Updated October 25, 2004
Maintained by Lawrence Ip,

Weekly News Monitor

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Sample: China and HK Weekly News Monitor V.I no.2, 2002

9/8 (Ming Pao): In a high level meeting days before the "911" memorial at New York, Taiwan President, Chen Shuebian, discussed the concept of democracy and anti-terrorism. The ten proposals announced after the meeting included explicit criticism of Mainland China for using tactics increasingly similar to terrorists, strategies such as trade and psychological warfare to project influence outside the constraints of its military power.

9/8 (People's Daily) China's FM Clarifies Stance on Iraq, Middle East, Afghanistan: "China has always held that regional conflicts should be resolved in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and force should not be used or used as a threat in disputes between nations"

9/8 (SCMP) Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen strongly backed a controversial proposal to build a bridge to Zhuhai and Macau - but said no unilateral decision could be made by Hong Kong because the bridge would cross part of China and would require Beijing's approval.

9/9 (SingTao) Last week Hong Kong's pollution rating reached 181. Today, Dung Chung's (Hong Kong) pollution posted 185, the highest pollution point since 1995. People with sickness are advised to stay indoors on days of high pollution rating.

9/10 (NY Times) The Chinese government routed internet users to obscure sites from the blocked Google search engine. 9/11 (People's Daily) Front page of this Chinese government mouthpiece reaffirms the government's firm stance on the One Country principle, denouncing Taiwan's effort to lobby for representation in UN. "Taiwan authorities countered the efforts of peaceful reunification by setting up obstacles to the economic, trade, cultural, and personnel exchanges between the two sides."

9/11 (CNN) HONG KONG, China -- The Hong Kong government has ended an inquiry into the "penny stock" fiasco in July without finding "major shortcomings" and without a call for resignations.

9/11 (CNN) -- A delegation of exiled Tibetans arrived in China this week, but China's Foreign Ministry refused to comment on whether they will discuss reopening official ties between Tibet and Beijing. Beijing described the delegation as a private, fact-finding mission. This seems designed to downplay the significance of the visit and dodge questions about its nature, including the possibility that China's leadership and the exiled Tibetan government are trying to reach consensus on the future of the Himalayan region.

9/12 (NY Times)-Internet users seeking the popular search engine Google are diverted to tamer sites. The diversions are an intensification of an effort to block access to Google that began last week, and they appear to represent an unusually strong campaign to funnel Chinese Internet traffic into sites the government deems friendly and safe. Chinese officials have not publicly explained the blocking of Google or Altavista, and people contacted at China Telecom's Internet arm said they had no idea why their users were being shepherded to sites they did not choose to visit.

9/12 (SCMP) Welfare benefits to be cut next year: Welfare payments in Hong Kong will be cut across the board next year to help save the equivalent of about 10 per cent in public spending - $1.6 billion in today's terms - according to a government source.

UN adds Xinjiang group to terrorism list: the United Nations has listed a Xinjiang separatist group as terrorists, a move hailed by Beijing, which said the Islamic organisation had killed 166 people.

9/13 (Far Eastern Economic Review)
ARMS SALES The U.S. Defence Department notified Congress that it may sell to Taiwan 54 amphibious assault vehicles, 182 air-to-air missiles, 449 air-to-ground missiles, spare parts for fighter aircraft and other equipment.

TAIWAN Taiwan's deputy defence minister held talks with U.S. Defence Department officials, the most senior Taiwan defence official to visit the Pentagon in at least 23 years. Kang Ning-hsiang said he met U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. He also met Vice-Adm. James Metzger, an aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

AIDS ACTIVIST Chinese security officials confirmed they had detained Wan Yanhai, an Aids activist who disappeared last month, because he had posted an internal government document to two on-line chat groups--a crime in China known as revealing state secrets.