Extracts. Seeking Independence, Buying Arms Bring Catastrophe to Taiwan: Commentator Taiwan authorities and Taiwan independence elements are overjoyed at the United States' recent decision to sell a large package of advanced weapons to Taiwan, assuming that that will benefit their capacity to confront the mainland and Taiwan independence. Nevertheless, using the hard earned money levied from the Taiwan people to buy foreign-made arms can not ensure an independent Taiwan no matter how many weapons there are, according to a signed commentator's article filed by Xinhua News Agency Friday. "Relying on procurement of advanced weapons to obstruct reunification could only destroy stability and peace across the Taiwan Straits, leading to a catastrophic result to Taiwan Island and Taiwan compatriots," said the article. In the past decade, Taiwan's local government authorities took on a spending spree in purchasing a great number of advanced weapons from western countries led by the United States, becoming the biggest weapons buyer in the world, the article went on. In the meantime, Taiwan authorities have also kept back stepping from the "one China" policy and from improving relations across the Taiwan Straits, which arouses tensions across the straits. Dialogues and negotiations across the Taiwan Straits have been interrupted, and the relations across the straits have been thrown into a deadlock since Lee Teng-hui who redefined in July 9,1999 the cross-Straits relations as "state-to-state or at least special state-to-state relations." Moreover, since he took office, the new leader of Taiwan authorities has refused to acknowledge "one China" principle, or to recognize the consensus reached by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) that both sides of the Taiwan Straits adhere to "one China" principle, leading to no improvement and no breakthrough for the deadlock in relations across the straits, which worries the broad masses of the people living in Taiwan. On one hand, the Taiwan authorities are craving to use a huge amount of money to buy arms from the United States and indulge themselves in arms. On the other hand, they, in an open way or from behind closed doors, stubbornly continue pursuing "Taiwan independence", resulting in further damages in the relations across the straits. "The attempt to use imported foreign advanced weapons to equip its army and use foreign forces to confront the Chinese mainland will be firmly opposed by all Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots," said the article. The fallacy spread by Taiwan authorities claiming that attainment of advanced weapons can enable Taiwan to be confident about opening the door to negotiations between both sides of the Taiwan Straits is just designed to deceive themselves. The article noted that Taiwan authorities' large scale purchase of advanced weapons can also spur a splittist tendency within Taiwan Island and fan up the atmosphere of seeking an independent Taiwan. With more foreign advanced weapons in stock, Taiwan authorities and Taiwan independence elements think they are strong enough to join other anti-China forces from western countries in intimidating China, noted the article. "The major strategic change from being defensive to taking the offensive has demonstrates Taiwan authorities' purchase of arms are not just intended to defend the island, but also aimed at striking first against the Chinese mainland," said the article. " They even think it is necessary to direct the war to the Chinese mainland to seek Taiwan independence." The fact that Taiwan authorities bought more advanced foreign weapons with stronger striking capabilities has shown they have walked a long distance on the road of splittism. At present, with a turmoil in political life in Taiwan, a continued sluggish economy, closure of a great number of local enterprises in Taiwan, rising unemployment and a rising dissatisfaction with their living condition, people from all walks of life have unanimously urged Taiwan authorities to forsake the mentality of an independent Taiwan. They have asked Taiwan's leaders to stop the political struggle, improve relations across the Straits, open direct mail, commerce, air and shipping services, and concentrate their energy on developing the economy. However, showing disregard toward people's will, Taiwan authorities spent a hefty sum of money to buy weapons from foreign countries, further worsening the tension across the Taiwan Straits, the commentator's article commented. "Taiwan authorities' trampling on local residents' will can only lead to instability, coupled with a downward economic decline and greater hardship for the common people on Taiwan Island," said the article. Peace is the best weapon to stop war. Only accepting "one China " principle, resuming dialogue and negotiations across the Taiwan Straits, and ending the hostility across the Taiwan Straits can security and stability in Taiwan be achieved. "The fact that some foreign countries, in disregard of Chinese Government's strong opposition, continue to sell different kinds of advanced weapons to Taiwan and even make wild and irresponsible commitments can only make Taiwan authorities think they have got backers and stick firmly to the dead road of Taiwan independence," said the article. "That can only heat up military race across the Taiwan Straits and bring about a serious threat to the peace of Asia and Pacific region." While stressing the Chinese nation is a peace-loving people and Chinese will never fight against Chinese, the article also noted that it does not mean the Central Government, the Chinese people and Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will compromise or be hesitant on implementing the principle of safeguarding national sovereignty or territorial integrity. "If Taiwan authorities dream of using foreign powers to boost themselves or even take a bold step in seeking the independence of Taiwan, they would be crushed before the Chinese people with firm determination," the article added. **** DPRK Defense Chief Arrives in Moscow for Military ooperation A military delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), led by Kim Il Chol, Minister of People's Armed Forces, arrived in Moscow on Thursday to seek more military cooperation with Russia. According to the official Itar-Tass news agency, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Kim Il Chol will discuss prospects for boosting bilateral military and military- technological cooperation on Friday. Tass quoted sources from the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the ministers will also discuss important issues of regional and international security, as well as the military-political situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The military-technical cooperation between Russia and DPRK has been reduced to a minimum level over the past years. Moscow and Pyongyang still held expert consultations to discuss proposals on supplying conventional weapons and spare parts for military hardware, as well as issues of servicemen training. Russian experts say that up to 80 percent of DPRK aviation fleet is of Soviet and Russian make. Most of the fighter jets of the country's air force are in need of modernization. About 95 percent of DPRK ground-force equipment and 100 percent of its anti- aircraft equipment are made in the Soviet Union. Kim's trip is the first visit to Moscow by a DPRK defense chief since the USSR disintegrated in December 1991. During the visit, which will last till Saturday, Kim Il Chol will also meet Russian Vice-Premier Ilya Klebanov who is in charge of the Russian military-industrial complex. **** China Stands for Democracy in International Relations, Envoy Says China stands for democracy in international relations, under which all countries are equal members of the international community, the senior Chinese diplomat told the Society for International Development (SID) center Thursday in Ottawa. In a presentation about China's foreign policy, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Mei Ping stressed the need to establish "a just and rational new international political and economic order." National affairs of a country should be decided by its own people while international affairs should be handled by all countries through peaceful consultations on a basis of equality and mutual respect, he said. The Chinese ambassador lashed out at hegemony and power politics in the form of "the neo-interventionism," which he said is threatening sovereignty and interests of many medium-sized and small countries. "China maintains that the new order should be established on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference with each other 's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit," he noted. In terms of the Sino-U.S. relations, the ambassador said to maintain friendly relations and cooperation between China and the United States is in the fundamental interests of the two countries. But he also pointed out that "there exists a powerful anti- China lobby in the United States." "Holding onto the Cold War mentality, they use every occasion to demonize China," he said. The ambassador reiterated that China is a developing country, and its primary objective is to develop its economy which requires a lasting peaceful international environment. "But China will never give in to outside pressure or yield to hegemonic practices in international affairs. That is the bottom line in our relations with the United States," he stated. Mei Ping also spoke about China's plan for sustainable development and human rights issues at the SID center, where dozens of Canadian foreign affairs officials, SID members and members of local non-government organizations gathered for the presentation. SID is an international forum, where thinkers and actors in the international development arena are often invited to share their views at a seminar or a conference. **** Vice-premier Meets Syrian Delegation Chinese vice-premier Qian Qichen met with a delegation of Syria's ruling party, the Baath Arab Socialist Party in Beijing on April 26. "Strengthening and developing party-to-party and state-to-state relations between China and Syria are in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and conducive to world peace," said Qian Qichen, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Central Committee. Qian made the remarks while meeting Assistant General Secretary of Baath Arab Socialist Party Abdollah Al Ahmar, who lead the delegation on a goodwill visit to China. Qian expressed gratitude for Syria's "One-China" stand and its support to China on the human right issue. Ahmar briefed Qian on the Middle East situation and praised China's achievements of reforms and opening up to the outside world. Qian said China supported the just struggle waged by people in Syria and other Arab nations to recover the occupied territories. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Qian said, China maintains that fair, lasting and complete peace in the Middle East should be realized in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the "land for peace" principle. He added that China will continue to make greater efforts for the realization of peace in Middle East. The Syrian delegation, which arrived in Beijing Thursday, is visiting China as CPC's guest. **** Former U.S. Navy Officer Clears Conscience, Confesses Vietnam Secret Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat who served as governor and senator from Nebraska and ran for president in 1992, publicly disclosed this week that he had led a squad that killed women and children during the Vietnam War. He said he has been haunted by the memory of the killings and has kept the details private, even from his children. Once he told them, he said, ''they told me they still love me.'' Kerrey received the Bronze Star for the Feb. 25, 1969, raid in the Mekong Delta. The award citation says 21 Viet Cong were killed and enemy weapons were captured or destroyed, though Kerrey has said he told his superiors there were civilian casualties. Witness' and official accounts of the number of dead varies from 13 to more than 20. Kerrey said he and his six-member squad began shooting only after they were shot at in a free-fire zone �� an area cleared of civilians by the U.S. military. Anyone remaining was assumed by South Vietnamese and U.S. forces to be the enemy. "It may be that I did nothing wrong," Kerrey said. "But I felt like I did something wrong. Here's what happened, and I cannot justify it." The incident was part of an effort to halt Viet Cong movements and activities in the Mekong Delta. Kerrey, then 25, was a lieutenant leading an elite seven-man team of Navy SEALS. They were approaching an area where intelligence suggested a Viet Cong meeting was to take place. As Kerrey and his men approached two huts on a dark, moonless night, they were fired upon and returned it on Kerrey's orders. Once the shooting stopped, they found that the only people killed were women, children and older men. Kerrey had remained silent on the incident until recently, when former squad member Gerhard Klann told "60 Minutes II" and The New York Times that Vietnamese civilians were herded into a group and massacred. Seventeen days after the incident, Kerrey earned the Medal of Honor �� America's highest military honor �� for directing an attack on a Viet Cong unit even after losing part of his right leg when a grenade exploded at his feet. Kerrey, who recently became president of the New School University in New York, initially spoke about the incident April 18 at an ROTC leadership seminar at the Virginia Military Institute. **** Falun Gong Scourges Mind, Body Birth, death and disease are natural events in life. However, Falun Gong creator Li Hongzhi fabricated his so-called instructions telling sick people not to see doctors but to practice Falun Gong to recover. His lie has killed over 1,000 people to date. Practitioners of Falun Gong Wang Shoujin, 52, and his father Wang Qingrun died of illness in early 1999. Wang Shoujin, living in Suizhong County in northeast China's Liaoning <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/liaoning.html> Province, started practicing Falun Gong in February, 1997. Having noticed that Wang Shoujin's abdomen had grown abnormally big in the winter of 1998, his relatives advised him to see a doctor. But Wang insisted that he had gained weight because of practicing Falun Gong. He was diagnosed as being in the late stage of cirrhosis of the liver after he was forced by his relatives to receive a medical examination in a hospital in early 1999. However, Wang refused to take medicines or receive injections, saying that his disease meant that he was "repaying debt". Once he paid off the "debt", he would then upgrade his cultivation of physical and mental capabilities. Wang Shoujin died four days before the Spring Festival in 1999, the traditional family reunion festival for Chinese people. What made things more tragic was that his father Wang Qingrun, who was also found to be suffering from cirrhosis of the liver in November, 1999, died three days later on the eve of the Spring Festival. Encouraged by his son, the father began practicing Falun Gong in February 1998. He followed the same "instructions", refusing medical treatment, as his son did. Zhang Zhiqin, a retired worker in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, was a diabetes patient. She had controlled her illness by taking medicines regularly for years. In May, 1997, Zhang began to practice Falun Gong in order to build up her health. She decided not to take medicines any more after she listened to a "lecture" by Li Hongzhi, which claimed that Falun Gong practitioners were not patients at all, giving the examples of some practitioners who had several syringe needles bent when trying to receive injections at hospitals. Zhang became thinner and weaker after she stopped taking all medicines. She suffered from hard breathing on January 7, 1999. Her daughter and a doctor rushed to her bedside at the request of her husband. The doctor suggested that Zhang be sent to a hospital immediately. Two Falun Gong "tutors" blocked the ambulance, telling Zhang that she would be all right if she could insist on not going to the hospital. Zhang chose to stay, despite her daughter's begging her to go to the hospital. The two "tutors" told Zhang's husband that nothing serious would happen if he read the Falun Gong "scripture" to his wife. The husband did. He later played a Falun Gong cassette tape for Zhang. Early February 8, 1999, Zhang's heart stopped beating as Falun Gong music played. In another example, Bao Enlu, a diligent middle school teacher from Fujin City in northeast China's Heilongjiang <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/heilongjiang.html> Province, had his stomachache develop into cancer as a result of refusing medical treatment. Instead, he would practice Falun Gong once there was an ache in his stomach. Delayed treatment could not save his life, and he died of cancer in September, 1997. Farmer Zhang Yanjie replaced the memorial tablet of his ancestor with a portrait of Li Hongzhi after he became obsessed with the Falun Gong cult. Zhang, living in Gucheng Township, Queshan County, in central China's Henan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/henan.html> Province, was found to be suffering from coronary heart disease in the spring of 1998. He felt much better after hospitalization. However, he learnt to practice Falun Gong in the autumn of that year, when he visited his daughter in Beijing <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html> . Zhang threw away his medicines and took home a lot of Falun Gong books, cassettes and a portrait of Li Hongzhi. Zhang not only practiced Falun Gong every day but also worshipped Li Hongzhi's portrait on bended knees each day. His sincerity, however, was not repaid. Zhang felt "very bad in the heart" on May 17, 1999, when he was practicing Falun Gong. He died on his way to hospital. Like Zhang Yanjie, retired worker Zhang Zhendong in Changchun, in northeast China's Jilin <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/jilin.html> Province, was very "loyal" to Falun Gong. He made a hand-written copy of the "scripture", kept a diary about practicing Falun Gong, studied the scriptures in the evening, and worshipped Li's portrait at home. He firmly believed that he would not die because Li Hongzhi was blessing him when he got a fever in May 1998. His health took a sudden turn for the worse, and his fever stayed dangerously high for more than one month. "Li Hongzhi is not blessing me," Zhang told his wife on June 25. He tore Li's portrait into pieces and died three days later. Li Hongzhi claimed that Falun Gong practitioners are not average people. "To make it clearer, you (practitioners) are not human beings," he said. Liu Fengqin, a retired worker in Tianjin <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/tianjin.html> Municipality, was introduced to the practice of Falun Gong at the end of 1995. She persisted in practicing three times a day at five o'clock in the morning, seven o'clock in the evening and 12 o'clock at night. When her daughter-in-law tried to persuade her to seek medical treatment for her high blood pressure, she refused, saying, "You people are demons, you are ordinary people." One day in 1997, Liu was knocked down by a bicycle, and suffered a fracture. She threatened to dash her brains out if her son insisted on taking her to a doctor. Though it was difficult for her to move around, she never stopped practicing Falun Gong at home. She cried "Master, please come and save me" when she could hardly bear the pain. Her cries became weaker and weaker, until she died on December 27, 1997. She had never been helped by so-called Master Li Hongzhi to the end of her life. Bai Yunxiu, a retired worker in Hengyang City, in central China 's Hunan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/hunan.html> Province, became a Falun Gong practitioner in the summer of 1995. She was often plagued by a fever but she felt more comfortable after a period of practicing. This cemented her belief in Falun Gong, and she abandoned medical treatment. She got a fever again in July, 1998. She told her daughter, who asked her to see a doctor, that she was not ill because her master was blessing her. Her fever gradually subsided one month later. She was delighted to say that her cultivation had been upgraded and that her body had been thoroughly remolded. Her health got worse on December 10, 1998. But she forced herself to go on reading Li Hongzhi's "scripture". When she could no longer read, she asked her husband to do it for her. While he was reading, Bai died. Countless facts prove that Li Hongzhi's claims are a trap which enabled him to practice spiritual control over others so that he could realize his vicious scheme. Those who are still addicted to Falun Gong should restore their faith in science, get rid of the control of the cult, and live as normal people again. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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