From DEBRA@oln.comlink.apc.orgWed Sep 6 12:15:08 1995 Date: Mon, 04 Sep 1995 14:36:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: WCW: Meeting Li Zhaoxing [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] ## author : theearthtime@igc.apc.org ## date : 04.09.95 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting Li Zhaoxing By Elizabeth Bryant Earth Times News Service Li Zhaoxing has the alert and charming manner of a veteran of multilateral diplomacy, and as the curtain rises on the Fourth World Conference on Women, China's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs is clearly savoring the moment. Li, after all, is among the key organizers of the event and, as a former Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, also a man fully conversant with the prestige attached to the hosting of a major international gathering "We have a saying in China that so far as clothing is concerned, the newer the better," he said, when asked what China will learn from hosting the United Nation's Fourth World Conference on Women. "But so far as friends, the older the better." "We would like to make friends quickly so they can be old friends,'' he added during an interview with The Earth Times on Sunday. Li, who helped organize the Conference from its inception more than two years ago, summed up his mood as "great." "I feel confident and happy because this is a really important even, not only for Chinese women, but for the whole country," he said. "We are very happy and proud that we are hosting the Conference. This is an important event for the Chinese people as they prepare for the 21st century." Li also said he hoped the conference would sound the notes of accord and consensus that have been lacking in some areas. "The women issue is a long-standing one," he said, noting that the UN's Charter, established over a half-century ago, has incorporated women's issues into its preamble and first chapter. "However, a lot more remains to be done, despite the fact that a lot will be done," he added. As for China's own expectations, "we want to be very open, we want to be sincere," he said. "We hope to make friends. We want to know other countries better, and we want other countries to get to know us better."