Week of October 11, 2002The U.S. and China This Week
US-CHINA RELATIONS: US and China discuss improvement of military tiesUS Navy Vice Admiral Paul Gaffney II was in China this week to discuss bilateral
military ties with Beijing's Defense Minister Chi Haotian. Gaffney is the
highest ranking American military official to visit China since the EP3 spy
plane incident in April 2001. In a meeting between Gaffney and Chi on Wednesday,
Chi said that China hopes to renew defense contracts and better military coordination
with the US. Xinhua news agency quoted Chi as saying that military relations
with the US would "further strengthen the communications and cooperation
… and contribute to regional and world peace and stability." Gaffney,
who is also president of the National Defense University in Washington, DC
said he hoped that steps could be taken to "promote friendly cooperative
relations between the two countries and the two armed forces." Military
contacts between the two nations have been suspended since April of last year.
DOMESTIC: Chinese court withdraws death sentence for Christian leaderIn a rare reversal of verdict on a politically sensitive case, Christian leader Gong Shengliang,, initially convicted on cult charges and sentenced to death, will now face life imprisonment. The reversal came after the original verdict was thrown out by the Hubei Provincial High Court on September 22. The Court cited a lack of evidence in its decision, and ordered a new trial. For Gong's second trial, the cult charges were dropped, but the earlier charges of rape and battery were refilled. According to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, the Jingmen Intermediate Court found Gong guilty of these charges. Two other leaders were also sentenced to life for battery, while two others received fifteen year sentences on the same charges. The Center also reported that the defendants will appeal the verdicts. Gong is the leader of a banned Christian sect, the South China Church, which
was founded in 1991 and currently has a membership of around 50,000. Beijing
labeled the church an "evil cult" as part of its ongoing campaign
against the Falun Gong and other outlawed spiritual sects. Court and government
officials have declined to comment on the case.
DOMESTIC: Former high-ranking bank official sentenced to fifteen yearsThe New China News Agency reported on October 10th that Zhu Xiaohua, the
highest-ranking financial official convicted so far in the crackdown on corruption,
has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Mr. Zhu, is the former president
of China's sixth largest bank, the Hong Kong based Everbright Bank, and prior
served as governor of China's central bank, the People's Bank of China. A
former protégé of Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, Mr. Zhu had his
life sentence for bribery charges reduced after volunteering information investigators
had no previous knowledge of. Chinese political analysts acknowledge that
although Prime Minister Zhu Rongji has not been implicated, Mr. Zhu's sentencing
further supports indications that the Prime Minister will step down at the
16th Party Congress in November and that the Chinese government would like
to take an increasingly strong stance against corruption .
Last updated: 17 January 2001 |
