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FBIS3-26439_0 | Leaders Attend Spring Festival Celebrations Jiang, Li Celebrate in Beijing | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, February 8 (XINHUA) -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival tonight with 20,000 Beijing citizens at the Great Hall of the People. The get-together of capital's soldiers and civilians was held to greet China's most important traditional festival, the Spring Festival, which falls on February 10 this year. In the building's Great Assembly Hall, dances, songs and acrobatics with characteristics of Chinese nationalities won waves of applause from the 10,000-strong audience. Puppet plays in the central hall on the ground floor fascinated thousands of children. "It is really funny," cried seven-year-old Yangyang to her parents. Peking opera fans reveled in the play "The Song of the Water-Dragon," part of the repertoire of the Beijing Peking Opera Theater. Celebrating the Spring Festival with the capital's citizens has long been a tradition for China's top leaders. When Jiang and Li entered the assembly hall, many people stood up to applaud and cheer. The capital has been permeated with the joyful sense of festival. Countless colorful flags flutter in the wind in daytime. The Tiananmen Square and commercial centers are ablaze with lights at night. |
FBIS3-26450_0 | Article Urges `Civilized' New Year Celebrations | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN ["Guangming Forum" by Shen Xunzhong (3088 6064 0112): "Establish a New Concept for the New Year"] [Text] With the improvement of people's material life, the significance of the New Year and the way people celebrate it also have changed. The overall trend of development is good, but there is no denying that some people have gone to bizarre lengths to celebrate their New Year, holding extravagant functions to cultivate social relations with a view to furthering their interests, or even pursuing illegal activities. In line with social progress, we must establish a new concept for the New Year. We must establish a new "thrifty New Year" concept. Recently, reform and opening up have raised people's living standards considerably and have increased their consumption power. A certain number of regions and people seem to have forgotten how all this came about and have become extravagant, holding banquets to celebrate the New Year and festivals, trying to outspend each other. This "nouveau riche" demeanor is absolutely wrong. We must see the rapid development of our economy, as well as the fact that there still are people who have not solved the problem of getting enough to eat and clothe themselves with, and that millions of students are unable to pay their tuition fees. Horizontally speaking, we still lag behind many countries. Vertically speaking, our foundation is not yet solid. Granted, we will be very rich in the future, but we still should uphold the good traditional morals of hardwork and thriftiness and the good style of arduous struggle. Individually, most of us earn our income through toil. Throwing away the money earned through daily labor on a spending spree is unfortunate, unnecessary, and not worth it. We must establish a new "stay-clean" New Year concept. During the Spring Festival, it is only normal for units to visit each other to boost relations, and for individuals to visit relatives to renew and strengthen friendship. A few units and individuals, however, may give gifts under the cover of the festive season and at the expense of the state or may bribe people under the cover of social calls, to the extent of breaking the law. This is abnormal and must be halted firmly. Encouraging clean government is part of the agenda of socialist spiritual civilization and must be pursued through unyielding efforts. During the Spring Festival, the broad mass of |
FBIS3-26451_0 | New Rules Set for Foreigners' Religious Activities | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, February 5 (XINHUA) -- China's State Council recently promulgated two groups of regulations on religious services in China. Signed by Premier Li Peng, the two series of regulations -- on "The Management of Foreign People's Religious Activities in China" and on the "Management of the Places of Religious Activities" -- took effect on January 31. The first group noted that China respects foreign people's freedom of religious belief in the country and it protects foreign religious people's friendly exchanges and cultural and academic exchanges in religion with Chinese counterparts. It noted that foreign people can go to China's religious places, including temples, mosques and churches, to participate in religious activities. They can preach at religious places in China at the invitation of the religious organizations at and above provincial level and they can hold religious activities participated by foreigners at places which are recognized by the religious administrative departments of the government at and above county level. Foreign people in China can invite Chinese religious people to hold religious ceremonies for them, including baptism, wedding, funeral ceremony and Taoist and Buddhist rites. The regulations noted that foreign people who enter China can bring with them religious printed matters, religious recordings and video tapes and other religious matters for their own uses. Materials which are more than for their own uses should be handled by Chinese customs offices according to relevant regulations. Entry of religious materials which have contents harmful to China's social public interests is banned. The 13-article regulations stressed that foreign people should abide by China's laws and regulations in their religious activities in China. They cannot set up religious organizations, set up religious offices or run religious places and schools in China. Foreign religious people must not cultivate religious disciples among Chinese citizens and appoint religious clergy. The second group of regulations, with 20 articles, is intended to improve management of religious places in China. The regulations said that setting up of religious places should be subject to registration. Religious places should be managed by their own managing organizations. The legitimate rights and interests and normal religious activities of the places are protected by law and no organizations and individuals should infringe upon and interfere in the legitimate rights and the normal activities. Laws and regulations should be observed when religious activities are held in religious places. No people are allowed to |
FBIS3-26458_0 | Reports on Guangdong's Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant Commentator Hails Startup | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [Commentator's article: "A Rich Fruit of Reform and Opening Up -- Congratulating the Start of Commercial Operations by the No. 1 Generating Unit of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station"] [Text] The Spring Festival is just around the corner, and inspiring good news has come from the Daya Bay nuclear station in the south of the motherland: The No. 1 generating unit has officially been put into commercial operation, the commissioning of the No. 2 generating unit is progressing smoothly, and the entire project will be completed and put into operation this year. This is an important achievement in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear technology in our country, and is a rich fruit of our reform and opening up. It will have an important and far-reaching impact, not only on promoting the economic prosperity of Guangdong and Hong Kong, but also on the further development of nuclear undertakings in our country. The Daya Bay nuclear power station is the product of reform and opening up. With the direct concern of Comrade Deng Xiaoping and the CPC Central Committee, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as its core, the construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station has adhered to the policy of reform and opening up, has opened up a new path for making use of foreign funds to build large basic industrial projects, and also has made useful attempts at the establishment of a modern enterprise system. At each crucial moment, leading comrades of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have given it concern and support, and have solved a series of important problems so that the entire project could progress smoothly. Local governments and departments concerned have done a great deal of work and have supported all aspects of the construction of the nuclear power plant. The successful construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station is the result of giving play to the enthusiasm of the central authorities and of the local governments, as well as the result of the concerted efforts of all quarters concerned across the country. In the entire course of the construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station, the principles of "quality first and safety first" have been adhered to. Over one thousand nuclear power specialists and engineering technical personnel from more than 20 countries and regions have cooperated closely. The plant has absorbed the |
FBIS3-26458_1 | Reports on Guangdong's Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant Commentator Hails Startup | station has adhered to the policy of reform and opening up, has opened up a new path for making use of foreign funds to build large basic industrial projects, and also has made useful attempts at the establishment of a modern enterprise system. At each crucial moment, leading comrades of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have given it concern and support, and have solved a series of important problems so that the entire project could progress smoothly. Local governments and departments concerned have done a great deal of work and have supported all aspects of the construction of the nuclear power plant. The successful construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station is the result of giving play to the enthusiasm of the central authorities and of the local governments, as well as the result of the concerted efforts of all quarters concerned across the country. In the entire course of the construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station, the principles of "quality first and safety first" have been adhered to. Over one thousand nuclear power specialists and engineering technical personnel from more than 20 countries and regions have cooperated closely. The plant has absorbed the experience of, and has drawn lessons from nuclear power construction projects abroad. It has followed international safety standards and codes, and has established strict quality supervision and guarantee systems. It also has undergone safety assessments and examinations by state and international atomic energy organizations and specialists. Therefore, the project quality and operational safety of the nuclear power station is ensured. Nuclear power is a safe, clean, and economical energy source. China's energy resources are abundant, but they are not evenly distributed. In particular, the comparative shortage of energy resources in the economically developed southeast coastal areas has constituted a "bottleneck" that is constraining economic development. Therefore, while making great efforts to develop thermal and hydropower, the appropriate development of nuclear power in accordance with local conditions is an important way to solve the energy-shortage problem in these areas. At present, China has made a good start in developing nuclear power. The 300,000 kW Qinshan nuclear power station has been operating safely and steadily for more than one year and has reached the design load factor index two years ahead of schedule. After the Nos. 1 and 2 generating units of the Daya Bay nuclear power station are all completed and |
FBIS3-26472_1 | Article Views Reform of State-Owned Enterprises | than the 314-percent growth rate marked by collective enterprises and the growth rate of enterprises in other categories, whose taxable profits multiplied 33.5 times. Some state-owned enterprises even found it hard to make further development and a large number of state-owned enterprises in some trades incurred business losses to a serious degree. Of course, the difficult conditions in which the state-owned enterprises are now bogged down were caused by the problems of the long-standing monolithic planned economy. It is still undeniable that the heavy historical burden borne by the state-owned enterprises is also a major reason why it is so hard for the huge dragon to soar vigorously. How do we unload the burden? The only option is reform and problems should be solved by both the state and the enterprises themselves. According to expert analysis, the historical burden carried by the state-owned enterprises includes four major parts, namely: The debt burden; insufficient accumulation for paying retirement pensions to old workers; transfers of redundant personnel, their unemployment and reemployment; and the social welfare undertakings run by the enterprises. It is necessary to relieve the state-owned enterprises of their historical burdens and create necessary conditions for the innovation of their management system. This top-priority issue is to rationalize and adjust the asset-liability structure of the enterprises and thus relieve them of their debt burdens in order to enable them to join the fair competition in the market. The current measure for achieving this purpose is to change the loans offered to the enterprises in place of government appropriations into state investments according to certain limits and proportions, thus increasing the state assets in the enterprises. Debts in other forms may also be changed into stock rights in different ways. Efforts should be made to seek some new ways to raise and distribute funds for worker's retirement pensions and other labor insurance compensations through some insurance institutions in society, thus solving the state-owned enterprises' difficulties in paying pensions to retired workers. In the course of auctioning and merging enterprises and transforming the enterprise property rights system, a certain proportion of assets in the state-owned enterprises can be used to keep a social security fund. This method can be used on a trial basis. Thus, the burden on the back of the enterprise can be unloaded and workers can be freed from concern over their livelihood after retirement. Overstaffing is another problem caused |
FBIS3-26495_1 | Delegate Stresses Economic Work at UN Human Rights Meeting | noted that given the past experiences, the realization of the right to development is more difficult than the universal recognition of such right. "While the obstacles to the realization of the right to development are various, more attention should be paid to the elimination of the most important ones," he stressed. "We are of the view that the working group should give priority consideration to the elimination of those obstacles affecting peace and stability in all countries, since economic, social, cultural and political development of a country requires a peaceful and stable domestic and international environment." He pointed out that attention should be paid to the elimination of those obstacles which affect cooperation among states on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Judging from history and present reality, he said, the unbalance in development between developing and developed countries is mainly caused by the unfair and unjust international economic order, while the attachment of unreasonable conditions to economic cooperation and trade by some developed countries has aggravated the difficulties faced by the developing countries in development. With respect to the relationship between democracy and development, the Chinese delegate expressed the view that development, democracy and human rights are mutually complementary and mutually reinforcing. "While political democracy, full respect of human rights of people and perfection of rule of law are beneficial to economic and social development, economic development could relieve people of their poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, etc., thus creating necessary conditions for the full and better enjoyment of all human rights by the people," he added. "Based on its own experience of reform and opening to the outside world, China realizes that to achieve a steady and sustainable development of the economy and ensure the full enjoyment of the benefit of development by the people, a country has to first of all maintain its national and social stability." "It is only under this precondition can a country concentrate on developing its economy, raising the living standard of its people, strengthening democracy and rule of law," he declared. "Any unbalanced emphasis on one factor to the neglect of another and any attempt to copy the development strategies and political models of others which do not fit the conditions of the country will bring unfavorable consequences to the realization of the right to development and the full enjoyment of various human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people," Pang said. |
FBIS3-26496_2 | Daily Views Background for Lifting U.S. Trade Sanctions | pressure, the Bush administration announced in February 1992 a partial lifting of trade sanctions against Vietnam; meanwhile, it also lifted bans prohibiting U.S. enterprises from establishing representative offices in Vietnam as well as signing contracts with Vietnam. U.S. enterprise circles immediately responded to the call. In no time, two world-famous companies -- Whirlpool and Compaq -- had signed contracts with Vietnam on selling computers and other products to Vietnam. Companies like Lockheed [luo ke xi de 3157 0344 1585 1795], Goldman Sachs [ge de man sa ke si 2047 1795 2581 5646 0344 2448] and Coca-Cola also were unwilling to lag behind; one after another they sought business opportunities in Vietnam. However, the new Clinton administration was not eager to improve U.S. ties with Vietnam. Clinton once indicated in clear-cut terms that the trade embargo would not be lifted before "substantial" headway had been made in the search for U.S. servicemen missing in action. This position has deterred U.S. enterprises from investing in Vietnam, and all contracts already signed between the two sides were subject to the additional condition that they could take effect only after the overall lifting of trade sanctions. In the face of increasingly intensified global economic and trade wars, however, the United States has become more and more reluctant to give up the huge Vietnamese market, and it began to quicken its steps toward reconciliation with Vietnam. Last year, some U.S. congressmen and government officials visited Vietnam, and they reaffirmed the efforts Vietnam had made in helping investigate the whereabouts of missing U.S. military personnel. Since the beginning of this year, the United States has sent to Vietnam nearly 10 delegations from Congress, military organs, and enterprise circles. Charles Larson, chief of the U.S. Pacific command, visited Vietnam on 16 January. He is the highest-ranking U.S. officer ever to visit Vietnam since the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1975. Public opinion believed that the U.S. plan to lift trade sanctions against Vietnam was in the run-up. On 27 January, the U.S. Senate passed a bill, with 62 votes for and 38 against, urging the government to lift the trade embargo against Vietnam. The result of the vote meant a cardiac stimulant to Clinton, for it enabled him to deal with the strong resentment of U.S. veterans' groups with perfect assurance. Conditions for the lifting of trade sanctions against Vietnam finally became ripe. |
FBIS3-26503_0 | President Begins Private Visit to Southeast Asian Countries | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Debbie Kuo] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) -- President Li Teng-hui departed Wednesday [9 February] morning for Southeast Asia, embarking on a week-long private vacation journey to the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. In his unofficial visit to Subic Bay, the first leg of the trip, Li will meet Philippine President Fidel Ramos over a luncheon and visit the bay area, where a major industrial processing zone exclusively for Taiwan investors will soon be developed. Li and his entourage, which includes Foreign Affairs Minister Fredrick Chien [Chien Fu], chief economic planner Hsiao Wan-chang, and some business leaders, will arrive Wednesday evening in Bali, Indonesia where they will stay for a five-day vacation. An unofficial meeting with President Suharto is part of Li's itinerary in Indonesia. Li will also meet with Indonesian Research and Technology Minister Jusuf Bacharuddin Habibie for talks focusing on the development of Batam, an island south of Singapore which Jakarta is developing as an industrial zone. Li, his wife and party are scheduled to leave Bali and travel to Phuket in Thailand on Feb. 14 for a two-day visit. The president's economically significant vacation trip is scheduled to end on Feb. 16. The presidential office has given low-key treatment to Li's "southern trip", apparently to shield the three Southeast Asian countries from any diplomatic embarrassment they might suffer because of their official links with Beijing. |
FBIS3-26508_0 | Malaysia Top ASEAN Target for Investors | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Debbie Kuo] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) -- Taiwan investments in Malaysia through last year totaled US$5.915 billion, making the country the favorite target of Taiwan investors in Southeast Asia, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported Tuesday [8 February]. Taiwan was the second largest foreign investor in Malaysia behind Japan, an official of the ministry's Industrial Development and Investment Center (IDIC) said. In 1993 alone, Taiwan businesses invested US$346.50 million in 86 projects in Malaysia, most involving electronics and electrical appliance manufacturing, wood processing, textiles and rubber processing. Although Taiwan investments in Singapore totaled US$562 million, most of that came from Republic of China [ROC] nationals meeting an investment prerequisite for Singapore immigration purposes, the IDIC official said. Vietnam, an up-and-coming favorite of Taiwan investors, absorbed 47 investments worth US$436.54 million from Taiwan last year. Through 1993, Taiwan was the No. 1 foreign investor in Vietnam with investments totaling more than US$1.531 billion. The investments focused on footwear manufacturing and foodstuff, building material, textiles, and wood processing industries, the official added. |
FBIS3-26511_23 | Shanghai Secretary Discusses Development Topic of Conversation One: What Mode of Thinking Has Shanghai Adopted in Its Operations? Topic Two of the Conversation: Shanghai's Reform at Its Own Expense and With the Initiative in Its Own Hands Under the Prerequisite of Three Guarantees Topic Three of the Conversation: How the Organizational Form of an Enterprise Meets the Requirements of the Modernization Drive Topic Four: The Formation of the Great Ideas and Their Impact on Shanghai's Development | idea about developments in the rural areas. [Zheng] You mentioned the question of pooling the wisdom of the masses. This reminds me of something I have pondered all the time: Shanghai has been making tremendous achievement based on great ideas. The great ideas are, I believe, the result of the efforts of the current municipal party and government leaders, who have not only carried forward the thinking of their predecessors but also enriched and developed them. I mentioned this in my interview with Wang Liping, Chen Liangyu, Xia Keqiang, and other leaders. They had the same feeling. [Wu] This is an important point. Huang Ju and I have learned much from our predecessors during the 11 years of service here. As deputies, we took part in the formulation of Shanghai's major policy decisions and development blueprints. Many of the measures announced today were not formed overnight; they were the crystallization of the wisdom of past leaders. Comrades Zemin [Jiang Zemin] and Rongji [Zhu Rongji], in particular, dedicated their painstaking efforts and wisdom to lay down a strong work foundation. In the new situation, there will certainly be changes and development. However, we still pay attention to maintaining stability and continuity. The great ideas you mentioned also incorporate another element: We have always upheld the building of spiritual civilization to maintain a fine social atmosphere. This was also the traditional thinking of Shanghai's past leadership. We must be responsible for our next generation. How can we live in a society where parents are always worried about their children away from home. We must safeguard social stability. We will not be able to accomplish anything in a turbulent society. Ordinary citizens will be the ultimate victims. The municipal party committee has decided to ban horse racing, bar girls, gambling, and beauty contests. Some people accused me of being on the left. Actually I am being responsible to the people. No one can control the situation once social atmosphere is corrupted. Things like that, if allowed to develop, will create an underworld, which will produce incurable maladies and exert corrosive effects on party and government organs. If society is in disorder and social atmosphere is corrupt, ordinary citizens will complain and curse you even if the economy is in good shape. A foreign businessman told me he was not afraid of carrying some money and walking on Shanghai's streets at night. Maintaining social |
FBIS3-26549_0 | Prisoners Celebrate Spring Festival Eve | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, February 9 (XINHUA) -- The 2,700 inmates of Beijing No. 2 prison, in an eastern suburb of the capital, are today celebrating in their own ways the eve of the Spring Festival, China's most important traditional holiday. At 9:30 in the morning, 149 prisoners in a large classroom received presents of fruit and light refreshments from the prison. They were "well reformed inmates" who were sentenced to more than ten years in jail but had not been visited by any family members for a long time, or prisoners suffering from bad health, said a spokesman for the prison. Wu Zhongjun, 51, was sentenced to 15 years' jail for murdering his wife. His two sons had never been to the prison to visit him. He sobbed as he held the presents, and said: "I'm grateful for the care of the government, and I will reform myself here to reduce my prison term." At 10 a.m., another 55 "well reformed inmates" who have served more than half their terms were in new clothes and shoes which their families had brought them. They were waiting at the reception section for their families to take them home on parole for the three-day spring festival. These "home-leave" prisoners had been selected by the inmates themselves for good behavior or meritorious service, said the prison spokesman. Prison Deputy-Governor Li Jinghai exhorted them again and again at the farewell meeting not to make mistakes or commit any crimes and to return to the jail on time. He also warned them not to light fireworks or crackers, according to the ban brought in on December 1 last year by the Beijing municipal government. "More than 400 inmates of this kind have been granted such holidays since 1992," said Li. "No one escaped or committed any offences, and all have returned on time." At 11:30, the third batch of 84 well reformed prisoners received their family members and dined with them at the prison's guest-house. Spouses will be allowed to stay here for one day with the prisoners. Wu Duowei, 34, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for blackmail. His three-year-old son Wu Qiong has not been estranged from him, because his wife and the little boy have visited him once a month for the past three years. Wu Qiong insisted that his father should feed him at the "family dinner." The |
FBIS3-26581_8 | Chen Junsheng Discusses Peasants' Income | assisting the poor. Presently some 80 million people in rural areas still do not have enough to eat and wear. Without solving the problem of food and clothing for this segment of the population, it will be difficult to realize prosperity in the entire country. To solve the problem, the State Council has decided to draw up and implement a "seven-year cardinal program to help the 80 million poor." Under the program, in the seven years beginning in 1994 until the end of this century, the state will concentrate primary resources on helping this segment of the population find enough to eat and wear, thus becoming better off. Aid-to-the-poor work in the next phase should be carried out in close conjunction with the formulation and implementation of the "seven-year program." First, it is necessary to earnestly review aid to the poor, and to study and work out new methods and measures for helping the poor under the new situation. Second, it is necessary to perfect various policy measures and increase the input in assisting the poor. Third, it is necessary to concentrate funds and materials for helping the poor by rationalizing the geographical distribution of aid-to-the-poor funds to gradually concentrate the central government's funds in the poorest central and western regions. [Wang] You have just mentioned an increase in the purchase price of farm products as deemed necessary this year. What are the principles for deciding the increase margin? [Chen] The increase in the purchase price of farm products will be based mainly on four principles: 1) The increase can offset the increased cost in grain and cotton production caused by price increases in agricultural production means and all other commodities. 2) It can somehow increase the peasants' incomes. 3) It can maintain a rational disparity between grain and cotton prices. 4) It is compatible with the general price index of retail sales. A grain risk fund shall be established at both central and local levels to facilitate the smooth implementation of price increase proposals. Through increasing the purchase price, we shall gradually reduce the price gap between manufactured and farm products, and shall help some grain- and cotton-producing provinces (regions) solve once and for all the problems of more output and more deficits. By giving subsidies, we shall also help remote and poor regions overcome hardships caused by long-distance transportation of increase-priced grain and cotton. [Wang] Could you discuss |
FBIS3-26583_2 | CAS President Discusses Cross-Strait Cooperation | of the world's rare earth resources are in the Mainland. However, the Mainland still has a lot of catching up to do in developing technologies for exploiting and applying rare earth elements, while Taiwan has strong production and applied mechanical and electrical technologies. He said: Taiwan has many electrical manufacturers. If they use rare earth to produce electrical products, the performance of their products will be even better. Suffering from the lack of raw and semifinished materials on Taiwan, these manufacturers are not able to give full play to their strong points. As for steel materials, Taiwan's steel output has increased by a large margin in recent years. The annual output of the "China Steel Corporation" on Taiwan currently exceeds 6 million tonnes, and it is marching toward the goal of 9 million tonnes. Nevertheless, the market on the island is quite small after all and its development potential is limited. On the other hand, the Mainland's broad market and abundant raw and semifinished materials represent an advantage for development. Therefore, the two sides need to further cooperate with each other. Speaking on the present situation and prospects for cross-strait cooperation, Zhou Guangzhao pointed out: At present, some Taiwan industries depend heavily on foreign countries. A number of persons with insight on Taiwan hope to find cooperation partners on the Mainland to reduce dependence on foreign countries. He said: The two sides should work hand in hand to develope some technological industries. Again, he took rare earth as an example and said: The two sides are intensifying efforts to develop industries in this field. It will absolutely help accelerate development if they can make good use of their strong points, strengthen cooperation, and complement each other with their own advantages. Zhou Guangzhao said: Some progress has now been made in scientific and technological exchanges between the two sides. Quite a few Taiwan researchers have visited the Mainland and conduct exchanges. This time Mainland scientists were invited to visit Taiwan. These visits and exchanges promote understanding. Moreover, many cross-strait science and technology [S&T] cooperation projects are underway in communications, radiation synchrotrons, and marine science. The range for cooperation is very broad, including basic theory, applications of technology, industrial development, and even nuclear science and technology. In conclusion, he said: Under the premise of mutual benefit and reciprocity, we will make efforts to promote further cooperation between S&T circles from both sides. |
FBIS3-26585_3 | Yunnan Secretary Views Township, Town Enterprises | be summed up because they are not general experiences which are universally applicable. Rather, we must proceed from local conditions to sum up unique, rational, and regularized experience so as to guide future work and practices. This helps some cadres and people overcome the thinking of "being content with small improvements" and "being satisfied with small wealth," so that they will be more willing and capable to run township and town enterprises. Pu Chaozhu said: The situation is very good and the opportunity is hard to come by. We must take the opportunity to speed up the development of township and town enterprises. He said: As far as the large development opportunity is concerned, the old pattern of two superpowers' domination of the world was broken but a new multipolar pattern has not taken shape, peace and development is the main trend of the world, and we can have a relatively long period of international peace to develop ourselves. In our country, the economy is prosperous, nationalities are united, and our society is stable. This is an opportunity of joint development shared by the whole country and the whole province. As the provincial capital city, Kunming has its own unique opportunity and superiority: First, Kunming is the central city of Yunnan, with 40 percent of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises and 70 percent of colleges and universities located there. In short, Kunming is the political, economic, scientific and technological, and cultural center of the whole province, thus creating extremely favorable conditions for combining urban areas with rural areas in accelerating the development of township and town enterprises. This is called the superiority of developing comprehensive industries in comprehensive cities. Second, there is marked superiority in the location of the city. Five railways destined for coastal areas, Beijing, and Vietnam are linked to Kunming, six main highways in the province start from Kunming, and Kunming Airport is being built into an international airport. In short, Kunming has become the hub of communications and the center of commodity distribution for those who want to enter Southeast Asia and South Asia from Southwest China. As long as we orient toward the 1 billion-strong large market in Southeast Asia and South Asia while relying on the 1 billion-strong large domestic market, we have very bright prospects of developing an export-oriented economy. To develop a commodity economy we must first have a market. Third, cheap |
FBIS3-26597_0 | Security Ministry Views Antinarcotic Talks With U.S. | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed article: "China, US Team Up in Drug Control"] [Text] China and the United States have agreed to join efforts to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration, according to officials of the Ministry of Public Security. The agreement was signed by Bai Jingfu, vice-minister of Public Security and vice-director of the National Narcotics Control Committee and Robert Gelbard, the US Assistant Secretary of State for international narcotics affairs. Through their talks on January 25 in Beijing, Bai and Gelbard exchanged views on how to solve the international narcotics problems, especially the sources in Asia, such as the notorious "Golden Triangle." The two sides agreed on the need to strengthen their cooperation in fighting drug crimes. The Chinese side expressed its hope that the United States would remove barriers impeding the two nations from working together to stop the international drug trade. Gelbard said the United States needs to work out new laws for curbing the increasing drug crimes. During his stay in Beijing, Gelbard also held talks with Zhang Hongxi, director of the Consular Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry, on illegal immigration. While briefing Gelbard on various factors that cause smuggling and illegal immigration and the steps China has taken to combat these kinds of illegal activities, Zhang reiterated China's opposition to such activities. He also asked the United States to clamp down on the "snakeheads," who have been found to be involved in smuggling Chinese people to the United States. He added that while the United States grants asylum to these smugglers who falsely claim that they are fleeing political persecution in China, it is encouraging such kind of smuggling. Gelbard said his talks with the Chinese officials on both problems were satisfactory, and he and his Chinese counterparts' opinions on the matter were "very much along the same line." Gelbard also visited China's Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces after leaving Beijing. |
FBIS3-26609_1 | Jiangsu Province Carries out `Practical' Tasks | well as village and town enterprises, and 108 provincial-level enterprise groups were formed. The pace of market construction quickened, resulting in the establishment of 63 markets for production factors, 138 markets for the means of production, and 250 wholesale markets for agricultural, sideline, and industrial products across the province. Six of these markets registered a business volume of more than 1 billion yuan. Ten provincial-level, wholesale commodity markets were established, overfulfilling the task by 100 percent. Progress was made in encouraging foreign-funded or joint-venture banks to set up branches in Jiangsu. Changzhou and Huiyin cities carried out experiments in balance sheet ratio management. The export-oriented economy maintained vigorous growth, taking in $5.97 billion in export-generated foreign exchange for the entire year. A total of 10,248 new wholly or partly foreign-owned enterprises were approved, $2.84 billion in foreign capital was actually put to use, $330 million worth of new labor service contracts were signed, and $260 million worth of business was conducted, all of which represent an overfulfillment of relevant tasks. A total of 210 overseas nontrading enterprises were organized, which means 130 percent of the plan was completed. Significant progress was made in infrastructure construction, such as transportation, energy, and communications, to solve "bottlenecks" in the province's economic development. Preliminary work on the new Nanjing Airport was basically completed, and the annual tasks regarding land requisition, demolition, and relocation were completed. Remodeling and expansion projects at the Xuzhou and Yancheng Airports were completed satisfactorily. The Jiangsu Airlines opened new routes to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. The work of land requisition, demolition, and relocation along the entire Shanghai-Nanjing expressway was completed, and the annual plan for roadbed earthwork and stonework, culverts, and bridges was fulfilled. Preparations for the initial stage of the Jiangyin Changjiang Bridge proceeded smoothly. [passage omitted] Satisfactory results were achieved in key scientific and technological projects, new product development, and major technical transformation projects. Good progress was made in 20 key scientific and technological projects, some of which yielded positive results. The tasks to implement 166 projects at or above the provincial-level under the Torch Program, as well as to verify 181 new and high-technology enterprises and 3,000 provincial-level new scientific and technological products, were overfulfilled. Smooth progress was made in 10 key industrial experimental projects, and the plans for launching 100 major projects to develop new products and 100 key technical transformation projects were either |
FBIS3-26639_1 | XINHUA Note Regulations | of places of religious activities to carry out activities that undermine national unification, national unity, and social stability; that harm the health of citizens; and that hinder the country's educational system. Places of religious activities shall not be under the control of organizations or individuals outside China. Article 5. Both the permanently stationed personnel of places of religious activities and those personnel from outside who stay on a temporary basis shall abide by the state regulations on the management of household registration. Article 6. Places of religious activities may receive alms, contributions, and other subsidies voluntarily donated by religious believers. Donations from overseas religious organizations and individuals received by places of religious activities shall be disposed of according to the country's relevant regulations. Article 7. The managing organizations of places of religious activities may sell religious ware, artistic goods, books, and magazines within the premises according to the country's relevant stipulations. Article 8. The property and income of places of religious activities shall be managed and used by their managing organizations. No unit or individual is permitted to possess them or use them without compensation. Article 9. When a place of religious activities is terminated or merges, a report for the record shall be submitted to the organ where it was registered, and its property shall be disposed of according to the country's relevant regulations. Article 10. The managing organizations of places of religious activities, or other religious organizations affiliated with such places, shall obtain licenses in accordance with relevant state provisions to manage and use their land, wooded mountains, and houses. The state shall requisition land, wooded mountains, and houses managed and used by places of religious activities in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Land Management" and other relevant state provisions. Article 11. Relevant units and individuals who carry out such activities as rebuilding structures, erecting new buildings, setting up commercial or service outlets, holding shows and exhibitions, and filming movies or television shows within the areas managed by places of religious activities must obtain the consent of the managing organizations of such places and the religious affairs departments of people's governments at or above the county level before attending to formalities at relevant departments. Article 12. Places of religious activities designated as units for the protection of cultural relics, or those located at scenic spots, shall manage and protect cultural relics, as |
FBIS3-26641_1 | XINHUA Notes Regulations | by foreigners at places recognized by the religious affairs departments of people's governments at or above the county level. Article 5. Foreign nationals may invite Chinese clergy to hold religious ceremonies for them, such as baptism, weddings, funerals, and Taoist and Buddhist rites, within the boundaries of China. Article 6. Foreign nationals entering Chinese territory may bring with them religious printed matter, religious recordings and video tapes, and other religious articles for their own use. If an amount of these same items in excess of what is required for personal use is brought in, it shall be handled in accordance with relevant Chinese customs provisions. No religious printed matter, recordings, and video tapes whose contents are harmful to public interests in Chinese society shall be allowed to enter. Article 7. Foreign nationals who recruit students for training for religious clergy posts within the boundaries of China, or those who attend or lecture at religious schools in China, shall proceed in accordance with China's relevant provisions. Article 8. Foreign nationals who carry out religious activities within the boundaries of China shall abide by China's laws and regulations. They may not set up religious organizations, religious offices, places of religious activities, or religious schools within the boundaries of China, nor shall they cultivate disciples, appoint religious clergy, and carry out other missionary activities among Chinese citizens. Article 9. If foreign nationals carry out religious activities in violation of these provisions, the religious affairs departments of people's governments at or above the county level and other relevant departments shall dissuade or stop them from carrying out such activities. If the activities violate the management of entry and exit of foreign nationals or public security management, public security organs shall mete out punishment in accordance with the law. If the activities constitute crimes, judicial organs shall determine criminal liability in accordance with the law. Article 10. These provisions shall apply to religious activities carried out by foreign organizations within the boundaries of the PRC. Article 11. Religious activities carried out within the boundaries of China by Chinese citizens living abroad, as well as those carried out by Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao residents on the mainland, shall be handled with reference to these provisions. Article 12. The Religious Affairs Department under the State Council shall be responsible for interpreting these provisions. Article 13. These provisions shall take effect on the date of their promulgation. |
FBIS3-26651_0 | Article Reviews Twenty Unsettled Major Cases | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By Chuan Hsun-che (0278 6061 5074): "Twenty Unsettled Major Cases That the CPC Has Failed to Crack"] [Text]Rewards Ranging From 50,000 to 250,000 Yuan Offered for Cracking Cases Did the society of China's mainland witness a peaceful and stable year in 1993? Ten major unsettled criminal cases of the whole year have given an answer to this question. These 10 major cases include damage done to, or attempts to damage, airports and bridges, and the discovery of inflammable matter in the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and on the Tiananmen Rostrum. All these cases have shocked Zhongnanhai. No matter whether or not they are of a political or nonpolitical nature, or whether or not they reflect the complaints of the people or give vent to personal spite, they all show that the society is not without trouble at all. Of course, millions upon millions of people who suffered under the rule of Mao Zedong will not erase their bitter hatred for Mao from their minds. The Ministry of Public Security issued a special document "10 Major Unsettled Criminal Cases and 10 Major Unsettled Economic Cases in 1993" to the public security departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China on 5 January and urged all public security departments (bureaus) to strengthen cooperation, crack unsettled serious cases as soon as possible, and commend and award personnel who render meritorious service in cracking cases. It is learned that rewards offered for cracking unsettled cases range from 50,000 to 250,000 yuan and personnel who have rendered meritorious service in cracking cases will be promoted one or two grades. Ten Major Unsettled Criminal Cases The 10 unsettled major criminal cases in 1993 are as follows: 1. On 7 February, a section of 0.5 km of railway track of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway line near Hami, Xinjiang, was damaged and a train derailed resulting in a loss of over 2.2 million and the death of six train crew. 2. On 12 February, a detachment of 12 public security forest patrol guards were attacked by some armed bandits in the Qingan area, Xiaoxinganling, Heilongjiang, and seven of the guards were killed. To date, the whereabouts of the bandits are still unknown. 3. On 3 April, the military warehouse of a certain unit in Huainan City, Anhui Province, was burned and damaged. Three armed policemen were killed and their guns were taken |
FBIS3-26655_1 | UK Scholar Links Fates of Li Peng, Three Gorges | four billion US dollars. Political analysts say his future will be cast in doubt in the power struggle that is certain to emerge in Beijing after the death of China's present senior leader Deng Xiaoping, who is 89. Once mooted by Mao Zedong, the Three Gorges project was approved by China's parliament, the National People's Congress, in 1992, a year after devastating floods swept the fertile lower half of the Chang Jiang. So big is its size -- 185 meters (yards) high by nearly two kilometers (1-1/4 miles) wide -- that O'Reilly called it "the last Stalinist infrastructure project" in the world. In political terms, Beijing is looking upon the 18,200-megawatt dam as a way to break provincial-level control of China's power generating capacity, said O'Reilly, who is preparing a doctoral thesis on the venture. It also hopes to use it to create a new, east-west "axis" of development along the Chang Jiang -- stretching from coastal Shanghai to inland Chongqing city -- to counter-balance the fast-growing South China coast, he said. Most of its electricity output is to go downriver, mainly to Shanghai. But resistance to the project remains strong inside China, O'Reilly noted. Sichuan province, on the west side of the dam, is unhappy that it will get only 10 percent of its electricity output, but 80 percent of the 1.13 million river-dwellers to be displaced by its construction. There are also strong doubts among China's own professionals, even though O'Reilly said the country has the expertise to get the job done. "When we talk to engineers off the record, they're all saying, `Look, it shouldn't be built, but if we're told it's got to happen, it's got to happen'," the scholar said. Impoverished peasants now trying to eke a living from the barren slopes upriver from the dam could also emerge as a political force to be reckoned with if their relocation to new plots of land is badly handled. If the peasants refused to move in protest, they could gain political support from other disgruntled groups in Chinese society, such as students, O'Reilly said. Other outspoken Three Gorges opponents include dissident intellectuals who were forced underground after the ill-fated Tiananmen Square democracy movement in 1989. Many critics say China's pressing energy needs could be dealt with more effectively, and with less cost and damage to the environment, with smaller dams along the Chang Jiang's many tributaries. |
FBIS3-26668_0 | U.S. May Cut Aid to Drug Producing, Trafficking Nations | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Washington, February 10 (XINHUA) -- The United States may reduce anti-drug aid to Peru, Panama, Bolivia and other countries that produce or traffic in illegal drugs, official U.S. sources said here today. These countries have escaped penalties because of friendly relations with the United States, said a government official who declined to be identified. These countries are on a list of nations that failed to convince the U.S. that they have cooperated with the U.S. efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs, and, consequently, failed to receive U.S. certification last year, which is a condition of receiving U.S. anti-drug aid, the official said. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gelbard told reporters Wednesday [9 February] that the administration also was considering countries that may not receive the certification on the annual April 1 deadline. Gelbard said this when he briefed reporters on the international component of President Clinton's new 13.2 billion dollars national drug control strategy, which places greater emphasis on domestic treatment and prevention rather than international intervention. Drug producing and trafficking countries that do not make an effort will face increasingly serious economic and other sanctions, according to Clinton's plan. Clinton's new budget proposes increasing money for the State Department's anti-drug efforts by 80 million dollars to 252 million dollars. To underscore the U.S. emphasis on cooperation, Secretary of State Warren Christopher on Wednesday told several dozen ambassadors from drug production and transit countries and a number of other European and Latin American countries that cocaine and heroin are not just American problems, saying that drugs are a global menace....[ellipses as received] The grip drug dealers have on many governments is just terrifying. The United States in recent years has focused attention on curtailing coca leaf production and cocaine trafficking in Latin America, but Gelbard and other officials also cited the burgeoning heroin trafficking that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union. |
FBIS3-26681_0 | European Parliament `Condemns' PRC Human Rights `Abuses' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By "Post Correspondent" David Wallen in London] [Text] The European Parliament has issued a ringing condemnation of China's human rights abuses, urging guarantees for the liberties of Hong Kong and calling on the European Union (EU) not to improve links with Beijing until there is an improvement. It will be forwarded to Beijing and the governments of European member states over the next few days and could be used to block future trade agreements between the EU and China. The 33-item resolution, passed without opposition, condemns labour camps, and calls for the release of political prisoners, the ending of the sale in Europe of goods produced by forced labour and the establishment of a multi-party state. It also regrets visits by senior Western politicians such as Chancellor Dr. Helmut Kohl and Prime Minister John Major. Although the motion is mainly advisory and has no legislative weight, it could turn into a considerable embarrassment to EU governments, including Britain, anxious to step up political and trade links. "It is a reminder to ministers of the concern of Europe's elected politicians about human rights issues and they should not forget that," said a parliament spokesman in Strasbourg yesterday. "It is a warning to them that they should not negotiate trade agreements without thinking of these issues." He warned that the Parliament had blocked trade agreements with countries including Morocco and Syria in the past because of concern over human rights and had the power to do so with China. Although the Parliament has a say on trade deals the real power within the EU is still the European Council -- its executive wing comprised of government ministers. But politicians and groups around the world opposed to Chinese human rights abuses will be able to turn to the motion as the first pan-European democratic view on how links with China should be viewed. Foreign policy within the EU remains the province of the Council and of national governments although under the Maastricht Treaty the Parliament's influence is growing. The resolution says economic reforms should be accompanied by "the gradual introduction of internationally recognised social standards" and reminds China that it is a signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It "reaffirms its condemnation of the use of the death penalty and torture" and "calls on the Chinese Government to release all persons whose only crime is practising their |
FBIS3-26702_1 | Environment Chief Issues Warning on Pollution | Although industrial emissions may be controlled by 2000, he said, sulfur dioxide emissions, the leading cause of acid rain, will rise from 16 million tons per year now to up to 23 million tons in 2000. Such increases will come as China's annual coal consumption grows from the present 1.2 billion tons to a projected 1.6 billion tons early next century when experts predict China will be the largest single producer of both carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming, and sulfur dioxide. Qu said China presently produces 100 million tons of wastewater a day, leaving several rivers "in a state of crisis." By 2000 China will produce between 30-32 billion tons of industrial wastewater annually and 17 billion tons of organic wastewater, he said. During the 1980s, acid rain was limited to the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan, but now has appeared in Jiangxi, Fujian and Shandong, and if not controlled will greatly harm the agricultural, livestock and fishing industries, he said. Nearly six billion tons of solid wastes cover an area of more than 50,000 hectares around China and by 2000, industrial solid wastes will grow from the present 180 million tons a year to 250 million tons annually, Qu said. Qu also described an increasingly unbalanced ecological situation which includes diminishing forest cover, soil erosion due to excessive mining and road-building and an average loss of some 2,100 square kilometers of arable land per year to desertification. Water sources are also diminishing faster than they can be replaced as more than 300 of China's 500 large cities are short of water, with more than 40 seriously lacking water, he said. China's per capita arable land is two-fifths the size of the world average and is shrinking due to mining, road construction and economic development, as well as the hazards of increase chemical use in fertilizers, he said. As much as 10 million hectares of arable land are affected by pollution, which Qu said costs up to 12 billion kilograms of grain in economic losses a year. Uncontrolled mining, low rates of mineral recovery at existing mines and low utilization ratios were quickly depleting resource reserves that, using China's present day technology, are readily exploitable. The unusually frank speech, while stressing the interrelation between ecological imbalances and economic development, called for the perfection of China's legislative system and authoritative laws capable of enforcing environmental legislation. |
FBIS3-26735_6 | Article Reviews 1993 Employment Situation The Urban and Rural Labor Supply-Demand Contradiction Was Alleviated The Renewed Increase in the Number of Staff and Workers Has Slowed | other regions to seek employment increased, with about 50 million people seeking work in other areas. Of these, about 13 million people entered various types of units or individual trades in urban areas. This large-scale flow of labor has also begun to move from a disordered to an ordered flow. For example, in 1993, Guangdong Province established labor cooperative links with eight provinces including Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi. Those rural laborers who intend going to work in Guangdong need to consult their local labor department first before proceeding to Guangdong. To a certain degree, this prevents the blind flow of rural labor. Because of the change in employment concepts and an increase in market consciousness, some staff members and workers are no longer satisfied spending all their life in the work post to which they were originally assigned. Instead, they are seeking posts in which the income is higher or in which they can better use their special skills. A sample survey has shown that about 30 percent of staff and workers are unsatisfied in their present work and hope to shift jobs. According to estimates, in 1993, about 4.5 million people were transferred between units, an increase of close to 500,000 compared with the previous year. This figure represented about 3 percent of the total number of staff and workers. Of these, close to 400,000 transferred to other provinces. An Initial Scale Has Been Achieved in the Labor Market In 1993, all areas further strengthened the building of labor markets at various levels and all sorts of labor agents and human resources interflow meetings emerged to meet the needs. Now, 30 provinces, cities, and regions, as well as 15 ministries and commissions under the State Council, have already established human resources interflow organs, while the prefectural and county interflow organs number over 2,000 and nongovernment employment agencies number close to 200. They have thus formed a basic national human resources interflow network. In addition, throughout the country, 500 fixed human resources markets have been established and 10,000 human resources interflow meetings have been organized. The initial establishment of the various levels of labor market has promoted the rational flow of human resources. This has allowed our country's human resources interflow work to shift from the traditional system of unified arrangements and unified allocation to a new system where personnel choose their own employment and units choose their own employees. |
FBIS3-26770_1 | Editorial Urges Caution in Dealings With Vietnam | to move somewhere, authorities here rightly encouraged them to set up production lines in Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, in order to avoid risking too many of the country's financial and industrial resources in mainland China, which has been the top choice for outbound investment for many years. Now that the U.S. embargo has been lifted, the Vietnamese economy is expected to be given a great boost and the country will certainly become more important in the international arena. However, the ROC [Republic of China] government should be careful not to assess the current situation in Vietnam by looking through recolored glasses. In the late 1970s when relations between the United States and mainland China were normalized, many people got caught up in the euphoria that went along with the new friendly relations between the two countries and forgot that the mainland remained a communist state. After tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled over the dead bodies of students and workers who dared to speak out against the Beijing regime in 1989, many people in the outside world were surprised to learn that communist China had retained a Leninist system of suppression after the death of Mao Tse-tung. Now that Vietnam and the United States have apparently bridged some of their differences, people in Taiwan should refrain from adopting a similarly naive attitude about the leadership in Hanoi. Formally known as the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam," our southwesterly neighbor is one of the world's last remaining communist dictatorships, and the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party is doing all it can to keep it that way. To be sure, sweeping economic reforms were made by Vietnamese leaders beginning in 1986 with the so-called "doi moi" or "renovation" policies. But virtually no major political reforms have been made, except for efforts aimed at transferring more day-to-day administrative duties from party committees to official state organs apparently in order to avoid wasteful duplication and the transferring of certain administrative responsibilities to local governments in order to increase the efficiency of the state bureaucracy. The Vietnamese Communist Party has retained its leading role in all important spheres of life in Vietnam. Any attempt to organize any kind of opposition force is still, as always, ruthlessly persecuted in Vietnam today. The Vietnamese communists also continue to restrict religious activity throughout the country. After the government of the Republic of Vietnam fell on April |
FBIS3-26807_0 | Shandong's Jiaodong Peninsula Rich in Gold Resources | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Yantai, February 14 (CNS) -- The Jiaodong Peninsula, a major production base for gold, boasts abundant resources of this precious metal, with fruitful results from state level scientific research on gold after four years' efforts passed inspection by the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources. This scientific research was sponsored by the State Science and Technology Commission and by the ministry while the Shandong prospecting institute undertook the item. Researchers used data processing and research methods to create models for the prospecting of minerals involving geophysics, geology and geochemistry based on earlier information in these fields. Different indicators were set for the various models. Sophisticated technology was introduced into the prospecting of gold mines in the region. The process of forming minerals was projected in four areas within the 7,800 sq.-kilometre Jiaodong Peninsula, leading to the discovery of 26 potential mineral resources, five of them of great significance. Experts in gold prospecting were convinced that the technology involved in research into gold prospecting was totally practical and played a leading role in such endeavours. Such techniques for the location of gold received awards from the ministry for their excellence and application in exploitation of gold mines which will be very promising in the future. The gold industry has become a pillar business in some counties and cities in the peninsula with gold production there having an important share in this field in the country as a whole. |
FBIS3-26823_1 | Column Views Differences in Human Rights Concepts | cultural traditions, ways of life, and stages of development. For example, over 2,000 years ago, China's ancient philosophers had the ideology of treasuring the people and cherishing universal love such as "the people are the foundation of an imperial ancestral temple," "it is a virtue to honor other aged people and look after other children as we do our own," and so on. China's socialist way of life has conditioned the extent, fairness, and sincerity of stressing human rights, which has been obtained by the Chinese people through hard struggle and sacrifice with bloodshed. When signboards saying "no admittance to Chinese and dogs" were hung on the gates of Chinese parks, what human rights did the Chinese people have? China is a developing country with a large population, and the right of development is an important right that has a bearing on the destiny and future of the Chinese nation. This is China's national situation, and the European and American countries have a different kind of national situations. Their cultural traditions cannot be traced to the same origin, not to mention their life-styles and stages of development. The concept on human rights in European and American countries primarily originated from the ideological trend of humanism formed in the European Renaissance Movement. At that time, the rising bourgeoisie regarded personal freedom and the pursuit of personal happiness as natural instincts of human beings, and took these as their theoretical bases to oppose religious prerogative, hierarchy, and feudal rule. No doubt, this ideological trend had tremendous, historic significance for pushing forward social progress and development at that time, but it also had notable historical limitations. Here, we might as well review some famous expositions by the founders of the theory on human rights in Europe. First, the personal freedom and happiness that they pursued was, in essence, the right to possess property. The British political ideologist Locke, called by Marx and Engels as the "founding father" of bourgeois liberalism, maintained: In the "human rights endowed by nature," including life, freedom, property, and so on, which can neither be given away nor taken, property rights are the most fundamental of rights. His famous remark was: The grass that my horses graze and the soil that my servants plow are all my property. Property alone -- rather than blood lineage or the will of God -- is the symbol of rights. In fact, when |
FBIS3-26849_6 | Article Views Role of Chamber of Commerce | trade activities in recent years, we have launched the campaign of regulating foreign trade order and rectifying unfair trade practices. The Chamber of Commerce has sent teams to carry out deep investigations in the major place of origin and the principal place of business with the finding that some enterprises were competing with each other blindly, purchasing at a higher price and selling at a lower price, engaging in business activities that were not within their business scope or out of their planned targets or even employing trickery in falsely claiming as their own business license, in smuggling and in evading taxes. The investigation teams made timely reports to government authorities at all levels and forwarded their own opinions on the treatment, and thus rectified promptly the unfair trade practice. 3. To organize the defense in antidumping cases. In recent years, with the intensification of trade protectionism all over the world, antidumping cases against China have occurred repeatedly. In order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of our export enterprises and consolidate the external selling market for our export commodities, the Chamber of Commerce, in the spirit of "active defense and unyielding struggle," has organized relevant organizations to participate in the defense in antidumping cases against our export commodities. In the last five years the chamber of Commerce has taken up nearly 50 antidumping cases and retrieved a loss of about several hundred million yuan, having safeguarded the interests of the nation and export enterprises, as well as the credit of our export commodities in the international market. 4. To broaden contact and exchange with the outside world. From its founding the Chamber of Commerce has made consistent efforts in promoting the trade exchange and economic cooperation between China and other countries all over the world. The Chamber of Commerce has so far organized 693 enterprises to participate in 69 exhibits in 58 countries or regions with total deals reaching $100 million. The Chamber of Commerce has also organized 26 marketing or research teams going abroad to assist member organizations in understanding and developing a market. The Chamber of Commerce has established contact with 95 economic and trade organizations in 69 countries with friendly intercourse and cooperation. The Chamber of Commerce has now become the bridge to bring together the commercial circles both at home and abroad. 5. To provide consultation and information service. The Chamber of Commerce has |
FBIS3-26854_3 | Shanghai Mayor Views Economic Development, Stability | the new one on the operations of economy to ensure sustained, rapid, and stable economic development [chi xu kuai su wen ding fa zhan 2170 4958 1816 6643 4489 1353 4099 1455] in Shanghai in the first quarter of this year. Huang Ju said: Shanghai is enjoying social stability, and the basic conditions are good currently, but some new contradictions and problems also exist. Governments at various levels must make greater efforts to handle well the relations between reform, development, and stability. They should treat social stability as an important matter, proceed in their work meticulously and conscientiously, create a favorable environment for deepening reform, opening wider to the outside world, and promoting development; and make sure that the great number of Shanghai citizens will enjoy a happy traditional holiday in the atmosphere of stability and peace. To this end, we must first step up the rectification and management of social order to maintain public security and stability. While continuing our efforts to strictly crack down on crimes, we should strengthen the comprehensive management of social security and earnestly remain on our guard before and after the festival. Leaders at various levels should persist in going right to the forefront to organize the implementation of security measures for safe production, construction, and transportation; ensuring heat supplies; and forestalling fires, explosions, and poisonings; as well as continue to improve the emergency measures against thick fog, blizzards, and frost during the holidays. They should seriously organize the two-week campaign of straightening out the municipality's traffic, appearance, and environment to greet the Spring Festival. Departments in charge of municipal affairs and traffic management should spare no effort in bringing traffic under strict control; all districts and counties should firmly sweep away those taking up streets and setting up stalls at random and other violations of rules; and all major streets, residential areas, and commercial outlets should conscientiously carry out the measures of maintaining and ensuring a clean Shanghai. Second, we should make meticulous arrangements to ensure market supplies during the holidays and step up the construction of the "vegetable basket" project, particularly the construction of the "green vegetable project." Under the current conditions of a better shopping environment and more abundant supplies of commodities on the market, we should particularly pay attention to the demand of various levels, facilitate the masses' consumption during the holidays, and enhance the supervision of commodity prices and |
FBIS3-26859_2 | Commentary Views Shanghai Auto Industry | will be very important for Shanghai, which occupies an important place in China's car production and sales, to build a specialized national automobile market ahead of other places; this will help change the current state of affairs of China's automobile industry, which is suffering from clogged circulation channels of supply and demand, chaotic price signals, slow market feedback, and sluggish structural adjustment. We should exercise extreme care in building specialized markets and refrain from blindly "going for it" while disregarding existing conditions. However, we must lose no time in meticulously preparing for building the market when we are sure it is the correct thing to do, so as to allow the automobile, an important material resource, to play a bigger role in the national economy. The second revelation is that market construction must be compatible with market economic laws. For example, it is necessary to select different trading methods according to characteristics of commodities, and not simply follow the market craze. The "Joint Automobile Exchange Market" is a specialized automobile market based mainly on direct contacts and spot trading among producers, suppliers, and consumers, and is not prepared to introduce the futures trading mechanism. The practice is compatible with the general laws of market economy. There are special requirements for futures trading. For example, product standards and varieties must be simple; standardization of product quality must be easy; price fluctuation range must be wide; large quantity purchases and sales must be possible; and products must mostly be large quantities of primary products such as grains and nonferrous metals. Not all products, such as finished industrial goods, are suitable for futures trading. Automobiles are finished products, and the spot trading method is suitable as long as buyers and sellers reach agreements. In addition, there is now a balance of supply and demand for automobiles and prices have stabilized over a certain period, making automobiles unsuitable for the futures trade. In addition, the diversified range and flexible spot trading method can meet the demands of suppliers and consumers at different levels. It is also much better than the futures trading mechanism. This shows that selecting a trading method compatible with market laws is a prerequisite to normal market development. The third revelation is that in the process of market construction, the government should correctly identify its role. The "Joint Automobile Exchange Market" was organized through the leadership of the industry and commerce |
FBIS3-26859_3 | Commentary Views Shanghai Auto Industry | The practice is compatible with the general laws of market economy. There are special requirements for futures trading. For example, product standards and varieties must be simple; standardization of product quality must be easy; price fluctuation range must be wide; large quantity purchases and sales must be possible; and products must mostly be large quantities of primary products such as grains and nonferrous metals. Not all products, such as finished industrial goods, are suitable for futures trading. Automobiles are finished products, and the spot trading method is suitable as long as buyers and sellers reach agreements. In addition, there is now a balance of supply and demand for automobiles and prices have stabilized over a certain period, making automobiles unsuitable for the futures trade. In addition, the diversified range and flexible spot trading method can meet the demands of suppliers and consumers at different levels. It is also much better than the futures trading mechanism. This shows that selecting a trading method compatible with market laws is a prerequisite to normal market development. The third revelation is that in the process of market construction, the government should correctly identify its role. The "Joint Automobile Exchange Market" was organized through the leadership of the industry and commerce departments. However, it is not aimed at profit-making and the government cannot directly intervene in the market's economic activities. The government has essentially avoided committing a common error when involved in market construction, that is, extending its power in the market. In reality, when the government extends its power in economic activities it will definitely create chaos in the market. The government should only play its role in regularizing enterprise activities, safeguarding market order, and protecting operators' interests. It should only act as a "referee" and not an "athlete" who directly participates in the competition. We should particularly remember the profound lessons we have learned in the past. Building a new socialist market economic system is linked very closely to market construction. In the past, we committed errors in our undertakings and understanding in the process of market construction. By the time we realized our errors, certain opportunities were already lost. When taking the lead in building a new socialist market economic system, Shanghai must not repeat the same misfortune. Shanghai should be commended for succeeding in many of its undertakings in establishing the automobile market. Do you agree with the points discussed here? |
FBIS3-26879_2 | `News Analysis' Views U.S. Moves To Enter Japan's Markets | designed to open the cellular telephone markets, we still find ourselves struggling to gain access to Japanese market," Galvin said. The issue of cellular phones has nothing to do with the trade framework talks between U.S. and Japan, although it coincided with the summit, whose failure is the first of its kind since the end of the second world war. During the eight-month old trade talks, U.S. asked to set numerical standards to evaluate the open nature of the Japanese market. Naming it managed trade, Tokyo said no and withdrew from the talks. The Americans are especially angry at the difficulty to enter Japan's markets of telecommunications, medical equipment, auto and auto parts, and insurance services, the four priority areas in the framework talks. Noting that some Japanese officials blamed the lack of competitiveness as a reason for limited success of foreign producers in Japan, Kantor called the excuse "false and disingenuous." Administration officials refused to anticipate if a full scale trade war with Japan is in breed, given the fact that such a conflict will impact not only Japanese companies but also American firms since the two countries are inextricably tied together in economies. "We are doing a thorough evaluation. We are moving with our deliberate speeds on this issue," said Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. He said recent comments by the administration are "very serious" and are not threatening words. "We're going to be consistent and insistent that American products, goods and services have an opportunity to compete fairly in Japanese markets." Observers, meanwhile, listed many options facing the Clinton administration, including the revival of the Super 301 Trade Law, which asks the government to review unfair trade practices by foreign countries on an annual basis and impose sanctions in designated time. President Clinton is reportedly going to issue an executive order this week to revive the trade law, which, in the late 1980's, was used to pry open Japan's markets of super computer, satellite and timber products. The U.S. also intends to target the American affiliates of Japanese firms, some of which are accused of violating the anti-trust laws in the country, and to eye the European Union for multilateral approach in pressing Japan for move concessions in trade. "We have a number of options in order to make sure we open markets in Japan. That's our goal," Kantor said. "All we are asking is for two-way street." |
FBIS3-26891_2 | Patten Attacks Asian Opposition to Human Rights, Democracy | strictly bilateral affair between London and Beijing. More to the point, it will regard the Governor's speech as an attack on its own human rights position, which was restated in yesterday's Communist Party newspaper, People's Daily. The paper accused foreign critics of trying to impose alien values on China, and of failing to live up to their own lofty standards at home. All factors should be taken into account in any dialogue on human rights, and the developing world should not blindly accept doctrines handed down by the West. "The human rights philosophy of the European capitalist revolution has made historical contributions ... but the world has gone through great changes, and we should make our choices with judgment," People's Daily said. "Outside Europe, there are other, even older glorious civilisations with which to compare and make choices." Mr Patten said the argument about cultural relativism and human rights did not stand up, and denied that those who stood up for individual freedoms were interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. "The truth is that those who try to sweep human rights under the carpet tend to do so for baser motives -- to stamp on opposition and keep a tight grip on political power," he said in an address to the Australia-Asia Society. "Communism failed because, in attempting to crush initiative and suppress individualism, it went right against the grain of human nature. It collapsed because of its wicked and expensive failures." He dismissed arguments that Asia was barren ground for democracy. "First, there is nothing inherent in Asian society that makes democracy a non-starter. Japan is evidence enough of that". "Second, there is no evidence to support the claim that while rising living standards in Europe, in Latin America, in Africa, may lead to rising political aspirations, the same does not apply in Asia". "I accept there may not be a mechanistic relationship between growing prosperity and an increasing demand for participative government. But the evidence is that in Asia, as in other places, people who have more in their wallets sooner or later want more say in the way they are governed." Mr Patten's remarks amounted to further evidence, if any were needed, that his approach to problems inside and outside of Hong Kong is fundamentally at variance with China's, and that the prospects for cooperation between Britain and Beijing over the territory seem virtually non-existent. |
FBIS3-26892_4 | WEN WEI PO Criticizes Patten's Australia Trip | would not be in keeping with Australia's political goal of becoming a republic. The Australian mass media have played down Chris Patten's visit. Many local Chinese community leaders, as well as figures from the business circles, have expressed their views, noting that what Chris Patten has been doing in Hong Kong is unpopular with the Australian Chinese community. Chris Patten has found himself in a very isolated position, and his mission will prove fruitless. Chris Patten opposes the Asian countries' policy that places political stability before economic development. His preaching has been refuted by Australian scholars. Before Chris Patten came to Hong Kong, the territory had properly handled the relationship between stability and prosperity as well as its relations with the Chinese mainland, thus maintaining sustained high economic growth. The Asian countries have established their unique political-economic model in light of the local historical and cultural realities and based on their own interpretation of human rights, which is different from that of the Western countries. As a result, they have created economic miracles and have emerged as a region which has enjoyed the most rapid economic growth in the world in recent years. In the meantime, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have mistakenly copied the western model. Being too anxious for quick success, they introduced drastic changes which have resulted in civil wars, economic decline, a worsening public security situation, and poverty and starvation among the people. As the Asian people uphold their Asian social development model, Chris Patten's fantasy of forcing Western value concepts into Asia is bound to arouse criticism from the Asian world. While in Australia, Chris Patten has also talked glibly about the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The very soul of the Joint Declaration is China's resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong on 1 July 1997, on which date Britain will return Hong Kong to China, and then all Hong Kong affairs will become China's internal affairs, and China will apply the principle of one country, two systems to Hong Kong in accordance with the Basic Law. If Chris Patten thinks that his manipulation of Legco will enable him to push through his constitutional reform package and then have it extended beyond 1997, then he is certainly making a terrible mistake. According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, international law, and the Basic Law, no colonial government has the right to establish any |
FBIS3-26903_0 | DPP Supports President Li Teng-hui's Southeast Asian Tour | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Y. C. Tsai] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 16 (CNA) -- President Li Teng-hui's current trip to Southeast Asia has won recognition from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Li, who started the unofficial visit on Feb. 9, is scheduled to return to Taipei late Wednesday. He has met with Philippine President Fidel Ramos, Indonesian President Suharto, and Thailand's Prime Minister Chuan Likphai during the three-country tour. H.I. Lu, chief of the DPP caucus at the Legislative Yuan, said Wednesday that the president's tour certainly has had a positive impact on both Taiwan's international relations and economic policy toward Southeast Asian nations. The government has been promoting its "southern strategy" to encourage Taiwan manufacturers to increase investments in Vietnam and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which groups Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brunei. "The DPP is positive toward Li's efforts in strengthening Taiwan's external relations and in helping Taiwan investors find more investment channels," Lu noted. The DPP lawmaker, however, pointed out that the president alone should not dominate Taiwan's foreign affairs. Foreign relations should be the common responsibility of both ruling and opposition parties, he said. |
FBIS3-26904_0 | Trade With Southeast Asia Shows `Dramatic Increase' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) -- Trade between Taiwan and five members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) and Vietnam showed a dramatic increase last year, according to statistics compiled by Taiwan's Ministry of Finance. The statistics showed that Taiwan's trade with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam reached US$16.3 billion in 1993. Exports to the six nations registered a $9.38 billion in 1993, or 11.05 percent of Taiwan's total exports, while imports from the group totaled [figure indistinct] million, or 8.98 percent of Taiwan's total imports. Singapore was Taiwan's fifth largest trading partner in 1993, behind the United States, Hong Kong, Japan and Germany. Exports to Singapore totaled US [words indistinct] last year, up 1.9 percent from the previous year while imports were up 10.1 percent to US$1.6 billion. Thailand was Taiwan's eighth largest trading partner, according to the statistics. Exports to Thailand totaled US$2.01 billion in [word indistinct] up 81.5 percent while imports totaled US$9.05 million, up 180 percent [figure as received] from the previous year. Malaysia came in ninth statistics showed. Imports from the country totaled [figure indistinct] billion, up 4.4 percent from 1992, while exports were up 6 percent to reach US$1.93 billion. Indonesia was Taiwan's 12th largest trading partner with exports totaling US$1.28 billion, up 5.7 percent, and imports totaling US$1.62 billion, up 15.6 percent from 1992, the statistics revealed. The Philippines came in 15th, with Taiwan's exports totaling US92.03 billion, up 0.7 percent from the previous year, the imports reached US$360 million, up 19.5 percent from 1992. As to Vietnam, exports to the country totaled US$500 [word indistinct] in 1993 while imports totaled US$150 million, the statistics showed. Officials said that although the United States, Japan and Hong Kong remained Taiwan's major trading partners in 1993, Taiwan [words indistinct] with the five ASEAN nations and Vietnam registered largely double-digit growth during the year. Judging from the trend, [words indistinct] Taiwan's policy to focus on investment in the region will succeed, they added. |
FBIS3-26920_0 | Construction To Begin on Hydroelectric Station | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Nanning, February 16 (XINHUA) -- Construction is due to start on the Longtan Hydroelectric Power Station, on the Hongshui River in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Cheng Kejie, chairman of the region, told reporters that the hydropower station is believed to be second only to the projected Three Gorges Hydropower Station in scale, and when it is completed it will be the second-biggest in Asia. During the first-phase construction, a water control dam with a height of 375 m [meters] will be built, and seven generating units with a total generating capacity of 4.2 million kw will be installed. When this phase is completed the hydropower station will generate 15.67 billion kwh of electricity a year, according to Cheng. During the second-phase construction, two more generating units, with an aggregate generating capacity of 5.4 million kw, will be installed. The entire project will require a total investment of 30 billion yuan (about 3.448 billion U.S. dollars), of which 970 million U.S. dollars will be provided in the form of World Bank loans. The chairman explained that the station will not only provide more electricity for Guangxi, but also play a positive role in fighting flooding on the lower reaches of the Hongshui River. He said that the new hydropower station will be jointly built by the State Energy Investment Corporation, Guizhou and Guangdong Provinces and Guangxi. Guangxi will bear 25 percent of the total investment needed and will be able to use 50 percent of the electricity to be generated. The Hongshui River abounds in hydroelectric resources. The State Council has approved the building of ten stepped hydropower stations, with a total generating capacity of 11 million kw. Construction has started on most of these hydropower stations; four of them have finished their first phases and are already transmitting electricity. The chairman added that local departments are already busy with the preparatory work, including the building of highways leading to the construction site, for the formal launching of the Longtan Hydropower Station Project. |
FBIS3-26922_1 | Hong Kong Paper Views Wage Reform Implementation | servicemen, and teachers should be sped up and that it should be completed before the Spring Festival so as to maintain the stability of the "backyard" [hou yuan 0683 7108]. Following the wage reform, Jiang Zemin has become the official who receives the highest income. Of the many titles he holds, he receives his salary with the highest-paying title of the Central Military Commission chairman, a monthly income of 1,600 yuan. This time, there were not many new elements in the wage reform. It still determines pay scales with such indexes as seniority, post, and technical title; the higher the position, the higher the wages. The wage reform's increase rate was 36 percent on average. The troops had higher rates than those for officials in the localities, and cadres had slightly higher rates than those for teachers. In the wake of the reform, high-ranking military officers and officials at the local ministerial level receive approximately 1,000 yuan; field officers and cadres at the local department or bureau level receive approximately 700 yuan, and cadres at and below the sectional level and general teachers receive approximately 400 yuan. The wage gap has obviously widened. The wage reform was implemented at a time of rather large financial difficulties. For the 3 million troops, the state had to spend approximately 3 billion yuan and for the 30 million cadres and teachers, it had to spend another 20 billion yuan or so; so that their wages are paid according to the new pay scale retroactive to October 1993. There are advantages and disadvantages in wage reform. The advantages are that it has stabilized the long shaky moral of the troops and the general moral of cadres and teachers. But its disadvantages seem to outnumber the advantages. First, at a time when organizational reform has not been completed and when organizations are overstaffed, wage reform has not succeeded in improving work efficiency. Second, under the current social situation, it will inevitably lead to competition and spark off big increases in wages. For large numbers of loss-making state-owned enterprises particularly, it will lead to rising labor costs and accelerate financial difficulties while their efficiency does not seem to improve. Third, the substantial wage increases will accelerate inflation. At a time when China is a the buyer's market, an increase in the currency that people hold in their hands will pave the way for a worsening economy. |
FBIS3-26928_3 | Article Says Human Factor Boosts Farm Output | had helped to create. They noted that before the introduction of the reform, the emphasis on "taking agriculture as the key link" had been repeated time and again and that 800 million farmers were bound to the earth for farming. Despite all this, grain production remained stagnant. Following the introduction of the contract responsibility system, not only grain production posted sharp increases but the production of other agricultural sideline products, forestry products, animal husbandry products, and aquatic products also registered great increases. An economist had the following explanation: A comparison between 1949 and 1952 showed that because of farmers' heightened enthusiasm for production due to farmland having been distributed to them, they helped boost overall annual grain production by 13 percent. However, we miscalculated the situation, thinking that collective farming would bring about higher efficiency than family-style operations. Farmland operations were then turned into collective and unified operations, and areas of farming activities that were put under control were further expanded. Because laborers, who in the first place should be the most active factor of the productive forces, were "dead," the key production element for farming could not be "enlivened." The household contract responsibility system, which links remuneration with output, gave the farmers the right to manage the land. The benefit mechanism fired up farmers' enthusiasm for farming, which brought about creativity that was unthinkable in the times of people's communes. Farmers had a simpler explanation: "After fulfilling the set quotas for the state and for the collectives, the rest is ours." The results of labor and the benefits for the producers were thus closely interlinked. The contract responsibility system elicited a sense of responsibility, inspired enthusiasm, and led to bumper harvests. (2) Today, if we take a walk through urban and rural market places, we will find an abundant supply of grains, fowls, fish, meat, eggs, vegetables, and dairy products. There is a dazzling display of various lines of food products in stores. Following the successful solution of the basic problem of "filling the hungry stomachs" in the mid-eighties, we then entered a stage where we become particular about the nutrition, tastes, and varieties of what we eat. This shows the historical change that has occurred to grain varieties and product quality. Production and consumption is an inseparable "pair." Market is an indispensable link between them. But before our country carried out the rural reform, the link was artificially |
FBIS3-26928_4 | Article Says Human Factor Boosts Farm Output | gave the farmers the right to manage the land. The benefit mechanism fired up farmers' enthusiasm for farming, which brought about creativity that was unthinkable in the times of people's communes. Farmers had a simpler explanation: "After fulfilling the set quotas for the state and for the collectives, the rest is ours." The results of labor and the benefits for the producers were thus closely interlinked. The contract responsibility system elicited a sense of responsibility, inspired enthusiasm, and led to bumper harvests. (2) Today, if we take a walk through urban and rural market places, we will find an abundant supply of grains, fowls, fish, meat, eggs, vegetables, and dairy products. There is a dazzling display of various lines of food products in stores. Following the successful solution of the basic problem of "filling the hungry stomachs" in the mid-eighties, we then entered a stage where we become particular about the nutrition, tastes, and varieties of what we eat. This shows the historical change that has occurred to grain varieties and product quality. Production and consumption is an inseparable "pair." Market is an indispensable link between them. But before our country carried out the rural reform, the link was artificially cut off and the "pair" was separated. In the area of crop planting, people were told: "Plant as told." In the area of eating, people were told: "Eat whatever is available." Both producers and consumers lost the right of autonomy. Reform finally dismantled the barrier that separated the producers and consumers and established a link for the market. From 1985, the year that saw the issuance of the CPC Central Committee Number 1 Document, which announced the reform of the system of the state's monopoly over grain purchase to the nineties which saw the lifting of controls on grain procurement and marketing, grain has entered the market as a commodity. Amid the gradual yet positive and steady reform, the market's role was recognized, market forces were constantly expanded, and market mechanisms were introduced one after another. The opening of the market gave the right and room of maneuver for farmers to decide on production on their own. This undoubtedly is another liberation of the productive forces in rural areas. Now, hundreds and thousands of farmers can hold their heads high. They plant crops with market demands in mind. They say: "I will plant whatever the market demands." In 1992, farmers |
FBIS3-26928_9 | Article Says Human Factor Boosts Farm Output | producing more grain?" Reform has liberated millions and millions of farmers from the shackles of the old system. When this human factor becomes brisk, all other key elements for production will no longer remain in "a cesspool of dead water." Statistics show that in 15 years of reform, the overall generating power of our country's farm machinery jumped 1.6 times, the number of tractors owned by farmers increased 3.4 times, trucks for farm-use grew 8.5 times, of which 80 percent of the growth in farm machinery came through farmers' purchases. The fact that hundreds and thousands of farming households' snapping up farm-machinery has brought about the following changes: Acreage plowed by farm machinery in China has increased 26 percent; acreage sown by farm machinery jumped 95 percent; and farmland harvested by farm machinery is up 3.5 times. Reform and opening up have liberated the most active factor in the productive forces and enabled science and technology to display its power as the "primary productive force." When the prairie fire of the contract responsibility system swept through the great earth of central China, there were reports of news on people "fighting for the god of fortune." Now, the farmers' longing for science, technology, and talented people is the strongest of any time. They not only try every possible means to "fight for things that grow money," for "technology," and for "patent rights," but are willing to spend money to train "local talents." In just five years during the Seventh Five-Year Plan period, the acreage of China's cross-bred paddy rice fields was expanded from 100 million mu to 230 million; cross-bred corn field from 190 million mu to 270 million; and farmland covered by plastic sheeting from 31.50 million mu to 53 million. When talking about the tremendous changes that had been brought to agriculture, farmers invariably attributed those changes to the party's good policies. They did not say that just to flatter the party; they really meant it. The lesson from the grain output increasing by leaps and bounds over the past 15 years is: Human beings are the most active element of the productive forces. When the human factor gets activated, it will produce a chain reaction upon other key elements for production and lead to a situation where "one will try his or her best; things will serve their proper purpose; and the earth provides of its own accord." |
FBIS3-26935_3 | Review of Guangdong `Hotline' Program | staff members are protected by laws in our country. 11. Another listener called in to support the employees. He also complained about insufficient and imperfect laws and regulations in China on protecting workers' rights, which was why foreign-funded enterprises could use this loophole. He stressed that workers' rights and interests must be clearly stated in contracts. 12. A call from a Mr. Wu reminded the employees of the function of laws as a means of struggle against the employer. 13. Another listener stressed that the problem could be solved through peaceful consultation between bosses and trade unions. At the same time, he said, he also felt puzzled at the lack of impulse to stage a strike. Workers should be allowed to resort to a strike, he added. At this point in the program, shortly before 1130 GMT, the presenter cut off the caller and announced that this was the end of the discussion. He also emphasized that views aired by callers were their own personal opinions and did not represent the stance of Guangdong People's Radio Network. 14. The special program series, "Talks on the New Taxation System," began at 1130 GMT after a short news roundup. Tao Fengtan, deputy director of the provincial taxation bureau, was invited to open the program and give the first talk on the reform of the taxation system. He said: At present, the reform of the taxation system is a hot topic for discussion. Our former taxation system had been improved since reform and opening up, but it still could not satisfy the demand of economic development in various fields. There was much room for improvement -- for instance, there were many defects in the old value-added tax -- and it was necessary to reform the old taxation system. A new policy has been formulated for reforming the old system. The nucleus of the taxation reform system is to establish a standardized value-added tax. The new value-added tax is extended to the fields of industrial production, commodity circulation, imports, processing industry, repair and spare parts business, and so on. Tao added: The new income tax will standardize income tax rates and ensure the fair competition of various quarters under the socialist market economy. It will also ensure that various economic sectors start from the same starting line to participate in fair competition. In addition, we have created a new land value-added tax. The purpose |
FBIS3-26948_0 | U.S. Missionaries Return From PRC After 5 Days' Detention | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Hong Kong, Feb 15 (AFP)--A group of Hong Kong-based U.S. Christian missionaries returned to the colony Tuesday after being detained for five days under China's sweeping new laws to control religious activity. Cathy Balcombe, wife of Reverend Dennis Balcombe of the Revival Christian Church, said her husband and his companions returned from China late in the day, exhausted and hungry. "They are very tired," she said, adding that Balcombe was not giving telephone interviews for the time being. Amnesty International had earlier said that a total of 10 Christians had been detained in central China last week, but the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said Tuesday that the three Americans among them had been freed. Two Indonesians, two Hong Kong residents, and three Chinese detained along with the Americans were apparently still being held by the Public Security Bureau in Henan province, the London-based human rights group reported. They were believed to be the first Christians detained under new regulations governing religion which took effect January 31 and restrict the religious activities of foreigners in China. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement it had been informed by the Henan authorities that "the American Christians were released this morning." Police and religious affairs bureau officials in the central province, contacted by AFP by telephone, said they were "unaware of the whole affair." Amnesty International said Balcombe, Daughin Chan and Paul Star, all U.S. nationals, were put under house arrest in a guesthouse in Fangcheng city following their detention last Thursday. They were detained along with Hong Kongers Kok Fai Kwok and May Chong, Indonesian nationals Bam Bang Yang and Ina Yang, and three unidentified Chinese. Amnesty urged the Chinese authorities to release the detainees, saying they were "at risk of being held without charge" for carrying out "peaceful religious activities." Amnesty said the detainees "should be released unconditionally if not promptly charged with recognizable criminal offences in accordance with international standards." It said the three Chinese were being held separately from the foreigners, who had been in Fangcheng since February 8 and intended to meet with Christians in villages in Henan. |
FBIS3-26960_0 | Foreign Ministry Holds Weekly News Briefing Spokesman Defends Detention | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, 16 Feb (AFP)--China defended Thursday [17 February] its detention of five foreign missionaries, including three US citizens, saying they had violated sweeping new laws introduced this month to control religious activity. The three Americans and two Indonesians had "conducted illegal religious activities," in violation of new regulations governing religion which took effect January 31 and restrict the religious activities of foreigners in China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wu Jianmin said. Wu did not specify the nature of the activities, nor did he refer to two Hong Kong Chinese who were also detained February 11 in central Henan province after attending an outdoor Christian prayer meeting. All seven missionaries -- led by Reverend Dennis Balcombe, a Mandarin-speaking evangelist and pastor of the Revival Christian Church in Hong Kong -- returned to the colony on Tuesday. The fate of three local Chinese detained at the same time remains unknown. Wu said the local security officials had carried out "investigation, interrogation and detention" of the foreign missionaries in accordance with Chinese law, and had issued stern warnings. Balcombe, a frequent traveller to China, also had his visa revoked, Wu added. In a statement Wednesday, Balcombe said cash and property worth thousands of dollars had been taken by police from the group during their ordeal, during which the Hong Kong Chinese were also beaten and pulled by their hair. "These people have acknowledged that they had violated Chinese laws and made guarantees that they would not conduct such activities anymore," Wu said. They were believed to be the first Christians detained under the new regulations which prohibit foreigners from cultivating religious disciples in China and setting up religious offices or schools. While foreigners may bring in religious material for their own use, any materials which have contents harmful to China's social public interest are banned. The regulations "embody the principle that China's religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination," Wu said, adding that foreigners would not be allowed to "harm the social public interest or interfere in China's religious affairs." Although freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Chinese constitution, the communist government has waged a constant campaign to prevent the spread of all faiths and limit contact between domestic and foreign religious organisations. "As long as foreigners abide by the Chinese laws, they will have no trouble at all," Wu said. Well aware |
FBIS3-26981_3 | Article Views Shifts in U.S. Foreign Policy | in Russia, and this cannot but cause concern and apprehension to the United States. In addition, the United States is still trying to keep more than 100,000 troops in Europe after the end of the Cold War, and this shows that Europe remains the key point of U.S. security interests. However, because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the direct threat to U.S. security has disappeared, and the United States has also adjusted and scaled down its European strategy. For example, in order to lighten the European defense burden, the United States has tried to let the European nations bear as much of the defense role as possible. Therefore, although Europe remains the focus of U.S. strategy, it is not quite the same as in the Cold War period. The United States not only has major security interests in Europe, but it also has major economic interests there. At present, the United States gains 60 percent of its profits earned overseas from Europe, over half of its overseas investments are in Europe, and 65 percent of foreign investment in the United States is from Europe. Although Europe is so important to U.S. economic interests, the United States has begun to shift the strategic "focus" of its "economic security" to the Asia-Pacific region, because U.S. investment in Asia has been increasing faster than in other regions, and its bilateral trade with Asia greatly exceeds that with Europe. According to statistics, between 1989 and 1992, U.S. direct investment in Asia (excluding Japan) increased by 56 percent, far higher than the 26-percent growth in overall U.S. investment overseas in this period. According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the rate of return from U.S. investment in Asia between 1989 and 1991 exceeded 23 percent, which was almost twice as much as the average rate of investment returns in the 24 major industrial countries in the world in the same period. The annual volume of bilateral trade between the United States and Asia exceeds $360 billion, which is more than four times that of 15 years ago and nearly 40 percent higher than the volume of bilateral trade between the United States and Europe. Although it will still take time for U.S. economic interests in Asia to exceed those in Europe in all fields, the development tendency as a whole has already shown that the focus of U.S. economic |
FBIS3-27010_2 | Article Views Situation at Social Sciences Academy | -- and rampant corruption. Inflation and corruption were the two most important factors which drove millions of citizens to join in open protests in many Chinese cities in 1989, which the regime was able to disperse only by using armed force. The situation in the Year of the Dog is in many ways as serious as at the beginning of 1989, according to some social scientists. The leadership has an abiding fear of serious social research, noted one Beijing university teacher, who said it was a "lesson learned four years ago", when many Cass researchers were participants and even leaders in the mass protests. To control social science, the regime not only uses fusty bureaucrats such as Wang Renzhi -- who himself has accepted bribes, according to former subordinates at the Party Propaganda Department -- but it has also financially crippled research in many Cass institutes. Since the 1989 crackdown, the Institute of Political Science and the Institute of Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought -- two departments which produced some of the regime's most articulate critics -- have not embarked on a single important project. Administrative control of these two institutes has been merged with the Institute of Law Studies, Cass sources said. "It is a tradition in Soviet style systems that political science can never be treated as a separate discipline, but rather must be subordinated to Stalin's theory on the state and law," the source said. The library at Cass can only afford to renew subscriptions to a quarter of the foreign social science periodicals it used to import during the 1980s -- dropping from nearly 4,000 titles to only 800 -- due to the devaluation of renminbi and lack of any corresponding increase in funding. Since mid-1993, some Cass institutes have leased their office rooms to businesses or converted them into cheap hotels. In the worst cases, money earmarked for research was distributed as year-end bonuses among staff who would otherwise have to cancel their holiday shopping. Ironically, nearly every institute has set up a "leading group on money-making activities" (chuangshou lingdao xiaozu), often headed by the institute director. The money-making group is expected to eke out the institute's lean research budget and supplement the staff's meagre welfare funds. But the Institute of Political Science has not even been able to get its money-making venture off the ground. The main reason, according to one source at |
FBIS3-27014_0 | CHINA DAILY Views Pollution Problems Blames Township Enterprises | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["CD News" report: "Rural Firms to Blame for Nation's Polluation"] [Text] Township industries are seriously polluting the air and water in Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing, according to the National Environmental Protection Agency. Rural enterprises are also pumping out massive amounts of industrial waste water and sulphur dioxide fumes in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The agency's nationwide survey of the environmental hazards caused by township enterprises is the first of its kind. The aim is to help central and local governments improve pollution control by identifying the worst offenders. The discharge of industrial waste water around the three major cities and in the worst hit provinces accounted for almost 60 percent of the China's total township water pollution, according to the agency. Places facing grave air pollution problems are listed as Shanghai Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Beijing, Shanxi, Tianjin, Zhejiang and Sichuan. The rural industries in these areas produced 57.2 percent of the pollutants piped into the air by rural firms around the country. These areas were also to blame for 60 per cent of township-produced sulphur dioxide, 63 percent of the smoke and 55.8 percent of the industrial dust of the country's total, according to the agency's investigation. The survey, which was started in 1989, covered 570,000 enterprises in almost every county in the country. Only the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Taiwan were left out. Fourteen types of factories were named as major polluters. They included industries involved in asbestos, coke, cement, chemicals, paper-making, leather processing, dyeing and brewing. Many of the small industries had out-of-date production technology and a high rate of waste discharge. To date less than one-fifth of rural industry reaches State standards for waste water disposal. The investigation also revealed that for every five rural firms there was only one environmental protection officer. This clearly showed that factory managers in these areas still cared little about their environment says the survey. Industrial waste and gas were found to be the major causes of rural pollution. The Farmers' Daily [NONGMIN RIBAO] has said that pollution-control technologies must be introduced into rural enterprises and the construction of dirty factories and mills must be limited. The best way of controlling pollution is to adopt advanced waste disposal technology, according to the newspaper. |
FBIS3-27023_0 | Interview With Environment Official on Coal Use | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Robert J. Saiget] [Text] Beijing, Feb. 17 KYODO -- China's growing coal consumption poses a huge threat to the environment, a leading Chinese official said recently, and things are bound to get worse as the country struggles to generate enough energy to fuel its booming economy. "Our biggest environmental problem is coal. You cannot deny that in the next 20 to 30 years coal use will continue to grow," Yang Jike, vice chairman of the environmental protection committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) said in an interview with KYODO NEWS SERVICE. "We have lots of coal...To generate electricity it's the cheapest," he said. "Coal is easy to get, you only have to dig." China used between 1.1 and 1.2 billion tons of coal in 1993, mostly for heating and generating electricity. Industry sources predict China will consume as much as 1.5 to 1.6 billion tons by the year 2000. Coal burning emits several harmful air pollutants including carbon dioxide (Co2), a major contributor to the global warming or "greenhouse effect," and sulfur dioxide (So2), the main cause of acid rain, which destroys the nutritional value of soil and pollutes rivers and lakes. "As far as I'm concerned, laws are the only way to restrict the rapid development of the coal industry. We can also use laws and regulations to encourage development of renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power, wind, tidal, geothermal power and biogas, as well as nuclear power plants," Yang said. The threat of excessive dependence on coal is of such a serious nature that Yang sees the construction of nuclear power plants and the environmentally controversial Three Gorges dam -- set to be the world's largest -- as necessary projects to limit coal use in China. Despite nearly universal ignorance of environmental concerns among the general masses, Yang stressed the Chinese Government's commitment to environmental protection, citing its signing of the UN-sponsored framework convention on climate change and the convention on biological diversity at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The 1993 establishment of the NPC Environmental Protection Committee places priority on environmental legislation aimed at controlling pollution and protecting natural resources, he said. New construction projects in China now must first have an environmental impact statement approved, he said, while several draft laws will lay down standards for solid waste disposal, air and water pollution as well as |
FBIS3-27023_1 | Interview With Environment Official on Coal Use | contributor to the global warming or "greenhouse effect," and sulfur dioxide (So2), the main cause of acid rain, which destroys the nutritional value of soil and pollutes rivers and lakes. "As far as I'm concerned, laws are the only way to restrict the rapid development of the coal industry. We can also use laws and regulations to encourage development of renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power, wind, tidal, geothermal power and biogas, as well as nuclear power plants," Yang said. The threat of excessive dependence on coal is of such a serious nature that Yang sees the construction of nuclear power plants and the environmentally controversial Three Gorges dam -- set to be the world's largest -- as necessary projects to limit coal use in China. Despite nearly universal ignorance of environmental concerns among the general masses, Yang stressed the Chinese Government's commitment to environmental protection, citing its signing of the UN-sponsored framework convention on climate change and the convention on biological diversity at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The 1993 establishment of the NPC Environmental Protection Committee places priority on environmental legislation aimed at controlling pollution and protecting natural resources, he said. New construction projects in China now must first have an environmental impact statement approved, he said, while several draft laws will lay down standards for solid waste disposal, air and water pollution as well as standards for resource exploitation. China's environmental protection is an uphill battle against not only the demands of rapid economic development and growing energy use, but subject to the tremendous pressures of a massive, largely uneducated agrarian population which feeds the nation on only 7 percent of the world's arable land. Chemical fertilizers, deforestation and indiscriminate strip- mining are leading to rapid soil erosion, while new highly- productive seed varieties are diminishing genetic variety while increasing the susceptibility of entire crops to a number of destructive plant viruses. Although Yang is careful to support the party's official policy of fast, healthy and stable economic growth, "my own opinion is that we don't want to develop too fast," he says. "Ten percent growth is too fast. I hope we can control growth to keep it below that level, ideally in the range of 6 percent." "We are faced with a very critical environmental situation," Yang said. "Our challenge is to do our best to overcome this serious situation," he said. |
FBIS3-27032_0 | Hainan Plans Big Boost in Power Generation | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Haikou, February 15 (CNS)--Hainan will boost its vast spending on power generation this year with the planned capacity of generating sets to be installed put at 400,000 kilowatts. The tense state regarding power consumption which has surfaced throughout the province since the second half of last year will then be basically alleviated. A Hainan pivotal project for a hydroelectric power station and water conservancy as well as part of the generating sets for the Sanya Power Station, all of which are now under construction, will go into operation this year. The 120,000-kilowatt generating set which is kerosene-powered at the Haimei Power Station and two 100,000-kilowatt geneating sets at the Dongfang Power Plant will be solely funded by foreign investors for their construction this year. The kerosene-powered generating set installed at the Haimei Power Station is expected to go into operation by the end this year. It is expected that construction will start in the first half of this year on two 125,000-kilowatt generating sets involved in the 3d phase expansion of the Haikou Power Plant. Three generating sets each with a capacity of 20,000 kilowatts at the Gezhen Hydroelectric Station will be under construction sometime between late this year and early next year while two 30,000-kilowatt generating sets at the Basuo Power Plant will be constructed late this year. The Hainan authorities also plan to bring in foreign capital for exploitation of nuclear power with the selection of a site for the first nuclear power station to be completed this year. A feasibility study will be carried out for the first-phase project which involves a 300,000-kilowatt generating sets. |
FBIS3-27036_3 | `Military Brass' Transfers To Aid Jiang Zemin's Power | original units, and their hidden influence should not be overlooked. At the same time, a number of military brass who had been promoted for suppressing the 1989 students' movement were demoted. This category included Commander Wang Cheng, Deputy Commander Zou Yuqi, and Political Commissar Zhang Gong -- all of the Beijing Military Region. They all were the major military brass who suppressed the 1989 students' movement. At that time, Wang Chengbin was the deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region who led troops to Beijing to participate in the suppression, Zou Yuqi was the chief of staff of the troops that enforced martial law, Zhang Gong was director of the Beijing Military Region's Political Department and the man of the day in the "4 June" incident. Now one of them has retired, another has been transferred to the border areas, and the whereabouts of the third are unknown. In view of the fact that there is no end to the talk that "the Yangs" could stage a comeback after Deng, Jiang Zemin has spared no effort in completely uprooting the Yangs' influence. At the same time, he has removed from important posts all those people who were involved in the "4 June" incident, an act that should contribute to easing people's grievances against the CPC. The traditional view is that the aim of the CPC's transferring the military brass lies in reducing their influence, so as to make effective control over the military possible. Some people believe that this transfer of the military brass will bring about a situation in which "commanders are unfamiliar with the troops, and vice versa." However, ZHONGGUO JUSHI believes that a motive that has been neglected is the promotion of cooperation among the military regions and various service arms, so these transfers may be a means of "killing two birds with one stone." The military brass promoted during the current reshuffle included Li Laizhu, the newly appointed commander of the Beijing Military Region. The rest mostly were transferred from other military regions. There was a high frequency of exchanging commanders between military regions. For example, Lieutenant General Gu Hui, of the Nanjing Military Region, served in the Guangzhou Military Region for almost 40 years before his recent transfer. Both Liu Yuanan, former political commissar of the Nanjing Military Region, and Fang Zhuqi, the region's newly appointed political commissar, used to serve in the Guangzhou Military |
FBIS3-27040_1 | Army Paper Views `Business Card Fad' in Ranks | in office work, accounting for 92 percent, and 15 others working in military-run enterprises, accounting for 8 percent. These business cards are characterized by the abundant use of Army unit designations, titles, and sensitive internal Army telephone numbers. With these problems in mind, this writer has conducted investigations in several Army units. People have reported that the indiscriminate printing and distribution of business cards poses many disadvantages to army building: It endangers the management and security of the barracks areas. After taking the business cards offered them by servicemen, some job-seekers have visited various Army units "out of admiration." To find a suitable job, they go to this office today and that office tomorrow in an effort to establish a network of relationships. This has not only disrupted the normal work and order in the barracks areas but has also encouraged unhealthy practices. Some unscrupulous persons have even taken advantage of the opportunity to commit crimes in Army units. It discredits the Army units' prestige. To build up their social status, some servicemen have indiscriminately added titles to their business cards, such as "director" of this factory, "manager" or "business section head" of that company, and "member" or "director" of a wide variety of societies and associations. As some are not worthy of these titles, the prestige of the Army units has suffered. It is not conducive to confidential nature of the Army units' work. Some of the business cards carry the Army unit designation, detailed address, and internal telephone numbers. This has undoubtedly gravely damaged confidentiality. There has been no lack of lessons in this regard. According to an armed services newspaper report on 27 March 1993, an operational staff officer called He from an Army unit stationed in a special economic zone gave his cousin in Hong Kong a business card bearing the address and classified telephone number of his unit. The result is that the classified telephone is no longer classified. A certain clerical worker called Huang also brought losses to army building by indiscriminately distributing his business cards, which have been made use of by an enemy agent. In short, the fashion of distributing business cards in Army units has more disadvantages than advantages for army building and should arouse the close attention of the department concerned. It is necessary to adopt effective measures to step up guidance and management, especially to strictly observe security discipline. |
FBIS3-27046_2 | Tibet Nuns Escape, Recount Prison Experiences | be repatriated to Tibet if they did not pay up. The nuns did pay, but they were still arrested and jailed for a number of days in Kathmandu. After that, their rescuers took them to India's Damoshara, where the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and political leader, lives in exile. Two motives made the nuns face the hard journey across the Himalayas so bravely. First, they wished to pursue their religious belief under the leadership of the Dalai Lama. Many Tibetan people believe the Dalai Lama is the incarnation of the Buhhda. The nuns also wanted to tell human rights organizations about their sufferings in a Chinese prison, where they were tortured, beaten, and humiliated. Their testimony will expose the hypocrisy of the Beijing authorities' propaganda about the improvement of human rights conditions in Tibet. The Clinton administration was threatening to rescind China's most-favored-nation status unless Beijing stopped persecuting dissidents and respected Tibet's religion and culture. The story told by the nuns made people doubt China's willingness to relax its high-handed rule in Tibet. A number of Tibetans were put into prison for openly criticizing China's restraints on Tibetan culture. One of them protested for only for 90 seconds, shouting: "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Freedom for Tibet." He then was taken away by the secret police. For their protests, the nuns were jailed three years. In prison, they were beaten and were assaulted with electric batons on their tongues, breasts, and legs. One nun said she was told that the Chinese Government had arrested a nun and cut her breasts off. She decided to do something because when she was only 15 years old she was arrested. She was also beaten when being interrogated under torture. Another form of torture experienced by another nun was called "flying a plane." She was tied up by the thumbs, hung from the ceiling, and beaten. She also was assaulted with a cattle prod. She said that the policemen demanded that she put out her tongue; they then used a cattle prod on it. The attack made her lose consciousness. After she fell, they took her up and repeated the torture. All the nuns were held in the prison most well-known to Tibetan people, which is located not far from Lhasa. In prison, they met a woman who had been jailed for participating in the 1989 demonstrations for Tibet independence. There, the woman |
FBIS3-27048_21 | Hebei Province Holds Seventh Plenary Session Secretary Addresses Session | work to ban unwarranted pooling of funds, wanton requisition of donations, and exaction of fees should be carried out through to the end until actual results are achieved; and conscientious efforts should be made to straighten out and thoroughly correct the problems of some leading cadres at and above the county level who vied with each other to buy deluxe cars, used public cars for private purposes in violation of regulations, wasted public funds in lavish wining and dining and buying gifts, and abused power to occupy excessively large houses, build private houses, or decorate private houses with public funds. Second, we should make great efforts to check four unhealthy trends. We should strictly investigate and resolutely put an end to the four unhealthy trends of abusing power for extortion, swindling, cheating customers, and telling lies, making false records and accounts, and selling fake and inferior commodities, which have seriously affected Hebei's reform and opening up and its image in foreign countries; local and trade protectionism; as well as partiality in law enforcement for the benefits of friends and relatives. Third, we should be more resolute in eliminating pornography, the abduction of women and children, and the "six vices." We should adopt the legal means to sternly crack down on all ugly phenomena, such as production and sales of pornographic products, prostitution and visits to prostitutes, abduction and trafficking of women and children, gambling, and sex business. Fourth, we should continue the struggle of "dealing strict blows." We should make unremitting efforts to sternly crack down on serious criminal and economic offenses and organize special struggles in a timely manner to correct the practice of replacing punishment according to criminal law with fines and excessive leniency in punishment. Public security departments, procuratorates, courts, and judicial departments should strengthen coordination and cooperation to successfully perform their function of dictatorship. Fifth, we should achieve success in comprehensively improving public security. Through the comprehensive improvement activities, we should reduce incidence of crimes, juvenile delinquency, and serious mishaps and prevent the ugly phenomena from spreading in society. Responsibility for the targets of the comprehensive improvement activities should be resolutely assigned to units and individuals. Sixth, we should intensify the maintenance of stability among the grass roots. In regard to the instable factors, the grass-roots party and government organizations should realistically assume responsibility in order to nip problems in the bud so as to avoid |
FBIS3-27054_0 | Foreign Ministry Holds Weekly News Briefing Views Detention of Missionaries | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Management of Foreigners' Religious Activities in China" -- XINHUA headline] [Text] Beijing, February 17 (XINHUA) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said here today that claims that the recently promulgated regulation on the management of foreigners' religious activities in China has limited links between Chinese and foreign religious people were totally groundless. At a weekly press conference here this afternoon, the spokesman said China is a country that pays great attention to the rule by law. He said the regulation fully shows that the Chinese Government respects the freedom of religious belief of foreigners in China and of Chinese citizens, protects their normal religious activities, and preserves normal friendly contacts and cultural and academic exchanges between foreign and Chinese people in the religious field. Meanwhile, he said, the regulation also demonstrates the principles set forth in China's constitution that China's religious bodies and religious affairs will not be subjected to any foreign domination. The spokesman said foreigners in China should abide by Chinese laws and should neither harm the country's public social interests nor interfere in its religious affairs. When asked to confirm whether the Chinese Public Security Department had arrested foreign Christians, the spokesman said three American citizens and two citizens from Indonesia conducted illegal religious activities between February 9 and 11, 1994, in Henan Province of China, thus violating the regulation on the maintenance of social order of the People's Republic of China and the regulation on the management of foreigners' religious activities in China. On February 11, the local public security bureau, in accordance with Chinese laws, conducted an investigation, instructing and giving warnings to these people, and shortened the term of stay in China for one American citizen among them, the spokesman said. These people acknowleged that they had violated Chinese laws, made guarantees that they would no longer conduct such activities and left for Hong Kong on the afternoon of February 15, he said. |
FBIS3-27056_2 | `News Analysis' Views U.S. Leader as `Salesman in Chief' | In selling 50 airplanes to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. is expected to keep nearly 200,000 high-paying, high-tech jobs in the two companies, and in United Technologies Inc. and General Electric Co., makers of aircraft engines. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, the first and third largest aircraft makers, are competing with the European Airbus consortium, the producer of one in every four of the world's commercial airplanes. In the Seattle-based Boeing company, commercial jetliner deliveries dropped from 440 in 1991 to 300 last year, while its profit margin -- the net income as a percentage of the total sales, was pared down from 5.3 percent to 4.6 percent. The overall earning of the Long Beach, California-based McDonnell Douglas Corp. is up thanks to increasing demand for key military planes like C-17 transport aircraft and F-15 fighters. But as far as commercial aircraft were concerned, the firm had more orders canceled than won in 1993. The two companies, which have a combined workforce of 150,000 are still cutting hands. The total employment in U.S. civil aircraft industry stands at some 250,000, down nearly one third from the peak level in 1991. The plight, observers noted, explains how dependent corporate America has become on foreign sales in the wake of defense conversion and their own fat cutting. A year ago, President Clinton, in his first major foreign trade policy speech, pledged that his government would be more than aggressive in assisting American companies abroad in order to make them "compete, not retreat." In the national export strategy unveiled late last year, the administration promised to help boost the exports of key industries like auto, telecommunications, petroleum, banking and insurance services. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, is listing 10 countries as key emerging markets for American products and preparing specifically targeted export strategies. According to government officials, every billion dollars of exports means 20,000 new jobs at home. The new deal with Saudi Arabia is 15 percent of the annual U.S. exports of commercial aircraft. The administration is also eyeing the profitable phone markets in Saudi Arabia, which plans to put in 1.5 million more phone lines, willing to help AT&T against Siemens of Germany in winning four billion dollars worth contracts. "If there are two or three or four American companies competing against foreign competitors, we're going to support all of them," Secretary Brown said. "We're not going to choose among or between American companies." |
FBIS3-27058_5 | Article Views Challenges to British Diplomacy | has lacked the strength to recover. Just as the British magazine the ECONOMIST has stated, "Britain's real significance has been on the wane to a considerable extent." Economic reality has made people realize that "its position of strength of the past is gone forever." The radical changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the reunification of Germany, and the conclusion of the Cold War have fundamentally changed the international environment which Britain has relied upon to maneuver and carry out its foreign policies. First, the end of the Cold War noticeably weakened the British position and influence. Being a victorious nation in World War II and the second largest economic power in the capitalist world in early post-war years, and backed up by the "special British-U.S. relationship," Britain played an important role in the formation and development of the international political and economic order after World War II. With the lapse of the Cold War era, however, the importance of the military factor in the relations of the Western alliance have declined, while that of economic factors has risen remarkably. Thus, its political superiority -- based on its military capability and its role in the defense of the West -- has been deteriorating imperceptibly. Moreover, united Germany has grown to be the number one economic power in Europe and occupies an increasingly important position of leadership in the EC with every passing day. As a result, in foreign affairs the United States is leaning more toward Germany as the days go by. Second, U.S. foreign policy specialists maintain that the "future of the world lies in Asia." Asia's position in the U.S. global strategy has risen somewhat, and the relationship between the United States and the Western European countries, including Britain, is facing new readjustments. Although Britain's national strength is far from what it was in the past, the British Government has not redefined its position and policy goals according to the new international pattern. Conversely, it has continued to pursue Churchill's "three-circle diplomacy." This is a tough problem for British diplomacy. Therefore, the British press maintains that Britain's foreign policy goals are in urgent need of further readjustment." A senior British Government official also said a short time ago that Britain will lose its international influence -- which it still possesses -- unless it reevaluates its foreign policy goals and refrains from sticking its nose in everybody's business. |
FBIS3-27094_0 | Hijacker `Mainland Soldier' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Debbie Kuo] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) -- A mainland soldier, identified as Lin Wenqiang, teamed up with his wife and three other family members to hijack a Southwest China Airlines Boeing 737 to Taiwan Friday morning. It was the first hijacking of a mainland passenger plane to Taiwan in 1994 and the 11th since last April. Lin, 26, wearing the uniform of a People's Liberation Army soldier, forced the Boeing 737 to Taiwan with a knife and a glass filled with tissue paper which lin claimed was an explosive, airport police reported. The hijacking was reported at around 10:30 a.m. [0130 GMT] after a Southwest China Airlines 737 flying from Chengdu in Sichuan Province veered off course over Fuzhou and approached Taiwan. The flight, with 122 passengers and eight crew members on board, landed in Taiwan at 10:43 a.m. and was expected to fly back to the mainland via Hong Kong after refueling, the police said. Lin, his wife, mother and two children were arrested for their involvement in the hijacking and were sent to the office of the Taoyuan prosecutor for questioning. The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Friday that Taiwan will continue to abide by the provisions of the Hague Convention, which requires separate treatment for hijacked aircraft and hijackers. Despite several rounds of negotiations between SEF and its mainland counterpart Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the two sides failed to reach any agreement on ways to avoid the repeated hijackings. Friday's hijacking underlined air security problems on the Chinese Mainland. A Wednesday report by the International Airline Passengers Association called air travel in the mainland, "an ongoing disaster," and urged visitors to the mainland to avoid air travel. Last year, ten mainland passenger airplanes were hijacked to Taiwan. The hijackings occurred on a number of different flight paths and took place in the months of April, June, August, September, October, November and December. |
FBIS3-27098_1 | Legislators Urge Stronger Punishments for Hijackers Recommend `Heavy Punishment' | a police officer. Lin, 36 (eds: correct), impersonated a military police officer, and ordered the crew of the Chinese airliner with 130 people on board, including eight crew, to change course when the plane was on a domestic flight from Changsha to the coastal city of Fuzhou. Lin, a business manager at a state-run company in Changsha, Hunan province, brought his foster mother, wife, and two sons aged 9 and 11 with him. Lin was arrested after he surrendered to police when the plane touched down at Taiwan's international airport at 10:43 a.m. (0243 GMT). All passengers, including Lin's family and the crew, were returned to Fuzhou via Hong Kong four hours later. "I used a fake military police ID which I obtained through a friend to board the plane," Lin told reporters before being taken to the prosecutor's office, explaining why the airport personnel did not search him. Lin used a knife and a fake bomb to make the pilot fly to Taiwan, Huang said. The bomb turned out to be a lid cup stuffed with toilet paper. The hijacker showed a crew member a piece of paper that said: "I want to hijack the plane to Taiwan. If you come close to me, I will blast off the plane," Huang said. Lin said he had planned the hijacking since October last year. "I had been prosecuted [as received] by the communists ... and wanted to come here," he said, adding he was aware that hijacking was a crime in Taiwan. The incident was the 11th in ten months, and the first this year. A total of 15 suspects were involved in the hijacking of Chinese airliners to Taiwan last year. The issue has become a new source of friction between Taiwan and China. The two sides have remained rivals since the 1949 Chinese civil war after which the defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Both governments claim sovereignty over all of China. Represented by their semi-official agencies, the two sides began negotiations in Beijing in August 1993. Although the two sides held three rounds of talks, no conclusion on the repatriation of the hijackers was reached. China has strongly demanded the return of hijackers, but Taiwan insists it has the jurisdiction to handle the cases and try the hijackers here. Taiwan has so far sentenced six of the 15 hijackers to jail terms ranging from six to ten years. |
FBIS3-27099_10 | Premier Lien on Cross-Strait Ties, Other Issues We Cannot Consider Things on Purely Economic Grounds; the Time Is Not Ripe for Direct Cross-Strait Shipping and Air Services The Southern Policy Is Based on Pragmatism; More Efforts Will Be Needed To Break Out of Our Diplomatic Predicament The Cabinet Will Be Partly Reshuffled After the Lunar New Year; the Question of Candidates Cannot Be Determined Now We Have Conducted an Overview of Malpractices in Arms Purchases; We Will Focus on Tightening Budgetary Control | We do not want to place all our economic strength in one basket; the preservation and development of Taiwan's economic strength should be the guiding principle governing all our economic activities. I made a trip to Southeast Asia recently. Economics departments have also come up with the so-called southern policy. Our investment in Southeast Asia stands at about $15 billion today; imports from that region accounts for about 11 percent while exports account for 32 percent of the ROC's total exports. It is a very important region. The Southern Policy Is Based on Pragmatism; More Efforts Will Be Needed To Break Out of Our Diplomatic Predicament [Correspondent] What is your view of the practice of "vacation diplomacy"? Are there plans for overseas trips for other cabinet members? [Lien] The primary consideration behind my visit to Southeast Asia and the subsequent announcement of the "southern policy" is the fact that the ROC has an investment of $15 billion in that region, which also accounts for 32 percent of the ROC's exports. With the exception of Thailand, we have signed agreements with all countries in that region on investment protection and protection against double taxation. We have close ties with them. We hope to participate more in Southeast Asian organizations meetings and activities. All in all, we must not look at only the regional and functional aspects in considering issues related to the "southern policy." I made a trip to Southeast Asia not long ago primarily because it was New Year's and I had some days off. I went to Malaysia and Singapore and met their government leaders. The trip to Honduras was an official diplomatic mission ordered by the president. The government is facing great difficulties in diplomacy. I always feel that we should make our voice heard by our friends and the world at large. We also hope to make our strength, good will, contributions, and ideas heard and seen by all the people. As long as resources permit, I am all for the idea that relevant government personnel should turn up more frequently in different locations and at different international occasions to publicize our nation. That is what you reporters call "show up faces." As a matter of fact, we have to show up to let everybody know that we did not vanish; rather we are growing in strength with each passing day. I think it is very important. |
FBIS3-27104_0 | Accidents Force Closure of Coal Mines in Northeast | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, Feb 18 (AFP)--Some 1,783 coal mines in northeastern China have been closed amid concern about the growing number of fatal accidents there, the China Business Times reported Friday. The report blamed Heilongjiang province's Jixi city mining accidents on poor management and said the mines would be reorganised. The report did not say when or whether the Manchurian mines would reopen. In addition, mine safety would be increased, the newspaper said. Officials who do not properly understand mining or management and inadequately trained technical staff and miners will be replaced, the report said, adding that women employed underground will not remain in those jobs. Emphasis will be put on upgrading safety equipment, the newspaper said. Northeastern China is the centre of the country's coal mining industry, where dismal safety standards cause large numbers of accidents and fatalities. In the final week of January alone, 155 people died in a series of deadly gas explosions in coal mines. The worst accident killed 99 miners. Labour and coal officials held an emergency meeting early this month after the spate of accidents. The worst safety conditions are in the thousands of small, private operations that have mushroomed across the country and hired workers from the countryside without properly training them, the newspaper said. |
FBIS3-27114_0 | Shanghai Sets Goals for 1994 Scientific Work | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By correspondent Shi Kehui (2457 0668 6540) and reporter Zhang Xuequan (1728 1331 0356)] [Text] Hua Yuda, chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, said recently: To steer science and technology onto the market as soon as possible, and to organize scientists and technicians to better serve economic construction are the main themes of Shanghai's scientific and technological work this year. He said the municipality should make new progress in five fields of scientific and technological work. We must make great progress in industries using new and high technology, focusing on bioengineering and new pharmaceutical industries. We will strive to establish 200 new enterprises using new and high technology, increasing the output value of industries using such technology to more than 20 billion yuan this year, approximately 6 billion yuan more than last year's planned target. We must increase the number of private scientific and technological enterprises from more than 6,000 currently to more than 7,000. We must vigorously lead qualified enterprises to broaden their scale, raise their technological levels, industrialize new and high technology, form conglomerates, and internationalize new and high technology. We must achieve significant breakthroughs in technological exchanges and establish markets for specialized technologies, such as computer science, bioengineering, and new pharmaceuticals. In 1994, we will strive to achieve more than 2.2 billion yuan in trade volume in technological markets. We must make rapid progress in raising key basic research projects to world levels. Last year, more than 40 basic research projects reached advanced international levels. This year we will strive to make new progress on the basis of last year's achievements. We must bring about significant changes in reforming the scientific and technological structure and grant independent foreign trading rights to research institutions which have sound foundations and conditions. We should set up, on a trial basis, a group of research and development institutions jointly funded by Chinese and foreigners, and combine basic research with technological development. This year, Shanghai will create even better conditions under which scientists and technicians, the middle-aged and young ones in particular, will conduct scientific research. It will provide assistants for some 200 leading figures in various scientific fields; abundant scientific research funds for approximately 3,000 researchers of the basic sciences; and special allowances for around 150 key members in scientific and technological fields, who will receive an average annual allowance of 4,000 to 5,000 |
FBIS3-27125_0 | Hijacker `Mainland Soldier' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Debbie Kuo] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) -- A mainland soldier, identified as Lin Wenqiang, teamed up with his wife and three other family members to hijack a Southwest China Airlines Boeing 737 to Taiwan Friday morning. It was the first hijacking of a mainland passenger plane to Taiwan in 1994 and the 11th since last April. Lin, 26, wearing the uniform of a People's Liberation Army soldier, forced the Boeing 737 to Taiwan with a knife and a glass filled with tissue paper which lin claimed was an explosive, airport police reported. The hijacking was reported at around 10:30 a.m. [0130 GMT] after a Southwest China Airlines 737 flying from Chengdu in Sichuan Province veered off course over Fuzhou and approached Taiwan. The flight, with 122 passengers and eight crew members on board, landed in Taiwan at 10:43 a.m. and was expected to fly back to the mainland via Hong Kong after refueling, the police said. Lin, his wife, mother and two children were arrested for their involvement in the hijacking and were sent to the office of the Taoyuan prosecutor for questioning. The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Friday that Taiwan will continue to abide by the provisions of the Hague Convention, which requires separate treatment for hijacked aircraft and hijackers. Despite several rounds of negotiations between SEF and its mainland counterpart Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the two sides failed to reach any agreement on ways to avoid the repeated hijackings. Friday's hijacking underlined air security problems on the Chinese Mainland. A Wednesday report by the International Airline Passengers Association called air travel in the mainland, "an ongoing disaster," and urged visitors to the mainland to avoid air travel. Last year, ten mainland passenger airplanes were hijacked to Taiwan. The hijackings occurred on a number of different flight paths and took place in the months of April, June, August, September, October, November and December. |
FBIS3-27129_1 | Legislators Urge Stronger Punishments for Hijackers Recommend `Heavy Punishment' | a police officer. Lin, 36 (eds: correct), impersonated a military police officer, and ordered the crew of the Chinese airliner with 130 people on board, including eight crew, to change course when the plane was on a domestic flight from Changsha to the coastal city of Fuzhou. Lin, a business manager at a state-run company in Changsha, Hunan province, brought his foster mother, wife, and two sons aged 9 and 11 with him. Lin was arrested after he surrendered to police when the plane touched down at Taiwan's international airport at 10:43 a.m. (0243 GMT). All passengers, including Lin's family and the crew, were returned to Fuzhou via Hong Kong four hours later. "I used a fake military police ID which I obtained through a friend to board the plane," Lin told reporters before being taken to the prosecutor's office, explaining why the airport personnel did not search him. Lin used a knife and a fake bomb to make the pilot fly to Taiwan, Huang said. The bomb turned out to be a lid cup stuffed with toilet paper. The hijacker showed a crew member a piece of paper that said: "I want to hijack the plane to Taiwan. If you come close to me, I will blast off the plane," Huang said. Lin said he had planned the hijacking since October last year. "I had been prosecuted [as received] by the communists ... and wanted to come here," he said, adding he was aware that hijacking was a crime in Taiwan. The incident was the 11th in ten months, and the first this year. A total of 15 suspects were involved in the hijacking of Chinese airliners to Taiwan last year. The issue has become a new source of friction between Taiwan and China. The two sides have remained rivals since the 1949 Chinese civil war after which the defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Both governments claim sovereignty over all of China. Represented by their semi-official agencies, the two sides began negotiations in Beijing in August 1993. Although the two sides held three rounds of talks, no conclusion on the repatriation of the hijackers was reached. China has strongly demanded the return of hijackers, but Taiwan insists it has the jurisdiction to handle the cases and try the hijackers here. Taiwan has so far sentenced six of the 15 hijackers to jail terms ranging from six to ten years. |
FBIS3-27130_10 | Premier Lien on Cross-Strait Ties, Other Issues We Cannot Consider Things on Purely Economic Grounds; the Time Is Not Ripe for Direct Cross-Strait Shipping and Air Services The Southern Policy Is Based on Pragmatism; More Efforts Will Be Needed To Break Out of Our Diplomatic Predicament The Cabinet Will Be Partly Reshuffled After the Lunar New Year; the Question of Candidates Cannot Be Determined Now We Have Conducted an Overview of Malpractices in Arms Purchases; We Will Focus on Tightening Budgetary Control | We do not want to place all our economic strength in one basket; the preservation and development of Taiwan's economic strength should be the guiding principle governing all our economic activities. I made a trip to Southeast Asia recently. Economics departments have also come up with the so-called southern policy. Our investment in Southeast Asia stands at about $15 billion today; imports from that region accounts for about 11 percent while exports account for 32 percent of the ROC's total exports. It is a very important region. The Southern Policy Is Based on Pragmatism; More Efforts Will Be Needed To Break Out of Our Diplomatic Predicament [Correspondent] What is your view of the practice of "vacation diplomacy"? Are there plans for overseas trips for other cabinet members? [Lien] The primary consideration behind my visit to Southeast Asia and the subsequent announcement of the "southern policy" is the fact that the ROC has an investment of $15 billion in that region, which also accounts for 32 percent of the ROC's exports. With the exception of Thailand, we have signed agreements with all countries in that region on investment protection and protection against double taxation. We have close ties with them. We hope to participate more in Southeast Asian organizations meetings and activities. All in all, we must not look at only the regional and functional aspects in considering issues related to the "southern policy." I made a trip to Southeast Asia not long ago primarily because it was New Year's and I had some days off. I went to Malaysia and Singapore and met their government leaders. The trip to Honduras was an official diplomatic mission ordered by the president. The government is facing great difficulties in diplomacy. I always feel that we should make our voice heard by our friends and the world at large. We also hope to make our strength, good will, contributions, and ideas heard and seen by all the people. As long as resources permit, I am all for the idea that relevant government personnel should turn up more frequently in different locations and at different international occasions to publicize our nation. That is what you reporters call "show up faces." As a matter of fact, we have to show up to let everybody know that we did not vanish; rather we are growing in strength with each passing day. I think it is very important. |
FBIS3-27134_0 | PRC Bans Sea Dumping of Radioactive Waste | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Beijing, February 18 (XINHUA) -- Beginning Sunday, China will ban dumping of all kinds of radioactive wastes and disposal of industrial waste and incineration of industrial waste and sewage sludge in its sea waters, a Chinese official said here today. According to Yang Wenhe, deputy-director of the State Bureau of Oceanography, the Chinese Government has accepted the terms of three international resolutions concerning disposal at sea of radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter and the phasing out of sea disposal of industrial waste and incineration at sea. The resolutions were approved by member nations of the convention on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping wastes and other matter in London last November and will take effect on February 20, 1994. "The approval and implementation of the three resolutions means a stricter global control of dumping of wastes at sea," Yang told XINHUA. "China will strictly comply with the resolutions and implement them in letter and spirit," he said. "China will ban the dumping of waste matters which do not conform to the standards set by the resolutions," he added. "disposing of wastes without license or dumping irresponsibly at sea will be punished severely according to law." With special permission, disposal of low-level radioactive waste at sea is allowed, according to China's present "rules of controlling dumping at sea." Controlled low-level toxic or non-toxic industrial waste is also allowed to be dumped at sea with permission. But incineration at sea has never taken place in China. "China will make necessary revisions of the rules and regulations concerned," Yang said. According to the Chinese official, the dumping of wastes at sea has been under strict management and control in China, according to a system which includes application, examination, approval and issuing of permits. The State Council has approved 38 dumping regions in China's sea waters. The major dumping material has been castoff from dredging, according to Yang. "In recent years, no pollution accidents caused by dumping of waste in Chinese seas have occurred. Close monitoring also indicates that the water quality around the dumping regions remains fine," he said. |
FBIS3-27164_2 | Editorial Says NATO Air Strikes To Be Counterproductive | problem of Bosnia-Herzegovina since it took power. In his presidential campaign, Clinton criticized Bush as weak and incompetent, saying that he would dispatch a shock brigade to march to the Sarajevo Airport. However, faced with the complicated situation of Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as acting under the constraints of allied powers and the U.S. people, all Clinton could do after assuming office was to air-drop food to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Now, in assuming airs of launching air strikes at whatever cost, Clinton has two things in mind: The first one is to coerce the Muslims to accept a political settlement package which will be even more unfavorable to them than the previous ones, and the second one is to seize the opportunity to increase U.S. influence in the Balkans. Although it fails to control the worsening situation of former Yugoslavia, the United States has secretly penetrated its influence there. Last year, the United States successfully sought the approval of Albania in renting a naval base and stationing two spy aircraft there, and then dispatched 300 troops, while flaunting the banner of UN forces, to Macedonia where conflicts would break out. It was reported that every week over the past few months, there has been a U.S. four-star general coming to Macedonia for inspection. Foreign journalists stated that these moves were certainly not as simple as inspiring troops' morale. Hence, this explains why Yeltsin must make a quick response to the developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina. NATO is assuming a strong posture and it seems that air strikes are imminent. However, viewed from the latest situation, the worst-case scenario can be averted. As the Serbs are "so wise as to suffer short-term losses" and are willing to cooperate with NATO, it is believed that the West is also willing to "back down after making small gains" in order to avoid armed clashes. If the armed clashes do break out, the negative impact is obvious. First, bombs will lead to retaliation, the security of UN forces will be severely threatened, and humanitarian aid will have to be suspended again. Consequently, there will be greater casualties and more civilians will suffer. Second, the Serbs may intensify their retaliatory attacks against other towns and areas after giving up their tactic of besieging Sarajevo, and the war may spread to Kosovo, a region mainly populated by Albanians, and to Macedonia. In this way the civil war of Bosnia-Herzegovina will develop |
FBIS3-27208_2 | Editorial Attacks Patten's `Absurd Remarks' in Australia | Position on the Issue of Hong Kong," and its annotations in volume 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, to have a clear picture that, in the course of the Sino-British talks on the future of Hong Kong, the British side repeatedly insisted on its position of prolonging its right to rule over Hong Kong and maintaining British influence over Hong Kong after 1997. Nevertheless, the British side's stubborn position deservedly met with the Chinese side's firm opposition. It was under such circumstances that the British side had to sign the Joint Declaration. On this point, Mrs. Thatcher recorded clearly in her memoirs, "The Downing Street Years," in which she said that on 14 October 1983, she sent a letter to the Chinese side: "At this point, I have to make the decision that we shall return sovereignty to China as well as the right to rule," "this shows that we do not expect that power links between Britain and Hong Kong will continue to exist after 1997, and Britain will no longer have any obligations toward Hong Kong." Related annotations in the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping also indicate that in the wake of the British Prime Minister's letter of October 1983, "the British side has ascertained that it would no longer insist on British rule nor would it plan for any form of condominium, and has the understanding that China's plan is founded on the prerequisite that sovereignty and right of rule of Hong Kong in their entirety should be returned to China after 1997. Thus, the removal of the main hurdle to Sino-British talks began." Therefore, we can see that Chris Patten's remarks that "the idea that the Joint Declaration means to say Britain has no moral obligations and interests in Hong Kong after 1997 is entirely contradictory" runs counter to the true meaning of the Joint Declaration as well as historical facts. During his stay in Australia, Chris Patten also threatened: "If we think the Chinese are violating the solemn commitments they have made in the Joint Declaration, we are sure to raise this question in the international community...I am sure Britain will inevitably make some choices." The truth is that the British side has violated the Joint Declaration and its commitment to converge with the Basic Law and the Sino-British diplomatic understanding and accords, but Chris Patten went to the Australia and made false |
FBIS3-27214_0 | `Most Serious Railway Accident' Occurs in Hunan Guangdong Increases Troops | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Bruce Gilley] [Excerpt] Guangzhou has called in the People's Liberation Army to manage a deluge of out-of-province rural job-seekers that is expected to reach a peak in the next few days. The head of the city's New Year Transport Committee, Ma Yijun, said soldiers were being used at train stations and along railway lines to "assist" public security officers, armed police and railway police in maintaining order. "We've got hundreds of plainclothes and uniformed soldiers out there every day," Ma said. "Nobody would dare step out of line." The number of soldiers has been increased since last Tuesday's tragedy at Heng-yang in Hunan province where 51 job seekers were trampled to death after two trains arrived at the station at the same time. Ma said the Hengyang incident was "a small thing", but admitted a national circular had been issued since then to tighten management at train station. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-27224_6 | Chi Haotian Marks Anniversary of Su Yu's Death | masterpiece of Comrade Su Yu's systematic planning in operational command, and is of immortal military and academic value. In planning the campaign, Comrade Su Yu considered the war situation in central China as a big system. After giving consideration to the situations of both the enemy and his own army in central China, to the East China Field Army, and the Central China Field Army, and to the war zone's favorable climatic condition (being at the stage of a strategic turning point), favorable geographical condition (vast areas and smooth terrain are favorable for our regular army formations' mobile operations), and favorable human condition (with Shandong and the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan liberated area behind, the new liberated area in central China had begun to take shape) and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of conducting operations in central China and by crossing the Chang Jiang, Comrade Su Yu reached the conclusion that it was more advantageous to concentrate forces to conduct operations in central China than to cross the Chang Jiang and swiftly open the situation in central China, that it was imperative to fight large-scale battles of annihilation, and the condition for fighting such battles in central China was basically ripe. This was the basic operational assumption for concentrating forces to fight sizable battles in central China. On this basis, Comrade Su Yu further made an quantitative and qualitative analysis and by following the central demands, clearly defined that the basic goal of operations for the near future was to annihilate 5 or 6 to 11 or 12 enemy brigades in the Huang He-Huai He area. From the viewpoint of systematics, Comrade Su Yu's planning and direction of operations fully embodied the principle of "appropriate selection of the superior." In military struggle, the weighing of "discard" and "take" and decisionmaking are full of dialectics. Everyone who has some knowledge of the theory of systematics knows that the operations system is a dynamic system under which two living forces sharply confront each other and undergo drastic changes, and commanders of the opposing sides will make strenuous efforts to annihilate their enemy and achieve the "maximum value" of systems planning. However, although the "maximum value" exists in theory, it is difficult to achieve in reality. As such, military commanders are required to be good at judging the hour and sizing up the situation, weighing the advantages and disadvantages, and having the courage to "discard" while |
FBIS3-27231_0 | Air Force Control Unit Supervises Civil Aviation | Language: Mandarin Article Type:BFN [From the "News and Press Review" program] [Text] The Air Force's aviation control unit, which is in charge of managing and directing China's air traffic, has formulated a comprehensive system for civilian flight safety. Imbued with a profound sense of responsibility, officers of this special unit have played an active role in the first national flight safety month this year. At present, over 10,000 airplanes fly daily on 845 civil aviation routes nationwide. To ensure smooth and safe flights for airplanes, the Air Force aviation control unit has developed a comprehensive system of air traffic control rules and regulations, such as basic flight rules and flight control regulations, which are compatible with China's national conditions. The Air Force has allocated 40 percent of its radars operating daily to serve the needs of civil aviation. Moreover, the Air Force has vacated nearly 400 military aviation training (?fields) and has revised 27 military routes for civil aviation purposes. As a result, no air accidents due to inadequate aviation control have been reported for several decades. |
FBIS3-27272_1 | Reports on President Li's Southeast Asia Trip Premier Lien Comments | that President Li's unofficial visit is of positive significance to prosperity and progress in Southeast Asia. The premier also instructed ministries to compile the results and cooperation plans achieved during the tour and assign them to ministries for implementation. Yuan Tung has filed the following report: [Begin Yuan recording] Foreign Minister Chien Fu; Hsiao Wan-chang, Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning Development [CEPD], and (?Tai Yue-ming), deputy secretary general and spokesman of the Presidential Office, made reports or offered explanations of President Li's unofficial visit at the 17 February regular meeting of the Executive Yuan. Premier Lien Chan said: The President's visit is indeed very fruitful. (?Wu Chung-li), deputy director of the Government Information Office [GIO], relayed Premier Lien Chan's comments: [Begin (?Wu) recording] Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties with the three countries. The visit is, therefore, historic. This is particularly so in view of the deteriorating diplomatic situation our nation has faced in the past decade or more. The tour represents a rare feat. [end (?Wu) recording] Premier Lien also pointed out: The themes of President Li's tour were peace, progress, and prosperity and its principal goal is to promote the common welfare in the region. It will have a positive impact on development in the Asian-Pacific region as a whole. GIO deputy director (?Wu) relayed Premier Lien Chan's instructions: [Begin (?Wu) recording] Our main goals are to promote the common interest and welfare of the region. Every country or individual that genuinely cares about that region should support such an idea. For this reason, Premier Lien commented, it is hard to understand why the Chinese Communists voiced objections. The premier said regional cooperation and ties of this kind are conducive to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Under the themes of peace, progress, and prosperity, the countries concerned in Southeast Asia can help one another and obtain many cooperation projects through bilateral or multilateral cooperation. Once the foreign ministry and CEPD compile the list of cooperation projects and sort out the opportunities and plans, the work can be divided up among the ministries and commissions concerned for implementation. [end (?Wu) recording] Premier Lien also thanked the countries and heads of state that accorded hearty hospitality to President Li. He also thanked the personnel of the foreign ministry and CEPD for their hard work in connection with the trip. [end Yuan recording] |
FBIS3-27273_0 | Reports on President Li's Southeast Asia Trip Spokesman on Purpose | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Sofia Wu] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) -- The main purpose of President Li Teng-hui's recent informal visit to Southeast Asia was to demonstrate the Republic of China [ROC]'s desire to play an active and constructive role in the international community, a Presidential Office spokesman said Saturday. "President Li expressed Taiwan's intention to share its experience in economic development with other countries during his three-country Southeast Asia tour," Raymond Tai, deputy secretary-general to the president, explained at a forum sponsored by the CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY. Tai said Li's visit was also aimed at promoting trade and economic cooperation with Taiwan's neighboring countries. "The president hoped to find new regional cooperation fields through his visit to The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand," noted Tai who accompanied Li on his Feb. 9-16 visit, also billed as a "vacation trip." Speaking on the same occasion, opposition legislator Lu Hsiu-yi praised Li's pragmatic attitude in expanding Taiwan's international presence. "Albeit unofficial," Lu said, "the eight-day visit has spotlighted Taiwan's existence, which Beijing has persistently tried to ignore or deny." "Li's effort to promote economic cooperation with Southeast Asian nations also complies with the post-Cold War world trend," Lu noted. Regional economic cooperation is the catchword in today's international relations. "It is a correct strategy for Taiwan to strengthen economic ties with Southeast Asian nations as a way to balance its rapidly growing investment in Mainland China which remains hostile toward Taipei," Lu added. Jeffrey Ku, chairman of Chinatrust Commercial Bank and a dollar-a-year adviser to the cabinet, said at the CNA forum that Li's Southeast Asia visit would help encourage more Taiwan industrialists to invest in the region. Ku, also a member on Li's entourage, said Beijing had tried every possible means to block Li's unofficial visit. "We quietly swallowed all disgrace on many occasions in order to accomplish our task," Ku recalled. "Li's low profile and sincerity have won him friendship and respect of political leaders in the three countries, including Philippine President Fidel Ramos, Indonesian President Suharto and Thai King Phumiphon Adunyadet," Ku observed. The business tycoon added he believes that following Li's visit, the three countries will take gradual steps to improve services for Taiwan investors. |
FBIS3-27285_0 | `Most Serious Railway Accident' Occurs in Hunan Zhu Rongji, Zou Jiahua React | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By staff reporter: "Zou Jiahua Issued Instruction on More Quickly Expanding the Hengyang Railway Station"] [Text] Up to yesterday, the number of deaths in the Hengyang Railway Station tragedy on 15 February increased to 52, three more than the 49 deaths reported by MING PAO a few days ago. The three seriously wounded people were carried by their friends onto a train bound for Guangzhou and died during the journey. The 15 February accident was the most serious railway accident since the founding of the PRC. Shortly after the accident occurred, Zhu Rongji and Zou Jiahua, two vice premiers of the State Council, separately inspected the area where the accident occurred. Zou Jiahua went to the top floor of Hengyang's Jindu Hotel to look down at the railway station. After that, he told the authorities concerned to draw a serious lesson from the accident and properly arrange the spring passenger transportation every year. He also instructed Hengyang to more quickly complete the project of transforming and expanding the railway station. After the accident, the investigation group formed by the city party committee, the city government, the railway station, and the public utilities department reached announced their initial conclusions, pointing out that the railway station's backward facilities and poor management caused the tragedy. The head of the transportation department concerned was detained and may be brought to justice. The railway station's party secretary, Zhu, and director, Yin, were both dismissed from office. Two to three years ago, the Guangzhou Railway Group Corporation formulated a plan for transforming the Hengyang Railway Station. In order to protect economic returns, however, the city party committee, the city government, and the railway station kept passing the buck, and the project made very slow progress. The city party committee and the city government leaders, therefore, had to bear certain responsibility for the tragedy. The Hengyang Railway Station was built in the 1950's and 1960's, and the facilities were rather substantial when it was completed. Along with the development of the mainland's reforms and opening up and after the economic changes of the past 30 to 40 years, however, the railway station became rather outdated. Over the last few years, a large number of migrant rural laborers moved south to seek jobs, and, around the Chinese New Year, over 1 million migrant laborers returned home to hold family reunions and celebrate the festival. |
FBIS3-27290_2 | `Roundup' Views Russian Mediation in Sarajevo Situation | forces that Russia will deploy peacekeepers in the Bosnian capital. In return, the Serb side agreed to implement the ultimatum. The crisis was eased for a while, and everybody sighed a breath of relief. Local news media commented favorably on Moscow's mediation, describing it as a good show of Russia's independent foreign policy, which might help Russia strengthen its position and its influence on the world stage. The Balkan region had been a sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union. Russia, the legitimate heir of the Soviet empire, wants to keep it away from the finger of NATO, its flirting friend and hereditary foe. Moreover, if NATO had launched air strikes, it would have been its first military action on territories under the tutelage of the former Soviet Union. The Russian newspaper "PRAVDA" commented that it would have meant that NATO, the overpowering international military group of the time, was broadening its sphere of responsibility, and that it would harm Russia's strategic interests. From the geopolitical point of view, Russia wants to retain its interests in the Balkan region and in the meantime strengthen its big-power image in the world. The Russian Army newspaper "KRASNAYA ZVEZDA" said that if the West really wants peace in the Balkans, it ought to treat Russia as a big power and an equal partner. Peace could be achieved in former Yugoslavia and Bosnia only when the interests of various sides, including Russia, have been taken into careful account, it said. In Russia, political parties and government branches are unprecedentedly united in objecting to NATO's air strike threat. Yeltsin's tough stance on the issue will surely moderate the anti-air strike sentiment at home and strengthen his leadership. Moscow's success in persuading ethnic Serbs to end their 23-month siege of Sarajevo has pushed one step forward the process of politically settling the Bosnia conflict. Kremlin is winning in its diplomatic campaign. On February 21, after the deadline passed peacefully, Yeltsin phoned German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, putting forward three major tasks for an ultimate solution to the Bosnia crisis: -- Entrusting Sarajevo to U.N. management; -- Taking measures to strengthen other "security zones" in Bosnia; and -- Urging the three warring sides to sign an agreement on a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Observers here predict that Russia will seek to play an increasingly independent role in the making of peace in the war-tattered former Yugoslavia. |
FBIS3-27294_1 | U.S. Protests to Russia | National Security Advisor W. Anthony and others to gauge the damages caused by ames' selling of the CIA's vital operations and personnel information to Russia. In Moscow, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering also "raised this case with senior Russian officials," McCurry said. A senior administration official was quoted as saying that Moscow had been told to take responsibility for the case to avoid damaging the U.S.-Russian relationships. Washington was demanding that Russia recall their diplomats involved or, the anonymous official said, the U.S. would "take the actions ourselves." During the past nine years until his arrest on Monday, the Justice Department said, Ames and his 41-year-old wife Maia del Rosario Casas received more than 1.5 million dollars from the former Soviet Union's KGB and its Russian successor for giving vital information on the CIA's operations and personnel. If convicted, the couple could be sentenced a maximum of life imprisonment and 500,000 dollars in fines. According to Helen F. Fahey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ames also passed classified information to, and received cash from, Russians through "dead drops" in the Washington, D.C. area. A "dead drop" is a prearranged location where a foreign agent drops off or picks up material from his contact. It is not clear for the time being if any Russian diplomats here would be pronounced as "persona non grata" as a result of the couple's arrest. When telephoned for comments on the U.S. protest, a duty officer in the local Russian Embassy said nobody from the press office was available today. Attorney Fahey said in the complaint that Ames and his wife, a native of Colombia and a naturalized U.S. citizen, used at least two Swiss bank accounts to store and transfer the money they got from the Russians. The couple spent the money on, among other things, a 540,000 dollar house, Jaguar automobiles and more than 165,000 dollars in stocks and securities. FBI agents have seized the couple's residence in Arlington, Virginia, and frozen numerous bank accounts belonging to or controlled by the couple in the United States and abroad. Ames' wife is a part-time student at Georgetown University and previously acted as a paid source for the CIA in Mexico City, Mexico. "FBi Agents worked doggedly on this case -- not for months but for years -- with the CIA's unwavering assistance every step of the way," FBI Director Louis Freeh said. |
FBIS3-27304_2 | Survey Finds Apathy, Divided Opinion on Political Reforms | Sciences Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong, shows most people have either lost interest, or have never been interested in the political reforms. Only 12.1 percent said they were either very clear or resonably clear about what was going on. The survey shows that neither of the amendments proposed by Liberal Party and the United Democrats has been well received by public. Only 21 percent of those questioned agreed with the Liberal Party's amendment that arrangements for the 1995 Legco election should not be included in the bill, compared with 35.9 percent who did not agree. Only 32 percent supported the United Democrats' amendment to abolish all appointed or ex-officio seats of the Regional Council and district boards, compared with 38.8 percent who did not. There was an even split of opinion over the amendment raised by one legislator, Eric Li, who favoured a fixed ratio of one appointed seat to every three elected seats in the Urban and Regional councils and district boards. Fractionally more people supported than opposed the tabling and passage of the original version of the reform bill as proposed by Patten in autumn 1992 -- 27.6 percent against 26.9 percent. According to Robert Chung, the research officer in charge of the survey, none of the bill's proposals commanded the support of more than half of those questioned. "It shows an overwhelming indifference by the public with what's going on between Beijing and the Governor," Chung said. "Most of those interviewed have either shown no interest or no opinion at all." The poll provides further evidence of an erosion in public support for political reform compared with the high ratings for it seen after the measures were introduced by the Governor in 1992. The Executive Council [Exco] yesterday endorsed the disclosure tomorrow of the Foreign Office's account of the 17 rounds of fruitless talks with China on political reform. The disclosure will take the form of a United Kingdom White Paper. Yesterday, Zhang Junsheng, the deputy director of the New China News Agency (Xinhua), said China had never objected to the publication but stressed that it had to be done through diplomatic channels. Although Exco has approved publication, the final decision rests with Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary. There has been disagreement over whether the second political bill should be published in their original form or watered down as an olive branch to China. |
FBIS3-27335_0 | Tiananmen Military Spokesman Transferred to Academy | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Carol Pui-yee Lai] [Text] Lieutenant-General Zhang Gong, the military spokesman who claimed no students were killed in Tiananmen Square in the crushing of the 1989 pro democracy demonstrations, has been dismissed from his post. He was the political commissar of the Chengdu military region. Zhang, 59, has been transferred to the Academy of Military Sciences in what appears to be the only politically motivated transfer in a large scale reshuffle of personnel in the military regions and commands. The other changes appear to be routine retirements based on age, despite expectations of some analysts that this occasion would be used to carry out a second purge of allies and associates of Yang Baibing, who was removed from his post as secretary general of the Central Military Commission in 1992. The new wave of military personnel changes is the biggest since the reorganisation of the main military leadership in mid-1990. In all, 80 military region and command positions have been changed, analysts said. Zhang was reviled by many Chinese for his role as political department director of the martial law enforcement troops during the 1989 crackdown. In a televised news conference widely broadcast in China after June 4, Zhang claimed that no students had been killed in Tiananmen Square. His claim may have been technically true. No student demonstrators are known to have died on the square in the early morning of 4 June, though there were several civilian casualties within a few metres of the square, and large numbers of soldiers and civilians were killed as the martial law forces pushed their way into the centre of the city from the west. Zhang's appearance on television cemented his image as an apologist for the crackdown. He is being replaced by Zhang Zhijian, deputy commander of Beijing military region. Meanwhile, Deng Xiaoping appears to be taking a less active role in military affairs with the departure of his secretary, Wang Ruilin, who also acted as his eyes and ears on the Central Military Commission. Wang, secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Party's Central Military Commission, is no longer active as Deng's secretary, having left Deng's personal office some months ago, according to Beijing sources. His importance at the military commission was enhanced after Deng's relationship with Yang Shangkun deteriorated over 1991-92. At that time, Wang was responsible for arranging Deng's meetings and appointments, |
FBIS3-27347_0 | Fujian's Xiamen Zone To Develop Cultural Center | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Xiamen, February 21 (XINHUA) -- Xiamen, one of China's five special economic zones in Fujian Province, is striving to develop into a center of art to attract more tourists. Hong Yongshi, mayor of the city, pointed out that Xiamen is a port and one of China's major tourist attractions. With 46 special beauty-spots and tourist sites, Xiamen is also noted for its developed education. The mayor said that the city government plans to use its superiority of having close relations with Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries to develop the city into a leading cultural center in Asia. |
FBIS3-27348_0 | Fujian's Foreign-Funded Firms `Making Profits' | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Fuzhou, February 22 (XINHUA) -- Foreign-funded enterprises in east China's Fujian Province generally report good economic returns. According to statistics, some 80 percent of the province's 12,778 foreign-funded firms are making profits, 15 percent maintain a balance and the other three percent to five percent are losing money. The promising investment environment and profitable production spur foreign business people to expand their projects. It is estimated that the increased amount of foreign investment so far this year is nearly 2 billion yuan. Foreign-funded enterprises have become a major force in exports from the province. Last year, foreign-funded companies achieved an export value of 3.004 billion dollars, constituting 52.9 percent of the total for Fujian. Their exports include garments, shoes, electronic and chemical products and building materials. The markets are in Europe, the United States and Japan. The average foreign investment in each foreign-funded project was 2.41 million U.S. dollars last year, much higher than the average for the country as a whole. Overseas funds are increasing in infrastructure, the power industry and service sector. A number of foreign-funded electric power projects have been approved by the province. The Meizhou Bay power plant is a solely foreign funded project. Its initial investment topped 350 million U.S. dollars. Foreign-funded firms have also started to conduct management based on Chinese monetary and taxation policies. In addition, many of them have set up retirement insurance schemes for their employees. |
FBIS3-27400_0 | PRC `Angrily' Rejects Organizations' Rights Reports | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Geneva, Feb 23 (AFP) -- China has angrily rejected criticism of its human rights record issued by two international organizations, charging that they remain imprisoned in a "Cold War mentality." Sources with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights said Tuesday that the Chinese delegate had denounced Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch the previous day. "Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have not changed their mentality since the Cold War," he declared. "How can they assess the human rights situation in China without prejudice?" He accused them of ignoring the progress made in China since 1949, notably its victory over famine. Amnesty, in a report submitted last week to UN human rights officials, charged that "hundreds of people (in China), including political dissidents and members of ethnic and religious groups, have been arbitrarily detained for peaceful exercise of their fundamental human rights." "Torture, which is prohibited by law, continues to be widespread, sometimes resulting in death. "In the past two years the death penalty has been increasingly used for non-violent offenses," according to Amnesty, which said it had received reports on the execution of 1,250 people from January to November 1993. Human Rights Watch issued findings similar to those of Amnesty. Western countries are currently holding private discussions on a draft resolution on the human rights situation in China, which will also make reference to Tibet. |
FBIS3-27426_0 | RENMIN RIBAO Analyzes U.S.-Japanese Relations Views Overall Relations | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN ["News Analysis" by staff reporter Zhang Guocheng (1728 0948 2052): "Japanese-U.S. Relations Viewed From Breakdown of Trade Talks"] [Text] Tokyo, Feb 13 (RENMIN RIBAO)--When discussing the recent Japanese-U.S. trade summit meeting, Japanese public opinion paid more attention to the impact of the event on Japanese-U.S. relations. Japanese-U.S. trade frictions have lasted for 30 years. In this period, the two countries continued to hold talks and continued to work out new programs in an attempt to solve or mitigate frictions. The latest round of such talks began after the G-7 summit meeting in Tokyo last July. An interesting fact was that the breakdown of the talks this time did not cause the host and the guest to leave each other unhappily. At the news conference, the two leaders made rather frank speeches which were benign on their overall relations. After admitting that the talks had broken down, Clinton said that it was better to have reached no agreement than to have reached an empty agreement. Hosokawa said that frankly admitting things that could not be done was a demonstration of the maturity of bilateral relations. The two leaders both agreed that the breakdown of their economic talks would not affect the cooperative Japanese-U.S. relationship in global affairs. Public opinion here pointed out that all the previous economic talks between the Japan and the United States ended with Japanese concessions. This time, Japan explicitly said "no," and this was also the first time Japan had done this. After the breakdown of the talks, both sides frankly admitted the fact of the breakdown and said that this would not affect bilateral relations. This was also an unprecedented event. Therefore, public opinion in Japan was rather elated at this result. Japanese commentators said that although the talks did not succeed, a new relationship of "being able to speak frankly" between Japan and the United States had been established beyond expectations. This was of great significance to Japan. The dissolution of the Cold War-oriented world pattern has weakened the binding force among Western countries, which have attached greater importance to their respective national interests in approaching their mutual relations. Among the three major pillars of their relations, namely, political, security, and economic pillars, the first two have become less and less important, while the economic factor has become the main factor deciding relations between the Western countries. While major changes have |
FBIS3-27427_0 | `News Analysis' Views U.S.-New Zealand Defense Strains | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["News Analysis" by Chen Jinjun: "NZ, U.S. Still Differ on Nuclear Issue"] [Text] Wellington, February 22 (XINHUA) -- New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation still remains as a hinderer to closer relations with the United States despite the U.S. decision to lift the restraints on senior-level contacts between the two countries. The U.S. decision, announced last Friday [18 February], was welcomed by NZ Prime Minister Jim Bolger as a "positive step" taken by President Bill Clinton. Bolger said the resumption of senior-level contacts will "enable us to have the kind of dialogue commensurate with our shared interest and values, on both bilateral and broader strategic issues." He even suggested that the move could open the way to joint military exercises run by a third country. However, the U.S. thinks otherwise. Announcing the decision, the State Department said the decision does not signify a restoration of the United States' defense obligations to New Zealand. It said the U.S. Administration, while recognizing that the two countries have important business to conduct outside the area of defense relations, agreed to continue to press for a change in New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation. The NZ [New Zealand]-U.S. relations soured in 1985 after New Zealand refused entry to its ports by the U.S. Navy ship "Buchanan" for fear that the ship might be equipped with nuclear weapons. In 1987, it passed the anti-nuclear legislation banning visits by warships and military planes suspected of carrying nuclear arms. Washington retaliated by imposing the restraints on high-level contacts with New Zealand, and later suspended its obligations under the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, the United States) treaty. Although tactical nuclear weapons are said to have been removed from U.S. vessels, the U.S. military still insists on neither confirming nor denying the presence of nuclear weapons on U.S. warships. Observers here believed that despite the resumption of senior-level contacts, the nuclear issue is still essential to closer ties between the two countries [as received], particularly in the area of defense. The New Zealand Government is unlikely to take any move toward modifying its anti-nuclear stance in view of its one-vote majority in the parliament. Bolger has made it clear that there will be no change to New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation to accommodate the U.S. position. |
FBIS3-27463_0 | Water From Huang He Diverted to Hebei Province | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Shijiazhuang, February 22 (XINHUA) -- Water from the Yellow River [Huang He] is now flowing into Cangzhou and Hengshui cities in the thirsty North China province of Hebei. This is part of the water diversion project to quench the thirst of industries and agriculture in this water short province. According to the decision by the State Council, pending the water diversion project from Chang Jiang, an estimated 500 million cubic meters of Yellow River water would be diverted to Hebei for the next 15 years. To date, the project has progressed smoothly. More than 100 million cu m of water have been diverted from the Yellow River into the cities of Cangzhou and Hengshui on the vast "North China" plain. The water diversion project was proposed jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources of China and the provincial governments of Hebei and Shandong. Seriously suffering from water shortages, most of the farmland on the plain averages an output of only slightly more than 1,500 kg of wheat per ha. Moreover, the over-exploitation of groundwater resources has lowered the water quality and has seriously hindered the development of both industry and agriculture. Ye Liansong, governor of hebei, pointed out that the water diversion project from the Yellow River to Hebei could yet not solve the problem thoroughly, as the rate of flow of the Yellow River has decreased year-by-year. He said that the only way to supply enough water for arid Hebei is to divert water from the lower reaches of the Chang Jiang River. |
FBIS3-27468_0 | Shanxi Campaigns Against Endemic Diseases | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Taiyuan, February 24 (XINHUA) -- The rampant spread of endemic diseases in north China's Shanxi Province has now been brought under control thanks to the joint efforts of the local government and people. The province is one of those blighted by a high incidence of endemic diseases such as Kaschin-Beck, Keshan, undulant fever, fluorine poisoning and iodine deficiency. A recent survey conducted by the provincial endemic disease prevention and cure group shows that out of 118 cities and counties of the province, 107 suffer from such diseases and that in some counties the incidence of endemic disease has picked up sharply over the past few years. It also shows that in Heshong and Qinyuan counties, the number of patients suffering from iodine deficiency, gas fluorine poisoning and Kaschin-Beck disease reached 120,000, accounting for 42 percent of the total population of these counties. Analysts here attribute local poverty and economic underdevelopment partly to the spread of endemic diseases. Over 30 percent of poor families had fallen on hard times due to chronic diseases, endemic diseases in particular. Analysts say that endemic diseases here mainly attack the bones, joints and hearts of children and women of child-bearing age. The survey indicates that among 2,853 primary and high school students in Heshong county who took physical examinations, the incidence of goiter was as high as 23.87 percent. And in one village, some 8.8 percent of school-age children were deprived of going to school and 9.4 percent of primary school students were unable to graduate due to mental retardation caused by Keshan disease. Figures show that of 7,172 children aged between seven and 14 in 24 counties heavily hit by undulant fever, the incidence rate of goiter due to iodine deficiency amounted to 32.94 percent. Despite efforts to improve drinking water quality and heating facilities in the province, about two million people still live in high gas and fluorine poisoning areas. The provincial government and party committee have paid ever closer attention to the prevention and control of endemic diseases and a range of forceful measures have been adopted since last year. The move aims to curb the further spread of the diseases and bring the incidence rate under control at a level stipulated by the state. Prevention and cure of endemic diseases has now been focused on strengthening the leadership and active participation of the whole society, according |
FBIS3-27468_2 | Shanxi Campaigns Against Endemic Diseases | by Keshan disease. Figures show that of 7,172 children aged between seven and 14 in 24 counties heavily hit by undulant fever, the incidence rate of goiter due to iodine deficiency amounted to 32.94 percent. Despite efforts to improve drinking water quality and heating facilities in the province, about two million people still live in high gas and fluorine poisoning areas. The provincial government and party committee have paid ever closer attention to the prevention and control of endemic diseases and a range of forceful measures have been adopted since last year. The move aims to curb the further spread of the diseases and bring the incidence rate under control at a level stipulated by the state. Prevention and cure of endemic diseases has now been focused on strengthening the leadership and active participation of the whole society, according to local officials. In May 1993, a provincial conference on controlling endemic diseases was called, and relevant rules and regulations were framed to reduce transmissions of the diseases among local people. The leading bodies and offices in charge of prevention and cure of endemic diseases have now been reorganized in 11 prefectures and cities, and a sound responsibility system has also been set up. The local government at the same time has set aside hundreds of millions of yuan to boost the fight against endemic diseases from the beginning of 1994. Starting from 1994, it will add one million yuan each year to the special 1.4 million yuan disease prevention fund. It will provide 100 million yuan in the coming three years to improve the drinking water in poverty-stricken areas. Another six million yuan will be channeled toward updating the research equipment and facilities for preventing the diseases. A pharmaceuticals production center and a foundation are expected to be built and go into operation within the year. An ample contingent of medical workers specially trained for prevention of endemic diseases is being built in the province and preferential policies have been formulated for promotion and pay for endemic disease specialists and medical workers. Emphasis is being placed on spreading knowledge of endemic disease prevention and control and mobilizing the masses to fight against the diseases. A book on prevention and cure of the endemic diseases was published by the provincial medical department and educational commission and will be used for teaching in primary and high schools throughout the province this year. |
FBIS3-27474_15 | Ren Jianxin Views Procuratorial Work, Stability | cases and guaranteeing expenditures; and so on and so forth. Policy decisions on reform should go hand in hand with those on legislation. It is necessary to step up efforts to draft and revise the "Police Law," "Regulations on Judges," "Regulations on Procurators," "Law on Lawyers," "Prison Law," "Notary Law," and "Compensation Law." It is also necessary to accelerate revision of the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law. These laws should be used to guide, promote, and guarantee the smooth progress of reform in procuratorial and judicial work. 8. Combating Corruption, Promoting Honesty, Tightening Discipline Among Procuratorial and Judicial Personnel, and Improving Their Work Style As the main force and also one of the main sectors in the fight against corruption, procuratorial and judicial departments, while actively participating in the struggle against corruption, should first set an example in combating corruption and promoting honesty, allowing these two activities to promote one another. In combating corruption and promoting honesty, emphasis should be placed on educating the masses of cadres and the police rank and file. We must conscientiously organize them to study Volume 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping and arm them with the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. All cadres and police rank and file should conscientiously study relevant central documents and regulations, serve as an exemplary servant and defender of the people, and consciously render service to reform, opening up, and economic construction. It is necessary to adopt resolute measures to correct unhealthy practices and strictly investigate cases involving corruption. At the same time, we must commend the advanced, promote healthy practices, and closely integrate combating corruption with promoting honesty. More importantly, it is necessary to learn from experiences and lessons, both past and recent, Chinese and foreign, improve the law-enforcement system, strengthen supervision mechanisms, and institutionalize and standardize strict law enforcement and the struggle to combat corruption and promote honesty. In 1994 we must launch an education and rectification campaign in procuratorial and judicial departments and among the police force and conduct thoroughgoing education in the reasons for serving the people, the importance of being honest and hardworking, and the legal system. At the same, it is necessary to rely on the masses in investigating and strictly handling cases involving violations of discipline and the law. No indulgence toward wrongdoing shall be permitted. We must focus on investigating and handling major cases involving |
FBIS3-27485_1 | Shanghai Professor Criticizes Economic Policies | Hong Kong newspaper? According to the responsible authorities, you did and that article raised some problematic points." And so, the professor's article was killed. "Every time the government fails, it is because it has refused to listen to its best critics," Li said. China's best-trained economists, including those in the government think-tanks, are predicting the regime's single minded pursuit of high growth will have disastrous consequences, according to Li. But Chinese leaders have yet to mend their relations with the intellectuals, which were rent asunder after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. The party's "policy on intellectuals" is still one of deep distrust. Soon after Tiananmen, the regime convened a series of meetings to "sum up the experience" of how the party had won that "historical victory." The central issue was explaining the spread of "bourgeois liberalism" which had almost toppled the communist regime. Their conclusion: It was still necessary to continue the class struggle in the Stalinist and Maoist sense. Class analysis, not economic development, should remain the "lifeline of the party". The class enemy, the party ideologues declared, was the middle class represented by troublemakers among the intellectuals. Their theory, according to Li, is that intellectuals know how much more their counterparts in the West are paid. Their resentment has corrupted them into refusing to work for the party and attacking the proletarian state. "Examine the speeches and articles by people like Deng Liqun--the party's leading hardline ideologue--or Wang Renzhi, who was director of the party's propaganda department after the 1989 crackdown," said Li. "From their speeches, you can see clearly that the middle class is the enemy and intellectuals are its representatives." There were open clashes between party bosses and intellectuals at the meetings to sum up the lessons of 1989, he said. At one session, he recalled, Wu Jinglian--one of China's leading economists--challenged the party speaker by saying that no government could hold itself up without support from intellectuals, nor could society become stable without a large, middle income population. "Of course, they rejected this kind of criticism," he said. "They don't believe that a middle class is necessary to sustain stability. They think because they have the Army their guns and tanks will be enough for them to rule China forever." Since the mid-1980s, economists have been strenuously advocating many of the reform ideas which the regime is now tentatively considering. The proposal for a |
FBIS3-27498_6 | Li Teng-hui Gives News Conference on Overseas Trip | the way such matters should be handled. [Correspondent] Your meetings during this overseas trip with the heads of state of the three countries without diplomatic ties with us constitutes a major diplomatic breakthrough, but the Indonesian foreign minister said today that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] conference scheduled to be held in that country this year will follow the Seattle model established in the United States last year, meaning that you may not be able to attend the conference in person. How are we going to resolve this long-standing diplomatic situation on our side? [Li] The United States established a model at the APEC conference in Seattle last November, but it is hard to say whether this model will be followed in the future. Therefore, although the foreign minister of this year's host country, Indonesia, wants to keep the model, future developments remain to be seen. Provided we keep on trying hard again and again in the future, the host country's attitude should eventually change. Moreover, clearly put, are there other people who understand the development of the Asian economic situation more than the ROC does? This is not an issue that can be solved within a short period of time, but I believe the future will be very bright. [Correspondent] Hsu Chia-tun [Xu Jiatun], former director of Communist China's XINHUA Hong Kong branch, said in his memoirs that the Communist Chinese leaders will not approve of Taiwan's recent active maneuver for international recognition, which they consider an action for independence in disguise. Such an attitude on the part of Communist Chinese leaders is bound to affect your unofficial trips abroad. What are your countermeasures for dealing with the attitude of Communist Chinese hierarchy? [Li] Is this the attitude of the leaders on the mainland? How are their unity and cooperation as compared to ours? As is known to all, the communists sometimes use very strong rhetoric in speeches targeted at others, which actually does not reflect the internal view. Moreover, what is Hsu Chia-tun's status? In my opinion, he belonged to the third-generation leaders, about the same age as Hu Yao-pang [Hu Yaobang] and Chao Tzu-yang [Zhao Ziyang]. Since he went to the United States later, what category of people does his mentality and view represent? How reliable is he? It is very difficult to judge the trend on the mainland based on his memoirs? His memoirs may reflect |
FBIS3-27498_23 | Li Teng-hui Gives News Conference on Overseas Trip | Indonesia and other areas is, I believe, their children's education, including how to build schools, hiring of teachers and principals, and curriculum. While in Indonesia, I invited four representatives of a friendship association. The government will address the questions they raised. They all hold ROC passports and we should help them solve their difficulties. We have $15 billion investment in Southeast Asia. This amount of money has been put into circulation, but we don't have a financial center to provide assistance. How goods flow into Southeast Asia and back to our country? We will ask Chairman Hsiao of the Council for Economic Planning and Development to study these issues. In short, we will simultaneously formulate measures in regard to education, banking services, freight trade, and so forth. [Correspondent] Mr. President, during your trip to Southeast Asia, did you invite, face to face, the leaders of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand to visit our country? Will exchange of high-level visits with Southeast Asian countries become a regular, routine event in the future? [Li] I did not raise this question during the meeting with Thai King Phumiphon. As for the two other leaders, I officially invited them and their responses were very good. They certainly responded, by nodding their heads. We were extending an invitation; it certainly would look awful if they did not make any response, like nodding their heads. (laughter burst out throughout the hall) [Correspondent] During the trip, you emphasized promoting regional peace and economic prosperity in Southeast Asia on the basis of progress, prosperity, and peace. Some countries in Southeast Asia are set against one another over the issue of sovereignty of South China Sea. In your talks with the leaders of Southeast Asian nations, did you raise the possibility of using Taiwan's southern policy as a basis for a peaceful solution to the East China Sea sovereignty issue among the Southeast Asian nations so that they can jointly develop the resources of South China Sea? [Li] Your question coincides with my long-term view. I plan to raise this issue during my second or third meeting with them. I tried as much as possible not to raise sensitive issues during the first meetings. Because the meeting time was limited, sensitive issues would have made them uneasy and not want to see me again. I certainly would raise this issue at a second or third meeting. [Correspondent] Mr. President, |
FBIS3-27500_0 | Prosecutor Indicts Mainland Couple for Hijacking | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Lilian Wu] [Text] Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) -- The Taoyuan District prosecutors' office Wednesday [23 February] indicted a Mainland Chinese couple for hijacking a mainland civil airliner to Taiwan late last year. In his indictment, the prosecutor recommended a 12-year sentence for Luo Changhua, 38, and eight years for his wife Wang Yuying, 34, for violations of the Civil Aviation Law. The couple, along with their 11-year-old child Luo Wanghuan, hijacked a Fujian Airlines airliner to Taiwan on its way from Ganzhou to Chengdu on Dec. 28, 1993. The child was placed in the care of Luo's relatives in Taiwan. The prosecutor said he recommended shorter sentences because they had surrendered themselves upon landing at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport. Ten civil air flights from Mainland China were hijacked to Taiwan in 1993. |
FBIS3-27520_27 | Heilongjiang Secretary Views Deng's Works Volume 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping Inherits and Develops Marxism With New Ideas and Viewpoints In Studying Volume 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, We Should Have a Good Command of and Make Clear Some Major Issues | why the Soviet Union's pattern was not desirable, why there was evolution and disintegration later, and why Comrade Mao Zedong encountered setbacks one after another during his later years in his exploration on the practice of the "three red banners" and the continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. In his speeches given when meeting with foreign guests, Comrade Xiaoping repeatedly said: "Even the Soviet Union failed to completely clarify what socialism is like after many years' of efforts," "the Soviet Union's pattern later became ossified," "our past understanding of what socialism and Marxism are was not totally clear," "it is all right to decide to take the socialist road, but we should first understand what socialism is," "a problem in understanding Marxism and socialism has existed for many years," "we have not clarified how to understand and develop Marxism in changing conditions," and "people who do not inherit and develop Marxism with new ideas and new viewpoints are not true Marxists." When talking with some central responsible comrades before the 13th party congress, he once again pointed out: "The report to the 13th party congress should provide a theoretical exposition on what socialism is and should clearly explain whether our reform is socialist." We can see that Volume 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, where the theme of what socialism is and how socialism with Chinese characteristics should be built appears repeatedly from the beginning to the end, is continuously developed in content and deepened in ideology and shows ever enhanced understanding of laws. According to my understanding, the reason why Comrade Xiaoping painstakingly considered and repeatedly emphasized this theme was that the detours and mistakes we had experienced before reform and opening up started and the misgivings and doubts we experienced after reform and opening up started, in the final analysis, resulted from our failure to thoroughly clarify this question. After the initial study of the third volume, I feel that, to clearly understand this theme, we should clarify the following basic theoretical questions: Why do we develop socialism? This question concerns the origin and non-origin of change in the socialist system. Historical materialism holds that productive forces are the ultimate decisive force in the development of human society. The reason the socialist system will unavoidably replace the capitalist system lies not in its conformity to "eternal truth and justice." The reason is, just as |
FBIS3-27522_1 | `News Analysis' Views Russia's Involvement in Bosnia | the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On 16 February, Russian Vice Foreign Minister Churkin, as the Russian president's special envoy, flew to Belgrade and continued to influence the Serb leaders and conveyed to them President Yeltsin's new proposal on settling the Bosnia crisis. The proposal not only satisfied the requirements of the NATO ultimatum, but also gave a sense of security to the Serbs and was acceptable to them. Russia's mediation broke the impasse between the Serbs and NATO. On 17 February, Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic announced that they had accepted Russia's new proposals on settling the crisis, and had begun to withdraw their heavy weaponry in large quantities from positions around Sarajevo. At the same time, Russia dispatched 400 troops stationed in Croatia to Sarajevo to participate in the peacekeeping mission and to help supervise the Serb withdrawal. On 20 February, President Yeltsin and President Clinton reached an agreement in principle in a telephone conversation, thus avoiding imminent air strikes. Public opinion held that Russia opposed air strikes against the Bosnian Serbs and played an active mediating role in the Bosnia conflicts mainly due to the following considerations. First, Russia held that the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina could only be solved by political means, and air strikes would only intensify the military conflict and damage the Bosnian peace process. Second, air strikes would be NATO's first military action outside its defensive sphere since its founding. As the new European pattern has not yet taken form since the end of the Cold War, Russia held that this event would be extremely unfavorable to itself in strategic terms. Third, in history, Russia has had its own interests in the Balkan Peninsula. Russians and the Serbs are both Slavs, and both hold the religious beliefs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The two nations have traditionally had close ties. If Russia sat idly by and did not care about the Serbs mired in a predicament, its influence in the Balkan Peninsula would be greatly weakened. In the last two years, Russia has always tried to coordinate its position with the Western countries in the course of approaching problems in former Yugoslavia, and has sometimes even made concessions. In May last year, the "Russian program" for settling the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina was turned into a "five-nation program" of Russia, the United States, Britain, France, and Spain through consultations and compromises. This was clear evidence of Russia's position. |
FBIS3-27530_0 | Daily Views U.S. Attitudes on Sales of Prison Goods | Language: Chinese Article Type:BFN [By Zhong Yan (6988 1693): "Setting a Fire and Lighting a Lamp"] [Text] On 9 February, the U.S. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR carried an article entitled "U.S. Exports of Prison Goods." The article says: "Just when the Clinton administration continues to criticize China for exporting prison goods to the United States, California and Oregon are stepping up efforts to export their prison-made clothing to Asia." The article specifically exposed the following fact: "Oregon will export $3 million worth of prison-made jeans and shirts this year to Japan, Italy, and other countries," "while California has sent selling offers to Japan and Malaysia." The U.S. export of prison-made products is no longer news. What merits people's attention is that although the U.S. export of prison goods is an open secret, some people in the United States do not feel ashamed of it. They continue to castigate others on the issue while posing themselves as persons of high morals. This cannot help but arouse dissatisfaction from many people, including some honest Americans. The article in THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR precisely represents the sentiments of these honest people. Some people in the United States, however, put a label on China for the so-called export of prison goods and the alleged "violation of human rights." Why, then, does the United States not violate human rights by exporting its prison goods? China has issued explicit orders and taken practical measures to ban exports of such goods, and why has the United States continued sending its selling offers to market and export prison goods everywhere? These people have made irresponsible criticisms of China for compelling prison inmates to work and "produce export goods without pay." Perhaps this is the reason why prison goods exported by the United States are different from those exported by other countries. However, the article in THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR points out: "In California prison workshops prisoners are forced to work like slaves. If they do not work, they are at risk of losing some preferential treatments and serving longer sentences." "The U.S. authorities exploit prisoners." "The net pay of prison inmates is much lower than the official minimum wage. California's prisoners sewing shirts receive $0.35 an hour. Although Oregon prisons pay inmates $6 to $8 an hour, they take back 80 percent as charges of board and lodging." There is no wonder that the article quoted some Americans as |
FBIS3-27530_1 | Daily Views U.S. Attitudes on Sales of Prison Goods | news. What merits people's attention is that although the U.S. export of prison goods is an open secret, some people in the United States do not feel ashamed of it. They continue to castigate others on the issue while posing themselves as persons of high morals. This cannot help but arouse dissatisfaction from many people, including some honest Americans. The article in THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR precisely represents the sentiments of these honest people. Some people in the United States, however, put a label on China for the so-called export of prison goods and the alleged "violation of human rights." Why, then, does the United States not violate human rights by exporting its prison goods? China has issued explicit orders and taken practical measures to ban exports of such goods, and why has the United States continued sending its selling offers to market and export prison goods everywhere? These people have made irresponsible criticisms of China for compelling prison inmates to work and "produce export goods without pay." Perhaps this is the reason why prison goods exported by the United States are different from those exported by other countries. However, the article in THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR points out: "In California prison workshops prisoners are forced to work like slaves. If they do not work, they are at risk of losing some preferential treatments and serving longer sentences." "The U.S. authorities exploit prisoners." "The net pay of prison inmates is much lower than the official minimum wage. California's prisoners sewing shirts receive $0.35 an hour. Although Oregon prisons pay inmates $6 to $8 an hour, they take back 80 percent as charges of board and lodging." There is no wonder that the article quoted some Americans as saying: "The U.S. Administration often criticizes other countries for infringing upon human rights, but it turns a blind eye to the domestic phenomena of human rights violations." Some people even said indignantly: "The practice of two different kinds of policies on prison goods may smack of old-fashioned imperialism." It seems unnecessary to say anything else as the foregoing is clear enough, but this writer cannot help thinking of an ancient Chinese saying that reads: "The magistrate is free to burn down houses while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps." This indicates that the magistrate's tyranny has developed to such a point that his policies "may" not just "smack of" something. |
FBIS3-27531_0 | Committee Urges Continuation of MFN Trade Status | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Washington, February 24 (XINHUA) -- The Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) today urged the U.S. Government and Congress to continue to extend the most-favored nation (MFN) trade status for China. Kenneth Williams, vice-president of McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Company (MD), made the statement while testifying on behalf of the ECAT at a hearing of the subcommittee on trade of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee beginning this afternoon. He also said that all the 60 ECAT members "strongly support the continuation of MFN trade status for China, which is a requisite for U.S. participation in the explosive growth in China's economy." Williams said that MD and the rest ECAT members are large U.S. firms with substantial overseas operations, which are among the country's largest exporters and employers. Worldwide annual sales of ECAT members are nearly one trillion U.S. dollars and ECAT members employ about five million workers, he said. "Increasing numbers of ECAT member companies are establishing business relations in China. It is a market of huge potential and prospective huge benefits for U.S. firms and workers," he said. He urged the Clinton administration and the U.S. Congress to review the Jackson-Vanik Amendment enacted 20 years ago as part of the trade pact of 1974, which links trade with human rights in socialist countries. "For several years ECAT has recommended in testimony to Congress that the Jackson-Vanik Amendment be reviewed for the purpose of either eliminating it altogether or amending it to provide authority for long-term extensions of MFN trade status for periods of up to five years," he said. "Annual reviews of MFN create uncertainty for prospective investors." "Annual debates over MFN for China are increasingly contentious and pose serious long-term risks for American investors," he stressed. After recalling MD's cooperation with China, Williams said that "the withdrawal of MFN for China would fundamentally alter the U.S. economic and political position in China. There would be very substantial diminution in bilateral trade and in existing and future U.S. investments in China." He said American businesses "need the cooperation of our government" in meeting and beating global economic challenges." "Denying us the opportunity to play a meaningful role in competing for the enormous business opportunities in China will very much redound to the disadvantage of the United States," he said. |
FBIS3-27532_1 | Pro-Beijing Column on Russo-U.S. Ties After Ames Case | saying that U.S. espionage against Russia has never stopped, but is as intense as during the Cold War era. Hence, Russia urged the United States not to exaggerate the case as if it was a political incident and not to "revert to the psychology of the Cold War, since making use of the espionage issue to vigorously stir up trouble is against the spirit of international partnership." (Yeltsin's press secretary Kostikov) Ames, the arrested Russian spy inside the CIA, started working in the CIA in 1983 [date as published] and was the CIA's counter-narcotics section chief. Since 1985, from the time of the former Soviet Union until recently, including the period when the Soviet Union dissolved and Yeltsin assumed office, Ames had been passing secret information on U.S. espionage activities against the former Soviet Union and Russia and received $1.5 million from the former Soviet Union and his Russian contacts. Movie-Like Trick Used To Pass Information Two years ago, the FBI started a secret investigation into Ames' suspicious activities and discovered that, when Ames had gone secretly to Venezuela and Columbia in South America on counter- narcotics investigations, he had seized the opportunity to contact intelligence agents of the former Soviet Union and Russia. Ames also marked a post box in suburban Washington and dropped pieces of information so that other Russian spies could secretly find them by following the clue. The trick was like something from the movies. The Clinton administration was shamed into anger after the case was revealed. Apart from lodging a formal protest with Russia, the U.S. Government also asked a Russian diplomat at the Russian Embassy in the United States, who was known to be directing Ames' activities, to voluntarily leave the country. Difficult To Build Relations of Mutual Trust Of those people whose identities as U.S. agents were betrayed by Ames to the former Soviet Union and Russia, 10 were executed. In this connection, the United States considered it intolerable and suggested that retaliatory action ought to be taken. This incident has been revealed at a time when the Cold War has ended and when the two former enemies of the United States and Russia have become allies. The KGB of the former Soviet Union has ceased all of its activities and the CIA no longer considers Russia as its biggest prospective enemy. However, the Russian spy case has precisely emerged at a time |
FBIS3-27545_0 | XINHUA Told 57 Palestinians Die in Jerusalem | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Jerusalem, February 25 (XINHUA) -- The death toll of the Palestinians in today's massacre in Hebron has reached 57 by 10:00 A.M., according to a special report faxed to XINHUA by JMCC, a Palestinian press service in east Jerusalem. According to figures collected from the administrations of the hospitals in Hebron, 31 bodies reached Al-Ahli Hospital. Four were killed in front of the hospital during confrontations with the army. An Israeli settler opened fire on Palestinian worshippers as they knelt for prayers in the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron, south of Jerusalem, on the occasion of Ramadan. Violent demonstrations erupted following the mosque massacre and more and more Palestinians were killed or wounded during the clashes between the outraged Palestinians and security forces. The Israeli soldiers have besieged Al-Ahli Hospital with hundreds of people inside, and when demonstrations broke out, four Palestinians were shot dead. Twelve bodies were brought to Alia Hospital and four bodies were moved to the Red Crescent in Hebron. Six bodies were carried to Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem. |
FBIS3-27582_2 | Scholar Comments on Improving Economic Quality | and main propelling forces of economic development, various rates of input and output, labor productivity, and the amount of national income generated by the social GNP. As viewed from our macroindustrial structure, facts clearly show that the second and tertiary industries are not developed. Therefore, we must make great efforts to develop the second and tertiary industries. As viewed from the industrial and transportation fields, structural contradictions between industries have become more and more conspicuous. In particular, infrastructure like railway transportation and the support capacities of basic industries are still quite weak. At present, railway transportation can only meet 60 to 70 percent of the needs of freight transport and has become a "bottleneck" in our economic development. To speed up our economic development, we are first faced with the task of readjusting the industrial structure to make it more rational and modern. In assessing the quality of the economy from the angle of the industrial structure, it is also necessary to look at the internal structure of each industry. In recent years, for example, although the percentage of industrialization in some localities has been greatly increased, the industrialization in many localities is at a low level. This means that, although industrial production has become the dominant social production activities in these localities, the products turned out are mainly primary products which consume visible resources and the value added to them by means of high-technology and new-technology is quite low. They are in an unfavorable position in commodity exchanges. In 1992, it turned out that of the 500 enterprises with the best economic results, over 70 were cigarette plants; of the top 500 enterprises in handing over profits and taxes to the state, more than 90 were breweries. In 1993, ranking first and second in the 500 enterprises with the best economic results in our country were also tobacco processing and beverage enterprises. In the United States and Japan, almost all of the top 500 enterprises with the best economic results are industrial enterprises using high-technology or using a large percentage of high technology. Only a few tobacco enterprises, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan, Spain, and Renault [lei nuo 7191 6179] are among the world's 500 biggest financial groups. [names as published] Besides, all these tobacco enterprises have diversified business. Just think, when the tobacco processing and beverage industries have become the main industrial enterprises with good economic results |
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