Extracts. Dalai Lama's Attempts to Separate Tibet From China Never Come True. An official of China's Foreign Affairs Committee of National People's Congress (NPC) commented in Beijing on October 27 that Dalai Lama's attempts to separate Tibet from China will never come true. The official was referring to Dalai Lama's speech at the European Parliament (EP) General Assembly on October 24. He said the Dalai's false assumption that "the Tibetan people rose up against the Chinese", is just like confounding black and white. His fond dreams of attempting to separate Tibet from the motherland will by no means come true. **** China Indignant at Dalai Lama's Being Invited to EP And His Speech at EP General Assembly. A leader official of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress ( NPC) said in Beijing on October 27 that in defiance of China's repeated presentations and strong opposition, a few responsible members of the European Parliament (EP) gave permission to the Dalai Lama's visit and provided him with a platform against China on October 24 at EP's General Assembly, allowing him to deliver a long, fact- distorting speech to wantonly attack the Chinese Government and unscrupulously peddle his plot of splitting China. He said such erroneous acts naturally arouse China's great indignation. He pointed out that the Chinese government has time and again reiterated that the issue of the Dalai Lama is not a religious issue but a political one, and that the Dalai Lama is not merely a religious figure but a politician-in-exile who indulges in activities of splitting the motherland. This is not at all the so- called "issue of Tibet". The situation in Tibet is quite satisfactory and the Tibetan people are content with it. What really exists is the issue of Dalai's separatist activities. He said we disagree with any country and international organizations that render invitation to and meet with the Dalai Lama in any name and style and provide the Dalai clique with venues for doing separatist political activities. Such acts by a few members of the EP as to allow Dalai to step onto the EP forum to deceive the international community has not only greatly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people but also damaged the healthy advancement of the Sino-European relations. He said, recently a few members of the EP who have prejudice against China frequently tabled in confrontational style some irrational bills or resolutions to deliberately vilify China. These bills or resolutions repeatedly make irresponsible remarks on such issues as Tibet, Taiwan, human rights and religious freedom. By distorting facts or even fabricating stories, they are aimed at making unwarranted charges against China. We can't help asking wherever the EP is going to drag the Sino-European relations to? He pointed out that China sincerely hope that the EP could take into consideration of the overall Sino-European friendly cooperation relationship and no longer do anything that will hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and be detrimental to the image of the EP. China holds that dialogues should be held between China and EP on the basis of mutual respect and equality so as to promote mutual understanding, broaden consensus and reduce misunderstanding and differences. He added that as for the issue of Tibet, China would rather hope the EP members could put aside prejudice and learn the true picture of Tibet by visiting there themselves. In this way they will be able to avoid making erroneous judgments and conclusions based on biased opinions and information and avoid hampering the sound development of Sino-European relations. **** Malaysian PM Urges US to Halt Bombings in Afghanistan Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Saturday appealed to the United States to halt bombings in Afghanistan due to the increasing number of civilians killed there. He hoped the US would cease its operations immediately, whether or not it was Ramadan. The bombings must be halted as nothing had been achieved so far, he told a media conference at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang near here on his return from the overseas trip. The Prime Minister stopped over in South Korea on his way home after attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Shanghai last week. Mahathir said that Malaysia's sentiment was shared by other countries like Russia which felt that diplomatic initiatives should be taken to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan. He said Malaysia's stand was that the bombings would only result in the loss of lives of civilians as compared to the targeted group, whether the Taliban forces or the Al-Qaeda movement said to be led by Washington's prime suspect Osama bin Laden. Mahathir reiterated Malaysia's stand that retaliatory strikes on Afghanistan was not the way to counter terrorism. The best way was to identify its root causes, he added. **** Party Publicity Chief on Media's Work. Ding Guangen, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), urged Friday to make the Chinese media more dynamic and competitive, and to steadily push forward media reform. Ding, also a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, made the remark at a council conference of the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) just opened in Beijing. He said that the Chinese media should seek its development path that carries Chinese characteristics, follows the rules of the socialist market economy, the demands of the media cause itself, and learns from the success of the economic reforms and the practices of other countries. He said the media reform should make the most of journalists' skills and ensure the healthy development of the media. Under no circumstances can the news media alter its function as the mouthpiece of the Party and the people, he said. The Party publicity chief asked journalists to further upgrade their political quality, professional skills and ethical standards. Journalists should improve their working style and listen to public opinion in order to tell the truth and write news stories that can stand the test of time. Ding said the top priority of the news media is to study the President Jiang Zemin's speech delivered on July 1, the spirit of the Sixth Plenum of the 15th CPC Central Committee, and the three represents' put forward by Jiang Zemin. He said that the media should help promote reform, safeguard social stability, and create a sound environment for the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics and the Party's 16th national congress. Jiangt Meets Members of Journalists Association Chinese President Jiang Zemin met a group of journalists in Beijing Friday, calling on them to improve their work under the guidance of Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. Jiang, General Secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remark Friday when meeting with participants of a council conference of the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) at the Great Hall of the People. **** Chinese Vice President Leaves for European Tour. Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao left Beijing for a five-nation tour in Europe Saturday morning. Hu will pay a working visit to Russia, and then pay an official visit to Britain, France, Spain and Germany respectively. He is visiting the five nations at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen saw Hu off in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. **** Five Opposition Commanders Executed by Taliban. Afghan Taliban executed five opposition commanders Saturday morning after capturing them in Samangan province, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). According to details, the Afghan opposition Northern Alliance launched a major offensive against Taliban in Dara Souf of Samangan province, which was repulsed by the Taliban soldiers. Five opposition commanders and 15 troops were captured during the fighting. Mohammed Bilal and other opposition commanders were hanged after the capture. A renowned Afghan opposition commander Abdul Haq on Friday was also executed for treason under a religious decree issued by a meeting of Afghan religious scholars. Reports from Kabul say he was shot dead with an automatic rifle around 13:00 in the afternoon while others say he was hanged by the Taliban in the outskirt of Kabul. According to AIP, the U.S. warplanes bombed major Afghan cities Friday night and Saturday morning. One in Herat and two in Kandahar were killed while several others injured during the attacks. **** Pentagon admits Bombing Red Cross warehouses, residential area. The Pentagon admitted on Friday that U.S. warplanes "inadvertently" bombed warehouses used by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Afghan capital of Kabul and a residential area near them. Two U.S. Navy planes each dropped one 2,000-pound (900 kg) bomb on the warehouses on Thursday evening, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement. And a 500-pound (220 kg) bomb "inadvertently" hit a residential area about 700 feet (230 meters) south of the warehouses, apparently because its guidance system malfunctioned, the command said. It was the second time since the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Afghanistan began on October 7 that U.S. warplanes mistakenly bombed ICRC warehouses in Kabul. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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