* * * C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t * * * (News Global) Friday, September 24, 1993 Table of Contents # of Lines ============================================================================= 1. News Briefs (2 Items) ................................................. 23 2. Sydney Gets 2000 Olympic Games ........................................ 56 3. Stunned Chinese Look to 2004 .......................................... 68 4. Sydney Slays Chinese Dragon to Snatch 2000 Olympics .................. 137 5. The Key Element for Sydney's Winning .................................. 47 6. USOC, Atlanta Organisers Thrilled with Sydney Win ..................... 61 7. Sydney Erupts with Joy at Olympic Victory ............................. 71 8. Wang Dan Says: Give China a Chance .................................... 17 9. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #130 (cm9309d) ..................... 27 ============================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. News Briefs (2 Items) ................................................. 23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [UPI via the Canada-Tibet Committe, 23/9/93] MONTE CARLO -- Vote count in Thursday's International Olympic Committee's meeting to decide venue of 2000 Olympic Games. First Ballot -- Beijing, 32, Sydney, 30, Manchester, 11, Berlin, 9, Istanbul, 7 (eliminated). Second Ballot -- Beijing, 37, Sydney, 30, Manchester, 13, Berlin, 9 (eliminated). Third Ballot -- Beijing, 40, Sydney, 37, Manchester, 11 (eliminated). Fourth Ballot -- Sydney, 45 (winner), Beijing, 43. ___ ___ ___ [AP, 9/22/93] PLO chairman Yasser Arafat got a red-carpet welcome Wednesday from China's president, Jiang Zemin, who offered aid to the Palestinians. Jiang offered the Palestine Liberation Organization a school and "a quantity of goods," but gave no other details. China was one of the first countries to recognize the PLO-declared State of Palestine in 1988, and has applauded the recent agreement between the PLO and Israel that establishes Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank town of Jericho. A military honor guard greeted Arafat at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where Arafat delighted the Chinese by saying he supports Beijing's bid for the 2000 Olympic Games. (Forwarded by: Daluo Jia ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Sydney Gets 2000 Olympic Games ........................................ 56 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: AP, 09/23/93 MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Sydney was selected Thursday to host the 2000 Olympics, beating out Beijing for the Summer Games in a choice of stability over the political uncertainties of China. The decision to return the Games to Australia for the first time since the 1956 Melbourne Olympics was announced live to a worldwide television audience by International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch after secret balloting by the committee's 89 voting members. Sydney's victory, after unsuccessful Australian bids for the 1992 and 1996 Games, resulted from steady insistence that the harbor city could provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and cater best to the needs and wants of the athletes. The Sydney Games, planned for the last two weeks of September in 2000 because of its location in the Southern Hemisphere, would be the first at which all athletes could live in the Olympic Village, with no venue more than 30 minutes away. Heading into the vote, Beijing had appeared to be the favorite, with Sydney and Manchester, England, vying for second. Berlin, hampered by local opposition to its bid, and Istanbul, which sought to be the first Muslim host city, were considered out of the running. The competition for the Games has been dominated by Beijing's candidacy -- an ambitious, controversial attempt to bring the Olympics to the Communist nation despite skepticism about its record of suppressing political dissent. "The closed China of the past has now opened its doors," said the chairman of Beijing's bid committee, Chen Xitong. "We fervently want to know more about the world and to have more friends in the world know about us. Hosting the 2000 Games will open our door still wider." The IOC's voting members began their session of secret balloting shortly after the last of five 55-minute presentations by the five cities, who together had spent an estimated $85 million during three years of lobbying. The cities made final presentations before Thursday's voting began. Istanbul made the last appearance, presenting Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to urge an Olympic role in breaking down a cultural wall between the West and the Islamic world. Berlin, with a delegation including tennis star and 1988 gold medal winner Steffi Graf, opened the schedule by appealing for support to celebrate the end of its Cold War divisions. It showed footage of John F. Kennedy declaring "I am a Berliner," and then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan urging Berlin in 1987 to seek the Olympic Games. Sydney followed with a presentation emphasizing its modern infrastructure, its political stability and its intention to provide "the athletes' Games." "At the end of the day, only the interests of the athletes and the Olympic movement count," said Kevan Gosper, an Australian member of the IOC. "We promise the athletes of the world a suberbly organized Games." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Stunned Chinese Look to 2004 .......................................... 68 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: AP, 09/23/93 BEIJING -- Chinese were stunned by their country's failure to win the 2000 Olympics, but comforted each other early Friday with vows to try for the 2004 games. "It's regrettable but we'll have another chance. We'll definitely succeed in 2004," said Mu Huailiang, a 37-year-old factory worker who was attending the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee's late-night announcement party. "I couldn't believe it, I really couldn't," said He Jin, 22, who also was attending the party. "They should have given China this opportunity. It seems they are prejudiced against China." The 800 participants at the party, who were watching events in Monte Carlo on a large screen, thought Beijing had won when International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch said he wanted to thank the five bidding cities and began by naming Beijing. The room erupted in a frenzy with the viewers jumping up and down, beating cymbals, firing confetti and popping champagne corks. Cheers also could be heard from apartment buildings where Chinese were watching a televised broadcast of the party. Some people set off firecrackers. As the party-goers slowly realized their mistake, mouths began opening in amazement and one person broke down in tears. Within minutes, a statement from Chinese State Councillor Li Tieying was read by a television announcer, telling Chinese that "the important thing is participating." "This doesn't mean that China does not have the strength and the conditions to hold an Olympics," the statement said. The announcer also read an editorial, clearly prepared well in advance, that will appear in Friday's issues of the People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper. "We respect the choice of the IOC," it said. The announcement came at 2:20 a.m. local time, and most Beijing residents were either watching the results at home or asleep. Security officials had discouraged public gatherings, worried about what emotional crowds might do no matter which way the decision went. China's Communist rulers have fought for the games with an intensity usually reserved for major ideological movements, treating the IOC vote as a kind of referendum on China's prestige not just as in sports but as an economic and political power. Only in recent days did official newspapers begin to caution that defeat was a possibility and to stress the need for good sportsmanship in case of loss. Some Chinese warned of a possible popular backlash against the West and especially the United States, where congressmen said China should not get the Olympics because of its human rights abuses. "They won't forget it. Ordinary Beijing people will be quite angry if that affects the Olympic vote," Chen Ji, an editor at the Beijing Youth News, said before the decision was announced. In their efforts to impress the IOC, Beijing authorities organized Olympic- theme English contests, quiz shows, a beauty contest, rallies, marathons and public-sanitation drives. College students bicycled around the country obtaining signatures on pro- Olympic petitions. High school students and soldiers spent Sunday mornings washing and painting the lane dividers on Beijing streets. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Sydney Slays Chinese Dragon to Snatch 2000 Olympics .................. 137 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, 09/23/93 MONTE CARLO, Monaco - Sydney slayed the Chinese dragon Thursday when it snatched the 2000 Olympics from Beijing by a mere two votes. Mighty Beijing led in three of the four rounds of voting by the mandarins of the International Olympic Committee before the dragon finally ran out of puff in the final count. Australia's jubilation was a far cry from the depression of the Sydney delegation earlier this week when it seemed about to be overwhelmed by a massive Chinese propaganda effort. Some of the Australians appeared intimidated by the bludgeoning effect of the Chinese propaganda machine and seemed to believe that a country of 18 million was no match for China's 1.2 billion, a fifth of the global population. But although Beijing went into the vote as the perceived favorite, the IOC chose to uphold its stated ideals of putting the athletes first. There was never any question that Sydney offered the best facilities among the five bidding cities, even though the political might of Beijing seemed to temporarily mesmerize the entire Olympic movement. In the end, however, the IOC was disinclined to become embroiled in the human rights controversy which would have been part and parcel of a Beijing Olympics. But the outcome was in doubt throughout the voting process. Beijing led Sydney 32-30 in the opening poll before pulling ahead 37-30 in the second ballot. Sydney closed in on Beijing on the third go round when the Chinese led 40-37. The Australians clinched sport's ultimate prize by 45 votes to 43 on the final ballot as Istanbul, then Berlin and finally Manchester were eliminated from the running. But in the moments just before IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced the decision to a global television audience many Chinese thought their capital had been chosen. Their confusion stemmed from the fact that Samaranch opened his remarks by reading out the five competing cities in English in alphabetical order and named Beijing first. The crowd at the official Olympic gala in Beijing cheered and waved flags when they thought they had won. The crowd of about 1,400 in a plush convention center went wild, smoke machines poured out mist and a lion dance was performed to the sound of firecrackers. But the mistake became clear as the giant television screen in the center showed scenes of crowds revelling in Sydney. In Sydney, a night of partying turned into day on the waterfront -- with the famous Opera House as a backdrop -- as fireworks exploded in celebration just seconds after the announcement that Australia's biggest city had won. Police said crowds swelled to 60,000 when the announcement came across giant television screens at 4.28 a.m. and a roar of delight echoed around Sydney harbor as young Australians danced with abandon. Australian IOC member Phil Coles said: "I'm flabbergasted, it's fantastic, it was very close, we went right down to the final round of voting." China had gone all out to counter opposition to its bid by American and European politicians who argued that Beijing did not deserve the Games until it improved its human rights record. But the release of political prisoners, China's promise to allow a foreign inquiry team to investigate human rights conditions, a short-lived threat to boycott the 1996 Atlanta Games and even a spate of world records by Chinese runners ultimately failed to persuade the IOC to embark on a high risk Beijing Games. The decision not to send the Games to China brought a speedy response from human rights lobbyists in Monte Carlo. Richard Dicker, a spokesman for the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "This decision puts the Chinese leadership on notice that they will pay a price for the continued abuse of their own citizens. "Until they cease widespread torture, arbitrary imprisonment and religious persecution, the Chinese government will be denied the international approbation they seek." Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating hugged his Dutch-born wife Anita and punched the air as IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced the result after going through the traditional envelope-ripping routine. "Australia won tonight, that's the most important thing. This should be a great confidence-builder for Australia. It shows we can hack it in the big swim," Keating said. The Chinese delegates looked dumbstruck as they left the auditorium at Monaco's Louis II stadium and Wei Jizhong, secretary-general of the Beijing bid committee, said: "I'm very disappointed, but I'd like to congratulate Sydney." U.S. Olympic officials were thrilled by the decision. "This is terrific for Syndey and I know that our athletes are looking forward to going down there," said U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Moran. And Lyn May, a director of communications for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games, reacted as if Atlanta had won all over again. "We're excited," May said. "This is the same way we felt three years ago. We think they will put on a wonderful Games." Two-time Olympic champion Edwin Moses, a member of the IOC athletes advisory panel, said he believed the debate over China's human rights policies had little to do with the outcome. "They wanted a great event, and I think that's what it will be," Moses said. Dick Pound, a Canadian member of the IOC executive board, said the IOC had gone for the safe option rather than plunging into the great unknown of a Beijing Olympics. "There was arguably somewhat more risk in going to Beijing because it's unknown and there are tremendous cultural differences that a lot of Western IOC members -- who form the vast majority -- were not familiar with," Pound said. Francois Carrard, the IOC director-general said: "On behalf of the IOC I would like to express our deep, deep, deep happiness on the decision to award the Games to Sydney. "We know this is a perfect decision. It was a remarkable bid. You have worked very hard. We are very proud of you." For Sydney it was party time. Eddie Moore, a community worker with the bid committee, said: "There's a million people there in Sydney harbor ready for the biggest party the place has ever seen." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. The Key Element for Sydney's Winning .................................. 47 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, 09/23/93 Monte Carlo -- A key element of the Sydney bid was the support of environmental protection groups. Greenpeace spokesman Paul Gilding told a news conference: "The Sydney Olympics will be a symbol of people wanting to solve problems together. It's a powerful message going out to the world. The year 2000 is a symbol of hope for the future." For Beijing, the sting of defeat was made all the more painful by a misunderstanding which led supporters in the Chinese capital to believe they had won. Before announcing the result, Samaranch thanked the bidding cities and read out their names in alphabetical order, with Beijing first. In Beijing, supporters thought they had won -- only to realise their error a few moments later. Meanwhile, at Sydney's news conference in Monte Carlo Australian Kevan Gosper paid tribute his fellow IOC vice-president, He Zhenliang of China. "He lost in front of 1.2 billion people by two votes with great dignity. Beijing withstood a tremendous amount of criticism," Gosper said. Asked whether Sydney had considered changing its tactics when Beijing emerged as the favourite in the week of the vote, Gosper replied: "Human rights was a potential minefield, which we had to stay out of. But Beijing had a very strong case for the Olympic Games." Referring to Sydney's two-vote victory margin, Gosper added: "We always said the presentation could make a difference of five to 10 percent of the vote and I think our presentation stood up very well today." Sydney's victory looked likely to provide a huge boost to Australia's business community with analysts predicting the Olympics would bolster the country's economy by 5.2 billion U.S. dollars. This is directly comparable to a recent forecast that the 1996 centenary Games in Atlanta would generate around $5.1 billion in extra business. But for the moment euphoria was the order of the day, with even Francois Carrard, the IOC director-general, getting in on the act. "On behalf of the IOC I would like to express our deep, deep, deep happiness on the decision to award the Games to Sydney. We know this is a perfect decision. It was a remarkable bid. You have worked very hard. We are very proud of you." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. USOC, Atlanta Organisers Thrilled with Sydney Win ..................... 61 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, 09/23/93 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- U.S. Olympic Committee officials and Atlanta Games organizers Thursday expressed delight at the news that Sydney had won the right to stage the 2000 Olympics. "This is terrific for Syndey and I know that our athletes are looking forward to going down there," said USOC spokesman Mike Moran. "It's wonderful that the Games are going back down there for the first time since 1956," he said, referring to the 1956 Melbourne Games. Moran said there was "chaos" at the U.S. Olympic Committee recreational center when the vote was announced on television. A group of visiting women's weightlifters from Australia provided the excitement, cheering wildly when the announcement was made. Lyn May, a director of communications for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games, reacted as if Atlanta had won all over again. "We're excited," May said. "This is the same way we felt three years ago. We think they will put on a wonderful Games." Moran said he was not surprised by the vote for Sydney. "I just felt that the initial report about the quality of facilities and the overall bid all along would put Sydney in it, pending the last week's emotions," he said. Moran said the vote brought back memories of 1990 when Atlanta was chosen for the 1996 Games over the emotional favorite, Athens, Greece. "They (the IOC) ignored the emotions and went with the city that had the best infrastructure and facilities just like they did with Atlanta," Moran said. He called the vote "a tribute to the IOC." "I think more and more it recognizes the importance of the infrastructure, the facilities and all of that. "Sydney was so ahead of the game in terms of the facilities on hand and the facilities planned that they must have impressed a great number of the voters." Former world cross country champion Lynn Jennings said she greeted the announcement with "ecstasy and relief." "I'm thrilled it's going to Syndey, and I'm relieved, at least at this point, that Beijing has to wait for their Olympics," Jennings told Reuters from her New Hampshire home. "I'm really looking forward to going there," Jennings said of Australia's biggest city. "They have a population that adores sports, and I think they will treat an Olympics with care." Two-time Olympic gold medalist and former 400-meter hurdles world record holder Edwin Moses, a member of the IOC athletes advisory panel, said he believed the debate over China's human rights policies had little to do with the outcome. He said IOC members judged each city from a sporting point of view when they voted. "They wanted a great event, and I think that's what it will be." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Sydney Erupts with Joy at Olympic Victory ............................. 71 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, 09/23/93 SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia's biggest city erupted in jubilation early Friday morning as some 60,000 partygoers heard the live broadcast from Monte Carlo that Sydney had been awarded the 2000 Olympic Games. Night was turned into day on Sydney's waterfront -- with the famous Opera House as a backdrop -- as fireworks exploded seconds after Sydney was declared winner. Sydneysiders, as residents are known, had partied all night until the 4:20 a.m. decision was announced from the International Olympic Committee meeting in Monte Carlo. Police said crowds in central Sydney swelled to 60,000 by the time the announcement that Australia would host its first Olympics since the 1956 Melbourne Games came across giant television screens. A roar of delight echoed around Sydney harbor and young Australians danced with abandon. In central Sydney screaming crowds embraced, popped champagne corks, sang and danced as the first rays of sunrise broke through over Sydney Harbor. Four-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Dawn Fraser, weeping with joy, said: "It's tremendous. I'm so proud to be an Australian and so happy for the younger generations." "The party has just begun," said 28-year-old computer technician Stephen Boyle, one of thousands of people who had converged on Sydney's harborfront. "I've got tears in my eyes. This is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me," said party-goer Daniel Ward, 22. The chant "Sydney Sydney Sydney" went up as IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch made the announcement. The cheering and chanting, accompanied by the blaring of car horns, went on for several minutes after the announcement. Australian cricket captain Allan Border said it was a dream come true for athletes, saying: "I'm over the moon. Come on 2000, its going to be great." Student Melinda Becker, 20, echoed the sentiments of many in the crowd who believed that Beijing had edged Sydney in the final days of lobbying for the Games. "It's unbelievable. I never expected us to get it," she said. Sydney, for months the clear favorite to win the 2000 Games as China's human rights record became an issue, was until two weeks ago brimming with confidence. But over the past two weeks Sydney was replaced by Beijing as odds-on favorite as the Chinese bid committee propaganda machine went into high gear. In the city where one Sunday tabloid brashly declared only weeks ago "IT'S OURS!," confidence gave way to nervous optimism in the final rundown to the IOC vote. On Friday, Sydney's Telegraph-Mirror tabloid daily had only two words on its front page -- "WE WIN!" The Sydney Olympics will mark only the second time that the Games will be staged in the Southern Hemisphere. Brisbane was unsuccessful in its bid to host the 1992 Games and Melbourne, Sydney's traditional rival, lost to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics. Aside from the city's climate, organizers played up strongly the technical strength of the city's Olympic athletic project, which is about 70 percent complete and prompted one IOC official in July to call the bid "bloody near perfect." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Wang Dan Says: Give China a Chance .................................... 17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Daniel X. Wu (dwu@cs.umb.edu) Source: The New York Times, 9/23/93 Written by: Wang Dan [Wang Dan, a Chinese student leader in 1989, was imprisoned after the military's assault on Tiananmen Square. He was released from prison in February. Kevin Platt translated and helped prepare this article.] BEIJING Today the International Olympic Committee is to vote on the site of the 2000 summer Games, amid a worldwide debate over whether Beijing should be the host city. If judged solely on its human rights record, China would be found lacking. But I believe that if seen through the lens of realism, as a means to influence the future, the benefits of allowing Beijing to hold the 2000 Games far outweigh the negative effects. One such benefit would be to accelerate China's opening to the rest of the world. As part of the global community, China is more likely to adjust its conduct in line with international norms. Of course, we cannot say for certain that rejecting Beijing's bid would cause China to close its doors. But we can be sure that choosing Beijing would force the Government to become more open, at least on the surface. Such a decision would also promote internal reform. There are already signs that if China is not permitted to host the Games, conservative forces in the Communist Party will further stir nationalistic, xenophobic sentiment and attack factions that have been closer to America and Europe. But if Beijing's bid is accepted, reformists will have greater room for movement. Most important, we will have another means to persuade the leadership to guarantee human rights and expand democracy. The release of Wei Jingsheng from prison on parole last week is evidence that global pub- lic opinion, given the right external conditions, can have a great effect on human rights in China. The international community is beginning to reach a common interpre- tation of the meaning of the Olympics, founded in Athens, the birth- place of many of humankind's greatest ideas. The essence of the Olym- pics is respect for the human spirit and human aspiration in all forms. Should the Chinese Government fail between now and 2000 to protect this essence, in the form of basic human rights guarantees, the world would have the right to respond. I do not think the Government wants to follow the path taken by Moscow when the international community reacted unfavorably to the 1980 Olympics because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In this light, the Olympics can be considered a sword of Damocles over the party for the next seven years Sourcing the leader- ship to think twice in dealing with human rights and political questions. I completely understand the feelings of those who oppose Beijing's holding the Olympics. As one who participated in the 1989 movement, one who has heard and seen the bloodstained rule, it would be emotionally difficult to watch the Chinese Government bask in the glory of a successful bid. But we cannot oppose the bid simply because the Communist Party supports it. We must overcome obstacles in the heart, adopt pragmatism and use any opportunity to promote Chinese democracy. To overseas friends who participate in the democracy movement, some of whom oppose China's bid to host the Olympics, I send my tribute and my sympathy. But I hold to the idea that allowing Beijing to hold the Games would be good for the Chinese people. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. What's in Today's Hua Xia Wen Zhai #130 (cm9309d) ..................... 27 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >_From: Hua Xia Wen Zhai Editorial Board Hua Xia Wen Zhai (CND Chinese Magazine) Issue #130 September 24, 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (cm9309d) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Headline News of the Week ................................... Zhang Ming 2. Motherland: No Holidays for University Students ............... Li Junde 3. Essay: On Cross-Cultural Transfers ............................... Lu Ou 4. Prose: What is "Love" ............................................ Si Yu 5. Opinions: On Ethnicity and Nationality ....................... Shao Nian 6. "We" (WoMen): My Baby Daughter .................................. Yi Ren "Ghosts" in Australia ........................... Ren Zhen 7. Mid-Autumn Recipes .......................................... Huan Luyun 8. Life: Pot Plants ............................................... Ji Hong 9. Between Readers and Editors: An Announcement ...... HXWZ Editorial Board ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CND-CM Executive Editor: XU Ming Yang ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please send contributions to hxwz@cnd.org. Include your name and E-address in the Hz, or uuencoded GB or BIG5 file(indicate if you wish to be anonymous) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PostScript version of this issue will be available via anonymous ftp from cnd.org under /pub/hxwz/PS-NEW and spike.rice.edu under /hxwz/PS-NEW The filenames will be: HXWZ130_1.tar.Z and HXWZ130_2.tar.Z +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Executive Editor: XU Ming Yang | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | China News Digest (CND) offers the following services: | | (1) Global News (Daily) (2) US Regional News | | (3) Canada Regional News (4) Europe & Pacific Regional News | | (5) Hua Xia Wen Zhai (Weekly Chinese Magazine) | | (6) InfoBase: anon FTP to CND.ORG[132.249.229.100]:pub/InfoBase | | To subscribe or get info, mail request to: CND-INFO@CND.ORG | | To contribute news, please send it to: CND-EDITOR@CND.ORG | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ * * * C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t * * * (News Global) Saturday, September 25, 1993 Table of Contents # of Lines ============================================================================= 1. News Briefs (4 Items) ................................................. 46 2. Beijing Congratulates Sydney, Says It Will Try Again .................. 72 3. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen Refused to Rule Out Nuclear Test ......... 42 4. China's Students Take Drugs to Rape or Rob ............................ 33 5. Market Watch: China's Two Stock Exchanges Boom ....................... 163 ============================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. News Briefs (4 Items) ................................................. 46 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [UPI, 9/24/93] OSAKA, Japan -- The Japanese city of Osaka may reconsider its plan to bid for the Olympic Games in the year 2008 or 2012 in the wake of Beijing's failure to win the 2000 Olympics, city officials said Friday. Osaka, Japan's third largest city, had been preparing to make a bid to host the Games if Beijing won. But as Beijing is now likely to renew its attempt to host the 2004 or 2008 Games, Osaka may pull out. "The failure this time will not stop the people of Beijing and China from trying again," an editorial in the China Daily in Beijing said Friday. "Instead, they will launch a new drive to make their Olympic dream a reality." An Osaka official said, "We have to think about peaceful coexistence with China in the Asia region. We don't want to hustle Beijing," reported the Kyodo News Service. (Forwarded by: A CND Reader) ___ ___ ___ [DJ, 9/24/93] BEIJING - China released an 11-year-old statement by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in which he warned that Hong Kong would be taken over before 1997 if serious disturbances occurred in the colony. The lengthy statement was released by the official Xinhua news agency minutes after Beijing lost its bid for the 2000 Olympics and was carried on the front page of China-run newspapers in Hong Kong. "We considered what we should do if serious disturbances occurred in Hong Kong during the transition period of 15 years," Deng said, adding: "The Chinese government would then be compelled to reconsider the timing and manner of the takeover." Fresh talks between China and the UK over Hong Kong's transition are due to resume here Sunday. (Forwarded by: Jian Liu) ___ ___ ___ [UPI, 9/24/93] WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence-gathering satellites photographed Chinese scientists lowering a nuclear device into an underground testing site last week, but there was considerable speculation that Beijing would hold off until the International Olympic Committee selected a location for the 2000 Olympic games. U.S. officials said they saw no link between deliberations of the Olympic Committee, which selected Sydney, Australia, Thursday, and the nuclear test. Officials with access to classified intelligence data said recent photographs reveal that China has now sealed the test site with concrete in preparation for the nuclear test. (Forwarded by: A CND Reader) ___ ___ ___ [Reuters, 9/24/93] BONN - Germany and China signed an economic cooperation deal on Thursday. China has been the biggest buyer of German goods in the Asia-Pacific region this year. Germany is China's largest European customer, with imports this year worth over 12 billion marks ($7.36 billion). On Wednesday 11 contracts were signed for the delivery of German plant and equipment to China. This brought to 3.8 billion marks ($2.33 billion) the total of Chinese orders to Germany since Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt led a trade mission to China in March. (Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Beijing Congratulates Sydney, Says It Will Try Again .................. 72 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: A CND Reader Source: UPI, 2/23/93 BEIJING -- China on Friday played down its huge loss of national face and congratulated Sydney for winning the 2000 Olympics, with official media saying Beijing and the nation would try again to "make their Olympic dream a reality." "Beijing's failure to win the bid, no matter how disappointing to our countrymen, can serve to motivate the Chinese people to make new efforts in the spirit of the Olympics," the English-language China Daily said in an editorial. The Chinese government's initial reaction to the International Olympic Committee decision, which came in the early morning hours in Beijing, was graceful in public. But authorities reacted predictably at home. Hundreds of police swiftly cordoned off Beijing's Tiananmen Square after the Games announcement around 2:25 a.m. local time and ejected disappointed Olympic fans who had hoped for a celebration. The city was quiet after a preemptive security clampdown in which city officials had banned street gatherings and told citizens to stay home. The northwest university district, a potential flashpoint for dissent, was locked down by a heavy police presence. Chinese leaders, who made repeated public appearances to stake massive personal and national prestige on winning Beijing's bid, were conspicuously absent from the post-mortems after the live broadcasts of the announcement on state television and radio. Despite China's unprecedented lobbying campaign and entreaties that its economic reforms and "open-door" policy meant it was ready, its bid was nonetheless dogged by the image of the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. One senior Communist Party official, Li Tieying, issued a statement saying the bidding process itself "is an important step in our reform and open policy." "Among the five bidders, there was only one lucky city, but no losers," Li said. The China Daily editorial extended congratulations to Sydney and wished its 2000 Games "a great success." "The failure this time will not stop the people of Beijing and China from trying again," the editorial said. "Instead, they will launch a new drive to make their Olympic dream a reality." The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, in its editorial, acknowledged that "we now realize that in order to achieve some big events, we must be strong willed and should do better in domestic work." After the announcement, however, some Chinese seethed at human rights groups and the U.S. Congress for publicly opposing Beijing's bid because of its human rights record. "The U.S. shouldn't have interfered," said a Beijing bid committee official, Chen Silai. "Politics and the Olympics are separate matters." The disappointment was heightened across Beijing because of an embarrassing miscue that allowed Beijingers to believe they had won -- for about five minutes. As IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch began his announcement by thanking the bidding cities in English, starting with "Beijing," the live broadcast on local television and radio was misunderstood in much of the city. An audience gathered at a convention center for the announcement erupted into thunderous applause and cheers, with confetti dropping in the hall, and Beijing television cut away from the actual announcement of Sydney to show the elated crowd. Several minutes elapsed before the error was corrected. ___ ___ ___ Sites of the Summer Olympic Games: 2000 - Sydney, 1996 - Atlanta, 1992 - Barcelona, 1988 - Seoul, 1984 - Los Angeles, 1980 - Moscow, 1976 - Montreal, 1972 - Munich, 1968 - Mexico City, 1964 - Tokyo, 1960 - Rome, 1956 - Melbourne, 1952 - Helsinki, 1948 - London, 1936 - Berlin, 1932 - Los Angeles, 1928 - Amsterdam, 1924 - Paris, 1920 - Antwerp, 1912 - Stockholm, 1908 - London, 1904 - St. Louis, 1900 - Paris, 1896 - Athens ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen Refused to Rule Out Nuclear Test ......... 42 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: A CND Reader Source: UPI, 9/23/93 BEIJING -- Foreign Minister Qian Qichen refused to rule out Thursday that China was planning an underground nuclear test, saying Beijing had not agreed to a test moratorium as proposed by the United States. In an interview with Cable News Network, Qian declined to address directly a question on whether a test was planned, saying, "you know, I'm minister of foreign affairs, not minister of defense." The U.S. government has said that satellite photographs of the Chinese nuclear testing ground at Lop Nur, in remote western Xinjiang province, showed evidence of final preparations for an underground nuclear test. "We hold the consistent view that we stand for complete prohibition and the thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and in this context we can study how to have a complete ban of nuclear testing," Qian said. "China has not committed unilaterally to a moratorium," he said. "However, it has exercised restraint. And the number of tests by China is very small if it is compared with that by the United States." President Bill Clinton said in July the United States was committed to a nuclear test moratorium but would resume tests if a worldwide freeze was broken by another country. The Clinton administration has been leading an effort to build toward a comprehensive worldwide nuclear test ban, but the Chinese have reportedly told U.S. officials they would not be ready to observe such a ban until 1996. China last conducted a nuclear test about a year ago on Sept. 25, 1992, for a total of 38. The United States has conducted 942 nuclear tests. In the CNN interview, Qian also said China was considering dropping a threat to stop abiding by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a key accord that limits the spread of missiles and related technology. China, although not a signatory to MTCR, had agreed to observe its guidelines, but threatened to withdraw after the United States imposed economic sanctions for China's alleged sale of M-11 missile components to Pakistan. Asked whether China might actually join MTCR, Qian said, "We are thinking about this." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. China's Students Take Drugs to Rape or Rob ............................ 33 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, 09/23/93 BEIJING -- Chinese students, some as young as eight, are taking tranquillisers in increasing numbers to get high, relieve stress or to pluck up courage to rape or rob, the China Education News said on Thursday. The newspaper blamed the influence of movies from Hong Kong and Taiwan for the rise in school age drug abuse, saying they glamorised such behaviour. It also blamed the swelling number of private pharmacists who sell drugs without proper prescription. "Under the influence of the drugs, their spirits become dreamy and relaxed," the newspaper said. Drugs "are passed from person to person, and from school to school, resulting in numerous 'drug-taking tribes' appearing on campus," it added. The newspaper said students most prone to drug abuse were those who do poorly in school, increasing pressure on them from parents and teachers. "In their state of depression, they turn to drugs to relieve stress," the newspaper said. Some rely on drugs as a confidence-builder before going out to commit crimes. "After taking tranquillisers, some junior school students use the effects to build an illusion of courage, make trouble and hurt people, break into buildings, form robber gangs or rape women," the newspaper said. It gave no figures but urged local officials to pay attention to the rise of drug abuse in China's schools. "The use of tranquillisers by junior school students not only seriously damages their health, but also can lead to more serious criminal activity," the newspaper said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Market Watch: China's Two Stock Exchanges Boom ....................... 163 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Jian Liu, Deming Abridged and Compiled by: Deming Source: Wall Street Journal, AP, Compuserve(QQUOTE), September 24, 1993 XIAN -- In this ancient capital, just a few hundred kilometers from the caves in which Mao Tse-tung and his guerrillas spent years pondering a Communist future, a different kind of speculation is back in style, The Wall Street Journal reported. On a sunny summer morning, some 2,000 people are gathered in front of the stock-price tote boards at Xian Securities Co. In both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, to which the boards are linked by satellite, trading is slow and prices are stagnant. The onlookers seem bored. One of them, who gives his name only as Mr. Lu, has been coming here every day since being laid off from a bankrupt state factory five months earlier. Dressed in a sober blue Mao suit, he says he now holds shares of three stocks on the Shanghai exchange and one listed in Shenzhen. And today's tired market isn't making him happy. "This is no good," he grouses. "I can't make any money unless these prices bounce around." Although the Shanghai Stock Exchange lists fewer than 80 issues, it expects to have five million account holders by its third anniversary, in December. Many of them will be people like Lu, in places like Xian, where satellite hookups have enabled government-owned brokerage firms to provide real-time price quotes. Satellite feeds also fuel the action in Shenzhen, a special economic zone adjacent to Hong Kong that serves as the home of China's other legal stock market. Opened in 1991, the Shenzhen exchange now has more than 50 listed stocks and nearly two million account holders. And stock trading in China is far from being just a provincial fad. In Shanghai itself, for example, 60,000 people a week trundle down to the exchange and wait in line to open an account. "Our stock market will absolutely help Shanghai regain its role as the financial center of East Asia," boasts Wang Huizhong, a former college professor who is now the exchange's spokesman. For the time being, however, both of China's stock markets remain largely gamblers' emporiums. The Chinese save an average of 40% of their incomes, but they have few opportunities to invest. Thus, whenever a new company is listed, people rush to buy shares. This has forced Chinese stock regulators to distribute many intitial offerings by way of lotteries. There is even a brisk trade in neibu, the unlisted "inside" shares that companies have issued to their employees as incentives. On the sidewalks of Xian, the hottest of these is Yellow River Television Co., whose shares are actually sheaves of tattered paper. To transfer ownership, new buyers staple a photocopy of their national identity card to the shares. The hope is that this paper trail will give the last person legal ownership when -- and if -- the stocks are actually listed. Foreign fund managers, too, have been eager over the past two years to participate in the Chinese markets, mostly through investment in "China plays" -- Hong Kong-listed companies that do a significant portion of their business on the mainland. Nevertheless, many foreign brokers routinely warn their clients that investing in Chinese stocks should be considered a high-risk wager. China's current romance with securities began in the mid-1980s, when then-Premier Zhao Ziyang -- after an informal talk with the American economist Milton Friedman, a strong proponent of free markets -- mentioned that Chinese stocks would be an interesting idea. Within months, several thousand Chinese companies had issued a blizzard of stocks and bonds. It didn't take long for secondary markets to sprout up on street corners in big cities across the country. Toward the end of 1988, raging inflation provoked an economic cleanup campaign that put a damper on things. And in June of the next year, the violent quelling of the Tiananmen Square protests, coupled with an ensuing leftist resurgence, rendered such markets politically incorrect. But by late 1990, even hard-line Premier Li Peng, desperate for ways to raise capital and stem the tide of red ink flowing from state industry, was summoning economists to brief him on stock markets. Limited street trading had continued throughout the crackdown. As a result, it didn't take long for speculators to jump in after Li decided that "experimental" stock exchanges should be added to China's mix of free-market fixes for its socialist economy. In December of 1990, the Shanghai exchange opened its doors; seven months later came the ribbon-cutting in Shenzhen. Last year, both markets started issuing special "B" shares for foreign investors. By mid-August of this year, Shanghai was listing 12 such issues, which together had a market capitalization equivalent to roughly $800 million. Shenzhen, for its part, was listing 18 of these issues, with a combined market capitalization of about $125 million. After sharp rises early this year, both of these B-share markets have nose-dived and remained sluggish. One reason is that buyers have become nervous about inflation in China, which has risen above 20% in the cities and has sparked a government policy of economic retrenchment. Another is that investors have begun taking a closer look at some of the listed companies, many of which are pieces of state-owned factories, and have become skittish about their business practices and prospects. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm of Chinese investors in the A-share markets has also waned a bit, though a cooling was in order. In 1992, the combined daily volume on the two Chinese exchanges averaged about $26 million. Early this year, Shanghai alone was averaging $175 million a day -- and trading volume on several days surpassed the $400 million mark. Indeed, growth has come so fast that the Shanghai exchange now operates six trading floors, three of them in a converted tea factory. In the space of a year, the number of seats on the exchange has grown to 2,500 from 600 (each seat corresponds to one retail brokerage office hooked up to the exchange). Last May, a computer capable of executing 1,800 transactions a second was installed. And construction workers are currently erecting a new high-rise exchange building, scheduled to open in 1995, across the river in the city's Pudong district. In Shenzhen, meanwhile, daily trading hours were recently extended to four, from three and a half. The market's opening time was also changed so that the trading day now coincides with that of the Shanghai exchange. All told, 100 companies are expected to join the listings on the two Chinese exchanges this year. This number reflects a quota set by the central govern- ment, which is trying to keep the markets from growing too fast. Similarly, in order to prevent stock markets from springing up all over China, author- ities have endorsed the satellite networks and promised every province that it can list at least one company on either exchange this year. In a further effort to impose some order, the government has chosen nine state companies that will be allowed to list on the Hong Kong exchange this year (some had already wangled their way onto that exchange by buying listed businesses). Last September, the government also formed the Securities Regulatory Commission, which has taken over the job of stock-market regulation from local branches of the country's central bank. Although the SRC has drawn up provisional regulations, China still has no securities laws. ___ ___ ___ Friday's Asian Foreign Exchange Rates U.S.Dollar Equivalent Currency per U.S. Dollar China yuan .1748 5.7190 HongKong dlr .1293 7.7350 Japan yen .009438 105.95 Singapore dlr .6275 1.5937 Taiwan dollar .0372 26.91 ___ ___ ___ Friday's closing quotes on China related Funds/Stocks(ADR) traded on New York Stock Exchange: Name Volume Hi/Ask Low/Bid Last Change (x100) ------------------------- ------ ------ ------- ------ ------ JARDINE FLEMING CHINA REG 91 18.875 18.500 18.500 -0.375 BRILLIANCE CHINA AUTOMOTI 436 16.750 16.500 16.500 -0.125 CHINA FD INC COM 152 16.250 15.875 16.000 -0.125 GREATER CHINA FD INC COM 195 16.750 16.375 16.625 0.125 EK CHOR CHINA MOTORCYCLE 2683 22.250 20.125 21.750 1.750 * CHINA TIRE HLDGS LTD COM 569 13.125 13.000 13.125 0.125 SHANGHAI PETROCHEMICAL LT 1226 24.500 23.750 23.750 -0.250 TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FD 539 15.500 15.375 15.500 0.125 * Ek Chor China Motocycle Announced its earnings per share rose 72 percent to RMB 4.61 (1992: RMB 2.68), based on 12,823,227 sharesfor the half year to June 30, 1993. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Executive Editor: XU Ming Yang | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | China News Digest (CND) offers the following services: | | (1) Global News (Daily) (2) US Regional News | | (3) Canada Regional News (4) Europe & Pacific Regional News | | (5) Hua Xia Wen Zhai (Weekly Chinese Magazine) | | (6) InfoBase: anon FTP to CND.ORG[132.249.229.100]:pub/InfoBase | | To subscribe or get info, mail request to: CND-INFO@CND.ORG | | To contribute news, please send it to: CND-EDITOR@CND.ORG | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+