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Since we were established on 1 June 1981, China Daily has not only become the premier news source about life and events in China available in the English language, we have also been at the forefront of technological development. As the People's Republic marches on, so do we.

We are now pleased to announce that from 1985 and onward, pages awaiting print will be transmitted via satellite from Beijing straight to our offices in Hong Kong and New York City!

China Briefly - E1985

What's New in China?

• The 5th Golden Rooster Awards have been held in Chendu, on May 23rd. The Girl in Red, starring the fifteen-year old Zou Yitian, won Best Film. Ling Zifeng brought home Best Director for his Border Town, depicting a tragedy in Early Republican China. Lu Xiaohe, whose role in Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain shows the life of PLA soldiers throughout the 1979 War, won Best Actor, while his counterpart who won Best Actress is Li Ling for her role in the drama The Girl from Mt. Huangshan.

• The University of Tibet, the first site of higher education in the Tibet Autonomous Region, is due to open on July 20th. Housed in Chengguan, it was approved for construction by the State Council in May 1983, building upon the pre-existing Teachers' College. It aims primarily to provide students with knowledge of engineering and technology, skills necessary to continue to build up a region beset by centuries of backwardness.

• Although inflation is currently on the rise and some commentators spy clouds on the horizon, the Sixth Five-Year Plan 1981–1985 is reportedly an absolute success. With an average annual growth rate of 11% and production up all around, it is estimated that after a massive increase in incomes, only 15% of the populace remains tragically categorized as "absolutely poor", especially in isolated rural areas not yet fully affected by the reform programme.

• Proposals regarding a "Sino-Soviet thaw" have been largely dismissed by the People's Republic, as calls by the USSR's Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze following a meeting with the PRC's Deputy Foreign Minister Qian Qichien in April for a joint summit conference were rejected. Chinese leadership maintains that several crucial obstacles remain, prominently the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchea, state sponsorship for terrorist groups in the Xinjiang region, and troop deployments in Mongolia and on the Sino-Soviet border.

• On the other hand, Sino–European relations are on the rise, with the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the European Economic Community and the People's Republic of China signed on May 21st. It is due to enter into force by October, and sets the framework for PRC-EEC exchange. This trade is significant, and rapidly growing, with recent estimates putting it at an annual worth of USD 14.3 billion.

DEBT CRISIS: A Burkinabé Way Forward for the Third World?

With a debt crisis ongoing across much of the developing world, opinions diverge on the reasoning behind these debts, and the path forward from them. To some in the West, the debts are the fault of the countries themselves, having been engaged in irresponsible economical practices. To Captain Thomas Noël Isidore Sankara, President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, the answer to debt is simple: "Repudiate it!".

Since taking power in 1983, Capt. Sankara's regime has been a surprise success in the drought-hit and troubled region of West Africa, a part of the continent more often than many hit by extreme nepotism and widespread disorder. From mass vaccinations to agrarian self-sufficiency, the country that Capt. Sankara renamed from "Upper Volta" just last year is enacting mass change on a previously unseen level in Africa, and without being indebted to neither a Western nor Soviet paymaster.

Capt. Sankara, who more than once has uttered the slogan "Debt is neo-colonialism", is a fierce critic of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and Euro-American banking institutions. The Burkinabé leader reportedly intends to attend the 1986 summit of the Organisation for African Unity, and we are very likely to hear him formulate a direct proposal for an African response to foreign-owned debt there. It remains to be seen whether Africa, and with it the rest of the countries hit by foreign debt, will repudiate it as illegitimate en masse in a joint front, or if the West will see fit to engage in much-needed debt relief, and institute more fair economical practices.

SMALL STATE: Still not on the table

As the American magazine Time names Comrade Deng as "Man of the Year" for the second time (first time in 1978), we must address a misconception by its authors: That China is abandoning Marxism. In fact, it is adapting ever closer to it by every year. Remember the Fourth Principle of Deng Xiaoping Theory: "Upholding Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought". The Four Cardinal Principles will always serve as the basis of government in China, even though political and economic experimentation continues.

Of course, Comrade Deng pointed this out to time himself, in their November 4th interview with him: "There are no fundamental contradictions between a socialist system and a market economy." Was it not Lenin himself that implemented the highly successful New Economic Policy in the USSR, long before social imperialism became the norm there? Was Lenin, then, an opponent of Marxism-Leninism? I think not.

As we move ever forward, in this our most infant stage of socialism, towards a more perfect people's republic, towards a China which allows each citizen to participate in the building of their country, which gives opportunities to the youth and protection to the old, which stands open and welcoming to the world, we must remember that we do this not solely for profit, but for the good of all Chinese people.

PEOPLE POWER: Marcos is Out!

Marcos is out! Aquino is in!

The latest news from the Philippines have caused an uproar in all of Asia, as news of Mrs. Corazon Aquino's election to the position of President of the Philippines come soon after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos. Having been forced out, Marcos quickly fled to American territory, seeking refuge first at the Clark Air Base, then Guam, and finally the US mainland. Upon storming the palaces of Marcos, angry protesters found extravagant wealth, gained through intense corruption and graft.

Among the peoples of the Philippines, the youth of which especially has been alienated during the past two decades of Marcos' rule, one group in particular must now feel relief. Many Chinese Filipinos now hope for a new age of prosperity, a future in which they can engage in trade with their former homeland on an equal basis, and live as true citizens of the Philippines, with one of their own people now being the new President. The deposed Marcos, who from the 1970s and on has systematically worked to close down Chinese-language schools, or in some cases merely limited the time allotted for Chinese language, history and culture subjects, was hardly beneficial to neither Chinese Filipino conditions or Sino-Filipino diplomatic-economic relations.

The Foreign Ministry of the People's Republic of China has been quick to congratulate President Aquino on her victory, and is reported to have extended an olive branch, offering to host peace negotiations between the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Beijing, to facilitate not merely a ceasefire, but long-term stability. Although as of yet unsubstantiated, reports also indicate that the Foreign Ministry may be considering discussions with countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Libya, to facilitate further talks with the Islamic MILF/MNLF armed groups as well, although this remains to be seen.

The situation in the Philippines is a reminder to all citizens of China, that our people and our state must never condone political corruption, and that the youth must be allowed to act as a meaningful participant in running their own lives. Only then can we reach societal harmony, a China in which all sides of society join together for the good of all. Uphold Deng Xiaoping Theory, advance the Four Cardinal Principles!

YASSER ARAFAT: Dead, Not Forgotten

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Addressing the United Nations in 1974, Comrade Arafat stated: "Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." Perhaps, the Israelis should have remembered these words.

Slain in Tunis, the greatest champion of the Palestinian people will certainly be remembered by not only the PLO, but by every single one of the disparate factions that fight the State of Israel. China, a supporter of the peace process since the Camp David Accords, certainly does mourn him. Without his firm hand who is to say what will become of the Palestinian cause?

Look at Lebanon, with its camp warfare and hostage takings. Look at the aircraft hijacked across the world. Look at all the death and destruction. Peace can only come through strong leadership, and without that leadership, no doubt the deaths will continue unstoppably.

We shall today proclaim the the Ürümqi Declaration. Now, I will present a summary of the tenets upheld in this declaration, to spare the general public the myriad of exact articles.

The People's Republic of China will accede in full to the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water of 1963, also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty. We will also accede in full to the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil thereof) of 1971, also known as the Seabed Arms Control Treaty.

Furthermore, the People's Republic in China reaffirms its accessions in 1983 to the Antarctic Treaty System, in 1984 to the Biological Weapons Convention and in 1985 to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Our commitment is true and our goals are just.

Seeing current radiological concerns in French Polynesia and the Ukraine, the People's Republic of Cina will upgrade the Environmental Protection Leadership Group (formed in 1973 after the 1st United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Sweden in 1972) to the ministry-level State Environmental Protection Administration. Comrade Qu Geping is to be the first Director of the SEPA.

The Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base will be permanently decommissioned, and transferred from the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force to the newly formed State Enviromental Protection Administration, under joint management with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Noting that the likely critically endangered wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) has prospered enormously in the area of the Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base due to the extensive military restrictions, the People's Republic of China recognizes that with the decommissioning there is an immense risk of human incursion into their habitats.

Noting the successful 1975 establishment of the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area and the 1982 establishment of the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area in the Mongolian People's Republic, the People's Republic of China will in 1987 establish the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve, covering the entirety of the former Nuclear Weapons Test Base (6,700,000 hectares / 67,000 square kilometres / 26,000 square miles).

The goal of the LNWCNNR will be to protect and expand the wild Bactrian camel populace, and to preserve a section of the unique Taklamakan Desert ecoregion. To facilitate this regular armed patrols, guard checkpoints, scientific surveys, public education initiatives and water-channeling projects will be implemented.

Additionally, international scientific organizations, especially those tied to the study of radiological matters, will be granted full access to the LNWCNNR to study the after-effects of several decades of nuclear weapons tests on the local environment, and possible management and cleanup methods.

Furthermore, the People's Republic of China will submit the wild Bactrian camel to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for evaluation.

Thank you for your time.

China Daily has made the decision to reprint this short manifesto, reportedly issued by an obscure splinter faction of the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain". The views presented here are solely those of the anonymous authors, and not those of China Daily or of the People's Republic of China.

INTIFADA

A Statement by the PFLB-Yemen

Hear us.

Our cause is an old one, waged for decades. From the DLF and the NDFLOAG to the PFLOAG and the PFLO... the petty acronyms are many, as are our martyrs.

They rest in the sands, awaiting Judgement, amid the Arabian dust from which we are born. Across many different countries, irrespective of colonial borders, we are buried. What truly is Bahrain? What is Oman? What is Yemen? And what, by all that is holy, is the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia? Nothing but lies. Come, stand with us in the desert, and witness the nothingness that separate these lands.

Comrade Arafat (rahimahullah) knew this. His war, for the liberty of Palestine, was unlimited, moving like Marx's Spectre across an entire continent and beyond. Even fools, like Abu Nidal, knows this. We must know it too. Everywhere there is a traitor in the midst of comrades. Everywhere that there is an inbred sultan. Everywhere there is a corrupt sheikh, a social Imperialist, a Zionist occupier. Everywhere the workers and peasants toil unrewarded. There our war must be waged as well.

We hereby declare our critical solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Bahrain, but warn the Ayatollah to not go against the will of the people. If that happens, we shall return, to claim the Revolution as our own. Until then, we shall forge a new destiny, here in the sands. And the desert reaches far - in fact, across the world, for the desert is a state of mind. From it we shall blossom.

The following text has been written and sent in by "Comrade Qin", an independent commentator and youth activist who prefers to be anonymous, and does not reflect the editorial policies or views of China Daily.

In 1985, as China moved to stop Iraqi atrocities, Mr. Reagan partied with socialities rather than addressing the issue.


IRAQ-CONTRA - A Public Letter to Ronald Reagan

Dear Mr. President. I hope you are well.

As a teenager in Yangzhou, I was delighted to see the TV broadcast of your visit in 1984 to Beijing. Following in the footsteps of our great Comrade Nixon, you came to express your great solidarity with the Chinese people. I had hoped, like the rest of the country's youth with me, that America would continue the thaw between us. But now you, surely the greatest promoter of human rights in the world, who so condemned the Soviet Union for its social-imperialist crimes in Afghanistan, has let us down. Why, Mr. President?

Over the last three years, I have gotten involved in the planing committees after starting university in Nanjing. In 1985, as I began my engineering studies, I watched how China took a stand against the mad dog of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Beijing stopped armaments sales to Baghdad, condemned the Hussein regime for its usage of chemical weapons against civilians and soldiers alike, and put forward the Resolution on the Iraqi Chemical Weapons Programme to the UNSC.

And we, we foolish youths, thought that now, the time had come. China had taken to human rights. We would become as the West is, a haven of humanism and freedom, even if it was slowly, bit by bit. It is this kind of thing that has driven us to rally for the improvement of our society.

Then it came - the Veto. The Veto issued by the United State of America, which allow Hussein to continue unhindered, without any restrictions on his chemical weapons programme. Without sanctions, without limits. Oh, how surprised we were. But we, we fools, thought that surely, Mr. President must have a reason. A good reason. A strategic one. Why else would the USA protect Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons, having at first condemned them publicly?

And then, now, a year later, the news came. And we saw the naked truth at least, that the United States of America was not merely protecting the chemical weapons programme, but actively aiding it. In the pettiest of cash grabs, seeking to undermine a democratic government in Latin America. "Iraq-Contra", they call it.

I salute Comrade General Maher Abd al-Rashid, a hero of Iraq and true friend of China, and ask Mr. President to please return to your previous policies of supporting human rights across the world. But even if you do, Mr. President, the situation is clear to me: The United States is not a model to be followed. China must forge its own path, towards true liberty and respect for human life.

The Tibetan Question

A Brief Editorial by Mr. Tashi

'His Holiness' the 14th Dalai Lama recently addressed the world on the Tibetan Question. 'His Comradeship' Deng remains silent so far.

The Dalai Lama outlined a "Five Point Peace Plan", once full of his typically controversial jargon, such as: "Above all, I am here as a human being who is destined to share this planet with you and all others as brothers and sisters." Truly, divisive words.

The speech addressed the high level of conflict across Asia and the Middle East in particular, noting Tibet's value as a buffer region. While condemning what he addressed as "China's illegal occupation of Tibet", he opened up to the possibility of coming to an agreement with Beijing. (Which he once did, of course. Let's not forget the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet.)

His new proposal is highly ambitious, and is defined as follows:

• 1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace;
• 2. Abandonment of China's population transfer policy which threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people;
• 3. Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms;
• 4. Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste;
• 5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.

The first point is clearly the most confusing. The Dalai Lama clarified this was in response to Nepali proposals for the strange little kingdom to become a "peace zone", and would include not only the withdrawal of Chinese troops and military installations from the whole of Tibet, but also Indian withdrawals from the Himalayas, all achieved "international agreement which would satisfy China's legitimate security needs and build trust among the Tibetan, Indian, Chinese and other peoples of the region". It presumably also relates to the fourth article, regarding nuclear armaments. Ambitious indeed!

Though, it may come as a surprise to some of my readers that only certain points of all this is actually, well, disagreeable to Beijing. At least, parts of Beijing. The reluctant Deng may find issue with much of it, but others wouldn't. Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian's conclusion of the China-India Memorandum of 1987, which with the stroke of a pen has ended the rising tide of Sino-Indian tensions at least for the moment, bring hope for a demilitarization of both "South Tibet" as they call it and Tibet at large. Point no. 1 may not be hopeless, if Beijing can only stomach losing full military capacity... we'll see about the PLA, eh?

Points no. 2 and 3 may be uncomfortable for the most fervent of Han ethnonationalists, and also for most of the party cadres, who dislike words such as "democratic freedoms". There's still people in favour, though... The 'Youth Faction', for once. (The less said of them the better.) And although he may have been - let's be honest - purged from his position of true power, the new President Hu Yaobang has worked since 1980 to return rights to the Tibet Autonomous Region. He expelled thousands of Han cadres in that year, and worked further to increase the regional budget, improve local education, and revive Tibetan culture. Hu even went as far then as to state that "anything that is not suited to Tibet's conditions should be rejected or modified", and apologized for China's previous misrule. It should be visible to all why the rest of the Elders favoured his replacement with Zhao Ziyang.

Point no. 4 is, surprisingly, fully echoed by current policies from Beijing. A slew of test ban treaties and missile agreements have been signed, and the ministry-level State Environmental Protection Administration has been formed under the command of Qu Geping, a noted "green communist" if you will, laughable as it may sound. The establishment of the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve (which also sounds laughable, of course) and the invitation of international scientific organizations show a surprisingly clear vision of the dangers of radioactive materials. Point no. 4 may very well already be state policy.

The real kicker is point no. 5, though. There's no telling how this would be accomplished. I've got nothing, sorry. Given recent moves towards reconciliations with everyone from the Soviets and the Vietnamese to the Indians and, I dare barely say it, Taipei, who knows?

The Juragua Nuclear Power Plant, Cuba.

SLOW FLOW: The Third World Turns to Nuclear?

As oil, the world's dominant source of energy, continues to prove truly volitile due to political considerations, many countries across the non-aligned Third World are turning towards alternatives. Above all, the pursuit of atomic energy production has increased in intensitivity. The "Chernobyl Disaster" of last year, which through international efforts can now be studied so that further incidents may be prevented, does not seem to have dissuaded anyone from attaining clean, efficient, sustainable nuclear power.

Chinese funding to such ventures, through non-exploitative long-term developmental loans with zero interest, have grown exponentially. According to government sources, the Ministry of Nuclear Industry is due to be reformed into the China National Nuclear Corporation, which will focus even further on accomplishing this goal, to achieve the full electrification of post-colonial states. This will not only immeasurably improve the lives of people, lifting them out of poverty, but will also exponentially decrease dependence on the black gold, oil. This applies both to non-oil producing countries, and to oil producers themselves. In fact, the Foreign Ministry is reportedly debating making the proposed "Energy Independence Front" part of its official policies in engaging with friendly nations abroad, to achieve multilateral cooperation. The foundation of all such cooperative projects is that all involved parties follow in full the goal of nuclear disarmament and keeping to IAEA safety regulations.

At the time of writing, Chinese engineers and materials are arriving in Cuba's Havana, to begin construction on the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant in Cienfuegos Province. Cuba's atomic programme dates back to the capitalist Batista regime, when Cuba and the USA signed the "Agreement for Co-Operation Concerning Civil Uses of Atomic Energy". The Juragua facility is the result of a 1976 agreement between the Soviets and Cuba, to built two 440-megawatt reactors, possibly with as much as twelve reactors to be built later on. Just the very first of these reactors will cover 15% of Cuba's energy demands. Cuba is dependant on imported oil. Although construction began in 1983, it came to a halt in recent years due to various difficulties. China's Foreign Ministry has stated that it is "proud to be aiding our Cuban comrades in completing their reactors". In order to be allowed to enter into this programme, Cuba was obliged to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and allow in IAEA inspectors, a great success for the international community.

In this year, China has furthermore reached an agreement with the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, following Libyan withdrawals from Southern Chad and overtures towards making peace with its neighbours. The agreement ensures joint Sino-Libyan funding into the construction of a Libyan nuclear reactor, just as in the Cuban case with Libyan cooperation in regards to IAEA inspections and international nuclear treaties. Libya, as an oil-producing state, will certainly become less dependent on the fluctuations of oil following its completion. Libya, which under Comrade Gaddafi ratified the NPT in 1975 and concluded an original safeguards agreement with the IAEA in 1980, saw its first 10 MW research reactor at Tajura completed by the Soviet Union in 1981. Originally, the Soviets were to also provide further full-size reactors to Libya, but the deal fell through. Now, China will aid in accomplishing the original goal of building two 440 MW reactors on the Gulf of Sirtre, with dual-use capacity to generate electric power and provide seawater desalination, which will greatly aid the desert nation as well.

Reportedly, the soon-reformed Ministry of Nuclear Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are engaging in talks for the construction of further nuclear reactors with state such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Somali Democratic Republic, and many others. With full adherence to the NPT and to IAEA safeguards, a world in which oil does not control the ebb and flow of a young, impoverished nation's future may just be possible.