+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ===================== Europe / Pacific Section (CND-EP) ===================== March 25, 1990 ---------------------------- Table of Contents --------------------------- No. Subject # of Lines 1. Taiwan's Largest Student Demonstration ..............................20 2. China News Digest, Past And Present .................................36 3. No One Is Safe To Go To China .......................................27 4. News Abstracts Of This Week (Eight Pieces) .........................100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** To contact CND-EP, see the table at the end of this news package **** Note from editor: many friends sent me their subscriptions, thank you very much. If you HAVE RECEIVED this package, you have already been on my mailing list, so you don't need to request for subscription. 1. Taiwan's Largest Student Demonstration ==================================================================(20 lines) >From: Huijie Source: soc.culture.china (AP News) Taiwanese Students End Protest As New Leader Promises Reforms TAIPEI - Taiwan's largest student demonstration ended peacefully Thursday when thousands of protesters left a downtown park. They agreed to give President Lee Teng-hui a chance to implement democratic reform. The weeklong sit-in had attracted as many as 6,000 students to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park. Student leader Fan Yun said a coalition would monitor the progress of the political and economic reforms Lee has vaguely promised. Many of the students gradually left the park early in the morning. About 100 stayed to clean up the square after the 7-day occupation. The protest was triggered by the election of Lee by the National Assembly, which is dominated by elderly Nationalist politicians who last faced election on the Chinese mainland more than 4 decades ago. ============================================================================= 2. China News Digest, Past And Present ===================================================================(36 lines) >From: xiong@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Bo Xiong) March, 1990 is the first anniversary of China News Digest. CND came from a news group originally founded by four Chinese students in Canada and US in March 1989. Now, CND is providing China-related news to thousands of Chinese students and scholars, overseas Chinese and concerned foreigners on the worldwide computer networks in North America, Europe and Pacific areas. At the very beginning, CND had only one section, i.e., CND-Canada. In April of 1989, CND established the separate services for the areas outside of Canada, including US, Europe, Japan and Australia. At that time, the CND's readership was about 1,000. Since CND provided timely services and acted as bridges among Chinese students and scholars abroad, in July 1989, ENCS (Electronics Newsletter for Chinese Students) merged into CND and CND officially opened its US section, i.e., CND-US, and at the same time CND-General (services for all areas) was founded. Finally, CND-EP (Europe/Pacific section) established its regular services to the areas outside of North America on March 18, 1990. During past one year, many Chinese students and scholars, friends and computer system managers have been helping CND in providing reliable and timely services, more accurate and interesting news, and increasing CND's readership. Currently, CND's direct readership is estimated over 4,000 and another 2,000+ readers are being served via re-distribution sites/systems. CND now has some 30 editors and reporters around world who work on voluntary basis for CND readers in the editing, distributing, reader-interfacing, service -expanding and coordinating of CND-General, CND-Canada, CND-US and CND-EP. All after all, CND is founded and run by Chinese students and scholars on computer networks, and CND serves computer netters. CND will continuously improve and expand in the future. ============================================================================== 3. No One Is Safe To Go To China =====================================================================(27 lines) >From: yjj@SIRIUS.CTR.COLUMBIA.EDU Source: soc.culture.china Just got the April issue of China Spring yesterday. One astonishing story is told by Dong ZhenHai, who is a board member of Disciplinary Committee of Chinese Alliance for Democracy (CAD). The event was on the newspaper, but his account is more detailed. He was born by a Japanese mother and grew up in north eastern China (Manchuria). He went with his mom to live in Japan in 1982 and became a Japanese citizen. His 12 years old son was living with his ex-wife until she went to study in the US. At the beginning of this year his ex-father in-law asked him to bring his son to study in the US. So he went to HongKong to ask his friend there to go to ShenZhen to bring his son across the border. But his ex-father in law changed his mind and insisted that Mr. Dong go to ShenZhen by himself. Well, the whole thing was a setup by Shanghai security agents. He was arrested on his way out of the custom. When he protested that he was a foreigner and did not carry on any activity for CAD in China and should not face secret arrest. The answer he got from the head of the agents was that no matter where you foreigners carry out activities against Chinese laws must be punished by Chinese government and this is a new Chinese law. He had two choices: facing life in prison or cooperating with them (admit his crimes and spy for them). So this is the new Chinese law. ============================================================================== 4. News Abstracts Of This Week (Eight Pieces) ===================================================================(100 lines) >From: kwchan@csd.hku.hk Source: South China Morning Post 1) Zhao unlikely to face prosecution, says Ying ----------------------------------------------- A senior Chinese official has said he believed sacked Communist Party general secretary, Mr Zhao Ziyang, will not be taken to court for mistakes committed during the "counter-revolutionary rebellion" last spring. Mr Ying Ruocheng, the Vice-Minister of Culture and removed actor also said that the replacement of former Cultur Minister, Mr Wang Meng, late last year had nothing to do with the role that intellectuals played in the pro-democracy movement. 2) First Woman General Dies --------------------------- Communist China's first woman general, Li Zhen, has died at the age of 83, state television reported yesterday, showing state and military leaders paying their last respects before her body. General Li, given away by her parents at the age of six in 1913, later escaped her husband's family and joined the newly- formed Communist Party. She took part in the historic 1930s Long March. 3) Concern over Mongolia ------------------------ Inner Mongolia is facing the threat of a "peaceful evolution" plot by hostile foreign forces, a top regional government official admitted yesterday. Mr Buhe, Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Government, said the authority had stepped up measures to prevent ethnic unrest and separatist activities. Peaceful evolution is the term used by China to describe the recent upheavals in Eastern Europe. >From IZZYR48@OAC.UCLA.EDU (J.Ding) Source: Associated Press 4) Li Peng Addressed NPC ------------------------ Premier Li Peng set the tone in his keynote address Tuesday. "Now, as we confront pressure from abroad and difficulties at home, preservation of the country's stability is a matter of paramount importance," he said. Each citizen, he told the 2,700 deputies, "should cherish the hard-won political stability and unity as he would treasure his own life." Song Ping, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, told the lawmakers: "History has taught us that nothing can be achieved without a stable situation." The spokesman for the congress, Yao Guang, said political reforms would be ruled out if they "affect the stability of the situation." 5) Wang An Died --------------- An Wang, the computer entrepreneur who founded Wang Laboratories Inc., died of esophageal cancer March 24 at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was 70. Hospital spokesman Martin Bander said Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of the company he founded in 1951, died at 5:31 a.m. He was readmitted to the hospital March 6 for follow-up treatment on a malignant tumor removed July 14. 6) Chinese Hijacker To Be Returned ---------------------------------- A Chinese hijacker pleaded with Japan Friday not to return him to China where he said he was tortured because of his participation in the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing in June. Zhang Zhenhai, who hijacked a Boeing 747 passenger jet to Japan in December, told a Tokyo High Court he set fire to a tank in Tiananmen Square last year and led a brigade of laborers in the pro-democracy demonstrations. >From: YAO@UNB.CA (PC14000) Source: The Globe and Mail, Canada 7) Reform Group Revived in China by Dissidents ---------------------------------------------- A student leader on the government's most-wanted list said in Beijing that he and other dissidents have organized a new reform front inside the country. Zhai Weimin, 22, said the group, which calls itself the Demo- cratic Front for the Salvation of China, already is active in out- lying provinces and recently has begun recruiting people in the capital. The front was officially estabilished at a secret three-hour meeting of more than 60 core members in Beijing on Feb. 25, accor- ding to sources close to Mr. Zhai. The news is the first sign of revival of the fledgling reform movement that was crushed last June. "This is dynamite", said a Western diplomat in Beijing. "This is the first hard evidence we have of an organized resistance movement in China today". >From: ls2r+zhiyong@andrew.cmu.edu 8) Vietnamese Communist Party Considering Drastic Reform -------------------------------------------------------- Summary: another possible crack in the remnants of communist dictators According to National Public Radio, the Vietnamese Communist Party is holding a secret meeting on reforms. Drastic measures such as introducing a multiparty democracy and private ownership may be considered. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Editor/Sender of this Issue: Bo Xiong at Chicago, U. S. 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