By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press Writer
PARIS – One lawmaker placed a white gag in his mouth and dozens more stayed away in protest Tuesday as China’s leader got the rare honor of addressing parliament, the hallowed home of French democracy.
Earlier, Hu Jintao and President Jacques Chirac warned Taiwan against holding a referendum, with the French leader saying any measure that breeds tension between the two Asian rivals is dangerous.
China had asked France, in planning for Hu’s visit, to let him to speak to the National Assembly. He became just the ninth foreign head of state to do so.
During a 29-minute address, Hu stuck to established Chinese government policy. About 240 of France’s 577 lawmakers attended the speech, which was heavy with Communist Party boilerplate and appeals for strengthened France-China cooperation.
Many lawmakers stayed away, though it wasn’t possible to say how many did so in protest. Many of the absentees apparently boycotted the speech to express dissatisfaction with China’s human rights record, with some joining protesters outside. One lawmaker, Philippe Foillot of the centrist UDF party, wore a white gag as he listened.
“Politically, China is gagged,” he said. “The question is not whether China will be democratic one day, but when. The sooner the better.”
“I’m very happy that my colleagues were numerous in not taking part in this theater,” said Lionnel Luca, a lawmaker from President Jacques Chirac’s party who skipped Hu’s speech to join pro-Tibet and human rights protesters demonstrating outside nearby. “He did not get the docile legislature he’s accustomed to at home.”
Hu’s speech came on the second day of a three-day visit. France was looking for the visit to gain a larger part of China’s massive market for French companies.
Chirac spoke out strongly in favor of lifting a European embargo on arms sales to China – imposed after Beijing’s crackdown on democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
“This embargo no longer makes any sense,” he said at a news conference with Hu. “It will, I hope, be lifted in the months to come.”
European ministers meeting Monday in Brussels, Belgium, said the EU could decide this spring to lift the ban.
Some of the no-show legislators joined about 100 protesters at Paris’ Invalides, about 500 yards away, to express support for Tibet and denounce China’s alleged rights abuses.
In opposing Taiwanese referendum plans, Chirac aligned France with the United States – Taiwan’s most important friend – and Japan, which have expressed concern about the planned March 20 vote.
Chirac warned that the vote threatened stability in Asia.
“All initiatives that can be interpreted as aggressive by one side or the other are dangerous for everyone and thus irresponsible,” Chirac said.
“That is why France, it’s correct, condemns a measure like a referendum or all others that can appear aggressive,” he added. “This initiative is dangerous for everyone, for Taiwan, for China and for stability.
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, long regarded with suspicion by Beijing, plans to ask voters whether the island should reinforce its defenses if China continues to threaten the island with hundreds of missiles.
China opposes the plan – as it does any measure it fears could mark a step toward its worst-case scenario: a declaration by Taiwan that it is formally separating itself from the Chinese, Communist Party-ruled mainland.
China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, has for years warned that it would use force to stop that from happening. The two sides separated amid civil war in 1949.
“We resolutely oppose Taiwanese independence, and also oppose any activity that promotes independence in the name of a so-called referendum,” Hu said after his talks with Chirac.
In Taiwan, officials said they regretted the French leader’s criticisms and that China was using other countries to pressure the island.
On Tibet, Hu stuck firmly to the party line. He said the Himalayan region is part of China and that the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, must accept that for the two sides to hold talks.
In a joint statement, Hu and Chirac spoke of their countries’ duty “to promote and protect all human rights and all fundamental liberties.”
But it gave no specifics and appeared to move China no closer to ratifying a key international pact on political and civil rights. The statement said merely that China was working on ratifying that agreement “as soon as possible.”
Hu also said China Southern Airlines recently reached an accord with Airbus to purchase 21 planes from the European aircraft maker, which has its headquarters in southern France.
Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht confirmed that a provisional deal had been reached for the sale of 21 A-320 planes, but said it was too early to say when it might be finalized.
