Extracts. Annan Presses U.S. Over U.N. Dues Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he ``could not applaud'' an angry vote Thursday in the U.S. House to withhold $244 million in back U.N. dues until the United States is put back on the U.N.'s human rights panel. Annan expressed hope that the United States would restore normal relations with the world body. The solution, he said, ``is not punishing the U.N., but working with the other member states.'' Under an agreement forged in December by former U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the 188 other U.N. members agreed to a demand by Congress to reduce the U.S. share of U.N. administrative and peacekeeping costs. In return, the United States had agreed to pay the $582 million in arrears this year and the $244 million next year. Annan said it was wrong to punish the United Nations and noted that the Bush administration opposed the House vote. Annan said the funds should be paid, and ``the U.S. should establish normal relations with the U.N. And quite frankly, I thought at the beginning of the year we were there. We should try and stay on a very even course and normal relationship with the U.S.'' The money is owed to countries that contributed troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations. **** China Willing to Negotiate with US on TMD, NMD China is willing to negotiate with the United States on the issue of the Theatre Missile Defence System (TMD) and the National Missile Defence System (NMD), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said in Beijing Thursday at a regular news briefing. When asked for comments on what will happen if the US sends officials to Beijing to discuss the issue, Sun said that China, as always, is opposed to TMD and NMD. Sun pointed out that the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) serves as the cornerstone of global strategic balance and stability, and the TMD and NMD initiatives will definitely ruin this balance and lead to another arms race. The spokesman urged the US to adopt a cautious attitude toward the issue and observe the ABM and other related arms- control treaties and agreements. China is willing to negotiate with the US on the issue if the US sends officials to China to discuss it, Sun said. missile defence plan critisized Addressing threats to the Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty embodied in US plans for a theatre missile defence system (TMD), China re-emphasized China's firm opposition to the proposed missile shield. "We believe the ABM treaty is the cornerstone of global strategic balance and stability," Sun Yuxi said at the press conference "If such a treaty is undermined, the global strategic balance will be undermined, the international disarmament process will end, non-proliferation efforts will be obstructed and a new round of military arms races will commence." China hopes the US will continue to abide by ABM and other existing international treaties on disarmament and arms control, he said. "If the United States decides to send a special envoy here, we are willing to have consultations on the issue," Sun said. Sun also revealed that China and the United States are planning to hold additional talks on the US EP-3E spy plane which has been sitting on a runway on Hainan Island since its collision with a Chinese fighter jet on April 1. "The US plane will not be allowed to fly back, but this does not mean the plane will not be returned," Sun said. "What should be done to the plane will depend on the position of the US side." When the US team was inspecting the plane last week, China presented them with evidence that shows responsibility for the collision lies fully with the US side. Sun said China strongly opposes to the surveillance flights of the US side near China's coast. "If they continue to conduct such flights, we will continue to make protests," he explained. The spokesman said the interception and following of US spy planes by Chinese jets is "necessary and very reasonable" and not without precedent in international practice. Sun repeated China's request that the United States stop such flights to avoid the recurrence of a similar incident in the future. When asked to comment on the recent failure of the United States to get re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Sun said the Chinese Government advocates dialogue and opposes confrontation on the issue of human rights. "We are ready to continue our dialogue and co-operation with all countries, including the United States, to improve our human rights record and to make our contribution," Sun said. On the recent territorial tension between China and the Philippines centred on the South China Sea, Sun claimed the two nations are still "friendly neighbours" and the disputes could be resolved through friendly consultations. "We hope the Philippines will resist taking any unilateral action that will further complicate the situation so as to guarantee the maintenance of friendly relations between the two countries," Sun said. In other foreign news, the Republic of Korean (ROK) Government on May 8 reportedly demanded the Japanese Government revise a recently approved history textbook which distorts accounts of atrocities committed during World War II and presented specific proposals for changes. Sun expressed China's support for the ROK's effort to get the textbooks changed. "The history textbook concocted by Japanese right-wing scholars glosses over history and still contains numerous distortions despite large numbers of changes. "China has pointed out major fallacies in the book through diplomatic channels and urged the Japanese side to correct the mistakes and remove negative impact. "We have taken note the Japanese Government once indicated that the viewpoint of the book does not represent the position of Japanese Government," the spokesman said. "We hope the Japanese side will seriously consider and deal with the solemn position and rational demands of China and its Asian neighbours and match the statement on its past history with actual changes." **** Russian Expert Says No Breakthrough in US NMD Technology The United States has not made any remarkable breakthroughs in developing a missile defense technology, Russia's outstanding missile expert Dr. Yury Sizov, one of the designers of Russia's S-300 anti-aircraft systems, said Thursday. The high-speed interceptor missiles to be used for the U.S. national missile defense (NMD) program are still being tested, and the "not quite successful results" indicate that the U.S. interruption missiles "cannot guarantee destruction of intercontinental ballistic missile warheads even in attacks of low intensity," Sizov told the Itar-Tass news agency. Sizov's remarks came before the visit to Moscow on Friday by U. S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowits who will try to persuade Russian leaders to accept a U.S.-designed missile defense plan. If Washington wants to deploy an effective national missile defense shield, it has to put exotic weapons, such as laser and beam and electromagnetic guns into outer space. But there will be a lot of difficulties in developing and deploying such space weapons, he said. For example, the Pentagon plans to produce laser by using nuclear explosion power, but the power transition device will be destroyed in the nuke blast at the same time, so such laser weapons can be used only once, said Sizov. Making space laser weapons will be costly, he added. Moreover, "Space militarization would cause a worldwide negative resonance and opposition," warned the scientist, adding that Russia must tell the White House the above-mentioned facts during the future talks with the U.S. on the missile defense problems. He stressed that the best solution to the NMD problem is to keep the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty in effect and intact. Earlier this month, U.S. President George W. Bush declared plans to deploy a "space shield" system against missile attacks from what the U.S. called" rogue states, in a move to alter the U. S.-Soviet Union ABM treaty. **** Chinese, Angolan Top Legislators Meet in Beijing Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, met Thursday with Roberto de Almeida, president of the National Assembly of Angola. Li said China and Angola have carried out cooperation in the political and economic sectors, adding that in international arena, the two countries have supported and worked closely with each other. He stressed that it is important to strengthen the ties between the parliaments of the two countries. While the United Nations Security Council reviewed the problem of Angola, China had actively supported all resolutions which are helpful to the peace process in Angola, he said. Almeida, who arrived here Thursday morning for an 11-day goodwill visit to China as the guest of Li, said Angola supports the One-China stand and "One Country, Two Systems" advocated by the Chinese government. Almeida also admired China's struggle against hegemonism, hoping that China could play a greater role in international affairs. Li expressed gratitude for Angola's firm backing of the One- China stand and its support to China on the human rights issue. Li said China is opposed to the activities of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and insisted that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, are equal members in the international community. Li said he is also glad to see the improvement of security and economic situations in Angola. China has always attached great importance to Africa and African countries efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said. Li noted the China-Africa Cooperation Forum -- Ministerial Conference Beijing 2000 was a success, and China would like to work closely with all the African countries and develop friendly relations. Almeida expressed thanks for China's support of Angola's struggle for independence and economic development. He said his country will learn from China in economic development. Present at the meeting were Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Jiang Zhenghua, NPC Standing Committee Member Huang Yuzhang, Vice Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang, and Director of Chairman Li Peng's Office Wu Wenchang. **** Facing Main Battlefields, Meeting New Challenges The tackling of key scientific and technological problems during China's Ninth Five-year Plan period, after five years of hard work by the broad section of scientific and technical workers, has now entered the harvesting season of counting fruits. During the said period, the output of China's main industrial and agricultural products was placed in the world's front ranks, the situation featuring the shortages of commodities basically came to an end. The production capacity of grain and other principal agricultural products was noticeably enhanced, bringing about a historic change in the supply of agricultural products from a long-term shortage to a basic balance between total supply and total demand, with surplus in bumper harvest year. Achievements were gained in eliminating backwardness and reducing surplus industrial production capacity, technological renovation in key enterprises was being continually pushed forward. Information industry and other high and new technological sectors witnessed rapid growth. These achievements contain the tremendous contributions made by the broad section of scientific and technical workers and managerial personnel who participated in carrying out the program for tackling key scientific and technological problems during the Ninth Five-year Plan period. We are filled with joy as we count these rich fruits; when I review the course of tackling difficult technical problems, a sense of respect wells up in my mind. During the five years, the nation's more than 70,000 scientific and technological personnel faced the main battlefields of the national economy, worked with united efforts and exhibited tenacious combatant spirit, to deal with the major scientific and technological problems that cried for urgent solutions in the construction of the national economy, they tackled and mastered a batch of key technologies that played a supporting role in the national economic and social development and affecting the whole situation in the national economic development, provided a batch of advanced and applicable technologies and equipment for industrial and agricultural production and promoted the renovation of traditional industries and the development of high and new technological industries, thereby providing vigorous technical support for the shift in the mode of economic growth, and offering rich technical reserves for the advancement of science and technology per se and the sustainable development of China's national economy in the new century. The experiences gained in the tackling of difficult key technological problems during the Ninth Five-year Plan period indicate that to solve a batch of difficult key technological problems urgently needed in the country's major projects within a short period of time, to develop and apply a large amount of general technologies for raising the technical level of traditional industries, and to strengthen the research, manufacture and development of high and new technological products and cultivate new points of economic growth, we must give full play to the superiority of the socialist system, mobilize the positive factors of various quarters, make overall planning and bring about a combination of technical advantages. Without trans-disciplinary, trans-regional and trans-departmental combinations, without the integration of the superiority of various quarters and without the macro-control and guidance of the State's industrial policy, it would have been quite difficult and even inconceivable for us to have scored today's achievements. Successes gained in the solutions of difficult scientific and technological problems during the Ninth Five-year Plan period are inseparable from the State's macro-control and regulation and from the foundation role played by the market mechanism in the allocation of resources. From the outset of the establishment of projects, the program for tackling the country's key scientific and technological problems during the Ninth Five-year Plan period stressed the need for the users to take the lead, to form a mechanism featuring the close combination of research, development, production and market, to encourage enterprises to participate and pitch into the tackling of key scientific and technological problems, and to guide enterprises to gradually become the mainstays in technological development, thereby shortening the period for the transformation and application of research results and speeding up the industrialization of research results. In tackling key scientific and technological problems, it is important to absorb anything and everything useful and be keen on innovation. As China's planned entry into the World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org/> (WTO) is drawing near, how to persist in combining independent development with introduction, digestion, absorption and innovation and to establish an independent intellectual property right is a practical problem placed before China's scientific and technological circles. In tackling key scientific and technological problems during the Ninth Five-year Plan period, the broad section of people in this field exhibited high initiative and strong creative power. Be it the development of 400 megawatt evaporative and cooling hydro-generator unit, the research, development and demonstration of comprehensive supporting technologies for the high-yield of five major crops over a large area; or the development of sample machine system of high definition of TV functions, or the integration and systematic optimization of high-efficient continuous casting technology-all contain large amounts of original technological achievements and the digestion, integration and innovation of imported technologies. As we look forward to the 10th Five-year Plan, we find our task is heavy and the way ahead is long. We should continue to carry forward the spirit of "storming the gate" characterized by innovation, cooperation, combat and dedication; we should deepen the reform of the scientific system, set up a national innovative system, optimize the distribution of technical forces, rationally allocate scientific innovative resources and motivate enterprises to further become the mainstays of technical innovation; we should strengthen the training of personnel and the construction of scientific research bases, give full play to the foundation role of the market mechanism in resources allocation, and energetically encourage scientific and technological personnel to do pioneering and innovative work, so as to push China's scientific and technological work to a new stage. **** South Korean Lawmakers Ask Court to Prevent Sale of Distorted Textbooks Four South Korean ruling and opposition lawmakers on Thursday filed an application with the Tokyo District Court for a provisional injunction to stop the production and sale of the controversial history textbooks for Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> ese junior high school students. The lawmakers sought the court order against eight Japanese publishers of the history textbooks that are said to vindicate atrocities committed by the Japanese army before and during World War II. Among the publishers are Fuso Publishing, Tokyo Publishing and Osaka Publishing. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
