Extracts.
10-year Plan in Place for `New Western China'
China is trying to achieve satisfactory development in western parts of the
country in five to 10 years and to establish a "new western China'' by the
middle of this century, one of the leading officials implementing the policy
said Wednesday.
At the end of the period, people in the region will enjoy economic
prosperity, social stability, ethnic unity and a beautiful landscape,
according to Ning Jizhe, a senior official with the office of the Leading
Group for the Development of Western China of the State Council.
To achieve results, China will speed up building a sound infrastructure in
the region, which geographically covers 12 provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities, he said.
Water conservancy, energy, telecommunications and urban facilities have been
put at the top of the agenda. Ning was speaking at the opening meeting of
the China Economic Forum 2001, sponsored by the Academy of Macroeconomic
Research of the State Development Planning Commission and the HSBC (Hong
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp).
The government will also take measures to strengthen environmental
preservation and enhancement, he said.
Local people are being encouraged to make the most of rich natural resources
and cheap labour, said Ning.
Agriculture, processing of minerals and tourism are all industries that
could be developed.
Ning said the central government is working on a series of policies to push
ahead the development of western China.
Attracting a flow of labour and expertise into western China and effectively
using land and natural resources are the main focuses of the policy.
Foreign investors, especially transnational conglomerates, are being
encouraged to invest in western China and service sectors -- such as
finance, insurance, accounting, law and commerce -- which will open wider to
foreigners, said Ning.
Detailed rules on preferential policies, including tax breaks, will be
published soon, he added.
The Chinese Government officially announced its plan to develop western
China in 1999.
****
Falun Gong Leads Followers to Suicide (Part II)
Xinhua News Agency published Wednesday the second part of a case study of
the reports on 136 suicidal Falun Gong followers, entitled "A Road to
'Nirvana' That Leads to Death."
The 136 suicides are irrefutable evidence of the brutal murder of lives and
the total disregard of their human rights by Falun Gong and cult leader Li
Hongzhi, according to reporters participating in the investigation.
The bloody lesson people could learn from these suicides is that the road
claimed by the cult chieftain as leading to the so-called "Nirvana" and
"Heavenly Kingdom" is nothing but a road that leads to death.
The facts show that it is hard to imagine how many more Falun Gong
practitioners would have fallen victim to the cult and how many more
families would have lost their loved ones, if the government had not banned
the cult in time on July 22, 1999.
Among of the suicidal practitioners, many of them were trying hard to
achieve "Shangcengci," or to ascend to a higher level of faith, according to
the case study.
One of those who killed themselves to try and ascend is Sun Jie, a worker at
the No.803 Plant under the power supply administration of Gansu Province.
On April 26, 1999, Sun committed suicide by setting himself on fire at home,
with a tape-recorder broadcasting the ringleader's teachings in arms and a
copy of Li's works.
Tang Xiaoping, Sun's widow, told Xinhua that ever since her late husband
began practicing Falun Gong, their family had lost the harmony it once had
because Sun was reluctant to care about his wife and their child and
indulged himself in studying the cult teachings completely.
Sun often told his wife that according to Li's teachings, the followers must
abandon the desires and love of ordinary people, so that they could achieve
the goal of "Shangcengci" (to a higher level) and finally reach the highest
level.
Beginning from the end of 1998, Sun became abnormal and often told his wife
that there was little time left for him and he had to lose no time in
practicing Falun Gong. Since then, Sun often stayed up the whole night by
listening to tape recordings or watching video tapes, regardless of other
matters.
During the whole winter, before setting himself on fire in the Spring, Sun
always practiced late into the night outside the house, braving chilly snow
and winds. He lost his toenails due to the harsh weather.
According to the cult leader, the human being has plunged to the lowest
level from the space and are leading a moronic life, and therefore, they
must try to escape as quickly as possible by ascending level by level. The
only way to ascend is to practice
Falun Gong.
The ringleader of Falun Gong has depicted the "highest level" like this:
When the highest level is reached, one can get and do whatever he wants to,
and they have everything in his world.
In addition to practicing, Li also urged his believers to "Hongfa (Spread
Falun Gong)" and "Hufa (Safeguard Falun Gong)" to achieve "Shangcengci."
Referring to "Hongfa," the followers should study his teachings by reciting,
listening to tape-recordings and watching video tapes, while exchanging
their views. "Hufa" demands the followers to stand various sufferings in a
show of their true belief, when Falun Gong is criticized by others.
Many of the followers were convinced that if they did not obey the Master's
teachings, they would be killed by the "gods" that guard Falun Gong.
Among Li's teachings, "Nirvana," a term Li has stolen from Buddhism, is the
most deceiving, which demands the followers to reach "Nirvana" through
"Xiaoye (Eliminate Bad Things)" and "Shangcengci" (ascending to a higher
level).
By practicing Falun Gong, people are turning themselves into various kinds
of gods or goddesses, according to the cult chieftain.
On August 29, 1998, Wang Yuzhi, a woman from Yibin, Sichuan Province, told
her husband, "I'm going to ascend to the skies and I'll start to fly after I
count from one to nine."
Wang looked gawkish, after she failed to start flying after the counting.
She hanged herself to death in her home the day after.
According to her husband, Wang became a Falun Gong practitioner in May 1998,
and since then, she gave up all home chores and immersed herself in the
practice. Wang often told her husband and parents that she was not ordinary
and wanted to become a fairy in the so-called "Paradise."
The ringleader has made a promise to his followers, "I want to conduct a
magnificent action when you have reached 'Yuanman (Nirvana).' All my
disciples will fly up to the Heaven with their bodies, regardless of whether
they want their bodies or not. Those who don't want their bodies would have
their bodies melted like a rainbow, before they ascend to the skies."
Many of the suicides believed that when they reach "Nirvana," what they give
up is nothing but the body.
Feng Shaobao, a suicidal follower from Nanjing, the provincial capital of
Jiangsu Province, writes in his diary, "Who are our kin? Our real parents
are looking at us from the Heaven. They are calling us to return and all of
us want to return."
Feng, a shipbuilding factory worker, hung himself on July 10, 1998, four
years after he started practicing Falun Gong. Before he died, Feng told his
wife, "If I do not come back in 48 hours, I have certainly reached the
'Heavenly Kingdom.'"
On July 22, 1999, Song Yufeng, a farmer from Wuzhi County, Henan Province,
poisoned himself to death, in hopes that all his family members would enjoy
his luck, after he becomes a god in the "Heaven."
On April 14, 1999, Liu Shengzhi in Mianzhu City in Sichuan hung herself,
thinking that she had practiced well enough to reach " Nirvana" and the
Lotus-sitting "Master Li" was coming to receive her.
On June 5, 1999, He Limin, a farmer in Tangshan City in Hebei Province, died
after taking poison. Prior to dying he murmured, "I'm becoming a god. I'm
becoming a god."
During their investigation, the Xinhua reporters came to learn that many of
the suicidal practitioners were convinced by the ringleader that they had
been granted such magic powers as "flying high under the Sun" and "free of
being hurt by bullet and knife."
"I've got many 'Fashen (Invisible Bodies)" who look alike to me and are able
to do anything by themselves. They will look after and protect you wherever
you are," the cult head says.
Liu Fengsheng, a villager in Sanhe Town, Hebei Province, began practicing
Falun Gong in early 1998. One day in September, 1998, Liu told others that
he had become a god through practicing and was able to fly across a river.
On April 26, 1999, Liu, in a pair of new shoes and with an umbrella in hand,
tried in vain to fly across the river, but drowned.
Sun Wuju, a woman of Jining, Shandong Province, had practiced Falun Gong
since 1997, and then the woman thought she had gained
magic powers.
On February 5, 1999, Sun drank poison and said to her daughter, "I will not
die as I can use the magic powers to force out the poison from my body."
Afterwards, she ate steamed bread with tea, trying to force out the poison,
but failed. She died, before others could convince her to go to hospital.
Li Hongzhi's heresy has aroused anger among local experts. Zhang Honglin, a
deep-breath researcher from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute of
China, pointed out that Li's evil teachings have bewildered his followers
and made them believe that they could get magic powers through practicing
Falun Gong.
Under Li's instructions, the followers have to practice Falun Gong day and
night, which would make them lose interests in their family members and
friends and turn to believe in magic powers, according to the expert.
The bloody facts have exposed the nature of Falun Gong and the 136 lost
lives show that the so-called "Truthfulness, Kindness and Tolerance"
advocated by the ringleader are lies.
The facts have helped the people see the harm of Li's evil teachings and the
nature of Falun Gong which is really a cult that has cruelly taken lives,
damaged human nature, and trampled on human rights, the case study says. It
warns people to be on their guard.
****
Chinese, Djibouti Presidents Hold Talks
President Jiang Zemin
<http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/leaders/jzm/jzmhome.htm> and
visiting Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh have begun talks at the
Great Hall of the People.
Guelleh, Djibouti's second president after its independence, arrived in
Beijing <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html>
Tuesday afternoon on a six-day state visit at the invitation of Jiang.
Guelleh had visited China four times before he became Djibouti' s president.
****
China, Poland to Strengthen Ties
China is willing to work with Poland
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/poland.html> in bringing their
friendly cooperative relations to a new high in the 21st century, Foreign
Minister Tang Jiaxuan told his Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Bartoszewski
Tuesday.
Since the two countries forged diplomatic ties five decades ago, bilateral
relations have been developing smoothly in general, Tang said. In recent
years the bilateral relations have also developing steadily despite changes
taking place in the international arena as well as in the two countries,
Tang noted.
Bartoszewski said Poland values China's role in international affairs and
admires China's great achievements in social and economic development during
the past two decades of reform and opening up. Poland wishes to further
enhance cooperation with China in all sectors, he added.
On the Taiwan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/taiwan.html>
issue, Bartoszewski said that Poland will continue to stick to the
"one-China" principle and will not develop any official relations or
official contacts with Taiwan.
Bartoszewski and his delegation arrived here Tuesday Monday at the
invitation of Tang.
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
