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HKCO 10/1/1/0001
FE/1004 i
3. THE FAR EAST
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23 Feb 91
China welcomes Iraq's acceptance of Soviet Gulf peace plan A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman stated on 22nd February that the Chinese government welcomes Iraq's indication of its willingness to withdraw from Kuwait unconditionally, Xinhua News Agency reported. "This is a major change in the positive direction and has brought hope to a peaceful resolution of the Gulf conflict", the spokesman said, adding, "We hope that Iraq will take the initiative in announcing specific steps of its troop withdrawal as soon as possible and that the warring parties will make a prompt decision not to miss this opportunity to end the war and bring about peace at an early date". [1]
in the
Japan reacts to latest development Gulf Japan will back the USA fully if the multinational forces launch a ground offensive to free Kuwait, a Japanese government source said on 21st February, Kyodo News Agency reported. The source said Tokyo will stand by Washington even if a ground campaign comes after Iraq agrees to the latest Soviet proposal to end the Gulf War and leaves Kuwait. "Japan will back the USA, and not the Soviet Union," the source said.
NHK TV on 22nd February reported the reaction of the Japanese Foreign Minister, Taro Nakayama, to the Soviet- Iraqi agreement on a Gulf peace plan, quoting him as stating that the Japanese government will stay in contact with various nations concerned, including the USA, keep a watch on the moves of the Soviet Union and Iraq and then decide on measures to be taken.* [2]
Former Xinhua Hong Kong branch chief dismissed from PRC congress (FE/0763 i [5]) The standing committee of the Guangdong provincial people's congress on 19th February decided to remove Xu Jiatun from his position as a deputy to the seventh National People's Congress because he "turned his back against the people and left the country of his own accord on 30th April 1990 and has not yet returned. He has created an extremely bad influence at home and abroad and has lost the basic conditions to serve as an NPC deputy", Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong service reported on 22nd February. Xu Jiatun was head of Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch from May 1983 to January 1990.** [3]
Dmitriy
Soviet Defence Minister to visit Peking Yazov is to pay an official visit to China from 4th March until a date yet to be fixed, AFP reported on 22nd February, citing a Soviet diplomatic source in Peking. The two sides are to discuss "the development of military cooperation" between the two countries, the source said, referring to the current border negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee, Vladimir Ivashko, is due in Peking from 26th February to 2nd March to prepare for the visit to Moscow of the Chinese Communist Party Secretary, Jiang Zemin, a Soviet embassy spokesman in Peking said, according to the agency. [4]
Soviet Culture Minister and Belorussian Premier to
visit Japan The Soviet Minister of Culture, Nikolay Gubenko, is to visit Japan on 27th-28th February, while a delegation from the Belorussian Republic led by Premier Vyacheslav Kebich will also pay a visit from 25th February to 3rd March, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on 21st February, Kyodo News Agency reported. [5]
Cut in Japanese defence budget not to be restored The Director-General of the Japanese Defence Agency, Yukihiko Ikeda, told a House of Representatives budget committee session on 21st February that a cut in fiscal 1991 defence spending to help finance Japan's 9bn dollar additional contribution to the multinational war effort against Iraq will not be restored the following year, Kyodo News Agency reported. The cut in fiscal 1991 spending will be reflected in the new five-year defence build-up programme beginning in April, originally set at 22.75 trillion yen. The 70,347,000,000 billion yen budget for fiscal 1991, presented to the Diet in January, includes 4,387,000,000 yen for defence, the agency said. [6]
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Food rejected
supplies reach Bougainville Bougainville militants accepted medical and fuel supplies but rejected food when the first provisions in 12 months reached the island, AFP reported from Port Moresby on 21st February. According to journalists aboard the ship, which reached the island on 19th February, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army ordered the food which had been unloaded to be returned to the ship. Contrary to an agreement last month with Port Moresby, rebel commander Sam Kauona told reporters that his men would not hand in their arms. “We will not surrender them, it will be like committing suicide", the agency quoted him as saying.
At the opening of the annual Australia-PNG ministerial forum in Canberra, the PNG Foreign Minister, Michael Somare, formally asked Australia to contribute to a special fund for the rehabilitation of Bougainville, AFP also reported. He said that he was optimistic about peace returning to Bougainville, the agency noted. [7]
Passport dispute in Tonga leads to walk-out in parliament (FE/1001 i [5]) Tonga's noble-dominated parliament has passed amendments to the Constitution resolving doubt about the validity of more than 400 passports sold to foreigners, Radio Australia reported. Three leading commoners walked out before the vote was taken, protesting that the government's failure to provide an audited financial statement on the passport sales was the last straw.
The government, having admitted legal problems with the passport sales, said the amendments were necessary to maintain Tonga's international credibility and avoid the risk of legal action. The commoners argued the Constitution should not be amended to override illegalities. A petition is being circulated calling on the King not to give his assent to the constitutional changes. [8]
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