Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

1-27-90 . . . President [George Herbert Walker] Bush has won a significant political victory. Recently, Congress enacted a law which permits Chinese students to remain in this country if they are threatened with persecution in their native land. The bill is designed to protect those who were critical of the Chinese government during this past summer’s suppression in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Bush argues that the bill will antagonize Chinese officials and disrupt diplomatic relations between the countries. A cynic like me would say that Bush is concerned with trade relations between the countries. At any rate, Bush vetoed the bill. Members of Congress, led by the Democrats, tried to override it, but fell short. So Chinese students have only the usual protections against deportation and persecution. Some of them are likely to be executed when they return, because that’s the fate met by many of their cohorts in China. Although Democrats led the charge in favor of the bill, a number of conservative Republicans joined in. Republicans seem to be split between (1) those who are vehemently anti-communist and want to sever trade relations between the countries and (2) those who are opposed to communism, but want to maintain economic ties to China. In short, the party is split between old-guard red-baiters and free-traders. We’re seeing ruptures in the decade-old Republican coalition built by Ronald Reagan [1911-2004].