CND-Global, July 14, 1999 (GL99-099)
CND-Global Editors
(Global News, No. GL99-099)
Wednesday, July 14, 1999
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ISSN 1024-9117
Table of Contents # of Lines
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 67
2. Family Hotlines Available to Prisoners in Beijing Jails .............. 25
3. Companies Expect Hong Kong Economy to Rebound ........................ 23
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 67
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(1) Beijing Condemns Taiwanese President's Referral to Relations
(2) Leaders Encourage Women's Soccer Team
(3) United States to Send Envoy to Beijing to Offer Bombing Reparations
(4) Eight Killed, Sixty-One Injured in Train Derailment
(1) Beijing Condemns Taiwanese President's Referral to Relations
[CND, 07/13/99] Beijing reacted angrily after Taiwanese President LEE
Teng-hui referred to the cross straits relationship as "state-to-state"
during an interview on German radio, the Hong Kong Standard reported on
Monday.
The mainland's State Council and the Communist Party Central Committee
issued a joint statement condemning Lee's comments, branding him as a
separatist.
This latest exchange could adversely affect the visit to Taiwan by WANG
Daohan, chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan
Straits (Arats), planned for later this year. Taipei played down the
issue, though insisting that Lee was only stating Taiwan's longstanding
position. (Jim YANG, WU Yiyi)
____ ____ ____
(2) Leaders Encourage Women's Soccer Team
[CND, 07/13/99] Top leaders expressed their appreciation and
encouragement to the Chinese women's soccer team, after the July 10
loss to the U.S. team in the Women's World Cup final, according to the
South China Morning Post.
President JIANG Zemin and Vice Premier LI Lanqing phoned the team
following the match, which ended in a 5-4 shootout. According to a
Xinhua report, Mr. Jiang told the team: "You have demonstrated fully
the aspiration to win honors for the motherland. Whether you win or
lose, the whole nation and the people will extend their warmest
greetings to you." The vice premier congratulated the team for their
achievement and encouraged them to learn from the experience.
After the match, there was increased police presence in Beijing outside
the U.S. Embassy. (Xiao PING, WU Yiyi)
____ ____ ____
(3) United States to Send Envoy to Beijing to Offer Bombing Reparations
[CND, 07/13/99] Washington will send a top State Department official
to Beijing this week to offer monetary compensation to the May 7
bombing victims, the Hong Kong Standard reported Monday.
The State Department spokeswoman said that she did not know the amount
of the payment. It is also unclear whether the payment will be
compensation for liabilities, or "humanitarian" reasons. Beijing has
reportedly refused to accept reparations offered on an "humanitarian"
basis.
The announcement coincided with a call by President Clinton over the
weekend to improve the recently strained Sino-U.S. ties. Mr. Clinton
indicated that the relations between the two countries in recent years
have been constructive. "We should resume that path," he said, after
watching the final of the Women's Soccer World Cup held in California
on Saturday. (Xiayi KE, WU Yiyi)
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(4) Eight Killed, Sixty-One Injured in Train Derailment
[CND, 07/13/99] A train derailment has resulted in at least eight
deaths, injuring 61 people in Hengyang city, Hunan Province, according
to reports by Xinhua News Agency.
Twelve of the train's eighteen cars went off the track at 10:48 pm.
Vice Minister of Ministry of Railways LIU Zhijun, who arrived at the
scene on Saturday, announced that a preliminary investigation indicated
that the derailment may have been caused by the train traveling at
excessive speeds. The train's data recorder has since been recovered by
rescue workers.
The train, which was traveling from Wuchang city of Hubei province to
Zhanjiang city in Guangdong province, was carrying more than 1,000
people at the time of the accident. (Andrew MARBLE, WU Yiyi)
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2. Family Hotlines Available to Prisoners in Beijing Jails .............. 25
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[CND, 07/13/1999] As of June 30, all of Beijing's jails had installed
special "family hotlines," enabling prisoners to phone their families
with the approval of jail authorities, the official China Daily reported on
Monday.
These new hotlines are part of a larger merit-based point-accrual plan,
where prisoners with good behavior may choose to apply their points
toward visits with their families at special prison rooms, at their
homes, or toward 10-to-30 minute phone calls.
For prisoners like 31-year-old WANG Lipeng, this new system was
particularly welcome, as he eagerly remarked after a call to his
sister, "I heard my nephew's voice for the first time."
One official from the Beijing Municipal Administration of Prisons
was quick to note, "But not all prisoners are entitled to the
right to make phone calls ... Those who get approval can make one or
two phone calls to their family members each month."
The official also mentioned that this new privilege was being
entertained with the hope it would provide a new means for "educating
prisoners through the joint efforts of the prison and society."
(Jennifer Hyman, WU Yiyi)
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3. Companies Expect Hong Kong Economy to Rebound ........................ 23
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[CND, 07/13/99] A recent survey of more than 144 Hong Kong-based
companies suggests that Hong Kong's economy is expected to move forward
in the next six months, The South China Morning Post reported on
Monday.
About 52.4 percent of the companies that participated in the latest
quarterly SCM-Nomura survey said they expected the overall Hong Kong
economy to improve, compared to only 20.4 percent who felt the same in
the previous survey published in April. The rest of the participants
predicted the economy would remain unchanged.
The Business Barometer Index, which asked the participants to rank the
economy from one to 100, jumped from 44 to 54 in the second quarter.
The index was as low as 38 in the first quarter.
The survey also showed that while about 52 percent of the companies
would keep their investments at the current levels, 40 percent said they
would invest more. An overwhelming majority believed the current price
would hold or drop. Compared to the previous survey, more respondents
were expecting the government to increase the interest rate.
(LIU Weijun, WU Yiyi)
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| Executive Editor of This Issue: Dong LIU (CA) |
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