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(Global News, No. GL01-014)
Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Daily News Update, HXWZ Express and CND Free Forum
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ISSN 1024-9117
Table of Contents # of Lines
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 86
2. North Korean Media Gear Up Campaign for China Visit .................. 32
3. Singapore Man Taken Hostage for Company Debts ........................ 33
4. News From Taiwan (5 Items) ........................................... 36
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 86
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(1) Social Security Fund to Collect Money From Listing Companies
(2) Education Ministry to Curb Fee Collection in Schools
(3) Government Regulation Urged to Minimize Light Pollution in Hong Kong
(4) Dalai Lama Searches for an Elected Successor
(1) Social Security Fund to Collect Money From Listing Companies
[CND, 01/30/01] China's Ministry of Finance has issued a new regulation
requiring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to contribute a sizable portion
of their listing proceeds to the central government's social security
fund, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.
Under the new regulation, SOEs going public in either domestic or overseas
stock markets need to put cash equivalent of about ten percent of their
initial listing proceeds into the fund. These companies' secondary
financing activities are not regulated by the new rule.
According to the report, the government is passing the SOEs' obligation to
their employee's social security benefits over to stock holders as it
moves along its SOE privatization process. The government is taking
another step in reforming its social programs. Earlier this month, the
government required that both employers and employees put more money into
the medical plan while keeping the benefits unchanged. (LIU Weijun, YIN
De An)
____ ____ ____
(2) Education Ministry to Curb Fee Collection in Schools
[CND, 01/30/01] China's Ministry of Education is to conduct more checks in
both primary and secondary schools to enforce its order that prohibits fee
collection in schools, AFP reported on Wednesday.
According to the China Daily, inconsistent fee charging has become a
serious problem in some schools in recent years. A ministry circular
issued in the mid-year of 2000 required all schools to stop collecting
illegal fees. However, it does not seem to bring the illegal charging to
an end.
Particularly in big cities such as Beijing and Tianjin, schools charge
students all kinds of fees, including fees for extra-curricular
activities, study materials, campus safety, and sanitation management.
Students from outside of the school area are charged with hefty tuition
fees. One school charged 30,000 yuan for six years of education, not
including other costs, such as text books and meals.
The ministry said that schools that are found to overcharge students will
be punished, said the report. (Dong LIU, YIN De An)
____ ____ ____
(3) Government Regulation Urged to Minimize Light Pollution in Hong Kong
[CND, 01/30/01] Environmentalists in Hong Kong called on the government to
regulate the use of glass walls on buildings due to light pollution, the
Hong Kong iMail reported on Monday.
Light pollution caused by reflection off glass or gloss-finished walls as
well as outdoor lighting in urban areas may be harmful to the human eye
and the environment, said WONG Hin-fan, president of the Sky Observers'
Association. It also deprived star observers the pleasure of a clear night
sky, said Wong.
According to an optometry professor at the Hong Kong Polytecnic
University, long term exposure to glaring light causes irregular
contractions of the iris and may lead to eye irritations or impaired
vision. It could also cause traffic accidents and animal deaths.
"The strong glare and light reflections from glass-walled buildings can
dazzle drivers' eyes and disorient migrating birds into crashing into
buildings at night," said Plato YIP from Friends of the Earth, which
called for government regulations on the use of glass walls in buildings.
In Hong Kong, presently there are no regulations on the reflection rate of
glass walls buildings. Many cities in mainland China have more awareness
of light pollution and do not permit glass wall buildings that have a
reflection rate exceeding 30 percent. (LEUNG Wing Yun, YIN De An)
____ ____ ____
(4) Dalai Lama Searches for an Elected Successor
[CND, 01/30/01] Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama expressed the need
to search for an elected successor to carry on the Tibetan freedom
movement after his death, AFP reported on Monday.
A list of candidates needs to be prepared before the democratic election
process starts in a few months, the Buddhist leader suggested. "I think
if the Dalai Lama is simply replaced by another senior lama, then the
other sects will not agree," he said. "So the best and safest way is
through elections."
Even though Dalai Lama voiced optimism that a resolution with China over
the Tibet issue is possible in his life time, he admitted that a successor
needs to be in place in the event of his death. "I feel strongly that
while I still enjoy an active life, I want to have one elected leader with
me, so that at the time of my death, there will be someone who is already
well-established," he said. (Mei HUI, WU Yiyi)
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2. North Korean Media Gear Up Campaign for China Visit .................. 32
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[CND, 01/30/01] North Korean media are gearing up their campaign about
President KIM Jong Il's six-day China trip that started on January 20,
2001, AP reported from Seoul on Monday.
The visit, the second one during a period of eight months, has been
regarded as Kim's study tour, which may lead the country toward market
reform and openness as China has done for the last 20 years.
After showing some selected photos of the trip for a week, North Korea
finally televised last Sunday in detail Mr. Kim's tour, including his
visits to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and many modern factories in the
industrialized cities. The factories are joint ventures with foreign
companies such as General Motors and NEC of Japan.
The scene of Kim's conversation with people in a subway and his visit to
an ordinary Chinese home equipped with fancy furniture and electronic
apparatus were also shown in the footage, portraying a strong contrast of
life between the two countries. The 22 million people in North Korea
depend on imported food and a home telephone is considered a luxury for
the ordinary people.
During his visit to China, Mr. Kim reportedly praised China's policies in
regulating the market economy. He also pledged to transform some industry
cities such Shinuiju near the border with China into a model city like
Shanghai.
However, many economic experts in South Korea predicted that it would not
be easy for North Korea to be successful in its economic reform because it
does not have the natural resources and investment environment China had
for foreign capitals. (SUN Xiaoan, WU Yiyi)
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3. Singapore Man Taken Hostage for Company Debts ........................ 33
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[CND, 01/30/01] A Singapore man has been taken hostage in China's eastern
Wenzhou city for debts owed by his employer, AFP reported on Monday.
The 52-year-old man, who remained anonymous at the request of his wife,
was hired only weeks before being sent to China by his employer, World
Optics International. His employer fired him at the news of his detention,
saying that he "fouled up" his duties.
The Chinese companies in Wenzhou claimed that World Optics International
had a total outstanding debts of US$200,000. The company acknowledged only
half of the debts. Albert CHONG, director of the eye glass company, said
that World Optics did not pay the suppliers of frames due to the dubious
quality of the products. The dispute has been brought to court.
According to his wife, the man is being kept in a motel, watched day and
night by five guards. His passport has been confiscated. He is to appear
in court on February 5 to answer questions regarding the debts.
"Everything was fine until two days after Christmas when he called to say
he was in trouble because his boss owes some factories there money," the
wife said. "He sounded quite desperate and said his passport had been
impounded by the Chinese authorities and he was not allowed to leave the
country."
Singapore Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the ministry is aware of
the case and has contacted local officials from Shanghai. However, he
could not make much progress due to the Chinese New Year holidays. (Dong
LIU, YIN De An)
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4. News From Taiwan (5 Items) ........................................... 36
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Source: The Taipei Times; The China Times
Source date: 01/29/01
Contributor: CHEN Chang-jiu; Edited by: Dong LIU
* President CHEN Shui-bian attended a legal forum on Sunday that supported
his administration's decision to cancel the construction of the fourth
nuclear plant on the island, the Taipei Times reported. Chen is sending
a clear signal to the public that he is going to stand by the decision.
Legal scholars attending the forum agreed that the decision was legal
and constitutional. They believe that the verdict of the Grand Council
of Justice only meant that the parliament can participate in the
discussion of the matter, but has no power to make the decision.
* Two men set fire to themselves in front of Taiwan's parliament to
protest the construction of the fourth nuclear plant, AFP reported
on Monday. The men have been sent to the hospital for treatment.
The protest came when Taiwan's parliament is to start the discussion
on whether the construction should continue or not.
* GAO Xingjian, the first Chinese to win the Nobel literature prize, is to
visit Taipei on February 1. Gao is to be in Taipei for a two-week
literary tour. He is scheduled to give three lectures. Taipei mayor
MA Ying-jeou is to meet with the writer on February 2.
* Former Taiwan president LEE Teng-hui is to visit the United States in
the Spring to attend an opening ceremony of a technology institute at
his alma mater Cornell University, AFP reported on Monday. The Bush
administration reportedly has agreed to give Lee the visa. However,
Lee's officer denied the report, saying that Lee has no such travel
plan.
* Taiwan's Red Cross Society has donated US$100,000 to India as assistance
to the earthquake victims, AFP reported on Monday. Taiwan had also offered
to send a rescue team, but India did not respond to the offer. India
does not recognize Taiwan diplomatically.
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