Week of August 25
Week of August 25, 2000
The U.S. and China This Week
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CROSS-STRAIT: Typhoon Bilis slams into Taiwan and Southern China
SUMMARY:On Tuesday night at 10:30pm,Typhoon Bilis slammed into Taiwan with winds gusting up to 185 miles per
hour. This "super typhoon", also known as a level five category hurricane,
covered the entire island causing severe damage to crops and property.
It has been estimated that the typhoon is responsible for the death of at least 11 people, while 79 people were
injured; 14 seriously. Several of the victims who died were buried in a
mudslide caused by the torrential rain.
After cutting through the island of Taiwan, Bilis regained some strength in the Taiwan Strait before hitting
southeastern China. According to the Xinhua news agency, though no casualties
where reported, high winds still uprooted thousands of trees and the rain
caused a landslide that destroyed a railway and damaged over 1,000 homes
along the coast.
Most local transportation, like rail and ferry services and airports, where closed as the storm swept inland
and is expectd to weaken.
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DOMESTIC: 3 US Citizens Detained with
other Underground Protestant Church Parishioners
SUMMARY:In another round of religious-based arrests, the Chinese police have detained 130 members of the underground
Protestant church called Fangcheng Church, including three Taiwan-born
US citizens.
The three American "missionaries"
are identified as Henry Chu, Patricia Lan and Sandee Lin, all from California.
But on Friday a US Embassy official announced that the three had been released,
however, the embassy has still not been able to contact them.
In a long fought battle to register
and control religious groups and churches, the Chinese authorities have
again stepped up measures to deter those religions they deem to be a cult.
And since millions of Chinese Protestants do not recognize China’s official
church, they are accused of breaking the law and given stiff prison terms.
Though the crackdown on illegal
religious gatherings seems recent, due to the much publicized Falunggong
and Zhanggong arrests, the authorities, however, began in the mid-1980’s,
when several religious leaders where executed.
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DOMESTIC: Earthquake Shakes Southwest China
SUMMARY:An earthquake earlier this
week in southwest China, with a magnitude-5.1, injured 406 people and left
169,000 homeless in Wuding county, Yunnan province., an official newspaper
said Friday.
The China Daily described damage
as widespread. It said 56 schools, 16 reservoirs, 56 bridges and a power
station were destroyed and that 169,242 people lost their homes.
Eight of the injured were seriously
hurt, it said. A woman in a nearby county also was killed when she fell,
the newspaper said. Also it said the homeless have been resettled and have
received a first portion of aid. Authorities allotted $36,000 to fund relief
work, the newspaper said. (Sources: Reuters | AP )
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The U.S. and
China This Week
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Last updated: 26 May 2000
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