Extracts.
Foreign Weapons Will Not Be Able to Hinder Reunification: Experts
Military experts said Tuesday Taiwan's recent test-firing of U.S. Patriot
missiles and its plans to procure foreign weapons could only inflate the
arrogance of Taiwan separatists, heighten the tensions across the strait,
but will fail to stop China's reunification.
In the first comment from military experts on the Chinese mainland since the
June 20 tests, experts also said they will not make the Chinese people waver
in their determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
Chen Hu, a weapons expert with the "World Military Affairs," the most
popular military magazine on the mainland, said the " Patriot-II" missiles
are an improved version of the Patriot missiles the United States used in
the Gulf War, which have all- weather, all-airspace and multi-purpose combat
capability.
They are also the only type out of Taiwan's missiles that have anti-missile
capability, and the only anti-missile missile in the world with war
experience, said Chen.
The experts said the successful interception of dummy ballistic missiles by
Patriot missiles does not mean they have developed mature capability against
ballistic missiles.
"Anti-ballistic missiles remain a worldwide problem in terms of current air
defense technology," he said.
He said advanced ballistic missiles could travel at a speed 10 times the
velocity of sound, thus the time for the anti-missile system to issue
warning and intercept would be extremely short, bringing great difficulty in
intercepting.
There is no mature air defense system in the world that offers effective
interception capability, he added.
Li Li, an expert of the Chinese People's Liberation Army University of
National Defense, said the dummy missiles used by Taiwan's military are far
from the performance of real ballistic missiles.
Therefore, the test-firing has in no way proved that Taiwan has acquired
anti-missile capability.
"The legend of Patriot missiles' victory over Scud missiles in the Gulf War
is only the propaganda made by the United States through mass media," said
Li.
"As a matter of fact, 'the Patriot missiles basically failed to produce
effective interception of the Scud missiles."
Hu Siyuan, associate professor with the university, said the test-firing was
designed by the Taiwan authorities to increase its military capability
against reunification with the mainland.
Other experts said the tests also displayed the two following connotative
purposes of the Taiwan authorities.
The authorities attempted to bind itself on the chariot of the U.S. Theater
Missile Defense System (TMD) and further increase its strength by relying on
foreign forces, they said.
It also aimed to send a wrong signal to the general public in Taiwan that
its troops are capable of defending mainland missile attacks, said the
experts.
The United States side is certainly happy to test the performance of the
missiles stored for a long period of time overseas, which were purchased
with Taiwan taxpayers' money, according to the experts.
Taiwan has become the world's largest weaponry buyer in recent years by
purchasing advanced weapons from the United States and other countries, they
said.
It is with these foreign-made weapons and foreign backing, the Taiwan
separatists are more than ever feeling safer and publicly challenging the
peace across the Taiwan Straits, said the experts.
They went on to say that reunification of the motherland is the common
aspiration of all Chinese people, including the people of Taiwan, and the
historic trend is unstoppable by any force whatsoever.
****
US President to Ask Congress for More Fund to Develop Missile Defense
US President George W. will ask Congress for 7.9 billion US dollars in
fiscal 2002 to speed up a controversial missile defense program, Pentagon
documents showed Tuesday.
The program would go beyond the limited, ground-based system proposed by
former President Bill Clinton, the documents said.
The total is 2.2 billion dollars more than the figure included in an earlier
"placeholder" defense budget, according to a memorandum approved Friday by
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
Under a Clinton plan, funding would have been closer to 5 billion dollars in
the fiscal year starting October 1.
The documents showed the Pentagon would scrap Clinton's more cautious
approach, which centered on using interceptors to be based in Alaska to try
to smash missiles in mid-course.
Instead, the Bush program will explore "to the fullest extent possible"
land, air and space platforms to thwart missiles in all flight stages:
boost, or liftoff, midcourse, and terminal.
Arms control experts said that the US missile defense plan, opposed by the
international community, will not only spark a new arms race, but also
threaten world peace and security, and stimulate nuclear proliferation.
****
Bumpy Road for Sino-US Relations
American public opinion polls taken at the turn of the century show the
United States will adopt a containment and engagement strategy towards
China, and that Sino-US relations will witness a rough road, alternating
between conflicts and co-operation in the early 21st century.
A majority of Americans hold an unfavourable view of China and regards China
as the greatest "threat'' to US security interests, the poll suggests. In
the American public's favourability rating of countries, China comes after
Russia and India, with only what the US labels as "rogue countries''
following China on the list.
At the same time, most Americans believe that China is of vital importance
to the United States.
Americans are also divided on whether the United States should take a
stronger stand or adopt a more co-operative approach towards China.
The biggest controversy among the American public over China is whether the
United States should retain normal trade relations or take a firm stand on
China's "human rights abuses.''
When the trade issue is raised separately, Americans support trade with
China. When faced a choice between trade and human rights, a majority
opposes increasing trade with China.
Although Americans do want to take a clear and firm stand against China's
"human rights violations,'' they do not want to behave in a punitive or
antagonizing fashion, or go so far as to cut off all trade.
Contrary to the controversy over the issue of trade vs human rights, the
American public has voiced its unequivocal opposition to the protection of
Taiwan with armed forces.
Of course a comprehensive analysis of the poll results should be made for a
better understanding of what the public really thinks. And the form of the
poll also deserves investigation.
The wording of the questions directly affects the results. For the same
issue, different wordings may result in different, sometimes diametrically
opposed results, such as on the issue of trade vs human rights mentioned
above.
Media reports also exert noticeable influence on public opinions.
Individual opinion is affected by educational background and income level.
For example, skepticism towards PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) runs
strongest among Americans with lower incomes and less education.
Some implications for Sino-US relations can be drawn from the public opinion
poll results.
The United States will adopt a containment and engagement (congagement)
strategy towards China, leaning towards containment.
The US strategy towards China is based on US global strategy on the one
hand, and China's foreign strategy on the other hand.
At the turn of the 21st century, with a relative gain in American strength,
the Americans feel more secure and confident, believing that the United
States should play a more active role in the world.
Hawkish US foreign policies in the recent past reflect its global strategy
and its attempt to retain world leadership. In the foreseeable future, the
United States will take full advantage of its superior position to adopt a
hegemonic foreign policy, in an effort to realize its strategic goal.
On the contrary, China's foreign strategy is to seek a peaceful external
environment for its modernization, which necessitates opposing hegemony and
safeguarding world peace. Clearly, the foreign strategies of the two
countries are at odds with each other and the United States will regard
China as a strategic adversary.
US President George W. Bush's remark during the presidential campaign and
Colin Powell's remark after he was nominated as Secretary of State that
China is a "strategic competitor" of the United States is actually a
declaration of the Bush administration's strategy towards China.
However, in the trends of globalization that lead to an ever increasingly
interdependent world, the United States needs China's co-operation in many
transnational issues, among which terrorism and nuclear proliferation are
two top foreign policy concerns and priorities of Americans.
Above all, since the United States has great economic interests in China,
the United States cannot afford to disengage from China and let go of the
huge Chinese market.
The congagement strategy towards China is basically consistent with American
public opinion. Furthermore, as the polls reveal, Republicans are much more
leery of China than Democrats and independents, which may mean some changes
in the US China policy by the Bush administration.
As Colin Powell said during his visit with departing Chinese Ambassador Li
Zhaoxing, the United States does not see China "as an inevitable foe,''
believes in the one-China Policy and will follow the communiques and other
obligations with regard to China, as well as the obligations to meet the
"defence needs of Taiwan.''
As to the Taiwan question, the most important and the most sensitive one in
Sino-US relations, both sides are well aware of each other's basic stance
and bottom line. Therefore, in the near future, the US Government is
unlikely to make substantive changes to its mainland-Taiwan policy.
Considering American public opinion, we can infer that the United States
will continue its arms sales to Taiwan, but it will also adhere to the
one-China principle.
The American public's opposition to US' defending Taiwan with armed forces
will constrain the US Government in its decision-making.
Keeping the status quo across the Taiwan Straits is most advantageous to the
United States in that it entails no risk for the United States. This may not
only keep the United States out of a possible military conflict with China,
but also holds China in check. It can be predicted that US arms sales to
Taiwan will be a major point in disputes between the two countries.
The United States will continue to make use of the "human rights" issue to
put pressure on China.
One of the pillars of the US post-Cold-War global strategy is to promote
American democracy, which includes human rights. This means that US
interference in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of
human rights has considerable public support, and vice versa, a foreign
policy that ignores human rights will lose public support.
The polls show that most Americans want the government to take a strong
stand against China on human rights issues, even at the expense of certain
economic interests. The American public is also highly prejudiced against
China, regarding China as a country without human rights and fails to see
the efforts and progress the Chinese Government has made in matters of human
rights. This is partly due to the biased and unfavourable reports on China
by the US media. Therefore, human rights issue will remain a point of
conflict between the two countries.
China and the United States have diametrically opposed strategies --
maintaining hegemony vs opposing hegemony. This means that there are bound
to be disagreements and conflicts between the two countries, which may lead
to crises.
However, the two countries also share common interests. Furthermore, the
international situation makes it impossible for the United States to isolate
China or impose a comprehensive containment policy against China in a Cold
War fashion. Therefore, the two countries have areas in which they can
co-operate. Sino-US relations will develop along a rough road of
co-operation and conflicts.
(Editor's note: Li Qikeng is an associate professor with Jiangxi Finance &
Economics University, and a PhD candidate in the American Studies Programme
at Beijing Foreign Studies University; Mei Renyi is a professor and director
of the American Studies Programme and in the English Department at Beijing
Foreign Studies University.)
****
CPC Leads China to Become Powerful, Says Zyuganov
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Communist
Party of China (CPC), Gennady Zyuganov, chairman of the Russian Communist
Party, said during an exclusive interview with Our Staff Reporter that
today's China has become a large, influential country in the world and, it
is precisely under the correct leadership of the CPC that China has scored
such enormous achievements..
The interview took place in the office of Zyuganov. On behalf of the Russian
Communist Party, he first extended his congratulations on the 80th
anniversary of the founding of the CPC. He said the unique reform being
carried out by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC has led
China to become one of the most powerful countries in the world. The
Communist Party of China has organically combined the socialist concept of
value with the traditional Chinese concept of value, and effectively
integrated national culture and wisdom with modern science, technology and
management and has thus built China into a big power being held in esteem
and filled with vigor.
Zyuganov said , "China's success gained over the past 20 years tells the
world how reform should be correctly carried out." He said he has been
conscientiously reading the works of Deng Xiaoping, adding that anyone who
wants to successfully conduct reform should earnestly read Deng Xiaoping's
books which contain many useful experiences. He said China has chosen the
correct road of reform: First, China has maintained the stability of
political power and avoided the split of society, this is most important to
any reform; second, China's reform has not only drawn on the experiences of
other countries, but has also followed the principle formulated in light of
the country's specific characteristics and suited to China's national
condition. The Russian Party chief pointed out that socialism represents the
ideals and intelligence of humankind, the noble concept of value and the
fundamental interests of the masses of the people, and so it has great
vitality and a bright future.
Zyuganov has visited China's Beijing, Shanghai and other places. He said
that the development speed of Chinese cities has made people gasp with
admiration. At the end of the interview, Zyuganov disclosed that he would
visit China again on invitation and that he was prepared to available
himself of this opportunity to conscientiously investigate and study the
successful experiences gained by the Chinese people in building socialism
under the leadership of the CPC. Finally, he once again expressed his
congratulations on the CPC's 80th birthday. And he expressed his belief that
the Communist Party of China will certainly be able to lead the Chinese
people to a better future.
****
China Announces Plan for Industrial Development in Five Years
China has mapped out a plan for the overall development of the industrial
sector in the next five years, sources from the State Economic and Trade
Commission (SETC) announced Monday.
Bai Rongchun, director of SETC's industry planning department, said at a
press conference that the plan, based on China's 10th five-year plan for
social and economic development (2001-2005), is aimed to promote the
restructuring and upgrading of the industrial sector.
It is also a component of China's overall plan for development in the
five-year period. The overall plan also includes an outline plan for social
and economic development, and special plans for major issues that are
crucial to the national economy.
The five-year plan covers 13 industries, namely machinery, motor vehicles,
metallurgy, non-ferrous metals, oil, petrochemicals, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, coal, building materials, light industry, textiles and
power.
"The plan is instructive, rather than compulsory," said Bai, adding that the
role of the government is on macro-control and coordination, while
enterprises are the main body of the restructuring.
Earlier this year, China axed nine state administrations under the SETC to
streamline the government, and announced that the administrative functions
of the administrations would transfer to the SETC.
"The announcement of the plan is crucial to SETC's transfer of
administrative functions," said Bai Rongchun, who added that the Commission
is striving to change from a government organization that mainly focuses on
releasing files and granting approvals to one that guides enterprises with
state policies.
The plan highlights the development of equipment manufacturing, the
improvement of energy resources and raw materials, and the provision of
consumer goods that will improve people's living standard.
****
Land Contract Law Aims to Protect Farmers Interests
China will pass legislation designed to ensure that farmers rights to use
land under contract will not be changed for at least 30 years.
A draft law on contracted use of land in rural areas was tabled Tuesday at
the 22nd session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
(NPC), China's legislature.
According to the rules of the draft law, the term of the contract of land
use on a household basis in rural areas should be "at least" 30 years.
China began to adopt the contract responsibility system based on household
management in rural areas more than 20 years ago. Under the system, farmer
households struck contracts with rural authorities to use and manage land
for their own benefits. In 1993, the government decided to extend the term
of such land use contracts by another 30 years.
However, some local authorities arbitrarily shortened the term of contracts
and frequently changed the ownership of land use rights with administrative
decrees.
In order to address this problem, the draft law stipulates that ownership of
the rights of land use cannot be changed before the expiration of the
contract. The draft law stipulates that within the valid term of contracts,
the contractors cannot take back their land and that the farmers can legally
transfer, re-contract, put into share-holding ventures and exchange the
rights of land use.
The draft law also recognizes the existing land use contracts that farmer
households signed with rural authorities according to government
regulations.
Liu Suinian, vice chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of
the NPC, said the passage of the law will have great significance for
promoting agricultural development, increasing farmers' incomes and
maintaining social stability in rural areas.
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