From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: China News Digest (Global), Fri, 10/2/1992
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date:  2 Oct 92 05:44:50 GMT

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

                              (News Global)

                        Friday, October 2, 1992

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines
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1. News Brief (3 Items) .................................................23
2. U.S. Senate Fails to Override Bush's Veto of Conditional MFN Bill ....33
3. Shandong Attracts South Korean Money .................................52
4. Profitability Falling in Taiwan's Manufacturing Sector ...............39
5. The Philippines Announces Crackdown on Wave of Kidnappings ...........33
6. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #79 (cm9210a) .................... 25
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1. News Brief (3 Items) .................................................23
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[AP-DJ, 10/1/92] LONDON -- An electrical power line from the former Soviet
republic of Kyrgyzstan to China was put into operation Thursday, the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported. In a dispatch from Bishkek, monitored in
London, ITAR-Tass reported that the 12-kilometer-long power line will send
Kyrgyzstan electrical power to a northwest China area which had previously
only counted on a small diesel electric power station as its main power
source providing just two hours of power a day. (From Liu Jian)
                               ___  ___  ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 10/1/92] TOKYO -- Sanrio Co., owner-operator of
a theme park in a Tokyo suburb, will help the Chinese government build an
indoor theme park in eastern Shanghai, the Tokyo company said Thursday.
Sanrio, the largest manufacturer of cartoon character goods in Japan, said
along with the Chinese government and the Thai conglomerate Fortune Group,
it will set up a joint company soon in Shanghai to plan, construct and
manage the projected 20 billion yen theme park -- the first of its kind in
China.  (From Liu Jian)
                               ___  ___  ___

[AP-DJ, 10/1/92] TOKYO -- Japan's Sakura Bank said Thursday it will upgrade
to a bank branch its representative office in Shanghai in early December.
The branch will be its first in China. Japanese banks are expanding their
presence in China as Japanese firms aggressively increase their activities
in that nation. (From Liu Jian)

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2. U.S. Senate Fails to Override Bush's Veto of Conditional MFN Bill ....33
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From: Liu Jian
Source: DJ, 10/1/92

WASHINGTON, USA -- The Senate failed to override President Bush's veto of
legislation that would impose limits on China's status as a
most-favored-nation for trade.

Although a majority of the Senate supports the restrictions, critics of the
administration's China policy failed to muster the two-thirds votes
required to overcome a veto.

The bill would have required the president -- when considering whether to
renew MFN for China next June -- to certify that Chinese leaders have made
significant improvements in their policies on trade, human rights and
weapons proliferation. Absent of such certification, MFN would be cut off
for all state-owned Chinese firms.

MFN is a routine trade preference that guarantees a country will receive the
lowest possible tariffs when exporting to the United States. China was first
granted the benefit in 1980 and has received a presidential renewal every
year since. However, since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, pressure
has been building in Congress to adopt a less conciliatory policy toward the
Chinese.

The House voted 345-74 yesterday to override Bush's veto.

The Senate veto was 59 to 40, well short of the two-thirds needed to override
Bush, but still large enough to represent a rebuke of the president.

Significantly, the White House has been concerned that Bush's veto could
have ramifications for his re-election campaign. The president has faced
criticism from Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton that the administration has
gone too easy on China and other hardline governments around the world.

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3. Shandong Attracts South Korean Money .................................52
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From: Liu Jian
Source: JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 10/1/92

HONG KONG -- South Korean investment in China's Shandong Province has more
than doubled during the first eight months of 1992 compared with the same
period last year, according to Shandong Provincial Gov. Zhao Zhihao, the
Chinese-language Ta Kung Pao newspaper reported Thursday.

The governor told a group of Hong Kong journalists on a recent visit to
Shandong that 95 South Korean companies have received approval for
investment projects with a total approved value of 59.2 million U.S.
dollars, reported the pro-China Hong Kong daily.

Zhao said the number of companies was almost double the number of South
Korean companies that invested in Shandong in past years and that the value
of the investments was up 106% from the same period last year, the Ta Kung
Pao said.

According to a report by another pro-China vernacular daily, the Wen Wei
Po, 47 of the new investors were investing in joint ventures, 42 were
establishing wholly owned subsidiaries, and six were involved in
cooperative agreements with Shandong companies.

A total of 200 South Korean companies have approval for investments worth
146 million U.S. dollars in Shandong, according to the Wen Wei Po.

South Korea now ranks fourth among foreign investors in Shandong in terms
of value and fifth in terms of the number of projects, the paper said.

Zhao also said South Korean investment was concentrated in manufacturing,
particularly in machinery, electronics, chemicals, foods, textiles, toys,
marine products and construction materials.

In the past, most investors have been small and medium-sized companies but
now larger South Korean companies were moving into the province, he said.

He told the reporters that the Daewoo Group has agreed to invest 300 million
U.S. dollars into a wholly owned cement plant, according to the Ta Kung Pao.

Zhao also said Shandong's exports to South Korea totaled 253 million U.S.
dollars in the first half of 1992, 69% more than in the same period last
year, the Ta Kung Pao said.

Zhao said Shandong has enjoyed two key advantages in economic relations
with Korea. These are the fact that most overseas Chinese in Korea are
from Shandong and the province's location directly across the Yellow Sea
from the Korean Peninsula.

While these advantages will diminish in importance with the establishment
of Sino-South Korean relations, Zhao told the journalists that he believes
Shandong would continue to enjoy a leading position in attracting South
Korean investment, the newspaper said.

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4. Profitability Falling in Taiwan's Manufacturing Sector ...............39
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From: Huijie
Source: KYODO, 09/30/92

HONG KONG -- The profitability of Taiwan's manufacturing industry fell to
a six-year low in August 1992, the China Times reported quoting a survey by
the governmental Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD).

The CEPD's August 1992 survey of operating conditions in the island's
manufacturing sector arrived at an average rate of gross profit on sales
of only 5.7%, the China Times reported.

That figure was the lowest since March 1986, the Chinese-language daily
added.

CEPD spokesmen said that because the average profit rate had declined for
four consecutive months, the average figure for the entire year was likely
to be below 6%, the paper reported.

It added the survey results pointed to the declining competitiveness of the
island's manufacturing sector.

Average profit on sales in manufacturing in Taiwan has generally topped 6%,
the report noted.

Manufacturing profits have come under pressure in recent years as rising
prices for land, labor, raw materials, and energy have boosted production
costs just as competition from cheap-labor production sites in Southeast
Asia and China has intensified.

Given inadequate attention on the part of Taiwan's own manufacturers to
industrial upgrading, producers have had to sacrifice profits for the sake
of holding onto market share in existing markets, the China Times reported.

CEPD officials told the China Times that the most urgent problem facing
Taiwan's manufacturing sector was whether or not it can accelerate
industrial upgrading and boost value added.

Otherwise, the revival of the global economy will only mean even more
intense competition for producers.

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5. The Philippines Announces Crackdown on Wave of Kidnappings ...........33
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From: Liu Jian
Source: DJ, 9/30/92

MANILA - Fourteen people, including four immigration agents, have been
arrested for kidnapping.

The military chief Wednesday announced the stepped up campaign to battle a
wave of ransom abductions.

The alleged ringleader claimed his operation was supported by "high-ranking
police and military officials," including a police general, said Gen.
Lisandro Abadia.

Abadia said the 14 were involved in car thefts, murder and kidnapping,
including the abduction of two Americans who were released after paying
ransoms.

He identified the Americans as John Keegan and Greg Stilwell, but didn't
say where they were from. The U.S.  Embassy said it was unaware of such
kidnappings.

The arrests follow a wave of kidnappings and other crimes, which many
Filipinos believe have been committed by corrupt police and soldiers.

President Fidel Ramos, elected in May, has asked Congress to restore the
death penalty for kidnapping and other serious crimes.

Vice President Joseph Estrada, chairman of the Presidential Anti-Crime
Commission, said up to 100 people, mostly Filipinos of Chinese origin,
have been kidnapped in the past 2 months.

Estrada said wealthy Filipino-Chinese were victimized because they
usually refused to cooperate in police investigations for fear of reprisals.

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6. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #79 (cm9210a) .................... 25
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From: CND Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board < cnd-cm@sdsc.edu >

                           Hua Xia Wen Zhai
                        (CND Chinese Magazine)
                              Issue #79
                            October 2, 1992

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Table of Contents (cm9210a)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Inside China:
	Upsurge of Graduate Study in Beijing............Xie Li, Zeng Jun
2. Around the World: U.S.A. Presidential Election...............Yu Dahai
3. Essay: Feed the Guests...................................Liang Shiqiu
4. Travel: Back from Beijing.....................................Ji Ping
5. "We" (Wo Men):  Poets in Exile
        --about Bei Dao, Duo Duo and Gu Cheng(Part 3 of 3).......Gu Ding
6. Poem: Xiao Shuo..............................................Gu Cheng
7. Living Abroad: Chinese Dumpling and Soybean Milk...........Zhu Yaqing
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       Executive Editor:       Zhang, Ming      < cnd-cm@sdsc.edu >
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Please send contributions to cnd-cm@sdsc.edu, including your name and
E-address in the  GB  file  unless  you wish to be anonymous.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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