People of 1989: George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush became the 41st President of the United States on January 20, 1989. He had been the Vice President under President Ronald Reagan for eight years already. In his previous political endeavors, he had also served, among other positions, as the Ambassador to the United Nations and Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency. Thus, he was well regarded as a top expert in foreign affairs.

But he seemed to be most proud of his experience as the Chief of U. S. Liaison Office in Beijing during 1974-1975, the precursor of embassy in China. He and his wife enjoyed riding bicycles in the streets and hutongs of that city, gaining first-hand intimate feelings of that mysterious country before her opening to the rest of the world.

After his inauguration, Bush quickly planned a trip to Japan, China, and South Korea (using the funeral of Japanese Emperor Hirohito as an opportunity) as his first official working trip as President. This was the very first "pivot to China" attempt by the US government. On February 25, 1989, barely a month into his presidency, Bush arrived in Beijing.

On the second day of his triumphant return, however, there was trouble. Bush was to host a banquet at the Great Wall Hotel and he had invited many dignitaries in Beijing, including some famous dissidents. Professor Fang Lizhi and his wife Li Shuxian were invited but was blocked by authority from attending on the street outside of the hotel. The couple held a press briefing later that night at the Shangri-La Hotel instead. It was the first signal that government's tolerance of dissident activity was reaching its end. The Bush administration had only muted response to that incident.


The sudden eruption of student movement later that year caught Bush by surprise, when his attention was focused in the East Europe. The US government stayed in a low profile during the entire period.

After the massacre, while shocked, President Bush quickly decided that his first priority should be to "preserve the relationship" between America and China. Just as the US government was denouncing the brutality, Bush was already seeking private channels to convey his true intention to Beijing. On June 20, while the ripples of the massacre were still apparent, he wrote a secret letter to his "old friend" Deng Xiaoping, delivered through the Chinese ambassador Han Xu (韩叙). Deng Xiaoping quickly responded, and with it started a secret diplomacy between the two great nations. Shortly after, White House envoys, former President Richard Nixon, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and others visited Beijing either in secret or officially, maintaining a viable communication channel.

At the same time, Bush was facing tremendous pressure from the American public and Congress to impose tough sanctions on China. The newly formed Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in America launched a successful and sustained lobbying campaign, which was supported by most Congress members, led by the Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. They managed to pass a series of legislation aimed to punish China and protect Chinese students in America.

Bush had to use almost all of his political capital to contain and limit the "damage." On November 21, he vetoed a sanction bill. On November 30, he vetoed an "emergency Chinese protection bill" but implemented its content with an executive order. On December 19, he was already lifting some sanctions previously imposed. Then on May 24, 1990, he extended China's "Most Favored Nation" (MFN) status. The MFN status for China would continue to be an annual political battle afterwards, but never seriously threatened again. (In 1992, Bill Clinton strongly attacked Bush on this issue, vowing to be tough to Beijing. But after his election, Clinton also continued to extend the status and eventually made it permanent.)

Bush also experienced difficulty in securing the release of Fang Lizhi, who had taken refuge in the US Embassy in Beijing after the massacre. He viewed the issue as a huge headache. After a year of negotiations, Fang Lizhi was finally allowed to leave China. When Fang Lizhi almost immediately criticized US government's "double standard" on human rights issues regarding China, Bush and his team were deeply offended.

During his four years in office, President Bush oversaw "a world transformed," with fundamental changes occurring in China, East Europe, and Soviet Union. He also won a complete military victory in the first Gulf War. However, his triumph in foreign affairs was no match to a domestic economical recession and was defeated for reelection.

Bush died on November 30, 2018. He was 94.


People of 1989

This Day in 1989: May 24, 1990, US Extends China's "Most Favored Nation" Status

On May 24, 1990, American President Bush announced that, after a long deliberation, he had decided to extend the "Most Favored Nation" trade status.

The Most Favored Nation (MFN), later renamed as Normal Trade Relations (NTR), was the default relation status between US and most of her trading partners. However, as a non-market-economic country, China's status required annual review and approval.

The 1990 review was hugely controversial, coming right at the first anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre. There were strong opposition from both the Congress and grassroots. Bush explained that, without the status, Chinese people, Americans, as well as Hong Kong would face great losses, which was not what he wanted to see. He pointed out that, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan all hoped for the extension of MFN. The US Ambassador to China also reported that students and intellectuals in China, with whom he had contacts, were also in support of the extension.

After 1990, the annual review of China's MFN remained a contention in American politics, until a decade later when President Clinton signed into law to permanently grant the status to China. Soon after that, China successfully joined the World Trade Organization, making the MFN obsolete.

Days of 1989

This Day in 1989: May 18, 1990, Jiang Zemin Interviewed by Barbara Walters

On May 18, 1990, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) broadcast an interview of Jiang Zemin by reporter Barbara Walters. This was the first interview of the new General Secretary by a western reporter. It was also the first private interview by a Chinese leader after the Tiananamen Massacre.

The interview was actually conducted on May 2 at the Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Jiang Zemin stated in the interview that the military suppression of the 1989 movement was necessary and that the strong reactions by western countries was "much ado about nothing."

Walters showed a picture of the "Tank Man," famous in the west and asked for the whereabouts of the person in picture. Jiang Zemin replied that he didn't know where the person was but he did not believe that he had been killed. This confrontation is available on YouTube.

Jiang Zemin also called on President Bush to extend China's "Most Favored Nation" trade status.


Days of 1989

This Day in 1989: July 30, 1989, Chinese Students in US Organize

On July 30, 1989, after 3 days of meeting in Chicago, more than 350 delegates selected by Chinese students all over the US officially announced the formation of a new organization: the Independent Federation of the Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS).

Wuer Kaixi and Yan Jiaqi atttended the meeting as invited guests. This is the first time they appeared publicly in US after their escape from China.

During the entire 1989 student movement, Chinese students in the US had adopted a very supportive stance from abroad. They launched several demonstrations in major US cities to support the movement at home and collected donations that were sent back to Beijing. After the massacre, large-scale demonstrations took place all over the US. Almost all local student unions officially severed any ties with the Chinese embassy.

The new IFCSS was organized in a way similar to US government, with a headquarters, a concil, and a supervisory committee forming three branches of shared power. Dr. Liu Yongchuan (刘永川) from Stanford University was elected as the first President.

IFCSS would become the most active and influential China lobby in the US, laying groundbreaking work for Chinese participating in US politics. Most significantly, they successfully pushed through the 1992 Chinese Student Protection Act, which granted green cards to some 54,000 Chinese nationals in the US.

On the other hand, they were not as successful in lobbying for economic sanctions and the revoke of China's Most Favored Nation status, due to the strong resistance from the Bush administration.

In late 1990s, IFCSS gradually lost her grassroots support and organization power and faded out from public domain. To this day, a skeleton organization still exists with her main activity being leading commemorative at anniversaries of the massacre.


Days of 1989