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CND-Global Weekly Summary, October 11, 2002 (GL02-041)

CND-Global Weekly Summary, October 11, 2002 (GL02-041)



+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+   C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                        (Global News, No. GL02-041)
               
                          Friday, October 11, 2002
                     
              Daily News Update, HXWZ Express and CND Free Forum 
                         Available at www.cnd.org

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                                ISSN 1024-9117

Table of Contents                                                 # of Lines
============================================================================
1. Beijing Upset About US Report ........................................ 14
2. Hong Kong's Top Universities Agree to Merge .......................... 56
3. PFP Legislator Apologizes for Wrongful Accusation .................... 47
4. Landslide kills 15 in Yunnan ......................................... 15
5. Police open-day event to gather support .............................. 23
6. AIDS virus could infect 10 million Chinese soon: UN .................. 28
7. Charges to Be Laid Against 38 Chinese Fishermen ...................... 18
8. US Agrees to Share Military Satellite Data with Taiwan ............... 23
9. China to Provide Legal Aid to Foreigners ............................. 49
10. US State Department report says China repress religion .............. 36
11. Three more North Koreans in Beijing's German embassy ................ 23
12. Asia told to ride on China's growth ................................. 98
13. Relics, songs tell story of ethnic minority   ....................... 78
14. China still bans port calls in Hong Kong by US Navy ................. 23
15. Kiribati refuses to reveal China spy base deal ...................... 17
16. North Korea to sack Yang Bin ........................................ 25
17. Taiwan banks asked to cut bad loan ratios ........................... 22
18. Hong Kong not to remove US dollar peg ............................... 25
19. Visa sees sales boom in China ....................................... 24
20. Retrial of five Chinese Protestants begins .......................... 18
21. China plans to drop customs duties on AIDS drugs .................... 13
22. Recently freed Chen Ziming remains under surveillance ............... 18
23. Taiwan to restrict high-tech exports to mainland .................... 11
24. Hong Kong welcomes reopening US ports, but fears congestion ......... 21
25. China passes tough new regulations on Internet access and cafes ..... 28
26. New Updates in "Virtual Cultural Revolution Museum" (10/15/2002) .... 37
27. What's in October 11th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #602 (cm0210b)  ........... 43

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Beijing Upset About US Report ........................................ 14
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/06/02] Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue on
Saturday expressed strong displeasure and opposition to a report of the
so-called US Congress-executive Committee on China, Xinhua News Agency
reported. 

Zhang said the so-called US Congress-executive Committee on
China's report is full of arrogance and prejudices, attacked China and
interfered in China'sinternal affairs by using the issues of human
rights, religion andthe Falun Gong cult in disregard of China's great
achievements in the fields of human rights and legislation.
(Dong LIU)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Hong Kong's Top Universities Agree to Merge .......................... 56
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 02/10/06] Hong Kong's two leading universities have agreed
to merge and could combine as early as 2005, setting an example for
other institutions, says the education chief.

Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said he would serve as "matchmaker" to
speed up the process for merging Chinese University and the University
of Science and Technology (HKUST), the South China Morning Post
reported.

But a row erupted after he also proposed that the Hong Kong Institute
of Education (HKIEd) be included in the merger.

"This would allow for better distribution of staff," he said.
"Currently most staff at the HKIEd concentrate on doing teacher
training and are not as involved in research as those at Chinese
University . . . The merger is clearly a reasonable move."

Professor Li said he was planning to discuss the merger idea with the
president of the HKIEd, Professor Paul Morris, and expect him to come
up with good reasons should he oppose it.

Last night, however, Professor Morris complained that he had been kept
in the dark.

"I am astonished to hear of statements about the HKIEd and the
possibility of a merger prior to any contact being made on this topic,
or any formal proposal from the University Grants Committee," he said.

Before the idea went any further, a study of the implications of
merging and wide consultations should take place, he added.

Last night the Education and Manpower Bureau issued a statement denying
that Professor Li - the secretary for education and manpower - had also
referred to the HKIEd as a third-class university.

A higher education review, unveiled by the University Grants Committee
in March, recommended that resources be concentrated in a few
institutions to create world-class universities.

Academics at Chinese University also criticised Professor Li, accusing
him of imposing his will on the two institutions, saying the university
heads had yet to canvass staff opinions.

Professor Li said the government would earmark more resources to
nurture the institution that came out of the merger.

"I hope the merger between the universities will set an example for
other universities. Other institutions should reconsider their
positions and should not aim to develop as comprehensive universities."

Professor Li said he hoped the Chinese University and the HKUST could
merge between 2005 and 2008.

Chinese University has 15,111 students and HKUST has 7,400. (Dong LIU)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. PFP Legislator Apologizes for Wrongful Accusation .................... 47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/06/02] People First Party (PFP) Legislator
Diane Lee and restaurant proprietor Cheng Ko-jung
apologized to the Department of Health's (DOH) acting
head Twu Shiing-jer on Saturday for falsely accusing
him of sexual harassment, the Taipei Times reported.

At a press conference, Lee and Cheng announced they
had identified the wrong person. 

The two had earlier accused Twu of kissing Cheng and
licking his ears against his will at a KTV parlor Aug.
6.

Lee said that while she and Cheng were watching news
coverage of DOH's Personnel Department Chief Tu
Hau-lin's summons on Friday night, Cheng suddenly
turned to her and said, "I identified the wrong guy."

"We are really sorry and would like to apologize to
acting minister Twu. We didn't do this on purpose. We
hope he can understand." said Diane Lee, PFP lawmaker.

Tu was summoned by Taipei Chief Prosecutor Chuang
Cheng after witnesses testified he was present at the
KTV parlor where Cheng was allegedly harassed.Cheng
then told Lee that it was Tu, not Twu, who harassed
him. 

Tu has since denied the allegation. Lee and Cheng
bowed to Twu during the press conference, which was
broadcast live on television. "We are really sorry and
would like to apologize to acting minister Twu. We
didn't do this on purpose. We hope he can understand,"
Lee said with tears in her eyes.

Cheng also apologized to Twu and sought to explain his
mistake."I didn't know the person who harassed me at
all. It was dark at the KTV parlor so I could hardly
recognize the person's face. My friend Ding Juei-feng
simply told me that this `Mr. Twu/Tu' who harassed me
was the man who is about to be promoted as the head of
the DOH when I called him to complain about the
[incident]. I didn't know whether it was `Twu' or
`Tu,'" he said. (Dong LIU)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Landslide kills 15 in Yunnan ......................................... 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/07/02] Fifteen people were killed and 11 more were seriously
injured when a massive landslide levelled houses Friday in Yichikou
village, Wuding county in the province of Yunnan, AFP reports.

14 families' houses were buried in the landslide, which followed a day
of continuous rain.  Telecommunications and transport links to the tiny
community of 179 people were also cut off, the report said, adding that
emergency supplies of bedding, clothes and food had been sent.

More than 1,000 people have died around China this year in rain-related
disasters, many perishing in flash-floods and landslides. Yunnan
province has been particularly badly hit, with 231 people killed there
by mid-August, including more than 100 that month alone, (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Police open-day event to gather support .............................. 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/07/02] Beijing police put on its best face Sunday as it strove
to build public support with an open-day event in Longtan Park amid
mounting efforts to secure order for a crucial communist party
congress, AFP reports.

"We hope this event will help people better understand and support
Beijing's police," said an officer, dressed in a black uniform that has
replaced the previous more military-looking olive-green outfit.

Displays ranged from exhibits of austere Mao-era uniforms, to operatic
performances by police-employed singers and martial arts acrobatics by
officers.

The open day also had other, more political purposes, according to
local media. "The event is part of a 'police culture festival'," the
Beijing-based Star Daily said recently.

"The week has as its main theme 'the joining of hands between police
and the public in ensuring safety for the 16th Communist Party
Congress," it said.  (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. AIDS virus could infect 10 million Chinese soon: UN .................. 28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/07/02] Ten million Chinese could be infected with the AIDS
virus within 10 years, AFP quoted UN AIDS chief Peter Piot as saying
Sunday.

Despite a major anti-AIDS campaign launched by the Chinese government
last

November there was still ignorance and denial of the problem,
particularly at the provincial level, and "it's time to get real about
it," Piot said.

"I am convinced that without major efforts not only in the government
but also in societies at large, it could easily go up to 10 million
Chinese infected within the next five to 10 years," he told a news
conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's East Asia
summit here.

The Chinese government acknowledged recently that a million Chinese had
tested postive for the HIV virus or had full-blown AIDS, said Piot, who
is the executive director of the UN programme on HIV/AIDS.

The epidemic in China and other parts of Asia was not as severe as in
Africa but the region needed to "act before there is a major problem"
by being open towards matters relating to sex and drug usage to curb
the spread of the virus, he said. (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Charges to Be Laid Against 38 Chinese Fishermen ...................... 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/08/02] Authorities in the Philippines are to
lay charges against the 38 Chinese fishermen fo
alleged poaching, said Justice Secretary Hernando
Perez on Monday, AFP reported. 

According to Perez, the government is to continue with
the prosecution unless the fishermen plead guilty to
the charges. The 38 fishermen were arrested last month
in the waters off the western island of Palawan. 

The Philippines released 122 Chinese fishermen last
week after they pleaded guilty to illegal fishing.
(Dong LIU)

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. US Agrees to Share Military Satellite Data with Taiwan ............... 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/08/02]  The United States has agreed to
"conditionally" share its military satellite data with
Taiwan, AFP reported on Monday. 

According to a report by Taiwan-based United Daily
News, once linked to the US satellite system codenamed
"Defense Support Project" (DSP), Taiwan would be able
to allow up to seven more minutes in advance while its
Patriot anti-missile weaponry prepared to intercept
any incoming missiles.

The report added that the Taiwan military plans to set
up ground stations over the next five years to plug
the island's Patriot systems to the US military
satellite system. (Dong LIU)




______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. China to Provide Legal Aid to Foreigners ............................. 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/08/02] China's national legal assistance
system is expected to provide services to foreigners
in the near future, not only in criminal cases but
also for civil proceedings, the China Daily reported
on Tuesday. 

"Legislation to extend the legal aid system is now
being devised, which is expected to stipulate clearly
that foreigners can receive legal assistance the same
as Chinese citizens," said Gong Xiaobing, director of
the lawyer and notarization guidance department under
the Ministry of Justice. 

"Legal assistance organizations should provide legal
aid services to foreign defendants in criminal
lawsuits who do not engage the services of defence
attorneys," said the draft of a national regulation. 

Drawn up by the Ministry of Justice, opinions on the
draft are being solicited from the public and the
regulation is expected to be adopted by the end of
this year. 

The draft also stipulates that foreigners will be able
to apply for legal aid for civil lawsuits in China if
they are unable to pay for legal services, in
accordance with the relevant judicial assistance
treaties between China and their countries. 

China's legal aid organizations will offer reciprocal
legal services to foreigners whose countries' relevant
authorities do not have any restrictive policy toward
Chinese citizens' requests for legal aid, said the
draft. 

"Foreign-related civil cases judged by courts in China
will witness a sharp increase, with the labour flow
from overseas after China's entry into the WTO," said
Gong. 

Nearly all the beneficiaries of China's legal aid
system have been Chinese during the past eight years
since the system was established. (Dong LIU)


______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. US State Department report says China repress religion .............. 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/09/02] A recent US State Department study
finds China and five other countries including Iraq
engaged in spiritual repression, seeing most religions
as a threat to the dominant ideology, AFP reports. 

In China, the study released Monday says, "Unapproved
religious and spiritual groups remained under scrutiny
and, in some cases, harsh repression." 

It said the government continued to restrict religious

practice to government-sanctioned organizations and
registered places of worship. 

The government also continued to control the "growth
and scope of the activity of religious groups to
prevent the rise of possible sources of authority
outside of the control of the government," the report
said. 

It said China and five other countries are guilty of  
totalitarian or authoritarian attempts to control
religious belief or practice. 

Secretary of State Colin Powell said the report sheds
a much-needed light on governments that make it
"difficult and even dangerous for people to follow the
dictates of their conscience and to practice their
faith." 

He said US "categorically rejects the notion that the
security or stability of any country requires the 
repression of members of any faith." (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Three more North Koreans in Beijing's German embassy ................ 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/09/02] Three more North Koreans are
sheltering inside the German embassy in Beijing having
first gained access to an embassy-run school, AFP
reports.
 
A German doctor who assists North Korean refugees said
the trio had managed to scale a wall around a German
embassy-run school elsewhere in Beijing, where 
other North Koreans have sheltered in recent weeks. 

"Despite increasing difficulties, three North Korean
defectors, including a woman, jumped into the nowadays
well-known compound of the German Embassy School in
Beijing," said Norbert Vollertsen, not specifying when
this took place. 

"There are still more on their way, not only in
Beijing," he said, adding: "German official buildings
are still a main target for all the North Korean  
refugees." (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Asia told to ride on China's growth ................................. 98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/09/02] Asian nations must seize opportunities
offered by China's growing economic importance to
regear their economies to ensure they are not left
behind, AFP reports quoting experts as saying.
 
The region must move fast to adjust its policies to
China's emergence as possibly the world's third
largest economic powerhouse after the United States 
and Japan, they told the World Economic Forum's East
Asia Economic Summit. 

Singapore's Senior Minister of State for trade and
education Tharman  Shanmugaratnam said Asia's response
to China's presence over the next five years would
determine whether it would be marginalised and face an
economic slowdown or enjoy high growth." 

He said plans by the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) to create the world's biggest free
trade zone with China in 10 years offered the biggest
future opportunity. 

According to Chinese official estimates, he said,
every one billion dollars of Chinese exports required
some 500 million dollars in imports of raw materials. 

The eventual removal of trade barriers following
China's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
last year, its economic diversification and low 
production costs also are promising features. 

"There are opportunities for us but nothing is given.
China is not a given opportunity or a given threat. It
all depends on how we respond," he said on the final
day of the summit. 

"It is not just about trade. It is also about seizing
the opportunity to regear our economies to a new
economic era which is with us and which we cannot
avoid. 

"Just as China is using the WTO as an opportunity for
domestic reform, likewise ASEAN and the rest of East
Asia has to use China as the reason for domestic
restructuring and transformation." 

Shanmugaratnam said Asia's key challenges were to
deepen integration, improve resource allocation, cut
reliance on state-driven industrial policies,
strengthen labour laws and relations and invest in
human resources. 

The region must also sharpen its focus on science and
engineering to narrow the gap with China and take hard
steps to restructure, he said, warning that there
would be "no gain without pain." 

Tokyo University economics professor Motoshige Itoh
said the opportunities from China's economic might far
outstripped the threats. 

But there was pessimism in Japan as many people had
blamed China for the country's economic woes amid
fears that Japan was losing its industrial power, he
said. 

"China's growth has been utilised something like a
scapegoat for Japanese difficulties," he said, adding
however, that such fears were unfounded. 

China Development Institute president Li Luoli pointed
out that China's economic development had spurred a
resurgence of exports in the region and opened up new
markets for Asian products. 

More Chinese are also travelling out of the country,
sparking a boom in tourism in the region, he said. 

"Don't take China as a threat. Consider it as a moving
force, as a dynamic for this region," he added.
 
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, in his keynote
address Tuesday, urged Southeast Asia to restructure
its economies to ride on China's growth and to pull
back foreign investors into the region. 

At a separate conference, Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad said China offered enormous trade and
investment opportunities despite also being a
competitor. 

He urged Malaysian firms to tie-up with Chinese
manufacturers to set up production bases in China to
gain a firm foothold in the large market. (Dong Liu)


 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Relics, songs tell story of ethnic minority   ....................... 78
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NANNING, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Archaeologists have
discovered ancient cultural relics in southwest China
which reveal the originof the Zhuang, the largest
ethnic minority in China. 

The relics were discovered on Ganzhuang mountain in
Tianyang, asmall village in the Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region. 

Mount Ganzhuang is the legendary home of Buluotuo, or
Pauloktao,and his wife Muliujia, the ancestors of the
Zhuang people. 

Graphics depicting frogs and lightning were found on
some relics, according to experts. 

"Both the frog and lightning were special symbols of
the ancient Zhuang people and I am sure that this is
what they left tous," said Liang Tingwang, an expert
on Zhuang civilization and ex-vice president of the
Central University for Nationalities. 

Lightning represents fishing and hunting while the
frog is related to farming. The two symbols show an
ancient life style changing from fishing and hunting
to farming. 

According to Liang, Zhuang civilization began 4,000 to
5,000 years ago. 

The Zhuang ethnic group based in south China's Guangxi
and eastern area in southwest China's Yunnan Province
now has a population of more than 10 million. It is
the largest ethnic minority group among the 55
officially recognized "national minorities". 

The word "Zhuang" in the native dialect means "cave"
and Ganzhuang means "cave living." 

According to legends about the beginning of the Zhuang
people, Buluotuo and his wife contributed to the
creation of the world andmankind. 

Ancient Zhuang sang special folk songs and burned
incense as they gathered together to worship the
ancestors. The tradition is still kept. Burned incense
sticks can be seen along the path all the way up to
the mountain peak. 

The ritual takes place every year from Feb. 19, which
is believed to be the birthday of Buluotuo, to Mar. 9.


At this time thousands of people from nearby villages
gather onthe mountain to worship their ancestors. This
traditional musical gathering is the tribe's most
important sacred rite and its history is echoed in the
songs sung. 

The singing matches descriptions in the Zhuang sacred
book about Buluotuo, called "The Beginning of Time".
"It is additional proof that Zhuang civilization
originated in the Ganzhuang mountain area", said one
of the researchers of the book. 

Experts have also collected about 7,000 old Zhuang
characters. These characters are mostly based on the
Han characters. They werenot standard and were used
for simple records only. 

The old characters are much less significant than the
songs of worship in recording the history of Zhuang
civilization. The songsshow Zhuang people worshipped
their ancestors and passed on their history through
their songs. Enditem 

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. China still bans port calls in Hong Kong by US Navy ................. 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/10/02] China turned down a US offer to send a
navy aircraft to help in the search for 25 missing
Hong Kong and mainland fishermen in the South China
Sea in August, AFP reported.
 
The Americans withdrew their offer to send a P-3
aircraft to join the search for the missing fishermen
near the disputed Spratly Islands after Beijing 
refused to allow the plane to land in Hong Kong for
refuelling, the report said.

China temporarily banned port calls in Hong Kong by US
warships and aircraft after the United States bombed
the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, the report
said. 

The current ban extends only to long-range, P-3 type
aircraft, which can spend three hours at a location
and fly up to 2,400 kilometers (1,300 nautical 
miles) without having to refuel. (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Kiribati refuses to reveal China spy base deal ...................... 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/10/02] Kiribati's government is refusing to disclose the deal
it has with China over a spy base in the central Pacific republic, AFP
reports citing state-run radio reports.

Information Minister Willie Tokataake said the agreement will last 15
years, but apologised to parliament that the government could not
discuss the contents of the agreement as it was a
government-to-government matter.

China has previously denied that the base, on the south-eastern end of
Tarawa atoll, is spying on the US Army missile range in the Marshall
Islands to the north.

The current Chinese ambassador to Kiribati, Yang Zhikuan, said the
allegations were "fabricated lies".  (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. North Korea to sack Yang Bin ........................................ 25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/10/02] North Korea may have reached a compromise with Beijing
to sack Chinese-born Dutch businessman Yang Bin as governor for its
Sinuiju free-trade zone on the border with China., AFP reports.

The deal was aimed at defusing a diplomatic row ahead of a planned
visit to China later this year by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il for a
summit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, AFP said.

China confirmed Tuesday that Yang, appointed to head the zone, had been
placed under house arrest but denied this indicated a rift with
Pyongyang.

"We have been told by relevant departments that Yang Bin and his
enterprises in China are suspected of involvement in various illegal
activities," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said.

Yang was detained by police in Shenyang on Friday for alleged tax
evasion and illegal land use.


"All actions have been taken according to law. The case of Yang Bin has
nothing to do with the establishment of the Sinuiju Special Autonomous
Region in (North Korea)," she was quoted as saying. (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Taiwan banks asked to cut bad loan ratios ........................... 22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/11/02] Taiwan's commercial banks will have to cut their bad
loan ratios to below seven percent by the end of this year or face
punishment, AFP reports citing the finance ministry sources.

"The requirements were consensus reached by a cabinet-led financial
reform task force. The ministry has submitted a proposal on the
non-performing loan (NPL) ratio reduction to the cabinet for approval,"
a finance ministry official said.

Banks which fail to meet the seven percent requirement by the end of
this year would face restrictions on salary and bonus payments to their
boards of directors, the official said.

Under the reform program proposed by the ministry, the banks would have
to lower NPL ratios even further to below five percent by the end of
the following year, according to the AFP report.

And banks that cannot meet the five percent deadline would be forced to
close between three to five percent of their total branches, the report
said. (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Hong Kong not to remove US dollar peg ............................... 25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/11/02] Hong Kong will not remove the US dollar peg even though
there is a price to pay, AFP reports.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Henry Tang
reiterated to delegates at the World Economic Forum's East Asia
Economic Summit on Tuesday that Hong Kong would stick by the US dollar
peg. He also said a balanced budget was not expected until 2006-07.

"We have no intention to remove the peg," Tang said. "It has served us
very well over the period of the financial turmoil in Asia.

The peg, fixed at 7.80 Hong Kong dollars to one US dollar, has allowed
the territory to survive the shocks of the 1997 handover to China and
the Asian financial crisis that same year. But, as proved recently with
the bankruptcy of Argentina, whose currency was also pegged to the
greenback, such a "currency board" system requires strong reserves and
strict budget discipline, AFP said.

Steven Xu, head of economic research for Asia for SG Securities, said
the enormous financial reserves built up by the Hong Kong government
before the 1997 handover have decreased by 30 percent in four years and
now total only slightly more than 300 billion Hong Kong dollars (38.4
billion US), according to the report. (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Visa sees sales boom in China ....................................... 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/11/02] Visa International said it expects a boom in its
business in China after banking laws are relaxed by 2007 and predicted
250 million Chinese would be eligible for credit cards by 2010, AFP
reports.

Foreign banks will be allowed to issue credit cards in China from 2007
under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, said Visa Asia Pacific
president and chief executive Rupert Keeley.

Keeley said China's hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games would be a key
driver for the modernisation of its payment system.

Visa currently has 90 million cards in China issued by local banks but
only 500,000 can be used outside the country.

"Measured by number of pieces of plastic with the Visa logo on it,
China is already the biggest (market for us) but in terms of actual
real volumes, it's very small at this stage," Keeley told AFP.

"There is urgency in China to improve its payment system because of
the Olympics and because of WTO." (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Retrial of five Chinese Protestants begins .......................... 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/12/02] Five Chinese Protestants whose death sentences 
were quashed on appeal this week are going through a retrial, AFP reports.

Their cases are being heard alongside 12 other members of the unofficial  
South China Church who received jail terms of between two years and life 
imprisonment at the original hearing in December and whose sentences were also 
overturned. 

In an unexpected move on Tuesday, it was announced by the same court that  
the group had had their original sentences, imposed in December, rejected by 
the Hubei High Court. 

According to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and  
Democracy, the high court's decision came because of a lack of evidence to 
back up the convictions of belonging to an "evil sect." (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. China plans to drop customs duties on AIDS drugs .................... 13
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/12/02] China plans to remove import duties on foreign  
drugs used to treat people with AIDS, state press said Friday, the latest in a 
series of measures designed to help the country's spiralling numbers of AIDS 
patients, AFP reports. 

Imported anti-AIDS medication will be exempted from duties "in the near  
future" so as to ease the burden on sufferers, the China Daily quoted 
anonymous sources as telling other official media. 

No more details were available, but the measure was expected to "greatly  
reduce the price of the drugs," the report said. (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Recently freed Chen Ziming remains under surveillance ............... 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/12/02] Chen Ziming, jailed for allegedly being a key organizer
of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, remained under strict police
surveillance Friday despite being freed from 13 years' of prison and
house arrest, AFP reports.

Relatives said he was able to visit friends in Beijing, but was being
followed by police and was unsure of the limits placed on his new
freedoms.

Chen's formal sentence ended Thursday and he was now free from the
terms of his house arrest, his mother Wu Yongfen said.

"He's still not entirely free, though. Even now when he goes out,
people follow him. And there are plain clothes police officers keeping
watch outside his apartment building," Wu told AFP. (Dong Liu)

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Taiwan to restrict high-tech exports to mainland .................... 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/13/02] Taiwan has introduced a stringent law to restrict
exports of high-tech expertise to the mainland, AFP reports.

Anyone who exports sensitive science technology without government
approval would be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to 10
million Taiwan dollars (285,714 US) according to the draft law passed
by the cabinet, the report said.

The draf law is pending the parliament's final approval. (Dong Liu)
 
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24. Hong Kong welcomes reopening US ports, but fears congestion ......... 21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/13/02] Hong Kong welcomes a US court order to end a 10-day
shutdown of west coast ports but said its own port could face
congestion as the backlog of goods is cleared, AFP reports.

Henry Tang, secretary for industry, commerce and technology, welcomed
the granting of a temporary injunction ordering the reopening of 29 US
Pacific ports and requiring workers to report for duty immediately.

"I hope the backlog of cargo there can be quickly cleared up," said
Tang.  He added it was important that containers in the United States
be quickly unloaded and shipped back to Hong Kong for reloading.

Tang added the shutdown had hurt local exporters but hoped the impact
would be minimal.

The 10-day US West Coast lockout prevented goods from Hong Kong worth
around 10 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.3 billion US) from reaching the
United States, a Hong Kong Trade Development Council spokesperson said.
(Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. China passes tough new regulations on Internet access and cafes ..... 28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[CND, 10/13/02] China has passed a set of tough new  
regulations regarding Internet access, AFP reports.

Premier Zhu Rongji recently signed the statute on the  
administration of Internet cafes which will take effect on November 
15 nationwide, the report said. 

The regulations require that Internet cafe operators must have  
mechanisms to prevent users from accessing information considered 
off-limits by the government. 

Internet cafe owners and users are forbidden from using the  
computers to create, download, copy, browse, send or spread content 
which are anti-constitutional and which harm national unity, 
sovereignty and territorial integrity, the regulations state. 

The wide-ranging regulations also forbid operators and users  
from using the computers to do anything that would be considered as 
revealing state secrets and harming the country's reputation. 

According to the regulations, it is also illegal to spread  
material on "evil cults," as well as superstition, rumors or libel 
online. 

Gambling, violence and pornography also cannot be promoted on  
the Internet, according to the regulations. (Dong Liu)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. New Updates in "Virtual Cultural Revolution Museum" (10/15/2002) .... 37
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Hua Xia Wen Zhai Zeng Kan (zk0210c)

                "Cultural Revolution Museum Letters (147)"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Table of Contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Leave a True History of Cultural Revolution
   to Future Generations ...........................................XU Youyu
2. Document: An Urgent Direction about Cultural Revolution
   in Military Schools
3. Two Lines in Cultural Revolution -- A Speech Delivered at
   the CCP Central Working Conference on Oct. 16 1966 .............CHEN Boda
4. Talks by Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai and Chen Boda at
   the CCP Central Working Conference during Oct. 24-28, 1966
5. The Red Guard Tabloid and Me (25) .............................Zhou Ziren
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For CND "Cutltural Revolution Museum" visit http://www.cnd.org/CR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Executive Editor: HUA Xinmin <cnd-cm@cnd.org>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Hua Xia Wen Zhai Zeng Kan (zk0210d)

                "Cultural Revolution Museum Letters (148)"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Table of Contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Month of October in Cultural Revolution ....................TANG Lang
2. Book Review: "Reflections by Wang Li" ..........................DING Dong
3. The Red Guard Tabloid and Me (26) .............................Zhou Ziren
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For CND "Cutltural Revolution Museum" visit http://www.cnd.org/CR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Executive Editor: HUA Xinmin <cnd-cm@cnd.org>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
27. What's in October 11th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #602 (cm0210b)  ........... 43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
_From: Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board (cnd-cm@cnd.org)

                             Hua Xia Wen Zhai
                          (CND Chinese Magazine)
                                Issue #602
                             October 11, 2002

                              ISSN 1021-8602
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Table of Contents (cm0210b)
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1. Headline News of the Week (October 04 - October 10) ................. CND
2. Focus: Another Perspective on GAO Feng's Death ................. XIE Wang
3. "Wo Men" ("One of Us"): Working in a Mental Institution ....... JING Ning
4. Essay: Love for Bicycle ......................................... TANG Fu
5. Travel: Summer in Seattle ..................................... XIN Sheng
6. Chitchat: Till Death Do Us Part ................................ XIAO Ren
7. Prose: The Joy of Pumpkin, Part 1 ............................... CEN Lan
8. Education: Light up the Fire of Wisdom ........................ HAI Xiang
9. Random Thoughts: Grow Old Together .......................... FANG Huzhai
10. Weekly Jokes: 3 Items
11. Info Exchange: Sueing Officials
12. HXWZ Express TOC: (October 05 - October 10)
13. What's in October 07th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai Zeng Kan #308 (zk0210a)
    What's in October 08th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai Zeng Kan #309 (zk0210b)

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/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                CND-CM Executive Editor: TANG Hong
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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in the Hz, or uuencoded GB or BIG5 file(indicate if you wish to be anonymous)
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HXWZ GB/Hz/Uuencoded-GB formats, please send a message to cnd-info@cnd.org
 
 
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