2/21/00
- Tehran opens its first subway
- Taliban leader accuses U.N secretary-general
of bias against militia
- Tung unveils 30-year city revamp
- Beijing gives conditions for war
- General promises streamlining
- Five hopefuls face off in TV forum
- Massacre files to open
- Governor sheds political inhibitions
- Bank boss denies aid misused
- Tehran
blow for hardliners
- Indonesia appeals for forestry international
aid
2/20
- China wants Clinton to visit Pak.
2/19
- NORTH KOREA Missile can hit US, says defector
in Seoul
- Iranian opposition launch attacks from Iraq
- Cambodia bans anti-women songs
- Taiwan presidential race kicks into high gear
- Karmapa says Tibetan culture faces extinction
- Reports: Five sick from radiation, Thai
officials investigate
- 3 civilians killed in raid by US planes
2/17
- UN chief condemns Afghan bombing
- US congressmen criticise Iraqi sanctions
- WTO talks in Beijing
- Israeli radar pact likely to be sealed
2/7
- India ready to face nuclear war: Vajpayee
2/6
- China attacks US missile plans
2/4
- U.N. official says East Timor needs immediate
reconstruction money
- Japan's mounting debt threatens the world economy,
scholars say
- Karmapa says freedom necessary for religion
5/21/99
- Japan tackles baby shortage
5/20/99
- Hi-tech illegal immigrant trade alarms
Canberra
- Right Of Abode Controversy
5/19/99
- FORGOTTEN CHINESE LEADER UNDER STRICT WATCH
5/18/99
- Beijing vows unhindered shipping
- Beijing 'building on US neutron secrets'
- Right Of Abode Controversy- Candlelit protest
decries NPC plan
- Tung decides on re-interpretation of Basic Law
- Japanese publisher cancels translation of
'Rape of Nanking'
5/17/99
- Lee pushes vision of autonomous regions
5/16/99
- Embassy bombing spurs calls for quick military
boost in China
BEIJING, FEB. 20 China has reportedly advised the U.S. to include Pakistan
in the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's South Asian tour next month,
diplomatic sources here have said.
``China has reportedly told the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Mr.
Strobe
Talbott, that Mr. Clinton should visit Pakistan if Washington wants
to
see
an end to tension in South Asia,'' a diplomatic source told PTI here.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry had earlier said that the non- inclusion
of
Pakistan in the itinerary was a matter between Islamabad and Washington.
The just-concluded two-day Sino-U.S. strategic security consultations
gave
Beijing an opportunity to air its views on South Asia and coordinate
stands on the South Asian nuclear issue.
Mr. Talbott briefed the Chinese side on the 10 rounds of talks he had
so
far held with the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, on
nuclear
non-proliferation and security issues in the South Asian region. -PTI
Copyright © 2000 Nando Media
Copyright © 2000 Associated Press
By AFSHIN VALINEJAD
TEHRAN, Iran (February 21, 2000 8:44 a.m. EST
http://www.nandotimes.com) - President Mohammad
Khatami on Monday opened Tehran's first subway,
calling it an "inevitable necessity" for the
traffic-clogged metropolis of 11 million people.
Officials said they hoped the subway would help
ease Tehran's excessive pollution and gridlocks
caused mainly by an estimated 2 million cars, most
of them more than 20 years old.
The 6-mile line, the first in the Persian Gulf, was
built over a period of 13 years at a cost of about
$383 million, according to metro officials. The only
other cities in the region that have subways are
Cairo, Egypt, and Ankara, Turkey.
Asqar Ibrahimi, the former head of Tehran Metro
project, said 40 workers were killed in work-related
accidents during the course of the subway
construction.
The project was also beset by problems and
delays. Several years ago, a main street in
downtown Tehran opened to swallow cars and
people when a metro tunnel being built underneath
caved in.
The line inaugurated Monday connects central
Tehran with the western suburb of Sadeqieh and
merges with a regular railway service to the town
of Karaj, 18 miles west of Tehran. The line has the
capacity to carry 40,000 people per hour. An
extension and three more lines are planned,
covering 60 miles, but no time frame has been set.
"Today, the metro has become an inevitable
necessity for a very, very difficult life in a city like
Tehran. It pains me to see people suffering like
this," Khatami said in a speech after taking an
inaugural ride from Sadeqieh Square station to
Imam Khomeini Square.
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan also
attended the inauguration. China provided the
tracks, equipment and technical help.
The line will operate initially for three hours and
then for five hours beginning March 21.
Copyright © 2000 Nando Media
Copyright © 2000 Associated Press
By AMIR SHAH
KABUL, Afghanistan (February 21, 2000 9:24 a.m.
EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - The Taliban's
reclusive leader criticized U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan on Monday, accusing him in a letter of
bias against the militia that rules most of
Afghanistan.
Mullah Mohammed Omar said he was particularly
angered by last week's statement issued by Annan
that criticizes the Taliban for apparently bombing
civilians in opposition-held areas of the Panjshir
Valley in central Afghanistan.
The opposition said several civilians were killed and
others injured when Taliban jets attacked in the
area.
Omar denied that Taliban jets hit civilian targets
and accused Annan of gathering his information
from the anti-Taliban opposition.
"You didn't bother to investigate the accusation
and you went ahead and made your statement
even though there was no truth to the opposition's
accusations," Omar said in the letter.
"You are supporting the opposition. You are making
the people of Afghanistan believe that the United
Nations is not neutral, that it is biased against the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Omar wrote.
The United Nations still recognizes ousted President
Burhanuddin Rabbani's government in Afghanistan.
Rabbani is one of the leaders of the anti-Taliban
alliance that controls barely 10 percent of
Afghanistan, much of it in the north and in the
Panjshir Valley, where the ousted military chief
Ahmed Shah Massood is headquartered.
The United Nations and the Taliban have had an
uneasy relationship since 1996, when the Taliban
took control of the capital of Kabul and threw out
warring Islamic factions that had made up Rabbani's
government.
Within hours of the takeover, the Taliban hanged
former communist President Najibullah, who had
lived under U.N. protection in Kabul since 1992.
In 1998, the United Nations withdrew its
international staff after three workers were killed.
The United Nations has returned to Afghanistan,
but at a reduced level.
The Taliban espouse a harsh brand of Islamic law
that bars women from work, bars girls older than 8
from school and forces men to wear beards and
pray in mosques.
Indonesia has called for international
aid to help save its dwindling rain
forests.
The Forestry Minister, Nur Mahmudi
Ismail, says nearly three billion
dollars are needed for rehabilitation
and replanting, mainly on the islands
of Borneo and Sumatra.
Mr Nur said Indonesia itself could
provide only about a fifth of that
amount.
Correspondents say the rainforests,
home to orangutans and other
endangered wildlife species, have
been ravaged for years by over
logging and plantation clearances,
often with government approval, and
by uncontrolled forest fires. Mr Nur's
appeal followed a meeting with
President Abdurrahman Wahid and a
visiting head of the Worldwide Fund
for Nature, Claude Martin.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
EAST TIMOR
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
World Bank President James Wolfensohn yesterday
denied reports millions of dollars of the bank's funds for
Indonesia's poor had been funnelled to the militias that
devastated East Timor last year.
"I can say categorically - categorically - that the issue of
social funds, which you alleged went from the bank to
assist the militia in East Timor, financed from Indonesia,
is simply not true," he said in Jakarta in response to
reporters' questions at the end of a four-day visit to
Indonesia.
Australia's SBS television says Indonesia diverted at
least US$7.8 million (HK$60.5 million) earmarked by
the World Bank for welfare and development to fund
the militias that ransacked the territory after its
independence vote.
-top-
JAPAN
Governor sheds political
inhibitions
Tokyo Governor: Shintaro Ishihara, is breaking all Japan's
carefully observed political rules.
Conventions that have ruled Japan's politics since World
War II - step-by-step consultations, modesty and
caution - are being ditched by Tokyo Governor
Shintaro Ishihara.
More to the point, analysts argue, Mr Ishihara is
prepared to make enemies.
For example, Japan's biggest banks are up in arms over
his plan to charge a three per cent tax on their gross
profits for five years.
But when the central Government complained it had not
been consulted over the plan, announced on February
7, Mr Ishihara refused to buckle. "It's just arrogant of
them to expect that we would tell them in advance," he
said.
Mr Ishihara, meanwhile, is preparing to take on the
transport industry.
On Friday he unveiled a plan to impose tough
regulations on diesel-powered vehicles.
He says he aims to ban diesel-powered vehicles from
the capital by April 2006 unless they reduce polluting
emissions.
Mr Ishihara quit as a Liberal Democratic Party MP in
1995 and won the Governor's post last April as an
independent.
In his jointly authored A Japan That Can Say No, which
caused an uproar in the US in 1989, Mr Ishihara
described the US military shield around Japan as an
illusion and US criticism of Japan as racially motivated.
Nobuo Tomita, a professor in politics at Tokyo's Meiji
University, said Mr Ishihara's strength lay in the fact he
had "no political ambition" and nothing to lose.
But not all the Governor's forthright policies are benign.
Deeply conservative, he told a US magazine in 1990
that the Nanjing Massacre was a "fabrication" by China.
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR
Taipei will allow public access to secret official files on
the massacre of more than 20,000 Taiwanese by
Kuomintang troops in February 1947 by late next year,
the Taiwan Daily News reported yesterday.
Research, Development and Evaluation Commission
director-general Wei Chi-lin said a new national archive
would allow public access to more than 50 million
secret documents, including material on the February 28
Incident in 1947 and the government crackdown on the
"Formosa" democratic opposition movement in
December 1979.
More than 20,000 Taiwanese were killed by KMT
military forces sent by the late KMT strongman Chiang
Kai-shek in the wake of a spontaneous uprising that
started on February 28, 1947.
The revolt was sparked by resentment over the
administration of KMT governor Chen Yi, who was
named by Chiang to run the island after its incorporation
into the Republic of China in late 1945 after 50 years of
Japanese colonial rule.
Mention of the massacre was taboo until martial law
was lifted in July 1987
Five hopefuls face off
in
TV forum
JASON BLATT in Taipei
Unwilling to agree on conditions for a face-to-face
televised debate, Taiwan's five candidates running in
next month's presidential election took the same stage
yesterday in a televised forum.
The three leading candidates - Lien Chan of the ruling
Kuomintang (KMT), Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) and independent candidate
James Soong Chu-yu, generally stuck to describing
already well-known policies.
But the two fringe candidates - Li Ao of the New Party
and independent hopeful Hsu Hsin-liang - gave
passionate speeches, making them the stars of the show
despite the fact that each has commanded less than one
per cent support in opinion polls.
Each candidate has expressed interest in conducting
televised debates, but plans for a debate appeared
doomed by Vice-President Lien's reluctance to debate
with anyone except Mr Chen.
Mr Lien, Mr Chen and Mr Soong are neck-and-neck in
most polls.
Yesterday, Mr Lien stressed the KMT's role in making
Taiwan both a prosperous and democratic society,
urging the public not to stray from the ruling party's path.
Mr Chen lashed out at the KMT for warning against
giving the DPP a try at the helm of government.
"The Kuomintang is constantly threatening us by saying
Taiwan cannot alternate [power] between political
parties," he said. "They say, if political parties are
rotated, [Taiwan] will become the next Indonesia or the
next Philippines. This does not conform to the spirit of
democracy and pokes fun at the international
community, evoking protests from our neighbours."
Mr Soong, who broke away from the KMT to run for
president, criticised both major political parties, saying
their methods increasingly resembled one another.
Meanwhile, Mr Li, an outspoken writer, historian and
television show host, attacked all three of the leading
candidates and surprised viewers with a plug for rival
Mr Hsu.
"Lien Chan can't make any progress in the long term
[and] Chen Shui-bian is dangerous," Mr Li said.
"Hsu Hsin-liang is too idealistic, he is great. But will the
people of Taiwan vote for him? Do they want to be
smart Taiwanese?"
Mr Hsu concurred that Mr Chen was "the most
dangerous" of the candidates given Taiwan's precarious
relationship with the mainland.
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Singapore
Updated at 2.04pm:
The head of the air force said on Monday that China
will streamline its huge military, but promised that Beijing
would never ''invade or threaten any sovereign state''.
Lieutenant-General Liu Shunyao was addressing
high-level participants from around the world who were
taking part in a Millennium Air Power Conference in
Singapore.
General Liu said the Chinese would aim at ''winning
local wars directed against China under hi-tech
conditions on short notice''.
''We'll stick to the road of streamlining the armed forces
the Chinese way,'' the air force commander continued.
He said that would include better weapons, military
theories and training to achieve the ''goal of defence plus
offence''.
Despite the strong words, General Liu also promised:
''China will never invade or threaten any sovereign state.
But it will definitely not allow any other country to
invade China.''
General Liu has already urged stepped up military
modernisation, with better missiles, fighters with
doctorates and hi-tech strategy.
Beijing gives conditions
for war
VIVIEN PIK-KWAN CHAN
Updated at 6.54pm:
Beijing stepped up its pressure on Taiwan on Monday
ahead of the island's presidential election, warning of a
possible war if the island indefinitely rejected attempts to
reunify through negotiation.
In a 11,000-word document jointly issued by the
mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office and the Information
Office of the State Council, Beijing detailed the
circumstances that would cause China to attack Taiwan.
The document reiterated Beijing's long-standing view
that it would push for peaceful reunification, but warned
that an indefinite refusal to negotiate would compel
Beijing to step up its campaign.
''If the Taiwan authorities refuse, sine die, the peaceful
settlement of cross-Strait reunification through
negotiations, then the Chinese government will be forced
to adopt all drastic measures possible, including the use
of force,'' said the White Paper on the Taiwan Issue
released by the official Xinhua news agency.
Beijing also warned of a disaster if Taiwan declare a
referendum on reunification.
''Attempts by splittist forces in Taiwan who use the
excuse of 'sovereignty in the hands of Taiwan people'
and call for a referendum to vote against unification with
mainland will yield no result,'' the document warned.
Beijing has in the past threatened to use force against
Taiwan only when it proclaimed independence or in the
case of foreign intervention.
Tung unveils 30-year
city revamp
CHRIS YEUNG
Updated at 7.46pm:
Tung Chee-hwa has ordered a critical review of major
Government policies to dovetail with the findings of a
high-powered commission on long-term strategy
published on Monday.
Officiating the opening of a seminar on the report
yesterday, the Chief Executive also called on the
community to play its part in realising his dream to see
Hong Kong become Asia's leading city and a major part
of China.
The Commission on Strategic Development unveiled its
first road map for Hong Kong over the next 30 years.
Noting the SAR has long had links with cities in the
Pearl River Delta, the commission called for the
strengthening of those ties to develop a ''city-region''.
Links should be expanded to develop ties with other
regions such as the Yangtze Delta and Basin Region and
central and western region, according to the commission
which was formed in 1998 and is chaired by Mr Tung.
The report acknowledged that the competitiveness of
the SAR has been under threat and highlighted the need
for improvements in six areas such as better-quality
human resources, improved infrastructure and enhanced
competition.
The commission added that the development of political
systems was a crucial area for Hong Kong's long-term
development.
Without indicating any position, the report said: ''The
challenge is how to map out a path that can best
accommodate the divergent expectations and
aspirations of the people of Hong Kong''.
The commission believed better quality of life and
environment would become increasingly important for
Hong Kong to attract the best talents and high
value-added businesses it needs to sustain its growth.
Commission members conceded Hong Kong has an
image problem overseas and suggested more marketing
efforts abroad while promoting a greater sense of
commitment and belonging at home.
Mr Tung said: ''The commission has identified the need
for regular policy reviews and I have now asked the
administration to critically review our existing major
policies to identify those areas where new or different
policies need to be drawn up and implemented to reflect
the overall strategic framework.''
He said it was not sufficient for the Government to
pursue the goal on its own.
''Ultimately, we will realise the vision if the community as
a whole - public institutions, the private sector and
particularly opinion leaders ... share this vision and
commit to achieving it.''
NORTH KOREA Missile can hit US, says defector in Seoul
A North Korean defector claims Pyongyang has finished building a missile
that can hit the United States, reports said yesterday.
Missile expert Lim Ki-song, 59, defected to the United States last
month with his son, Lim Hak-jin, 31, and nephew-in-law, Kim Song-su, 32.
According to South Korean media reports, they took with them a treasure
trove of intelligence on the North's missile development, including samples
of rocket fuel.
South Korean officials voiced surprise that such a missile had actually
been built.
However, they have previously said the North was developing a missile
with 6,000km range, capable of striking the western United States.
Pyongyang's missile capability was previously believed to have been
limited to the Daepodong-I, with a 3,000km range.
North Korea test-fired the missile over Japanese islands on August
31, 1998. It was the brainchild of North Korean scientists who inherited
from Russia the Rodong-I, which can fly 1,500km.
Rumours have circulated that North Korea was working on the Daepodong-II,
capable of hitting Los Angeles.
But when North Korean state television last September showed a picture
of the Daepodong-I, debate erupted as to whether the Daepodong-II was just
talk.
Until now, there have been no reports that the longer-range missile
has actually been completed.
But analysts said they were not surprised at the apparent move by Kim
Jong-il, the North's supreme leader.
"When I heard the story I thought it was no big deal because we already
knew Kim Jong-il had this missile," said Kim Tae-hoe, a North Korea expert
with the United Liberal Democrats.
"In 1998, North Korea launched a missile that flew over Japan and also
part of the missile landed near Alaska. Kim Jong-il's missile capability
is well known."
The defectors escaped across the northern border into China.
Posing as Chinese immigrants, they found sympathisers in Yanji and
then moved to Changchun and Shanghai.
In Shanghai, the US Government offered assistance last month, providing
the defectors with a flight to the United States.
South Korean officials said they had no independent information about
the defections. "We are checking the report," said a spokesman for the
National Intelligence Service, the South's spy agency.
Seoul's Ministry of Unification said it was investigating the allegations
made by the defectors.
Kim Song-su was a lieutenant-colonel in charge of a special forces
unit. Lim Ki-song was allegedly one of Pyongyang's top missile researchers.
During the Cold War, he was sent to Russia to study with the Soviet
Union's best scientists and missile experts. Upon returning to Pyongyang
he trained weapons specialists including his son, who was expected to take
over his father's mantle.
The trio allegedly decided to defect last year and had spent a number
of months carefully plotting the mission.
To cover up their escape, they picked up off the road the bodies of
two men who had starved to death.
They placed the corpses in their house and set them on fire.
Pyongyang has reportedly discovered the details of their escape.
Saturday, 19 February, 2000, 22:08 GMT
Iranian opposition launch
attacks from Iraq
Reports from Teheran say Iranian
rebels based in Iraq have launched
mortar attacks across the border into
western Iran injuring three Iranian
border guards.
According to Iranian state television,
guerrillas from the Mujahedeen Khalq
targetted areas in the provinces of
Ilam and Kermnanshah.
The Mujahedeen Khalq have
acknowledged that they've carried out
attacks in the area but say large
numbers of what they called enemy
forces were killed or wounded.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
BBC 2/20
Sunday, 20 February, 2000, 11:16 GMT
Cambodia bans
anti-women songs
The government in Cambodia says it
has banned three popular songs -- all
written and performed by Cambodians
-- because they devalue the country's
women.
The Minister of Women's Affairs, Mu
Sochua, said the songs portrayed
women like toys instead of human
beings, and highlighted only the
negative points of Cambodian
society.
The songs have titles like "All Girls
Want That" and "I Love You Even
Though You're A Married Man".
The writer of one of the songs, Fay
Sam Ang, said they merely conveyed
the realities of life in Cambodia.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
Boston Globe 2/20
Taiwan presidential race kicks
into high gear
By Annie Huang, Associated Press, 2/19/2000 04:57
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) With fireworks and dragon dances,
candidates for Taiwan's presidency opened their campaigns
Saturday as the military strengthened the island's defenses
against Chinese attempts to influence the voting.
Searching for votes in the March 18 election, the three
candidates traveled in vans as they greeted people along
main
boulevards and side streets and addressed rallies in
the
capital Taipei.
The candidates are competing to replace President Lee
Teng-hui, who is retiring after 12 years in office. The
poll will be
Taiwan's second direct presidential election.
The official Central News Agency reported Saturday that
the
Defense Ministry has set up a ''crisis-control'' task
force to
prevent China from sabotaging Taiwan's military bases
or
taking other provocative acts to cause social chaos.
Military forces will also closely monitor any Chinese
military
maneuvers ahead of the elections, the report said. The
task
force will be in operation until May 20 when the newly
elected
president takes power.
Taiwan is seat of the Nationalist government, which fled
Mao
Tse-tung's takeover of the Chinese mainland in 1949.
Beijing
considers the island a renegade province.
In Taiwan's first direct presidential race in 1996, China
held
threatening war games that brought the two rivals to
their most
intense confrontation since the 1970s. U.S. warships
were
also dispatched to the region as a show of support for
Taiwan.
In the current campaign, Taiwan's secretive intelligence
agency, the National Security Council, briefed presidential
candidates on security matters for the first time.
Chen Shui-bian, of the opposition Democratic Progressive
Party, was the first candidate to be briefed on Friday.
Chen
told reporters he believed Taiwan's military and security
agencies were neutral in politics and could perform their
duties
no matter which candidate wins.
The two other main candidates are Vice President Lien
Chan
of the ruling Nationalist Party and independent James
Soong.
On Sunday, the candidates are scheduled to take part in
a
televised forum to deliver campaign speeches.
News media have been trying to get the three to agree
on a
televised debate, which would be Taiwan's first for a
presidential race.
Boston Globe 2/20
Karmapa says Tibetan culture
faces extinction
By Lynsey Addario, Associated Press, 2/19/2000 08:34
DHARMSALA, India (AP) A teen-age Buddhist leader who
recently fled Chinese-controlled Tibet said Saturday
that the
rich traditions and culture of Tibet are facing extinction.
''Tibet, where great religions and cultures have flourished
in the
past, is facing a great threat of extinction. ... It
is scary and
frightening,'' the lama said in his speech to more than
100
followers in the northern town of Dharmsala, the headquarters
of the Dalai Lama.
The 14-year-old Karmapa said some other parts of the world
also were facing conflicts and sufferings like Tibet.
He fled from Tibet across the Himalayas a month ago by
road,
horseback and foot. India has not yet made any decision
on
the teen-age lama's status.
The Karmapa's flight from his monastery is considered
a
setback to the Chinese contention that it respects Tibetan
culture and religion.
Early this month, the Karmapa said that freedom is necessary
to practice Tibetan Buddhism's most important teaching
compassion.
On Friday, he participated in the celebrations of the
60th
anniversary of the Dalai Lama's enthronement at age 4.
''I pray for a better future for Tibet,'' the Karmapa
said on
Saturday and paid rich tributes to the leadership of
the Dalai
Lama.
The Dalai Lama has broken his personal retreat to hold
five
meetings with the Karmapa since his arrival.
The selection of Karmapa as the reincarnation of his
predecessor was approved by both the Dalai Lama and
Chinese authorities and he traveled widely in China,
but was
not allowed to leave or have his teachers brought to
him.
Boston Globe 2/20
Reports: Five sick from
radiation, Thai officials
investigate
By Associated Press, 2/20/2000 07:57
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) Five people have been hospitalized
for exposure to radiation that leaked from scrap metal
sold to
a recycling yard on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thai newspapers
reported Sunday.
Two workers who handled the metal cylinder were in a coma,
and the man who sold it suffered radiation burns to his
hands,
the Bangkok Post said.
The owner of the scrap yard in Samut Prakan province and
another worker were also hospitalized, the newspaper
said.
The Thai Health Ministry reported Saturday that three
scrap
yard workers had fallen critically ill with blisters,
burns and hair
loss. They were vulnerable to infections because of a
drop in
their white blood cell count, the ministry said.
Ten more neighbors and relatives of the victims who took
blood
tests were discharged from the hospital because they
showed
only very slight exposure to radiation, the Post reported.
Staff from Thailand's small atomic energy research center,
who had Geiger counters but no protective clothing, sifted
through piles of scrap at the yard Saturday searching
for the
source of the leak, the Bangkok Post said.
After 11 hours they found a metal cylinder containing
cobalt
60, a radioactive isotope used in the production of gamma
rays, mainly used in sterilization by the food industry,
or in
hospitals for cancer treatment, The Nation reported.
The Nation said the case was the first ever radioactive
leak in
Thailand.
Boston Globe 2/20
3 civilians killed in raid by US planes
By Globe Staff and Wire Reports, 2/20/2000
Iraq
BAGHDAD - Three Iraqi civilians were wounded yesterday when US
warplanes bombed a northern city during patrols of the no-fly zone,
the
official Iraqi News Agency said. An unidentified Iraqi Air Defense
Force
spokesman told the news agency the planes hit a civilian site. The
US
military said its planes struck at an air-defense system north of the
city of
Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, in response to Iraqi artillery fire
during
patrols of the no-fly zone. All returned safely. (AP)
globe 2/19
BBC
Thursday, 17 February, 2000, 20:05 GMT
UN chief condemns
Afghan bombing
The United Nations
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has
deplored what he called
indiscriminate bombing in the
northern Panjshir valley of
Afghanistan.
Opposition forces have accused the
Taleban authorities of bombing an
opposition stronghold in the valley,
killing eight people on Monday.
A United Nations statement issued in
New York said the attack had
horrendous repercussions for civilians
in the area, and had hampered UN
relief operations.
The statement said Mr Annan was
gravely concerned that civilians are
still being targetted deliberately in
Afghanistan.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
BBC
Thursday, 17 February, 2000, 17:42 GMT
US congressmen criticise
Iraqi sanctions
Protesters in New York call for an
end to sanctions
A group of United States
congressmen - both Democrats and
Republicans - are putting pressure on
the Clinton administration over its
support of the United Nations
economic sanctions against Iraq.
The group's spokesman, David Bonior,
a Democrat for Michigan, has
described the sanctions as
"infanticide masquerading as policy".
The group's
comments came
within days of the
resignations of two
senior UN officials
in Iraq who had
strongly protested
about the effects
the UN embargo is
having on Iraqis.
The embargo was
imposed after the
Gulf War to punish
Iraq for invading
Kuwait in 1990 and
force it to dismantle its weapons of
mass destruction.
'Hurting Iraqis not Saddam'
The bipartisan group of congressmen
held a press conference in
Washington on Thursday in
conjunction with Arab-American
groups.
They were representing a larger group
of 70 legislators who had signed a
letter urging President Bill Clinton "to
do what is right: lift the economic
sanctions".
The congressmen
said they
supported the
military embargo
on Iraq, but
wanted to see the
economic embargo
lifted.
The letter read:
"While we have no
illusions about the
brutality of
Saddam Hussein,
the people of Iraq
should be allowed to restore their
economic system."
"This embargo has not hurt Saddam
Hussein or the pampered elite which
supports him, but has been
devastating for millions of Iraqi
people," congressman Bonior said.
UN resignations
The head of the World Food
Programme, Jutta Burghart,
announced her resignation on
Tuesday - just days after the UN's
top humanitarian official in Iraq, Hans
von Sponeck, did the same.
They had strongly criticised UN
economic sanctions, in very similar
terms to those used by the US
congressmen.
Mr von Sponeck said he resigned
because he had lost hope that
conditions would improve for Iraqi
civilians.
He said the latest
Security Council
resolution, passed
in December,
covering the UN's
humanitarian
programmes was
unworkable and
would not ease
the human tragedy
in Iraq.
The resolution
offers Iraq a
suspension of
sanctions in return for full
co-operation with a new arms control
group.
Analysts say that many of the details
of the resolution have been left
vague, suggesting that each step will
face deadlock in the divided Security
Council.
Iraq has condemned, but not formally
rejected, the resolution.
The UN officials and US congressmen
are part of a growing body of people
who argue that the concerns of Iraqi
civilian concerns should be separated
from the questions of military
disarmament.
BBC 2/17
Thursday, 17 February, 2000, 17:34 GMT
WTO talks in Beijing
The head of the World Trade
Organisation, Mike Moore, has begun
talks in Beijing on China's
thirteen-year-old request to join the
organisation.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua said
Mr Moore had assured the prime
minister, Zhu Rongji, that he was
committed to helping China become a
WTO member as soon as possible.
Both men agreed that the
organization would not be complete
until China joined. However, speaking
earlier in Singapore, Mr Moore warned
that the remaining process of
accession would be very complex.
Beijing and Washington signed an
agreement last November under
which the United States would back
China's entry into the WTO, and the
American Congress is now debating
whether it should endorse the
agreement.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
South China Morning Post 2/17
Friday, February 18, 2000
Israeli radar pact likely
to be sealed
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
Israel's air force commander is in Beijing to wrap up the
sale of an Israeli radar system that will give China's
military advance radar capabilities, informed sources
said yesterday.
"I would say that it wasn't far-fetched to assume that
they are discussing the Awacs [Airborne Warning and
Control System] deal," an informed source in Beijing
said.
An agreement to purchase at least one system "has
already been signed and sealed and is now being
implemented," he said.
Eitan Ben-Eliahu met the Chief of the General Staff,
General Fu Quanyou, on Wednesday as part of a
six-day goodwill visit, Xinhua reported.
China has long been known to be seeking to buy up to
eight Phalcon (Phased-Array L-Band Conformal)
airborne radars made by Israeli Aircraft Industries.
The radar is reportedly being fitted on Russian Beriev
A-50 planes, in accordance with a 1997 agreement
between Russia and Israel to jointly supply China with
the advanced radar technology.
The source refused to speculate on when the delivery of
the radar and planes would be made.
Israeli Embassy officials in Beijing refused to comment
on the nature of the air force commander's visit other
than to say it was a "goodwill visit".
"This is another aspect of the enlargement of our
bilateral relations which span many areas," an official
said.
Western military sources in Beijing said the Awacs
system, when coupled with two newly purchased
Russian Sovremeeny advanced destroyers and China's
increasingly modern fleet of Russian-made fighter jets,
could help China implement a naval blockade of
Taiwan.
India News Network 2/7/00
India ready to face nuclear
war: Vajpayee
By Ajay Bharadwaj, The Times of India News Service
JALANDHAR: The Prime Minister has said India is prepared for a nuclear
war
if it is thrust upon us, and would not be cowed down by Pakistan's
threats
in this regard.
Speaking at a function here, organised to pay homage to the Kargil martyrs
on Sunday, the PM reaffirmed India's resolve to retrieve the part of
Kashmir that Pakistan forcibly captured immediately after independence.
Vajpayee said that though India has declared it will not make first
use of
nuclear weapons, ``if somebody does it first, we are prepared to pay
him
back in the same coin''.
Ridiculing Pakistan for repeatedly threatening to unleash a nuclear
war
against India, he said India favours peace but it also prepared for
any
eventuality. If Pakistan really wants peace with India it should also
make
a public declaration about no-first-use of nuclear weapons.
Commenting on Gen Musharraf's statement that any dialogue that Pakistan
may have with India will only focus on the Kashmir problem, Vajpayee
said
that if India has to talk about Kashmir it would rather focus on forcing
Pakistan to vacate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as early as possible.
He said Pakistan's claim to Kashmir was preposterous, simply because
people of J&K had on their own decided to be part of India at the
time of
partition.
India needed to present afresh all facts regarding J&K's merger
with India
to the world to defeat Pakistan's decision to rally the world opinion
in
its favour.
The PM said India would not succumb to any international pressure with
regard to Kashmir but decide the Kashmir agenda on its own terms.
Stung by its humiliation after the Kargil conflict, Pakistan, he said,
might attempt to step up militancy in J&K, but it would not succeed
in the
face of the determined offensive put up by Indian security forces.
Commenting on Pakistan's demand for a plebiscite in J&K, the PM
said
Pakistan is distorting facts by presenting a wrong picture to the world.
He said India had promised to hold a plebiscite in J&K only after
Pakistan
withdrew its armed forces from the PoK.
Vajpayee also debunked Pakistan's claim to J&K on the ground that
it is a
Muslim majority state. He said no part of India could be segregated
on the
basis of population structure.
Recalling his peace efforts in the wake of the Lahore bus journey,
Vajpayee said Pakistan stands exposed for its double standards. While
talking about peace with India, Pakistan also undertook the Kargil
misadventure to capture Indian land.
He said a fresh dialogue with Pakistan would not be initiated till faith
and trust are restored. He blamed Pakistan for breaching the trust
that
his Lahore journey had built.
BBC 2/6/00
Sunday, 6 February, 2000, 18:15 GMT
China attacks US missile
plans
Patriot missiles have a proven
anti-missile record
China has again made clear its
opposition to plans by the United
States to develop an anti-missile
defence system - and warned that
this could trigger a new arms race.
Speaking at a security conference in
Munich, Chinese Deputy Foreign
Minister Wang Guangya gave a blunt
warning to any country that sought,
as he put it, to include the Taiwan
Straits in their security co-operation
programme.
The influential
audience of Nato
government
ministers, senior
officials and
foreign policy
experts heard Mr
Wang condemn
arms sales to
Taiwan and
criticised some
countries having
clung to the Cold
War mentality.
The BBC's defence correspondent
says this comment was a
thinly-veiled reference to Japan,
which has strengthened its bilateral
military alliances and helping in the
development of missile defences.
'No threat'
However, Mr Wang's Japanese
counterpart, Ryozo Kato, insisted
that his country's strengthening
military ties with Washington were a
source of stability and did not
threaten anyone.
Although he never mentioned the US
by name, Mr Wang said that in an
effort to secure absolute security for
itself, a certain country, as he put it,
was stepping up its research,
development and deployment of
sophisticated anti-missile systems.
He said the country's weapons
development violated international
legal obligations to which it had
committed itself, warned it could
trigger a new arms race.
NANDO 2/4/00
U.N. official says East Timor
needs immediate reconstruction
money
Copyright (C) 2000 Nando Media
Copyright (C) 2000 Associated Press
From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century
By EDITH M. LEDERER
UNITED NATIONS (February 4, 2000 2:42 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com)
- A top U.N. official says East
Timor urgently needs some of the more than $520 million pledged for
its reconstruction to curb rising
violent crime and avoid social unrest.
In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, administrator
Sergio Vieira de Mello spoke of the
immense challenge facing the United Nations as it tries to rebuild
a ravaged territory with 80 percent
unemployment and prepare its 800,000 people for independence.
Cross-border incursions by pro-Indonesian militias continue to pose
a threat. The rate of return of
refugees from West Timor has slowed. Electricity is reaching just 25
percent of the country and about 50
percent of the population. A civil service must be established and
the territory must move end its
dependence on humanitarian relief, he said.
But Vieira de Mello said his main concern is that projects to restore
East Timor's ravaged infrastructure
and develop its economy won't be started for several months - which
may result in the perception among
East Timorese that "little is being done."
"What I need is money now to provide the East Timorese people with the
visible, the tangible proofs of
international concern," he said.
The territory was devastated by pro-Indonesia militiamen, who went on
a rampage of looting, burning and
killing after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to break ties
with Jakarta and become independent
on Aug. 30.
In December, more than 50 nations and international groups pledged $522
million to help rebuild East
Timor. Part of that money is earmarked for a World Bank Trust Fund.
Last week, the United Nations and the World Bank produced an initial
six-month reconstruction plan and
submitted it to a donors meeting in Washington. But getting those projects
started will take months.
Vieira de Mello urged the World Bank to release some of the trust fund's
money for immediate
labor-intensive projects to rebuild East Timor, an appeal backed by
U.S. Ambassador Richard
Holbrooke.
The U.N. administrator said immediate distribution of contributions
from governments will "be essential to
prevent social unrest."
Many Security Council members expressed concern at the increase in criminal
activity, which Vieira de
Mello blamed mainly on widespread unemployment and young people with
no schools or jobs to occupy
their time.
Only 480 U.N. police are in East Timor, far below the force's authorized strength of 1,610, he said.
Also, pro-Indonesian militias still pose a threat in border areas and
the isolated enclave of Oecussi,
where militias made eight incursions in past weeks, Vieira de Mello
said.
He told the council he received word Thursday morning that Indonesian
and U.N. police had agreed to
jointly interrogate and fingerprint militia leader "Moko" Soares based
on evidence the East Timorese
authorities had gathered against him. Vieira de Mello said he didn't
know whether Soares had been
taken into custody.
NANDO 2/4/00
Japan's mounting debt threatens
the world economy, scholars
say
Copyright (C) 2000 Nando Media
Copyright (C) 2000 Associated Press
By SCOTT STODDARD
TOKYO (February 4, 2000 1:44 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Japan's
mounting public debt, made
worse by wasteful public works spending, is a time bomb that could
wreck the world economy, two
Japanese academics said Friday.
"We are looking at a danger signal blinking near and bright," said Akio
Ogawa, a lecturer in the Graduate
School of Public Policy at Tokyo's Chuo University.
Ogawa and Takayoshi Igarashi, a professor of law at Tokyo's Hosei University,
spoke at the Foreign
Correspondents' Club of Japan about the need to slash both public works
spending and the debt if Japan
is to regain its economic might.
Attempting to jumpstart the economy, the government has lavished funds
on bridges to sparsely
populated islands, concrete linings for rivers and roads to nowhere,
they said.
Rather than helping the economy or the people, the spending mostly benefits
an "iron triangle" of
powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and businesses, Ogawa and Igarashi
said.
The second-richest country in the world is also the world's most indebted
nation. Its public debt exceeds
600 trillion yen ($5.5 trillion), or 130 percent of gross national
product, Ogawa said. GNP is the value of
all goods and services produced by the country.
Worse, the government may be hiding another 100 trillion yen ($926 billion)
in debt from a special coffer
that the Ministry of Finance uses to make loans to public corporations
for infrastructure projects, Ogawa
said.
A Finance Ministry official declined to comment on the figure. He did
say that none of the loan recipients
is in danger of defaulting. The official spoke on customary condition
of anonymity.
Japan racked up debt mostly over the past decade as the government,
urged on by the United States,
tried to spend its way out of its longest economic slump since World
War II.
In 1997, Japan spent more than $402 billion on roads, bridges, ports
and other public works projects -
more than the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Britain
combined, Ogawa said.
Anger over excessive spending on public works boiled over last month
when 90 percent of voters in
Tokushima, western Japan, rejected a government plan to spend $954
million to dam a river.
Opponents say it will destroy the ecosystem. Construction Ministry officials
say it's necessary to stop
possible flooding. The government says it will go ahead with the project
despite the vote.
Taxpayers will continue footing such bills unless Japan breaks up the
league of bureaucrats, executives
and politicians who benefit from such largess, Ogawa said.
"Now we face a dire choice between huge tax increases or hyperinflation
to help reduce, if not wipe out,
the debt that has already got out of control," he said.
But the last time the government raised taxes, in April 1997, the economy
sank into recession and took
the rest of Asia with it.
The alternative, printing more money, would reduce the value of savings
and force up prices, hurting
consumer demand and ultimately the economy.
Either way, Japanese purchases of everything from Italian suits to American-made
computers and Asian
commodities would suffer.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," said Matthew Poggi, an economist at Lehman Brothers (Japan) Ltd.
SCMP 2/4/00
Friday, February 4, 2000
Karmapa says freedom
necessary for religion
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Dharamsala
Updated at 5.30pm, Friday:
The teenage Tibetan leader who fled his homeland last month
said on Friday that freedom was necessary to practice
Buddhism's most important teaching - compassion.
The 14-year-old Karmapa began meeting non-Tibetans through
public audiences on Thursday, twice daily in a stark white
concrete hall at the Gyuto monastery, 30km south of
Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Dalai Lama.
Only a handful of foreigners, mostly Germans, joined the
Tibetan pilgrims to see the lama on Friday.
''The most important tenet of Tibetan Buddhist teaching is
compassion,'' an unsmiling Karmapa said through an
interpreter. ''But to try to practise this, one has to be free.''
He sat on a small stool beneath a giant portrait of the Dalai
Lama, the most important spiritual leader of the Tibetan
Buddhism.
He said he hopes that ''with the blessings of His Holiness [the
Dalai Lama], all the people of Tibet will soon be able to win
their freedom''.
The Karmapa's audience had been unexpected. Officials of the
Dalai Lama's administration had said he would not be making
any statement or public appearances during the Lunar New
Year.
He fled across the Himalayas a month ago in a daring escape
by road, horseback and foot. His presence in India is a political
problem for the New Delhi government in its relations with
China. India has not yet made any decision on the teenage
lama's status.
Before and after the audience, the Karmapa strolled on the roof
of the yellow and maroon monastery with other monks. He also
several times walked forward and greeted the crowd and
waved.
The Japanese government is setting up a council to consider
ways to
increase the birth rate.
Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and
the council
will be trying to tackle the serious economic implications.
At the moment there are six working people for every retired
person
but it's projected that by the year 2025 there will only
be two
workers for every pensioner, and this has raised concern
about the
future care of the elderly.
The BBC Tokyo correspondent says many people decide one
child is
enough while others aren't having children at all.
She says the recession and the expense of having a child
is part of
the reason but it's also because increasing numbers of
women have
full-time careers.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney
Equipment aboard a Hong Kong-controlled cargo ship which
attempted to
smuggle 69 illegal immigrants into Australia revealed
human
trafficking was becoming a growing international problem,
Australia's
Customs minister said yesterday.
Senator Amanda Vanstone said equipment, including satellite
telephones, showed people-smuggling was "organised by
people with
money and technical skills who are prepared to do anything
to make
dollars".
Senator Vanstone, who inspected the Ka Yuen at Sydney's
Garden Island
dock, described the general condition of the ship as "appalling".
The plan to bring the 69 immigrants to a new life was foiled
weeks
before the ship arrived.
Police began investigating after five people arriving in
Sydney from
Hong Kong on April 29 were found with nautical charts
and other
information.
The documents appeared to relate to an impending importation
into
Australia of illegal immigrants from Fujian.
Police allege that Jin Binpan, 29, Chuu Yu Chen, 38, and
Xin Chen, 32,
participated in buying a boat to meet the Ka Yuen to pick
up the
illegal immigrants.
They appeared in a Sydney court yesterday and were refused
bail. A
fourth man, Min Lin, was released on bail.
Federal agent Brian Healey described the operation as "quite
well
organised" and said investigations were continuing in
Sydney and
overseas.
"They had a 30-seater bus and vans ready to go," Mr Healey said.
The 69 immigrants, including one woman and a child, were
discovered in
an unlit cell, the size of a small living room, concealed
below the
ship's bridge.
The trip cost them A$25,000 (HK$129,925) each.
The only journalist to board the vessel described it as
"just
unbelievable - the conditions were not fit for a dog,
it was so
stifling and cramped".
Immigration officers are interviewing the illegal immigrants,
who will
be transferred to a detention centre at Port Hedland in
Western
Australia.
FROM THE GALLERY by DANNY GITTINGS
It was like a funeral in Legco. Outside the council building,
wreaths
were on display. Inside, there were no shortage of mourners
for the
start of the death of the rule of law.
The democrat camp did not quite succeed in co-ordinating
its funeral
dress code. Margaret Ng wanted no part of it. And unionist
Leung
Yiu-chung turned up in a blue shirt, unable to bear wearing
a suit,
even on such a serious occasion.
But it was still an impressive sight to see 18 of the mourning
legislators dressed in black, many also sporting white
carnations.
Most looked grimmer than at any time in their political
careers.
Emily Lau seemed close to tears. Ms Ng's voice quivered
with emotion
as she spoke. Martin Lee revealed he had thought about
going on hunger
strike.
He also added to the macabre atmosphere by quoting from
Shakespeare's
Macbeth. That brought an angry retort from Regina Ip,
who clearly
resented being compared to Lady Macbeth, as well as the
implication
that her hands were now dripping with blood.
While they were not dressed in black, the mood on the government
side
was almost as grim. Many seemed to wish they were somewhere
else, a
task Donald Tsang tried to achieve by absenting himself
for prolonged
periods.
Anson Chan did not have that luxury. Instead she kept her
head bowed
for much of the debate, her trademark "Cheshire Cat" grin
nowhere in
sight. When she did finally rise to speak, Mrs Chan laid
much stress
on the difficult nature of the decision, almost as if
subtly trying to
distance herself from it.
It was easy to get the impression, as Mr Lee had earlier
alleged, that
the officials involved harboured a guilty conscience.
When he and Ms
Ng delivered impassioned speeches, even Rita Fan leaned
forward and
listened intently. Elsewhere in the chamber, there was
a solemn
silence rather than the usual smiles and casual chit-chat.
Such unusual attentiveness suggested that, while the pro-government
voting fodder might loyally do its duty, even they knew
in their
hearts that the democrats were right this time.
The grim atmosphere was only briefly dispelled when the
issue of death
came to the fore yet again. Mr Lee warned that, while
he might die,
the rule of law must survive. But the DAB's Chan Kam-lan
got mixed up
and seemed to think Mr Lee was suggesting he would live
longer than
the legal process.
But it was always destined to be a one-sided debate, especially
after
the democrats walked out. That dispelled any doubt over
whether the
Government would prevail. But while it may have won the
vote, it was
difficult for anyone in the chamber to dispute that the
administration
had lost the argument.
Zhao For openly sympathizing with student demonstrators
in Tiananmen
Square, Zhao lost his freedom
May 19, 1999
Web posted at: 5:52 p.m. EDT (2152 GMT)
BEIJING (AP) -- After then-Communist Party leader Zhao
Ziyang
tearfully visited student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square
a decade
ago, he lost much more than his job at the top.
For sympathizing with the demonstrators and appearing publicly
with
them 10 years ago Wednesday, Zhao was stripped of his
freedom.
The 79-year-old Zhao now lives in forced seclusion without
the basic
rights of an ordinary citizen. Guards prevent even close
friends from
visiting, said a source who knows the family.
Confined to the same house for 10 years, Zhao endures "an
extremely
lonely situation," the source said, speaking on condition
of
anonymity.
Yet Zhao remains sharp and energetic, with his sense of
humor intact,
he said.
Zhao is allowed to leave Beijing occasionally for trips
to other parts
of China, giving him some chances to meet with other people,
the
source added. Mostly, however, he fills his days in Beijing
by
reading.
He plays golf about once a week, but police clear the course first.
Police in pairs patrol the narrow, twisting lanes of his
neighborhood,
a remnant of the old city of courtyard houses whose gray
walls and
closed red doors are about all that can be seen from the
street. The
quiet lane, with few cars or pedestrians, is immediately
west of
Wangfujing Street, one of Beijing's prime shopping areas.
At Zhao's compound, barbed wire is strung over the wall
and a soldier
stands in an elevated guard box that overlooks the lanes
and yard
below, not unlike a prison watchtower.
The government forbids Chinese and foreign journalists
from
interviewing Zhao.
VILIFIED, THEN IGNORED
Chinese newspapers and television, all controlled by the
Communist
Party and government, have largely ignored Zhao since
a campaign to
vilify him in the months after his ouster. Even when the
government
celebrated 20 years of economic reforms last year, a period
Zhao
helped launch as a chief aide to late leader Deng Xiaoping,
his name
went unmentioned.
Zhao joined the Communist Party at age 19 on the eve of
World War II.
In the late 1970s he pioneered reforms in southwestern
Sichuan
province, where he was party chief. After Deng came to
power in 1978,
he brought Zhao to Beijing and made him a member of the
policy-making
Politburo and later premier.
Zhao took the party's top post in 1987, becoming the most
powerful man
in China after Deng. It was a relatively open time in
China, when
liberal think tanks flourished in Beijing.
On May 19, 1989, after more than a month of democracy demonstrations
on Tiananmen Square that sometimes attracted up to 1 million
people,
Zhao visited students with tears in his eyes, signed autographs
and
urged them to abandon their hunger strike. "I came too
late," he said.
The next day, the government declared martial law. Troops
crushed the
protests on June 4, killing hundreds. Beijing has never
given a
credible death toll.
Zhao had opposed the decision, appealing instead for a
peaceful end to
the protests. He was accused by his Communist colleagues
of supporting
the students and damaging the party, and was then replaced
by current
party chief Jiang Zemin.
Members of the think tanks were arrested or went into hiding.
One of
Zhao's close aides, Bao Tong, was sentenced to seven years
in prison
and served the full term plus 11 months in detention.
The restrictions on Zhao's movements were tightened after
he wrote a
letter to Jiang during a major Communist Party congress
in 1997,
seeking a reversal of the official assessment that the
1989 democracy
movement was an anti-government rebellion, sources say.
Zhao's letter was circulated and reported outside China,
but never
acknowledged publicly by the government.
'A NONENTITY'
After so many years of isolation, "he's a nonentity," said
a Communist
Party official familiar with Zhao's security who also
spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Zhao would make a return to normal life and respected status
in the
Communist Party only if the leadership changed its view
of the 1989
demonstrations.
But the Communist Party and government have reached a correct
conclusion about the "political turmoil" in 1989, and
it "will never
be changed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao told
reporters at
a briefing Tuesday.
In a denial that the incident remains divisive a decade
later, he
added: "All Chinese people support this conclusion."
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
REUTERS in Manila
China pledged yesterday to ensure freedom of navigation
in the South
China Sea where it is in dispute with five other nations
over
ownership of several remote islands.
Beijing's ambassador in Manila, Fu Ying, said keeping the
sea -
regarded as one of the world's most vital shipping lanes
- free and
safe for navigation was in the interests of everyone,
including China,
Japan and the US.
Asked if China could guarantee freedom of navigation in
the area, she
replied: "Yes, certainly".
US officials said it was vital to keep the sea open in
the face of
territorial disputes involving China, Taiwan, Vietnam,
the
Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Tension flared in the area last year when Manila accused
Beijing of
building a potential military garrison on a reef in the
Spratly
Islands. Beijing claims the facilities are shelters for
fishermen.
"The international traffic lane in the South China Sea
is a very
important one," Ms Fu said.
"It's called one of the world's seven golden routes."
Tuesday May 18 1999
Beijing 'building on US neutron
secrets'
REUTERS in Washington
China is clearly building upon American technological
secrets to
expand its own weapons systems, according to a leading
lawmaker in
Washington.
The allegation was made by Representative Christopher Cox,
in charge
of a congressional report on the illegal transfer of US
technology to
China.
The Republican was responding to reports that China was
building a
new, mobile intercontinental nuclear missile based on
know-how from a
now-abandoned US "neutron" nuclear weapon, which officials
believe was
stolen by China.
"There is no question that what China is now doing is a
direct result
of what they have stolen from the United States," Mr Cox
claimed.
Other reports have said a study completed by Mr Cox's committee
in
January, which has yet to be publicly released, shows
China stole data
relating to several other missiles.
But China's Ambassador to the US, Li Zhaoxing , repeated
his country's
denials that Beijing had indulged in espionage.
"We have never stolen any so-called high-tech [secrets]
from the
United States," he said.
China did not have a policy or provision for stealing American
high-tech knowledge, he said.
But Mr Cox pointed to his findings that China had only
two long-range
missiles at the start of the decade but now had about
20, with some of
them aimed at the US.
Excerpts from Mr Cox's 700-page report are expected to
be released
soon.
He blamed the Clinton administration for leaking parts
of the study,
saying reports had been "heavily spun".
"The leaks are coming - rather obviously, I think - from
the
administration," he said.
"There is no reason we should treat this national security
information
as if it were some political football."
SUSAN SHIU
Pro-democracy activists staged a candlelit rally outside
the Central
Government Offices last night urging the Government not
to seek
re-interpretation of the Basic Law.
Earlier, representatives from the Hong Kong Federation
of Students
protested outside the government headquarters and called
for an open
debate with Tung Chee-hwa.
The protests came on the eve of today's Executive Council
meeting
which is expected to give the formal go-ahead to asking
the National
People's Congress Standing Committee to void the Court
of Final Appeal
abode ruling by redefining Article 24 of the Basic Law.
"The Government must never ask for an NPC interpretation
for the sake
of convenience," the students body said.
Yesterday morning, a coalition of women's groups submitted
a petition
backing the Government.
The petition was drawn up by the Hong Kong Federation of
Women and
jointly signed by 27 members' unions and more than 50
women's section
organisations.
Federation chairwoman Peggy Lam Pei Yu-dja said they were
opposed to
allowing children born out of wedlock to come to Hong
Kong.
"Family reunion is very important but a harmonious family
is far more
important," she said.
"I worked in the Family Planning Association and we worked
very hard
to keep population growth to 1.2 per cent a year. The
1.67 million new
migrants would increase the growth by three per cent a
year and no
country could handle the burden."
CHRIS YEUNG
Updated at 9.11pm:
Tung Chee-hwa and his top advisers took a controversial
decision on
Tuesday to seek a re-interpretation of Basic Law by the
National
People's Congress Standing Committee to prevent a massive
influx of
mainlanders.
The decision, announced by Chief Secretary Anson
Chan Fang On-sang to
legislators on Tuesday afternoon, was made amid strong
protests from
lawyers and pro-democracy activists.
Democratic Party leader Martin Lee described the
decision as a slap
in the face for the judiciary.
But Mr Tung told a news conference: "What we face
is a problem of
unplanned population growth, which Hong Kong as a society
will not be
able to bear.
''Besides the financial burden, we face the scenario of
possible
declining in living standards,'' he said.
And he denied the move would undermine the rule of
law, calling it
''the most effective'' way to solve the problem.
The final option was endorsed by the Executive Council,
Mrs Chan
said, after considering the pros and cons of three other
options:
giving abode rights to the 1.67 million people entitled
to them,
seeking another ruling by the Court of Final Appeal (CFA)
through a
different case or amending the Basic Law.
She said the Chief Executive would report to the
Central Government
to seek assistance and ask the NPC Standing Committee
for an
interpretation.
The Government is to seek interpretation over two
major provisions in
the Basic Law.
These are:
* Article 22 that requires approval from mainland
authorities over
entry of mainlanders into the
SAR.
* Article 24 that touches upon the abode rights
of children whose
parents have yet to obtain the
seven-year residency requirement.
Mrs Chan assured legislators the Government was extremely
concerned
about the rule of law and fully respected judicial independence.
The interpretation option would not undermine autonomy
or affect the
ruling made by the CFA at the end of January, she added.
The decision was difficult to make because there
is ''no precedent in
the world'' for a largely self-governing territory operating
within
another country. It was an ''exceptional case'' and would
not create a
precedent.
''I don't believe the chief executive will indiscriminately
ask the
Standing Committee to re-interpret any decision he does
not like,''
she said.
But Mr Lee said he thought the administration was
trying to teach
judges a lesson ''that 'you'd better be careful, you'd
better find out
what the views of the Chinese officials [are]'.''
''It's a slap in the face'', for the judges he said.
The announcement brought an immediate protest outside
the
legislature. Students burned copies of the Basic Law and
a dummy
coffin, which they said symbolised ''the death of the
rule of law''.
''The Hong Kong government is incompetent. The National
People's
Congress is shameless,'' they chanted.
A letter signed by 500 lawyers sent to Mr Tung on
Monday said: ''For
the executive to obtain a different result via re-interpretation
is to
use political means to set at naught the judicial process.''
Meanwhile, representatives from women's groups and
pro-Beijing unions
petitioned in support of the government plan.
The Legislative Council is to vote on the government's
plan on
Wednesday.
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (May 18, 1999 10:11 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com)
- A
publishing house scrapped plans Tuesday for a Japanese
translation of
"The Rape of Nanking," a U.S. best seller on Japan's wartime
atrocities in China.
The translation of American author Iris Chang's book had
been
scheduled to go on sale three months ago, but disputes
postponed its
release.
After Chang rejected proposed modifications, the publisher
threatened
to cancel publication unless she consented to the simultaneous
release
of another book challenging her evidence.
The Japanese publisher, Kashiwashobo Publishing Co., was
apparently
unable to obtain Chang's consent for publishing the books
together.
"The fundamental cause of the cancellation was that the
original book
depended heavily on prejudice and misunderstandings and
the author's
personal bias," Hiraku Haga, a senior editor at Kashiwashobo,
said in
a statement faxed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Chang said in an e-mail message to The Associated Press
that the
publisher's refusal to go ahead with her book "has left
me saddened
and deeply disappointed."
Her American publisher, Basic Books said it will begin
seeking another
Japanese publisher for the book.
"'The Rape of Nanking' is a fine book with important research
and
impassioned conviction, deserving publication in Japan,"
Basic Books'
John Donatich said in a statement.
Chang's book was published in the United States in 1997.
It describes Japan's 1937-38 capture of the eastern Chinese
city now
called Nanjing, during which many historians say soldiers
raped and
killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Rightists in Japan have accused Chang of twisting facts
and
exaggerating Japanese wartime actions in China. The book
also has been
targeted by academic journals and government officials
in Japan.
The Japanese publisher does plan to release the book which
it had
hoped to pair with Chang's work, "The Nanking Massacre
and the
Japanese: How to read 'The Rape of Nanking.'" It was co-authored
by
several Japanese experts who are critical of Chang's book.
The company said it also plans to publish another book
which
challenges Japanese historians who call the Rape of Nanking
a
fabrication.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In his new book, Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui urges
Beijing to
give up its nationalistic concept of a "Great China" and
divide the
country into several autonomous regions.
Mr Lee will unveil the book, Taiwan's Viewpoint, on Wednesday.
It describes his political viewpoints and experiences
dating back to
before he became president in 1988.
In excerpts published by the United Daily News at
the weekend, he
appears to take a tough stand against Beijing.
"Taiwan's democracy and its economic achievement
were the sole
efforts of Taiwanese," Mr Lee writes. "The Chinese communists
have
made no contributions, and, of course, have no right to
make any
claims on Taiwan."
Mr Lee, the first Taiwanese-born president, says
Taiwan and China
have come a long way from the civil war in the 1940s,
in which the
communists and Kuomintang fought for control on the mainland,
and he
says they have become two equal political entities.
In the book he calls on Chinese leaders to give autonomy
to Taiwan,
Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.
The President also wants a separate northeast region.
"What the Chinese communists should do is to give
up the binding
concept of a Great China and give autonomy to the regions
with
distinctive features," he writes.
"Let the regions co-operate and compete with each
other, and this
will help maintain stability within the country."
Mr Lee also reiterates his stand that there is no
need for Taiwan to
declare independence from China.
A formal declaration along with the adoption of a
new name would
endanger Taiwan's de facto independence, he writes.
China has threatened to use force against the island
if it declares
independence.
Taiwan can probably resist Beijing's efforts for
reunification with
mainland China with continued support from the United
States,
according to Mr Lee.
"The United States would not change its policy towards
Taiwan as long
as it does not detour from reality and as long as Taiwan
maintains its
strategic importance," he writes.
He also says it is up to China to improve its often
prickly relations
with Taiwan.
"If the Chinese communist leaders really care about
the welfare of
the mainland people, it must try to ease the tense relations
with
Taiwan," President Lee writes.
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press
BEIJING (May 16, 1999 12:23 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com)
-
NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
shows
that China should hasten the modernization of its armed
forces,
official media said Sunday.
China needs to hurry up and modernize its weaponry and
tactics in
order to "assiduously safeguard national sovereignty and
dignity," the
Communist Party's flagship People's Daily said on the
front page.
Particularly important is China's need to defend itself
against
high-tech weapons, the newspaper said.
The report indicates that China's generals have taken note
of the
devastation wrought by satellite-guided missiles and other
leading-edge military hardware employed by NATO in its
drive to bomb
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic into withdrawing
his forces from
Kosovo.
While not mentioning Kosovo, the article and similar ones
in the
military's Jiefang Daily follow official calls since the
attack for
all Chinese to redouble efforts to catch up with the West.
The embassy bombing outraged Chinese, many of whom reject
NATO's claim
that the bombing was an accident and instead view it as
the vanguard
of a U.S. campaign to humiliate and weaken China.
Enraged crowds stoned NATO countries' missions in a score
of Chinese
cities, trapping the American ambassador in his embassy
in Beijing for
four days and burning the home of the U.S. consul in the
western city
of Chengdu.
China has opposed the bombing campaign from the start,
arguing that it
is unlawful intervention in Yugoslavia's domestic affairs.
China is dealing with its own internal strife in Tibet
and Xinjiang -
territories where it is accused of repressing non-Chinese
native
populations.