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FBIS3-27582_3 | Scholar Comments on Improving Economic Quality | 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 in a country, how can we talk about economic competitive power or comprehensive national strength? Nevertheless, some localities are still expanding the production of cigarettes and wine. [Zhang] You said there are problems in the industrial structure of our country. What is the relationship between the foundation and propelling forces of economic development and the quality of the state economy? [Meng] The central resources and propelling forces of economic development vary in different historical periods. In the agricultural society, land was the central resource and agricultural labor was the main force propelling economic development; in the modern society, industrial capital was the central resource and production with machines on a large scale was the main propelling force; and since the second half of the 20th century, human capital has become the central resource for economic development and science, technology, and culture have become the main propelling forces in economic development. At present, 50 to 70 percent of the GNP in developed countries is created by the input of science, technology, and culture. That the input of science, technology, and culture has become the main propelling force implies among the input of resources, power, capital, labor, science, technology, and culture, that |
FBIS3-27594_0 | Qingjiang River Ship Lift Begins Construction | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Wuhan, February 25 (XINHUA) -- Construction of a ship lift at the Geheyan key water control project on the Qingjiang river, which empties into the Chang Jiang river eastward of the Three Gorges, started recently. The building of the ship lift project, which requires a total investment of more than 200 million yuan, is aimed at establishing a reliable basis for the design and construction of another ship lift at the gigantic water control dam at the Three Gorges on the Chiang Jiang, said engineers responsible for the construction of the ship lift on Qingjiang river. According to them, the main technical indexes of the ship lift under construction, designed and being constructed by the Wuhan Ship Building Company, observe a general proportion of one to ten with the ship lift to be built at the Three Gorges water control dam. The ship lift now under construction is a major part of the Geheyan water control project. The ship lift, consisting of two separate vertical ship lifts, is expected to have a maximum lifting height of 122 m and a maximum lifting weight of 15,000 tons when completed and put into use in 1997, said the engineers. Construction of the ship lift at the Geheyan water control project of Qingjiang river is of great importance for promoting the economy of Hubei and opening up mountainous southwestern Hubei in the Qingjiang river watershed. |
FBIS3-27652_18 | Legislators Question Governor on Elections | of British politicians. I do not think the honorable lady is likely to secure the outcome in the next few months which she understandably and honorably has said. If she does, I will answer the question. [Emily Lau] The governor has not answered my question. My question is whether he will block it? If he blocks it, then it cannot even be introduced. If it is given a chance, maybe it will be defeated by my colleagues, maybe it will be carried. If it is not even allowed to be introduced, how can I prove to you? [Patten] Nobody, I will keep my decibel count down, nobody is actually saying the honorable lady cannot introduce her argument and her ideas. It would be an extremely brave woman, an even braver man, who ever tried to stop the honorable lady developing a political argument. The political argument she has got is one which many people in this community and outside the community would regard as wholly reasonable. But I do not think that it is ever sensible to answer very hypothetical questions in the way that the honorable lady is inviting me to. I answer sometimes partially hypothetical questions, but the more hypothetical they are, the less sensible I think it is to answer them. And just to add one point, I think that it is a strength of our proposals, the government's proposals, that they are not only in line with the Joint Declaration but also wholly in line with the Basic Law. And I think that it is a matter of strength as well, that despite the rain forests that have been cut down over the last year and a half to try to demonstrate that we have violated the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration, no evidence which convinces anybody has ever been adduced for that. I do not think that we would be in a stronger position if we had put forward proposals such as the honorable lady advances, which go against the Basic Law. What we are trying to do is build as broad a base of support in the community as possible. But somebody with my background could not help but admire the objectives which the honorable lady has set herself and for which she has argued with, as I said, such consistency and passion often to the embarrassment of politicians from Britain and elsewhere. |
FBIS3-27662_0 | President Clinton Proposes Reform of Export Controls | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Washington, February 24 (XINHUA) -- The Clinton administration sent to Congress here today a legislation to reform the country's export administration act of 1979, which imposed "inefficient and obsolete" control of Cold War era on exports. The renewed Export Administration Act, according to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, represented a "very, very important effort" and was "the first comprehensive effort to reform export control licensing in 15 years." "The legislation strikes the critical balance that is much needed between (nuclear) nonproliferation concerns and economic interests in our export control regime," Brown told a press conference. Among the regulatory changes, officials disclosed, are to decontrol computers to most Western countries up to 1,000 million theoretical operations per second (mtops), which include most of the desktop office machines. For the countries which U.S. said it has nuclear proliferation concerns, the decontrol was moved up to 500 mtops, and for the few countries facing U.S. trade embargo, the decontrol of computers will be allowed to 260 mtops. Last September, as part of the national export strategy, the Multi-agency Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) agreed to a substantial increase from the computers at the level of 12.5 mtops, which is an old Apple Macintosh computer. The new regulation for supercomputers was also raised from 195 mtops, to 1,500 mtops. "This is part of the effort to get rid of obsolete Cold War controls that had no effect on proliferation," said Barry Carter, undersecretary of commerce for export administration. The computer decontrol announced last September is expected to generate 30 billion U.S. dollars of exports a year for the U.S. Trade in computer and telecommunications sources said. The administration officials, meanwhile, stressed that "we're halfway to home now," saying that they are going to consult with congress and the business community for "even more constructive changes." In the new legislation, the administration stressed to use multilateral efforts in export control, improve the U.S. ability to prevent nuclear proliferation, and streamline export control system. The proposed act, which is a combined effort of the commerce department, the defense department and the state department, also stressed to harmonize U.S. sanction laws against the countries with missiles and missile parts, chemical and biological weapons. |
FBIS3-27683_0 | U.S.-Russian Relations Strained by Espionage Allegations | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Moscow, February 26 (XINHUA) -- Relations between the United States and Russia are facing a severe test over the scandal of two Russian spies which was revealed last week. On February 22, the U.S. Government instituted judicial proceedings against Aldrich Hazen Ames, the former chief of the CIA's Soviet counter-intelligence branch, and his wife Maria, charging them with spying for the former Soviet Union and Russia. Three days later, the U.S. Government expelled a Russian diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Washington. It's widely believed that the incident will have a major impact on Russian-U.S. relations. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher personally handed an statement of protest to the Russian Embassy in Washington, declaring that the U.S. could not tolerate Russia installing spies in its country and describing the incident as a very serious matter. Commenting on the case, U.S. President Bill Clinton suggested that as a result the U.S. will completely re-evaluate its foreign policy toward Russia. Many senators in the U.S. Congress insisted that amendments should be attached to policies on aid to Russia. In the last two years, the United States and Russia have been seeking a strategic partnership in their relations. In January their presidents met in Moscow and signed a declaration announcing that the two countries had entered a stage of "strategic partnership". However, there are still contradictions and differences between the two countries on matters of vital interests. Russia has always claimed that it has "special interests and responsibilities" in the new republics which have emerged in the territories of the former Soviet Union. Russia has taken it for granted that it has the right to send its peace keeping troops into these republics and has taken economic measures to safeguard its interests in them. Meanwhile, the United States has been using the carrot of economic aid to various republics and countries in the area as a means of containing Russia's influence. The United States, for example, has supported the three Baltic republics in their request for the withdrawal of Russian troops and has offered more economic aid for the Ukraine. It also signed an accord of "democratic partnership" with Kazakhstan. Observers here consider that the proposed U.S. plan for expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it has described as a "partnership for peace", poses a threat to Russian interests in East European countries where |
FBIS3-27684_0 | U.S., Russia `Slinging Mud at Each Other' Over Spy Cases | Language: English Article Type:BFN [From the "World News" program] [Text] Moscow and Washington have been taking turns slinging mud at each other over alleged espionage cases recently. And ties between the two big powers are facing a rocky period. Lin Shaowen has the details. Moscow said Wednesday [23 February] that it would expose CIA agents in Russia in retaliation for accusations by the U.S. that an American spy for Russian bought [as heard] secret documents. It is the first time that Moscow has responded since the spying case came to light this week. Aldrich Ames, the former chief of the CIA's counterintelligence network, and his wife were arrested in Washington on Monday. They were accused of spying for the former Soviet Union and Russia for nine years. The Department of Justice said that they had received more than $1.5 million for selling vital information on CIA operations and personnel. U.S. President Bill Clinton described the case as very serious and ordered an official protest to the Russian Government. Some American senators called on the government to freeze aid for Russia immediately. Moscow had no reply in the beginning. The U.S. demanded that Russia withdraw diplomats who were involved in the spying case or America would take the action themselves. But Russia would not bow under the pressure easily. It has been enjoying the limelight after its successful mediation of the Sarejevo crisis. Senior Russian officials said that the spy scandal might have been revealed to discredit the success of Russian foreign policy in the Balkan region. Russian Presidential Spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov said the case was a return to the psychology of the Cold War. He said that exaggerating the scandal would be harmful to relations between the two countries. Russia has recently taken a tougher stance on several issues. President Boris Yeltsin publicly criticized the West for trying to resolve major international issues without involving the Kremlin. Although the American Government is uneasy about a stronger Russia, there is not much it can do about it. Even a top White House official admitted that many vital American interests are tied up in the relationship with Russia. Washington has committed $2.5 billion of aid to Russia this year to foster its economic reform. And even after the espionage case surfaced, President Clinton reaffirmed that Washington will continue to pursue its supportive policy toward Yeltsin. Russia isn't likely to ignore the U.S. |
FBIS3-27686_1 | `Special Article' Views `New Trend' in Russo-U.S. Ties | this. Thus, a "crisis" occurred in the relationship between Russia and the West. Under such circumstances, German Chancellor Kohl insisted on the need to take into account Russian efforts for peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, regardless of U.S. objections. German mediation facilitated Russian influence on the Serbs and played a major role in preventing NATO from implementing its planned air attacks. The U.S. and Russian stand on the Bosnia-Herzegovina issue began to change from antagonism to cooperation. On 17 February, Serbian leader Karadzic, and Churkin, the special Russian envoy on the Bosnia-Herzegovina issue, reached an agreement under which both sides agreed that Russia should send peacekeeping troops to Sarajevo, while the Serbs would withdraw their heavy weapons from the areas surrounding Sarajevo or would let UN troops control these weapons. Thus, the Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis began a turn for the better. As reported, Russia did not inform the United States before it announced its agreement with the Serbs. Despite its dissatisfaction over what Russia had done, the United States could not but praise in public that Russia had made an "important contribution." When the Serbs began to withdraw their heavy weapons from the Sarajevo area, on the one hand Churkin claimed that the turn for the better in the Bosnia-Herzegovina situation was due to Russian efforts; on the other hand, he continued to criticize the West for threatening air attacks, while the United States attributed the change in the Bosnia-Herzegovina situation to NATO's "determination" and "leading role" of the United States. In the last few months, the United States and Russia have time and again engaged in disputes over major issues. At the end of last year, the U.S. Government considered accepting former nations of the Warsaw Treaty as NATO members, with the exception of the former Soviet Union. This evoked strong dissatisfaction in Russia. To alleviate its contradictions with Russia, the Clinton administration introduced a transitional "peaceful partnership" program. Not long after Clinton's visit to Moscow in January, Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev stressed that Russia would maintain its military presence in the Baltic Sea. Obviously, this ran counter to the Russian commitment to withdraw its troops from the Baltic as soon as possible--a commitment made to Clinton while he was in Moscow. For this reason, the United States reacted strongly and demanded a Russian explanation. These disputes between the United States and Russia are not accidental. The United States has always been |
FBIS3-27690_2 | XINHUA Denounces U.S. Report on Human Rights | million people are being imprisoned in jails and reform- through-labour farms in China. Since China's population is 4.5 times that of the United States, the U.S. proportion of imprisoned people to the whole population is four times that of China. The U.S. Government has admitted that about seven million people in the country are homeless and there are two million to three million people in the United States sleeping in the open all the year round. In China, however, only 150,000 people are found sleeping in the open every year. Moreover, the departments of civil affairs would make timely arrangements to re-settle them. Why is the United States, which has so many serious problems of human rights, so enthusiastic to criticize the human rights situation in other countries? To put it bluntly, the United States was not really trying to "safeguard human rights," but to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and trample on international norms under the excuse of the human rights problem so as to serve its hegemonist policies of foreign affairs. The United States has long posed as a "worldwide judge", judging the human rights situation in other countries with its own political norms and legal philosophy. It often imposes sanctions on countries which do not tally with its norm of human rights by integrating human rights with its external aid, economic and technological cooperation and most favored nation trading status and using these as the means of political pressure. It even demands other countries to change their domestic policies and political systems, thus severely infringing on the sovereignty and dignity of many developing countries. As known to all, the issue of human rights is in essence an internal affair of a country. According to international law, to respect the state sovereignty and not to interfere in other's internal affairs is a conventional principle of international law. To negate the principle of sovereignty means to negate the foundation stone of the modern international law. As early as December 6, 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed the "Draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States," which points out: "Every state has the right to independence and hence to exercise freely, without dictation by any other state, all its legal powers, including the choice of its own form of government," and "every state has the duty to refrain from intervention in the internal or |
FBIS3-27690_5 | XINHUA Denounces U.S. Report on Human Rights | utilizing and distorting the issue of human rights and using the issue to impose pressure on any other state. The human rights report of the U.S. State Department violated these U.N. declarations. It shows no concern with human rights, but practises power politics. While posing as a guardian of human rights and making great efforts to carry out the diplomacy of human rights, the United States has not joined some important international conventions on human rights passed by the U.N. General Assembly. For example, the U.S. Congress has so far not approved the United States to sign "The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination" passed in 1965, "The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" passed in 1966, "The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid" passed in 1973, and "The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" passed in 1980. Therefore, it is not strange that Professor John Lawrence Hargrove, executive vice-president and executive director of the American Society of International Law, stated that the U.S. has not participated in major international human rights conventions, so on what grounds does it concern itself with other countries' human rights situations? On the contrary, China has been in advance of the United States in ratifying the international conventions on human rights. Since the People's Republic of China resumed its seat in the United Nations, it has participated in seven of the international conventions, including "The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," "The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid," "The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women," "The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination," "The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees," "The Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees," and "The Convention Against Torture and Other Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment." Besides, the Chinese Government has always submitted reports about the situation in carrying out the conventions it has already participated and always sternly and seriously implemented its duties stipulated in the conventions. After the U.S. State Department's human rights report was issued, it has met with denunciation by China and many other countries. The United States will certainly not succeed in its plot of practising power politics and hegemonism under the excuse of human rights. |
FBIS3-27692_3 | RENMIN RIBAO Analyzes Recent U.S. Economic Growth | pressure, but it may also increase the U.S. trade deficit and sag the momentum of economic growth. Amid general recession among Western countries, economic growth in East Asia and Latin America has injected new vitality into the world economy. Moreover, economic growth in these countries is no longer one based on borrowings. Now they sustain their economic growth more with savings and direct investment and spend no more than they earn. With low labor cost and effective participation in the world economy, an increasingly larger number of technology- and labor-intensive products from Asian countries and regions are becoming not only self-sufficient, but also gaining a position in international markets. Their purchases from Western countries of high value-added capital goods are determined by their balance of trade. In this sense, they appear first as producers, then as consumers on the international market. The year 1993 was a year of intense restructuring for American corporations. To position themselves for competition, firms spent their funds on information equipment which reduced manpower and cut again intermediate-level management staff and labor. The restructuring, therefore, was focusing on lowering product cost instead of increasing employment opportunity. Numerous white-collar workers became unemployed at a time of economic revival, and newly created jobs were mostly odd or part-time jobs. Reductions in high- paying and stable employment greatly restricted consumption power in society, thus weakening the dynamics of American economic development. Owing to these factors, the American economy in 1994 may very likely find itself in a state of low-speed growth, its annual economic growth rate estimated at around 3 percent. In a world economic system which is increasingly integrated, the American economy will have to wait for the revival of the Western economy and economic development of developing countries for effective growth. Meanwhile, more and more countries are entering market competition. Whoever wants to have a lot of room for maneuvering and the luxury to advance and retreat as he wishes must acquire an advantage in high technology or cost cutting. To stay competitive in the international market, American firms will have to be further internationalized, work harder to be more responsive, and cut costs. Returns on the scale of economy are lowering, and medium and small firms can look for long-term development. But Americans should not expect any rise in their income level, which is high enough for now. This is an adjustment process wrought with pain. |
FBIS3-27715_1 | Prasong Exchanges Views With Chilean Leaders | official visit. The group was welcomed on their arrival in Chile by Acting Foreign Minister (Rodrigo Diaz Aboligo). On 26 January, the foreign minister and his party had a meeting with the Chilean acting foreign minister and delegation. The outcome of the talks is as follows: 1. Both sides agreed to expand bilateral relations in politics, economics, and especially trade and investment cooperation. 2. Chile is pleased with the Thai Government's decision to open an embassy in Santiago, with the first ambassador capable of speaking Spanish. The opening of an embassy will mark a new page in relations between the two countries. Chile is thankful for Thailand's support for Chile joining as member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] grouping. 3. Thailand proposed that Chile serve as a gateway for trade relations with South America, while Thailand can be a gateway for trade in Southeast Asia and Indochinese countries. 4. Thailand stressed its policy of friendship with all countries regardless of differences in political or economic systems, and its principal policy of cooperation within the ASEAN bloc, which extends to cover those in the APEC grouping. 5. Both sides agreed to exchange business, trade, and investment information under a bilateral and multilateral framework. Under the bilateral framework, Thailand proposed that meetings of senior officials of both countries be held regularly, with the exception of the third meeting of the joint trade commission which is based on the results of contacts made between the chambers of commerce and the banks of both countries. 6. Both sides exchanged views on major world events, such as the restructuring of the UN Security Council and the summit on social development with a view to achieving international cooperation and coordination in the same direction. On 26 January, the foreign minister paid a courtesy call on President Patricio Aylwin Azocar of Chile. The Chilean president offered him a warm welcome, and thanked Thailand for supporting Chile becoming a member of APEC. He congratulated Thailand's move to open an embassy in Santiago. The foreign minister and his party also called on acting ministers of economic and energy affairs, as well as those in charge of the Foreign Ministry in the new Government of Chile. They exchanged views and discussed efforts of the two countries to promote trade ties. The two sides welcome Chile's membership in APEC and the opening of the Thai Embassy this year. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-27716_0 | Editorial: `Crucial Juncture' in Laos Ties | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Excerpts] Recent news on the alleged abuse of Thai prisoners in a Laos jail is worrying for two reasons. Firstly, there is the concern on a personal, humanitarian level for the welfare of approximately 100 Thai prisoners. Secondly, there is the worry about what the story, if substantiated, could do for Thai-Lao relations at this crucial juncture. According to a former Thai prisoner who was held for a short period in the Pakse jail in Champassak in Laos, as many as 100 Thai prisoners have died due to cruelty and neglect. The man talked of the inhumane conditions and treatment the Thais face at the hands of their Lao captors. The former prisoner accused the Laotian authorities of chaining the Thai prisoners up and of providing only poor food each day. Humanitarian concerns aside, this type of news does little to help the relationship between Thailand and Laos at this important time. [passage omitted] Yet under the surface many of the old animosities remain. Racism, in terms of the relationship between Thai and ethnic Lao, is still a problem in both countries. This is aside from the clash between the Marxist ideology pursued by the government in Vientiane and the democratic and free market ideals of Bangkok. The niggling animosities are partly a product of struggle and competition over the centuries, and partly due to a dislike of people considered outsiders. Many people in government and private circles in Laos fear being swamped by everything Thai. Not only are Thai companies and businessmen making major inroads into Laos with their products and services, but Thai culture as a whole, brought by the mass media, is being lapped up by many Laotian people who have televisions, radios and cassette recorders. Modern Thai culture -- a cross between Thai and Western influence -- is having a significant effect on a country which has very limited forms of modern entertainment and is only just emerging from the pall of the monotony of communism. This is a period in time when the relationship between Thailand and Laos should be handled sensitively. The Lao and Thai governments would do well to work together in a spirit of cooperation to iron out contentious issues, including how they treat each others' nationals. This not only applies to Thai people in Laos, but also to Lao people in Thailand. Stories about the bad treatment |
FBIS3-27722_5 | Aftermath of Political Reform Accord Reported Hosokawa-Kono News Conference | effective the political reform bills will be. But as the prime minister said earlier, there are a mountain of difficult issues pending, such as the Japan-U.S. economic talks and the economic stimulus measures, which have a bearing on the lives of the people, and which are still waiting to be resolved. I think, when it comes to defending the quality of life of the people, it will be possible for the LDP to make proposals to the prime minister. We have long experience in running government and, as such, have the capability. [Hosokawa] I spoke of it a little earlier, but when you realize the seriousness of the situation facing the nation now, it is necessary to call a truce in the political war and tackle the economic and other pending issues. As for your question about the future of the coalition government, I agree it is a good question. But, as I said earlier, it is very difficult to make a prediction at this stage. [Correspondent] Mr. Kono, please let me reconfirm some points from my previous question. How does your agreement define the date the bills take effect? [Kono] That is on the paper. [Correspondent] Do you mean the bills are frozen for the time being? [Kono] Please refer to the last two lines of the preface. [Correspondent] I suppose revision of the bills will be discussed during the next ordinary Diet session. How soon, then, before the Diet is ready for that session? [Kono] That is on the paper. Please read what the paper says. The paper says the revision of the bills should be discussed before deliberations on the fiscal 1994 budget. Please read it carefully. [Correspondent] My question is for Mr. Prime Minister. Compared to the bills provided by the government, the final agreement is very different from the original plan. I thought the government worked out the original proposal to pursue its ideals and philosophy. Did you forget about your ideals and philosophy when you accepted the drastic revision? [Hosokawa] There may be criticism of my decision. However, as I repeatedly noted earlier, the enactment of political reform bills has been the biggest pending issue of the last six years. Taking into account how the issue affects our economic and foreign policies, I had to change the basic framework of politics taking into account wide-ranging viewpoints. I made my final decision from such viewpoints. |
FBIS3-27740_2 | U.S. Radio Free Asia, Human Rights Criticized U.S., Australian Rights Faulted | are trying to perfect their mass-destruction weapons. We do not want to interfere in their internal affairs, but we are aware that the United States' Declaration of Independence of 1776 stated that everyone is born equal. But since then, African Americans in their country have continued to suffer from the bad practice of deep-seated racial discrimination. Although the American black makes up only 15 percent of the U.S. population, the number of black prisoners accounts for 50 percent of the nation's total. According to figures provided by the Census Bureau in a 1992 report, 32.7 percent of American blacks live below the poverty line. This means that one in every three American blacks live below the poverty line. The gap between the rich and the poor is extremely wide. In 1991, the annual income of one-fifth of the richest Americans constituted 46.5 percent of the total national income. Whereas, the annual income of one-fifth of the poorest accounted for only 3.8 percent of the total national income. His excellency Mr. (Brzezinski) once said that the violence-exalting television- and movie-based culture was creating the highest murder rate in any civilized country in the world. In 1993, there were 390,000 killings of that nature in the United States. One may ask, is this representative of U.S. human rights values? Australia is also a country which is very enthusiastic about asking for a human rights dialogue. But we wonder if certain forces still remember that they once joined with the United States in confronting us on human rights during the recent war. We also do not want to interfere in their internal affairs but we know that after 200 years, it was only in November last year that their parliament, after 50 hours of debate, eventually agreed to recognize the land ownership of the Aborigines. There are many other countries which once rivaled us on human rights for a long period of time. We welcomed President Mitterand for having personally traveled to Dien Bien Phu to close a page of past history. But the human rights debts owed to the Vietnamese people are still there and cannot be easily ignored. Morals do not allow them to forget. We do not want to interfere in their internal affairs but we are aware that in their countries, there are numerous problems related to human rights. Morally, they must learn to address their own problems before |
FBIS3-27759_3 | Papers React to Patriot Deployment Issue | regarding North Korea's nuclear issue. The article notes that we cannot overlook the fact that the ROK may be used as a major weapons market by the U.S. defense industry. The article reports: "There are rumors that core figures of the U.S. defense industry in Washington secretly visited the ROK and met with high-ranking officials to discuss the sale of the Patriots." The article notes that the recent moves of the U.S. military are an ultimatum to North Korea regarding the settlement of its nuclear issue and to confirm to Northeast Asian countries, including Japan and China, U.S. presence in this region. The article concludes: "Moves for the increase of U.S. capability in the ROK cannot by any means be limited to the Korean peninsula issue." HANGUK ILBO in Korean publishes on page 3 a 800-word editorial entitled: "Unusual Atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula." The editorial notes "the ROK Government is remaining silent" about U.S. plans to deploy Patriot missiles and Apache helicopters and to send an aircraft carrier to the waters around the Korean peninsula in case of a possible military provocation on the South by North Korea. The editorial notes that the people are worried about this matter because "the United States and North Korea reached an agreement in principle regarding the nuclear issue late last year and that negotiations are under way between the International Atomic Energy Agency and North Korea on the method for inspection of North Korea's nuclear facilities." The editorial elaborates on the pros and cons of the United States increasing its capability. The editorial notes that the people are curious about "the concrete content of the proposal for the settlement of the nuclear issue as agreed upon between the United States and North Korea, its progress, the real reason for the United States to increase its capability in the ROK, and the nature of U.S.-ROK consultations at this time." The editorial urges the government to be clear about these matters and explain everything to the people. The editorial concludes: "How the situation develops and how rapidly changes are made on the Korean peninsula are directly related to our security, right to live, and interest." The liberal TONG-A ILBO in Korean publishes on page 1 a 900-word article on the issue of "deployment of ultramodern weapons for U.S. forces in the ROK." Noting this issue was revealed by the U.S. side first, the article |
FBIS3-27783_5 | Envoy to U.S. Interviewed on Nuclear Issue | [Han] The Department of State and we agreed at first to withhold the details of the negotiations from public circulation. However, THE WASHINGTON POST and THE NEW YORK TIMES carried a correct report or two. So, I called high-ranking State Department officials. I protested to them, saying, "We are very much embarrassed by the fact that U.S. newspapers reported details of the negotiations." After that, the United States and we agreed to merely confirm whether contacts take place in New York and keep silent about the details of the negotiations. Because the U.S. Administration has kept silent about the New York contacts, U.S. reporters have even called me. [end Han] Ambassador Han said: There are many think tanks and research institutes in Washington, and many of the people working in those institutes are former government officials. Therefore, those people have leaked information to media organizations on many occasions. For example, a State Department official may leak information when he receives a call from his former boss. [Nam] How will the North Korea-U.S. contacts in New York proceed? [Han] I think New York contacts are a useful venue for discussing a third round of high-level talks between the United States and North Korea. North Korea seems to think New York is a good place for such contacts because it is easy to communicate with Pyongyang from its UN Mission in New York, and the State Department, too, thinks New York is convenient because it is not far away from Washington. All channels of contacts other than New York contacts have now been closed. I think the United States and North Korea will use the New York channel for the time being. [Nam] What is going on with the North Korean nuclear issue now? [Han] Agreement has been reached on general principles. However, no agreement has been reached on the details. An agreement on nuclear inspection between North Korea and the IAEA is merely one of the prerequisites for resolving the nuclear issue. North-South dialogue, another prerequisite, must take place soon. Holding North-South working-level contact for the exchange of special envoys is not sufficient. That is a mere preliminary step. The most important thing is finding a better way to resolve the nuclear issue. North-South exchange of special envoys must take place. [end Han] Ambassador Han, an economic expert, said: "Compared to conflicts in the economic negotiations, the two countries [the United |
FBIS3-27786_1 | NADK Spokesman Statement on Anlung Veng | countryside and in Phnom Penh. This is an attempt by our enemies -- who are facing an impasse and are suffering serious defeats -- to fool others. The purpose of this psychological propaganda is: To threaten and frighten those who seek business contacts with Democratic Kampuchea [DK] in this zone; and to encourage the Vietnamese communist ringleaders and their troops, who are being routed and demoralized on every battlefields across the country, especially the Samraong-Anlung Veng battlefield. But this self-deceiving propaganda by the Vietnamese communists, their puppets, and their alliance cannot encourage the Vietnamese communist puppet commanders and their troops. On the battlefield, the aggressive attack forces that launched operations against the DK's liberated zone were counterattacked during January by the NADK and the Cambodian people. They suffered heavy defeats: Over 400 of them were killed or wounded; over 700 others deserted; and 36 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and military trucks (?were seized). The Vietnamese communist puppets' aggressive attack forces are currently being smashed to pieces by the NADK and the people [words indistinct]. Under these circumstances, these savage elements are suffering from a shortage of food, ammunition, [words indistinct]. III. During the January fighting, dozens of the Vietnamese communist puppets' military commanders were killed or wounded. These included over 30 commanders between the rank of colonel and first lieutenant as well as six generals. General Prum Samen of the Vietnamese communist puppets' General Staff was seriously wounded and his tank was totally destroyed by a mine explosion east of Samraong. Gen. Nhoek Bunchhai, first deputy chief of the Vietnamese communist puppets' General Staff, was wounded during the fighting in Samraong on (?24) January. On 25 January, Gen. Long Sopheap, chief of the Vietnamese communist puppets' 4th Military Region, was seriously wounded as his tank was moving from Ba Noem to Samraong. He was quickly sent to a hospital by helicopter. To summarize, the situation on Route 68 -- covering Samraong, Siem Reap, Anlung Veng, Kulen, Choam Khsan, Rumchong, and Ampil Districts -- shows that the puppets are suffering serious and successive defeats on this battlefield. It shows that the puppet commanders and their troops are being encircled; cut off from each other; and cut off from their supplies of food, [word indistinct] and assistance from the outside. They are in a serious state of desperation, and are waiting only for their doom. [Dated] 31 January 1994 [Signed] NADK spokesman |
FBIS3-27795_0 | Water Management Agreement With Australia | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Thailand and Australia yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding [MoU] to exchange information and experience on water resources management for Thailand to adapt for the future use of the Mekong River, according to the Science and Technology Ministry's Department of National Energy Administration. "Australia will share experiences with Thailand of their dam constructions and management of main rivers in the four states -- Queensland, NSW [New South Wales], Victoria and South Australia," said the press statement. The MoU, inked by department director-general Prathet Sutabut and New South Wales Water Resources Department director-general Peter Millington, would cover long-term bilateral cooperation in terms of economics, engineering, science and environmental control and development. Australia will also share information on soil condition development of NSW state, which used to have a problem with salty soil, for prevention and resolution of salty soil problems that may arise in Thailand's Kong-Chi-Mun project. |
FBIS3-27805_0 | Further on Visit by U.S. Religious Delegation Graham, Delegation Depart 1 Feb | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Pyongyang, February 1 (KCNA) -- U.S. religious leader Rev. Billy Graham and his party left here Tuesday, concluding their six-day visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. While staying in Pyongyang the pastor and his party visited different places. After going round the Chilgol revolutionary site, the pastor said he was deeply moved by visiting Chilgol after reading the great President Kim Il-song's reminiscences. The guests met with officials of the Central Committee of the Korean Roman Catholics Association and attended divine service at the Chilgol Church. They inspected the tower of the chuche idea. After the inspection the pastor wrote in the visitor's book that the tower of the chuche idea graphically represented the philosophical idea of the great President Kim Il-song and was very inspiring. The guests were shown round the Korean folklore museum and the Mangyongdae School Children's Palace. Rev. Billy Graham hosted a party Monday evening upon the conclusion of his Korean visit. |
FBIS3-27823_3 | Radio Urges Industrialization of Agriculture | the slow increase in agriculture's productive forces compared to the industrial sector. Today, our country has vigorously carried out the rural technological revolution under the party's wise leadership, and, as a result, peasants are farming using science and technology and working more easily and joyfully. The work to build irrigation systems and use electric equipment in farming has already been completed, the work to comprehensively mechanize farm work and use chemical fertilizers in farming has been implemented on a high level, and the chuche farming method has been implemented. As a result, agricultural production is being developed rapidly based on modern science and technology. Agricultural productive forces have improved to the level of those of the industrial sector, and the gap between industrial labor and agricultural labor is being narrowed significantly. These achievements are a material basis for ultimately resolving the rural question. Second, industrializing agriculture is an indispensable task because this will quickly fulfill ideological requirements for resolving the rural question. The ideological reform of people is closely related to the material basis. People's ideology and will are affected by the material conditions of society to a certain extent. Labor activities are a basic sphere of people's lives. Eliminating the fundamental difference between peasants' labor activities and those of workers in other fields and liberating peasants from heavy labor will make peasants lead more independent and creative lives and endlessly demonstrate their positive creativity and revolutionary ardor. When peasants are liberated from heavy labor and their lives become more independent and creative, they will more positively play their role of masters in rural construction and vigorously accelerate socialist rural construction. When agriculture is industrialized, all processes in agricultural production will completely become technological processes, just like in industrial production. This is a favorable development that can change peasants' working conditions and their lives and more rapidly reform their idea and will into the working class' advanced ideology. Consequently, industrializing agriculture plays an important role in promoting an environment for resolving the rural question. In this way, industrializing agriculture strengthens a material and technological basis in rural areas, eliminates a gap between increases in agriculture's productive forces and increases in the industrial sector's productive forces, and, consequently, plays an important role in ultimately resolving the rural question. We must vigorously carry out the technological revolution in rural areas and, thus, consolidate the previous achievements and complete the industrialization of agriculture. |
FBIS3-27860_1 | More Commentary on Stimulus Package Issue Comsumption Tax Issue Discussed | ratio of direct to indirect tax revenues in one or two years to fund the tax cut, the sources said. This means, in effect, hiking the consumption tax rate. Hata said, "tax cuts without any future (funding) expectations are dangerous for the nation," indicating an consumption tax hike will be implemented in the future. The sources said that to meet the antipathy of some in the coalition to any reference to a consumption tax, the forum is also considering stipulating that a fixed proportion of consumption tax revenue be used for social welfare, and recommend changing the name to a "welfare tax" or "livelihood tax." The decision, if made as the sources predict, will mean a setback for the Finance Ministry, which has been insisting on inclusion of concrete timing and scale of a consumption tax hike as a "collateral" for repaying the deficit-covering bonds. The Finance Ministry faced strong objections led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) -- The largest in the coalition -- to such a move from and the threat of shaking the coalition government if it pushed its demands too hard, the sources said. A consumption tax hike would also be highly unpopular with the public at a time when the economy is so weak, and could also draw criticism from the United States, which is seeking strong measures to stimulate domestic demand to reduce Japan's huge trade surplus, they noted. The Finance Ministry had insisted that the same fiscal 1994 tax reform bills that specify the cuts also clearly spell out a hike in the consumption tax rate to around 7 percent from its current 3 percent, to be implemented in April next year. But the SDP and Komeito [Clean Government Party], at Monday's meeting of coalition parties again opposed linking the income and residential tax cuts with the consumption tax increase, the sources said. Meanwhile, some cabinet members at a meeting of government and coalition party leaders, called for reviewing the tax issue later under a broader policy to address the nation's aging society, taking into account the concerns of such people as fixed-income pensioners. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, although indicating he would leave it to the coalition how to handle the funding of the tax cuts, effectively made it difficult to include the tax hike by saying he wanted the tax issue decided Wednesday and included in Thursday's stimulus package, the sources said. |
FBIS3-27933_16 | * MOF Study on Foreign Direct Investment, Trade III. Changes in Trade Structure and Foreign Direct Investments as Seen in Different Industries V. Changes in Trade Structure as Seen From the Perspective of International Air Cargo | interest payments. Again, local sales ratios for Japanese-owned enterprises in North America are about 90 percent, and presumably having invested in order to secure a share of the local market, they may be sacrificing profits to a certain extent when they make their investments (Table 9.1). Table 9.1. Changes in Percent of Products Sold in Local Markets by Overseas Japanese Companies: North America (Unit: percent) 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 Products for 92.8 92.8 93.8 93.1 90.1 89.4 local markets Exports for 7.2 7.2 6.2 6.9 9.9 10.6 non-local markets Exports for 3.3 4.8 4.0 4.5 3.3 4.1 Japanese market Source: MITI (Overseas Business Activities of Japanese Enterprises) According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding profits from foreign investments in the United States (Survey of Current Business, August 1992), the rate of return on investments by resident foreign enterprises falls below returns on the domestic and foreign investments of U.S. companies, leading one to suspect that low returns on investments in the United States are not a problem that only affects Japanese-owned enterprises (Table 10). Table 10. Comparison of Rates of Return on U.S. Investments Abroad and Foreign Investments in U.S. (Based on Market Values) (Unit: percent) 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 Overseas 7.2 7.7 8.4 7.9 7.6 6.9 production by U.S. companies U.S. 2.2 2.5 3.9 2.2 -0.3 -0.2 production by non-U.S. companies U.S. 7.2 8.1 9.0 7.6 7.7 6.0 production by U.S. companies Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce (Survey of Current Business, August 1992) Note: Rate of return = Sales/Total Assets [Text] Europe Current profit-to-sales ratios in Europe, though lower than in Japan for all domestic companies, were indicating profits until 1992 when, due to the recession, companies began showing negative returns and negative profit ratios of 0.6 percent. As in the case of North America, many of the companies branching out into Europe were doing so in response to trade problems related to automobiles and scientific and optical equipment such as duplicators and copying machines; but, for the most part, as concern grew about the "fortification of Europe" with the approaching unification of the EC in 1992, companies beat a hasty path to this region during the closing years of the 1980's in order to gain insider status so they could secure a piece of the European market. Over 90 percent of the sales of locally produced goods in Europe |
FBIS3-27933_20 | * MOF Study on Foreign Direct Investment, Trade III. Changes in Trade Structure and Foreign Direct Investments as Seen in Different Industries V. Changes in Trade Structure as Seen From the Perspective of International Air Cargo | Asia's newly developing economies [NIE's], which received foreign direct investments from Japan, all similarly underwent rapid growth. The 1990's, however, find Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in different political and economic environments. In other words, the economies of Taiwan and Hong Kong are in the process of merging with the economy of China, which has seen remarkable growth through the foreign direct investments of overseas Chinese merchants. Singapore's aim is to develop knowledge-intensive industries such as service industries and banking and financial services. On the other hand, Korea is shifting its emphasis from heavy and chemical industries (for example, steel and shipbuilding) to high-tech fields such as the semiconductor and computer industries. From the end of the 1980's, wages in Asian newly industrializing economies soared, off-setting the advantages of local production originally undertaken because of their low wages. As a result, Japanese foreign direct investments were then targeted to ASEAN member countries, which became production bases for Japanese manufacturers, especially in the consumer appliance and electronics industries for products like air conditioners and VTR's. Wages in ASEAN countries have risen sharply, however, since 1991, and manufacturers are encountering such bottlenecks as inadequate infrastructure provisions and difficulties securing engineers and other personnel (these countries are having the same problem that Japan has had in filling undesirable, so-called 3K positions [jobs considered dangerous, difficult and dirty]. At present, ASEAN nations are undergoing an adjustment phase in their progress toward industrialization. On the other hand, though Japanese direct investments in China have been low-pitched due to the Tianamen Square incident (June 1989) and to economic adjustment policies, the attention of Japanese enterprises at present seem to be focussing on China. This is due to such factors since 1991 as: (a) the deteriorating investment environment in ASEAN countries and the rapid emergence of China, with its conspicuously lower wages, as a local production base for Japanese enterprises; (b) the fact that, despite concerns about post-Deng Xiaoping political risks, China is promoting reform and a policy of openness; and (c) the expectation that domestic demand will expand, given China's population of 1.1 billion and its huge, potential market. [Oct 93 pp 15-29] [Excerpts] In the first installment of "Changes in Japan's Trade Structure and Foreign Direct Investments" (September 1993), we noted that significant changes had occurred in Japan's trade structure due to increased foreign direct investments during the latter half of the 1980's, including |
FBIS3-27933_40 | * MOF Study on Foreign Direct Investment, Trade III. Changes in Trade Structure and Foreign Direct Investments as Seen in Different Industries V. Changes in Trade Structure as Seen From the Perspective of International Air Cargo | statistics Table 28. Changes in International Air Cargo (Imports) 1970 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 Volume (unit: $100 million) Air cargo 15 120 172 536 510 491 imports (A) Total imports 189 1,405 1,295 2,348 2,367 2,330 (B) Percent 7.9 8.5 13.3 22.8 21.5 21.1 change (A/B) Volume (unit: 1,000 tons) Air cargo 49 267 407 884 884 898 imports (C) Total imports 435,924 612,992 603,684 712,494 726,005 708,587 (D) Percentage 0.01 0.04 0.07 0.12 0.12 0.13 change (C/D) Dollar amount 30.6 44.9 42.3 60.6 57.7 54.6 shipped per unit volume (A)/(C), ($1,000/ton) Ministry of Finance trade statistics 2. Regional Trends in Air Cargo Exports Of the $11.02 billion in exports shipped as air cargo in 1980, the largest dollar amount went to the United States (29.4 percent), followed by $2.67 billion to the EC (24.2 percent) and $2.63 billion to Asian NIE's and ASEAN countries (23.9 percent). In 1992, the total volume of air cargo exports amounted to $53.8 billion, or about 4.9 times the amount in 1980. By region, exports to Asian NIE's and ASEAN countries amounted to $18.84 billion (35.0 percent). This 7.2-fold increase over 1980 is due to an increase in exported parts to Asia, where Japanese enterprises are furthering local production, and to an increased demand in recent years for Japanese office equipment. Exports to Asia were more than the amount, $17.68 billion (35 percent) that went to the United States, showing the close economic ties that now exist between Asia and Japan (Table 29). Imports The largest percentage of all import from 1980 to 1992 consistently came from the United States. EC's share has also increased significantly since 1986, but with the collapse of Japan's bubble economy and a sudden drop in luxury items (paintings, diamonds, etc.), import figures have been falling since 1991. Increased local production by Japanese enterprises since the latter half of the 1980's led to steady increases in imports from Asian NIE's and ASEAN member-countries in 1991 and 1992. This increase was primarily in re-imported items such as office equipment and semiconductor and electronic parts. Looking at import trends in absolute dollar amounts [rather than percentage shares], we see that imports from the United States and EC countries declined in 1991 and 1992 while increasing steadily with regard to Asian NIE's and ASEAN countries, thus showing the development along the import front of horizontal trade between Japan's economy and these |
FBIS3-27940_1 | Sectarianism in Ministry Viewed | even Cabinet ministers. Therefore, it prides itself as the sole authority on policy on women. However, last year, Mariko Bando, who had climbed the bureaucratic ladder in the Prime Minister's Office throughout her career, was appointed the ninth chief of the Women's Affairs Office under the Prime Minister's Office, an organization created in 1975 for the UN Year of the Women. All eight of her predecessors came from the Labor Ministry Women's Bureau. This led to angry demands from the Women's Bureau for a clear delineation of functions, even resulting in a written agreement between the two rival offices. The bureau's strong opposition also defeated the Prime Minister's Office's original plan to upgrade the Women's Affairs Office to a division. Suzuki writes that many instances of bureaucratic rivalry have also been reported between the Labor Standards and Employment Security Bureaus in labor administration, giving rise to criticisms not only within the ministry, but also from the labor and management groups. The article goes on to relate that sectarian jealousies at the Labor Ministry also affect its local offices. Compared to other ministries, the ministry has the most local branches, but these local offices all have separate vertical command structures divided according to bureaus. While there had been efforts to consolidate the command structure in the early eighties, after the Second Ad Hoc Commission on Administrative Reform made a recommendation, these efforts failed in the face of strong opposition from the various bureaus desperate to protect their vested interests. Suzuki also points out that Diet members are reluctant to work on labor policy because this is an area not directly connected with money or votes. Therefore, labor issues zoku-giin [Diet members with special interests in specific policy areas] are practically nonexistent. Consequently, it is particularly difficult for the Labor Ministry to have its proposed legislations passed in the Diet. The ministry is also characterized by a serious lack of reemployment posts for its retired bureaucrats, unlike other more profitable ministries with a considerable number of semigovernment organizations under their jurisdiction. Moreover, in recent years, more people tend to find jobs through privately published job information magazines rather than through the Public Employment Security Offices nationwide, the operation of which is one of the Labor Ministry's major functions. On the whole, the ministry is portrayed to be in the grip of a serious lack of self-confidence, and suffering from debilitating sectarian infighting. |
FBIS3-27951_2 | * Economic Planning Agency Officials Profiled Adminstrative Vice Minister, Councilor, and Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan | various difficult problems, such as the dull economic performance among the developed countries, the conversion of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European states to market economies, and environmental problems on a global scale. What path should Japanese economic development take in the course of all of this? With regard to international problems, how should true international policy cooperation be implemented? Domestically, what policy should be adopted to convert Japan from a society which places importance on producers to one that prioritizes consumers, and will bring about comfortable national life? The EPA confronts a wide spectrum of problems, and the role that they must fill in order to solve these problems is immense. Just how will the EPA respond the criticism coming in from various quarters? How will the EPA respond to demands from the public? The EPA's stance on these issues in the future is an item that will be watched with interest. Looking back on the history of the EPA, it cannot be denied that once it was considered a MITI "branch office," but later it took on the appearance of being a MITI/MOF "joint venture." Many personnel from the former Ministry of Industry and Commerce (the present-day MITI) were dispatched to the EPA's antecedent organizations; like the Office of Planning which, under the National Mobilization Law, promoted Japan's economy before the war, and the Economic Stabilization Headquarters, which put its efforts into the distribution of foodstuffs and commodities in order to promote Japanese economic reconstruction after the war. Even after it changed its name to the Economic Review Agency in 1952 and to the EPA in 1955, MITI continued to support the system by dispatching personnel to take the post of administrative vice minister. The MOF joined hands with the proper [a career employee or staff member] group and, in 1969, was successful in getting "proper treatment" for its Yoshio Kano (a graduate of Tokyo University, entered MOF in 1946) and getting him assigned as administrative vice minister, breaking MITI's monopoly on this post. From that time on, there has been a triangular struggle among the MOF, MITI, and the agency for control of the top-level posts in the EPA. MOF secures the head of the Director General's Secretariat and one bureau chief position, MITI gets the position of member of the policy board of the Bank of Japan and one bureau chief position, and those ministries |
FBIS3-28006_4 | Press Reacts to 31 Jan DPRK Ministry Statement | the IAEA's regular Board of Governors meeting slated for 21 February. The article refers to some observations on the ROK and U.S. side that North Korea will likely allow the IAEA inspection team to visit North Korea around 16 February -- Kim Chong-il's birthday. The pro-government SEOUL SINMUN publishes on page 5 a 1,200-word article by Yang Sung-hyon analyzing the background of the statement by a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman. Describing it as "a message to the United States," the article analyzes that the statement has a long-term objective to secure an advantageous position in future talks with the United States by blaming the United States for breaking a promise, thus causing a stalemate in the negotiations with the IAEA. The article notes that "North Korea could not easily accept the IAEA's requirements presented in the fourth contact on 17 January because North Korea had intended to use them as the conditions for a package deal in the third round talks with the United States." The article speculates that the hard-line moves by the United States and the ROK, including discounting the meaning of the suspension of the Team Spirit exercise and the discussion on the deployment of Patriot missiles, may have stimulated North Korea's intention to seek a resolution through U.S.-North Korean contacts again. The article ends by quoting a government official as saying: "It will be difficult for North Korea to secure another contact with the United States" due to the firm U.S. stance to side with the IAEA. The independent left-leaning HANGYORE SINMUN publishes on page 3 a 1,500-word article by Pak Chong-mun entitled "North Korea's Nuclear Statement in the Final Stage, Is It a Tactic or Does the North Mean It?" Noting that the statement implies a probability that North Korea may depart from a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue, the article reports the Foreign Ministry is gravely concerned about the aggravation of the situation, although it tries to appear calm. The article analyzes that the Foreign Ministry is not optimistic because: "First, if the statement is interpreted as North Korea's actual refusal of overall inspection [chonmyon sachal], the situation is in a deadlock because the United States and the IAEA cannot make any more concessions. Second, if the statement is interpreted as aiming at another contact with the United States for further reduced scope of inspections, there is still little possibility of settlement |
FBIS3-28009_0 | U.S. Report on PRC, DPRK Human Rights Noted | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Washington, Feb. 1 (YONHAP) -- The human rights situation in South Korea since the inauguration of President Kim Yong-sam in 1993 has improved significantly except for cases involving communism and North Korea, the U.S. State Department says. In North Korea, President Kim Il-song's regime is repressive and subjects its citizens to rigid controls, the State Department said in a report issued Tuesday on the human rights situation around the world in 1993. The North Korean regime establishes security ratings for each individual which determine access to employment, schools, medical facilities and certain stores as well as admission to the Workers' (Communist) Party. But this loyalty system appears to have been relaxed somewhat in recent years, the report said. In China, there has been "partial progress" but changes have been limited, the report said, foreshadowing continued friction between the United States and China over human rights. Washington is expected to continue to press Beijing for improvement in human rights conditions in return for most favored nation (MFN) trade privileges. "The overall human rights situation improved significantly (in South Korea)," the report said. This was "a result of the fundamental shift in attitude and policy of the Kim Yong-sam administration. President Kim achieved two democratic, institutional reforms of an historic nature: The abolition of false-name bank accounts and the enactment of a government ethics law," it said. "The government also decreed several amnesties that released, reduced the prison sentences of, or erased the criminal records of, hundreds of persons arrested for politically motivated acts," it said. Nevertheless, the Kim administration, insisting that the National Security Law (NSL) is designed to thwart subversion by pro-North Korean forces, continued to use it to violate freedom of expression, association and travel, it said. "The (Seoul) government invoked the NSL less, however, and NSL arrests declined by over half," it added. On North Korea, it said the regime detains about 150,000 political prisoners and family members in maximum security camps in remote areas. An October 1992 report by two former inmates made reference to the severe living conditions in what they called "concentration camps," it said. One credible report lists 12 such prison camps that are believed to exist in North Korea, it said. Koreans with relatives who fled to the South during the Korean war appear to still be classified as part of the "hostile class," it said. The report |
FBIS3-28015_0 | Increase in Sale of Foreign Cigarettes Noted | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Seoul, Feb. 2 (YONHAP) -- Domestic consumption of foreign cigarettes soared last year due to a strengthening of sales promotion activities by foreign cigarette makers and importers here, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. Foreign cigarettes passing through the customs house last year reached 357,888,000 packs worth 283,288 million won (about 350.6 million U.S. dollars). The volume registered a 34.2 percent increase from the year before, while turnover rose 32.3 percent. Foreign cigarettes accounted for 6.7 percent of the total volume of cigarettes sold in South Korea in 1993, up 1.5 percent from 1992, while the proportion in turnover rose to 9.1 percent, up 1.7 percentage points. In contrast, the increase in sales of domestically made cigarettes both at home and abroad was a mere 2.9 percent in volume and 6.1 percent in turnover from 1992. On the home front, the Japanese brand "Mild Seven Lights" (800 won or about one dollar per pack) and America's "Virginia Slims" (about 1.23 dollars) topped the list of foreign cigarettes, accounting for 27.3 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively, of the foreign cigarette market in volume. "Marlboro Lights" (one dollar) took a 13.1 percent share of the market, followed by "Marlboro" (one dollar) with 5.8 percent, "Finesse" (1.23 dollars) with 4.8 percent, "Vantage Lights" (1.23 dollars) with 3.3 percent and "Yves Saint Laurent" (1.23 dollars) with 2.0 percent. |
FBIS3-28059_1 | Editorial on Dissolution of Sabah Assembly | anybody because it had been the talk of the town for some time. It is still interesting, however, to discuss the timing behind Pairin's move to dissolve the assembly and gain a new mandate from the people. [passage omitted] Politically speaking, Pairin might have believed that the earlier-than-scheduled elections would serve as the most effective weapon against the 17 January court ruling. But looking at the current situation, the wellbeing of the Sabah people seems to be a more urgent matter which requires more attention than Pairin's fate on that day. Having experienced lengthy political upheavals in the past few years, the Sabah people now have the opportunity to think again and ask themselves what they really want from the coming state elections. The Sabah people should also ask themselves what they want to achieve, namely development and life's prosperity or a struggle still shrouded by irrelevant elements after 30 years of independence. They should be aware of the fact that blind faith and loyalty will bring about dire consequences to their grandchildren's wellbeing. The Sabah people naturally do not want to live an uncertain life, devoid of political stability and in constant hostility with the central government. They certainly do not want to lag behind other states which are making rapid progress in development programs. We have no idea of Pairin's plan for himself -- whether he wants to retire from politics and transfer the party leadership to another person or whether he wants to take part in the coming elections and continue his political life. In the current situation, the Sabah United Party apparently wants to test the waters and gauge its own strength, described by many observers as declining, before making noises as to whether it wants to rejoin the National Front, which it abandoned in 1990 in a truly unfavorable situation. Being the backbone of the National Front, UMNO [United Malays National Organization] is certainly very enthusiastic about taking part in the coming Sabah elections as a means to measure its strength in Sabah after it first entered the state in 1991. Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir's remarks that the National Front is ready to run in all the 48 state constituencies shows that the ruling coalition not only wants to test the waters, but also to wrest Sabah back from the Sabah United Party, which won the elections in 1985. This is not an impossible task. |
FBIS3-28063_0 | Minister: No `Offensive Designs' in Arms Purchases | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Jakarta, Feb. 1 (ANEX-ANTARA) -- Defense and Security Minister Edi Sudrajat said that arms purchases being made by some Southeast and East Asian countries were not motivated by offensive designs. "So far, we do not think that certain countries in Southeast and East Asia which recently acquired new armament, have a tendency to be offensive. But I have no idea about what will happen to (?them) 20 years from now," the minister told legislators here on Tuesday. The retired general said that the arms purchases were only intended to replace old weaponry and to keep up with new technology. "Just like us, we bought a few F-16 fighters with the purpose of keeping abreast of new technology," he said, adding that the number was actually far from sufficient compared with Indonesia's concrete defence needs. Sudrajat said that rapid economic growth in the two regions was among the major factors that had prompted the arms purchasing actions. He said that some East European as well as Central Asian countries were very aggressive and innovative in offering products of their weapon industries. "Although in technological terms the arms they offer cannot compete with those made by Western countries, some Asian countries with limited funds for armament seem very interested in the East European and Central Asian products," he added. The minister rejected the suggestion that the arms purchasing activity of the Southeast and East Asian countries amounted to an "armament race." During the hearing led by the chairman of the commission dealing with security affairs, Mrs. Aisyah Amini, the minister also touched on the "single majority concept" which had of late become a widely-debated topic in the country. |
FBIS3-28101_2 | Controversy Over Tax Reform Proposal Reported Hosokawa Statement on Tax Reform | without saying that it will take an enormous amount of expenditure to carry out such a vlsion. In studying the existing taxation system -- in other words, the framework as to how our people share the burden of taxes -- it is noted that too much emphasis has been imposed on income taxation, and too much of a burden has been imposed on those who are in the prime of life. This fact has been pointed out frequently, and if such a situation were left as it is, more and more of a burden would be imposed on those who are in the prime of life, and as a result, they are bound to lose vitality. And I have been repeating that this [current] system will certainly result in such a situation. To support the aging society, we must somehow reduce the burden imposed on those who are in the prime of life. In other words, I feel that we will have to reduce taxation on incomes but raise the rate of taxation on consumption so as to work out a framework based on all the people sharing the cost of supporting the aging population. Since we will be asked to take responsibility for the future, I believe that when viewed from the standpoints that I have just stated, we should never leave the existing taxation system as it is now. And since I delivered my policy speech to the Diet, I have persistently stated at the Diet sessions held so far that it Is necessary to promote an overall tax reform based on the Tax Commission's recommendations so that a system of well-balanced taxation an incomes, assets, and consumption can be worked out. With regard to the issuance of deficit-covering bonds, for which no sources of repayment can be secured, I have repeatedly stated that it must be handled with the greatest caution. I have made such remarks repeatedly because I feel that our future generations, who will support the aging society, should not be asked to pay for this burden. At the same time, it goes without saying that the top priority task for the cabinet is to eliminate an idea that future prospects for the economy still remain opaque, and also to ensure that economy will recover in fiscal 1994. Based on these views, I have just obtained an understanding at the meeting of representatives of the |
FBIS3-28102_5 | Controversy Over Tax Reform Proposal Reported Hosokawa Answers Questions 2 Feb | the whole, we have come up with definite figures. [Reporter] But Mr. Prime Minister, raising the existing 3-percent consumption tax to the 7-percent national welfare tax would mean an increase of 4 percent. Based on current revenue from the consumption tax, I think there will be a revenue increase of about 9 trillion yen. However, taking into consideration the planned 6 trillion yen in tax cuts and the amount required for the redemption of government bonds, I think that there will be a tax hike of 1 trillion to 2 trillion yen in April 1997. The idea of balancing income, consumption, and assets you mentioned a while ago is, I think, based on the so-called principle of balancing a tax cut and a tax increase. Could you spell out why the idea has led to a virtual tax increase? [Hosokawa] It is true that as you mentioned, there will be a tax hike after 1997. However, because the purpose is to establish a tax system which does not put a heavy burden on working generations and which is capable of steadily supporting Japan's aging society, you should not evaluate the tax hike simply from the point of the tax burden. [Reporter] I would like to confirm what you have said. I think what you have said is that the government will incorporate the national welfare tax revenue into the general accounts budget. Are you going to devise a way to allow the government to use the revenue from the new tax for welfare purpose? For example, a law stipulates what the oil tax should be used for. Will you formulate a way to make it possible for the government to use the revenue preferentially for welfare? [Hosokawa] As I have said, the national welfare tax will be used preferentially for welfare purposes. My statement here says that the government will legislate the new tax for this purpose. As I said earlier, the revenue will be used not only to pay old-age pensions but also to meet various other demands. [Reporter] So the tax revenue will not be used specifically for pensions. [Hosokawa] That is right. [Reporter] I understand the idea you demonstrated in your statement, but it seems that the revenue from the national welfare tax can be used for any purpose. I think that people would have the impression that the government changed the name of the consumption tax |
FBIS3-28102_15 | Controversy Over Tax Reform Proposal Reported Hosokawa Answers Questions 2 Feb | have to respect the Diet's deliberations. [Reporter] Does this mean that there might be some amendments? [Hosokawa] Well, I can only say that this would be like the case of the political reform bills. [Reporter] Tell us why the national welfare tax is to be implemented on 1 April 1997. [Hosokawa] It has often been pointed out that if [the tax] comes too soon [after the income tax cut is implemented], it would not be effective, that it would not have any effect on the economy. The time lag should be extended as much as possible. From the point of view of stimulating the economy, I think that that is the most sensible decision. And, from the fiscal point of view, we have very limited choices. I made the final decision while giving as much consideration as possible to both factors. [Reporter] I have heard that most, not some, SDPJ members oppose the new tax. I am sure you plan to enact the bill to introduce the new tax during the current ordinary Diet session. Your answer may change depending on how the LDP will react to the tax, but are you confident in having the bill adopted? [Hosokawa] What I can say now is that I will do my utmost to win their understanding. [Reporter] Do you treat the bill the same way as the political reform bills? I mean politically.... [Hosokawa] I am not clear what you mean. But this new tax is one of basic pillars of economic reform. We asked ourselves whether the government should continue having a tight budgetary plan, whether it should implement income tax cuts to pull the nation out of the current recession, and how it should finance the cuts. The introduction of a new tax is the only choice left to the government, I believe. Like political reform bills, it will not be easy to get the bill adopted. It is true that each political party has members who take a cautious approach toward this issue. But I have to seek their understanding. For this, the government intends to make an all-out effort. [Reporter] If a tax hike is implemented in such a way, many people will have apprehensions that the 7-percent tax ratio will probably be raised to 11 percent in the future. What do you think of this? [Hosokawa] As I have repeatedly said in Diet interpellations, the government |
FBIS3-28127_0 | NASDA Postpones Launch of H-2 Rocket Again | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [From the "NHK News" program] [Text] The large-scale H-2 rocket, developed solely with Japanese technology, was schedued to be launched at 0700 [2200 GMT] this morning [3 February] at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. But because it was found during all-night inspection work that an airduct attached to the rocket had developed trouble, the launch was again postponed until 0700 tomorrow morning. The Tanegashima Space Center, from where the H-2 rocket is to be launched, had carried on all-night work since yesterday for the launch of the rocket at 0700 this morning. However, when the doors of the launch pad, where the rocket was installed, were opened a little after 2200 [1300 GMT] last night, it was found that the airduct attached on the top of the rocket was diconnected. Because it takes a long time to reattach the airduct to the rocket, the National Space Development Agency [NASDA] of Japan decided to postpone the launch until 0700 tomorrow morning. According to NASDA, the airduct became disconnected because of a gust of wind. Because it is expected that a soft wind will blow tomorrow, NASDA plans to resume preparation work this evening. The launch of the H-2 was initially scheduled for 1 February, but because of bad weather the launch had been postponed until today. |
FBIS3-28128_4 | Daily Supports Foreign Ministry Statement | our people and the world's peace-loving people. This is why we consistently insisted on negotiations with the United States. If the United States does not have the will to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula through talks, then we have no intention of going out of our way to hold the talks. We are not indebted to the United States at all, and we will continue to live without being indebted to the United States. It is a very foolish calculation, if the United States thinks that we will beg for the talks. Currently, the United States even set a time limit and said that it will be inevitable to move toward the road of taking sanctions if we do not receive the International Atomic Energy Agency's demand to accept a full-scope [chonmyon] inspection. The United States is trying to frighten someone. The United States is not the only one that has measures. The right of choice is not only limited to big powers either. We have ways for countermeasures against any other option by the United States. What we are saying is not empty talk. We do not like to make empty talk. In reality, when the United States and the international reactionary forces set about to infringe upon the nation's dignity and the country's sovereign right, we answered them by announcing to withdraw from the NPT. When the United States and the South Korean puppets launched the Team Spirit-93 joint military exercise, we took a resolute measure by announcing a semi-state of war. Our unchanging will is that we do what we say we do. Defending to the end the country's sovereign right and the nation's dignity is the firm determination of our people and the People's Army. We are completely prepared politically, ideologically, militarily, and materially to cope with any kind of unexpected situation. The United States must not miscalculate our will and determination, and must not underestimate our might. If the United States comes forward with the attitude of putting pressure on us, our attitude for taking a countermeasure will be a hundred times stronger, and this will be carried out into practical action. It will be good for the United States to have a correct understanding of our Republic, our people, and the People's Army, and act with discretion. There will only be shameful defeat for those who are acting rashly and thoughtlessly. |
FBIS3-28147_0 | Honda, U.S. Company To Develop EV Battery | Language: Japanese Article Type:CSO [Text] Honda Motor Co, (Nobuhiko Kawamoto, president) and Ovonic Battery Co. (OBC, headquartered in Michigan), a U.S. venture company that produces electronic and electrical parts, have agreed on the joint development of a next-generation battery for electric vehicles [EV] and concluded a development contract. This is the first time automobile-related Japanese and U.S. corporations have joined hands to develop a next-generation battery for electric vehicles. Based on this contract, Honda will begin development of a practical battery based on the nickel-hydrogen one that OBC has developed. Because the nickel-hydrogen battery on which OBC has been conducting research and development has over twice the storage capacity and durability of conventional batteries, development of a low-cost battery is envisioned at the time of its placement on board electric vehicles. In addition, because the battery does not include any lead or cadmium components, it is said to have the merit of being able to avoid secondary environmental pollution. The contract specifies that OBC will devise the design specs--based on the next-generation battery that the company has developed--for mounting in the electric vehicles that Honda is currently developing, then develop a prototype. Honda will mount the battery in its electric vehicles currently under development, undertaking to change the specifications for practical use. Regarding the contract, Honda, in addition to procuring a prototype battery from OBC for research, test production, and testing, will pursue technology exchange. Honda is paying OBC approximately ¥150 million for the next-generation battery technology. With California--due to the problem of environmental protection--introducing regulations by 1998 mandating that two percent of all vehicles sold there emit no exhaust gases, the development of electric vehicles is becoming hurried. But the development of high-performance batteries has become the major prerequisite for that. Amidst such developments, Honda is strengthening its development capabilities in environmental-protection vehicles by joining hands with a U.S. venture company with strength in a future field of technology. OBC, a venture company that excels in new materials development and chemical synthesis R&D, is a member of the Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) group of companies. With former General Motors chairman and chief executive officer Stempel recently becoming chairman of ECD, the parent company, the group is said to be strengthening its capabilities related to automobiles. |
FBIS3-28149_13 | Role of New Foreign Ministry Bureau Viewed On Japan's Becoming a Permanent Member of the Security Council | any way it can. At the same time, Japan will attempt to settle territorial disputes revolving around the so-called northern territories in order to expand equilibrium. China has been pursuing reform and modernization, and seems to have achieved considerable success in improving its economy. It is most desirable for regional stability that China becomes more open and modernized; Japan may be able to assist in that direction. The Japan-ROK relationship has greatly improved, but it deserves more in view of our grueling historical past. The North Korean regime and its economy is isolated and closed to the outside world; it should be made a member of the international community so the security of this area can be greatly enhanced. Presently North Korea is suspected of developing nuclear weapons; that question should be solved by all means so that North Korea can become an ordinary member of northeast Asia. It necessary to do everything possible in order to attain that goal. Unlike in Europe, there is little regional cooperation in this area, much to our regret. It is true Europe worked a considerably long time to achieve what it has today. Asian nations need time to cooperate with other nations in the Asia-Pacific region in a broad sense, and to establish cooperative relations in East Asia or Northeast Asia in a narrower sense. This is considered one of the tasks of the Foreign Policy Bureau. [GAIKO FORUM] Asia seems to have antipathy against the human rights diplomacy of the United States, harboring the concept that a dictatorship is tolerable for the sake of development. Is it not Japan's vital role to act as go-between for the human rights ideology of the United States and the realities of developing nations? [Yanai] Attitudes in Asia about human rights certainly differ from those of the United States and Europe, nor are they the same between the United States and Europe. It is important to respect basic human rights, of course; peace cannot be maintained without it. On the other hand, it is self-evident that human rights problems in places where overcoming poverty is the burning question are different from those in countries enjoying a relatively high standard of living. Therefore, as regards world standards of respecting human rights, there is naturally a limit to which a country can intervene by praising or condemning another country's human rights record based on its own standards. It |
FBIS3-28163_0 | Commentary Views U.S. Plans for Radio Free Asia | Language: Lao Article Type:BFN [Unattributed commentary] [Text] Last week, the U.S. Senate debated and endorsed the establishment of Radio Free Asia with the aim of beaming news to China, Myanmar [Burma], Tibet, the DPRK, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Lao Peoples's Democratic Republic [LPDR]. They claimed that peoples in these countries lacked complete freedom of expression and regarded the setting up of the radio station as an instrument for conveying varied views to those peoples. It is well known that during the Cold War period, the United States utilized Radio Free Europe as one of its tools to oppose the socialist countries in eastern Europe. That radio station played an important role in interfering in the internal affairs of those countries. In the last decade of the 20th century, while the United States and other countries throughout the world are expeditiously seeking ways to increase mutual cooperation and understanding, the United States itself is considering setting up a Radio Free Asia to oppose the countries in Asia. It is surprising indeed. The LPDR Foreign Affairs Ministry is of the view that the establishment of Radio Free Asia by the Unites States runs counter to the trend of promoting cooperation and creating peace in this region and throughout the world. The only thing the peoples and governments in this region want is that they hope the United States will use other means of communications in an effort to contribute to building mutual trust to facilitate the promotion of economic, scientific, cultural, social cooperation, and peace in Southeast Asia and the world. |
FBIS3-28169_1 | Executives Welcome U.S. Trade With Vietnam | the United States' higher technology. A Thai Petrochemical Industry Co executive, Prachai Leophairatana, said the lifting of the embargo, if it occurred, would greatly expand business in Vietnam because of the flood of foreign capital into that country. The end of the sanctions will enable new investors to enter Vietnam and this will be a good time for Thai businessmen to sell their products. As Mr Prachai is in the petrochemical industry dealing with plastic and cement, he noted that this would be a good chance to sell building materials to Vietnam. In supplying construction materials such as cement, the country with the best advantage will be the nearest because transport of the commodity costs a lot. In the short term, Thai investors will be in a better position than others, but in the long run, if Thai investors do not adapt, they will be disadvantaged particularly in terms of competition in marketing and technology, he said. Thirachit Satirotwong, a member of the Federation of Thai Industries, said Thai businessmen had prepared for a long time and sent several teams to explore investment opportunities in Vietnam. He expects more investment if the embargo is lifted. A United Gommunication Industry (UCOM) executive, who declined to be named, said that UCOM recently approached Vietnamese authorities to join an iridium project to link Indochina with the rest of the world. Vietnam had agreed but could not join officially because of the embargo, he said. The lifting of the embargo will clear the way for Vietnam to take part. The $3.3-billion iridium system is a worldwide, digital, satellite-based cellular personal communications system designed mainly to provide commercial and governmental links through mobile phones within a country and abroad. He said sole agents of American products in the region, particularly in Thailand, would directly benefit from the lifting of sanctions. As most American products have Thais as their sole agents in the region, particularly telecommunications products, their markets will expand. Although competition is expected from Hong Kong and Singapore agents for American products, the early dominance of Thais in the Vietnamese market will be an advantage. Americans would not directly invest in Vietnam for reasons of history, he believes. Also, the size of the market is not large, about 60 million, and most people are poor. Business would probably be done through barter. Rigid regulations on money transactions would not attract American investors, he said. |
FBIS3-28216_2 | Daily Analyzes U.S. Lifting of Vietnam Embargo | in which they even offered prize money. Adding that, "If the United States normalizes relations with Vietnam, it will facilitate the resolution of the MIA issue," he opened a way to lifting the embargo. Lawmakers of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee Asia-Pacific Subcommittee visited Vietnam. Upon their return home, they helped adopt a resolution calling for the lifting of the embargo on Vietnam, thus enabling the government to lift the embargo. We can better understand the background behind the steps taken in order to lift the embargo on Vietnam in view of the fact that some 300 U.S. businesses, including such multinational enterprises as Citibank, General Electric Co., and Mobile, have arrived in Vietnam to begin their brisk marketing activities there. Since Vietnam introduced the doi moi renovation policy in 1986, along the lines of the former Soviet Union's perestroyka and glasnost example, it has achieved an economic miracle with an annual average economic growth rate of 7 percent from 1991 to 1993 and an annual inflation rate of 5 percent or lower from its previous three-digit inflation rate. Vietnam's potential, no doubt, is attractive to U.S. businesses. With the lifting of the embargo, investment and cooperation between the two countries is expected to increase in various fields, such as in construction, real estate, finance, manufacturing, and in petroleum and gas projects. Brisk activities are already evident with Mobile's signing last December of a contract to develop the (Tan Long) oil field. However, the lifting of the embargo may not smoothly lead to the complete normalization of relations, for the United States will probably use the issue of normalizing diplomatic relations as leverage in securing the initiative in negotiations on pending issues, such as the MIA issue, the signing of an investment guarantee agreement, the lifting of the freeze on U.S. assets in Vietnam, and the human rights issue. Following President Clinton's 4 February announcement of the lifting of the embargo, he clarified that "This does not mean we are normalizing relations," and this supports the above analysis. Nevertheless, the U.S. lifting of the embargo on Vietnam may well have considerable impact on the world, as well as the Asian economy, because it is a signal heralding the official rebirth of the Vietnamese market, which is called "Asia's last golden market" second only to the Chinese market, in the Asian economic sphere. |
FBIS3-28227_1 | Minister Hata on U.S. Talks, Political Reform | "Do you think the heiritsu-sei (combining the single-seat district and proportional representation systems) is a process of going toward a complete single-seat district system or is it the ideal system which should take roots?" Hata says the heiritsu-sei can better reflect the popular will than a pure single- seat district system. Asked if a general election will be held under the new election system by the end of this year, Hata says, "I do not think we need to wait until the end of the year," but also cautions against being hasty. "The Diet has various problems to take care of. On the other hand, political parties need time to turn into new parties which will be fitting to the new political system," he explains. After some discussions on general economic issues with Hata and economists who are present as guests, Tawara brings up the Japan- U.S. economic consultations as the next topic. He notes the U.S. Government is unhappy about the "bureaucrat-led" government of Japan, and cites a senior State Department official as saying, "Cannot Hosokawa fire Saito (administrative vice minister of finance)?" Hata responds: "America, or Washington, is a small place. If someone puts out some information, this spreads to every corner quickly. I was recently told the same story by an American who was in a very high position. I told him, 'If you start saying that sort of thing, let me say this: You have the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the Agriculture Department, and so forth. The people there all say different things -- they speak as they please. Why cannot the people there keep in contact with each other better?'" The foreign minister continues: "In the United States, when the government changes hands, the people of a new government say things which are completely different from what the people of a preceding government said." Asked about the numerical targets question, which the U.S. Government wants to be set as a way of measuring the progress of market liberalization, Hata says he will continue to object to that concept, insisting: "I think we must object to it. Let us look back on the experience with respect to semiconductors and auto parts. No doubt, these products were contributing to the trade surplus. So we told the people of those industries that it was no time to begin buying |
FBIS3-28231_1 | No Participation in UNPROFOR `at Present' | Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade. Hata said in the statement that Japan is not considering sending personnel to the U.N. Protection Force (UNPROFOR). The ministry officials said Japan will continue studying the nation's participation "from a mid- to long-term perspective" and closely watch regional developments, the UNPROFOR and the peace process. Officials pointed out that although UNPROFOR commander Brig. Gen. Saermark Thomsen [spelling of name as received] told the mission that he will welcome Japan's participation, the United Nations has made no formal request. Once such a request is made, the nation will consider a dispatch from a legal viewpoint and then make a policy decision, they said. Hata voiced concern in the statement over continuing armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and the failure of the peace process, and strongly urged a solution through negotiations, not battles. He added Japan intends to make efforts toward peace. Regarding humanitarian cooperation, Tokyo is considering extending between 10 million and 15 million dollars to U.N. organizations to help refugees, the officials said. Details, including timing of the disbursement, have yet to be decided, they said. Tokyo plans to provide facilities, medical goods, food and other equipment to help the refugees, they said. Japan will strengthen ties with Macedonia and promote personnel exchanges to help develop its economy and improve public life in an aim to prevent conflicts from occurring, the officials said. Specifically, Japan will send three or four experts to Macedonia in spring to study implementation of economic and technical cooperation. They will also invite Macedonian Government officials in charge of economic cooperation to Japan in March, they said. Japan also plans to establish diplomatic ties with Macedonia as soon as possible and look into setting up an honorary counsul general, and will lift self-restraints on tourists Friday to Macedonia, they said. The government will also send a Foreign Ministry official to the eight-member conflict prevention mission of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the officials said. To tackle the area's problems more effectively, Japan will strengthen its embassy in Austria to cover Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia, and promote ties with Albania, which play an important role in the stability of the Balkan region, they said. A minister at the Japanese embassy in Austria will become a Japanese representative in charge of problems in the region and will attend consultations among major nations in Zagreb when possible, they said. |
FBIS3-28257_0 | Ambassador to U.S. Views Relations, Trade | Language: Indonesian Article Type:BFN ["Excerpts" of interview with Arifin Siregar, ambassador to the United States, by TEMPO correspondent Bambang Harymurti in Washington; date not given] [Text] [Harymurti] How are current Indonesia-U.S. relations? [Siregar] You know that relations between Indonesia and the United States in the past few years have been quite good. In politics, Indonesia has been active in solving the Cambodian problem, and this has benefited the United States. The Indonesian and U.S. Governments have also worked together well in international forums, such as in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] and the Uruguay Round meetings. [Harymurti] Did Indonesia and the United States always hold similar views during the Uruguay Round talks? [Siregar] Of course, there are always differences of opinion, but we do not belong to the group of countries obstructing the Uruguay Round talks. In economic ties, our bilateral trade grows steadily. Our exports last year stood at U.S. $4.5 billion and our imports at U.S. $3.5 billion, while U.S. exports to Indonesia stood at U.S. $4.3 billion. [Harymurti] So, bilateral trade is more or less balanced. [Siregar] That is right. From the Indonesian point of view, the U.S. market has great potential. U.S. investments in Indonesia, especially in oil, gas, and mining stand at about U.S. $25 billion, while its nonoil and nongas investments are at about U.S. $3.2 billion. The United States is the fifth largest investor in Indonesia after Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. [Harymurti] What is the impact on bilateral relations of the U.S. threat to remove Generalized System of Preference [GSP] facilities? [Siregar] Bilateral relations are quite cordial. More than 10,000, maybe even 12,000 Indonesian students are now studying in the United States. Many have completed their studies and returned home. Viewed from various angles, bilateral relations are quite excellent. It is therefore regrettable if relations are strained due to the GSP and human rights issues. [Harymurti] The GSP facilities involve only a small fraction of Indonesian exports to the United States. Why does the government appear to be nervous about the possible removal of GSP facilities? [Siregar] It is true that only U.S. $640 million were derived from the GSP facilities from our exports to the United States in 1992, which stood at U.S. $4.5 billion. But if the GSP facilities are discontinued, this move may strain bilateral relations. As you know, Indonesia has been viewed in a negative way |
FBIS3-28257_3 | Ambassador to U.S. Views Relations, Trade | that take the initiative to have our GSP removed, but it is the U.S. Government that makes the decision. The same is true with the Feingold Amendment, namely a senator tabled the bill, but if Congress had approved it, the U.S. Government would have implemented the resolution to ban the arms sale. Therefore, they are inseparable. My personal view is that bilateral relations should not be strained by the GSP and workers' rights issues. [Harymurti] There are fears that once the GSP is removed, other countries will follow the U.S. example. Is that true? [Siregar] That is possible, because workers' rights are also part of human rights. [Harymurti] What is the outcome of the ILO team's recent visit to Indonesia? They said that some of Indonesia's labor regulations are not up to the international standard. [Siregar] I have not yet received a complete report on the issue, but at a hearing on 3 November 1993, the Indonesian Government, through its ambassador, said that it would take steps to improve workers' welfare. This is not due to the U.S. request. Hopefully the government will really take steps for the benefit of its own people and also as a means to appease the Americans. [Harymurti] What about the case of Marsinah [labor activist murdered in East Java]? [Siregar] Well, it is one of the cases the government has taken appropriate actions. Anybody believed to be involved in the case will be put on trial, and the court will pass its judgment soon. [Harymurti] What category of U.S. investors are believed to have the strongest potential in Indonesia -- the medium or small-scale investors? [Siregar] There are several categories. Let us say that the Freeport Corporation is a big one, but there are also many medium-scale investors, all of whom have invested a total of U.S. $3.2 billion, as I mentioned earlier. I see more potential for our exports to the United States, which are projected to increase by 25 percent next year. [Harymurti] What is the ranking of our exports to the United States compared to that to other countries? [Siregar] In terms of nonoil and nongas exports, the value of our exports to the United States is almost equivalent to that to Japan, namely at U.S. $3.9 billion. Out total exports to Japan stand at U.S. $10.8 billion. This means that the United States has become our second largest market for |
FBIS3-28257_6 | Ambassador to U.S. Views Relations, Trade | the typical attitude of American and Western people in general. They cannot make decision quickly. They must look at many aspects first, especially the legal one. For this reason, countries like Korea and Hong Kong tend to invest more in Indonesia. [Harymurti] Some observers said that since the APEC meeting in Seattle, there has been a shift in the U.S. Government's stand on human rights and environment issues. [Siregar] It is too early to say that. We must not forget one thing worth paying attention to, namely during the NAFTA debates, the U.S. Government strained its relations with the trade unions. The relations were so strained that President Clinton found it necessary to hold a special meeting with Lane Kirkland, chairman of the trade unions. We never know whether Clinton had to give some sort of concessions to the unionists on certain labor rights. It is indeed worth noting that the APEC meeting in Seattle has indirectly made us the focus of the U.S. public's interest. Perhaps we will reap its positive impact. However, the NAFTA debates may also have a negative impact. [Harymurti] Do you attach great importance to the fact that Indonesia will host the APEC meeting next year? [Siregar] Yes, I believe it is good for us to host the meeting because the leaders meeting [two preceding words in English] will be held for the second time. I believe this is very important. [Harymurti] Therefore, are you optimistic that Indonesia-U.S. relations will continue to improve? [Siregar] I cannot say that I am very optimistic, and I have to be cautious here because we never know how the GSP issue will turn out. I believe the GSP issue is crucial, and I hope it will be solved properly. But when the GSP issue is solved, it does not mean that everything will proceed smoothly because the East Timor issue is still haunting us. [Harymurti] Until when? [Siregar] It will take some time to find the solution. Right now, there are still protest demonstrations in Seattle and Washington, D.C. on East Timor. Even though the the U.S. press praises Indonesia's economic performance, they always try to find something negative. This is especially true with THE WASHINGTON POST, which often carries disturbing reports about Indonesia. [Harymurti] As a former director of IMF, do you think the policies of the IMF and World Bank will be influenced by the human rights |
FBIS3-28263_0 | North Official Caught Trying To Smuggle VCR's | Language: Korean Article Type:BFN [YONHAP from Cairo] [Text] A reliable source on 3 February revealed that a North Korean trade mission official was caught attempting to smuggle 10 videotape recorders into Cairo. The equipment was confiscated. According to the source, Yu Hyon-chol, member of the North Korean trade mission in Kuwait, on 1 February arrived at Cairo Airport with the videotape recorders and attempted to bring them into Cairo, however, he was detected and the equipment was confiscated. The source noted that the attempt of the North Korean official to smuggle these electronic products is undoubtedly designed to sell them and use the money to buy a gift to present to Kim Chong-il on his birthday on 16 February. |
FBIS3-28277_0 | Improving Quality of Information Analysts Urged | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Interview with Ryuzo Sejima, former chairman of the Consultative Committee for Strengthening Diplomacy, by AERA editorial staff Hidetoshi Sotooka; place and date not given] [Text] [Sotooka] Last August, the Foreign Ministry started to strengthen its intelligence ability in response to recommendations made by the consultative committee which you chaired. What were the recommendations' aim and background? [Sejima] After the end of the Cold War, the world witnessed the breakout of the Persian Gulf war and a series of isolated conflicts and faced a number of tasks such as environmental and human rights problems. The world has entered an era of multipolarization and diversification. In Japan, meanwhile, the bubble economy has continued to burst and domestic politics and economy have gone into a period of instability. With these as the background, my basic understanding was that there was a need to strengthen the diplomatic power. As a way to invigorate the Foreign Ministry, to begin with, it was proposed to strengthen its international intelligence ability, its capability to draw up comprehensive foreign policies and functions of diplomatic establishments abroad, and, at the same time, to increase the number of diplomatic personnel by 1,000 in several years. Although I tackled the administrative reform problem aiming for a slim government, I had a different idea about the Foreign Ministry, feeling that the present status would not do. [Sotooka] Do you mean that the present intelligence capabilities are insufficient? [Sejima] For example, the number of Foreign Ministry personnel is half that of the United Kingdom and one-third that of the United States. A young diplomat in charge of an area covers eight countries by himself. As things are, it is impossible to cover the whole world. Diplomatic establishments abroad are still dependent on an outdated communications system. That has to be modernized. Furthermore, collection and analysis of information at the ministry proper lacked coordination because they were handled vertically from the bottom up. Coordination is indispensable to intelligence capabilities. [Sotooka] What international intelligence capability does Japan need? [Sejima] A nation's intelligence power is dependent on four factors. The first is that a nation is not internationally isolated. It has to have more allied and friendly nations. The second is that close relations should be firmly established between the Foreign Ministry bureau that handles information and other government agencies. The third is that intelligence capability at diplomatic establishments abroad should be |
FBIS3-28278_6 | Intelligence-Gathering Capability Discussed The Cabinet Information Research Office Is a Small Organization Occupying Eight Rooms The Public Security Investigation Agency Turns Its Eyes to Foreign Information The Prime Minister Sometimes Receives Information Gathered by the Japan External Trade Organization | Intelligence and Research has a total staff of some 350 people, and it has access to information gathered by other huge intelligence services. A former MOFA information officer even said frankly: "Information released by the U.S. State Department is the most accurate, while information provided by Japanese private citizens is of low reliability." However, foreign countries release information to Japan only when it is in line with their national policy or when it does not act against their national policy. In his farewell speech, George Washington warned people by saying: "Nothing is worse than relying on the simple goodwill of a nation toward another nation." More Than 1,300 Officials Work for the DA "Chobetsu" The DA is capable of gathering information by itself. In particular, the Ground Staff Office Intelligence Department Special Division has an independent information-gathering ability. This division, which goes by the name of "Chobetsu," has a total staff of 1,370 men. It has six radio monitoring stations in various parts of Japan. It has mainly been monitoring the exchange of radio messages by Russia, China, and North Korea. Even if it cannot decode their messages, it can grasp the variation in communications volume and the change in the location of the sending stations, which are substantial materials for judgment. Sophisticated codes cannot be used, in particular, in the case of radio communications from aircraft. This is why the Special Division knew that North Korean pilots have only been practicing takeoffs and landings because of a shortage of fuel. In Wakkanai [in the northernmost part of Hokkaido], the Air Self-Defense Force has an ELINT station, or electronic intelligence station, to monitor radar beams from Russian Air Force planes. It is also monitoring the exchange of messages. It is able to identify the types of airplanes from the frequency and type of radar beam. The ELINT station gained a worldwide reputation in September 1983 when a Korean Airline jetliner was shot down over Sakhalin. A total of 38 defense attaches have been sent to Japanese embassies in 30 countries. The military preparedness of each country is grasped by them. However, in any country, it is a habit with military authorities to emphasize the threat posed by foreign troops, and to remain vague about their weakness, even if they are aware of it. This is a way to secure a military budget and recruit military personnel. For instance, in 1993, |
FBIS3-28284_14 | Bureaucrats' Role in Decisionmaking Viewed | very small number of bureaucratic elite, sometimes in a very arbitrary manner and without a spirit of independence, following in the footsteps of the United States. In addition, there lies in the background the deadlock of the distinct vertical system observed by Japanese bureaucracy. The Foreign Ministry has always advocated the "centralization of diplomacy," but the "centralization of diplomacy" and the vertical system of administration have become increasingly incompatible with each other amid the mutability of the world situation due to the end of the Cold War as well as to the acceleration of a borderless economy. The reason is the Foreign Ministry finds it difficult to take the complete initiative in any given field -- such as Japan-U.S. trade frictions in every field, peacekeeping operations, the preservation of the Earth's environment, and rice. Under such circumstances, the decisionmaking process initiated by the North American Affairs Bureau has lost its authority and executive faculty. In the Foreign Ministry, the following posts of the administrative section have been regarded as the fastest tracks for success, and have increasingly acquired importance: the chief of the Policy Coordination Division of the Secretariat, the chief of the Personnel Division, the chief of the Treaties Division of the Treaties Bureau, and the chief of the Legal Affairs Division of the Treaties Bureau. For one thing, this means that men of superior ability show a strong tendency to avoid diplomatic frontline posts chock full of difficulty, and thus take the social escalator, tolerating the holding of posts. If such a mood prevails, a typical bureaucratic process will exercise greater influence in which the acting chief will make plans, the chief will flesh them out, and the director general will lay the groundwork within and without the Foreign Ministry for the approval of the plans, thus further increasing the opaqueness of decisionmaking. The Decisionmaking of the "Ichi-Ni Combination" Rightly or wrongly, there is a saying that "Japanese politics is third rate, its economics is first rate, and its bureaucracy is ultra-first rate." In the background of such a saying lies a situation in which the bureaucrats have taken the leadership under the collusive relationship among "politicians, bureaucrats, and the business world." Taking advantage of such a situation, the "bureaucracy" has taken an active part not only in the decisionmaking of ministries and agencies, but also in the process of national policy decisions. This has been made possible |
FBIS3-28293_1 | Negotiators Maintain `Tough' Stand in Talks | after all." The reason why the Japanese officials are so rigid is because of their bad experiences. One of them is the Japanese-U.S. semiconductor agreement. Whereas it contained a figure of 20 percent for foreign semiconductors' market share in Japan as the U.S. industry's hoped-for figure, before one knew what was happening, the U.S. Government started to say that it was a figure that the Japanese Government promised would be attained. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry [MITI] said it will not retreat from its position, insisting: "We will never repeat the same kind of mistake. If we put numbers in an agreement, that will be interpreted as public pledge by the Japanese Government." One of the reasons why the Japanese Government, which has kept on making concessions in past negotiations with the United States, now has taken so tough a stand is that the trade environment is greatly different following the conclusion of the GATT's Uruguay Round of talks at the end of last year. Its position is now that multinational trade rules have been established, "if a dispute arises between two countries, the right thing to do is to bring it to the GATT for open discussions." After deciding to partially open the rice market, which was a symbol of the closed nature of the Japanese market, Japan's guilty conscience has lessened as well. "We won't tell them not to come. But they can't do anything even if they do come." [source not identified] The arrivals of cabinet-rank officials such as USTR Mickey Kantor -- on the heels of Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen -- are seen as an overbearing act ignoring the framework of negotiations now under way at the vice- ministerial level. The U.S. claim against Japan concerning Japanese "bureaucrats' impeding the progress of negotiations" has amplified Japanese bureaucrats' mistrust of the United States, and "we are now mutually distrustful of each other," said Sozaburo Okamatsu, deputy vice minister of international trade and industry. But Japanese officials are perplexed as well. The MITI, working behind the scenes, is asking domestic automobile manufacturers to prepare voluntary plans on the purchase of foreign-made parts -- in hopes of finding a breakthrough in the framework talks on automobiles and auto parts. The government wants to adopt a policy of not being involved directly in order to prevent any figures from turning into numerical targets, but there is no change |
FBIS3-28295_4 | Professors Criticize Numerical Targets Plan Japan's Conventional Response To U.S. Demands Inspires U.S. To Make More Demands Strenuous Efforts Should Be Made To Narrow Disparities Between Domestic and Overseas Prices | will lead to managed trade. The Japanese Government should resolutely say "no" to the U.S. demand. If both Japan and the United States agree on numerical targets, the following problems will arise: A) The act itself of the Japanese Government agreeing to numerical targets would be interpreted as Japan acknowledging "its difference from other nations." The act would reinforce the assertions by anti-Japan hard-liners in the United States. European nations and Australia would ask Japan for the same bilateral agreements. B) If Japan agrees with the United States on setting numerical targets in a certain sector and the agreement is put into effect, this would inspire the United States to claim: "Now that the numerical targets are going well, let us expand them to other sectors," and would demand that it be done. If numerical targets are not met, it will spur the United States to assert that "Japan has not lived up to its promise and we have no choice but to slap sanctions against Japan." C) Automobile and auto parts have become a priority sector in negotiations under the Japan-U.S. economic framework talks. The primarily reason for a low share of American-built cars on the Japanese market lies in the failure of American automakers to manufacture cars that are salable on the Japanese market. The U.S. demand for more sales of American-built cars on the Japanese market holds no ground at all. The Japanese Government should not step back from its position of opposing the U.S. demand for setting the numerical targets in the automobile and auto parts sector. D) Further more, the United States has no economic reason to push Japan for "numerical targets" in other sectors. Numerical targets run counter to the desirable policy of relaxing bureaucratic regulations and strengthening competitiveness. E) If Japan devotes its time and energy to bilateral negotiations with the United States and yields to U.S. demands, this will have an adverse impact on Japanese and American feelings toward each other by reinforcing America-dislike among the Japanese and spurring Japan-bashing in the United States. That would also taint Japan's image among Asian nations and weaken Japan's leadership in multilateral negotiations. Japan's Conventional Response To U.S. Demands Inspires U.S. To Make More Demands The Japanese Government must reflect on the fact that its conventional way of responding to U.S. demands has "encouraged" the United States to make its latest demand for setting numerical |
FBIS3-28299_0 | `Setback', U.S. Support Viewed | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Text] With the Japan-U.S. summit talks on 11 February close at hand, Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa's setback on the issue of the tax cut and the accompanying tax hike at the last minute has brought about a crisis of confidence in his "management ability" of the Japan-U.S. relations. This may dampen considerably the Clinton administration's expectations on the prime minister's leadership to reduce the trade surplus and open the Japanese market, which are significantly higher than its expectations on the previous Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] administration. If Hosokawa visits the United States without bringing about a substantial breakthrough in the new economic consultations, the U.S. Government may reconsider its support of the prime minister's reform line. The United States is expected to stand firm on its position that "if there would not be any substantial agreement, it will be better not to have any agreement at all," (according to Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen) If conflicts in Japan-U.S. relations flare up, the prime minister's political responsibility may be questioned. The U.S. Government, which is irritated with the impasse in the new economic consultations, is plagued by a sense of distrust of the Japanese bureaucrats who stubbornly refuse to accede to the U.S. demand on "numerical targets," while it also harbors over- expectations on the ability of the prime minister, who upholds the slogan of "changing status quo politics." Since late 1993, U.S. Government officials have been trying to set the stage for bilateral negotiations by criticizing the bureaucrats, while expressing support for the prime minister. This is part of the strategy to set aside the prime minister as a so-called "good guy" to draw a favorable final "decision" from him. However, the attitude taken by the prime minister in the process of formulating and eventually rescinding the "national welfare tax" scheme completely runs counter to U.S. expectations. At first, the prime minister had sided with the Ministry of Finance, which attaches more importance to a sound fiscal policy than to economic stimulation to please the United States, by proposing to implement a tax cut "two years" ahead of a tax hike. However, dissenting views came from the ruling parties, saying "With that, you cannot negotiate with President Clinton." Thus, the prime minister ultimately settled on "a tax hike three years later." However, this was sufficient to illustrate the prime minister's subservience to the bureaucracy. On |
FBIS3-28303_4 | Official Discusses Security in East Asia (2) Promotion Of International Cooperation For The Sake Of Regional Stability | Korean peninsula, Cambodia issue, and Northern Territories issue between Japan and the USSR are still present. "And fourth, in Europe, there is a major movement toward unification, politically and economically, with the movement of the EC union at its center. But in the Asia Pacific region, relationships of economic mutual dependency are pursued on the basis of national, regional, political, social, and cultural diversity and differing phases of economic development. To recognize such characteristics of the Asia-Pacific region and insure its peace and security, it is important to seek solutions for unsolved disputes and confrontations -- such as the confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the Cambodian issue, the Northern Territories issue, and so forth -- and through this process, to promote dialogue in order to bring about lasting stability in each subregion -- such as Northeast and Southeast Asia -- and to strengthen cooperative relationships. As for regional cooperation in a broader sphere, in light of the fact that economic development is important for the stability of the countries in this area, it is important to promote cooperation stressing the economic sphere. In concrete terms, utilizing already existing frameworks -- such as ASEAN, the ASEAN Expanded Foreign Ministers' Conference, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers' conference, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (PECC), and so on -- is the most suitable way for this region to expand dialogue and cooperation on various issues in the political and economic area. President Gorbachev did not mention the usual Soviet proposals when he visited Japan. As a consequence, the Soviet-Japan dispute on security in the Asia-Pacific region ended for a time. Also, by then Australia and Canada had stopped talking about the "approach" which took the CSCE as a model. But the issue did not end then. Among the countries involved, it has become important to create a consensus for an "approach" suitable to this region's actual circumstances. Recognizing this, Foreign Minister Nakayama made the following proposal, indicating Japanese thinking on Asian-Pacific regional security, at the ASEAN Expanded Foreign Ministers Conference (at Kuala Lumpur) held in July 1991, three months after the Gorbachev visit: "What is necessary for the Asia-Pacific region is to comprehensively and in a multi-tiered manner utilize the various existing international cooperation arrangements which currently exist as well as the places of discussion, and to secure the long term security of this region.... If something is to be added to the |
FBIS3-28306_10 | Effects of Tax Cuts, Hikes Simulated | amount of increased revenue in 1996 would be 7.7 trillion yen; in 1997, 8.1 trillion yen; in 1998, 8.7 trillion yen; in 1999, 9.3 trillion yen; in 2000, 9.9 trillion yen; therefore, the increased revenue from consumption tax would exceed the amount of reduction in income tax, and in 1999 the national finance would achieve a sound condition. When one compares scenario B and scenario D, even though they both have the same 7.5 trillion yen decrease in income tax, one sees that scenario D's combination tax reduction of 5 trillion yen in individual income tax and 2.5 trillion yen in corporate income tax is preferable. The Optimum Combination Zone for Policy Numerous scenarios besides A, B, C, and D described above have been tried, and as a consequence it has been found that there exists an optimum zone among increases of the income tax reduction amount and the consumption tax rate. For instance, in scenario C if the consumption tax rate is increased from 7 percent to 8 or 10 percent, the economic growth rate drops, rendering useless the effects of an economic countermeasure consisting of a 10 trillion yen in income tax cuts. As an economic countermeasure, it is most effective to make income tax cuts as large as possible while keeping the consumption tax rate low. However, for instance, in scenario A the consumption tax rate is lowered from 5 percent to 4 percent, which would give rise to a situation of collecting insufficient revenue. Future simulations will be predicated on the current consumption tax exemption mechanism and structure remaining unchanged, so if this premise changes, the relationship between income tax cuts and consumption tax rate increases will also change. In particular, if they were to be based on the abolition of the limited exemption system that excludes a set amount of tax for businesses whose taxable sales amount to less than 50 million yen, the contraction of the applicable range for a simplified taxation system, the abolition of tax exemption measures for businesses whose taxable sales are 30 million yen or less, among others, it could be expected that the same consumption tax rate increase would yield further tax revenue. In this simulation of economic countermeasures we tried to keep the problem simple. We did not simulate taxation measures to control the global environment, tax cut measures for research and development (R&D) in science and technology, |
FBIS3-28310_2 | Draft ASDF Research Report Said Compiled | issue of procedures regarding the utilization of commercial airports and recruitment of commercial ships and other means of transport during emergency situations. Copies of the draft report are in safe-keeping at ASDF regional headquarters, as well as at the Air Defense Command Headquarters (Fuchu, Tokyo). They are being treated as "defense secrets." The DA has traditionally formulated an annual defense buildup program (nenbo) for each fiscal year on the presumption of a military assault from the outside. Regarding basic matters which can be handled within the limitations of current legislation, the ASDF has worked out, within its defense buildup programs, concrete measures in the form of "operational regulations," which are equivalent to operation plans, and these have been channeled to the ASDF's various units. For example, they include key points regarding the process of advancing fighter units all over the nation to air bases which are located close to the site of conflicts and ways to reinforce aircraft scrambling readiness. In the backdrop of work being done on compiling the draft report are concerns among uniformed defense officials who point out that under current legislation the use of weapons is prohibited before an order is issued to take defensive action, even if it has been determined that an emergency situation exists, except in cases which necessitate action for self defense or emergency evacuation. Deep- rooted concerns have been particularly voiced in the ASDF pointing out there are many problems. For example, under current legislation, ASDF pilots cannot retaliate against enemy aircraft before an order has been issued to take defensive action unless a friendly aircraft has been shot down; procedures regarding action in response to surprise air attacks need to be worked out. A senior Air Staff official stated: "I can make absolutely no comments about details regarding operational regulations since the SDF Law designates them as confidential matters." Opinion is said to be divided even in light of international laws regarding the propriety of designating "exclusive zones" in the airspace over international waters according to the level of tension during a crisis. These exclusive zones are said to be similar to "security zones" which various nations have declared for such purposes as missile firing ranges and the air zones that the British military has set up during such instances as the Falkland War. However, the draft report does not give legal grounds for its proposed designation of exclusive zones. |
FBIS3-28311_1 | Need To Rethink Manufacturing Industry Assessed | not as dilapidated as the U.S. industries were over 10 years ago and they have not lost competitive power like the current high-tech industries of Europe. However, it is certain that they are lost in the forest and, to escape, they must examine what kind of forest it is and where they are situated topographically. To do that, first, the so-called map of long-range changes in technological innovations, which are the bases of industrial developments, will be reviewed and the terrain of our present position will be described. The cyclical theory that long-term variations in technological innovations are simply repetitious occurrences is difficult to accept per se, but the conclusion of our evaluations of corroborative researches made from various viewpoints is that the possibility is extremely strong that technological innovations will face a turning point around 1995. In other words, as widely reported, the present is an interim stage of technological innovations, when the wave of old technologies has peaked and the wave of new technologies has not arrived yet. This viewpoint that it is an interim stage is a factor adding to confusion in the industrial sector. Reengineering To explain our points briefly, the simple sketch shown in Figure 1 [not reproduced] was drawn. This sketch was drawn with the present Japanese situation in mind--when a single technological innovation appears and reaches the matured stage, the technological system becomes complicated and multiple interactions are required for the innovation, and when the cumulative interactions exceed the critical point, discontinuous changes begin to appear. We call this type of jump "systemic innovation." As for concrete examples, the "new synthetic textile," discussed later is a good sample. However, simultaneously, the next wave of technological innovations begins to overlap and the theoretical development of a new paradigm is already apparent. To put it concretely, the first wave dealt with electronics-related technological innovations and the next wave deals with molecular biology and nuclear engineering. The crucial point is that there are interactions between the performances of the former system and the theoretical deployment of the latter system. For example, in the case of the "new synthetic textile," progress is already being made toward another new fabric through the influence of molecular biology. An equally important point is that the two waves are overlapping the transitional stage toward an information/communication-based infrastructure in the economic world. With these waves overlapping, the viewpoint that Japanese industries are |
FBIS3-28311_13 | Need To Rethink Manufacturing Industry Assessed | Tokyo Metropolitan Government, numerous companies are cooperating to establish a so-called "fashion town" on the shores of Tokyo Bay. Information technologies are being used widely there and a worldwide exchange center in this field is being created. It is said that if fashion is included, the new synthetic textiles have reached a market scale surpassing automobiles. Needed now are systemic technological innovations that create demand, and policies to support them, including establishment of "centers" for worldwide mutual exchanges. Even in the field of "food," similar systematic innovations are about to take place. Innovations in the distribution sector are actually beginning to occur and the Japanese industrial system has begun to change in the field closest to our daily lives. The use of information technology by 7-11 stores has become too well-known and everyone takes it for granted, but the results are impressive. The important factors are that such advanced information know-how has spread to other distribution enterprises and other forms of businesses, and that such technologies and know-how can also be applied to recycling of commercial products and waste materials. The removal of regulations will probably further promote such activities. Speed in the spread and transfer of technologies and continued upgrading during that phase have been the superior aspects of the Japanese industrial system, but that mechanism has been obstructed by protective regulations in the distribution field. This is an excellent field in which to apply the fundamentals of information technology--openness and downsizing--and by their application in many industries that lag in efficiency and by their spread throughout the country, the consumer system industry can develop substantially toward an information-based, earth environment-conscious system. As for "shelter," the activities of Tostem Co., which is systematizing housing construction through use of certain building materials, and Secom Co., which is introducing technology in daily livelihood mainly through residential security services, can be called information-based creative innovations aimed at developing a full-fledged consumer system industry. Even among research institutes under the jurisdiction of the Construction Ministry, there are estimates that housing construction costs are nearly 20 percent higher than in Europe and the United States, and some builders claim costs are 50 percent higher. Together with the promotion of construction materials import, it should be possible to lower costs by about 20 percent. Fortunately, land prices have already fallen nearly 20 percent so Japanese housing costs should drop considerably and demand can be expected |
FBIS3-28313_0 | Hosokawa Plans To Discuss PRC With Clinton | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tokyo, Feb. 7 KYODO -- Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa will urge U.S. President Bill Clinton in upcoming talks to extend U.S. trade privileges for China and support its early admission to the GATT world trade body, government sources said Monday [7 February]. Hosokawa, slated to meet Clinton in Washington on February 11, will point out that improvement in Sino-U.S. relations will contribute to Asian stability, the sources said. The Foreign Ministry expects Beijing to retaliate should Clinton refuse to renew China's most-favored-nation (MFN) status, which guarantees Chinese goods low-tariff access to the U.S. market, the sources said. Clinton has said he will not extend MFN for China when it comes up for renewal in June, unless Beijing makes significant efforts to improve the country's poor human rights record, such as by releasing political prisoners. Washington was also not satisfied with the results of talks between U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen in Paris last month, which revolved around the human rights issue. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department in its annual human rights report said that China, despite having made some positive moves in 1993, still falls "far short" of internationally recognized standards. Hosokawa will reportedly tell Clinton that Tokyo considers it unlikely that Beijing will improve human rights in response to U.S. pressure, the sources said. Chinese retaliatory measures in the event of the suspension of MFN would also affect trade with other countries including Japan, the premier will say, according [to] the sources. Foreign Minister Tsutomu Hata, during a recent visit to China, assured the Beijing leadership of Japanese support for China's GATT application. Hosokawa will also advise Clinton not to upset China in order to gain its cooperation in peacefully solving the almost year-long row over North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons program, the sources said. |
FBIS3-28368_11 | Ramos, Malaysia's Mahathir on Trade, Security | us very much aware of the need to avoid conflict. And I think this is happening in Southeast Asia and in East Asia. [passage omitted] Our experience with the Japanese is that they invested in Malaysia and their investments has enabled Malaysia to prosper. And because we are more prosperous now, we are buying a lot of Japanese goods. So the Japanese are getting the return of their investment more than just the profits from their investments. But then, if we are not stable, then, they won't get returns for their investment. So, when we invest in other countries, we hope that their countries will become prosperous. And because they are prosperous, they will have vested interests and see to it that there is no war, no conflict, that peace is maintained. And because there is what is good for them, so, I don't think we need to resort to inviting the navies and armies from other parts of the world to come and defend us. And we feel that sometimes if it is not in their interest, they don't defend you. [Abanot] Just a point of clarification from the president and the prime minister. It's been over a year that you got the Manila Declaration regarding the resolution of the Spratly issue. Are all the countries involved now making a timetable in resolving this once and for all? [Ramos] [passage omitted] In our bilateral meeting today, we reaffirm our commitment -- the Philippines and Malaysia -- to that policy of a peaceful approach to the solution of any disputes in the South China Sea. And one of the major steps taken, which I consider to be a step forward, is to get our fisheries technical people to continue meeting -- because we have already started meeting -- so that we can work out some sort of a fisheries agreement between Malaysia and the Philippines. And our fishermen can jointly fish in the area for the benefit of both countries. To further extend the idea of cooperation in fishing activities, Malaysia and the Philippines will look for other possible areas for fishing and food processing cooperation outside of the Spratly Island area. This kind of approach, in fact, is what will be used for other areas in which there are border problems. And it will also be the guiding principles behind our proposed border-crossing agreement, which is now under consideration |
FBIS3-28379_0 | Officials, Newspapers Greet End of SRV Embargo Daily Applauds `New Page' in Ties | Language: Thai Article Type:BFN ["World Window" column by Thetthat] [Excerpts] If everything went as planned, by now, on Friday in Washington D.C. (Saturday in Thailand), President Bill Clinton must already have announced a major decision to lift the trade sanctions imposed for 30 years on Vietnam, its adversary. The decision of the U.S. leader will turn a new page in the history of relations between the United States and Vietnam, now free of conditions from the Indochina war. [passage omitted] Those benefiting from the removal of the trade sanctions are none other than private American companies which, from now on, will be able to reap profits from Vietnam in full after allowing Japan to gain huge interests for so long. The American business sector believed that the sanctions caused more damage to the United States than to Vietnam. It deprived the U.S. private sector of huge "business opportunities" during the 30 years of the sanctions. [passage omitted] In the eyes of American businessmen, Vietnam is no longer the enemy who killed more than 50,000 American GIs during the war. Vietnam of the "new era" for them is a country with high economic potential and the possibility of becoming another "new tiger in Asia." More importantly, Vietnam can serve as a "base" in the economic power play as a balance against China and Japan. [passage omitted] However, experts on this matter do not think the United States will restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam as easily as it decided to lift the trade sanctions (which stood for economic commitments). For the United States, the question of diplomatic relations with Hanoi must certainly be linked with the question of human rights, democracy development, and other conditions. Thus, it will take a long time before the two countries can establish full diplomatic relations. As for President Clinton, he has once again demonstrated political `courage' despite the fact that he risked being opposed by war veterans. Yet the risk is worthwhile because he has gotten full support from the business and political sectors, especially from the rival Republican Party. With all the pros and cons taken into account, it can be said that the whole of the United States stands to gain from this action. |
FBIS3-28382_0 | Paper Urges Heeding U.S. Human Rights Report | Language: Thai Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Reflection of Human Rights"] [Excerpt] The U.S. State Department indicated in its report on human rights that the situation in Thailand is still bad. In 1993 in particular, more than 60 suspects died during detention. The report also said suspects were quite often victims of extra-judicial execution by policemen. The U.S. State Department indicated in its 1 February record on human rights in 193 nations that many countries in Asia are found to violate human rights. They include Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Pakistan. According to the report, criminal suspects under detention often complained that they were victims of several kinds of torture by police authorities, including electric shock to force confessions. The report also noted that human rights violations in Thailand included the abuse of women and children -- the procurement of women for prostitution and forced child labor are widespread. Not a single leader in the government either acknowledged or rejected the State Department report on human rights violations in Thailand. Undoubtedly, Thailand in the eyes of the world is a country whose people still lack due rights and freedoms enjoyed by those under democratic governments. The prevailing human rights violations are a reflection that Thai people do not fully enjoy rights and freedoms prescribed in the Constitution which is the highest law of the nation. The government therefore must review administrative policy and follow up implementation by authorities, especially when it concerns the justice system at all levels which directly involves people's rights and freedoms, and basic human rights in general. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-28394_0 | Le Duc Anh Recalls War-Era Sacrifices | Language: Vietnamese Article Type:BFN [Report by station correspondent Truong Cong Hoa on a Tet get-together with fallen combatant's families by party and state leaders in the Presidential Palace on 2 February -- portions recorded] [Summary] "Dear friends, in an enthusiastic atmosphere when the country is entering its spring, this morning, Saturday 5 February at the Presidential Palace, our party and government held a Tet get-together with nearly 300 fallen combatant families who represented all families of injured soldiers and fallen combatants in the entire country. "Comrade General Secretary Do Muoi, state President Le Duc Anh, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, National Assembly Chairman Nong Duc Manh, party Central Committee Advisers Pham Van Dong and Vo Chi Cong, and high ranking party and state cadres from the central and Hanoi organs attended the function. Before coming to the Presidential Palace, the families visited President Ho Chi Minh in his mausoleum." In a solemn and friendly atmosphere, General Secretary Do Muoi, Comrades Pham Van Dong and Vo Chi Cong, state President Le Duc Anh, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, National Assembly Chairman Nong Duc Manh, and leading party and state cadres warmly received the families and invited them into the Presidential Palace. The families were moved when they listened to the statement made by State President Le Duc Anh. He said: [Begin Le Duc Anh recording] "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Comrades: Inheriting and developing the heroic and indomitable tradition of our Vietnamese people from thousands of years of national construction and protection, in more than half a century, under the correct leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and beloved Uncle Ho, our people conducted an extremely formidable and brave struggle against mighty invading forces to regain our national independence and freedom. "Right here, when the invasion war was at its peak, President Ho Chi Minh declared: The war may prolong to five, ten, or 20 years or longer. Hanoi, Haiphong, and certain industrial cities may be damaged. But the Vietnamese people are not in fear. Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom. "Uncle Ho spoke about the willpower, determination, and aspirations of the entire people who had been miserably living long nights of slavery with only oppression, prison, and wars, but not democracy and human rights. In order to achieve the present glorious victory, our people in the entire country exerted their utmost efforts and endured much long suffering. Dozens of |
FBIS3-28411_0 | Editorial Notes `Misgivings' Over Perry Document | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "U.S. Military Salesmanship"] [Text] As the Republic of Korea and the United States are endeavoring to bolster their combined defense capabilities amid the heightening tension over the North Korean nuclear development program, it is worried that commercial factors might play a role in the decision-making process on crucial security affairs. When Washington officials confirmed the U.S. plan to deploy Patriot missile batteries in Korea on a request from the commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea, there were immediate speculation of a possible link with moves to promote the sale of the now-famous anti-missile system to Korea. Recent U.S. media reports included quotations from senior U.S. defense officials encouraging South Korea to consider the purchase of the Patriot missile which they vouched as the best system at the present time. It is known that Seoul's defense authorities have had considerable interest in the Patriot system since its employment in the Gulf War and that preliminary negotiations started in mid-1993 between military procurement officials here and the Raytheon Co., the U.S. manufacturer of the missile. Yet, it is not quite gratifying to witness U.S. officials showing great salesmanship as if representing their defense contractors. On top of this, an embarrassing document has been disclosed here involving U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William Perry in which Perry, who has been nominated for Pentagon chief, strongly suggested that South Korea purchase a specific airborne self-protection jammer for the Korean Fighter Program on a commercial basis. U.S. reports have it that this particular ASPJ system had been found defective in tests, adding to our dismay. Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, which has been the primary channel of Korea's procurement of U.S. military hardware, the U.S. Government, which often arranges long-term, low-interest credits for the transactions, retains the right to approve the supply of specific items. In the course of implementing the FMS program, the possibility of U.S. defense officials' opinions affecting the choice of weapons may not be excluded. But suggesting Korea purchase a specific item on a commercial basis outside the FMS avenue is certainly extraordinary. We hope that responsible U.S. officials restrain themselves from being involved in military procurement schemes directly or indirectly so as not to cause unnecessary misgivings on this side of the military alliance. |
FBIS3-28412_4 | Papers Examine Perry's Letter | 5 February carries on page 3 a 1,200-word report by Washington-based correspondent Chong Chin-sok entitled "Defense Secretary's Nomination Ratified Without Mentioning His Pressure on Arms Purchase--U.S. Senate Keeps Silent in Consideration of National Interest, Arms Sale to ROK Creates 20,000 Jobs, the Press Which Criticized Inman Now Remains Dumb." The article notes U.S. Senate ratifying on 3 February U.S. defense secretary nominee as secretary of defense without making issue of his reported pressure on the ROK to buy ASPJ. The article notes, "The press, which was so critical of Inman for a minor thing now remained silent," despite his alleged recommendation that ROK buy faulty arms through commercial channels. The article says, "The senators must have had a good preconception of Perry because he is a person with a background of a military-defense industry complex, which leads the Arms Services Committee, whose relationship with defense industrialists is inevitable, to have a good opinion of him." The article notes, "If the ROK buys the ASPJ in question, the manufacturers of Westinghouse in Baltimore and ITT in New Jersey will have a sudden boom in business creating 20,000 jobs for the American people." The article then observes, "The possibility of ROK-U.S. friction because of the Perry letter seems remote in view of the sensitive nature of the episode." The editorial concludes, "Nevertheless, one has to give serious thought to the comment of those in the political circles who say, `This episode is reported at a time when the security situation on the Korean peninsula is delicate, leading us to worry that it could affect the security cooperation system between the ROK and the United States.'" The moderate HANGUK ILBO on 5 February carries on page 3 a 1,400-word article by reporters Chong Pyong-chin and Son Tae-kyu on the position of the MND, the Chongwadae presidential offices, and Foreign Ministry on Secretary Perry's letter. The article notes the MND position, notes MND's embarrassed position, MND's worries that the report on Perry's letter could adversely affect the ROK-U.S. military diplomacy and cause the damage to the reputation of the F-16 fighters. The article refers to a remark by An Pyong-kil, second assistant defense minister, who stated on 4 February, `It is not desirable that our relations with the United States are affected by this minor problem. New Secretary of Defense Perry could fall into a difficult position because of this report, and this situation |
FBIS3-28434_2 | Radio Denounces `Antidemocratic' South Regime | forces, was reinforced with as many as about 17,000 new men. Special detective teams have been established in the puppet police administration of each city and province. The length of sticks carried by policemen is longer than that of ones carried by policemen in the previous dictatorial regime. Moreover, the Kim Yong-sam fascist clique announced its plan to sharply increase the budget for puppet police stations and police boxes across the country annually to suppress the people. The Kim Yong-sam puppet regime has maintained and reinforced the fascist laws and repressive tools made by the preceding military dictatorial regimes, pursuing a vicious fascist dictatorial rule against the people. The Kim Yong-sam puppet clique is exasperatingly brandishing a sword of civilian fascist dictatorship against the struggle and march of the South Korean people and students who call for independence, democracy, reunification, and the rights to live, debasing it as an illegal violent riot and a collective egoism. The civilian fascist dictatorial maniac ruthlessly cracked down with a 100,000-strong police force on the struggle of the citizens and students urging the investigation into the Kwangju massacre, punishment of the murderers which was waged on the 13 anniversary of incident of the Kwangju popular uprising, thus leaving the injured three times more than the Sixth Republic did. Branding the South Korean Federation of General Student Councils [Hanchongnyon]--a successor of the National Council of Student Representatives [Chondaehyop] that set sail to realize independence, democracy, and reunification--as an illegal group benefiting the enemy, the Kim yong-sam fascist clique announced a emergency state to ruin its inauguration ceremony and brutally suppressed it by mobilizing some 190-company riot police troops. Every university in South Korea, including Yonsei and Korea, is being constantly searched by the civilian fascist authorities. The theaters of the students' struggle have been stained with blood and many patriotic students were arrested and put behind the bars. The Kim Yong-sam puppet traitor has frozen workers' wage by shifting blame onto them for the economic crisis in South Korea which is already in tatters. Furthermore, it has gone so far as to brutally obstruct workers' strikes calling for the rights to exist, including the basic wage hike, by invoking the emergency arbitration power which the preceding dictators did not even dare to provoke. The civilian fascist dictators not only intensify its suppression on patriotic movement organizations but also set up government-controlled movement organizations and infiltrated |
FBIS3-28468_1 | Editorial Hails Embargo End | pride of American patriotism is still refusing to heal, and upon turning its back on Indochina, America found it hard to forgive and forget. Thus, the sourpuss' fault-finding denial of diplomatic and economic good sense -- since the end of Cold War rivalry, U.S. policy over Vietnam, and by extension, the whole of Indochina, has been held to ransom by a handful of MIA refuseniks. How the MIA issue, the agitprop made out of 2,238 missing in-action servicemen still unaccounted for, can still sear the national conscience, is due to the recrudescence of Yankee pride marked by the Reagan presidency after years of liberal protest and self-doubt. Only the right-wing America Firsters can carry the compulsion to get even as belatedly as this and assign Ann Mills Griffiths, executive director of the National League of Families (of MIAs) a central role in the highest inter-agency policy planning level. "Because of her, U.S. policy towards Vietnam was determined by the narrow -- albeit deserving -- concerns of the MIA families," according to a pro-normalisation advocate in Washington. The Clinton Administration, in spite of its eye on the domestic implications of foreign policy, has kept a safe distance from the emotive pull of the bereaved families. To the president's credit, he has attempted a rational tack, one directed at a constituency governed by the hard facts of economic realism. The announcement of the lifting of the 30-year-old trade embargo was excitedly welcomed by U.S. businessmen in Hanoi yesterday. In spite of Clinton's cleverness at political dissimulation -- he said the embargo's withdrawal was intended to get the "fullest possible accounting" of the MIAs and denied its practical merits -- the move is a first step towards long overdue normalisation. Part of this procrastination has been due to Clinton himself: a good-guy president who is much too vulnerable to angry placard-waving. No matter how it has been packaged and disguised, the president's hard-headed practicality in the Vietnam issue is a change from his usual weak-stomached dallying over foreign policy. Vietnam, of course, has it all to gain. No one is going overboard in expectations of a flood, but at least the door has been flung wide open. Even with the embargo in place, although somewhat relaxed, Vietnam obtained 7.5 percent economic growth in 1993. Without its biggest single constraint, that economy could well grow by more than 10 percent this year. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-28519_0 | Khmer Rouge Criticize U.S. on Sin Song Entry | Language: Cambodian Article Type:BFN [Text] People have asked this question: The United States has set itself up as the defender of human rights. Why then does the U.S. Government embrace the puppet of the Vietnamese communists named Sin Song, great murderer and criminal, and let him go to the United States? It has been reported that the U.S. State Department has issued a visa to Vietnamese communist puppet Sin Song to travel to the United States. This report, picked up from Western foreign news agencies, says that Sin Song is a murderer. He killed over 400 members of various political parties and arrested over 3,000 others during the May 1993 pre-election period. The Cambodian nation and people still clearly remember that before the May 1993 elections, puppet Sin Sing was the security chief of Vietnam's puppets. He has mistreated, arrested, and executed hundreds of people and members of various political parties. Furthermore, in July 1993 puppet Sin Song led the movement of seven eastern provinces to secede from Cambodia and opposed the national reconciliation plan offered by the prince father [Sihanouk]. The Cambodian nation and people have condemned the Vietnamese communist puppet Sin Song as a great criminal and murderer, who kills the Cambodian nation and people, and as a traitor. The way the United States has embraced the puppet Sin Song has made people ask this question: The United States have set themselves up as defenders of human rights. Why then does the U.S. Government issue a visa to the Vietnamese communist puppet Sin Song, great criminal and murderer, to travel to the United States? |
FBIS3-28521_0 | Ministry Condemns Attack on Sarajevo Civilians | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Jakarta, Feb. 8 (ANTARA) -- Indonesia condemned on Monday the bombing by Serbs of a civilian target, killing 68 people in Sarajevo on Saturday last week. An official statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the shelling by Serbs of a busy market in Sarajevo was an act against the norms which respect human dignity. The attack, which wounded 200 innocent people, must be condemned as it constituted a brutal act, unacceptable to civilised people, the statement said. "This incident should call for the attention of the international community that settlement of conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina is now on a very pressing stage," the statement said. Strong reactions also came from other countries such as the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), China, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Germany, France, the United States, and Turkey, in principle, they called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to launch an air strike for the liberation of Sarajevo from the siege of Bosnian Serbs, the daily said. [paragraph as received] |
FBIS3-28523_1 | Ramos Discusses Oil Price Policy, Initiatives | intensive study that we made over the weekend up to early this morning, including myself, we are seeing a plus-21 centavos in all of the computations arising out of the lower price of crude oil in the world market and the stable foreign exchange rate -- the pesos versus the hard currencies including the dollar. There are other alternatives of course that were suggested, such as the so-called P150 billion supposedly in the vaults of the Central Bank. But the secretary of finance, Secretary Bobby de Ocampo mentioned that this is tantamount to just printing paper bills without any backing; and so, they are going to look into that also, just to be sure. And I'm talking about the entire committee of 14. Other possible resources could come from still unfactored privatization benefits. I say unfactored because most of the government assets already scheduled to be privatized, and the processes are ongoing, were already considered in the computations of the fiscal gap. We also, I suppose, can derive some resources, although this is probably already going to be marginal, from further belt tightening. But we do not want to touch what we have already programmed for capital expenditures and infradevelopment programs because that would be of a negative effect toward investors who want to come to the Philippines. We must enhance our infrastructure. We have enhanced already the power situation, so that there are no more brownouts. That kind of thing, we will pursue. [Unidentified correspondent] Sir, point of clarification, the one suspended was the oil price, the 28 January oil price hike. But how about the one-peso levy which was imposed last September? [Ramos] It is the oil price hike that is suspended, it is not quite a rollback yet, but suspended for a period of three weeks, while the joint committee is working on the longer-term solutions. And, we are inputting all the suggestions from all sectors, especially the KRB [Kilusang Rollback or Rollback Movement] and government, and for others, because there were others here who were neither connected with government nor with KRB who spoke their opinions. [Unidentified correspondent] How about the one-peso oil levy which was contained in the executive order? [Ramos] Well, that will now be considered by the committee. The disposition or future of that one peso levy will also be thrown into the deliberations of the committee because their mission is to come |
FBIS3-28532_0 | Editorial: Region Benefits From U.S.-SRV Trade | Language: Thai Article Type:BFN [Excerpts] The U.S. trade sanctions imposed on the SRV for 19 years have finally been lifted by the U.S. Government of President Bill Clinton. Although the war in Vietnam was over in 1975, the American people continued to feel the pain of the defeat of the U.S.-backed South Vietnam. [passage omitted] The main purpose of this policy change is not for trade with Vietnam, but to search for missing American soldiers, dead or alive. President Clinton wanted the opening up of trade with Vietnam to achieve, in return, a greater cooperation from the Vietnamese Government in finding the MIA's. It has been long anticipated that the U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam, a measure which runs against the principle of free trade upheld by the United States, would finally be lifted by the U.S. Administration under President Bill Clinton who was an opponent of the Vietnam war as a student. [passage omitted] On the whole, the U.S. lifting of the trade embargo on Vietnam should contribute to economic growth in Southeast Asia. Foreign investment in Vietnam will boost Vietnam's economy and the Vietnamese people's purchasing power. This will enhance Vietnam's economic potential making it a new competitor in this region. This trend will serve as an economic impetus for the entire region, including Thailand itself which, from now on, will have to make greater efforts in economic development if it still dreams of becoming an economic leader in the region. |
FBIS3-28533_1 | Paper: U.S. Sees Gain in GATT Regulations | areas. Without well planned and effective precautions, national development will be obstructed and delayed while businesses and trade with foreign countries will be adversely affected. Based on our observation, changes in three areas will take place in the near future. They are: First, the launching of the "Thaicom" satellite which, as everyone knows, will greatly benefit Thai society. Second, the introduction of an fiber optic cable into telephone service which will be tremendously beneficial to telecommunication facilities. Third, the promulgation of the new international investment and trade regulations under the "GATT" agreement in which Thailand is also a signatory. Under the "GATT" agreement, the structure and system of trade and investment will have to be significantly readjusted. It is imperative that the government clearly explain as well as give sufficient knowledge to the people so as to enable them to be fully prepared in advance to cope with possible impacts. Educational institutions should also disseminate necessary information and knowledge to their students because we will certainly be unable to avoid the consequences. Also under the "GATT" agreement, the United States will play a role in trade and investment in this country. Aside from telecommunications, the United States is likely to get more involved in other businesses. The United States particularly has been pressing for the liberalization of banking business in this country. Two events which took place in the past week gave us some hint about the U.S. stand in this connection. On 5 February, David Lambertson, U.S. ambassador to Thailand, and Colonel Chinnawut Sunthonsima, minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, jointly opened the "Development Partnership" program under which the United States has agreed to provide 225 million baht for environmental development and AIDS prevention. [passage omitted] Another event is the 3 February announcement on the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam. [passage omitted] The two cited events indicate the U.S. role and expectations in Thailand and the Indochinese region. Naturally, the United States intends profit more here. However, if it is true that the United States is pressing for the liberalization of banking business to allow its commercial banks to operate in this country, the government must treat this matter as important as other major issues such as relations between the two countries. The government must work out necessary measures to cope with the situation as a result of the enforcement of the new "GATT" regulations. |
FBIS3-28545_0 | ROK-U.S. Plan To Counter DPRK Attack Disclosed | Language: Korean Article Type:BFN [Article by Kyong Yong-won: "`ROK-U.S. Joint Operations Plan' Set Up in 1992"] [Text] It has been disclosed that the ROK and the United States, in their joint operations plan worked out in 1992 in preparation for a North Korean southward invasion, introduced the new concept of active defense aimed at destroying the North Korean regime and reunifying the country under the ROK initiative instead of the old concept of negative defensive operations. The disclosure of this plan draws our attention. The relevant officials of the Ministry of National Defense [MND] say that this change was not made abruptly at that time but because the ROK and the United States felt the shortcomings of the negative operational concept in the sixties and seventies for the North Korean southward invasion, they gradually introduced the offensive operational concept of air-raid on and advance to the North Korean rear areas. The MND officials say that this has nothing to do with the present North Korean nuclear issue. Until the mid-seventies, the ROK and the United States had a negative operational concept against the North Korean southward invasion of abandoning Seoul, if unavoidable, and retreating to the area south of Seoul, and, taking step-by-step counter-attack actions when the U.S. reinforcement arrives and repelling the enemy to the area north of the truce line. The ROK side strongly suggested to the U.S. side on several occasions that Seoul not be abandoned. Accordingly, the operations plan changed in the mid-seventies to the effect that the North Korean advance should be checked in the area north of Seoul. In the early eighties, the old concept came under criticism calling for stronger punishment for war provokers, and the ROK-U.S. operations plan took on a more offensive nature incorporating the U.S. Air-Land Battle [as published] concept. The concept was that if North Korea wages a preemptive attack, the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces would attack major facilities in the North Korean area with Air Force planes and special forces. As soon as large-scale reinforcement forces arrive from the U.S. mainland, the ROK-U.S. forces would make offensive operations, landing large-scale landing forces in the North Korean rear areas, thus dealing North Korea a serious blow. This strategy was developed from the mid-eighties to the early nineties, but the ROK and the United States could not establish a precise target as to what extent we should strike North Korea. The |
FBIS3-28561_8 | Reportage on Tax Compromise, Stimulus Package Hosokawa Holds News Conference | but the issue was not resolved at the time. I intended to express my views concerning the current confusion when the issue was resolved and the prospects for the tax issue were clearer. [Correspondent] Do you still believe the idea of introducing a national welfare tax is right? [Hosokawa] Since last fall, from about 3 September when I attended a meeting of the Tax Commission, I have expressed my views about how the taxation system should be changed to reflect the fact that society will have to deal with increasing numbers of senior citizens. There is also the issue of how tax cuts should be implemented to deal with the current economic recession. The Tax Commission discussed these issues for more than two months to try to seek a way to satisfy these two factors. After that, discussion has been held at policymaking meetings of secretaries general of the ruling coalition parties, meetings of their economic consultative body, and meetings of representatives of the coalition. I have repeatedly stated my views at Diet sessions since last September. I also asked the Tax Commission to discuss the tax issue in line with my view that unless a well-balanced taxation system of income, consumption, and property taxes is established, Japan cannot prepare for the future aging of society. This basic view has not changed. [Correspondent] Do you mean that you want the ruling coalition parties to discuss the tax issue based on the idea, which you recently announced, of introducing a 7 percent tax in three years? [Hosokawa] No, I do not. I hope that the consultative body of the ruling coalition will hold discussions in the future based on my basic view. At present, though, I am not sticking to the tax rate or anything. [Correspondent] I repeat a question about the national welfare tax. The proposal to introduce the national welfare tax has been killed. Do you refuse to withdraw or give up your proposal, and do you intend to maintain the need for a national welfare tax in the future? [Hosokawa] No, I do not. I announced earlier that the proposal was politically frozen. After it was frozen, a new decision was made at a meeting of representatives of the ruling coalition. As I stated earlier, I think that they will probably discuss the tax issue while keeping my view in mind. [Correspondent] Prime Minister, you are holding this |
FBIS3-28561_10 | Reportage on Tax Compromise, Stimulus Package Hosokawa Holds News Conference | news conference to apologize to the people for what you have done. Prime Minister, you have said that it is inevitable for the coalition government to undergo a process of trial and error, while repeatedly saying you are aware of your political responsibility. I wonder if you are really reflecting on what you have done? This is my frank feeling. Prime Minister, you called a news conference to explicitly say to the people that you plan to adopt the national welfare tax. The people see the reversal of your plan to adopt the tax system as inconceivable. This is what the people frankly feel. At this news conference, I wonder if you feel political responsibility. What do you think of your political responsibility? [Hosokawa] I think your question is very tough and forthright. As Japan moves toward a society of senior citizens, Japanese should share their due burden for society. I have said as much to that effect at the Diet. I also made that statement when I announced the government's vision of a welfare society. I have consistently thought of measures to be taken for a society of senior citizens. Certainly, though, I will not deny that the national welfare tax was announced in a sudden and hasty manner. I am tasked with tentatively deciding on the fiscal 1994 budget and compiling the third supplementary budget. I also have to announce the government's fiscal measures for local governments. And I have to prepare for Japan-U.S. summit talks. I made a decision on the national welfare tax under very difficult circumstances. I do not deny I was hasty in making the decision. I frankly apologize for my haste. I hope the people will understand such circumstances. [Correspondent] Prime Minister, you have repeatedly said that the process is what is at issue. What is at issue is not the process. Prime Minister, what you announced to the people has been reversed, and I think that as the top official in charge of our nation, you are responsible for that reversal. Prime Minister, my feeling is you cannot be released from responsibility by simply saying the process is at issue. Prime Minister, do you not share my feelings? [Hosokawa] I have said I will constantly keep the weight of my remarks as prime minister in mind. Although I am sorry for repeating my statement, my coalition government is the first full-fledged coalition |
FBIS3-28591_0 | Tokyo Electric Plans International Bidding | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Text] In order to expand its procurement of foreign-made equipment, Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd. [TEC] will introduce a system of international bidding for procuring large general-purpose equipment, including hydraulic power generators. As the first step, TEC will invite European companies to join in an international bid to be held in the near future to procure a water turbine for one of its generators. TEC has so far held international bidding only for procuring high-tech equipment such as nuclear reactors, or for general-purpose equipment such as transmission lines which would require only a small amount of funds. TEC is expected to place constant orders for equipment -- such as hydraulic power generation equipment which requires relatively large amounts of funds. If the international bidding for this procurement should be expanded, it would be useful in easing the demand by the United States and European countries to open the Japanese market. TEC plans to place an order for a water turbine for one of its generator to replace the obsolete turbine at Yukawa Hydraulic Power Station (in Nagano), and also to increase its generating capability to 18,000 kilowatt-hours. Prior to the bidding, in late January four Japanese companies and three European manufacturers -- including Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation as well as GEC Arstaum-Nelpick of France, Fest-Alpine of Austria, and Surdzer- Eshawis of Switzerland [names as published] respectively -- were entrusted with estimations. Various European countries have criticized Japanese electric power companies for favoring mostly American companies such as General Electric (GE) as far as international biddings are conducted. European companies are known for high technological standards in manufacturing hydraulic power generators. TEC has judged that with the participation of the three European companies in this bidding, various European countries will become less dissatisfied. A water turbine costs hundreds of million in yen. However, in addition to turbine used at the Yukawa Hydraulic Station, TEC still has many hydraulic power stations whose turbines have to be replaced. Therefore, it is expected that a considerable number of orders for water turbines will be placed in the future. If TEC should succeed in the current order, the company intends to invite more foreign companies to join in the bidding for large machines such as thermal power generators. |
FBIS3-28601_0 | Government's Tax Reform Proposal Analyzed | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Hosokawa Needs To Take Open And Aboveboard Attitude] [Text] The government's conclusion on reforming the tax system, which has been a major point in the coming economic stimulus measures, came about in the early morning of 3 February, when Prime Minister Hosokawa made a political decision. Prime Minister Hosokawa said that a 6-trillion-yen [Y] reduction in income and resident taxes will be carried out while the consumption tax will be replaced with a 7 percent national welfare tax. The prime minister said that the proposed tax system is designed to help boost the economy, noting the tax reductions will be retroactive to 1 January 1994 and the tax increase will go into effect in April 1997 -- about three years after the tax reduction is carried out. We would like to give a positive evaluation to the government's proposal because the prime minister's decision basically reflects the purpose of tax system reform aimed at introducing a new tax system that imposes adequate taxes on income, consumption, and properties so that the people feel impartial about their own tax burden. We would also like to admit that even though a future tax hike is scheduled, the tax reductions will have instant an effect on the economy. There is the opinion that it would be more effective to increase taxes two or three years after a tax cut is carried out. However, of course, there is a counter-argument that the people would feel uneasy about when and what sort of tax increase will be carried out and that such a plan would curb economic activities. Above all, we would like to stress that this issue's real substance lies in tax system reform. For those reasons, we can basically support the government's decision. However, there is a problem in the government's decision- making process. Although we do not simply subscribe to a critical view that the government has formed a hasty conclusion without listening to public opinion and the ruling parties' opinions, we wonder why the prime minister could not simply say that the government will raise the consumption tax. He must have thought that the government's introduction of the national welfare tax, which replaces the consumption tax, can win the people's understanding. But it is wrong. However hard one thinks, a national welfare tax is a consumption tax. There is no doubt that most of the people |
FBIS3-28602_0 | Editorial on Income Tax Reduction Issue | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Hosokawa Administration Urged to Return to Its Original Stance of `Implementing Tax Reductions First'"] [Text] The government and the ruling coalition parties decided to scrap the plan to introduce a "national welfare tax" and implement an income tax cut. It is unusual to scrap an official announcement by a prime minister. However, judging from the fact that this is a deep-rooted issue, it is a rightful decision. It is time for the Hosokawa administration to recognize the severity of the Japanese economy, which is bogged down in the worst recession of the postwar era, and rush to fine-tune economic measures by returning to its original stance of "implementing tax reductions first." There were some doubts about the contents of this tax concept, which Prime Minister Hosokawa announced abruptly, and about the policy making method. A substantial tax increase will thwart economic recovery. The announcement to introduce a welfare tax, which was merely a consumption tax with a different name, was nothing but an attempt to fool the people. There was absolutely no reason to change the name. It is not clear how this concept came about or what kind of decision-making processes were taken. We have to say that the recent announcement, which should have been made only after obtaining the people's understanding, was an unskillful act. Since the official announcement was scrapped, the prime minister should do some soul-searching. On the other hand, we have many doubts about a revised proposal made by the Social Democratic Party of Japan [SDPJ], which fiercely opposed the prime minister's concept. The proposal to turn the welfare tax into an object tax will be linked to freezing revenue from that financial resource. There is a possibility that no rules will be applied to the use of the revenue from the object tax. It is necessary to use every available means to avoid the introduction of an object tax. An income tax reduction will have no meaning unless it is linked to a revision of the tax system, which includes a review of the tax rates. The SDPJ's proposal to turn the consumption tax into a refundable tax is indeed an easygoing way of thinking. Following the scrapping of the prime minister's plan, the government and the ruling coalition parties must first ask themselves what is expected of the Japanese economy now. It seems that the Hosokawa administration's debate |
FBIS3-28602_2 | Editorial on Income Tax Reduction Issue | over the tax system was being promoted on the precondition that a "tax increase is a must." It is strange that we hardly heard that the debate had been held because of details of the income tax reduction plan. What we should recall is that a large-scale income tax reduction is needed for the Japanese economy, which is in a serious recession, before securing a source of revenue. We have repeatedly said that an income tax reduction amounting to over 6 trillion yen should be introduced first, as a pillar of the government's economic package, and that the consumption tax rate should be raised to six percent when economic recovery becomes apparent. The amount of this tax reduction will be about the same as that of the tax increase. We are certain that the income tax reduction will act as a measure needed for the time being to recover from the recession and to revise the ratio difference between direct and indirect taxes. We need to revise the tax rate difference between direct and indirect taxes so that we are prepared for the advent of an aged society. An introduction of comprehensive economic measures was delayed due to the deadlocked tax debate. There is a possibility that the compilation of a budget for fiscal 1994 will be further delayed unless the tax reduction issue is settled. This delay will have negative impacts on local autonomies' budget compilation too. We cannot ignore its psychological effect on industries either. The Japan-U.S. summit talks are just ahead while both countries are still divided over the issue of setting numeric targets for individual fields. Under such circumstances, we are certain that Japan-U.S. relations will become tense. Regarding the important tax issue, the Hosokawa administration should not rely on a rough-and-ready method again. However, we hope that the same administration will come up with responsible conclusions that are acceptable to the people as soon as possible. We hope that the prime minister, in doing that, will not only listen to the Financial Ministry's narrow-minded financial theories, but will make a decision with an eye on the current severe economic situation and on Japan's future economy. The Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] has many politicians who are familiar with the tax system. If it thinks the Japanese economy is in a critical state, the LDP should stop criticizing the Hosokawa administration's blunder. It is the LDP's turn |
FBIS3-28613_2 | Spokesman Rejects U.S. Human Rights Report | unemployed people, millions of vagabonds and 35 million people living below the poverty line. And it is plagued with criminal cases of murder by arms claiming the lives of more than 38,000 people a year and drug consumption which accounts for 65 percent of the world's drug output, and narcotic-related crimes which are quite common. This is inevitable and is an incurable cancer under the present U.S. social system. The U.S. President himself could not but admit in his "State of the Union Address" this year to the grave phenomena threatening the U.S. public including violent crimes. We see almost every day that the United States not only harshly tramples upon the human rights of its people but also perpetrated such inhuman acts as openly overthrowing and destroying sovereign states with the mobilization of its state Armed Forces and making havoc with their people's human rights, while highhandedly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. All these facts prove that the United States is the universally recognized worst graveyard of human rights and the kingdom of human rights abuses. It is the height of impudence for the United States to talk about other's human rights situation, while freely violating human rights within and without. In its "Report on Human Rights Situation" the U.S. State Department tried to beautify South Korea in a far-fetched way, claiming that the situation of human rights has been "improved" there. This is also the height of sarcasm. The South Korean authorities under the mask of "civilian government" are getting frenzied in terrorism, arrest, torture and murder in reliance on the "National Security Law" and other fascist laws and repressive tools, overshadowing the successive military dictators. And countless are cases of human rights abuses by the U.S. Forces present in South Korea. As regards the present South Korean situation in which human rights abuses have been carried into extremes, however, the United States dare argue that "the human rights situation has improved" there. This is really a brazen-faced deception. Whatever row the United States may raise over the "human rights problem" it can never impair the essential advantages and invincible vitality of socialism of our style to which the chuche idea is applied. The United States would be well advised to mind its own business, instead of taking stock of other nations and instructing them, while acting "a judge of human rights" whom nobody recognizes. |
FBIS3-28614_0 | U.S. Paper Cited on Allegations About DPRK | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Pyongyang, February 8 (KCNA) -- The U.S. paper PEOPLE'S WEEKLY WORLD January 22 reported that U.S. figures challenged the allegations of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States about North Korea at an action forum held in Chicago under the sponsorship of the U.S. academic and religious circles. The paper conveys their remarks as follows: Professor of East Asian and International History, Bruce Cummings, pointed to the different estimates of the U.S. State Department, which says, "North Korea may have nuclear weapons" and the CIA, which says the North Koreans have them. Cummings said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) relies heavily on the CIA for its "information about North Korean nuclear capability," although IAEA has conducted a series of full inspections of North Korean nuclear sites. These inspections have been allowed even though the first section of the IAEA's statutes say that any nation can refuse to allow such inspections if it feels another country threatens its security. Referring to the question of why the CIA persists in its claim that North Korea has nuclear weapons, Professor Henry Em, candidate in history, University of Chicago and instructor at Lake Forest College, charged that the CIA is fighting to maintain its 300 billion dollars annual budget and strives to maintain a "threat of dangerous enemies" as a means to gain public and congressional support. Em said: "The attitudes ascribed to North Korea can be better applied to the CIA--that it is dangerous, unstable and self-serving." |
FBIS3-28687_1 | Comments on, Reaction to Tax, Stimulus Issues Income Tax Cut `Unavoidable' | handing over the report, panel chairman Kan Kato said he expressed his "regret" to Hosokawa that the panel was not given sufficient time to discuss its proposals thoroughly. The government and ruling coalition parties decided Tuesday on the 20 percent income tax cut, totaling 5.47 trillion yen, but left aside the funding issue by setting up a forum to discuss it for enactment as law by the end of the year. The tax plan was included in a record 15.25 billion yen economic stimulus package unveiled later Tuesday. Kato urged the forum to promptly decide on tax reform bills based on the November report, and said his panel would also continue studying the issue to win public support. But he also noted that the government and coalition debate over the tax issue helped raise public interest, and repeated that the funding problems should be settled in "six months" while that interest remains high. The report spells out that the panel "recognizes (the tax plan) as a bridge toward realizing the tax reform" for a balanced tax system among income, consumption and assets to cope with the aging of the population. Meanwhile, the panel also supports the government's planned inheritance tax cuts, and the abolition of special corporate tax, and a higher consumption tax rate on passenger cars. The report endorses "appropriate" tax incentives to spur housing and other effective use of land, but notes that the basic framework decided in fiscal 1993 tax reforms to prevent a revival of speculation and a land price boom must be maintained. On unfair tax treatment, the panel recommends raising the special low tax rate or lowering the tax exemption amount, currently at 30 percent, on donations to religious and other nonprofit organizations. As for entertainment expenses which are seen to be used by companies to evade corporate tax, the panel wants the government to levy a given proportion of the current amount of tax exemption at smaller businesses. Concerning the punitive heavy tax on unexplained expenses proposed earlier by the coalition parties, the panel thinks it should be "temporary" because the effects on corporate activities and tax enforcement are unpredictable. The panel also calls for reviewing special tax treatments on mass media and six other designated businesses and rewards to medical practitioners under the social security program. The report approves the tax hikes on beer and other liquor decided earlier by the government. |
FBIS3-28696_0 | Ozawa Interview on Tax, Political Reform, DPRK | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] Tokyo FNN Television Network in Japanese at 2238 GMT on 5 February carries, during its weekly "News 2001" program, a 74-minute interview with Shinseito Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. The program, which is moderated by Yuji Kuroiwa and Kaori Matsuyama, includes regular guests freelance commentator Kenichi Takemura and Keio University Professor Yoshiaki Kobayashi. At 2239 GMT, regarding the process of proposing the national welfare tax announced by Prime Minister Hosokawa, Ozawa says the tax reform system has been discussed among the ruling coalition parties for a long time, and the proposed tax did not crop up suddenly. He notes the need for substantial discussion on the tax system. Takemura, noting Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) opposition to the Hosokawa-proposed national welfare tax, says the media have reported that two or three people, including Ozawa, decided on the tax without consulting with the SDPJ. In reply, Ozawa says the proposed tax was announced after discussion among the coalition parties. Asked about the timing for deciding on ways to raise funds for the tax cuts, Ozawa says: "I have no objection to spending several years in making the decision. However, implementing tax cuts repeatedly until then by issuing deficit-covering national bonds incontinently is very bad for the future of Japan. This is like a drug. Issuing deficit-covering national bonds is the easy way out." At 2249 GMT, Kazuhide Uekusa, a laboratory man at the Stanford University, in a satellite relay from Los Angeles, gives his views on the U.S. stance with the 11 February Japan-U.S. summit approaching. Asked how the current situation concerning the tax debate will affect relations between Japan and the United States in future, Ozawa says: "It is true that this is of no benefit to Japan-U.S. relations. However, I believe the United States is coolly considering whether it is appropriate for it to attack Japan out of spite at the present. Meanwhile, in Japan, serious discussion should be held among the people on the tax system or funds for tax cuts." On the policy-deciding system of the ruling coalition, he says: "There is no problem with the system." At 2255 GMT -- following a two-minute commercial break -- Ozawa discusses the national welfare tax, social welfare, the tax system, and other general topics. He says the Hosokawa-proposed national welfare tax is necessary to prepare for the upcoming aging society. Explaining the current |
FBIS3-28714_1 | Commentary Urges More Inter-ASEAN Investment | not in line with efforts toward ASEAN economic integration. The fact is that member countries do not have to go far for investment. With regional trade expanding rapidly, there is much scope for greater intra-ASEAN investment as well. As Prime Minister Datuk Sri Dr Mahathir Mohamed noted, investment by ASEAN investors in ASEAN had grown substantially over the years. However, the choice by ASEAN investors to place their money in the region does not come automatically. It is vital for member countries to provide a conducive climate for investment. This means that the investment climate must be ideal, with the necessary laws and policies in place. ASEAN countries have done well in providing the right environment for foreign investment. Still, with other regions also competing for investment, member countries must guard against complacency. Economies in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa are competing for foreign capital to create jobs and prosperity. Here, a key to cross-border investment is to complement one another's economic mood. This is exactly why the growth triangle concept has become very popular in the region. It is more effective for a few countries to get together to develop their respective regions bordering each other. Within a short period of time, the committees in charge of developing the growth triangle have swung into action. It is a matter of time before they start bearing fruit. The bottom line is that if their investment climate is ideal for ASEAN countries, they should also be conducive for investors from outside the region. Therefore, there is much scope for not only intra-ASEAN trade, but cross-border investments as well among member countries. The challenge is for the respective private sectors to tap into each other's potential. Rather than going for high-cost areas far away, ASEAN countries are among the most lucrative investment destinations. Areas that need to be looked into to ensure the flow of investments of proper infrastructure facilities. [sentence as heard] Efforts should be made to enhance skilled manpower in the region. This could encourage reverse investment by some of the more developed countries in neighboring ASEAN countries. All this would go a long way in boosting the region's quest for a single free market. When that is achieved, ASEAN would emerge as a cohesive force, much to the envy of others. At the same time, it would give the region a better bargaining power in international economic issues. |
FBIS3-28715_2 | Editorial: Time for U.S. To Move Against Serbs | some responsibility for ensuring that the Balkans do not slip irreversibly out of the civilised world. Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) met in Brussels on Monday to issue the toughest warning heard in recent months to those strangling Sarajevo. After the usual disagreements among themselevs, they asked that NATO meet to see how besieged Sarajevo could be relieved using all necessary means, including air strikes. But even now it is not certain that those necessary means will be used. True, air power is not an end in itself. Not only will its use endanger the UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia, will air strikes not supported by ground action lead to a Serb withdrawal? Who will provide the ground troops? Are NATO governments ready to face the political cost of sustaining casualties in what may turn out to be a protracted war? In terms of realpolitik, is it worth all the effort as long as the Bosnian massacre does not grow in a larger European problem? That apart, what is the point of undertaking military intervention in the absence of a larger, sustainable peace plan whose enforcement must be the objective of the military action? Is there such a peace plan? These are legitimate questions, but they can also become dishonest excuses for doing nothing -- which is exactly how they look today. The Serbs need to be punished for what they are doing, and prevented from doing what they will do if they are not stopped. The demilitarisation of Sarajevo enforced through limited air strikes, will remind them that they can be losers in an equal war. Strategicaly, the strikes will hold the situation while increased diplomatic pressure is brought to bear on the Serbs for a political solution. Concurrently, a lifting of the arms embargo on Bosnia will enable it to balance the military scales for the same purpose: to make the Serbs realise that they have to talk real peace. To date, the U.S. has shown more than any other NATO member that the plight of the Bosnians means anything to the conscience of the civilised world. In the name of that civilisation, in the name of the right of a people to resist genocide, in the name of innocent Bosnians who are still alive, it is the U.S. which needs to lead the way to what needs to be done at once: Stop the Serbs. |
FBIS3-28727_0 | Officials Comment on `Wide Gap' in U.S. Talks | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report] [Text] A government official disclosed on 9 February that a U.S. official in charge of the Japanese-U.S. framework trade talks has proposed a plan to submit at the 11 February Japanese-U.S. summit meeting an "interim report on consultations" which includes a side-by-side listing of points of dispute between Japan and the United States as they currently stand. The United States has apparently taken this step after judging that it has become difficult to reach an agreement with Japan in such individual trade sectors as automobiles and auto parts, over which negotiations have been stalled. Because the United States has termed this report as being "interim" in nature, there is a strong possibility that the trade talks will virtually be extended. Therefore, prospects are that negotiations now will turn to dealing with the case of the two nations failing to reach an agreement. The interim report plan has been proposed by W. Bowman Cutter, deputy assistant to the president for economic policy and who is the U.S. official in charge of deputy-level negotiations. The report is said to list, side by side, Japanese and U.S. assertions over such issues as "numerical targets." The agreement reached by Japan and the United States last July concerning the new framework trade talks stipulates that an assessment be made of the progress in the trade talks at a deputy-level meeting prior to the summit meeting and that a report subsequently be submitted to the leaders of the two nations. A Japanese Government official asserts that "because the United States has further pressed for setting numerical targets even in the area of government procurement, where negotiations have made relative progress, the trade talks as a whole have regressed instead." In this connection, a senior official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry [MITI] said on the evening of 9 February: "No work has been done to narrow the gap between Japan and the United States at the resumed negotiations in Washington between Koichiro Matsuura, deputy vice minister of foreign affairs, and W. Bowman Cutter, deputy assistant to the president for economic policy. They are already talking about what to do now." On the same evening, MITI Minister Hiroshi Kumagai said, "There is a wide gap (between Japanese and U.S. assertions)." He expressed the hope that a negative impact on bilateral relations can be kept to a minimum even in |
FBIS3-28729_4 | Bureaucrats Change Trade Policy Toward U.S. | negotiations with the European Union (EU) says, "I think that although the United States talks tough, it is more pusillanimous than I had thought." Multilateral negotiations are "open negotiations" in which negotiators exchange their assertions according to rules and are a power game in which the interests of nations clash. In previous Japanese-U.S. negotiations, attention has focused on how far Japan will go in making concessions to the United States. Now, however, a group of bureaucrats with a sense of the game, and who are eager to hold trade talks with U.S. negotiators on an equal basis, is emerging. The Concessive Thinking Is Losing Weight Japanese Ambassador to Washington Takakazu Kuriyama, who recently returned to Japan, told Prime Minister Hosokawa, "Although the United States has a good impression of the Hosokawa government, it is tough in trade negotiations." In response, a senior Foreign Ministry official said coolly, "Almost no Foreign Ministry officials believe that Japan must concede as much as possible to the United States to keep its relations with that country in place." According to the same senior Foreign Ministry official, the keywords of Japan's diplomacy toward the United States are "broad and in the medium-term." The idea is that "Japan aims to build a friendly medium-term relationship between Japan and the United States while pointing out to the U.S. Government, which is focusing on economic issues, the importance of maintaining security and politically cooperative relations between the two countries." This concept implicitly indicates that Japan does not care about the occurrence of temporary discord in its relations with the United States. In fact, no tensions are evident in government offices despite rough sailing in the Japanese-U.S. economic framework talks. With the collapse of the cold war structure, the importance of security issues in Japanese-U.S. relations has decreased. Another senior Foreign Ministry official said, "The Foreign Ministry is no longer in an obsessive mood to recheck Japan's relations with the United States whenever Japanese-U.S. summit talks are held." There is another reason why Japanese bureaucrats feel relaxed: the decrease in the competitiveness of Japan's economy. The Japanese-U.S. semiconductor agreement, which the U.S. Government intends to use as a model for "numerical targets," was concluded in 1986; plans for the expansion of Japan's purchase of U.S.-made auto parts were announced in early 1992. At the time of concluding the semiconductor agreement, Japanese chip makers were in a dominant position, and |
FBIS3-28732_1 | `High-Dimensional' Talks Urged With Clinton | as the government procurement, insurance market, and automobiles and auto parts. In particular, the dispute between the United States which demands setting specific numerical targets market shares and Japan which objects to it, saying such numerical targets would lead to managed trade is still there where it started. The framework talks are now expected to drag on until the last moment before the summit meeting. On some of the things like the automobiles and auto parts, it is even possible that the top leaders will have to make a political decision themselves. In the previous two meetings, the United States did not push difficult demands on Prime Minister Hosokawa. That was because the economic consultations were still under way, and the United States thought it would be to its benefit to back up the new administration which was supposed to be all for a "reform." The United States is beginning to have doubts about the basis of the Hosokawa coalition government and the leadership of the prime minister himself. WASHINGTON POST reporter Howard Cohen [name as published] wrote recently: "The people close to President Clinton now feel they might have overestimated Prime Minister Hosokawa, or at least misjudged his ability to fulfill his pledge on market liberalization." As if in comformity with such atmosphere in the United States, Foreign Minister Hata has been set to attend the meeting between the two top leaders. Recently when U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor came to Japan, he said "I would like to talk with a politician who has real power," and then met with Foreign Minister Hata. As seen in that instance, it appears certain that the United States is beginning to question where the real policymaking power resides in Japan. There is no doubt that a show performance will be played out to plant an impression that the summit itself has been a "success." But the problem is whether deep-rooted distrust -- as observed in the words of the two countries' negotiating officials -- can be removed. Just as the Clinton government has no comprehensive policy on Japan, the Hosokawa government has no policy on the United States. All that is happening is that the bureaucrats in the forefront of the negotiations are clashing with each other over their national interests and reputations. While people were unaware as their eyes were focused on domestic affairs, the situation in the Japan-U.S. relations has |
FBIS3-28737_0 | Prompt, Reputable Tax System Reform Plan Urged | Language: Japanese Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Work Out Reputable Tax System Reform Plans"] [Text] The tax issue, over which political turmoil has continued ever since Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa announced his "national welfare tax" plan, has finally been settled for the time being. However, the agreement among coalition leaders -- setting aside the amount of tax cuts -- leaves us with a strong impression that the scattered manner in which tax cuts are to be made and how a source of revenue to make up for them is to be ensured are merely stop-gap measures. We deeply regret this. Granted, it could not be helped considering the impending situation regarding the political timetable, including the implementation of pump-priming measures, compilation of the draft budget for the next fiscal year, and the upcoming Japan-U.S. summit meeting. However, the problem has merely been shelved, as the issue of financial insurance for tax cuts has now been left completely up to discussions among the ruling coalition parties. The greatest concern is that there is no real guarantee that an agreement on the source of revenue to make up for tax cuts will be reached by a consultative body made up of members from the ruling coalition parties. According to the statement of accord among coalition leaders, legislation on a source of revenue is to be enacted during a Diet session by the year end. However, there is a precondition that this can only be done "under agreement among the ruling coalition parties." If the Social Democratic Party of Japan [SDPJ], which is the largest contingent among the ruling coalition parties, should decide to voice opposition to a tax hike, threatening once again to "break away from the coalition government," there is no guarantee the tax issue will not be shelved again. Moreover, unified local elections are to be held in the spring of 1995, and an upper house election is to be held the following summer. Depending on the political situation, there may even be a lower house election. As the time for elections get closer and closer, election-motivated opposition to tax hikes will inevitably grow stronger. Meanwhile, coalition leaders have also agreed to implement a 6-trillion-yen tax cut plan (which includes 5.5 trillion yen in income and residence tax cuts) retroactive to 1 January, for which the legislation is to be effective for one year only. This means that if legislation for securing |
FBIS3-28739_1 | Envoy to PRC Interviewed on DPRK Situation | up special economic zones. As for the reasons why President Kim is restoring "his direct administration," Ambassador Hwang cited the following points: members of the "interim generation," meaning the generation born between the first and second revolutionary generations and including Kim's brother Kim Yong-chu, have been reappointed to front-line political posts in the personnel reshuffle last December; Secretary Kim Chong-il as well as other prospective leaders of his generation such as Kim Tal-hyun and Kim Yong-sun are now made to play only lesser roles; and in his recent talks with various guests such as UN Secretary General Butrus Butrus-Ghali, American missionary Billy Graham, and VIP's from China, President Kim Il-song hinted at his posture of directly controlling the state administration. However, Ambassador Hwang also pointed out that the restoration of President Kim's direct rule seems to be limited at this point to important pending diplomatic issues such the nuclear issue, the normalization of diplomatic relations with the United States and Japan, and the issue on dealing with the south on the one hand, and those issues related to the basic principle of the government administration on the other. For example, there are problems related to the partial reform and open-door policy, which was started on a trial basis by leaders of the second revolutionary generation such as Secretary Kim Chong-il but which has now come to a deadlock. Secretary Kim Chong-il has so far rejected the Chinese-type reform and open-door policy, terming it as "revisionism". However, President Kim Il-song sent Secretary Hwang Chang-yop to China early this year to put an end to its relations with China which have become rather awkward since China established diplomatic relations with the ROK in the summer of 1992, and at the same time to instruct him to make an inspection tour of special economic zones in Shenzhen and Zhuhai. It is reported that experts in economic affairs have been dispatched to special economic zones since then. Ambassador Hwang also maintained that President Kim Il-song's intention to restore his direct control is not an indication of his attempt to change his decision on assigning Kim Chong-il as his successor. As a basis for this observation, Ambassador Hwang cited the fact that Kim Pyong-il -- who is Kim Chong-il's half brother and who had returned home late last year after completing his assignment as ambassador to Bulgaria -- has been reappointed as ambassador to Finland. |
FBIS3-28753_1 | More on Proceedings at NAM Meeting in Jakarta NAM Calls for UN Session on Bosnia | he said. A special UN session was a last resort in case the UN Security Council proved unable to implement the resolutions it had itself issued, Alatas said. The NAM foreign ministers also asked the five Nonaligned countries that are currently member of the UN Security Council to urge the council to carry out its resolutions. "If the UN Security Council cannot execute its own resolutions we will, through our coordinating bureau in New York, call for a special UN session on Bosnia", Alatas said. He said non-implementation of the UN Security Council's resolutions -- such as on establishment of safe areas and limited air strikes against Serb forces in Bosnia, was caused by reluctance on the part of a number of council members. A special UN session, according to Alatas, could authorize a number of member countries to settle a conflict such as had happened in the case of the Korean war. In such a special UN session a decision could be reached by voting while the veto right of UN Security Council members did not apply. "We hope that in this manner the slaughter in the region can finally be ended," he said. The NAM Foreign ministers also supported the idea to stage an international conference on Bosnia-Herzegovina as proposed not long ago by the Organization of the Islamic Concerence (OIC), Alatas said. They called on the NAM chairman to propose to the movement's coordinating bureau in New York to examine the possibilites of undertaking such an international conference since the London conference on Bosnia had yet to produce any decision capable of halting the war. Alatas said the principles of the London conference's resolutions had remained unimplemented. "It is therefore time to settle the conflict in Bosnia in a just and comprehensive way," he said. The ministers at their meeting here also called for the lifting of the arms embargo on Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to bring about a military balance and press Serbia into returning to the conference table, Alatas said. Opened by Alatas Wednesday, the NAM foreign ministers meeting here is being attended by 22 countries and will discuss a number of topics in preparation of a NAM ministerial meeting due to take place in Egypt next June. On the meeting's opening day Indonesia as NAM chairman briefed participating countries on various progammes of activities that had been implemented and those yet to be carried out. |
FBIS3-28766_0 | Kim Il-song Sends Message to President of Iran | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Pyongyang, February 10 (KCNA) -- President Kim Il-song of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on February 10 sent a message of greetings to 'Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, warmly congratulating him on the 15th anniversary of victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran. The message said that the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran was a historical event of great significance in the life of the Iranian people. Expressing firm solidarity with the Iranian people in their struggle to accelerate the reconstruction of the country and defend peace and security in the Persian Gulf area, the message wished the Iranian president and people greater successes in the future work. It expressed the belief that the excellent friendly and cooperative relations forged between the two countries in the struggle for independence against imperialism will grow stronger and develop. |
FBIS3-28777_4 | MITI's Kumagai on Trade Talks, Tax Reform | that in the process of formulating pump-priming measures, many political adjustments are needed. [Kumagai commenting on a retracted Hosokawa proposal to create a national welfare tax] On 3 September last year, Prime Minister Hosokawa, based on an agreement among the ruling parties, asked the Tax Commission to draw up drastic tax reform measures. In October, the Tax Commission reached a conclusion and announced reform measures. At that time, the mass media and political circles had hot debates over the reform measures. The debates included all questions currently being discussed. I mean questions concerning implementing tax cuts to shore up the economy and deal with the aging society, balancing income, consumption, and asset taxes, and increasing the consumption tax to fund large-scale tax cuts. The size of the tax hike and reductions were also discussed. Moreover, whether or not to use the term "welfare tax" was discussed by the Tax Commission. If the Liberal Democratic Party were in power, it would have spent about one month discussing the tax reform. But at that time, the Hosokawa government had to deal with the Uruguay Round talks and the political reform issue. As a result, tax reform discussions came to halt. Nevertheless, the ruling parties have continued tax reform debates. Also, the government established the Economic Affairs Committee to continue the discussions. Therefore, from our viewpoint, it was quite natural that the idea of creating a welfare tax cropped up during discussions. If you review media reports, you will know that the government has continued tax reform discussions. But because everybody focused on the political reform issue and the government had to settle other grave issues in such a short period, it looked as if the welfare tax proposal appeared abruptly. [Kumagai answering Tawara's question as to whether he supports Hosokawa's plan of adopting a 7 percent welfare tax in 1997 to fund 6 trillion yen tax cuts] From long-term viewpoints and to balance all taxes, I think it is necessary to carry out the plan. So I support the plan. [Passage omitted on Kumagai remarks on the need to adopt the welfare tax to make tax cuts possible and to deal with the aging society] [Kumagai answering Tawara's question as to how the government intends to handle Hosokawa's tax hike and reduction plans, whether it will compromise with the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) over the plans] It is difficult for |
FBIS3-28804_0 | Iran Envoy Stresses Expansion of Economic Ties | Language: Korean Article Type:BFN [Report on interview with Zabihollah Now-Forsati, Iranian ambassador to the ROK, by reporter Pak Kyong-a; place and date not given] [Text] On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on 11 February, Zabihollah Now-Forsati (45), Iranian ambassador to the ROK, stressed the need to expand economic exchanges with the ROK. He said, "in the wake of the 15th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, Iran is faced with the task of revitalizing its economy. The ROK is a very suitable economic partner that Iran presently needs." The Islamic government was established in Iran after the Islamic revolutionary forces led by late Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1979. Iran has been suffering economic difficulties that increased with the aftermath of the eight-year-long war with Iraq and last year's drop in oil prices. [Pak Kyong-a] Relations between the ROK and Iran were estranged for a short time after the Islamic revolution.... [Zabihollah Now-Forsati] Iran and the ROK established diplomatic relations in 1962. Their relations became estranged to such an extent that the ambassadorship was downgraded to the level of charge d'affairs in 1981 when the war was going on between Iran and Iraq. Their relations, however, have been normalized since 1989. At present, Iran's trust in the ROK people is so high that the Iranian Embassy here issues visas to ROK people within only 24 hours. [Pak] What is the reason for the increased trust in the ROK people? [Now-Forsati] A number of foreign enterprises left Iran in succession during its past war with Iraq. However, ROK enterprises remained in Iran and kept their working sites even at the risk of death and wounds. The Iranian people never forget the favor they receive from others. [Pak] What do you think is the reason that the ROK should attach importance to expanding economic cooperation with Iran? [Now-Forsati] First, Iran, with a population of 60 million, is an excellent market for various kinds of consumer goods. Moreover, Iran founded an organization for economic cooperation with central Asian countries that separated from the former Soviet Union and became independent states. Iran is leading this organization. Therefore, the ROK can have easy access to the central Asian markets with Iran as a stepping-stone. Second, the ROK can secure the source of stable oil supply based on amicable relations with Iran. Third, only Iran has become the nation where |
FBIS3-28807_1 | * Ex-Deputy PM Views Economic Competitiveness [25 Dec p 1] Impossible To Survive Under Old Frame [28 Dec 93 p 1] Costly, Inefficient Structure Needs Urgent Revamping [30 Dec 93 pp 1, 2] Cultivate Intellect, Train Personnel With Foresight | brain power and knowledge, and ability among nations and enterprises. Expansion of competition will pose an awesome challenge to us. Underdeveloped countries might be able to hold their own in competition in commodity trade. But they will discover that there are many areas in the software field, such as technology, brain power, and knowledge, where they are no match for their competitors from the beginning. They will also discover that rules governing competition are not interpreted in a uniformly fair manner. Just as lions get their lion's share in the food chain, advanced countries will interpret the substance of the economic order in a way advantageous to themselves. While absorbed in exporting commodities, the underdeveloped might lose everything before they are aware of it, like a hunter too much absorbed in chasing a hare to see the mountain. During the recent UR negotiations, our country ran about in confusion like soldiers surprised by the enemy. The UR is concluded for now, and work will begin soon to work out details necessary to implement it. We should immediately revise a number of laws, regulations, and systems to prevent outsiders from unilaterally setting our national destiny without our knowledge. Economic policies under the WTO order cannot succeed with the conventional methods and ideas. If so, what should be changed, and how? First, the government's functions and roles must be changed. "Economic planning" by the government will become virtually meaningless. It will be practically impossible to make cyclical adjustments through Keynesian stop-gap government intervention. We come to keenly realize that globalization signifies a limitation on government economic policy-making. With the WTO order, the government will no longer be able to control and adjust the economy unilaterally and at will. For instance, as foreign capital moves from one country to another as a result of the liberalization of capital, currency authorities will not be able to maintain a certain volume of currency in circulation as they please. Needless to say, this does not mean that the role of currency authorities will be eliminated. In some areas, their role may even increase. But their role and meaning should change. The government should review and reorganize its roles and functions as soon as possible so that they may be adapted to the new environment under the WTO. Our government structure is a carryover from the era in which it was to help attain the growth targets |
FBIS3-28810_0 | Further on Jakarta Nonaligned Movement Meeting ICO Group Offers Troops to Bosnia | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Jakarta, Feb 10 (ANTARA) -- The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries pleaded to send some 10,000 troops to be deployed as part of the United Nations peacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Within the U.N. system, we offer 10,000 troops which will come from Malaysia, Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt," chairman of the OIC contact group Pakistani Foreign Minister Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali told a press conference here Thursday. In the fringes of the limited ministerial meeting of the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) some ministers of the OIC contact group on Bosnia also conducted an informal meeting to discuss the detariorating situation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Pakistani foreign minister also said that besides the peacekeeping troops, OIC foreign ministers also agreed to support NAM chairman's proposal of convening an appropriately-structured international conference on Bosnia-Herzegovina. President Suharto upon receiving Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic recently mentioned the possibility of launching an international conference on Bosnia to find a just settlement to the conflict in the region. "We welcome NAM chairman's decision to conduct a meeting through the NAM coordinating bureau in New York to demand more effective measures to be undertaken by the U.N," Minister Asif, who was accompanied by Malaysia's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said. He added that the OIC contact group minsters have expressed their strong support for the convening of a special session of the general assembly to bring an end to the genocide and carnage in Bosnia- Herzegovina. When asked about NATO's 10-day ultimatum before launching air strikes if Serb artillery and other heavy weapons are not withdraw and placed under U.N supervision, the minister said, such a threat would not ensure Serbs' withdrawal of its forces. Stating that the OIC contact group on Bosnia are not satisfied with NATO's decision, he urged NATO to immediately use its sophisticated armament, the one that had been used successfully in Iraq to launch immediate strikes against the Serbs. "It would not ensure that [words indistinct] air strikes against the Serb military forces, he said that finding a solution for the Bosnia-Herzegovina should be the prime responsibility of the European Union and NATO. Asif took the occassion also to remind that conflicts in the Balkan country had triggered the World War I and II, saying that "If the condition in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be worsen, the European countries will directly be affected." |
FBIS3-28834_0 | Thailand, Burma, Laos Plan Narcotics Task Forces | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Thailand yesterday agreed to set up border task forces with Burma and Laos to improve the efficiency of local officials from the three countries in their joint campaign against illegal drugs trade. Narcotics Control Board Secretary General, Chaowalit Yotmani, said the Thai-Burmese and Thai-Lao border task forces would enable anti-narcotics officials to take immediate action to prevent and suppress the production and trafficking of narcotics without having to wait for the decision of the governments of the respective countries. The task forces would also make way for the improvement of intelligence operations and a better flow of information about drug traffickers among Thai Lao and Burmese officials, Pol Gen Chaowalit said. Agreements on the border task forces were reached at yesterday's second ministerial-level meeting on drugs prevention and suppression in Rangoon which was attended by top government leaders and senior officials of Thailand, Laos and Burma. The Thai task forces will be headed by Narcotics Suppression Bureau commissioner Somchai Milindarangkun. Pol Lt Gen Somchai said the first meeting of Thai and Burmese officials will be held in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai District opposite Burma's border town of Tachilek in March, to work out joint drugs prevention and suppression plans. The date of the meeting with Laos has not yet been scheduled but the venue will be in the northeastern province of Nong Khai, he said. Pol Lt Gen Somchai conceded that coordinating efforts with Burma was likely to be more difficult than working with Laos as Thailand and Laos have already been close to one another and have always exchanged information. He said Thailand should strengthen its cooperation with Burma 90 both sides can have a common understanding and trust one another. "Trust in each other would help boost efficiency in our attempt to get updated information that would lead to the arrest of drug traffickers," he said. Meanwhile, Pol Gen Chaowalit said Thailand and Burma would also hold a discussion on problems about minority groups along their common border because some of these groups have been involved in narcotics production. He said the three countries also agreed that meetings of their senior anti-drugs officials would be held twice a year and a ministerial-level meeting once every two years. Cooperation would also be sought from China and Vietnam and these two countries will be invited to join in the next meeting, he said. Thailand earlier |
FBIS3-28847_1 | Leadership Members Comment on Bosnia Issues Additional Troops May Be Sent | have discussed this issue many times before and we are ready to offer more troops for UN duty in Bosnia." [passage omitted] Malaysia has about 1,500 troops serving with the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) under the command of Kol. [Colonel] Hashim Hussein. Asked about the total number of troops which Malaysia was willing to send to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Najib said it was premature to give a figure. However, Defence Ministry sources said Malaysia could send up to three battalions, but this would depend on logistical support. "The question is whether we will have the ability to support the troops with the necessary equipment, winter clothing and boots, medicine, engineering supplies, and other vital logistics to sustain operations in such a harsh environment there," said a source. Foreign Minister Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, meanwhile, said Malaysia wants the UN Security Council to allow member countries to openly debate the atrocities and ethnic cleansing by the Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Such a move would be against the norm of closed-door sessions held by the council. Abdullah said that Malaysia's permanent representative to the UN, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, would liaise with the NAM Coordinating Group Committee and the OIC Contact Group to pressure the council for the open debate. He said the council was expected to hold its meeting on the Bosnian issue in a couple of days. The chances of the meeting being convened were good as he understood that Russia, a member of the council with veto powers, had shown interest in having such a discussion, he added. Abdullah was certain the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) would not launch an air strike against Serb artillery positions besieging Sarajevo. Meanwhile, [Pakistani Foreign Minister] Asif said moves by NATO to lift the siege of Sarajevo fell short of expectations. "In expressing their (the OIC Contact Group's) disappointment at the lack of resolute action in the past, they underlined the imperative of the immediate lifting of the siege of Sarajevo and carrying through the necessary actions foreseen in the latest NATO decision," he said. He also said the contact group had agreed to support a proposal by Indonesia's president, Suharto, the current NAM chairman, for an appropriately structured international conference on Bosnia-Herzegovina. "We welcome the NATO chairman's decision to conduct a meeting through the NAM Coordinating Bureau in New York to demand more effective measures be undertaken by the UN," he said. [passage omitted] |
FBIS3-28885_0 | Papers Mark 15th Anniversary of Iran Revolution | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Pyongyang, February 11 (KCNA) -- Papers here today dedicate editorial articles to the 15th anniversary of the victory of the islamic revolution in Iran. NODONG SINMUN says that the downfall of the dictatorial regime and the victory of the revolution in Iran proved again the historical truth that reactionaries repressing the independence of the popular masses are doomed to downfall and the victory of the just cause of the popular masses is inevitable. Noting that after the victory of the revolution the Iranian people have advanced along the road chosen by them, overcoming the manifold difficulties and trials, the paper says: The Islamic Republic of Iran is pursuing independent foreign policy. The Iranian people are opposed to all sorts of domination and submission and are developing the friendly and cooperative relations with different countries of the world. They are striving to ensure peace and security in the Perusian Gulf. The Korean people extend full support and solidarity for the struggle of the Iranian people to accelerate economic reconstruction and improve the looks of the country. The bonds of friendship and cooperative relations between Korea and Iran are continuously strengthening and developing. The development of these excellent relations is beneficial to the building of a new society in the two countries and conducive to promoting friendship and solidarity of the Asian people and regional development. Korea-Iran friendship will continue to consolidate and develop as in the past. The Korean people wish the Iranian people greater success in their work to build an independent and prosperous new Iran, MINJU CHOSON says. |
FBIS3-28886_0 | Iranian Embassy Marks Anniversary | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Pyongyang, February 12 (KCNA) -- The charge d'affaires ad interim of the Iranian Embassy here, Seyyed Lashgari [name as received], hosted a reception Friday on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran. Invited there were Vice-Premier Choe Yong-nim, officials concerned and diplomatic envoys of various countries in Korea. In his speech at the reception, Seyyed Lashgari elaborated on the relations of Iran with the DPRK and said that the Korean visit of His Excellency Khamene'i, leader of the Islamic revolution, was a turning point in the relations between the two countries. "The Islamic Republic of Iran hails and appreciates the efforts made by the militant and staunch Korean people for the progress and development of economy, technology and culture under the wise leadership of His Excellency Kim Il-song," the charge d'affaires ad interim said. He expressed the hope that Korea's independent and peaceful reunification would be realized at the will of the people. Speaking next, Chong Ha-chol, chairman of the Radio and TV Broadcasting Committee of the DPRK and chairman of the Korea-Iran Friendship Association, noted that the Iranian people, under the leadership of His Excellency Khamene'i, their esteemed leader, and His Excellency Rafsanjani, their president, are now registering big achievements in their endeavours to win a durable peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region and fulfil the first five-year plan. "We are rejoiced over those achievements as over our own and wish the Iranian people greater success in their efforts to rebuild the country and build a prosperous new society," he added. He said the Korean people would value their friendly relations with the Iranian people in the future, too, and make every possible effort to further consolidate and develop them. |
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