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VNA :BEIJING TO PUMP BILLIONS INTO ARMS: HK NEWSPAPER - Xinhua :...
08-25-99
TAIPEI, BEIJING NOT TO TOUCH ON CROSS-STRAIT ISSUES DURING APEC
Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have
agreed not to touch on their bilateral fracas during the upcoming
meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a
noted local economist said on Wednesday.
Wu Jung-yi, head of the Taiwan Institute for Economic
Research, said the Republic of China has reached a consensus with
mainland China through mediation of New Zealand, the host country of
the 1999 APEC events, on avoiding mentioning cross-strait issues
under the APEC framework.
Wu, an adviser to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), has
been invited to attend the 1999 ABAC summit meeting, which refers
to an annual rendezvous between senior business executives and
top leaders from all APEC member economies.
The annual APEC extravaganza will kick off in New Zealand's
largest city of Auckland on Sept. 9, with a senior officials meeting
and a ministerial-level conference. An informal leadership meeting
will also be held from Sept. 12-13.
Both Taiwan and mainland China are APEC members. They have been
at loggerheads since ROC President Lee Teng-hui told a German radio
interviewer on July 9 that cross-Taiwan Strait ties should be defined
as a "special state-to-state relationship." Lee's declaration just
affirms political reality. Beijing, however, regards it as a
dangerous move to promote Taiwan independence.
In an effort to ensure smooth proceeding of annual APEC
gatherings in an amicable atmosphere, Wu said the New Zealand
government has taken the initiative to mediate an agreement between
Taipei and Beijing to avoid raising their bilateral issues during
the upcoming APEC meetings.
Nevertheless, Wu said if international news media raised
questions about the "special state-to-state relationship" theory or
other cross-strait disputes during a press conference to be held
after the APEC ministerial-level meeting, ROC officials are still
likely to answer those inquiries.
The ROC delegation to the APEC ministerial-level conference will
be led by Economics Minister Wang Chih-kang and Finance Minister
Paul Chiu. And P. K. Chiang, chairman of the Cabinet-level Council
for Economic Planning and Development, will attend the APEC
leadership meeting on behalf of President Lee. The ROC head of state
has been barred from the annual APEC summit meeting because of
Beijing's opposition. Lee instead has to name a surrogate to attend
the summit meeting on his behalf.
APEC is a 21-member regional economic cooperation forum
dedicated to promoting free trade and investment.
(By Sofia Wu)
enditem
-------------------------
08-25-99
BEIJING TO PUMP BILLIONS INTO ARMS: HK NEWSPAPER
Hong Kong, Aug. 25 (CNA) The mainland Chinese leadership has
decided to pump billions of yuan into supporting its declining arms
industry in a policy change to deal with economic and political
problems, the Hong Kong Standard reported on Wednesday.
The report in the English-language daily quoted a China watcher as
saying that the decision is a major compromise between the reformist
civilian government and the hawkish military.
It is also a major industrial policy adjustment following a
decade-old effort to restructure the industry into a civilian-run
operation.
In recent high-level meetings, the party and government
leadership reached consensus to earmark more funds for arms research
and manufacture while increasing the military budget to allow the
People's Liberation Army to purchase more hardware, the report
revealed.
In an apparent gesture to the armed forces, President Jiang Zemin
and Premier Zhu Rongji have in recent months paid visits to several
arms manufacturers in Liaoning and Sichuan provinces.
Increasing calls have been made by the military and arms
manufacturers for the central government to upgrade military hardware
following the US-led NATO attack on Yugoslavia and Republic of China
President Lee Teng-hui's assertion of the island's statehood, the
report quoted mainland sources as saying.
Jiang and Zhu have recently been under political pressure from
the party's conservative wing and hawkish military for their
enthusiastic efforts to mend ties with the United States and be soft
with Taiwan, according to the report.
(By Ken Su)
ENDITEM/J
^Z------------------
Chinese, Russian Presidents Confer in Bishkek
BISHKEK, August 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin
and Russian President Boris Yeltsin held an hour-long talk during
breakfast Wednesday in the capital city of Kyrgyzstan, just before
the summit meeting between China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan
and Tajikistan.
Yeltsin, who arrived here Tuesday night, described the Russia-
China relationship as "strong" and "powerful." He said the two
countries will increase cooperation in trade and other areas to
new levels.
The Russian president said he is looking forward to visiting
China later this year to exchange views more extensively with
Jiang, who said he is also looking forward to that meeting.
Since the five-nation summit in Shanghai in 1996, the five
countries have done tremendous works, Yeltsin said, adding that as
a result, they have reached a consensus on border issues, scored
progress in a border demarcation survey, stepped up measures in
building up mutual trust, withdrawn their troops from borders and
established good political relations.
Jiang told Yeltsin that he is satisfied with the fast-
developing Sino-Russian relations since he met him at the first
informal meeting in Moscow last November, adding the two countries
have increased common grounds and coordination on international
issues.
Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Russia in February this year
injected new vitality in bilateral relations, he noted.
"China is willing to make joint efforts together with the
Russian side to constantly expand the relations of strategic
partnership between the two," Jiang said.
The Chinese president said China values the summit meeting,
because the five participating countries constitute a vast land
proportion of the world, and stronger cooperation among them will
benefit their people and help promote economic development in the
region.
The two presidents also exchanged views on bilateral trade,
changes in the international situation since the Kosovo crisis,
and other issues of mutual interest. Enditem
----------------------
Beijing Suffering from Severe Drought
BEIJING, August 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese capital, which had expected
a bitter battle against heavy floods during this
year's rainy season, is now suffering from severe drought.
According to the Beijing Municipal Anti-Flood and Drought Relief
Headquarters, the city had only 263 mm of rainfall in this
year's rainy season, half of that of the same period last year.
Water reserves in the city's main sources of water, the Miyun and the
Guanting reservoirs, have also kept declining, as a
result of less rainfall this year.
Only 15 million cubic meters of water flew into the Miyun Reservoir
from June to July this year, the least amount over same
periods in the past few years. Meanwhile, water influx into the
Guanting Reservoir also dropped by about 76 percent from
the average over recent years.
Experts said that Beijing's underground water level has also dropped by
0.45 to 2.39 meters, and they suggested that
measures be taken to encourage economic use of water.
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