Extracts. Essence of 'Liberation of Human Rights' Seen Below Surface In recent years, styling itself as a "model of democracy" and the "defender of human rights", the United States has created a "report on the human rights situation in different countries" each year to teach other countries and regions a lesson. It has even unhesitatingly allocated an annual sum of money as high as US$700 million used to promote the "great cause" of "opening democracy" and "conducting restructuring" abroad, euphemistically dubbing it "liberation of human rights". In the eyes of the US government, the world lacks human rights, and there is a shortage of the "elite", so when a heavy task is to fall from heaven upon someone, it seems that only the United States can undertake the "great cause" of "opening democracy" and "liberating human rights". In fact, human right is not a patent of the United States, rather, it is a kind of right which people throughout the world are striving to achieve. In the Charter of the United Nations passed as early as 1945, the universality of this kind of human rights is affirmed. The base of human rights is the existence and development of life, human right is, first of all, the right to subsistence and development. In the era of today wherein "peace and development" are the themes, the people of various countries around the world, including the American people, are striving to create a better environment for subsistence and development, if there is anything like the "liberation of human rights", then, the people are the real defenders of human rights, the genuine heroes who are engaged in the "liberation of human rights". Isn't it ridiculous that the United States boasts of itself being the defender of human rights?! How will this self-styled "defender of human rights" "liberate human rights"? In its foreign affairs, the United States often flaunts the banner, called "protecting human rights". Ironically, however, it was under this banner that the United States sent out troops to Iraq, bombed Kosovo and dropped nearly 1 million radiation depleted uranium shells there, the consequences of which had been published in newspapers, many soldiers had contracted the "syndrome of the Gulf War" or the "Balkan syndrome", countless victimized Iraqi and Yugoslavian people in the explosion spots had contracted illness and died and numerous mothers consequentially gave birth to deformed babies. Even the United States itself admits that excessive use of force in international conflicts is inhuman; in the explanations of the US Declaration of Independence, human right is, first of all, the vital right. No matter what ideas the United States uses to denounce those countries, the thousands upon thousands of common people there are absolutely innocent, so are women and children in existence there! The rights and interests of women and children that have always been under the key protection of the international community have been inflicted extremely cruel damage by the US "humanitarian mission"! Another banner often flaunted by the United States in its foreign affairs is the "liberation of human rights". So, countries labeled as "despotic dictatorship" and "autocracy" by the United States have become US subversive targets. On January 17 this year, a "Western Hemisphere Security Cooperation Institute" was set up by the defense department of the United States. This represents another move taken by the United States under the name of exporting "democracy". What is the purpose of this move? Insiders say the predecessor of this institute was the "school of America", a military academy under the US Army. This school was named by US non-governmental institutions and international human right organizations as a base for training dictators, butchers and assassins. In 1996, Pentagon was forced to publish the contents of seven training handbooks, almost all were contents about teaching Latin American servicemen the trial techniques-how to torture suspects, carry out secret execution, intimidate dissidents, etc., each of the contents is an infringement on human rights. In fact, human right is only a political card in US foreign affairs. One of the aims of the United States in playing the human right card is its hope to use its concept of value to remake the world. Some Americans are invariably proud of "electors of the God" and "model of morality". After the conclusion of the Cold War, its status as the only superpower greatly inflated the feeling of this Salvation Army. Its second aim is to push through its global strategy. After the end of the Cold War, with the disappearance of the opposing camps, the United States lost the reasons to interfere in and control sovereign countries, but the scramble for benefits has not ended, neither has its ambition to control the whole globe, human right has become a high-sounding pretext it uses under the new situation. US human right diplomacy under this purpose, or the "liberation of human right", on the one hand, makes gesticulations relating to the human rights of other countries, on the other hand, it, under the banner of humanitarianism and democratic morality, has created tragedies characterized by infringements on human rights. That is the US-brand "liberation of human rights". Actually it has wantonly trampled upon the idea of human rights and the human rights of other countries. Former US President Kennedy admitted that the American people must give up their oversimplified views about international affairs, and abandon the theory of remaking the world in the image of the United States, which is US mission. As the world has entered the new century, should the new US government also change its train of thought? **** Jiang Zemin Calls for Improved CPC Work Style Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has urged the whole Party to make serious efforts to tackle problems concerning the CPC's work style. Leading Party officials must develop a good work style, so as to be capable of leading the people to blaze new trails in the ongoing reform and opening-up drive, he said. Jiang, who is also Chinese president, made the remarks during a study tour in south China's Hainan Province on February 22-28. He was accompanied by Qian Qichen, a vice premier and member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, and Zeng Qinghong, an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and a member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat. During his stay in the scenic tropical island province, Jiang visited both rural and urban residents in Sanya, Qionghai and Haikou cities, and Ledong County. In his talks with local officials, Jiang stressed the importance of developing Hainan, the youngest province and largest special economic zone in the country, and praised the local people for their achievements in all fields. Top priority should always be given to the issue of agriculture, especially the efforts to increase farmers' income, he said. During his trip, the top leader also showed special interest in the life of ethnic groups, as Hainan is home to large numbers of ethnic minorities. Jiang's remarks were also focused on the protection of local resources and the environment. To damage resources and the environment means destroying the local productivity, he stressed. Greater efforts must be made to renovate the system and develop science and technology, in order to achieve new progress in the new century, he said. Special economic zones should set an example in reforming the system and lead the country in the efforts to build a more perfect socialist economic system, he added. While calling for an efficient estimate of the challenges and opportunities brought about by the technological revolution, Jiang said that the key to achieving renovations in science and technology is to foster and attract talented people. During his stay in Sanya City, the general secretary chaired a workshop to discuss the issue of Party building, mainly the improvement of the Party's work style. The Party must be better constructed so as to ensure that China 's socialist modernization continue on the correct course, Jiang said at the workshop. Its work style is closely related to the image and fighting capability of the Party, he noted. Efforts should be made to strengthen the building of the grassroots organizations of the Party, with priority given to the work style of the grassroots Party officials, according to Jiang. **** Cult Burn Victims Still in Danger: Official The four Falun Gong followers who set themselves ablaze in Tiananmen Square last month are still in critical condition, despite all-out rescue efforts by the Chinese government, a senior anti-cult official said Tuesday.¡¡ Liu Jing, head of the newly-set-up Anti-Cult Office under the State Council, told a press conference that the treatment currently focus on the curing of the burnt parts and nutritive support to prevent the occurrence of burn syndrome.¡¡ Five Falun Gong followers from central China's Henan Province set themselves on fire in the square on January 23. One died immediately, and the other four were rushed to hospital with serious burns.¡¡ Among the four injured are Chen Guo, a 19-year-old music student, and Liu Siying, a 12-year-old girl. **** China Ratifies Convention on Human Rights The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top Legislature, approved Wednesday the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Following the ratification, the lawmaking body issued a statement, announcing that the Chinese Government will assume the obligations prescribed in Item I(a) of Article Eight of the convention in line with relevant provisions of China's Constitution, Trade Union Law and Labour Law. The statement also says that the signing of the convention by the Taiwan Authorities in the name of China in 1967 is "illegal and ineffective". China signed in 1997 the Convention adopted by the United Nations on December 26, 1966. **** Precautions against Corruption Deployed in China's Western Development Participants in a series of anti-corruption meetings held by the procuratorate, political and law departments in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were urged to optimize the legal system in China's ambitious move of developing the vast western region. Economists said the vast western region is comparatively not reflecting the high standards used in other regions in the country, which would mean that officials are more likely to be motivated by economic interests to get involved in corruption. Lu Bing, the vice secretary of the Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, said that some officials were found to hold the banner of "Developing the West" while at the same time being involved in fraudulent activities involving credit cards, foreign exchange, tax invasion or abusing their power for profits. The procuratorate department in Guangxi investigated some 500 of such corruption cases last year. President Jiang Zemin has recently emphasized the importance of building the legal system during the economic development in the western region. Experts here pointed out some major arenas, which are possible breeding grounds for corruption, including construction, procurement, transfer of land-use rights of gigantic infrastructure projects and state property trading. They urged transparency in the sectors through public bidding. At the initial stage of development in the western region, infrastructure projects budgeted by the Central and regional governments are usually counted by millions or billions of money, the legal experts said. Corruption is virtually inevitable in these projects, if there are not effective tendering, supervision and appraisal systems. They suggested that the government should nurture notarization businesses, and the development of law offices and grassroots legal service institutions or intermediate agencies in the western region in the build-up of a sound legal environment. ***** China's GDP Grows 8 Percent, Topping US$1,000bn Preliminary estimates by China National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the gross domestic product (GDP) of China in 2000 was 8.9404 trillion yuan, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year in constant terms. Zhu Zhixin, commissioner of the NBS, told a press conference Wednesday, February 28, that in 2000, departments and governments at all levels implemented in real earnest the policies aiming at expanding domestic demand, and continued to pursue the pro-active financial policy and the robust monetary policy which lead to significantly improved quality of economic performance. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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