From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: CND-Global, Sat, August 29, 1992
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: 30 Aug 92 01:53:02 GMT

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

                              (News Global)

                        Saturday, August 29, 1992

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines
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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................ 54
2. Taiwan Oppostiion to Press for Independence ......................... 48
3. China Calls on U.S. Congress to See China as "Partner" .............. 55
4. China Stages Its First X-Rated Play ................................. 39
5. An Erratum on the Summary of PRC State Council No. 44 Document ...... 18
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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................ 54
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[AP-DJ 8/28/92]  TAIPEI -- Taiwan's unemployment rate stood at 1.8% in
July, down 0.1 percentage point from the year-earlier month but up 0.2
percentage point from June. This marked the highest record since last
October. The higher unemployment rate was attributed to the manpower
increase by newly graduated college students and students returning from
abroad for work. The number of unemployed during the month stood at
154,000, an increase of 20,000, or 15%, from June, but down 4,000, or 2.2%
from a year earlier. It said the total employment number in July was at
8.64 million, up 50,000, or 0.6% from the preceding month and increased
140,000, or 1.7%, from the like month a year earlier. (From: Jian Liu)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[World Journal 8/27/92] Haiti -- The Haitian government will allow the 150
Chinese refugees to stay in the Island State as they requested, the Haitian
government announced today.  One official said from such a move the Haitian
government is intending to teach the US government how to handle the
refugee problem, since thousands Haitian refugees are being turned back by
US troops along the border. The refugees arrived from a smuggling boat
weeks ago, after travelling one and half month from China to several
countries and finally landed in Haiti.  It is reported that these refugees
were well received during their temporary stay in a school house. (From: Ji
Wang <jiwang@jackknife.Princeton.EDU>)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[NB 8/27/92] HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Government has installed a
mainframe computer supplied by Hitachi Data Systems in its main Disaster
Recovery Center. The center is used as a back-up site for computer
operations if one of the main System/370 data centres has to be shut down
in an emergency. The Disaster Recovery Centre (DRC) contract was awarded to
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) after the elimination of other tender bids. The
HDS Model EX70 processor carries a list price of $4 million. The new HDS
EX70 has a performance rating of 38 mainframe MIPS (millions of
instructions per second). (From: A CND reader)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[AP 8/27/92] SEOUL -- China opened its embassy in Seoul on Thursday
following the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two former
adversaries. Interim Charge D'affaires Pei Jiayie and other embassy
officials raised the Chinese national flag at their temporary embassy
compound in southern Seoul. The embassy will move to the compound of the
former Taiwanese mission in downtown Seoul in about one month. (From:
<izzyhc1@ucla.edu>)
                        ____  ____  ____  ____

[AP 8/27/92] BEIJING -- Chinese state company has contracted to buy eight
British Aerospace 146-300 passenger planes for more than $200 million, an
official news report said today. The China Daily said the delivery was
scheduled between November and June. It did not give the exact sales price.
The Aerospace 146 Series 300 is designed to operate from short or semi-
prepared airstrips with minimal ground facilities. It has a range of 1,380
miles and can carry up to 128 passengers. The eight planes will be used by
Xian-based China Northwest Airlines on tourist routes linking Shanghai,
Dunhuang, Lanzhou and Beijing, the China Daily said. (From: <izzyhc1@ucla>)

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2. Taiwan Oppostiion to Press for Independence ......................... 48
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~From: A CND Reader
Source: REUTERS 8/27/92

TAIPEI -- Taiwanese opposition deputies said on Thursday they would step up
their campaign to declare the island independent of China following South
Korea's decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deputies in the National Assembly said
they would raise a motion to change Taiwan's official name from "Republic
of China" to "Republic of Taiwan" during the next assembly session. The
assembly, a branch of parliament which revises the constitution, is
expected to meet at the end of this year or early next.

"Taiwan plunged further into diplomatic isolation after South Korea
recognised the Chinese mainland," DPP deputy Michael Tsai told reporters.
"The government's one-China policy is not feasible. Its claim that it is
the sole legitimate representative of all China is fiction," he said.

Following South Korea's break with Taiwan on Monday, the island is
recognised now by only 29 states because of its diplomatic rivalry with
China. The DPP says declaring Taiwan independent would help Taipei end its
isolation. But Premier Hau Pei-tsun reiterated on Thursday that the
government would not abandon its claim over China. "Our one-China policy
will not change," state radio quoted him as saying.

The DPP's motion is widely expected to be rejected by the 403-member
assembly, which is overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling Nationalist
Party. The DPP holds only 74 seats.

Beijing, which has viewed Taiwan as a renegade province since the end of
the Chinese civil war in 1949, has threatened to invade the island if it
declares independence.

The Taiwan High Court, meanwhile, on Thursday sentenced Tina Chang, wife
of jailed pro-independence dissident George Chang, and four supporters to
prison terms ranging from 30 to 50 days. The sentences can be converted to
fines. The five were sentenced for staging a protest without seeking police
approval outside the cabinet building in Taipei in April to demand George
Chang's release.

George Chang heads the World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI), the
island's largest pro-independence group. He was sentenced to five years
jail in June for masterminding a 1976 bomb attack that crippled the
island's governor, Shieh Tung-min.

Another WUFI leader, Lee Ying-yuan, was indicted by the prosecutor on
Thursday for staging an illegal protest in May in support of Chang.

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3. China Calls on U.S. Congress to See China as "Partner" .............. 55
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~From: A CND reader
Source: UPI 8/28/92

BEIJING -- China's foreign minister made an unusual overture to the United
States, calling on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to forge a common
China policy, official media reported Friday.

"China does not want the U.S. to regard it as a hostile country, but a
cooperative partner," Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said in a meeting
Thursday with a visiting congressional delegation, led by Rep. Robert Roe,
D-N.J.

Qian's comments, reported by the official Xinhua news agency, came amid
continued strife in U.S.-Chinese relations over trade, human rights and
other issues.

Washington last week threatened stiff sanctions to protest a lack of
progress in trade negotiations with China. Congress is also preparing
legislation to restrict renewal of China's Most Favored Nation trade
status.

The Chinese government is known to be worried that Bush might lose the
White House in November to Democrat Bill Clinton, who has alluded to China
in harsh terms in recent speeches.

Democrats have generally led the anti-China charge, while most Republicans
back President Bush's demand for unconditional MFN renewal.

However, Qian noted that while the Republican President Richard Nixon
initiated relations with China in 1972, Democratic President Jimmy Carter
normalized them in 1979.

"In this connection, we believe that to develop relations with China
should be the common policy for the Republicans and Democrats, rather than
a problem for debate between the Republicans and Democrats in the U.S.
Congress," Qian said.

He also "expressed the hope that the U.S. Congress would play a positive
role in promoting the development of Sino-U.S. relations," the Xinhua
dispatch said.

A direct appeal to American political leaders is rare for Chinese
officials, who generally decline to interfere in domestic affairs of
other nations.

Qian said it "didn't matter" that differences existed between Beijing
and Washington, because they could be solved "through discussions."

"From a long-term point of view, the development of relations between China
-- the most populous developing country, and the U.S. -- the most populous
developed nation -- is crucial to global peace and stability," Qian said.

The U.S. delegation, which arrived Wednesday on a six-city tour of China,
also includes Reps. John Hammerschmidt, R-Ark., Bill Clinger, R-Penn., and
Bud Schuster, R-Penn.

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4. China Stages Its First X-Rated Play ................................. 39
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~From: A CND Reader
Source: REUTERS 8/26/92

BEIJING -- China, where people are notoriously squeamish about frank
depictions of sexuality, has broken an old taboo by staging its first X-
rated play.

A theatre in Shanghai opened to a packed house on Monday with a Chinese
version of Harold Pinter's play "The Lover", which contains a steamy sex
scene, local newspapers said.

There was no full nudity, but as the Liberation Daily said: "The costume of
the female character is very bold."

The story of a middle-class couple who carry on extramarital affairs was
not suitable for children, it said.

"The audience could see the couple's love-making through a glass panel," the
newspaper said. "This was China's first X-rated play."

The breakthrough appeared to be in response to a recent call by communist
party politburo member and cultural arbiter Li Ruihuan to make the arts
more lively. In a departure from the communist line that condemns art for
art's sake, Li said art need not carry a political message.

Pre-communist classical Chinese literature contains numerous examples of
frank descriptions of sexual relations, but communists led by the late
Chairman Mao Tsetung swept away such works, labelling them pornography.

The Shanghai theatre-goers were surprised by what they saw, the newspaper
said. Some members of the audience failed to understand the play, which is
performed in a surrealistic style unfamiliar to Chinese viewers.

But most of the audience, the majority students and literati, appeared to
appreciate the play, the newspaper said.

The Shanghai tabloid Xinmin Evening News wrote in its review: "On the
Chinese stage, it's always been taboo to explore sexual relationships," it
said.  "Shanghai youth have taken the lead in breaking this taboo."

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5. An Erratum on the Summary of PRC State Council No. 44 Document ...... 18
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~From: Bo Xiong, 8/28/92 

In the "PRC Announces Further Loosened Policies on Overseas Students" 
(item No.2 of August 28 CND-Global, the summary based on People's Daily 
Overseas Edition 08/21/92 report), it says:

"1) The government welcomes overseas students and scholars to come back to
    work, visit, conduct academic exchange and etc..  The government will
    not investigate their wrong doings in the past, even if some overseas
    CSS had joined overseas counterrevolutionary organizations and/or done
    something harmful to the country, they will not be looked into as long
    as they obey PRC laws and are not involved in anti-government activities
    after they return."

The last sentence was incomplete in above paragraph, it should read as:

"they will not be looked into as long as they obey PRC laws, are not
 involved in anti-government activities AND RENOUNCE THEIR MEMBERSHIP
 OF THE COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATIONS WHEN AND after they return."

We thank reader XU Yi for pointing out the error. 

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