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Eastern Turkistan - News from Xin Hua
(1) Xinjiang's Fixed Asset Investment Expected to Approach 70 bn Yuan This
Year
(2) NPC Deputy Proposes Speeding up Development Along EurAsian Continental Bridge
(3) Ethnic Minority Lawmakers Advocate Development, Stability Policies
(4) Four Major Projects Will Re-draw China's Economic Division Map
(5) More Care for Relics Called for in Western Regions
(6) China to Inject Water into Dry Tarim River
(7) Inner Mongolia Herdsmen Utilize Wind Power
1 ) Xinjiang's Fixed Asset Investment Expected to Approach 70 bn Yuan This Year
(03-12-01) Sources from Urumqi say that the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will continue to increase fixed asset investment to an estimated 69.2 bn yuan this year.
Last year witnessed a total fixed asset investment of 61.2 bn yuan in this autonomous region, a rise of 14.5 percent over the previous year, which contributed over 60 percent to economic growth.
The local government has already planned 25 key construction projects for this year. Of these, 10 programs, including the Urumqi Airport expansion project, will be completed and be put into operation within this year; seven projects including the irrigation-drainage system and environmental protection of Tarim Basin, will partly be commissioned and five others like enlarging the capacity of optical cable and construction of Xinjiang Sports Center will be fully started.
(2) NPC Deputy Proposes Speeding up Development Along EurAsian Continental Bridge
(03-13-01) A Xinjiang NPC deputy called for efforts to rev up the development of the economic belt along the EurAsian Continental Bridge as part of the Great Western China Development Strategy
Mr. Guo Jiemin, director of the Urumqi Railway Administration in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said at group discussions of the on-going session of the Ninth National People's Congress on Tuesday that the central government has invested heavily in the building and transformation of the EurAsian Continental Bridge since the 1990s, greatly boosting the hauling capacity of the major sections of the railway.
The railway's hauling capacity is expected to be further raised with the anticipated completion of the Langzhou-Baoji double-track railway, he said.
He urged the central government to work out development plans and corresponding policies and start a number of key projects along the railway.
Some special zones may be demarcated for developing resources and agriculture and other specialized undertakings by using the capital, technologies and advanced managerial expertise from the eastern part of the country and from foreign countries to hasten the industrialization, urbanization and modernization in the areas, he said.
He also mooted the idea of cooperating with big tourism companies to make full use of the tourism resources along the continental bridge to turn them into playlands.
(3) Ethnic Minority Lawmakers Advocate Development, Stability Policies
(03-14-01) Ethnic minority lawmakers attending the current session of the National People's Congress (NPC) show overwhelming support for the central government's efforts to maintain stability and bolster economic and social development in areas inhabited by ethnic minority people.
These areas should seize opportunities arising from implementation of the develop-west-China strategy to further promote stability and development, said deputies from the Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in the northwest.
Tibet and Xinjiang are responsible for opposing separatism, upholding the unity of the motherland, developing their local economies and safeguarding stability, according to the deputies.
Legqog, chairman of the regional government of Tibet, blamed the Dalai Clique and hostile forces in the West for their interference and disruptions which deprived Tibet of development opportunities in the 1950s and 1980s. Between 1987-89, riots and protests occurred in Lhasa, the regional capital, resulting in economic setbacks in Tibet and leaving the autonomous region even more backward than other parts of the country, he said.
Since the 1990s, Tibet has spared no efforts in achieving development and stability, fighting against separatism, and improving the living standard of Tibetans, making it the fastest developing period in the history of Tibet, with an average annual growth rate of 12.9 percent, higher than the national average, he said.
Raidi, an executive deputy secretary of Tibet Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attributed the region's fast economic development and social progress to social stability. The experience of Tibet shows that stability is the premise for development, he said.
Deputies from Xinjiang accused separatists, saying that the local ethnic minority people are aware of the evil nature of religious extremists and separatists and have opposed them of their own accord, which has curbed their separatist activities. Social stability has created a sound social environmental for economic development in the region, they said.
The issue of personnel has remained one of the biggest problems for the country's western region, but current social stability has attracted many professionals and funds to Xinjiang, injecting new vitality into the resource-abundant region, according to the deputies.
"Stability accords with the fundamental interests of the people," said Abdul'ahat Abdulrixit, chairman of the regional government of Xinjiang
According to the official, in the ninth five-year plan period (1996-2000), Xinjiang reached its goal of increasing its 1980 GDP by eight times, at an average annual growth rate of more than eight percent.
Xinjiang deputies pledged to narrow the economic gap between their region and other parts of China in the first ten years of the new century. It will develop itself into the country's biggest production base for cotton, yarn and cotton cloth and one of China's biggest producers of grain, livestock, fruits and sugar.
(4) Four Major Projects Will Re-draw China's Economic Division Map The four major projects-south-to-north water diversion, west-to-east gas transfer, west-to-east power transmission and the construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway set down in the Outline of the 10th Five-year Plan-will be successively launched in the next five years. NPC deputies and CPPCC members attending the ongoing "two sessions" said that like the 56 key projects built shortly after the founding of New China in 1949, these four major projects will open a new chapter in the history of the Republic on the construction of key projects during the new century. The four major projects once again demonstrate the heroic spirit of the industrious and valiant Chinese people: An unprecedented mammoth transfer of resources will mean the re-drawing of China's economic division map. South-to-North Water Diversion: Strategic restructuring of water resources The vast north Chinese land that has been dried for many years is in urgent need of aid from the water-rich south China. So construction of a project diverting water from the south to the north began after the birth of New China. Although China has built many cross-river valley or long-distance water-diversion projects over the past half century, the "water-rich south and water-deficient north" problem, however, has so far not been fundamentally resolved. In the last year of the 20th century, north China was hit by the severest drought ever in the past 50 years. How to rearrange the distribution of the country's water resources has become an urgent task placed before us. So the "south-to-north water diversion" project has again been placed on the agenda. Based on experts' scientific, long-term discussions and proofs, the project takes three formulas for diverting water through the west, east and middle lines. The west-line formula is diverting water from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River into the Yellow River, so as to solve the water-shortage problem facing the northwest region; the east-line formula is to transfer water from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which flows northward along the northern Jiangsu section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and along other rivers and lakes and through the Yellow River in the vicinity of Dongping of Shandong Province into Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality; the middle-line formula is to divert water from the reservoir at the Danjiang River mouth on the upstream of the Hanjiang River, then flows across the valleys of the Yangtze, Huaihe, Yellow and Haihe rivers straight through a number of cities in Henan and Hebei provinces into Beijing and Tianjin. Such a magnificent project is rarely seen in the world history of water conservancy. The great significance of the south-to-north water transfer project lies in the overall, strategic structural readjustment of the water resources of China's Yangtze and Yellow river valleys. After completion of the project, the volume of water transferred annually will be equal to that of another Yellow River created in the north, which will mean fundamentally reversing the passive situation featuring the serious unbalanced distribution of China's water resources. With the re-setting of the distribution of water resources, not only will more than 20 big and medium-sized cities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang free themselves from the fetter of water shortage, but new economic growth points will arise in regions along the line, particularly western regions. Transmitting Energies to Each China: Coordinated national efforts to stimulate the State economy The reform and opening up drive has kept the rapid Chinese economic development (higher than the world average rate of economic growth) for more than 20 years. In the new century, more petroleum and gas will be needed for the "train" of China's speeding economic development. In China's economically developed southeast coastal areas, the shortage of energy has restrained local economic growth. Objectively, the distribution of China's energies is seriously unbalanced: on the one hand, the expansive western areas have rich deposits of natural gas, petroleum, hydroelectric power and other important resources, huge volume of hydroelectric power is waste there; on the other hand, the rapidly developing eastern region needs the import and supplement of various resources and energies. This situation of energy distribution has caused rising production cost in the southeastern region dominated by an export-oriented economy. And yet the energy-rich western region is leading a poor life. Construction of the two major projects: west-to-east power transmission and west-to-east gas transfer will rationalize China's energy distribution, and will greatly improve the overall economic benefits of the State economy. West-to-east Power Transmission The west-to-east power transmission is an indicative project of the large-scale development of the western region. During the 10th Five-year Plan period, this project will lead to the formation of a north-middle-south route power transmission pattern: The north route will transmit power from Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and other provinces and autonomous regions to north China power grid, five years later it will transmit 2.7 million kw power to Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan regions; the middle route will send power from Sichuan and other provinces to central and east China power grid; and the south route from Yunnan, Guizhou Guangxi and other provinces and autonomous region to south China, five years later, it will transmit 10 million kw power to Guangdong Province. The west-to-east gas transfer project involving a total investment of 146.3 billion yuan will have a 4,200-km pipeline laid to transfer the rich natural gas from western Xinjiang and other regions to energy-short Shanghai and other eastern areas. Current exploration shows that the western region has a deposit of 22,400 billion cubic meters of natural gas resources and can transfer 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually to the Yangtze River Delta and other regions along the line, so there is no problem with the stable supply of natural gas for 30 years. Implementation of the west-to-east power transmission project and the west-to-east gas transfer project will boost the development of China's manufacturing, power construction and building materials industries. Energy consumption of the people in the central and eastern regions will enter the era of clean and high-efficient natural gas. Completion of the two major projects will turn the western region into a powerful energy base of China, while the eastern region will become a production base of rapid operation. When eastern and western regions that link to and promote each other realize common rapid development, all undertakings (like coordinated nationwide efforts on a single chessboard) of the country will develop more vigorously. Qinghai-Tibet Railway: the biggest "Cross" character in the world rail network For the Tibetan people who have just entered into the 21st century, the most gratifying news is: nothing is more than construction of a Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Following the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will add a "golden bridge" leading to a happy life for the offspring of the million serfs, people of the whole country and overseas tourists will find it more easy and convenient to travel to the "Roof of the World". Over the past 50 years, the Chinese people have completely changed the history recording that there was almost no railway to the west of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway in the early stage after the founding of New China. A look at the map of Chinese railways in operation reveals that if the Beijing-Kowloon Railway built during the Ninth Five-year Plan period is seen as a bold "vertical" stroke that runs north and south, then, the 1,118-km-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway, at the western end of the Longhai (Lanzhou-Lianyungang) Railway line, to be built during the 10th Five-year Plan period, that leads to Lhasa, will represent a mighty "horizontal" stroke, these "vertical" and "horizontal" strokes that run through the whole of China will be formed into the largest "Cross" character in the world's railway web. Along with the implementation of the strategy for the large-scale development of the western region, opening the railway passageway between the inland and Tibet has become imperative. According to the plan, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway starts from Golmud City, Qinghai Province through Wangkun of Qinghai Province, across Tanggula Mountain and into the Tibet Autonomous Region, then via Amdo, Nagqu and Damxung counties, it finally reaches Lhasa City, the capital of the autonomous region. After completion of this railway, it will greatly promote the development of this region. More importantly, construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will perfect the crisscrossing, trunk-feeder integrated railway transport network.. Then, the eastern, central, western regions, and south and north China will be linked to each other and integrated more closely. Construction of the four major projects will bring even better life for the common people. In just a few years to come, Wuhan will use electricity from Sichuan, Shanghai will burn natural gas from Xinjiang, people from the eastern region will arrive at Lhasa or the "sunshine city" by train, and people of north China will drink sweet water from the Yangtze River....
The four major projects will become a strong driving mechanism for developing the western region, balancing resources, stimulating domestic demands and expanding markets; economic development in western, central and eastern regions will become integrated, the economies in less developed areas will grow rapidly, developed areas will have greater driving force for development. In the new century, the train of the Chinese economy will roar all the way forward and will never stop advancing.
(5) More Care for Relics Called for in Western Regions
(03-15-01) Massive infrastructure construction will not destroy local cultural relics, as long as the law is followed closely and supervision tightened, said experts at the ongoing Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC).
Han Wei, a NPC deputy and head of the Archaeological Research Institute of Shaanxi Province, said local cultural relics bureaux are required to carry out geological and archaeological surveys around construction areas before projects are begun.
"If significant discoveries are made during the surveys, the project has to go around the relics and local cultural relics bureaux have to excavate them, according to current laws," said Han.
Several big projects are expected to kick off this year as part of the nation's strategy to develop the western region, including the construction of a 4,000-kilometre gas pipeline from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Shanghai a 1,100-kilometre-long Qinghai Tibet railway and a west-to-east power transmission project, not to mention the on-going Three Gorges project.
"The expense of the surveys must be covered by project operators, and the government will give extra funds to significant discoveries," Han added.
Han warned, however, that operators failing to abide by the law may pose a threat to relics, especially at county level, where government supervision is relatively loose.
Considering that tourism is one of the main industries being supported in the west, it is essential to protect the relics as well as their environs, he said.
Zhang Zhongpei, vice-director of the China Archaeology Council, said it is expected that many relics will be discovered as the big projects in the west get under way.
He urged the government to invest more in the exploration and rescue of relics in the area, adding that more supervisory powers should be granted to archaeological departments to enforce relevant laws and regulations.
He suggested that important sites should not be tampered with at present due to the present insufficient level of technology and funds for dealing with them properly.
Xie Zhensheng, former director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, said the government should be careful about the theft of relics during the construction of the projects.
"The lack of public concern for the protection of relics and the shortage of specialists make it possible for these things to happen," he said.
Xie called on the whole of society to reinforce supervision to better protect relics.
Luo Zhewen, a senior adviser to Xie's bureau, also said government departments such as national security departments and customs should spare no efforts in cracking down on the theft and smuggling of relics.
(7) China to Inject Water into Dry Tarim River
(03-16-01) China will divert water from Bosten Lake, one of China's major fresh water lake, to the dry lower course of the Tarim River in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, this year.
This will be the third water injection into the Tarim River, the longest inland river in China. A total of 327 million cubic meters of water were discharged into the lower reaches of the Tarim River respectively in May and November last year. As a result, the underground water level of the river course at its lower reaches rose by three meters.
The current move is to extend the water flow to the original end of the Tarim River which connects with the Taitema Lake.
The regional water conservancy department pledged to curb ecological deterioration along Tarim River in five to 10 years.
The 1,321 kilometer-long Tarim River runs west to east along the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, the biggest moving desert in the country, and flows into the Taitema Lake.
The 320 kilometer-long section of the lower reaches of the river and the Taitema Lake dried up in 1972 following the construction of a reservoir on the river which blocked water from flowing into the lower reaches.
(6) Inner Mongolia Herdsmen Utilize Wind Power
(03-18-01) Electricity generated by wind power stations is now available to about 140,000 herdsman families in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to latest official resources.
With the help of wind power generators, herdsman families now can use electric lights and blankets, watch TV, and carry out modernized management on their farms.
The development of wind power is regarded as the second liberation for the farmers and herdsmen in the region, where electricity is badly needed.
China will give a major boost to the development of wind power resources to benefit 23 million people living in hinterland areas and on the coastal islands by 2010, according to the State Development Planning Commission.
The benefited areas also include the western and eastern parts of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the northern part of Qinghai Province, and the northeastern parts of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. China, which boasts 253 million kilowatts of wind power resources, started research and development of wind power resources in the 1970s.
From: Mavlan Yasin <MYasin@UniversalCare.com
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ETIC REPORT 2000 
