Extracts. Chinese Representative Urges to Preserve Global Strategy Stability. Hu Xiaodi, Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs of China, urged Thursday in Geneva the preservation of global strategic stability and the upholding of the treaty regimes which have already come into force in the areas of arms control and disarmament. The Chinese Ambassador said at the plenary of the Conference on Disarmament that the priority is to take resolute measures to prevent the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space. To this end, an international legal instrument should be concluded as soon as possible, Hu urged. The Chinese delegate said that the Conference on Disarmament should commence multilateral negotiations on this issue and establish an ad hoc committee with a negotiating mandate. Hu said China supports the Russian proposal, which calls for re- starting the substantive work of Conference on Disarmament, including dealing with the issue of nuclear disarmament. He said the global arms control and disarmament efforts have come to a critical cross-road and that "where to go" has become a major concern for the international community. A series of major issues of the international community, including the nuclear weapon reduction process, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the negotiation of a protocol of Convention on Biological Weapons, have met with undeserved challenges, said Hu. The Chinese Ambassador pointed out that last year, the whole international community, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, recognized the treaty on anti-ballistic missile (ABM Treaty) as a corner stone of global strategic stability. However, "we hear the advocacy for the total abrogation of this Treaty this year. All these cannot but generate profound negative impact on the international security of the 21st century and jeopardize the interest of all states in the world," Hu added. He said that the international community should urge the parties concerned to honor the integrity and effectiveness of ABM Treaty and advocate under the premise of upholding and abiding by the ABM Treaty to further reduce offensive strategic weapons. On the issue of missile non-proliferation, he said that the international community should further explore the possibility of establishing a global regime for the prevention of missile proliferation on the basis of equality and non-discrimination and with the participation of all states. **** Bush Puts China Policy Back into Main Channel, US Expert Says. US President George W. Bush is neither slow on the uptake nor putty in the hands of hard-right advisers when it comes to China policy, rather he appears ahead of his predecessors in bringing ties with Beijing back to track after initial fluctuations, a well-known China policy expert said. "The president already has put China policy into the main channel created by six preceding administrations," said David M. Lampton, Director of China Studies at Johns Hopkins-SAIS and The Nixon Center, in an article published by The Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday. One of the evidences Lampton cited is President Bush's handling of the reconnaissance-plane incident. The mid-air collision on April 1, in which a US spy plane bumped into a Chinese fighter jet near China's Hainan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/hainan.html> Island, set off high tension in Sino-US relations. China returned all 24 US crew members of the spy plane after the Bush administration said "sorry" to Beijing less than two weeks after the incident. The Bush administration also made commitment to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/jiangzemin.shtml> in Beijing this October, worked hard for the promotion of normal trade status and for China's entry into the World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org/> , and put out the decision not to oppose Beijing's quest for the 2008 Olympics, Lampton said. On the Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> issue, he noted, President Bush appeared to have no intention to change the structure that has maintained peace in the Taiwan Strait for three decades despite his "do whatever it takes" defense statement in April. "In contrast to this surefootedness, it took Ronald Reagan more than a year and a half to get into the main channel of China policy. Bill Clinton took 3-1/2 years," Lampton said. "We are seeing a president who is ahead of both predecessors and more strident subordinates," he added. Lampton dismissed the "passive bystander" image many analysts of China policy-making put on President Bush. "In fact, Bush has a mind of his own on China," he emphasized. Lampton pointed out that Bush has always been a firm supporter of trade with China. In a speech to representatives from his major constituencies between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains in 1999, Bush vehemently persuaded his followers to back up China's efforts toward entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). "You're not for China getting into the WTO. I am. And let me tell you something. The amount of corn that'll be moved if China gets into WTO will rise ... to 7.2 million metric tons. Opening up Chinese markets is good for our farmers," Bush was quoted as saying at a gathering of supporters from states which one year later gave him 99 electoral votes, or about 35 percent of his total, in his presidential contest. Public opinion and mass electoral politics are also attributable to President Bush's quickly moving China policy into a familiar channel, Lampton said. Several polls coincide with the results of a recent survey by the Pew Research Center which revealed that only one in five call China an "adversary" and "the proportion who see china's emergence as a world power as a threat to the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> has not increased over the past two years." "It is hard to see how unnecessarily tangling with America's fourth-largest trade partner will help garner the public support Bush needs to win more popular votes in 2004. This is especially true when the domestic and world economies are sputtering and domestic economic performance is the key to electoral victory," Lampton said. The old China-hand cited financial pinch as another reason for Bush's unwillingness to lock horns with China in a money-consuming battle of attrition. "If one picks a fight with China, one better have adequate financial resources," but President Bush's 1.35 trillion dollars tax cut "has created a very hard budget constraint," making it even harder for the Department of Defense to divert significant resources in China's direction, Lampton said. Bush's pragmatic China policy is also to square with America's allies which "are all trying to improve relations with Beijing," Lampton said. "A policy that unnecessarily provokes Beijing will not win support from friends," he added. Singapore <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/singapore.html> 's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told a Washington audience in June that "it makes no sense to mortgage East Asia's future by causing the Chinese people to conclude that its neighbors and the U.S. want to keep them down." In his article entitled "Bush is ahead of the game on China," Lampton called on Bush's "strident subordinates" to get with the president's program of shaping a better relationship with China. **** China, Thailand Issue Joint Communique. Following the visit to China by Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, China and Thailand issued on Wednesday a joint communique on related issues. According to the communique, at the invitation of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/zhurongji.shtml> , Prime Minister Thaksin paid an official visit to China from 27 to 29 August 2001, during which he met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/jiangzemin.shtml> and other Chinese leaders, and held official talks with Premier Zhu Rongji. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the bilateral relations and on international and regional issues of mutual interest, and reached a broad consensus. They agreed that the visit was a complete success and helped promote the all- dimensional cooperative relationship of good-neighborliness and mutual trust between China and Thailand. During their meetings and talks, leaders of the two countries expressed their satisfaction with the progress and development of Sino-Thai relations. They agreed to consolidate the existing traditional friendship and work for strategic cooperation between China and Thailand, believing that this would be in the fundamental interests of the two countries and contribute to peace, prosperity and development in the region. The two sides reiterated their full endorsement and support for the Joint Statement on the Plan of Action for the 21st Century Between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Thailand, signed in Bangkok on 5 February 1999. Both sides were happy with the positive progress of the Sino-Thai friendly cooperation in all areas over the last few years. They reaffirmed the significance of the Joint Statement in guiding the future development of the Sino- Thai relations. The two sides indicated that they would take concrete measures to vigorously implement the various cooperation programs outlined in the Joint Statement and further promote all-dimensional cooperative relationship of good neighborliness and mutual respect and trust between the two countries. Both sides agreed that the China-Thailand cooperation in the political, economic and cultural, educational, public health, scientific and technological areas and other fields had yielded substantial and fruitful benefits for both countries and their peoples. They spoke highly of the positive role played by the China- Thailand Joint Trade and Economic Committee, the China-Thailand Joint Committee on Science and Technology and other cooperative mechanisms in enhancing the Sino-Thai cooperation in all areas. Both sides underlined the importance of continuously expanding exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the above- mentioned areas in the promotion of comprehensive development of the bilateral relations. The two sides expressed satisfaction with the achievements in the bilateral trade and economic cooperation. They agreed that trade and economic cooperation had become an increasingly powerful engine driving the Sino-Thai relations and will continue their commitment to launching new areas of trade and economic cooperation, actively promoting large-scale bilateral economic cooperation projects and expanding the bilateral trade and two-way investment on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Both sides reaffirmed their intention to bring the Swap Agreement between Thailand and China to an early conclusion, and agreed to further develop trade and cultural ties through sister- city relations between the two countries. According to the communique, both sides agreed that China's entry into the World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org/> and its strategy of developing the western region would bring about new opportunities for Sino-Thai trade and economic cooperation. With the prospects of the AFTA tariff schemes set to be reduced to 0-5 percent by the year 2002, and eliminated by the year 2010, the Thai side hoped that China would take the advantages of investment and trading opportunities by relocating its manufacturing industry to Thailand and ASEAN countries. The two sides expressed their support for more extensive trade and economic exchanges and cooperation between China's southwestern region and Thailand's northern region, particularly land transportation links between the two countries. They also agreed to explore further areas of economic cooperation between the two countries. The Thai side stated that a stable and prosperous China would contribute to peace and development in the region and beyond. The Thai side reiterated that there is only one China, that Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html> is a part of China, and that Thailand remains committed to the One China policy. The Thai side congratulated Beijing <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html> on its successful bid for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games <http://www.beijing-olympic.org.cn/> and indicated that it would work closely with the Chinese side to ensure a complete success of the event. The Chinese side expressed its high appreciation for such position of the Thai side and congratulated the Thai government on its achievements in alleviating poverty, revitalizing the country' s economy and promoting regional cooperation, believing that Thai economic and social development would be of great importance to stability and prosperity in the region. Both sides underlined the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in international and regional affairs. They welcomed the convocation and the positive results of the China, Laos <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/laos.html> , Myanmar <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/myanmar.html> and Thailand Ministerial Conference on Drug Control, held in Beijing on 27-28 August 2001. The two sides agreed that closer cooperation among the four countries in combating illicit drugs would facilitate the crackdown on drug-related crimes in the region and promote peace and development in the region. The Thai side also expressed its gratification with China's greater support and cooperation in effectively realizing the quadrilateral cooperation in their fight against the problems of the illegal drugs. Recognizing the success of the Ministerial Conference hosted by China, the two sides expressed the determination to push the process forward. The Thai side indicated its willingness to host a higher level meeting in due course. The two sides agreed that given the accelerated development of economic globalization, it was imperative for Asian countries to further strengthen regional cooperation and work jointly to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges brought about by economic globalization. The two sides expressed their commitment to pushing forward the ASEAN, China, ROK <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/rok.html> and Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> cooperation process and Mekong Basin development. The Chinese side expressed its appreciation for the positive efforts of the Thai side in strengthening dialogue and cooperation among Asian countries. The Chinese side also expressed its hope for a more united, stable and prosperous ASEAN and its support for a greater role by ASEAN in regional and international affairs. The two sides agreed that more dialogue, enhanced mutual trust and closer coordination on an equal footing are the important guiding principles in promoting peace and stability in the region. The two sides noted that they would continue to further develop ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) as an effective mechanism for cooperation on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region in the spirit of equal participation and consensus. The two sides also expressed their willingness to further strengthen consultation and coordination in ASEM, APEC, the UN and other regional and international organizations. The two sides agreed that peace, development and cooperation represented the trend of the present-day world and that equitable development of all countries was an important basis for the maintenance of world peace. Different civilizations and social systems should enjoy long-term co-existence and draw upon and benefit from each other's strong points through competition and comparison, and develop side by side while seeking common ground and shelving differences. Leaders of the People's Republic of China kindly requested Prime Minister Thaksin to convey their cordial greetings and best wishes to H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej and H.M. Queen Sirikit, which warm sentiments were highly appreciated by the Thai side. **** Nikkei Closes Below 11,000 for First Time in 17 Years. The key Nikkei Stock Average closed below the psychologically important 11,000 line for the first time in nearly 17 years Wednesday, as Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> ese investors became worried by signs of a further delay in the U.S. economic recovery. The 225-issue Nikkei, which fell 85.61 points Tuesday, tumbled an additional 209.64 points, or 1.87%, to close at 10,979.76, ending below 11,000 for the first time since Oct. 20, 1984. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) of all First Section issues was down 23.39 points, or 2.03%, to 1,126.86. The TOPIX index hit a new closing low for the year, but it was still about 20% higher than its post-bubble closing low of 980.11, logged Oct. 15, 1998. The tumble followed heavy overnight losses on Wall Street. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index fell 47.43 points, or 2.48%, to close at 1,864.98 on Tuesday, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 160.32 points, or 1.54%, to 10,222.03. In addition, Japanese investors feared that a second report on the closely watched U.S. gross domestic product data for April-June quarter, to be released later in the day, may be downgraded to further illustrate the delay in the recovery of the world's largest economy. Brokers said they have yet to see any signs that Tokyo stocks have hit bottom. **** Israeli Forces on High Alert for Fear of Hezbollah Attack. Israel <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/israel.html> i forces Thursday were on high alert on the northern border with Lebanon <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/lebanon.html> to brace for any possible attack by the Lebanese Islamic resistance group Hezbollah, said military sources. The sources said that the army was "taking precautionary measures due to the general situation" and the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Reports here said that the Israeli security cabinet, which met overnight Wednesday to discuss the army's withdrawal from the West Bank town of Beit Jalla, was also briefed on Hezbollah's efforts to carry out a major attack against Israel. Following the Israel's assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, on Monday, Israeli security sources said that Islamic organizations, including Hezbollah, would try to carry out revenge attacks against Israel. Since Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops from south Lebanon on May 24, last year, Hezbollah, the main resistance force to force Israel to end its occupation of south Lebanon, has launched sporadic attacks against Israeli forces on the disputed area of Shebaa Farms at the foot of Golan Heights. Hezbollah, or Party of God, says the Shebaa Farms area is part of the Lebanese territory while Israel insists that it seized the land from Syria <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Syria.html> in the 1967 Middle East war, and the issue will be solved in its negotiations with Syria. Israel responded harshly to every Hezbollah attacks and twice struck Syrian targets in Lebanon while holding Syria, the main power broker of Hezbollah, for the radical group's actions. **** Arafat, Peres Due to Meet in Italy to Discuss Mideast Crisis. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in the northern Italian city of Como on September 7, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported on Thursday. The two are expected to discuss the latest Mideast crisis during the first high-level Palestinian-Israeli talks mediated by the Europeans, MENA quoted sources as saying. Arafat and Peres agreed to hold such a meeting during German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's visit to the Middle East last week, which was aimed at helping ease the more than 11 months of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. **** War Against Racism to Be Declared at World Conference. The first gunshot in the new century at the worldwide rampant racism will be soon fired at the third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), which is scheduled to open Friday in Durban. The upcoming conference is to be held against the backdrop of growing concern of the international community about the resurrection of racism and race-related intolerance over the past three decades. Racism is not a newly emerged plague, but has been existing in the human history for more than 500 years. In retrospect to the past few centuries, people can easily relive numerous traumas caused by racism and racial discrimination. Africa lost over 60 million of population over the past 400 years due to the bloody slave trade. About 6 million Jewish people were slaughtered by the Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. And all the black people in South Africa were totally deprived of human rights when the apartheid regime ruled the country. Despite the fact that Africans had suffered terribly in the past few centuries from slavery and colonialism, things have improved not so much as expected. African descendants are continuing to be discriminated in many societies, and the continent is still living with the most devastating consequences of racism and intolerance, such as the genocide in Rwanda and the conflict in Burundi. It seems that people have not drawn enough lessons from the horrible history. With the rich-poor gap deepening and the number of unemployed increasing due to acceleration of the economic globalization, the evils such as racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other extremist activities have appeared to be on the rise not only in South Africa, but in Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, posing serious threats to the progress of the modern society. In Germany, the violent attacks on foreigners and ethnic minorities spurred by racism and xenophobia in 2000 increased by almost 60 percent compared to the previous year. A latest report by the Council of Europe's racism commission said that racist and anti-Semitic violence has once again become " one of the most pressing and dangerous expressions of racism and intolerance in Germany". The report also accused the United Kingdom of being racist and intolerant in its treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, adding that an "xenophobic" attitude is evident in the British media, political debate and government policy. In addition, black and Asian people in the country, whose jobless rates now stand at 12 percent in comparison with only 5 percent among whites, usually face discrimination when they try to get a managerial post. It is also well known that racial discrimination is prevalent in the United States and stands as one of the biggest headaches for the White House. The minorities in the U.S. have been called the "Third World of the First World". The Washington Post admitted on February 3, 2000 that even in large U.S. cities, few residential areas are racially integrated. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once voiced that at the root of almost all the ongoing conflicts globally are often prejudices and hatreds tied to ethnic and racial differences. Still, some extremists are even using the Internet to spread racist remarks and plant hatred seeds among youths. In this regard, analysts pointed out that hostile rhetoric is a precursor to hostile acts that would have a way of escalating into violence and conflict. They warned unless countries throughout the world enforce civil education to raise people's anti-racism awareness and carry out international cooperation to effectively check the spread of racism on the Internet, future generations will surely become victims of racism. The resurrection of racism and racial discrimination has raised great concern of the international community. Over the past few years, a series of regional expert seminars have been held in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Experts agreed that racism, which has infiltrated into every aspect of the modern society, is a rather complicated problem influenced by political, economic and cultural factors; that no country can be immune from the costs inflicted by prejudice and intolerance; and that the battle against the plague is not a job for one single country or regional organization, but calls for a combination of actions by a coalition of actors. In order to expel the racism ghost from the globe village in the new century, the U.N. in December 1999 granted South Africa the privilege to host the third WCAR. Over 1,400 delegates across the world will convene here, including U.N. Chief Annan, 35 heads of state and 160 foreign minister. During the eight-day conference, participants will discuss the issues such as sources of racism, racism and conflicts, slavery and colonialism, new racism in the process of economic globalization, discrimination against indigenous people, refugees and migrant workers, gender discrimination and remedies to cure racism. The conference is the largest of its kind ever since the first and second WCAR were held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1978 and 1983 respectively, and will be of great significance to the world's human rights development and improvement in the new millennium. As what Annan expected on July 30 this year when he was addressing the U.S. National Urban League 2001 Conference, the forthcoming WCAR "must find a way to acknowledge the past and learn its lessons..., it must help heal old wounds..., but most importantly it must help set a new course against racism in the future". _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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