China refutes US charges on political funds

He was commenting on some media reports in the US, accusing China of making illegal campaign funds to President Bill Clinton’s Democratic Party and seeking in turn a more pro-China policy from the new administration.

Tang said China’s system did not allow such a thing to happen, but the Democratic Party has acknowledged that it received millions of dollars in questionable donations.

“The Chinese Government always opposes the interference of one country into the internal affairs of another. It is also unnecessary for the Chinese Government to interfere and influence internal policies of other countries by any means,” he said.

Tang accused some US politicians of “fabricating” the facts to meet their domestic political needs and described the on-going China-bashing as nothing but an attempt to derail improving Sino-US relations.

The issue was revived this week when on Tuesday last, the US Senate began a hearing into possible violations of campaign funding laws amid allegations that China had tried to use financial donations running into millions of dollars to influence the Presidential and Congressional elections.

The US Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Fred Thompson has alleged that China did try to influence the US political process and its foreign policy.

Responding to these charges, Tang said: “We hope they (US politicians) can respect facts, proceed from the whole situation of bilateral relations, stop such wrong practices and not do things that hurt bilateral relations any more.”

President Clinton has recently stated that he would act in an “appropriate fashion” if it was established that China had violated US law.