From: xu@hydra.maths.unsw.oz.au ()
Subject: CND-Global, January 25, 1993
Organization: school of Mathematics UNSW
Distribution: aus
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 05:58:29 GMT

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

                                (News Global)

                           Monday, January 25, 1993

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1. News Brief (3 Items) ................................................. 21
2. China Hails Deng at New Year and Pledges Faster Reform ............... 44
3. Li Peng Warns Britain over Hong Kong ................................. 35
4. Freedom Suvey Finds China Among Worst Countries ...................... 49
============================================================================

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1. News Brief (3 Items) ................................................. 21
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[UPI, 1/24/1993] BEIJING -- The number of fireworks-related casualties in 
the capital over the Chinese lunar new year holiday almost doubled from the
1992 holiday total, the Beijing Daily said. Police officials urged residents 
not to purchase low-quality but high-powered firecrackers, saying shoddy and 
illegal fireworks had caused most of the injuries. At least 198 people 
suffered injuries ranging from minor burns to eye injuries during a 12-hour 
period beginning on the traditional New Year's Eve Friday, the newspaper 
said. (Forwarded by: A CND Reader)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 1/24/1993] TOKYO -- China's emissions of acid 
rain-causing sulfur dioxide (SO2) will continue to increase in the coming 
years and may also affect Japan, China's highest environment official said 
in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun published Sunday. Qu Geping, director 
of State Environmental Protection Bureau, told the mass-circulation Japanese 
daily that China, in order to attain its goal of further boosting economic 
growth, cannot help but increase its consumption of coal as an industrial 
fuel. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 1/23/1993] BEIJING -- Disgraced Chinese General 
Yang Baibing appeared on national television Saturday, his first public 
appearance since losing his military power base in October. Yang, 72, was 
shown carefully scrutinizing a speech being delivered by Premier Li Peng to 
welcome in the Year of the Rooster. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)

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2. China Hails Deng at New Year and Pledges Faster Reform ............... 44
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Forwarded by: Deming
Source: Reuter, 1/23/1993
Written by: Andrew Browne

BEIJING -- China ushered in the Lunar New Year of the Rooster on Saturday 
with a blaze of firecrackers, and leaders vowed to forge ahead with economic 
reform and maintain fast-paced growth.
 
Pictures of Deng Xiaoping, the 88-year-old architect of capitalist-style 
change, were plastered across the front pages of national newspapers. 

Premier Li Peng told a gathering of more than 4,000 top officials at Bei-
jing's Great Hall of the People that the reforms were on track. 

The only sour note was another warning from China over British plans to in-
troduce more democracy to Hong Kong, underlining the determination of the 
leadership not to tolerate any challenges to Communist Party power. 

Volleys of rockets lit up the night skies over Beijing and the crackle of 
fireworks reverberated through the narrow alleys of the capital well into 
the morning. 

It was the biggest street party in Beijing for many years and an auspicious 
start to the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. 

Traditionally firecrackers were set off in China to scare away evil spirits. 

Deng, China's paramount leader, was shown smiling and shaking hands at a New 
Year reception in Shanghai on Friday. It was his first public appearance since 
a Party congress last October that endorsed his market-oriented policies. 

Newspapers all highlighted his pep talk to Shanghai officials when he urged 
them to grab the opportunity for change and not to worry too much about minor 
mistakes. 

"Don't lose the chance," he warned. "China does not have that many opportuni-
ties for great development." 

Alongside Deng were photographs of Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin and 
Premier Li. The intended message for China's 1.2 billion people is that Deng 
is still in charge and the new generation of leaders is firmly behind his 
policies. 

Underlining that theme, Li said that despite difficulties China would ac-
tively push reform and press rapid growth while improving efficiency.
 
Without eliminating the worst inefficiencies of the old socialist economy, 
China's headlong growth, which hit 12 per cent last year, is likely to end 
in an inflationary spiral. Already there are signs the economy is overheat-
ing. 

Identifying some key bottlenecks, Li said the government this year would fo-
cus on developing infrastructure and basic industries such as transport and 
energy. 

The hardline premier leans more towards central planning than market-style 
economics, and so his public endorsement of fast-paced growth is a good 
indication of the strength of reformers in the government.
 
"In the new year, the country will open still wider to the outside world, 
expand both imports and exports, and make use of overseas funds, technolo-
gies and markets," Li said. 

Li also repeated a longstanding call for reunification with the Nationalist-
ruled island of Taiwan on the basis of "one country, two systems." 

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3. Li Peng Warns Britain over Hong Kong ................................. 35
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Forwarded by: Deming
Source: Reuter, 1/23/1993
 
BEIJING, Jan 23, Reuter - Chinese Premier Li Peng made clear on Saturday 
there can be no compromise over Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten's proposals 
to expand democracy in the colony, saying Britain must change course.

"We hope the British government will set store by the Sino-British relations, 
change its course and return to the correct track," he told a gathering of 
state and Communist Party leaders in Beijing.
 
"This is the only way out," he said in his speech, carried by the official 
Xinhua news agency. 
 
"We have always stood and strived for the maintenance of long-term prospe-
rity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau," Li told the officials, who 
gathered at the Great Hall of the People to mark the Lunar New Year. 

"Recent moves of the British authorities in Hong Kong have raised obstacles 
to the smooth transition and continued prosperity of Hong Kong. This is what 
both we and the compatriots in Hong Kong would not like to see." 

Patten, in the governor's traditional Lunar New Year address on Friday, ex-
pressed confidence that democratic reforms would go ahead despite Beijing's 
objection. He made clear the most important consideration was that they 
should be acceptable to Hong Kong people.
 
"I hope and am confident that in the new year we shall be able to work out 
arrangements for the 1995 elections that are clean, fair and that you think 
are acceptable," he said. 

"This should not, at the end of the day, prove an impossible task. I since-
rely hope that, with goodwill from all involved, we will be able to resolve 
these matters in the new year." 

Li also repeated a longstanding call for reunification with the Nationalist-
ruled island of Taiwan on the basis of "one country, two systems," the for-
mula under which Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty. 

"It is our firm and unshakable principle to safeguard the state sovereignty 
and territorial integrity and realize the peaceful reunification of the 
motherland according to the conception of 'one country, two systems'," he 
said. 

"We will continue to promote the economic and cultural exchanges between the 
two sides of Taiwan Straits and direct exchanges of mail, trade, and air and 
shipping services." 

Taiwan bans all direct economic and travel links with mainland China. 

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4. Freedom Suvey Finds China Among Worst Countries ...................... 49
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Forwarded by: Charles Mok
Source: Associated Press, 1/23/1993
Writen by: NICK LUDINGTON

WASHINGTON -- Only one-quarter of the world's population lives in countries 
or territories considered "free" on the basis of civil liberties and poli-
tical rights, a survey reports.

The 1993 survey by Freedom House of New York showed that 1.4 billion people,
or 24.8 percent, of the world's population of 5.5 billion, live in states
considered free.

It said 2.4 billion or 44.1 percent live partly free and 1.7 billion or 31.1
percent live in states considered not free.

Twelve of the 186 countries and three of the 66 territories surveyed were on
a worst offender list, rated "not free" with scores of "7" on a scale of 1 
to 7 in both civil liberties and political rights.

The countries are Burma, China, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Saudi
Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Vietnam.

The territories are Kosovo, which is part of Serbia; East Timor, part of
Indonesia; and Tibet, part of China.

The report said incoming President-elect Clinton "will inherit a world that
stands at the high water mark of freedom in history."

But it warned of "new manifestations of nationalism and brutal civil wars
that threaten the progress of the past decade and augur a new cycle of au-
thoritarianism if the community of democracies does not respond adequately 
to the challenge."

It cited the ethnic, religious and nationalistic violence in Yugoslavia,
Somalia, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.

"Without an aggressive foreign policy that places democracy and human rights
at its center, the United States stands to lose prestige and influence 
around the world and will face a rash of severe challenges to its national 
interests," the report said.
   
Nations in the top category of free with "1" ratings in both civil liberties
and political rights include Australia and New Zealand, the United States 
and Canada and 13 European states: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus (Greek-control-
led), Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, 
Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Major democracies rated free but with a "2" rating in civil liberties were
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Among Arab countries, six were on the worst offender list. But several 
others improved. Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates moved from not 
free to partly free. Algeria dropped from partly free to not free following 
a military coup there.

The only Middle Eastern nation on the free list was Israel.

Several former Soviet states declined. The Baltic states of Estonia and
Latvia dropped from free to partly free. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan in Central Asia dropped from partly free to not free. Only 
Georgia improved, from not free to partly free.
   
In Latin America there was only one change. Long time democracy Venezuela
dropped from free to partly free after several coup attempts.

The survey rates the 186 countries and 66 territories based on reporting
from human rights activists, journalists and political figures around the
world and on fact-finding missions by Freedom House personnel.

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