MOFA paper assails China's threats

 

NOT SO PEACEFUL: The foreign ministry released a report highlighting the myths behind the communist country's so-called peaceful rise onto the international stage

 

By Chang Yun-ping

STAFF REPORTER

 

In contrast to what democratic countries did in containing the spread of communism during the Cold War, China is now containing democracy by continuing to oppress the freedom of choice of the Taiwanese people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Tuesday.

 

MOFA released a commentary, which was jointly written by minister Mark Chen and three other vice ministers, concerning the rise of China.

 

The release of the statement was timed to coincide with China's publication of its Foreign Policy White Paper for 2006, which came out last Thursday.

 

The MOFA paper criticized China's rise for threatening its democratic neighbors. It said that the Cold War containment strategy used by democratic countries against communism has now been reversed by authoritarian China, which is using its economic might to contain the spread of democracy.

 

"The cross-strait situation is entirely the opposite [of the Cold War situation] and this is demonstrated by China's denial of the Taiwanese people's right to peaceful development and freedom of choice.

 

"Taiwan's situation is neither a problem to cross-strait relations nor to China's internal affairs, rather it should be seen as a gauge for whether democracy in Asia is really progressing or going backwards," the MOFA statement said.

 

The commentary pointed out a number of problems accompanying the rise of China, including corruption: China ranked 78th out of 159 countries in terms of government corruption in this year's Transparency International survey.

 

The huge increase in China's military expenditure, which lacks transparency and yet is increasing at a much faster rate than its economic growth, has also caused great alarm among its neighboring countries, the paper said.

 

The MOFA singled out China's expansionary foreign policy as one of the most serious problems behind the rise of China. Although China still has about 150 million people living under the internationally defined poverty line of US$1 a day and is still a receiver of international aid, it cancelled 10.5 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in debt it was owed by 31 African countries in 2002

 

In addition, the MOFA commentary said that China's exploitation of cheap labor and its frequent violations of international environmental and labor standards means it has become a predator in the international economic system, causing the economies of many other countries to suffer and shrink.

 

While many countries are enthusiastically engaging with China, the MOFA urged these countries not to sacrifice the principles of democracy and human rights, which are vital to the interests of democratic countries situated in close proximity to China, including Taiwan.

 

In ensuring cross-Strait peace, the MOFA suggested that a UN-level inspection of the cross-Strait security situation in which the staff or inspectors dispatched by the UN are held accountable and make regular reports on security in the Taiwan Strait region.

 

 

US bars Chinese companies over Iran aid

 

WEAPONS HELP: New sanctions were made public on Tuesday by Washington in response to the continued help China's state-owned companies are said to be giving Iran

 

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE AND AP , CRAWFORD, TEXAS AND BEIJING

 

The Bush administration announced new sanctions on Tuesday against state-owned Chinese companies that it accused of aiding Iran's missile and chemical programs, insisting that Beijing cut off the trade at a time when US President George W. Bush is trying to persuade China's leaders to condemn Tehran's nuclear program.

The sanctions, announced by the State Department, are part of a diplomatically complex effort to cut off the flow of technology into Iran that could aid its weapons programs, while pressing both China and Russia to threaten action against Tehran at the UN Security Council.

 

Included in the latest sanctions, first reported on Tuesday by the Washington Times, are two firms closely tied to the Chinese military: the China North Industries Corp, known as Norinco, and the China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, or Catic, which is one of the country's largest producers of military aircraft.

 

Meanwhile, China's government yesterday demanded that the US lift sanctions imposed on the six companies.

 

The Chinese firms are barred from receiving US import licenses and from doing business with the US government.

 

"We express resolute opposition to the sanctions," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We demand that the United States change this mistaken action."

 

The sanctions will have little practical effect on most of the nine companies named, including two Indian companies and one Austrian one that makes assault rifles and other small arms. The Chinese companies are already barred from doing business with the US.

 

But Adam Ereli, a State Department spokesman, called the move "an important and effective tool in constraining Iran's efforts to develop missile and WMD capabilities." He added, "It does have an impact, I think, particularly in alerting governments to activity taking place in their countries."

 

Administration officials said they had no evidence that President Hu Jintao or other Chinese leaders were aware of the sales, and they said the Chinese had been sporadically helpful in cutting off shipments of crucial technologies to the Iranians.

 

Chinese churches raided at Christmas

 

HOLIDAY SURPRISE: A rights watchdog said 12 leaders of `underground' churches were arrested on Christmas Day, and that other raids had taken place across the nation

 

AFP , BEIJING

 

 Police in northwest China carried out several Christmas raids on "underground" churches, arresting 12 parish leaders and deliberately disrupting celebrations, a rights activist said yesterday.

 

On Christmas Day, 200 police officers and religious affairs officials in Manasi County in the Xinjiang region raided a celebration attended by 210 Christians, the Texas-based China Aid Association said.

 

They arrested 12 church leaders and confiscated private property including two vehicles, a piano, a video camera, 80 copies of the Bible, 230 new towels and all the Christmas food, the rights watchdog said.

 

"The parishioners felt a big loss especially because they spent a lot of time making this food and the police just took them," said China Aid Association director Bob Fu, who spoke to victims.

 

According to one female pastor, police declared the meeting an "illegal religious gathering" and warned Pastor Guo Xianyao, 54, that they had been following him for sometime.

 

Guo, a cadre at the local government's industry and commerce bureau, was beaten around the head, dragged by his hair, punched and kicked, Fu said.

 

The next day, police released seven of the arrested leaders. Five, including Guo, remain in custody, Fu said.

 

An official from the Manasi detention center said the five were still in detention. All of the arrested were also required to pay fines, according to Fu.

 

China insists it grants religious freedom but routinely arrests people for worshipping in non-government registered or "underground" churches which refuse to submit to official monitoring and meddling.

 

While the government sees the commercial benefits of Christmas, it is wary about the spread of Christianity for fear that strong religious belief will challenge its authority.

 

Fu said there had been a number of other raids in underground churches before Christmas.

 

On Christmas Eve, six police officers in Korla City, in the central part of Xinjiang, interrupted a meeting attended by 100 believers and ordered the worshippers to go to a government-sanctioned church service instead, Fu said.

 

On Dec. 13, police in Zhaqi County in northern China's Inner Mongolia region detained house church pastors Miao Fengming and Liu Haibo for 24 hours and accused them of "leading illegal religious gatherings."

 

Both have since been released, according to Fu.

 

In Gushi County, Henan Province and Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, police also raided the houses of pastors Yang Li and Shi Enhao. They were not home at the time.

 

Both have since gone into hiding, Fu said.

 

Police have demanded their relatives hand them over, accusing the pastors of being involved with the banned Falungong spiritual group, which Fu said was not true.

 

 

Beijing refuses to let SARS hero travel to the US

 

RESTRICTED: China has also rejected the doctor's request to quit the PLA, as it apparently wants the military to continue to curb his actions, sources said

 

REUTERS, BEIJING

 

A  military doctor who exposed China’s SARS cover-up has been barred form visiting the US, in keeping with curbs imposed after he asked for a re-appraisal of the 1989 Tiananmen protests, sources said yesterday.

 

Jung Xanyong's request to quit the People's Liberation Army was also refused, apparently to allow the military to continue to rein him in, two sources familiar with his plight said.

 

°They won't let him leave the country or retire," said one source who met Jiang recently, requesting anonymity.

 

When contacted, Jiang declined to comment on whether he wanted to quit the military.

 

His employer, the No. 301 Hospital, refused to comment.

 

Jiang became a hero to many Chinese for exposing the SARS cover-up in 2003 that led to the sacking of the health minister and the Beijing mayor, and prompted accurate reporting of the epidemic.

 

A second source said Jiang has been told military officers holding his rank and higher cannot quit. The No. 301 Hospital sat on his application to visit the US, the source said.

 

"They want to contain his influence ... and erase him from public memory," the source added.

 

Jiang was freed from months of house arrest in March but 10 restrictions were placed on him, including curbs on speaking without permission to Chinese and foreign reporters, traveling overseas and attending activities at the invitation of foreign groups or individuals.

 

"The authorities are worried once he is outside the country none of the restrictions would apply," the second source said.

 

The military took Jiang into custody last year after he wrote a letter to top leaders seeking a reappraisal of the Tiananmen Squire pro democracy protests which were crushed by the army on June 4, 1989.

He was allowed to go home after seven weeks, during which he was forced to undergo "study sessions," but his movements were restricted for a further eight months.

 

Jiang’s daughter accepted the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service－Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize－on his behalf in Manial last year because ha was not allowed to travel aborad.

 

Analysts say a revision of the official verdict that the 1989 student-led led protests were counterrevolutionary or subversive. is unlikely in the near future. Hundreds were killed.

 

Such a step could split the Communist Party leadership and trigger a power struggle. Some top leaders involved in, or who benefitted from, the massacre are still alive or influential.

 

Zhao Ziyang, who was toppled as Communist Party chief for opposing the crackdown, died in January after more than 15 years under house arrest.

 

 

Rising star abruptly demoted: report

 

REUTERS, BEIJING

 

A Chinese assistant foreign minister who was seen by many as a rising political star has been demoted for unspecified reasons, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

 

Shen Guofang, 53, has been transferred to the ministry's obscure World Affairs Publishing House, the daily quoted unnamed as saying. It was unclear what position he would hold.

 

" [It] came as a bombshell to Mr Shen’s colleagues and friends as he had long been considered a rising political star," it said.

 

The newspaper did not say when the demotion came, but Shen was seen entering the foreign ministry last week.

 

It had been rumored that Shen, who joined the foreign ministry in 1978, would be promoted to vice minister soon, the Post said.

 

The Foreign Ministry and the publishing house declined to comment on the matter.

 

Shen's name and picture were dropped from the ministry Web site, which still carried press releases on his recent meetings with visiting dignitaries and foreign journalists.

 

Former Chinese assistant foreign minister Shen Guofang speaks during a UNESCAP meeting in Shanghia in this photo from April last year. Shen, seen by many as a rising political star, has been demoted fro unspecified reasons, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.