By Debra Bradley Ruder

Gazette Staff

The University is preparing for the visit Saturday by Jiang Zemin, the President of the People's Republic of China and the first Chinese President ever to give an address at Harvard.

Thousands of people -- faculty, students, staff, and others -- are expected to gather in and around Sanders Theatre to hear the 11 a.m. speech. A range of protests outside Memorial Hall are also being planned by individuals and groups concerned about human rights in China.

In connection with President Jiang's address, groups within the University are also hosting a number of speeches, discussions, and other events addressing contemporary issues in China from different perspectives. (See related story.)

The invitation to Jiang, said Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine, reflects Harvard's strong tradition of opening its doors to speakers when members of the community wish to hear their views.

"I believe that this tradition serves a vital educational purpose," he stated. "It enables members of our community to listen directly to the views of significant actors on the world stage, from the United States and abroad. At the same time, it can stimulate the vigorous expression of differing opinions and perspectives, and contribute to the free exchange of ideas that is a central part of the life of the University."

Ezra F. Vogel is director of Harvard's Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, host of this event and one of Harvard's principal programs relating to China and Asia.

"President Jiang's visit provides an excellent opportunity for public discussion on issues related to China by a wide variety of people knowledgeable about China," said Vogel, the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "This can help raise the level of interest in and understanding of China."

Jiang's appearance is part of a weeklong tour of the United States, which includes stops in Honolulu, Washington, D.C., New York, and elsewhere.

Jiang's speech will be delivered in Mandarin Chinese to an invited group of scholars and others in Asia-related fields, and to other Harvard faculty, students, and staff chosen by lottery. It will be simultaneously translated into English and heard through headphones.

Overflow seating will be available in the Science Center and Boylston Hall and is open to Harvard I.D. holders and invited guests. The broadcast in Science Center E will be in Mandarin, while the broadcasts in Science Center A and Boylston Hall Auditorium will be in English.

Those who won the lottery have been notified where and when to pick up tickets. Invited guests who have not picked up their tickets by Saturday may do so starting at 8 a.m. at Wadsworth House; the Massachusetts Avenue door will be open.

President Jiang has agreed to entertain up to 15 minutes of questions and answers. Proposed queries will be reviewed by a committee led by Bill Kovach of the Nieman Foundation. The group is looking for probing, succinct, and clear questions that concern major issues involving the United States and China.

"When you combine the knowledge, experience and interests represented by the undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and midcareer students at Harvard, and the faculty, which includes some of the world's acknowledged experts on China, Asia, world politics, ethics, and human rights, I can't think of a better pool from which to get probing and timely questions," said Kovach.

"The challenge for the committee will be to choose among them and prioritize them to produce responses from President Jiang that will deepen understanding of his government and encourage better informed study and discussion of current events in East Asia, and better grounding for judgments about the nature of China's government and its growing presence on the world stage."

Questions may be submitted electronically to the Fairbank Center at asiactr@fas.harvard.edu by noon on Friday. Harvard will give those inquiries not chosen to President Jiang's delegation at the conclusion of the visit.

Law enforcement officials from several agencies will be on hand Saturday, and access to some parts of campus, including Harvard Yard, will be restricted during Jiang's visit.

Hundreds of journalists from local, state, national, and international media outlets have sought credentials to attend the event, which will be covered live on WHRB radio, New England Cable News, and possibly other stations.

Tradition of Free Expression

Many heads of state and other prominent -- and sometimes controversial -- figures have shared their views with the Harvard community over the years, among them Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the late Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin.

The impending Chinese visit has prompted an enormous amount of formal and informal discussion around the University about U.S.-China relations and about contemporary events in the world's most populous country.

The Fairbank Center, for example, has organized a series of events as part of "China Debate Week at Harvard." It includes a pre-speech faculty presentation on the historical context of Jiang Zemin's visit to Harvard (10 a.m. Saturday), and a public forum in response to the visit, to be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Kennedy School of Government's ARCO Forum.

Several Harvard student groups have also arranged events. Among them: the Harvard Salient, a biweekly conservative newspaper, is planning a talk by Chinese dissident Harry Wu at 1 p.m. Saturday on the steps of the Memorial Church, and the Taiwanese Cultural Society will distribute literature Saturday about China-Taiwan relations.

Meanwhile, a series of demonstrations have been organized by the Coalition for Freedom and Human Rights in Asia, "an alliance of local groups concerned about human rights abuses and freedom in Tibet, Taiwan, and mainland China." The group hopes "to heighten public awareness of human rights abuses committed by his [Jiang's] regime, and to let him know that Americans have not forgotten the people of Tibet and Taiwan, nor those who fell at Tiananmen."

Among the scholarly discussions taking place here in recent days was a brown-bag lunch at the Kennedy School, where Dean Joseph S. Nye Jr. spoke about the future of U.S.-China relations. Nye refuted those who consider a clash between the two superpowers inevitable, calling this analysis "a self-fulfilling fallacy."

Nye, an authority on international relations, said China's economic growth continues to be remarkable, but that many Western estimates of China's military might are "grossly overblown." He expressed his approval of the Clinton administration's policy of "constructive engagement."

Professor Vogel, offering his views about the visit, noted that "China is the largest and fastest growing country in the world, and the Chinese Party Congress just selected Jiang Zemin, China's top leader for the last eight years, to continue five more years.

"China and the United States have different cultures and political systems and are at different stages of economic development," he continued. "It is in our mutual interest to manage our differences so we can maintain global peace, an open international trading system, and a sustainable environment, and to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This requires a higher level of mutual understanding than we now have."

At a press conference on Wednesday, members of the Coalition for Freedom and Human Rights in Asia explained their reasons for protesting President Jiang's visit to Boston.

Said Katie Seligman, spokesperson for the Harvard-Radcliffe Students for a Free Tibet, "As members of a free society, it is our responsibility to speak out for and support the unalienable human rights of millions of Tibetans and Chinese citizens who have been rendered voiceless."