Week of October 13, 1999
Week of October 13, 1999
The U.S. and China This Week
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SOCIETY: Falun Gong Persecution Ends in Death of Woman
SUMMARY:
A 42 year old farmer, Zhao Jinhua, was detained by police for practicing
Falun Gong. During the end of her 2 weeks of detention, she died in a police
station in Zhangxing, Shandong province. According to a Falun Gong reporter,
she was tortured with electric clubs and electrified with rotary telephones
for refusing to denounce her beliefs. Her skin was reported to be broken all
over her body. Her brother said that the postmortem examination stated that
she died from blunt trama and had blood on much of her body. She was immediately
cremated after her death and her family was told not to discuss her death.
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TIBET: Dalai Lama Speaks about Future of Tibet
SUMMARY:
During a speech at a Jewish center in LA,
the Dalai Lama presented Tibet Light of Truth Awards to 3 people who have
worked to promote understanding about Tibetans throughout the world. The 3
recipients were: Danielle Mitterrand, Mr. Fienstein, and a former British
envoy to Tibet. The Dalai Lama spoke about the possibility of China relaxing
its strict hold over Tibet. He feels that the Chinese government will realize
that the situation is counterproductive and then things will change. He expressed
his view that dominating Tibet through military strength was not a successful
strategy to win over the Tibetan people. Appearing hopeful about the future,
the Dalai Lama stated that justice always wins.
The actual outcome of the China Tibet issue
is rather uncertain. China has created a strong hold over the region through
its military presence, capital inflows and innovations in social structure
and education. However, Tibetans have been repressed and restricted in their
activities throughout the Chinese rule, and many still feel a deep allegiance
with the Dalai Lama.
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MAINLAND POLITICS: Two States Theory Under
Attack Again
SUMMARY:
On Saturday, Lee Teng-hui again proposed
that relations between Taiwan and the Mainland should be conducted on a
special "state to state" basis. This statement implies that Taiwan is independent
from China rather than the renegade province that the Mainland claims it
to be. President Jiang Zemin responded with vehement disagreement saying
"the essence of the ‘two states statement?is to separate the island of
Taiwan from the Motherland." He did again reiterate his vow to seek peaceful
means to reunite the island with the Mainland. Jiang blamed Lee’s 2 state
proposal for straining cross-strait relations, undermining social stability,
and said it was "doomed to be unpopular." On an economic note, President
Jiang promised to protect Taiwanese investments in the Mainland regardless
of what occurs in cross-strait relations. Thus, Lee’s state to state policy
has once again created a stir on the Mainland.
The delicate issue of Taiwan is one of territorial
unity and sovereignty to the PRC. Both sides say that they are committed
to eventual reunification. Beijing has said it would allow Taiwan to have
a "one country, two systems" relationship akin to the relationship between
Hong Kong and the Mainland. Taiwan appears to be holding out for Beijing
to have a multi-party democracy similar to Taiwan’s own governing system.
If China were to assume state to state relations, it would tip the balance
of sovereignty and possibly endanger its position as the "motherland." In
accepting Lee’s special relationship, China would in essence backtrack on
the past 50 years of work to reunite with Taiwan. Presently, Taiwan is not
recognized as a sovereign state in the world community, but if China gave
it state privileges, China would be in effect forfeiting its claims to Taiwan.
Thus, Lee Teng-hui’s proposal of state to state relations carries ramifications
that the PRC finds unacceptable.
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WORLD POLITICS: Pakistan Coup Leaves Many
Uncertain
SUMMARY:
Late Tuesday night, a military coup occurred
in Pakistan, removing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from power and installing
General Musharraf in his place. This event comes on the heels of the Prime
Minister’s immediate dismissal of General Musharraf under the guise of early
retirement. This dismissal surprised the military and happened while the
General was in Sri Lanka. There is speculation that tensions between the
Prime Minister and the General developed over the Prime Minister’s order
to withdraw militants from Indian territory in the Kargil region, which
ended Pakistan’s border dispute with India. This withdrawal was negotiated
by Mr. Sharif and President Bill Clinton, but was unsupported by the army
chief, who is suspected of playing a strong role in the invasion of Kargil.
In response to this dismissal, the army in Islamabad and Lahore made their
move. They took over the television station and government officials home.
Thus, there appears to have been problems between the military and civilian
government that culminated in this coup d’etat.
The international community is carefully
watching events unfold and deeply concerned over this coup. The Foreign
Minister of China said that China is "very concerned" over this military
coup. He stated that "Pakistan is China’s friendly neighbor and we are very
concerned about changes there." Being a major source of nuclear and military
technology for Pakistan, China is closely monitoring the situation. India,
Pakistan’s border foe, fears instability in Pakistan could threaten its
own security. India’s Prime Minister Vajpayee said that India is "monitoring
the situation and keeping ourselves fully informed." These two nuclear capable
countries have had many disputes over territory, especially in Kashmir,
which explains the very real danger India may feel as a result of this coup.
Speaking as a representative of the U.S. State Department, James Rubin said,
"If there has been a coup we would seek the earliest possible restoration
of democracy in Pakistan and clearly we would not be in position to carry
on business as usual with the Pakistani authorities as our laws indicate."
According to the British Foreign Secretary, Britain "will strongly condemn
any unconstitutional action." Unfortunately, the constitutionality of the
future government is questionable because the constitution itself is a convoluted
document making it uncertain whether this coup violates the constitution.
The Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary said, " What is regretful is that
this would again derail the program for economic development in Pakistan."
One of the main international concerns is over the nuclear capabilities
of Pakistan and whether they will be used in the future by this new government.
As such, the world is watching Pakistan and waiting to see what unfolds,
while expressing their concern over this coup and its possible international
ramifications.
General Musharraf said that he "acted to
save the country from ruin and would very shortly lay out his policies."
On the surface, it appears that he acted to save his job and to overthrow
his adversary, but there is evidence of very high inflation and definite
economic problems in Pakistan. Ironically, this coup has jeopardized Pakistan’s
loans from the IMF and other lenders, affecting billions of dollars worth
of international loans. Thus, even if the General were attempting to save
the country he has in actuality placed it in economic danger.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE: A Future Visit to
China for US Treasury Secretary
SUMMARY:
On October 25, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers is planning to making a scheduled visit to China to discuss
trade, law enforcement and economic development with Chinese officials.
These talks are being held as a part of the China-U.S. Joint Economic Committee.
The main economic issue between China and the U.S. is China’s WTO entry.
The U.S. refuses to support China’s WTO entry unless China increases the
U.S.’s access to its lucrative markets. China wants to be admitted to WTO
as a developing country, which means the rules of trade will be less stringent
for them. Neither side has made much progress in getting the other to accept
its conditions. An important part of WTO accession is also the enforcement
of copyright and intellectual property right laws, which China has made
more of a priority in the past few years. Perhaps these late October talks
will be more productive than the ones that took place in DC earlier this
fall, but time is running out on the Noember dealine for Congress?approval.
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POLITICS: Li Peng Pushes NPC role in Supervising
Government
SUMMARY:
Parliamentary leader, Li Peng has been invoking
the constitution in his call for the NPC (National People’s Congress) to
play a greater role in fighting government corruption. According to Chairman
Li, the constitution gives the NPC "the right to supervise the Government,
courts and procurates." By supervising these areas, Chairman Li hopes to
cut down on malpractice and corruption within these government bodies. Concurrently,
Li is supporting a new NPC regulation which would prevent illegal activities
by judges and prosecutors. Chairman Li’s call for more power over government
authorities may be a step towards fighting corruption within the government
or increasing his power and prestige within the party. No matter what his
motives, he appears to be fighting corruption in certain levels of government,
which is a major problem in China.
The U.S. and China This Week
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