On 10 September, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kong
Quan held the regular press conference.
Kong Quan said, good afternoon
ladies and gentleman. I am very glad to meet you
here. Today I want to announce that Premier Zhu
Rongji will attend the 4th ASEM Summit and the 5th EU-China
Summit held in Denmark and pay official visits to Austria,
Denmark and France at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor
Wolfgang Schussel, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, French President Jacques Chirac and Prime
Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Q:
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the September 11
incident. The war on terrorism has been going on
for a year. Do you think the war on terror has
achieved the expected goal? How long will it last?
In the Muslim world, it is generally believed that
this war is targeted at Muslim. What is your
comment?
A: Tomorrow is
the first anniversary of the September 11 incident, which is
a somber day. I want to take this opportunity to
reiterate that the Chinese Government strongly condemns
terrorism, and also to express condolences and the most
sincere comfort to the victims and their relatives.
The first anniversary is also a day of alarm and
vigilance. It shows again that terrorism is a
common enemy of the mankind, and a serious threat to the
world peace and stability, which should be strongly
condemned and fight against no matter when and where it
happens, who commits it and who is targeted
at.
During the past year, various
countries in the world have conducted shoulder-to-shoulder
cooperation on counter terrorism, and the international
anti-terrorism campaign has made remarkable results.
Yet there is still a long way to go. The
international community should further intensify cooperation
and thrash out a comprehensive strategy on the basis of
purposes and principles of the UN Charter to treat both the
symptoms and the root cause of
terrorism.
You have just mentioned
the question of linking terrorism to specific religion and
we have a clear-cut attitude towards this. Efforts
should be made to avoid linking terrorism to specific
countries, ethnic groups or religions.
Q: What is China’s
stance on the possible US attack on Iraq? Will
China abstain in the UN Security Council instead of voting
against it?
A: We believe that the
core of the Iraqi issue is the comprehensive and effective
implementation of the relevant UNSC resolutions.
In fact, the UNSC has adopted several resolutions
on the Iraqi issue, which should constitute the basis for
the settlement of the issue. Therefore, Iraq
should comprehensively implement the relevant resolutions to
allow the UN weapons inspectors back to Iraq. On
the other hand, Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial
integrity and security concern should be fully respected.
This is the core for the solution of the Iraqi
issue at present. On 6 September, President Bush
had a phone conversation with President Jiang Zemin on
relevant issues, during which President Jiang repeated the
principled position of the Chinese side. He
especially mentioned that the Iraqi issue has lasted a long
time, and China has always required Iraq to strictly
implement the relevant UNSC resolutions and readmit UN
weapons inspectors back to Iraq as soon as possible.
At the same time, China holds that Iraq’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity should be
respected.
Q: On 12 September, the
Foreign Relations Committee of the US Congress discussed the
bill about sanction on Syria. The Syrian
Government thinks that it is an interference into its
internal affairs and a violation of the international laws.
What is China’s view on it? The
second question is that Israel continues to crack down on
the Palestinians and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon said that
all the agreements reached before no longer existed.
What is the comment of the Chinese
side?
A: As for the bill on Syria of
the US Congress, I have not seen the report of the
discussion and I do not know the content about it either.
Therefore it is impossible for me comment on it.
In principle, the Chinese side holds that the
state-to-state relations should be handled in accordance
with purposes and principles of the UN Charter instead of
other approaches.
The Chinese Government has
always been very concerned about the Middle East situation.
We have for many times condemned and opposed the
violence against civilians and called on the two sides to
proceed from their fundamental interests and the long-term
peace of the region, face the reality and exercise restraint
to break the violence circle and seek the political solution
through dialogues and peaceful
negotiations.
Q: Chen
Shui-bian’s wife Wu Shu-chen will pay a private visit
to New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. on 19
September. How do you think it will affect
China-US relations? The Second question is Chen
Shui-bian said on 8 September in the Sanchih meeting that
the “unrestricted warfare” of the mainland is
similar to terrorism. What is your
comment?
A: The US side is very clear
about the position of the Chinese side on the Taiwan
question, because we have three Sino-US Jiont
Communiqués and the commitments made by the US leaders
to the Chinese side. We have always required the
US side to strictly abide by the One China principle and
honor the three Sino-US Joint Communiqués and its
commitments to the Chinese side, and prudently handle
Taiwan-related issues.
As for your second
question, my answer is very simple. Just now you
have quoted his remarks. I think everyone present
here understand that his remarks, at least the part you have
cited are totally nonsense and are not worth
commenting.
Q: Last time you said
China and Germany had reached consensus on the settlement of
the North Koreans who entered the German school, but so far
we have not seen the final solution. Can you tell
us the progress of the situation? Have their identities been
verified? Were they questioned and how long will
it last?
A: To my knowledge, the
verification of their identities is coming to an end.
And the problem will soon be solved according to
the consensus by China and Germany. Last week you
asked me whether your child could go to school on Monday, I
believe he has gone to school today, and this also proves
that the matter will soon be settled.
Q: Will Premier Zhu Rongji meet with
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during his visit
to Denmark?
A: As for
whether Premier Zhu will meet with Japanese Prime Minister
Koizumi on the sideline of the ASEM summit, the two sides
have not decided yet.
Q: It seems that
China is very concerned about the Tibetan question recently.
Not long ago, two groups of foreign journalists
took part in a interview tour to Tibet, and some other
formal or informal visits were organized. Dose it
show that the Chinese Government is considering to push
forward the dialogue with exiled
Tibetans?
A: Tibet is located in the
remote border area and the transportation is rather
inconvenient. Despite this, about 790 thousand
people go to Tibet annually. Many foreign
journalists have expressed their regret to the International
Press Center of the Foreign Ministry for not having the
chance after they came to China to see Tibet with their own
eyes. Last month, we organized the first
journalist visiting group to Tibet to interview and have
wide contacts with local people so that they can see with
their own eyes the true picture of today’s Tibet from
an all-round and multi-level perspective instead of being
misguided by foreign fabrications. The second
group will set out tomorrow morning, and some of you will
also participate. Tibet is an autonomous region of
China, in recent years it has been developing rapidly
economically and socially. We hope that more of
our friends, if their physical condition permits, will visit
Tibet to see the life of the Tibetans, the freedom of
religious belief and the conditions of temples there.
If you have not joined these two groups, I hope
you will have the chance in the future.
Q: The 57th Session of the UN General
Assembly will open today. As a permanent member of
the UNSC, will China express its views on the new UNGA
Session concerning some issues of regional
conflicts?
A: The 56th
Session of the UNGA closed yesterday and the 57th Session
will open day. The Chinese delegation, with
Foreign Minster Tang Jiaxuan at the head, left for New York
to attend the UNGA Session yesterday afternoon. In
the position document, the Chinese delegation will elaborate
on China’s position on seven issues during this UNGA
Session. First is the development of the UN
mechanism. Efforts should be made to strengthen
the role of the UN and promote the reform, finance and the
peacekeeping operation of the UN. The Chinese side
believes that a solid and stable financial basis is the
precondition for the strengthening of the UN role.
Second, the issue of development includes how to
cope with the economic globalization, especially its
negative impact on developing countries, and the
implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the
follow-up work of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development. Third is the strike against
terrorism. China holds that the UNSC should play a
leading role in the international campaign against
terrorism. All counter terrorism operation should
comply with purposes and principles of the UN Charter and
other universally recognized norms of international laws.
Fourth, we should pay more attention to regional
hotspots, including the issues of Afghanistan, Africa, Iraq
and Middle East. Fifth, we should strengthen arms
control and disarmament. Outer space
non-weaponization and the prevention of arms race in outer
space should be the priorities in the current multilateral
arms control and disarmament area. Sixth, we
should pay more attention to social problems, including
drug, illegal immigration and human rights.
Seventh, as for the Taiwan question, China
stresses that the UN is an inter-governmental organization
composed of sovereign states. The Resolution 2758
adopted at the 26th Session of the UNGA in 1971 has
completely solved the question of China’s
representation.
Q: It is reported
that, China is invited to become the member of the Middle
East Four-Party Committee. Can you confirm
it?
A: China always actively
participates in the Middle East peace process and supports
any efforts, which are conducive to the peace process.
At the same time, we have always actively
expounded our position and view for the peaceful settlement
of the Middle East issue within the scope of the UN and its
Security Council.
Thank you for attending
today’s press conference.
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