Extracts. Beijing Villagers Start Practicing Grassroots Democracy Farmers in Xiwongzhuang, a village at the foot of the Great Wall, about 80 kilometers from downtown Beijing, started their first direct election for village leader early Friday morning. The voice heard coming from the high-frequency speaker in the village was not that of Yang Derong, head of the village, but of a woman announcer reminding villagers to come and vote. In the coming four months, farmers in nearly 4,000 villages in the suburbs of Beijing, who are considered to be more politically- minded than farmers in other parts of China, will directly elect their village leaders for the first time ever. The election dates for China's 730,000 village committees varied from one village to another. The last six provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, will finish this round of elections before the end of this year. This signifies the end of the first round of direct elections ever held in China's rural areas since the Organic Law of Village Committees was enforced in 1998, said sources from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Villagers from Xiwongzhuang selected two candidates themselves ten days ago, and pictures, resumes and written campaign speeches of the candidates were posted along the way to the ballot station in front of the village committee's office building. After breakfast, villagers began streaming to the ballot station, lining up to give their final say on who would be the next village head. Zhu Fenglan, an 80-year-old woman whose feet were deformed by the practice of food binding in old China, came with two electoral certificates and a trust paper as she had to get a ballot for her paralyzed husband so she could vote on behalf of him according to his will. An official told the illiterate granny that she could vote for either of the two candidates, or she could name a third candidate. "My grandma did not tell me whom she and my grandpa voted for," said Liu Lina, 22, who came to vote from her factory in the county. "I will vote for someone who can do good things in our interests." Liu Xilai expressed the hope that the candidate he voted for would win. "I would then discuss with him how to make our village richer so we could all live a better life." The average income of farmers in Xiwongzhuang Village surpassed 6,000 yuan last year, 2.6 times that of the national average. The two candidates, Yang Derong and Hou Dongsheng, went back home after casting their ballots. "According to the election rules, they are not allowed to be seen on the spot after voting as their presence might have some impact on other voters," said Zhang Benhong, vice-chairman of the electoral committee. Hou Zhongjin was one of the villagers who sat not far from the election state waiting for the outcome when they cast their ballots into the big red box. "This election is good," said 53-year-old Hou. "We are free to make choices and no one can practice fraud." Hou voted at the door of his house in an election three years ago, as someone was hired to go from door to door with the ballot box in his arms for villagers to cast their vote. And there was only one candidate. Hou Dongsheng said he had never expected to become a candidate for the election when he was informed on March 12 that he got 237 votes, enough to make him the arch rival of the current village head Yang Derong, though Yang received 122 votes more than he did. "That would have been totally impossible if it is not the direct election, because I am not a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC)," Hou said. In the experimental direct elections held earlier in 183 villages in Beijing, one tenth of the leaders elected were not CPC members. "It's nothing strange," said Wang Jinhua, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Compared with the rates of 20 to 30 percent in some provinces, Beijing's result was much lower. The final result turned out before supper. Yang Derong won 829 votes of the 1,657 valid ballots, 102 more than Hou Dongsheng. Yang will soon start his fourth term which lasts three years. Wen Qingyun, an official from Beijing municipal bureau of civil affairs, said that villagers showed strong enthusiasm during the pilot election earlier. On average 86 percent of the electors voted, and in some villages the rate was 100 percent. "They scrutinized the specific rules of the election," said Wen, "and will ask for a re-examination if they find something questionable." China has gain precious experience from its 12-year practice of direct elections in villages, said Wang Jinhua. "Beijing is making even more progress while standing on the shoulders of other provinces." **** Qian Says China's Reunification Conducive to Sino-U.S. Ties Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen said here Friday that an early reunification of China is conducive to a healthy development of bilateral ties between China and the United States and to the peace of the Asia-Pacific and the world at large. "The Taiwan question holds the key to a healthy China-U.S. relationship," Qian said while addressing a welcome luncheon jointly hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, U.S.-China Business Council, U.S.-China Policy Foundation and the Nixon Center. "There is only one China in the world. Both the mainland and Taiwan are part of China. China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division," the vice premier stated. "It is the firm resolve of all the Chinese residing at home and abroad to settle the Taiwan question and achieve the reunification of the motherland at an early date," he stressed. "Our basic principle on settling the Taiwan question is ' peaceful reunification and one country, two systems'," Qian said. "Once the Taiwan authorities accept the one-China principle, the two sides across the Taiwan Straits may resume talks, and anything can be discussed in such talks." According to Qian, under the "one country, two systems" formula, Taiwan may retain its economic system and way of life. It may manage its own party, government and military systems, maintain its judicial independence and even retain the power of final adjudication. "So, for the people of Taiwan and the whole country, peaceful reunification at an early date will bring them all the benefits and not a single harm," Qian said. "The root cause for the tension across the Straits lies with the separatist attempt for Taiwan's independence from China. This is absolutely impermissible," he stated. The Taiwan question is a legacy of China's civil war and also a result of foreign interference, Qian said, noting that there is no doubt that it is up to the Chinese people to solve it among themselves and the issue brooks no foreign intervention. "Due to historical reasons, most of the ups and downs in China- U.S. relations can be traced to the Taiwan question," he said, " How this question is handled has a direct bearing on a stable development of our relations." "Successive U.S. administrations, Republican or Democratic, have all undertaken in explicit terms to implement the one-China principle, observe the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques and the principles of mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Qian said. "To honor these commitments is vital to China-U.S. relations," the vice premier noted. "An early reunification of China is conducive to a healthy development of our bilateral ties and to the peace of the Asia- Pacific and the world at large. It will benefit both China and the U.S.," he added. **** Environment Impact of West-east Gas Pipeline Under Assessment The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) is busy shaping a report on the potential impact on the environment caused by a planned 4,200- kilometer gas pipeline from West China to the East. The west-east gas pipeline project is China's second-largest infrastructure project next to the Three Gorges Dam project. Its construction will start in the first half of this year and be put into operation by 2003. The impact is to be quite complicated as the gas pipeline will start from the desert-dominated Xinjiang <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/xinjiang.html> in northwest China to Shanghai <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/Shanghai.html> , a coastal metropolis in the east, said Mou Guangfeng, an official with the SEPA. The pipeline will run through deserts, highlands, grassland, forests, wetlands and also farmland in seven provinces in China. The government will evaluate the negative influence the project may have and find out the solution, Mou added. A general report has been drawn up and approved. The project has to deal with soil erosion when it runs through the loess highlands. Loose earth and deserted coal mines there may get pipelines in trouble, he said. The West-east gas pipeline project will provide 12 to 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas to provinces around the Yangtze Delta after it is put into operation. This will greatly change the energy consumption mix and improve the air quality there. About 120 billion yuan is to be invested in the first phase of the project. **** Hezbollah Official Scoffs at Sharon's Threats A senior official of Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah on Friday termed as "hollow threats" Israel <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/israel.html> i Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's intimidation to launch large-scale offensive against Lebanon <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/lebanon.html> . Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's second in command, told Al Mustaqbal television that Sharon's threats are "just an attempted intimidation to neutralize the northern front." "He dreads the specter of a rekindled south Lebanon war front and he shudders at the prospect of having to face the Palestinian and Lebanese fronts simultaneously," Kassem added. He denied Sharon's charge that Hezbollah, or Party of God, was fighting alongside Palestinian fighters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying that Sharon was trying to "create a political excuse for escalation of Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian Intifada (uprising)." During his recent visit to the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> , Sharon accused Hezbollah of suing Palestinian groups to stage attacks against Israeli targets. He also claimed that Iran <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iran.html> was airlifting massive arms supplies to Hezbollah. "Sharon is in an impasse that forces him to make intimidating accusations and threats," Kassem said. He reiterated that Hezbollah is "waiting for a chance to deal a really painful blow to the enemy (Israel)." Hezbollah spearheaded resistance to eventually force Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon last May, ending Israel's 22- year occupation of the border strip. But it vows to continue fighting as long as Israel occupies the Shebaa Farms, a mountainous area at the Lebanese-Syria <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Syria.html> n border. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
