We will have theopportunity to make further headway next month, when SecretaryChristopher will travel to Beijing, and President Clinton will meet withPresident Jiang Zemin at the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Manila. The third key element of regional stability is democracy and humanrights. Put simply, open societies make for better neighbors. Whetherin the Asia-Pacific region or around the world, history shows thatgovernments that abuse their citizens at home are also more likely toprovoke conflicts or cause problems beyond their borders, whether byspawning refugees, sheltering narcotics traffickers, or damaging theglobal environment. Of course, we promote the rule of law and human rights not justbecause it advances our interest in stability, but because doing so istrue to our ideals as Americans.
Democracy comes in many forms.
We donot seek to impose our own vision on others. Indeed, the democraticodyssey of countries from Mongolia to Thailand demonstrates that thedesire for political freedom is a home-grown commodity, not an Americanexport. Across Asia and around the world, we will continue to speak outon behalf of those who defend universally recognized rights. We willcontinue to push repressive regimes in places like Burma to pursuenational reconciliation and genuine political dialogue. And we willcontinue to assist new democracies like Cambodia by encouraging thedevelopment of political parties and political institutions.