Conclusion of China Visit

Attorney General John Ashcroft
Beijing, China
October 24, 2002

ASHCROFT: Good morning. It is an honor for me to be here. Let me begin by thanking U.S. Ambassador Clark Randt for his leadership and his service to the United States of America as he represents America here in China. I especially want to express my appreciation to the Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Marine for hosting me and our delegation in Ambassador Randt’s absence.

I am pleased to be able to spend time in the area while the leader of China, President Jiang Zemin, is in the United States meeting with President Bush. It’s important for us to build the relationships that provide a basis for cooperation in working together in the future.

I am grateful to the people of Beijing and to a number of officials for their gracious hospitality to me over the last two days, in particular State Counselor Luo Gan and Minister of Justice Zhang Fusen. Since September 11 of 2001, we in the United States have an increased awareness of the urgency and importance of international cooperation for law enforcement. And today I am pleased to announce that the United States and China have made progress in this area by establishing a Legal Attaché office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation here in Beijing. In particular I would like to introduce Tony Lau, a Chinese American and a member of the FBI for more than 20 years, who will serve as the Legal Attaché of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office here in Beijing, China. Tony, could you stand up so that everyone can see who you are? Thank you.

Through Tony’s leadership I hope that our relationship will be strengthened, that our law enforcement partnership -- the partnership that we have that fights terrorism, that seeks to disrupt organized crime, that seeks to bring international and transnational criminals to justice -- I hope that this partnership can prosper.

I want to express my appreciation for China’s support in the fight against terrorism. During my meetings that I have had the privilege of conducting in the last two days, I have learned that the United States and China agree that most important to a precise response to terrorism is that we act cooperatively and swiftly. We have also learned through our cooperation on terrorism that there are other types of international criminal activity that could be the basis for the same mutually beneficial cooperation and activity. Already with the nation of China we have a mutual legal assistance agreement in place. It is one that is a set of protocols that provides a basis of cooperation in criminal matters so that both of our countries can more easily and more effectively provide legal assistance to one another in criminal matters and in terrorism cases. These are the kinds of relationships that we seek to foster. They provide the basis for activity on specific cases which are of value to each of our cultures and I believe we will provide a model for extending our capacity to work against transnational threats and to support the rule of law and the idea that criminals cannot escape justice by simply falling in between the jurisdictions of various nations. I’d be pleased to answer questions at this time.

QUESTION: (inaudible)…that U.S. officials bring up questions of human rights when they interact with Chinese government officials. Did you bring up any of these issues, especially religious persecution here in China and in your meetings with Luo Gan, who is one of the key officials cracking down on the Falungong? Did any of those subjects come up?

ASHCROFT: The United States remains dedicated to the kind of freedom for religious freedom and human rights which are really the basis of our culture. People came to the United States originally, many of them, as a result of their having difficulty or having been oppressed. We will continue to support human rights with respect to religious freedom and other human rights in our endeavors around the world.

QUESTION: I am with CNN. The U.S. has yet to capture or kill Osama Bin Ladin and you have yet to track down the sniper in Washington. What does this say of the U.S. ability to deal with terrorism and the challenges you face in and outside of the United States?

ASHCROFT: We feel that we made real progress in the war on terrorism. A number of significant markers are evidence of that progress, including the disruption of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations, the removal of the Taliban in terms of its threat as a base and supporting institution for terrorism. A number of terrorist operations in the United States have been disrupted and cells or groups of terrorists have been disrupted. A number of terrorists have been isolated and detained. A number have pled guilty to criminal activity and been sentenced, and we will continue. The President made very clear in his remarks early on that the war against terrorism is not a war simply against a single individual. Rather, it is a war which is designed to make safe and secure a set of values which the terrorists have attacked. In response to our challenge in this respect we have re-tailored a number of our institutions. The FBI, for example, which I think has been recognized around the world as an institution expert in reconstructing the evidence that surrounded the commission of a particular crime, is now adding to that set of skills the ability to anticipate items so that we can prevent as well as prosecute. When you lose 3000 people in a set of terrorist attacks, and those who perpetrate those attacks extinguish themselves in the commission of the crime, prosecution itself is not an adequate response. So we believe we have made significant progress in the war on terror. Progress comes as a result of what we have done to those who perpetrate terror but also how we have reconfigured our resources to avoid and to disrupt and to prevent additional terrorist acts.

QUESTION: I’m with ABC News. When the Pacific Fleet Commander was retiring a couple of months ago, he said that the Chinese Government had been cooperative in the war on terrorism. It had not really been forthcoming with specific intelligence information about specific planes, specific individuals that pose a threat to the United States. Does today’s announcement indicate that that approach is changing on the part of the Chinese? Does it reflect a hope on the part of your department and the U.S. Government that the Chinese will be more forthcoming in giving us specific intelligence information that we can act on rather than simply responding to U.S. requests?

ASHCROFT: I was very pleased to hear my Chinese counterparts, and those with whom I met, some of whom occupy different levels and portfolios of service than I do, uniformly indicate that wherever, whenever, however terrorism can be disrupted, it needs to be disrupted. I think I made and my Chinese counterparts and those with whom I met made reference to the fact that terrorism has not just been a phenomenon of late that was an assault against the United States and its interests, but it particularly is demonstrated as an assault against individuals who love and care for freedom around the world as reflected in the very serious and damaging attacks in Southeast Asia, Bali, etc.

QUESTION: Thank you. I’m from China Central Television. I have a question concerning the FBI office in Beijing. Would you please tell us how will the Beijing Office cooperate with the Chinese security department organizations to fight terrorism? Which group of terrorists will be the office targets? Will this mean that China will also set up a similar organization in the U.S.?

ASHCROFT: We have been pleased to have working arrangements for members of a variety of agencies of the United States law enforcement community to be present in a number of foreign capitals and cities of world significance and importance. Here in Beijing we have had representatives, for example, of the Drug Enforcement Administration to work collaboratively against drug trafficking, officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States to work collaboratively so as to thwart trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling. Now, we add to that an official from the FBI whose responsibility will be to collaborate on issues like international terrorism, organized crime, transnational crime and threats to the rule of law in both of our cultures. A number of exchanges have been made and I hope that they will be made in additional ways so that we not only collaborate but we have an opportunity to learn from each other about how we can best serve one another in the interests of the rule of law and to curtail organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism. It’s in that frame of reference, in the sort of established precedent of those other areas, that we are adding now this presence from the FBI that is common to the American presence in major capitals around the world.

QUESTION: I’m with ANSA Italian News Agency. In the framework of cooperation against terrorism, can you confirm that Chinese officials went to Guantanamo to interview, to question some Uighur prisoners? Thank you.

ASHCROFT: No, I wouldn’t comment on that. Thank you.

QUESTION: Marketplace Radio. Did you discuss money laundering in any of your meetings and how big a concern is it to the U.S. of money laundering with China? How much cooperation are you looking for?

ASHCROFT: Money laundering becomes a concern because it is the lifeblood of so many transnational and organized criminal efforts as well as terrorism. In the fight to curtail terrorism, international crime, and transnational crime, whether it’s immigrant smuggling or the smuggling of dangerous drugs and narcotics, money laundering is, obviously, one of the matters of concern. We will do our best to continue to expand our cooperation in all the ways that can curtail these activities. Obviously, financial resources for terrorism are a major target in terms of supporting the fight and curtailing the threat of terrorism.

QUESTION: I’m from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Two questions. In regard to Jemaah Islamiya, it’s now being listed as a foreign terrorist organization in the U.S. Should it have been listed earlier? The other question is in regard to China, did you talk about listing any other organizations that are perhaps threatening Chinese security? The East Turkestan Islamic Movement was listed some time ago.

ASHCROFT: Yes, the United States has cooperated with China in terms of referencing some organizations like that as terrorist organizations. Our labeling of organizations is an evidence-based process where when we make a conclusion that they indeed are organizations that are terrorist organizations we so designate them. It is not based on political negotiations or a sense of timing. It is based on the availability of evidence that supports the designation. We will continue to look at facts that relate to the nature and activities of organizations and on the basis of that evidence and those facts make determinations. That would apply to terrorist organizations as those you mentioned and any others.

QUESTION: I would like to ask about some specifics. Is there just going to be one FBI officer? Is he going to be working out of the Embassy? What new capabilities is he going to have? And, what capabilities were missing before the opening of this office?

ASHCROFT: For me to try and specify the kind of expertise and capabilities that are brought here by Tony is to say -- the full range and awareness of the FBI. So, when we need to make connection, when we need to have an interface he will know how that works. He's a veteran of the FBI. He is also a person who is a very knowledgeable person in terms of the Chinese culture. So, we feel that this is a very good fit. In the event that there are specific projects that require the attention of, the FBI, and we need to have that reported to us in Washington, he'll understand that and know how to do it. He knows what resources are available and things like that. I would think that initially he adds more than one person. He adds the capacity of helping two systems work together in areas where they can mutually benefit one another. The systems are not identical and they are obviously not interoperable. In order to have the transmission between these two operations work effectively, he is ideally suited to help us facilitate cooperation, facilitate coordination and collaboration toward our major objectives of the rule of law, curtailing organized and transnational crime including drug trafficking, and, of course, in the major endeavor of counter-terrorism. That is our highest priority in American law enforcement and I am pleased to say that I found a very, very strong note of agreement about the importance of curtailing terrorist activities here, among the leaders with whom I had meetings.

Thank you very much and I wish you a good day.