-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- New World Disorder Military: Warning to Taiwan "Necessary" Now, do we get our free cookies and milk? BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army has applauded Beijing's threat that Taiwan must start talks on reunification or face attack, vowing Wednesday that the statement would increase the vigilance of China's armed forces. That pledge appeared in the People's Liberation Army Daily, the armed forces' newspaper. Calling the threat ''necessary and timely,'' the response by the army underscored that in China the military will be the biggest winner from increased tension with Taiwan. The State Council, or cabinet, issued a white paper Monday that said China would attack the island if it declared independence, if it was occupied by a foreign power or if it indefinitely postponed negotiations on reunification with the mainland. The third scenario marked a change in policy, significantly broadening the terms under which Beijing would order an assault. In an article with the headline, ''When It Comes to Uniting the Motherland, We Will Never Compromise,'' the paper quoted officials from three departments of the military as voicing strong support for the expanded policy. ''The 'Three Ifs' clearly showed the preconditions under which we would be forced to take resolute measures, including use of military force,'' the paper said. ''You could call it our last card.'' China's military is known to favor a tough stance on Taiwan, partly because many officers feel that the only way to deal with the question is by force and partly because the military benefits from tension in the Taiwan Strait. Last year, for example, following the announcement by President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan that his government wanted to abandon the ''one-China'' policy that has been the bedrock of security in the region for 50 years, China is believed to have agreed to a significant increase in the military budget and the purchase of weapons systems from Russia and other countries. Taiwan is the main focus of modernization efforts by the People's Liberation Army. The Nanjing Military Region and the Guangzhou Military Region, both in the south near Taiwan, are two of the most favored of China's seven military regions. President Jiang Zemin visited the Guangzhou region this week, Chinese press reports said, apparently to show support for the task of reuniting with Taiwan. Western experts say that China's military is incapable of invading Taiwan. But by 2005, the military will have enough short-range missiles - an estimated 800 - and submarines - at least 60 - to undertake a successful blockade, the experts say. China is also working on such weapons as magnetic pulse bombs that could knock out electrical grids and computer systems, thereby crippling Taiwan's advanced economy, according to experts. In recent months, Western analysts and Chinese officials say, the military has succeeded in increasing its influence over Beijing's Taiwan policy. While the policy remains textured - mixing threats with opportunities - there appears to have been a decision to allow the military's modernization to proceed as quickly as possible in order to force Taiwan into surrendering at the negotiation table. One example is a report by the head of an Asian intelligence agency that China gave the army about $7 billion last year in an extra-budgetary allocation to buy or develop advanced weapons systems. Another example: reports by Asian diplomats that several times recently, Mr. Jiang has used the word ''liberate'' while talking about Taiwan - something no Chinese leader has done in public for years. The return of the military to Taiwan policy follows several years of waning influence after the People's Liberation Army's last major foray into such affairs. That was in 1996, when the army held exercises off Taiwan, lobbing missiles near the island's two biggest ports. Those exercises were intended to scare voters away from Mr. Lee in Taiwan's first direct elections for president. Instead, he won by a landslide. International Herald Tribune, February 24, 2000 Opium Market Record Opium Crop in Afghanistan The evil "off-shore" East Caribbean stock exchange. Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium supplier, almost doubled its sale last year and shows little sign of curbing production. A United Nations-backed report on Wednesday said Afghan production of opium - the raw material for heroin - was a record 4,600 tons, due to favourable weather conditions. At the same time, the International Narcotics Control Board said, heroin manufacture had moved to Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan. The ruling Taliban movement's commitment to ban opium poppy cultivation and heroin manufacture remained "questionable"; it continued to collect taxes on the harvested poppy crop and manufactured heroin, the report said. Afghanistan accounts for three quarters of world opium supplies. Of the area under opium poppy cultivation, 97 per cent was on territory controlled by the Taliban, the report said. "The board is concerned about this grave situation, which negatively affects not only west Asia, but also Europe and the rest of the world. It urges the world community to take appropriate measures." The report also pointed to the continued buoyancy of the Latin American cocaine trade, in spite of the success of drugs eradication programmes in Peru and Bolivia over the past five years. International efforts to crack down on the illicit use of potassium permanganate, a chemical used in cocaine production, also scored successes last year with the number of shipments seized or stopped rising by nearly four times. However, much of the reduction in production of coca leaf - the raw material for cocaine - has been offset by a rise in production in Colombia. Many of the areas where the raw materials for illegal drugs are grown are in the hands of guerrilla organisations. In addition, traffickers are "using new routes and methods to smuggle cocaine out of South America, as detection techniques are becoming more sophisticated". There is also concern about the way in which offshore financial centres could be helping drugs dealers to launder profits. Antonio Louren�o Martins, president of the board, said the "financial havens" had become "an enormous hole in the international legal and fiscal system and a challenge to international drug control efforts worldwide". The proposed establishment of an eastern Caribbean stock exchange might present opportunities for money laundering "that governments must take measures to deal with". The report said most offshore centres had introduced money laundering legislation but must effectively implement it and "as a matter of urgency, improve the transparency of financial transactions, particularly through the identification of the beneficial ownership of international business corporations". Separately, the report highlighted the fact that morphine and others opiates used to alleviate severe pain are not widely available in some industrialised and many poorer countries. Mr Louren�o Martins says that "a non-profit making mechanism for the use of otherwise unused narcotic drugs" should be considered as a way of remedying this. The Financial Times, February 24, 2000 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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