Bill Clinton: “Well, first let me thank you for what you said. I do believe that my coming here and the work we've done in the last 2…”

“Well, first let me thank you for what you said. I do believe that my coming here and the work we've done in the last 2 years, President Jiang's trip to the United States, has helped to resolve some of the misunderstandings. I had a chance to reiterate our Taiwan policy, which is that we don't support independence for Taiwan, or two Chinas, or one Taiwan/one China. And we don't believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for which statehood is a requirement. So I think we have consistent policy. Our only policy has been that we think it has to be done peacefully. That is what our law says, and we have encouraged the cross-strait dialog. And I think eventually it will bear fruit if everyone is patient and works hard. I also agree that the human rights dialog I had with President Jiang was a good thing. I hope it will lead to more open discussion here. And I would be encouraged if that happened. Let me, if I could, I'd like to ask you a more personal question. I read in your--I got a little biography of all of you before I came here, and I would like to ask--I noticed that you were born in a small rural community, like me. All my mother's people came from a community, actually, that never had more than 150 people, although I was born in the largest city in my little area, which had at the time 6,000 people. One of the struggles we work at all the time in the States is trying to make sure that our children, no matter where they're born--if they're born in some remote rural area or some very poor area in the inner city--that they still have a chance, if they have ability, as you obviously did, to live the future of their imaginations and their dreams. Do you believe that you have a system now in China which would give every boy and girl growing up in a small rural village like you the chance that you had to become what you have become? [Mr. Wu stated that his experience was very typical, noting that despite his poor circumstances he was able to get an education and that the Government had made a great effort to popularize 9 years of compulsory education.]”