China's premier Tuesday rebuffed harsh human rights criticism by the British prime minister, but the friction didn't interfere with the signing of an agreement giving the Chinese sway over Hong Kong development.
The agreement ended a long dispute over a new airport in Hong Kong and symbolized China's clout in the colony long before Britain turns it over to Beijing in 1997.Critics say the pact gives China too much influence over Hong Kong affairs before 1997 and throws doubt on whether China will keep its pledge to give the enclave substantial autonomy after the turnover.
British Prime Minister John Major and Premier Li Peng toasted each other with champagne after signing the document in the Great Hall of the People at a ceremony that was the centerpiece of a three-day visit by Major.
Major is the first Western leader to visit China since the 1989 army crackdown drew international condemnation. Japanese Premier Toshiki Kaifu's visit last month was the first by a leader of the industrialized democracies.
In talks Tuesday before signing the agreement, Major made a "strong and detailed presentation" on concerns over human rights violations, said a British official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Major raised the cases of jailed dissidents including Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao, who began hunger strikes last month to protest poor prison conditions.
They are serving 13-year terms for taking part in the 1989 democracy movement. The government told Britain they have received humanitarian treatment.
Major gave Li a letter from the human rights group Amnesty International expressing concern over the treatment of jailed dissidents.
International human rights groups have criticized Major's trip, saying it bolsters the image of China's authoritarian government. But Major has defended his visit, saying contacts with China are more valuable than isolation.
Li rejected the British leader's remonstrations over rights violations. Instead, he rebuked Britain and other foreign countries for encroaching on Chinese territory in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Li said a Chinese historian had asked him in a letter "not to forget the history of China being bullied and humiliated in the past," when "foreign powers totally disregarded the human rights of the Chinese people."
Li's comments were quoted by Foreign Ministry spokesman Wu Jianmin at a news conference.
The agreement gives China the right to be consulted extensively on each construction stage of the $16.2 billion airport and port proj-ect, and on any other major undertaking by the British colonial government.
Britain agreed in 1984 to return the enclave on China's southeastern coast to Chinese control in 1997 after governing it for more than a century.