From: xc17@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu ()
Subject: CND-Global, December 16, 1992
Keywords: CND-Global, December 16, 1992
Organization: U of Chicago, SSPPCC
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 08:40:37 GMT
Summary: CND-Global, December 16, 1992
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               * * *  C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  * * *

                                (News Global)

                          Wednesday, December 16, 1992


Table of Contents                                                 # of Lines
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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................. 40
2. China Shifts Key Military Leaders in Bid to Keep Brass in Line........ 17
3. Chen Yuan Calls for Comprehensive Financial Reform ................... 35
4. China to Launch Second U.S. Made Satellite for Australia on Dec. 20 .. 16
============================================================================

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1. News Brief (5 Items) ................................................. 40
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[AP-DJ, 12/15/1992] BEIJING -- Jiang Zemin warned Tuesday that China would
take resolute measures if Taiwan appeared to be moving toward independence.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Jiang told a meeting that pro-
independence activities had been increasing on Taiwan.

"We maintain to realize the reunification of China through peaceful means,"
Xinhua quoted him as saying. "But if there is to appear an independent
Taiwan, or if foreign powers plot to split China, we will take resolute
measures to guard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." He did
not elaborate on what measures China might take. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)
                                ___ ___ ___

[AP-DJ, 12/14/1992] SEOUL -- Yang Shangkun is expected to be the first head
of state from Beijing to visit South Korea early next year, a Foreign
Ministry official said Tuesday. (Forwarded by: Liu Jian)
                                ___ ___ ___

[USA Today, 12/15/1992] -- China will allow the price of oil on the domes-
tic market to float to international levels. The Business Weekly newspaper
published by the China Daily reported Sunday that China has established an
oil futures market in Nanjing, Jiangsu province to prepare for price
reforms. Larger oil exchange centers are being considered in Beijing and
Shanghai. (Forwarded by: Charles Mok)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 12/11/1992] -- China recorded 21,835 road
accidents last month, leaving some 5,969 people dead and a further 12,877
injured, the Legal Daily newspaper reported Friday. All three figures
represented significant increases over October and the accidents caused a
total of 65.56 million yuan (11.3 million U.S. dollars) in direct economic
losses, the newspaper said. (Forwarded by: Huijie)
                                ___ ___ ___

[JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 12/15/1992] -- Japanese scholars said Tuesday
they discovered the world's oldest known rice harvesting site in the lower
reaches of the Changjiang (Yangzi) River in China.

A Japanese team, headed by Hiroshi Fujiwara, a professor in the agricul-
tural department at Miyazaki University, found a stratum that seems to be a
site where rice was harvested some 6,000-7,000 years ago in the Cao Xie
Shan, Jiangsu Province.

This is the first discovery of an ancient rice harvesting site outside
Japan whose era could be identified, Fujiwara said. In Japan, a rice paddy
site some 2,500 years old (in the Jomon period) has been identified.
(Forwarded by: Liu Jian)

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2. China Shifts Key Military Leaders in Bid to Keep Brass in Line........ 17
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Forwarded by: Liu Jian
Source: DOW JONES NEWS SERVICE, 12/15/1992

BEIJING -- China has just completed the biggest shakeup of its military
brass in an effort to ensure the army stays obedient to the Communist
Party's civilian leaders.

Rumors of plots and purges have been flying thick and fast in the China-
watching news media of Hong Kong.

The closest thing to official confirmation came Tuesday in the Hong Kong
newspaper Wen Wei Po, which is controlled by Beijing. It said the shift of
military personnel, orchestrated by senior leader Deng Xiaoping and party
General Secretary Jiang Zemin, was the largest in 43 years of Communist
rule.

The heads of all the central command departments, the military regions, the
air force, some army groups and several military academies were replaced,
the newspaper said. Military analysts agreed the shakeup won't mean any
shift in military policy.

Wen Wei Po didn't say how many officers were affected. The Far Eastern
Economic Review in Hong Kong recently quoted sources as saying 300 high-
level officers were being reassigned or retired.

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3. Chen Yuan Calls for Comprehensive Financial Reform ................... 35
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Forwarded by: A CND Reader
Source: UPI, 12/13/1992

BEIJING -- A leading central bank official has called for comprehensive
financial reforms to fight inflation and sustain the country's impressive
economic growth, according to an official newspaper Sunday.

People's Bank of China Vice-Governor Chen Yuan, a respected banker and son
of Chen Yun, said China should tighten up its monetary policy to keep a lid
on inflation, officially at six percent but in danger of rising quickly,
the China Daily said. "Investment has been increasing too fast this year,
which has resulted in a shortage of capital in banks and some pressure on
inflation," the newspaper quoted Chen as saying. Chen, 47, said the
reforms, some of which would start next year, are aimed at stabilzing the
two official currencies, both of which have been decreasing in value
against the dollar in last few months. "To keep the currency stable is the
central bank's most important task," Chen said. "Its also the best way we
can support continued economic reforms."

The reforms would include the introduction of a floating,market-determined
interest rate system, making the local currency convertible, and abolishing
restrictive foreign exchange quotas for businesses, the newspaper said.

At present, the government forces companies to turn in all their foreign
exchange for vouchers in an attempt to control the amount of foreign
exchange enterprises may spend.

But Chen advocated the elimination of the cumbersome system as well as
China's Foreign Exchange Certificates, a second currency instituted to
check uncontrolled spending on imports.

"Chen said the (voucher) system should be eliminated, along with Foreign
Exchange Certificates," the newspaper said. "But the timing will depend on
the size of the country's trade and foreign exchange reserves."

The most important method of checking inflation would be to further tighten
the money supply, including letting bank interest rates float, Chen said.

"Chen said that unless it adopts a market-determined (interest) rate, the
center will lose control over the money supply," it said.

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4. China to Launch Second U.S. Made Satellite for Australia on Dec. 20 .. 16
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Forwarded by: Wenfeng
Source: BUSINESS WIRE, 12/14/1992

XICHANG -- A U.S.-built satellite will soon be joining its twin in space
above Australia, after being lofted Sunday, Dec. 20, by a Chinese rocket.

For the second time this year, the three countries will cooperate in a
space venture. The satellite, like its twin, launched in August, was built
by Hughes Space and Communications Co. of Los Angeles for Optus Communica-
tions Pty. Ltd. of Sydney, Australia. Launch aboard the Chinese Long March
2E booster is 7:20 p.m. local time (11:20 a.m. GMT, 3:20 a.m. PST).

The satellite, called Optus B2, is Hughes' new HS 601 body-stabilized
model. It will carry telephone, television, data and facsimile transmis-
sions throughout Australia and New Zealand. It will have added capabilities
for mobile communications, air-traffic control and direct television broad-
casting to homes.

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