From: gaojeng@durras.anu.edu.au (J. Gao)
Subject: CND-Global, Thu, September 10, 1992
Summary: CND
Keywords: CND
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: 10 Sep 92 05:52:44 GMT

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

                              (News Global)

                       Thursday, September 10, 1992

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines
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1. News Brief (6 Items) .................................................47
2. Chinese Official Paper Makes Bold Call for Press Freedom .............50
3. Chinese Government Economist Pledges Freely Convertible Currency .....27
4. China Maps Retaliation on U.S. Trade Threat ..........................51
5. Hundreds of Chinese Communist Officials Accused of Corruption ........22
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1. News Brief (6 Items) .................................................47
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[DPA, 9/09/92] BEIJING -- Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani arrived
in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese leaders on political and
economic issues. China and Iran plan to sign a series of accords on economic
and technical cooperation during the visit. Despite ideological differences,
the two countries enjoy a friendly relationship. Beijing is a major exporter
of weapons to Teheran, and the West fears that China might help Iran obtain
a nuclear capability. China has denied such intentions, saying it has offered
to cooperate with Iran only in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
(From: jhua@aol.com)
                             ____  ____  ____

[MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK, 9/09/92] SEOUL -- South Korean businessmen believe
diplomatic normalisation with China will provide tempting new opportunities
in the long term but fear they will lose out in the short term. "For the time
being, our economy will lose more by breaking ties with Taiwan than we will
gain by normalising ties with China," said Kim Wontae, a senior fellow at
Samsung Group's International Economic Re search Department.
(From: jhua@aol.com)
                             ____  ____  ____

[UPI, 9/09/92] TOKYO -- A Chinese foreign policy expert said Tuesday that
Beijing has not purchased a Ukrainian-built aircraft carrier and "will
not participate in an arms race." Xu Dan, deputy director of China's
Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told a symposium
commemorating the 20th anniversary of normalized Sino-Japanese relations the
$3 billion price for the carrier would absorb half the annual military budget.
"And 1 million members of the People's Liberation Army would have to
starve," Xu added. The comment followed a warning Monday from Japan's Vice
Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa against purchasing the carrier. Kakizawa
expressed concern such an acquisition could destabilize the Asia-Pacific
region. (From: A CND Reader)
                             ____  ____  ____

[DPA, 9/09/92] Vietnam has appealed to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) for support in its dispute with China over Chinese oil
drilling in the Gulf of Tongking, Vietnamese diplomats said in Manila
Wednesday. They said Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen had reacted
"negatively" to a recent call by his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Manh Cam
for drilling to stop. The call, made at a meeting on the periphery of last
week's Nonaligned summit in Jakarta, said the drilling was going on in waters
claimed by Vietnam. The diplomats said the negative reaction by Beijing was
"regrettable" because the two countries later this month are due to open
fresh talks on normalising relations. (From: jhua@aol.com)
                             ____  ____  ____

[AP-DJ, 9/08/92] HONG KONG -- Beijing Trust and Investment Corp. (BITIC) has
established China's first service enabling Beijing residents to purchase
Shanghai-listed stocks without going directly to the industrial city. BITIC
vice president Zhang Hongahai said his municipally owned group has set
up an automated quotation system linking Beijing with the bourse, according
to a report in the official English-language China Daily. (From: Jian Liu)
                             ____  ____  ____

[Wall Street Journal, 9/09/92] To justify emerging Chinese stock markets,
the Beijing Youth News said Karl Marx, the founder of modern socialism,
traded stocks in London in 1864 and cleared #400, then a tidy capitalistic
sum. (From: A CND Reader)

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2. Chinese Official Paper Makes Bold Call for Press Freedom .............50
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 9/09/92

BEIJING  -- A state-run newspaper Wednesday published a bold appeal for
greater press freedom, saying the time had come for the Chinese public to
"have the right to know."

The Shanghai-based Liberation Daily printed a commentary by Qian
Bocheng, identified as a delegate to China's nominal parliament, in
which Bocheng called for laws guaranteeing China's right to "have a
free press."

"If we really want to become an Open China in the eyes of the world,
then we must first have an open press, that means opening up the press:
journalists have the right to interview, the media has the right to
report and the public have the right to know," he said.

The article represented one of only a handful of calls for a free
press that have emerged since the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations,
when state-employed journalists joined student demonstrators in
shouting, "We don't want to tell lies."

But after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, most such calls ceased.
However, Qian said he drew inspiration for his article from recent
statements by senior leader Deng Xiaoping, who asked China to throw off
influence of hard-line communism and open its doors wider to new ideas.

"I feel that now is the best time to resolve this problem," Qian
said. "Opening up shouldn't just mean opening up to foreigners. The
differences between media coverage at home and abroad should also be
corrected."

The Liberation Daily has been used on several occasions in the past
year as a mouthpiece by reformist circles in the government to advocate
wider change. Deng has also used the paper as a conduit to send signals
on his own policies.

The boldness of Qian's article suggested growing confidence on the
part of reformists in a run-up to a crucial national party congress
slated for this fall. The congress will set key personnel and policies
for the coming five years.

Qian's commentary called for press laws guaranteeing the right to
cover the news.

He also charged the Chinese government had stalled implementation of
such a law for fear it would limit official control over information. A
press law is known to have been on the drawing board for at least five
years.

"I've heard that the relevant departments are drafting (the law) and
that there are already several manuscripts," Qian said. "Of course
there are many aspects as to why (the law) has been delayed and has not
come out, the principal one still being, I'm afraid, an unease about
putting limits on power and duty."

Qian said the people needed a press law to stop abuses of China's
constitution, which enshrines the right of a free press but is largely
ignored.

The official cited a recent case of journalists for the Shanghai
Legal News, whom judges prevented from reporting a court case in
Nanyang, a city in central China.

"The court in Nanyang implemented five laws (not permitting
coverage), they snatched the journalists camera's, tore out the film,
confiscated their journalists cards and ejected them from the
courthouse, leading to serious breaches of the law," Qian said.

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3. Chinese Government Economist Pledges Freely Convertible Currency .....27
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 9/08/92

BEIJING -- A prominent government economist says China will gradually make
its currency convertible and undertake other reforms as it moves toward
joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a state-run newspaper
reported Wednesday.

The measures will "bring the Chinese economy into alignment with the
international economy and improve the performance of various Chinese
sectors in international competition," economist Ma Hong said in a
speech quoted by the English-language China Daily.

Ma, director of the Development Research Center under China's
Cabinet, spoke Tuesday at a conference in Shanghai on China's plans for
joining GATT, the major international trade convention.

The economist said officials plan to reduce tariffs, end some import
restrictions and eliminate multiple foreign-exchange rates for China's
currency, the renminbi -- gradually making the currency freely
convertible.

China has long discussed plans to make the renminbi convertible, and
has even taken some steps toward that end, such as allowing so-called
"swap markets," in which businesses trade renminbi for foreign
currency at near-market rates.

However, China still issues two forms of banknotes: the Foreign
Exchange Certificate, which is convertible, and the local renminbi yuan,
which is not. Still, officials have previously said they wanted to
eliminate the FEC.

Tuesday, Ma also reiterated government plans to allow more foreign
participation in newly opened Chinese business sectors, including trade,
transportation, finance and commercial enterprises.

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4. China Maps Retaliation on U.S. Trade Threat ..........................51
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 9/08/92
By: David R. Schweisberg

BEIJING -- Signaling a potential trade war with the United States, China
said Wednesday it will slap punitive tariffs on up to $4 billion in U.S.-made
imports if Washington makes good on threats to impose similar sanctions in
a trade dispute.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted officials of the Ministry of
Foreign Economic Relations and Trade as saying they were drawing up a
list of American-made goods, including aircraft and computers, as
targets for retaliation should the United States move first.

The Chinese counterattack on trade was another sign of the turmoil in
relations between Washington and Beijing, coming amid continued outrage
by China over the U.S. decision last week to sell F-16 fighter jets to
Taiwan.

The announcement was China's first specific threat in the "market
access" dispute, in which the United States has been pressing Beijing
to end import bans, quotas and other restrictions it claims keep
American products off the Chinese market.

The U.S. Trade Representative issued a hit list last month of $3.9
billion in Chinese imports targeted for tariffs of up to 100 percent
unless the dispute is resolved through ongoing negotiations by an Oct.
10 deadline.

The Xinhua report said officials were working out "counter tariff
measures" on up to $4 billion in U.S. goods. The targets include
aircraft, computers, automobiles, medical apparatus, timber and wood
products, chemicals, medicines and petroleum products.

Among the key victims of the tariffs could be the U.S.-based airplane
manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, China's top suppliers of
commercial aircraft with hundreds of millions of dollars in sales
annually.

The U.S. list was published after U.S. officials charged Chinese
negotiators refused to move swiftly enough during the last round of
talks last month. But the Xinhua report blamed the United States.

"During the recent eighth round of Sino-U.S. market access talks,
China showed sincerity and made major efforts to reach agreement, but
the U.S. side failed to respond positively and instead published the
blacklist," the Xinhua report said.

The Chinese counter-measures may signal Beijing's willingness to wage
a trade war should Washington fire the first shot, even though China has
more to lose. The United States last year bought more than a quarter of
China's total exports.

The official media, meanwhile, continued a week of denunciations of
the Bush administration for approving the sale of 150 F-16 fighters to
Taiwan.

A commentary in the overseas edition of the Communist Party newspaper
People's Daily blamed the sale on President Bush's "difficulties with
the economy and (to) make up for a very poor situation in the election
campaign."

However, the commentary added, the decision "will not only destroy
(America's) international prestige, but will not lead to any political
gains."

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5. Hundreds of Chinese Communist Officials Accused of Corruption ........22
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From: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 9/09/92

BEIJING  -- Authorities in south China have uncovered widespread
corruption and bribery involving hundreds of Communist Party officials
on Hainan island, an official news agency said Wednesday.

The China News Service said a two-year official inspection of housing
and construction on the island -- located off the south China coast --
uncovered widespread bribery, corruption and fraud involving 286 party
officials.

A dispatch said provincial authorities had "investigated and dealt
with" 193 party officials so far, sentencing 15 officials and stripping
another 28 of party membership.

China News Service added that in addition to bribery and corruption,
some bureaucrats had "broken the law and party discipline regulations"
by building private homes without declaring them, thus allowing the
officials to also keep houses given to them by the state.

In addition to the 286 party members heavily involved in corruption,
China News Service said another 3,690 had paid fines totaling more than
$750,000 over the past two years for illegal use of state land.

In China, government officials are frequently accused of demanding
kickbacks and "management fees" before approving new construction
projects.

A construction boom hit Hainan shortly after the government declared
it a Special Economic Zone in the early 1980s.

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