| China calls for talks on Iran nuclear
issue
2005-09-23 People's Daily
China Thursday called for the early resumption of talks between
Iran and the European Union (EU) to solve the Iran nuclear issue
within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). "The urgency at present is to resume negotiations
between Iran and the EU at an early date," said Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang. "The negotiations
will help the two sides bridge their differences and finally
secure a solution acceptable to all sides," said Qin at
a regular news briefing. Qin urged the parties concerned to
take a long-term vision, exercise restraint and continue diplomatic
negotiations and settle the nuclear issue within the framework
of the IAEA. "This is conducive to the regional peace and
stability and to maintaining the mechanism of the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT)," said Qin. ()The EU on Tuesday circulated
a draft resolution to the 35 members of the IAEA Board of Governors.
The draft would refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council.
But the EU has backed away from its demand on Thursday. Iran
resumed uranium conversion work in August, after rejecting the
EU offer to give up its nuclear fuel activities in return for
economic and technical incentives. Iran insists that it would
never give up legal rights to produce nuclear fuel for fully
peaceful purposes. The United States and the EU suspect Iran
of developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear
program, a charge rejected by Tehran.
Chinese ambassador briefs IAEA on six-party talks
2005-09-20/22 People's Daily
The fourth round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue concluded in Beijing Monday afternoon with the
adoption of a much-expected common statement. In the current
round of talks, which comprises two phases, all parties reached
a six-point consensus on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Chinese
ambassador Wu Hailong Wednesday briefed the IAEA on the six-party
talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, saying the common
statement reached early this week laid a good foundation for
pushing the talks forward. "The Joint Statement is the
first substantial joint document reached since the six-party
talks were launched," said Wu while addressing the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting. Wu said
the document accommodates the interests and concerns of all
parties, and is a "balanced, win-win document" which
marks the entry of the six-party talks, hosted by China in Beijing
and attended by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, into a new
phase. "The positive results achieved in the six-party
talks on the DPRK nuclear issue are testimony to the fact that
dialogue and negotiation are fundamentally in the interests
of all parties and are a realistic and effective approach resolving
the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," he said. The
ambassador also noted that the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula
is "complex" and a thorough solution would involve
a difficult process. "There is a long way for the six-party
talks to go, and many difficulties and twists are sure to be
encountered," he said. As for China's position on the issue,
the ambassador said China hopes that "the parties continue
to practice respect, flexibility and pragmatism to steadily
build understanding and confidence, accumulate consensus and
narrow the gap for a final settlement."
Chinese embassy astounded by Indonesian shooting on Chinese
fishing vessel
2005-09-22 People's Daily
The Chinese Embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday expressed astonishment
and dissatisfaction over an Indonesian navy ship's shooting
on a Chinese fishing boat allegedly poaching on Monday in the
Arafura Sea off the Papua Island. The shooting killed one and
wounded two crew members. The embassy had made serious representations
to the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian
Navy and expressed regret about the lateness of being informed
over the accident, embassy sources told Xinhua. Meanwhile, the
embassy confirmed that the Chinese boat was illegally fishing
in Indonesian waters as all its documents were overdue. The
incident happened at 10:50 a.m. local time and the navy fired
13 shots at the Chinese boat, which is now detained in Indonesia.
Earlier on Wednesday, counselor of the Chinese embassy Yu Hongyao
said China was dissatisfied with what the Indonesian Navy had
done to the Chinese ship named Fuyuan 132. The Arafuru Sea is
about 3,800 kilometers east of the capital city of Jakarta.
China, Russia hold military consultations in Moscow
2005-09-22 People's Daily
China and Russia held the ninth round of military consultations
in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday, and exchanging views on
regional security situation, terrorism combat and peace-keeping
operations. During the two-day meeting, Xiong Guangkai, deputy
chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army,
discussed with his Russian counterpart Alexsandr Skvortsov a
variety of international issues of mutual concern and ways of
boosting the relations between the two armed forces. Yury Baluyevsky,
chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, met
with Xiong and told him the consultations are important in enhancing
mutual understanding, broadening consensus and improving cooperation
between the two armed forces. Xiong, for his part, said the
two sides reached broad consensus in security situation both
worldwide and within the region. He pledged to make joint efforts
with the Russian side to further strengthen friendly cooperation
between the two armed forces.
China, India to hold sixth meeting on border issue
2005-09-22 Xinhuanet
The special representatives from China and India are scheduled
to hold their sixth meeting on border issue in Beijing from
Sept. 26 to 27, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin
Gang here Thursday. China and India reached an agreement on
the guiding principles concerning the solution of the border
issues in the fifth round of meeting, which was held in New
Delhi in April. ()
Egyptian PM meets Chinese envoy on Mideast peace
2005-09-20 People's Daily
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef on Monday met with visiting
Chinese special envoy to the Mideast peace process Wang Shijie
to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli peace process in the wake
of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. "The Palestinian-Israeli
issue is constantly developing and China's general goal in this
respect is to help the two sides move ahead along the road to
peace," Wang told reporters after the meeting. Wang said
China appreciated the measures Egypt had taken to solve the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and that Egypt also valued China's
role in helping achieve peace between the two sides. China,
a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has long supported
the Palestinian cause and now it also supports the Mideast peace
process, said the Chinese envoy, adding that the Egyptian side
hopes China can play a bigger role in this field in the future.
Wang arrived in Egypt on Sunday as part of his regional tour
which has already taken him to the Palestinian territories,
Israel and Jordan. He will leave on Tuesday for Morocco, the
last leg of his trip.
Singapore President meets Chinese Vice Premier
2005-09-20 People's Daily
Singapore President S.R. Nathan on Monday met with visiting
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, saying that the city state is willing
to share China's development experience and promote bilateral
cooperation in various fields. During their meeting, Wu noted
that bilateral relations between China and Singapore have been
enhanced significantly since the diplomatic relationship between
the two countries was established 15 years ago. Regarding Singapore
as China's most important economic and trade partner in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) , Wu said that
the two countries have been cooperating not only in promoting
their respective economies, but also in international and regional
affairs, especially in strengthening the China-ASEAN relationship.
()
UN warned on abuse of intervention right
2005-09-20 China Daily
UNITED NATIONS - China warned the West on Monday against any
attempt to abuse the right to intervene in the countries where
humanitarian crisis occur. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
insisted in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly that the authorization
of the Security Council was required for any action to prevent
a large-scale humanitarian crisis. "We are against any
wilful intervention on the ground of rash conclusion that a
nation is unable or unwilling to protect its own citizens,"
Li said. Li also expressed opposition to any attempt to change
the definition of the right to self-defense in international
law to allow for pre-emptive action against new threats such
as terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
"We do not support the reinterpretation or revision of
the provisions in the U.N. Charter relating to the right of
self-defense," he said. A United Nations summit last week
approved the principle that the international community has
a "responsibility to protect" civilians where governments
are unable or unwilling to do so. The aim was to prevent repetition
of the massacres in Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s.
China, a veto-bearing permanent member of the Security Council,
has been the major power prudent on allowing UN intervention
in Sudan's Darfur region or censure of the human rights record
of Zimbabwe. It also opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq with Russia,
France and Germany. ()
UN examines China's report on protection of children's rights
2005-09-21 People's Daily
The United Nations, on Monday and Tuesday, reviewed the second
periodic report of China on how China is implementing the provisions
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As one of the
192 states parties to the Convention, China is obliged to present
periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with
the provisions of the treaty. China's first periodic report
was presented in 1995. During the two-day review, the Chinese
delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the reports
and to answer questions raised by experts of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child. In opening remarks to the Committee,
Sha Zukang, permanent representative of China to the United
Nations Office at Geneva, said it had been the consistent policy
of the Chinese government to give priority to children and to
guarantee their rights to life, development, protection and
participation in society. In recent years, the medical care
and health conditions for China's children had markedly improved,
priority was given to basic education and to narrowing the gap
among different regions, and between rural and urban areas,
and the government put emphasis on the protection of the rights
and interests of children from special groups, said Sha. Although
China has made remarkable progress in all aspects of the protection
of children's rights and interests, the Chinese ambassador said
it was undeniable that China, a developing country which was
constrained by social and economic development and other factors,
was still faced with multiple, formidable difficulties and challenges
in the protection of children. Committee experts raised questions
related to adoption, birth registration, child pornography,
trafficking in children, the family-planning policy, and so
on. () The Committee will release its final, written concluding
observations and recommendations on the report of China towards
the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on Sept.
30.
UN rights body demands access to Panchen Lama
2005-09-23 SCMP
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has demanded independent
access to Tibet's young Panchen Lama, who has been under house
arrest by China for the past decade. During an examination of
a report on China, the president of the committee of independent
experts, Jacob Egbert Doek, said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, now 16,
had been "taken from Tibet to China against his will and
those of his parents". Repeated demands for an independent
person to visit Gedhun had been refused by Chinese authorities,
Mr Doek said, adding that such a visit would allow "the
claims of the Chinese authorities about the well being of this
child" to be confirmed. "In view of the refusal of
the authorities to allow such an independent visit, it would
seem that something is wrong," he said, again asking Beijing
to permit a trip. The Chinese delegation, led by Beijing's ambassador
to the UN in Geneva, Sha Zhukang, told the committee that the
child and his family "do not wish to be disturbed by foreign
visitors because that could have negative effects". Gedhun
was a Tibetan child like any other, who was in secondary school
and received good results, the Chinese delegation said.
Chinese vice president meets British Princess Anne
2005-09-21 People's Daily
Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong met with visiting British
Princess Anne in Beijing Tuesday, calling for the two sides
to make further efforts to push forward China-UK relations.
Zeng expressed his appreciation of the contributions made by
the British royal family, saying the princess's China visit
will further improve the bilateral friendly exchanges and cooperation.
China and the United Kingdom witnessed good momentum of growth
in bilateral relations in recent years and progress has been
scored in various fields of cooperation, the Chinese vice president
said, noting that China and the UK will host the 2008 and 2012
Olympic Games respectively, which offers opportunities for the
two sides to consolidate cooperation. "I hope the Beijing
and London Olympic Games will become two of the most wonderful
sports events with their own characteristics", Zeng said.
Princess Anne, who is also a member of the International Olympic
Committee, agreed with Zeng's views on the current UK-China
relations, expressing her belief that the Beijing Olympic Games
in 2008 will be a successful one and the UK is willing to strengthen
exchanges of experience and cooperation in concerned fields.
The two sides also exchanged views on issues of children protection,
education and social welfare. Princess Anne arrived in China
on Tuesday, kicking off her first China visit from Sept.20 -24,
at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Luxembourg plans to establish consulate-general in Shanghai
2005-09-21 Xinhuanet
Luxembourg plans to establish a consulate-general in Shanghai,
said visiting President of the Parliament of Luxembourg Lucien
Weiler here Wednesday. "We determined to establish it in
Shanghai next year so as to further promote the economic and
trade cooperation with China," hesaid during a meeting
with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress. The trade volume between China and Luxembourg
from this Januaryto July reached 1.5 billion US dollars, which
is equal to the total of the trade volumes in 2004. Weiler said
Luxembourg hopes its economic and trade cooperation with China
"would be better" in the years to come. Wu expressed
welcome to the establishment of the consulate-general, saying
the foreign ministries of the two countries have started handling
this matter. He said Sino-Luxembourg relations have maintained
good momentum for development although the two countries have
different situations. He stressed the two countries could further
cooperation in the areas on finance, iron, and satellites. The
Chinese top legislator also said the NPC would like to promote
legislative and supervision cooperation with the Luxembourg
parliament, as well as the exchanges between the parliament
leaders and special committees. ()
|
| National holiday travellers to reach 370
million
2005-09-22 Xinhuanet
About 370 million people will travel around the week-long national
holiday from Oct. 1 to 7, according to transport ministries
here Thursday. The Ministry of Communications said about 330
million people will travel by roadways, up three percent year-on-year.
The ministry said it had urged local transport departments and
companies to ensure a safety transport during the holidays.
Past natural disaster tolls will remain in the past
2005-09-23 SCMP
Beijing will not revise or offer new information about death
tolls from past natural disasters despite no longer considering
the numbers state secrets, a senior official said yesterday.
The announcement last week the figures were now declassified
sparked hope the central government might finally disclose the
number of people who died in the Great Famine, from 1959-61.
But Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs Jia Zhibang said that was
not on the agenda. "As for the figures of natural disasters
in the past, we will not make any revision," Mr Jia said.
"Some of these have not been publicised, while some have."
() The central government has always denied human error played
any part in the Great Famine and refers to it as "three
years of natural disasters". A report by the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences put the death toll at 15 million, but some
scholars estimate it could have reached 80 million. The national
death toll from natural calamities this year, up to Tuesday,
stood at 1,630, Mr Jia said. In that period, 13.35 million people
were displaced and 1.45 million houses destroyed by natural
disasters including floods, droughts, typhoons and hailstorms,
with total economic losses estimated at 163 billion yuan. ()
172 affected in Fujian cholera outbreak
2005-09-20 Xinhuanet
A total of 172 cholera cases have been found since August in
East China's Fujian Province, the highest number in recent years.
So far, there have been no deaths since the first case was found
on August 12 in Fuzhou, capital of the province. The reported
172 cases include 137 in Fuzhou, and sporadic ones in a few
other coastal areas, according to statistics from the Health
Department of the Fujian provincial government. Up to now, 83
patients have recovered and been released from hospital. All
other patients are in a stable condition. The incidence of the
disease is higher than the same period in recent years, said
health officials. Most patients said that they had eaten seafood
in some small roadside restaurants. An initial investigation
by the province's health and epidemic prevention departments
agreed that the outbreak was caused by seafood, especially shellfish.
The departments have been inspecting more than 100 kinds of
seafood in the province in order to confirm the cause of the
disease. To stop the disease spreading further, quarantine and
inspection stations have been requested to enhance sanitation
supervision for seafood in the markets and shut down restaurants
without business licences. Meanwhile, the provincial health
department also required relevant hospitals to strengthen the
monitoring of diarrhoea cases and other suspected cases, and
report disease updates to superior departments. ()
Officials fired for forced abortions
2005-09-21 Xinhuanet
Officials in Shandong Province were sacked and detained for
forcing pregnant women to undergo abortions and for sterilizing
couples. The dismissals and detentions were seen as a government
push to improve official accountability. Yu Xuejun, spokesman
for the National Population and Family Planning Commission,
said the authorities had launched an investigation after receiving
complaints of forced abortions and sterilizations by family
planning officials in Linyi City, Shandong Province this year.
"According to the results of a preliminary investigation,
some persons concerned in a few counties and townships under
jurisdiction of Linyi did commit practices that violated the
law while conducting family planning work," Yu said on
the commission's Web site. "Currently, the responsible
persons have been removed from their posts. Some of them are
being investigated for liabilities and some have been detained,"
Yu said without giving a figure for officials sacked and detained.
Yu urged commission staff to learn a lesson from the case and
"correct any infringements on citizens' rights." China,
now the world's most populous nation with 1.3 billion people,
adopted the family planning policy more than two decades ago
to slow down the population growth. Tuesday's admission of official
wrongdoing came after a blind man surnamed Chen accused Linyi
officials of forcing couples with two children to be sterilized
and forcing women pregnant with a third child to undergo abortions.
According to sources close to Chen who requested anonymity,
Linyi police took into custody and beat up family members and
neighbors of couples who had fled to avoid the forced procedures.
1,000 bombs unearthed, 281 with chemicals
2005-09-21 SCMP
A Japanese team working in Heilongjiang province has dug up
another 1,000 bombs - including 281 with chemical payloads -
abandoned by retreating imperial troops at the end of the anti-Japanese
war, Tokyo officials said. The wartime bombs were found in a
residential area of Yichun. No one was injured as residents
had been evacuated before the site was excavated. The operation
to clear the area was completed this month by a 30-strong team
from Japan and about 100 Chinese workers, a Japanese government
official said. Japan would dispose of the chemical weapons,
with China getting rid of the rest, he said. Japan has vowed
to clear China of all the estimated 2 million chemical ordnance
it left behind after the war in the next two years.
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