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(Global News, No. GL01-063)
Friday, October 12, 2001
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ISSN 1024-9117
Table of Contents # of Lines
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1. Chinese President Sends Condolence to Russian Jet Crash Victims ...... 9
2. Vatican: Cardinal's Beijing Tour Uncertain ........................... 24
3. Taiwan's Consumer Price Falls in September ........................... 14
4. Journalist Fired For Exposing Organ Harvesting ....................... 17
5. US, China to Resume Human Rights Dialogue ............................ 6
6. Guangzhou Karaoke Bars Have Slow Week in Vice Purge .................. 53
7. Dalai Lama Postpones European Tour ................................... 15
8. China Voices Support to Retaliation, Emphasizes Targeting Objects .... 8
9. China Celebrates as Team Qualifies for Soccer World Cup .............. 31
10. Japan to Delay Decision on Emergency Tariffs ........................ 24
11. Turkey Allows China-Owned Aircraft Carrier to Pass Straits .......... 30
12. Chinese President Welcomes Japanese PM's Meaningful Action .......... 8
13. China a Safer Investment Than Asia Generally, But Risks Remain ...... 91
14. Taiwan Starts Parliamentary, Mayoral Election Campaign .............. 26
15. Mainland to Deploy Su-30MKK Fighters Facing Taiwan .................. 20
16. President Jiang Urges Taiwan to Accept One-China Principle .......... 15
17. China Backs UN Resolutions, Anti-Terrorism: Jiang ................... 9
18. China Does Not Object to Japan's Military Role in War on Terrorism .. 23
19. Pakistani Officials Complain About Visa Refusal by China ............ 21
20. Officials Sentenced to Death for Bribery ............................ 9
21. Officials to Crackdown Illegal Fishing Practices .................... 39
22. South Korea Apologizes for Deaths of Illegal Chinese Immigrants ..... 20
23. China to Become WTO Member by Decemebr 10 ........................... 9
24. Taiwan Urges Beijing to Be Flexible in Cross-Strait Policy .......... 23
25. Former VP to Attend APEC Meeting on Behalf of Taiwan ................ 31
26. Taiwan Legislative election marred by violence ...................... 16
27. What's in October 12th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #550 (cm0110b) ........... 40
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1. Chinese President Sends Condolence to Russian Jet Crash Victims ...... 9
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[CND, 10/06/01] Chinese President Jiang Zemin has sent a message of
condolence to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin following the crash of
a Russian airliner carrying 64 passengers and 12 crew, Xinhua News
Agency reported. Jiang also said he hoped the cause of the crash would
be discovered soon. The TU-154 airliner, on a flight from Israel to
Siberia, plunged into the Black Sea 190 kilometres (115 miles) south of
the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday. (Dong LIU)
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2. Vatican: Cardinal's Beijing Tour Uncertain ........................... 24
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[CND, 10/06/01] The Vatican refused to confirm reports that it would
send a cardinal to attend a Catholic conference in Beijing, the South
China Morning Post reported on Friday.
A Vatican spokeswoman declined to confirm earlier reports that the Holy
See was to send a high-level delegation, led by a cardinal, to Beijing
for a Catholic conference, which is scheduled to open on October 14.
"There is nothing certain," she said. The conference is held to mark
the 400 anniversary of the missionary tour to China by Matteo Ricci,
who is considered the first Catholic priest to have spread the Gospel
in China.
The deputy chairman of the government-sponsored China Patriotic
Catholic Church in Beijing LIU Bainian said he was not aware of any
change on the Vatican's plan to send scholars, not representatives, to
the conference. But it was up to the Vatican to change its initial
plan, he added. Liu also said his church would not participate the
celebration events.
A visit by a cardinal to Beijing would be widely viewed as a sign of
warming-up Sino-Vatican relations, which have been up and down in the
past decade. (LIU Weijun)
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3. Taiwan's Consumer Price Falls in September ........................... 14
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[CND, 10/06/01] Taiwan's consumer price index fell by 0.74 percent
year-to-year in September, said official reports on Friday.
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS)
said that the fall is due to lower education fees and prices for
discount clothes. However, the index is 0.42 percent higher than August
due to higher price in vegetable and fruit in the aftermath of Typhoon
Nari and Lekima.
In September, wholesale price index (WPI) fell 1.43 percent in the
largest drop in two years mainly due to slower domestic demand and
falling prices of raw materials. (Dong LIU)
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4. Journalist Fired For Exposing Organ Harvesting ....................... 17
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[CND, 10/06/01] A journalist has been fired twice under political
pressure for exposing the organ harvesting scandal in Jiangxi Province,
the Hong Kong iMail reported.
Yao Xiaohong, former head of news at the Metropolitan Consumer Daily in
Jiangxi, exposed the scandal in April that a local court illegally sold
a kidney of an executed prisoner to a hospital.
Under the huge pressure from the provincial propaganda department, the
newspaper fired him in June.
Yao later became a senior reporter for a weekly newspaper affiliated
with the popular Yangcheng Evening News. But the new employer
surrendered to the political pressure, too, and cut his job last
Friday. (Lisa BU)
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5. US, China to Resume Human Rights Dialogue ............................ 6
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[CND, 10/07/01] The United States and China are to resume dialogue on
human rights next Tuesday in Washington, the US State Department said
on Friday, AFP reported. The talks had been put on hold since the
bombing of Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999. (Dong LIU)
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6. Guangzhou Karaoke Bars Have Slow Week in Vice Purge .................. 53
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[CND, 10/07/01] Facing a vice sweep by police, karaokes in Guangzhou, a
mainland city only two hours driving from Hongkong, and thousands of
young women who are hired to entertain clients stumbled, even though
department stores are busy and planes, trains and hotels are booked
solid in the week of celebrating 52 years of communist rule, the South
China Morning Post reported on Saturday.
Guangzhou police have been raiding karaoke bars almost nightly since
the Ministry of Public Security launched on September 17 a three-month
campaign to "rectify" entertainment industry.
As the city prepares to host the Ninth National Games on November 11,
Guangzhou police had closed more than 8,000 of estimated 20,000 karaoke
bars in the city.
Their employees, of course, feel the impact.
"It's been a bad week and I really need to make some money tonight,"
said a young woman in one karaoke bar.
The 20-year-old woman, surnamed Wang, is a native of northeast China
who came to Guangzhou earlier this year to work in a shoe factory.
Soon after, she quitted the job to work as a sanpei xiaojie, meaning
"three-accompaniments Miss" at a karaoke bar where she can earn as much
money in a night as she did in a month at the factory.
Usually, sanpei xiaojies are brought to a karaoke bar by an older
woman, a mami who often handles as many as 30 women. A mami queues up
her girls in front of patrons who are encouraged to choose one to sit
with.
The "three accompaniments" refer to drinking, chatting and signing for
which the girls are paid 300 yuan, of which 50 yuan goes to the mami.
In a lucky night, a girl can make as much as US$100.
"I won't go home with clients, even though my mami really doesn't like
girls who won't," Wang said.
In Guangzhou, the mami gets 10 to 15 per cent of the 1,000 yuan
typically charged by the girl for sleeping a client outside the bar.
Such prostitution is what the police targets in the crackdown.
The Southern Metropolis News last week sponsored an "expose" on
Guangzhou karaoke that are disregarding the rectification campaign. The
police subsequently raided the establishments with the paper's
reporters in tow.
"When bar owners got wind of what we were up to they called to beg for
mercy and asked us not to expose their illegal activities. But we
sternly refused," the newspaper said. (Zhou Haosheng)
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7. Dalai Lama Postpones European Tour ................................... 15
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[CND, 10/07/01] The Dalai Lama, has postponed a European tour due to
"mounting tensions" after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the
United States, organizers said Friday, AFP reported.
The Dalai Lama was to participate in the 20th anniversary celebrations
of a French organization that provides aid to Tibetan children on
October 14. Following that, he was to go on to the Czech Republic,
Slovenia, and then Croatia, where he would arrive for his first visit
to the country on October 20 and meet with Croatian non-governmental
organizations.
According to the report, the Dalai Lama still plans to visit the
European Parliament in Strasbourg on October 24. (Dong LIU)
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8. China Voices Support to Retaliation, Emphasizes Targeting Objects .... 8
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[CND, 10/08/01] Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that China
opposed terrorism of any form and supported measures to eradicate it,
Xinhua news agency reported. However, military strikes on terrorism
should be targeted at "specific objectives, so as to avoid hurting
innocent civilians," the spokesman added. China hoped that peace would
be restored as soon as possible, the spokesman added. (Dong LIU)
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9. China Celebrates as Team Qualifies for Soccer World Cup .............. 31
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[CND, 10/08/01] China celebrates on Sunday when its soccer team
qualified for the World Cup for the first time, the South China Morning
Post reported on Monday.
The achievement greatly boosted national pride. "We are becoming more
unified than before. In the past, China did not have a high standing
internationally. However, the situation is very different now," said
soccer fan Zhang Juxiang, a business student at Jimei University in
Xiamen, Fujian province.
While many Chinese inside and outside of China shared the same pride, a
Hong Kong professor warned that surging nationalism might lead to
xenophobia if public sentiment was not handled properly.
"Chinese people always believe that China will eventually obtain her
rightful place in the world," Professor Lau Siu-kai said. "However,
over-aspiration - coupled with their self-awareness of the country's
shortcomings and problems - would make them over-sensitive to
disrespect from Western countries."
His view is not shared by another academic, Professor Peng Kaiping, at
University of California, Berkeley. "Chinese people are enjoying a
happy mood at the moment . . . nationalism will only be revived if
people are defeated or have negative experiences," he said.
He added that recent international achievements, including the 2008
Olympic Games bid and entry to the World Trade Organization, would make
the Chinese people realize that China could succeed by "playing by the
rules." (Dong LIU)
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10. Japan to Delay Decision on Emergency Tariffs ........................ 24
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[CND, 10/06/01] Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry decided
to postpone by six months its decision on whether to assest emergency
tariffs on imports of cheap towels from Asian nations, AFP reported
citing Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
February this year, a Japanese industry association for towel makers
requested the ministry to impose special tariffs on towel products,
especially those from China and Vietnam.
Following a six-month investigation on the alleged damage done by cheap
imports, the ministry decided to push back its decision to impose
tariffs in part because foreign-made towels recently have stopped
flooding into Japan, the newspaper said.
In addition, Japanese officials believe it would be better to decide on
the matter after China's expected entry into the WTO next year.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is set to visit Beijing on
Monday and Seoul on October 15. "As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is
scheduled to visit Beijing... the Cabinet Secretariat and the Foreign
Ministry have asked the Trade Ministry to avoid increasing trade
tensions between Japan and China," Nihon Keizai said. (Ray Zhang)
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11. Turkey Allows China-Owned Aircraft Carrier to Pass Straits .......... 30
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[CND, 10/08/01] Turkey has finally granted permission for a giant
Chinese-owned carrier through Straits decommissioned aircraft carrier
owned by China to sail through its congested waterways under strict
security measures, AFP reported Friday.
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said in Ankara Friday that "The cabinet
has decided that the ship be allowed to pass as soon as possible under
appropriate meteorological conditions and after China takes the
necessary technical measures and installs the required equipment on the
ship." Turkey government hopes the carrier to pass by the end of
October or in November, weather permitting.
Ankara's decision came after Beijing pledged to minimize potential
risks and offered guarantees that it would compensate Ankara for any
possible damages should the passage cause any, Gurel added.
A Macao-based company bought the 306-meter vessel from Ukraine and was
planning to convert the aircraft carrier into a floating hotel and
casino. The unarmed ship, Varyag, has been anchored in the Black Sea
for several months awaiting a go-ahead from Turkey to pass through the
Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
Turkey had refused the passage by the empty carrier citing safety
concerns, mainly because the vessel does not an engine and a rudder and
would have to be towed through the straits and waterways which have at
least 13 dangerous turns and treacherous currents in the Bosphorus
Strait alone. The Bosphorus Strait cuts through Istanbul, the biggest
city in Turkey with a population of some 12 million. (Bo XIONG)
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12. Chinese President Welcomes Japanese PM's Meaningful Action .......... 8
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[CND, 10/09/01] Chinese President Jiang Zemin told visiting Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Monday that his visit to Lugou Bridge
earlier in the day was a "meaningful action" which would improve
bilateral ties, the People's Daily reported. Jiang said that he has
been advocating taking history as a mirror and is looking forward to
the future in handling China-Japan relations. (Dong LIU)
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13. China a Safer Investment Than Asia Generally, But Risks Remain ...... 91
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[CND, 10/09/01] In a recently published report the Netherlands-based
bank ABN Amro argues that mainland China has become a safe haven for
investors as the smaller nations of East Asia are hit by the US-led
global economic slowdown, but other risks remain, the AFP reported on
Sunday.
The aforementioned risks stem from a projected fall in mainland exports
to the United States in the wake of the decrease in consumer
confidence following the September 11 terror attacks, and a slowdown in
mainland investment demand, it said.
"Relatively speaking, China is still the safe haven in the region
thanks to a less trade-dependent economy. However, investors should not
ignore the risk within," ABN Amro said.
High-technology industries represent a small percentage of the
mainland's economy, and the country's economy has not been hit as hard
by the slump in the world's electronics industry as have its neighbours
Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.
The mainland's gross domestic product (GDP) growth greatly exceeds that
of the rest of East Asia and domestic demand is still strong.
Nonetheless the mainland provides a significant amount of consumer
goods such as toys, sporting goods and footwear to the United States.
The projected fall in US consumer spending due to the attacks on New
York and Washigton is likely to hit these exports.
"It is worth noting that among the toys, sporting goods and footwear
imported by the US, 60 percent are from China," the report said. These
three categories accounted for 20 percent of the US's total imports
from the mainland.
"We expect China's exporters to be more seriously hit amid the slowdown
of consumption demand in the US," it reported.
Currently consumer spending represents more than 60 percent of US
economic activity and until recently had continued to show robust
growth.
ABN Amro said it has cut its forecast for the mainland's 2002 export
growth from 15 percent to 3.5 percent.
The bank also lowered its projections for mainland GDP growth in 2001,
from 7.5 percent from 7.2 percent. For 2002, the bank forecasts GDP
growth of 7.0 percent, down from the original estimate of 8.5 percent.
"Apart from the expected slowdown in external demand, we also see
initial signs of a slowdown in investment demand, which has been
supported by the government's pump-priming over the past few years,"
the bank said.
The report also noted that profit growth of mainland industrial
enterprises rose by only 15.8 percent in the eight months to August
this year, precipitously down from the 86 percent reported for the same
period last year.
"Weakening profit growth is not able to support another year of strong
investment growth. Furthermore, facing a slowdown in the global
economy, people are more cautious about business expansion, leading to
a slowdown in investment demand," it said.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank said in a report that the mainland
has more successfully implemented reforms than the rest of the region,
arguing further that its reform program is the primary factor behind
its appeal to foreign investors.
"The argument that China has been gaining foreign investment at the
expense of the rest of Asia is flawed," the report said.
"While China is likely to continue to get the bulk of foreign
investment inflow, globalisation driven by comparative advantage means
that foreign investment into Asia is a net sum gain," it said.
Standard Chartered compared both the mainland and Japan, arguing that
the latter has economic problems to the mainland, but adding that the
mainland "had so far pursued a better reform-growth policy mix than
Japan and many other Asian countries."
As an example, the report cited the mainland's reform of its
inefficient state-owned enterprises, which now account for less than
one fourth of total industrial output, down from more than 80 percent
in the early 1980s.
Although the level of unemployment has risen greatly following the
closure of many state-owned enterprises, the program is providing
positive results, as the number of loss-making firms is steadily
falling while corporate profits are rising, Standard Chartered said
further. (Laurel Mittenthal)
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14. Taiwan Starts Parliamentary, Mayoral Election Campaign .............. 26
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[CND, 10/09/01] Taiwan kicked off the 2001 election campaign for
parliament and mayorships that promise to change the island's political
landscape forever, the Hong Kong iMail reported.
The registration of candidates is due by Thursday, said the Central
Election Commission.
Altogether eight parties have received registration forms, including
the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the main opposition
Kuomintang (KMT), the People First Party (PFP), the New Party (NP), the
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), the Green Party, the Non-Party Alliance
and another small, new party.
The ruling DDP vows to win back voters despite 17 months of political
and economic problems since its winning in the presidential election
last year. The DDP hopes to win 80 to 85 seats in the 225-seat
parliament.
The former ruling party KMT said it will play the economic card in its
election campaign. The KMT said that it is confident that it will win
90 seats in the parliament.
Analysts believe that one thing is certain about this election: No
party is to win clear majority. (Dong LIU)
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15. Mainland to Deploy Su-30MKK Fighters Facing Taiwan .................. 20
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[CND, 10/09/01] While calling for peaceful reunification with Taiwan,
mainland China is planning to deploy some of its most advanced
Russia-made Su-30MKK fighter jets in military bases in Anhui and Fujian
provinces, facing directly to the other side of the Taiwan Strait, AFP
reported.
A total of 38 Su-30MKK are scheduled to be shipped this year from
Russia, China's largest arms supplier. In addition, the mainland has
received 58 Su-27s and 20 Su-30 one-seat fighters (20 more Su-30 were
ordered). Russia has also authorized production of 200 Su-27s, an older
but still advanced fighter, in Shenyang.
The deployment of the two-seat Su-30MKKs would "tip the military
balance in the Taiwan Strait in favor of Beijing and exert a greater
pressure on Taiwan," the Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News said.
The long-range, low-level Su-30MKK is considered to have capabilities
similar to the US- made F-15E, which has been purchased and deployed by
Taiwan. (Jim YU)
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16. President Jiang Urges Taiwan to Accept One-China Principle .......... 15
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President Jiang Zemin called on the Taiwan authorities Tuesday to put
the national interest first, go with the tide of history and
unequivocally accept the one-China principle, the People's Daily
reported.
"We are working for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity;
we are also strongly determined to stop any attempt to split the
country in the form of the 'Independence of Taiwan,'" Jiang said.
Jiang made the remarks at a grand meeting held here in commemoration of
the 90th anniversary of the Revolution of 1991 led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
(Dong LIU)
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17. China Backs UN Resolutions, Anti-Terrorism: Jiang ................... 9
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[CND, 10/10/01] Chinese President Jiang Zemin told US President George
W. Bush over the phone on Tuesday that China backs all resolutions
passed respectively by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council
and supports anti-terrorism activities, the People's Daily reported.
Jiang also noted the importance of Washington's pledge that the
retaliation attacks aim at specific targets and not at Afghan people.
(Dong LIU)
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18. China Does Not Object to Japan's Military Role in War on Terrorism .. 23
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[CND, 10/09/01] Japan said China has expressed understanding for its
plan to provide military support for the ongoing anti-terrorism war led
by the United States, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Monday,
after meeting with Chinese President JIANG Zemin, that he had got the
understanding from Beijing over Japan's plan to mend its law to allow
it play a logistical military supporting role in the US-led
anti-terrorism campaign.
According to a Japanese official, Jiang also reminded Japan that Asian
countries have "a sense of concern" over a revival of its militarism.
Koizumi described his meeting with Jiang as "calm, cordial and
enjoyable". "I thought he was a great man and I thought he would be
harsher," Koizumi said. "The ill-feeling up until now was dispersed."
He had also met with Premier ZHU Rongji during his one-day visit.
It is believed that Beijing's concession is linked to Koizumi's
expression of remorse over Japan's invasion of China between 1937 and
1945. (LIU Weijun)
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19. Pakistani Officials Complain About Visa Refusal by China ............ 21
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[CND, 10/10/01] Pakistani officials in Hong Kong complained about a
ban on Pakistani nationals who applied to enter China from Hong Kong,
the South China Morning Post reported.
"Surely there can't be any threat from the Pakistani people. We are
not sure under what consideration this policy was adopted," said Azmat
Ali Ranjha, Pakistan's consul-general in Hong Kong. He said that he
received many calls about visa refusals lately.
A marketing manager of an import-export firm that does more than $500
million in business with China a year said he has been refused a
business visa to go to a business show in Guangdong. He said the
immigration official rejected him as soon as he saw his Pakistani
passport. "The war is between Afghanistan and the US. What has it got
to do with us?" he said.
In response to the complaints, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
said that it had not rejected the application, but could not issued the
visas in the period of time requested. (Dong LIU)
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20. Officials Sentenced to Death for Bribery ............................ 9
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[CND, 10/11/01] Chinese courts have sentenced five senior municipal
government officials in Shengyang city to death for bribery and
corruption, the Central China Television reported on Thursday.
Sentenced to death are former mayor Mu Suixin, deputy mayor Ma
Xiangdong, head of the Shenyang State Property Management Bureau Guo
Jiusi, director of the Construction Committee Ning Xianjie, and head of
the Tabacco Bureau Zhuo Wei. (Dong LIU)
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21. Officials to Crackdown Illegal Fishing Practices .................... 39
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[CND, 10/11/01] Government agencies in the southern Fujian province is
expected to launch a crackdown this month on the notorious fishing
practices such as using explosives, electric shock and chemicals, the
South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.
A Provincial Marine and Fishing Bureau official said that the
unprecedented joint operation would target fishing industry and
equipment vendors.
According to the Bureau's estimate, the province has about 2,000
fishing boats equipped with electric generators, explosives and
chemicals. In some villages, every boat uses these methods, which
increase the catch but cause over-fishing and widespread environmental
damages.
In recent years, more and more mainland fishermen have resorted to
harmful and sometimes dangerous fishing practices, particularly along
the southeastern coast and the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, which
significantly deteriorated fish resource and ecological system in these
regions. In 1980s fishermen could easily hauled in about 1,000kg of
fish in one net. However, that number dwindled to about 200kg by 1990s,
according the Ministry of Agriculture's Web site Chinafeed.org.cn.
The Government of Hainan Island was the first local government to ban
illegal fishing methods in the early 1990s. The central Government
introduced a nationwide ban in 1996. By the end of last year, more than
10,000 cases of illegal fishing practices along the Yangtze were
discovered and tens of thousands of boats and fishing equipment seized.
However, local governments seem to be waging a losing battle against
greedy fishermen and equipment vendors.
SU Cuixia, marketing manager of the Anyang Modern Education Service
Center, a licensed manufacturer of electro-shock fishing equipment in
Henan province, said that a ban on such equipment would only encourage
vendors of cruder devices, which were widely available. The company's
most powerful generator could paralyze or kill fish of any size within
10 square meters. (LIU Weiming)
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22. South Korea Apologizes for Deaths of Illegal Chinese Immigrants ..... 20
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[CND, 01/11/01] South Korea said that it was sorry that 25 illegal
Chinese immigrants who died in a boat of suffocation were dumped into
sea, AFP reported on Wednesday.
"We feel deeply sorry because this unhappy incident happened in South
Korea which respects human rights. We also express condolences to the
bereaved families in China," said government spokesman Park
Joon-Young.
Park said the South Korea government will conduct a thorough
investigation of the incident and also try to recover the bodies of the
dead.
Police arrested nine members of the crew. The human smuggling ring is
suspected to be based in South Korea's southern port of Yusu. "We are
tracking down the members of the organized human trafficking ring
involved in the case. They have all disappeared after the incident,"
an investigator at Yosu told AFP. (Dong LIU)
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23. China to Become WTO Member by Decemebr 10 ........................... 9
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[CND, 10/12/01] China is expected to become a member of the World Trade
Organization on December 10, the South China Morning Post reported. The
ministerial meeting of WTO is expected to approve the terms of China's
membership on the first day of their meeting between November 9-13 in
Doha of Qatar. The terms need to wait for 30 days before becoming
official. Taiwan is expected to obtain its membership one day after
China. (Dong LIU)
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24. Taiwan Urges Beijing to Be Flexible in Cross-Strait Policy .......... 23
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[CND, 10/12/01] Taiwanese leader CHEN Shui-bian called for the mainland
to show flexibility in handling cross-strait relations, AFP reported on
Wednesday.
Speaking in his presidential office to a group of officials and
legislators on the National Day, Chen urged the mainland leadership to
abandon "obsolete and rigid thinking", referring to Beijing's insist
that both sides must be unified under its "One-China" principle. Chen
has rejected that the mainland policy be the precondition for
cross-strait negotiations.
Chen said that his government would nevertheless take steps to promote
reconciliation with Beijing. He also urged the mainland to commit to a
peaceful solution over disputes over unification. "Pursuing a win-win
result for the two sides and maintaining peace in the Asia-Pacific
region are the unavoidable obligations of leaders on both sides of the
Taiwan Strait," Chen said.
On Tuesday Chinese President JIANG Zemin called for Taiwan to
"unequivocally" accept Beijing's "One China" principle. Taiwanese
leaders should "conform to the tide of history," he said. (LIU Weijun)
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25. Former VP to Attend APEC Meeting on Behalf of Taiwan ................ 31
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[CND, 10/12/01] Taiwan announced that Li Yuan-zu, a former vice
president, would attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC)
summit in Shanghai later this month, the South China Morning Post
reported Thursday.
The 78-year-old Li, who retired in 1997, is renowned for his low
profile. He declined to confirm his selection, only saying that he had
discussed it with President Chen Shui-bian in August but refused then.
However Yu Shyh-kun, the secretary-general of the Presidential Office,
confirmed Li's selection.
The selection of Mr Li marked the first time Beijing had allowed
someone without an economic planning background to attend the annual
summit on behalf of Taiwan. Some also expressed surprise that Beijing
would allow a former high-ranking official to attend the meeting on
Chinese soil.
Others suggested that he was a good choice because his background in
criminal law was a good fit with the expected main topic of the war on
terrorism. Li was also suitable becuase he was born and raised in
mainland.
Mr Li, a graduate of National Chengchi University, has a law degree
from Germany's Bonn University. He returned to Taiwan in 1969 and
served as legal counsel to various government departments. He became
president of National Chengchi University in 1973 and education
minister in 1977. He was the justice minister from 1979 to 1984. He
then became a presidential legal adviser. In 1990, he became the vice
president. (MA Lin)
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26. Taiwan Legislative election marred by violence ...................... 16
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[CND, 10/12/01] Legislator HSU Shu-po, a leading candidate of the
opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in the forthcoming Legislative Yuan
(Taiwan's parliament) election, was shaken by gunshots on Monday at
home in the southern Yunlin county, AFP reported on Tuesday.
Two assailants escaped from the scene, the police said. Three of Mr.
Hsu's backers have also been assailed at their homes earlier this
month. The series of attacks have raised concerns over the safety of
politicians during the campaign, which led to heightened security
around Mr. Hsu by the police.
Mr. Hsu, while taking off his bullet-proof vest, vowed to continue with
his campaign and called on the unknown attackers not to harm his
family. (Kenneth XIAN)
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27. What's in October 12th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #550 (cm0110b) ........... 40
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_From: Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board (cnd-cm@cnd.org)
Hua Xia Wen Zhai
(CND Chinese Magazine)
Issue #550
October 12, 2001
ISSN 1021-8602
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Table of Contents (cm0110b)
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1. Headline News of the Week (October 05 - October 11) ................. CND
2. Glimpse of China: Secrets of a Salesman's PR .................. LUO Xuhui
3. Opinion: Please Recognise Reality ............................... CAO Min
4. Random Thoughts: Love - Chinese Style ........................... XIAO Ni
5. Memoirs: The Old Times ........................................ DONG Ling
6. Ordinary Things: A Professor .................................... WU Yong
7. East & West: Love of the Human Being ............................ LU Ming
8. Art World: My Woodstock, Part 5 ................................ YUAN Yue
9. Weekly Jokes: Three Items
10. Info Exchange: Overseas Scholars - Going back to Work
11. HXWZ Express TOC: (October 06 - October 11)
Canadian Immigration is fast, easy, no job required. Consulting fee is low
and landing paper is guaranteed. Three years later, you can become a
Canadian citizen. Please visit Pang International Ltd at
http://www.pangimmigration.com/
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CND-CM Executive Editor: Zou Diao
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