Week of May 16, 2003
Week
of June 13, 2003
The U.S. and China This Week
DOMESTIC: China Increases Dialogue with Dalai Lama
Chinese officials have recently highlighted the visits of representatives
of the Dalai Lama as signs of Beijing's willingness to keep the dialogue between
the Chinese government and the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet. Officials
continue to maintain, however, that China's stance on the Tibet question remains
unchanged. Such visits are a relatively new occurrence, as official dialogue
between the two sides has stalled in recent years and was suspended in 1993.Before
the envoys visited China in September of 2002, representatives of the Dalai
Lama had not officially visited China since 1985.
In exile since fleeing Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama continues
to lobby for greater Tibetan autonomy, although others among the Tibetan exile
community have advocated full Tibetan independence.
INTERNATIONAL: Spread of SARS Winding Down
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently stated
that the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), in terms
of number of cases, is now close to running its course. According to WHO
officials, only seven cases of SARS have been reported by the middle of
this week with China registering no SARS related deaths, a welcome sign
to the region, which has been caught up in SARS related panic.
China was both the country in which the epidemic began and
the one most hard hit by its effects with over 5, 000 people infected.
Although WHO officials have recently praised the efforts made by China,
in recent weeks, to monitor and contain the disease, they also caution
that there is still no guarantee that SARS may continue to exist and result
in another outbreak.
According to WHO officials, it is expected that the warning
against travel to Beijing and other affected regions of China may soon
be lifted.
INTENATIONAL: Vajpayee Soon to Visit Beijing
According to news reports, China's new leadership has
been advocating plans to eliminate village and county government administration.
Such reforms would have tremendous impact on both government organization
and spending, as a preponderance of the civil service serves under the
country level.
It has also been reported that both president Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen Jiabao have attempted to institute other measures to
curb government spending. This includes the planned elimination of numerous
bureaucratic procedural rules and the abolishment of various official
perquisites.
The U.S. and China This Week
uscpf@uscpf.org
Last updated: 17 January 2001
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