Extracts. China Expresses Concern over US Simulated Space Training Exercise China has expressed its deep concern over the recent large-scale simulated space training exercise carried out by the US military forces, saying it will lead to a new arms race into outer space. The US space training exercise has again demonstrated that using outer space as a weapon has become an urgent issue to be dealt with, said Sun Yuxi, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman at a regular press conference Tuesday. Taking weapons to outer space will damage the efforts of relevant countries to use space for peaceful ends, lead to new rounds of the arms race in space, and finally will harm world peace and security, said the spokesman. China has always insisted using outer space for peaceful ends and opposes the arms race in space. Sun said the international community should act through various channels, including the disarmament negotiations in Geneva, to produce a legal document to stop the arms race in space. **** Face to Face after 50 Years of Separation Face to Face after 50 Years of Separation ------------------------------------------------------------------------For the first time in more than 50 years, 73 senior citizens from southeastern China's Fujian Province Tuesday visited their hometown of Jinmen in Taiwan Province. This Lantern Festival, a traditional celebration of family in China focusing on family reunions, the 73 visitors, who are all older than 65, are spending quality time with their relatives on the island. As the first boat from the mainland to make a direct crossing to Taiwan in almost half a century, the "Gulangyu'' ferry left Xiamen in Fujian at 10 am Tuesday. A total of 91 people were on board, including the elderly visitors, some medical workers, journalists and ferry personnel. The boat safely reached Jinmen, which is only a few kilometres off the mainland. The visitors will stay there for four days and three nights, holding a memorial ceremony for their ancestors and visiting relatives, according to Xu Wenshen, head of the Fujian-Jinmen Friendship Federation. Xu noted that the old people are mainly from Fujian's Xiamen, Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. Official statistics indicate that more than 4,000 people who were born in Jinmen now live in Fujian. Most of them are refugees who escaped from Jinmen when it was invaded by the Japanese army on October 1937. They have been prevented from going home since the mainland and Taiwan were separated in 1949 after China's War of Liberation (1946-49). Fujian's local officials said that the purpose of this trip to Jinmen is just to let people visit their home again. The group is not scheduled to meet any Taiwanese officials. However, the trip means a lot to these people, who have been separated by the Taiwan Straits for more than 50 years. Xu Tianchui, aged 81, who was forced to join the Kuomintang army and was sent to the mainland in 1947 when his wife had just given birth to a son in Jinmen, will see his 54-year-old son for the first time Wednesday. Jinmen plans to invite 500 people from Fujian, all of whom are older than 60, in four separate batches. Taiwan sent the first two boats to the mainland in nearly 52 years on an official visit on January 2. **** DPRK: Endeavoring to Overtake World IT Industry The rapid development of IT industry has brought dramatic changes to the world and therefore becomes a theme topping world economic advance. But because of a late start and other causes North Korea's IT industry has long been lagging behind. Since the early 90s the DPRK government moved to give serious attention to and put great funds into the industry, starting from spreading computer knowledge and computer technology. In October 1990, the DPRK government, by employing numerous professionals, injecting huge funds and adopting various advanced equipment, set up a computer center in Pyongyang, an institution responsible for development and application of computer technology and computer promoting work nationwide. During the ten years since founding of the Center, Kim Jong-II as leader had for over 140 times instructed the Center to "play a leading role" in DPRK's technology buildup and computerizing its national economic production and administration. In 1996 the Center was formally promoted as a ministerial department put directly under the top leadership. The Center has altogether 7 branches nationwide to give training to tens of thousands technicians every year. Meanwhile, with faculties specially instituted, computer courses become subjects universally provided in middle schools and universities. There are also colleges for undertaking computer education. Under a nationwide computer education setup, there are also many research institutions of different sizes built to cover all fields in computer science and form a vertical R&D system. To keep pace with world trend, DPRK has set up additional branches in China, to report back latest information at the earliest time. Task groups were sent out to attend various international symposia and exhibitions. By now it has established ties with more than 10 countries, including China, Japan and South Korea, in academic exchanges and cooperation. Its partners include S Korea's Samsung and Hyundai groups. Progress has been made in fields of system program, multi-media technology, operating system, and application program, according to a senior official with the Center. The technology and products developed, were not only adopted by various sectors and therefore brought economic returns, but also through exports to Nigeria, Yemen, Japan and other countries, earned foreign exchange for the country. Presently the developing work has been finished for Windows 2K-based Korean language inputting software, multi-language translation software, Internet-and-mobile telecommunication-included large-size enterprise information system, data management system, network manager and Internet service programs. "DPRK is, in terms of technology, fully prepared for Internet construction, and we are just waiting for a go-ahead", official says. DPRK also witnessed development in national network. Intranets have been set up amongst central committees, central institutions, and newspapers, with many of them connected with each other. Now a network basically covering Pyongyang has been formed. Local stations of Rodong Sinmun can transmit photos and reports via the network and users can search for technological data of connected webs at any time or place on the "Brightness" technology net set by a central press. The convenience and benefits brought by the net are obvious and the said network has extended its scale 4.6 times greater than two years before. However, DPRK is still not capable of computer production therefore has to depend on foreign imports. Personal computers seem still a rarity and most people know not much about computers. Telephone lines of small capacity and other backward equipment have also hindered the development of network. Many scientific achievements can not be translated into real productivity due to industry depression. With these holding back DPRK's IT sector, the country doubtlessly has a long way to catch up with the world. But the official seems fully confident of the prospect of North Korea's IT industry. " Our leader Kim Jong-II has paid close attention to the development of IT industry. When in China he visited the Legend Group and Shanghai Software Development Research Center, and these have greatly encouraged our technological staff. The country's IT industry is only ten years old and surely there will be opportunities if we make efforts. The overall development of our IT industry will not be far", he said. **** Laos Affirms One-China Policy, Senior Official Says The Lao government firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and believes that "one country, two systems" complies with China's situation and reunification will eventually be achieved. Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Choummali Sayasone made the remark Monday in talks with Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/scdir/Chihaotian.htm> ,who is here for an official goodwill visit. Sayasone said that Chi's visit occurs at a moment when an all- round relationship between the two countries is developing further, and Chinese President Jiang Zemin <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/jzm/jzmhome.htm> 's successful visit to Laos <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/Laos.html> last November was a milestone in bilateral strategic relations. He also expressed gratitude for the valuable assistance offered by the Chinese government and armed forces to the Lao people. Chi, the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and a state councilor, said that President Jiang's visit to Laos was of historic significance, and the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries during the visit laid a solid foundation for the growth of bilateral ties in the years ahead. "The purpose of my visit is to implement a consensus in the military field, so as to push ahead with friendship and cooperation between the two armed forces," he said. Chi said that the two countries share identical views on pursuing socialism suited to their own national conditions. He added that as the international situation undergoes extensive and profound changes, it is important for them to further enhance good- neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation, push forward a multi- polarity process and properly deal with the challenges posed by globalization, so as to establish a peaceful, stable, equitable and reasonable new international order politically and economically. He also briefed the host on China's situation and the building- up of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Chi reiterated China's stance on the Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> issue. **** Beijing Anti-Corruption Agencies Recover 600 Million Yuan Anti-Corruption authorities in Beijing recovered 580 million yuan worth of public funds and properties from the hands of fallen officials in 2000, official figures showed Tuesday. The figure was 8.2 times that of the 63 million yuan of the previous year. According to sources from an anti-corruption work meeting at the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate, the municipal anti- corruption bureau handled 1,368 cases of graft and bribery last year, an increase of 17.8 percent over the previous year. The largest case involved more than 100 million yuan worth of grafting. According to the meeting, 73 cases involved a sum of more than 1 million yuan each and another 14 cases incurred more than 10 million yuan worth of losses of public property each. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
