China President, in L.A. Talk, Cites Goal of Reunified Taiwan

By DAVID HOLLEY

July 29, 1985 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Chinese President Li Xiannian Sunday night reiterated his government’s determination to reunite Taiwan with mainland China, and pledged that no troops would be sent to the island if Taiwanese authorities cooperate.

Addressing a banquet audience in Beverly Hills, Li called for acceptance of the “one country, two systems,” doctrine--which would permit Taiwan to retain a capitalist system while acknowledging Peking’s sovereignty--and pledged that neither system “will swallow the other.”

He offered guarantees:

“The mainland,” he said, “will send neither people nor troops to Taiwan and the interests of the Taiwan authorities and those of the parties concerned will be effectively safeguarded.”

And he suggested that such reunification is inevitable:

“In the history of over 2,200 years since the first emperor of the Qin dynasty unified China, the unification of the country has always been the main trend of historical development.”

It was Li’s first direct reference to Taiwan since his arrival in the United States, and his words, translated paragraph by paragraph, brought repeated applause from the audience of 1,200 ethnic Chinese and Chinese-Americans gathered at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton.

The banquet, sponsored by the Committee to Welcome President Li Xiannian, was organized as a rally of those in favor of reunification, and that had been the theme of most speakers appearing before Li.

“We are here,” said David Lee, president of the Southern California chapter of the National Assn. of Chinese Americans and a sponsor of the banquet, “as a result of President Li’s personal request to President Reagan to set aside this evening to share with overseas Chinese and Chinese Americans.”

“What you see here tonight,” said Collin Lai, cochairman of the Chinatown Public Safety Assn., “is the leadership of Chinatown--the silent leadership of Chinatown besides the CCBA.”

He was referring to the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., which had organized a protest demonstration during Li’s Saturday night address to the World Affairs Council at the Century Plaza.

There was no such demonstration at the Beverly Hilton, however, and there was none earlier in the day, when Li, his wife, Lin Jiamei, and a party of more than 70 people including China’s ambassador to the United States, Han Xu, toured Disneyland.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse were on hand at the park entrance to greet Li, who then mounted a red, black and gold antique-replica car for a ride down Main Street, surrounded by American and Chinese security officers.

Li took an “It’s a Small World” boat ride and sailed on the “Jungle Cruise.”

The tour became one more attraction for ordinary Disneyland visitors, who got a look at the 76-year-old Chinese head of state.

“It makes the day kind of special when you have a dignitary of that kind,” commented John DeVincenzi, 64, of San Jose, who took a picture of Li as he boarded a boat for the ride through “It’s a Small World.”

“I think with the new association we’re having with Communist China, it’s interesting and important to have a president come over here,” DeVincenzi said.

‘Talk One-on-One’

Sharon Rogers, 32, of Los Angeles said she thought Li’s visit indicated the two countries were learning “to talk one-on-one with each other and work out our differences better.”

“Both countries could maybe work together to bring about peace throughout the world,” Rogers said. “That’s what I’d like to see.”

As Li moved on, a crowd of about 50 people near the “Small World” attraction broke into spontaneous applause.

Li did not speak directly with journalists covering the tour. But Han, asked how the president found “It’s a Small World,” turned to Li and reported with a smile that the president said it was “very good.”

A State Department official traveling with the Chinese delegation said that Chinese diplomats who had visited the park before noted with pleasure Sunday that the section of “It’s a Small World” dealing with China had been expanded.

‘A Big Hit’

“That was a big hit,” the official said.

Bob Gault, Disneyland’s manager of theme park operations, said late in the morning that Li had “enjoyed it so much he wants to keep going” but that he was “extremely tired.”

Li had been scheduled to return to the park after lunch, but instead returned to his suite at the Century Plaza to rest before the evening banquet at the Beverly Hilton.

The banquet constituted a show of strength by supporters of Peking among the Southland’s Chinese communities. Some of those attending, however, were motivated primarily by ethnic pride.

“The people who are holding this banquet kind of remind me of the Italian-Americans who come out to welcome the Italian prime minister when he is in town,” said California Secretary of State March Fong Eu, a third-generation Chinese-American, who attended the banquet.

No Emotional Significance

Eu said that for herself, China “doesn’t have any emotional significance,” but that “some people get all shook up when they touch the land where their ancestors were born.”

Li, who met with President Reagan in Washington last week, is scheduled to fly to Hawaii today before returning to China.

The No. 2 member of the Chinese delegation, Vice Premier Li Peng, 56, arrived in the Los Angeles area Sunday afternoon, flying into Long Beach for a tour of the Douglas Aircraft Co. Division of McDonnell Douglas Corp. McDonnell Douglas Corp. is one of the U.S. firms most heavily involved in trade and joint ventures with China.

The vice premier visited an aircraft assembly plant and got a quick “flight” in a simulator.