From: xu@hydra.maths.unsw.oz.au ()
Subject: CND-Global, January 22, 1993 -  A Happy Chinese New Year
Organization: school of Mathematics UNSW
Distribution: aus
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 06:46:30 GMT


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

                                (News Global)

                           Friday, January 22, 1993

                         Happy Chinese New Year (1/23)
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................. 35
2. Enter the Rooster -- Chinese Ready for Lunar New Year ................ 53
3. China Must Brace for Clinton White House, Official Says .............. 37
4. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #95 (cm9301d) ..................... 23
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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................. 35
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[DPA, 1/21/1993] BEIJING -- China Thursday rejected as "irresponsible" and
"entirely unjustifiable" United States criticism of the human rights situa-
tion in the Asian country. The Xinhua news agency quoted a foreign ministry
spokesman as saying Beijing was "firmly opposed to any interference in
China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights".
(Forwarded by: Wenfeng)
                                ___ ___ ___

[DPA, 1/21/1993] BEIJING -- China Thursday extended congratulations to new
U.S. President Bill Clinton and expressed the hope for better relations
between the two countries. A foreign ministry spokesman, at his weekly press
conference, said "we would like to extend our congratulations to Mr.
Clinton." "The Chinese government has always attached importance to Sino-
U.S. relations and is willing to make joint efforts with the new U.S. admi-
nistration for the improvement and development of the bilateral ties".
(Forwarded by: Wenfeng)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 1/20/1993] BEIJING -- China's foreign trade volume
rode a huge import and export wave last year to reach 165.63 billion dol-
lars, a 22.1% increase over 1991, a Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations
and Trade spokesman said Wednesday. Ministry figures reveal that manufac-
tured goods accounted for the lion's share, around 79.9%, of China's record
85 billion dollars in exports, the spokesman said.  Import volume jumped
26.4% to reach 80.63 billion dollars. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)
                                ___ ___ ___

[DOW JONES INTERNATIONAL NEWS, 1/20/1993] TAIPEI -- The Board of Foreign
Trade (BOFT) reported Thursday that Taiwan's indirect trade with China via
Hong Kong gained 29% to 6.65 billion U.S. dlrs in the first 11 months of
1992 from a year earlier. In the same period, Taiwan's exports to China
leaped 35% to 5.63 billion U.S. dlrs, while Taiwan's imports from China rose
1.7% to 1.13 billion U.S. dlrs. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 1/20/1993] TOKYO -- China has officially invited
Taiwan to take part in September's all-China athletic meet in Beijing, ac-
cording to a Xinhua News Agency report monitored in Tokyo. Sending the invi-
tation by telegram, Li Menghua, president of the All-China Sports Federa-
tion, said China will welcome the participation of Taiwan from the stand-
point of enhancing the overall level of athletic standards of Chinese and
Taiwanese people, according to the report monitored by Radio Press. The all-
China athletic meet corresponds to Japan's national athletic meet held every
year. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)

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2. Enter the Rooster -- Chinese Ready for Lunar New Year ................ 53
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Forwarded by: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 1/20/1993

BEIJING -- Chinese around the world are preparing to ring in the Year of the
Rooster Friday with an annual burst of feasting, travel and deafening fire-
works as they greet the lunar new year.

From Beijing to Sydney to San Francisco, Chinese communities are readying
for their most important annual holiday, with celebrants heading to wherever
is home and those already in place organizing parties, seasonal foods and
the traditional pyrotechnics.

Across China, peasants are slaughtering their fattest pigs, cleaning house
and paying off debts to say farewell to the Year of the Monkey and welcome
the Year of the Rooster at midnight Friday for a four-day holiday known as
the "Spring Festival."

The rooster year is viewed as among the more auspicious on the 12-animal
Chinese zodiac. Traditional belief also sees poor fortune on the "tail of
the monkey" and many couples in China delayed marriages and pregnancies to
have weddings and births this year under the sign of the cock.

In Beijing, shopkeepers are cashing in on the festival by selling rooster
toys, calendars and other trinkets. The official Xinhua news agency re-
ported that even the city's Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets are expecting a
bonanza.

Around Asia, Chinese are traveling by planes, trains and automobiles and
every other means of conveyance to make it home for the holiday. The lunar
new year brings huge traffic jams in Taiwan, South Korea and other teeming
nations.

About 2.5 million people are expected to cross from Hong Kong into southern
China during the new year period to visit relatives. Air, rail and boat
links are booked solid, despite added flights and trains.

Chinese transport agencies have added hundreds of extra flights, trains and
buses to cope with the 910 million passengers expected nationwide as throngs
of travelers head home.

In China, most families will stay home and stay up late Friday night, many
watching a six-hour variety extravaganza on state television or playing the
tile gambling game mah-jongg into the wee hours. They spend succeeding days
visiting friends and relatives.

Most households will be filled with the smells of traditional foods like
dumplings and most neighborhoods will resound with the traditional barrage
of fireworks, which traditional legend sees as a means of driving off ghosts
and evil spirits.

Authorities across China have tried to crack down on illegal fireworks and
reduce the related casualties, but early celebrants in Beijing are already
blasting off new high-altitude rockets and a new firecracker that is more
like a stick of dynamite.

Fireworks are essentially banned in Hong Kong and Singapore, but Hong Kong
puts on a huge official fireworks display over its picturesque Victoria
Harbor and Singapore will organize a similar show Friday night.

Singapore takes its private firecracker ban seriously. Offenders can be
fined, jailed or even caned.

The lunar new year is also a time for fortune telling. One seer in Taiwan is
predicting coups in the developing world and turmoil in Asia this year.

But a Hong Kong astrologer, Paul Lam, predicts the rooster will be a good
year for the Hong Kong financial markets, although he warns European markets
may be more volatile.

And, Lam says, U.S. President Bill Clinton has a "good nose" in terms of
ancient Chinese physiognomy, a good omen for his new presidency.

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3. China Must Brace for Clinton White House, Official Says .............. 37
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Forwarded by: Liu Jian
Source: JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 1/20/1993

BEIJING -- China should expect few favors from Bill Clinton's tenure in the
White House, which may bring confrontation on a number of fronts, a State
Council official has warned.

Clinton's hard-nosed China policy will center on conflicting economic inter-
ests, not ideological disputes, said Guo Zhenyuan, executive director of the
International Studies Center, a State Council think tank.

Writing in the latest edition of World Affairs magazine, Guo said Sino-U.S.
relations faltered in 1992 over three separate issues -- market access dis-
putes, the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act which requires Congress to monitor de-
mocracy in the territory, and the sale of 150 American F-16 fighter jets to
Taiwan.

"These three events effectively revealed a change in Sino-U.S. relations and
a basic adjustment in U.S. policy toward China," Guo said.

"First, the connotation of Sino-U.S. relations has rapidly widened with the
U.S. emphasis switching to economic rather than security issues," he said.

"Second, Sino-U.S. relations have clearly become far more complicated and
although there is a place for cooperation, there is also room for opposition
and even confrontation.

"Third, the imbalance in Sino-U.S. relations has been heightened, meaning
that the United States is far more likely than before to adopt a tough
stance when dealing with bilateral problems," he said.

Guo's comments reflect a growing awareness in Beijing that as president,
Clinton may decide to turn the economic screws on China both to protect the
American economy and also to squeeze concessions on human rights and
democracy.

China's worst nightmare was realized only last week when U.S. Secretary of
State-designate Warren Christopher outlined four broad foreign policy goals
which threaten to hit Beijing where it hurts the most.

Christopher's promise to expand free trade, checks arms proliferation, safe-
guard human rights and boost democracy included an extra caveat for China in
the shape of Radio Free Asia which will beam pro-democracy broadcasts across
its territory.

Guo maintains that Clinton will base his China policy on economic considera-
tions despite a threat to provoke peaceful evolution in China from communism
to democracy.

"In recent years, serious disputes have broken out between China and the
U.S. over such issues as human rights, but in the long run, Clinton's China
policy will be dictated by contradictions of economic interest, not ideo-
logy," Guo said.

"Boosting the U.S. economy is the central thread of Clinton's policy ration-
ale and economic issues will not only effect domestic policy but also for-
eign policy.  This will gradually reveal itself in his policy toward China."

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4. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #95 (cm9301d) ..................... 23
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From: CND Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board < cnd-cm@sdsc.edu >

                             Hua Xia Wen Zhai
                          (CND Chinese Magazine)
                                Issue #95
                             January 22, 1993

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                       Table of Contents (cm9301d)
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1. Headline News of the Week..........................................Li Xin
2. Society: Pop Stars in Beijing....................................Shen Kan
3. InfoBase: HK Employment and Home Visit Regulations.................Xinhua
4. History: Why Mao Sent Us to the Countryside?.......................He Wen
5. CSS: On CSS Protection Act........................................Wu Yifu
6. Humour: Mao on How to Make Cats Eat Peppers?
7. "We" (Wo Men): Peking Opera Fans........................... Li Chuangtong
8. Song: Tonight Is Unforgettable..........................Qiao Yu/Wang Ming
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              Executive Editor:  Liu Dong < cnd-cm@sdsc.edu >
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