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(Global News, No. GL99-131)
Friday, September 24, 1999
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ISSN 1024-9117
Table of Contents # of Lines
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 59
2. Beijing Extends Help to Taipei Despite Chilly Relationship ........... 40
3. Earthquakes Warned Along Pacific Fault Lines ......................... 38
4. Beijing to Re-open WTO Talks With European Union ..................... 22
5. News From Taiwan (11 Items) .......................................... 53
6. What's in September 24th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #443 (cm9909d) ........... 37
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1. News Brief (4 Items) ................................................. 59
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(1) Earthquake Tremors Send Hong Kong Residents Into Streets
(2) United Nations Sends Team to Taiwan With Beijing's Approval
(3) Century's Deadly Earthquakes in Taiwan
(4) China Increases Official Holidays
(1) Earthquake Tremors Send Hong Kong Residents Into Streets
[CND, 09/23/99] Hong Kong residents reported slight tremors for a few
seconds after Tuesday's earthquake in Taiwan, the South China Morning
Post reported.
Residents reported lamp shades swinging, small objects moving, and
buildings shaking. They said the feeling was like a heavy truck passing
by. Residents of Tai Hang Building in Tai Hang Street ran into the
street and returned to the building half an hour later. There was no
report of damage or injury. Hong Kong is 700 kilometers away from the
epicenter of the earthquake. (Shiji SHEN, WU Yiyi)
____ ____ ____
(2) United Nations Sends Team to Taiwan With Beijing's Approval
[CND, 09/23/99] With Beijing's approval, the United Nations has sent
a coordinating rescue team to Taipei, AFP reported on Wednesday from
Geneva.
The team, consisting of two members of the Office of Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs and four experts from Denmark, Finland, Norway and
Sweden, will coordinate the work of rescue teams from around the world.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "expressed to the people of the Taiwan
Province of China his heartfelt sympathy," said a spokesman at the UN
headquarters in New York. (Jian-Min LI, YIN De An)
____ ____ ____
(3) Century's Deadly Earthquakes in Taiwan
[CND, 09/23/99] Many earthquakes occurred in the Taiwan area during this
century, but most of them struck deep under the sea and had little effect
on people's lives. Some hit the island with deadly force. According to
Associated Press, the eight worst earthquakes in Taiwan in this century are:
This Tuesday (09/21/99): a quake of 7.6 near Nantou, central Taiwan,
kills at least 1700 people.
1964: A quake of 6.5 in Tainan, south Taiwan, kills 106.
1951: A quake of 7.3 near Hualien, east Taiwan, kills 68.
1946: A quake of 6.3 near Tainan kills 74.
1941: A quake of 7.1 near Chiayi, south Taiwan, kills 358.
1935: A quake of 7.3 near Hsinchu, north Taiwan, kills 3,276.
1906: A quake of 7.1 near Chiayi kills 1,258.
1904: A quake measuring 6.3 near Chiayi kills 145.
(Lisa BU, Yiyi WU)
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(4) China Increases Official Holidays
[CND, 09/23/99] China has increased its official holidays to 10 days a
year from the current seven days, the China Daily reported.
Starting from October 1st, the National Day, people will have one more
day off in addition to the current two days, and two more days off for
May 1st, the International Labor Day, on top of the one-day holiday,
according to a State Council notice.
The State Council cited economical development and people's growing
need for a better material and cultural life as the reasons to revise
the old holiday regulations, which was made 50 years ago on December
23, 1949. The other four days of holidays, including the New Year's
Day, and the three-day Chinese New Year holidays, remain unchanged.
(Dan WU, WU Yiyi)
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2. Beijing Extends Help to Taipei Despite Chilly Relationship ........... 40
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[CND, 09/23/99] Beijing offered condolences and aid to victims in
Taiwan after the worst earthquake of the century hit the island, the
Hong Kong Standard reported on Wednesday.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman ZHANG Qiyue said that Chinese President
JIANG Zemin expressed the willingness to offer immediate assistance to
relief efforts in Taiwan. The mainland government agencies were already
contacting Taiwan counterparts and preparing to offer all necessary
assistance, Ms Zhang said. She expressed gratitude to international
organizations that are providing assistance and messages of condolences
to Taiwan.
The Chinese Red Cross announced US$100,000 in disaster aid and about
US$60,000 worth of relief supplies to victims. Mr. WANG Daohan, head of
the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait, said he was
shocked and grieved. The Association also sent a message of sympathy to
its counterpart in Taipei, the Straits Exchange Foundation. It was not
clear if the mainland would send any rescue and medical personnel to
the island.
Ms. Zhang insisted that the mainland's offer of help had nothing to do
with the political differences between the two sides. She reiterated
Beijing's position that Taiwan President LEE Teng-hui's "two state
theory" is a very dangerous step to split the country and called on him
to renounce it.
Mr. CHU Hsin-min, a member of Taiwan's National Assembly and professor
at the National Chengchi University, told the Hong Kong Standard that
people in Taiwan would appreciate "compatriots love and humanitarian
concern" from the mainland. However, he hoped that Beijing would not
use the humanitarian assistance for political gains. "Currently Taiwan
has become the disaster area catching world attention. All political
agenda should be put aside," he said.
Beijing and Taipei have been locked in a bitter dispute over Mr. Lee's
remarks in July that the two sides share a special "state-to-state"
relationship. The mainland has threatened Taiwan with a rhetoric of
words and military exercises. (LIU Weiming, WU Yiyi)
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3. Earthquakes Warned Along Pacific Fault Lines ......................... 38
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[CND, 09/23/99] Seismologists had issued warnings earlier this year
that a major earthquake could hit Taiwan, AP reported on Wednesday.
The island lies in the path of a major fault line on the western edge
of the so-called Pacific "rim of fire." The fault line runs down the
island's eastern coast. The central mountain range, rising to a height
of 4,000 meters, is where the Philippine tectonic plate meets the
Eurasian land mass. The fault line, which is very active, experiences
substantial numbers of tremors each year. Most quakes occur deep in the
earth's crust, however, limiting their potential for destruction.
Since 1964, the fault line has been in what scientists call a "cyclical
calm." Other than occasional small tremors, there have been no major
tectonic movements.
In March, however, seismologists in Taiwan predicted the end of the
calm period and the Central Weather Bureau issued warnings of
earthquakes greater than seven on the Richter scale. A tremendous
amount of energy had been building up beneath the earth's surface for
potentially devastating earthquakes.
The warnings were largely ignored, although President LEE Teng-hui did
order anti-quake measures to be put in place along the three major
quake zones in Hualien, Meishan, and Taichung, according to the weather
center.
Tuesday's earthquake was measured at 7.6, making it the most powerful
in Taiwan this century. According to statistics given by the China
Seismological Bureau reported by Xinhua, the quake's epicenter was
about 10 kilometer underground. According to ZHANG Guomin, a bureau
research fellow, the vast majority of earthquakes jolt the ocean
floor, but Tuesday's tremor's low depth made it highly destructive.
In Taiwan, with a population of 22 million and a density of 666 people
per square kilometer, death tolls in the event of a large quake tend to
be high. (MA Lin, WU Yiyi)
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4. Beijing to Re-open WTO Talks With European Union ..................... 22
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[CND, 09/23/99] China announced that it will re-open talks on its
entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the European Union
(EU) next month, AP reported on Tuesday.
"We have been wanting this for some time," said Anthony Gooch, EU trade
spokesman, "We welcome the early accession of China to the WTO on the
appropriate terms." China stopped WTO talks with NATO allies after the
NATO bombing of its embassy in Belgrade.
Chinese Foreign Minister TANG Jiaxuan met with EU Foreign Relation
Commissioner Chris Patten on Monday during a United Nations general
assembly. "Most parties agree that China is 90 percent of the way to a
successful negotiation," said Patten, former British governor of Hong
Kong.
The exact date and venue for the talks have not been decided yet, said
an EU official. The EU is looking for industrial tariffs to be cut to
under 15 percent, which will facilitate EU's expansion into the
automobile, ceramics, textiles and glass sectors, according to an EU
trade official who spoke on terms of anonymity. (Dong LIU, WU Yiyi)
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5. News From Taiwan (11 Items) .......................................... 53
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Source: Taiwan's China News (09/18/99 - 09/22/99)
Contributor: Chang-Jiu Chen; Abridged by: TIAN Yu.
* September 19, being an auspicious date in the Chinese calendar, owners of
hotels and restaurants estimated that more than 100,000 people attended
receptions on the island.
* A group of U.S. military advisers is expected today to begin a visit to
Taiwan air force sites and gather information for a report on the
island's air defense, a trip originally scheduled for July but postponed
after controversy over President LEE Teng-hui's "special state-to-state"
relationship declaration.
* Efforts to salvage an air services agreement between Taipei and Manila
might be elevated to the presidential level should cash-strapped
Philippine Airlines and its Taiwanese counterparts fail to produce an
accord before September 30, the head of the Philippines' de facto
embassy in Taipei said.
* Taiwan's woman smokers have increased to 5.23 percent of the total female
population, while now 11.33 percent of teenage boys and 3.16 percent of
teenage girls smoke, according to a recent survey.
* Nearly 60 percent of people interviewed in a recent survey say they do
not believe a KMT allegation that former Taiwan Governor James SOONG has
misused public funds in his independent bid for the presidency.
* Presidential candidate James SOONG faces probable expulsion from the KMT
this week amid an increasingly rancorous dispute that could further split
the party ahead of the crucial national elections next March.
* CHEN Shui-bian, the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential
candidate, pledged to allow direct trade and transportation links with
the mainland as long as national security is maintained. It is viewed as
as a significant step toward fully normalizing cross-strait ties.
* Independent presidential candidate James SOONG and New Party candidate
LI Ao accused Democratic Propgrassive Party candidate CHEN Shui-bian of
plagiarizing their ideas for opening substantive dialogue and the so-called
"three links" with the mainland.
* A KMT legislator who supports former Taiwan Governor James SOONG said
he does not mind being expelled by the party for supporting Soong, but
deplores the undemocratic action of some KMT leaders.
* Taipei District Court Judge WANG Pei-chih, who recently turned down a
nomination from the KMT to run for Yunlin County chief in a by-election,
faces a disciplinary hearing by the Judicial Yuan for participating in
political activities.
* Taiwan has sent a naval group to patrol waters around the Spratly Islands
in South China Sea to reiterate its claim to sovereignty over them.
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6. What's in September 24th's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #443 (cm9909d) ........... 37
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_From: Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board (cnd-cm@cnd.org)
Hua Xia Wen Zhai
(CND Chinese Magazine)
Issue #443
September 24, 1999
ISSN 1021-8602
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Table of Contents (cm9909d)
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1. Headline News of the Week (September 17 - September 23) ............. CND
2. Glimpse of China: Experimenting with a Lottery System
in High School Admissions ............ LI Zhongqiang
3. Random Thoughts: Cultivating the Intangibles ..................... Wei Yi
4. Essays: High Clouds Adventurously Floating By ............... HE Jiasheng
The Aroma of the Sun ................................... HAN Xuan
5. Opinions: Traitor of the Nation vs. Seller of Oneself ........ Xiang Ling
Continuity or Disruption? .......................... Ba Jiu Hou
6. Info Exchange: Bank Loans to be Available for Study-Abroad
7. Cultural Forum: ZENG Guofan's Experience:
From Programmatic to Reactive ................. SUN Di
7. Travel: A Trip to Africa (Part 2): Tanzania (I) ............... DU Xinxin
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