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The U.S. and China This Week
Week of August 8, 2003
The U.S. and China This Week
Cabinet Reshuffle in Hong Kong
It has been a little over a month since half a million people
took to the streets in Hong Kong in protest of a national security law that
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hua attempted to shepherd through the Hong Kong
legislature at Beijing's behest. Tung was ultimately forced to postpone consideration
of the bill when Liberal Party Chairman, James Tien, defected from Tung's
cabinet and withdrew his party's support for the bill, giving pro-democracy
parties the votes necessary to force postponement should Tung have continued
to press the legislation. Tung then announced that he would shift his focus
to the economy, but gave every indication that he intends to take up the bill
later, under more favorable conditions.
Encouraged by their initial success at forcing postponement
of the security legislation, tens of thousands of demonstrators encircled
the Legislative Council on July 9 and demanded Tung's resignation and called
for direct elections. Organizers reported a turnout of 50,000 participants,
which although significant, constituted a mere fraction of the July 1 turnout.
More moderate voices called for Tung to reshuffle his unpopular ministers.
It seems the moderates have one out: Beijing leaders reasserted
their support for Tung, who has declined to step down. Instead, he is reshuffling
his cabinet in an attempt to restore faith in his government. Mr. Ambrose
Lee, formerly the head of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption,
will replace Regina Ip as security chief. Ms. Ip had strongly supported the
security legislation despite concerns that it would erode press and religious
freedom in Hong Kong. Henry Tang, formerly the secretary for commerce, will
replace Anthony Leung as finance secretary. Mr. Leung was recently embroiled
in a tax scandal when it became known that he had purchased a luxury automobile
just days before announcing a tax increase on vehicle purchases. It will fall
to Mr. Lee to push through a watered down version of the security bill. Chief
Executive Tung has already agreed to seek public input before re-introducing
it, but opposition parties affirm they will still fight the legislation.
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Deficit Spending on Public Works Attracts International Bids
China is implementing and planning a number of large-scale
public works projects to ensure that its development isn't stymied by lack
of infrastructure. In fact, the government is projecting a record 320 billion
Yuan ($39 billion) budget deficit this year due largely to increased public
works spending. Among those projects already underway are 100,000 miles
of new roads, a $3.3 billion railway linking the western province of Qinghai
with Tibet, and the Three Gorges Dam, built to control flooding on the Yangtze
River and generate power.
The world's fastest train, the $1.25 billion Maglev, began
operation in October of this year. The Maglev traverses the 19 miles between
Shanghai's financial center and the Pudong airport in eight minutes, at
up to 267 miles per hour. Another high-speed rail line linking Shanghai
and Beijing is currently on the drawing board; however, the Maglev technology
is likely still too cost-prohibitive for longer projects, in this case 1,300
kilometers. The leading bidders for the project include a consortium of
Japanese companies pushing Japan's Shinkansen technology. Among the suppliers
of the 168-mile-per-hour Shinkansen are Mitsubishi Heavy and Kawasaki Heavy,
the countries largest and second largest heavy machinery makers. This week,
Japanese Transportation Minister Chikage Ogi is visiting China to bolster
their bid. Her visit follows a similar lobbying effort by France's trade
minister, Francois Loos, who was in Beijing in July to push Alstrom's TGV
technology, which can travel at speeds up to 186 miles per hour. The Chinese
government has not said when it will announce the winning bid for the Shanghai-Beijing
link.
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U.S.-China Relations: Chinese Dissident Tried on Espionage
Charges
Yang Jianli, a forty-year-old permanent resident of the
United States who resides in Brookline, Mass., was tried in Beijing Tuesday
on espionage charges. The court adjourned without giving a verdict after
a three-hour closed hearing, according to Yang's attorney. Yang is the
second U.S. based dissident to be tried this year on charges of spying
for Taiwan. Wang Bingzhang, a New-York-based activist, was sentenced to
life in prison after being convicted of espionage and terrorism in February.
Yang first came to the U.S. in 1985 to study, but returned
to China to participate in the 1989 student-led democracy protests. After
the military crackdown in June 1989 Yang fled to the U.S. and was banned
from returning to the PRC. He later earned a PhD in political economy
at Harvard, after which he started the Foundation for China in the 21st
Century, which he still leads.
Yang was detained in April 2002 while traveling in China
to meet with disgruntled workers who had participated in protests across
China. He is also said to have met with a number of other young activists.
Originally he was charged only with entering the country illegally (he
used a friend's passport), but the focus soon became a number of grants
his organization had received from Taiwanese sources. The case has attracted
quite a bit of attention in the U.S., where Yang's wife and two young
daughters reside, and the Bush administration has repeatedly raised Yang's
case with Chinese officials. Moreover, both the House and Senate passed
resolutions urging Beijing to release him. A verdict on Yang's case is
expected within the month.
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All
views expressed herein are those of the writers and editors
and
do not reflect the views of USCPF itself.
uscpf@uscpf.org
Last Updated: 5 December 2001
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