An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 93 (1) REGIONS ORDERED TO REPORT UNREST.
(2) BEIGING DISPLAYS JUSTICE CHINESE STYLE. 21 December 1998, Reuters (3) CHINA CONFIRMS XU WENLI, WANG YOUCAI CHARGED WITH SUBVERSION
(4) ARMS SALES TO PAKISTAN.
(5) CHINA, RUSSIA JOIN FORCES IN RAILING AGAINST US.-BRITISH BLITZ ON IRAQ
(6) CHINA VOWS TO CONTINUE REFORMS.
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WILLY WO-LAP LAM All provinces and cities have been told to report to central authorities on "factors of instability". A party source said yesterday the General Office of the party Central Committee had issued a circular to regional officials asking them to raise their guard against challenges to the administration. The circular was issued in tandem with President Jiang Zemin's speech on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's reforms. "Local cadres must file a detailed report on areas including labor unrest, underground organizations and other 'anti-Beijing' elements," the source said. They also were asked to organize special ideological classes to study Mr. Jiang's speech, which emphasized maintaining national stability and fighting Western influences. The source added that similar instructions had been given to leading cadres in universities. These cadres were asked to be on the look-out for anti-government activities by students. However, it is understood many local officials are reluctant to give Beijing a full account for fear of their own abilities being called into question. Other cadres pointed out in internal sessions that most rallies and demonstrations by workers were caused by purely economic factors. Meanwhile, leftists have exploited the conservative turn in mainland politics to push their quasi-Maoist agenda. A Beijing source said the remnant Maoists held their own meeting last Friday to mark the two decades of reform. The meeting was held at the Contemporary China Research Society, a bastion of leftists whose "godfather" is former propaganda chief Deng Liqun . Society head Li Li'an's speech played up Deng Xiaoping's conservative teachings such as "fighting bourgeois liberalization". Mr. Li, a former secretary-general of the Central Advisory Commission, was referring to the need to prevent cadres from adopting all-out Westernisation. Other leftists attending the session focused on the need to contain the political influence of the "new class" of private entrepreneurs. (2) BEIGING DISPLAYS JUSTICE CHINESE STYLE. 21 December 1998, Reuters BEIJING -- Just a few weeks ago, distinguished"Queen's Counsellors" from London were acting out a British-style jury trial in Beijing.China had seemed to be warming to the new Western softly-softly approach to human rights, which stresses gentle pressure over angry confrontation. The mock trial was part of the subtle prodding. But on Monday, Chinese style justice was on display. It took Beijing judges a bit more than three hours to find dissident Xu Wenli guilty of subversion, and only 20 minutes to decide his fate -- 13 years in jail. A second activist was jailed for 11 years in the city of Hangzhou. Nobody expected China to adopt Western-style justice overnight. Still, the swiftness and severity of the sentences -- and Beijing's apparent carelessness of the Western reaction -- was likely to raise doubts about the West's new human rights approach. "It will get more difficult for Western governments to justify to their own public and parliaments a policy of engaging China on human rights," said one diplomat. U.S. President Bill Clinton has staked the credibility of his China policy on the success of engagement, defying domestic critics who argue that Beijing should be isolated. Jin Zhong, publisher of the Hong Kong-based political magazine Open, argued that China does not care one way or another about what the West thinks. "They are not too worried about their international image," he said. "China knows the weak point of Western nations -- many need the Chinese market." His point was echoed by a European diplomat, who said: "We can't ostracize China, and China knows it." Western countries this year abandoned repeated attempts to censure Beijing's human rights record at annual meetings of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Their main argument was that the exercise was futile since it had no effect on China's human rights behavior. Since that decision, Beijing has signed the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened a human rights dialogue with the European Union, hosted U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, welcomed a visit by U.S. clergy and touted legal reform. Yet Monday's headline-grabbing trials seemed certain to undermine much of the goodwill China has garnished. Exiled Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng said in Taiwan on Monday that Beijing was thumbing its nose at Western nations. "They want to send western countries a message: Whether you like it or not, we will do whatever we want," Wei said. "At this time the West should not continue its weak and wrong policy toward China." He added that "the essence of the Chinese Communist Party is they don't intend to abide by any laws. All they want is to keep themselves in power". Jin said the crackdown on key organizers of the China Democracy Party was designed to remove thorns from the side of the Communist Party in the run-up to politically sensitive anniversaries next year. "They want to prevent disturbances in 1999," Jin said. The 10th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre is coming up, along with the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1. The message from the Communist Party is crystal clear -- it will not tolerate any challenges to its monopoly on power. "Kill one to warn a hundred," Jin quoted one ancient proverb as saying. In an ominous warning, Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin warned last Friday that subversive activities would be "nipped in the bud" and China would not tolerate Western-style democracy. The Communist Party faces a plethora of problems, including rising joblessness and lawlessness, complaints against official corruption and financial turmoil. Another diplomat said the party was in no mood to compromise on challenges to its authority. "The pressure is building," the diplomat said. (3) CHINA CONFIRMS XU WENLI, WANG YOUCAI CHARGED WITH SUBVERSION
BEIJING -- China confirmed on Monday that two leading dissidents had been sentenced to long prison terms for subversion. Xu Wenli was sentenced to 13 years in jail and Wang Youcai was given 11 years for attempting to form an opposition party, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Xinhua also said the two had accepted funds from "hostile overseas organizations". Xu and Wang were also deprived of their political rights for three years, Xinhua said. "Attempting to overthrow the state, Xu in November secretly planned the formation of the Beijing and Tianjin cells of the so-called China Democracy Party," Xinhua quoted the court as saying. "To organize, plan and implement the overthrow of state power, Xu also sought and accepted financial assistance from foreign hostile organizations," the court said. Xinhua gave no details of those charges. Xinhua said both Xu and Wang enjoyed "open" trials which were conducted "according to law", adding that members of the public and the families of the accused were allowed to attend. (4) ARMS SALES TO PAKISTAN.
Since the 90s, the Chinese government has been selling arms to Pakistan and made huge profits. The Pakistan government armed its forces with the latest Chinese weapons at relatively low prices. In February 1998 the two government officials signed the sales contract of FBCI fighter jets to Pakistan. Pakistan also bought 200 new Chinese designed T85-2M tanks and provided funds for the Chinese to research and make T90-2 tanks. (5) CHINA, RUSSIA JOIN FORCES IN RAILING AGAINST US.-BRITISH BLITZ ON IRAQ
A second night of concentrated U.S. and British bombing raids on Baghdad provoked a furious response from China and Russia on Friday. Russia withdrew its Washington and London ambassadors and said it was rethinking security strategy, including relations with NATO. China said the U.S. and British attacks on Iraq had "set a dangerous and odious precedent." British defense minister George Robertson reported that the missile and bombing raids against Iraq on Thursday evening and Friday morning had inflicted "very substantial damage" on President Saddam Hussein's "military machine." Bill Clinton, his presidency in peril with a House of Representatives impeachment debate later on Friday, went to a White House gala evening and issued a defiant rallying cry for solidarity and support for U.S. and British forces in the Gulf. Asked whether the Iraq campaign was a ploy to buy time against impeachment, he told reporters: "I don't believe that any serious person would believe that any president would do such a thing." The latest assessment of the damage inflicted on Iraq following two straight nights of carefully-planned attacks by cruise missiles and bombers, including American B-52s, came in media interviews with the British defense minister. Robertson was asked on BBC radio if Friday morning's attacks marked the end of military operations and he said: "No, it's not...We're not going away." He added: "We will go away when he (Saddam) complies with the Security Council resolutions" aimed at curbing Iraq's ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction. In a separate interview with Sky television, Robertson said: "We believe that as a consequence of two nights of action very substantial damage has been caused to Saddam's military machine and therefore his ability to use these chemical and biological weapons against his neighbors." The Kremlin renewed its call for an end to the U.S. and British air strikes on Iraq but ruled out severing diplomatic ties with Washington and London over the crisis. Russia's Interfax news agency said it was the first time Moscow had recalled an ambassador to the United States since World War Two and the first time it had recalled its envoy to Britain since 1971, when London expelled 105 Soviet diplomats. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin said London ambassador Yuri Fokin would return urgently to Moscow. Yuli Vorontsov, ambassador to the United States, had already been recalled for consultations. Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev stepped up Russia's fury over the air strikes, launched to try and destroy Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction without first seeking the approval of the United Nations Security Council. In a rare statement he raised questions about Moscow's cooperation with its former Cold War foe NATO, with whom it signed a "Founding Act" last year on relations with the U.S.-dominated Alliance despite Russia's opposition to NATO enlargement plans. "What kind of cooperation and partnership is possible to talk about with the Alliance if Russia's opinion is openly ignored?" Sergeyev said. Chinese state newspapers gave wide coverage to international opposition to the raids, and carried pictures of badly burned Iraqi victims. Diplomats and analysts said Beijing's swift and sharp reaction to the bombing was part of an effort orchestrated with Russia to undermine Washington's foreign policy in the Middle East and win plaudits from Arab nations. It also reflected China's anger at not being consulted over military action as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. "The unilateral move by the United States has set a dangerous and odious precedent and shocked the entire world," the People's Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary. More than 100 United Nations relief workers left Baghdad on Friday for the safety of neighboring Jordan, leaving just a skeleton staff in Iraq. Chief U.N. humanitarian officer in Iraq Hans Von Sponeck said his staff were no longer able to carry out their work monitoring distribution of humanitarian supplies bought by sanctions-hit Baghdad under its oil-for-food accord. But he said despite two days of sustained military attacks some food and medicines were still arriving in the country and oil exports had still been flowing from the southern Mina al-Bakr Gulf port on Thursday. Iraqi anti-aircraft fire tore into the night sky over Baghdad late on Thursday and early on Friday and explosions shook the city as the second round of air strikes were launched. Iraqi officials said at least 25 people had been killed and 75 injured in Baghdad alone since the attacks, officially aimed at "degrading" President Saddam Hussein's military capability, began late Wednesday. The all-clear signal was sounded in the Iraqi capital before dawn after a hellish night of thunderous explosions, rattling anti-aircraft fire and wailing ambulance sirens. No warplanes were visible over Baghdad in the attack. U.S. officials had said earlier that more raids were expected by B-52 bombers, which are equipped with cruise missiles. Baghdad radio reported that Saddam went out to inspect the damage from the first assault early on Thursday. The radio said the home of one of Saddam's daughters was hit in the air raids but she was not there. U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said on Thursday targets include Iraq's air defense system, its command-and-control system, airfields and other military infrastructure and facilities. "There have been no American casualties and we are achieving good coverage of our targets," he added. The U.S. announced on Thursday it had closed 40 of its embassies in Africa for the next two days as a precaution because of the military action in Iraq and ongoing threats in the region. Grappling with Iraq and the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal -- the two crises that have dogged him all year as they approached crescendos -- Clinton braced for a debate in Congress on Friday that was likely to end with his impeachment. If the 435-member House passes an impeachment measure, as it was expected to do by a narrow margin, Clinton would face trial in the Senate over charges he tried to cover up illegally his affair with White House assistant Monica Lewinsky. (6) CHINA VOWS TO CONTINUE REFORMS.
BEIJING -- China will never adopt Western political models even as it presses ahead with economic reforms that have transformed the lives of its 1.2 billion people, President Jiang Zemin said today. ``The system must not be shaken, weakened or discarded at any time,'' he said in a speech celebrating 20 years of reforms by the ruling Communist Party. ``The western mode of political systems must never be copied.'' Jiang, who also is Communist Party chairman and head of the nation's armed forces, addressed an elite gathering of 6,000 party, government and military notables in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. His 75-minute speech, heavily larded with Marxist slogans and ideology, reaffirmed China's commitment to developing an internationally competitive economy while shunning democratic political reforms. The speech did not appear to set out any new policies or a vision for the future but repeatedly vowed to uphold the ``Communist Party line.'' Today marks the 20th anniversary of a pivotal Communist Party meeting on Dec. 18-22, 1978, that initiated the current era of pragmatic economic reforms, marking a shift from class struggle to the pursuit of modernization. The gathering helped bring to an end decades of chaotic political campaigns under revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung that had hindered economic development and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After the 1978 meeting, the party's Central Committee set in motion rural reforms that broke up communes and let farm families earn incomes based on their productivity. State-owned industries adopted reforms intended to replace a centrally planned economy with one that could compete in international markets. To achieve ambitious economic goals, then-leader Deng Xiaoping started pursuing foreign investment and technology. In his speech, Jiang reaffirmed China's need to continue opening up to the rest of the world, while developing the country ``through its own efforts'' and minimizing ``decadent thoughts and lifestyles.'' Emphasizing the party's loyalty to its Marxist origins, the camera broadcasting the speech on state-run television lingered on a large golden sickle and hammer on the curtain facing the audience. Despite two decades of largely successful reforms, China is struggling with widespread unemployment due to layoffs by defunct state-run factories and lagging incomes for the vast farming population. The regional economic crisis has taken a bite out of badly needed foreign investment and exports. While most Chinese are pleased with the improved living standards resulting from the reforms, they are troubled by the widening gap between rich and poor and worsening crime and corruption. The Communist Party demonstrated its determination to ward off any challenges to its 49-year monopoly on power Thursday when it put on trial two prominent dissidents accused of attempting to subvert state power for having tried to set up an opposition party. Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*==*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*==*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER |