Stronger party 'key to reform drive'
scmp - Wednesday, September 29, 2004
STAFF REPORTER
Strengthening the Communist Party's power to govern - a decision agreed by party elites at the recent party plenum - "touches the core" of the mainland's efforts to reform its political system, says a party theorist.
In an interview published by Xinhua yesterday, the vice-president of the Communist Party School, Li Junru , said that the decision was critical in attempts to breathe life into the political system.
"Strengthening the party's power to govern - the central theme of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party's Central Committee - shares the same logic in China's pushes to reform its political system," he was quoted as saying.
The party called political reforms "reform of the political system" to emphasise that the mainland's reforms were meant to strengthen the party's leadership. They are meant to be distinct from western-style political changes that would undermine the party's authority.
In the interview, Mr Li said the decision - explained in a political document adopted by the plenary session and released last Sunday - was a road map to show how the party could govern by following three principles: based on sciences, built on democracy and in accordance with the law.
Mr Li, who specialises in theories of political parties, said the latest development showed that the Communist Party would push forward reforms of its political system in two areas: democracy within the party, and, through this, greater democracy in the country.
He said the party was expected to promote greater openness among its rank and file, greater participation by party members in the decision-making process and transparency of party affairs.
In addition, the document called for a greater role for party congresses and experiments that would give more power to congress
Party congresses are held usually once a year and party members who have been elected to take part in the congresses have little power but to rubber-stamp decisions already made by the higher authorities.
But the document suggested that party strategists should study ways to allow congress members to actually put forward motions when the congress was meeting and channels for them to take part in party affairs when the congress was in recess.
Furthermore, it suggested the party should allow more "pilot schemes at city and county levels" so that congress members could meet regularly and exercise their power.
Mr Li said that the document also opened the possibility of "exchanges" between the Communist Party, National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
STAFF REPORTER
Strengthening the Communist Party's power to govern - a decision agreed by party elites at the recent party plenum - "touches the core" of the mainland's efforts to reform its political system, says a party theorist.
In an interview published by Xinhua yesterday, the vice-president of the Communist Party School, Li Junru , said that the decision was critical in attempts to breathe life into the political system.
"Strengthening the party's power to govern - the central theme of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party's Central Committee - shares the same logic in China's pushes to reform its political system," he was quoted as saying.
The party called political reforms "reform of the political system" to emphasise that the mainland's reforms were meant to strengthen the party's leadership. They are meant to be distinct from western-style political changes that would undermine the party's authority.
In the interview, Mr Li said the decision - explained in a political document adopted by the plenary session and released last Sunday - was a road map to show how the party could govern by following three principles: based on sciences, built on democracy and in accordance with the law.
Mr Li, who specialises in theories of political parties, said the latest development showed that the Communist Party would push forward reforms of its political system in two areas: democracy within the party, and, through this, greater democracy in the country.
He said the party was expected to promote greater openness among its rank and file, greater participation by party members in the decision-making process and transparency of party affairs.
In addition, the document called for a greater role for party congresses and experiments that would give more power to congress
Party congresses are held usually once a year and party members who have been elected to take part in the congresses have little power but to rubber-stamp decisions already made by the higher authorities.
But the document suggested that party strategists should study ways to allow congress members to actually put forward motions when the congress was meeting and channels for them to take part in party affairs when the congress was in recess.
Furthermore, it suggested the party should allow more "pilot schemes at city and county levels" so that congress members could meet regularly and exercise their power.
Mr Li said that the document also opened the possibility of "exchanges" between the Communist Party, National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Britain agrees debt-relief deal for world's developing nations
scmp - Tuesday, September 28, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Brighton
Britain, in a move that puts pressure on its Group of Seven partners, has said it will unilaterally write off its share of debts owed to the World Bank by the world's poorest countries.
The bold gesture was announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in a speech to 400 activists on the fringes of the annual labour Party conference in Brighton.
"Although there is no international agreement on 100 per cent multilateral debt relief, Britain will do more," Mr Brown said.
"We will pay our share of the multilateral debt repayments of reforming low-income countries," he said.
"We will make payments in their stead to the World Bank and African Development Bank for the portion that relates to Britain's share of this debt.
"We do this alone today but I urge other countries to follow so that indebted countries are relieved of the burden of servicing all unpayable multilateral debt."
Britain holds nearly 10 per cent of the total debt owed to the World Bank and other development banks, which itself amounts to 70 per cent of the money owed by the world's poorest nations.
Experts said Mr Brown's announcement - ahead of a World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting later this week - puts pressure on other Group of Seven industrialised nations to do likewise.
Chief among them are Germany, Japan and the United States, the World Bank's biggest stakeholders, while Canada and France are said to have similar announcements in the planning stages.
"This is an audacious move by Gordon Brown," said Ashok Sinha, co-ordinator of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, which is an umbrella group for aid and development agencies in Britain lobbying for debt relief.
"He has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the world to follow suit."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Brighton
Britain, in a move that puts pressure on its Group of Seven partners, has said it will unilaterally write off its share of debts owed to the World Bank by the world's poorest countries.
The bold gesture was announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in a speech to 400 activists on the fringes of the annual labour Party conference in Brighton.
"Although there is no international agreement on 100 per cent multilateral debt relief, Britain will do more," Mr Brown said.
"We will pay our share of the multilateral debt repayments of reforming low-income countries," he said.
"We will make payments in their stead to the World Bank and African Development Bank for the portion that relates to Britain's share of this debt.
"We do this alone today but I urge other countries to follow so that indebted countries are relieved of the burden of servicing all unpayable multilateral debt."
Britain holds nearly 10 per cent of the total debt owed to the World Bank and other development banks, which itself amounts to 70 per cent of the money owed by the world's poorest nations.
Experts said Mr Brown's announcement - ahead of a World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting later this week - puts pressure on other Group of Seven industrialised nations to do likewise.
Chief among them are Germany, Japan and the United States, the World Bank's biggest stakeholders, while Canada and France are said to have similar announcements in the planning stages.
"This is an audacious move by Gordon Brown," said Ashok Sinha, co-ordinator of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, which is an umbrella group for aid and development agencies in Britain lobbying for debt relief.
"He has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the world to follow suit."
Party spells out crisis plan to keep firm grip on nation
scmp - Monday, September 27, 2004
LINDA CHOY
The Chinese Communist Party yesterday unveiled a blueprint to consolidate its ruling position, calling on cadres to strengthen their ability to govern an increasingly complex nation that lives under the threat of "hostile forces".
The 36-page document - endorsed by the fourth plenum of the party's 16th central committee last Sunday and released by Xinhua last night - delivered a strong and urgent crisis message to the CCP's 68-million members.
It warned that the party's ruling status was "by no means a natural result of the party's founding, and will not remain forever if the party does nothing to safeguard it".
"There has been no change in the strategy by hostile forces to impose westernisation and disintegration on us," the opening paragraph said. "We still face pressure from developed countries that enjoy competitive advantages in the aspects of economic and technology development over us."
The document said the party's leadership and governance was still imperfect, citing among its problems rampant corruption in some departments and loose morals in some grassroots units.
"These problems will undermine the party's ruling effectiveness. They must receive high attention from the party and be resolved properly," it warned, while keeping economic development a priority.
In order to ensure the implementation of the party's policies, the party should strengthen its leadership through legal means.
"It should be good at turning the party's ideas into the will of the state through legislative procedures. This will ensure the thorough implementation of the party's policies with institutional and legal safeguards," the blueprint said.
The party also reaffirmed its need to keep a tight grip on the media, pledging to "firmly hold the direction of public opinion and correctly guide public opinion".
"In this regard, the principle that the party controls the media must be upheld, so as to enhance the capability to guide public opinion and gain the initiative of the media work," it said. It also vowed to assume a strong position in creating "positive views" on the internet by stepping up government and self-regulation.
On the economy, it said the party committee would make collective decisions on major planning and policy deliberations.
The party would step up the forecasting of economic trends, and map out effective solutions to problems that may arise. It would also continue to pay attention to weaknesses in the economy - especially problems with the agricultural sector, development of the western region and rejuvenation of the northeastern industrial belt - while working to narrow the wealth gap with tough measures.
On the political system, the party would expand the "orderly participation of citizens in politics" by insisting on and refining the National People's Congress system.
The party pledged to implement its religious freedom policy, adding, however, that it would continue to "actively guide religious activities into adapting with socialism".
In a bid to improve its decision-making process, the document said the party would engage experts in deliberating on professional and technical subjects. It would also hold hearings on major decisions affecting the public.
The party also pledged to trace officials who commit mistakes and to build an accountability system.
Despite the external threat it perceives, the document said the CCP would uphold the banners of peace, development and co-operation in handling foreign affairs. It would adhere to the independent foreign policy of peace and never declare itself a hegemonic power.
The party said it would continue to oppose foreign intervention in the affairs of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It would also support the two chief executives in "ruling in accordance with the law and raising their standard of governance".
The party would continue to unite people from different sectors in the two special administrative regions and open a new chapter in the implementation of the "one country, two systems" formula, the document added.
Regarding the issue of Taiwan, the party said its sacred mission was to achieve reunification. It added that it would maintain the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems".
Additional reporting by Martin Wong
LINDA CHOY
The Chinese Communist Party yesterday unveiled a blueprint to consolidate its ruling position, calling on cadres to strengthen their ability to govern an increasingly complex nation that lives under the threat of "hostile forces".
The 36-page document - endorsed by the fourth plenum of the party's 16th central committee last Sunday and released by Xinhua last night - delivered a strong and urgent crisis message to the CCP's 68-million members.
It warned that the party's ruling status was "by no means a natural result of the party's founding, and will not remain forever if the party does nothing to safeguard it".
"There has been no change in the strategy by hostile forces to impose westernisation and disintegration on us," the opening paragraph said. "We still face pressure from developed countries that enjoy competitive advantages in the aspects of economic and technology development over us."
The document said the party's leadership and governance was still imperfect, citing among its problems rampant corruption in some departments and loose morals in some grassroots units.
"These problems will undermine the party's ruling effectiveness. They must receive high attention from the party and be resolved properly," it warned, while keeping economic development a priority.
In order to ensure the implementation of the party's policies, the party should strengthen its leadership through legal means.
"It should be good at turning the party's ideas into the will of the state through legislative procedures. This will ensure the thorough implementation of the party's policies with institutional and legal safeguards," the blueprint said.
The party also reaffirmed its need to keep a tight grip on the media, pledging to "firmly hold the direction of public opinion and correctly guide public opinion".
"In this regard, the principle that the party controls the media must be upheld, so as to enhance the capability to guide public opinion and gain the initiative of the media work," it said. It also vowed to assume a strong position in creating "positive views" on the internet by stepping up government and self-regulation.
On the economy, it said the party committee would make collective decisions on major planning and policy deliberations.
The party would step up the forecasting of economic trends, and map out effective solutions to problems that may arise. It would also continue to pay attention to weaknesses in the economy - especially problems with the agricultural sector, development of the western region and rejuvenation of the northeastern industrial belt - while working to narrow the wealth gap with tough measures.
On the political system, the party would expand the "orderly participation of citizens in politics" by insisting on and refining the National People's Congress system.
The party pledged to implement its religious freedom policy, adding, however, that it would continue to "actively guide religious activities into adapting with socialism".
In a bid to improve its decision-making process, the document said the party would engage experts in deliberating on professional and technical subjects. It would also hold hearings on major decisions affecting the public.
The party also pledged to trace officials who commit mistakes and to build an accountability system.
Despite the external threat it perceives, the document said the CCP would uphold the banners of peace, development and co-operation in handling foreign affairs. It would adhere to the independent foreign policy of peace and never declare itself a hegemonic power.
The party said it would continue to oppose foreign intervention in the affairs of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It would also support the two chief executives in "ruling in accordance with the law and raising their standard of governance".
The party would continue to unite people from different sectors in the two special administrative regions and open a new chapter in the implementation of the "one country, two systems" formula, the document added.
Regarding the issue of Taiwan, the party said its sacred mission was to achieve reunification. It added that it would maintain the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems".
Additional reporting by Martin Wong
No nation is above international law
scmp - Thursday, September 23, 2004
KOFI ANNAN
Today, more than ever, the world needs an effective mechanism through which to seek common solutions to common problems. That is what the UN was created for. Let us not imagine that, if we fail to make good use of it, we will find any more effective instrument.
We have reached a fork in the road. If the political leaders of the world's nations cannot reach agreement on the way forward, history will make the decisions. I will not seek to prejudge those decisions, but to remind you of the all-important framework in which they should be taken - the rule of law, in each country and in the world.
The vision of "a government of laws and not of men" is almost as old as civilisation itself. Many nations can proudly point to founding documents of their own that embody that simple concept. And the United Nations is founded on the same principle.
Yet today, the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and again, we see fundamental laws shamelessly disregarded - those that ordain respect for innocent life, for civilians, for the vulnerable - especially children. In Iraq, we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief workers, journalists and other non-combatants are taken hostage and put to death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time, we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused. In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced, and their homes destroyed, while rape is used as a deliberate strategy. In Beslan, we have seen children taken hostage and massacred.
No cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to justify such acts. They put all of us to shame. Their prevalence reflects our collective failure to uphold the law, and to instil respect for it in our fellow men and women. To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the law, and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that proclaims the rule of law at home must respect it abroad; and every nation that insists on it abroad must enforce it at home. Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it; and those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it. It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties, including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and safe havens to terrorists. It is by reintroducing the rule of law, and confidence in its impartial application, that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered by conflict. It is the law, including security council resolutions, which offers the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts - in the Middle East, in Iraq and around the world. And it is by rigorously upholding international law that we can, and must, fulfil our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
I ask all of you here to take advantage of the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of civilians and then, go back home, to implement them fully and in good faith.
Throughout the world, the victims of violence and injustice are waiting; waiting for us to keep our word. I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the world. But ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on our consciences. This organisation was founded in the ashes of a war that brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today, we must look again into our collective conscience, and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.
Kofi Annan is secretary-general of the United Nations. This article is adapted from his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
KOFI ANNAN
Today, more than ever, the world needs an effective mechanism through which to seek common solutions to common problems. That is what the UN was created for. Let us not imagine that, if we fail to make good use of it, we will find any more effective instrument.
We have reached a fork in the road. If the political leaders of the world's nations cannot reach agreement on the way forward, history will make the decisions. I will not seek to prejudge those decisions, but to remind you of the all-important framework in which they should be taken - the rule of law, in each country and in the world.
The vision of "a government of laws and not of men" is almost as old as civilisation itself. Many nations can proudly point to founding documents of their own that embody that simple concept. And the United Nations is founded on the same principle.
Yet today, the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and again, we see fundamental laws shamelessly disregarded - those that ordain respect for innocent life, for civilians, for the vulnerable - especially children. In Iraq, we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief workers, journalists and other non-combatants are taken hostage and put to death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time, we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused. In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced, and their homes destroyed, while rape is used as a deliberate strategy. In Beslan, we have seen children taken hostage and massacred.
No cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to justify such acts. They put all of us to shame. Their prevalence reflects our collective failure to uphold the law, and to instil respect for it in our fellow men and women. To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the law, and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that proclaims the rule of law at home must respect it abroad; and every nation that insists on it abroad must enforce it at home. Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it; and those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it. It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties, including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and safe havens to terrorists. It is by reintroducing the rule of law, and confidence in its impartial application, that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered by conflict. It is the law, including security council resolutions, which offers the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts - in the Middle East, in Iraq and around the world. And it is by rigorously upholding international law that we can, and must, fulfil our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
I ask all of you here to take advantage of the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of civilians and then, go back home, to implement them fully and in good faith.
Throughout the world, the victims of violence and injustice are waiting; waiting for us to keep our word. I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the world. But ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on our consciences. This organisation was founded in the ashes of a war that brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today, we must look again into our collective conscience, and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.
Kofi Annan is secretary-general of the United Nations. This article is adapted from his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Civil service law keeps cadres a class apart
scmp - Wednesday, September 22, 2004
SHI JIANGTAO
Long-awaited legislation will probably end a decade-old argument over whether party officials are civil servants, a university professor says.
The introduction of the new law had been expected at the end of last year, but was delayed because of different opinions on the issue, said Mao Shoulong .
"It was shelved because the most critical argument had not been solved yet," the Renmin University professor said, noting strong opposition to the idea of putting party officials under the supervision of the civil service law.
The new legislation has been awaited since a provisional regulation on civil servants was adopted in 1993.
Although many cadres are part of the civil service, the law may have to compromise on the issue because government officials - under the current political system - are subject to the supervision of the party leadership.
"It [the new law] will give an explanation on the issue. But given such strong opposition, it looks unlikely to classify party officials as civil servants," Professor Mao said.
He said it was not yet clear if the newly released regulations on cadre management were to be in line with the law and continuing reform of the civil service.
His observations were shared by another scholar, Yang Fengchun from Peking University.
"They [the management of party officials and civil service reform] are two closely related issues. Since most government employees, including leading officials, are party members, the issue of managing civil servants is the same as the management of party officials," Professor Yang said.
SHI JIANGTAO
Long-awaited legislation will probably end a decade-old argument over whether party officials are civil servants, a university professor says.
The introduction of the new law had been expected at the end of last year, but was delayed because of different opinions on the issue, said Mao Shoulong .
"It was shelved because the most critical argument had not been solved yet," the Renmin University professor said, noting strong opposition to the idea of putting party officials under the supervision of the civil service law.
The new legislation has been awaited since a provisional regulation on civil servants was adopted in 1993.
Although many cadres are part of the civil service, the law may have to compromise on the issue because government officials - under the current political system - are subject to the supervision of the party leadership.
"It [the new law] will give an explanation on the issue. But given such strong opposition, it looks unlikely to classify party officials as civil servants," Professor Mao said.
He said it was not yet clear if the newly released regulations on cadre management were to be in line with the law and continuing reform of the civil service.
His observations were shared by another scholar, Yang Fengchun from Peking University.
"They [the management of party officials and civil service reform] are two closely related issues. Since most government employees, including leading officials, are party members, the issue of managing civil servants is the same as the management of party officials," Professor Yang said.
Hu underlines the party's leadership role
scmp - Wednesday, September 22, 2004
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
President Hu Jintao yesterday stressed the Communist Party's leadership role in the national political consultative body, saying the existing system was fitting for China.
Mr Hu's speech on the 55th anniversary of the first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference dampened hopes that the mainland would move towards greater multiparty involvement after he assumed full power at Sunday's plenum of the party's Central Committee.
The CPPCC is composed of representatives of the Communist Party, other political parties, mass organisations and celebrities, returned overseas Chinese, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and other specially invited people. Delegates are chosen by the party's United Front Work Department.
The CPPCC includes eight officially recognised "democratic parties", but it is illegal to form new political parties on the mainland.
Highlighting the Communist Party's central role in the body, Mr Hu summed up China's political system as leadership by the party with multiparty co-operation, and rule by the party with multiparty participation.
Under this system, all democratic parties should co-operate closely with the Communist Party, Mr Hu said.
"The multiparty co-operation system and political consultation system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is fitting for our country's situation. It is a party system with Chinese characteristics," he said.
He described the CPPCC as an important part of the country's political spectrum.
"It is an important venue for the various democratic groups to join and discuss politics, and to unite and co-operate."
But even after highlighting the Communist Party's central role, Mr Hu insisted that cadres must submit to the supervision of the CPPCC in order to comply with the resolution on improving the party's ability to govern passed at the plenum.
Mr Hu said the CPPCC had played an important role in consensus-building among the people and had helped strengthen the rule of the Communist Party.
The CPPCC was instructed to follow the principle of "one country, two systems" and the eight points of reunification put forward by former president Jiang Zemin in 1995.
Mr Hu said that it must use patriotism to unite residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, strengthen its ties with overseas Chinese and their relatives, and oppose those who seek to push for Taiwanese independence.
The CPPCC, which meets at about the same time as the National People's Congress, has in recent years become slightly more vocal over problems in areas such as education, food safety and the environment, but there have been no attempts to give it real supervisory power.
Cao Siyuan , an expert on the Chinese constitution, said the CPPCC had the potential to evolve into the equivalent of an upper house of parliament to exercise supervision over the law-making National People's Congress.
However, he admitted this idea was controversial and the CPPCC was likely to remain a decorative institution for years.
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
President Hu Jintao yesterday stressed the Communist Party's leadership role in the national political consultative body, saying the existing system was fitting for China.
Mr Hu's speech on the 55th anniversary of the first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference dampened hopes that the mainland would move towards greater multiparty involvement after he assumed full power at Sunday's plenum of the party's Central Committee.
The CPPCC is composed of representatives of the Communist Party, other political parties, mass organisations and celebrities, returned overseas Chinese, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and other specially invited people. Delegates are chosen by the party's United Front Work Department.
The CPPCC includes eight officially recognised "democratic parties", but it is illegal to form new political parties on the mainland.
Highlighting the Communist Party's central role in the body, Mr Hu summed up China's political system as leadership by the party with multiparty co-operation, and rule by the party with multiparty participation.
Under this system, all democratic parties should co-operate closely with the Communist Party, Mr Hu said.
"The multiparty co-operation system and political consultation system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is fitting for our country's situation. It is a party system with Chinese characteristics," he said.
He described the CPPCC as an important part of the country's political spectrum.
"It is an important venue for the various democratic groups to join and discuss politics, and to unite and co-operate."
But even after highlighting the Communist Party's central role, Mr Hu insisted that cadres must submit to the supervision of the CPPCC in order to comply with the resolution on improving the party's ability to govern passed at the plenum.
Mr Hu said the CPPCC had played an important role in consensus-building among the people and had helped strengthen the rule of the Communist Party.
The CPPCC was instructed to follow the principle of "one country, two systems" and the eight points of reunification put forward by former president Jiang Zemin in 1995.
Mr Hu said that it must use patriotism to unite residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, strengthen its ties with overseas Chinese and their relatives, and oppose those who seek to push for Taiwanese independence.
The CPPCC, which meets at about the same time as the National People's Congress, has in recent years become slightly more vocal over problems in areas such as education, food safety and the environment, but there have been no attempts to give it real supervisory power.
Cao Siyuan , an expert on the Chinese constitution, said the CPPCC had the potential to evolve into the equivalent of an upper house of parliament to exercise supervision over the law-making National People's Congress.
However, he admitted this idea was controversial and the CPPCC was likely to remain a decorative institution for years.
Expanded commission 'to help PLA in event of war'
scmp - Tuesday, September 21, 2004
JACKY HSU in Taipei
The enlargement of the Central Military Commission will strengthen the capability of the PLA in the event of a war against Taiwan, a private think-tank said yesterday.
Andrew Yang Nien-dzu, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taipei, said the inclusion of Vice-Admiral Zhang Dingfa , commander of the navy, General Qiao Qingchen , commander of the air force, Lieutenant-General Jing Zhiyuan , commander of the Second Artillery Corp - the missile forces of the People's Liberation Army - and Lieutenant-General Chen Bingde , commander-in-chief of the Jinan military region, would enable the PLA to better co-ordinate its land, sea and air forces. That would increase the strength of the PLA and enable it to launch an effective war at short notice, he said.
Lin Chong-pin, a PLA expert and former Taiwanese vice-minister of defence, said the inclusion of General Chen and General Jing was particularly noteworthy. He believed both would play a key role in any war against Taiwan.
These and other Taiwanese analysts said Hu Jintao's assumption of full power on the mainland could pose a bigger challenge for Taiwan in dealing with cross-strait relations.
Ting Shu-fa, research fellow at the International Relations Institute of National Chengchi University, said Mr Hu's record in Tibet showed that he would not hesitate to strike hard against Taiwan. "In terms of suppressing Taiwanese independence, he would never hesitate to strike hard, as evidenced by his high-handed suppression of Tibetan independence," he said.
He said Mr Hu had made clear he would do all he could to crush Taiwanese independence, and cited the May 17 statement issued by the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office as saying Taiwan could choose to adhere to the one-China principle or risk war.
Mr Lin expected that, while maintaining uncompromising opposition to Taiwan's independence, Mr Hu would employ more effective and subtle strategies.
"Take the recent invitation for our transport minister, Lin Ling-san, to visit the mainland, for example. No one-China principle has been mentioned as a precondition. Such an approach would make it even more difficult for Taiwan to cope with," he said.
Mr Lin, who heads the Euro-Asia Foundation, a semi-governmental think-tank, agreed it was significant that the commission had been expanded to include military commanders experienced in Taiwanese affairs.
Yang Kai-huang, director of mainland research at Tunghua University, predicted Mr Hu would offer more concessions to Taiwanese investors. "Taiwan is going to face its biggest challenge under Mr Hu's leadership," he said.
JACKY HSU in Taipei
The enlargement of the Central Military Commission will strengthen the capability of the PLA in the event of a war against Taiwan, a private think-tank said yesterday.
Andrew Yang Nien-dzu, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taipei, said the inclusion of Vice-Admiral Zhang Dingfa , commander of the navy, General Qiao Qingchen , commander of the air force, Lieutenant-General Jing Zhiyuan , commander of the Second Artillery Corp - the missile forces of the People's Liberation Army - and Lieutenant-General Chen Bingde , commander-in-chief of the Jinan military region, would enable the PLA to better co-ordinate its land, sea and air forces. That would increase the strength of the PLA and enable it to launch an effective war at short notice, he said.
Lin Chong-pin, a PLA expert and former Taiwanese vice-minister of defence, said the inclusion of General Chen and General Jing was particularly noteworthy. He believed both would play a key role in any war against Taiwan.
These and other Taiwanese analysts said Hu Jintao's assumption of full power on the mainland could pose a bigger challenge for Taiwan in dealing with cross-strait relations.
Ting Shu-fa, research fellow at the International Relations Institute of National Chengchi University, said Mr Hu's record in Tibet showed that he would not hesitate to strike hard against Taiwan. "In terms of suppressing Taiwanese independence, he would never hesitate to strike hard, as evidenced by his high-handed suppression of Tibetan independence," he said.
He said Mr Hu had made clear he would do all he could to crush Taiwanese independence, and cited the May 17 statement issued by the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office as saying Taiwan could choose to adhere to the one-China principle or risk war.
Mr Lin expected that, while maintaining uncompromising opposition to Taiwan's independence, Mr Hu would employ more effective and subtle strategies.
"Take the recent invitation for our transport minister, Lin Ling-san, to visit the mainland, for example. No one-China principle has been mentioned as a precondition. Such an approach would make it even more difficult for Taiwan to cope with," he said.
Mr Lin, who heads the Euro-Asia Foundation, a semi-governmental think-tank, agreed it was significant that the commission had been expanded to include military commanders experienced in Taiwanese affairs.
Yang Kai-huang, director of mainland research at Tunghua University, predicted Mr Hu would offer more concessions to Taiwanese investors. "Taiwan is going to face its biggest challenge under Mr Hu's leadership," he said.
A historic shift for China's politics
scmp - Tuesday, September 21, 2004
WANG XIANGWEI
China's first orderly transfer of power since 1949 has come both as a surprise and a blessing. Jiang Zemin's decision to hand over the top military post to President Hu Jintao was a surprise to many party officials and analysts, who had expected him to cling to power for several more years.
There had been intense speculation about a power struggle between Mr Jiang and Mr Hu, with the so-called "two power centres" supposedly adversely affecting the policymaking process.
That could well explain why Xinhua published Mr Jiang's resignation letter and a long statement from the Central Committee, which highlighted the fact that he had intended to retire two years ago. He was asked to stay on because of his experience in handling foreign affairs and commanding the armed forces.
While there has been no official reason as to why Mr Jiang decided to step down at this particular time, some analysts have speculated that he was under increasing pressure, and may have health problems. Many see his failure to secure the appointment of Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, one of his close allies, as a deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission as an indicator of his waning influence.
But senior party sources say that the calls for him to step down were never strong enough to threaten his authority, and his health is good enough for a man of 78. And they have played down the supposed power struggle with Mr Hu, saying that both men shared similar views on foreign issues, mainland policy on Taiwan, and the direction of economic developments at home.
A more feasible explanation could be that after two years of observations, Mr Jiang is now convinced that his legacy and interests will be protected under Mr Hu.
His Theory of Three Represents has been written into the constitutions of both the state and the party, while the armed forces have officially enshrined his speeches and comments as Jiang Zemin Military Thoughts. A keen history buff, Mr Jiang appeared determined to follow the example of Deng Xiaoping, who installed him as China's top leader in June 1989. Deng resigned from the Central Military Commission in November 1989, two years after stepping down from the Politburo Standing Committee. In addition to stepping down as party secretary in 2002, Mr Jiang also left the Politburo Standing Committee.
The complete transition of power is a blessing for political and constitutional developments, as it marks the institutionalisation of the leadership succession - one of China's most complex and difficult political issues.
It is also a significant victory for Mr Hu, who consolidates his power as the undisputed leader of the state, party and armed forces.
But with Mr Jiang's allies taking up at least five seats in the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee, Mr Hu will probably have to govern through compromise and consensus. Mr Hu's elevation is unlikely to produce any major policy changes, as he has been a key player in the decision-making process for a number of years. He is expected to continue his populist approach, characteristic of the European socialists.
He has already tried to set down his own marker by advocating the agenda to "put the people first", and promising more help for the weak and poor.
Encouraged by the efforts of Mr Hu, and Premier Wen Jiabao, to boost transparency and accountability in the government, many overseas analysts have pinned their hopes on the president to accelerate political reforms by allowing more freedom of expression in both political ideas and the media.
But there have been few signs that he is heading in that direction. Instead, Mr Hu's plan for political reforms is merely aimed at shoring up the rule of the party.
Wang Xiangwei is the Post's China.editor.
WANG XIANGWEI
China's first orderly transfer of power since 1949 has come both as a surprise and a blessing. Jiang Zemin's decision to hand over the top military post to President Hu Jintao was a surprise to many party officials and analysts, who had expected him to cling to power for several more years.
There had been intense speculation about a power struggle between Mr Jiang and Mr Hu, with the so-called "two power centres" supposedly adversely affecting the policymaking process.
That could well explain why Xinhua published Mr Jiang's resignation letter and a long statement from the Central Committee, which highlighted the fact that he had intended to retire two years ago. He was asked to stay on because of his experience in handling foreign affairs and commanding the armed forces.
While there has been no official reason as to why Mr Jiang decided to step down at this particular time, some analysts have speculated that he was under increasing pressure, and may have health problems. Many see his failure to secure the appointment of Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, one of his close allies, as a deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission as an indicator of his waning influence.
But senior party sources say that the calls for him to step down were never strong enough to threaten his authority, and his health is good enough for a man of 78. And they have played down the supposed power struggle with Mr Hu, saying that both men shared similar views on foreign issues, mainland policy on Taiwan, and the direction of economic developments at home.
A more feasible explanation could be that after two years of observations, Mr Jiang is now convinced that his legacy and interests will be protected under Mr Hu.
His Theory of Three Represents has been written into the constitutions of both the state and the party, while the armed forces have officially enshrined his speeches and comments as Jiang Zemin Military Thoughts. A keen history buff, Mr Jiang appeared determined to follow the example of Deng Xiaoping, who installed him as China's top leader in June 1989. Deng resigned from the Central Military Commission in November 1989, two years after stepping down from the Politburo Standing Committee. In addition to stepping down as party secretary in 2002, Mr Jiang also left the Politburo Standing Committee.
The complete transition of power is a blessing for political and constitutional developments, as it marks the institutionalisation of the leadership succession - one of China's most complex and difficult political issues.
It is also a significant victory for Mr Hu, who consolidates his power as the undisputed leader of the state, party and armed forces.
But with Mr Jiang's allies taking up at least five seats in the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee, Mr Hu will probably have to govern through compromise and consensus. Mr Hu's elevation is unlikely to produce any major policy changes, as he has been a key player in the decision-making process for a number of years. He is expected to continue his populist approach, characteristic of the European socialists.
He has already tried to set down his own marker by advocating the agenda to "put the people first", and promising more help for the weak and poor.
Encouraged by the efforts of Mr Hu, and Premier Wen Jiabao, to boost transparency and accountability in the government, many overseas analysts have pinned their hopes on the president to accelerate political reforms by allowing more freedom of expression in both political ideas and the media.
But there have been few signs that he is heading in that direction. Instead, Mr Hu's plan for political reforms is merely aimed at shoring up the rule of the party.
Wang Xiangwei is the Post's China.editor.
Jiang cements legacy with wise departure
SCMP Editorial - Tuesday, September 21, 2004
The precise circumstances that led to the resignation of Jiang Zemin as military chief are difficult to discern. But the significance of his departure is clear. The Hu Jintao era has finally begun.
Rumours that Mr Jiang was preparing to step down, after 15 years at the top, were rife in the run-up to last week's meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. But until almost the last moment, it looked as though they had been exaggerated.
The suddenness of the former top leader's departure has fuelled speculation that it was prompted by a fierce power struggle. As is usual in the opaque world of Chinese politics, the true position is unclear.
But if his decision to go was the result of internal political wrangling, the skilfully stage-managed way in which it was made public certainly betrayed no sign of it. The emphasis was very much on unity and the merits of a smooth, harmonious transfer of power. The first orderly leadership succession since 1949 is complete.
Mr Jiang's term as chairman of the Central Military Commission was not due to end until 2007. But there had been calls for him to follow Deng Xiaoping's example, and step down early. Even Mr Hu dropped a strong hint recently, praising Deng's decision.
By stepping down, Mr Jiang has removed much of the uncertainty that arose from having two sources of power at the top level of the central government. Mr Hu now controls the party, the state - and the military. This can only improve the ability of the government to act decisively and coherently.
The fourth generation leaders, led by Mr Hu, will have a freer hand to pursue their own policies and to steer China in whichever direction they see fit.
Mr Jiang will still have considerable influence. At least five of the nine members of the powerful Standing Committee of the Politburo have been groomed by him. And he still enjoys strong support among the upper ranks of the military. But it seems unlikely that he will follow in the footsteps of Deng and wield power decisively from behind the scenes. Mr Jiang's right-hand man, Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, was not given a place on the newly constituted military commission, and this suggests that Mr Hu is now setting his own agenda.
The succession is also a sign that Mr Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao have successfully consolidated their grip on power. They defeated Sars and are doing their best to engineer a soft landing for the overheated economy. The leaders have also increased their popularity by presenting themselves as champions of the people.
But any changes in approach to both domestic and foreign affairs are likely to be subtle, at least in the short term.
The departure of Mr Jiang may make it easier for the leadership to rein in disgruntled provincial chiefs while pursuing economic measures intended to prevent soaring inflation.
There is some hope that Mr Hu will prove to be a little more flexible than his predecessor when dealing with Taiwan - and Hong Kong.
But the perception that the president is a liberal reformer intent on ushering in western-style democratic reforms is misplaced. There is nothing in his classic Communist Party background that suggests this. Only last week he warned that western-style political reforms would lead China into a blind alley.
Reforms can be expected as the party seeks to reaffirm its legitimacy at a time of testing social and economic challenges. But they are likely to be limited to tinkering with the party's structure.
Mr Jiang has certainly left his mark on modern Chinese history. As president, he presided over unprecedented economic growth. And he led the way as he took up Deng Xiaoping's challenge of opening up the country to the outside world.
The decision to step down early is a wise one. It will leave his legacy intact.
The precise circumstances that led to the resignation of Jiang Zemin as military chief are difficult to discern. But the significance of his departure is clear. The Hu Jintao era has finally begun.
Rumours that Mr Jiang was preparing to step down, after 15 years at the top, were rife in the run-up to last week's meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. But until almost the last moment, it looked as though they had been exaggerated.
The suddenness of the former top leader's departure has fuelled speculation that it was prompted by a fierce power struggle. As is usual in the opaque world of Chinese politics, the true position is unclear.
But if his decision to go was the result of internal political wrangling, the skilfully stage-managed way in which it was made public certainly betrayed no sign of it. The emphasis was very much on unity and the merits of a smooth, harmonious transfer of power. The first orderly leadership succession since 1949 is complete.
Mr Jiang's term as chairman of the Central Military Commission was not due to end until 2007. But there had been calls for him to follow Deng Xiaoping's example, and step down early. Even Mr Hu dropped a strong hint recently, praising Deng's decision.
By stepping down, Mr Jiang has removed much of the uncertainty that arose from having two sources of power at the top level of the central government. Mr Hu now controls the party, the state - and the military. This can only improve the ability of the government to act decisively and coherently.
The fourth generation leaders, led by Mr Hu, will have a freer hand to pursue their own policies and to steer China in whichever direction they see fit.
Mr Jiang will still have considerable influence. At least five of the nine members of the powerful Standing Committee of the Politburo have been groomed by him. And he still enjoys strong support among the upper ranks of the military. But it seems unlikely that he will follow in the footsteps of Deng and wield power decisively from behind the scenes. Mr Jiang's right-hand man, Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, was not given a place on the newly constituted military commission, and this suggests that Mr Hu is now setting his own agenda.
The succession is also a sign that Mr Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao have successfully consolidated their grip on power. They defeated Sars and are doing their best to engineer a soft landing for the overheated economy. The leaders have also increased their popularity by presenting themselves as champions of the people.
But any changes in approach to both domestic and foreign affairs are likely to be subtle, at least in the short term.
The departure of Mr Jiang may make it easier for the leadership to rein in disgruntled provincial chiefs while pursuing economic measures intended to prevent soaring inflation.
There is some hope that Mr Hu will prove to be a little more flexible than his predecessor when dealing with Taiwan - and Hong Kong.
But the perception that the president is a liberal reformer intent on ushering in western-style democratic reforms is misplaced. There is nothing in his classic Communist Party background that suggests this. Only last week he warned that western-style political reforms would lead China into a blind alley.
Reforms can be expected as the party seeks to reaffirm its legitimacy at a time of testing social and economic challenges. But they are likely to be limited to tinkering with the party's structure.
Mr Jiang has certainly left his mark on modern Chinese history. As president, he presided over unprecedented economic growth. And he led the way as he took up Deng Xiaoping's challenge of opening up the country to the outside world.
The decision to step down early is a wise one. It will leave his legacy intact.
Hu's succession ushers in new era of military power
scmp - Tuesday, September 21, 2004
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
The stage is set for China's transformation into a dominant military power with President Hu Jintao being handed control of the armed forces, analysts said yesterday.
One influential analyst said previous Central Military Commission chief Jiang Zemin had lost the support of senior military personnel because he was seen as lacking strategic vision and having focused on building wealth over power. However, "Mr Hu will correct that", the analyst said.
Before Mr Jiang's tenure as armed forces chief, late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping centred the country's defence policy on peace and development during the 1980s. He not only reduced the size of the armed forces, but also allowed army units to branch out into commercial ventures.
This practice came to an end in 1999, but the sliding economic and social status of military personnel amid the period of reforms and opening up showed that the armed forces had been long neglected.
In the early 1990s, the hi-tech military equipment used in the Gulf War galvanised mainland military officials into modernising.
Mr Jiang emphasised improving information technology and the hardware needed in a high-tech war. The air force and missile division received the lion's share of resources, while the proud traditional infantry lacked funding.
Discontent was widespread in the army because of Mr Jiang's emphasis on equipment and logistics. The former leader was also seen to be enriching his own family by putting his son in charge of military information technology.
However, Mr Hu favours putting the "people power" back in warfare and has emphasised the need for balanced development of the economy and military.
An analyst said: "The new emphasis is to stand Deng's idea of `economy first' on its head and let it be known that economic development must not come at the cost of building military strength."
This way of thinking appealed to the Communist Party Central Committee, the analyst said, as it realised the world had changed since Deng's days and China must be prepared to flex its military muscle when required.
Mr Hu, who heads the Taiwan Work Committee, has shown his determination to adopt an uncompromising approach to the island.
When the Taiwanese legislature was preparing to vote on the controversial referendum bill last November, Mr Hu attacked Taiwan affairs experts for failing to stay on top of the situation. Several weeks later, Zhou Mingwei, the deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, was transferred to an obscure post.
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
The stage is set for China's transformation into a dominant military power with President Hu Jintao being handed control of the armed forces, analysts said yesterday.
One influential analyst said previous Central Military Commission chief Jiang Zemin had lost the support of senior military personnel because he was seen as lacking strategic vision and having focused on building wealth over power. However, "Mr Hu will correct that", the analyst said.
Before Mr Jiang's tenure as armed forces chief, late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping centred the country's defence policy on peace and development during the 1980s. He not only reduced the size of the armed forces, but also allowed army units to branch out into commercial ventures.
This practice came to an end in 1999, but the sliding economic and social status of military personnel amid the period of reforms and opening up showed that the armed forces had been long neglected.
In the early 1990s, the hi-tech military equipment used in the Gulf War galvanised mainland military officials into modernising.
Mr Jiang emphasised improving information technology and the hardware needed in a high-tech war. The air force and missile division received the lion's share of resources, while the proud traditional infantry lacked funding.
Discontent was widespread in the army because of Mr Jiang's emphasis on equipment and logistics. The former leader was also seen to be enriching his own family by putting his son in charge of military information technology.
However, Mr Hu favours putting the "people power" back in warfare and has emphasised the need for balanced development of the economy and military.
An analyst said: "The new emphasis is to stand Deng's idea of `economy first' on its head and let it be known that economic development must not come at the cost of building military strength."
This way of thinking appealed to the Communist Party Central Committee, the analyst said, as it realised the world had changed since Deng's days and China must be prepared to flex its military muscle when required.
Mr Hu, who heads the Taiwan Work Committee, has shown his determination to adopt an uncompromising approach to the island.
When the Taiwanese legislature was preparing to vote on the controversial referendum bill last November, Mr Hu attacked Taiwan affairs experts for failing to stay on top of the situation. Several weeks later, Zhou Mingwei, the deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, was transferred to an obscure post.
Jiang's last order to PLA: Obey party and Hu
scmp - Tuesday, September 21, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
A day after retiring from China's top military post, Jiang Zemin told army chiefs yesterday to accept the leadership of the Communist Party and that of their new commander, President Hu Jintao .
Mr Jiang was shown on state television telling an expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that party leadership of the military was a matter of "life and death".
"I hope the military will forever and resolutely listen to the views of the party, go with the party and listen to the party's orders," Mr Jiang was quoted as saying.
"To accept the absolute leadership of the party is the basis of our military ... is a matter of life and death of our military, the existence of our party and the future of socialism. We must uphold the party's absolute leadership ... the military is the party's military."
Mr Jiang, 78, stepped down on Sunday as chairman of the CMC, his last official post. He handed over control of the 2.5 million-strong nuclear-armed military to Mr Hu during a high-level party meeting. Mr Hu replaced Mr Jiang as party boss in 2002.
Mr Jiang, who led China for 15 years, praised his own role in stepping down and easing "a smooth transfer to the younger leadership".
He urged the military to fall in behind Mr Hu, 61. "The Central Committee's decision to choose Hu Jintao is a correct one. Everyone should embrace this decision."
Gathered at the meeting was the full military brass, including Xu Caihou , who replaced Mr Hu as a CMC vice-chairman, and the two other vice-chairmen, Guo Bo-xiong and Minister of Defence Cao Gangchuan .
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
A day after retiring from China's top military post, Jiang Zemin told army chiefs yesterday to accept the leadership of the Communist Party and that of their new commander, President Hu Jintao .
Mr Jiang was shown on state television telling an expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that party leadership of the military was a matter of "life and death".
"I hope the military will forever and resolutely listen to the views of the party, go with the party and listen to the party's orders," Mr Jiang was quoted as saying.
"To accept the absolute leadership of the party is the basis of our military ... is a matter of life and death of our military, the existence of our party and the future of socialism. We must uphold the party's absolute leadership ... the military is the party's military."
Mr Jiang, 78, stepped down on Sunday as chairman of the CMC, his last official post. He handed over control of the 2.5 million-strong nuclear-armed military to Mr Hu during a high-level party meeting. Mr Hu replaced Mr Jiang as party boss in 2002.
Mr Jiang, who led China for 15 years, praised his own role in stepping down and easing "a smooth transfer to the younger leadership".
He urged the military to fall in behind Mr Hu, 61. "The Central Committee's decision to choose Hu Jintao is a correct one. Everyone should embrace this decision."
Gathered at the meeting was the full military brass, including Xu Caihou , who replaced Mr Hu as a CMC vice-chairman, and the two other vice-chairmen, Guo Bo-xiong and Minister of Defence Cao Gangchuan .
New deputy has ideal credentials
scmp - Monday, September 20, 2004
IRENE WANG
Xu Caihou - the 61-year-old native of Liaoning province who will step into the position of Central Military Commission vice-chairman vacated by President Hu Jintao - has a strong background in political work within the People's Liberation Army.
He also serves as director-general of the PLA's General Political Department.
Mr Xu joined the army in 1963, graduating from the Harbin Institute of Military Engineering's electronics engineering department in Heilongjiang in 1968 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1971.
Mr Xu spent the early years of his military life in the Jilin military district and Shenyang military region before being made a trainee at the PLA Institute of Political Sciences.
At 39, he was made director of the Jilin military district's personnel division and political department's retirees office.
Between 1992 and 1996, he took on posts as assistant and deputy director of the PLA's General Political Department and was named director of the Liberation Army Daily.
He then served four years as political commissar of the Jinan military region before joining army headquarters.
Mr Xu's rise continued and he was appointed to the post of PLA General Political Department executive deputy director in 1999.
He has served as director-general of that department since 2002.
IRENE WANG
Xu Caihou - the 61-year-old native of Liaoning province who will step into the position of Central Military Commission vice-chairman vacated by President Hu Jintao - has a strong background in political work within the People's Liberation Army.
He also serves as director-general of the PLA's General Political Department.
Mr Xu joined the army in 1963, graduating from the Harbin Institute of Military Engineering's electronics engineering department in Heilongjiang in 1968 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1971.
Mr Xu spent the early years of his military life in the Jilin military district and Shenyang military region before being made a trainee at the PLA Institute of Political Sciences.
At 39, he was made director of the Jilin military district's personnel division and political department's retirees office.
Between 1992 and 1996, he took on posts as assistant and deputy director of the PLA's General Political Department and was named director of the Liberation Army Daily.
He then served four years as political commissar of the Jinan military region before joining army headquarters.
Mr Xu's rise continued and he was appointed to the post of PLA General Political Department executive deputy director in 1999.
He has served as director-general of that department since 2002.
Former leader will fade swiftly from the scene, analysts say
scmp - Monday, September 20, 2004
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing and IRENE WANG
Jiang Zemin's resignation was yesterday greeted with relief by mainland analysts, who predicted the former leader would quickly fade away from the political scene.
"It was only a matter of time before the party's general secretary assumed control of the military. A divided leadership, for whatever reason, could only be short term," said Shen Baoxiang , a professor at the Central Party School.
He said it was only normal that President Hu Jintao , who became party chief two years ago, assumed full power as head of the party and of the state.
Mr Jiang's retirement would also lead to the scrapping of the practice of senior leaders enjoying life-tenure terms in office, he said.
Mr Hu won approval for his handling of the Sars crisis, during which he sacked several top officials and ordered full disclosure.
His close-to-the-people style, compared with Mr Jiang's reserve, also scored well with the people and met the approval of party elders, who pressured Mr Jiang to step down, analysts said.
Former defence minister Chi Huotian , for example, penned an article in the party publication Seeking Truth, praising Deng Xiaoping for relinquishing all his party posts "unlike some unsavoury people".
Although Deng continued wielding considerable power after retirement, Mr Jiang was likely to fade from the scene much faster, they said.
Liu Xiaobo, a prominent dissident writer, said Mr Jiang followed the path laid down by Deng. "The 13 years under Jiang was a time of stagnation and growing corruption," he said.
Until now, Mr Hu was seen as hobbled by an incomplete power transfer. Now that he has political and military power, he must justify people's trust in him with actions and results, said Zhao Dagong , a popular writer and commentator.
Yesterday, all portal websites on the mainland focused on the power transfer.
Internet chat rooms were filled with messages welcoming Mr Jiang's resignation while applauding his performance.
Many also expressed support for Mr Hu.
Some people also urged Mr Hu to take over Taiwan before his term ends. "Strengthen the military contribution and reunite Taiwan as early as possible," one comment said. The student-controlled chat room at Peking University remained closed after being blocked last week.
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing and IRENE WANG
Jiang Zemin's resignation was yesterday greeted with relief by mainland analysts, who predicted the former leader would quickly fade away from the political scene.
"It was only a matter of time before the party's general secretary assumed control of the military. A divided leadership, for whatever reason, could only be short term," said Shen Baoxiang , a professor at the Central Party School.
He said it was only normal that President Hu Jintao , who became party chief two years ago, assumed full power as head of the party and of the state.
Mr Jiang's retirement would also lead to the scrapping of the practice of senior leaders enjoying life-tenure terms in office, he said.
Mr Hu won approval for his handling of the Sars crisis, during which he sacked several top officials and ordered full disclosure.
His close-to-the-people style, compared with Mr Jiang's reserve, also scored well with the people and met the approval of party elders, who pressured Mr Jiang to step down, analysts said.
Former defence minister Chi Huotian , for example, penned an article in the party publication Seeking Truth, praising Deng Xiaoping for relinquishing all his party posts "unlike some unsavoury people".
Although Deng continued wielding considerable power after retirement, Mr Jiang was likely to fade from the scene much faster, they said.
Liu Xiaobo, a prominent dissident writer, said Mr Jiang followed the path laid down by Deng. "The 13 years under Jiang was a time of stagnation and growing corruption," he said.
Until now, Mr Hu was seen as hobbled by an incomplete power transfer. Now that he has political and military power, he must justify people's trust in him with actions and results, said Zhao Dagong , a popular writer and commentator.
Yesterday, all portal websites on the mainland focused on the power transfer.
Internet chat rooms were filled with messages welcoming Mr Jiang's resignation while applauding his performance.
Many also expressed support for Mr Hu.
Some people also urged Mr Hu to take over Taiwan before his term ends. "Strengthen the military contribution and reunite Taiwan as early as possible," one comment said. The student-controlled chat room at Peking University remained closed after being blocked last week.
Passing of power closes key chapter in history
scmp- Monday, September 20, 2004
STAFF REPORTER
Jiang Zemin's retirement brings an end to an important chapter in modern China's political history.
He had been expected to hand full power to his successor, Hu Jintao , starting at the 16th Communist Party Congress in November 2002.
But while he passed on the party secretary post - and then the presidency in March last year - he retained the powerful position of military chief.
The belated completion of the power transfer may have helped the 78-year-old realise his ambition of being remembered on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping . In the past two years he had been under fire for retaining the position while all other leaders from the Third Generation, including Li Peng and Zhu Rongji , chose to bow out completely last March.
Mr Jiang surprised many by surviving several critical power challenges at home and politically outlived his rivals, from retired general Yang Baibing to former National People's Congress chiefs Qiao Shi and Mr Li.
He was initially viewed as a transitional figure in the first years after Deng picked him to replace the disgraced Zhao Ziyang after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, but he held on to oversee China's rise to the world stage.
He cemented his place in China's history by having his political doctrine, the Theory of the Three Represents, written into the constitution this year. The theory, which now sits alongside Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, will ensure Mr Jiang 's influence is felt for years.
The former president also basked in the limelight during a record four visits to the US and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Shanghai in 2001, where he hosted 18 leaders and enjoyed extensive international media coverage.
Mr Jiang was credited with securing China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2001 and the successful bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while his top economic aide, former premier Mr Zhu, won praise for China's break-neck economic performance.
With foreign policy aide Qian Qichen's help, Mr Jiang has also been credited with breaking the diplomatic isolation China faced after 1989 and overseeing the creation of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, while managing various crises in relations with the US and Taiwan.
However, he was never short of enemies, ranging from political opponents within the party who disliked his high-profile style, to Falun Gong followers who accused him of suppressing the sect.
Critics say one main failure was the lack of reforms to the political system, especially the need to introduce more checks and balances. A Beijing professor said Mr Jiang was more interested in ideology.
"He attached a lot of importance to ideology, political propaganda and political loyalty, and the Theory of the Three Represents," the professor said. "Principles are important, but they will not work if rules and regulations are missing."
However, it may not be fair to blame Mr Jiang alone for the slow political reform because he never held paramount power within the party as Mao and Deng did. He was overshadowed by Deng for years, even after his full retirement, and had to compromise with party hardliners. Even now it is too early to say what his place in China's history will be.
"It's like the history of China's civil war. With more television programmes dealing with that part of the history. We have found out a lot more and that has taken us closer to what actually happened," said a teacher from Chengdu .
The rise and rise of Jiang Zemin
STAFF REPORTER
Jiang Zemin's retirement brings an end to an important chapter in modern China's political history.
He had been expected to hand full power to his successor, Hu Jintao , starting at the 16th Communist Party Congress in November 2002.
But while he passed on the party secretary post - and then the presidency in March last year - he retained the powerful position of military chief.
The belated completion of the power transfer may have helped the 78-year-old realise his ambition of being remembered on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping . In the past two years he had been under fire for retaining the position while all other leaders from the Third Generation, including Li Peng and Zhu Rongji , chose to bow out completely last March.
Mr Jiang surprised many by surviving several critical power challenges at home and politically outlived his rivals, from retired general Yang Baibing to former National People's Congress chiefs Qiao Shi and Mr Li.
He was initially viewed as a transitional figure in the first years after Deng picked him to replace the disgraced Zhao Ziyang after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, but he held on to oversee China's rise to the world stage.
He cemented his place in China's history by having his political doctrine, the Theory of the Three Represents, written into the constitution this year. The theory, which now sits alongside Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, will ensure Mr Jiang 's influence is felt for years.
The former president also basked in the limelight during a record four visits to the US and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Shanghai in 2001, where he hosted 18 leaders and enjoyed extensive international media coverage.
Mr Jiang was credited with securing China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2001 and the successful bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while his top economic aide, former premier Mr Zhu, won praise for China's break-neck economic performance.
With foreign policy aide Qian Qichen's help, Mr Jiang has also been credited with breaking the diplomatic isolation China faced after 1989 and overseeing the creation of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, while managing various crises in relations with the US and Taiwan.
However, he was never short of enemies, ranging from political opponents within the party who disliked his high-profile style, to Falun Gong followers who accused him of suppressing the sect.
Critics say one main failure was the lack of reforms to the political system, especially the need to introduce more checks and balances. A Beijing professor said Mr Jiang was more interested in ideology.
"He attached a lot of importance to ideology, political propaganda and political loyalty, and the Theory of the Three Represents," the professor said. "Principles are important, but they will not work if rules and regulations are missing."
However, it may not be fair to blame Mr Jiang alone for the slow political reform because he never held paramount power within the party as Mao and Deng did. He was overshadowed by Deng for years, even after his full retirement, and had to compromise with party hardliners. Even now it is too early to say what his place in China's history will be.
"It's like the history of China's civil war. With more television programmes dealing with that part of the history. We have found out a lot more and that has taken us closer to what actually happened," said a teacher from Chengdu .
The rise and rise of Jiang Zemin
A decision made with no strings attached confounds the critics
scmp - Monday, September 20, 2004
ANALYSIS by WANG XIANGWEI
After days of intense speculation, Jiang Zemin confounded his critics and detractors by stepping down as chairman of the Central Military Commission - without any conditions attached.
Earlier, many had criticised him for clinging to power at the age of 78 and refusing to step down.
Sources said his retirement was unconditional, contrary to speculation that he had made the appointment of Vice-President Zeng Qinghong as a deputy chairman of the commission one condition of his departure.
Sources said Mr Jiang was not forced to step down and his health was basically good for a man of his age.
"His stepping down was voluntary," one source said.
Xinhua yesterday published an announcement of Mr Jiang's resignation, apparently aimed at dispelling speculation about a looming power struggle between him and President Hu Jintao and reports of his reluctance to step down.
Mr Jiang said he had wanted to retire from his last post since November 2002 when he resigned from the top party post, but he was asked to stay on for two years.
His departure will earn him a unique place in Chinese history for engineering and overseeing the mainland's first orderly transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Hu, 61, assumes absolute power at what the official media call a crucial period for the Communist Party and for the country as a whole.
The blueprint on how to strengthen the party's governing power, discussed and passed at the Central Committee plenum yesterday, will give Mr Hu a mandate to introduce increased transparency and accountability to make the party stronger and fitter to rule in a fast-changing society.
It will also give him the opportunity to consolidate his power and set down a marker on how he will take the party and country forward. Since Mr Hu came to power, he has displayed a fresh governing style, markedly different to that of Mr Jiang's.
While Mr Jiang's style was rigid, and he believed economic growth should take top priority, Mr Hu's is flexible and more practical, advocating a Putting the People First policy and arguing that economic growth should be promoted in tandem with environmental protection and protection of the weak and poor.
Many analysts had expected Mr Hu to undertake much-delayed political reforms, which they said were hampering the mainland's economic development.
But sources have said it would be wrong to assume the reforms would eventually lead to freedom of speech and the press as many have hoped.
"Mr Hu ... will do whatever it takes to enhance the control of the party, even if that means he will have to undertake the necessary political reforms," one source said.
ANALYSIS by WANG XIANGWEI
After days of intense speculation, Jiang Zemin confounded his critics and detractors by stepping down as chairman of the Central Military Commission - without any conditions attached.
Earlier, many had criticised him for clinging to power at the age of 78 and refusing to step down.
Sources said his retirement was unconditional, contrary to speculation that he had made the appointment of Vice-President Zeng Qinghong as a deputy chairman of the commission one condition of his departure.
Sources said Mr Jiang was not forced to step down and his health was basically good for a man of his age.
"His stepping down was voluntary," one source said.
Xinhua yesterday published an announcement of Mr Jiang's resignation, apparently aimed at dispelling speculation about a looming power struggle between him and President Hu Jintao and reports of his reluctance to step down.
Mr Jiang said he had wanted to retire from his last post since November 2002 when he resigned from the top party post, but he was asked to stay on for two years.
His departure will earn him a unique place in Chinese history for engineering and overseeing the mainland's first orderly transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Hu, 61, assumes absolute power at what the official media call a crucial period for the Communist Party and for the country as a whole.
The blueprint on how to strengthen the party's governing power, discussed and passed at the Central Committee plenum yesterday, will give Mr Hu a mandate to introduce increased transparency and accountability to make the party stronger and fitter to rule in a fast-changing society.
It will also give him the opportunity to consolidate his power and set down a marker on how he will take the party and country forward. Since Mr Hu came to power, he has displayed a fresh governing style, markedly different to that of Mr Jiang's.
While Mr Jiang's style was rigid, and he believed economic growth should take top priority, Mr Hu's is flexible and more practical, advocating a Putting the People First policy and arguing that economic growth should be promoted in tandem with environmental protection and protection of the weak and poor.
Many analysts had expected Mr Hu to undertake much-delayed political reforms, which they said were hampering the mainland's economic development.
But sources have said it would be wrong to assume the reforms would eventually lead to freedom of speech and the press as many have hoped.
"Mr Hu ... will do whatever it takes to enhance the control of the party, even if that means he will have to undertake the necessary political reforms," one source said.
Jiang's departure sees the curtain rise on a new era
SCMP - Monday, September 20, 2004
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
A new era began on the mainland yesterday, with Jiang Zemin giving up his last post as chairman of the Central Military Commission to make way for President Hu Jintao, completing the first orderly transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Jiang's resignation was accepted by the Central Committee, which praised him for his 15-year service as the country's top leader.
Details of the resignation were released in a statement issued by Xinhua and other major state media after the plenum of the Central Committee.
President Hu Jintao was elected the commission chairman, becoming the mainland's undisputed leader commanding the party, state and armed forces. Xu Caihou , head of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, has been appointed as a new deputy chairman and four other new members were added to the commission in a major reshuffle.
In his resignation letter, dated September 1, submitted to the Politburo and published by Xinhua, Mr Jiang stated that he had intended to retire two years ago. But he was retained by the Central Committee in view of the complexity of the international situation and the need to build a military capability.
In the letter, he expressed his full confidence in Mr Hu.
Allowing Mr Hu to assume the chairmanship of the commission was also beneficial for the party to "maintain the basic principle and system of [it] exercising absolute control of the armed forces".
Following the close of the four-day plenum, a smiling and waving Mr Jiang said a short farewell to the Central Committee members, accompanied by Mr Hu and other leaders, CCTV reported.
Mr Jiang thanked the Central Committee for accepting his resignation and said he was convinced the party would score bigger and bigger victories under the leadership of President Hu.
Mr Hu praised Mr Jiang for his "outstanding contribution to the party, the state and the people" and thanked him for his support and assistance to the nation's new collective leadership.
At the end of the plenum, the Central Committee also approved a document on how to strengthen the Communist Party's capabilities to rule at a "critical juncture" for the party as rapid changes in Chinese society and new challenges worldwide place demands on a competent leadership.
But the agenda had been overshadowed by speculation over whether Mr Jiang, 78, would hand over the military chairmanship to Mr Hu, 61, after already having retired from his posts as the party's general secretary and as state president at the 16th party congress two years ago.
Reflecting the emphasis placed on military preparedness for a reunification with Taiwan, the Central Military Commission membership was expanded to 11.
The new members are Zhang Dingfa , commander of the navy, Qiao Qingchen , commander of the air force, Jing Zhiyuan , commander of the Second Artillery Corp or the missile forces of the PLA, and Chen Bingde , commander-in-chief of Jinan military region.
Lieutenant-General Chen, before taking his post in Jinan, had been commander-in-chief of Nanjing military region, under which the fighting forces were arrayed across the Taiwan Strait.
The Central Committee approved a decision to expel Tian Fengshan, former minister of land and natural resources from the committee for taking 5 million yuan in bribes, paving the way for him to face prosecution.
NAILENE CHOU WIEST in Beijing
A new era began on the mainland yesterday, with Jiang Zemin giving up his last post as chairman of the Central Military Commission to make way for President Hu Jintao, completing the first orderly transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Jiang's resignation was accepted by the Central Committee, which praised him for his 15-year service as the country's top leader.
Details of the resignation were released in a statement issued by Xinhua and other major state media after the plenum of the Central Committee.
President Hu Jintao was elected the commission chairman, becoming the mainland's undisputed leader commanding the party, state and armed forces. Xu Caihou , head of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, has been appointed as a new deputy chairman and four other new members were added to the commission in a major reshuffle.
In his resignation letter, dated September 1, submitted to the Politburo and published by Xinhua, Mr Jiang stated that he had intended to retire two years ago. But he was retained by the Central Committee in view of the complexity of the international situation and the need to build a military capability.
In the letter, he expressed his full confidence in Mr Hu.
Allowing Mr Hu to assume the chairmanship of the commission was also beneficial for the party to "maintain the basic principle and system of [it] exercising absolute control of the armed forces".
Following the close of the four-day plenum, a smiling and waving Mr Jiang said a short farewell to the Central Committee members, accompanied by Mr Hu and other leaders, CCTV reported.
Mr Jiang thanked the Central Committee for accepting his resignation and said he was convinced the party would score bigger and bigger victories under the leadership of President Hu.
Mr Hu praised Mr Jiang for his "outstanding contribution to the party, the state and the people" and thanked him for his support and assistance to the nation's new collective leadership.
At the end of the plenum, the Central Committee also approved a document on how to strengthen the Communist Party's capabilities to rule at a "critical juncture" for the party as rapid changes in Chinese society and new challenges worldwide place demands on a competent leadership.
But the agenda had been overshadowed by speculation over whether Mr Jiang, 78, would hand over the military chairmanship to Mr Hu, 61, after already having retired from his posts as the party's general secretary and as state president at the 16th party congress two years ago.
Reflecting the emphasis placed on military preparedness for a reunification with Taiwan, the Central Military Commission membership was expanded to 11.
The new members are Zhang Dingfa , commander of the navy, Qiao Qingchen , commander of the air force, Jing Zhiyuan , commander of the Second Artillery Corp or the missile forces of the PLA, and Chen Bingde , commander-in-chief of Jinan military region.
Lieutenant-General Chen, before taking his post in Jinan, had been commander-in-chief of Nanjing military region, under which the fighting forces were arrayed across the Taiwan Strait.
The Central Committee approved a decision to expel Tian Fengshan, former minister of land and natural resources from the committee for taking 5 million yuan in bribes, paving the way for him to face prosecution.
IMF chief urges US to control deficit saying it puts world at risk
SCMP - Saturday, September 18, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Madrid
The head of the International Monetary Fund urged the US yesterday to limit its gaping budget deficit, which he said threatens the world economy.
IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato also predicted robust global economic growth next year and insisted that terrorism rather than the war in Iraq posed the greater risk to Middle East stability.
Correcting "the budgetary expansion in the United States is indispensable", Mr Rato said on Spanish radio.
"This imbalance is one of the risks for the world economy," he said.
"But it's not the only risk. The lack of growth in Europe is another."
The US Congressional Budget Office reported earlier this month that the US government budget deficit would come to a record US$422 billion - 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product - for the fiscal year to September 30.
Economists and analysts fear that a sustained US budget shortfall will drive up global interest rates, and thereby dampen growth, as the US borrows huge amounts of money to finance the deficit.
Mr Rato in the same interview also praised US Federal Reserve authorities for what he said was a "return to normal" in monetary policy.
"They're doing it very well and everyone knows it," he said, adding that global markets and emerging economies now realise that "US monetary expansion is coming to an end".
"That suggests that the US economy does not need any special stimulation."
The US Federal Reserve is trying to bring interest rates back to a more normal level after a period of unusually low rates that were designed to stimulate a sluggish economy.
The US central bank's policymakers are expected to boost the key rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday.
The European economies, Mr Rato emphasised, "are doing better than last year and have a fresh opportunity that they should not miss".
He stressed that Europe should take advantage of "a recovery in demand" to carry out reforms and reduce their public deficits, which under euro-zone regulations should be kept below 3 per cent of gross domestic product.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Madrid
The head of the International Monetary Fund urged the US yesterday to limit its gaping budget deficit, which he said threatens the world economy.
IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato also predicted robust global economic growth next year and insisted that terrorism rather than the war in Iraq posed the greater risk to Middle East stability.
Correcting "the budgetary expansion in the United States is indispensable", Mr Rato said on Spanish radio.
"This imbalance is one of the risks for the world economy," he said.
"But it's not the only risk. The lack of growth in Europe is another."
The US Congressional Budget Office reported earlier this month that the US government budget deficit would come to a record US$422 billion - 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product - for the fiscal year to September 30.
Economists and analysts fear that a sustained US budget shortfall will drive up global interest rates, and thereby dampen growth, as the US borrows huge amounts of money to finance the deficit.
Mr Rato in the same interview also praised US Federal Reserve authorities for what he said was a "return to normal" in monetary policy.
"They're doing it very well and everyone knows it," he said, adding that global markets and emerging economies now realise that "US monetary expansion is coming to an end".
"That suggests that the US economy does not need any special stimulation."
The US Federal Reserve is trying to bring interest rates back to a more normal level after a period of unusually low rates that were designed to stimulate a sluggish economy.
The US central bank's policymakers are expected to boost the key rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday.
The European economies, Mr Rato emphasised, "are doing better than last year and have a fresh opportunity that they should not miss".
He stressed that Europe should take advantage of "a recovery in demand" to carry out reforms and reduce their public deficits, which under euro-zone regulations should be kept below 3 per cent of gross domestic product.
Jiang quits last post, giving Hu full power
SCMP - Saturday, September 18, 2004
WANG XIANGWEI
Jiang Zemin is to step down tomorrow as chairman of the Central Military Commission to make way for President Hu Jintao to become the mainland's undisputed leader. The switch will complete the mainland's first peaceful transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Jiang, 78, handed in his resignation at the plenum of the Communist Party's Central Committee which began on Thursday, according to party sources. Committee members are expected to approve his resignation and elect Mr Hu as chairman tomorrow - the last day of the meeting - after which a formal announcement will be made.
Mr Jiang's resignation and Mr Hu's elevation bring to a successful conclusion a transfer of power that began in November 2002 when Mr Jiang stood down as the party's secretary-general in favour of Mr Hu, who then took over the presidency from Mr Jiang in March last year.
Mr Hu, 61, will now have command over the party, the state and the armed forces.
Mr Jiang's resignation, the subject of intense speculation in recent days, will come as a genuine surprise to the many senior mainland officials and analysts who had predicted he would hold on to the post for at least two more years to ensure political and social stability.
Party sources said his decision could put him on a par with late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping . Deng resigned as Central Military Commission chairman in November 1989 in favour of Mr Jiang, five months after making him the party's secretary-general.
Mr Jiang's decision signalled he was convinced his legacy would be protected under the leadership of Mr Hu, sources said.
Despite his retirement, they said, Mr Jiang would probably continue to wield considerable influence behind the scenes, just as Deng did after his retirement. At least five of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee - the mainland's highest decision-making body - are considered close allies of Mr Jiang. They include the vice-president, vice-premier Huang Ju and the party's propaganda chief.
One source said: "Hu will not become a paramount leader like Deng. Leadership under him is a collective one and whoever has the majority of votes will have the upper hand."
The sources said it remained unclear whether Vice-President Zeng Qinghong would be made a deputy chairman of the commission at the plenum. Some reports suggest Mr Jiang made Mr Zeng's appointment a condition of stepping down.
The commission, which until now had eight members, looks certain to be enlarged with the addition of three members - probably the commanders of the navy, air force and the PLA's missile forces.
Mr Jiang's retirement is unlikely to produce any major changes in domestic or foreign policies. But as Mr Hu continues to consolidate his power and make his mark, subtle changes can be expected.
"Mr Hu and other leaders are expected to be more practical and more flexible, particularly on the mainland's foreign policy as well as its policies towards Hong Kong and Taiwan," one source said.
WANG XIANGWEI
Jiang Zemin is to step down tomorrow as chairman of the Central Military Commission to make way for President Hu Jintao to become the mainland's undisputed leader. The switch will complete the mainland's first peaceful transfer of power since 1949.
Mr Jiang, 78, handed in his resignation at the plenum of the Communist Party's Central Committee which began on Thursday, according to party sources. Committee members are expected to approve his resignation and elect Mr Hu as chairman tomorrow - the last day of the meeting - after which a formal announcement will be made.
Mr Jiang's resignation and Mr Hu's elevation bring to a successful conclusion a transfer of power that began in November 2002 when Mr Jiang stood down as the party's secretary-general in favour of Mr Hu, who then took over the presidency from Mr Jiang in March last year.
Mr Hu, 61, will now have command over the party, the state and the armed forces.
Mr Jiang's resignation, the subject of intense speculation in recent days, will come as a genuine surprise to the many senior mainland officials and analysts who had predicted he would hold on to the post for at least two more years to ensure political and social stability.
Party sources said his decision could put him on a par with late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping . Deng resigned as Central Military Commission chairman in November 1989 in favour of Mr Jiang, five months after making him the party's secretary-general.
Mr Jiang's decision signalled he was convinced his legacy would be protected under the leadership of Mr Hu, sources said.
Despite his retirement, they said, Mr Jiang would probably continue to wield considerable influence behind the scenes, just as Deng did after his retirement. At least five of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee - the mainland's highest decision-making body - are considered close allies of Mr Jiang. They include the vice-president, vice-premier Huang Ju and the party's propaganda chief.
One source said: "Hu will not become a paramount leader like Deng. Leadership under him is a collective one and whoever has the majority of votes will have the upper hand."
The sources said it remained unclear whether Vice-President Zeng Qinghong would be made a deputy chairman of the commission at the plenum. Some reports suggest Mr Jiang made Mr Zeng's appointment a condition of stepping down.
The commission, which until now had eight members, looks certain to be enlarged with the addition of three members - probably the commanders of the navy, air force and the PLA's missile forces.
Mr Jiang's retirement is unlikely to produce any major changes in domestic or foreign policies. But as Mr Hu continues to consolidate his power and make his mark, subtle changes can be expected.
"Mr Hu and other leaders are expected to be more practical and more flexible, particularly on the mainland's foreign policy as well as its policies towards Hong Kong and Taiwan," one source said.
Rise in wealth will force democracy on China 'in decades'
scmp - Friday, September 17, 2004
PETER KAMMERER
Rising prosperity and education levels would push China to democracy within decades, a leading proponent of the political system predicted yesterday.
American expert on democracy in Asia, Larry Diamond, said the mainland's leaders had to accept the inevitability "or there's going to be one massive, debilitating crisis in China".
Dr Diamond was speaking a day after President Hu Jintao told a rally in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of the National People's Congress that western-style democracy was a "blind alley" for China.
Despite this, the senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy and author/editor of more than 20 books was willing to take a gamble with members of the Asia Society in Hong Kong.
"I'm 53 years old and I will make you a bet that before I die, China will be a democracy," he said.
Dr Diamond explained that the pluralism and social problems emerging as a result of economic development combined with corruption made the mainland's system of autocratic governance unsustainable.
Any thoughts by the leadership that they could make a "soft landing" from a one-party system by adopting one similar to Singapore's were misguided, he said.
"Increasingly, as China becomes better educated and more prosperous with more sources of diversity and independent organisations ... the Communist Party will find itself under mounting pressure for democratic change," Dr Diamond said.
"Either this is going to happen in stages with competitive elections at the village level moving up to the township, country, provincial and ultimately the national levels - with much more scope for an independent judiciary and civil society, or there's going to be one, massive debilitating crisis in China."
The researcher also expressed concern about the state of democracy in Taiwan. Before March's presidential election, he believed Taiwan to be among east Asia's most promising democracies, but he now had reservations.
The assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian - whether genuine or staged for political gain as suggested by the opposition - had clearly swung the result of the poll. This had put the legitimacy of the government in doubt.
"Taiwan was doing fairly well, but I'm now very worried about the degree of political polarisation there," he said.
PETER KAMMERER
Rising prosperity and education levels would push China to democracy within decades, a leading proponent of the political system predicted yesterday.
American expert on democracy in Asia, Larry Diamond, said the mainland's leaders had to accept the inevitability "or there's going to be one massive, debilitating crisis in China".
Dr Diamond was speaking a day after President Hu Jintao told a rally in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of the National People's Congress that western-style democracy was a "blind alley" for China.
Despite this, the senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy and author/editor of more than 20 books was willing to take a gamble with members of the Asia Society in Hong Kong.
"I'm 53 years old and I will make you a bet that before I die, China will be a democracy," he said.
Dr Diamond explained that the pluralism and social problems emerging as a result of economic development combined with corruption made the mainland's system of autocratic governance unsustainable.
Any thoughts by the leadership that they could make a "soft landing" from a one-party system by adopting one similar to Singapore's were misguided, he said.
"Increasingly, as China becomes better educated and more prosperous with more sources of diversity and independent organisations ... the Communist Party will find itself under mounting pressure for democratic change," Dr Diamond said.
"Either this is going to happen in stages with competitive elections at the village level moving up to the township, country, provincial and ultimately the national levels - with much more scope for an independent judiciary and civil society, or there's going to be one, massive debilitating crisis in China."
The researcher also expressed concern about the state of democracy in Taiwan. Before March's presidential election, he believed Taiwan to be among east Asia's most promising democracies, but he now had reservations.
The assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian - whether genuine or staged for political gain as suggested by the opposition - had clearly swung the result of the poll. This had put the legitimacy of the government in doubt.
"Taiwan was doing fairly well, but I'm now very worried about the degree of political polarisation there," he said.
WHO urges Beijing to establish code of ethics on food safety
scmp - Wednesday, September 15, 2004
EVA WOO in Shanghai
WHO officials have urged China and the rest of Asia to implement more effective measures to improve food safety, after a scandal involving substandard infant formula on the mainland earlier this year left at least 12 babies dead.
"China should build up its national food-control system, with basic elements like laws, inspections and an understanding of contamination levels," Tony Hazzard, a food-safety adviser to the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific regional office, said on the sidelines of a meeting in Shanghai.
WHO Western Pacific director Shigeru Omi urged countries to share information, allowing the food industry, regulators and consumers to work together. Dr Omi also appealed for more attention towards animal health, saying the WHO was becoming increasingly concerned about bird flu.
Public attention has been focused on food safety on the mainland in recent months, with a number of official media reports exposing problems in products ranging from milk powder to rice dumplings, soy sauce and moon cakes.
WHO food safety expert Gerald Moy said the central government should play the role of a goal-keeper to keep fake or low-quality food products from entering the market by setting standards and a code of ethics for the industry.
"After China's efforts to feed its large population with food, the next phase for China now is to provide safer food for its people," Dr Moy said.
He added rapid economic growth had left the mainland with serious environmental problems and more food-borne diseases.
Still, experts praised China's efforts to date. In the wake of the Anhui baby milk scandal, authorities have punished the local officials responsible and moved to crack down on sub-standard food products. "China is taking the right steps forward," Mr Hazzard said.
Beijing has also created a new State Food and Drug Administration to co-ordinate and take responsibility for food safety.
Hong Kong's director of health, Lam Ping-yan, played down concerns over contaminated mainland food entering the city, saying a strong surveillance system and a series of checks would ensure food safety.
"We keep track of all imported food, including poultry from the mainland, and we try to make sure food is safe through the whole chain," Dr Lam said. "We even send officials to mainland farms to carry out inspections before importing."
EVA WOO in Shanghai
WHO officials have urged China and the rest of Asia to implement more effective measures to improve food safety, after a scandal involving substandard infant formula on the mainland earlier this year left at least 12 babies dead.
"China should build up its national food-control system, with basic elements like laws, inspections and an understanding of contamination levels," Tony Hazzard, a food-safety adviser to the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific regional office, said on the sidelines of a meeting in Shanghai.
WHO Western Pacific director Shigeru Omi urged countries to share information, allowing the food industry, regulators and consumers to work together. Dr Omi also appealed for more attention towards animal health, saying the WHO was becoming increasingly concerned about bird flu.
Public attention has been focused on food safety on the mainland in recent months, with a number of official media reports exposing problems in products ranging from milk powder to rice dumplings, soy sauce and moon cakes.
WHO food safety expert Gerald Moy said the central government should play the role of a goal-keeper to keep fake or low-quality food products from entering the market by setting standards and a code of ethics for the industry.
"After China's efforts to feed its large population with food, the next phase for China now is to provide safer food for its people," Dr Moy said.
He added rapid economic growth had left the mainland with serious environmental problems and more food-borne diseases.
Still, experts praised China's efforts to date. In the wake of the Anhui baby milk scandal, authorities have punished the local officials responsible and moved to crack down on sub-standard food products. "China is taking the right steps forward," Mr Hazzard said.
Beijing has also created a new State Food and Drug Administration to co-ordinate and take responsibility for food safety.
Hong Kong's director of health, Lam Ping-yan, played down concerns over contaminated mainland food entering the city, saying a strong surveillance system and a series of checks would ensure food safety.
"We keep track of all imported food, including poultry from the mainland, and we try to make sure food is safe through the whole chain," Dr Lam said. "We even send officials to mainland farms to carry out inspections before importing."
US election 'will not affect ties' with mainland
scmp - Tuesday, September 14, 2004
RAY CHEUNG
US policy on China is unlikely to change dramatically in the next four years whoever wins the United States' presidential election in November, a top US scholar said yesterday.
"The policy has been relatively stable for the past few decades, and I don't expect it to change much in the future," said Richard Baum, a Sino-US relations expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Professor Baum, who is visiting Hong Kong, said that with the US focus on terrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington would continue to maintain stable ties with Beijing - whether President George W. Bush or Democratic Senator John Kerry won the election.
"I think Mr Bush has learned from himself and the Republican foreign policy establishment, such as his father, that the relations with China are not that simple, and he must work with Beijing," Professor Baum said. "If Mr Kerry is elected, he may at first try to seek some concessions on trade and labour issues, but would then probably pull back."
Recent actions by both parties showed a preference for the status quo, he said.
Last week, the Bush administration rejected calls from American labour, textile and steel groups to investigate the true value of China's currency. Further, the Democrats stated in their official party platform that they would seek to engage with Beijing and honour the one-China policy, he noted.
Still, Professor Baum did see some possibility for change in the US approach towards relations across the Taiwan Strait.
If Secretary of State Colin Powell was replaced by a more hawkish successor in a second Bush term, the US might move towards confrontation with Beijing and stronger support for Taiwan. "If Mr Powell is gone, that could mean that the Bush administration loses its moderate anchor," he said.
In a Kerry administration, Professor Baum believed Washington might become more accommodating towards Beijing by, for instance, reducing the level of military and political support for Taiwan.
Many of Senator Kerry's top policy advisers on Asia were from the previous Clinton administration, who viewed co-operation with Beijing as more important than with Taipei, he said.
Another key factor that would influence Washington's China policy was the Congress, particularly if whoever was in the White House did not control the legislature, Professor Baum said.
"If there is a Democratic White House and a Republican Congress, I think there will then be a lot of trouble," he said.
As to which administration would be more likely to order American forces to intervene in a cross-strait military conflict, Professor Baum cited Mr Bush.
"Generally, Republican presidents act out stronger while Democrats ponder the situation a bit more," he said.
RAY CHEUNG
US policy on China is unlikely to change dramatically in the next four years whoever wins the United States' presidential election in November, a top US scholar said yesterday.
"The policy has been relatively stable for the past few decades, and I don't expect it to change much in the future," said Richard Baum, a Sino-US relations expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Professor Baum, who is visiting Hong Kong, said that with the US focus on terrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington would continue to maintain stable ties with Beijing - whether President George W. Bush or Democratic Senator John Kerry won the election.
"I think Mr Bush has learned from himself and the Republican foreign policy establishment, such as his father, that the relations with China are not that simple, and he must work with Beijing," Professor Baum said. "If Mr Kerry is elected, he may at first try to seek some concessions on trade and labour issues, but would then probably pull back."
Recent actions by both parties showed a preference for the status quo, he said.
Last week, the Bush administration rejected calls from American labour, textile and steel groups to investigate the true value of China's currency. Further, the Democrats stated in their official party platform that they would seek to engage with Beijing and honour the one-China policy, he noted.
Still, Professor Baum did see some possibility for change in the US approach towards relations across the Taiwan Strait.
If Secretary of State Colin Powell was replaced by a more hawkish successor in a second Bush term, the US might move towards confrontation with Beijing and stronger support for Taiwan. "If Mr Powell is gone, that could mean that the Bush administration loses its moderate anchor," he said.
In a Kerry administration, Professor Baum believed Washington might become more accommodating towards Beijing by, for instance, reducing the level of military and political support for Taiwan.
Many of Senator Kerry's top policy advisers on Asia were from the previous Clinton administration, who viewed co-operation with Beijing as more important than with Taipei, he said.
Another key factor that would influence Washington's China policy was the Congress, particularly if whoever was in the White House did not control the legislature, Professor Baum said.
"If there is a Democratic White House and a Republican Congress, I think there will then be a lot of trouble," he said.
As to which administration would be more likely to order American forces to intervene in a cross-strait military conflict, Professor Baum cited Mr Bush.
"Generally, Republican presidents act out stronger while Democrats ponder the situation a bit more," he said.
Petition sees dissident put under house arrest
scmp - Tuesday, September 14, 2004
BILL SAVADOVE in Shanghai
Veteran democracy activist Li Guotao has been put under house arrest in Shanghai for organising a petition drive ahead of a key Communist Party meeting later this week, a US human rights group says.
Mr Li had gathered signatures for a petition calling for the mainland to scrap the so-called "re-education-through-labour" system, New York-based China Labour Watch said yesterday. The punishment was originally aimed at petty criminals, but is typically used to silence dissidents.
The authorities accused Mr Li of "disseminating inappropriate opinions during a special time" and ordered him to stay at home under police surveillance. The party's Central Committee will hold its fourth plenum from Thursday to Sunday.
Mr Li had posted the petition, so far signed by 162 people, on an overseas website. He had planned to try to submit the document to the plenum.
Shanghai police could not be reached for comment. The mainland typically rounds up dissidents and "troublemakers" before important meetings to present the appearance of unity and stability.
The group said authorities first detained Mr Li for seven hours at a local police station on Thursday after bursting into his home, searching it for three hours and confiscating his computer.
Police had also cut off his phone and barred friends or relatives from visiting. Officers were stationed inside his home.
Mr Li, a founder of the outlawed China Democratic Party, has been sentenced to jail or re-education through labour three times for his activities, serving a total of seven years. In 1994, he was sentenced to three years for his role in founding the Shanghai-based Association for Human Rights.
Most recently, Mr Li served three years starting from 2000 for "disturbing social order" by calling for the release of another dissident.
BILL SAVADOVE in Shanghai
Veteran democracy activist Li Guotao has been put under house arrest in Shanghai for organising a petition drive ahead of a key Communist Party meeting later this week, a US human rights group says.
Mr Li had gathered signatures for a petition calling for the mainland to scrap the so-called "re-education-through-labour" system, New York-based China Labour Watch said yesterday. The punishment was originally aimed at petty criminals, but is typically used to silence dissidents.
The authorities accused Mr Li of "disseminating inappropriate opinions during a special time" and ordered him to stay at home under police surveillance. The party's Central Committee will hold its fourth plenum from Thursday to Sunday.
Mr Li had posted the petition, so far signed by 162 people, on an overseas website. He had planned to try to submit the document to the plenum.
Shanghai police could not be reached for comment. The mainland typically rounds up dissidents and "troublemakers" before important meetings to present the appearance of unity and stability.
The group said authorities first detained Mr Li for seven hours at a local police station on Thursday after bursting into his home, searching it for three hours and confiscating his computer.
Police had also cut off his phone and barred friends or relatives from visiting. Officers were stationed inside his home.
Mr Li, a founder of the outlawed China Democratic Party, has been sentenced to jail or re-education through labour three times for his activities, serving a total of seven years. In 1994, he was sentenced to three years for his role in founding the Shanghai-based Association for Human Rights.
Most recently, Mr Li served three years starting from 2000 for "disturbing social order" by calling for the release of another dissident.
Taiwan not a friendly place for asylum seekers from China
scmp - Monday, September 13, 2004
WILLIAM FOREMAN of Associated Press in Taipei
Taiwan would seem like a terrific place for Chinese dissidents to seek political asylum. The island has a democratic, ethnic Chinese society. Its leaders are former dissidents who spent years struggling against an authoritarian regime. And the government says it cherishes human rights and wants to see rival China blossom into a democracy.
But Chinese dissidents who come to Taiwan usually don’t get a warm welcome. They’re often treated with deep suspicion and are locked up for weeks, sometimes months, as the government decides whether to ship them back to China or pass them off to another country.
That’s what is happening to two Chinese who have become the focus of a new campaign for better treatment of asylum seekers. Both of the men, Yan Peng and Chen Rongli, fled to Taiwan this year on sampan boats, saying they were democracy activists who had spent years in Chinese prisons.
Allowing legitimate asylum seekers to stay in Taiwan is difficult for a simple reason: The island doesn’t have a political asylum law.
Such a law is being written, said Jeff Yang, director of legal affairs at the Mainland Affairs Council, a Cabinet-level agency responsible for China policy. The draft might go to the legislature by the end of the year, he said.
But the law’s fate seems uncertain because some Taiwanese leaders oppose it.
Vice President Annette Lu said the government shouldn’t pass the law because China’s large population of dissidents and asylum seekers could flood into Taiwan and overwhelm the densely populated island, about the size of the Netherlands.
“It would create an extreme amount of pressure for us,” said Ms Lu, a former rights activist jailed for six years during Taiwan’s martial law era that ended in 1987.
“Some could be spies,” added Ms Lu, who studied law at Harvard University. “Frankly speaking, we would be taking a risk.”
China has long been Taiwan’s biggest security threat. After the Communists took over China in 1949, they pledged to fight their way to Taiwan — and absorb the island that refused to join their communist dynasty.
China still threatens to attack, claiming a historical right to rule the island.
The constant sense of danger has warped the Taiwanese view of Chinese and has made them overly cautious about asylum seekers, said Wu’er Kaixi, a Chinese dissident who settled here after marrying a Taiwanese.
“This country for a long time has been threatened by a big, powerful bully neighbour,” said Wu’er, a former student leader during the bloody 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. “This kind of makes them narrow minded. They can only see their enemies.”
Wu’er added that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party is also obsessed with domestic politics and cares little about pushing for a freer, more democratic China.
“They don’t care about anything outside of this island,” said Wu’er, who fled to France after Tiananmen and later lived in the United States. “The only thing they know is how to struggle on this island and make their own presence, to fight for survival.”
The DPP was once banned when Taiwan was ruled by the authoritarian Nationalist Party, which controlled the island for five decades. Many DPP members — including President Chen Shui-bian — were imprisoned, harassed or forced to seek refuge overseas.
Rights activist Chang Fei-lan said that considering the ruling party’s dissident past, it should feel a moral obligation to do more for asylum seekers, who are held at detention centres with prostitutes, smugglers and other illegal immigrants from China.
Ms Chang, of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that Taiwan can easily manage the flow of asylum seekers by setting strict criteria for those allowed in.
“But I think the government is worried that if the asylum seekers become a big issue, it will further complicate relations with China,” she said.
WILLIAM FOREMAN of Associated Press in Taipei
Taiwan would seem like a terrific place for Chinese dissidents to seek political asylum. The island has a democratic, ethnic Chinese society. Its leaders are former dissidents who spent years struggling against an authoritarian regime. And the government says it cherishes human rights and wants to see rival China blossom into a democracy.
But Chinese dissidents who come to Taiwan usually don’t get a warm welcome. They’re often treated with deep suspicion and are locked up for weeks, sometimes months, as the government decides whether to ship them back to China or pass them off to another country.
That’s what is happening to two Chinese who have become the focus of a new campaign for better treatment of asylum seekers. Both of the men, Yan Peng and Chen Rongli, fled to Taiwan this year on sampan boats, saying they were democracy activists who had spent years in Chinese prisons.
Allowing legitimate asylum seekers to stay in Taiwan is difficult for a simple reason: The island doesn’t have a political asylum law.
Such a law is being written, said Jeff Yang, director of legal affairs at the Mainland Affairs Council, a Cabinet-level agency responsible for China policy. The draft might go to the legislature by the end of the year, he said.
But the law’s fate seems uncertain because some Taiwanese leaders oppose it.
Vice President Annette Lu said the government shouldn’t pass the law because China’s large population of dissidents and asylum seekers could flood into Taiwan and overwhelm the densely populated island, about the size of the Netherlands.
“It would create an extreme amount of pressure for us,” said Ms Lu, a former rights activist jailed for six years during Taiwan’s martial law era that ended in 1987.
“Some could be spies,” added Ms Lu, who studied law at Harvard University. “Frankly speaking, we would be taking a risk.”
China has long been Taiwan’s biggest security threat. After the Communists took over China in 1949, they pledged to fight their way to Taiwan — and absorb the island that refused to join their communist dynasty.
China still threatens to attack, claiming a historical right to rule the island.
The constant sense of danger has warped the Taiwanese view of Chinese and has made them overly cautious about asylum seekers, said Wu’er Kaixi, a Chinese dissident who settled here after marrying a Taiwanese.
“This country for a long time has been threatened by a big, powerful bully neighbour,” said Wu’er, a former student leader during the bloody 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. “This kind of makes them narrow minded. They can only see their enemies.”
Wu’er added that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party is also obsessed with domestic politics and cares little about pushing for a freer, more democratic China.
“They don’t care about anything outside of this island,” said Wu’er, who fled to France after Tiananmen and later lived in the United States. “The only thing they know is how to struggle on this island and make their own presence, to fight for survival.”
The DPP was once banned when Taiwan was ruled by the authoritarian Nationalist Party, which controlled the island for five decades. Many DPP members — including President Chen Shui-bian — were imprisoned, harassed or forced to seek refuge overseas.
Rights activist Chang Fei-lan said that considering the ruling party’s dissident past, it should feel a moral obligation to do more for asylum seekers, who are held at detention centres with prostitutes, smugglers and other illegal immigrants from China.
Ms Chang, of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that Taiwan can easily manage the flow of asylum seekers by setting strict criteria for those allowed in.
“But I think the government is worried that if the asylum seekers become a big issue, it will further complicate relations with China,” she said.
North Korean leader meets close Putin ally, Russian delegation: report
scmp - Monday, September 13, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Moscow
Updated at 6.28pm:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il early on Monday met with a top Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin amid diplomatic efforts to encourage the Stalinist country back to multilateral talks over its nuclear weapons program, ITAR-TASS reported from Pyongyang.
Kim held talks with the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament), Sergei Mironov, who heads an official delegation of Russian lawmakers and is a key Putin ally.
Mironov was quoted by ITAR-TASS afterwards as saying that Kim “is hoping for a new meeting” with Putin.
The Russian leader is among the few heads of state or government to have met the reclusive North Korean president. Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000 and Kim travelled to Moscow by rail the following year.
Mironov thanked Kim for North Korea’s condolences over the bloody hostage siege in a school near Chechnya that earlier this month left at least 339 dead, including some 150 children.
“We are pleased that our views on the problem of international terrorism coincide and note the United Nations’ leading role in the fight against terrorism,” ITAR-TASS quoted Mironov as saying.
No other details were known about the Russian delegation’s visit to North Korea or its further schedule.
Another round of six-party talks to resolve the nearly two-year standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is scheduled to be held this month, but Pyongyang has recently expressed skepticism in the usefulness of the discussions.
South Korea said on Monday it was investigating sketchy reports of a big explosion in North Korea last week but was unsure what triggered the blast near a secret underground military base.
Officials in Seoul and Washington denied speculation that North Korea may have tested a nuclear device.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Moscow
Updated at 6.28pm:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il early on Monday met with a top Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin amid diplomatic efforts to encourage the Stalinist country back to multilateral talks over its nuclear weapons program, ITAR-TASS reported from Pyongyang.
Kim held talks with the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament), Sergei Mironov, who heads an official delegation of Russian lawmakers and is a key Putin ally.
Mironov was quoted by ITAR-TASS afterwards as saying that Kim “is hoping for a new meeting” with Putin.
The Russian leader is among the few heads of state or government to have met the reclusive North Korean president. Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000 and Kim travelled to Moscow by rail the following year.
Mironov thanked Kim for North Korea’s condolences over the bloody hostage siege in a school near Chechnya that earlier this month left at least 339 dead, including some 150 children.
“We are pleased that our views on the problem of international terrorism coincide and note the United Nations’ leading role in the fight against terrorism,” ITAR-TASS quoted Mironov as saying.
No other details were known about the Russian delegation’s visit to North Korea or its further schedule.
Another round of six-party talks to resolve the nearly two-year standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is scheduled to be held this month, but Pyongyang has recently expressed skepticism in the usefulness of the discussions.
South Korea said on Monday it was investigating sketchy reports of a big explosion in North Korea last week but was unsure what triggered the blast near a secret underground military base.
Officials in Seoul and Washington denied speculation that North Korea may have tested a nuclear device.
Vatican condemns arrests of clergy
scmp - Monday, September 13, 2004
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Vatican City
The Vatican has denounced the reported arrests of several Catholics on the mainland last month, calling such actions a grave violation of freedom of religion.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Holy See had only just learned that in the first week of August, police rounded up eight priests and two seminary students of the Baoding diocese in Hebei province , a stronghold of Catholic activism.
Two of the priests were sentenced to re-education through forced labour, Dr Navarro-Valls said at the weekend, while several of the others were being detained in Baoding.
"According to the information received here, as of September 6, 2004, the number of clergy members of the Baoding diocese detained or deprived of liberty is 23," including a bishop and his auxiliary who disappeared in 1996 and 1997, the spokesman said.
Dr Navarro-Valls added: "The administrator of the Fuzhou archdiocese was arrested, along with two priests and one seminarian. At the moment, it is not clear that they have been returned to freedom.
"The reasons for such repressive measures have not been made known to the Holy See. If the received news turns out to be true, we find ourselves once again faced with a grave violation of freedom of religion, which is a fundamental right of man."
China broke ties with the Vatican in 1951 and demands that Catholics worship only in churches approved by a state-controlled church group that does not recognise the Pope's authority.
But many Chinese Catholics remain loyal to the Vatican and risk arrest by worshipping in unofficial churches and private homes.
Last month, a US-based religious monitoring group reported that police in northern China had detained the eight priests and two students from the underground Catholic church in a raid on a religious retreat.
Priests Huo Junlong, Zhang Zhenqian and another identified simply as Father Huang were among those held following the August 6 raid on the village of Sujiazhuang in Hebei province, the Cardinal Kung Foundation reported last month.
The state-controlled church claims 4 million believers, while the Cardinal Kung Foundation says the unofficial church has 12 million followers.
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Vatican City
The Vatican has denounced the reported arrests of several Catholics on the mainland last month, calling such actions a grave violation of freedom of religion.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Holy See had only just learned that in the first week of August, police rounded up eight priests and two seminary students of the Baoding diocese in Hebei province , a stronghold of Catholic activism.
Two of the priests were sentenced to re-education through forced labour, Dr Navarro-Valls said at the weekend, while several of the others were being detained in Baoding.
"According to the information received here, as of September 6, 2004, the number of clergy members of the Baoding diocese detained or deprived of liberty is 23," including a bishop and his auxiliary who disappeared in 1996 and 1997, the spokesman said.
Dr Navarro-Valls added: "The administrator of the Fuzhou archdiocese was arrested, along with two priests and one seminarian. At the moment, it is not clear that they have been returned to freedom.
"The reasons for such repressive measures have not been made known to the Holy See. If the received news turns out to be true, we find ourselves once again faced with a grave violation of freedom of religion, which is a fundamental right of man."
China broke ties with the Vatican in 1951 and demands that Catholics worship only in churches approved by a state-controlled church group that does not recognise the Pope's authority.
But many Chinese Catholics remain loyal to the Vatican and risk arrest by worshipping in unofficial churches and private homes.
Last month, a US-based religious monitoring group reported that police in northern China had detained the eight priests and two students from the underground Catholic church in a raid on a religious retreat.
Priests Huo Junlong, Zhang Zhenqian and another identified simply as Father Huang were among those held following the August 6 raid on the village of Sujiazhuang in Hebei province, the Cardinal Kung Foundation reported last month.
The state-controlled church claims 4 million believers, while the Cardinal Kung Foundation says the unofficial church has 12 million followers.
'Don't challenge leadership'
SCMP - Monday, September 13, 2004
STAFF REPORTER
Moves to promote rule by law must not be used to challenge the leadership of the Communist Party, Xinhua has warned.
In a signed commentary issued last night, Xinhua cited late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's speech to the third plenum of the 11th party session in 1978, highlighting the need to install the institutions and legislative infrastructure for a democratic system.
The article stressed the core leadership of the Communist Party.
"No matter whether it's on the legislative or implementation work, it is essential to insist on the leadership of the party," it said.
It was a mistake to put the idea of rule by law against the party's leadership, or attempt to undermine the party's position, it said.
The article, issued before the Chinese Communist Party's fourth plenum that convenes on Thursday, said it was necessary to legislate to ensure the "Theory of the Three Represents" of former president Jiang Zemin became the guiding force of society.
STAFF REPORTER
Moves to promote rule by law must not be used to challenge the leadership of the Communist Party, Xinhua has warned.
In a signed commentary issued last night, Xinhua cited late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's speech to the third plenum of the 11th party session in 1978, highlighting the need to install the institutions and legislative infrastructure for a democratic system.
The article stressed the core leadership of the Communist Party.
"No matter whether it's on the legislative or implementation work, it is essential to insist on the leadership of the party," it said.
It was a mistake to put the idea of rule by law against the party's leadership, or attempt to undermine the party's position, it said.
The article, issued before the Chinese Communist Party's fourth plenum that convenes on Thursday, said it was necessary to legislate to ensure the "Theory of the Three Represents" of former president Jiang Zemin became the guiding force of society.
China throws support behind N Korea amid pressure for nuclear talks
scmp - Monday, September 13, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
Updated at 5.44pm:
Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to strengthen relations with North Korea as his special envoy returned from Pyongyang on Monday amid frantic 11th hour diplomacy to resume faltering talks about the North's nuclear weapons drive.
In a message conveyed by envoy Li Changchun to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Mr Hu said China was willing to work with its neighbour to deepen relations, the Xinhua news agency said.
China also wanted to "strengthen co-ordination and co-operation in regional and international affairs, with both countries understanding and supporting each other, seeking mutual development and mutual benefit to both peoples", said Mr Hu.
The visit by Mr Li, a member of the Communist Party's powerful nine-strong top committee, is part of last-ditch attempts to persuade Pyongyang to attend a fourth round of six-party talks aimed at resolving the two-year nuclear impasse.
The talks were scheduled to take place before the end of September but Pyongyang has expressed scepticism at their usefulness and questioned the Americans' intentions.
It also hinted that the talks, between the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the US, could be jeopardised by Seoul's recent admission that South Korean scientists carried out nuclear experiments.
In recent days officials from China, Britain, Russia, Japan and the US have visited Beijing or Pyongyang.
British foreign office minister Bill Rammell was in the North Korean capital on Monday and met Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun.
A top Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin met with Mr Kim on Monday, ITAR-TASS reported.
US diplomat James Kelly was holding meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing. And South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck, left for Russia to enlist Moscow's help in persuading Pyongyang to resume talks.
Amid the flurry of activity, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi expressed cautious optimism the talks could take place this month, saying her hopes were stronger after meeting Chinese officials.
"That is because we know that we all are trying out best," Ms Kawaguchi said in Beijing, adding that it was important to stick to September because "it is what we said we should do".
"Knowing that China is still making efforts ... my hope is strong, is stronger," she said.
China's assistant foreign minister Shen Guofang, however, declined to speculate on whether talks would go ahead this month.
"It's difficult to say right now. We have to coordinate with the other parties," Mr Shen told reporters.
The diplomatic efforts continued as North Korea on Monday said a huge explosion that rocked its northern inland province of Ryanggang last week was part of a demolition project to blow up a mountain for a hydro-electric plant.
The blast triggered a mushroom cloud at least three kilometres in radius, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, sparking fears that North Korea may have tested a nuclear device.
The nuclear stand-off flared in October 2002 when the US accused North Korea of operating a nuclear weapons programme based on enriched uranium, violating a 1994 agreement.
Pyongyang has denied running the uranium-based program but has restarted its plutonium programme.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
Updated at 5.44pm:
Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to strengthen relations with North Korea as his special envoy returned from Pyongyang on Monday amid frantic 11th hour diplomacy to resume faltering talks about the North's nuclear weapons drive.
In a message conveyed by envoy Li Changchun to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Mr Hu said China was willing to work with its neighbour to deepen relations, the Xinhua news agency said.
China also wanted to "strengthen co-ordination and co-operation in regional and international affairs, with both countries understanding and supporting each other, seeking mutual development and mutual benefit to both peoples", said Mr Hu.
The visit by Mr Li, a member of the Communist Party's powerful nine-strong top committee, is part of last-ditch attempts to persuade Pyongyang to attend a fourth round of six-party talks aimed at resolving the two-year nuclear impasse.
The talks were scheduled to take place before the end of September but Pyongyang has expressed scepticism at their usefulness and questioned the Americans' intentions.
It also hinted that the talks, between the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the US, could be jeopardised by Seoul's recent admission that South Korean scientists carried out nuclear experiments.
In recent days officials from China, Britain, Russia, Japan and the US have visited Beijing or Pyongyang.
British foreign office minister Bill Rammell was in the North Korean capital on Monday and met Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun.
A top Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin met with Mr Kim on Monday, ITAR-TASS reported.
US diplomat James Kelly was holding meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing. And South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck, left for Russia to enlist Moscow's help in persuading Pyongyang to resume talks.
Amid the flurry of activity, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi expressed cautious optimism the talks could take place this month, saying her hopes were stronger after meeting Chinese officials.
"That is because we know that we all are trying out best," Ms Kawaguchi said in Beijing, adding that it was important to stick to September because "it is what we said we should do".
"Knowing that China is still making efforts ... my hope is strong, is stronger," she said.
China's assistant foreign minister Shen Guofang, however, declined to speculate on whether talks would go ahead this month.
"It's difficult to say right now. We have to coordinate with the other parties," Mr Shen told reporters.
The diplomatic efforts continued as North Korea on Monday said a huge explosion that rocked its northern inland province of Ryanggang last week was part of a demolition project to blow up a mountain for a hydro-electric plant.
The blast triggered a mushroom cloud at least three kilometres in radius, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, sparking fears that North Korea may have tested a nuclear device.
The nuclear stand-off flared in October 2002 when the US accused North Korea of operating a nuclear weapons programme based on enriched uranium, violating a 1994 agreement.
Pyongyang has denied running the uranium-based program but has restarted its plutonium programme.
China's peaceful Muslims face fear of war on Islam after September 11
SCMP - Thursday, September 9, 2004
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
China's peaceful Muslims face fear of war on Islam after September 11
SCMP - Thursday, September 9, 2004
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
Record 24pc want independence
SCMP - Thursday, September 9, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The number of Taiwanese who want independence has reached a record 24 per cent, despite Beijing's repeated vows to crush any such attempts, a survey released yesterday found.
A similar poll carried out in May 2000 to coincide with the inauguration of pro-independence President Chen Shui-bian found only 16 per cent wanted independence.
The latest survey by the cable news network TVBS polled 1,236 people on Monday and Tuesday after Mr Chen's US transit stops during his visit to Latin America.
The president provoked controversy on his trip when he said Taiwan was the best name for the island, complaining that its official title, the Republic of China, was often confused with the mainland's official name, the People's Republic of China.
Fifty-seven per cent of those polled by the survey agreed with Mr Chen on the name, while 27 per cent opposed his comments.
The survey also found for the first time that more people felt they were "Taiwanese" (45 per cent) rather than "Taiwanese and Chinese" (41 per cent).
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The number of Taiwanese who want independence has reached a record 24 per cent, despite Beijing's repeated vows to crush any such attempts, a survey released yesterday found.
A similar poll carried out in May 2000 to coincide with the inauguration of pro-independence President Chen Shui-bian found only 16 per cent wanted independence.
The latest survey by the cable news network TVBS polled 1,236 people on Monday and Tuesday after Mr Chen's US transit stops during his visit to Latin America.
The president provoked controversy on his trip when he said Taiwan was the best name for the island, complaining that its official title, the Republic of China, was often confused with the mainland's official name, the People's Republic of China.
Fifty-seven per cent of those polled by the survey agreed with Mr Chen on the name, while 27 per cent opposed his comments.
The survey also found for the first time that more people felt they were "Taiwanese" (45 per cent) rather than "Taiwanese and Chinese" (41 per cent).
China's peaceful Muslims face fear of war on Islam after September 11
scmp - Thursday, September 9, 2004
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
PETER HARMSEN of Agence France-Presse in Yinchuan
Wen Deyuan, a Muslim trader from China's northwest, approaches the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks with his faith unshaken in the purity of the man who destroyed the Twin Towers.
"Osama bin Laden is a national hero," the 33-year-old said after attending prayer at the Central Mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia region, which is formally autonomous and ruled by the Huis, China's largest Islamic minority.
"What he did was an act of devotion, and not for personal benefit, unlike the United States which has made itself the real terrorist by attacking Iraq."
Wen is one of China's nine million Huis, descendants of Arab and Persian merchants who settled down 1,300 years ago and now live everywhere from Ningxia and Gansu province in the arid west to Shandong province on the Yellow Sea.
After generations of intermarriage, modern Huis appear virtually indistinguishable from China's majority Han population.
But the role they will play in China in the future depends to a large extent on how they are treated by the rest of society, according to Dru Gladney, an expert on China's Muslims at the University of Hawaii.
"If the war on terrorism in China becomes a war on Islam, the Huis will suffer, and they will resent that, because Islam is very much part of their identity," he said.
Globalization has hit the Huis like a whirlwind, and daily access to Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera and frequent travel to the Middle East mean they are now more aware of their status as members of a global community of believers.
A shop next to the 318-year-old Xiguan Mosque in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, shows how porous borders bring the outside world closer.
It sells products brought home by young local men attending religious schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - meticulously carved copper vases, religious tracts, and a Video CD with the life of bin Laden.
"The reports in the media aren't necessarily correct, and we just want to understand more of what's going on," said the female shopkeeper, who like many Huis is surnamed Ma, a Sinicized version of the name "Muhammad."
Even so, Huis tend to draw a line between themselves and the Uighurs, a Turkic people living in Xinjiang region west of Gansu, who have only had a few centuries to accommodate themselves to the mores and habits of Chinese society.
Many Uighurs dream of setting up an independent state, an ambition causing panic in Beijing which sees Xinjiang as a vital Chinese stronghold in the strategically important Central Asian region.
"Unlike Ningxia, the issue of Xinjiang relates to the safety of the motherland and the unity of the state," said Li Lan, director general of the Ningxia Nationalities Affairs Department.
Separatism is not a charge often directed at the Huis these days - with no international borders, Ningxia is no obvious candidate for statehood - but this was not always so.
In a bizarre example of late-1950s paranoia, Mao Zedong's government accused the Ningxia Huis of "Israelism," seeking an independent state modelled on Israel in China's desert.
This was just the herald of much worse to come, as less than a decade later the Cultural Revolution was unleashed on China with devastating consequences for the Huis.
During the feverish rush to wipe out all remnants of old society, Koran study was banned, pork lard was dumped into the wells of the mosques and Muslims were forced to raise pigs instead of sheep or cattle.
Ma Musa, now a courteous 67-year-old visiting Yinchuan's Guannan Mosque with his son, remembers how crazed Red Guards forced him to shave.
"I wasn't allowed to start growing a beard until 10 years later," he said, now displaying a long white goatee.
Today, the Hui community say they are permitted unprecedented freedom of religion, and sometimes compare themselves favorably with other countries.
"It's freer here than in France," said Zhao Yongxing, imam of Lanzhou's Qiaomen Mosque, sitting in a study filled with religious texts in Arabic. "No one is talking about banning head scarves here."
It helps promote harmony that China's northwest remains a typical frontier society where many hail from somewhere else and few claim the area by birth right.
"We've people from all different places who are used to accommodating and respecting each other," said Ma Yingqiu, the Hui vice mayor of Yinchuan, whose family came from central Hunan province in 1957 to help build a new Ningxia.
To be sure, it may be easy to maintain ethnic or religious peace in a place like Yinchuan, a city of 1.3 million where it is estimated just one in eight people is a Hui.
It is an entirely different story in the countryside, where Hui culture remains strong and steeped in traditional values.
The most notorious recent example of what this can lead to was in 1993, when fierce fighting erupted among rival groups within the Zheherenye sect of Islam with angry mobs wielding knives, clubs and guns, costing 50 lives.
But sometimes, although unacknowledged by the government, the friction is with the majority Han population.
"It's mainly arguments about pork," said a visitor to the Yinchuan Central Mosque.
Hui Chinese are known as adept businesspeople and are in charge of most open-air markets in Ningxia, while the majority of customers are Han Chinese, for whom pork is an irreplaceable part of the daily diet.
The Chinese government has gradually become more sophisticated in its handling of these issues, relying on dialogue rather than brute force.
"The government used to send in soldiers, now it sends in imams," said Gladney of the University of Hawaii. "The imams know a lot more of what's going on, and the soldiers stay in the background."
Underground Protestant churches in Vietnam condemn new religion law
scmp - Friday, September 3, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Hanoi
Updated at 1.18pm:
A coalition of underground Protestant churches in Vietnam has condemned a new religious law drawn up by the communist government, saying it will result in further persecution of their followers.
The Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship (VEF), an organisation of about 30 unregistered church organisations representing hundreds of house churches, called on the government to allow freedom to worship.
The new Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions was issued by the presidential office on July 12 and is due to come into effect on November 15.
"This ordinance will create many problems and disadvantages for the church, especially for our gatherings for worship," the VEF said in an August 30 letter distributed by the US-based Compass Direct Christian advocacy group.
"At the same time, it is likely to permanently outlaw our house church organizations, none of which have been recognized since 1975.
"Many articles in this ordinance will also provide a legal basis for local authorities to hinder and persecute the church," it added.
The government says the new law "will serve as a legal basis to ensure the people's basic right to beliefs and religious freedom and reinforce the state's management in the area", but it also contains significant caveats.
It bans the "abuse of the right to religious freedom to undermine peace, independence and national unity, incite violence to wage war and disseminate information against the laws and the state's laws".
Using religion to sow communal divisions, cause public disorder, and "spread superstitious practices" are also outlawed, while only authorised clergy are allowed to preach, and only then at their approved place of worship.
"From 1975 until today, we have, for the sake of the Lord Jesus, suffered much persecution and discrimination from different levels of the government," the VEF said.
It called on all Christians in Vietnam to devote three days each month for the next three months to fast and pray for the withdrawal of the ordinance and for the government to "stop all forms of persecution and hindrances".
The US State Department, in a December report, grouped Vietnam in a worst offenders category of totalitarian and authoritarian states that view religious groups as "enemies of the state".
A number of religious dissidents - both Buddhist and Catholic - remain in prison or under de facto house arrest for refusing to allow their religious activities to be controlled.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Hanoi
Updated at 1.18pm:
A coalition of underground Protestant churches in Vietnam has condemned a new religious law drawn up by the communist government, saying it will result in further persecution of their followers.
The Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship (VEF), an organisation of about 30 unregistered church organisations representing hundreds of house churches, called on the government to allow freedom to worship.
The new Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions was issued by the presidential office on July 12 and is due to come into effect on November 15.
"This ordinance will create many problems and disadvantages for the church, especially for our gatherings for worship," the VEF said in an August 30 letter distributed by the US-based Compass Direct Christian advocacy group.
"At the same time, it is likely to permanently outlaw our house church organizations, none of which have been recognized since 1975.
"Many articles in this ordinance will also provide a legal basis for local authorities to hinder and persecute the church," it added.
The government says the new law "will serve as a legal basis to ensure the people's basic right to beliefs and religious freedom and reinforce the state's management in the area", but it also contains significant caveats.
It bans the "abuse of the right to religious freedom to undermine peace, independence and national unity, incite violence to wage war and disseminate information against the laws and the state's laws".
Using religion to sow communal divisions, cause public disorder, and "spread superstitious practices" are also outlawed, while only authorised clergy are allowed to preach, and only then at their approved place of worship.
"From 1975 until today, we have, for the sake of the Lord Jesus, suffered much persecution and discrimination from different levels of the government," the VEF said.
It called on all Christians in Vietnam to devote three days each month for the next three months to fast and pray for the withdrawal of the ordinance and for the government to "stop all forms of persecution and hindrances".
The US State Department, in a December report, grouped Vietnam in a worst offenders category of totalitarian and authoritarian states that view religious groups as "enemies of the state".
A number of religious dissidents - both Buddhist and Catholic - remain in prison or under de facto house arrest for refusing to allow their religious activities to be controlled.
Malaysia, Brunei teams to monitor ceasefire in Philippines
SCMP - Wednesday, September 8, 2004
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Manila
Updated at 11.00am:
Malaysia and Brunei will send special teams to the Philippines in October to monitor a ceasefire between the government and Muslim separatist rebels, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said on Wednesday.
Formal peace talks between the government and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are being scheduled at about the same time as the deployment of the Malaysian and Brunei peace monitors, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.
A special nine-member advance team from Malaysia will arrive from Kuala Lumpur on Friday to lay the groundwork for the full deployment of the monitoring teams in October, Mr Bunye said.
Earlier, Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak said eight officers would arrive in Manila on Friday and a team of team of 60 - 51 army officers, five policemen and four foreign ministry officials - would arrive by October 9.
Mr Bunye said that Brunei would contribute 10 men to the monitoring team, adding that Arroyo would meet with that contingent when she visits Brunei on Thursday to attend the wedding of the Southeast Asian sultanate's crown prince.
The monitoring team will observe both the ceasefire in place between the government and the MILF and will also inspect development projects in areas affected by the separatist war in the southern part of this largely-Roman Catholic nation.
The southern Philippines has been plagued by Muslim separatist violence for over three decades. Aside from sending peace monitors, Muslim Malaysia has also offered a neutral venue for forthcoming peace talks with the MILF, the main Muslim rebel group.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Manila
Updated at 11.00am:
Malaysia and Brunei will send special teams to the Philippines in October to monitor a ceasefire between the government and Muslim separatist rebels, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said on Wednesday.
Formal peace talks between the government and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are being scheduled at about the same time as the deployment of the Malaysian and Brunei peace monitors, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.
A special nine-member advance team from Malaysia will arrive from Kuala Lumpur on Friday to lay the groundwork for the full deployment of the monitoring teams in October, Mr Bunye said.
Earlier, Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak said eight officers would arrive in Manila on Friday and a team of team of 60 - 51 army officers, five policemen and four foreign ministry officials - would arrive by October 9.
Mr Bunye said that Brunei would contribute 10 men to the monitoring team, adding that Arroyo would meet with that contingent when she visits Brunei on Thursday to attend the wedding of the Southeast Asian sultanate's crown prince.
The monitoring team will observe both the ceasefire in place between the government and the MILF and will also inspect development projects in areas affected by the separatist war in the southern part of this largely-Roman Catholic nation.
The southern Philippines has been plagued by Muslim separatist violence for over three decades. Aside from sending peace monitors, Muslim Malaysia has also offered a neutral venue for forthcoming peace talks with the MILF, the main Muslim rebel group.
