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China, Taiwan opposition mend ties
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China, Taiwan opposition mend ties
出處
Friday, April 29, 2005 Posted: 10:18 AM EDT (1418 GMT)
BEIJING, China (AP) -- Taiwan's opposition leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao promised on Friday to work together to end hostilities between Taipei and Beijing, during the highest-level meeting between the two sides since they split amid civil war nearly six decades ago.
The Taiwanese government criticized the talks, saying they would do nothing to improve frosty relations.
In a ceremony televised live in China and Taiwan, Hu and Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan smiled and shook hands in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in central Beijing.
Beijing and Taipei should focus on "peace, stability and development for the future," Hu told Lien.
Lien responded: "We absolutely should avoid confrontation and collisions. What we want is conciliation. We want dialogue."
Lien's visit is the first by a Nationalist leader since the party, which once ruled all of China, fled the mainland following its defeat by the communists in 1949.
The lavish welcome given to him was part of Chinese efforts to isolate Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, whose party favors formal independence for Taiwan -- a step that Beijing says it would go to war to stop.
Lien favors unification and Beijing appeared to be trying to encourage flagging pro-unification sentiment in Taiwan amid a campaign by Chen to promote a notion of the island as a distinct nation. Chen's election in 2000 put an end to decades of Nationalist rule in Taiwan.
Lien said he hoped his visit would help ease tensions. But the Taiwanese government said nothing had changed, noting that he had failed to persuade China to recognize the island's sovereignty.
Lien "also did not persuade the Chinese communists to reduce their missile threat or their hostility toward Taiwan," a statement said in reference to the estimated 600-700 ballistic missiles positioned along the Chinese coast facing Taiwan.
Taiwan is a major potential flashpoint in Asia. Though the United States has no official ties with Taiwan, it is the island's main arms supplier and could be drawn into any conflict.
China also has been building ties with other parties in Taiwan that oppose formal independence.
Hu said Lien's trip "has already injected new vitality" into relations between Beijing and Taipei, which have no official ties despite surging trade.
"We should show the world that Chinese from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the ability and the wisdom to resolve our contradictions and problems ... and to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Hu said.
After emerging from nearly two hours of closed-door talks, they issued a joint statement promising to work together to try to end hostilities.
Lien said that commitment was just a suggestion from his party, which doesn't control Taiwan's government.
"Frankly, whether this can be done depends on whether the governing party will take responsibility," he said at a news conference. "The Nationalist Party as an opposition party can only put it forward as a suggestion."
The statement also promised to promote Taiwan's participation in international bodies.
Beijing usually tries to block Taiwan's effort to join such bodies as the United Nations. It wasn't clear whether China was dropping its opposition to Taiwan's membership as a sovereign government or would insist the island be treated as part of the communist mainland.
Earlier Friday, Lien called for the two sides to "build a bridge to unite our people."
"We can't stay in the past forever," he said in a speech to students at the elite Peking University.
Lien said recent Chinese reforms, including nonpartisan elections to village-level posts, are closing the political gap between the communist mainland and democratic Taiwan.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have escalated since March, when Beijing enacted an anti-secession law authorizing military action if Taipei moves toward formal independence.
Lien appealed to both governments to "maintain the status quo" -- a reference to the unspoken deal under which Beijing refrains from attacking so long as Taiwan doesn't declare formal independence.
The Lien-Hu meeting was the first between leaders of their parties since Nationalist dictator Chiang Kai-shek and communist guerrilla commander Mao Zedong held talks in 1945 an attempt to create a national unity government. They failed to agree and after four years of war, the defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan.
Taiwan barred contact with the mainland for decades, but has eased those limits since the early 1990s. Since then, Taiwanese companies have invested some $100 billion in China.
Analysts disagree on whether Lien's trip will help ease China-Taiwan tensions. Some say the former vice president and foreign minister can win Beijing's trust. Others say Chinese leaders are using Lien to widen the schisms in Taiwanese society.
Chinese Leader Meets With Taiwan's Opposition
出處
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 29, 2005
Filed at 11:19 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- Taiwan's opposition leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao promised on Friday to work together to end hostilities between Taipei and Beijing, during the highest-level meeting between the two sides since they fought a civil war six decades ago. But the Taiwanese government criticized the talks, saying they would do nothing to improve frosty relations.
In a ceremony televised live in China and Taiwan, Hu and Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan smiled and shook hands in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in central Beijing.
Beijing and Taipei should focus on ''peace, stability and development for the future,'' Hu told Lien.
Lien responded: ''We absolutely should avoid confrontation and collisions. What we want is conciliation. We want dialogue.''
Lien's visit is the first by a Nationalist leader since the party, which once ruled all of China, fled the mainland following its defeat by the communists in 1949. The last meeting between the leaders of the nationalist Kuomintang and Communist parties was in 1945, when dictator Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong held talks in an attempt to create a national unity government. They failed, and after four years of war, the defeated Kuomintang fled to Taiwan.
The lavish welcome given to him was part of Chinese efforts to isolate Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, whose party favors formal independence for Taiwan -- a step that Beijing says it would go to war to stop.
Lien favors unification and Beijing appeared to be trying to encourage flagging pro-unification sentiment in Taiwan amid a campaign by Chen to promote a notion of the island as a distinct nation. Chen's election in 2000 put an end to decades of Nationalist rule in Taiwan.
Lien said he hoped his visit would help ease tensions. But the Taiwanese government said nothing had changed, noting that he had failed to persuade China to recognize the island's sovereignty.
Lien ''also did not persuade the Chinese communists to reduce their missile threat or their hostility toward Taiwan,'' a statement said in reference to the estimated 600-700 ballistic missiles positioned along the Chinese coast facing Taiwan.
Taiwan is a major potential flashpoint in Asia. Though the United States has no official ties with Taiwan, it is the island's main arms supplier and could be drawn into any conflict.
China also has been building ties with other parties in Taiwan that oppose formal independence.
Hu said Lien's trip ''has already injected new vitality'' into relations between Beijing and Taipei, which have no official ties despite surging trade.
''We should show the world that Chinese from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the ability and the wisdom to resolve our contradictions and problems ... and to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,'' Hu said.
After emerging from nearly two hours of closed-door talks, they issued a joint statement promising to work together to try to end hostilities.
Lien said that commitment was just a suggestion from his party, which doesn't control Taiwan's government.
''Frankly, whether this can be done depends on whether the governing party will take responsibility,'' he said at a news conference. ''The Nationalist Party as an opposition party can only put it forward as a suggestion.''
The statement also promised to promote Taiwan's participation in international bodies.
Beijing usually tries to block Taiwan's effort to join such bodies as the United Nations. It wasn't clear whether China was dropping its opposition to Taiwan's membership as a sovereign government or would insist the island be treated as part of the communist mainland.
Earlier Friday, Lien called for the two sides to ''build a bridge to unite our people.''
''We can't stay in the past forever,'' he said in a speech to students at the elite Peking University.
Lien said recent Chinese reforms, including nonpartisan elections to village-level posts, are closing the political gap between the communist mainland and democratic Taiwan.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have escalated since March, when Beijing enacted an anti-secession law authorizing military action if Taipei moves toward formal independence.
Lien appealed to both governments to ''maintain the status quo'' -- a reference to the unspoken deal under which Beijing refrains from attacking so long as Taiwan doesn't declare formal independence.
Taiwan barred contact with the mainland for decades, but has eased those limits since the early 1990s. Since then, Taiwanese companies have invested some $100 billion in China.
Analysts disagree on whether Lien's trip will help ease China-Taiwan tensions. Some say the former vice president and foreign minister can win Beijing's trust. Others say Chinese leaders are using Lien to widen the schisms in Taiwanese society.
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Hu, Lien make history with handshake
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Hu, Lien make history with handshake
出處
Friday 29 April 2005, 11:54 Makka Time, 8:54 GMT
Lien (L) and Hu (R) held their historic meeting in China
"We can't stay in the past forever"
Lien Chan, Nationalist Party chairman
Chen was elected in 2000 ending decades of nationalist rule
Chinese President Hu Jintao has met Taiwan's opposition leader in the highest-level contact between the two sides since they split amid civil war in 1949.
Nationalist Party chairman Lien Chan's visit comes as China tries to combat Taiwanese pro-independence activists by reaching out to parties such as Lien's that favour uniting the two sides.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to attack if the self-ruled island tries to make its independence permanent.
Hu and Lien shook hands on Friday in a ceremony broadcast live on television in both China and Taiwan to a potential audience of hundreds of millions of viewers.
"Your coming is a great thing," Hu told Lien after their delegations sat down in rows of easy chairs in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in central Beijing.
Building bridges
Before the meeting, Lien urged the two sides to "build a bridge to unite our people".
"This is something that our people will welcome because we want to avoid confrontation across the Taiwan Strait and our people would like to see dialogue and reconciliation and cooperation," Lien said in the 40-minute speech, which was interrupted repeatedly by applause.
"We can't stay in the past forever," he said.
Lien said recent Chinese reforms, including non-partisan elections to village-level posts, are closing the political gap between the communist mainland and democratic Taiwan.
"No matter the speed and scope of political reform on the mainland, there is still considerable room to develop," he said.
Lien began his eight-day mainland tour on Tuesday in Nanjing, the eastern city that was the Nationalist cause's capital.
He says he hopes to ease tensions with Beijing, which enacted an anti-secession law in March authorising military action if Taiwan moves towards formal independence.
Call for calm
Lien on Friday appealed to both governments to maintain the status quo - a reference to the unspoken deal under which Beijing refrains from attacking as long as Taiwan does not declare formal independence.
He later walked around the leafy Peking University campus, where crowds of hundreds of students cheered as he passed.
"It's good that he has come here after so many years," said Su Yonggan, a 28-year-old software student. "No one wants war."
The Lien-Hu meeting is the first between leaders of their parties since Nationalist dictator Chiang Kai-shek and communist guerrilla commander Mao Zedong held talks in 1945 in an attempt to create a national unity government.
They failed to reach an agreement and after four years of war, the defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan.
Common cause
More recently, the nationalists and communists have found common cause in their opposition to Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, whose party favours independence.
Chen was elected in 2000 in voting that put an end to decades of nationalist rule in Taiwan.
Taiwan is a major potential flashpoint in Asia. Though the United States has no official ties with Taiwan, it is the island's main arms supplier and could be drawn into any conflict.
Taiwan barred contact with the mainland for decades, but has eased those limits since the early 1990s. Since then, Taiwanese companies have invested about $100 billion in China.
Analysts disagree on whether Lien's trip will help ease China-Taiwan tensions. Some say the former vice-president and foreign minister can win Beijing's trust. Others say Chinese leaders are using Lien to widen the schisms in Taiwanese society.
Agencies
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Lien pays homage to Chinese hero
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Crowds of well wishers had gathered on the mausoleum steps
Mr Lien bowed three times to Sun Yat-sen's statue
出處
Lien pays homage to Chinese hero
The leader of Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party Lien Chan has visited the tomb of Sun Yat-sen, regarded as the father of modern China, in Nanjing.
Mr Lien visited the former leader's grave as part of a historic eight-day, four-city visit to China.
Mr Lien is due to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday.
It will be the first meeting between Nationalist and Communist Party leaders since the Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing China's civil war in 1949.
Mr Lien, who was born in China, has called his trip to the mainland a journey of peace - saying he hopes it will help the two sides work towards reconciliation after more than half a century of conflict.
Critics say Mr Lien, who steps down this year, sees the visit as a chance to ensure his political legacy.
Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which favours independence from China, says Beijing is using the visit to try and split public opinion in Taiwan.
The BBC's Francis Markus, in Nanjing, says hundreds of well-wishers, many of them elderly, had gathered to greet Mr Lien
They jostled to try and get a better view, then applauded as the delegation filed down one of the mausoleum's alleys, our correspondent says.
Closer ties
After his visit Mr Lien addressed the crowd, expressing hope that China and Taiwan would co-operate on economic development.
"We must endeavour together to make in the 21st century a truly great Chinese people," he said.
The BBC's Caroline Gluck, in Taiwan, says the already strained relations between China and Taiwan have worsened in the wake of China's recently passed anti-secession law, which legalises the use of force against Taiwan if the island moves towards formal independence.
Mr Lien is being accompanied by senior officials from the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, party, and by more than 100 reporters.
The government, initially strongly critical, is now cautiously backing the trip.
President Chen Shui-bian has said visits to China by opposition leaders would have his blessing if they acted according to the law and did not sign agreements with Beijing without government authorisation.
Another opposition leader, James Soong, head of the pro-unification People First Party, has also accepted an invitation to visit the mainland, and is expected to travel to China next month.
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In pictures: Iraqi prisoner abuse
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出處：BBC
A soldier seems to be kneeling on naked detainees. (Courtesy of The Washington Post).
A soldier with a dog faces an Iraqi detainee. (Courtesy of The Washington Post).
A soldier apparently poised to hit a hooded prisoner. (Courtesy of The Washington Post).
Photos published by the Washington Post in mid-May show further abuse. A man stands crouched on two boxes. His ankle seems to be cuffed to the door handle behind. (Courtesy of The Washington Post).
Specialist Charles Graner faces charges of maltreating and assaulting prisoners. Here he is seen posing over the body of a dead Iraqi detainee. (Photo: AP/ABC)
Two US soldiers pose next to a human pyramid of naked Iraqi soldiers. (AP Photo/Courtesy of The New Yorker)
An American soldier points at the genitals of a naked Iraqi prisoner. (AP Photo/Courtesy of The New Yorker)
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US army clears top men on Abu Ghraib
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US army clears top men on Abu Ghraib
Saturday 23 April 2005, 10:39 Makka Time, 7:39 GMT
出處
Saturday 23 April 2005, 10:39 Makka Time, 7:39 GMT
Prisoners were forced into humiliating and painful positions
George Bush called the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison abhorrent
Four top US army officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.
Only Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski, who commanded a military police unit found responsible for sexually humiliating prisoners, forcing them into stress positions and intimidating them with guard dogs, was relieved of her command, and is being recommended for a career-ending reprimand, defence officials said late on Friday.
However, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, who as commander of US forces in Iraq from June 2003 to July 2004 had briefly issued a set of tough interrogation guidelines that some say had encouraged the abuse, was fully exonerated, according to the officials.
Investigations
The US investigation, completed by Army Inspector-General Lieutenant General Stanley Green, comes on the heels of a series of independent and internal Pentagon investigations undertaken since April 2004, when information about the pervasive abuse at Abu Ghraib leaked out to the media.
US President George Bush expressed shock at the reports, calling the abuses abhorrent. He insisted the treatment of inmates at the notorious Baghdad prison did not "represent the America that I know".
In the intervening months, seven rank-and-file soldiers who had been assigned to guard duty at Abu Ghraib were charged with physically and sexually abusing the detainees.
Five of them have already been found guilty or pleaded guilty, while two courts-martial are still pending.
Punishment escaped
But top US commanders in Iraq have largely escaped punishment despite allegations some of them might have tacitly encouraged soldiers to rough up prisoners in order to soften them before interrogation.
The Green Report sought to address these concerns, but found fault only with Karpinski, who is accused of failing to provide proper oversight of her troops, the defence officials said.
Though not released to the public, the document is seen as the military's final word in the year-long saga that has tarnished the reputation of the US armed forces and fuelled multiple calls for the resignation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"The army is currently in the process of briefing members of Congress on the comprehensive results of an Inspector-General legal review of senior member involvement into Abu Ghraib," army spokeswoman Major Elizabeth Robbins said.
"We are currently not addressing questions on the findings until we have addressed the questions of Congress."
According to defence sources, the other officials cleared include Sanchez's former deputy, Major-General Walter Wojdakowski, who stood accused of failing to staff the prison with better trained guards, Major-General Barbara Fast - the former chief intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, and Colonel Marc Warren, the command's top legal officer.
Agencies
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Japanese PM apologises over war
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has reiterated his country's "deep remorse" over its colonial aggression in Asia.
出處
Koizumi hopes to meet China's President Hu at the summit
"Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage "
Junichiro Koizumi Japanese prime minister
The speech at the Asia-Africa summit comes amid tensions over the approval by Tokyo of school textbooks which China says gloss over Japan's record.
Mr Koizumi later said he hoped to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday - although Beijing has yet to agree.
Leaders from 80 nations are attending the two-day summit in Indonesia.
The annual Asia-Africa summit has increasingly been dominated by global trade issues.
But the escalating row between China and Japan threatens to overshadow all other considerations.
'Facing facts'
Addressing delegates, Mr Koizumi said: "In the past Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering for the people of many countries, particularly those of Asian nations.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility."
The wording repeats previous Japanese apologies - but analysts say the international setting gives the statement added weight.
Asked by reporters if he would hold talks with President Hu, Mr Koizumi said he was hoping for a meeting on Saturday.
The BBC's Tim Johnston in Jakarta says the apology should go some way to placating Chinese anger, which was recently reignited by a history textbook that the Chinese felt paid insufficient attention to atrocities.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan welcomed Mr Koizumi's words, but said that Japan had to do more to "face up to history".
"That President Koizumi expressed this attitude in this arena is welcome. We welcome it," Mr Kong told reporters.
"But to express it is one aspect. What's of much more importance is the action. You have to make it a reality."
Separately, China protested over Friday's visit by Japanese lawmakers to the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo. The shrine honours the Japanese who died during World War II, including a number of war criminals.
"As Sino-Japanese relations are facing a serious situation, we express our strong dissatisfaction over the negative actions of some Japanese politicians who ignore the larger interests," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.
In his speech, Mr Koizumi also repeated Japan's call for an overhaul of the UN Security Council and underscored Tokyo's qualifications as a potential permanent member.
"The United Nations, particularly the Security Council, needs to be reformed, so that the organisation reflects the realities of today's world."
The Japanese leader emphasised Tokyo's past contributions to development aid and repeated its commitment to increase them.
Japan's campaign for a permanent seat on the Security Council has been one of the factors fuelling the recent anti-Japanese protests in Chinese cities.
Historic summit
This Asia-Africa summit has special significance since it marks the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference - the first summit of Third World nations, in the shadow of the Cold War.
The summit intends to make a declaration of a strategic partnership to increase trade and investment as well as emphasise the importance of multilateral efforts in solving conflicts.
Developments so far have included:
The highest level meeting between North and South Korean leaders for five years on the summit's sidelines. North Korean deputy Kim Yong-nam and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan met for 10 minutes, Yonhap news agency reported.
A pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to double Japan's aid to Africa to $1.6bn over the next three years.
A statement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that corruption threatened the development of Asia and Africa as much as war, HIV/Aids, and poverty.
The first high-level meeting between India and Nepal since King Gyanendra became Nepal's monarch. Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh told the King to lift a state of emergency and free detainees held after his February coup.
Mr Yudhoyono said those taking part in the summit would make up for five decades of lost opportunities by establishing a new strategic partnership between Africa and Asia.
"Asia Africa is the missing link in the worldwide structure of interregional relations," he said in his opening remarks.
The meeting is being attended by a number of African presidents and prime ministers, including President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, as well as the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
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Koizumi said Japan faced these facts of history wi
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Koizumi said Japan faced these facts of history with humility
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Koizumi apologises for Japan's past
Friday 22 April 2005, 10:43 Makka Time, 7:43 GMT
Koizumi said Japan faced these facts of history with humility
"The purpose of Chinese foreign policy is to maintain world peace and common development"
Hu Jintao,Chinese president
"Japan once again states its resolve to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world"
Junichiro Koizumi,Japanese prime minister
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has apologised for his country's wartime record, speaking at an Asia-Africa summit.
Japan acknowledged the damage and suffering caused by colonial aggression across Asia with deep remorse, Koizumi said on Friday at the conference in Jakarta attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao.
"In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations," he said, but gave no mention of China.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility. And with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind, Japan has resolutely maintained, consistently since the end of World War II, never turning into a military power but an economic power," he said.
Peaceful resolve
Koizumi, who hoped to meet Hu on the sidelines of the summit, added that his country was guided by the "principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means, without recourse to use of force".
In a speech given by Hu at the summit, Japan was also not mentioned.
Hu, speaking to an audience that included Koizumi, instead sought to reassure his country's poorer neighbours that despite China's economic success, it would not leave them behind.
"We solemnly reaffirm that China will follow steadfastly its chosen path of peaceful development.The purpose of Chinese foreign policy is to maintain world peace and common development," he said.
Strained relations
Sino-Japanese relations are at one of their lowest ebbs in decades after three weekends of protests by tens of thousands in China against Japan's approval of a school textbook that critics say glosses over the country's wartime atrocities.
In sometimes violent anti-Japanese demonstrations, people hurled bottles, eggs and rocks at Japan's diplomatic and business interests in China while calling for the boycott of Japanese products.
Tokyo demanded Beijing's apology and compensation for damage caused by the protests but China rejected the demands, saying the real issue was Japan's alleged denial of its wartime past.
Renouncing war
Koizumi said on Friday: "Japan once again states its resolve to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world in the future as well, prizing the relationship of trust it enjoys with the nations of the world."
Japan's post-war constitution, written by the United States, not only renounces war but forbids Tokyo from maintaining a military or even threatening the use of force.
However, Tokyo maintains what it calls self-defence forces and Koizumi, a staunch ally of US President George Bush, dispatched 600 troops on a non-combat mission in southern Iraq.
The deployment, which began in December 2003, is Japan's first since the second world war in a country where fighting is under way.
Agencies
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Will oil strike $380 a barrel by 2015?
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Will oil strike $380 a barrel by 2015?
By Adam Porter in Perpignan, France
Thursday 21 April 2005, 4:20 Makka Time, 1:20 GMT
A report prepared by energy economists at the French investment bank Ixis-CIB has warned crude oil prices could touch $380 a barrel by 2015.
Analysts Patrick Artus and Moncef Kaabi said in the next 10 years demand for oil will outstrip supply by around 8 million barrels per day (mbpd).
"If one takes into account the level of previous oil shocks such as in the 1970's, we don't think a price level of $380 per barrel is out of the question," they said.
The analysts argued that the shortfall in energy needs would not be made up by alternatives as they were not developed as yet. "Thus the world will still need to rely upon traditional fossil fuels," their report said.
Growing demands
They also said existing new oilfield projects would not be enough to satisfy unprecedented growth in demand from developing economies, particularly China.
"We have taken into account every new oil discovery and potential source … as well as this we note the continuing situation of a fall in new field discoveries," the analysts said.
They pointed out China would contribute greatly to the world's rising energy needs.
"Rapid movements of people from the Chinese countryside into the cities would increase the demand for housing, cars and general transportation. All of this will fuel energy consumption," the report said.
Economic juggernaut
Industrial production in China is also growing rapidly with no major signs of decline.
"The types of energy-intensive production in China are growing fast and forecasts also point to continued growth."
"Chinese economic development is at a stage where the amount of energy used is not yet recycled back into the economy. This has definitely been the case in recent times and this explains the sharp increases in China and other similar nations recently," Artus and Kaabi said.
"One could thus envisage a scenario where there is a near seven-fold increase in crude oil prices, whereby, adding annual 2.5% inflation ... we arrive at a price of $380 per barrel by 2015."
Agencies
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Israel lobby in US “fires staff”
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Israel lobby in US “fires staff”
出處
A powerful pro-Israel lobby group in Washington has fired two top employees said to be involved in an FBI spying investigation, US newspapers report.
The New York Times and Washington Post say the men from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) are suspected of passing secrets to Israel.
Nobody has been charged with wrongdoing and lawyers for the dismissed men say they did not break any rules.
Aipac said the action was taken after "recently learned information".
Spokesman Patrick Dorton said the "conduct that Aipac expects of its employees" was also a factor in the decision.
Lawyers for the dismissed men - policy director Steve Rosen and senior analyst Keith Weissman - said they have never "solicited, received or passed on any classified documents".
"They carried out their job solely to serve Aipac's goal of strengthening the US-Israel relationship," a statement from the lawyers said.
Fears over Iran
The Pentagon revealed in August last year that a senior official was under investigation for giving Israel access to secret information about US policy towards Iran.
The suspected spy, Lawrence Franklin, worked in the office of Douglas Feith - an official who played a key role in planning the Iraq war, along with the Deputy Defence Secretary at the time, Paul Wolfowitz.
Reports at the time said Mr Franklin was suspected of using his ties to Aipac to pass on the information, though the exact nature of the contacts is not known.
According to the Washington Post newspaper, the FBI raided Aipac's offices twice last year.
Mr Franklin was briefly suspended from his job but is now back at work, though he has reportedly been stripped of security privileges.
Aipac was ranked alongside the National Rifle Association as one of the most effective lobby groups in Washington, often playing a pivotal role in US relations with Israel.
Israel has regularly warned the US it fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons and could use them to destabilise the region.
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Military Critic Reaps Whirlwind with Comfort Women
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Military Critic Reaps Whirlwind with Comfort Women Claims
The controversial military commentator Ji Man-won has come under fire again after saying that claims by some women to have been drafted into sexual slavery as “comfort women” by the Japanese Army were fraudulent.
Ji said on his website on Wednesday and Thursday that only 33 women had been confirmed former “comfort women,” or Chongshindae, by Shim Mi-ja, a comfort woman whose painful past was acknowledged by the Japanese Supreme Court. Ji said none of the 33 took part in a protest former comfort women stage every Wednesday in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. He said Japan concluded that one ostensible comfort woman who appeared frequently on TV was a fraud and refused to pay her compensation. Ji claimed no more than 20 percent of all comfort women were forcefully conscripted by Japan, while the rest were ordinary prostitutes trying to escape from poverty.
Rights organizations and Korea’s online community have bombarded Ji with criticism over the claims.
The Korea Chongshindae Council issued a statement threatening legal action against Ji for defamation and violating the human rights of former comfort women. The organization’s website was inundated with messages criticizing Ji. They said Ji should be held accountable for his remarks, which rubbed salt into wounds of former comfort women.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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