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-OCTOBER, 1999-
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10/30/1999 Prominent Chinese Dissident To Visit Beijing
10/28/1999 Prodi Says US And EU Agree On Conditions For Chinese Accession To WTO
10/28/1999 Taiwan Leader Blasts China For Military Threat
10/28/1999 Hong Kong Sect Members Protest Latest China Crackdown
10/24/1999 Chirac And Jiang Discuss Human Rights After Big Chinese Aircraft Order
10/24/1999 U.S. Treasury Secretary Meets Chinese Premier
10/23/1999 China Attempts To Gain Control Of Panama Canal, Senators Charge
10/23/1999 Jiang Promises "Highly Democratic" China In 50 Years
10/23/1999 Chinese President's Visit Throws Chirac Into Hot Water
10/23/1999 Downing Street Denies Prince Charles Snubbed Jiang Zemin
10/23/1999 Summers To Test China's Interest In WTO
10/23/1999 Four Chinese Democracy Activists Go On Trial Monday
10/22/1999 Human Rights On Menu As Jiang Meets Blair
10/22/1999 China Accuses Dalai Lama Of Masterminding Explosions and Assassinations
10/22/1999 UK Supporters Turn Out For "Snubbed" Jiang
10/22/1999 China Laps Up British Pomp, Ignores Protests
10/22/1999 Assertive Charles In No-Show For Jiang
10/22/1999 Chinese Dissident Blasts France For Welcoming Jiang
10/22/1999 China Says Door Open For Talks With Dalai Lama
10/22/1999 China Dismisses UK Protests Against Jiang
10/22/1999 No Risks Being Taken For Chinese Leader's Visit To France
10/22/1999 China Says Protests Should Have Been Avoided
10/21/1999 China Sends More Cash To Taiwan, Urges End To Spat
10/21/1999 Britain Hits Back At Claims Of Heavy-Handed Policing During Jiang Visit
10/21/1999 Chinese Government Denounced Over Falungong Arrests
10/21/1999 China-sect-arrests China conducts fresh crack down on Falungong leaders
10/21/1999 Chinese, US Officials Say Embassy Compensation Talks "Positive"
10/21/1999 Human Rights On Agenda As Jiang Meets Blair
10/21/1999 Wei Jingsheng Blames London Police For "Violence"
10/21/1999 Curtain Comes Down On Another Human Rights Hiccup On Jiang Visit
10/21/1999 Chinese Media Silent Over Anti-Beijing Protests On Jiang Visit
10/21/1999 Protestors Burn Chinese Flag On Jiang Visit
10/21/1999 Xinjiang Authorities Execute Three Muslim "Terrorists"
10/21/1999 Israeli President Says No Defense Deals With China
10/21/1999 China Accuses Taiwan Of Turning Quake Relief Row Into Publicity Stunt
10/16/1999 Dalai Lama Arrives For Four-Day Visit To The Netherlands
10/16/1999 China Dissident Faces Trial For Democracy Essays
10/11/1999 China Lashes Out Against U.S. Defense Law
10/11/1999 China Blocks Funding To Families Of Tiananmen Massacre Victims
10/11/1999 China Sentences Three Moslem Separatists To Death
10/11/1999 China Sends Taiwan More Aid
10/11/1999 Xinjiang Separatists Held For Killings Of Chinese In Turkey
10/11/1999 Daley Appears Less Optimistic About China's WTO Entry
10/11/1999 Dalai Lama Predicts China Change In Several Years
10/10/1999 1989 Democracy Dissident To Be Tried For Subversion
10/10/1999 Mao Wanted His Wife To Become The Communist Party Chief
10/10/1999 China and Vietnam Praise Policies Of Socialism And Market Reforms
10/10/1999 Bulging China Has Managed To Brake Its Population Growth
10/09/1999 U.S. May Indict Mcdonnell Douglas, Chinese Firm Over Machine Tool Deal
10/09/1999 U.S. Plays Down Chances Of Quick China Trade Pact
10/08/1999 China Slams U.S. Allegations Of Religious Intolerance
10/08/1999 Northwest China Should Brace For Massive Quake, Says Expert
10/08/1999 North Korea And China Stress Friendship As Old Allies Rebuild Ties
10/08/1999 Released Dissident Liu Xiaobo Says Labor Camp Conditions "Pretty Good"
10/08/1999 Chinese Youth Gets One Year After Calling For Reassessment Of Massacre
10/08/1999 China Wants Tibetan Monastery To Be Placed On World Heritage List
10/08/1999 Forget Tiananmen, focus on China development, Tung tells democrats
10/07/1999 China Executes Six Muslims In Xinjiang For "Terrorism"
10/07/1999 Falungong Sect Asks U.N. Chief For Help In Ending Chinese Repression
10/07/1999 China Releases Dissident Liu Xiaobo After Three Years In Labor Camp
10/07/1999 Panama Rejects Fears Of Chinese-Dominated Canal
10/07/1999 Germany's Schroeder To Visit To China
10/07/1999 Taiwan Eases Ban On Construction Material Imports From China: Report
10/07/1999 Seoul Says Up To 30,000 North Korea Refugees In China
10/06/1999 China - U.S. WTO Negotiations To Be "Very Difficult", But Possible Entry By Year’s End
10/06/1999 Chinese, North Korean Leaders Exchange Notes Of Friendship
10/06/1999 Morocco Trip For Chinese President Jiang
10/06/1999 Lawmakers Say Tung Offers Little New Vision For Hong Kong
10/05/1999 Taiwan High-Tech Slowdown Fears Overdone
10/05/1999 Clinton Says Hopes China Spying Probe Finds Truth
10/05/1999 China Cautions Australia Over Moving Operations To West Timor
10/05/1999 China and North Korea Pledge Closer Ties
10/05/1999 Chinese Foreign Minister Arrived In Pyongyang
10/05/1999 Chinese Satellites Continuously Monitoring The US Army
10/05/1999 China To Seek To Play Role In Opening Up Of North Korea
10/05/1999 China Arrests Outlawed Party Member
10/04/1999 China Insists Fault Lies With Taiwan Over Quake Row
10/04/1999 China Visibly Relaxes, Delighted Over 50th Celebrations
10/04/1999 Four Jailed - China Democracy Party Members Face Trial Soon
10/04/1999 China Delayed "Substantive" Negotiations On WTO Entry
10/04/1999 Taiwan-China Ties Dented By Beijing Antics Amid Killer Quake: Survey
10/04/1999 Chinese Foreign Minister To Visit North Korea
10/03/1999 China Cracks Down On Dissent And Religion Before Celebrations
10/03/1999 China's Communists Send Uncompromising Message With 50th Parade
10/03/1999 China Builds Guinea A New Presidential Palace
10/03/1999 Russian Warships Visit China For First Ever Military Exercises
10/02/1999 Chinese Around The Nation Celebrate 50th Anniversary
10/02/1999 China Court Sentences Two Dissidents
10/02/1999 U.S. Says Time Running Out For WTO Pact With China
10/02/1999 WTO's Moore Repeats He Wants China In This Year
10/02/1999 China Rests Weary Feet After 50th Birthday Parade
10/02/1999 China's Official Media Revels In 50th Birthday Celebrations
10/01/1999 Tanks, Jets As Communist China Hits Fifty
10/01/1999 Jiang Vows New Feats Under Socialism
10/01/1999 Communist China Turns 50 In Pomp, Pageantry
10/01/1999 Pride Swells On Communist China's 50th Birthday
10/01/1999 U.S.-China Trade Talks May Be On Hold For Weeks
10/01/1999 China Says U.S. Pushing Taiwan Towards War
10/01/1999 China Rolls Out Military Might On Anniversary
10/01/1999 China Begins 50th Communist Birthday Bash
10/01/1999 Hong Kong Marks China's Anniversary With Ceremony, Protests
10/01/1999 China's 50th Underwhelms Taiwan

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Prominent Chinese Dissident To Visit Beijing

BEIJING, Oct 30, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) One of China's most prominent political dissidents Xu Wenli has "visited" Beijing by car in a trip designed to convince him of how the capital has been transformed by 50 years of communism, his wife said Friday.

"Xu Wenli was forced to admire the new areas of Beijing over four hours with other prisoners, but he refused to open his eyes because he was ill and did not want to leave prison," He Xintong told AFP.

She said Xu had contracted a form of hepatitis and was not receiving the necessary care.

"He hasn't had any medicine since he entered Yanqing prison (northwest of Beijing). I have to take it to him myself," she said.

Xu, 56, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in December 1998 for subversion because of his activities with the outlawed China Democratic Party.

The "tour" of Beijing took place on October 19, a little under three weeks after the end of massive celebrations for 50 years of communist rule in China on October 1.

The festivities were accompanied by a mass clean-up of the capital to transform it into an showpiece for Chinese communism.

By Agence France Presse

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Prodi Says US And EU Agree On Conditions For Chinese Accession To WTO

WASHINGTON, Oct 28, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The United States and the European Union share a common position on the conditions that China must meet to join the World Trade Organization, European Commission President Romano Prodi said here Wednesday.

Prodi told a gathering following a day of meetings with President Bill Clinton and US Congressional leaders that Washington and Brussels also agreed on the importance of China's membership in the WTO.

China is currently negotiating terms of WTO accession with the United States and the European Union, notably Beijing's commitment to market-opening measures and its adherence global trade rules.

"We share the same position on the conditions that must be met," Prodi said.

China's WTO accession talks, particularly with the United States, have bogged down, with Washington continuing to insist on more substantial trade liberalization moves from Beijing.

"We hope the process will speed up," Prodi said.

"It's still a long effort. There are still a lot of issues that must be defined."

By Agence France Presse

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Taiwan Leader Blasts China For Military Threat

TAIPEI, Oct 28, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui has lashed out at Beijing in a US journal for threatening the island as US parliamentarians seek to bolster US-Taiwan military ties.

In an essay in the November issue of the US-based Foreign Affairs monthly, Lee asked arch-foe China to stop flexing its military muscle, which he said was encouraging calls for independence on the nationalist island.

"Every time the authorities in Beijing have tried to intimidate Taiwan with military force, the percentage of Taiwanese voters advocating independence has increased," Lee said.

"Thus, contrary to some inaccurate observations voiced overseas, it is not any of Taipei's actions, but rather Beijing's clumsy attempts at intimidation by belligerent rhetoric and provocative saber-rattling that have intensified the call in Taiwan for declaring independence."

Chinese leaders had renewed their option of using force against Taiwan after Lee said in July that Taipei-Beijing ties should be redefined as a "special state-to-state relationship."

Beijing was infuriated, alleging it was a deviation from the "one-China policy" which was jointly respected by Beijing, Washington and Taipei and was the basis for peace in the region.

Lee ridiculed the "one-China policy," which he said ran counter to reality.

"Beijing has, in effect, set up a straw man by claiming to regard Taiwan as a 'renegade province' -- over which it has never exercised effective jurisdiction and to which it has no real claim under international law," Lee said.

He reiterated Taipei's official line of reunifying with the mainland but he wanted parity as a precondition for any talks.

On Tuesday a key US House of Representatives panel passed the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act.

The altered bill lacks the original initiative's mention of specific arms -- such as missile defense, air-to-air missiles, and diesel submarines -- which the president could transfer to Taiwan under the bill.

But it keeps provisions calling for Taiwan military officers to have an increased number of slots at US military training facilities, and for the establishment of direct communications between the armed forces of both countries.

The measure also calls for stepped-up Pentagon training and exchange programs with "senior officers," omitting the specific ranks listed in the original bill.

By Agence France Presse

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Hong Kong Sect Members Protest Latest China Crackdown

HONG KONG, Oct 28, 1999 -- (Reuters) A dozen members of the Falun Gong sect on Thursday kept up their around-the-clock protest in Hong Kong against Beijing's latest crackdown on the movement in mainland China.

The mostly middle-aged members of the Falun Gong, an outlawed spiritual movement in mainland China, have sat silently outside China's official Xinhua News Agency since Monday. Belinda Pang, a Falun Gong practitioner, said they wanted to get the message across to people in China and Hong Kong that Falun Gong was not a cult and practitioners were being persecuted in mainland China.

"We are here to tell people we are not a cult. We are not an evil religion," Pang said.

"And even by being here, we are conducting everything in good manner," she said, adding that they would not chant any protest slogans, only practice or read Falun Gong books.

In Beijing, Chinese police carted scores of Falun Gong members out of Tiananmen Square on Thursday after the government officially branded the group a cult.

Pang said Hong Kong members of the group had also called on China to withdraw a warrant for the arrest of U.S-based leader Li Hongzhi, release detained fellow members and stop the suppression of Falun Gong in China.

Hong Kong reverted to China in 1997 but is largely autonomus and has permitted the practice of Falun Gong - a mix of exercise and meditation. Hundreds of Falun Gong members have protested since Monday in Tiananmen Square. China outlawed the sect on July 22 after followers protested outside government offices in more than 30 Chinese cities in the wake of a crackdown on its China-based leaders.

By Reuters

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Chirac And Jiang Discuss Human Rights After Big Chinese Aircraft Order

SARRAN, France, Oct 24, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) French President Jacques Chirac spent nearly three hours late Saturday discussing human rights with his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin, after Jiang placed an order for 28 European-made Airbus planes.

Chirac told Jiang over dinner at his Bity chateau in southwest France of Paris's of his "concerns over political and religious freedoms and democracy" in China, presidential spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.

The French president expressed the hope that two UN treaties on civil, political, economic and social rights, signed by China in 1997 and 1998, would be ratified as soon as possible.

Earlier Saturday Jiang mixed business with fine cuisine and wines in the central city of Lyon during the first day of his visit to France, placing an order worth about 15 billion francs (2.44 billion euros, 2.61 billion dollars) for the 28 aircraft.

The deal was announced by Chirac, alongside Jiang at a news conference at the TGV (high-speed) train station at Lyon-Satolas airport.

"It is good for Europe. It is good for France. It is good for employment," Chirac told reporters.

The announcement followed the two leaders' sumptuous lunch at the Michelin-starred La Tour Rose restaurant.

"It was a working lunch, among other things," said Chirac. "President Jiang Zemin made a decision which I appreciate: the purchase of eight jumbo Airbus A340s and 20 Airbus A318s and A319s."

"I explained to him the interest that China would have in buying the French TGV for the Beijing-Shanghai line planned by the Chinese authorities," he added.

Jiang, who arrived in Lyon from Britain on Friday to a demonstration by about 800 people, left later in the day for the Correze region, to spend a private weekend with his wife Wang Yeping at the French president's chateau.

Chirac and Jiang traveled in separate motorcades from the Limoges-Bellegarde airport to the 16th century chateau, near the village of Sarran, which is the country residence of Chirac and his wife Bernadette.

The Chiracs were the first to arrive. The route of the motorcade in which Jiang and his wife traveled was changed at the last minute because of concerns about possible protests.

In the town of Brive-la-Gaillard, near Chirac's chateau, Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng denounced Jiang's regime. He tried to move on to the chateau, but was turned back at a police roadblock.

Wei, who has been shadowing the Chinese president since his arrival in London earlier this week, on Friday denounced Chirac for showing Jiang more consideration than those fighting for human rights.

Chirac and Jiang had an exchange of views on the situation in Tibet, its exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and conditions for a dialogue between Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama.

France would continue to seek such a dialogue, spokeswoman Colonna said.

Chirac, whose invitation to Jiang to spend a private weekend at his chateau has provoked widespread criticism in France, hoped for "moves toward more democracy and freedom" in China.

Jiang expressed his desire for progress in this direction, Colonna said, "without jeopardizing the stability of an assembly of more than one billion inhabitants."

The spokeswoman said the discussions had been "in-depth, free and frank" and took place "in a constructive spirit."

The Chinese leader said that it had been "the most in-depth conversation he had had with a foreign leader" on human rights, Colonna reported, while Chirac said he felt "strengthened in his conviction that dialogue is the best way to move things forward."

Jiang, who is on a six-nation tour, will start his state visit in Paris on Sunday night. He goes to Portugal on Tuesday.

By Agence France Presse

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Meets Chinese Premier

BEIJING, Oct 24, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers Sunday met Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in China's western industrial city of Lanzhou, Xinhua news agency reported.

It did not reveal what they discussed, but Summers was expected to probe China's determination to enter the World Trade Organization this year. He will head to Beijing for talks Monday with Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng.

Summers arrived in Beijing early Sunday morning before proceeding to Lanzhou where Zhu is on a local inspection tour.

The trip is officially focussed on the meeting of the Joint Economic Committee, an annual gathering which is part of a recent bilateral effort to build a "strategic partnership" based on high-level engagement.

Summers' visit comes as bilateral talks on China's accession to the WTO remain deadlocked. China resumed negotiations with the U.S. last month following a long delay caused by the NATO bombing of its embassy in Yugoslavia in May.

Talks earlier this month failed to make progress with the U.S. expressing concerns that China was backing away from wide-ranging market access concessions offered during Zhu's landmark visit to the U.S. in April.

Washington's refusal to ink the proposed April deal was widely criticized by U.S. business, while Zhu's concessions were equally slammed by conservatives at home who fear that China's inefficient industries will not be able to compete with a foreign invasion.

Beijing has since appeared to have toned down its 13-year drive to join the WTO, with Chinese leaders falling back to earlier rhetoric that WTO entry must be "based on the balance between its rights and obligations."

The talks with Summers are Zhu's first meeting with a U.S. cabinet-level official since Washington turned down his April offer, a refusal which has been interpreted as a heavy blow to the premier's standing in China.

By Agence France Presse

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China Attempts To Gain Control Of Panama Canal, Senators Charge

WASHINGTON, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China will try to dominate the Panama and its canal once the American military pullout from the canal zone is complete at the end of this year, conservatives charged Friday at a Senate hearing.

"If we do nothing, I can guarantee you that within a decade a Communist Chinese regime that hates democracy and sees America as it primary enemy, will dominate the tiny country of Panama and the Panama Canal," said California Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

But U.S. military officials at the Senate Armed Services Committee questioned those alarmist scenarios, saying there was no threat to the canal.

"We are not aware of any current internal or external threats to the Panama Canal, and we have no evidence that it has been targeted by terrorists or foreign governments," said General Charles Wilhelm, head of the US southern command.

On December 31, in accordance with the 1977 Carter-Torrijos treaty, the United States will hand over control of the Panama Canal and end its the military presence in the country.

President Bill Clinton and his Panamanian counterpart Mireya Moscoso met Tuesday in Washington for the first time, hoping to establish a strong relationship, but one that excludes military ties.

Moscoso has said repeatedly that the U.S. military will not be welcome in Panama after December 31.

The canal and the U.S. military presence remains a sensitive issue in Panama, just 10 years after a U.S. invasion in December 1989 to arrest general Manuel Noriega.

In the United States opposition to the U.S. withdrawal is made up mostly of conservative Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi.

Panama's geographical position has meant that U.S. bases there have played an important role in Washington's Latin American policies, and more recently in anti-narcotics initiatives.

The Pentagon has now been obliged to look at how to adapt its strategy to take into account the imminent closure of the bases.

On Friday Rohrabacher cited the granting of port licences to a Hong Kong company, Hutchinson Whampoa, which he said is controlled by Beijing, as proof of the "Chinese threat."

He presented documents from U.S. intelligence agencies identifying Hutchinson Whampoa and its president Li Ka Shing, as "financing or serving as a conduit for Communist China's military to acquire sensitive technologies and other equipment."

"Li is also a director of the giant Communist Chinese shipping firm COSCO, which in addition to commercial transport, acts as the merchant marine for the Chinese military," he said.

"COSCO has been involved in shipping Chinese missile technology and biological warfare components to North Korea, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran."

"There may be no problem" in Panama, "although narcotraffic and corruption is a problem inside the Beijing government. But we have an absolute responsibility to ask questions," Lott said.

Rohrabacher called Panama the site of "wholesale piracy of U.S. intellectual property products coordinated by criminal organizations from mainland China," drug and weapons smuggling, money laundering and high level corruption.

Wilheim admitted that because of its commercial and military importance, the canal "must always be regarded as a potential target for both conventional and unconventional sources," and that the US is prepared to maintain the canal's neutrality with or without Panama.

"The government of Panama's capability to provide effective security for threats against the canal will determine our future bilateral security relationship," he said.

By Agence France Presse

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Jiang Promises "Highly Democratic" China In 50 Years

LYON, France, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) President Jiang Zemin insisted Friday that his communist government, which has just marked its 50th anniversary, would be striving to make China "highly democratic" in the next half century.

Jiang made the statement in a speech within hours of arriving in France for a five-day visit.

He said: "Uniting as a single man, the Chinese people of different ethnic backgrounds are working assiduously to make China, in 50 years a socialist, modern, prosperous highly democratic and civilized country."

The speech was made at Jiang's first engagement in France, a reception given by the mayor of Lyon, Raymond Barre, a former prime minister.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese President's Visit Throws Chirac Into Hot Water

LYON, France, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in France on Friday, with opponents insisting they would do everything to "ruin" the second leg of his six-nation tour.

But it was President Jacque Chirac of France who faced a barrage of criticism for the unusually warm welcome he has laid on for the Chinese leader -- a private weekend at Chirac's country chateau.

As Jiang flew into Lyon airport, in central France, several hundred people, including several Chinese dissidents, took part in a demonstration in the center of the city against his presence in France.

The Chinese leader and his wife, Wang Yeping, and a large government delegation, arrived from Britain where the authorities struggled to keep noisy demonstrations out of his view during the four days there.

Jiang spent his final day in Britain at the university city of Cambridge.

He arrived in Lyon to another red carpet welcome and greetings from the local Chinese community.

But many politicians say the French president is going too far in making Jiang the first foreign leader to get an invitation to his 16th century country residence, Chateau Bity.

The visit to the twin-towered castle in the Correze region of central France, that some locals disparagingly call "Chateau Chirac," will be part of a private stay before the state visit commences on Sunday night in Paris.

Chirac and his wife Bernadette will have lunch with their Chinese counterparts in Lyon on Saturday before they go to Bity.

Leading Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, who took part in protests in London and has followed Jiang to France, said the gesture was outrageous.

"When you plan to invite a dictator with blood on his hands to your home, you should at least ask him to kill a little bit less in the future," Wei said in Paris after meeting National Assembly foreign affairs committee chairman Jack Lang.

"Sometimes when you owe someone money, you have to take out a client, you have to take him to the restaurant, give him good food with bread, but do you really have to invite him to your bedroom, to your bed?" Wei later told a press conference in Lyon.

Right wing political allies of Chirac also said the welcome was too warm.

Alain Madelin, president of the Liberal Democracy party, said he was "troubled" by Chirac's move.

He said it was alright to receive the president to maintain state-to-state relations.

"But people must know that the Chinese president and his regime, these are Chinese Pinochets," Madelin told French radio, referring to former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

"You cannot condemn Pinochet on one side and on the other side unroll the red carpet this far for the Chinese president," said Madelin, who plans to take part in a Paris demonstration against the visit.

Members of the center-right Union for French Democracy (UDF), the ruling Socialist Party, the Greens and the National Front also attacked the president.

The storm has kept pressure on the French authorities as they seek to ensure an incident-free five days for Jiang. One protest planned by the Falungong sect, which is at the center of a crackdown in China, was banned as a threat to public order.

But other groups have not asked for permission. "Our aim is to ruin the stay by Jiang Zemin, during the five days he will spend in France," said Robert Menard, secretary general of the Reporters Without Borders pressure group for journalists.

Business and international affairs will dominate the Chirac-Jiang talks over the next few days. Jiang will also meet socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Next Tuesday Jiang will leave for Portugal and later go to Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Agence France Presse

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Downing Street Denies Prince Charles Snubbed Jiang Zemin

LONDON, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Prime Minister Tony Blair's office denied Friday that Prince Charles had deliberately snubbed Jiang Zemin by not attending a banquet hosted by the Chinese leader.

The British press speculated over the significance of Prince Charles's absence from the banquet organized at the Chinese embassy on Thursday night in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Some newspapers claimed that the Prince of Wales, who is an admirer of the Dalai Lama, boycotted the event as a sign of his support for Tibet's spiritual leader.

A friend of Prince Charles was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph: "He wanted nothing more to do with this visit."

Human rights organizations congratulated the Prince on his supposed stance.

"We think it is entirely appropriate that the Prince of Wales should make public his concerns about human rights in China," said a spokesman for Amnesty International UK.

The Campaign for a Free Tibet offered its "congratulations and thanks to Prince Charles whose quiet boycott of last evening's banquet was one of the strongest statements made all week on human rights."

This interpretation was refuted by Blair's spokesman.

"Prince Charles went to the state banquet on Tuesday," he said. "He never intended to go last night. I am sure President Jiang would not have seen this as a snub in any way, shape or form. We, the Palace and the Chinese are perfectly relaxed about this."

Buckingham Palace had said on Thursday night that the heir to the throne had a prior private engagement but the prince has made no comment.

The fuss surrounding his absence is seen as a further strain on Jiang's visit which had already been troubled by demonstrations by human rights protesters.

A spokesman for the Chinese leader said Thursday he thought such demonstrations should have been prevented by the police.

On Friday around 300 protestors for Tibetan and Taiwanese independence -- restrained by a heavy police presence -- greeted Jiang at the doors of Cambridge University library where he completed his visit to Britain before heading to France.

By Agence France Presse

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Summers To Test China's Interest In WTO

WASHINGTON, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The White House hopes a weekend mission to Beijing by Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers will reveal just how interested China is in joining the WTO, a presidential spokesman said here Friday.

"It's certainly an important economic issue that we've been working on with the Chinese and so it's our hope that he can get some sense of where they are and where they're going," spokesman Joseph Lockhart told reporters.

Summers was to leave Friday for Beijing for talks starting Sunday under the auspices of the U.S.-China joint economic commission.

He stressed Thursday he would not be negotiating an agreement with China that would pave the way for its admission to the Geneva-based World Trade Organization.

But he added that "certainly the WTO issue has to be part of any economic discussion."

"In the context of discussing structural issues in China I am sure the subject of the WTO is likely to come up."

Lockhart said given Summers' stature as a close advisor to President Bill Clinton, "he can give them some sense of how important it is to us."

U.S.-China talks on WTO accession are at a standstill and officials here appear to be growing increasingly pessimistic about the chances of an accord any time soon.

The United States had hoped to see China represented at a crucial WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle November 30-December 3 to discuss the launch of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.

But on Thursday, a senior Commerce Department official said such a goal now "seems increasingly unlikely."

"There's a lot of protocol to negotiate, not only with the United States but with the European Union as well," the official said. "But it's not impossible."

To join the WTO, China must negotiate agreements to lower tariffs and open its markets with all of its major trading partners.

To date, Washington and Beijing have yet to agree on the full-range of Chinese market-opening measures that would make China eligible to join the world trade body.

Particularly worrisome for the United States is the possibility that China -- despite its professions to the contrary -- may be losing its appetite for membership.

U.S. business executives in Beijing have said Chinese authorities may fear that liberalizing their economy to meet WTO entrance requirements could destabilize inefficient state-owned enterprises and trigger a rise in unemployment and discontent.

While China has agreed to lift bans on certain U.S. agricultural products, further agreements with Washington are necessary to cover financial services, textiles and overall protocols governing bilateral commerce, according to US trade negotiators.

Progress toward an agreement was dealt a severe setback last May when U.S. aircraft attacked the Chinese embassy in Belgrade as part of NATO's Kosovo campaign.

The Chinese, angrily dismissing US explanations that the bombing was an accident caused by faulty intelligence, suspended all official contacts with the United States.

But WTO talks got back on track temporarily in mid-September following a meeting between President Clinton and Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin at an Asia-Pacific summit in Auckland, New Zealand.

The United States has already agreed to provide financial compensation for the three Chinese nationals killed in the Belgrade attack.

Still to be resolved is compensation for damages done both to the Chinese embassy and to U.S. diplomatic property in China in subsequent protests.

Discussions on property damage resumed in Beijing Wednesday and were said by both parties to have been "positive and productive."

By Agence France Presse

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Four Chinese Democracy Activists Go On Trial Monday

BEIJING, Oct 23, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Four members of the banned Chinese Democracy Party (CDP) face lengthy prison terms when they appear in court on Monday charged with subversion, relatives said Saturday.

The trial of the four dissidents, at the Intermediate People's Court in the eastern city of Hangzhou, could fuel human-rights protests in Europe which have been dogging the tour of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Relatives complained that the four -- Wu Yilong, Zhu Yufu, Mao Qingxiang and Xu Guang -- had been given no time to prepare a defense to the charge of incitement to overthrow state power.

"The court announced that each defendant would have the right to have two family members in attendance," Zhu Yufu's mother, Wang Yuying, told AFP.

"But we were only given the trial's date on Friday afternoon. Our lawyer said he would not have any time to prepare a defense for Zhu Yufu," she said, while rejecting the charges against her son.

"Zhu Yufu is innocent. He is only against corruption. I hope that the media will come to our aid."

The trial will come with European and Chinese protestors vowing to keep up attacks on Jiang, who arrived in France from Britain on Friday for a five-day visit, over China's human-rights record.

"The Chinese regime has deliberately chosen this moment to show its determination to flout Western demands over human rights," the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said of the trial.

The Hong Kong-based group called in a statement for Britain, France and Portugal, which Jiang is also visiting, "to condemn the measures taken by China to oppress dissidents and violate human rights."

Zhu Yufu, 48, and his three co-accused were arrested in the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, which they were planning to commemorate.

If found guilty, they could face a minimum jail sentence of 10 years and a maximum life term.

The four formed part of a core group which set up the CDP last year alongside Wang Youcai, who was jailed for 11 years in December after attempting to register the party in an unprecedented attack on communist rule.

Beijing has reacted sternly to the initiative, jailing at least 15 CDP members including another two figureheads, Xu Wenli and Liu Xianbin, to 13 years' imprisonment each.

By Agence France Presse

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Human Rights On Menu As Jiang Meets Blair

LONDON, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Anti-Beijing protesters turned their wrath on British Prime Minister Tony Blair here Thursday after Chinese President Jiang Zemin was whisked through a side door for talks, thereby evading the demonstrators.

Jiang was driven to the doorway of Number 10 Downing Street via the next-door Foreign Office in a royal limousine.

A hundred yards (meters) away, hundreds of demonstrators reacted by chanting "Tony Blair - shame on you".

The demonstrators have dogged Jiang's every move since he arrived here on Tuesday for the first visit by a Chinese head of state.

On Friday he travels on to France.

Ironically the issue of human rights was on the agenda during Blair's meeting with Jiang, the first time that the sensitive matter had been broached since his arrival.

The premier's official spokesman later told reporters it was Jiang himself who had brought up the topic of human rights issues during the one-hour meeting.

Human rights have been a constant theme of Jiang's state visit, but only because the protesters have maintained a highly vocal presence.

Jiang's spokesman Zhu Bangzhao dismissed the protests as "small noises on the street, just some interruptive factors."

Asked if Jiang had been insulted by the protests, Zhu said: "The visit is going smoothly and successfully.

"We have noticed that there have been a few interruptions and have taken note that Britain has taken necessary measures. But it is our view that some of these interruptive factors should have been avoided."

The official agenda, however, has concentrated on trade, with the government confirming four deals cementing Britain's position as the European Union's largest investor in China.

Blair spoke of issues relating to China's economy, trade, the development of Hong Kong, international crime and world affairs, his spokesman said.

He told Jiang that events in Hong Kong since its handover to China in 1997 had proved that doubters of the "one country, two systems" ethos were wrong.

Blair said Britain still had continuing concerns over human rights and the future of Tibet, which London hopes may gain regional autonomy.

The spokesman defended Britain's tactics over human rights, saying Foreign Secretary Robin Cook had handed over a list of dissidents London is concerned about.

"We do believe there's progress being made, albeit slowly, and we think the approach we're taking is the best way to ensure that progress continues."

The media and human rights organizations have accused Britain of heavy-handed policing during the visit, as peaceful protestors have been kept out of sight and had banners confiscated.

Jiang and his wife Wang Yeping later hosted a traditional Chinese banquet at Beijing's embassy in London, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

A few hundred protesters continued their vocal demonstrations outside the venue, as the guests gathered for the Chinese feast.

Also attending the banquet were other leading members of the royal family, top government ministers, former prime minister Baroness Thatcher and media baron Rupert Murdoch.

President Jiang toasted the queen, saying he was "very happy to be in London".

The queen, who had held a state banquet in Jiang's honor on Tuesday night, stood Thursday to propose a toast to the People's Republic of China, the president and his wife.

Guests then picked up their chopsticks -- no knives and forks were in sight -- for the dinner of fillet of beef, fillet of duck, abalone and Chinese mushrooms, complemented by Chinese red wine.

The protesters outside Downing Street on Thursday waved Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and banners declaring "China out of Tibet" and "Taiwan's Future, Taiwan's Choice."

Members of the Falungong religious sect, which is outlawed in China, also practised some of their routines.

Jiang and Queen Elizabeth later opened an exhibition of oriental treasures at the British Museum as human rights activists staged a noisy demonstration outside.

The protests will continue Friday, the last day of Jiang's visit, which he is spending at the historic university city of Cambridge, north of London before flying on to Paris.

Seven protesters have been arrested since Jiang arrived late Monday.

By Agence France Presse

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China Accuses Dalai Lama Of Masterminding Explosions and Assassinations

BEIJING, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China has accused Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of masterminding explosions and assassinations in Tibet, state media reported Friday.

"The Dalai Lama has masterminded a series of separatists activities including a 'peaceful march' in foreign territory and explosions and assassinations in Tibet," said the official Xinhua news agency, citing comments by a Chinese official in Tibet, Xu Mingyang.

Xu, an executive vice-chairman of the China-appointed government in Tibet, did not give details on the allegations during the interview with a group of foreign reporters in Lhasa.

But he partially confirmed reports which said a Tibetan independence supporter was arrested for pulling down a Chinese flag in Lhasa and trying to replace it with a Tibetan flag. But Xu denied the man was beaten to death by police.

The London-based Tibet Information Network (TIN) said last week that Tashi Tsering, a building contractor in his thirties, died in the police hospital in Lhasa after he was beaten, with his head struck against the back of a vehicle.

He had lowered the Chinese flag in Potala Square, and tried to climb the flagpole to hang the Tibetan flag, which is banned by the Chinese authorities there, TIN said.

Before he was seized by security men, he tried to commit suicide by detonating crude explosives strapped to his body, but failed because it was raining, TIN said.

Xu confirmed the abortive explosion, but did not specify what happened.

"The criminal, a farmer from the suburbs of Lhasa, the regional capital, is still alive and has confessed all his criminal activities, showing willingness to correct himself," Xu said.

He said the Dalai Lama has never shown sincerity towards negotiating with the central government on their differences over the embattled region and should be held fully responsible for the failure to achieve substantial progress in previous talks.

The region has been held under tightened security for most of the year, as nervous authorities stifled unrest around a series of sensitive dates, including the 40th anniversary of spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's flight into exile.

His exile to Dharamsala, India in March 1959 followed a violent uprising against communist rule in Lhasa. Chinese troops first marched into Tibet in 1951.

By Agence France Presse

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UK Supporters Turn Out For "Snubbed" Jiang

CAMBRIDGE, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese President Jiang Zemin ran into more supporters than protesters on Friday on a visit to Britain spiced in the final hours by reports of a snub over Tibet by Prince Charles, heir to the throne.

About 250 mainly Chinese students turned out to cheer Jiang's arrival in this famed university town while about 150 protesters shouted loudly against China's human rights record, particularly in Tibet.

Shortly before Jiang arrived at the university, police vans pulled up in front of the protesters, leaving the Chinese leader only with a view of his supporters, most of whom were on scholarships from China to the university.

"Tibet is like Northern Ireland. Britain, like China on Tibet, won't give them independence either," said pro-Jiang student Deng Yuan.

There was elation among the protesters at the possibility that Prince Charles might have made his own Tibet protest by not attending a banquet for Jiang at the Chinese embassy on Thursday night.

"If he decided not to go, then that is great. The British government should take the same attitude," said student Emma Williams.

NEWSPAPER SAYS PRINCE SNUBBED JIANG

The Daily Telegraph said the no-show by Prince Charles was to show his anger at China's human rights record. It followed days of small but determined street protests during Jiang's visit, the first to Britain by a Chinese head of state.

Prince Charles had a "private engagement" on Thursday night, when Queen Elizabeth and other royals attended the dinner at the Chinese embassy, said a spokesman for St. James's Palace, Charles's London residence.

"It would be quite wrong to suggest this was a snub," the spokesman said.

But the Telegraph said Charles, an admirer of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, had also refused to accompany Jiang on a number of other engagements during his state visit.

Charles attended a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for the Chinese leader so as not to embarrass his mother Queen Elizabeth, the paper said.

The daily described the prince's decision not to attend the Chinese embassy banquet as "a notable break with protocol" because he had attended all such dinners with visiting heads of state in recent years.

DALAI LAMA VISITED PRINCE

The Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a traitor, paid a private visit to Prince Charles at his English country home five months ago, the newspaper said.

Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950, and the Dalai Lama fled the Himalayan region in 1959 after a failed uprising against communist rule. Britain does not recognize Chinese sovereignty there.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in talks with Jiang on Thursday, urged China to start a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

But both governments have tried to deflect attention from human rights during Jiang's visit, and activists have accused Blair's government for putting trade before human rights.

The trip to Cambridge - where Jiang was to deliver a lecture, have a question-and-answer session with scholars and visit parts of the university devoted to Asian studies - is his last function before heading to France on the next stage of a 17-day tour that also takes him to Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty International's French branch said it would organise more rallies during Jiang's five-day stay in France. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders called on Jiang to release journalists jailed under his rule.

By Reuters

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China Laps Up British Pomp, Ignores Protests

BEIJING, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese state media lapped up the pomp and ceremony of President Jiang Zemin's visit to Britain this week, ignoring dogged human rights protests and a reported snub by heir to the throne Prince Charles.

Newspapers splashed photos of Jiang with Queen Elizabeth and husband Prince Philip across front pages, and described in meticulous detail the ceremonies laid on to welcome the first Chinese head of state to Britain.

State television broadcast extensive pictures of the ceremonies, but like the newspapers ignored persistent demonstrations against Chinese policies on Tibet and human rights.

Jiang's royal treatment - including a bedroom in Buckingham Palace and a horse-drawn carriage ride through central London - symbolized an end to an era of Chinese national humiliation at the hands of colonial powers led by Britain.

"Red carpet reception, a 21-gun salute in a nearby park, royal horse guards wearing tall, shiny helmets and a grand parade kicked off the Chinese president's stay in Britain," Wednesday's edition of the China Daily said.

"The grand ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace demonstrated the British devotion to tradition and the improvement of ties between the two countries," it said.

No mention was made of a series of small but determined street protests from human rights campaigners and Tibetan independence activists that dogged Jiang's visit.

State media also ignored a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph that Prince Charles deliberately stayed away from a state banquet at the Chinese embassy on Thursday to show his anger at China's human rights record.

As Jiang prepared to leave Britain on Friday, royal officials denied that Prince Charles had intended to snub Jiang, saying he had a "private engagement".

But the Telegraph said Charles, an admirer of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, had also refused to accompany Jiang on a number of other engagements during his state visit.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in talks with Jiang on Thursday, urged China to start a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, who fled the Himalayan region in 1959 after a failed uprising against communist rule.

Britain does not recognize Chinese sovereignty there.

The China Daily said on Friday the door was still open for talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, but reiterated long-standing conditions, effectively ruling out a policy change.

Chinese media focused on reports of thousands of people, including overseas Chinese, cheering Jiang in Britain.

They paid particular attention to Jiang's rare privilege of a bedroom at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's residence.

"According to British royal customs, the Queen only receives two heads of state every year. President Jiang is the only honored guest to stay in Buckingham Place this year," the official Xinhua news agency said.

Jiang was to be seen off from the palace by a ceremonial detachment of Queen Elizabeth's guards on Friday before making a private visit to Cambridge University and flying to Paris for the second leg of a six-nation, 17-day tour.

The trip to Cambridge could see more protests, and human rights group Amnesty International has said it will hold a series of street demonstrations to press for improved human rights in China when Jiang arrives in France on Friday.

After France, Jiang is to visit Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Reuters

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Assertive Charles In No-Show For Jiang

LONDON, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The reported decision of Britain's Prince Charles to snub a banquet for Chinese President Jiang Zemin over the Tibet question brought renewed speculation on Friday that the heir to the throne was charting a new, more assertive role.

Experts said the issue was more profound than simply whether Charles disapproves of China's human rights policies or its occupation of Tibet, arguing that it challenged the extent of the government's power over the monarchy.

"The role of the monarch and the monarch's children is what's being tested here...how far does he have to go when asked by Downing Street to do something," said Harold Brooks-Baker, the American publishing director of Britain's bible of aristocracy, Burke's Peerage.

"If Downing Street asks the queen to receive an even more controversial head of state, would she feel she had to do it, would she let herself become a puppet? If and when Charles becomes king will he carry out the wishes of Downing Street in the same way if he disapproves?"

Charles's boycott, although officially denied, was nonetheless seen by royal observers as a clear signal of his anger at China's human rights record and his sympathy with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The prince had a "private engagement" on Thursday night, when the queen and other royals attended the dinner at the Chinese embassy, said a spokeswoman for St James's Palace, Charles's London residence.

It followed days of small but determined street protests during Jiang's visit, the first by a Chinese head of state since Mao Tse Tung declared the nation communist 50 years ago.

"The prince has shown in the past that he has a great affinity for the Dalai Lama," Lord Avebury, Liberal Democrat peer and chairman of the all-party parliamentary human rights group, told BBC radio.

HUMAN RIGHTS

"He can't come out and say to Jiang he's disgusted with the human rights policies of China's government and the repression that continues in Tibet, so by staying away from the banquet he signals his displeasure in the only way open to him. This is very useful because it proves to Jiang that...the distaste at the Chinese policies extends throughout the whole society."

Don Foreman, Secretary-General of the Monarchist League, said: "But if he did stay away from principle then he's showing his independence of mind which will have won him some admiration....he's shown the courage of his own convictions and he'll win approval, but that's not what he's done it for."

The prince likes to make his opinions known and relations between him and Prime Minister Tony Blair have been on the slide since Charles upset the government by speaking out against genetically modified food on his web site.

Charles may just be reviving the royal role of acting as a channel for the grievances of the "little people". His recent championing of the plight of farmers was another campaign which might have been seen as treading on the government's toes.

But Blair has no real power over Charles. Unlike the rest of the nation which can be bribed, threatened and cajoled, he is not dependent on the goodwill of Whitehall and can speak out.

"He has a very high sense of decency and morality and it might even be his undoing one day...but I don't believe the Prince of Wales ever does anything to gain public support," said Brooks-Baker.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese Dissident Blasts France For Welcoming Jiang

BEIJING, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Exiled Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng on Friday lambasted French President Jacques Chirac for hosting President Jiang Zemin of China -- "a dictator" with "blood on his hands" -- this weekend in France.

Calling the two leaders' tete-a-tete in a 16th century chateau in central France "incomprehensible," Wei said the meeting undermines the battle for human rights in China.

"What I have noticed is that President Chirac has never shown the same warm attention for those who are fighting for human rights as he has for those with blood on their hands, and that surprises me," Wei told reporters at the French National Assembly.

Jiang is the first foreign leader to be invited to the French president's country residence, the Chateau Bity, with its two large towers nestled in the valleys of the Correze region of central France.

By Agence France Presse

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China Says Door Open For Talks With Dalai Lama

BEIJING, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Reuters) The door is open for conditional talks between Beijing and Tibet's Dalai Lama, the China Daily said on Friday, a day after Britain urged Chinese President Jiang Zemin to open talks with the exiled spiritual leader.

But the newspaper quoted a senior Tibet government official as repeating China's long-standing terms for beginning talks, effectively ruling out any change in policy.

The Dalai Lama must stop advocating Tibetan independence, admit Tibet and Taiwan are part of China, and cease separatist activities before negotiations can start, it quoted Xu Mingyang, executive vice chairman of the Tibet government, as saying.

The Dalai Lama has said he is ready for dialogue "anywhere, any time", and favors negotiations for autonomy under Chinese rule that could preserve and promote the Tibetan people's cultural, religious and linguistic identity.

Tibet has been occupied by Chinese troops since 1950. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising.

On Thursday, the last day of Jiang's visit to Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair urged the Chinese leader to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

Britain does not recognize Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and wishes to see the remote Himalayan region have control over its internal affairs, Blair's spokesman said.

The China Daily said the channel for talks had always been open for the Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.

But it said the Dalai Lama had never been sincere about opening talks with Beijing, and accused him of masterminding separatist activities, including several explosions and assassinations in Tibet.

A farmer who tried to set off an explosion in front of Lhasa's central Potala Palace in August was alive and had confessed to his crime, the newspaper said without giving further details.

Tibetan independence activists dogged Jiang on his trip to Britain, the first by a Chinese head of state.

By Reuters

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China Dismisses UK Protests Against Jiang

LONDON, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Reuters) President Jiang Zemin's aides on Thursday dismissed the human rights protests which have dogged the first visit to Britain by a Chinese head of state, and hailed a new chapter in relations.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, under fire for what protesters said was hypocrisy in putting trade before human rights, was equally pleased saying China and Britain had left their past behind and could work together.

In a formal 45-minute meeting, Blair urged the Chinese leader to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. But Blair's spokesman said "human rights did not define the meeting".

"The prime minister feels very strongly that China is a hugely important country," the spokesman told reporters. "Nor do we make any apologies whatsoever that we have boosted Anglo-Chinese investment."

Jiang assured British business leaders on Wednesday of China's economic health, as the two countries announced $3.5 billion worth of trade and investment deals and officials said they expected more in the near future.

Blair's spokesman said Jiang welcomed "a new chapter in relations" since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, and did not shy away from discussing criticism of human rights.

"(Blair) welcomed the frank way the president raised the issue of human rights," he said. "They are well aware of our position on Tibet. We do not recognize their sovereignty."

Britain wishes to see the Himalayan region have control over its internal affairs, he said, and thinks China should open talks with its exiled leader.

Tibet has been occupied by Chinese troops since 1950. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule.

CHINESE SAY PROTESTS COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED

Asked what Jiang and his entourage thought about the demonstrations, Jiang's spokesman told reporters:

"We noticed during the visit there were some interruptions. We took notice of the fact that the British side took measures to stop them, but some of these interruptions should have been avoided.

"I think you should not pay attention to small noises on the street."

Jiang held a banquet for Queen Elizabeth at the Chinese embassy on Thursday evening as some 200 demonstrators, penned off by police outside the building, tried to make enough noise with drums, whistles and loud hailers to disturb the event.

They ranged from Tibetan independence groups to Christians calling Jiang the "anti-Christ" and anti-abortion groups holding placards asking "What's happened to all the girls?" - an allusion to an imbalance in the ratio of girls to boys in China because so many girls are aborted.

Blair's Labor government, which says it has an "ethical" foreign policy, was criticized throughout the visit for ordering heavy-handed policing to stifle demonstrations.

Amnesty International said Blair's office had refused to accept a letter on human rights it drew up with Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng and the Free Tibet campaign.

It called on Blair to have "substantive, frank discussions" with Jiang on human rights and Tibet.

U.S. Senator Jesse Helms accused Britain of hypocrisy for rolling out the red carpet for Jiang while keeping former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet under house arrest as he awaits possible extradition to face torture charges in Spain.

Jiang, who arrived in London on Monday, was to spend part of Friday on a private visit to the university town of Cambridge before continuing his 17-day foreign trip which also takes in France, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Reuters

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No Risks Being Taken For Chinese Leader's Visit To France

LYON, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's President Jiang Zemin arrives in France on Friday to face a new public clamour over human rights and corporate demands for contracts but with no chances being taken over the success of the visit.

Tight security will again be in force from the moment the Chinese leader's plane arrives at Lyon airport around 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) from Britain, where the Chinese entourage avoided protests by rights campaigners and Tibetan and Taiwanese activists.

The five-day stay will be the second leg of a six nation tour of Europe and Arab nations.

Before the state visit starts Jiang and his wife, Wang Yeping, will have a weekend stay in Lyon and at President Jacques Chirac's country home, Chateau Bity, in the Correze region of central France.

He is the first foreign leader to be invited to Bity and Chirac's red carpet treatment for Jiang has been widely criticized, including by conservative allies and even the extreme right wing National Front.

Around 1,000 extra police, including CRS anti-riot police, have been called in for special duties for the arrival, according to French sources.

As in Britain, protests have been called over human rights in China, the treatment of journalists and China's tough handling of Tibet.

But one protest planned in Lyon by the Falungong sect, which is at the center of a crackdown in China, has been banned as a threat to public order. Another application by Tibetan activists is being considered but a rally in central Lyon has still been called by a number of groups to coincide with Jiang's arrival.

At least one local deputy of the ruling Socialist party has said he will boycott a reception for the Chinese leader to be hosted by Lyon Mayor Raymond Barre, a former prime minister, on Friday night.

Jack Lang, the socialist head of the National Assembly foreign affairs committee, was to meet Friday with exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, who is following Jiang on the tour.

On Saturday, Chirac and his wife Bernadette will have lunch in Lyon with Jiang and his wife at a top Lyon restaurant, la Tour Rose, before they move on to Chateau Bity.

On Sunday evening the two leaders will fly to Paris, where the Chinese president's state visit will formally begin.

On Monday Jiang will meet Chirac again, before lunching with Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. He is to give a press conference on Monday night.

Chirac wants to discuss prospects for strengthening a "multi-polar" world, not dominated by the United States, said French sources. This is a topic favoured by Jiang as well. They will also talk about reform of the United Nations and China's protracted bid to join the World Trade Organization.

But despite Chirac's love of Chinese culture, the sources insisted that the president will "defend France's economic interests" in his 10 hours of talks with the Chinese leader.

China comes outside the top 10 for France's trading partners and France had a 23 billion franc (3.53 billion euro, 3.48 billion dollar) trade deficit with China in 1998.

Having seen British business sign hundreds of millions of dollars of new deals this week, French counterparts also want their share of China's huge market. French negotiators will be particularly pushing for sales of Airbus jets, its TGV high speed train, food and agriculture and energy.

No major contracts are expected to be announced though.

Next Tuesday the Chinese president is scheduled to leave for Portugal, the third stage of his trip which will also take him to Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Agence France Presse

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China Says Protests Should Have Been Avoided

LONDON, Oct 22, 1999 -- (Reuters) China said on Thursday that anti-Beijing demonstration that have dogged the state visit to Britain of President Jiang Zemin should have been avoided.

Small but vocal groups of demonstrators have protested at Jiang's visit, mostly demanding an end to what they see as the brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Jiang's spokesman, Zhu Bangzhao, told reporters that the Chinese delegation had noticed what he called "interruptions" from demonstrators during the visit.

"We took notice of the fact that the British side took measures to stop them, but some of these interruptions should have been avoided. I think you should not pay attention to small noises on the street."

He said the demonstrators were espousing the causes of imperialism and colonialism. "These people who claim to fight for freedom, democracy and human rights are taking up the inglorious cause of imperialism and colonialism," the spokesman said.

In his conversation with Blair earlier on Thursday, Jiang had stressed the principle of non-interference by countries in other countries' affairs - a Chinese code phrase often used to rebuff criticism of its human rights record.

By Reuters

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China Sends More Cash To Taiwan, Urges End To Spat

BEIJING, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Reuters) China's Red Cross said on Thursday it would send an additional $500,000 to help victims of a deadly earthquake in Taiwan, and Beijing urged Taipei to stop politicizing the issue.

After the September 21 earthquake that killed 2,300 people, Taiwan accused China of trying to assert sovereignty over the island by obliging other countries to seek Beijing's permission to send aid.

Secretary General of the Red Cross Society of China Su Juxiang told reporters the mainland had raised five million yuan ($604,000) in goods and 30 million yuan in cash for the victims.

Taiwan had accepted the latest $500,000 donation, to be sent on Thursday, but had not consented to mainland rescue workers and materials, Su said.

"I am still hopeful they will accept our aid workers," Su said. "China has a lot of experience with earthquakes that we can share. Either we can go there or they can come here, if convenient."

The official Xinhua news agency quoted government officials as urging Taiwan to accept China's aid offers and saying Taipei's accusations were damaging bilateral ties.

"Taiwan authorities have 'politicized' anti-quake efforts in an attempt to conduct a 'quake diplomacy' in order to develop contacts with international organizations with the status of 'sovereignty'," it quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.

Zhu Zushou, head of the Foreign Ministry's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Department, denied charges Beijing had blocked rescue efforts, but said that under the U.N. charter only a sovereign entity can formally ask for international aid.

China and Taiwan have been bitter rivals since the Nationalists lost a civil war on the mainland and fled to the island in 1949.

Only 29 states recognise the Republic of China government on Taiwan and Beijing has maintained an unrelenting diplomatic drive to isolate the island further.

Zhu said the mainland's semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, which handles ties with Taipei, wrote to its counterpart to ask if a formal request for international aid was needed.

But Taiwan's Foundation for Cross-Straits Relations had replied that it was unnecessary, he said.

The earthquake was an opportunity to improve bilateral relations, Xinhua quoted Zhang Huaijun, head of the exchange bureau of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, as saying.

But Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui had made no mention of the mainland's donations and used the disaster instead to reiterate his "two-states" theory, Zhang said.

Relations between China and Taiwan soured in July when Lee said bilateral ties should be conducted on a "special state-to-state" basis - a move seen by Beijing as a "dangerous lurch" towards independence.

China has vowed to invade Taiwan if the island declares independence.

By Reuters

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Britain Hits Back At Claims Of Heavy-Handed Policing During Jiang Visit

LONDON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The British government on Wednesday hit back at criticism that heavy-handed policing of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit had stifled peaceful protest.

"The government does not tell the police how to manage these things," said Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman.

"Policing is a matter for the police. The Foreign Office liases with the police on these issues and then it is a matter for the police," he said.

The British press and human rights groups reacted with anger after police clamped down on any form of protest during Tuesday's ceremonial welcome for Jiang by the queen outside Buckingham Palace.

Banners bearing slogans attacking China over Tibet, Taiwan and its human rights record were confiscated under a law barring protest on royal land.

"Human rights and Tibet has been, is being and will be raised, but our relationship with China should not be defined solely by human rights," the spokesman said.

"The reason for this visit is because under the last government the queen made a visit to China and was treated as a head of state. We are reciprocating and we are not in the least embarrased by that.

"This visit is going perfectly well from the government's point of view and will improve our relations with China."

Protesters continued to dog Jiang's steps Wednesday as he went sightseeing in London and attended business and trade receptions.

Around 100 demonstrators gathered outside London's Savoy hotel where Jiang attended a reception to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the London branch of the Bank of China.

One cyclist, wearing a skull mask, managed to force his way into the motorcade carrying Jiang to the hotel and got in front of the president's car before being wrestled to the ground by around five police officers.

Jiang arrived in Britain late Monday on the first leg of a six-nation tour which will also take him to France, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese Government Denounced Over Falungong Arrests

NEW YORK, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The Falungong spiritual group on Thursday condemned the reported arrest of nine key members in China and the confiscation of millions of banned books and videotapes.

Chinese radio and television reported the new crackdown on the spiritual group on Thursday.

Gail Rachlin, a spokeswoman for the group here, said the Chinese government was resorting to persecution, because "they are realising that the people just won't recant."

She called on China to abide by its own pledges to respect human rights.

"We are just asking them to respect guidelines they have agreed to at the United Nations," she said.

She denounced major human rights violations and torture "that continue everyday and that the world just does not know about."

"We are asking the international community to pay more attention to this," she said. Falungong members had suffered torture including beatings until they lost consciousness, she said. One member had died under torture, she added.

"How much longer do we have to wait until the international community does something about this," Rachlin said.

Chinese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the group's exiled leader, Li Hongzhi, who is based here in New York.

Chinese Central Television reported that the suspects were involved in publishing books and producing videotapes and T-shirts -- acts that China considered illegal after it banned the group in July.

A total of 7.8 million books and 4.9 million videotapes were confiscated in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Jinan, the largest manufacturing centres of Falungong material, the report said.

By Agence France Presse

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China-sect-arrests- China conducts fresh crack down on Falungong leaders

BEIJING, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese authorities have arrested nine key members of the banned Falungong sect and confiscated millions of banned books and video tapes in a fresh crack down on the spiritual group, state radio and television reported Thursday.

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Chinese, US Officials Say Embassy Compensation Talks "Positive"

BEIJING, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Talks between Chinese and US officials over compensation talks related to NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade were positive, a US statement said.

A US delegation headed by Department of State Legal Adviser David Andrews resumed talks with Chinese negotiators on Wednesday, over compensation for the damage to the Belgrade embassy, and to US diplomatic property in China during subsequent protests, a US embassy statement said.

"The talks were positive and productive. The two sides agreed to meet again soon to continue the discussions," said the statement, which gave no further details.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said "fruitful progress" had been made in the talks, but declined further comment.

In earlier rounds the two sides agreed to a 4.5-million-dollar compensation settlement for three Chinese killed and some 20 wounded when five US missiles struck the Belgrade embassy on May 7.

Angry protesters smashed windows and set fire to the US embassy in Beijing and consulates at Shenyang in the northern province of Liaonging and in the central city of Chongqing, while minor damage was caused to consulates in Shanghai and southern Guangzhou.

Andrews was last in Beijing in August for the first round of talks on compensation for damage to the Chinese embassy and the US missions, sources said.

Both the United States and NATO have called the May 7 embassy bombing during the Kosovo campaign a "tragic error" caused by outdated maps and human error.

China has refused to accept this explanation, and the state-controlled press has described the incident as a premeditated attempt at containing China.

Beijing's angry reaction to the bombing included the cancellation of military and security exchanges with Washington.

It also put off bilateral negotiations with the United States on its entry to the World Trade Organization.

US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering arrive in China for high-level talks next week.

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Human Rights On Agenda As Jiang Meets Blair

LONDON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Human rights return Thursday to the official agenda of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Britain as he meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair for talks.

Blair has promised to raise human rights in the meeting at Downing Street, although his spokesman sought to downplay the role of the question in overall bilateral relations.

"The prime minister doesn't want our relationship with China to be solely defined by these issues," he said.

Blair's officials say the talks will focus on trade and economic questions instead.

Human rights groups say the British policy of constructive engagement with China sits uneasily with Blair's stated vow of operating an "ethical" foreign policy.

Meanwhile accusations have mounted that the heavy police presence designed to keep a tight lid on embarrassing protests is a further sign that London is putting more value on trade than any other issues.

Seven protestors have been arrested since Jiang arrived Monday evening for the first official visit by a Chinese leader to Britain.

Wednesday, the government confirmed four major deals potentially worth a total 3.5 billion dollars (3.24 billion euros), and the Bank of China will grant a separate yuan-denominated loan worth three billion yuan.

The deals have further cemented Britain's position as the European Union's largest investor in China.

Jiang has been largely shielded from demonstrations by a variety of groups ranging from pro-Tibet and Taiwanese campaigners to members of the Falungong religious sect, which is banned in China.

Their heavily policed protests have been vocal but peaceful, although lone demonstrators have managed to get close to Jiang on two occasions before they were unceremoniously bundled away by police.

The protestors have vowed to dog every step of his visit to Britain, which runs to Friday.

The British press, some MPs and human rights groups have criticized police for heavy-handed tactics, insisting peaceful protests should not be stifled.

Jiang was Thursday morning scheduled to meet British opposition leaders at Buckingham Palace, where he and his wife are residing.

He was then to drive to Downing Street for talks with Blair and lunch with senior members of the government, before attending a Britain-China forum.

Later Thursday, he was due to accompany Queen Elizabeth for the opening of an exhibition on China at the prestigious British Museum, before attending an evening banquet at the Chinese embassy.

Friday will be spent visiting the historic university city of Cambridge to the north of London before flying on to France on the next leg of his tour.

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Wei Jingsheng Blames London Police For "Violence"

LONDON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Exiled Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng lashed out on Thursday at Britain's police force, accusing it of handling protesters against the visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin with brutality.

Wei, who travelled to London from exile in the United States to take part in the demonstrations, said Chinese security agents had joined British police to stifle protests.

"They worked perfectly well together," Wei told CNN in an interview.

"The Chinese security guards picked the persons and then the English police came around and punched them away," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Wei, who has spent 18 years in Chinese prisons for his outspoken criticism of the Beijing government, said police "treated us with violence" and that he had never had "such a bad experience" with police in Western countries.

Since Jiang arrived here late Monday, seven people have been arrested for protesting his visit.

Two were held overnight Monday after a peaceful demonstration outside his hotel, another three were arrested Tuesday when Jiang was being ceremonially welcomed by Queen Elizabeth, and two were picked up Wednesday.

During Tuesday's protocol formalities, police also confiscated Tibetan and Taiwanese flags and banners.

Wei also doubted whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair would discuss the sensitive issue of China's human rights record with any great force in a meeting with Jiang later Thursday.

"I'm not too sure whether he is going to be talking to Mr Jiang Zemin sincerely about human rights issues. He has already sent out the police to stop protesters," Wei said.

Blair's spokesman has said the premier will raise human rights during the meeting.

Wei's comments on policing were supported by the oppositive Conservative foreign affairs spokesman John Maples, who said it was "over the top."

"I've been surprised at some of the actions of the police, at not letting people unfurl banners," he added.

The Liberal Democrats also insisted "no head of state should be spared the views of their opponents, no matter how important their visit."

Norman Godmann, a Labour MP and member of the parliament's foreign affairs select committee, said it was "bound to be embarrassing if someone comes here on a state visit with a record on human rights like China."

"There's no reason at all why such protests should not be allowed to take place even if it embarrasses, as it is bound to do, the president of China. Just too bad if he's embarrassed."

But Commander Michael Messinger, of London's Metropolitan Police, defended the police tactics.

"I don't think the policing has been heavy handed," he told the BBC.

"We deal with lots of demonstrations in London ... this visit is obviously no different to any of those really and truly."

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Curtain Comes Down On Another Human Rights Hiccup On Jiang Visit

LONDON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Another human rights hiccup hit the second full day of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Britain on Wednesday, with a protest by the director of a theater hosting one of his sightseeing trips.

Mark Rylance, artistic director of the newly-rebuilt Globe Theater, which the president visited in the afternoon, wrote a letter to the Foreign Office expressing concern over human rights abuse in China.

"While I have enormous respect for the Chinese people, history and culture ... I struggle to understand many of the government's present day actions, particularly towards their own young people and towards the Tibetan people," he wrote.

"I will be dismayed if this friendly relationship is being built only to benefit trade and economic wealth (particularly through the sale of weaponry) rather than to enable open and frank dialogue between our nations, between the benefits and abuses of human rights in both our nations."

The open letter was released as Jiang headed to the theater, which takes its name from the venue where William Shakespeare staged his first productions.

Jiang, making the first visit to Britain by a Chinese leader, watched a rehearsal of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, "Julius Caesar."

As elsewhere throughout his visit, he was greeted by a small but vocal protest from a pro-Tibet group waving Tibetan flags and chanting anti-Chinese slogans. Human rights and Taiwanese groups are also tailing him everywhere.

Rylance's letter was written earlier this month. He said he agreed to the request of the Foreign Office to host Jiang for a rehearsal, but not without reservations.

A statement from the Globe theater said Shakespeare would have encouraged communication to explore difficulties that exist between people.

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Chinese Media Silent Over Anti-Beijing Protests On Jiang Visit

BEIJING, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's media ignored protests which have dogged President Jiang Zemin on his state visit of Britain here Thursday, focusing instead on the royal ceremonies and economic ties between the two countries.

Television stations carried lengthy reports of the official ceremonies during the London visit, the first by a Chinese head of State to Britain.

News programs showed Jiang being driven in the royal carriage with Queen Elizabeth, but made no mention of scuffles between police and protestors along the way.

China's official press also ignored demonstrations by Tibet supporters and anti-China protestors, which have followed Jiang since his arrival in London Monday.

"Warm talks bring two nations closer," the China Daily declared in a front page headline, reporting on the speeches made by the Queen and President Jiang at a Buckingham Palace banquet Tuesday.

"Analysts anticipate Britain and China relations will enter a new era with all signs pointing to the positive," the English-language daily commented.

The press also gave prominence to Jiang's pledges Wednesday to pursue political and economic reforms in China.

On Tuesday, China's foreign affairs spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue warned European governments against anti-China protests during Jiang's tour, which also takes in France and Portugal.

Zhang said protests could compromise relations between China and the countries. Zhang's statement's were left on the sidelines of reports in the official press.

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Protestors Burn Chinese Flag On Jiang Visit

LONDON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Protestors burned a Chinese flag at a demonstration late Wednesday against the visit of China's President Jiang Zemin to Britain, as human rights groups continued to follow his every movement.

Some 150 protestors -- pro-Tibet activists, Taiwanese and members of the banned Falungong religious sect -- gathered outside London's Guildhall where Jiang was attending a banquet in his honor.

Although well marshalled into a small area away from the building, and not visible from the reception area, their chants and whistles were clearly heard as the president arrived and briefly inspected a military guard of honor.

Later after Jiang went into the civic building, a Chinese flag was burned, according to journalists at the scene.

Throughout his visit, which lasts until Friday, police have been out in strength to prevent embarrassing incidents. But protest groups have kept their pledge to tail the president wherever he goes.

The banquet was hosted by the City of London, which includes the financial heart of the capital.

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Xinjiang Authorities Execute Three Muslim "Terrorists"

BEIJING, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese authorities have executed three Muslim "terrorists" in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, a local paper received here Wednesday said.

In a one-paragraph report, the Xinjiang Legal Newspaper said three Muslim "terrorists" were executed in Yili district, near Aksu, in western Xinjiang recently, but gave no further details.

Meanwhile, a fourth man was killed while trying to escape police after he was accused of killing five ethnic Chinese in the remote region, the paper said in an October 12 report.

Yiming Asim was shot to death in Aksu city when he tried to run away after police found him after more than a year in hiding.

Seven Muslims who helped him hide from authorities were sentenced to several years in prison.

Two of them hid guns and bullets in their homes and one of them tried to attack police with a knife when they went to arrest him, the paper said.

Aksu's mayor Abulizi Abudureimu said the community should step up efforts to counter separatists, terrorists and religious extremists who use Islam to split national unity, the paper said.

Xinjiang, a predominantly ethnic Uighur area bordering several Islamic states in central Asia, has been gripped by tension between the region's Muslim majority and ethnic Han Chinese settlers.

Violent clashes in recent years have led to crackdowns and a series of death penalties for those "attempting to split the motherland."

A slew of executions were carried out in the run-up to the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule on October 1.

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Israeli President Says No Defense Deals With China

JERUSALEM, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Israel and China have not clinched any defense deals during the landmark visit to the Jewish state by Defense Minister General Chi Haotian, Israeli President Ezer Weizman said Wednesday.

Asked if the two countries had reached any strategic cooperation pacts or arms agreements, Weizman told reporters simply: "No."

"You can't on a visit like this always have results," Weizman said before heading into talks with Chi.

However, Chi stressed Beijing's commitment to strengthening ties in all fields with Israel.

"I have come to your country with the purpose of enhancing mutual understanding, strengthening trust and developing bilateral relations," he said.

During talks on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Barak expressed concern about China's links with the flow of weapons to countries hostile to Israel and urged Beijing to work with the Jewish state to halt the arms race in the region.

The Chinese general, heading a 17-strong delegation of high-ranking Chinese officers, earlier Wednesday toured the state-owned defense and aerospace technology company Israel Aircraft Industries.

China and Israel only established diplomatic ties in 1992, and Beijing has traditionally enjoyed close relations with the Palestinians and the Arab world.

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China Accuses Taiwan Of Turning Quake Relief Row Into Publicity Stunt

Oct 21, 1999 -- China on Wednesday accused the Taiwanese government of using a row over earthquake relief to further push statehood status for Taiwan.

"Taiwan has ulterior motives in stirring up this problem," Zhu Zushou, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the state-owned Chinese Central Television Station.

"Taiwanese authorities are trying to make this into a political issue, to use the earthquake as a publicity stunt to build up nation status."

He was speaking at a press conference to dispel "rumors" about China impeding international relief for Taiwan after it was struck on September 21 with a devastating quake which killed more than 2,300 people and left another 100,000 people homeless.

Zhu said there was no truth to reports that China allegedly tried to delay a rescue mission by preventing a Russian plane from flying over its air space.

He said China tried to launch an international rescue effort through the United Nations, and repeatedly thanked other countries for assisting Taiwan.

However, Taiwan, which split from mainland China in 1949, has accused China of using the earthquake to push its unification goals and assert its sovereignty over the island.

Taipei was enraged when Beijing thanked the international community for the assistance extended to "China's Taiwan province".

Chinese officials at the press conference said Taiwan's accusations were completely groundless and detrimental to development of good relations between the two sides.

Zhang Huaijun, a spokesman for the Security Council's Taiwan affairs office, said Taiwanese authorities were twisting reality to fit their political motives.

"(Taiwan President) Lee Teng-hui is using this chance to further promote his two-states theory. The Taiwanese government do not care about Taiwanese people's needs in the disaster, delaying and not responding to mainland China's efforts to help," Zhang said.

The Taiwanese government has refused mainland offers to send earthquake and medical experts to Taiwan.

However, Chinese officials on Wednesday said regardless of what the Taiwanese government says, mainland experts would be ready to go to Taiwan at a moments notice.

Beijing has viewed the island as a renegade province since Mao Zedong's Communist forces drove the nationalist troops of Chiang Kai-shek there at the end of a civil war in 1949.

Relations between the two sides reached their lowest point this year when Lee said Taiwan should have a state-to-state relationship with China.

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Dalai Lama Arrives For Four-Day Visit To The Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, Oct 16, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived Friday in the Netherlands for a four-day visit that includes a sold-out conference on ethics and a reception by Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok.

The Dalai Lama will give a "lesson in Buddhism" on Saturday in The Hague, and a conference the next day on "Ethics during the new millennium."

All 9,000 tickets have been sold for the conference, according to local press reports

On Monday, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate will meet with Dutch Foreign Minister Jozias van Aartsen before receiving a courtesy call from Kok.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in exile since 1959, will also meet with Dutch deputies and attend a forum on ethics and business in Amsterdam which Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander is expected to attend.

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China Dissident Faces Trial For Democracy Essays

BEIJING, Oct 16, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese dissident Jiang Qisheng, detained in May after calling on citizens to commemorate victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, has been formally charged with subversion, his wife said on Friday.

Police charged Jiang, 50, with two counts of "inciting subversion of state power" and a trial could begin this month, Zhang Hong told Reuters.

The doctoral student faces a maximum jail term of five years on each count, she said.

"The police on October 8 told me I should find him a lawyer," she said.

The lawyer she hired has since visited Jiang at a detention centre in Beijing. The official charges cite a pro-democracy essay Jiang distributed in November 1996, and a letter penned this year calling for a nationwide candlelight vigil for demonstrators killed near Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, Zhang said.

"Freedom of speech is a right within the bounds of the law. He's a citizen, isn't he?" said Zhang.

"This incitement charge just doesn't stand up."

Jiang was jailed in September 1989 for taking part in the Tiananmen demonstrations. He was released in January 1991 but remained a gadfly to the ruling Communist Party.

He has written periodic letters to Chinese leaders, including a petition in October last year calling for the government to release a private fund for families of victims of the 1989 demonstration.

The fund collected by Chinese students overseas was frozen by state security authorities last October.

Jiang also delivered a petition to the Indonesian embassy last year denouncing violence against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.

That petition helped spark student protests and embarrassed Beijing, which had given scant coverage in the state-run media to the anti-Chinese violence. Zhang said she and her 17-year-old son planned to attend the trial.

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China Lashes Out Against U.S. Defense Law

BEIJING, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Reuters) China announced strong displeasure with the United States for signing the fiscal year 2000 defense bill into law, saying it contained anti-China articles, state media reported on Friday.

"Now that the United States has made the bill into law, China is highly displeased with and is firmly opposed to this," Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue as saying.

President Bill Clinton on Tuesday signed a $288.8 billion U.S. military budget that increased defense spending for the first time since the Cold War ended and gave troops their biggest pay raise in 18 years.

The Xinhua article made no reference to parts of the law that Beijing found objectionable.

"The Chinese are demanding that the United States proceed from the overall situation of bilateral relations and adopt effective measures to prevent the anti-Chinese articles in the law from damaging the improvement and development of Sino-U.S. relations," Zhang was quoted as saying.

It was the second time in as many days that China lashed out against the United States.

China opened a new rift in the fragile Sino-U.S. relationship on Thursday, reacting angrily to U.S. threats of sanctions over allegations of religious persecution.

Ties had been on a gradual mend after hitting their lowest point in a decade following the bombing of Beijing's embassy in Yugoslavia in May by NATO warplanes.

"This is in essence a wanton interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom," the foreign ministry's Zhang was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The U.S. State Department designated China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar and Sudan as countries of particular concern for violations of religious freedom, spokesman James Rubin said on Wednesday.

The designation makes the countries liable for U.S. sanctions. The designations were the first of their kind under the Religious Freedom Act passed by Congress last year.

Zhang said on Thursday that ties had "reached a crucial point".

U.S. President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin had met last month in New Zealand, their first face-to-face talks since the bombing.

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China Blocks Funding To Families Of Tiananmen Massacre Victims

BEIJING, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China has blocked financial donations sent from abroad to the families of those killed in the 1989 military crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, the mother of one of the victims told AFP Monday.

"I was very angry when I went to the bank to try to get the funds and I found out they won't let me," Ding Zilin by telephone from her home in Jiangsu province.

"There's no reason for not letting us access the money. They're intentionally trying to bully us."

Ding said it was the third time authorities had frozen the 50,896 RMB (6,132 dollars) donated by Chinese students studying in Germany to help the families of people killed in the 1989 massacre on Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The funds were donated in October 1998, but at that time China's State Security Bureau had ordered the Bank of China branch in Jiangsu province's Wuxi city to freeze the money for six months, claiming they had to investigate the source.

When the six-month period was over on April 7 this year, Ding tried to retrieve the funds but was told they had been frozen for another six months.

The second six-month period expired on Friday, but Ding was again told the investigation period had been extended for another six months.

Ding on Monday sent an open letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji to release the funds.

She has also sent the same letter to the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Mary Robinson asking help in resolving the problem.

"I again appeal to all the people in the world who has a sense of justice and compassion, take seriously this human rights violation by the Chinese government," Ding said in the letter, which was also meant for the public to see.

Philosophy professor Ding became one of China's most outspoken rights activists after her teenage son was gunned down by Chinese troops on the evening of June 3, 1989.

She heads a group of activists pushing for a reassessment of the bloodshed which ensued when People's Liberation Army troops brutally suppressed a student-led protest in Tiananmen Square on June 3 and 4, 1989.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators died.

Beijing has never given an official figure for how many died in the repression and considers the "incident" a counter-revolutionary rebellion.

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China Sentences Three Moslem Separatists To Death

BEIJING, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Reuters) A court in China's restive Xinjiang province has sentenced three Moslem separatists to death for masterminding bombings and armed robberies around the country, the Xinjiang Legal said in an edition seen on Monday.

The official newspaper said a court in the provincial capital of Urumqi handed down the sentences last month and gave six other Moslems reprieved death sentences - which are usually commuted to life in jail for good behavior.

It said the nine had worked from a base in the southern province of Guangzhou from which they organized a series of bombings and armed robberies in the northern cities of Tianjin and Xi'an and the central city of Nanchang.

Police arrested them in Xi'an as they were about to transport more than 260 homemade detonators to Xinjiang in the northwest to be used in bombs.

Xinjiang is home to Turkish-speaking Uighur militants who have been struggling for decades to establish an independent East Turkestan in the region, which border Afghanistan, Pakistan and three former Soviet Central Asian republics.

The province has been rocked by bombings, assassinations and rioting in recent years. Hundred of pro-independence activists have been jailed or executed.

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China Sends Taiwan More Aid

BEIJING, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Reuters) China has sent another $200,000 dollars in earthquake relief to Taiwan, adding to $100,000 offered earlier, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The money was sent by the Red Cross Society of China to Taiwan's Red Cross organization, Xinhua said.

It quoted a mainland Chinese Red Cross official as saying China was still ready to send medical teams and rehabilitation experts to Taiwan.

Taiwan has rejected previous offers of Chinese medics. It has accused China of using the massive earthquake, which killed several thousand people when it struck on September 21, to score political points.

In particular, Taipei is enraged that China has insisted that it must approve international relief to the island, which it regards as a renegade province. The Nationalist government has accused Beijing of putting its concerns over sovereignty above human lives.

The Red Cross official was quoted as saying: "We are concerned about the situation of the disaster in Taiwan, and have established hotlines to receive donations, prepared for relief materials and organized medical teams."

Critics of China scoffed at its original donation of $100,000 as inadequate. With its latest donation, China is clearly keen to head off such criticism.

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Xinjiang Separatists Held For Killings Of Chinese In Turkey

ISTANBUL, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Reuters) Police in Istanbul have detained 10 supporters of a group calling itself East Turkestan Liberation Organization in connection with a series of attacks on Chinese nationals here, Turkish papers reported Saturday.

Abdulcafer Turkoglu, 22, the Turkish-born son of an immigrant from northwestern China, was arrested for the killing of a Chinese restaurant owner in Istanbul's Bakirkoy district last week.

Turkoglu confessed to the murder of Tang Xin, 36, in his restaurant "Chinese Kitchen" on Tuesday as well as to the killing of Yuechun Xu, owner of the "China Town" restaurant in Istanbul's Levent district, in April of last year.

He also admitted to having firebombed the Chinese consulate in Istanbul last year and confessed to a plan to assassinate Chinese Consul Ni Jun.

Anti-terrorist police detained nine people named by Turkoglu as having supported and bankrolled his activities in the East Turkestan Liberation Organisation.

The detainees shouted "Freedom for East Turkestan" as they were taken away, the papers said.

Turkoglu, whose father immigrated to Turkey from China's northwestern Xinjiang province in 1965, said he wanted to take revenge on China for testing nuclear and chemical weapons in Xinjiang and thereby killing his people.

China's Xinjiang province is predominantly populated by ethnic Turkic minorities, the largest of which are the Uighurs.

The region has long been gripped by tension between the region's Muslim majority and ethnic Han Chinese settlers.

Violent clashes in recent years have led to crackdowns and a series of death penalties.

Many Turkic emigrants from the province have settled in Turkey, where Xinjiang is known as Eastern Turkestan.

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Daley Appears Less Optimistic About China's WTO Entry

Oct 11, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Commerce Secretary William Daley on Friday warned it was becoming "more and more difficult" for the United States and China to reach an accord on Beijing's accession to the WTO ahead of a key global trade meeting November 30.

"The clock is running," Daley told reporters here.

"Every week that goes by makes it more and more difficult," noting that in addition to working out an agreement with the United States, China must also negotiate with the European Union on the WTO.

Daley's remarks contrasted sharply with the optimism he showed on September 21, when he said an accord on China's admission to the WTO was "absolutely doable" by November 30.

That is the day world trade ministers are to gather in Seattle under the auspices of the World Trade Organization to discuss the launch of a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations.

US officials are eager to have Chinese counterparts at the Seattle talks.

But Washington and Beijing have yet to agree on China's accession terms, with the United States demanding that China commit itself to sweeping market-opening measures.

Formal contacts resumed in mid-September after a suspension imposed by China to protest the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade May 7.

The Chinese refused to accept the US explanation that the attack, which occurred during NATO's Kosovo campaign, was an accident caused by faulty intelligence.

China must also win the backing of the European Union before it can join the Geneva-based WTO, which promotes and monitors world trade.

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Dalai Lama Predicts China Change In Several Years

LOS ANGELES, Oct 12, 1999 -- (Reuters) Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said late on Monday he saw China softening its grip on the Himalayan region in a few years. "Sooner or later, the wise Chinese leaders, eventually, I think, will recognize that the current situation is actually counterproductive, that current policies are counterproductive," he said.

The Dalai Lama, 64, made the remarks after handing out Tibet Light of Truth Awards to the former First Lady of France, Danielle Mitterrand, the husband of California Senator Dianne Fienstein, and a former British envoy to Tibet for their work in promoting understanding of his people.

Speaking to an audience of about 1,000 crowded in a Jewish center in Los Angeles, the Dalai Lama said the situation in Tibet, occupied by Chinese troops since 1950, was "treacherous."

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his peaceful struggle for more Tibetan autonomy, but is vilified by Beijing as a traitor who foments violence and rebellion.

The bespectacled monk, clad in crimson and saffron robes and speaking in broken English, said Beijing's strategy of dominating Tibet through the "decisive" power of the gun was doomed to fail.

"It may take, I think, a few more years, but I think that sooner or later things definitely will change," he said. "The power of justice may appear weak, but that power always wins, justice always wins."

China maintains a force of several hundred thousand troops in the devoutly Buddhist region, which is home to about 2.5 million Tibetans.

Beijing insists its policies have raised the standard of living in a desperately poor and backward region, but critics say the government is bent on eradicating Tibet's culture and its unique form of Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama warned Beijing its heavy-handed tactics would only kindle further bitterness among Tibetans.

"Stability and unity under the gun is very, very superficial. If you use the method of suppression, the more the resentment will increase," he said.

After being presented with a silvery goblet and white silk scarf by the Dalai Lama, Mitterrand urged governments and citizens to speak out on behalf of Tibetans and other oppressed peoples, saying: "Silence kills."

Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, founder of the American Himalayan Foundation that gives aids to Tibetans, pledged the couple would continue to press Beijing to treat Tibet with a lighter touch.

"We haven't made a lot of progress, as you know, but we have promised never, ever to give up. And we will keep knocking on that Great Wall for as long as it takes," Blum said.

Hugh Richardson, Britain's envoy to Tibet from 1936 to 1947, was also honored at the ceremony but did not attend.

Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and actress Sharon Stone also attended the ceremony.

By Reuters

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1989 Democracy Dissident To Be Tried For Subversion

BEIJING, Oct 10, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) A prominent Chinese democracy activist is to be tried soon for subversion by a Beijing court, a New York-based rights organization said Sunday.

The wife of Jiang Qisheng has been told to find her husband a lawyer in a sign that the trial could take place soon, Human Rights In China said in a faxed statement.

Jiang was detained on May 18 after making an open appeal for public commemorations to mark the 10th anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crushing of weeks of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

A former graduate student at the People's University, Jiang participated in a student dialogue with then premier Li Peng during the tumultuous 1989 protests.

After serving more than a year in prison following 1989, Jiang helped other dissidents track down and identify those killed by the People's Liberation Army in the crackdown, the group said.

In a related event, Ma Yuanxin, who worked with Jiang on the 10th anniversary appeal, has been found in a "reform-through-labor camp" after being sentenced without trial for one and a half years, the group said.

Ma disappeared in police custody on May 18, and his fate was only revealed when a friend received a letter from him on October 5, the group said.

Meanwhile, student Yuan Yungbo, 18, was sentenced to one year in prison on September 30 for putting up posters denouncing the 1989 crackdown around the Jianli County Teacher's School where he studies in central Hubei Province.

Yuan was charged by a local court with attempting to subvert state political power.

Hundreds, and by some accounts thousands of people, were killed on June 4th, 1989 when tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement.

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Mao Wanted His Wife To Become The Communist Party Chief

HONG KONG, Oct 10, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Top secret documents have revealed that China's late leader Mao Zedong wanted his wife to head the ruling Communist party, the Hong Kong Standard reported Sunday.

The documents also show that Mao did not consider his wife Jiang Qing suitable to become state president, premier or chairman of the central military commission, it added.

President Jiang Zemin described the documents as a "time bomb" that could be used to undermine the present leadership, the newspaper said.

The 56 top secret files, documents and tape recordings dictated by Mao and recorded by a close confidant were found in a raid on the home of late party vice-chairman Wang Dongxing, former secret police chief and palace guard commander.

Mao was believed to have made his thoughts about Jiang known in the early 1970s, a few years before he died, the Standard said.

The files also show Mao had ruled out making premier Zhou Enlai his successor, as Zhou had opposed him frequently and had betrayed him at least 10 times.

Wang's home was raided following tip-offs from former associates and on the orders of the party leaders who believe Maoist loyalists could still pose a threat to the central leadership.

Despite Mao's political campaigns such as the 1958 Great Leap Forward, which led to mass starvation, and the horrific excesses of the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, his words still carry weight as does his legacy of founding the Communist People's Republic of China, 50 years ago.

Following Mao's death in 1976, Jiang Qing was purged by party chairman Hua Guofeng together with politburo members Wang Hongwen, ZhangChunqiao and Yao Wenyuan, who together formed the infamous Gang of Four.

Jiang was initially sentenced to death but her sentence was then commuted to life imprisonment. She committed suicide by hanging herself in 1991.

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China and Vietnam Praise Policies Of Socialism And Market Reforms

BEIJING, Oct 10, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Leading Chinese and Vietnamese communist leaders exchanged experiences in developing Marxism through capitalist reforms and expressed devotion to a creed which mixes one party political rule with market economics, state press reported Sunday.

Marxism does not reject, but absorbs and "draws on all achievements of human civilization," Li Ruihuan, a member of China's all powerful Politburo standing committee was quoted by the People's Daily as saying.

Li was speaking Saturday to visiting Vietnamese Politburo standing committee member Pham The Duyet, the paper said.

"The Marxism we refer to is scientific and a general truth which is a complete system providing a sharp weapon by which mankind can learn and rebuild the world," Li said.

"Marxism pioneers the way towards truth, but it has not, and cannot, encompass all truth in the world."

Li stressed that "in the present situation," it was of special importance for Vietnam and China to consolidate their friendship.

Vietnam, following China's lead, embarked on market reforms earlier this decade, while maintaining a strong grip on one party communist rule.

Pham praised the efforts of former leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh for fostering friendly relations between the two countries, the report said.

China and Vietnam fought a bloody border clash in 1979 and normalized relations in 1991 by agreeing to peacefully resolve ongoing territorial disputes both along the land border and in the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea.

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Bulging China Has Managed To Brake Its Population Growth

BEIJING, Oct 10, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China, home to a fifth of the world's people, has made the biggest efforts to halt the population explosion but at a heavy price.

Without the sacrifices of millions of Chinese couples living under a rigid one-child policy the world's population would have passed six billion at least three years ago, UN experts told AFP.

"China has had the most successful family planning policy in the history of mankind in terms of quantity and with that, China has done mankind a favor," United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative Sven Burmester said.

The UN estimates the world's population, which has doubled since 1960, will reach six billion on Tuesday and 8.9 billion in 2050.

Without Beijing's one-child policy, the country's current population of 1.248 billion would have already hit two billion, experts said. Officials here say 300 million to 400 million births have been avoided thanks to the policy.

The communist regime belatedly realized the risks of over population. The number of people in China doubled from 500 million to a billion between the arrival of the communists in 1949 and the beginning of their birth control policy at the start of the 1980s.

Late communist leader Mao Zedong initially believed it was good to encourage women to have children in the hope that a larger population would increase China's power in the world.

To achieve the official average fertility rate of 1.8 children per woman last year, China has enforced since the end of the 1970s the most stringent birth control policy ever imposed on a population.

At the center of the program is the strict limit of one child per family, backed up with radical penalties for those who break the rules from simple fines to being sacked, as well as abortions and sterilization’s vehemently denounced by human rights groups.

Despite the fact that many women in the vast Chinese countryside have two or three children, the success of the policy in the towns has been shown by an easing of the rules in a bid to even out the demographic distortions it has created between the town and the countryside ... as well as the imbalance in the sexes.

Due to the traditional Chinese preference for male descendants, the policy has resulted in abortions of female fetuses and even the murder of baby girls.

Consequently there is a gender imbalance in China favoring men, who outnumber women by almost 20 percent. That means there are about 110 million Chinese men who cannot find wives.

Now, with the help of the United Nations and a number of foreign countries, China is trying several pilot projects to reduce the strict enforcement of the policy and replace it with better education.

Officially, economic considerations should encourage couples to voluntarily reduce the number of children they have as has happened in other countries.

But foreign experts remain wary, saying the results of official surveys are biased and that the attitudes of couples will depend mainly on the success of ambitious social reforms adopted by the leadership.

Until then China will continue to apply its one-child policy while adapting it to the "very diverse" conditions which exist across the country, said Chen Shengli, spokesman for the national family planning committee.

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U.S. May Indict Mcdonnell Douglas, Chinese Firm Over Machine Tool Deal

WASHINGTON, Oct 9, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to indict McDonnell Douglas and a Chinese aerospace firm over the sale of machine tools that ended up in a Chinese factory making missiles, Time magazine reported Friday.

Time's online service Time.com said Attorney General Janet Reno had approved indictments for both McDonnell Douglas, now part of the Boeing Company, and Catic, a state-owned Chinese aerospace company that bought the tools.

The tools were sold in 1994 for use in commercial aircraft production at a specific location but ended up in a facility that produced, among other things, Silkworm missiles -- a violation of the export license, Time said.

The companies have until October 21 to decide on the plea bargains offered by the government or face indictment shortly thereafter, Time said.

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U.S. Plays Down Chances Of Quick China Trade Pact

WASHINGTON, Oct 9, 1999 -- (Reuters) A senior Clinton administration official on Friday played down China's chances of joining the World Trade Organization this year, citing slow progress in talks with the United States and the Europeans.

Commerce Secretary William Daley said it would be "very difficult" for China to wrap up negotiations with the United States, the European Union and others as required to join the 134-member WTO in time for the launch of global trade talks in Seattle in late November.

Daley's remarks reflect growing pessimism within the Clinton administration and the business community that a market-opening pact could not be reached in the weeks that remain before the Seattle meeting.

So far U.S. and Chinese negotiators have been hard-pressed to settle their differences over U.S. access to the vast Chinese market, potentially the world's largest with 1.2 billion consumers.

Some business leaders and analysts said the best they could hope for was an agreement early next year. But that could create new obstacles in the U.S. Congress as lawmakers gird for battle ahead of the 2000 presidential and congressional elections.

Chinese officials have been more upbeat about their bid to join the WTO this year. "Whether China can join the WTO has now become a political decision," China's Minister of Foreign Trade Shi Guangsheng told state media on Wednesday.

Daley rejected that notion.

"Some people think this is just a political move. It isn't. These are serious negotiations that will impact how we all trade for many years. It's got to be done right," he told reporters in Washington before leaving on a trade mission to the Middle East.

U.S.-China talks have been marred by a dispute over market-opening concessions proposed by Premier Zhu Rongji during a state visit to Washington in April. The United States wants China to recommit to that package, which included unprecedented tariff cuts and increased access in areas such as agriculture, telecommunications and financial services.

Washington also hoped to wring additional concessions out of Beijing to open China's financial and banking sectors, and to improve safeguards against surges in Chinese exports of steel and textiles.

But Beijing, in the aftermath of NATO's bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in May, has balked at U.S. demands.

Trade sources said Shi and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky hoped to resume negotiations in mid-to late-October, following meetings between Chinese and European Union negotiators.

That would give U.S. and Chinese officials only a few weeks to strike a deal before WTO ministers gathered in Seattle from Nov 30 to Dec 3.

It also would leave President Bill Clinton little time to persuade a skeptical Congress to go along.

To finalize any pact, the Republican-controlled Congress must grant China permanent most-favored nation trade status, which the United States now refers to as Normal Trade Relations (NTR). That would guarantee Chinese goods the same low tariff access to U.S. markets as nearly every other nation.

"The clock is running. Every week that goes by makes it more and more difficult," Daley said. "We're committed to see it, but it's up the Chinese."

By Reuters

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China Slams U.S. Allegations Of Religious Intolerance

BEIJING, Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China hit out Thursday against accusations from the United States of religious intolerance under a new law which could result in sanctions against Beijing. "The Chinese government and people are highly indignant over and firmly opposed to the US State Department's unwarranted charges against China's religious affairs," foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in a statement carried on the official Xinhua news agency.

"This is in essence a wanton interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom," she said.

The US State Department on Wednesday said it had targeted Burma, China, Iran, Iraq and Sudan for religious intolerance under the Religious Freedom Act.

Congress requires the State Department to notify the legislators of countries or groups that are major violators of religious freedom. This is the first time the law has been implemented.

Zhang called on the United States not to further undermine bilateral relations, which had reached "a crucial point," following NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in May.

"If the US implements this law, it will completely interfere in China's internal affairs. The accusation is sheer fabrication and groundless slander," Liu Bainian, vice-president of the officially-approved China Patriotic Catholic Association, told AFP.

"We had three million Catholics in 1949. Now we have more than four million Catholics. We've sent 110 young fathers and nuns to foreign countries and more than 40 to U.S. seminaries," he said.

But Christians practicing their faith in unofficial, or "home", churches alone now number around 40 million, according to human rights groups.

China regularly cracks down on anyone practicing their faith without the Communist Party seal of approval, imposing heavy jail terms on unofficial priests and ministers.

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Northwest China Should Brace For Massive Quake, Says Expert

BEIJING, Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Mainland China could be hit at any time by a massive earthquake like that which caused devastation in Taiwan last month, with the biggest threat hanging over a densely populated zone in the country's northwest, according to a French seismologist.

"Most of Chinese territory is under threat of earthquakes of a magnitude greater than 8.0 on the Richter Scale," Professor Paul Tapponnier, of the Paris-based Institute of Earth Physics, told AFP in a recent interview in Beijing.

Taponnier, who is taking part in a Sino-French seismological and geological research project begun 20 years ago, said the area of greatest risk lay near the northwestern Chinese city of Lanzhou, which numbers two million inhabitants.

"We are studying in particular a 200 kilometer (120 mile) segment of the Haiyuan fault, which lies around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Lanzhou, and which has not shifted since the 13th century," Tapponnier said.

Pressure had been building up underground for some time, as the Indian continental plate burrowed into its Chinese neighbor, throwing up the Himalayas like a bulldozer, he explained.

"We are expecting a sudden shift of 12 meters (39.6 feet) of this segment along with an earthquake which could happen at any time," he said.

It was another 1,000 kilometer (600 mile) long section of this fault which was responsible for a tremor measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale which killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people in Lanzhou in 1920.

The Haiyuan fault crosses Gansu province, which has been one of those most devastated by earthquakes throughout history.

Large tremors have also rocked western, northeast and southwest China, giving the country the world record in terms of number of victims.

China has been hit by 15 temblors measuring more than 8.0 on the Richter scale this century alone.

The last of these -- measured at 7.8 by the Chinese but 8.2 by the Americans -- razed the northern industrial city of Tangshan, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Beijing, on July 28, 1976.

The town was virtually wiped off the map, with the official death toll reaching 242,000. Around 164,000 people were seriously injured.

Unlike the earthquakes which periodically affect Taiwan and Japan along the boundary between the Philippines submarine tectonic plate and the eurasian tectonic plate, China's seismological history is unique, Tapponier said.

"This is taking place moving into the heart of the continent, not at the meeting place between plates.

"Continental China is buckling under the action of the collision between India and Asia which began 50 million years ago, with India acting both like a bulldozer and a snowplough, pushing China and southeast Asia eastwards," he explained.

The result of this continental collision is six major fault lines on a par with the San Andreas fault, which move between 10 and 12 millimeters (about half an inch) every year and are responsible for the country's major earthquakes.

The largest fault, the 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) -long Altyn Tagh, lies at the boundary between the Tibetan plateau and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, in a sparsely-populated area.

The Mekong fault runs down from the Himalayas to the Gulf of Tonkin, cutting north-south through the southwestern province of Yunnan.

The earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale which hit Taiwan on September 21 killed almost 2,300 people, according to the latest toll given by the authorities in Taipei.

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North Korea And China Stress Friendship As Old Allies Rebuild Ties

Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Communist nations North Korea and China vowed Friday to strengthen their friendship as the old allies moved to rebuild their strained ties, Pyongyang's official media said.

The call for improved was made by China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his North Korean counterpart Paek Nan-Sun during a landmark visit to the North by Tang, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Paek said "traditional relations of friendship between Korea and China would strengthen in the common interests of the two peoples," the agency said.

He wished the Chinese people "new success in the work for socialist construction with Chinese characteristics and for the reunification of the whole country."

The message was timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ties between the one-time ideological allies.

Tang said in reply that he too hoped the ties "would steadily develop," and wished the Korean people success in "the struggle to achieve the independent and peaceful reunification of the country," KCNA said.

While China has been a staunch ally of the isolated Stalinist regime in Pyongyang, their ties have come under strain in recent years as China has abandoned strict communist doctrine to develop a thriving market economy.

In seeking boosted trade and economic relations, Beijing founded diplomatic ties with Pyongyang's archenemy South Korea in 1992, sparking fury in North Korea.

Tang's visit marks the first in eight years by a Chinese foreign minister.

It could be crucial to bringing the hermit Stalinist nation out of its shell, analysts and diplomats said.

It comes after China welcomed North Korea's September 24 moratorium on new missile launches in a landmark agreement with the United States.

The moratorium followed Pyongyang's launch of a missile over Japan in August 1998 provoking sharp condemnation from Washington and Tokyo, and heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula.

China and North Korea have not held a summit-level meeting since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung in 1994.

Reports said here earlier that North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il could visit China in the near future.

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Released Dissident Liu Xiaobo Says Labor Camp Conditions "Pretty Good"

BEIJING, Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Conditions at the northeast China prison camp where prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo was detained for three years were "pretty good", the activist told AFP Friday following his release.

"During my three years in detention at the reeducation through labor camp in Dalian (Liaoning province) I did a lot of reading, mainly of politics and philosophy," Liu told AFP by telephone.

"The conditions there were pretty good, I could do physical exercise and they didn't make me do much labor," he said, adding that he remained in good health.

Liu, sentenced in October 1996 for publishing a declaration calling on the Chinese Communist Party to accelerate political reforms, was released Thursday from the labor camp.

Unlike other freed dissidents who have been ordered to live in semi-rural areas or avoid contact with foreigners and the media, "no conditions" were attached to Liu's release.

He had previously been detained on charges of "counter-revolution" for his participation in a high-profile hunger strike at Tiananmen Square during the student-led pro-democracy protests of 1989.

Liu was arrested and sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison just days following the June 4, 1989 crackdown which left hundreds, if not thousands, dead in the streets of Beijing.

His rearrest in October of 1996 followed the publication of a petition to reexamine the events of 1989, as well as several public statements on freedom of the press and political reform, Liu said.

Liu, along with veteran dissident Wang Xizhe, also made a rare call for Beijing to start talks with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since the Communist army took over Tibet in 1959.

The call broke a long-term taboo, even among dissident circles, by questioning Chinese sovereignty over the troubled mountain region.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now, I don't know anyone in Dalian any more," Liu said.

"I'll probably go to Beijing."

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Chinese Youth Gets One Year After Calling For Reassessment Of Massacre

BEIJING, Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) An 18-year-old Chinese man who demanded authorities reassess the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has been sentenced to one year in prison, a court official told AFP Friday.

Yuan Yungbo was sent to prison on a charge of trying to overthrow state power, said Chen Zaiguo, an official at the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jianli County of Hubei province in eastern China.

"He was sentenced on Sept 30. He's been taken to the first detention center of Jiangli County," Chen said.

Yuan, who was studying to be a Chinese literature teacher at the Jianli County Teachers' School, was arrested on June 7 this year.

Officials accused him of placing posters around the campus on June 3 calling for the government to reassess the massacre, the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said in a statement Friday.

The slogans included:

"To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the June 4 patriotic movement, we are painfully proud of the sacrifices of our patriotic heroes."

"The Communist party's corrupt dictatorship brings China into grave disaster."

"June 4th patriotism will always inspire our next generation. We patriotic and warm-blooded youth should unite to form a new revolutionary strength."

Hundreds, and by some accounts thousands of people were killed on June 4th, 1989 when tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement.

On the 10th anniversary of the massacre this year, victims' families and others have been calling on the government to reevaluate the incident and punish those responsible for the deaths.

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China Wants Tibetan Monastery To Be Placed On World Heritage List

Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China has applied to have a 1,300-year-old Tibetan monastery placed on the World Heritage List, state media reported Friday. The Johkang Monastery has many cultural relics, officials said.

Chinese officials want the Johkang Monastery to enter the list as part of the Potala Palace, which made it into the list as one of the architectural wonders of the world in 1994, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The monastery and the Palace, once the center of the Tibetan government and winter residence of the Dalai Lama, are located in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.

In recent years, Chinese and Tibetan officials have been trying to boost tourism in the region by restoring buildings of historical value.

The Tibetan region has been under tight security for most of the year, as nervous authorities attempted to stifle unrest during a series of sensitive dates, including the 40th anniversary of spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's flight into exile.

His exile to Dharamsala, India in March 1959 followed a violent uprising against Chinese communist rule.

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Forget Tiananmen, focus on China development, Tung tells democrats

HONG KONG, Oct 8, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa said Friday he has advised pro-democracy legislators to move on and forget about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to focus on China's development.

Pro-democracy leaders should "understand more as to what is happening in China," Tung told a business luncheon here.

That had been the thrust of his discussions with them over the past two and half years, since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in July 1997, he added.

But he denied press reports that he had asked the pro-democracy camp to halt the annual commemoration here of the June 4, 1989 military crackdown on the pro-democracy protests in Beijing -- in which hundreds, if not thousands, died.

"I did not ask them to stop demonstrating on June 4 ... in return for visits to Beijing," Tung told the luncheon organised by Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

"I also told them it is time to put down the baggage of June 4 and move forward, construct and build a better Hong Kong together and contribute to China further development," said Tung.

Tung's remarks came after democrat legislator Albert Ho disclosed that Tung had asked Szeto Wah, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Movement in China, which organises the annual candlelight vigil here not to mark the event this year if it wants to improve ties with Beijing.

Ho also asked Tung late Thursday why he and many of his pro-democracy colleagues were barred from travelling to the mainland.

"I hope the Democratic Party and the democratic camp will improve their understanding of the country. I have mentioned my hope that you can prove your worth in every respect, but I've looked again and again and seen nothing," Tung replied.

The alliance was set up following the 1989 military crackdown of pro-democracy protests in China.

Several of pro-democracy legislators were members of the alliance, which Beijing deemed was aimed at toppling the communist regime and thus barred them from the mainland.

Legislator Margaret Ng was prevented last month from boading a flight to Beijing to attend a legal seminar because of her anti-Beijing stance.

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China Executes Six Muslims In Xinjiang For "Terrorism"

BEIJING, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China has executed at least six Muslims from its troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang for terrorist activities connected to the separatist movement, official media said Thursday.

The six men -- all members of the Muslim Uighur minority -- were executed on September 23, three in Yili prefecture and three in Urumqi.

Turhan Saidalamoud, Nurahmet Niyazi and Kurbanjiang Yusseyin were accused in the Yili Intermediate People's Court of murder, "illegal religious proselytism," and manufacturing explosives respectively, the Xinjiang Dushibao newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, Alim Younous, Dulkan Rouz and Turhong Awout were convicted of murder and robbery, and the illegal manufacture, transportation and storage of arms, ammunition and explosives, according to the Xinjiang Legal Daily.

They were executed following a public sentencing rally in the regional capital, Urumqi.

The paper said Alim Yonous and another man, now dead, were accused of setting up a "Party of Allah" in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou with the aim of splitting national unity and setting up an Islamic power.

"This organization carried out activities in Henan and Shandong provinces and trained its members, who were accused of murders in Tianjin, Nanchang, Xian and manufacturing explosives," the paper said.

Yonous was arrested in Xian as he prepared to transport more than 260 detonators back to Xinjiang after manufacturing them with materials shipped from Guangzhou, it said.

Dozens of other "terrorists" were sentenced to suspended death sentences and prison terms by the two courts, according to the reports.

The authorities in Xinjiang have launched a concerted crackdown on separatist activities in the region, which has long been the scene of growing tension between the indigenous Uighurs and the dominant Han Chinese who are increasing in number.

The authorities carried out a slew of executions in the run-up to the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule on October 1.

Three other "separatists" -- Azim Idayet, Abulimit Gulahong and Nusrat Marouf -- were also reported to have been executed in Yili on September 20.

Their sentencing followed the death of another man wanted for what the authorities termed terrorist activities following a police shoot-out in Hetian.

Kulaixi died in hospital of gun-shot wounds on September 4 after he reportedly took a three year-old boy hostage and threw a grenade while trying to escape from police, the Xinjiang Legal Daily said.

"Kulaixi had plotted many serious riots and terrorist activities in Kashi and Hetian, causing the deaths of two policemen, six civilians, and injuring dozens of others," the paper said.

Xinjiang, a predominantly ethnic Uighur area bordering several Islamic states in central Asia, has been gripped by tension between the region's Muslim majority and ethnic Han Chinese settlers.

Violent clashes in recent years have led to crackdowns and a series of death penalties for those "attempting to split the motherland."

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Falungong Sect Asks U.N. Chief For Help In Ending Chinese Repression

BEIJING, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The Chinese sect Falungong on Wednesday asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to intervene on their behalf and ask China to end its repression against the sect's followers. "We are asking Secretary General Kofi Annan to use the moral authority of his office to urge the government of China to reconsider its policy on Falungong practitioners," said Gail Rachlin, a spokesman for the sect.

"We are asking for your (Annan's) help to urge the government of the People's Republic of China to lift its ban on Falungong and to give a fair and just resolution of the current crisis," Rachlin told a news conference here.

Beijing announced in July it had banned the sect, which combines traditional Chinese meditation with moral teachings, after Falungong followers staged a 10,000-strong demonstration in Beijing in April.

Thousands of its followers have been arrested since then, and Beijing cracked down on the group again two weeks ago on the suspicion Falungong followers would stage a demonstration at the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of the communist regime.

Falungong claims a following of up to 100 million worldwide, though Chinese authorities put the number at two million.

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China Releases Dissident Liu Xiaobo After Three Years In Labor Camp

BEIJING, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been freed from a labor camp after serving a three-year sentence, his relatives said Thursday.

Liu, sentenced in October 1996 for trying to release a declaration calling on the Chinese Communist Party to accelerate political reforms, was released Thursday from a labor camp in Dalian, his father Liu Lin told AFP by telephone.

"Liu Xiaobo was released today. His health isn't too bad," Liu said.

Liu, 44, planned to stay with his family in Dalian for a few days before returning to Beijing, where he received a doctorate in Chinese literature from Beijing Normal University, he said.

A student at Columbia University at the time, Liu returned to Beijing in 1989 to join the democracy protests on Tiananmen Square.

He went on a hunger strike on the square along with Taiwanese pop star Hou Dejian days before the June 4, 1989 massacre, in which hundreds and by some accounts thousands of demonstrators were killed by government tanks.

Liu was arrested days after the massacre and sentenced to one and a half years in prison for being one of the "masterminds" behind the student movement. He was freed in 1991.

He and another dissident, Wang Xizhe, were planning to release a "Double 10th Declaration" calling for political reforms on October 10, 1996 -- the Taiwanese National Day -- when authorities got word and arrested him on October 6.

Liu was sentenced to labor reeducation one day later, while Wang fled to the United States.

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Panama Rejects Fears Of Chinese-Dominated Canal

PANAMA CITY, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Reuters) The Panama Canal administration on Wednesday dismissed the fears of some U.S. conservatives that the Panama Canal will fall under Chinese influence when it reverts to Panama at year's end.

"Concerns about the Chinese taking control of the canal are completely unfounded and based on a misunderstanding," Joseph Cornelison, deputy administrator of the Panama Canal Commission (PCC), told Reuters.

Cornelison's comments came in response to the delivery of a petition with 250,000 signatures to Congress on Tuesday that called on U.S. President Bill Clinton to revoke a 1977 treaty ceding U.S. control of the Panama Canal to Panama on Dec. 31.

Representative Bob Barr, a Republican from Georgia who presented the appeal to Congress, repeated concerns expressed by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, in a letter to the U.S. defense secretary in August that canal security was "threatened" by Chinese influence.

In 1997, the Hong Kong-based shipping company Hutchison Whampoa, which controls 10 percent of global maritime container traffic, acquired port operations at Balboa and Cristobal, on the Pacific and Atlantic approaches to the Panama Canal.

Sen. Lott has argued that the proximity of Hutchison's operations to the canal's entrance would place U.S. naval ships "at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots."

But Cornelison disputed this.

"While the ports are near the entrance to the canal, they are not the entrance of the canal," he said. "The PCC controls what ships go into the ports and not the other way round. Ships cannot enter canal waters until the PCC assigns a pilot."

The PCC, which operates as an agency of the U.S. federal government, will be replaced by the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) after the handover. The PCA will be run as a nonpolitical state entity, sheltered by the Panamanian Constitution.

Hutchison Whampoa issued a communiqué in August denying that there were any mainland Chinese interests in the company's Panamanian subsidiary, the Panama Ports Company, or that company chairman Li Ka-shing had "any connection whatsoever with the People's Liberation Army," as Lott maintained.

Last week, Pentagon officials dismissed concerns for the security of the waterway after it passes to Panamanian control.

"We have nothing to indicate that the Chinese have the slightest desire to somehow control the Panama Canal," Rear Admiral Craig Quigley told reporters on Sept. 28.

By Reuters

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Germany's Schroeder To Visit To China

BERLIN, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Reuters) German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will travel to China in November for a three-day official visit that was postponed in May after NATO bombs hit China's embassy in Belgrade.

A German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Schroeder would meet leaders of the Chinese government in Beijing and Shanghai on his visit from November 3 to 5.

He will also visit Japan from October 31 to November 2, where he will visit Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Schroeder was originally due to make the official trip in May. But in the wake of NATO's accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo war, that trip was reduced to a short one-day visit.

By Reuters

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Taiwan Eases Ban On Construction Material Imports From China: Report

TAIPEI, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Taiwan is to lift a ban on the import of construction materials and related items from China to meet demand in the aftermath of last month's devastating earthquake, the United Daily News reported Thursday.

Permission to import the products, including bricks and steel, from China would be granted on a case-by-case basis, the newspaper said.

There would be no limit on the import volume, it said, adding that all imports would have to be transshipped from a third port under Taipei's standing policy.

Taiwan bans direct trade with China, which regards the island as a breakaway province, but allows transshipment from a third port. Hong Kong is the main conduit.

The economic ministry's media liaison officers said no official announcement had been made on the reported change in import policy.

Demand for construction materials is expected to surge as Taiwan faces the task of rebuilding some 13,000 homes, factories, schools and other structures destroyed in the September 21 earthquake.

The ministry last week removed an import ban on tents from China to offer temporary shelter to some 100,000 people left homeless by the quake, the worst to hit Taiwan this century.

At least 2,301 people were killed and 8,725 injured in the September 21 tremor

By Agence France Presse

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Seoul Says Up To 30,000 North Korea Refugees In China

SEOUL, Oct 7, 1999 -- (Reuters) South Korea said on Thursday up to 30,000 refugees from North Korea are in China having fled their famine-stricken communist country to avoid hunger.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Kwang-ho quoted Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young as telling the National Assembly on Wednesday that 10,000 to 30,000 North Koreans were in China, far below an estimate of 300,000 given earlier by a non-governmental humanitarian group called Good Friends.

It was the first time the South Korean government has officially revealed its estimate of the number of North Korean refugees in China.

"We arrived at the estimate after reviewing data from the Chinese government, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and our own research," Lee said.

The spokesman quoted Hong as saying the ministry was attempting to start a dialogue with relevant Chinese authorities on the issue of the North Korean refugees but that no specific negotiations were taking place.

Hong said China's estimate of the number of North Korean refugees was about 10,000.

He declined to discuss what measures the ministry had suggested to China in dealing with the issue, Lee said.

"The ministry is placing high priority on the issue. At the same time, we prefer to adopt a quiet diplomacy in dealing with the issue," Lee quoted the foreign minister as saying.

Floods and drought in North Korea since 1995 have caused severe food shortages and famine and left its economy in tatters.

South Korea's statistics office estimated at the end of August that 270,000 North Koreans died of famine between 1995 and 1998. U.S. Congressional estimates have placed the death toll linked with famine and related illnesses at up to two million since 1995.

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace agreement, but the government in Seoul is attempting to pursue a policy of engagement with the North which has involved provision of humanitarian aid and fledgling economic cooperation.

By Reuters

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China - U.S. WTO Negotiations To Be "Very Difficult", But Possible Entry By Year’s End

BEIJING, Oct 6, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's long-awaited accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has become a "political" issue and negotiations to join it will be "very difficult," a top Chinese official said in remarks published by the state media Wednesday.

"Negotiation will be very difficult," Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) Shi Guangsheng was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

"Whether China can join the WTO has now become a political decision," Shi told the opening of a high-technology fair in southern Shenzhen, adding that "both China and the United States face political considerations on this issue."

Shi, who met with US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky in Washington at the end of September, refused to say when bilateral negotiations would resume.

"Both sides are now trying to organize a new round of negotiations," he was quoted as saying.

According to the newspaper, Shi remained optimistic about China's accession to the world body by the end of the year.

After a three-month interruption following NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, US President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed to restart Sino-US talks last month when the two met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Auckland, New Zealand.

The two sides announced they would try to reach an agreement at an early date, as the WTO prepares for a ministerial meeting in Seattle slated for late November, which will focus on a new round of multilateral trade talks.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese, North Korean Leaders Exchange Notes Of Friendship

SEOUL, Oct 6, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese and North Korean communist leaders have vowed to strengthen relations in messages marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Pyongyang's media said Wednesday.

The exchange of greetings between Chinese president Jiang Zemin and North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il coincided with the arrival Tuesday of Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in Pyongyang.

Tang's visit was one of the highest level to North Korea, one of Beijing's last socialist allies, this decade. The last Chinese foreign minister to visit Pyongyang was Qian Qichen in 1991.

Timed to coincide with his arrival, Pyongyang held a series of events, including receptions and an issue of special commemorative stamps, the official mouthpiece the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The visit could be crucial to bringing the hermit Stalinist nation out of its isolation via a summit between Jiang and Kim, analysts and diplomats have said.

Kim Jong-Il has shunned audience with outsiders and foreign trips, particularly since his father, former North Korean president Kim Il-Sung, died in 1994.

But reports said earlier that Kim Jong-Il could visit China in the near future.

KCNA said Kim sent a greetings message to Jiang, saying the establishment of relations was "a historic event" and calling for strengthened relations "through the generations".

"Over the past 50 years, the two countries have steadily expanded friendly relations, supporting and cooperating with each other in the struggle for common purpose," he said.

In return, Jiang promised to consolidate friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, which together fought South Korea and the United Nations Command during the 1950-53 Korean War.

His message said: "We take this opportunity to express the hope that the fraternal Korean people will continuously make greater success in the cause of construction and their efforts for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country."

The two Communist countries were traditional Cold War allies, but in a changing post-Soviet world China in 1992 opened ties with Seoul, much to Pyongyang's annoyance.

South Korean officials said Pyongyang has been under pressure from Beijing to open up to the outside world and adopt a Chinese-style limited free market economic policy.

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Urges Hi-Tech Development

BEIJING, Oct 6 (AFP) - China was faced with the urgent task of developing its economy by relying on technological advancement, Premier Zhu Rongji told the opening of a Hi-Tech Fair in the special economic zone of Shenzhen Monday night.

"China has never faced such fierce challenges internationally in technology as it has today," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhu as saying.

He pressed for Chinese enterprises to develop more hi-tech goods for the international market to meet the demands of a "global economy depending more on technology developments and the industrial use of scientific research results."

China's first state-level fair featuring modern technology developments would become an annual event "for better economic and technological cooperation with other parts of the world," Zhu said.

The five-day fair has drawn delegates from more than 20 countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, and Britain.

Some 50 multinationals -- among them Lucent, IBM, Siemens Nortel, Ericsson, Epson, and Canon -- are taking part, Xinhua said.

The exhibits included computer and communications products with 15,000 new research developments in electronic information, pharmaceuticals, new materials, and bioengineering on display.

The forums will discuss the present and future trends and the information-based economy with major government officials, economists, Nobel Prize winners, and scientists among the keynote speakers.

By Agence France Presse

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Morocco Trip For Chinese President Jiang

RABAT, Oct 6, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese President Jiang Zemin will make a three-day visit to Morocco from October 27 as part of a tour of countries in Europe, North Africa and the Gulf, the royal palace said Tuesday.

The Chinese President will make the visit at the invitation of King Mohamed VI.

Jiang will begin his foreign tour on October 19 in Britain, from where he will travel on to France, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

By Agence France Presse

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Lawmakers Say Tung Offers Little New Vision For Hong Kong

HONG KONG, Oct 6, 1999 -- (Reuters) Pro-democracy activists and unionists on Wednesday blasted Hong Kong's China-anointed leader Tung Chee-hwa for failing to offer a new vision to take the former British colony into the 21st Century.

"We are disappointed. It is a pretty hollow speech," pro-democracy advocate and lawmaker Emily Lau said after Tung made his third annual policy address.

"Although he spent a lot of time on education and the environment, there are many areas he needs to look into if he is to run Hong Kong, and cannot just focus on one or two issues," she said.

Lau said it was ironic that Tung wanted to foster free and individual thinking through education as Hong Kong, which reverted to China in July 1997, was turning increasingly less free and democratic. Tung said in his address that the worst of Hong Kong's economic crisis was over, but the climb to recovery would be long and slow. He focused on grassroots issues such as education and the polluted environment. Reeling from Asia's financial crisis, unemployment in the territory of 6.8 million people has climbed to 6.1 percent, and the economy shrank by 5.1 percent in 1998. Unionist and legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said it was the worst policy speech given by Tung because it offered no initiatives to help the unemployed or underprivileged.

"When he says improving the quality of life in Hong Kong, it sounds like the government is renovating the first class cabin for affluent professionals," Lee said. "But he does not give a damn about those in the third class cabin.

"What he is doing will only widen the rich-and-poor gap," he said.

Democratic Party vice-chairman and legislator Yeung Sum said: "It's a hollow speech with many slogans and made in a preaching style, but it failed to offer initiatives to stimulate the economy and increase employment."

James Tien, head of the pro-business Liberal Party, said he was "disappointed that he (Tung) gave no concrete plan in boosting local firms competitiveness despite repeating several times in his speech that Hong Kong business needs to increase competitiveness."

By Reuters

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Taiwan High-Tech Slowdown Fears Overdone

TAIPEI, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Reuters) Taiwan's mammoth earthquake has caused some disruptions in the global electronics supply chain and sent shockwaves through Wall Street, but analysts said on Monday the jitters were probably overstated.

They said the September 21 temblor that killed 2,200 and paralysed the technology-heavy island's industrial production for days with sweeping power outages would have only a temporary impact on electronics-related output.

"We don't believe there is going to be a significant impact on the world supply chain," said Merrill Lynch analyst Dan Heyler.

"It's an exaggeration to say it (the quake) hit the entire electronics foodchain," Heyler said.

QUAKE USED AS SCAPEGOAT

Heyler and other Taiwan-based analysts said some U.S. companies were using Taiwan's earthquake as a convenient scapegoat to explain away their poorer-than-expected performance.

Hewlett-Packard Co chief executive Carly Fiorina on Friday warned of lower sales, saying Taiwan's tremor would cause some disruption "in some elements of our PC supply chain.

Fionina's comments prompted Wall Street analysts to lower their forecasts and sent Hewlett-Packard share price tumbling nearly five percent in Friday's session.

Similarly, shares of Dell Computer Corp and Apple Computer Inc have been shaken following Wall Street analysts' warnings of Taiwan quake aftershocks hitting their sales.

But analysts in Taiwan said firms contracted to make PCs for H-P were not seriously affected by the quake or subsequent electricity rationing as many have back-up power supplies, and were producing at normal levels.

To minimise disruptions to crucial technology exports, power was restored fully to Taiwan's high-tech manufacturing hub - Hsinchu Science Park - within a week after the quake.

POWER RATIONING EXPECTED TO END

Power rationing for remaining industrial users was expected to end on Tuesday as damaged distribution systems were bypassed.

A September 29 Reuters canvas of Taiwan's top 20 listed electronics firms found virtually no significant damage and only brief production delays of a week or less.

"H-P's reliance on Taiwan PC makers is not significant and PC sales only account for a modest portion of its overall sales," said Tony Tseng, elctronics analysts at SBC Warburg Dillon Read Securities.

"Heaping blame on Taiwan is more like an excuse."

Andrew Lu, electronics analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, gave a similar assessment.

"Wall Street is using Taiwan as an excuse to correct the already high share prices," Lu said.

Almost all Taiwan PC makers said the quake impact was limited and temporary. These include Compal Electronics and Quanta Computer Inc, which make notebook computers for H-P and Dell, and Asustek Computer Inc, First International Computer Inc and Mitac International Corp, which make H-P branded desktops.

Lu said freezes on major corporate PC buying in the final months before the Y2K "millennium bug" event was more likely to be a main factor slowing U.S. computer giants' sales.

"FOUNDRY" CHIPS TAKE HIT

Lu saw a bigger impact on the made-to-order "foundry" chipmaking - a Taiwan speciality - saying local chipmakers would suffer 20-25 percent sales declines in September and 15-20 percent reductions in October due to halted production.

Graphic cards and chipsets, for which Taiwan makers account for about one-third of global production, would be in short supply for about two months, analysts said.

Analysts expected chipset shipment delays through early November by three top makers - VIA Technologies Inc, Silicon Integrated Systems Corp, and Acer Labs - but called the longer-term outlook bright.

"From the long-term investment viewpoint, this is a buying opportunity," said Lu of Credit Suisse First Boston.

((Taipei newsroom, +886 2 2508-0815 fax +886 2 2508-0204, taipei.newsroom@reuters.com)).

"H-P's reliance on Taiwan PC makers is not significant and PC sales only account for a modest portion of its overall sales," said Tony Tseng, elctronics analysts at SBC Warburg Dillon Read Securities.

"Heaping blame on Taiwan is more like an excuse."

Andrew Lu, electronics analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, gave a similar assessment.

"Wall Street is using Taiwan as an excuse to correct the already high share prices," Lu said.

Almost all Taiwan PC makers said the quake impact was limited and temporary. These include Compal Electronics and Quanta Computer Inc , which make notebook computers for H-P and Dell, and Asustek Computer Inc , First International Computer Inc and Mitac International Corp , which make H-P branded desktops.

Lu said freezes on major corporate PC buying in the final months before the Y2K "millennium bug" event was more likely to be a main factor slowing U.S. computer giants' sales.

"FOUNDRY" CHIPS TAKE HIT

Lu saw a bigger impact on the made-to-order "foundry" chipmaking - a Taiwan speciality - saying local chipmakers would suffer 20-25 percent sales declines in September and 15-20 percent reductions in October due to halted production.

Graphic cards and chipsets, for which Taiwan makers account for about one-third of global production, would be in short supply for about two months, analysts said.

Analysts expected chipset shipment delays through early November by three top makers - VIA Technologies Inc , Silicon Integrated Systems Corp, or SIS , and Acer Labs - but called the longer-term outlook bright.

"From the long-term investment viewpoint, this is a buying opportunity," said Lu of Credit Suisse First Boston.

By Reuters

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Clinton Says Hopes China Spying Probe Finds Truth

WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Reuters) President Bill Clinton on Monday said he hoped the FBI's broader investigation of allegations that China stole U.S. nuclear secrets would uncover the truth. He also said the widening of the investigation which had previously focused on one physicist was a lesson that guilt should never be assumed.

"They (FBI) ought to do whatever they can to find out whatever the truth is," Clinton said at a media briefing. "This is another lesson that we should not assume anyone's guilt ever. We should let investigations take their course."

While Clinton did not use any names, a physicist who was fired from Los Alamos National Laboratory earlier this year had become the prime focus of the investigation into whether China had obtained secret information on U.S. nuclear weapons.

The physicist, Wen Ho Lee, was fired in March for security violations at the lab and has admitted to downloading classified information onto an unclassified computer, but denied passing information to China.

Lee has not been charged with any crime and U.S. officials have said there was not enough evidence to pursue espionage charges against him. China has steadfastly denied the spying allegations.

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh agreed last month to add more resources and widen the investigation after deciding the initial probe was too narrowly focused.

About a dozen suspects were initially considered by investigators before the list was narrowed to focus on Lee, an American physicist who was born in Taiwan. Lee and some critics of the investigation say he was unfairly singled out because of his ethnicity.

A congressional report earlier this year said China had obtained classified U.S. information about seven nuclear warheads and the neutron bomb over two decades.

By Reuters

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China Cautions Australia Over Moving Operations To West Timor

BEIJING, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's state press Tuesday cautioned Australia against extending peacekeeping operations into West Timor, saying such an act would go beyond the UN mandate and risk confrontation with the Indonesian army. "By asserting its right of pursuit into Indonesia, Australia may have gone too far," the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.

The editorial criticized Australian Defense Minister John Moore for refusing Sunday to retract earlier statements that the multilateral security force (Interfet) might pursue militia into Indonesian-ruled West Timor, despite a mandate which "stops at the border."

"This suspicious decision may lead to the escalation of the situation and an eventual confrontation with Indonesian troops, which is by no means helpful for a quick resolution of the East Timor crisis," it said.

Even if Moore's concern is purely out of self-defence, this decision "could gravely complicate the already strained and tricky situation," it said.

"By making such a sensitive decision without soliciting the counsel of the Indonesian Government or the authorization of the UN, Australia can only antagonize the Indonesian people and alienate itself from the international community," it said.

China announced last month that it would support international intervention in East Timor and has agreed to send a team of civilian police in an effort to maintain order in the territory following August's referendum in favor of independence.

Beijing has habitually opposed international operations in sovereign states, as it did during NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia earlier this year, out of fears that such actions could form precedents for intervention in its disputed territories of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

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China and North Korea Pledge Closer Ties

BEIJING, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese and North Korean leaders pledged on Tuesday to further improve ties - once said to be as close as lips and teeth - as China's foreign minister began a five-day visit to the hermit Stalinist state.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin, parliamentary chief Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji sent a congratulatory telegram to their North Korean counterparts on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"Developing friendly cooperative relations between the two countries is in the basic interest of the two countries and their peoples," Xinhua quoted the telegram as saying.

"China's (Communist) Party, government and people have always treasured traditional Sino-Korean friendship," it said.

"In the 21st Century, we believe we can make new and bigger developments," the telegram added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il also sent a congratulatory telegram to the Chinese leaders, Xinhua said. Kim was quoted as saying he believed ties "would be solidified and develop" through the endeavor of both sides.

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan is scheduled to visit North Korea from October 5-9, a ministry spokesman has said.

China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War. Bilateral ties were close until China introduced market-oriented reforms and established diplomatic relations with Pyongyang's rival, South Korea, in 1992.

By Reuters

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Chinese Foreign Minister Arrived In Pyongyang

SEOUL, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan arrived in North Korea on Tuesday at the start of one of the highest level foreign visits to the isolated nation in years, Pyongyang's official media said.

Tang will "participate in celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and China" during his five-day visit, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Tang was greeted at the airport by Kung Sok-Ung, vice-minister of foreign affairs and other officials, according to the official mouthpiece monitored in Seoul.

The visit could be crucial to bringing the hermit Stalinist nation out of its shell, analysts and diplomats said.

It comes after China welcomed North Korea's September 24 moratorium on new missile launches in a landmark agreement with the United States.

The moratorium came after Pyongyang launched a missile over Japan in August 1998 provoking sharp condemnation from Washington and Tokyo, and heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The last Chinese foreign minister to visit Pyongyang was Qian Qichen in 1991.

The two Communist countries were traditional Cold War allies, but in a changing post-Soviet world China in 1992 opened ties with Seoul, much to Pyongyang's annoyance.

China and North Korea have not held a summit-level meeting since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in 1994.

Reports said here earlier that North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il could visit China in the near future.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese Satellites Continuously Monitoring The US Army

BEIJING, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China has 17 spy satellites that continuously monitor the movements of the US military and which could also be used to guide a "saturated" missile attack on US and Taiwan warships, a Chinese regional daily received here Tuesday reported.

"If the US seeks to intervene militarily into the internal affairs of China and Taiwan, they will find that the entirety of their global movements are seen by Chinese spy satellites," the Sichuan Youth Daily, citing a Chinese military expert, reported.

China has the capability to rapidly determine the number and location of American aircraft carriers should Washington decide to send its ships to the region as it did during a Sino-Taiwanese crisis in 1996, expert Zhou Guanwu said.

"China has a lot of anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles that can be guided by satellites and adjusted for a saturated attack in local waters," the paper said.

"Enemy troops, either American or Taiwanese, will have difficulty withstanding this," it said.

Zhou further said China, like the US, also had the capability to destroy the optics of satellites with laser technology, while admitting that the optical equipment of Chinese satellites were also at the mercy of US laser technology.

At the end of 1997, China had a total of 40 domestic-made satellites in orbit of which 17 were spy satellites, eight were meteorological satellites, three were telecommunication satellites and 12 were scientific satellites, the paper said.

Relations between Beijing and Taipei intensified at the beginning of July following statements by Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui that relations between the two should be conducted on a "special state-to-state" basis.

China has viewed the statements as a denunciation of the "one China principle," which has been the main point of agreement between the two sides since the Nationalist government fled the mainland 50 years ago.

Friday's National Day military parade marking 50 years of mainland communist rule showcased a wealth of Chinese missile technology and was seen as an explicit warning to Taiwan to refrain from activities advocating independence.

Beijing has refused to renounce the use of force in reunifying Taiwan should the rebel island declare independence or foreign forces interfere in the Taiwan issue.

Last Thursday, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji warned Western businessmen that the US was risking armed conflict in the region by supporting Taiwan.

By Agence France Presse

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China To Seek To Play Role In Opening Up Of North Korea

BEIJING, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan was heading to North Korea on Tuesday in a visit that could be crucial to bringing the hermit Stalinist nation out of its shell, analysts and diplomats said.

In one of the highest level foreign visits to the isolated nation in several years, Tang's five-day visit will also mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two neighbors.

"This is a very important visit, especially at this time, as China hopes to use its position as a go-between and seek to improve North Korea's understanding of the outside world," said Jia Qingguo, a leading scholar at the School of International Studies at Beijing University.

China welcomed North Korea's September 24 moratorium on new missile launches not only because it greatly reduced tensions in the region, but also for its potential role in cooling enthusiasm for a U.S.-Japan joint Theater Missile Defense, Jia told AFP.

The moratorium came after Pyongyang launched a missile over Japan in August 1998 provoking sharp condemnation from Washington and Tokyo, and heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The moratorium has paved the way for possible openings for economic cooperation between the Stalinist nation and South Korea, the US and Japan.

"I believe Tang Jiaxuan's main purpose is to exchange information with North Korea on the external situation, but of course if the opportunity arises he could begin making arrangements for a summit-level visit," Jia said.

China and North Korea have not held a summit-level meeting since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in 1994, and talks between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il would require significant planning both politically and economically, he said.

East Asian diplomats in Beijing said an agreement for a North Korean-Chinese summit during Tang's visit would further underscore Beijing's commitment to maintain a peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula.

"Recently many Chinese high-level leaders have visited South Korea ... so a triangular relationship between China, North Korea and South Korea will only improve understanding between the North and the South," one East Asian diplomat told AFP.

The diplomat downplayed a growing rift between Pyongyang and Beijing over China's increasing economic ties with South Korea and muted concerns that Pyongyang has not been briefing Beijing over its recent overtures to South Korea, the US and Japan.

"You can infer that the improvement of North Korean-US relations is not helpful to the influence of China over North Korea and internally that may be, but officially China has seen better ties between North Korea and the US as beneficial to stability on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

China has however sat alongside the two Koreas and the United States at the negotiating table -- at Pyongyang's insistence -- in a bid to hammer out a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.

In June, North Korean number two Kim Yong-Nam visited China to resume high-level exchanges after a five-year lapse following the death of President Kim Il-Sung.

Kim Yong-Nam was the highest North Korean official to visit China since the late Kim Il-Sung went there in 1991.

Tang's visit is his first to North Korea as foreign minister and follows a series of bilateral high-level visits that began earlier this year. He last visited North Korea in his capacity as vice foreign minister in 1995.

By Agence France Presse

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China Arrests Outlawed Party Member

HONG KONG, Oct 5, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese police have arrested a member of an outlawed pro-democracy party, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said on Monday.

Dai Xuezhong, a Shanghai member of the self-proclaimed opposition China Democratic Party, was arrested for intentionally hurting other people, the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said in a statement.

It said police declined to explain to his family what he had done that would constitute the offence.

Separately, another Shanghai dissident Fu Zhenping was recently sentenced to a year in jail for intentionally hurting other people, the center said.

It gave no more details.

The China Democratic Party was formed in 1998, taking advantage of an apparent political thaw in the run-up to a landmark visit to China by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Beijing moved to crush the group at the end of last year, rounding up members from time to time and sending scores to jail or to labor camps.

On Saturday, the group said in a statement a court in China's Hebei province had sentenced two members the outlawed party to jail terms for subversion.

Yu Dengqiang, 37, and Liu Jin, 30, were sentenced to four and three years respectively.

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China Insists Fault Lies With Taiwan Over Quake Row

BEIJING, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Reuters) A large contingent of Chinese medical specialists and seismologists is on stand-by to fly to Taiwan to help efforts to recover from a devastating earthquake, state media said Monday. But they have been prevented from going by the Taiwanese government, it added.

"The mainland has a group of highly-trained seismologists and experienced earthquake rescue personnel and it is a pity that the rescue workers have not yet been given approval by Taiwan authorities to head for Taiwan," said the official Xinhua news agency.

The report published in the official China Daily said several Chinese cities and agencies were still recruiting infectious disease specialists and surgeons to go to Taiwan.

Taiwan has politely rejected China's offers of help, and accused Beijing of trying to use the earthquake to assert its sovereignty over the island, viewed by the mainland as a renegade province.

The deadly quake on September 21 quake killed more than 2,200 people and left another 100,000 homeless.

And analysts warned that China's stubborn insistence in offering help to Taiwan's stricken people will further alienate them from China.

"The quake has already made the independence mentality of the Taiwanese people stronger than before," said Sonny Lo, a Hong Kong-based academic and political commentator.

"The fact that the Taiwanese were able to stand up on their own and recover from the worst earthquake to hit the island in this century makes them feel more united and that they don't need China. Any more rhetoric from China only makes the Taiwanese more upset."

Hong Kong University academic James Tang said China was trying to show its own people and the world that it has done its part.

"They may be trying to sway public opinion with reports such as this, but I can't see them winning over Taiwan this way," Tang said.

Chang Chak-yan, researcher for the Hong Kong Center for Studies on Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, said China had missed a good opportunity to mend fences with Taiwan.

"You can see Hong Kong overcame any worries Taiwan may have about political intentions by letting average people do the fundraising for the quake victims, not the government," said Chang.

"But in China, the people can't freely express their sympathy with the Taiwanese."

News reports about the quake in China are mostly confined to the government's efforts to help Taiwan.

In a half-hour television news broadcast devoted to the quake, less than five minutes were devoted to the quake itself, while the rest was on mainland fundraising efforts.

Taipei has accused Beijing of deliberately holding up rescue missions from reaching Taipei by refusing them permission to fly through Chinese airspace.

It was further enraged when Beijing thanked the international community for the assistance extended to "China's Taiwan province".

By Reuters

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China Visibly Relaxes, Delighted Over 50th Celebrations

BEIJING, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's elderly communist leaders are reveling in the success of celebrations which marked their 50-year grip on power, breathing a sigh of relief as an intense security crackdown paid dividends.

Beijing visibly relaxed and returned to normal on Sunday, with the security barriers and knots of police that mushroomed on street corners disappearing.

A ring of steel was clamped on the city for months in the run-up to Friday's elaborate military and civilian parade through Tiananmen Square.

Dissidents were rounded up, criminals executed and undesirables such as prostitutes and beggars hurled out of the city as a nervous Communist Party acted tough to ensure nothing would spoil their big day.

At Beijing's main train station rural job-seekers began flooding back into the city on Sunday.

"They can all come back now. The National Day celebrations are over. I expect the hookers will also be back within a couple of days," said one middle-aged Beijing resident.

Wang Xiuyong, a 41-year-old woman looking for work near the station, ducked and dived to avoid being banished from Beijing last week and was now desperately looking for work so she could send money back to her husband and two children in the countryside.

She said she did not watch the anniversary parade on television.

"It's only meaningful to the rich. To poor people, what's so meaningful about National Day if you don't have enough to eat," Wang said.

The 128-acre (48-hectare) Tiananmen Square and its surroundings were hermetically sealed for Friday's grandiose Communist setpiece.

Snipers were positioned on roofs and only 500,000 carefully-screened party loyalists, media and military were allowed within several kilometers (miles) of President Jiang Zemin as he addressed the nation from Tiananmen Gate where Mao Zedong founded communist China on October 1,1949.

Jiang and fellow politburo members looked solemn and anxious throughout the occasion, rarely smiling and showing the strain of spending hours on their feet in the sun.

They loosened up as they donned casual clothes for a stage-managed walk in Beijing's many parks on Saturday, and the presidential walkabout brought a new army of nervous security agents onto the streets.

But on Sunday the parks were overrun and Tiananmen Square was once again filled with hundreds of thousands of people milling around the historic venue taking photos of the 90-odd floats used in the civilian parade.

"We're much more relaxed now that the celebrations are over," said a police officer on the square, as he chatted casually with colleagues.

For the second day running the country's newspapers were packed from cover to cover with glowing patriotic reports of the anniversary.

Special supplements appeared with large color photos of the military hardware highlighted in the parade such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and the new homemade Flying Leopard fighter jet.

Alongside the coverage of the celebrations appeared pictures of Jiang, Premier Zhu Rongji and other party heavyweights chatting and smiling with military veterans during their meet-and-greet sessions in the parks.

The newspapers could not contain their delight over the celebrations, which ran like clockwork with huge phalanxes of troops goose-stepping in perfect time and shouting patriotic slogans in unison.

"In the past few days the entire country has been engulfed in a spirit of holiday and happiness ... On the morning of October 1 people from all walks of life were inspired by the military and civilian parades," said Sunday's edition of Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily.

"From the city to the countryside the people's hearts are together."

By Agence France Presse

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Four Jailed - China Democracy Party Members Face Trial Soon

HONG KONG, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The families of four detained members of the outlawed China Democracy Party have been told by authorities to hire lawyers for their relatives, indicating the dissidents would soon be tried, a Hong Kong rights organization said Monday.

Wu Yilong, Zhu Yufu, Mao Qingxiang and Xu Guang, all members of provincial branch of the CDP in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou were expected to be tried within days, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.

In a letter written by Wu and secretly smuggled out of prison, the founding member of the party said he was ready to serve 20 years in prison for democracy, the center said.

The letter comprehensively laid out the party's goals and principles of "openness, rationality, non-violence and legality", the center said.

Since November 1998, 18 members of the outlawed party have been sentenced for subversion with the stiffest sentence ranging up to 13 years in prison.

By Agence France Presse

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China Delayed "Substantive" Negotiations On WTO Entry

WASHINGTON, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China delayed "substantive negotiations" for entry into the World Trade Organization by failing to send one of its chief negotiators here for pre-trade meeting talks, according to a US official cited by Newsweek in its edition out Monday.

According to the weekly magazine, Chinese President Jiang Zemin failed to send Long Yongtu, one of his top WTO negotiators, to Washington last week for talks despite upcoming deadlines on global trade talks beginning in November and possible congressional adjournment before it can vote on a deal.

Instead, Jiang sent another Chinese official on a "perfunctory" visit, Newsweek said.

The Chinese "have not engaged yet in any substantive negotiations," the US official told the magazine.

However, former US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin disagreed, saying Chinese leaders he met on an trip to China last week had "expressed a commitment to moving ahead."

But, he added, Beijing also believes turning their old state-owned companies into market-based operations will cause huge unemployment, and possibly social unrest, Newsweek said.

By Agence France Presse

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Taiwan-China Ties Dented By Beijing Antics Amid Killer Quake: Survey

TAIPEI, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Most Taiwanese have been angered by China's repeated assertion of sovereignty over the island while it was trying to recover from its strongest earthquake this century, a survey showed.

The survey of 1,137 residents was conducted jointly by The Journalist weekly and Global Television cable service on Thursday and Friday.

It said 73 percent of respondents were antagonistic towards Beijing's moves following the temblor on September 21, which left more than 2,200 people dead and 100,000 people homeless.

On September 25, China expressed willingness to ask for a UN-backed international rescue effort if Taiwan first requested Beijing do so, Xinhua news agency reported.

The offer, regarded as an insult by Taiwan, was turned down here.

Taipei was enraged when Beijing, while allegedly trying to delay foreign rescue missions, thanked the international community for the assistance extended to "China's Taiwan province" after the deadly quake.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Jason Hu lashed out at China last week, accusing it of deliberately holding up rescue missions from reaching Taipei by refusing them permission to fly through Chinese airspace.

A large contingent of Russian disaster and survivor location specialists was delayed by 12 hours as it flew around China via Siberia, eventually landing almost two days after the quake, Hu said.

The survey dashed hopes that the two arch-foes would mend fences, the way Turkey and Greece have been doing following killer earthquakes that struck the two countries recently.

The widely circulated China Times Express said in a commentary Thursday that Taiwan had scrapped National Day celebrations on October 10 because of the quake, but Beijing had gone ahead with celebrations of 50 years of Communist Party rule.

"They (Beijing) did not show any gesture of concern ... although they did pay lip service expressing condolences over the disaster in 'China's Taiwan Province'," it said.

"The gap between the two sides could have been filled in the wake of the quake ... It's a pity that Beijing did not act to win the hearts of the Taiwanese and instead created a new fault in the Taiwan Strait," it added.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese Foreign Minister To Visit North Korea

BEIJING, Oct 4, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan will travel to North Korea on Tuesday in one of the highest level foreign visits to the isolated Stalinist nation in several years.

The five-day visit will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and Tang will discuss dates for top-level visits between the two countries, officials said.

Tang will meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun, and attend ceremonies marking Wednesday's 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Chinese foreign ministry sources said.

The last Chinese foreign minister to visit Pyongyang was Qian Qichen in 1991.

"Recently high-level visits between China and North Korea resumed and we are continuing to discuss further visits through existing channels," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has said.

The two Communist countries were traditional Cold War allies, but in a changing post-Soviet world China in 1992 opened ties with Seoul, much to Pyongyang's annoyance.

China has however sat alongside the two Koreas and the United States at the negotiating table -- at Pyongyang's insistence -- in a bid to hammer out a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.

In June, North Korean number two Kim Yong-Nam visited China to resume high-level exchanges after a five-year lapse following the death of President Kim Il-Sung.

He was the highest North Korean official to visit China since the late Kim Il-Sung went there in 1991. Kim Il-Sung died in July 1994.

Earlier reports speculated that reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il, Kim Il-Sung's son, would visit Beijing or that Chinese parliamentarian head Li Peng would go to Pyongyang for the 50th anniversary.

Such visits were likely to be discussed further during Tang's visit, the Chinese sources said.

The visit also comes after North Korea last month agreed to a moratorium on new missile launches after its launch in August 1998 provoked sharp condemnation from Washington and Tokyo, and heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The moratorium has paved the way for possible openings for economic cooperation between the Stalinist nation and South Korea, the US and Japan.

Tang's visit is his first to North Korea as foreign minister and follows a series of bilateral high-level visits that began earlier this year. He last visited North Korea in his capacity as vice foreign minister in 1995.

By Agence France Presse

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China Cracks Down On Dissent And Religion Before Celebrations

BEIJING, Oct 3, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) A police crackdown on unapproved political and religious activities was in force up to China's National Day, a Hong Kong-based rights group said Saturday.

The Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said two dissidents were sentenced and 14 underground church members detained in recent days.

Two members of the Hebei Provincial branch of the outlawed China Democracy Party were sentenced to prison terms for attempting to subvert state political power.

The Intermediate People's Court of Zhangjiakou city, 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Beijing, passed its verdict on September 29, sentencing Yu Dengqiang, 37, to four years and Liu Jin, 30, to three years, the center said.

The two men, both factory workers in Zhangjiakou, were arrested on June 8 and found guilty of setting up a CDP preparatory committee in Hebei in November 1998, the center said.

Since November 1998, 18 members of the outlawed party have been sentenced for subversion, it said.

Meanwhile 14 members of the "Mentu Association," an underground protestant church in Gansu Province, were detained by local police on September 25, the center said.

Authorities said the group, all of which lived and worked in Shuichang county, was a "reactionary organization" threatening social stability.

The Mentu Association, or the "Believer's Door Association," was established in 1989 and boasts some 500,000 mostly rural followers in 10 provinces throughout China, the center said.

The Chinese government has found the group dangerous because of its refusal to seek approval from the government and Communist Party, as well as its opposition to China's "one-child" family planning policy.

By Agence France Presse

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China's Communists Send Uncompromising Message With 50th Parade

BEIJING, Oct 3, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's Communist elite aimed to give the message it was firmly in control at home and determined to be a modern superpower abroad by staging the biggest military parade in Chinese history to celebrate 50 years in power.

For months the party made it clear it would allow nothing to spoil celebrations of its 50-year rule on October 1, and Friday's televised show of force in Tiananmen Square was for both domestic and foreign consumption.

In a speech from Tiananmen Rostrum, where Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, Jiang mapped out a vision of a future thrusting economic power -- under firm Communist Party control.

"Practice has fully proved that socialism is the only way to save and develop China," said Jiang, pledging to carry on the economic reforms of late patriarch Deng Xiaoping.

"We will continue to adhere to the Party's basic theory, basic line and basic program and ... go on achieving fresh successes in building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the coming new century," he said.

By staging a monumental set piece military parade -- in the tradition of Mao's revolutionary rallies and similar to those held by the Soviet Union during the Cold War -- the party's elderly leadership was clearly flexing its muscles.

The image of power portrayed by hundreds of camouflaged tanks, ballistic missiles and goose-stepping troops was not lost on analysts and opponents of the regime.

"China is now much stronger and more secure than in the past," Jia Qingguo, of the school of international relations at Beijing University, told AFP.

"In the past it used to be bullied by other countries and now they want to show that this won't happen again," he said.

China showcased its latest military hardware during the parade, including the Dongfeng-31 capable of dropping a nuclear warhead on Los Angeles and the new Flying Leopard fighter jet.

"The parade was aimed at showing China's power on the world scene, with a particular message aimed at Taiwan," Jean-Pierre Cabestan, director of Hong Kong-based French Center for Studies on Contemporary China, told AFP.

China has repeatedly warned Taiwan it will use military force if the nationalist island attempts to declare independence, following a call in July by Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui for "state-to-state" relations between Taipei and Beijing.

In his anniversary speech Jiang refrained from repeating the threat but insisted the island, considered a rebel province by Beijing, would be brought back into the mainland fold.

Liu Renhe, an exiled Chinese dissident, said Friday's parade was a clear warning to internal opponents of the regime and brought back an eerie reminder of the crushing of pro-democracy protests in Tiananman Square on June 4, 1989.

"Ten years ago on June 4, the central authorities used its modern army to wash the capital of Beijing in blood in an illustrious military attack viewed by the entire world," Liu wrote in the electronic magazine VIP Reference News.

"Today, on the same square, they have brought in the same army, brandishing the same kind of modern weapons and reliving the nightmare of 10 years ago. Even the people who always forget can't but link the two events."

In a separate article, Bao Tong, a former aide to ousted party boss Zhao Ziyang and the highest level Chinese official to serve time for the June 4 democracy protests, made a National Day call for political reform.

"Democracy is the lifeline of the People's Republic. If there is democracy then the People's Republic will exist, without democracy, the name of the People's Republic is empty."

By Agence France Presse

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China Builds Guinea A New Presidential Palace

CONAKRY, Guinea, Oct 3, 1999 -- (Reuters) China has built Guinea a new presidential palace to replace one destroyed during a 1996 army pay revolt that had the trappings of an attempted coup.

Guinean President Lansana Conte, who accused soldiers of trying to topple him at the time, inaugurated the new sea-front complex on Friday, China's national day and the eve of Guinea's own independence anniversary.

Conte named the palace, which cost $12.5 million and incorporates the president's official residence and offices, after the West African nation's founding President Ahmed Sekou Toure.

"The name of this palace is Sekou Toureyah," he told guests at the ceremony, at which he paid tribute to the warm relations between China and his country.

Conte seized power in an army coup after Sekou Toure died in 1984, after more than two decades of repressive Marxist rule and international isolation. Conte won disputed multi-party elections in 1993 and 1998.

Opposition leader Alpha Conde has been in detention since the December 1998 election, accused of trying to leave the country while the borders were closed for polling. His supporters describe his arrest as arbitrary.

Conte's government said at the time of a July visit by French President Jacques Chirac that Conde would be tried in September. The trial has yet to begin.

By Reuters

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Russian Warships Visit China For First Ever Military Exercises

SHANGHAI, Oct 3, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Two Russian warships are visiting Shanghai for the first ever naval exercises with China to mark 50 years of ties between the two countries, official media reported Sunday.

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji hailed the warming ties between the two countries at a reception hosted by Russian Ambassador Igor A. Rogachev in Beijing, and called for the strategic partnership to be strengthened.

The two Russian ships -- the flagship of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, the Varyag, and the destroyer Burgy -- are visiting as part of a series of activities to commemorate the establishment of Sino-Soviet ties 50 years ago.

Zhang Wannian, the vice-chairman of China's top military body, the Central Military Commission, said military ties between the two countries were growing.

Zhang told Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet commander Mihail Georgevich Zaharenko he hoped the strategic partnership would develop further in the next century, Xinhua reported.

Communist China and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations one day after Chairman Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

However the two Communist powers split in 1960 following the death and disgrace of former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and the ties were only resurrected in 1989.

The visit by the Russian navy ships -- the third during their history -- is due to last until October 6 but official media here gave no details about the joint exercises.

By Agence France Presse

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Chinese Around The Nation Celebrate 50th Anniversary

BEIJING, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese around the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of communist rule Friday, with special activities not normally seen on other National Days.

In Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, a town of steel mills and coal mines, students gathered on the May 1 square early Friday for a special flag raising ceremony, residents there said.

"Normally on National Day there are few activities, but this year the main square and parks are decorated with flowers and fireworks will be set off over Fen River tonight," one elderly retiree said.

Most provincial capitals held early morning flag raising ceremonies and other activities in cities decked out in flowers and patriotic banners, Xinhua news agency said.

Even in tiny Shaoshan, Hunan Province, the birthplace of Mao Zedong, some 2,500 people gathered in the main square to watch a small parade and cultural shows.

Chinese tourists and local residents sat in the shadow of a huge bronze statue of the Great Helmsman, who ironically has become Shaoshan's main money-spinner as China pushes ahead with a market economy.

People across the country were also expected to watch on nationwide television the massive military and cultural parade held Friday morning in Beijing and the gala evening from Tiananmen Square.

Full coverage of the parade and the speech of President Jiang Zemin was carried on all television stations received in Beijing, including the eight channels of China Central Television and numerous provincial stations whose broadcast is available in the capital by cable.

In Changchun, capital of northeast Jilin Province, tens of thousands of urban citizens braved the rains to attend parties and cultural performances in the city's downtown area, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua also reported patriotic events in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uigher Autonomous Region. Both ethnic minority regions are known for separatist activities and opposition to Chinese rule.

By Agence France Presse

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China Court Sentences Two Dissidents

HONG KONG, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Reuters) A court in China's Hebei province has sentenced two members of the banned opposition China Democracy Party to jail terms for subversion, a rights group said on Saturday.

Yu Dengqiang, 37, and Liu Jin, 30, were sentenced to four and three years respectively, the Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.

The pair, both factory workers, were arrested on June 8 this year and sentenced on September 29. Their families were informed on Saturday, the Center said. According to the Center, neither Yu nor Liu had participated in any subversive activities and the Hebei court provided no witnesses.

By Reuters

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U.S. Says Time Running Out For WTO Pact With China

WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Reuters) The White House warned on Friday that time would soon run out on China's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year, putting pressure on negotiators who have been unable to seal a deal that seemed in hand several months ago.

"It should go without saying that if they have a desire to enter the WTO this year that the clock is running," said White House economic advisor Gene Sperling.

The deadline for China's accession is widely seen as late November, when WTO ministers begin the next round of global trade talks in Seattle. Any delay could leave China shut out of those talks, which could last for several years.

"We certainly haven't given up at this point," Sperling told reporters. "But certainly, at some point, it will simply get too close to Seattle to be viable for this year."

To join the 134-member WTO, which sets global trading rules, China must win U.S. support, as well as the backing of the European Union and others. But so far U.S. and Chinese negotiators have been hard-pressed to settle their differences over U.S. access to the vast Chinese market, potentially the world's largest.

No headway was made on Monday in negotiations between U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her Chinese counterpart, Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng. Trade sources said negotiators planned to meet again, but probably not before mid-October.

That would give negotiators only a few weeks to strike an agreement. It also would leave President Bill Clinton little time to persuade a skeptical U.S. Congress to go along.

To finalize any pact, the Republican-controlled Congress must grant China permanent most-favored nation trade status, which the United States now refers to as Normal Trade Relations (NTR). That would guarantee Chinese goods the same low tariff access to U.S. markets as nearly every other nation.

Despite the time constraints, U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley told a conference in New York that he remained hopeful China would "join us in Seattle or shortly thereafter in the World Trade Organization."

"We are hopeful ... they will come back to the table and they will be serious, as they were in April, in trying to put together a proposal and finish up negotiations very shortly," Daley said.

The United States wants China to recommit to the market-opening concessions made by Premier Zhu Rongji during a state visit to Washington in April. They included unprecedented tariff cuts and increased access in areas such as agriculture, telecommunications and financial services.

Washington also hoped to wring additional concessions out of Beijing to open China's financial and banking sectors, and to improve safeguards against surges in Chinese exports of steel and textiles.

But Beijing, in the aftermath of NATO's bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in May, has balked at U.S. demands for more market-opening measures, and has cast doubt on whether Zhu's April offer remained on the table.

U.S. officials have warned Beijing against backtracking, since that would outrage business groups and their allies in Congress.

By Reuters

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WTO's Moore Repeats He Wants China In This Year

SEATTLE, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Reuters) World Trade Organization Director-General Mike Moore on Friday reiterated his support for China to join the 134-nation body at its ministerial meeting in Seattle this fall.

"Everybody wants China to be a member, the question is when might it?" Moore told a conference here. "It would be splendid if it would happen in Seattle."

Moore, a one-time New Zealand prime minister, stopped short of predicting the WTO would make China a member at the November 30-December 2 meetings, saying that was up to the member countries.

He also said that Russia and other nations should ultimately join the WTO, which provides a forum to negotiate trade agreements and resolve disputes among members.

The United States and some European nations have blocked China's 13-year bid for WTO membership. U.S. negotiators want China to slash tariffs and other trade barriers to gain entry.

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China Rests Weary Feet After 50th Birthday Parade

BEIJING, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese soldiers marched 10,000 km (6,250 miles) and wore out three pairs of boots each rehearsing for the huge parade that swept through Beijing on Friday to celebrate 50 years of communist rule.

But there were few signs of physical exertion in the capital on Saturday, as the nation tucked into a week-long vacation following months of hectic preparation for the national birthday bash.

Missiles, tanks and low-flying fighters joined roller-bladers and fashion models as the Communist government marked its rise to power in a giant display of power and pageantry involving half a million people in Tiananmen Square on Friday.

From the balcony of Tiananmen - the Gate of Heavenly Peace - where Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949, President Jiang Zemin hailed "earth-shaking changes to the erstwhile poor and weak old China".

Weeks of meticulous rehearsal for the event led to repeated shutdowns of the city center and grueling traffic snarls.

But few had it tougher than the 6,000 crack troops and militia members who were confined to a suburban military base for six months to fine tune their goose steps in time for the parade.

"Each of them wore out more than three pairs of military shoes and walked about 10,000 kilometers during the past half year," the China Daily quoted the camp commander as saying.

"That is about 55 kilometers a day."

"Quite a few" soldiers fainted on the training ground in sweltering summer temperatures and had to be treated for sunstroke, the newspaper said.

The routine also took a psychological toll on the marchers, particularly as the performance date approached, it said.

"They are afraid they may not perform well enough when they pass by Tiananmen Square, so we gave them psychological treatment to strengthen up their confidence," a medic was quoted as saying.

By Reuters

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China's Official Media Revels In 50th Birthday Celebrations

BEIJING, Oct 2, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) China's official press Saturday wallowed in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Communist rule, giving blanket coverage to the biggest military parade the country has ever staged.

Newspapers produced page after page of reports by the state news agency Xinhua praising Friday's huge parades in Beijing's Tiananmen Square involving 500,000 soldiers, schoolchildren and loyal patriots.

"Nation celebrates in Grand Style," trumpeted the China Daily on its front page, "Tiananmen turns into exhilarating festival" added the Beijing Youth Daily.

Most papers splashed pictures of President Jiang Zemin, flanked by other Communist Party heavyweights, applauding the troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from Tiananmen Gate -- the spot where Mao Zedong declared the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

Many also showed pictures of Jiang, wearing a dark grey Mao suit in contrast to other politburo members in shirts and ties, inspecting phalanxes of troops from an open-topped limousine or reading his speech to the nation.

Most reprinted the speech in which the Chinese leader vowed to make China a modern economic power in the next millennium under the firm control of the Communist Party, and to reunify with the nationalist island of Taiwan.

With the exception of the English-language China Daily most banished all other domestic and foreign news from their pages.

There were no editorials, but the Legal Daily carried a flowery hymn of praise to 50 years of communism.

"We can have full confidence as long as we hold up our heads and accept honest hard work," said the ode.

"Every undertaking of our great motherland will continue to develop under the sun and in another 50 years when we await the great celebration of the establishment of our country our sons and grandsons will each be able to enjoy the glory of a strong and prosperous motherland."

Reports and pictures of the military hardware wheeled out for the parade -- including the Dongfeng-31 ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States and rows of tanks five-abreast rolling into Tiananmen Square --- were also prominently used along with dramatic photos of spectacular fireworks displays held across the country in the evening.

The Beijing Youth Daily, a lively and popular read in the capital, relegated the set piece parade to the inside pages and devoted virtually its entire front page to a color photo of exploding fireworks and a smaller image of Chinese pop star Wei Wei singing in Tiananmen.

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Tanks, Jets As Communist China Hits Fifty

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) Fighter jets, bombers and lumbering tankers filled the skies over Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Friday in a giant military parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

From the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the Communist state on October 1, 1949, President Jiang Zemin declared "socialism is the only way to save China".

He aimed a thinly-veiled salvo at the United States with an attack on "hegemonism."

And he declared China would eventually win back control of Taiwan, to Chinese leaders the last unfinished business of Mao's revolution.

Tiananmen, the symbolic heart of Chinese communism, became a sea of color as half a million civilians - all carefully vetted for their party allegiance - surrounded floats carrying everything from fashion models to newly-weds.

The square has been the stage for all the triumphs and failures of the last 50 turbulent years - from the day Mao declared "the Chinese people have stood up", to the Red Guard rallies of the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 pro-democracy protests that were crushed by the military.

A far cry from the rollerbladers wearing spandex suits in day-glo green, who on Friday glided past 100,000 school children using paper fans and pom-poms to form Chinese characters reading "Reform and Opening".

Jiang Rides Celebration Into Pantheon Of Greats

Jiang has used the lavish celebrations to elevate himself to the pantheon of socialist greats alongside Mao and Deng Xiaoping. He stood stiffly in an open-topped car wearing a high-collared gray Mao suit to review the troops.

"Comrades, greetings," Jiang bellowed as his Red Flag limousine drove out of the vast square along the Avenue of Eternal Peace past ranks of camouflaged tanks and missile launchers four abreast.

"Serve the People", the troops yelled in reply.

To kick off the military parade - the first in 15 years - a unit of machine-gun toting female troops in scarlet berets and black boots goose-stepped past.

In a grand finale, 50,000 pigeons were released into an overcast sky as Jiang and members of politburo beamed and applauded.

Jiang was flanked atop the gate, which leads from the Forbidden City of the Emperors to Tiananmen Square, by parliament head Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji.

Tassled yellow lanterns glowed softly behind lacquered doors giving way to the balcony behind them, a reminder of China's ancient past.

The future was represented by China's latest military hardware, including nuclear-tipped missiles and a long-range rocket capable of hitting the United States as well as a model of a manned spacecraft.

Blanket security

There were no signs of trouble as ordinary Beijingers were kept well away from the square as part of blanket security measures.

Highrise office buildings lining the parade route were evacuated and their doors and windows sealed.

Police feared a terrorist attack by Moslems from restive Xinjiang province and have been patrolling the capital with sniffer dogs.

Authorities rounded up pro-democracy dissidents and members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, and have swept the streets clear of beggars, vagrants and the mentally ill. Roadblocks have been set up all around the capital.

The massive display of military firepower was intended as signal to the world of China's new strength and unity - and in particular was aimed at Taiwan, where President Lee Teng-hui has infuriated Beijing by declaring the island will only deal with China as a political equal.

The tanker planes were a pointed reminder of China's ability to project its power beyond its coastline.

Fifty political slogans were approved for the anniversary. Among them: "Long Live Deng Xiaoping Theory" and "Long Live the Great Communist Party".

Beijing's normally traffic-snarled streets were empty, with the sprawling center under martial law. Although rain was forecast, the skies were gray but unthreatening, and a fireworks party was scheduled for later on Friday.

Beijing spent billions of dollars rushing through infrastructure projects in time for the anniversary, including a new airport, a subway spur and an eight-lane ring road.

Millions more were spent sprucing up the city, hung with traditional red lanterns and bursting with color from neon palm trees, potted plants and countless Chinese five-star flags.

By Reuters

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Jiang Vows New Feats Under Socialism

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) President Jiang Zemin marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on Friday with a tribute to "immortal feats" of old revolutionaries and a vow to achieve "socialist modernization".

"Practice has fully proved that socialism is the only way to save and develop China," said Jiang in a speech at Beijing's Tiananmen Square which was carried live on state television.

"From the middle of this century to that of the next, the Chinese people, with hard and enterprising work of 100 years, will by and large bring about socialist modernization," he vowed.

Jiang, dressed in a grey Mao suit, urged China's 1.23 billion people to "hold high the great banner of Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong thought and Deng Xiaoping theory and march bravely towards our sublime objectives".

In a speech that followed a display of modern military might, Jiang said Beijing's goals included the recovery of Taiwan, estranged from China since 1949 and drifting further from the communist mainland since it democratized in the late 1980s.

"We will continue to pursue the policy of 'peaceful reunification and one country, two systems' and ultimately accomplish the national reunification of Taiwan with the mainland following the successful return of Hong Kong and Macao," he said.

On foreign policy, Jiang said China would remain in the developing country camp and oppose "hegemonism" - the Communist Party's code word for U.S. global supremacy.

China, Jiang said, "will, as always, side with the vast number of developing countries and the people throughout the world, oppose hegemonism, promote global multi-polarity, (and) push for the establishment of a just and equitable new international political and economic order".

On the economic front, Jiang's speech gave an indication of the complexity of marking 50 years when the first 30 brought disaster after man-made disaster under Mao's radical utopian schemes that claimed ten of millions of lives.

It was only under Deng that China pursued reform policies that began to reverse its fortune and integrate its economy with the capitalist world.

"Arduous struggle and strenuous efforts of 50 years, particularly the past 20 years since reform and the opening-up, have brought about earth-shaking changes to the erstwhile poor and weak old China"," Jiang said.

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Communist China Turns 50 In Pomp, Pageantry

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) Missiles, tanks and low-flying fighters joined roller-bladers and fashion models as Communist China marked its 50th anniversary with a giant display of power and pageantry involving half a million people in Tiananmen Square on Friday.

From the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949, President Jiang Zemin hailed "earth-shaking changes to the erstwhile poor and weak old China".

The military display highlighted newly developed missiles, rockets and aerial tankers to signal China's emergence as global power with a long reach - and to deliver a sharp warning to rival Taiwan.

Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui has infuriated Beijing by declaring the island will only deal with China as a political equal. China regards the island as a renegade province.

Jiang declared China would eventually win back control of Taiwan - to Chinese leaders the last unfinished business of Mao's revolution.

Taiwan was too busy recovering from a devasting earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people to pay much attention.

Tiananmen, the symbolic heart of Chinese Communism, became a sea of colour as 500,000 civilians - carefully vetted for their party allegiance - surrounded gaily decorated floats.

Floats Depict Communist Progress

The first wave depicted early advances in industry and agriculture in the Maoist era with revolutionary scenes, giant sheafs of wheat and a rocket taking off in a cloud of cardboard smoke.

Next came the period of economic growth since Deng Xiaoping introduced capitalist-style reforms in 1979. A float representing the first special economic zone of Shenzhen, site of China's first stock market, carried a statue of a charging bull.

The third stage painted a picture of a rich and technologicaly advanced future, with television screens. There was a model of manned spaceship.

Other crowd pleasers were hundreds of newly married couples dressed in full wedding gear, and a float carrying 40 top fashion models swathed in silk gowns and wearing golden headdresses.

The square has been the stage for all the triumphs and failures of the last 50 turbulent years - from the day Mao declared "the Chinese people have stood up", to the Red Guard rallies of the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 pro-democracy protests bloodily crushed by the military.

On Friday, roller-bladers wearing spandex suits in day-glo green glided past 100,000 school children using paper fans and pom-poms to form Chinese characters for "Reform and Opening".

The celebrations were rounded off with four sets of firework displays from 10 points around the sprawling city that brought many of its 10 million people into the streets or onto rooftops.

Jian Aspires to Pantheon

Jiang sought to use the lavish celebrations to elevate himself to the pantheon of socialist greats alongside Mao and Deng. He stood stiffly in an open-topped car wearing a high-collared grey Mao suit to review the troops.

"Comrades, greetings," Jiang bellowed as his Red Flag limousine drove out of the vast square and along the Avenue of Eternal Peace past ranks of camouflaged tanks and missile launchers four abreast.

"Serve the People", the troops yelled in reply.

A towering portrait of Jiang was driven through Tiananmen behind images of Deng and Mao.

"It certainly confirms his goal of establishing himself as status equal to Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping," said one Western diplomat. "It's a very self-conscious thing."

But whereas Mao is seen as the founder of Communist China, and Deng the architect of reform, Jiang is struggling to make his unique mark on Chinese history.

"There's very little sense of vision where he wants to take China - except the idea of making China even more powerful and national unity," the envoy said.

To kick off the military parade - the first in 15 years - a unit of machine-gun toting female troops in scarlet berets and black boots goose-stepped past.

In the grand finale, 50,000 pigeons were released into an overcast sky as Jiang and members of politburo beamed and applauded.

Jiang was flanked on a balcony atop the gate, which leads from the Forbidden City of the Emperors to Tiananmen Square, by parliament head Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji.

Tassled yellow lanterns glowed softly behind laquered doors giving way to the balcony, a reminder of China's ancient past.

The future was represented by China's latest military hardware, including models of the intercontinental ballistic missile Dong Feng-31 (East Wind-31) on hard-to-find mobile launchers, and supersonic Flying Leopard fighter-bombers.

"No one would cast suspicion over the marked improvement in long-range combat capability of the Chinese air force," the official Xinhua news agency said.

BLANKET SECURITY A SUCCESS

There were no signs of trouble as ordinary Beijingers were kept away from the square as part of blanket security measures.

Highrise office buildings lining the parade route were evacuated and their doors and windows sealed. Police feared a terrorist attack by Moslems from restive Xinjiang province and have been patrolling the capital with sniffer dogs.

Authorities rounded up members of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, and have swept the streets clear of beggars, vagrants and the mentally ill. Road blocks have been set up all around the capital.

A Hong Kong-based human rights group said that while the parade was underway, authorities detained a member of the outlawed China Democracy Party in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Beijing spent billions of dollars rushing through infrastructure projects in time for the anniversary, including a new airport, a subway spur and an eight-lane ring road.

Millions more were spent sprucing up the city, hung with traditional red lanterns and bursting with colour from neon palm trees, potted plants and countless Chinese five-star flags.

By Reuters

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Pride Swells On Communist China's 50th Birthday

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) China's Communist government threw its biggest ever party in Beijing on Friday -but ordinary folk were not invited.

Instead, people huddled around televisions and radios to witness a massive parade on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Few, however, complained, and many were flushed with national pride at the display of power by the People's Liberation Army.

"The parade was worth the expense," said Li Ning, 22, as he and a dozen other people gazed from a sidewalk at a television set perched on a windowsill.

"It's a moment of national pride, and it tells the world we won't be defeated easily," he said as jets roared simultaneously into view above the horizon and on the TV screen.

Beijingers, who only days ago grumbled about traffic snarls and blocked streets caused by repeated rehearsals of tanks, troops and marching students, sat back and enjoyed the spectacle.

A seven-day vacation eased any unhappiness. The public holiday lasts from Friday to next Thursday.

Many people took advantage of the quiet streets and parks to see Beijing as it was in the days before it turned into a hive of commerce after then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping unleashed market forces two decades ago.

One man taught his son to ride a bicycle on a street normally so hectic that pedestrians can barely cross.

Retired mechanic Liu Shuangju staked out a prime fishing spot on the nearly deserted banks of a city canal.

"I was in the parade in 1959," said Liu, squatting next to a portable radio as he kept watch over his two fishing lines dangling into the murky water.

"Of course, we didn't have so many rehearsals back then. They just pointed us down the street and we shouted 'Long Live Chairman Mao!' as we passed Tiananmen," said Liu, skewering a juicy grub with a third fishing hook.

Others rushed to a crowded overpass where tanks and missile carriers rumbled past on their way back to their bases after the Tiananmen parade.

"The third generation of leaders is not bad. Not bad at all," said Liu Shaozhi, a factory worker dressed in an old-fashioned Mao suit.

"Deng Xiaoping's contribution was Reform and Opening - Jiang's has been the military," he said from a crowd of people, some with children on their shoulders, to see China's latest military hardware.

"The military is the foundation of any strong nation. Look at Iraq - such a tiny country has resisted the United States for years," he said.

Asked when was the last time he saw tanks in Beijing, he gave an ironic smile. "We both know when that was, don't we?”, he said, referring to the military crackdown on student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square a decade ago.

"I think 10 years on we can look on that event with objectivity," he said. "Without stability and unity, there wouldn't be a today."

As a steady stream of amphibious armored personnel carriers passed under the bridge, their drivers pulled down the antennae to clear the concrete overhang.

Many people waved to white-gloved soldiers standing at rigid attention in the vehicle hatches.

One soldier, in an apparently impulsive gesture, waved to the crowd, eliciting a roar of delight.

By Reuters

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U.S.-China Trade Talks May Be On Hold For Weeks

WASHINGTON, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) U.S.-China trade talks are not expected to resume before mid-October, hurting Beijing's chances of joining the World Trade Organization this year, analysts said on Thursday.

But U.S. and Chinese officials still hold out hope of a breakthrough by November. "So long as there's political will, we'll do it," Long Yongtu, China's top negotiator, said.

Business leaders, however, fear this year's window of opportunity may already have closed. John Foarde, vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said it was clear that U.S. President Bill Clinton and Chinese leader Jiang Zemin "don't want this deal."

To join the WTO, which sets global trading rules, China must win U.S. support, as well as the backing of the European Union and others.

The deadline for China's accession is widely seen as late November, when WTO ministers launch the next round of global trade talks in Seattle. Any delay could leave China shut out of the WTO for years.

No headway was made on Monday in talks between U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her Chinese counterpart, Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng, over U.S. access to the vast Chinese market, potentially the world's largest.

Experts say U.S.-China talks have been marred by a dispute over market-opening concessions proposed by Premier Zhu Rongji during a state visit to Washington in April.

The United States wants China to recommit to that package, which included unprecedented tariff cuts and increased access in areas such as agriculture, telecommunications and financial services.

Barshefsky is also under pressure from Clinton and members of Congress to wring additional concessions out of Beijing to open China's financial and banking sectors, and to improve safeguards against surges in Chinese exports of steel and textiles.

But Beijing, in the aftermath of NATO's bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in May, has balked at U.S. demands for more market-opening measures, and has claimed that Washington misunderstood Zhu's offer.

U.S. officials have warned Beijing against backtracking on the April package, since that would outrage business groups and their allies in the Republican-controlled Congress.

As part of any agreement, Clinton would have to convince lawmakers to grant China permanent most-favored nation trade status, which the United States now refers to as Normal Trade Relations (NTR). That would guarantee Chinese goods the same low tariff access to U.S. markets as nearly every other nation.

"Not only has there not been progress (in U.S.-China talks), but the sides may be further apart then they were in April," said Greg Mastel, director of the global economic policy project at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

Analysts blame opposition forces within both countries with dampening enthusiasm for a trade pact.

Zhu's concessions enraged Chinese ministers and industry officials who fear their state-owned monopolies will be caught flat-footed by competition from multinational corporations.

U.S. Republican leaders said congressional approval of permanent NTR was unlikely to happen this year because of Congress' busy schedule, lawmakers' concerns about the trade deficit with China and allegations that Beijing stole U.S. nuclear secrets.

FOCUS-CHINA NEGOTIATOR SAYS NOV WTO PACT POSSIBLE. (REUTR)

HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - China's top trade negotiator said Beijing could strike a deal to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by November if there was political will in Washington and Beijing.

"So long as there's political will, we'll do it," Long Yongtu said in an interview with CNN television when asked whether a November deal was possible. The WTO is due to launch a new round of global trade talks in late November.

CNN said the interview, broadcast on Thursday night, took place late on Wednesday in Shanghai.

Long's remarks were in response to urging by U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley for China to recommit the concessions made by Premier Zhu Rongji during a visit to Washington in April.

China broke off talks with the United States on its WTO entry in May after NATO planes bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The two sides met on Monday to try to restart the talks but made no headway.

"So far we have agreed to continue our negotiations, but we have not set a date. We hope that we can set a date and talk to each other again," Long said.

He stressed throughout the interview that the United States, as a basis for negotiations, must accept Beijing's positions as clarified to U.S. negotiators in Beijing on April 22-24.

But the U.S. has insisted on the account of China's WTO position that the Clinton administration published on April 8, which it claims Zhu made during his Washington visit. Long says that account contained mistakes due to misunderstanding.

"I think we should start on the basis of what we have clarified because China, as one party of the negotiation, has every right to tell you what it exactly offers on the table and (the talks) should not be based on misunderstanding," he said.

Long said even U.S. negotiators had admitted the April 8 account contained mistakes, which included the claim that China would cut industrial tariffs to the levels of developed nations.

"From the very second day they published that deal I made a strong protest to them - how can you publish something which we never agreed or (you) never showed us and they, on the 10th of April, they admitted this is a serious mistake on their part."

On Tuesday, Long told CNN in another interview that the issue had become a political decision and two sides should talk on the basis of the clarified Chinese position.

On Wednesday, Daley told Reuters in an interview China should stand by the proposals Zhu made in Washington, and "to subtract things" would make it harder and longer to conclude the deal.

"Since the two sides did not have a deal, how could you say that one side is subtracting something from something which was never agreed to begin with," Long said on Thursday.

"On the basis of what we have clarified, it is already a very good agreement. I hope that they can make a quick decision on those points which we have clarified and I think that we can make very much progress on that basis," he said.

By Reuters

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China Says U.S. Pushing Taiwan Towards War

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji lashed out at the United States over Taiwan on Thursday, saying its support for the estranged island had emboldened President Lee Teng-hui and was making war inevitable.

Using harsh language, Zhu surprised a gathering of top foreign business executives by saying U.S. policies had encouraged Lee to declare in July the island would only deal with Beijing as a political equal.

"Sooner or later it will lead to an armed resolution of the question because the Chinese people will become impatient," one participant quoted Zhu as saying.

Lee said ties with Beijing should be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis. China, a bitter rival of Nationalist-ruled Taiwan since the end of a civil war in 1949, saw the declaration as a "dangerous" lurch towards independence.

Chinese leaders, including President Jiang Zemin, have said repeatedly that Beijing reserves the right to use force to prevent the island from formally breaking away.

The United States has been equally insistent that the Taiwan issue must be resolved peacefully. Any Chinese action on its threats would be of "grave concern" to Washington, it said.

RARE PRONOUNCEMENT

Zhu raised the Taiwan issue again at a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on Friday.

"We are convinced that with the concerted efforts of the entire Chinese people, the Taiwan question can definitely be resolved at an early date following the return of Hong Kong and Macao, and the complete reunification of China will be realized," he said.

The Portuguese enclave of Macau is to return to Chinese sovereignty on December 20. China reclaimed Hong Kong in July 1997 after more than 150 years of British colonial rule.

Both have been promised "one country, two systems", in which they will remain capitalist and have a high degree of autonomy.

Diplomats said they did not believe Zhu's earlier comments represented a tougher new policy, but they were startling because Zhu, who directs the economy, rarely makes pronouncements on Taiwan and foreign policy.

They were also delivered to an audience containing many Americans on the eve of the anniversary and in the unusual context of the Fortune Global Forum, which brings together some of the biggest Western corporate names.

"We got to the end and Zhu went into a long and somewhat passionate tirade about Taiwan and he said the United States has to quit emphasizing that it must be settled by peaceful means and implying that it would help defend Taiwan," said the participant.

"He said it with a bit of passion," said the participant, who declined to be identified, after a question-and-answer session with Zhu at the Great Hall of the People.

"He was making a point of clearly having a prepared thing to say about Taiwan and when nobody asked him a question, to deliver it afterwards."

TIMING A PUZZLE

Diplomats said they were puzzled by the timing.

"Perhaps they decided this was the moment to send a message to the U.S.," said one Western envoy. "Perhaps he has been chosen to give this tough message because Jiang Zemin wants to play the nice guy and does not want to give these tough messages."

Another Western diplomat said: "It's odd to do that in that context. It's possible Zhu's been told to say something on Taiwan but he may have got a little over-enthusiastic."

"It's not within his daily work."

He speculated Zhu may be trying to talk tough on Taiwan to gain leverage in talks on China's entry to the World Trade Organization, now at a crucial point.

"I suspect this may be related to the WTO talks - he's trying to ratchet up the pressure on the Americans," he said.

Washington recognizes Beijing as the sole government of China but continues to sell arms to Taipei.

In March 1996, the United States sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the Taiwan Strait as China held missile tests and war games off Taiwan to intimidate voters into rejecting Lee in the island's first direct presidential elections.

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China Rolls Out Military Might On Anniversary

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) China rolled out its most modern weapons on Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of Communist rule, a display aimed, at least in part, at rival Taiwan and its U.S. backers.

Models of the intercontinental ballistic missile Dong Feng-31 (East Wind-31) on hard-to-find mobile launchers rumbled past Tiananmen Square, the center of student-led demonstrations for democracy crushed by the army in 1989.

Warplanes, including the new indigenous Flying Leopard fighter bomber, flew past the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where head of state, military chief and Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin watched a huge military parade with politburo colleagues.

The display of might came amid a bitter row with Taipei over Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's July declaration of political equality which enraged Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province.

Beijing, which insists Taiwan must be reunified with the motherland, saw Lee's move as a "dangerous" lurch towards independence.

It has threatened to invade if Taiwan declares independence and Friday's military parade - the first since 1984 and the biggest ever - showed off China's anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

The two-hour parade, which halted traffic in central Beijing, also featured short-range missiles which are believed to be deployed against Taiwan.

MISSILES AND ROCKETS IN SPOTLIGHT

"What they wanted to show was missiles and rockets," said one Asian military specialist who did not want to be identified.

"Fifty percent of the military parade was missiles and rockets," he said. "They're reasonably proud of it."

"It's not state of the art, but it's okay for Asia."

The 2.5 million-strong People's Liberation Army also showed off military aircraft ranging from the Russian Sukhoi-27 to bombers, fighters, ground-attack aircraft, strike fighters and helicopters of the army, navy and air force. The supersonic Flying Leopard can carry four air-to-air or air-to-surface missiles with a total weight of five tons. It has a range of about 1,600 km (1,000 miles).

The DF-31 surface-to-surface missile can carry a single 700 kg (1,500 lb) nuclear warhead over 8,000 km (5,000 miles), which puts the United States within its range.

The green missile, which underwent its latest test in August, is two to three years away from deployment, Western defense experts said.

It had initially been scheduled for deployment in 2000.

The DF-31 is designed to replace the DF-4, a missile with half the range that was developed in the 1960s, the experts said.

China was expected to build between 10 and 20 DF-31 missiles, they said. The Dong Feng was the subject of spying allegations in a politically explosive report issued in May by a special committee of the U.S. Congress. The report alleged that two decades of Chinese spying on the United States helped Beijing advance its missile and nuclear warhead programs.

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China Begins 50th Communist Birthday Bash.

BEIJING, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) President Jiang Zemin, waving from an open-top car, reviewed troops and the latest military hardware on Tiananmen Square on Friday to begin lavish celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

"Comrades, how are you," Jiang bellowed into a microphone as his Red Flag limousine drove out of the vast square along the Avenue of Eternal Peace past hundreds of missile launchers, tanks and soldiers armed with machineguns.

"Serve the People", the troops yelled in reply before launching a giant parade in a brisk goose-step.

Jiang, dressed in a grey Mao suit, first appeared on the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

He was flanked on the gate, which leads from the Forbidden City of the Emperors to Tiananmen Square, by parliament head Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji.

Beneath an overcast sky, which did not rain as forecast, a furled Chinese flag was carried into the square by a squad of soldiers with fixed bayonets and hoisted as a brass band played the national anthem.

"Socialism is the only way to save China," Jiang said in a thundering speech studded with applause from the top of the gate.

The military review - the first in 15 years - shows off China's latest military hardware, including a model of a new missile capable of reach Hawaii and Alaska.

The display of military might - in part a warning to Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who Beijing fears is making a bid for independence - would be followed by a parade involving 500,000 civilians.

The square was bedecked with giant traditional red lanterns and a portrait of Sun Yat-sen, who overthrew China's last imperial dynasty in 1911.

To kick off the day's lavish celebrations, a 50-gun salute echoed across the vast square, packed with 100,000 school children forming two huge yellow characters meaning National Day.

Jet fighters are set to scream low over the city centre and the People's Liberation Army to show off its latest missiles.

As part of blanket security measures, ordinary Beijing residents were being kept well away from the square.

Highrise office buildings lining the parade route along the Avenue of Eternal Peace were evacuated and their doors and windows sealed.

Police fear a terrorist attack by Moslems from restive Xinjiang province and have been patrolling the capital with sniffer dogs.

Authorities have rounded up pro-democracy dissidents and members of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, and have swept the streets clear of beggars, vagrants and the mentally ill.

Some 50,000 pigeons were to be released in a grand finale after colorful floats representing China's revolutionary past, the era of economic reform and the future glide through Beijing.

To add to the spectacle there will be groups of rollerbladers and newly-wed couples.

Fifty political slogans have been approved for the anniversary. Among them: "Long Live Deng Xiaoping Theory" and "Long Live the Great Communist Party".

Beijing's normally traffic-snarled streets were empty. Although rain was forecast, the skies were grey but unthreatening.

Beijing has spent billions of dollars rushing through infrastructure projects in time for National Day, including a new airport, a subway spur and an eight-lane ring road.

Millions more have been spent sprucing up the city, which is hung with lanterns and bursting with colour from neon palm trees, potted plants and a sea of Chinese flags.

On the eve of the anniversary, Russian President Boris Yeltsin spoke with Jiang by telephone and congratulated him on 50 years of diplomatic relations.

A Russian government spokesman said the leaders had "expressed mutual satisfaction with the serious progress in strengthening an equal and trusting partnership".

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the two countries would hold their first joint naval exercises on October 2-6.

Moscow and Beijing, once rivals for leadership of the Communist world, have forged in recent years what they call a strategic partnership based on improving economic, political and diplomatic ties - and opposition to U.S. influence.

By Reuters

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Hong Kong Marks China's Anniversary With Ceremony, Protests

HONG KONG, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) Hong Kong held a simple flag-raising ceremony on Friday morning to mark China's fiftieth anniversary, undisturbed by a nearby scuffle between police and a small group of pro-democracy demonstrators.

The ceremony was overseen by Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung, one of the few senior Hong Kong officials who did not fly to Beijing for the lavish celebrations.

The event, held at the territory's waterfront Convention Center, included a march-past by People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers and a fly-past by five helicopters as two boats in the harbor shot fountains of colored water.

Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in July 1997 after 156 years of colonial rule, but China has promised the territory significant autonomy.

The April Fifth action group held a protest against political repression in the mainland during the ceremony, scuffling briefly with police a few hundred meters from the venue.

The pro-democracy Frontier party announced it would hold a demonstration later in the day against human rights abuses by the Communist Party and the Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

In an editorial, the South China Morning Post said China had changed beyond recognition over the past 50 years, that a backward, semi-feudal nation had been transformed into the world's fastest-growing economy.

"But along the way there have been many tragedies," it said. "For every freedom that now exists, another remains circumscribed...For all his far-sightedness in the realm of economics, Deng (Xiaoping) never grasped the political reform nettle."

But the territory's pro-China newspapers bulged with congratulatory advertisements for China from companies and Hong Kong personalities.

In an editorial, the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po listed China's economic successes over the past 50 years. It said that the country's unity was paramount in the minds of its people. Hong Kong's return to China had taken place peacefully and provided a model for Taiwan, it said.

"With the hard work of people on both sides of the straits, the great task of the country's unification will certainly take place," it said.

China considers Taiwan a renegade province and tensions have risen ever since Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui said ties with Beijing should be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis.

By Reuters

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China's 50th Underwhelms Taiwan

TAIPEI, Oct 1, 1999 -- (Reuters) Communist China's 50th anniversary passed with a yawn on earthquake-weary Taiwan, which was too busy burying its dead and tending to thousands of hurt and homeless to pay much mind to Beijing's goose-stepping gala.

Friday was an ordinary workday in the wealthy industrial democracy, its mood dictated more by memorials to the 2,100 who died in a mammoth September 21 tremor than the military parading and merriment seen on live broadcasts from Beijing.

A somber service outside the wreckage of Taipei's Sungshan hotel drew kin of the more than 80 who died in its collapse as well as workers who toiled for 10 days hoping to save them.

"My life's greatest regret is that we could not save more," deputy mayor Ou Chin-der, who oversaw the frantic round-the-clock digging, told 1,500 mourners, many of them weeping.

The hunt for survivors was called off on Thursday as efforts shifted to treating the 8,739 injured and 80,000 homeless, many of whom have been camping out in parks and schoolyards.

Taiwan media marked the birthday of the Chinese communist state by highlighting the still-great gap between the mainland's authoritarianism and Taiwan's hard-won liberties.

"Twenty years ago, Taiwan's people began to throw off highly repressive control like that which still exists on the Chinese mainland," the popular United Daily News said in a commentary.

"Though repression has been similar for people on both sides, the fruits of our struggle for democracy leave us poles apart."

National Day in the People's Republic of China is an uncelebrated anti-anniversary on Taiwan, at best a reminder of how long the Nationalist-ruled island has defied Beijing's zeal for its "reunification with the motherland".

"I didn't pay any attention at all," said civil engineer Tseng Chi-cheng, 35. "It's their National Day, why should we care? We have enough problems to worry about right now."

Union Still Has Little Appeal

Taiwan's exiled Republic of China, whose civil war ouster from the mainland in 1949 made way for the People's Republic, espouses eventual union under a democracy to both sides' liking.

But Beijing has done little to make union attractive or even palatable and Friday's National Day parade was no exception.

President Jiang Zemin, unrivalled as paramount leader since Deng Xiaoping's 1997 death, presided over a colossal display of Communist Party power and discipline - and the vast military firepower that Jiang threatens to use against Taiwan.

Touting Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, Jiang said "socialism is the only way to save and develop China".

Addressing China from the Gate of Heavenly Peace where Chairman Mao proclaimed the People's Republic 50 years ago, Jiang made no mention of Taiwan's killer quake but did pledge anew to end Taiwan's estrangement.

"We will continue to pursue the policy of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems, and ultimately accomplish the national reunification of Taiwan with the mainland...," Jiang said.

Several television channels aired China's festivities live.

Threat Of Force Condemned

The Mainland Affairs Council, a cabinet agency that oversees policy toward Beijing, would not comment on the festivities but condemned China's standing threat of attack.

"Negotiation is the most important means to peaceful resolution of cross-strait disputes," said council vice chairman Sheu Ke-sheng. "Problems should be resolved through dialogue, not the threat of force."

Sheu implicitly reiterated President Lee Teng-hui's controversial demand that future negotiations be conducted on a "special state to state" basis, in effect obliging Beijing to recognize the Nationalist republic it ejected in 1949.

Sheu noted that Taipei stopped claiming to be the ruler of all China in 1991, acknowledging that a rival Chinese government held sway on the mainland - though not in Taiwan.

The Taiwan News assailed Beijing's draconian muzzling of dissent and its view that meeting people's basic needs of food and shelter took precedence over protecting civil liberties.

"Solid, sustainable economic development is possible only in a nation that has the rule of law and respect for individual human rights," it said.

By Reuters

From Inside China Today

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Copyright DateRichard R. Wertz