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Water Diversion Project Ready for Construction in 2002 The preparation work of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project has met the technical requirements for the start of construction in 2002, said Zhang Jiyao, vice minister of Water Resources. Water Diversion Project Ready for Construction in 2002 The preparation work of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project has met the technical requirements for the start of construction in 2002, said Zhang Jiyao, vice minister of Water Resources. The project, which grew from a strategy first bandied about in 1958, aims to divert water from the south to the north of China soas to ensure the water supply for farming and industry there. "So far, consensus has been reached on all aspects of the project, including priorities, layout, water-pollution controls, water-saving measures, protection of ecosystems, investment shares and water pricing." Three Routes According to Zhang, the project will have three water diversionroutes, namely the East Route, Middle Route and West Route, after 40 years of investigation and analysis. The three planned water diversion routes are designed to connect the Yangtze with the three largest rivers in the north - the Yellow, the Huaihe and the Haihe rivers. The construction of each route will be carried out in three phases respectively, Zhang said. By 2010, the first and second phases of the East Route construction and the first phase of the Middle Route construction should be completed. Total cost of this work will be more than 180billion yuan (about 22 billion U.S. dollars), Zhang said. The construction of the West Route, the largest of the three, will cost over 300 billion yuan (about 36 billion U.S. dollars), he added. Investment The ambitious water transfer project will divert water from China's longest river, the Yangtze, to North China, where water shortage has become a bottleneck restricting sustainable development of the economy. More than 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion) will be invested in construction of the east and middle water-diversion routes stretching for 2,400 kilometres. The west line is still in the planning stages. The central government will share 60 per cent of the total investment, with the rest to be paid by local authorities who will benefit from the project. As much as 30 per cent of the State's investment will be loans from domestic banks, "but loans from overseas or foreign banks will not be used, due to their high interest rate," he said. Part of the investments from local governments may be raised by gradually increasing present water-use charges. Crucial for Water Shortage He also said the project is crucial for reliving the water shortage, improving the ecosystem and promoting the central government's western region development strategy. Specific plans for water conservation, pollution treatment and environmental protection have been worked out, Zhang said. About 42.6 billion yuan will be invested by 2010 to help increase irrigation efficiency, limit the development of high water-consuming enterprises, and spread the use of water-saving equipment. It is expected that 4.1 billion cubic meters of water will be saved annually in the diversion areas of the Middle Route and EastRoute. Pollution control is focused on the East Route. With the aim ofimproving the quality of diverted water to the standard of Class III, experts have formulated three major schemes to ensure clear water passages, water use limits and water quality improvement. Among the three schemes, clear water passages are targeted to produce zero discharge of polluted water in the main canals for water diversion. Construction of these passages will cost about 16billion yuan. In addition, 102 sewage plants are planned to be built along the route. Environmental issues, such as the salty water intrusion from the Yangtze estuary, ecological protection of the middle and lowerreaches of the Yangtze's branch river Hanjiang, and the safe operation of the water transportation system of the Middle Route, have also stirred up public attention during the preparation work. New Pricing System In addition, a water pricing system that conforms to the request of the socialist market economy has been established. According to Zhang Guoliang, who heads the project design team,the charge of the diverted water will combine the fee for the water from main canals for water diversion with that of water frombranch canals and the local water fees in diversion areas. Zhang said that though the water price will be generally higherafter the project is completed, it eventually will be brought downto an affordable range for urban residents and industries. **** China Puts Forth Proposal on Promotion, Protection of Human Rights. China Wednesday put forth a four-point proposal on attaining the common goal of promotion and protection of human rights at a meeting on the issue of human rights of the Third Committee of the 56th Session of the UN General Assembly. The proposal includes building up a peaceful and secure international environment, striving to narrow the gap of development among countries, attaching equal importance to the two categories of human rights and solving disputes over human rights issues among countries through dialogue and cooperation. China put forth a four-point proposal on attaining the common goal of promotion and protection of human rights China Wednesday put forth a four-point proposal on attaining the common goal of promotion and protection of human rights. Shen Guofang, deputy permanent representative of China to the United Nations, put forth the proposal at a meeting on the issue of human rights of the Third Committee of the 56th Session of the UN General Assembly. The proposal includes building up a peaceful and secure international environment, striving to narrow the gap of development among countries, attaching equal importance to the two categories of human rights and solving disputes over human rights issues among countries through dialogue and cooperation. -- Build up a peaceful and secure international environment Shen Guofang said, international peace and security stand as a precondition for the promotion and protection of human rights, adding that without a peaceful and secure environment, no protection can be possibly guaranteed for either civil and political rights or economic, social and cultural rights. Shen said that in today's world, factors threatening international peace and security are becoming more and more complicated. The September 11 attack has been not only an enormous disaster to the American people but also a new challenge to international peace and security, he said. The Chinese government, he said, has all along condemned and opposed terrorism in all its forms and steadfastly supported international cooperation against terrorism. "We believe that since the fight against terrorism is for the protection of human rights, the means taken should meet this end," he added. --Strive to narrow the gap of development among countries Shen said narrowing the gap of development among countries is of great significance to the realization of universal human rights. He noted that underdevelopment has seriously restrained developing countries' capacity and means to promote and protect human rights. He said China hopes that at the upcoming third meeting of the UN Working Group on the right of development, all countries can fully demonstrate their political will to promote the right to development, focus on identifying obstacles to the realization of the right and make concrete proposals on how to remove the obstacles instead of dwelling on disputes over academic concepts. --Attach equal importance to the two categories of human rights Shen Guofang said the international community should attach equal importance to the civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. "We hope that the international community can take effective measures to help developing countries achieve economic and social development so that their people can better enjoy economic, social and cultural rights," he said. --Solve disputes over human rights issues among countries through dialogue and cooperation Shen said that dialogue and cooperation constitute the right approach to resolving the disputes over human rights among countries. "We respect and endorse the principle of universality of human rights, but we believe at the same time that each country has the right to choose its specific ways to promote and protect human rights on the basis of its national situation," he said, adding that differences of views on human rights among countries should be resolved through dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Chinese government and its people have made great achievements in promoting and protecting human rights in recent years. Shen Guofang said the Chinese government and its people have made great achievements in promoting and protecting human rights in recent years. He said that currently relevant departments of the Chinese government are working on concrete plans to implement all the obligations stipulated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ratified by China in February. He said, "We have conducted human rights dialogues on a wide range of topics with countries that have different social systems and values from China," including the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> and the European Union. "The Chinese government is fully confident that it will be able to further improve the level of human rights enjoyed by its people and willing to make its contribution to the international human rights cause," Shen said. **** Why Have WTO Ministers Made It in Doha?. After six days of tough bargaining, world trade ministers Wednesday finally emerged from the shadow of the Seattle fiasco, striking a deal in the Qatari capital on a development agenda for new trade liberalization talks. After six days of tough bargaining, world trade ministers Wednesday finally emerged from the shadow of the Seattle fiasco, striking a deal in the Qatari capital on a development agenda for new trade liberalization talks. The Fourth World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org/> (WTO) Ministerial Conference, originally scheduled to end Tuesday afternoon, had to be extended well into late Wednesday due to remaining wide gaps in agreement between the South and the North, and nations across the Atlantic. In a declaration, trade ministers of the 142 WTO members committed themselves to expanding the new talks on agriculture and services, which have existed since they began in January 2000 in Geneva. They also agreed to launch negotiations on other new areas -- tariffs on non-industrial products, environment, patents and drugs, and such new issues as investment and competition policies, government procurement and labor standards. All the issues covered, except for patents and public health, were the same as those which daunted the last WTO attempt to launch a new round of trade talks in Seattle two years ago. So, why have WTO trade ministers managed a deal in Doha? Delegates here said the slowing world economy, the current world-wide war against terrorism and compromises made by rival camps, among other things, led to a successful Doha conference. Due to threats of a global economic recession sparked by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., almost all the developed countries, particularly the U.S. and the European Union (EU), were keen to further free up world trade. "The timing and location of this ministerial meeting are hugely significant," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, the lead EU negotiator told reporters Wednesday. "September 11 served to focus all our minds on the need to send a strong political signal of confidence in the multilateral system and the need to inject optimism into a gloomy economic landscape." "I think it (the attack) encouraged us all to look beyond our narrow horizons, and to think about the bigger picture," he said. Unlike the Seattle meeting, both the U.S. and the EU showed more sincerity and flexibility in Doha in seeking common ground on new trade talks, with the former dropping off labor standards from its negotiating agenda. In Seattle, the U.S. Administration of former President Bill Clinton, in an attempt to woo labor unions in the 2000 general elections, insisted that labor standards should be included in a new round. This irritated many developing countries. For its part, the EU made a compromise on launching negotiations on phasing out its huge farm export subsidies, thus clearing a major hurdle blocking consensus on the agenda. Meanwhile, well aware of the importance of the multilateral trading system, the developing countries were positive in pre-Doha consultations. "We (developing nations) need the multilateral trade system far more than the rich countries," said Tanzanian Trade Minister Iddi Simba. Prior to Doha, the U.S. and EU repeatedly warned that they would continue their agenda through bilateral agreements after failure to agree on a comprehensive new round. But whether a new round would soon inject vitality into the faltering world economy to the benefit of both developed and developing countries is still unknown. Oxfam, an international non-governmental organization, warned that a broad trade agenda could exacerbate poverty and inequity as negotiations on investment and competition would make developing countries' markets more open to powerful multinationals. **** Pakistan Condemns Atrocities in Kabul. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Khan reacted strongly Wednesday to reports about the atrocities by the Northern Alliance and condemned them. "We condemn these killings and strongly feel that innocent lives need to be protected. This is all the more reason that for security there should be a multinational force inside Kabul and this city should be demilitarised. Pakistan will talk to all coalition partners," he said. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Khan reacted strongly Wednesday to reports about the atrocities by the Northern Alliance and condemned them. "We condemn these killings and strongly feel that innocent lives need to be protected. This is all the more reason that for security there should be a multinational force inside Kabul and this city should be demilitarised. Pakistan will talk to all coalition partners," he said. But there was little Islamabad could do about the fate of Pakistanis who have been captured by the Northern Alliance and hundreds who were killed in Mazar-i-Sharif. "We have seen these reports but are not sure whether these people are Pakistanis. We hope the UN human rights organisation takes action and we will certainly take it up with the UN. Earlier we had made every effort not to allow anyone crossing over and since we have no presence in Kabul with not even any counsellor presence it is difficult to verify whether these are Pakistanis," Khan said. However, Islamabad at this stage has had no direct contacts with the Northern Alliance since they took over Kabul but says that they expected that some bloodshed would take place. Khan said for the time being the Afghan embassy is still open and Pakistan has not recognised any new Afghan government. He avoided answering queries about Pakistan's policy if Mulla Omar, and other Taliban leaders wanted to come to Pakistan. About reported attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul by Northern Alliance forces, the spokesman said we have heard these reports and we are trying to confirm them. To a question, if the Afghan ambassador has left Pakistan, the spokesman said: "I think the ambassador has left for Kandahar for some consultations." **** Econometrician Predicts Deeper, Longer US Recession: Roundup. Real U.S. GDP will decline at an annual rate of about 2 percent in each of the next three quarters, indicating a deeper and longer recession than most predict, a new report said Wednesday. Real U.S. GDP will decline at an annual rate of about 2 percent in each of the next three quarters, indicating a deeper and longer recession than most predict, a new report said Wednesday. It will rise at an annual rate of 2 percent to 2.5 percent in the second half of next year, followed by a gain of 3.5 percent in 2003, Michael K. Evans, chief economist at the consulting firm American Economics Group. The renowned econometrician also said that when the U.S. economy does begin to recover, it will probably be perceived as a "jobless recovery," as he expects the unemployment rate to increase to 7 percent by the end of next year, declining only slightly to 6.5 percent during 2003. In the report Evans outlined the reasons the U.S. federal government fiscal stimulus package will have little impact on boosting economic growth. "By now we all know there is no free lunch," he said. " Economies cannot return to perfect health simply by ordering the central bank to print more money, or deciding to have the government spend more or tax less." Evans said that the federal government's fiscal stimulus program will be offset by tax increases and cutbacks at the state and local level. Further counteracting the effects of increased federal spending, a perceived return to "deficits are forever" could worsen business confidence and lead to a decline in the stock market that would retard the recovery in capital spending necessary for self-sustaining growth, he said. **** Chinese Top Lawmaker Leaves Uruguay for Tunis. Chinese top legislator Li Peng left Montevideo Wednesday for Tunis for the final leg of his official goodwill visit to five North African and Latin American countries. Chinese top legislator Li Peng left Montevideo Wednesday for Tunis for the final leg of his official goodwill visit to five North African and Latin American countries. Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, met with Luis Hierro, acting president of Uruguay <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/uruguay.html> hours before his departure. He also held talks with Alejandro Archugarry Bonomi, acting president of the National Congress, as well as other senior lawmakers. Li was warmly received by the Uruguayan hosts, and both sides reached a broad range of consensuses during their talks relating to bilateral relations, trade and economic cooperation, and international and regional issues of common concern. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
