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Seoul,
Beijing agree to cool off row
BUSAN (South Korea)—Chinese Foreign Minister once again condemned
Japanese leaders for worshipping war criminals and urged Tokyo to learn
from Germany’s rejection of Adolf Hitler and stop upsetting its Asian
neighours.
Raising the stakes in the row over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi’s visits to the notorious Yasukuni war shrine, Foreign Minister
Li Zhaoxing said in Busan Tuesday that Japan must show more remorse for
wartime atrocities.
“If a German leader went and worshipped Hitler, worshipped the Nazis,
how would the European people look at this? Would this hurt their
feelings? You should think about this carefully,” Li told reporters.
“Yet Japanese leaders are worshipping these war criminals that harmed so
many Chinese people. What are they thinking? Are they even thinking that
they are hurting the feelings of so many people of Asia”?
Li was speaking after talks at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon during which both
countries condemned the shrine visits.
Less than a month before this week’s meetings, Koizumi made his fifth
visit to the Yasukuni shrine since taking office. The war shrine honours
2.5 million war dead including 14 top war criminals from World War II.
Koizumi insists his visits to the shrine are to commemorate the dead,
but many Asian countries see them as proof Japan has not come to terms
with its past aggression.
Chinese officials have already indicated that Chinese President Hu
Jintao would not meet with Koizumi at the APEC annual meeting that
begins in Seoul Friday.
A China News Service report quotes a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
as saying that there is no probability for a summit between Japan and
China leaders at APEC meeting, and the probability of a meeting between
Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers is also extremely low.
“China-Japanese relations are facing difficulties and the responsibility
entirely lies with the Japanese side,” Li said after the talks with his
South Korean counterpart.
China and South Korea are also angry about Japan’s approval of school
textbooks, which they say gloss over wartime atrocities, and both states
opposed Japan’s failed bid for a permanent United Nations Security
Council seat.
Under Koizumi, relations between Tokyo and Beijing have hit their lowest
point since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1972. Anger
over the textbooks and UN bid triggered massive anti-Japanese protests
in China in April.
Amid continuing tension with China, new Japanese foreign minister Taro
Aso has sought to smooth over ties with South Korea, which like China
harbours resentment over its occupation by imperial Japan in the early
20th century.
South Korea’s Ban met Aso on Monday and gave a frank message to Japanese
leaders over the Yasukuni shrine. “Minister Ban asked Japanese
government leaders to act in such a way as to lead the Korean people to
believe in Japan’s apology and repentance over the past,” a senior South
Korean official told reporters.
Despite anger with Japan over the textbook and Yasukuni issues, South
Korean President Roh Moo-Hyan has promised to meet Koizumi at this
week’s summit out of courtesy because he is the host.
(The Daily
Mail-China Daily news exchange item)
China develops human
Bird Flu vaccine
BEIJING—Chinese scientists have developed a vaccine against human
infections of bird flu, the government said yesterday. Clinical testing
on people will begin soon, Liu Yanhua, vice-minister of the Ministry of
Science and Technology, was quoted by Xinhua as saying. If the tests are
successful, it would be the first vaccine in the world to treat human
cases of bird flu.
Experts hailed the progress, saying it demonstrates that China is at the
forefront of research to fight the deadly disease. Should human
infections be found, the government is capable of containing their
spread and ensure public health, they said. Chinese scientists described
the vaccine as an equivalent to Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug made by
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG, which is so far the only
medication found to be effective against bird flu.
Zhong Nanshan, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory
Diseases, was earlier quoted by Information Times newspaper as saying
the drug would be effective in treating the virus. No other details
about the medicine have been released. The government is also stepping
up production of bird flu vaccine for fowls.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that the country now produces more than
100 million doses daily, but some affected areas have reported a
shortage.
The ministry said it would accelerate production of the vaccine by
expanding capacity with the addition of two factories.
Meanwhile, a highly-pathogenic bird-flu outbreak has been reported in a
village near Huainan city of East China’s Anhui Province, the ministry
said yesterday. It is the ninth such outbreak in China since last month.
About 800 fowls raised by farmers in Fanwei village near Huainan died on
November 6; and the national bird-flu lab confirmed yesterday that the
cause was the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. More than 126,000 fowls
have been culled within 3 kilometres of the epidemic zone; and all
poultry markets within 10 kilometres have been closed. In another
development, health authorities are investigating the cases of people
who are suspected to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu virus.
For now, experts can only confirm that an ill woman in Northeast China’s
Liaoning Province is a serious case of pneumonia, Mao Qun’an, spokesman
for the Ministry of Health, told China Daily yesterday. Further tests
will be done on Liu, 36, who was hospitalized with high fever on
November 6.
Liu, who owns a small chicken farm in Heishan County, had helped
neighbours dispose of dead chicken infected with bird flu a week before
she developed high fever.
In Central China’s Hunan Province, a 12-year-old girl died on October 17
after developing a high fever. Her nine-year-old brother and a
36-year-old school teacher, who had the same symptoms, have recovered.
—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
Pak support for China’s bid to SAARC lauded
From Javed Akhtar
( APP)
BEIJING—China appreciates Pakistan’s efforts, bringing it into SAARC’s
fold, making the organization more effective to achieve common
socio-economic development. Diplomatic sources in Beijing noted that as
SAARC’s chairman at Dhaka summit, Pakistan played a leading role for
expanding the organization and accepting China as Observer.
Pakistan pushed for full membership in SAARC for China, for which the
just-concluded summit in Dhaka has favoured inclusion as an observer.
China believes that if and when the issue of inducting China as a full
member comes up in SAARC, Pakistan would be on forefront supporting it.
Talking to APP, the sources hoped that the expansion of SAARC would have
a major impact and would increase its importance and influence.
When asked to comment on China’s entry into SAARC, a spokesman of the
Chinese Foreign Ministry Liu Jianchao said China is ready to join with
members of the SAARC to improve reciprocal cooperation and achieve
common prosperity. “We hope that SAARC countries will make more
achievements in promoting regional cooperation,” the spokesman said
adding China attached great importance to the SAARC and looking forward
to its complete success.
China to close 4,000 unsafe coal mines
BEIJING—At least 4,000 unsafe coal mines will be shut down by the end of
the year in an ongoing campaign to sever links between government
officials and colliery owners.
Safety watchdogs halted production at 12,148 coal mines in the first 10
months of the year to enforce safety regulations. Of the mines they
inspected, 70 per cent failed, said Zhao Tiechui, head of the Sate
Administration of Coal Mine Safety.
“The curbing of accidents and shutting down of unlicensed collieries are
two tough jobs before the work safety departments right now,” said Zhao,
during a visit to Northwest China’s Chongqing Municipality.
All the collieries that have not so far applied for certificates for
safe production should suspend production, he said. Those that fail
post-renovation inspections will be closed by the end of the year.
In Chongqing, 314 officials have registered interests totalling 62.7
million yuan (US$7.7 million) in coal mines. Of these interests 35.8
million yuan (US$4.4 million) has been withdrawn, said Xie Xiaojun,
vice-major of the city.
In China, poor work safety, collusion between officials and colliery
owners, over-exploitation of resources and severe pollution have been
dubbed the “four tumours” of the coal industry.
Corruption and collaboration between officials and coal mine owners, is
the root cause of coal mine accidents in the nation, said Li Yizhong,
minister of the State Administration of Work Safety.
More than 90 per cent of the officials who give protection to illegal
coal mines are public servants at county-or township-level, said Cao
Jianlin, an official in charge of breaking collaboration between
officials and colliery owners in North China’s coal-rich Shanxi
Province.
“They (the officials) are the forces that determine the life and death
of the coal mines,” said Cao. “The trading of power and money has made
it difficult for watchdogs to tackle collaboration”.
There are 4,600 or so registered coal mines in Shanxi Province, said Cao,
adding that there were also more than 4,000 illegal mines.
Shi Xueai, vice-Party secretary of Shanxi’s Linfen city, said more than
100 officials have been punished for collaborating with coal mine
owners.
“But the situation remains serious,” said Shi.
According to at least one private colliery owner, Zhang Guoming, Chinese
law encourages mine owners not to invest in safety equipment.
Under the current legislation, mining resources belong to the State,
while owners of private mines only enjoy the right of exploitation.
“Exploitation rights for private mine owners are usually only granted
for less than 10 years, and sometimes no longer than five years,” said
Zhang.
“Mine owners have such a short period of time in which to turn a profit,
they will not waste those profits to make the mine safe”.
(The Daily
Mail-China Daily news exchange item) |
