Extracts. East China's Zhejiang to Shed Poverty in Rural Areas East China's Zhejiang Province, which has reported fast economic growth in recent years, aims to lift all its poor farmers out of poverty in 2002. The coastal province has led Chinese provinces and autonomous regions in terms of poverty-reduction efforts. Its eight poorest counties shook off poverty in 1998. Last year, its impoverished population was down from 2.7 million in the early 1990s to 500,000. The poor now make up 1.6 percent of Zhejiang's rural population, sharply down from the previous 7.6 percent. Sources from the provincial government said they will do more to help target disadvantaged groups in remote areas, including the aged, the destitute and the disabled. "To help them does not simply mean to provide them with food and clothing," said Zhang Mengjin, vice governor of Zhejiang. "We will start up some profitable industries in the poor areas and help the farmers find employment opportunities," he said. He said the fast economic growth in the cities and the urbanization process in the outskirts have provided job opportunities for the redundant labors in the countryside, where farmers have virtually no access to traffic, water, education and medical and communication services. In another development, the province will lift some 60,000 disabled out of poverty this year, according to Zhejiang Disabled Persons' Federation. **** Project on China's Energy Development Launched A project to support China's strategy for sustainable energy development was launched in Beijing Saturday. Officials from the State Development Planing Commission, the China International Center for Economic and Technological Exchanges (CICETE) and the United Nations Development Program ( UNDP) signed the relevant documents. The UNDP will put 300,000 US dollars into the project, which is meant to help China do more research on energy planning and policy making. The project will include forums for experts, training of government officials, and surveys and investigations. **** Arafat Says No Date Set for Meeting With Peres Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who made a few hours stopover at the Cairo airport after concluding his Asian tour, said on Sunday that a date has yet to be set for his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on the current spiralling Mideast violence. "We are waiting for the European move and the response of German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer who called for this meeting," Arafat told reporters after his talks with Osama al-Baz, political advisor of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There was "a global stance" that existing agreements, including the Mitchell report, a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan and an Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative, should be implemented, Arafat said, adding that such agreements are aimed at ending the Israeli- Palestinian violence and resuming peace negotiations between the two sides. Baz said that he had reviewed with Arafat the latest developments in the Mideast region and briefed the Palestinian leader on his recent visit to the U.S.. Baz led a high-level Egyptian delegation to Washington last Monday for talks on how to deal with the tense situation in the Mideast region, which has been witnessing continued bloodshed between the Palestinians and Israelis since last September. The situation will become "worse" without firm intervention of the international community, Baz said, calling on the U.S. to help stop Israel from holding the Palestinians responsible for the violence. Egypt has been pushing the U.S. administration for months to intervene more actively to help break the cycle of violence and resume peace negotiations between the two sides. Arafat made the stopover after ending his Asian trip to India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh to rally support for the Palestinian cause. He has headed back to the Palestinian city of Gaza. **** Arafat's Visit to Syria Aims at Mending Bilateral Ties: Shaath Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's upcoming visit to Syria is aimed at mending ties between the two sides, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday. "Promoting and deepening relations between Syria and Palestine is a must in the light of continuous Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people," Nabil Shaath, Palestinian minister of International Cooperation, told the Cairo-based Voice of Arabs radio by phone from Damascus, Syria. "The current circumstances are favorable to developing bilateral ties," Shaath said, adding that "the two sides share identical views regarding principles necessary to restart negotiations with Israel." On whether the Syrian-Palestinian rapprochement can lead to the resumption of the principle of "inseparability" of Arab negotiating tracks with Israel, Shaath said that "we would not allow these tracks to be tampered with again." Arafat is scheduled to visit Syria on September 12-13 to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Shaath announced earlier in the day after his talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk Shareh. Shaath arrived in Damascus on Friday for a several-day visit to prepare for Arafat's upcoming trip, his first official visit to Syria since 1996. Ties between the Palestinians and Syria have soured since the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace accords with Israel in 1993. Syria demands that Israel withdraw from all the lands it occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, including the Golan Heights and the northeast bank of the Sea of Galilee, while Israel refuses to cede any access to the lake, its major water source. In July last year, Syria refused to receive Arafat, who made intensive diplomatic contacts to garner support for the Palestinians after the ill-fated Camp David summit with Israel. Arafat travelled to Damascus in June last year to attend the funeral of Syrian late President Hafez al-Assad and met briefly with Assad's son and successor, Bashar al-Assad. **** Cuba, EU Willing to Conduct Political Dialogues Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez said in Havana Friday that his country is willing to have political dialogues with the European Union (EU) as soon as possible on the basis of mutual respect and without prerequisite conditions. Perez made the remarks at a joint news conference with Louis Michel, vice prime minister and foreign minister of Belgium, before the latter left Cuba after his three-day visit. The visit by Michel, who is also the rotating president of the EU Council of Ministers, has improved the relations between the EU and Cuba and will do good to the bilateral political dialogues in the future, Perez said. Perez said Cuba appreciates the EU's stand against the US embargo on the Latin American country. He also said that Cuba, alongside with the majority of EU members, are firmly opposed to the establishment of US missile defense system. While admitting the fact that there are some differences between the two sides, Michel stressed that both of them agreed to create conditions for dialogues. Michel said that he is willing to convey the Cuban government's wish to develop relations with the EU to the 15 member states of the organization. **** Russia to React to NMD in Any Smart Way: Duma Deputy Russia's response to the creation of a national missile defense (NMD) system by the US should be a non-standard one, Russian State Duma deputy Andrei Kokoshin said in Moscow Saturday. "It is in many respects a virtual race. But the winner in the race is the one who is more clever, not the one who makes more iron," so Russia will react against NMD in any smart way, Kokoshin, also former Russian Security Council chief, told reporters. As one of the authors of the idea of "the asymmetric response" to (former US President Ronald) Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative: the Star Force Plan, he said it would take the US years to deploy the NMD system. "Remember the 1980s, they (Americans) spent 60-70 billion dollars. Where is the SDI? where is the program? where is the space shield?" Kokoshin asked. "While the joint negotiation process is going on, it is necessary to start the formula that is emerging now: the ceilings of 1,500 warheads, control verification rules written in the START- II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty-II), and the freedom of forming the group of strategic nuclear forces," he stressed. "We need to try to prevent, to be very pragmatic," Kokoshin said. Russia's greatness and national security, including in the military sphere, depend first of all on "whether we will be able to get into the world markets with science-intensive technologies, whether we will be able to overcome restriction barriers, to get capitals for investment in our economy," he said. **** Nigerian President Arrives in Beijing for State Visit President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Federal Republic of Nigeria arrived in Beijing Sunday morning for a state visit from August 26 to 29 at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Obasanjo came here with a large entourage including Nigerian ministers of foreign affairs, industries, commerce, transport, water resources and defense, four governors, entrepreneurs and reporters. During the visit, Obasanjo will exchange views with Chinese leaders on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern. **** Egypt, Libya to Hold Meeting on Peace Plan for Sudan Egypt and Libya will hold a joint meeting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday to discuss ways of activating an initiative aimed at ending an 18-year civil war in Sudan. Egyptian Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister Rafiq Khalil will, on behalf of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, lead an Egyptian delegation to attend the meeting, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported Saturday. During the meeting, Egypt and Libya are expected to convince the Sudanese government and the country's opposition parties to approve the nine-item memo jointly presented by Cairo and Tripoli on June 26. The new Egyptian-Libyan peace proposal calls for resuming the peace process in Sudan, forming a transitional cabinet of all political forces, specifying date and arrangements of new general elections, and an immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities. The Sudanese government troops have been fighting with the rebel Sudan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/sudan.html> People's Liberation Army (SPLA) since 1983, which has been struggling for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south. In 1999, Egypt and Libya put forward a joint peace initiative, calling for holding a peace conference to seek national reconciliation and peace in Sudan. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which was formed by the SPLA and northern opposition political parties, has called for self-determination for the south and the separation of religion from the government in any peace process, a demand rejected by Khartoum. **** Roundup: China Keeps Machine Rolling, DPRK Joins Gold Map China kept its gold machine in full motion by adding six more titles on day four of the World University Games on Sunday, as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea joined the gold tally through a diminutive gymnast. Chinese lifted six more golds in gymnastics, swimming, fencing and diving to remain atop at the medal table with 21 golds. Son Un Hui claimed DPR Korea's first gold in this games with a victory in the women's vault. "I didn't expect this gold medal, and what I had been thinking was to perform to my best," said Son, a gymnastics student at the DPRK University of Physical Education. When asked about how she would celebrate the victory, the 20- year-old gymnast said: "I will spend this wonderful day with the whole gymnastics team." Son chalked up a low score of 9.075 points, yet good enough for gold and to beat joint runners-up Russian Olga Ugarova and Poland's Joanna Skowronsk by 0.038 points. Chinese Liang Fuliang posted 9.525 points for the men's floor title and his teammate Zhang Shangwu received 9.675 points to win the rings final. Chinese team captain Dong Fangxiao scored 9.612 points to lead teammate Liu Wei to a 1-2 finish in the women's floor final. Lioudmila Ejova added the women's beam gold to her all-around crown won on Saturday and her teammate Ekaterina Privlova triumphed in the women's uneven bars final. Romanian Ioan Suciu emerged winner in the men's pommel horse, Frenchman Benoit Caranobe took the men's vault top honor and Japanese Tomita Hiroyuki grabbed the men's parallel bars event. Australian Rizzo Philippe held off a combined challenge by Chinese Xing Aowei and Liang Fuliang, taking the last gymnastics gold of the games in the men's horizontal bars. In swimming, Chinese mermaid Han Xue beat Ukraine's Olga Mukomol to take the women's 50m freestyle final, but she couldn't stop Ukraine from being the biggest winner in the pool with two golds and as many silvers. Han Xue clocked 25.62 seconds for the gold, out-touching Mukomol by 0.1 second. Oleg Lisogor of Ukraine won the men's 50m breaststroke gold and his teammate Igor Snitko touched home first in the men's 400m final. The United States also won two swimming golds as Peter Marshall finished joint first with Poland's Mariusz Siembida in the men's 50m backstroke final and the U.S. foursome won the women's 4x100m freestyle relay. Japanese Takahiro Moro beat his rivals to win the 200m individual medley and Russian Igor Martchenko landed the men's 100 m butterfly gold. The sole fencing gold on Sunday went to Chinese Yang Shaoqi, who, ranked 19th in the world, subdued Ukraine's Anna Garina 15-11 in the women's individual epee final. Russian Tatiana Logunova, ranked third in the world, ninth- ranked Sherraine Schalm of Canada, 14th Diana Romagnolitakouk of Switzerland, 18th Evceidis Ortiz Puentes of Cuba and 22nd Andrea Rentmeister of Austria all crashed out of the contention earlier. China's dual world diving champion Guo Jingjing took her second title through women's 3m springboard to make it five golds for China. Guo, who took gold in the 1m springboard Thursday, won over her teammate Li Rongjuan by an astonishing 53 points. Li, who finished second in the 1m springboard, got her second silver with 540.78 points. After clinching her second bronze medal at the games, Russian Natalia Oumyskova said her country didn't send top divers here due to age restrictions. "There are many good divers in Russia who are much better than me," said the 19-year-old, who finished third in both 1m and 3m springboard. "But because of the age requirements for the University Games, they can't come," she added. Only athletes aged between 18 and 28 are allowed to take part in the games. "I would like to be second, but finishing third is OK," said a smiling Oumyskova, who is studying coaching at the Russian State Academy of Physical Culture. Oumyskova praised Chinese divers for their outstanding skills, saying they are role models for Russian divers. "China have surpassed Russia in terms of technique. We should learn from them," she said. Guo Jingjing will have a shot at her third gold on Tuesday. "Our team decided at the last minute that I should take part in the synchronized platform (instead of the synchronized springboard)," Guo said. "My partner Cai Yuyan and I have only practiced for 10 days. But I'll try my best to win." Judo powerhouse Japan scooped two golds on the mat. Midori Shintani, runner-up of the women's over-78kg category in the 2001 World Championships, triumphed in the women's judo open category final by overcoming South Korean Cho Su Hee. Masat Uchishiba added another gold for Japan when he defeated Vakht Khositashvili of Georgia in the men's under-60kg judo final. In the women's under 48kg category, Cuban Danie Carrion denied China a fifth gold as she nipped Gao Lijuan in the dying seconds of the final. South Korea secured the last judo gold of the day through Jang Sung Ho in the men's judo open category. China tops the medal tally with 21 golds, 16 silvers and 11 bronzes, followed by Japan with a 7-9-10 record, the United States 5-7-3, Russia 5-6-11, Ukraine 5-4-4 and Cuba 3-1-1. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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