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Hong Kongers fret over latest deadly Chinese foodstuff

AP , HONG KONG

Hong Kong authorities have found a possible cancer-causing substance in freshwater fish imports, renewing fears yesterday about the hygiene of food from China which has been the source of several health scares in the territory.

China quickly sought to assure Hong Kong's public by agreeing to certify Hong Kong-bound freshwater fish as free of the substance malachite green, used by fish farmers to treat parasites and fungal infections in fish, the territory's health secretary York Chow said yesterday.

The Chinese government also agreed to discuss better inspection measures with Hong Kong officials in Beijing yesterday.

Hong Kong's Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said late Sunday that officials found malachite green in seven imported freshwater fish samples.

Chow said Sunday that some of the samples were from Chinese imports, which account for up to 80 percent of Hong Kong's fish imports.

Li Gang, deputy director at China's liaison office in Hong Kong, told Hong Kongers not to worry, promising his office would follow up with relevant Chinese authorities.

"For the past few days, I've been eating fish every day at lunch, as well as meat," Li said.

China yesterday cut its live fish exports to Hong Kong to about 20 tonnes, 60 percent less than usual, Hong Kong's Cable TV reported. Few wholesalers offered freshwater fish yesterday morning, it said.

Earlier, Hong Kong authorities also found malachite green in 55 eel samples, and Chow warned the public against eating eel from China.

Residents in Hong Kong are often worried about poor food hygiene in less developed China, a major source of food supplies for the territory.

Hong Kong's public also fears late notification of Chinese diseases after the 2003 outbreak of SARS, which spread here from China, eventually killing 299 locals.

A recent outbreak linked to the pig-borne disease streptococcus suis in China killed 39 people in its western province of Sichuan, raising anxieties in Hong Kong about swine imports.

Hong Kong sends officials to inspect China's meat exports to the territory, but no such arrangement for fish exists because it's considered a low-risk food, Chow said.

The recent food scare led the Apple Daily newspaper to question in a front-page headline yesterday, "What should Hong Kong people eat?"

Trade and democracy bolster Taiwan-Switzerland ties

Switzerland has long occupied a unique place in international relations, and although it exercises little direct influence on cross-strait affairs, it can still support Taiwan's democratization and stability in the region, according to Swiss Speaker of the Council of States Bruno Frick. 'Taipei Times' staff reporter Mac William Bishop caught up with the speaker for an exclusive interview in Taipei

"I think that some kind of observership role should be accorded to Taiwan to close a dangerous loophole." － Bruno Frick, Swiss speaker of the Council of States

Taipei Times: Switzerland is relatively far from East Asia, and your nation, with its long history of neutrality, does not seem to exercise a great deal of influence in this region. Why is Taiwan important to Bern?

Bruno Frick: Taiwan is important to Switzerland in many ways, but particularly in two areas. The first is, of course, as a very important economic partner. Switzerland-Taiwan trade equalled US$1.6 billion last year, with a trade balance in favor of Switzerland. My country exports about US$1 billion to Taiwan each year, and Taiwan's direct exports to Switzerland reached US$600 million in 2004.

The second area of importance is Taiwan's role as a strong democracy -- perhaps the leading democracy -- in East Asia. Taiwan and Switzerland are partners in freedom and democracy. We also have many important cultural exchanges.

TT: So since Switzerland and Taiwan are "partners in freedom and democracy," Bern must have an interest in preventing a conflict between China and Taiwan. What can Switzerland do to reduce tensions in the Taiwan Strait?

Frick: The key is for Switzerland to be realistic. We must recognize the reality of the situation. Taiwan can not declare itself independent now, but it is a de facto independent state. Everyone -- the whole world -- knows this. China is trying to reduce Taiwan's power and international influence. So the Swiss must be aware of this situation and remember that Taiwan is a free country.

TT: But is there nothing more substantial that can be done? For example, although Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it does have some influence on its European neighbors through trade and political dialogue. So when the EU was considering lifting its ban on arms sales to China, did Switzerland take action?

TT: Taiwan has tried 13 times to join the World Health Assembly [WHA, the World Health Organization's governing body] as an observer. Many here view the failure of the WHA to allow Taiwan to join as a violation of human rights, as well as a danger to international health. Does Switzerland back Taiwan's effort to join the WHA?

Frick: I believe that the WHO should invite any organization that can a play a role in dealing with health issues to join it. Obviously, the politics involved with Taiwan's WHO bid hinge on whether it can be accepted as a "state." But I think that some kind of observership role should be accorded to Taiwan to close a dangerous loophole -- as shown with the SARS outbreak.

TT: You met with President Chen Shui-bian early in your visit, and he pointed out that Bern had voted against Taiwan in its most recent bid to join the WHO. He asked you to support Taiwan's next bid. Will Bern vote differently next year?

Frick: Again, I believe Taiwan should be given a role as an observer. I support the bid, and I will speak with others in my government about this issue.

TT: Switzerland only recently -- in 2002 -- joined the UN. Taiwan is also trying to become a UN member. Do you think it is possible for Taiwan to succeed?

Frick: It will be difficult for Taiwan to join the UN as a full member. Taiwan can not at this time declare independence, and it is almost impossible for European states to recognize Taiwan if things continue as they are. We have to live with the reality that China has huge resources in terms of economics and propaganda.

Frick: China has nearly 50 diplomats in Bern alone. Propaganda will have its effect. Therefore, it is important that Taiwan invite as many people as possible -- such as opinion leaders, politicians and journalists -- to gain a firsthand knowledge of the facts. To see once is better than to read a hundred times, as we say in German.

Frick: I hope trade, tourism and cultural exchanges will continue to increase. Taiwan's industries and technologies advance very quickly, and Switzerland needs to collaborate with Taiwan.

Also, we get about 50,000 Taiwanese tourists every year, and I hope that number will grow.

In fact, here is an interesting story. On the top of one of our major tourist attractions, Mount Titlis, there are many flags from different countries waving in the wind. One of those flags is from Taiwan. Chinese diplomats used to visit Mount Titlis every summer, but ever since that flag was put up, they haven't come back.

MORE UNREST: Protesters clashed with the police in Zhejiang Province during the latest demonstration over pollution which is affecting the local children

”A lot of children in our area have too mush lead in their bodies and it will greatly affect their growth.”－ Receptionist at a hotel in Meishan, Zhejiang Province

Chinese protesters set fire to factory buildings and police cars in a clash sparked by toxic waste, police and residents said yesterday, the latest incident in a growing wave of public dissent.

Saturday's violence at the Tian Neng Battery Co was the third protest in Zhejiang Province in recent months caused by pollution, highlighting the environmental price of China's rise to become the world's seventh largest economy.

"It's very serious. There was a clash between protesters and the police. Some people were injured," said an employee of the post office in the Meishanwho declined to be identified. "Some children died of lead pollution and the demonstration might have been initiated by the parents."

Calls to the factory went unanswered and an official in the government said he had not heard of any violence.

But a police officer in Meishan acknowledged there had been a protest, saying police had rushed to the scene to maintain order. She refused to give further details.

Residents said children were falling ill from high levels of lead that had poisoned water and vegetables in several villages in the area.

"A lot of children in our area have too much lead in their bodies and it will greatly affect their growth," said a receptionist surnamed Han at a hotel in Meishan.

"People burned the factory. The office building, workshops, and the factory's products were all set on fire," she said.

Four police cars had also been set on fire, she said, adding there was heavy security presence in the area and police were rounding up suspects.

Protests in China are becoming increasingly common despite leaders' efforts to maintain stability triggered by factors from pollution and corruption to a growing income gap between rich and poor.

The Ministry of Public Security was quoted as saying there were more than 74,000 protests last year alone and the government has been warned that the wealth gap could be the cause of more unrest if no action is taken to narrow the difference.

A team from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security found the wealth gap had widened since 2003 despite measures to increase income among the rural poor, including scrapping agricultural taxes, the China Daily newspaper said yesterday.

"We are going to hit the redlight scenario after 2010 if there are no effective solutions," the newspaper quoted ministry researcher Su Hainan as saying.

Although China is the world's fastest growing major economy, the ministry team found rural incomes last year averaged only about US$355, less than a third of urban incomes. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has said some 26 million rural Chinese live in absolute poverty, earning less than US$80 a year.

"The government's top In ri is to make those farmers poverty earn more," the report said.

China's income gap between rich and poor is growing and likely to trigger social instability if no action is taken to narrow the divide,, the China Daily said yesterday.

A team from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security found the gap had widened since 2003 despite measures to increase income among rural poor, including lowering agricultural taxes.

"We are going to lift the red light scenario after 2010 if there are no effective solutions," ministry researcher Su Hainan said.

Already the income gap is being blamed for growing unrest, with scores of protests being triggered by land disputes, abuse of power and corruption.

The Ministry of Public Security said there were more than 74,000 protests last year, despite efforts to maintain monetary stability in the world's seventh largest economy.

Although China is the world's fastest growing major economy, the ministry team found rural income last year averaged only about US$355, less than one third of urban income.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said 26 million rural Chinese live in absolute poverty, earning less than US$80 a year.

Even within urban areas the gap is growing. The.,richest 10 percent of urban dwellers hold 46 percent of the wealth, a separate report from the Xinhua 'never agency found, while the p10 percent hold 1.4 'percent of the wealth.

But other statistics indicate rural income may be catching up. Urban Chinese had 9.5 percent more yuan in their pocket in the second half of last year then the first half, while rural income rose 12.6 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Yesterday Chinese and Russian military forces prepared a naval blockade and practiced an amphibious landing as part of a joint exercise that involved 8,800 personnel and a wide range of weaponry, an official Chinese mouthpiece said.

"Military vessels, fighter jets and amphibious tanks will start three-days of live-ammunition combat practice tomorrow," a senior officer of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

The armies will focus on offshore blockades involving guided missile destroyers and jet fighters, a joint amphibious landing by air force and marine paratroopers and a forced evacuation, the paper said.

This is due to take place during the third phase of the eight-day "Peace Mission 2005" exercise begining today on Shandong Peninsula, the paper said.

During the second phase of the exercise, which ended yesterday, the two sides engaged in joint command operations and the deployment of troops including paratroopers, press reports said.

"China and Russia are sending a signal to Taiwan not to go down the road to independence and to the United States not to push them [China] into a corner by backing Taiwan['s] independence," said Arthur Ding, an expert on the PLA at National Chengchi University.

The first phase of the exercise, involving warships, submarines, bombers, helicopters and fighter planes, began Thursday near the city of Vladivostok.

Russian equipment that will be tested include the Il-76 transport plane, the Il-78 refueling plane, the A-50 early warning plane, TU-95 MS and TU-22M3 strategic bombers, the SU-24M2 bomber and the SU-27SM fighter jet, the paper said. Chinese hardware was not specified.

US and South Korean troops launched war games yesterday which North Korea has denounced as preparations for an invasion.

This 12-day exercise, named "Ulchi Focus Lens", features computer-simulated drills involving an unspecified number of South Korean soldiers and about 10,000 US troops, US and South Korean military officials said.

The war games started a week before six-party talks to end North Korea's nuclear weapons drive are scheduled to resume.

The US says Ulchi Focus Lens is purely defensive, while North Korea insists it is part of preparations to topple its regime.

"This is one of the routine drills which have been staged annually by South Korean and US troops. The war games do not include field training," a US military official said.

North Korea claimed that the maneuvers were aimed at forcing it to accept "unjust demands" at the six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.

The talks went into a three-week recess on Aug. 7, deadlocked over North Korea's insistence on the right to conduct peaceful nuclear activities.

"This joint saber-rattling will be staged at a time when the process of reconciliation and unity is being promoted between the North and the South under the banner of `by our nation itself,'" the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.

During an inter-Korean festival in Seoul last week that marked the 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, North Korean delegates urged South Korea to abandon its alliance with the US.

` From the March 19 shooting to the lawsuits challenging the fairness of the election and demanding that it be declared invalid, Lien has called anything that doesn't meet his expectations a joke.'

When former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan presided over his last Central Standing Committee meeting last week, he used a quote from late president Chiang Ching-kuo to encourage KMT members: "You always have to approach an issue from the people's perspective, and solve problems according to the needs of the people."

Not a word was said about another former president, Lee Teng-hui, who started the nation's democratic reform. It revealed who Lien really is -- someone who is always thinking about the democracy-suppressing Chiang.

Democracy puts the people first. During Chiang's authoritarian rule, the Taiwanese people counted for nothing. He often spoke of democracy, but that was all it was -- talk. But we cannot disregard what he said just because of who he was. When Lien quoted Chiang, he wanted to show that he also understands democracy. Regrettably, he doesn't understand that the people should come first.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Prosecutors Office announced that it was closing its investigation into the 319 assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu. To a majority of the public, this finally means an end to the interminable soap opera. Regardless of whether this is a retirement gift to Lien, the last episode of this rotten show is finally over and the public can draw a deep breath.

But Lien, stressing that one has to "approach an issue from the people's perspective" ridiculed the decision, calling it the laughingstock of the international community and saying that "the KMT would expose the truth for the people, for the country and for history." From the March 19 shooting to the lawsuits challenging the fairness of the election and demanding that it be declared invalid, Lien has called anything that doesn't meet his expectations a joke, which is very different from what the public feels.

The pan-blue camp has been fighting ever since March 19 last year, but they have offered no solid evidence for their endless political accusations. Even the international media are tiring of this situation. Think about it: the KMT is well-connected in the intelligence community and has a lot of private investigators and ballistics experts. Despite this, they still cannot find any hard evidence to support their claim that the shooting was staged. Isn't this odd?

The pan-blue camp's shadow boxing in fact only satisfies its own paranoia. The roots of this paranoia lie in the unwillingness of Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong to face up to facts. They and their retinue of fantasy writers think that as long as the 319 shootings remain in doubt, Chen has not won the election and Lien and Soong have not lost it.

In fact, fabricating politically disputable issues has long been a forte of the Chinese people. One classic example is the anecdote of the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who was said to have forged the will of his father, the Kangxi Emperor, so that he could ascend to the throne.

Just like Mao Zedong, many a politician in China believes that lies will become the truth if they are repeated often enough. Now, many would rather believe in the juicy details in the unofficial history of the Yongzheng Emperor than the truth that has been revealed by serious historical research, which only goes to show that such political skulduggery by politicians can still be influential.

The pan-blue camp has adopted a similar approach by holding tenaciously onto the 319 assassination attempt. Their method is very simple: Since we cannot find any hard evidence to back up our accusation that the shooting was staged, we will simply do all we can to discredit the investigation and give free rein to our imagination in creating an endless series of "Bulletgates" aimed at making the public doubt the credibility of the prosecutorial and police investigations.

Pan-blue camp media reports of an opinion poll showing that only 19 percent of respondents were ready to accept the Supreme Prosecutors Office's decision to wrap up the case is of course just one necessary part of this approach.

In short, what the pan-blue camp has been hoping for is not the gradual resolution that the public hopes for, but rather that the victims of the shooting, Chen and Lu, should also become political victims.

The blue camp's defamation strategy in fact aims to create a social division, where those who believe will do so forever, and those who do not believe will never do so.

Is this what Lien means by saying that "You always have to approach an issue from the people's perspective, and solve the problems according to the needs of the people?"

The rejection of the result of last year's presidential election is tantamount to negating the democratic choice of the people. Slandering prosecutors and the judiciary is no different from letting politics supersede the rule of law. This is simply an attempt to encourage political obscurantism. Lien has now stepped down, and Soong is likely to follow suit. The Taiwanese have had enough of their farce.

The pan-blue camp, to quench their thirst for power, have not shrunk from trampling on Taiwan's democracy and allying themselves with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in order to control Taiwan. Indeed, they should feel ashamed and remorseful for having used the words of Chiang. Taiwan is, after all, a country under the rule of law where the judiciary should deal with judicial matters and politicians with political issues.

Politics should be put aside and now that the judiciary has put an end to the case, so should the politicians.