A Shanghai court begins hearing the case of Lin Hai, accused of using the Internet to undermine the Chinese state. Dec. 5 Voters go to the polls to elect a new parliament to usher Taiwan into the 21st century and choose influential mayors for the capital Taipei and southern Kaohsiung. Dec. 6 Voters give Taiwan's long-ruling Nationalists a striking victory in parliamentary and mayoral polls, widening their majority in the Legislative Yuan and handing them back the Taipei mayoralty. Dec. 7 China welcomes the results of weekend elections in Taiwan, which marked a setback for the island's pro-independence opposition. Dec. 10 Jiang vows to fully safeguard the democratic rights of the Chinese people while his police force intensify their crackdown on dissidents, and the world marks international human rights day.
China cuts diplomatic ties with the Marshall Islands.
The tiny Pacific nation established official relations with arch enemy Taiwan in November. China breeds eight giant pandas in captivity in 1998, most through artificial insemination. Dec. 14 Police charge Wang Ce, the head of a U.S.-based Chinese dissident group, with endangering national security. China will enforce stiff penalties for tax evasion including the death penalty in a drive to close massive loopholes in its tax system, says Vice Prime Minister Li Lanqing. Intimidation tactics by Chinese authorities leave top pro-democracy activists without lawyers to defend them two days before they go on trial for subversion.