able] to bring about an agreement among the people who had been killing each other. This was called the "Peace of Westphalia." There was one great principle upon which this treaty depended: Each party must work for the benefit of the other. With the same effort, would we look for the complete unification of China. We in the United States and China, who understand this problem, must follow in the footsteps of the Treaty of Westphalia. This will bring peace across the Pacific Ocean, and benefit for us both, all, for generations to come. And those of us who are more conscious of these matters must take the leadership in initiating that proposal toward peace and progress between our peoples.
Thank you.
Discussion
Q: I have one question for Professor LaRouche. You mentioned in your great comment earlier, that each party should try to improve the other side's well-being, and so that's how, in essence, you'll be able to reach peace and prosperity for both sides.
LaRouche: Yes.
Q: But, as we know, the [Taiwan] Strait relationship depends much on the U.S. policies. After the 17th Chinese Party Congress, President Hu [Jintao] pointed out that the peace agreement voted, and also KMT [Kuomintang] chairman Ma Ying-jeou also brought up this idea, a so-called modus vivendi, in which both have a lot of resentments. My question to you is: What can the U.S. do to facilitate that both sides reach out, showing good faith, after trying to improve the current secure relationship on both sides? Or even, the candidate from the DDP [Taiwan opposition party], who also vowed to open up the trade, or the communication, direct flights. We know both sides need to do more, but my question is, what can the U.S. do to facilitate both sides, to reach accord for the peace agreements? Thank you.
Moderator: Identify yourself please.
Q: My name is Julian Lee, from San Francisco. I'm from China Focus of Unification, Northern California....
LaRouche: Diplomacy is a very complicated business. And it springs from inside the country and inside the wise old men of each country. The President of the United States today is not a wise old man. Therefore, in a case like this, you must use, as I do—you must use the occurrence of crisis, not as a problem, but as an opportunity.
A failure of a government—and the collapse of the U.S. dollar in value is the failure of the U.S. government; the Democratic Party in the Congress has 10% popularity with the American people—that's a crisis. We must use the failures of government, to induce government to change its ways, when it errs from our national interest. It is the national interest of the United States as a nation, to have cooperation with China, and not on a negative basis, but on an affirmative basis.
Those of us who are human beings, who are human beings above all, think of other human beings and their needs. And I can think of the needs of people of China. I have some knowledge of the problems of the people of China, their well-being. For the future of our descendants, I wish the people of China to be happy people; I wish the United States' people to be happy people. Therefore, those things which spoil our relationship must be corrected. Sometimes it's someone like me, or people like me, who move in our own country, to try to change our country's mistaken policies, to get to correct policies. That's the way it's done.
This is not a simple process. It's a complicated process. It's a dangerous process. You put your life on the line sometimes, when you do what I do. But you do it, because you do it: It's the right thing to do.
And you're saying it, fine! It's true. We must do something about it. We should all do something about it.
Q: Okay! Fine, okay.
The Taiwan Relations Act
Q: I'd like to make a basic comment to your answer to Mr. Lee's question. In fact, I think the most obvious thing that the U.S. can do, is to reexamine, or abolish the Taiwan Relations Act. Because that is the apparent domestic law that interferes with another country's internal business. And with that Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is selling arms, against its promise in the Aug. 17 Communiqué, in which it promised the reduction of arms sales with Taiwan.
Last, because I remember in D.C., there was this conference, and Bonnie Glaser from the Brookings Institution—she was saying, what the U.S. was trying to do by keeping the status quo, is trying to bring peace across the Strait. I totally disagree with that argument. Because, selling arms to Taiwan, and trying to balance the military strength of the cross-Strait, is creating a power balance. Power balance is not peace. It escalates the tension. So I really wonder, if there are any ways our American friends, or American politicians can reexamine the Taiwan Relations Act?
LaRouche: All right. I'll try to keep it as short as possible. It's an important question, and should be answered. I shall not answer it totally here, because it's a long story.
Moderator: Tomorrow we'll have the opportunity to discuss.
LaRouche: Right. But, the point is, we are all aware, I think, here, that the United States stands on the verge of a new attack, this time on Iran. This is part of a policy which was cooked up, between largely the Vice President of the United States, Mr. Dick Cheney, and Tony Blair, the former prime minister of England. They played with people inside Taiwan, and inside the city of Tokyo, Japan, to set this policy into motion.
I understand the policy: It's extremely dangerous. It is a very serious threat. And one of the people, who in a sense tolerated it, was a good friend of mine, in a sense—Chuck Schumer, the Senator from New York State—who is a good person, but he's a political person, and he's in a position, and therefore, he has supported some things, which from the standpoint of his morality, he should not have promoted.
The point is, it's a legitimate question. Your raising it is useful, because we have to raise the question. This is a threat. We achieved a miracle in the case of Korea, with the six-power agreement on Korean reunification. It is not complete reunification, but it's a step forward. It opens the way for good things in Asia, among Russia, Japan—one faction in Japan—and the factions in Korea and in China. This is a very important development, and a contribution to the development of Asia.
We must work for these kinds of ends, and some of us have to put ourselves on the line, in danger, to try to make some changes in the kind of horror-show that you just identified. It's evil. It should be denounced as evil. Its intention is obvious. There's no honesty to it. Yes, there are people in Taiwan, who are of a certain faction, who are drawn into this thing. But this is evil, it's a danger to peace. It's a danger to us all, and we must stop it.
I think the only way to stop it is by inducing a change in the way the U.S. government functions, which means, getting rid of this Administration, and getting the Democratic Party to be a Democratic Party again.
