_id
stringlengths 9
20
| title
stringlengths 0
3.57k
| text
stringlengths 35
6.13k
|
|---|---|---|
FBIS3-3315_0 | Russia Differs With U.S. Openly Over Iraq | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["Russia Favors To Encourage Iraq in Arms Destruction" -- XINHUA headline] [Text] United Nations, March 18 (XINHUA) -- Russia differs with the United States openly today over the Iraq issue, saying that Iraq has made some progress on arms destruction and Russia is considering lifting oil embargo against it. Russian UN Ambassador Yuliy Vorontsov said today in a statement, Russia "noted that there had lately been certain positive elements in the actions of Bagdad." Addressing a regular 60-day review meeting of the Security Council over the sanctions against Iraq, the ambassador said that the position of Iraq should be encouraged. He added that if a thorough and comprehensive compliance of Iraq with its obligations is confirmed, Russia would be ready to consider lifting the oil embargo in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions. "In this connection, we pronounced ourselves in favors of the inclusion in the text of the statement by the Security Council president of a clause mentioning positive shifts in the Iraqi position," he said. China, France and Russia advocated a change in a routine presidential statement, so as to give Iraq some encouragement for its positive position in arms destruction. The United States and Britain opposed it, by arguing that many other issues should be linked to the lifting of the embargos. |
FBIS3-3326_0 | Wang Dan Clarifies Stand on Renewal of MFN Status | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By staff reporter from Beijing: "Wang Dan Calls for Extension of Most Favored Nation Status for a Year"] [Text] The mainland's most famous pro-democracy activist, Wang Dan, yesterday issued a statement calling on the United States to renew the mainland's most favored nation [MFN] status, adding that the United States should also exercise close attention to the mainland's human rights record. The following is the full text of Wang Dan's "statement on MFN:" Foreign press circles gave wide publicity to a joint statement issued in the names of "Zhou Tuo, Wang Dan, and Min Qi" on 11 March 1994. Their reports referred to a sentence on "strongly calling on the United States to renew China's MFN status." Here I would like to solemnly clarify that this remark on MFN, particularly the word "strongly," does not represent my personal stand or attitude. Thus a correction is necessary. To clear up this misunderstanding, I am willing to make an open statement on my basic stand and attitude concerning the MFN status. My opinion follows: 1. This year the United States should renew China's MFN status, because if the United States abolishes China's MFN status, first, this could damage the economic interests of the Chinese people; second, this could be unfavorable to speeding up the introduction of market economy, whereas the vigorous introduction of market economy will fundamentally promote China's social progress; third, this could stop U.S.-Chinese economic relations, while facts have shown that these relations are effective ways to promote social progress in China; separation could cut off the channel for the United States to urge China for human rights improvement; fourth, this could discourage the enlightened leaders in the CPC from pursuing a firm reform policy and could provide a pretext for those with ulterior motives to hamper reform and opening up; fifth, this could ruin China's pro-democracy movement and aggravate the situation in which pro-democracy activists find themselves. This year is an important and crucial year in China's reform process. Any decision beneficial to promoting reform is wise and worthy of support. The international community should also notice that the Chinese Government has switched from refusal to acceptance on the human rights issue and has made some sensible moves on some aspects of human rights. This should also be encouraged. 2. In the meantime, it is also my opinion that MFN status should, naturally, be linked |
FBIS3-3354_0 | Reparation Demanders Protest at Japanese Embassy in Beijing | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By John Kohut] [Text] Chinese police defused a potentially explosive protest yesterday by detaining more than 100, mainly elderly people, as they attempted to demonstrate against Japan on the eve of Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's arrival in Beijing today, according to witnesses and sources close to the protest. Scores of elderly people, some in their 80s, seeking reparation for Japan's occupation of China during the 1930s and 1940s, began descending upon the Japanese embassy in Beijing just after it opened yesterday morning. The authorities had apparently been tipped off about the protest and surrounded the embassy with about three dozen uniformed policemen and several times that many plain-clothes police. Protesters from across the country were supposed to converge on the embassy at 10 am, but they started arriving much earlier and were bundled off into jeeps and taken to a police station near the embassy, according to the sources. They said some 300 petitioners appeared at the embassy and more than 100 were taken away by police. Some of the protesters detained were carrying letters addressed to Prime Minister Hosokawa. Gao Minke, 82, who works in a hospital in southern China, wrote in a protest letter that Japan should apologise for war crimes and compensate relatives of the victims. Mr Gao, who was detained, said he lost more than 10 relatives at the hands of Japanese soldiers in a rural part of Jiangsu Province in 1938. An estimated 10 million Chinese died during the occupation. Others tried to deliver copies of a letter signed by the Preparatory Committee of Chinese Civilians Seeking Reparations from Japan saying "problems left over by Japan's war of aggression have not been solved". "We representing 500,000 living sufferers and relatives of the dead victims, resolutely request that you give a formal apology to the Chinese people and a definite reply to the reparation demands of the Chinese civilian victims," the letter to Mr Hosokawa said. Police also intercepted more than 100 protesters at a train station in the southern part of the city, the sources said. Tong Zeng, a researcher in his 30s who has been one of those behind the movement for Chinese civiliansto get billions of dollars in war reparations, was reportedly taken into custody yesterday. When contacted last night, his family said: "He is out and will be away for a few days ... They have taken him |
FBIS3-3355_0 | Intellectuals Demand Release of Compensation Activists | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 KYODO -- A group of 500 Chinese intellectuals sent an open letter to the ongoing National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday [21 March] demanding the release of war compensation activists detained by Chinese security authorities. The letter says more than 100 victims of Japanese aggression during World War II were detained Friday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, a day before Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa arrived in China for a three-day official visit. "According to eye witnesses, there were no marches, demonstrations, petitions, sit-ins, shouting or similar disturbances. On the contrary, they expressed themselves peacefully and had an orderly attitude," said the letter, describing the activists. "All were crippled after receiving injuries and being forced to labor for the Japanese Army during the time of the Japanese invasion," it said. "The oldest is 85 and the youngest is 56." The letter also called for the release of Tong Zeng, a leader of the compensation movement, who since 1992 has received support from NPC delegates on the matter of demanding compensation from the Japanese Government, it said. Sources close to the movement said the 100 elderly activists were released and sent home Sunday evening, but that Tong's whereabouts were still unknown. Tong's wife also made inquiries into her husband's whereabouts, but was told by police that nothing was known of his case, the sources said. Police took Tong from his home Friday morning after he refused to follow orders of his work unit to leave Beijing during the Hosokawa visit, they said. A group of 32 NPC delegates at the ongoing session of the NPC, China's legislature, earlier filed a motion demanding compensation for civilian victims of the war from Japan and a formal apology by Hosokawa, but the motion has reportedly been shelved by central authorities. Informed sources said the Movement for War Compensation is potentially huge as elderly Chinese still harbor rage at the Chinese Government's agreement to give up demands for war reparations from Japan as stated in the 1972 Sino-Japanese joint communique which restored diplomatic ties between the two countries. Police have singled out Tong because of a letter, forged with Tong's signature and sent to thousands of victims calling them to come to Beijing during Hosokawa's visit, one source said. The one-page letter, which also urges the NPC to make security departments apologize, is accompanied by |
FBIS3-3356_0 | Beijing Frees Protesters | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 KYODO -- China's Public Security Bureau released more than 100 Chinese protesters late Sunday night [20 March] after detaining them for two days for demanding war compensation from Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, informed sources said Monday. The protesters, including now elderly victims of Japan's wartime aggression, were taken into custody Friday on the eve of Hosokawa's arrival in Beijing for an official visit to China. Many of the elderly came to the Chinese capital by train from Hebei and Jiangsu Provinces, the sources said, adding they will be turned over to the Beijing offices of their home provinces. The sources said Tong Zeng, leader of the unofficial victims of Japanese War Crimes Reparations Committee, was still in police custody Sunday. He was arrested Friday morning. They said a petition drive to win Tong's freedom is under way among Chinese intellectuals in Beijing. In a welcoming banquet speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Hosokawa called on China to improve its human rights record, saying human rights are a universally accepted value. The Chinese Government has been sensitive about demanding war compensation for civilian casualties from Japan reportedly because it is afraid it could damage favorable official ties that include as much as 1.2 trillion yen in loans. |
FBIS3-3402_1 | Heilongjiang Governor on Seizing Opportunity, Reform | long, we must seize them. As far as Heilongjiang is concerned, a very important opportunity for the province these years has been the central authorities' (?policy) concerning opening up border areas. By opening up border areas, Heilongjiang has made significant development in economy and foreign trade over the past years. I have noticed that the central authorities are particularly concerned with the problems of agriculture and large- and medium-sized enterprises. Under the current situation, we should seize the opportune time at which the development of agriculture and invigoration of large- and medium- sized enterprises are proposed by the central authorities to boost the development of these two sectors in Heilongjiang. As for deepening reform, reform has been launched for a decade or so; how we should deepen reform is [words indistinct]. Talking about opening up wider, although Heilongjiang Province has been stepping up the pace of opening up border areas in the past few years, the key lies in opening up to all directions. After all, we cannot attach importance to opening up border areas only, and ignore countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Therefore, the central authorities [words indistinct] proposed this year that we open up border areas on the one hand, and open up to Southeast Asia and Latin America in an all-round way on the other. [Yang] Governor Shao, what is your view about correctly handling the relations among reform, development, and stability? [Shao] I believe the handling of relations among the three is not only to address problems in the past, more importantly it is to set a higher standard and demand social and economic development in the new situation. To properly handle the relations among reform, development, and stability, I believe we must face actual [words indistinct] and problems, think them over and reform them. There are indeed some problems among reform, development, and stability that have plagued us for a long time. The key to solving these problems lies in developing the tertiary industry step by step. For example, Heilongjiang Province has reaped bumper harvests in agriculture for several years in a row, and attained expected results every year. It should have [words indistinct]. On the contrary, however, peasants' incomes did not increase rapidly and Heilongjiang's revenue is getting worse. This means there is no healthy cycle among production, development, and stability. This problem has something to do with properly handling the relations |
FBIS3-3403_1 | Provincial Party Chief Discusses Shanxi's Development | basically accelerated its construction of energy and chemical industry bases last year. On the strategy of emphasizing both coal and electric power, Hu Fuguo said: Shanxi will take advantage of its coal to develop the electric power industry. With the State Planning Commission's approval, we recently started the construction of Yangchuan No. 2 Power Plant and the Liulin Power Plant, bringing the total capacity of power generating projects under construction in Shanxi up to 3.6 million kw. At the same time, the Yangcheng Power Plant will be built with imported technology and equipment and with funds from outside the province. During the first stage of its construction, generators with a total of 2.1 million kw capacity will be installed. The preparatory work for its construction is being stepped up. After completion, it will supply electric power exclusively to Jiangsu Province. Feasibility reports on building power plants in Hequ, Wangqu, and Hejin have been prepared. Shanxi's thermoelectric power generating capacity will double by the end of the century. Hu Fuguo said: The construction of roads and water diversion projects is in full swing in the province. The Taiyuan-Yulin first- class highway has been completed and is open to traffic. The construction of two express highways and three second-class highways has started in an all-around way. By 1997, Shanxi's highways will be able to transport annually more than 100 million tonnes of goods out of the province. The construction of the Wanjiazhai project for drawing water from the Huanghe has started. After completion, the project will solve Shanxi's water shortage problem once for all. The Taiyuan airport and railroad are under renovation. On the province's abundant coal resources, Hu Fuguo said: It will not do without excavating coal, but coal excavation alone cannot solve all our problems. The establishment of a socialist market economic structure has created a development opportunity for an energy-rich province like Shanxi. Complete decontrol of coal prices will help rationalize Shanxi's coal management system and create new opportunities for Shanxi's enterprises to accumulate capital funds and develop themselves. The establishment and development of the production-factor market will make it possible to market electricity as a commodity and will enable us to realize the strategy of emphasizing both coal and electric power industries. Shanxi's electric power development will enter a golden age. So long as we seize the development opportunity, new progress will be made in Shanxi's economic construction. |
FBIS3-3410_8 | Agriculture Ministry News Conference | principle of guiding, enlightening [su dao], and serving them. We have also taken some measures to make the flow more rational. Moreover, we plan to set up a consolidated, nationwide labor market to regulate the supply and demand of laborers between cities and rural areas. [Unidentified correspondent] I am a reporter from the U.S. WALL STREET JOURNAL. You just mentioned that you have taken some measures for increasing the purchase of grain and cotton. It is likely that the purchase of these products will decline this year? To what extent will it decline? Moreover, has last year's problem of IOU's been completely resolved? Have there been any other measures taken to prevent the recurrence of this problem? Thank you. [Liu] Let me answer your last question first -- the IOU problem. We have taken care of this problem which occurred in the agricultural sector in 1993. Now, no more IOU's have been given for agricultural purchases. Now for the question about purchasing quantities: we fulfilled the 1993 state plan for grain purchase but we did not fulfill the state plan for cotton purchase. This is primarily because the plan set for cotton production was not fulfilled as a result of natural disasters and smaller acreage for cotton last year. We only fulfilled 70 percent of the cotton purchasing target. This lady [the WALL STREET JOURNAL reporter] and many other reporters have asked the question about the balance of total grain supply and demand. Let me answer your question with some figures. Last year when I attended a conference of the FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization], I gave a report on China's grain output in recent years. Comparison of the statistics released by the FAO and China shows that, on average, China produced 31 kg of every additional 100 kg of grain the world produced during the 12- year period from 1980 to 1992; and that China produced 40 kg of cotton, 34 kg of oil-bearing crops, 37 kg of aquatic products, and 54 kg of meat of every additional 100 kg of these goods the world produced during that 12-year period. That is to say, except for cotton, the production of which declined in China in 1993, the output of all other crops -- cereal and oil bearing crops, aquatic products and meat -- exceeded the average. The Chinese population now accounts for 22 percent of the world population. |
FBIS3-3416_6 | Commentary Examines Six-Character Principle | reality and choose suitable main industries, as well as other related industries. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the rational division of labor and cooperation among regions and avoid uniform industrial structures, so that all localities can give play to their strength and make effective and full use of their economic advantages and resources. Liaoning Governor and NPC Deputy Yue Qifeng discussed Liaoning's second economic progress. He said: In transforming an old industrial base, it is necessary to have new ideas and not to blindly follow other's practices. It is necessary to use high and new technology in developing a number of new enterprises and transforming a number of old enterprises. It is necessary to close down a number of old enterprises which do not merit transformation. It is necessary to constantly optimize the product mix and develop a number of technology-intensive products which are high value-added, highly marketable, bring high economic returns, and which will help promote the province's economic development. Deputy Wang Guangying, who is of noble character and high position, suggested the use of foreign capital and technology in invigorating inefficient large and medium state-owned enterprises. Economic efficiency is inseparable from product quality, marketability, and after-sale service. During the two sessions, Deputy Ma Yue, who is general manager of the Dongfeng Automobile Company in Hubei, visited the Beijing service center of Dongfeng automobiles and Fukang-brand sedans to seek users' comments on 15 March, which happened to be the "Consumer Rights Day." He said: In the past, enterprises were responsible for planning only. Now, they must be earnestly responsible to the users. If we do not enlarge the scale of production rapidly to lower costs and produce cars of a high level of technology, good quality, and reasonable prices to satisfy users, we will not be able to do anything but watch foreign companies seize all of China's automobile market. Only healthy development is genuine development, and only effective development is genuinely healthy development. To put more effort into "healthiness" and efficiency is the common aspiration of the NPC deputies and CPPCC members attending the two sessions, as well as the common aspiration of the people across the country. If everyone in our country enhances his awareness of efficiency and tries in every possible way to raise economic efficiency, we will be able to promote the country's modernization in a sustained, rapid, and healthy way. |
FBIS3-3418_0 | AFP Details Report on Protesters in Tiananmen Square | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 (AFP)--At least two protestors Monday [21 March] scattered pamphlets in Tiananmen Square here as a group of delegates to China's parliament were passing, witnesses said. Police immediately grabbed the camera of an Agence France-Presse photographer who had taken pictures of the protest and opened it to expose the film. A plainclothes policeman filmed the entire incident. Witnesses said several hundred people were gathered behind security barriers on the eastern side of the square to watch the delegates leave the parliament building when, about 10:45 a.m. (0245 GMT), the pamphlets were scattered by at least two protestors stationed at different parts of the square. Uniformed and plainclothed police, who have been controlling access to the square since parliament opened its annual session March 10, quickly moved to disperse the crowd and seal off the area. The pamphlets were also hastily gathered up. It was not known if any arrests were made. Tiananmen Square was the scene of massive pro-democracy protests which were crushed by the Army during the night of June 3-4, 1989. Since delegates from all over China arrived for the parliament session, dissidents and intellectuals have made several attempts to put across their pro-democracy and pro-human rights views. Three open letters have been sent to delegates, but Monday was the first time dissidents have openly defied the police. Before the session began, police launched a massive campaign to intimidate opposition with the arrest of some 15 dissidents, forcing some of the better-known to stay away from the capital while parliament met. In a separate development, a Chinese carrying a letter addressed to communist party and parliamentary leaders calling for democracy was arrested just after meeting journalists, several witnesses said. Gao Hongming, a civil servant in his 40s, was detained by plainclothes police and pushed into a black car as he came out of the Jianguomenwai foreigners' compound on the east side of the capital in early afternoon. The letter, dated March 7, had already been sent to the party Central Committee and parliament, Gao said before his arrest. |
FBIS3-3419_0 | Protestor Reportedly Arrested in Tiananmen Square | Language: English Article Type:BFN [From "News at One"] [Text] Police in Beijing have arrested at least one person who tried to distribute leaflets in Tiananmen Square, and one news photographer had his film seized. Witnesses said that they saw leaflets being thrown into a crowd in the square, the site of the 1989 Beijing massacre. One incident occurred on the north side of the square and another took place at the Monument to the People's Heroes in the center of the square. There was no indication what the leaflets said. One witness saw police throw a person into a car and drive off immediately after the incident. |
FBIS3-3420_0 | State Acts To Prevent Unauthorized Antismuggling Operations | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [Dispatch: "The Ministry of Public Security Standardizes the Names and Codes of Coast Guard Boats"] [Text] Hangzhou, 15 Mar (XINHUA)--To counter the chaotic state of marine antismuggling operations which began last year, in which some departments who were not involved in antismuggling operations were prompted by personal interests to send their own men to sea, leading to a number of incidents in which foreigners were involved, the Ministry of Public Security [MPS] issued the following regulations a few days ago: As of 1 April this year, coast guard boats that are responsible for marine security and antismuggling operations will all follow a standardized code system. Their boats are to be named in accordance with a nationally standardized code system beginning with "Public Security Border XYZ" and will be issued a forgery-proof "marine patrol duty pass" by the Ministry of Public Security. Duty personnel on board will all wear a uniform arm band for identification purposes. Li Huan, deputy director of the MPS Frontier Guard Bureau, said at a coastal border guard seminar opening today that the standardization of boat names and codes and the requirement for duty personnel to wear uniform bands have been prompted by the need to rectify the marine situation and maintain order, and are part of the public security border units' effort to regularize their forces. A new and uniform identification system will help prevent other boats from going out to sea to hunt for smugglers while masquerading as public security border units. Domestic and foreign ships and the personnel on board can refuse [ke yi ju jue jie shou 0668 0110 2147 4815 2234 2392] to be inspected when a boat in violation of the above-mentioned regulation demands a provisional [lin shi 5259 2514] inspection. |
FBIS3-3433_0 | News Agency Protests on Photographer Incident | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 (AFP) -- Agence France-Presse protested to the Chinese foreign ministry Monday after police grabbed the camera of an AFP photographer who had been taking pictures of a protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. AFP's Beijing bureau chief, Gilles Campion, filed a verbal protest with the authorities after police seized the camera of photographer Manuel Ceneta and opened it up to expose the film. Witnesses said several hundred people had gathered behind security barriers on the eastern side of the square to watch delegates leave the Chinese parliament building. At about 10:45 a.m. (0245 GMT), two protesters stationed at different parts of the square hurled pamphlets at the passing delegates. Uniformed and plainclothed police, who have been controlling access to the square since parliament opened its annual session on March 10, quickly moved to disperse the crowd, seal off the area and destroy the photographer's film. The official news agency Xinhua later issued a dispatch quoting a foreign ministry spokesman, who criticised AFP. It is "improper for foreign journalists to cover news in China without going through necessary formalities," the dispatch cited the spokesman, who was not identified, as saying. "The spokesman also said that two Chinese women were stopped by other citizens for disturbing public order this morning," the agency said, without saying whether the two had been arrested or had any connection with the pamphlet incident. Tiananmen Square was the scene of massive pro-democracy protests which were crushed by the army during the night of June 3-4, 1989. Dissidents and intellectuals have made several attempts to put across their pro-democracy and pro-human rights views ever since delegates began arriving from all over China for the parliament session. Three open letters have been sent to delegates, but Monday was the first time dissidents have openly defied the police. Before the session began police launched a massive intimidation campaign with the arrest of some 15 dissidents, forcing some of the better-known to stay away from the capital while parliament met. Four foreign correspondents were briefly held for questioning by police after they met with dissidents during the visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Warren Christopher March 11 to 14. |
FBIS3-3441_0 | GUANGMING RIBAO Urges Stop Using Human Rights as Pretext | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 22 (XINHUA) -- One cannot use human rights as a pretext for sticking one's nose into the internal affairs of other countries, according to a signed article in today's "GUANGMING" DAILY [GUANGMING RIBAO]. While calling for an end to this practice, the article said that some people abroad would always like to use human rights as a pretext and flagrantly interfere in China's domestic affairs. Time and again they put forward lists of names of allegedly persecuted people of various kinds and ask, in disregard of the laws of China, for earlier release of prisoners on the lists. They threaten otherwise to impose sanctions on China or to cancel certain favorable treatment. A country must have its own laws and regulations compatible with its internal conditions, the article said. "It is universally acknowledged that people who break the laws must be punished according to relevant laws in that country." It is unacceptable, even though it is laughable, that the lists of names of such alleged victims of human rights and the so-called facts published are often based merely on hearsay and rumors. For instance, some of the people on the lists are just described as having the name of so and so, with no other detailed information such as age, address or origin. On some occasions, the handful of overseas critics simply distort the facts and stick labels of high-sounding noble causes -- such as for the cause of democracy or for political differences or for religious beliefs -- on listed criminals who have actually been convicted in China of various crimes, such as arson or murder. These foreigners with ulterior motives falsely allege that criminals who are actually receiving fair treatment and enjoying sound health have been cruelly tortured and are on the verge of death. China rules itself, and will always do so, only in accordance with its own laws and regulations. Others may have different opinions about such laws and regulations, but they can never be authorized to change them or to ask China to handle its domestic affairs in line with the laws and decrees of another country. People abroad who would like to use the laws and regulations of their own country as a model and to force other countries to accept these laws are in practice interfering in other countries' affairs. A country, as well as its |
FBIS3-3452_0 | Guangxi To Earmark 667 Hectares for Singapore Companies | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Report by staff reporter Wang Yong: "Guangxi Land Woos Firms From Singapore"] [Text] Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region plans to earmark 667 hectares for companies from Singapore. This was announced over the weekend in Beijing by Cheng Kejie, chairman of the regional government. In June, Cheng is to visit Singapore to negotiate the specific terms of the deal. "We expect a bundle of large projects financed by Singapore to be finalized soon in the Tieshangang area," Cheng told a press conference held during the ongoing National People's Congress. Guangxi, the potential trade thoroughfare between China and Southeast Asia, is the latest investment target of Singapore, which is moving a large chunk of its business to China. Singapore has already agreed to set up tens of billions of dollars worth of industrial projects in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Guangxi, however, is closer to Southeast Asia. It has 1,595 kilometres of coastline capable of supporting 21 ports. Many believe foreign investors would find it an easy springboard to enter the country's vast West. Hong Puzhou, head of Guangxi's Planning Commission, said the region is expected to set up one of the nation's few electronics and automobile manufacturing bases within the next couple of years. And Beihai, a port city on the Beibu Gulf, has gained State support to become an international economic hub. Economists have predicted that Beihai will be part of an emerging international economic centre formed by Vietnam and China. To date, most foreign investment in Guangxi has gone into Beihai. Cheng also said that Guangxi will build or renovate five major airports capable of handling Boeing 747 planes in three years. And it should have an additional installed capacity of 4 million kilowatts next year when five power plants come on stream. Cheng added that the State plans to set up a 4.2 million kilowatt hydropower plant in Guangxi soon. Despite Guangxi's plans, poverty remains the biggest problem. |
FBIS3-3469_3 | NPC Deputies Discuss Inflation, Price Controls | are not strictly controlled, economic relations will be distorted, the macroeconomic environment will become intense, and the overall situation of reform and opening up will be endangered. Chinese statesmen are absolutely sober-minded about this point. They do not deny inflation and have made up their minds to introduce control and regulation. At these ongoing NPC and CPPCC sessions, government leaders have, of course, focused on controlling excessive price increases. Li Peng said: Lifting control over prices does not mean giving up macrocontrol and regulation; prices must be controlled within the framework of the forbearance of civilians; in particular the "vegetable basket" issue regarding the urban and rural people must be properly resolved. Zhu Rongji said: Controlling prices and stabilizing markets are important tasks for governments at all levels. From now on, achievements in agricultural and vegetable basket issues should be taken as the main criteria for appraising governors, provincial party secretaries, and mayors. Li Lanqing said: If prices cannot be controlled, popular feelings and stability will be affected and reform cannot be carried on. Economic, legal, and administrative methods should be adopted to stabilize prices. Recently, the Chinese Government has repeatedly given orders demanding the clear pricing of commodities, the implementation of price checks, and strict supervision of the prices of daily necessities and service charges. These moves have initially stabilized popular feelings but whether or not they will help halt excessive price increases remains to be seen. The policy is good but needs to be put into effect. In Chinese society, which is experiencing the transformation from a planned economy into a market economy, from lower to higher income, and from closed to open operation, the large-scale introduction of reform and rapid economic growth will inevitably cause certain inflation. In this situation, the government must severely curb the practice of raising prices at will and strictly control the investment scale and consumption fund to fundamentally stop price hikes. On the civilians' part, they should spend their money reasonably, promptly report malpractices, and avoid panic buying -- this is a sensible choice. We should not turn pale at the mention of price raises because, if we do, we will not be able to control them. However, neither should we take the problem of price hikes lightly, otherwise it could affect and ruin reform and discourage the reformers. "China's agony" really exists but a new life will emerge after this agony. |
FBIS3-3477_0 | Newspaper Views Amendments to Government Work Report | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [Report by WEN WEI PO News Team: "Li Peng's Government Work Report Amended in 13 Places"] [Text] Beijing, 21 Mar (WEN WEI PO) -- In light of the views expressed by the deputies to the National People's Congress [NPC] and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [CPPCC] in discussions, Li Peng's Government Work Report has been amended as follows: 1. While talking about the continued efforts made to boost agriculture with science and technology, the passage "maintain the ranks of scientific researchers in agriculture" has been added. 2. On the question of continuously alleviating the peasants' burden, the passage "the outstanding problems should be tackled in a special way" has been added. 3. "Improving the quality of population" has been appended to the question of family planning. 4. "Improving the distribution methods and developing and perfecting the treasury bond market" has been appended to the issue of treasury bonds. 5. While introducing the experiment of establishing a modern enterprise system in light of the "Company Law," there is the additional sentence "to spread the system, we should vigorously sum up experience and gradually develop standard measures for implementation." 6. On the part of running a clean administration and fighting corruption, the passages: "They also constitute a damage to reform, opening up, and the modernization program"; "are absolutely impermissible"; and "we oppose a proneness to boast and exaggerate" have been added after: "The introduction of the principle of commodity exchange to political activities by state organs and the exchange of power for money seriously distort the principle of a socialist market economy." 7. The passage: "Oppose and resist bad activities which disrupt unity among the people, hinder social progress, and harm the healthy growth of young people" has been added after: "Strengthen management over the cultural market according to law and use rich, varied, and healthy spiritual products to allow the cultural market to flourish." 8. "Rural health work must be enhanced" has been added to the question of health development. 9. "Advocating the spirit of thrift, economy, and hard work" has been appended to the part on strengthening the building of spiritual civilization. 10. "Earnestly implement the `Law on Regional Autonomy'" has been emphasized in the section on nationality work. 11. Talking about the resumption of China's sovereignty over Hong Kong and maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, the following passage has been |
FBIS3-3481_5 | Guangxi Region Leaders Hold News Conference | four such projects. In exports, "san zi" enterprises are a force that should not be underestimated. Their exports now account for about one-eight of Guangxi's total exports. [Unidentified Vietnamese correspondent in Mandarin] I am a reporter with VNA. First, in the past few years, especially since the normalization of relations between the two countries, what progress has been made in Guangxi's ties with Vietnam? Second, what are the prospects for development between Guangxi and Vietnam? [Cheng] Since China and Vietnam normalized their relations in November 1991, significant progress has been made in economic and friendly contacts between the two countries. The development in this area has been healthy, and it has brought benefits to the people of the two countries. [passage omitted] Take trade as an example. According to the situation in border trade in the past few years, such trade is mutually complementary. We have built several economic projects in Vietnam. These projects require that both sides continue cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis. [Unidentified correspondent] I am a reporter with the XINHUA NEWS AGENCY. Recently, many experts from international economic circles have predicted that an international metropolis will emerge in Southeast Asia and the Beibu Wan [gulf] area. It has been learned that Guangxi's Beihai city has drawn up some plans in this connection. Would Mayor Shuai please brief us about the plans? [Shuai] Beihai city has eight major resources. Its fresh water, land, port construction, and tourism resources are especially good. In short, with these resources a large port for commerce with foreign countries can be built. In addition, it has a huge potential of becoming a large metropolis. [passage omitted] [Chinese-American correspondent in Mandarin] I am Zhou Youkang, a reporter with the Voice of America. I have a question concerning investment: Mr. Chairman, you have just mentioned that investments in Guangxi were mainly from Taiwan and Hong Kong. What about the United States? In your opinion, what can the United States do to contribute to Guangxi's economic development? How do you promote trade between Guangxi and the United States? [Lei] In fact, apart from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, the next biggest investor is the United States. The biggest wholly owned enterprise, the [Tule] Company I have just mentioned, has invested $40 million in leasing 60,000 mu of land in [Hepu] for agricultural development. The company will import fine seed strains from the United States and |
FBIS3-3484_0 | Articles Urge Curbing Peasants' Move Into Cities | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN ["Jottings on the Two Sessions" by reporters Pu Liye (5543 4539 2814) and Xu Xingtang (1776 5281 1016): "There Are Thousands of Ways To Get Rich; Why Does Everyone Have To Go to the Cities?"] [Text] Beijing, 20 Mar (XINHUA) -- Tens of millions of peasants have streamed, like the tide, to cities. Is this good or bad? This has been a controversial, hot topic for a long time. During the current sessions of the Eighth National People's Congress [NPC] and the Eighth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [CPPCC], this topic has not only remained hot but has also become a more serious one. NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members have linked the proper handling of the rural labor force to the work to improve peasants' lives and to stabilize the overall situation. The NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members believe that the "tide of workers" is a sign of the historical progress of China's traditional agricultural society being transformed into a modern one. They said: In a sense, the trend is reasonable as well as inevitable. However, while the flow of workers has created huge material wealth, it has brought with it or given rise to some social problems. To properly solve the employment problem of the more than 100 million surplus workers currently in rural areas, we cannot simply set our eyes on moving them to cities -- we should simultaneously organize peasants' migration and provide them with jobs in their hometowns, and we should come up with new ideas and develop various industries and trades. "The homeland is as good as the outside world," said Deputy Shen Zhifeng, who is mayor of Shijiazhuang city. Over the last few years, Shijiazhuang has encouraged peasants to develop high-yield, good-quality, and highly efficient agriculture. Currently, the city has 1 million mu of high-efficiency cash crops and more than 12 million chickens, rabbits, cattle, and pigs. Last year, the per capita income of the city's peasants increased 100 yuan over the previous year. Shen Zhifeng said, "Once there are more opportunities in rural areas and people's incomes are higher, who will be willing to leave their dear ones at home and go to cities to take their chances?" Hebei Province is only one example. Deputy Shao Qihui, who is governor of Heilongjiang Province, said: In the northeast, thousands or tens of |
FBIS3-3492_0 | Anhui Province Becomes Key Mineral Producer | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 14 (XINHUA) -- Chinese geologists have discovered more than 90 types of minerals in east China's Anhui Province. According to the "CHINA GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES NEWS", 540 out of the newly found 1,900 deposits are available for exploration. The reserves of 30 minerals including coal, iron, copper, sulfur, alumstone, lime mudrock and amargosite rank among the top in the country. According to the paper, Anhui has 146 proven coal deposits, with combined reserves of about 25 billion tons, ranking seventh in the country. The reserves of iron ore are distributed in central Anhui's Maanshan, Lujiang and Huoqiu Counties, and those of 55 types of minerals, including copper and sulfur, are located in the valley of the Chang Jiang River. |
FBIS3-3556_0 | Hunan To Double Power Output Through Foreign Investment | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Liu Weiling: "Closing The Power Gap"] [Text] Central China's Hunan Province, where the shortage of electricity restrains economic growth, is inviting overseas investment and cooperation in building power stations. Several power plants, including three 1.2 million-kilowatt stations in Xiangtan, Wangcheng and Yiyang, have been approved by the province's Power Industry Bureau for overseas co-operation. The bureau has also set up a special working group to raise foreign capital. Officials with the bureau said investors from Germany, Sweden, Australia, France, Britain, Canada, the United States and Hong Kong show strong interest in investing in Hunan's power industry. The New Xiangtan Power Station is expected to cooperate with investors from Sweden, and a German company is negotiating with the bureau for construction of the Wangcheng Power Plant. Last year, TIME Engineering Berhad, a member of the Malaysian Renong Group, signed a contract with Lianyuan city to construct a 250-megawatt coal-fired power station in the city. Total investment for that project was put at $230 million. Wu Haichun, general manager of the province's Power Industry Corp, admitted that Hunan has one of the country's worst shortages of electricity, but he promised that the province will make big progress this year. By the end of 1993, the province had installed capacity of 6.58 million kilowatts, double the figure in 1980. However, its per capita consumption of electricity is only 60 per cent of the national average. Wu said that from l994 to 2000, the province plans to install another 9 million kilowatts of capacity, of which 7 million will be thermal and 2 million hydropower. But to do that, Hunan needs 30 billion yuan ($3.45 billion). Wu said the province will use various methods to raise the capital. To expand the government's fund for electrical investment, the province is expected to raise electricity prices this year. It also plans to raise money from the securities market by converting power enterprises into shareholding companies. Hunan Huayin Power Co Ltd, the province's first shareholding power company, was established last year and is expected to go public. The company has issued shares worth 288 million yuan ($33 million), and most of the money raised will be used to renovate the Zhuzhou Power Plant. The province also plans to invest 2.75 billion yuan ($315 million) in electrical construction this year, compared with 1.71 billion yuan ($191 million) last year. |
FBIS3-3565_0 | Endemic Diseases Under Control in Sichuan Province | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Chengdu, March 10 (XINHUA) -- Sichuan Province in southwest China has made marked progress in preventing and curing endemic diseases, using foreign loans, local officials said. According to officials at the provincial office for endemic disease prevention and cure, the local incidence rate of snail fever has dropped from 4.41 percent three years ago to the present 1.07 percent, and its incidence rate among cattle has plummeted from 10.6 percent to 3.5 percent. The officials said the work was boosted with the aid of World Bank loans, which the province began to use last year to bring snail fever under control. During the past year, the province has been organizing specialists to spread knowledge in 41 counties on health care education, disease statistics, and supervision and treatment of endemic diseases. The province is also promoting a comprehensive plan which involves boosting local economy and optimizing agricultural production. On the other hand, scientific researchers have found more effective ways to check the spread of endemic diseases. In addition, the officials revealed, people in 63 percent of the counties infested with endemic diseases are eating iodine-bearing salt. The incidence rate of malaria has dropped by 54 percent compared with the previous year, and the spread of other diseases such as endemic fluorosis, keshan disease and osteoarthrosis deformans endemica has been checked, local officials said. |
FBIS3-3574_0 | Tibet Increases Number of Rural Industrial Enterprises | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Lhasa, March 15 (XINHUA) -- Rural industrial enterprises are booming in the Tibet Autonomous Region and becoming a fresh force in its economic development. A survey shows that the region has 9,180 such enterprises employing 51,000 people. Their gross income last year amounted to 310 million yuan, an increase of 24 percent over the previous year. This highland region began to develop rural enterprises later than the interior parts of the country. A local official said that the expansion of rural enterprises is giving the local people a faint sense of commodity economy and helping to rationalize and boost the local economy. The official acknowledged that Tibet's rural enterprises are concentrated in cities and towns and are developing unevenly. |
FBIS3-3579_2 | Roundup Views Yunnan's Efforts To Open Up | navigation. In January this year experts from the four countries sponsored a conference here to study the prospects of official navigation of the river. The two ports of Jinghong and Simao along the Lancang River, the name of the part of the Mekong in Chinese territory, have been approved as state-level outlets designed to promote the local economy. The Yunnan provincial government has reached agreements with Laos, Thailand and Myanmar to build two highways connecting the two countries. The highways will then be extended to Malaysia and Singapore. Meanwhile, a local railway line in Yunnan is being extended to Dali in the western part of the province and is expected to eventually link up with the railway network of Laos. Yunnan's plans to connect itself with neighboring countries by water, road and rail have aroused interest of the Asian Development Bank, which has provided loans for these communication projects. Kunming airport has become a major international airport in the region, as it has opened direct air routes to Rangoon, Bangkok, Chiangmai, Singapore, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. The city also envisages developing routes to Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City. Currently the province is building and upgrading other airports, including those at Zhaotong, Lijiang and Dali. Seven of the airports will open to traffic by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Yunnan is making efforts to improve the highways connecting Kunming and the outlets on the border, such as Hekou and Xishuangbanna. Officials said major highways within 200 km around Kunming will have been upgraded by the end of next year. To date, Yunnan has established trade and economic ties with more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. Last year the province registered a two-way trade volume of over 1.21 billion U.S. dollars- worth and received more than 400,000 overseas visitors. Provincial Governor He Zhiqiang said that Yunnan is keen to consolidate and expand cooperation with Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as to develop cooperative channels with the Republic of Korea, Australia and Indonesia. He said his province also intends to initiate economic ties with Cambodia, the Philippines and Brunei, while engaging in promoting friendly relations with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the first Kunming export commodities fair last August, Governor He vowed to turn the annual event into an influential international fair as a measure to promote Yunnan further in the global arena. |
FBIS3-3583_0 | Yunnan Exports More Machinery, Electrical Products | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Kunming, March 17 (XINHUA) -- Southwest China's Yunnan Province, a leading producer of quality cigarettes in China, saw a sharp increase in its exports of machinery and electrical products last year. According to local officials, Yunnan exported machinery and electrical products worth 102.75 million U.S. dollars in 1993, up 48.2 percent compared with the previous year. Bordering Myanmar [Burma], Laos and Vietnam, the province has been making efforts to make full use of its geographical advantages over the past few years. In opening up markets for its machinery and electrical products, it has adopted a policy of giving priority to the development of the Southeast Asian market while strengthening traditional markets in Hong Kong, Macao, Europe and the United States. Besides building more special production bases for machinery and electrical products in the province and sending missions to hold fairs of machinery and electrical products in neighboring countries, the relevant local departments have also adopted flexible ways of trading to boost exports of such products, including spot exchange trade, barter trade, buyer's credit and seller's credit, and have achieved marked results. For instance, the province has experienced a rise of 81 percent in its exports of machinery and electrical products to the United States. So far, Yunnan exports more than 70 kinds of machinery and electrical products, as against only a dozen kinds in 1984, since when the quality of its products for export has kept improving. The proportion of products for export with higher technical content and machinery, and instruments and meters with higher added value is increasing rapidly, the officials added. |
FBIS3-3597_0 | Inner Mongolia Promotes More Women To Leadership Roles | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Huhhot, March 15 (XINHUA) -- The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, north China, has been promoting more women to leading positions in recent years. Official sources here said the region now has 243,000 women cadres -- 34.2 percent of all the cadres in the autonomous region. Some 55,000 of the women are from ethnic minorities. Women also make up 23 percent of the regional people's congress members and 17.5 percent of the regional committee members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the sources said. The region has set up a computer data bank to provide lists of possible women candidates for various positions. The region also sees to it that women cadres are given proper opportunities to receive professional training and further education, so that they can be more qualified to lead. |
FBIS3-3632_0 | Inner Mongolia Promotes More Women To Leadership Roles | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Huhhot, March 15 (XINHUA) -- The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, north China, has been promoting more women to leading positions in recent years. Official sources here said the region now has 243,000 women cadres -- 34.2 percent of all the cadres in the autonomous region. Some 55,000 of the women are from ethnic minorities. Women also make up 23 percent of the regional people's congress members and 17.5 percent of the regional committee members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the sources said. The region has set up a computer data bank to provide lists of possible women candidates for various positions. The region also sees to it that women cadres are given proper opportunities to receive professional training and further education, so that they can be more qualified to lead. |
FBIS3-3661_1 | Activist Detained Before Hosokawa's Arrival | [By Daniel Kwan] [Text] Police have stepped up their intimidation of war reparation campaigners by detaining almost all activists in Beijing and Shanghai during Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's three-day visit to China. Although Beijing yesterday released more than 100 elderly anti-Japan activists after two days of investigations, Shanghai police rounded up war reparation activist Bao Ge just before the Prime Minister's arrival in the east China city. The release of the elderly dissidents coincided with a report which said 500 intellectuals had signed a petition to the National People's Congress (NPC) calling for their release and a public apology by the police. According to Bao's friends, the 31-year-old medical researcher was picked up by police officers yesterday morning. Yang Zhou, a friend of Bao, said the activist had no plans to demonstrate or embarrass the Government during Mr Hosokawa's visit and he believed Bao would be set free soon after Mr Hosokawa left Shanghai. "He (Bao) has no plans to do anything... But the authorities obviously don't want to see even the slightest trouble. Although the issue (war reparation) is not related to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) debate, anything ugly could affect MFN," Mr Yang said. The 100 or so dissidents, whose average age is 65, were detained last Friday after they had petitioned Mr Hosokawa to issue a formal apology and to pay compensations. Bao last Thursday sent a similar petition to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The Chinese Government agreed to drop claims to Japanese compensation 22 years ago when the two nations restored diplomatic relations. But many Chinese citizens regard the deal as a sellout and are seeking billions of dollars in compensation from Tokyo. One source said police had released more than 100 representatives of the group, the China Civilian Preparatory Committee for Japanese Reparations, but sent them all under escort back to their home provinces. Another 100 locked in a south Beijing depot were also sent home. "They were released on Sunday night but police are taking them home under supervision," the activist said, adding a Beijing-based war reparation movement activist, Tong Zeng, remained in police custody. Mr Yang said the strong reaction from the Government could backfire. He said that despite the leadership's disapproval, intellectuals such as Beijing scholar Xu Liangying were still able to challenge the authorities by putting out an open letter calling for the release of all political prisoners. |
FBIS3-3663_2 | Security Forces Said Trying To Defuse `Challenge' | to give up their plans before Mr Wei, who had been asked by police to leave town during Mr Christopher's visit, returns to the capital later this week. Witnesses at Tiananmen Square said at least two protesters were arrested when they tried to distribute pamphlets as a group of NPC delegates were walking out of the Great Hall of the People. One incident occurred on the north side of the square, near the gate where the late Chairman Mao proclaimed the founding of the communist state in 1949. Another took place at the Monument to the People's Heroes in the centre of the square. Police scrambled to gather up all the pieces of paper. There was no indication what the leaflets said. One witness saw police throw a person into a car and drive off immediately after the incident. Police took film away from Manuel Ceneta, a photographer for Agence France Presse. Later a government employee named Gao Hongmin visited the office of a Western television network to show them copies of a leaflet he said he wanted to distribute in Tiananmen Square yesterday afternoon. The leaflet called for a fully free market economy, gradual steps towards democracy and a reversal of the official verdict on the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Gao, 44, said he was working alone and had no connection with the morning leaflet attempts. He was grabbed by security agents on leaving the guarded compound and thrust into a car. Last night, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that two Chinese women "were stopped by other citizens for disturbing public order this morning". The wording suggested the women were arrested. The Foreign Ministry statement said "it was improper for foreign journalists to cover news in China without going through necessary formalities". Meanwhile, 500 intellectuals yesterday reportedly petitioned Beijing to free more than 100 victims of Japanese war crimes who were detained last Friday while protesting outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on the eve of Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's visit. While Beijing police yesterday reportedly released most of the detainees, who were elderly people from the provinces, they held on to Tong Zeng, a veteran organiser of the war-reparations movement. The petition, addressed to the NPC, called for the immediate release of Mr Tong and other detainees. It said police last Friday had taken tough action against protesters who had acted in a "peaceful and obedient manner" |
FBIS3-3664_0 | Dissidents Continue Campaign for Political Reform | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 KYODO -- Chinese dissidents continued their campaign for greater political and social freedom Monday [21 March] as police took quick measures to stop leaflets being distributed in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. "I started taking pictures when I saw leaflets flying and police running from all directions," said Manuel Ceneta, a photographer from a French news agency. Ceneta said he was covering the ongoing National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People which adjoins the square, and then had his camera taken from him and his film exposed. A similar incident near the Tiananmen gate tower was also reported Monday, but police gathered the leaflets before the contents could be discerned, a witness said. It was not immediately known if the perpetrators of the incidents were detained. Chinese courts normally issue lengthy prison sentences for such actions which are regarded as "inciting counterrevolutionary activities." Also on Monday, KYODO NEWS SERVICE received a letter from an employee of China's diplomatic service company, Gao Hongmin, who stated that on March 21 he planned to distribute political leaflets in Tiananmen Square. Police took Gao away as he left the offices of a Western television company, where he left copies of the leaflet in the early afternoon. Gao's leaflet called for more democracy and for the government to rescind its description of the military crackdown on prodemocracy movement in Tiananmen square in 1989 as "a counterrevolutionary rebellion." China's capital has been a hot bed of political unrest since U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher came to Beijing 10 days ago and demanded the government to improve its human rights record. Nearly 20 of China's most well-known political dissidents were detained for questioning at that time. Meanwhile, police have also cracked down on protests by elderly victims of Japanese aggression 50 years ago. The protesters began appearing in Beijing before Saturday's visit by Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, with over 100 reported to have been detained. Spring is the traditional season for political protests in China. This spring coincides with the 75th anniversary of the May 4 democracy movement and the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. |
FBIS3-3665_0 | Government Bans Latest Edition of NEWSWEEK | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Amy Liu] [Text] Chinese police yesterday arrested two women for distributing leaflets in Tiananmen Square and detained a dissident who planned to go there to distribute a pro-democracy statement. The authorities have also acknowledged a ban on the latest edition of the United States news magazine Newsweek. Witnesses said the demonstrators in the square scattered leaflets as a group of delegates to parliament passed by. The content of the leaflets was not known. Police grabbed the camera of an AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE photographer who had taken pictures of the protest and opened it to expose the film. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that two Chinese women "were stopped by other citizens for disturbing public order this morning". The statement quoted by the XINHUA News Agency said: "It was improper for foreign journalists to cover news in China without going through necessary formalities." In a related incident, dissident Gao Hongmin, who had planned to distribute an open statement to the national legislature, was picked up by security officers at the Jianguomenwai foreigners' compound after visiting the offices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. On the ban on the latest edition of NEWSWEEK, a spokesman for the government body that controls the import of periodicals would only say there was an unspecified "problem" with the issue. The cover of the current Asian edition is entitled "China's Angry Voices" and features prominent dissident Wei Jingsheng. The edition contains two highly critical stories. The more controversial one covers the crackdown on growing political dissent in China during last week's visit by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. The other article questions the ability of the central government to control the economy and highlights corruption and social problems. Subscriber copies of NEWSWEEK continued to arrive through the mail. |
FBIS3-3695_0 | Editorial Views Tibetan Human Rights Situation | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Mark What Tibet NPC Deputies Say on Human Rights"] [Text] Fifteen deputies from Tibet attending the Second Session of the Eighth National People's Congress [NPC] met Chinese and foreign reporters a few days ago and answered their questions on Tibet's human rights and other issues of common concern. Some of these deputies come from top levels of the autonomous region while others are from the basic levels; some are of serf origin and some are living Buddhas from the monasteries. They used facts to explain that the Tibetans are living in peace and tranquility and genuinely enjoy human rights and to refute the lies spread by certain "guardians of human rights" on Tibet's human rights. More than 40 years ago Tibet was like a state in the extremely backward Middle Ages and one of the regions in the world where human rights violation were very serious. Following the democratic reform and abolition of the extremely decadent and dark feudal serf system, the millions of serfs and slaves stood up. They were no longer the property of the serf owners who could be traded, transferred, exchanged, and used as payment of debt or who were subjected to the savage actions of eye gouging and cutting off of tongues, hands, and legs. Since then, they have enjoyed basic human rights and have become masters of their own affairs. Earthshaking changes have taken place in Tibet after more than 40 years of construction. The situation in Tibet is now characterized by political stability, economic development, social progress, national concord, and peace and tranquility. After giving an account of Tibet's rapid development in recent years, Re Di, who is responsible for the Tibet Autonomous Regional CPC Committee, said: "With a brand new outlook, Tibet now stands firm on the roof of the world." Who says that human rights are being encroached upon in Tibet? These facts precisely prove that the Chinese Government most respects human rights in Tibet and that the Tibetan people have gained human rights to the greatest extent. This forms a sharp contrast to racial discrimination which still prevails in the United States today. It is the principle of the UN Charter to enhance and encourage respect for human rights and basic freedom of the whole of mankind, irrespective of race, sex, language, or religion. The United States, which talks volubly about human rights, should have |
FBIS3-3695_4 | Editorial Views Tibetan Human Rights Situation | 105 "peaceful dissidents" jailed in Tibet was also fabricated. Re Di told reporters: According to an investigation, many people on the list do not even exist. Some of them are living in their own homes. We do not know where the list came from. What would be the reaction of Christopher to such an explanation? The Tibetans, who have personally experienced historic changes since Tibet's liberation over the past decades, rather than the people in the West, who are far away from the region and are ignorant of Tibet, are most qualified to speak on human rights in Tibet. Some of the 15 Tibetan deputies, who gave an account of Tibet's human rights to Chinese and foreign reporters a few days ago, were slaves in the past. They all had records of their human rights being trampled upon before the democratic reform and the wide range of human rights enjoyed after the democratic reform. Their appraisal of Tibet's human rights is genuine and fair. When a reporter asked about Tibet's human rights, Ruo Sang, director of a Lhasa neighborhood, said: I am most qualified to answer the question. We were slaves in the past without any human rights. Today, we have become masters and genuinely enjoy human rights. Even figures from abroad have acknowledged the development and progress in the region after their trips to Tibet. Those who were prejudiced toward Tibet in the past have also stated that it is unfair to view Tibet based on one-sided statements. Here, we would like to ask: Why are certain Western countries and organizations always trying to attack human rights in Tibet, regardless of the facts? Why have they thrown mud at the Tibetans, who have freed themselves from suffering and who have become masters of their own affairs, rather than condemning the darkness, brutality, and cruelty of the serf owners who deprived the Tibetans of their human rights? Why have they paid special attention to a handful of splittists while ignoring the efforts made by the Tibetans to boost construction and develop the economy? There is only one answer to these questions: They are making use of human rights in an attempt to support "Tibetan independence," stirred up by a tiny handful of splittists, and disrupt China's reunification. As stated by the Tibetan deputies, such a conspiracy will be resolutely opposed by the people of the whole country, including the Tibetans. |
FBIS3-3699_0 | More Mineral Reserves Discovered in Tibet | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Lhasa, March 19 (XINHUA) -- A massive geological survey since 1986 has resulted in the finding of 130 new mineral deposits, including copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, mercury and other important minerals, in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, official sources here said. The sources noted that geologists have worked out a 27-part mineral distribution map on a 1:200,000 scale, covering 193,200 square km, about 16 percent of the total area of Tibet. New discoveries include the finding of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and other metals from volcanoes near Samyai temple, in Chanang county. Explorers also found a large andalusite deposit at Ramba town of Rinbung county, the sources said. The explorers have also carried out a detailed survey of the chromium in Qusum county, the gold in Xaitongmoin county, the multi-metal sources in Maizhokunggar county and the geothermal potential at Yangbajain in Damxung county. Moreover, the explorers found that the many salt lakes in Tibet contain not only boron, but also lithium, tin, cesium and other valuable minerals. In a survey of the Yangbajain geothermal area 90 km from Lhasa last year, explorers found that there is a layer of water at 262 degrees celsius at a depth of 2,006 meters. This was cited as another important breakthrough following the discovery of a 202 degrees celsius water layer at 1,000 m deep in 1989. According to the sources, Tibet has built in recent years 120 new mines, including 28 chromium-iron mines, 11 boron mines and seven gold mines. The output value of mining now accounts for more than one third of the industrial output value of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the sources added. |
FBIS3-3701_0 | Guangdong Deputies Urge Halt To Misuse of License Plates | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By staff reporter Yuan Hsiu-Hsien (5913 4423 6343): "Guangdong People's Deputies From Hong Kong Call For a Halt To Abuse of Military Vehicle License Plates"] [Text] Guangzhou, 23 Feb (TA KUNG PAO) -- A total of 17 Hong Kong deputies to the Guangdong People's Congress, including Ye Ruo-lin, Yu Tang-sheng, Yen Tung-chen, and Liu Pei-chiong submitted a motion to the Guangdong People's Congress urging the removal of military and police license plates from cars used by leading cadres not related to the Army or police. Xu Weikai, the member of the Guangdong People's Congress responsible for handling the motions, spoke highly of the motion. The illegitimate use of military license plates is a problem of major concern for interior inhabitants. It shows that the people at home share the views with those outside the border. The motion stated that, not long ago, Hong Kong newspapers reported an incident which took place in Shenzhen: When a military vehicle collided with a truck from Hong Kong, the driver of the military vehicle beat the driver from Hong Kong instead of giving an apology. Reportedly, the vehicle did not belong to the police, and it was only a company vehicle which used a military license plate to do businesses. The incident created an adverse influence in Hong Kong. The motion continued: It is said that, besides provincial and city leaders, the department- and bureau-level cadres also put military or police license plates on their cars. In order to make more money, some Army and police units openly sell license plates or lease military vehicles to businessmen. Such moves will affect relations between the people and the Army and police and will hinder the establishment of a modern urban management system, which will further deteriorate the already crowded traffic and damage the prestige of the Army and police. The motion urged provincial-level leading cadres not related to the Army or police to take the military license plates off their cars. It also advised the provincial people's congress to submit a report to the Central Military Commission, Armed Police Headquarters, and Public Security Bureau calling for a halt to the practice of selling or contracting military license plates, which harms the reputation of the state, Army, and police. |
FBIS3-3745_1 | New NPC Member Nie Li Views Role of Women in China | As General Nie is currently the vice chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, our interview naturally focused on "women." As soon as we took our seats, she started to talk enthusiastically about the Fourth International Women's Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Beijing next year. She said: "Premier Li Peng said in his government work report: `The Fourth International Women's Conference is scheduled to open in Beijing in 1995, and the Chinese Government and people are now preparing for it.' This is the first time an Asian country and region has hosted the International Women's Conference. The previous three sessions were respectively held in Latin American, European, and African countries. We Chinese women can undoubtedly take pride in the United Nations' designation of Beijing to host this session of the Women's Conference." General Nie had deeper thoughts. She continued: "This conference is the biggest international event ever hosted by China. It is estimated that over 30,000 guests will come to Beijing to attend this grand event. The theme of this conference is equality, development, and peace. Just as hosting the Olympics is not merely a matter of the sports circles, the significance of hosting the International Women's Conference goes well beyond the progressive women's movement. China's hosting of this century's last session of the International Women's Conference is a good opportunity for us to display to the world both the glamour of Chinese women and China's accomplishments in reform and opening up. We must firmly seize this favorable opportunity." Nie Li briefed us: Apparent improvements have been registered over recent years in the employment, education, and social status of the Chinese women. The contingent of female cadres and female scientific research personnel is expanding. There are more and more female academicians, female professors, and female PhD holders (among whom 26 are female academicians, over 1,300 doctoral candidates, and over 174,000 senior professionals in various fields). Most provinces, prefectures, and counties have female leading cadres, while those provinces without provincial-level female cadres are being engaged in considering and selecting some. The number of female generals has also risen from five to 12. We said: "You are the only female Lieutenant General in the Chinese Army." She replied with a smile: "With the enhancement of the qualities of the Chinese women, I believe there will be more female generals in the future." Although she is primarily engaged in the work |
FBIS3-3757_0 | Gansu Governor Interviewed on Tax Sharing System | Language: Mandarin Article Type:BFN [Text] At 1800 on 10 March, Acting Governor Zhang Wule, deputy head of Gansu delegation to the Second Session of the Eighth National People's Congress, agreed to be interviewed at Beijing's Guoyi Guest House by reporters from REUTER and Hong Kong's SING TAO WAN PAO. Dealing with the effects on Gansu of the implementation of the tax-sharing system, Zhang Wule believed that there are both advantages and disadvantages in implementing the tax-sharing system stipulated by the central authorities. There are, however, more advantages than disadvantages. On the issue of the widening gap between eastern and western China, Zhang Wule said that it is an existing fact; however, through reform and opening up and by giving play to our own advantages, we gradually may narrow the gap between ourselves and the economically developed areas. Gansu is full of confidence on that point. When Zhang Wule talked about the relationships among reform, development, and stability, he said that Gansu presently enjoys sound momentum in economic development, nationality solidarity, political stability, social progress, and reform and opening up, and that the situation is favorable to the province. |
FBIS3-3810_0 | `Sources' Say Two Activists Released | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 22 KYODO -- Chinese authorities released activist Tong Zeng on Tuesday [22 March] from five days of detention after demanding compensation for civilian victims of the war with Japan, reliable sources said. Tong is a long-time activist in a movement which saw hundreds of elderly victims come to Beijing to petition Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. He was taken from his Beijing home by police last Friday, one day before Hosokawa arrived for a three-day visit to China, one source said. Authorities detained at least 100 of the victims in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Friday as they came to deliver letters to Hosokawa demanding compensation and a public apology for Japanese war crimes. The release of Tong and others detained by police for related activities was the focus of an open letter to China's National People's Congress on Monday. The letter was signed by 500 Chinese intellectuals. In a related development, Gao Hongmin, a government official detained Monday for allegedly planning to distribute political leaflets in Tiananmen Square, was also released after undergoing four hours of interrogation by police. Gao returned to work Tuesday. |
FBIS3-3813_0 | Planned Parenthood Program in Poor Areas `Fruitful' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Kunming, March 22 (XINHUA) -- Officials of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the cooperation with the Chinese Government in implementing the woman-child health care and planned parenthood program in poverty-stricken areas is "pleasing and fruitful". One of the biggest cooperative programs between the Chinese Government and international organizations ever, the program started in 1990 has witnessed remarkable progress in improving the health and nutrition of pregnant women and little children. Some 120 million people, nearly one-ninth of the country's population, in about 300 poverty-stricken counties all over China have benefited from the program. Official sources said that by the end of this year, the death rates of pregnant women and little children in those counties will have been reduced by some 20 percent from rates in 1990. A 1990 survey showed that the death rate for children in 108 of those 300 counties reached more than 68.02 per thousand, and the maternal mortality rate was even higher in some half of the project counties. According to the survey, in those poor counties, pneumonia, diarrhea and asphyxia are the main killers of little children, while two-thirds of the pregnant women die of puerperal infection and ante partum hemorrhage. Scheduled to conclude in 1995, the program is aimed at reducing death rates of mothers and children by improving and expanding primary health care services in the remote and poor districts. With the help of the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization, Chinese Governments at all levels have trained more than 120,000 village and county doctors in the latest practical methods of treating deadly diseases and in preventive health care. According to statistics offered by the Ministry of Public Health, from 1990 to 1993, those international organizations have invested some 24 million U.S. dollars to improve the village and county health care centers as well as anti-epidemic institutes in the 300 project counties. Meanwhile, governments at all levels in those districts have poured some 47 million yuan into buying medical instruments for those grassroots health care centers. Official sources said that at the beginning of this year, the international organizations had decided to prolong the program for a few years more and had increased the number of the project counties to 305. Though China has a large population living in poverty-stricken areas, officials from the international organizations said that |
FBIS3-3813_1 | Planned Parenthood Program in Poor Areas `Fruitful' | the woman-child health care and planned parenthood program in poverty-stricken areas is "pleasing and fruitful". One of the biggest cooperative programs between the Chinese Government and international organizations ever, the program started in 1990 has witnessed remarkable progress in improving the health and nutrition of pregnant women and little children. Some 120 million people, nearly one-ninth of the country's population, in about 300 poverty-stricken counties all over China have benefited from the program. Official sources said that by the end of this year, the death rates of pregnant women and little children in those counties will have been reduced by some 20 percent from rates in 1990. A 1990 survey showed that the death rate for children in 108 of those 300 counties reached more than 68.02 per thousand, and the maternal mortality rate was even higher in some half of the project counties. According to the survey, in those poor counties, pneumonia, diarrhea and asphyxia are the main killers of little children, while two-thirds of the pregnant women die of puerperal infection and ante partum hemorrhage. Scheduled to conclude in 1995, the program is aimed at reducing death rates of mothers and children by improving and expanding primary health care services in the remote and poor districts. With the help of the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization, Chinese Governments at all levels have trained more than 120,000 village and county doctors in the latest practical methods of treating deadly diseases and in preventive health care. According to statistics offered by the Ministry of Public Health, from 1990 to 1993, those international organizations have invested some 24 million U.S. dollars to improve the village and county health care centers as well as anti-epidemic institutes in the 300 project counties. Meanwhile, governments at all levels in those districts have poured some 47 million yuan into buying medical instruments for those grassroots health care centers. Official sources said that at the beginning of this year, the international organizations had decided to prolong the program for a few years more and had increased the number of the project counties to 305. Though China has a large population living in poverty-stricken areas, officials from the international organizations said that they believed that the program will be able to realize its objective of `everyone enjoying free health care from the year 2000' through continued hard work. |
FBIS3-3825_0 | RENMIN RIBAO Views U.S.-Russian Relations | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN ["Roundup" by staff reporter Bao Shishao (7637 0013 4801): "`Honeymoon Is Over, Marriage Still Exists' -- Changing U.S.-Russian Relations"] [Text] Washington (RENMIN RIBAO) -- U.S. Secretary of State Christopher concluded his visit to Asia on 14 March. On his way home, he stopped over in Vladivostok, a Russian city on the east coast, and met with Russian Foreign Minister Kozthev. Although both sides stressed their bilateral relations had become mature and had withstood recent tests, they also admitted that differences were unavoidable and they had yet to improve their cooperation. According to reports here, Christopher warned Russia against taking actions alone on issues in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the Middle East, but Kozthez insisted that Russia must not be excluded from the process of deliberating on international affairs and complained that Russia's cooperation with the United States in foreign affairs did not bring any substantial benefit to Russia. The less-than-friendly exchange [jiao feng 0074 6912] between the two foreign ministers was an inevitable result of the changes in U.S.-Russian relations. For a certain period, leading Russian politicians continued to stress the need to safeguard Russia's national and state interests and to play a leading role in international affairs. Russian Foreign Minister Kozthev recently made it plain that Russia was "facing the task of resolutely, and even toughly in some aspects, safeguarding and developing our interests," and should "reinforce its status on the international stage." At the same time, Russia changed certain practices it pursued in previous years and took a series of diplomatic initiatives. In order to contend for the dominating power in the political settlement of the Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis, Russia took the initiative in getting involved in the issue early this year. When the United States and its West European allies issued an ultimatum to the Serbs in Bosnia, Russia not only opposed the Western plan for launching air strikes against the Serbs, but also persuaded the Serbs to withdraw from the vicinity of Sarajevo and hand over their heavy weapons. Russia then dispatched its own peacekeeping troops to Bosnia. Recently, when the Croatians and the Muslims in Bosnia reached an agreement on establishing a federation in Washington, Russia summoned the Serb leaders to Moscow almost at the same time to discuss corresponding steps. In addition, Russia not only strongly opposed NATO's eastward expansion, but also put forth the "pan-European security conception" in order to check |
FBIS3-3910_2 | Pros, Cons of Private Schools Discussed | that private schools are very different from public schools in teaching programs, facilities, equipment, the layout of courses and had a markedly better teaching staff. They said that most of the private schools were boarding schools, which appeal to parents who are single-mindedly pursuing their careers. Meanwhile, they said, the teachers in private schools are among the best of the city's and they are often paid several times more than their counterparts in public schools. A teacher at the private Jinghua Primary School is paid more than 1,000 yuan (about 115 U.S. dollars) a month, about three times the salary for a teacher in other schools. Besides a well-designed school syllabus, a major appeal of the private schools is their wide set of interesting courses and extracurricular activities. Learning English and computers, courses traditionally first introduced for junior middle school pupils or college students, starts in the first year in private schools, officials said. They said that private schools also have smaller classes of no more than 25. They provide five meals a day, and air-conditioning in pupils' dormitories. At a New Year get-together of teachers, pupils and parents, many parents said that their children have become healthier, more active, polite and eager to learn. They said they were satisfied with the progress their children had achieved in singing, dancing, typewriting, calculation and playing chess and musical instruments. Several third-formers said that they liked to be strictly treated and liked their teachers. Parents said that they could sense the intimacy between their children and the staff. However, city officials have cautioned that not all the private schools have been set up for the benefit of the pupils: some rather in pursuit of the irresistible high incomes obtainable. The officials said that an unhealthy trend of only pursuing money had emerged in some of the private schools established without strict scientific studies. They also said that a lack of supporting funds had affected the normal operation of the schools and is expected to force some of them to close. The officials warned that some private schools have neglected teaching social morals to pupils. A well-respected expert from the city's education community said an overheating in running private schools must be avoided, as such schools are now faced with specific difficulties such as fund shortfalls, limited campus size and classrooms, short-stay teaching staff, insufficient sources of pupils and lax management. The expert |
FBIS3-3912_8 | Minister Views Doing Better Propaganda Work | their heavy responsibility for providing ideological education and should, like Premier Zhou said, "take pleasure in educating people." They should bring the main theme into prominence and stick to diversification. They should sing in praise of the main theme -- patriotism, collectivism, and socialism -- and make their programs rich, healthy, and civilized so as to meet the increasing and diverse cultural and entertainment needs of the people to the maximum. Last year four departments and commissions, including the CPC Central Committee's Propaganda Department, selected 100 films and television programs on patriotism for public showing once a week. This was warmly welcomed by the people and provided us with much enlightenment. It completely conformed with Comrade Deng Xiaoping's instructions: "Chinese history must be used to educate young people," and "it is necessary to understand some Chinese history, this is a spiritual impetus for China's development." In music and songs, we will also sort out and select fine works in different historical periods in a planned way for reservation purposes. They will be broadcast one after another and popularized among the people, with the aim of combining popularization and improvement. Efforts will be made to gradually substitute high-style, superior Chinese and foreign music and plays for negative, decadent, and unhealthy entertainment programs and to replace vulgar art with elegant art. In accordance with Central Committee and State Council leading comrades' instructions, we recently broadcast the advanced deeds of a number of middle-aged and young scientists, teachers, and personnel who returned from overseas studies. They have good morality and are highly professional and selflessly dedicated to the motherland's four modernizations. This has produced good results. In the future, we will conduct more interviews so that advanced people and heroes on all fronts will appear on television to display the heroic style and features of our era, set a good example for others to follow, and encourage healthy trends. 2. Corrosion by decadent ideas from abroad must be resolutely resisted and the bourgeois life-style must not be allowed to spread unchecked in China. Comrade Deng Xiaoping made overall remarks on what attitude should be taken toward Western bourgeois culture: "We should learn from the advanced science and technology of developed capitalist countries, their operational and managerial methods, as well as their knowledge and culture which are beneficial to us. Closing ourselves to foreign countries and refusing to make progress are stupid. But regarding |
FBIS3-3912_13 | Minister Views Doing Better Propaganda Work | what attitude should we take on satellite television programs from outside the country? Out of consideration for the country's fundamental interests and for the sake of strengthening socialist spiritual civilization, we should exercise strict management. This is very explicit, but we have encountered many difficulties. An important reason is that some people think that there is a large market for manufacturing and selling ground antennas, therefore they favor "lifting control." In the final analysis, the rampant import of films has been caused by "gearing all efforts toward money-making." Some Chinese-made films have also imitated imported films to meet the vulgar taste of some people, thus causing an unhealthy cycle and seriously damaging our spiritual civilization. Through practice, we deeply feel that, although spiritual products also bear a commercial nature and the law of value should be respected, it is all the more necessary to exercise macrocontrol and regulation over spiritual products than material products. We should not blindly allow the market to regulate the prices of spiritual products. The quality of some high-budget television series in the market is not good, and this is a clear example. It is the same with films. Films with good box office are not necessarily good in quality, because rich people do not necessarily have a great ability to appreciate good films. Those who can appraise the quality of films are not necessarily those who have a lot of money. In the final analysis, this boils down to what Premier Zhou has said, namely, it is the people who are the most authoritative judges. In a word, we must resolutely carry out Comrade Deng Xiaoping's instructions: "Ideological, cultural, educational, and health departments should take social effects as their only criterion for judging all their activities, and enterprises affiliated with these departments should also take social effects as their supreme criterion." 4. We hope all localities will provide support and assurance in terms of policy and principle so as to promote our cause. We hope to introduce some policies to support and encourage radio, film, and television businesses. For example, following the increase in revenue, our investment should also be increased to provide financial support. All local party committees and governments are required to do a good job in relaying the first-channel programs from central, provincial, and city radio and television broadcasts. Many comrades said that reception of Central Television Studio programs is hardly available |
FBIS3-3913_0 | Intellectual Salon Turns Attention to Ancient Culture | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Bruce Gilley in Beijing] [Text] An intellectual salon born during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests is to drop its focus on present-day China after five years of government imposed restrictions. The Modern Culture Society of China, which held its founding meeting within earshot of students parading for change in May 1989, will turn its attention to ancient Chinese culture, say founding members at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Cass) in Beijing. The renamed Chinese Cultural Society will stress "the traditional virtues of the Chinese people", one founding member said. "We will no longer pay attention to modern problems. It's no good doing that now." The society has been under strict supervision by the State Council, which runs Cass, since its brief flirtation with free expression in 1989, members said. "The society was established during a high-point of discussion about Chinese culture and society. We could hear the students chanting on Changan Avenue during the founding meeting," one member said. The original 50 members came mainly from the history and literature departments of leading Beijing universities. "The permitted scope of the society has faced many restrictions. Not all the territory has been opened for discussion," said one member at the People's University. The move into an area more palatable to the senior leadership will be supported by the central government, which will approve a national charitable society to support the new group's academic endeavours, the founding member said. Wealthy foreign and domestic businessmen will be sought as benefactors of the Chinese Cultural Research Fund, which the central bank was expected to grant tax-free status as a charity this year. The society has been suffering from money shortages since its inauspicious founding and had difficulty scraping together funds for its fifth anniversary celebration this year. About 60 mainland scholars attended the society's seminars in Beijing in 1991 and in Hainan province last year. The society was criticised by Beijing leaders after a resolution was passed at the Hainan seminar calling for "a new culture to fit the new era". "This was at odds with the party's stress on the construction of a civilised society based on traditional Chinese morals and values," said one member who attended the Hainan seminar, entitled "Trends in modern Chinese culture". Months of internal bickering among members about how to resolve the society's financial and intellectual crises finally ended earlier this month |
FBIS3-3917_1 | Nuclear Power Development Seeks Foreign Capital | studies of nuclear power plants. All these provinces are in South and East China and suffer severe shortages of electricity. "The market for nuclear electricity is potentially vast, and with advanced nuclear technology we have the ability to develop nuclear power," Sun said. Encouraged by the safe and efficient operation of the country's first two nuclear power stations, in Qinshan, Zhejiang, and at Daya Bay in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, China is stepping up work on other plants. Second-phase construction has already begun at the Qinshan plant to install two 600,000-kilowatt generators, Sun said. A planned third phase would expand total capacity to 3 million kilowatts. The capital for the project came from the State and from Shanghai Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui, which use the plant's electricity. China also plans to build another nuclear plant in Guangdong and one in Liaoning Province. The new plant in Guangdong will be located at Lingao, north of Daya Bay. The plant will house two 900,000-kilowatt generators, and construction is due to be completed in 2002. Part of the capital for the project will come from the profits of Daya Bay, whose No 1 Generator went into commercial operation on February 6. Its No 2 Generator is expected to begin operating commercially in May or June. The Liaoning plant will be located at Wafangdian near Bohai Bay and will have two Russian generators, each with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts. Sun said designing of the plant has already begun. "With power shortages becoming increasingly severe in China," Sun said "nuclear power is a safe, economical and clean way for the country to resolve its difficulties." However, Sun said, China got a late start in nuclear power and must make big strides to catch up with other countries. Nuclear power accounted for only 0.3 per cent of the country's total electricity output last year, compared with 78 per cent in France, 43 per cent in South Korea and 27.7 per cent in Japan. China's two nuclear plants generated 2.49 billion kilowatts last year and the figure this year is expected to climb to 8 billion to 10 billion kilowatts. In addition, China is negotiating to build a nuclear power plant in Iran with two 300,000-kilowatt generators. Sun said that construction is in full swing on the Chashima Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan, one of China's biggest assistance projects in a Third World country. |
FBIS3-3919_2 | National Synchrotron Radiation Lab Scores Many Achievements | experiments in photochemistry, optoelectron energy spectrum, soft X- ray microscopy, X-ray phototechnology, and time-sharing light spectrum have been put into operation. According to a briefing by Professor Zhang Xinyi, principal person in charge of the NSRL and vice president of the CUST, the NSRL's scientific and technological personnel and the CUST's task force have conducted extensive cooperation with researchers of some research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Southeast China University, Fudan University, Xiamen University, Zhejiang University, and the Anhui Provincial Family Planning Commission. Using the NSRL's advanced means and multiple functions, they have conducted intensive research and exploration in both basic sciences and applied technologies, and have scored one achievement after another in just a few months. Some of their achievements have not been reported to the world. Using synchrotron radiation phototechnology to manufacture micromachinery is a high technology that rose in the world in the eighties. Using the mask they made, lab scientific and technological personnel succeeded in etching out a gear with a thickness of 50 micrometers plus, which is thinner than hair. The technology's development makes it possible to manufacture machinery for surgical operations in human blood vessels. They have made comparatively great progress in the research and application of porous silicon and other materials. They have developed porous silicon capable of photo- and electroluminescence; and they have observed photosensitive, air sensitive, and moisture sensitive phenomena. Among the materials they have developed, the moisture sensitive transmitter has been granted a patent by the government. They have achieved important successes from conducting a great deal of research in and tests with such catalysis as oxidation and nitrodation on the surface of semiconductors and vacuum ultraviolet reflection light spectrum. Taking advantage of synchrotron radiation light's special ability to conduct microexamination of fresh and living specimen, they have succeeded in taking micrographs of the contact between cancerous cells in esophagus. They have made satisfactory progress in conducting microscopic mechanical research of defects inside silicon beams, in conducting research in a free-electron laser device and accelerator which were included in the "863" high technology program, and in conducting research in short lived nuclide radiation medicine. Meanwhile, a number of projects currently under research and experimentation are also making rapid progress. Scientific and technological personnel have made many improvements of the light source of synchrotron radiation, thereby greatly enhancing its stability in operation and receiving favorable comments from lab users. |
FBIS3-3924_7 | Fliers Take Samples From 1st Hydrogen Bomb | Nanchang Military Cadre Guest House. Welcoming him at the door was an old man with a white beard and deep wrinkles on his forehead. He was Chen Qingluan. A few years ago, he retired as deputy divisional commander. The writer introduced himself and stated his purpose of the visit. Chen opened the conversation. One week after completing their mission, they all lost their appetite and strength. Many of them became bald within days as a result of exposure to radiation. The impact of radiation on the human body varies, and as the victims age the differences become more noticeable. His name is Hu Guangqiang. Aged 61 and wearing a cotton hat rarely seen in the south, he has a very old and sallow face, one that is much older than his age. It is hard to see in him even a trace of the heroic demeanor of his youth. He was exposed to twice as much radiation as the others, and since then has complained of tinnitus, dizziness, lack of strength, and being subject to attacks of influenza. His white cell count is 300 cc, one-third lower than normal. He suffers from chronic hepatitis and incurable liver inflammation. His physician can do nothing about his case, merely advising him to exercise more and pay attention to his diet. He jogs four miles along the riverside every morning and practices one hour of qigong during the day, whether in freezing cold or scorching heat. He is fighting the diseases and struggling to stay alive. People around him are touched by his tenacious spirit. With the onslaught of mercantile values, concepts of value and outlook on life have changed. How does Hu Guangqiang view his past act of dedication? "I have never regretted it. It was our duty to contribute to national revitalization, and this was even truer for a soldier like me." He views what he did as a requirement and as a mission every soldier would be glad to accept. He has sent two of his children into the Army who would relive what he has gone through. Owing to the constraints of time and the journey, this writer was unable to fathom the inner recesses of all nine merit-winners, but he believes that these fearless and selfless people of the older generation all have a noble heart. Without regret or complaint, they dedicated themselves to national wealth and power. |
FBIS3-3928_0 | Drive Launched To Eradicate False Statistics | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 19 (CNS) -- The State Statistical Bureau and the Ministry of Supervision have joined forces to fight against false reports on industrial output value. The two departments have since the beginning of this year dispatched investigative teams to several areas to look into allegations relating to violations of the regulations on statistics mainly due to individual interest sought by some leading cadres and officials. It was found that such infringements were quite serious and covered a wide area. Some party and government leaders exaggerated their achievements and made false reports on industrial output value. Local statistical bureaus under pressures from their leading organs could not help but follow instructions from the local leadership in making false reports on industrial output value in breach of regulations on statistics. Some local party and government organs comparing themselves with other regions in terms of success achieved in industrial production were to blame for false reports on industrial output value made by some towns and enterprises. Some regions changed the unified statistical practice available nationwide causing false statistics on industrial output value. A circular issued by the two departments pointed out that infringement of the regulations on statistics and making false reports on statistical work ran counter to the spirit of seeking truth from facts required of the party. As a result the state loses reliable scientific data and information for macro-economic regulation. Wrong decisions mainly due to wrong information have caused the state serious economic damage. |
FBIS3-3937_0 | Experts Call For Early Start on Hydropower Plant | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 18 (XINHUA) -- The construction of the controversial Daliushu Hydropower Plant on the Huanghe River in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is urged to start as soon as possible. More than 60 experts called for an early start of the construction at a meeting organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, which closed here Thursday [17 March]. The opinion of the experts agrees with that of deputies from Ningxia, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, who have put forward the same suggestion to the ongoing session of the Eighth National People's Congress. Experts at the association's meeting, including noted academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Zhang Zongyou, Ma Zongjin and Li Tingdong, hold that the construction of a hydropower plant at Daliushu in the Heishan Gorge, on the upper reaches of the Huanghe River, is feasible both technologically and economically. The experts said that the loose rock base at the proposed reservoir covers only part of the area and is superficial. It poses no major difficulty for construction or safety. In fact, the experts pointed out that loose rock has been handled successfully at power plants both in China and abroad. Feasibility studies of the plant in the past decades have been accompanied by controversies over whether there should be two lower dams at Xiaoguanyin in Gansu Province and Daliushu in Ningxia, or only one high dam at Daliushu. The high dam plan won the argument in November, 1991, when an experts group of the Ministry of Water Resources conducted studies in geology, construction, investment and irrigation. According to the final plan approved by the State Council, the Daliushu plant will have a 160 meter high dam and a reservoir containing 1.1 million cu m of water. The generating sets will have a capacity of two million kw, generating 7.8 billion kwh of electricity a year. The water of the reservoir will be able to irrigate 400,000 ha of farmland in the region in the short term, and more than one million ha in the long run. It will also supply abundant water resources to the energy and chemical industries in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, and cleaner water to hundreds of thousands of local people who are suffering from a too-high fluorine content in their drinking water. As the construction of the plant is of great significance to the |
FBIS3-3961_0 | Navy To Take Delivery of Second Frigate | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Taipei, March 23 (CNA) -- The second of the eight Perry class frigates ordered by the Republic of China [ROC] Navy is scheduled to be delivered on Monday [28 March], the China Shipbuilding Corp. (CSBC) announced Wednesday. Construction of the frigate, named "Cheng Ho" after a noted Ching Dynasty admiral, began on Dec. 21, 1990, and the vessel was launched in September 1992. "The ship will be delivered to the Navy about five weeks ahead of schedule," a CSBC official said. Construction of three other such warships are under way at the CSBC's Kaohsiung shipyard, and the last one is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 1999. The first of the frigates, which are modeled on the US Perry- class frigates, went into service last May. The 4,200-ton frigates have a cruising speed of 27.5 nautical miles per hour, according to the CSBC. The ships will be armed with locally-manufactured Hsiung-Feng ship-to-ship missiles, US standard ship-to-air missiles, [word indistinct] submarine torpedoes, and phalanx weapons systems built by the General Dynamics Corp. of the United States. The weapons system uses a closed-loop radar to spot and track enemy missiles and to direct fire from an M-61A1 Gatling gun capable of firing 3,000 rounds per minute. In addition, the vessels will carry anti- submarine helicopters. The eight vessels, which will eventually cost the Navy more than NT$40 billion (US$1.5 billion), are to replace part of the Navy's aging fleet. The Navy had 24 destroyers and nine frigates as of [word indistinct], according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The ROC also agreed on a US$4.8 billion deal in 1991 to buy 16 Lafayette-class frigates from France. |
FBIS3-3984_1 | ROK Industrialists Detail Bilateral Economic Contacts | enterprises will develop rapidly. Chung Chae-kwan, chief representative of Hyundai Corporation's Beijing office, said that as the ROK and China are neighbors with a long history of culture exchanges and economic and trade contacts, there is a solid foundation for the cooperation of the companies of two countries. Since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1992, he said, many Korean enterprises have come to invest in and conduct trade with China, and many Chinese companies have entered Korean markets. As a result, Chung noted, the Sino-ROK trade ties have enjoyed tremendous development. Last year, the bilateral trade volume stood at 8.2 billion U.S. dollars, and ROK investment in China reached 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. S.C. Yi, representative of the Beijing office of Daewoo, said that since China has rich natural resources and labor, while the ROK has accumulated useful experience in its 40-year economic development and possesses advanced technology suitable for China, the effective cooperation between the two sides will create development chances for both sides. Since the late 1980s, Daewoo began to invest mainly in China's fields of machinery, chemicals, electrical appliances and automobiles. By the end of last year, its investment in China had reached 300 million U.S. dollars. Its trade volume with China in 1993 was one billion U.S. dollars. Daewoo has also set up a joint venture with Chinese companies in the ROK. Business in China has also developed smoothly for Samsung. With 10 offices in China, its trade volume with China surpassed 1.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, ranking first among all ROK companies. It has invested more than 100 million U.S. dollars to set up an ROK-China joint venture to manufacture electronic products and telecommunications equipment. Chun Sung-chin, chief representative of Lucky-Goldstar's Beijing office, said that since the enterprises of both countries all are facing tense competition in the world, they must introduce new technology and expand their production scope. The industrial circle of the two countries should strengthen their cooperation in this regard. All of the ROK entrepreneurs interviewed stressed that their companies have made long-term plans to cooperate with China, some of which have been carried out. Daewoo has signed an agreement with China to jointly produce automobile parts. The Lucky-Goldstar Group has just reached agreements with China to invest 400 million U.S. dollars to manufacture electronic products. It also plans to move its Asian sub-headquarters from Hong Kong to Beijing. |
FBIS3-3986_0 | Li Lanqing Meets Vietnamese Industry Minister | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 24 (XINHUA) -- Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing met here today with the Vietnamese minister of heavy industry, Tran Lum, and his party. As guest of China's Ministry of Metallurgical Industry, Tran arrived here on Monday to discuss transformation and expansion of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Corporation. The Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Corporation was established in the early 1960s with Chinese aid. Li hoped that the two countries would cooperate successfully in the endeavour. Chinese Minister of Metallurgical Industry Liu Qi took part in the meeting. |
FBIS3-3988_0 | Southwest Region To Develop Outlet to Southeast Asia | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 19 (XINHUA) -- The southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will develop into another outlet of China, besides Guangdong, to Southeast Asian areas and the world, chairman of the regional government Cheng Kejie said here today. At a press conference held here, Cheng said that the development of international port and trade centers in the region will benefit 240 million people in a 23-million-square-kilometer area in southwestern China. He said that the province will provide a shortcut for import and export goods from land-locked Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Now the goods mainly goes through coastal cities of Guangzhou in the south and Shanghai in the east. He said that the central government has adopted preferential policies to encourage the locality to expand economic and trade links with Southeast Asian countries. The central government supports include special loans and funds allocations for infrastructure and better-off of the eight million poverty-stricken people in the autonomous region. In response to a question about the region's economic relations with Southeast Asian countries, he said that many countries have shown great interest in investing in the areas along the 1,600- kilometer coastal line of the region. Guangxi has a 1,020-kilometer border line with Vietnam, and is located near the Laos, Thailand and Myanmar [Burma]. He said that former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited the coastal city of Beihai in the region last year. Now a group of Singapore entrepreneurs are in the city to assess a 666.7-hectare area to be designated to them by the local government. "There is a bright prospect for the project," Cheng said, "The two sides are consulting on the industrial structure and scale of investment in the area." He said that a number of cooperative projects between the autonomous region and Thailand and Malaysia are also in the pipeline. Since Thai Prime Minister Chuan Likphai went to Guangxi during his China visit last August, some 18 investment projects by the Thai bank have been under discussion. The bank from Thailand is also applying to set up a branch in the regional capital of Nanning. Cooperative projects under way with Malaysia include a seafood processing plant and some 400 luxury villas in Beihai city. The city has joined hands with Malaysia to open marine tourist routes to Southeast Asian countries. It has placed orders for luxury |
FBIS3-4008_1 | Shandong Reports Villages Enjoy Access to Power Supply | Article Type:BFN [Text] Learned by this reporter on 23 March from the provincial meeting on management of power departments, the province's last 400 administrative villages beyond the reach of power supply will all be supplied with power by the end of this year. Then, 91 percent of peasant households in the province will be accessible by power supply, 88 percent of peasant households will be furnished with lighting installation, and power price in rural areas will become reasonable. In 1993, power departments in the province increased the dynamics of the work of supporting poor areas. As a result, some 680 villages in the province were newly furnished with power supply installations. Zibo, Binzhou, and Jining attained the target of making all their villages accessible by power supply. Dezhou power supply bureau also completed in advance the work of supplying power to 56 villages by 20 March, thus fulfilling the task of making all villages accessible by power supply. Last year, three 110-kilovolt transformer substations and 12 35-kilovolt transformer substations were newly built in the 15 poverty-stricken counties in the province, and, as a result, 12 poverty-stricken counties fulfilled the task of making all their villages accessible by power supply. Vice Governor Chen Jianguo said at the meeting: The development of power industry is very uneven in rural areas. The framework of the rural power supply network in western province remains weak, and the per capita share of power there remains very low. This has become the major factor hampering the rural economic development in western areas. Accelerating the development of power industry in rural areas is a fundamental guarantee for invigorating the rural economy of the province. For this reason, governments at all levels must attach high importance on power industry. Meanwhile, by firmly embracing the service purpose of orienting the people's power industry to people's needs, rural power management departments at all levels should regard it as their own duty to ensure the lighting service of rural areas and to help rural areas shake off poverty and become rich, and should strengthen management to not only ensure power supply to peasants but also make the numerous peasants use power in correct way. Rural power management departments at all levels should continue to manage well power price and resolutely lower the price in rural areas to a reasonable level so that they can support agricultural production and reduce peasants' burden. |
FBIS3-4042_0 | Family Says Dissident Zhai Weimin Imprisoned in Henan | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 25 (AFP) -- Zhai Weimin, leader of the pro-democracy movement crushed at Tiananmen Square in June 1989, has been in jail in central China's Henan province since his March 6 arrest, his family said Friday. They said he was being held at Yeshugou jail, near the city of Xinan in the western part of Henan province. The arrest of the 23-year-old dissident came as part of a vast security offensive against dissidents in China beginning early this month. At least 18 people were picked up. Speaking by telephone on Wednesday, Xinan police said they "knew" Zhai but "did not know" where he was. A family member said the dissident was allowed to see his youngest sister, Zhai Yujie, on Friday morning, but that the police would not divulge the reasons for his arrest. Those close to Zhai, however, suspect he will be held at least until June 4, the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Zhai, number six on the "list of most-wanted students" after the pro-democracy movement was smashed, was arrested in early 1990 and spent three-and-a-half years in prison for "counter-revolutionary propaganda" before being freed last September 13. His release came just a few days before the selection of a site for the 2000 summer games. The Chinese capital lost out to Sydney, Australia. Three recent arrests of dissident lawyers Zhou Guoqiang, Yuan Hongbing and Wang Jiaqi have been confirmed by the authorities recently. Friends of Yuan and Wang said this week that they had been unable to receive any word on them despite repeated appeals to judicial authorities. |
FBIS3-4085_1 | Lancang River Becomes Key Energy Development Base | southwest China is scheduled to be located on the upper reaches of the river, where lead, zinc, antimony, copper, asbestos, salt and marble abound. Eight hydroelectric power stations and two reservoirs will be built at different altitudes along the river. Upon completion, these power stations will have a total installed capacity of 13.7 million kw and generate 70.9 billion kwh a year, making the valley the largest energy production base in southwest China. In addition, on the lower reaches of the river tourism resources will be developed, together with production bases for tropical cash crops and research bases for rare plants and animals. The Lancang River rises in the Tanggula Range, Qinghai Province, and flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan to Laos, Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and thence to the sea. After it flows out of China, the river is called the Mekong River. The basin of the 1,240-km-long section of the river in Yunnan covers 91,000 sq km, including eight prefectures in the southwest China province. Experts here agree that the hydropower potential amounts to 26 million kw, including 20.73 million kw available for immediate development. As early as in 1988 the Chinese Government listed the Lancang River and its valley as one of the state's 19 major zones for development. Through seven years of effort, the first hydroelectric power station -- the Manwan Station, with a combined installed capacity of 1.5 million kw able to generate 7.9 billion kwh a year -- has been erected on the river. Construction of the second one -- the Dachaoshan Power Station with an installed capacity of 1.26 million kw able to generate 7.5 billion kwh annually -- is in full swing. It is expected to go into operation by the end of this century. Preparations for building the Xiaowan Power Station, with an installed capacity of 4.2 million kw able to generate 17.8 billion kwh annually, is well under way. Located 265 km from Kunming, capital of the province, construction of the station will start in 1996 and it will go into operation in 2007. The project is being built jointly by Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces and two state departments. According to the governor, Yunnan will seek multi-sided co-operation in constructing the remaining five power stations. Since 1990 China has co-operated with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in surveying and developing the upper reaches of the Mekong River. |
FBIS3-4088_0 | Minister Notes Worsening Water Shortage | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 22 (XINHUA) -- China's water shortage has worsened as a result of booming economic and social development and pollution, Chinese Minister of Water Resources Niu Maosheng said here today. Speaking at a rally today marking the Second Annual World Day for Water, the minister said that China's per capita share of water reserves has been decreasing. In China it amounts to 2,400 cubic meters per head, only about one fourth of the world's average and ranking 88th in the world, said the minister. He attributed the booming economic and social development, population growth and pollution to the decrease. According to the minister, China took the lead in the world by mapping out "China's Agenda 21", a national strategy for sustainable social and economic development, which gives priority to protection and efficient use of water. The strategy was drafted in response to the call made by the United Nations Environment and Development Conference held in Brazil, which stressed protection of natural resources and sustainable development. China has been investing heavily, and will continue to do so, in water conservancy projects, he added. Work on preparatory projects for the huge Three Gorges Water Conservancy Dam on the Chang Jiang River is in full swing. The scheme will create the world's most powerful hydro-electric plant and a huge reservoir. Work on other large water conservancy projects, such as Xiaolangdi and Wanjiazhai, which it is estimated will cost billions of U.S. dollars, has begun or is soon to start. Another costly diversion project has been listed on the agenda of the Chinese Government. It is designed to divert water from the Chang Jiang River northward to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei Province and Henan Province, which are suffering from water shortages. Romulo Garcia, acting resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Beijing, said that in recent years UNDP had been involved in a number of initiatives to assist the government in its water related programs. The programs include the northern China water management project, the rural water supply and sanitation in poor and remote areas project, and the assessment of China's water sector in Guizhou Province and master plan for the development of water resources in northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The United Nations General Assembly resolved last year to have March 22 observed every year as the world day for water. The United Nations estimates |
FBIS3-4102_0 | Ministry Reissues Circular | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN ["Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Circular on Carefully Examining Commodity Trademarks When Registering Export Enterprises" --promulgated by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation on 5 October 1993] [Text] In recent years, when some local departments in charge of trade and the economy examined and approved applications by large and medium enterprises to operate import and export businesses, and when they examined and approved applications by foreign trade companies and foreign-funded enterprises to become established, they neglected the examination and investigation of the problem of trademarks used by enterprises for importing and exporting commodities. As a result, after the enterprises had established themselves, they randomly used other people's trademarks and infringed upon the rights of the people who had registered the trademarks, to the extent that many disputes on use of trademarks have emerged and many enterprises fight to sell a commodity with the same trademark in the same market, causing chaos, a decrease in price, and damage to the reputation of the trademark. In light of the abovementioned situation, various economic and trade departments and commissions, as well as foreign trade bureaus, are hereby requested to seriously look into the problem of the use of trademarks for export goods by enterprises, when they declare import and export operation rights for production enterprises and approve the establishment of various kinds of foreign trade companies and foreign-funded enterprises. Regarding: Those production enterprises which have relied on the registered trademarks of other people for a long time but have been unable to obtain permission from the patent holders of the registered trademarks; the trademarks of commodities operated by enterprises and causing registration disputes between manufacturers and traders inside the country; those enterprises which have names the same as the registered trademarks of other people and their exports are the same or similar to the commodities with trademarks registered by other people; and regarding other activities which jeopardize the reputation of the registered trademarks of other people, which violate the law on trademarks, and which might cause disputes on use of trademarks, no declaration, examination, and approval is to be carried out. Regarding the disputes on the use of trademarks which have already emerged, the departments which gave the original declaration and approval should mediate a solution according to law. As for the cases which cannot be effectively settled by administrative mediation, which cannot be solved for |
FBIS3-4129_0 | Shaanxi Provincial Trade Delegation Ends Cuba Visit | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By reporter Yan Qinghua (7346 1987 5478); exclusively for Shaanxi Provincial newspapers, radio, and television] [Text] Havana, 23 Mar (XINHUA) -- Following a four-day visit to Cuba, China's Shaanxi Provincial economic and trade delegation left Havana for Madrid on 23 March. Before leaving Havana, Liu Chunmao, head of the delegation and vice governor of Shaanxi, told this reporter at Havana International Airport that the delegation's visit had achieved results. He said Shaanxi would strengthen cooperation with Cuban Government departments in economic, trade, and science and technology sectors. On the evening of 22 March, on behalf of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Vice Governor Liu Chunmao separately signed with Melendez, minister president of Cuba's State Committee for Economic Cooperation; and (Gonzalez,) chairman of the Havana Provincial People's Congress, two letters of intent on economic, trade, and science and technological cooperation in biotechnology, medical equipment, and the civil aviation industry. Ying Zhibang, member of the delegation and president of the Shaanxi Provincial Wuhuan Group; and (Mendes,) responsible official with the Cuban Textile Industrial Union, signed a letter of intent to cooperate in the production of textile products. Zhang Shuiping, a member of the delegation and secretary general of the Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce under the China International Chamber of Commerce; and (Meideros), vice chairman of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, signed an agreement on cooperation in international trade. The delegation arrived in Havana on the evening of 19 March. During its visit to Cuba, (Alarcon), member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (president of the Cuban parliament); (Balager) (director of the International Department of the Communist Party of Cuba); and (Parmeilo) (party secretary of Havana province) respectively met Liu Chunmao and his party. The delegation also paid a courtesy call on high-ranking government officials including Melendez, minister in charge of the State Committee for Economic Cooperation; Teja, minister of public health; and Cabrisas, minister of foreign trade. Both parties conducted discussions and consultations on developing economic and trade cooperation between Shaanxi Province and Cuba. In addition, Liu Chunmao and his party also visited Cuba's immunological center, genetic engineering and biotechnological centers as well as some industrial facilities. |
FBIS3-4137_0 | Nation's Southwest To Become Hydroelectric Power Source | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 21 (XINHUA) -- Mammoth projects are under construction in southwest China to convert its rich hydropower resources into electric power for its own use and for the energy-hungry east China. As a result, southwest China is soon to become China's premier hydroelectric power base, according to deputies to the National People's Congress [NPC] now in session here who hail from southwest China's Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces and Guangxi Autonomous Region. Sixty-five giant hydropower stations will form "electric corridors" along the region's main rivers of Jinshajiang, Yalongjiang, Daduhe, Lanchangjiang, Wujiang and Hongshuihe. Their power will be fed to a local grid, which in turn will transmit power to Guangdong in south China and to east China. Southwest China has exploitable hydropower resources of 194 million kw, 572000060100f the national total. According to Wang Zhaobang, an NPC deputy from Guangxi and a hydropower expert, 11 power stations have been completed or are under construction in southwest China, which will generate 51.9 billion kwh [kilowatt-hours] of electricity a year. Another seven giant stations will be built in the area during the last five years of this century, he disclosed. Those stations will have a combined generating capacity of 20 million kw. When all the 65 hydropower stations are completed, they will generate 631 billion kwh of electricity a year. One newly-completed station in Guangxi has already started supplying power to Guangdong Province, according to He Rong, an NPC deputy from Guangxi. "This marks the start of implementing a state plan to transmit power from southwest China to east China," he said. Local electric power authorities have opened the door to overseas investment in hydropower development. The three provinces and one autonomous region have signed a dozen contracts with companies from the United States, Thailand and Hong Kong on the construction of hydropower stations and power grids. They have also received over one billion U.S. dollars in loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, according to the deputies. |
FBIS3-4152_0 | WEN WEI PO Greets `Pragmatic' U.S. MFN Policy | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Subtle Moves Toward Separating Human Rights From MFN Status"] [Text] Since Warren Christopher's China visit, a debate has started among U.S. officials handling economic and foreign affairs. U.S. officials have thus had a pragmatic change on the most-favored-nation [MFN] question. This change is related to the idea within U.S. financial and political circles which favors separating the human rights issue from the MFN question. The United States' foreign policy today pays more and more attention to developing its economic interests. Today, as Asia has become the world's fastest growing economic region, the United States is attaching still more importance to participating in Asia's economic activities. China is the largest market in Asia as well as the country with the fastest growing economy. U.S. businessmen have always been opposed to lumping the human rights issue with granting MFN to China. If China's MFN status is canceled, U.S. businessmen will lose the large market of China. U.S. policy appears to be very contradictory. The United States hopes to gain China's markets while wanting to force China to make concessions on the human rights issue so that the political changes it desires will occur in China. It hopes that China's economy will continuously develop so China can import more U.S. merchandise, while fearing the rise of a powerful China. Under the control of this contradictory psychology, the United States vacillates in its policy, does not know whether it is appropriate to advance or retreat, and has incorrectly judged and handled the situation of Sino-U.S. relations. Prior to every June, the United States would, as a rule, use the MFN question as a big stick to threaten China with. However, the United States would convince itself that China had already met its requirements and that it had conformed to the conditions for granting MFN trading status. There are two weaknesses in repeating this practice every year. First, the world sees from this that the United States does not have a standard for human rights. The fact that the United States never uses human rights diplomacy against U.S.-sponsored dictatorships reflects that this practice is merely a means of power politics. Second, when it is repeated many times, this means of blackmail becomes ineffective. Therefore, even Washington officials and Congressmen do not feel it is advantageous to repeat the MFN question every year. Some suggest settling the MFN question once and |
FBIS3-4153_0 | U.S. State Department Official Views Kashmir Issue | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] New Delhi, March 26 (XINHUA) -- The United States Friday [25 March] denied support of Pakistan on Kashmir issue and claimed it support India to pursue a political process in the region. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robin Raphel told a selected gathering here that "we vigorously oppose outside aid to the militants." The people in the valley were "tired of fighting and want some kind of reconciliation," she added. Asked about her questioning of Kashmir's accession to India recently, she said, "our focus is not on how the kashmir problem started, but on how it can be ended." A large number of activists from Indian controlled Kashmir staged a demonstration Thursday near the U.S. Embassy to protest against her five-day visit to India, describing her recent statements amounted to interference in India's internal affairs. She expressed her concern over "credible" reports of human rights violations in the region. But she emphasised that U.S. always acknowledged that the militants shared responsibility for violations with the security forces. She said the costs of continued confrontation vastly exceeded efforts of those associated with compromise and peaceful negotiation in the region. The violence in the region has claimed 8,912 lives including 3,794 militants and 2,432 civilians till February this year. She felt the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in January were a positive step and hoped they would continue. Raphel also said the U.S. would like India and Pakistan to address the problem of nuclear non-proliferation bilaterally. |
FBIS3-4207_17 | Leaders at NPC Discuss Shanxi's Development Premier Li Peng: Thanks for Shanxi's Significant Contributions to the Nation Vice Premier Li Lanqing: In Education, the Fundamental Way Out is Reform | improve various self- governing mass organizations based primarily on party branches, such as villagers', neighborhood, public security, and mediation committees. We should remove various difficulties hindering the normal operation of these primary organizations; give full rein to their role in maintaining social stability; and work in conjunction with the masses to maintain social stability to ensure smooth progress in reform, opening up, and modernization. After Ren Jianxin finished his speech, Peng Peiyun, state councilor and concurrently minister in charge of the State Family Planning Commission, and Wu Yi, minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, spoke. NPC deputy Dong Qinjun, president of the Shanxi Provincial Pediatrics Hospital, said: Endemic diseases have erupted in 85 percent of the counties across the country, afflicting more than 60 million people. In Shanxi, 90 percent of the counties are plagued by endemic diseases, especially by Kaschin-Beck disease, Keshan disease, iodine deficiency, and brucellosis. Poverty-ridden areas are prone to endemic diseases. He said: Endemic diseases not only endanger the patients but also affect their children and future generations. The past few years have witnessed an upswing in endemic diseases as a result of slackened prevention and control efforts nationwide and of serious shortages of funds for prevention and control. The prevention and control of endemic diseases is a major undertaking that has a bearing on the nation's rise and fall, the health of posterity, reform, development, and stability. We can never allow a recurrence of the previous situation in which even doctors as good as "Hua Tuo [a famous surgeon in the Han Dynasty] could do nothing to control parasitic worms." For this reason, he filed a motion in which he said: "We should quickly enact laws on preventing and controlling endemic diseases to bring such prevention and control onto the legal track." After hearing his speech, Minister Peng Peiyun said: In preventing and controlling endemic diseases, we should enlist the joint efforts of all social sectors and rely on overall coordination between departments in charge of medical and educational services as they relate to economic development. The central authorities have decided to solve the endemic disease problem in the near future. After hearing the deputies' remarks, Wu Yi noted: At present, the most important task in developing foreign trade is to enhance our own competitiveness, to train foreign economic and trade personnel, and to survive and develop in the course of competition. Hu Fuguo |
FBIS3-4209_53 | XINHUA Version of Li Peng NPC Work Report | what form, runs counter to the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and will be in vain. We place high hopes on the Taiwan authorities and still higher hopes on the people of Taiwan. We hope the Taiwan side will attach great importance to the overall interests of the nation and join us in developing relations across the strait and working for the peaceful reunification of the motherland. VII. On Diplomatic Work The world today is in the process of complicated and profound changes. The world is moving noticeably toward multipolarity. In general, the international situation is becoming more relaxed, and development is now a more prominent issue. Economics is becoming a dominant factor in the development of international relations. Peoples around the world share a common aspiration for the relaxation of tensions, cooperation, development, and progress. However, the world is far from tranquil. Many regions are in turmoil or suffering from endless war and chaos. Hegemonism and power politics remain. The major tasks for the international community are still to maintain world peace and promote economic development. In this complicated and changing international situation, China has unswervingly pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and has made fresh progress in its diplomatic work. It has continuously expanded its friendly relations and cooperation with other countries, and its international prestige has steadily grown. It has played an important role in maintaining world peace and promoting economic development. We have friends all over the globe. China has further strengthened good-neighborly and friendly relations with surrounding countries. China's relations with the DPRK have continued to grow. China's mutually beneficial and cooperative relations with Japan, Russia, and the ROK have expanded continuously. Meanwhile, our friendly relations and cooperation with other Asian nations, as well as developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific region have also developed further. Relations between China and the West European countries and the European Community have further improved. Sino-German relations have entered a new stage of development and a new chapter has been opened in Sino-French relations. There are broad prospects for economic cooperation and trade between China and the West European countries, and so long as the two sides work hard together, bilateral relations between China and each of the West European countries will continue to be consolidated and to grow. The maintenance of normal and stable Sino-U.S. relations not only accords with the vital |
FBIS3-4252_0 | State Council Concerned Over Water-Control Project | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Yichang, March 28 (XINHUA) -- Since February this year, China has started work to harness a dangerous rock formation within the Three Gorges area on the middle reaches of the Chang Jiang river where a huge water-control project is to be built. Containment measures are being pursued with the aim of ensuring safe navigation through the Three Gorges area and protecting the projected reservoir. The rockface, nicknamed the "Huangla Stone" with a total volume of 40 million cu m, is located at the juncture of the Xiling and Xixia gorges and is only 64 km away from the area where the gigantic water control dam is to be built. According to experts, the rocky outcrop is the most dangerous spot in the Three Gorges, with increasingly frequent slippage and poor stability in the main body of the rock heightening concerns over the past few years. Extended rains or a jarring earthquake in the region would be likely to cause the Huangla Stone to fall into the Chang Jiang river, triggering waves as high as 20-80 m to surge along the river. Moreover, if the rock happens to break loose, it will not only destroy the Badong County seat and nearby villages and farmland, but also block the entire navigable route of the Yangtze, bringing navigation of ships in the area to a standstill. In addition, several million tons of silt may follow the landslide into the Yangtze, further worsening water pollution in the river, said the experts. The State Council, China's central government, has attached great attention to the harnessing of the dangerous rock. Before the official launching of containment work, experts from nine national organizations were recruited to carry out research on the feasibility of harnessing the rock. According to Qu Xingyuan, chief of the headquarters in charge of Huangla Stone harnessing, they have adopted the method of building drainage projects on the surface of the ground and below the ground, in a bid to improve and enhance the stability of the rock. In nearby areas where landslides are most likely to occur, facilities with the functions of holding water back from the surfaces and draining water from inside have also been built to forestall landslides. So far, more than 500 workers have taken on the harnessing work, digging out 5,500 cu m of earth and building 2,300 m of drainage canals. The first-phase |
FBIS3-4253_1 | `Wildcat Strike' Halts Progress on Dam Project | suspected leaders, direct action by workers is gaining popularity. "There is clearly widespread, spontaneous industrial unrest emerging in China," Robin Munro, director of Human Rights Watch/Asia (formerly Asia Watch) said. "These are wildcat strikes, not organised actions." A crackdown on labour groups has widened in recent months to single out worker leaders, according to a new Human Rights Watch report, China: New Arrests Linked To Worker Rights. The report details the cases of four labour organisers arrested this month, with three -- Zhou Guoqiang, Yuan Hongbin and Wang Jiaqi -- still in custody. A U.S. State Department official told the SUNDAY MORNING POST that worker leaders had come under increasing government scrutiny since the crushing of the student democracy movement in 1989. Documents released by Human Rights Watch suggest the grassroots network of labour activists in China is developing into a more cohesive organisation. A group calling itself the League for the Protection of the Rights of the Working People of the People's Republic of China released a five-point petition on workers' rights. Among the demands were: the establishment of a nationwide worker network offering information and support services; an arbitration system to settle labour disputes; protection of worker rights; the right of peasants to form unions; the public declaration of the income of officials, all the way up to the Politburo leadership; protection of migrant workers; workers in joint ventures receiving the right to form unions and conduct collective bargaining. Mr Munro said labour activists, although small in number, were beginning to form a formidable network. "Rather than espouse more abstract notions of democracy, many of them are now talking about worker rights and labour concerns." Under a 1992 law, collective bargaining in China is only permitted by workers in private enterprises, which involve less than five per cent of the Chinese workforce. All labour activity by law must be through the government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions. At Ertan Dam, workers risk their lives daily in gruelling conditions for the equivalent of $200 to $300 per month. The massive excavation project has been plagued by industrial accidents. Many workers have been killed. Workers at the plant had reportedly been promised bonuses for speeding up work on the dam and to complete a water diversion tunnel before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier Zou Jiahua. The dispute was sparked when payments were less than workers expected. It was resolved |
FBIS3-4253_2 | `Wildcat Strike' Halts Progress on Dam Project | Rights Watch report, China: New Arrests Linked To Worker Rights. The report details the cases of four labour organisers arrested this month, with three -- Zhou Guoqiang, Yuan Hongbin and Wang Jiaqi -- still in custody. A U.S. State Department official told the SUNDAY MORNING POST that worker leaders had come under increasing government scrutiny since the crushing of the student democracy movement in 1989. Documents released by Human Rights Watch suggest the grassroots network of labour activists in China is developing into a more cohesive organisation. A group calling itself the League for the Protection of the Rights of the Working People of the People's Republic of China released a five-point petition on workers' rights. Among the demands were: the establishment of a nationwide worker network offering information and support services; an arbitration system to settle labour disputes; protection of worker rights; the right of peasants to form unions; the public declaration of the income of officials, all the way up to the Politburo leadership; protection of migrant workers; workers in joint ventures receiving the right to form unions and conduct collective bargaining. Mr Munro said labour activists, although small in number, were beginning to form a formidable network. "Rather than espouse more abstract notions of democracy, many of them are now talking about worker rights and labour concerns." Under a 1992 law, collective bargaining in China is only permitted by workers in private enterprises, which involve less than five per cent of the Chinese workforce. All labour activity by law must be through the government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions. At Ertan Dam, workers risk their lives daily in gruelling conditions for the equivalent of $200 to $300 per month. The massive excavation project has been plagued by industrial accidents. Many workers have been killed. Workers at the plant had reportedly been promised bonuses for speeding up work on the dam and to complete a water diversion tunnel before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier Zou Jiahua. The dispute was sparked when payments were less than workers expected. It was resolved only after salaries were raised to $300 to $400 per month, a source said. Costs for the massive Three Gorges Dam project were estimated to be at least 50 billion yuan in 1990. Philipp Holzmann, among the world's largest construction companies, was recently among the bidders for a share of the work on the West Kowloon Expressway. |
FBIS3-4265_0 | Representative to UN Views Family Planning Policy | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] United Nations, March 28 (XINHUA) -- China's family planning had been a cause of concern to the world, a Chinese representative told the Population Commission which opened its twenty-seventh session today. In explaining why such efforts were necessary, Peng Yu, vice-director of the National Family Planning Committee, said by the end of last year China's population was more than 1.18 billion. The number of women at reproductive age was more than 324 million or 27 percent of the population. But China's arable land was only 7 percent of the world's total, it had to support 22 percent of the world's people, Peng said. China's population had to live within the country, she went on. Unlike the situation which had prevailed in Europe during its industrial revolution, China could not ease its population pressure by diverting large populations to other continents. Rapid population growth had led to sharp reductions of arable land and over-exploitation of resources and aggravated environmental pollution, she continued. As its basic national policy since the late 1970s China adopted family planning to control population quantity and improve its quality in terms of health and education. The aim was to accelerate socio-economic development. Peng summarized the main points of China's current family planning policy: to promote late marriage and later, fewer births; to advocate the practice of "one couple, one child," to persuade rural couples who wished for second children to have proper spacing; and to let the governments of autonomous regions or provinces inhabited by national minorities decide their family planning needs according to local conditions. |
FBIS3-4268_0 | Li Lanqing Meets Executive as General Electric Wins Bid | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 28 (XINHUA) -- The Canadian branch of the General Electric Company (GE Canadian) won an international bid to produce a turbine-generator unit for the Ertan hydropower station, the largest in China, located in southwest China's Sichuan Province. According to a contract signed here this evening in the Great Hall of the People, the Canadian enterprise will cooperate with its Chinese partners to make the turbine-generator unit. With a designed total installed capacity of 3.3 million kilowatts, the power station is to be funded jointly by the central and provincial governments, as well as with loans from the World Bank. It is reported that ten world leaders in manufacturing hydropower equipment, including Alsthom Jeumont of France and J.M. Voith Hydro. Inc. of the United States, participated in the bidding jointly organized by the China National Technology Import and Export Corporation and the Ertan Hydropower Development Corporation. According to the contract valued at 137 million U.S. dollars, GE Canadian will cooperate with the Dongfang Electrical Machinery Plant in Sichuan Province and the Harbin Electrical Machinery Plant in designing and producing the turbine-generator unit for the Ertan hydropower station. This afternoon, Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing met with Paolo Fresco, visiting vice-chairman of the board of the General Electronic Inc., of the United States. |
FBIS3-4293_0 | Seoul To `Consider' Proposal for `Non-Binding' UN Statement | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Zeno Park] [Text] Beijing, March 29 (AFP)--Washington and Seoul will seriously consider China's proposal for a non-binding UN Security Council statement urging Pyongyang to accept fresh nuclear inspections, South Korean Foreign Minister Han Sung-chu has said. At a late evening press briefing on Monday [28 March] that followed his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, Han said he was leaving later Tuesday for the United States to discuss Beijing's proposal with Washington. "We (South Korea) have not yet chosen between a (binding) resolution and a (non-binding) statement," Han said. "We have to weigh the pros and cons of China's proposal (for a statement) and for this purpose, I am going to Washington, taking with me China's position and explanation," Han said. "The pros of a statement of the Security Council is that it would be feasible on a consensus base and would leave a greater possibility of a negotiated solution," Han said. "China says that it will have more to do (in international efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff) when there remains some possibility of dialogue," he said. In the United Nations Monday Security Council president, Jean-Bernard Merimee, said differences between China, a traditional ally of North Korea, and other permanent council members, had bogged down UN action on the nuclear inspections row. "Certain delegations still hope for a resolution," Merimee said, instead of a non-binding statement issued by the council president, which China has said it would consider if the wording were objective and mild. Merimee also said he would meet with Han during his visit to New York Tuesday, before Han heads to Washington. South Korea has called on China to take a more active role in persuading North Korea to accept nuclear inspections. Han indicated he was in favor of a statement as a first step in order to ensure support from Beijing. Last week, the United States pushed for a draft resolution that would have pressed Pyongyang to give International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts unimpeded access to all its nuclear facilities. The U.S. move followed an IAEA report last Monday that it had been unable to inspect a radiochemical laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear facility outside the North Korean capital Pyongyang. The U.S. draft text also called for IAEA Director General Hans Blix to report on the situation again in a month. China, however, refused to accept a resolution |
FBIS3-4310_0 | Friends, Family To Attempt Meeting With Jailed Dissident | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Friends and family of the jailed pro-democracy activist Zhai Weimin are to travel to Henan province's Yeshugou jail today in an attempt to secure his release. At least two Beijing-based dissidents and half a dozen family members met in Luoyang city last night and will set out for the prison, near Xinan city, this morning. They were hoping prison officials would allow them to see Zhai, who has reportedly been held in solitary confinement since being sent back to his home town under police escort on March 7. They want to find out about Zhai's living conditions and why he was detained, sources said. "Only then will we make loud appeals for his release," one dissident said. Tomorrow, the group plan to go to the Luoyang public security office and may visit the provincial public security bureau in Zhengzhou. They will also request meetings with members of the provincial people's congress standing committee in Zhai's home town of Xian. Beijing dissidents said they delivered a letter to the Minister of Public Security, Tao Siju, on Saturday protesting against Zhai's detention. Zhai, number six on the "list of 21 most-wanted students" after the 1989 Tiananmen Square student movement, was detained without warning on March 6. In a note smuggled out of Yeshugou jail by a primary school student last week, Zhai said: "I am being investigated by public security officers in Yeshugou. Estimate must wait at least three months until after June 4." Beijing dissidents, who received the message, believe Zhai's detention is related to activities being planned to commemorate the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen riots. Public security officials have already stepped up vigilance in the square. His sister, Zhai Yujie, who reportedly saw him last Friday, could not confirm the reasons for his detainment. Zhai, 23, was released on September 13 after three-and-a-half years in jail for "counter- revolutionary propaganda and incitement". He was arrested-in 1990 for involvement in the underground Democratic Front for the Salvation of China. Dissidents were surprised by the tough treatment meted out to Zhai, who was not on parole and had had his full political rights restored. |
FBIS3-4311_1 | Leaders Reportedly Avoiding Blame for Tiananmen Incident | June 4. "We in Shanghai were able to neutralise the trouble- making elements without upsetting stability." The leadership decided soon after the crackdown to freeze the "Tiananmen Square issue", particularly the question of responsibility, until the death of Mr. Deng. While the military side of the operation was supervised by Mr. Deng and Yang Shangkun, respectively the chairman and secretary- general of the Central Military Commission, Mr. Jiang played a sizeable role in crisis management, including ousting then-party chief Zhao Ziyang and other "bourgeois liberals" in the party. "Technically, Jiang remained Shanghai party boss till late June 1989, and he can claim credit for the way the Shanghai leadership, including then-mayor Zhu Rongji, managed to put out the rebellion without bloodshed," a source said. Diplomats in Beijing said that after Mr. Deng's death, three politicians would be susceptible to be made scapegoats: Premier Li Peng, Beijing party boss Chen Xitong, and his predecessor, Li Ximing. "For the sake of unity, Deng's successors will not finger their patron," said a senior Western diplomat. "However, just as the Gang of Four were accused of misleading Chairman Mao, the two Li's and Chen might be stigmatised for giving Deng the wrong advice." According to party sources, Li Ximing, who retired from the Politburo and his position of Beijing party boss in late 1992, recently tried to exonerate himself in a seminar on recent party history. "Historical events, including those in the party, were never caused by a small group of people," Mr. Li reportedly said. The party sources said Mr. Deng's assessment of the severity of the student demonstrations in April and May 1989 were partly based on verbal accounts given to him by Mr. Li and Mr. Chen, then mayor of Beijing. Premier Li became the symbol of the suppression partly because he declared martial law in Beijing on May 20, 1989. However, the sources said, because he was not as close to Mr. Deng as Mr. Yang, Mr. Jiang or Mr. Li, his role in the decision to use drastic measures against the students might have been less than expected. The sources said National People's Congress chairman Qiao Shi could benefit most from the "blame game" that would be played after Mr. Deng's demise. At a crucial meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee in late May, Mr. Qiao abstained from a vote on whether to move the troops to the capital. |
FBIS3-4312_1 | `Village Despot' Undergoes Pre-Sentencing `Popularity Poll' | sentence would not be contentious as were many of those passed after June 4," he said, referring to harsh sentences dished out to Tianjin students after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, which had caused resentment in the city. Yu was sentenced to 10 years for bribery, six years for harbouring criminals, three years for obstructing justice and a total of six years for unlawful detention and control of others in a case involving the beating to death of a village worker in December 1992. Some of the terms will be served concurrently. In publicity surrounding his trial, mainland media repeatedly criticised Yu and the 25 village henchmen sentenced along with him for their disrespect for and ignorance of the law. Two weeks ago, China's procurator general, Zhang Siqing, mentioned Yu's case in his national work report as an example of "the small number of judicial officials and grass roots cadres who abuse their authority and detain people unlawfully." However, the Daqiuzhuang issue remains a sensitive political topic in Tianjin, where officials have already quashed a proposal from the city's agricultural research institute to launch a study on "the Yu Zuomin Phenomenon in China". "It was believed this would go against Beijing's policy that Yu Zuomin should be treated as an isolated case which does not invalidate the economic achievements of many other rich villages whose leaders have a boldness of vision," a government researcher in the city said. Yu is understood to be under tight guard at a rural Tianjin jail, where he complains about a lack of birds nest soup and Yunnan cigarettes. While under detention, Yu was accused of offering "tens of thousands of yuan" to bribe a court official to reveal details of the investigation. Meanwhile, sources said Daqiuzhuang has been reopened to foreign visitors after a one-year off-limits policy. "The clan atmosphere has been done away with following the appointment of outsiders to take over," the source said. "Tianjin leaders feel it is safe to open it again." Experienced cadres from Jinghai county, which includes Daqiuzhuang, have been brought in to take over. The government and party posts have been split to prevent a recurrence of the autocratic style of rule of Yu Zuomin, who was concurrently party secretary, village head and general manager of its main enterprise holding company. Ou Binju, former deputy director of Jinghai's foreign trade bureau, is the new mayor, while |
FBIS3-4320_0 | Rural Areas Develop Unconventional Energy Sources | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Chengdu, March 26 (XINHUA) -- Chinese farmers are using various forms of energy to replace the traditional firewood and straw, according to an official with the State Planning Commission. Since the 1980s more and more of China's rural areas have begun to develop methane, electric, solar, wind and geothermal energy. Electricity is now accessible to 87 percent of China's rural areas, and 5.8 million Chinese households are benefiting from methane, which is clean and easy to use. Hogpens and toilets, which used to breed flies and mosquitoes, have become enclosed methane-generating pits. Offal and waste water from slaughterhouses are also being used to produce methane. While exploiting new forms of energy, farmers have been motivated to save as much energy as possible. At present, 150 million Chinese farmers are using firewood-saving stoves. Statistics show that the energy newly developed and saved in China's rural areas each year is equal to that produced by 80 million tons of standard coal. But experts said there is still a long way to go before the energy problem in rural areas can be solved fundamentally. While 120 million rural people still have no access to electricity, there is also much waste of energy. |
FBIS3-4376_4 | XINHUA Replaces Item on Women's Conference | host countries in previous conferences. Through the forum, Chinese women will make friends with their counterparts in other countries, share experiences, and learn from each other so as to let the world understand China and to inform Chinese women about the world. CPPCC member Kang Ling also discussed the significance of the upcoming World Conference on Women in promoting our country's work toward women. She said: The Third World Conference on Women was held in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, in 1985. The conference formulated the "Forward-Looking [variant version reads: ...was held in the capital of Kenya in 1985, and it formulated the "Forward- Looking... (rephrasing)] Strategy of Nairobi on the Development of Women." The Seventh Chinese Women's Congress set 10 goals regarding the development of our country's women in this century in accordance with the objectives outlined in the "Nairobi Strategy" and in light of China's realities. She said: In ushering in the World Conference on Women, our government and people will advance these goals in real earnest, working to develop our women's programs in keeping with the excellent situation where reform is deepening and various economic and social services are flourishing. A large number of women throughout the country are not only concerned about the World Conference on Women's convocation but have also expressed a strong desire to get involved. Many female comrades wrote to the [variant version reads: ...get involved. Many people wrote to the... (replacing "female comrades" with "people")] Chinese Organizing Committee and the ACWF expressing the hope that they would be able to attend the conference or deal with some matters related to the conference. Kang Ling said: The feelings of the broad ranks of female comrades are understandable. What is important is that they should work efficiently in their respective jobs; this is how they support and take part in the conference's activities. Kang Ling said joyously: Leading comrades from many government departments not only actively support the organizing committee's work but have also signaled their intention to get involved. Taking the World Conference on Women as one's own affair is something that we should feel happy about. In closing, she told the reporters: The ACWF will [variant version reads: ...feel happy about. She indicated: The ACWF will... (merging grafs and rephrasing)] will try its best to support and coordinate the various preparations being made by the government to make the conference a complete success. |
FBIS3-4377_0 | China, UN To Renew Women-Children Health Care Project | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Wuhan, March 29 (XINHUA) -- China will continue to gain support from United Nations organizations in providing health care for mothers and children in the country's poor areas, as well as population-control services. The UN Children's Fund and Population Fund have decided to prolong the term of the project called "Health Care for Mothers and Children, and Population-Control Services in China," and continue to shore up the project by adopting interim measures. "This is because China has won credit from the international organizations in carrying out the project plan and achieved marked progress in lowering the mortality rate of mothers and infants," said a spokesman for an ongoing work conference held by the three sides in Yichang, in central China's Hubei Province. The program started in 1990 to cut the mortality rate of mothers and infants in the country's poor areas, and to enable the grassroots medical bodies to provide better health care for them as well as effective birth-control services. The project covers 300 poor counties in 27 provinces and autonomous regions. The authorities believe that it is imperative for China to meet its promise of "Health Care for Everyone by 2000." Chinese government agencies at all levels have poured 275 million yuan into implementing the programs. A total of 360,000 medical workers have received special training, and 6,850 towns and 97,753 villages have received basic medical equipment through the project. Another five counties are to be included in the project. The officials disclosed that the mortality rates of mothers and infants in China are respectively 0.95 per 1,000 and 3.1 percent, much lower than the averages for developing countries. |
FBIS3-4384_2 | Newspaper Urges U.S. To Separate Trade, Human Rights | with China. Another chairman of the U.S. Shoe Wholesale and Retail Association said that Chinese shoes account for half of the U.S. market. If imports from China are ceased, the prices of shoes will soar. If China's MFN status is revoked, some people predicted, inflation in the United States will increase by at least 0.15 percent annually. According to U.S. officials, as Clinton made an executive order last year, linking China's MFN status to the question of human rights, the United States had to ask China to accept its human rights request, though it did not want bilateral trade ties to be affected. In fact, the United States has gotten caught in a web of its own spinning. It is true that the U.S. President's executive order will not work in China. Although human rights and trade are two different matters, the United States tried to lump the two together in an attempt to exert pressure on China. In the end, however, it bound its own hands and feet. Whoever started the trouble should end it, and it is unlikely that China will help the United States extricate itself from this predicament. Since the U.S. President issued an executive order last year linking human rights with trade, he must have an option available for separating the two this year. The status quo of human rights in the United States also needs to be improved. The poor human rights record of the United States is known to all. The British weekly the ECONOMIST has asked: How would the Americans feel if foreign countries had imposed trade sanctions against the United States for its poor human rights record in 1955? How could the United States prove that its human rights situation has improved if the trade sanctions had continued to the present day? If trade is used as the method, the weekly pointed out, besides the adverse influence on China and the United States, it will get out of control and affect other countries and regions. The U.S. paper the NEW YORK TIMES said in a report published the day before yesterday that the economic authority under President Clinton had reached a common understanding: The U.S. annual practice of making use of human rights to threaten the revocation of China's MFN status is outdated and should be replaced. The report also said that this proposal is making the rounds at the White |
FBIS3-4385_3 | RENMIN RIBAO Views Conversion of U.S. Arms Industry | period of the Cold War. Most advanced technologies in the United States were first developed and applied in the military field before they were applied to civilian projects. However, in the new circumstances, although military strength remains of great importance for the United States, the existence of a gigantic industrial arms system was obviously no longer suited to the new situation. In order to increase its strength as the dominant power in international affairs, the United States needed the backing of great economic strength. Thus, it was quite natural that its national defense industry was shifted to serve civilian purposes. As far as the change in production was concerned, in the words of people in the circles of the U.S. arms industry, they were going to set up "more flexible production lines." They held that the change in production did not merely mean the production of new products; instead "the inflexible production lines and hard tools should be replaced with soft tools, flexible machines, and fast-reacting work teams." Thus, more than one product could be manufactured with the same equipment. That is to say, the main orientation in the shift of production in the arms industry was to develop technologies that served both military and civilian purposes. Contractors who previously only received orders from the Pentagon were encouraged to develop technologies that could be applied to civilian production and would also be able to serve national defense purposes. The "double-purpose" orientation was fully stressed in the Clinton administration's five-year plan. The technology reinvestment part of the five-year plan included eight specific projects, and six of them were directly related to the "double-purpose" pattern. For example, the "key technological cooperation plan for national defense and civilian purposes," the "commercial-military integrated cooperation plan," and the "plan for promoting the dual-purpose technologies," all served the purpose of developing technologies which had commercial value and also had the prospect of being applied to the military field. In the course of shifting military industry and technology to civilian production, American scientists and technologists were aware that special attention had to be paid to structural change in basic research; otherwise, the momentum of development would not last long. In addition, in the course of structural change, a large number of structural layoffs may happen. This is a major problem concerning jobs for 1 million civilian staffers and 1 million military personnel, and must be properly solved. |
FBIS3-4420_0 | Gansu To Adopt Measures To Aid Poverty-Stricken Areas | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Lanzhou, March 25 (XINHUA) -- Northwest China's Gansu Province has decided to adopt a series of measures to help residents living in the province's poverty-hit southern areas to become prosperous over the coming seven years. The mountainous southern areas are far from towns and suffer from backward transport, farming methods and education. Lacking supplies of piped water and electricity, these areas also suffer serious soil erosion and frequent natural disasters. They also have a large number of mentally retarded people and people disabled by endemic diseases. Statistics show that the residents of these areas have a per capita net income of below 300 yuan (about 30 U.S. dollars) a year, and have long depended on relief funds and grain from the central government. According to local officials, the province will earmark more money in the coming seven years for the building of farmland conservancy works, projects for providing drinking water to local residents and livestock and for the installation of more transmission lines of electricity for these areas. At the same time, they will also be urged to plant more trees, and strengthen the harnessing of small rivers, in a bid to improve the environment for agriculture and to make the local residents in these areas become self-sufficient in grain. Efforts will also be made to encourage local farmers become market-conscious and grow more cash crops. The farmers will also be encouraged to set up more rural and township enterprises near town and county seats and along highways, with the purpose of tapping natural resources in their localities. In addition, the province will implement on a trial basis the policy of letting economic entities, cadres and other individuals contract the construction of help-the-poor projects in the southern areas so as to make more residents in the poverty-hit areas get well-off as soon as possible. |
FBIS3-4448_0 | PRC Signs Contracts With Japan for Foreign Power Equipment | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, March 29 (XINHUA) -- The China National Technical Import and Export Corporation signed a contract here today with Japan's Itochu Corporation to import a turbine island worth 100 million U.S. dollars. The island is being imported for the Ezhou Power Station, 30 km east of Wuhan, an important industrial city in central China and capital of Hubei Province. The power station, composed of two sets of turbogenerators with a capacity of 300,000 kilowatts each, is the first thermal power plant built with part of the third batch of loans from the Japanese Government. Meanwhile, the Chinese corporation and ABB [Asea Brown-Bovery] Ltd. also signed a contract aimed at providing the plant with an electrical equipment island worth 35 million U.S. dollars. Officials with the Chinese corporation said that the construction of the power station will help ease electricity shortages in the province. |
FBIS3-4462_0 | Ministry Spokesman Reveals Unified Social Insurance System | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By staff reporter Cao Min: "Five-Year Plan for New State Insurance"] [Text] The government plans to bring in a unified social insurance system nationwide within the next five years, it was announced yesterday. This means all enterprises across the country, regardless of ownership, will be covered by the same social insurance standards. The move is seen as a major plank in the state's bid to form a modern enterprise system and develop the labour market, said Labour Ministry spokesman Liu Guanxue. The current social insurance system covers only state-owned enterprises and has created a bottleneck in the drive towards a socialist market economy. The system is too narrow, its management is weak, and it places too heavy a financial burden on the government and enterprises, said Liu. China began to set up its labour insurance system in 1951. It included pensions, free medical care, and benefits for industrial injuries and maternity, based on a planned economy. Only regular workers or staff of state enterprises, units, and institutions received retirement pensions--75 percent of his or her wage. But the market economy has changed social values and the way enterprises are run and the old insurance system is quite incompatible with the demands of a freemoving labour force. The changes in the labour system have enabled most enterprises to start employing who they want without government involvement. But firms remain unable to dismiss redundant personnel under the old system, said Liu. The new unified one will help relieve workers' worries and let them look for new jobs with more confidence. About 80 million people are covered by pension schemes and about 18 million retired workers receive the payments. China first set up unemployment insurance for workers in the state-owned enterprises in 1986. Last year, about 900,000 people were getting unemployment relief--three times the figure in 1992. The Labour Ministry is also to speed up reform of wage and labour systems in such pilot areas as Shandong and Guangdong provinces and 10 major cities this year, said ministry officials. |
FBIS3-4475_3 | Fang Sheng Interviewed on Market Economy Opening Up to the Outside World Is Liberating and Developing the Productive Forces Re-Entry Into the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Requires the Establishment of a Market Economy Structure | agriculture, communications, telecommunications, and the energy and raw materials industries, and for strengthening some weak links in the national economy. To develop foreign-invested enterprises is an important way to introduce advanced foreign technology, to use foreign scientific management methods for reference, and to develop the market abroad. The second is the introduction of advanced foreign technology. Science and technology are the first productive force. Much of the science and technology of our country is already in a leading position in the world, but on the whole, there is still a certain gap with the developed countries. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the introduction of technology has been carried out on a large scale in our country. By the end of 1992, we had introduced more than 18,400 technical transformation projects, which increased the output value by 874.2 billion yuan, and increased profits and taxes handed over to the state by 103.5 billion yuan. The introduction of technology also has laid a foundation for new industries and has promoted the development of high- and new- technology industries so that many traditional products have caught up with those at the international level. Then comes the introduction of modern economic management methods and the use of such methods for reference. In our country, economic management is backward and is a far cry from the demands of large-scale social production and modernization. Without changing the backward situation in management and without modernizing economic management, the entire national economy will be seriously impeded. An important task in opening up to the outside world is to introduce and use for reference the management methods and ways of operation of developed foreign countries. In the past dozen years and more, we have learned from the experience of foreign countries in scientific management, effectively improved the management system of our country, and promoted the development of social production through channels, including sending personnel abroad, inviting personnel to come, and setting up foreign-invested enterprises. The Market Economy Demands Opening Wider to the Outside World [Gao] Opening up to the outside world is an important means to promote rapid economic development. Today, when we are determined to establish the socialist market structure and practice the market economy, the importance and practical significance of opening up to the outside world are even more prominent. [Fang] We still lack experience in practicing the market economy. We have to learn |
FBIS3-4488_9 | Newspaper Criticizes British `Ulterior Motives' The True Color of the Colonialists Who Attempt in Vain To Infringe Upon China's Sovereignty The Old Trick Is Played Again; Their Character Remains Unchanged | selected professions and other people outside these professions enjoy only one chance to vote in the direct election based on geographical divisions. This man-made discrimination regarding the citizens' right to vote is definitely unreasonable. It also violates the principle of "gradual and orderly progress" for the development of the elections by functional bodies. Although the British side later submitted a revised program, it still will drastically expand the electorate for the election by functional constituencies to nearly 900,000, which means the 90,000-strong electorate, as originally set for indirect election, will be drastically increased by eight times. This obviously does not conform with the principle of "gradual and orderly progress." Then why did the British side recommend to the Chinese side the form of election by functional constituencies in the past but now intend to change it into a disguised form of direct elections? The basic reason is that, as 1997 draws nearer and nearer, the British side wants to arrange for more of its followers to enter Legco. Indirect elections by functional bodies can more easily return candidates who are prestigious and influential within their functional sectors and who are willing to assume responsibility for the Hong Kong community, and it is more difficult for the British side to manipulate these people. In direct elections, however, many professionals have neither adequate financial resources nor the intention to run for election. Thus, the British side will be able to manipulate the elections behind the scenes and arrange for its favored candidates to be elected to Legco. The True Color of the Colonialists Who Attempt in Vain To Infringe Upon China's Sovereignty When it comes to the issues of the "through train" program and the electoral committee, the British side has more blatantly exposed its true color as a colonialist attempting in vain to infringe upon China's sovereignty over Hong Kong in regard of the constitutional system issue. The so-called "through train" refers to an arrangement by which the members of the last Legco formed under the British Hong Kong authorities; specifically, that Legco members elected in 1995 will have their term of office carried forward beyond 1997 and thus they will become members of the first Legco of the Hong Kong SAR of the PRC. When drafting the Basic Law, the Chinese Government adopted some opinions put forth by the British Government. The Basic Law has included some provisions related to |
FBIS3-4502_1 | Dissident Bao Ge Explains Aims of Signature Campaign | in Shanghai, he said. The list of demands in the petition include adoption of a law on press freedom and on a multi-party system, the authority to create independent unions, and abolition of the notion of "counterrevolutionary crime" in the penal code. The petition also demands an end to "re-education through work," imposed without trial by the police. It calls for a law to punish corruption and the opening of a national inquiry into the chain of events leading to the June 4, 1989, Beijing massacre. "It is our first signature campaign and we are going to extend the movement nationwide," Mr Bao said. "Several influential personalities have announced they share our point of view and are contemplating joining our movement," he said. Mr Bao said the petition is "the continuation" of the "Peace Charter" launched in mid-November in Beijing by several human rights advocates. "But the charter has limits because it calls for democratisation under the leadership of the Communist Party," he said. "We think that without party leadership, we can also reach democracy." Activist Mr Yang said signatories had discussed the points in the petition "in private" and had refrained from holding large-scale gatherings so as not to give police an excuse to crack down. However, sources close to the security establishment said both the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security had deployed extra staff to keep tabs on the dissident community. They said at least one state security unit had been stationed in every major college in Beijing and Shanghai. Security in Beijing successfully prevented the holding of a gathering to mark the 15th anniversary of the arrest of Wei Jingsheng, the country's most prominent dissident. Wei, who was pressured into leaving Beijing on March 6, has not returned to the capital and it is understood the authorities were determined to keep him out of the way during the anniversary, which also marks the last day of his parole. A group had reportedly planned to hold a party in Wei's honour yesterday but police got wind of the scheme and intensified security in the capital accordingly. Former student leader, Wang Dan, said a group of police officers had been stationed outside his apartment building yesterday morning, while other dissidents said they too were being watched more closely than usual. The heightened surveillance of dissidents is expected to continue over the next few months. |
FBIS3-4518_1 | Yeltsin, Chernomyrdin Meet With U.S. Commerce Secretary | markets. The meeting was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Vladimirovich Kozyrev, presidential aide Dmitriy Pyurikov and U.S. Ambassador in Moscow Thomas Pickering, according to the INTERFAX NEWS SERVICE. On Tuesday, Brown met with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Chernomyrdin told Brown that some import tariffs would be revised, mostly concerning previously agreed contracts whose implementation may be affected by the government's plans for the introduction of new import duties. Chernomyrdin added that the import duties on leasing two U.S. Boeing planes and various technologies will also be liable for revision. And he revealed that large quantities of inferior foodstuffs had been delivered to Russia, which has resulted in hundreds of poisoning cases. However, despite the change in tariffs Chernomyrdin called on foreign investors not to be afraid of the Russian market, as there is potential for considerable, and beneficial, joint activities. He explained that Russia is prepared for foreign investors to operate in its market place and that supporting legislation was being prepared. The prime minister also discussed with Brown broader access for Russian products to the West and said that Russia could guarantee delivery. "The recent decision to allow a delivery of Russian uranium to the United States was a breakthrough," he added. In reply Brown said that both the U.S. Government and the country's private sector are keen to support Russian reforms, but stressed that at the same time Russia should provide legislation to protect potential investors and iron out tax and tariff problems. Brown's visit to Russia comes at a time when trade exchanges between the two countries are expanding; U.S. exports to Russia reached 3 billion U.S. dollars in 1993, 40 percent more than the previous year, while last year U.S. imports from Russia grew by 262 percent to 1.7 billion dollars. Nevertheless, U.S. investment in Russia is still relatively very small, currently running at only one billion dollars. But according to Brown the United States believes there is great potential for increased capital investment, especially in the oil and gas industry. During his five-day stay in Moscow, Brown is expected to sign four trade documents with Russia. They include regulations for setting up a committee on the promotion of Russian-U.S. business cooperation, regulations for the establishment of U.S. funded business centers, a joint statement on bilateral trading relations, personnel training and standardization, and an agreement on making U.S. medicines available to the Russian market. |
FBIS3-4520_0 | `News Analysis' Views U.S. Commercial Interests in PRC | Language: English Article Type:BFN [News Analysis by Wang Nan: "U.S. Commercial Interests in China: The Lure and The Drag"] [Text] Washington, March 30 (XINHUA) -- From wheat to oil, from aircraft to software, from jeans at fashion stores to transformers at Toys `R' Us, the whole truth of U.S. commercial interests in China is coming out. The pros and cons of doing business in the world's most populous country and the fastest-growing economy were again at Washington's spotlight as the debates over China's trade status heated up. With the commerce department keeping secret on the classified document - "U.S. commercial interests in China to the year 2000", outside the beltway, traders could barely wait to ride the oriental express. "China is now defined by great expectations," "Beyond MFN", a new book on China's most favored nation status, noted in its preface. "the (U.S.-China) relationship is of rapidly increasing importance to Americans." Then, where are the real commercial interests of the U.S. in China, which, according to some projections, will be the world's largest economy in 20 years and which, among other handicaps, lack modern infrastructure? Over the years, U.S. exports to China, according to official sources here, have been led by aeronautic equipment, power generating machinery, fertilizer, electric machinery, medical equipment, grain and chemicals. Among the U.S. imports from China were, in line with imports value, apparel, toys and games, electronics, footwear, leather goods, power generating machinery and plastics. "In the future, Mainland China will certainly be the center of a web of investment and trade relations because of its vast population and market potential," said Claude Barfield, director of trade studies at the American Enterprise Institute, at a symposium today. The area of China, China's Taiwan and Hong Kong is the America's fourth largest export market and third largest supplier. "The overwhelming amount of U.S. sales is in manufactured goods," Jeff Garten, undersecretary of commerce, said in a recent speech in Tokyo. Over the past five years, U.S. imports from China have been increasing at a rate of five times faster than exports. While U.S. exports to Japan have remained unchanged since 1990, its exports to China have risen by 55 percent. According to the U.S.-China Business Council, China plans to spend over 200 billion U.S. dollars on imports from 1993 to 1995. Many of these imports are in the areas in which U.S. industries are particularly strong. Among |
FBIS3-4520_2 | `News Analysis' Views U.S. Commercial Interests in PRC | fourth largest export market and third largest supplier. "The overwhelming amount of U.S. sales is in manufactured goods," Jeff Garten, undersecretary of commerce, said in a recent speech in Tokyo. Over the past five years, U.S. imports from China have been increasing at a rate of five times faster than exports. While U.S. exports to Japan have remained unchanged since 1990, its exports to China have risen by 55 percent. According to the U.S.-China Business Council, China plans to spend over 200 billion U.S. dollars on imports from 1993 to 1995. Many of these imports are in the areas in which U.S. industries are particularly strong. Among other things, China's import markets in the next two years of power-generating equipment, aerospace, computers and telecommunications will be respectively 100 billion, 40 billion, 40 billion and 30 billion dollars. Apparently, there are worries. While every other western country has rearranged programs to actively promote exports to and investment in China, "the U.S. Government has not," wrote Jerome Cohen, a China expert at New York University School of Law. Actually, U.S. private direct investment in China, as percentages of the total amount of such investment in the people's republic, has dropped from 4.6 percent in 1991 to 2.8 percent in 1992. "As the greatest industrial power in the world and the destination of fully one-third of China's exports, the U.S. has received only a paltry share of the huge China market, a cause for some concern," he stressed. The book "Beyond MFN-Trade With China and American Interests", meanwhile, noted that in China and Asia, there had been "diminishing dependence" on the U.S. as the major purchaser of their products. What's worse, the U.S. consumers, buying some 30 billion dollars of goods from China and Hong Kong last year, have to pay seven to 10 billion dollars more if China's MFN status was revoked by the white house. Jobs and profits in the U.S. companies doing business with China, observers here noted, will be jeopardized. Noting that U.S. businesses are at "a significant disadvantage" in competing for China's favor, Jerome Cohen stressed that "one should not underestimate the importance of favorable U.S. policies for promoting U.S. business interests." Said a senior Chinese official last spring, "if (the U.S.) come into the Chinese market too late, it will be occupied by others. It is a big cake. Come early and you get a big piece." |
FBIS3-4522_3 | Article Views Whitewater Incident's Impact on President | real estate investment? Was any money from the bank used to repay Clinton's $50,000 debt he owed when campaigning for the governorship, thus causing losses to taxpayers in Arkansas? Was any government loan offered through a certain company, or was any favorable administrative decision made in exchange for funds for campaigning for the governorship and the presidency? In one word, did the Clintons abuse their official power in pursuit of private gains? A major reason the "Whitewater incident" was highlighted by the press in such a frenzied way was that almost everyone made his or her own vague conjecture about this enigma. This year is a Congressional by-election year. The Republican Party hopes to make a comeback, so it is taking advantage of this case to make an uproar in order to add fuel to the flames and to damage Clinton's reputation. Clinton and many leading Democrats angrily call the Whitewater incident a "Republican conspiracy." On the other hand, while promising to give "full cooperation," the White House still tried to equivocate and pry into the process of investigation. Many political allies and long-time cronies were forced to quit government posts one after another. In addition, some Democrats' intention of drawing a "line of demarcation" between the Democratic Party and Clinton, the different assessments of Clinton's performances and administrative principles inside the Democratic Party, the resentment of the East Coast forces against the upstarts from the West spreading in the White House and inside D.C., and the different comments of voters about Hillary's role as both First Lady and major policy-maker responsible for formulating the increasingly controversial medical-care reform program..., all played a certain role in increasing the seriousness of the "Whitewater incident." Recently, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a motion on holding separate Congressional hearings on the "Whitewater incident" by a unanimous vote and by an overwhelming majority respectively. Clinton also agreed to make public his tax returns between 1977 and 1979. Fiske, the special federal counsel responsible for handling the case, is busy issuing summons to more and more senior government officials. If the conclusion is "yes," Clinton will become another Nixon and "Whitewater" will really wash the White House away. The recent opinion poll showed that in a period of one month, Clinton's support declined by 11 percentage points; and this also showed that the American people believed there are no waves without wind. |
FBIS3-4525_1 | Russian Envoy Promises Cooperation on Cross-Border Crime | ally. The ambassador, who worked in China during the Cultural Revolution, said he was optimistic about the development in Russian Chinese relations. He said that in 1993 there had been 2.5 million crossings of Chinese into Russia, and 1.5 million crossings of Russians going the other way. "Neither side had anticipated the massive flow," Mr Rogachev said. "Both Russian and Chinese authorities have detected problems of law and order. Delegations have been exchanged on the subject and new ways of containing crimes will be spelt out soon." He said among the Chinese who stayed in Russia were workers on legitimate contracts for building houses, hotels, or highways, but he hinted that some Chinese travellers had overstayed. A major problem was "speculators," or Chinese private-entrepreneur wheelers and dealers who did not abide by commercial and other business codes in the country. But Mr Rogachev denied knowledge about a press report that as many as 2,000 Russian scientists, including those with expertise in weapons, had been recruited by China. He said Moscow was working on "some measures to monitor the outflow of Russian experts," not just to China but to other countries. They now would have to go through set procedures before permission would be given them to work abroad he indicated. On military co-operation and the sale of weapons, Mr Rogachev said they were within the framework of the general improvement of bilateral ties and conducted on a "commercial basis." "Both sides have agreed that there will be no return to the military or political alliance of the 1950s," he said. "In the export of weapons (to China), we fully observe our international obligations as well as the national interest of our country." The ambassador said there had been no recent "breakthrough" in military cooperation, denying reports of new sales of Su-27 fighters or nuclear submarines. This might be due partly to China's caution in using hard currency, he hinted. On the subject of economic cooperation, Mr Rogachev said two economic zones for bilateral cooperation would soon be set up: One near the cities of Manzhouli and Zabaikalsk and the other near the cities of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe. Teams of Russian experts would soon be going to China to help modernise the 156 plants that had been built in the 1950's with the help of Soviet experts, he said. Eighty percent of bilateral trade was now done between regions or companies. |
FBIS3-4546_0 | Caravan Denied Cambodia Entry, Fighting Noted | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] The Thai-Cambodian `Caravan for Friendship' was turned back by Cambodian officials yesterday shortly after it was allowed to enter Cambodia, and the tour was eventually cancelled. The caravan began moving into Cambodia at 1 p.m. after a day's delay caused by Cambodian officials refusing to let the caravan enter the country. The delay caused 11 cars to pull out of the tour to Angkor Wat. But when the caravan of 61 cars carrying 191 passengers arrived at a roadblock on Highway 5 about four kilometers from the border, it was stopped by Cambodian officials who told all the Thai motorists to remove the Thai-Cambodian Caravan for Friendship stickers from their cars. Cambodian officials, who offered no explanation, refused to let the caravan go further. The disappointed participants delegated representatives to file complaints with the district police against the organizer of the trip, Mrs. Prakaimat Wiara of the Goodtimes Entertainment Company. Cambodian government forces were yesterday engaged in a fierce artillery and mortar duel with Khmer Rouge guerrillas near the Thai border yesterday. Thai military sources said the fighting, which lasted about four hours, caused Thai villagers living in Ban Khok Sabaeng to take cover in bunkers. Stray shells overshot and landed in uninhabited Thai territory. None of the Ban Khok Sabaeng villagers was injured. It was the most intense fighting since a lull began late last month, sources said. Border patrol police sources said about 40 Khmer villagers, mostly children, fled into Thailand. Three were wounded and had to be taken to the district hospital. One of the three, Mrs. Pol Li, 29, said that before the artillery duel took place, a group of about 30 armed bandits believed to be Khmer Rouge surrounded their village and ransacked 15 houses. They later clashed with Cambodian government police at the village. A policeman and a civilian were killed in the clashes, Mrs. Pol Li said. A woman is missing and is believed killed. |
FBIS3-4605_0 | Businessman on U.S. Pressure on Trade Ministry | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By staff reporter Chae Hui-muk] [Text] U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown has sent a letter to his Korean counterpart Kim Chol-su, asking for help in a lawsuit involving the top managers of two U.S. firms here, business sources said yesterday. David D. Ussery, representative director and president of detergent retailer Amway Korea; Jason Li, general manager of health food seller Sunrider International Korea; and nine other persons working for the firms are on trial for alleged illegal retailing in the form of so-called multi-layer home-visit sales. This is pressure on the Korean government and its aim is to rescue the U.S. businessmen from the lawsuit although the courts are independent of the administration, a businessman said. It follows an earlier American attempt by Defense Secretary William Perry to put pressure on his Korean counterpart Yi Pyong-tae to buy airborne radar jamming device manufactured by a U.S. firm, he said. Late in December last year, Perry sent a letter to Minister Yi and the letter was disclosed early this month, causing public criticism against the United States. An official of the Trade-Industry-Energy Ministry confirmed the reception of the letter, refusing to disclose details. He said, "The letter came late last month. But we cannot disclose the contents of the letter as it involves a sensitive trade issue." Prosecutors arrested Ussery, Li and five other persons working for the two firms charging them with illegal retailing on July 1 last year. This was the first arrest of foreigners in violation of the law on home-visit sales. U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed "concern" about the issue during his visit to Seoul July 10-11 last year. Prosecutors filed a summary suit against the top managers of the two firms and nine others Nov. 16 to wind up the sensitive case quickly with a mere cash penalty. But the Nambu (southern) branch of the Seoul District Criminal Court ordered a formal rather than summary trial Dec. 9, refusing the summary indictment requested by the prosecutors. Stating his reasons for ordering the formal trial, Judge Min Pyong-hun of the court said, "There has been a dispute about the legal interpretation of the law on home-visit sales. It also would have been hard to make a ruling based on the investigation records produced by prosecutors. As a result, a formal trial was needed where evidence and arguments can be brought forward." The |
FBIS3-4617_0 | Energy Minister, Delegation Return From Indonesia | Language: Burmese Article Type:BFN [Text] A four-member Myanmar [Burmese] delegation led by Energy Minister U Khin Maung Thein, which visited Indonesia on 15 February at the invitation of the Indonesian mining and energy minister to inspect energy enterprises, returned to Yangon [Rangoon] by air this afternoon. During his stay in Indonesia, the minister held discussions on matters related to oil and gas with President Suharto; Vice President Try Sutrino; Mr. Ir. [engineering title] Hartarto, coordinating minister for industrial and trade affairs; Mr. I.G. Sujana, minister of mining and energy; and Mr. (Abda'oe), chairman of the Pertamina National Petroleum Corporation. The minister also visited oil and gas exploration areas and observed the production of liquefied petroleum at the refineries. |
FBIS3-4634_3 | * Aceh Studying Possible Agricultural Reform | However, the other regencies have become used to shortages and limitations affecting their budgets, and the consequences will not be particularly felt. Dr. M. Djakfar G. Hatta, a staff assistant of the regent for the economic sector who was formerly chairman of the North Aceh Regional Development Board, said that Aceh Utara will be very seriously affected because about half of the budget, which at present ranges between 55 billion and 62 billion rupiahs annually, will be lost. Meanwhile, the Aceh provincial government still has rather large additional sources of revenue, such as city taxes, the motor vehicle tax, and tax receipts from other large industries. In fact, Aceh Utara has a rather large amount of agricultural land. However, since the Arun natural gas field was discovered in 1972, all groups have concentrated on gas and easy money and have not paid attention to what must be done for the good of the regency. No one thought that the natural gas wells would dry up in 20 years or so. Agricultural fields were forgotten, and agricultural development was delayed for 10 years. Djakfar G. Hatta supported the regent's view that Aceh Utara must rebuild the economic strength of the agricultural sector to what it once was. However, he went on to say, this effort will be increasingly difficult because the majority of the farmers have abandoned their agricultural fields, and some of the land has been sold. The farmers now work as laborers. Meanwhile, thousands of hectares of rice land have been used for the industrial zone. Regent Karimuddin Hasjbullah stated that in the large agricultural plantation subsector Cot Girek Plantation IX is carrying on an overall diversification program, converting some of its land planted to sugar cane and rubber to oil palms. At present the estate agricultural company is building a modern factory for processing palm oil which is expected to go into production in 1994. In addition to planting its own oil palm area Cot Girek Plantation also needs oil palm seeds produced by individual farmers and under the PIR [Smallholder Nuclear Plantation] program. According to the regent, the District of Kuta Makmur is now moving quickly to become an oil palm plantation area. Many small and medium-sized businessmen are establishing oil palm plantations. Meanwhile, local people are also beginning to plant oil palm trees. He said: "Efforts like these will support an improvement in community economic welfare." |
FBIS3-4680_2 | Possible Trade War Discussed | "unless improved measures are implemented, the license of JMCC [Japan Mobile Communications Company] -- a firm which handles Motorola's cellular telephones along with NTT's cellular telephones -- will be confiscated. Thus they have cut off Japan's retreat, creating a situation in which nothing is left but imposing sanctions. Everything Went as Planned by the U.S. Government At a Japan-U.S. joint news conference held on 11 February, President Clinton twice suggested: "The exchange rate may be used as an index of objective criteria." The dealers twice received "a signal leading to a higher yen," and it was natural for the yen to rise. Huge uproars, which lasted for several days following the breakdown of the talks, were merely the results of a series of explosions of time bombs carefully planted by the U.S. Government up to that time. Everything went as planned by the U.S. Government. There are more "gambits" in store for shaking Japan. U.S. Trade Representative Kantor said: "We will make a list of sanctions reaching the scale of several hundreds of million dollars and will announce the list. The targets of sanctions will not be confined to the field of telecommunications." There is a strong possibility that a wide variety of items will become targets, in addition to automobiles and auto parts. If a list of sanctions is actually announced, it is inevitable that the industries thus designated will scream. The United States expects the displeasure of Japan's industrial community and the Japanese public to be vented on the bureaucrats of the Finance Ministry who formulated a comprehensive package of economic measures -- which was criticized sharply by Vice President Gore as "disappointing" -- and on the bureaucrats of the International Trade and Industry Ministry who "were prepared for a breakdown in the negotiations." The Super 301 clause, which is soon to be reinstated by executive order, is "very effective" as a tool for shaking Japan. In principle, on the basis of reports which are compiled by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative at the end of March every year, countries and sectors engaging in unfair trade practices will be specified, and if negotiations break down, sanctions will be imposed. Under Article 301 of the Trade Act, investigations can be initiated following a complaint of the business community, but under the Super 301 clause, the government can periodically investigate and expose unfair trade practices. Therefore, it is |
FBIS3-4695_2 | Trade Policy on High-Tech Industry Criticized National Interests Are Being Pushed to the Forefront With Active Government Involvement Government Should Expedite Establishment of Provisions for Private Research | lowered through mass production (advantage of scale). Further, as is often said of the production of such items as semiconductors, sustained production processes lead to increased yields and lower production costs. Because of such perceptions, it is thought that markets are susceptible to being monopolized, that importance should be placed on taking the initiative in producing high-tech items to establish international competitiveness, and that firms taking the lead will realize high profits as monopolistic suppliers. Second, technology created through research and development can be leaked to sources outside the source firm without going through open market transactions in a variety of ways such as interchanges among researchers at academic conferences, departing technicians, and research based on reverse engineering. As a result, rather than limited benefits derived by a single firm initiating any given research, it is felt that much greater benefits are gained by society as a whole through so-called external economic factors. Further, although we now address a feature that departs from the effects derived from technical peculiarities, we can mention the dynamic mechanism whereby we enjoy the economic ripple effect on related industries that use high-tech products as parts or production facilities as well as the development of new products leading to other new products and new technologies in other fields of manufacturing. As an example, enhanced performance and price cuts in semiconductors have led to improved performance and lower prices for computers. The performance of automobiles and domestic appliances has also been improved through the use of numerous electronic parts. Further, progress in financial systems and the introduction of point-of-sale systems in the distribution system were both greatly dependent on developments in the computer field. The question now arises of what advantages can be derived from the protection and development of high-tech industry. Need for Prolonged Subsidies Accompanied by Negative Effects First, in addressing the monopolistic nature of the market, we note that in much of the high-tech industry, such as semiconductors and computers, 10 leading firms monopolize more than 80 percent of international markets. However, firms that took the lead in developing their respective industries do not necessarily maintain their high initial market share permanently. The rise and fall of new market participants occur rapidly, thus creating many markets where competitive forces clash intensively and dispelling any notion that early entry into the market place is the only way to ensure competitiveness. When competition is intense, |
FBIS3-4695_5 | Trade Policy on High-Tech Industry Criticized National Interests Are Being Pushed to the Forefront With Active Government Involvement Government Should Expedite Establishment of Provisions for Private Research | development capabilities. As an example, it is thought that the United States is adept at giving birth to creative new products because of its superiority in product innovation (new product development) and that Asian nations such as Japan are highly competitive in producing universal products because of their superiority in process innovation (improvements in production processes). If such production factors did not exist, development of high-tech industries would require subsidies forever and would negatively affect economic efficiency of nations concerned on a long-term basis. Next, it is said that the social benefits of research and development by high-tech industry are significant, but one questions whether this is the case. If one were to assume that the leakage of new technology leads to the creation of similar technology in an identical industry, contributions made in terms of technical progress (comprehensive productivity growth) will be comparatively significant in terms of research and development investments made in a given industry, in those cases where the social benefits are especially broad. No significant differences can be noted in research and development input and output between Japan and the United States in the areas of electronic, electrical, and precision equipment. This fact would indicate that neither nation necessarily enjoys any major social benefits in the area of research and development for high-tech industries relative to other industries. And, as is evident in the higher utilization of high-tech products in other industries as reflected in charts showing use of such products among various industries, major benefits are being realized by other industries through economic ripple effects emanating from the use of manufactured products. However, such effects can be realized through imported products if low-priced, efficient products can be purchased from among imports. As an example, during the 1980's rapid improvements in financial systems were realized in Europe, which is relatively backwards in terms of its high-tech industry. Further, a look at the magnitude of the macroeconomic influence of high-tech industry shows that the contribution made by the electronic, electrical, and precision equipment sector to economic growth during the 1982-1990 period was an annual rate of 0.71 percent for Japan (with an economic growth rate of 4.69 percent), and 0.14 percent for the United States (with an economic growth rate of 3.31 percent), both relatively modest rates. Contributions in terms of job increases were even smaller because of the highly productive nature of the industry, standing at |
FBIS3-4695_6 | Trade Policy on High-Tech Industry Criticized National Interests Are Being Pushed to the Forefront With Active Government Involvement Government Should Expedite Establishment of Provisions for Private Research | neither nation necessarily enjoys any major social benefits in the area of research and development for high-tech industries relative to other industries. And, as is evident in the higher utilization of high-tech products in other industries as reflected in charts showing use of such products among various industries, major benefits are being realized by other industries through economic ripple effects emanating from the use of manufactured products. However, such effects can be realized through imported products if low-priced, efficient products can be purchased from among imports. As an example, during the 1980's rapid improvements in financial systems were realized in Europe, which is relatively backwards in terms of its high-tech industry. Further, a look at the magnitude of the macroeconomic influence of high-tech industry shows that the contribution made by the electronic, electrical, and precision equipment sector to economic growth during the 1982-1990 period was an annual rate of 0.71 percent for Japan (with an economic growth rate of 4.69 percent), and 0.14 percent for the United States (with an economic growth rate of 3.31 percent), both relatively modest rates. Contributions in terms of job increases were even smaller because of the highly productive nature of the industry, standing at 0.13 percent for Japan and -0.01 percent for the United States. Government Should Expedite Establishment of Provisions for Private Research Based on the foregoing discussion, one would have to admit that even if strategic trade policies proved successful and a nation's high-tech industry were successfully developed, the economic benefits would not necessarily represent a major economic advantage. Further, strategic trade policies represent nationalistic policy actions which have been repeated since the days of mercantilism which sought to deprive benefits from other nations and to seek benefits for one's own nation. The problem areas associated with controlled trade have already been identified by various sources, but now that mutual relationships in the world economy have deepened, greater importance must be placed on the search for policy actions seeking growth in the overall global economy, i.e., economic efficiency through free competition. In search of such a goal, it will be important for the sake of promoting a competitive market environment in response to the potential for monopolistic abuses 1) for all nations to reinforce their competitive policies while ensuring international coordination, and 2) for all nations to reinforce market opening measures while abandoning protective measures. As an example, a look at the |
FBIS3-4708_5 | Foreign Minister Interviewed on Nuclear Issue | NEWSWEEK. He is recognized as the minister among all former foreign ministers who has the best command of English. This is attributed to the fact that he lived in the United States for a long period of time. Prominent press and publications in the United States sometime show unprecedented friendliness by publishing special reports on him. The interview now changed to the subject of trade and pending economic issues, such as the issue of opening the rice market, NAFTA, and the issue of Russia repaying economic cooperation funds. In particular, the issue of opening the rice market and taking part in NAFTA are issues that remain a challenge to him. He said: "I believe that it will be inevitable to hold negotiations again on agricultural products because the countries participating in the Uruguay Round did not attach conditions when submitting the letter of content in the agricultural product field." He is saying that it is agonizing, but we cannot but keep the promise on opening our agricultural products, such as opening the rice market. There are pros and cons between the government and academic circles on our participation in NAFTA, which officially went into effect early this year. However, Minister Han presented a considerably clear countermeasure. Considering the pace of progress in our efforts to achieve internationalization, Minister Han thinks that the issue of joining NAFTA must be examined in the long-term, and that at the moment we must promote cooperation with NAFTA member countries--the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He said: "In July, the U.S. Administration is planning to submit to Congress a report on methods to operate NAFTA, including ways to establish relations with nonmember countries. After taking this into consideration, we must establish countermeasures regarding this matter. Rather than becoming an official member of NAFTA, we must try to utilize various forms, such as becoming an associate member or establish special cooperative relations." In connection with Russia's proposal to repay economic cooperation funds by providing up-to-date weapons and carry out joint venture projects, Minister Han showed a prudent attitude by saying: "Since this is an issue directly related to economic cooperation and security, the government's overall view will be provided after discussing this matter with related ministries." Minister Han has been criticized that he concentrates too much on diplomatic policy issues to the detriment of internal reform issues. This is because internal reform to resolutely improve irrational |
FBIS3-4710_2 | Recent Development in Nuclear Issue Assessed | of the nuclear issue, and notes the fact that "the United States failed to put down in writing the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue as a precondition to the third round of U.S.-North Korean talks, accepting the North Korean stance that if South Korea proposes the exchange of special envoys, North Korea will hold a working contact in Panmunjom." The editorial continues: "Under this condition, North Korea proudly disclosed that it had agreed with the United States to suspend the Team Spirit ROK-U.S. joint military exercise." The editorial notes that when the inter-Korean contact is made in Panmunjom on 1 March, the South side will be able to find out how serious North Korea is about inter-Korean dialogue and if the South's irresolute position in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue has been appropriate. The left-leaning HANGYORE SINMUN carries on page 3 an 800-word editorial entitled "The Nuclear Issue and the Attitude of the Authorities of North and South Korea." The editorial anticipates little problem in nuclear inspection by the IAEA "as North Korean delegate Ho Chong said that the inspection will be completed smoothly within the set period and the date for the third round of high-level talks is set." The editorial criticizes North Korea for its attempt to exclude South Korea, a direct party concerned in the national reunification and nuclear issues, from the discussion on the nuclear issue. The editorial criticizes that the South Government "looks like a groomsman," as revealed by the ROK's "awkward" announcement on the suspension of the Team Spirit joint military exercise after the United States and North Korea had already adopted the written agreement. The pro-government SEOUL SINMUN carries on page 7 a 500-word article by Yang Sung-hyon entitled "The North Korean-U.S. Negotiation and the ROK-U.S. Joint Cooperation System" from the "Today's Eye" column. The article notes that relevant ROK Government officials feel the result of the U.S.-North Korean contact held in New York fell short of their expectations compared to the enormous efforts and energy of the U.S. and ROK side. The article notes the North Korean disclosure of the U.S.-North Korean agreement on the suspension of the Team Spirit joint military exercise before a ROK announcement and the failure to demand as a precondition for the third round of U.S.-North Korean high-level talks that meaningful progress is made in inter-Korean dialogue, and reports: "The failure to include this precondition in |