From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: CND-Global 20-8-92 THU
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: 20 Aug 92 07:15:19 GMT

              * * *  C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  * * *

                              (News Global)

                        Thursday, August 20, 1992

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines
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1. News Brief (3 Items) ................................................ 33
2. South Korea Denies the Report of Switching Diplomatic Recognition
   to Beijing ...........................................................48
3. China Sees Need to Reform Bureaucracy System .........................40
4. Japan Eyes Preparations for Emperor's China Visit ....................55
5. Israel and China Give Preliminary Approval to Trade Deal .............45
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1. News Brief (3 Items) ................................................ 33
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[UPI 08/19/92] WASHINGTON -- America's merchandise trade deficits, in mlns
of  dollars  not  adjusted for seasonal factors, for countries and country
groups  on the top in  June and May, as reported Wednesday by the Commerce
Department:
        Japan                -3,385.1       -3,495.1
        China                -1,468.5       -1,224.1
        OPEC                 -1,104.1         -840.3
        Taiwan                 -803.4         -726.6
        Hong Kong               -15.4          -15.3
        Canada                 -440.6         -836.4
        Germany                -718.3         -460.9   (From: A CND reader)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[SPACENEWS 08/1792] The FREJA  scientific satellite, designed and built by
the Swedish Space Corporation is  intended for  research  into the aurora.
It will be launched "piggyback" by a Long March 2C rocket from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in China  (41N, 100E)  in the beginning of October
1992.  Launch is planned for October 5 at 0615-0800 UTC.  FREJA is planned
to enter an orbit with perigee at 605 km, apogee at 1748 km inclined at 63
degrees.  The argument of perigee is planned to be 262 degrees.   FREJA is
a sun-pointing spinner (10 RPM)  with a 2.2m diameter  weighing  257 kg at
launch and 215.5 kg in its final orbit. (From: A CND reader)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[Reuters 08/17/92] TAIPEI -- Taiwan, expanding its foreign aid program  in
southeast Asia, has listed Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines as prio-
rity recipients, officials said. The island's US$1.2 billion International
Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  Fund plans to extend low-interest
loans  totalling  at  least  US$70  million  to the three countries,  fund
director Chou Yen said.  Taiwan  does not have formal diplomatic ties with
the countries, which recognise China instead. (From: A CND reader)

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2. South Korea Denies the Report of Switching Diplomatic Recognition
   to Beijing ...........................................................48
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From: Jian Liu
Source: AP-DJ 08/19/92

TAIPEI -- Taiwan authorities  believe South Korean will switch recognition
form Taiwan to China.  On Wednesday,  Lin Yu-hsiang,  a  legislator of the
ruling Nationalist Party, quoted Foreign Minister Fredrick Chien as saying
that Taiwan's embassy in Seoul has obtained reliable information about the
signing of the documents in Beijing.

Chien made the remarks during an  emergency meeting with other legislators
Wednesday to discuss the issue.  Other lawmakers told reporters that South
Korea had agreed to recognized Beijing's  "One China" policy and offered 2
billion U.S. dlrs in loans to that communist country.

Meanwhile,   China has asked  South  Korea to sever all official ties with
Taiwan and demanded the possession of Taiwan  embassy in Seoul, they said.
Last week, South Korea asked Taiwan to postpone   indefinitely  an official
meeting between both nations scheduled for next Monday.

Earlier this year, Premier Hau Pei-tsun told a news conference  that South
Korea's  plan to  switch  diplomatic recognition to China will not do much
harm to Taiwan.   "Our  nation's survival does not count on the  number of
countries that recognize us," he said.

SEOUL -- South Korea firmly  denied on Thursday news reports that it would
soon switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

"All the news  from  Taipei regarding  Korea and  China forming diplomatic
relations is false," said a terse Foreign Ministry statement. Reports that
South Korea offered China 2 billion dlrs of loan were also false, it said.

South Korea is a key political ally of Taiwan and its efforts to normalize
relations with  Beijing  have  been  a  sensitive  issue between Seoul and
Taipei.

South Korea is Taiwan's most important  diplomatic ally in Asia. Taiwan is
recognized by 30 nations, while 136 have diplomatic ties with China.

MBC  Television  in  Seoul  quoted  unnamed  high-level  Foreign  Ministry
officials as saying they viewed comments in Taipei as  a purposeful effort
to delay normalization of ties between Seoul and Beijing.

Taipei  hopes  that by making such comments public it will alarm Communist
North Korea and the  North will bring pressure on China to delay ties with
Seoul, the officials said according to MBC.

China is the only major ally of North Korea which has not established ties
with pro-West South Korea.

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3. China Sees Need to Reform Bureaucracy System .........................40
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI 08/19/92

BEIJING --The Chinese government has urged that steps be taken to trim its
bloated bureaucracy and turn government personnel into a more professional
civil service, an official news report said Wednesday.

The   Communist   Party  newspaper Guangming Daily quoted Vice-Minister of
Personnel Zhang Hanfu  as  saying China's economic reform process is being
hindered by a huge surplus of government personnel.

According to the report,   state   organs alone have more than 1.2 million
surplus personnel.   Government   offices  are  famed as places where most
workers sip tea and read newspapers for lack of work.

"Not only does this hinder the  development   of the   reforms but it also
leads to a huge waste of talented personnel," Zhang said.

The  Guangming   Daily said central and provincial government offices will
adopt a "public-functionary system" starting next year.

The  newly  coined  term  is  expected to  make  government personnel more
accountable and have them promoted or demoted on the basis of examinations
and performance at work.

Municipal  planning  departments  in major cities  will also adopt the new
system, according to the report.

Zhang   warned  of the need to stress the development of   "tertiary"   or
service industries to soak up   surplus personnel,  the  report said.   It
warned the number of excess personnel is likely to increase as  government
offices are trimmed.

As  part of the reform package,    officials will continue to separate the
government  from   enterprises   by allowing business greater freedom over
hiring and firing of workers, the report said.

"With the exclusion of  organizations  that  allocate  funds  and   manage
capital,all public offices  will move toward business management systems,"
the report said.

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4. Japan Eyes Preparations for Emperor's China Visit ....................55
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI 08/19/92

TOKYO -- The Japanese government hopes to  begin  full-scale  preparations
for the visit of   Emperor Akihito   to China in October after hearing the
views of    prominent  opinion  leaders on the  controversial issue, Chief
Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato said Tuesday.

In an attempt   to  ease  apprehensions   over  the  trip to mark the 20th
anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations,   the government
held closed-door    meetings  with  14  leading  intellectuals,  including
university heads, professors and scholars.

Five of the  14  indicated they agreed with the visit, six said they urged
caution or opposed it and three would not comment.

Stressing   that   the   imperial   visit  would not be used for political
purposes,     Kato said    there was  agreement that  the trip would be of
"tremendous significance for friendship" between Japan and China.

Prime  Minister  Kiichi  Miyazawa's Cabinet will make a formal decision on
the trip Aug. 25.    Brushing  aside  opposition   from within his Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP), Miyazawa wants the first visit ever of a  Japanese
emperor to China to go forward.

Kato said that during the hearings some participants urged caution, citing
China's  human  rights  record, arms exports, domestic political situation
and claims over the disputed  Senkaku  Islands,    which Japan considers a
part of Okinawa.

Most said Japan should pay close consideration to its relations with other
countries, particularly the United States  and   South Korea, in preparing
for the visit, Kato said.

China repeatedly has invited the emperor to visit, but the trip to Beijing,
Shanghai and Xian has become the focus of contention.

LDP conservatives fear the emperor would be pressured into apologizing for
Japan's 1937 invasion and the following brutal occupation in which as many
as  13 million Chinese perished. The war was prosecuted in the name of the
late Emperor Hirohito, the present monarch's father.

They were also angered earlier this year by support from Chinese lawmakers
for individual Chinese seeking war reparations from Japan.

To appease  his conservative critics, Miyazawa has reportedly promised the
emperor will not make a clear, outright apology for the war.

Tokyo University Professor Shozaburo Kimura, an expert on Western European
history, said the anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries
is an ideal time for such a visit.

"Although   Japan  and  China  share an unfortunate past, we must overcome
these obstacles so as not to pass these issues on to the next generation,"
he said.

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5. Israel and China Give Preliminary Approval to Trade Deal .............45
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI 08/19/92

JERUSALEM -- Israel and China  gave  preliminary  approval  Wednesday to a
trade  agreement  designed to   expand  commercial    ties between the two
countries and help cement diplomatic  relations  established last January.

Israeli officials hope the agreement will double exports to  China,  which
currently stand at $30 million a year. Imports from China are expected  to
total only $4 million this year.

After  initialing  the  agreement,  Zvi Koren,   director-general  of  the
Ministry   of  Trade  and  Industry, said breaking into the Chinese market
constitutes an important source of growth for Israeli industry.

He called it a "successful conclusion" to the negotiations he started in
a June  visit to China,   following the   establishment of diplomatic ties
between the two countries.

The deal is supposed to receive final approval in October,   Israel  Radio
said.

Koren said gaining access to a market of 1.2 billion   Chinese would  lead
to a "new era" for Israeli trade. He added   that  he  hopes   to sign a
similar agreement with India and Vietnam soon.

His counterpart,  Lee Shu-Lin,   said in a  statement  that  China expects
Israel to conduct  extensive  technological  and  agricultural activity in
China.

The trade agreement, which removes administrative obstacles and encourages
entrepreneurial activity, apparently also signals   an   end to the crisis
surrounding Israel's proposed sale of 40 Kfir fighter  planes   to Taiwan.
Israel deferred a decision regarding the military sale,   following strong
protests from China.

China's foreign minister, Qian Qichen, is expected to arrive  in Israel on
Sept. 15 for four days, the first visit by a high-ranking Chinese official
in Israel's history.

Of more interest to the average  Israeli  is the opening of direct flights
from Tel Aviv to Beijing on Sept. 3.  The demand has been so great that El
Al, the Israeli airline, has decided to  fly  jumbo  jets  rather than the
BOEING 767.

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