China. People´s Daily Dec 27
Extracts. China to Properly Increase National Defense Budget Next Year. Among the four major measures of active fiscal policy China to take next year one is to properly lift national defense budget, says authoritative sources, according to Hong Kong based Wen Wei Po December 26. Continue pursuing proactivefiscal policy Among the four major measures of active fiscal policy China to take next year one is to properly lift national defense budget, says authoritative sources, according to Hong Kong based Wen Wei Po December 26. China will continue to stick to active fiscal policy to further expand domestic demands, says a report completed lately by authoritative departments. The measures mainly include: First, treasury bonds to be issued continuously to a ensure stable growth of treasury bonds investment. Secondly, taxes and fees to be cut for further reducing the expense burden of peasants, enterprises and consumers. Thirdly, policies are still to be adopted for increasing incomes of urban and rural residents. Salary for employees in governmental departments will be lifted at proper time and the standards spelt out to guarantee basic livelihood of vulnerable groups also to be lifted. Fourthly, more funds will be put into basic education and budget of national defense would be expanded properly. Rise of military budget normal China's military budget has been on a rise in recent years. It was 93.47 bn yuan in 1998, 107.67 bn yuan in 1999, 121.29 bn yuan in 2000 and 141.004 bn yuan in 2001. Expert say the budget increase is quite normal since in recent years, following central authority's instruction, the military troops have stopped running business and there must be increased funds to guarantee normal operations of military undertakings. The increased budget will also be used to settle retired officers, improve living standard of military staff, such as, by paying for salary and allowance alongside with the growth of incomes for urban and rural residents. Three killed in violence on Israel-Jordan border . Two Arab gunmen and an Israeli soldier were killed on Tuesday in some of the bloodiest violence in years on the usually quiet Israel-Jordan border, the Israeli army said. Two Arab gunmen and an Israeli soldier were killed on Tuesday in some of the bloodiest violence in years on the usually quiet Israel-Jordan border, the Israeli army said. The fighting, during an ambush of an Israeli patrol and a search for the attackers at the River Jordan, underlined the absence of peace in the Holy Land, where Christmas was marked in a sombre mood after 15 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault amid simmering Palestinian anger over Israel's ban on President Yasser Arafat's annual Christmas pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Describing the shooting attack about 15 km (nine miles) north of the West Bank, an Israeli army officer said the commander of the patrol and a tracker were shot and wounded in the initial gunfire near the border fence in a farming area. A soldier was killed and two others were wounded in an ensuing battle, the army said, adding that the bodies of two "armed terrorists" were later found just inside Israel. Security sources first reported that Israeli forces had entered Jordan in pursuit of the gunmen but later said troops crossed the frontier fence -- short of the actual border -- without leaving Israeli territory. Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. While ambulances rushed in to evacuate the wounded, an Israeli helicopter gunship poured machinegun fire into a grove of trees where the gunmen were believed to have fled. ordanian Minister of State Saleh Qallab denied reports Israeli forces had crossed the border and said there was no proof the infiltrators had come from Jordan. The raid was one of the most serious incidents of bloodshed along the frontier in years. The bloodiest attack since the 1994 peace treaty occurred in 1997 when a Jordanian soldier killed seven Israeli schoolgirls at the border. In 1996, Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated from Jordan killed three Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. Israeli Troops Raid Palestinian Village, Arrest 18. Israeli troops swept into a West Bank village on Wednesday and seized 18 activists from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization, Palestinian security sources said. Israeli troops swept into a West Bank village on Wednesday and seized 18 activists from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization, Palestinian security sources said. About 300 soldiers entered the Palestinian village of Azzoun, southwest of the city of Nablus, before dawn and arrested the men, three of whom were also members of the Palestinian general intelligence service, the sources said. The Israeli army declined comment. Israel has accused some members of Fatah's military wing and Palestinian security services of involvement in attack
China. People´s Daily Dec 27
Extracts. Thursday, December 28, 2000, updated at 09:12(GMT+8) Mideast Summit Cancelled -- Egyptian Source Thursday"s planned summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has been cancelled, an Egyptian government source said. "The meeeting will now just be between Arafat and (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak and it will be in Cairo," he told Reuters. He declined to give further details. The meeting had been intended to discuss U.S. peace proposals for resolving issues at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, such as Jerusalem, Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugees. Thursday, December 28, 2000, updated at 08:10(GMT+8) Preferential Policies on West Development Adopted China is set to adopt more preferential policies for the development of its western region in the next decade, according to a circular released Wednesday, December 27, by the State Council. The incentives cover increased government input, fiscal support, tax cuts and policies to attract investors. The beneficiaries will be the 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Guangxi, says the circular. In the next five to ten years, China will step up infrastructure construction, improve environmental protection, readjust the industrial structure and develop tourism in the western areas, it says. The government will allocate more fund to the region, give priority to construction of infrastructure projects in water conservancy, transport and energy sectors there. According to the circular, work will be done to create a better environment to attract investment, both domestic and overseas, to push forward the reform of state-owned enterprises in the western areas and promote the development of the private sector. The government will cut the rate of enterprise income tax to 15 percent for both domestic and overseas-funded companies engaged in industries encouraged by the state for a certain period of time. Preferential tax rates will also be available for projects concerning transport, electricity, water control, postal, broadcasting and TV services, as well as environmental protection. The country will also give investors incentive policies toward the use of land and mineral resources in the region, says the circular. More sectors will be opened to foreign investors and measures including BOT and TOT will be introduced to expand the source of foreign capital. To expand foreign trade in the western areas, more industrial enterprises will be given import and export autonomy, and more preferential policies will be provided to encourage border trade, according to the circular. The government will encourage the economically developed eastern coastal areas to give more support to the west. Measures will be taken to attract more talented professionals to work in the western region and boost the development of education, science and technology there. The new polices will be effective as of January 1, 2001 and through the next ten years. Thursday, December 28, 2000, updated at 11:15(GMT+8) China Has Built up a Complete Ocean Supervision
China. People´s Daily Dec 27
Extracts. Wednesday, December 27, 2000, updated at 09:33(GMT+8) Jiang on Anti-corruption Campaign -- Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Tuesday called on governments at all levels to continue to fight against corruption with a firm hand in the new era to safeguard the achievements of reform and development. Jiang, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's fifth plenary session. Wei Jianxing, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, presided over the session. The session was also attended by other senior Chinese Party leaders Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao and Li Lanqing. Jiang reviewed the country's efforts to fight corruption during the past years, saying that important experience has been obtained. He urged all Party members to bear the awareness of the importance of the anti-corruption campaign and persevere to carry through the drive. He also noted that the endeavor to fight corruption and build a clean government is a long-lasting and arduous task, which should be carried out in the whole process of reform and opening up. He stressed that three major jobs in the drive should be done well, namely, educating officials of self-discipline, investigating major cases and correcting the malpractice in various departments and sectors. Problems which the masses complain about the most should be dealt with in time, Jiang reiterated. Jiang also reviewed the nearly 80 years of the CPC's history. In the first 28 years, the Party led the people to fight for the founding of New China. In the latest more than 50 years, the CPC has played the role of a ruling party, leading the people for socialist construction. Jiang emphasized that the shift of the position and responsibility of the Party and those of Party members have brought up a new task for Party building. Jiang warned that it is more difficult for the party in power to improve Party building and management, and this has been proved by both history and experience. He urged Party members to guard against the negative effect of the shift in position and always adhere to the Party's tenet to maintain the Party's vigor. Jiang noted that the prominent problem for a party in power is how to ensure that Party members and officials have a correct understanding of interests. He said that a qualified Party member should serve the people heart and soul, and never act against the will and benefit of the masses. The Party's anti-corruption drive represents the will of the broad masses. Party committees at all levels should actively seek effective ways and methods to supervise officials and educate them in an effort to prevent the occurrence of corruption from the source, he said. Jiang also called for more stringent enforcement of laws and regulations, pointing out that anti-corruption should be considered during the promulgation of major reform policies, laws and regulations, and the socialist democratic political system and legal system should be strengthened. Tuesday, December 26, 2000, updated at
