Legacy of China's friend Jimmy Carter may yet endure

On a bright September day in 2003, former US president Jimmy Carter told a small audience of 150 students and faculty at Peking University that "democracy is not a scary thing".

- Goh Sui Noi

The venue was a beautiful old building - sloped roof, lattice windows and vermilion columns - but small, for a reason.

The Chinese leaders did not want to stop Mr Carter from speaking on his chosen subject of democracy, but did not want him to speak to a large audience either.

The former American leader did not abuse the hospitality of his hosts; he did not criticise the Chinese government.

Instead, he lauded the sweeping changes that had taken place since China started reforms in 1978 and the new openness in Chinese society.

But he did remind his young audience of the 1919 May 4th Movement that began at their university and sparked debate on democracy in China.

That Mr Carter was allowed to speak on democracy at all was a reflection of the relative openness of China at the time, but also because the Chinese regarded him as a friend.

For it was Mr Carter who established full diplomatic ties with China in January 1979 - which also meant severing formal relations with Taiwan - against the strong opposition he faced in the US Congress.

Mr Carter, who died at the age of 100 on Dec 29, completed the normalisation process begun by then President Richard Nixon who, through his visit to China in 1972, ended more than two decades of no communication or diplomatic ties with the communist country.

Explaining Mr Carter's decision, Professor Shi Yinhong from Renmin University said: "Jimmy Carter realised very clearly that China was a major element in world politics and political economy and was engaging in liberal reform under Deng Xiaoping."

The president also took the long view in making the decision, noted Professor Emeritus David Lampton from Johns Hopkins University, adding that Mr Carter believed "America's best approach to that complex and ever-changing country is fostering positive voices and trends, finding common ground, implementing a policy of patience".