China, Pak to hold anti-terror drill
2004-07-29 Xinhua News
China 's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Forces of Pakistan will hold an anti-terrorism exercise in the first half of August, military sources said here Thursday. The exercise will be in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Uygur Autonomous Region, which is located on the Pamirs at over 4,000 meters, bordering Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The exercise is aimed to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries and armies, improve the capacity of jointly combating terrorism, and contain and crack down on the forces of separatism, extremism and terrorism, the sources said. In 2002, China set the principle of gradual participation in multilateral military exercises to broaden its security cooperation with other countries. This principle was also put intopractice by the frequent joint military exercises and high-level military cooperation. The exercise will also help promote bilateral cooperation in non-traditional security field and maintain security and stabilityin the region, the sources said.

First defense security seminar of SCO held in Beijing
2004-07-23 PLA Daily
The first defense security seminar of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) sponsored by the Ministry of National Defense of the PRC was opened yesterday morning in Beijing. The seminar, which was attended by 16 officers from the national defense ministries of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, would last ten days and was designed to carry through the common understanding reached by the heads of states of the SCO member countries in Tashkant summit in June this year and to promote pragmatic cooperation in the military security field. The seminar would adopt the forms of lectures given by experts and free discussion among attendees, and lectures in class and practice outside class. Attendees from the six countries would exchange ideas on global and regional issues of common concern, such as anti-terrorism situation, the role of the SCO and its future development.

US conducts over 1,200 espionage flights on DPRK in 1st half year
2004-07-26 PLA Daily
US military aircraft conducted more than 1,200 espionage flights over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from January to June this year, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday. The United States used advanced espionage planes like U-2, RC-135, E-8C, E-3, RC-7B, RC-12, RF-4, P-3 and EP-3 in the reconnaissance for different missions, said the report. At an average rate of more than six flights a day, the air reconnaissance indicated that the United States was making war preparations as it was shipping massive up-to-date military equipment into South Korea and relocating its troops in South Korea, said the KCNA. The reconnaissance has proved that Washington is looking for a chance to launch preemptive attacks on the DPRK while stepping up its preparations for a war behind the curtain of the six-party talks, according to the report.

Taiwan: Don't test Beijing's resolve
2004-07-29 China Daily
A senior Taiwan affairs official said Wednesday that Beijing will not tolerate "Taiwan independence" just for the sake of the mainland's economic development. Wang Zaixi, vice-minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, stressed the mainland aims to fight and contain any separatist activities. The development of pro-independence forces on the island is not only the biggest threat to cross-Straits peace and stability but can ultimately hurt the economic growth of the mainland and Taiwan. At present, separatist forces are the biggest hurdle to cross-Straits economic and trade relations, Wang noted. ( ) He also reiterated that Beijing is ready to start talks over the establishment of the three direct links across the straits -- trade, transport and postal services -- as long as Taipei agrees to define them as "internal affairs within one country." Taiwan business people are welcome to invest in the mainland and their legitimate interests and rights will be protected in line with law, Wang added. The official, however, did caution that Beijing will not allow a handful of people to support "Taiwan independence" on the island while reaping economic benefits from their mainland businesses. But the close economic relationship will be endangered if Chen sticks to a pro-independence stance and pushes for formal independence of the island, they said. ( )

IOM to cooperate with China in solving migration problem
2004-07-30 People's Daily
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) attaches great importance to the role of China in resolving migration problems and is ready to work in cooperation with China on the issue, said a high-ranking official with the IOM on July 29. Brunson Mckinley, general secretary of the IOM, addressed a meeting on the Berne Initiative, which opened here Thursday. Representatives from approximately 30 countries and regions in Asia, including India, Japan and China, attended the meeting. In the next two days, they are expected to discuss a series of issues concerning migration, including migration policy and migration crime. Wang Yuefei, mayor of Guilin city, told the meeting that international cooperation is the most effective way to tackle migration problems. Launched by the Swiss Federal Office for Refugees with the International Symposium on Migration in 2001, the Berne Initiative is a global consultative process for inter-State cooperation on migration management.

Massnahmen gegen die Überschwemmung in China
2004-07-27 Xinhua Wang (Übersetzung)
Die Behörden haben umfassende Schritte zur Eindämmung von Überschwemmungen gemacht, wie ein Sprecher des Ministeriums für Zivilangelegenheiten am Dienstag sagte. Dabei geht es darum, die betroffene Bevölkerung den Grundbedürfnisse zu gewähren. Beijing hat 70 Millionen Yuan für die Grundversorgung der Opfer und für die Unterstützung des Wiederaufbaus in den Katastrophengebieten bereitgestellt. Seit Juli sind in China über 400 Menschen gestorben. 70 Mio Menschen sind von den Unwetterkatastrophen betroffen. Der wirtschaftliche Schaden beläuft sich auf über 20 Mia RMB. ( ) Mittlerweile soll sich der Wasserpegel stabilisiert haben. ( )

Hu stresses both national defense, economy
2004-07-24 Xinhua News
Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Saturday that the nation must carry out comprehensively the guideline of maintaining a coordinated development of national defense and economy, so as to ensure a favorable security environment for the nation's modernization drive. On the basis of economic development, China must make efforts to push forward the construction of national defense. ( ) Hu said the current international situation in general favors China's goal of building a "xiaokang", or relatively well-off, society. At the same time, we should put national sovereignty and security first, resolutely safeguard the fundamental interest of the country, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. ( )

Crackdown on corruption must continue: official
2004-07-27 People's Daily
China's leading disciplinary official said the government crackdown on violations of law and discipline must continue, and officials will be held accountable for corruption in areas within their jurisdiction. Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks during his inspection tour of northwest China's Gansu province from July 24 to 28. Regional and departmental leaders will be held accountable for chronic and recurring corruption in areas under their administrations, he noted. ( )

Wen highlights control-ling electricity demand
2004-07-27 Xinhua News
All-out efforts should be made by all localities and departments to ease the summer power shortage problem, and controlling electricity demand should be the priority in solving the problem, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao here Monday. A total of 24 provincial areas imposed power brownouts in the past few months. China predicts a total gap of about 30 million kw between electricity demand and supply this summer. It is the most severe power shortage since the 1980s, the State Grid Corporation of China (SG) announced. "Despite the rare high-speed growth of power supply in the first half of this year, the faster electricity demand still outruns the supply increase," Wen said, noting the power shortage problem is especially serious in east, south and north China regions. ( ) Shanghai has planned to turn off lighting for all landscapes at night to conserve energy as the maximum temperature in the city reaches or exceeds 35 degrees Celsius this summer. Some 90,000 lights illuminating buildings along Chang'an Avenue in downtown Beijing have been changed into energy-saving ones in abid to reduce electricity consumption, according to reports.

Mehr als 30% der chinesischen Exportwaren aus Jangtse-Delta
2004-07-28 Xinhua Wang (Übersetzung)
Statistiken aus den Provinzen Jiangsu, Zhejiang und Shanghai belegen, dass der Anteil von chinesischen Exportwaren aus dem Jangtse-Delta an den Gesamtexportgütern in Höhe von über 258 Milliarden US-Dollar im ersten Halbjahr bei 37,46% reichen. Dies seien die höchsten bisherigen Werte. Die Exporte sind im ersten Halbjahr um über 40% auf über 96 Mia US$ gegenüber dem Vorjahr gestiegen. Im Gegensatz dazu liegt das landesweite durchschnittliche Exportwachstum bei 36%. ( )

Slanderous remarks against Tibet denounced
2004-07-27 China Daily
Champa Phuntsok, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, has denounced the slanderous remarks by a so-called pro-Tibet organization that China is launching new crackdown on Buddhism, saying it is a total distortion of the true situation in Tibet. Champa Phuntsok told reporters in Ottawa that recently a foreign pro-Tibet organization released a report, making irresponsible and slanderous remarks that China is launching a "second Cultural Revolution" to crack down on Buddhism. "In today's Tibet, religion and the freedom of religious belief are fully respected and protected through the sound implementation of the religious policy of the government," he said. ( ) He warned that in China, a country under the rule of law, anyone seeking to endanger state security or split the motherland will be brought to justice. Asked whether a Canadian parliament delegation will be welcome to visit Tibet, Champa Phuntsok said the government of the Autonomous Region will welcome such a delegation. Noting that only those who have been to Tibet are "in a position" to speak about what is going on there, he said: "We encourage you to come to Tibet to see for yourselves as we believe that after your visit."()

First parliament session held in spite of dispute
2004-07-28 UB Post (Mongolia)
MPRP and MDC have yet to reach success on negotiating the appointment of the cabinet and parliament bodies. MPRP has nominated N.Enkhbayaras the parliament speaker. According to a statement by the MPRP sent to the MDC, they claim that since MPRP took most seats in the parliament of 2004, under act 26/1 of the law on parliament MPRP has the right to nominate the parliament speaker.

You Fraud, I Fraud?
2004-07-19 UB Post (Mongolia)
ULAANBAATOR, Mongolia--It must be something of a record. Within 12 hours of a court ordering a re-run of an election, local authorities in Mongolia had called the new election and opened the doors to polling stations. The victor in this district of Ulaanbaator, the capital of Mongolia, proved to come from the same party as the local authorities that arranged the vote at such lightning speed. The result overturned a crucial and surprising victory by an opposition candidate in the 27 June parliamentary elections. The new election and the response to it is indicative of the depth of the crisis into which Mongolia has sunk in the weeks since a vote heralded as a triumph for Mongolian democracy. That vote halved the number of seats for the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), restoring a balance in the previously heavily imbalanced parliament. Ever since the elections, leading figures in the MPRP, which held 72 of the 76 seats in the old parliament, have accused the opposition, a three-party coalition, of massive fraud. The refrain was taken up again on 17 July, after the re-held election. Prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar, the leader of the MPRP, asserted that the new election œshows clearly that, were it not for fraud and manipulation of voters on the opposition side, we could have a similar outcome in all other voting districts. However, despite the MPRP claims, the results of only two votes have been reviewed. ( ) President Natsagiin Bagabandi has therefore urged the political parties to resolve their disputes within parliament.( ) A legal battle is now likely, as the opposition says it has lodged an appeal with Mongolia's Supreme Court. The battle for this one small district demonstrates just how close the parliamentary elections were. Before the re-vote, the MPRP and the Democrats each had 36 seats in the 76-member parliament, just three short of a majority. Gurragchaa's victory, assuming it is upheld, gives the MPRP 37 seats and a significantly greater chance of gaining a majority. ( ) The key to power rests then with the three independents. All three are inaccessible to journalists, but have been receiving promises from both sides, including the offer of ministerial posts. There is already a countdown ()

Patrick Dreher
Embassy of Switzerland