Extracts. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________ Scientists Foresee Green New Century China's noted chemists and physicists with the University of Science and Technology gathered in Hefei, Anhui Province, Sunday night to work out a blueprint for a green 21st century. -- Science and technology, especially those involving the chemistry, have greatly improved people's living standards. However, they have also caused serious pollution, the scientists said. The 21st century is destined to be a century based on green sciences and technologies, and all scientists are responsible for solving the problem of pollution, they insisted. China must develop the green science and technology to promote the harmonious development between economy, population, resources and environment, they urged, vowing to contribute more to the research, application and popularization of the green science and technology. **** China Greets New Century in Various Festivities People across China tonight are holding festivities to bid farewell to the eventful 20th century and welcome the new century. The country has been decorated with flowers and flags. People are expressing their happiness and excitement through the beating of drums, singing and lion and dragon dances. Celebrations in China's capital city of Beijing reached their climax on the eve of the upcoming 21st century. Some 2,001 students, representing the year 2001, climbed up to the Great Wall, which was built to defend the nation from intruders in ancient dynasties. The bright candles in their hands formed the shape of a dragon, blessing the country with more strength and prosperity in the next century. "Embracing the new century", a grand performance held in the China Centenary Altar in Beijing, a symbolic architecture completed last year to greet the new millennium and the new century, attracted artists from all over China. Shanghai, a city aiming to become a world center of finance, trade and information services in the next century, is immersed in flowers this evening. Thousands of jubilant local residents were singing and dancing outside Huangpu Park, where the sign saying "No entrance for Chinese and dogs" was once hung by foreign colonists. People of all sorts relished in the festive atmosphere in the Pudong District. With over 6,000 overseas investors and nearly 50 foreign financial institutions, the district has become one of the most active investment areas in the world. The Longhuagao drum, China's largest, measuring 3.2 meters in diameter, has been placed in the ancient Longhua Temple and will be struck at the turning point of the century. It is not an exaggeration to describe the changes in Shanghai as "earth-shaking", said Tang Dongmei, an 85-year-old women who witnessed Shanghai's history in the 20th century. Dramas, music, dances and other kinds of performances are underway in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, known as the "city of flowers". Many people have dressed up in splendid attires and will spend their time in theaters to welcome the new century. People of Chongqing municipality in west China organized a gala in the center of the city. Xian Xuefu, academician of the Academy of Engineering of China, who specialized in mine engineering physics, handed a golden key representing the door of the new century to two middle school students, hoping that the younger generations of China bear the responsibility of building a modern country. Though Wenling and Linhai in east China's Zhejiang Province have been calculated to be the first places in China to see the first ray of sunshine, some 21 cities across China, including Dalian, Zhoushan, Xiamen and Beihai, are also waiting for the first light of the new century in different festivities. Bonfires,firecrackers, balloons and releasing of doves, will last overnight till the dawn of the new century. Some major media organizations of China reported on January 1, 2001 that the turning point of the century is a significant moment for Chinese people. China successfully got rid of poverty and realized prosperity in the 20th century, and in the upcoming 21st century, the national revival of China will occur. In President Jiang Zemin's new year message, he expressed the cordial hope that the new century will be a century in which people of all countries live in peace, seek common development and civilizations of all kinds make progress simultaneously. "The primary tasks of the Chinese people in the new millennium are to push ahead with the modernization of the country, achieve the reunification of the motherland and safeguard world peace and make simultaneous progress," he said. The ringing of the bell from the China Centenary Altar, Dazhong Temple, Longhua Temple, Jingci Temple and some other places at theturning point of the century, will officially announce the start of a new round of history of human kind. Trade Unions Encouraged in Zhejiang Private Firms A set of regulations, which demand the earlier establishment of trade unions in local private enterprises, have recently been issued in east China's Zhejiang Province. According to the "Regulations for Trade Unions in Private Enterprises of Zhejiang", private enterprises in the province must establish their trade unions within one year after being operational. In addition, the regulations stipulate that enterprises with less than 25 employees should jointly organize united trade unions with identical communities or industries, and enterprises with more than 200 employees may have full-time trade union chairmen, who should be elected through the correct legal procedure. The regulations also specify the rights and obligations of trade unions, which are expected to better protect the legal interests of employees and simultaneously improve the management of private enterprises. **** China's International Status Enhanced: President China's status in the international community and its impact in international affairs have been further enhanced, thanks to the country's consistent pursuance of the independent diplomatic policy of peace, said Chinese president Jiang Zemin Monday, January 1. Jiang, also the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing a tea Party sponsored by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to mark the new century. After extending festival greetings to the Chinese people of all nationalities and compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Jiang spoke highly of the achievements China has made in the diplomatic work during the past year, citing the enhancement of friendship between China and its neighboring countries, the consolidation of unity and cooperation between China and other developing countries as well as the improvement and development of relations between China and west countries. Jiang described it as an "inspiring new situation" that the economies in Hong Kong and Macao have been developing steadily and the social public order in Macao has been conspicuously improved. He was confident that Hong Kong and Macao can not only maintain lasting prosperity and stability but also promise a brighter future. Jiang defined it as the three major tasks for China in the new century to further push forward the modernization drive, to realize the peaceful reunification of the motherland, and to maintain world peace and advance common development. Led by the Communist Party of China and guided by the theories of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese people will surely be able to rejuvenate the Chinese nation in the new century, Jiang stated.
