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Oct. 2,2000 --- To: Trent
Lott, Denny Hastert |
¡@ Dear¡@Mr. Trent Lott, Oct. 2, 2000 --- Pope John Paul II defied fierce protests from Beijing Sunday, canonising 120 Chinese ¡§martyrs¡¨ in a controversial ceremony that coincided with communist China¡¦s National Day celebrations. The ceremony here, which drew close to 50,000 faithful despite pouring rain, went ahead even as the head of the Catholic church in China joined the communist regime in calling the canonization an insult to China. The pontiff canonized 120 bishops, priests and laymen of Chinese and European origin, many of whom died at the hands of a secret Chinese society that wanted to put an end to China¡¦s westernization at the turn of the century. Beijing has described the line-up as ¡§criminals¡¨ and representative of the European imperialism the communist revolution sought to bring to an end. Eyebrows had also been raised over the timing of the event, held on a day that marks Theresa de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries, but also Beijing¡¦s National Day and the 51st anniversary of the founding of the communist People¡¦s Republic of China. But the pontiff shrugged off the criticism. ¡§This celebration is not the moment to pass judgment on historical events. This we can do on other occasions,¡¨ he said in his address. ¡§The Church is simply recognizing that these martyrs are an example of courage and integrity for us all,¡¨ he added, paying homage to the 33 Catholic missionaries killed while ¡§serving the Chinese people.¡¨ ¡@ ¡@ According to Beijing, the missionaries were merely ¡§accomplices to imperialism¡¨ and responsible for monstrous crimes.¡¨ According to the official Xinhua news agency, Bishop of Beijing Fu Tieshan, the head of the Catholic church in China, launched his criticism of the Vatican during a flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square in Beijing Sunday, communist China¡¦s National Day. ¡§Choosing this date to canonize the so called ¡¥saints¡¦ is an open insult and humiliation against Chinese Catholic adherents,¡¨ he said. ¡§Today is a great holiday and marks the liberation of the Chinese nation from imperial and colonial invasion and robbery,¡¨ he said. On Sunday, mainland China¡¦s foreign ministry also expressed ¡§utmost indignation¡¨ and laid a ¡§strong protest¡¨ against the Vatican¡¦s canonization of Chinese martyrs, Xinhua reported in a separate dispatch. Most of the ¡§saints¡¨ died between 1648 and 1930. Among them are 87 of Chinese origin, including two nine-years-old and a Chinese layman who died at the age of 79. Also on the pope¡¦s list was French Jesuit priest Leon-Ignatius Mangin of France who was killed in 1900 at his church in a Chinese village during an attack by a violent secret society called the Boxers. Another sent to sainthood was Victor Modeste Andlauer of Germany, a Jesuit missionary who died in a massacre in southern China along with 58 Chinese Christians in 1900. Oct 2, 2000 --- Pope John Paul, in one of the most politically delicate acts of his pontificate, canonized 120 Chinese martyrs despite Beijing¡¦s angry accusations that the move was an insulting glorification of imperialism. Pope John, who attempted to reassure Beijing about his intentions, said the decision to make the martyrs saints should not be seen as a defence of colonialism but a desire to honour all Chinese. ¡@ ¡@ Oct. 1, 2000 --- Mainland Chinese police rounded up close to 1,000 members of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual sect during one of the most violent protests ever in Tiananmen Square Sunday, communist China¡¦s National Day. The demonstrators stole the show during celebrations of the 51st anniversary of the Communist Party¡¦s rule in mainland China, humiliating the government more than a year after the group was banned. A small army of 1,000 soldiers and police dragged protesters from the square into police buses and vans, as throngs of tourists celebrating National Day watched in shock. The protesters were bolder than they have been in demonstrations since the group was banned in July last year. A crowd of 50 demonstrators pulled open the doors to a bus and freed detained protesters. An AFP reporter saw 15 police buses each holding about 50 followers and 20 police vans with up to 25 practitioners each leaving the square, heading towards a nearby police station. Police were seen rounding up protesters well into Sunday afternoon, as followers vowed to protest the ban against the group throughout mainland China¡¦s seven-day National Day holiday. The Falun Gong members, who had announced their intention to gather several days ago, started their protest at around 8:15 a.m., unfurling banners in the middle of the square. Police quickly cordoned off the area, but waves of up to 50 people rushed to where the first protesters were being pushed inside buses. The protesters, mostly women, were kicked, punched and pushed into buses. A ¡@ woman carrying a small child was hit by police, while one plainclothes policeman was seen beating a protester with a broom. Several children were also arrested. ¡§You can see we have done nothing wrong,¡¨ one protester shouted to the crowds. But despite the large number of police and soldiers, they were at times overwhelmed by the Falun Gong followers. The rich China is not equal to that communist China would give more widespread vision for its people. Contrary to the truth; the mandate of communist China was ¡§how to wash history hate from foreigner¡¦s humiliation.¡¨ ¡§Never be controlled by any forces from outside and inside, in which could rock communist¡¦s rule.¡¨ We heard that at everywhere in mainland China. South Korea, Sept. 27 --- The defense ministers of South and North Korea, whose armies have faced off against each other for half a century, ended two days of talks with a pledge to diminish the threat of war on their peninsula. South Korean Defense Minister Cho Sung-tae and Kim Il Chul, minister for the People¡¦s Army of North Korea, said they would meet again in mid November in North Korea to discuss tension-easing measures. Although results of the meeting fell short of South Korean hopes, both sides were satisfied with the symbolism of the defense chiefs of two once-bitterly opposed countries negotiating for the first time. The ministers agreed to arrange working-level talks in early October to discuss how to reconnect a cross-border rail line. That operation will include the tricky task of clearing some of the hundreds of thousands of mines that lie in the Demilitarized ¡@ Zone, or DMZ, a buffer zone that separates the two Koreas. In Taiwan side; that is our pleasure to hear that the U.S. Pentagon¡¦s plan to sell Taiwan advanced supersonic air-to-air and anti-ship missile and other weapons could bolster the island¡¦s defenses against mainland China. The rich China would set up its army force that concerning with many countries¡¦ worry. Taiwan on the first line to face that threat from mainland China, how to maintain strong armed force and a high level of readiness strengthens Taiwan position at cross-strait conflict is the most important issues for keeping Asia-Pacific stability. In our view, the only realistic way to stay out of a cross-strait war is to maintain parity between the armed forces of both sides. Oct. 1, 2000 --- U.S. President Bill Clinton will meet here next month with a top North Korean official as the United States accelerates its contacts with the Communist government in Pyongyang. The visit of National Defense Commission First Vice Chairman Cho Myong Nok Oct. 9-12 was announced Friday by the State Department, which called it ¡§an important step forward in promoting bilateral relations.¡¨ Cho is the highest-ranked North Korean official to come to Washington. He is considered second in command to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and will be accompanied by Kang Sok Ju, the vice minister of foreign affairs. American and North Korean negotiators have been meeting since Wednesday in New York in a U.S. effort to end North Korea¡¦s development and export of missiles. The talks also have been centered on terms of an accord that froze North Korea¡¦s ¡@ nuclear weapons program in exchange for energy supplies and two civilian reactors, State Department officials said. North Korea¡¦s past involvement in terrorism also is on the agenda, but State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that issue will be dealt with next week. The tone of the talks after three days ¡§remains positive,¡¨ Boucher said. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will be the official host of Cho¡¦s Washington visit, which gives it high status. The announcement said both sides believe the visit ¡§will contribute to the goal of ending the long standing state of hostility on the Korean peninsula.¡¨ The visit has been under discussion for months. Last January, North Korea accepted a U.S. invitation to send a senior official here. The visit is reciprocal for the trip former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry made to Pyongyang in May 1999. North Korea is believed to be capable of targeting virtually all of Japan as well as other Asian countries with its missiles. A potential long-range missile threat has been cited by the Clinton administration as one reason for considering a U.S. missile defense program, a decision Clinton then deferred to his successor. The improvement in U.S.-North Korean relations follows attempts at reconciliation between North and South Korea. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the North¡¦s reclusive leader Kim Jon Il held a summit meeting in June and another summit meeting is in preparation. The last round of missile talks ended in July with North Korean insisting its program was a sovereign exercise in self-defense, but also with indications from cash-strapped Pyongyang that it might curb the program in exchange for payments of ¡@ about US$1 billion a year. The United States maintains that North Korea should not be compensated for stopping a program it shouldn¡¦t be developing in the first place. Meanwhile, high level negotiators from South and North Korea met Friday in South Korea to discuss ways to accelerate the shift toward reconciliation on their divided peninsula and pave the way for a visit by Kim Jong Il. As a country of hegemony and so-called ¡§rogue state¡¨, N. Korea, its official can meet with U.S President Clinton that let whole Taiwanese people feed sad over threat by communist China for such a long time. The first reason is that rogue station could step up its political level depend on its ability of nuke weapons. The second reason is that Beijing authority has agreed with U.S.-North Korea¡¦s new relationship. The third reason is that the habit of U.S.¡¦s custom was giving more tolerance toward anti-U.S. partied, states and countries. On the other hand; that sick diplomacy of international hypocrisy can¡¦t do Taiwan normal treatment and fair attitude toward political position in which the big democratic country as a leader of world can¡¦t do its justice for supporting Taiwan that educating our world those who followed United States¡¦ game would get nothing and the democratic systems only a symbol of morality. Power country¡¦s factors should be created by ability of launching nuke weapons and anti-democracy, anti-human rights and dare to fight against U.S. government? However; Taiwan needs your help and is worthy of supporting.
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