On April 22nd, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu
Jianchao held the regular press conference.
Liu
Jianchao: Good afternoon, everyone. First I would like to
brief you on some information of SARS. The Chinese
government and leaders attach great importance to the health
and safety of the foreigners in China, and have instructed
on many occasions the Foreign Ministry and other
foreign-related departments to take care of your health. The
Foreign Ministry has provided vigorous assistance to the
diplomatic missions and the foreign correspondents in China,
and has taken the following measures in recent
days:
First, timely delivering brochures about
SARS to foreign agencies, including the foreign press
agencies where you work in. The relevant leaders of the
Ministry and officials of the various departments of the
Ministry have also timely briefed the relevant diplomatic
missions on the situation of SARS and the measures taken by
the Chinese government at all levels.
Second,
the relevant departments have set up hotlines and designated
hospitals for the foreigners in China. The Foreign Ministry
has recently set up the hotlines for the foreign diplomatic
missions and foreign correspondents in Beijing. We have
emailed the relevant telephone numbers to all of you. I
believe that you have all received the mail. Please dial
these numbers whenever you meet problems and difficulties
concerning SARS in your daily life and need the help of the
Foreign Ministry. The hotlines of the Service Bureau for
Foreign Diplomats are 65321040 and
13901360745.
Third, the Foreign Ministry also
reported the relevant situation to the local foreign affairs
offices, asking them to help the relevant medical
institutions to make full preparations for SARS prevention
and control among foreign consulate institutions,
correspondents, chambers of commerce and
foreigners.
Fourth, the Service Bureau for
Foreign Diplomats has already completely sterilized the
public area of the diplomatic zones. If you or your agencies
have other requests, the Service Bureau for Foreign
Diplomats is always ready to provide help. If you need to
sterilize your office and home, you may contact the housing
companies of your building, who will provide
help.
It is fair to say that SARS is a grave
catastrophe coming all of a sudden, and a difficult and
complicated disease that the mankind has not fully
understood. However, the Chinese government is confident of
eventually conquering the disease with the arduous efforts
of the broad masses of the scientists and doctors, and with
the joint cooperation of the international community. It is
my hope that when you go back, please convey the concerns
and greetings from Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Assistant
Foreign Minister Shen Guofang in charge of the Information
Department and other Foreign Ministry Officials to all of
you presence, your colleagues and your families. Wish you
all a sound and good health.
Now I would like
to come up with several pieces of news.
At the
invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre
Raffarin of the Republic of France will pay an official
visit to China from 25 to 26 April.
At the
invitation of Kasymzhomart Tokayev, State Secretary and
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will pay an official visit to
Kazakhstan and attend the Foreign Ministers Meeting of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Almaty from April
26th to 30th, 2003.
Finally, due to the public
holidays from May 1st to 5th, the Foreign Ministrys
regular press conferences on May 1st and May 6th
will be called off and resumed on May 8th.
Now
the floor is open.
Q: it has been
publicly announced that the three-party talks to solve the
DPRK nuclear crisis will be held in Beijing tomorrow, could
you confirm or elaborate on it? For instance, where will the
talks be held and who will head each delegation? Secondly,
what role will China play in the talks? Will China only be
the mediator, or will it participate in all the talks? Will
China try its best to lead the talks towards its favorable
direction?
A: Since the DPRK nuclear
question flared last October, China has been closely
following the situation and doing a lot of work promoting
peace and restoring talks. China stands for the peaceful
settlement of the issue through dialogue, which is the
common consensus of the relevant parties and the
international community. Based upon the above-mentioned
consensus, China has invited the DPRK and the US to send
delegations to China for a talk in Beijing on the nuclear
issue on the Korean Peninsular. It is our hope that the
talks will help the parties to have a better understanding
of each others position and ease the current
tension.
On your second question, as has been
agreed by the three parties, the Beijing talks are closed to
the press. As for the form and content of the meeting, they
will be decided by the three parties through consultations.
So far I have no more specifics to share with
you.
Q: As is said by the US, will the
Chinese delegation be headed by Director General Fu Ying?
What role will China play in the three-party talks? Will it
be the host or take a more active part in the
talks?
A: As I indicated just now,
the form and content of the meeting, including the specific
issues you mentioned, should be decided by the three parties
through consultations. So far I have no further information
to share with you.
Q: There is a
report in the weekend saying that some consulate officials
of a certain countries in China help the North Korean
officials and citizens to escape through Beijing and other
parts of China. What is the latest development of this
matter? Have the countries mentioned in the report made
diplomatic representations on this
issue?
A: I have not heard of the
specific issues you mentioned, I will make enquiries for
you.
Q: Ten heads of state of ASEAN
will hold an emergency summit on SARS in Bangkok, Thailand
on 29th this month. Has China been invited to this meeting?
What contribution will China make to combat SARS in this
region?
A: Against the current
backdrop, the special summit on SARS among ASEAN countries
to jointly search the counter-measures is timely and
necessary. The Chinese side expressed its appreciation over
this issue. The SARS situation in China is still very
severe. The Chinese side will continue to work to combat the
epidemic so as to eradicate the disease at an early
date.
Q: On the DPRK nuclear issue,
some countries including the US backed the participation of
other countries after the talks, such as Japan and the ROK.
Does China support this stand?
A:
Your question is still a little bit far off, for the talks
have yet to be launched. China appreciates the stand of the
surrounding countries for the peaceful settlement of the
DPRK nuclear dispute through dialogue, and welcomes the
interested parties to play a constructive role on this
issue. Concerning the talks in Beijing, the top priority at
present is that the relevant parties may contact first to
exchange views on each others concern, and make clear
each others stand in a face-to-face manner. We believe
that this will be conducive to the peaceful settlement of
this issue.
Q: It is reported that the
North Korean government has adopted a policy to ban the
entry of Chinese into the DPRK because of SARS. Do you have
such information?
A: China and the
DPRK have been keeping normal exchanges for a long time,
including the personnel exchanges. However, due to the
outbreak of SARS in China, some countries including the DPRK
are highly concerned about Chinas epidemic situation
and have also taken some preventive measures to protect
their safety. The Chinese side expresses its understanding
over this. We hope that the epidemic will be eradicated at
an early date so that the normal personnel exchanges between
China and other countries will no longer be
influenced.
Q: Has the DPRK government
formally informed the Chinese government of this
issue?
A: So far a certain countries
have adopted a series of measures on the personnel exchanges
with China and some other affected countries and regions.
Some of the countries have contacted with China. As for the
specific issues of the DPRK, I may go back to check on it,
for there are many countries taking preventive measures.
However, as I believe, China and the DPRK have normal
exchanges and contacts.
Q: The Prime
Minister of Singapore criticized Chinas initial
handling of SARS. What is the comment of the Chinese
side?
A: I believe you must have
attended the press conference held by the Executive Deputy
Minister of Health Gao Qiang on April 20th. He has
introduced the recent development of Chinas prevention
and control of SARS. We understand the concerns of the
relevant parties of the international community on
Chinas epidemic situation. China has made and will
continue to make its due efforts in this regard. We will sum
up lessons and experiences in dealing with SARS, so that we
will do a better job in the future.
Q:
Will SARS affect the opening date of the Boao Asia
Forum?
A: The Boao Asia Forum
is an international forum located in China. It should be up
to the Board of Governors of Boao Asia Forum to decide
whether to postpone the annual meeting. As the host of the
meeting, China will respect the decision of the
Board.
Q: The US asked the UN Security
Council to lift the sanctions against Iraq at an early date.
Germany, France and Russia have indicated that they are
unwilling to take such an action before the legitimate
government of Iraq is founded. What is the stand of China on
this issue? On the issue of war, China supports the stand of
Russia, Germany and France. What is the position of China
towards this issue?
A: The Chinese
government has always been following closely the
humanitarian situation of Iraq, in particular, the current
difficulties facing the Iraqi people. China hopes that the
sanctions against Iraq will be lifted at an early date, but
the relevant issues should be handled properly within the UN
framework.
Q: Concerning the ASEAN
summit on SARS to be held in Thailand, has China been
invited and will China participate in this
conference?
A: Just now I expressed
appreciation over the initiative of the special summit
against SARS among the ASEAN countries. As for whether China
will send people to the meeting, China is studying the case
and keeping contact with the ASEAN
side.
Q: Gao Qiang and the Chinese
government promised many times to release a daily report to
the media on the latest development of SARS. So far based on
the statistics we have at hand, there are 482 confirmed
cases and 25 deaths in Beijing, 2001 confirmed cases and 92
deaths around the country. And there are around 600
suspected cases in Beijing. Do you have an update on
that?
A: the Foreign Ministry of
China is not the department responsible to give report on
the epidemic situation. Mr. Gao Qiang has already indicated
at the press conference that Chinas responsible
departments will make public the daily development of the
epidemic in Beijing and around the country. The Ministry of
Health in China will continue to do so. Today the relevant
information will be released at a proper
time.
Q: According to todays
report, the US has drafted the emergency plan to bomb the
nuclear reaction facilities of the DPRK. Does China
understand and accept such a plan? What is Chinas
attitude towards this plan?
A:
Concerning the DPRK nuclear issue, Chinas stand has
been consistent. China has been working to preserve a
peaceful, stable and nuclear-free Korean peninsular, and
maintains to peacefully settle the DPRK nuclear issue
through dialogue. In the meantime, we also believe that the
security concerns of the DPRK should also be cared for. I
would also like to stress that China hopes to settle the
DPRK nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue, and that the
relevant parties should create conditions to this end and
refrain from taking any action that may further escalate the
situation.
Q: Some of the recent
reports are false, while some others are not. It is reported
that to prevent the spread of SARS, China has cut off the
normal links with the outside, say Beijings ring roads
to its surrounding regions have been cut off. Are they
rumors?
A: Concerning some specific
measures taken by the Chinese government against SARS, you
may refer them to the relevant departments in charge, who
will give you a more satisfactory answer. As the Foreign
Ministry Spokesperson, I am not fully aware of some of the
specific details.
After the press
conference, the correspondents from the AAP and PTI asked:
What is your comment on the indication of Indian Prime
Minister Vajpayee to carry out dialogue with
Pakistan?
A: We welcome the move.
China stands for the peaceful negotiation to solve the
differences between India and Pakistan. We hope that the
relevant parties will demonstrate sincerity and sit at the
negotiation table at an early date to ease the current
tension between India and Pakistan.
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