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I. United States1. Cross-Straits Relations Reuters ("'HOLIDAY DIPLOMACY' BY TAIWAN'S LU COULD ANGER CHINA," Taipei, 08/14/02) reported that Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu flew to Indonesia on Wednesday for a holiday, media reports said, in a trip that is certain to anger the PRC during a political flare-up over the island's sovereignty. Some 27 countries have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and the PRC complains over trips by Taiwan officials to countries with which it has diplomatic relations. Taiwan newspapers billed Lu's trip "holiday diplomacy" as part of efforts by the diplomatically isolated island to break the PRC's stranglehold. Taiwan cable news network ETTV showed Lu boarding a plane and said she was bound for the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Presidential office spokesman James Hung would only say Lu went abroad and declined to provide further details. It comes almost two weeks after Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said holding a referendum on formal independence was a "basic human right" and there was "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait. 2. Chen on PRC Aggression Agence France-Presse ("DON'T BE INTIMIDATED BY CHINA, TAIWAN PRESIDENT TELLS COMPATRIOTS," reported that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has urged Taiwanese people not to be "intimidated" by military drills in the PRC, but to "walk our own Taiwan road." "The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have the same practice, that big scale and small military exercises are held all the time," Chen told reporters Wednesday during a visit to villages in central Taiwan. "The Shanghai air raid drill was planned long time ago... not arranged after my August 3 remarks. We must not be intimidated (by China's military exercises). "We should walk our own road, our own Taiwan road and create our own future," he said. Chen also called for unity, asking the people "not to be split or influenced" by regional media and some individuals "who have special motives." He was responding to reports of an hour-long air drill in Shanghai Tuesday in which more than 1,000 residents and 37 air defence systems had taken part. 3. DPRK-Japan Ministerial Talks Agence France-Presse ("NORTH KOREA AND JAPAN TO HOLD MINISTERIAL TALKS," 08/14/02) reported that the DPRK and Japan will hold two-day ministerial talks on establishing diplomatic links in the DPRK from August 25, the DPRK's official news agency said. The DPRK and Japanese foreign ministries will hold "director-level talks" in Pyongyang under an agreement reached at talks in Brunei on July 31, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Wednesday. "The talks will discuss all the matters related to establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries and outstanding issues of bilateral concern," it said. Red Cross officials from the two countries are to meet for two days from Sunday in Pyongyang in a move linked to attempts to improve relations. They will meet to discuss progress on the search for Japanese nationals believed to be missing in the Stalinist state, the Japanese Red Cross said last week. 4. Japan-US Relations The Associated Press ("JAPAN, NORTH KOREA TO HOLD TALKS," Tokyo, 08/14/02) and Agence France-Presse ("BUSH, KOIZUMI TO MEET IN NEW YORK NEXT MONTH," 08/14/02) reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will attend the first anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks in New York and hold talks with US President George W. Bush. Bush and Koizumi are expected to meet on September 12 to discuss counter-terrorism and issues concerning Iraq, Jiji Press news agency said Wednesday. Before the summit talks, the Japanese premier is scheduled to give a speech at an annual UN general assembly meeting, the report said. A Japanese foreign ministry official declined to confirm the report. Koizumi is one of several world leaders who visited the site of the demolished World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks. Bush visited Japan in February. The president has set as a US goal an end to Saddam Hussein's regime, but has said he would consult the US Congress and allies before acting. On Saturday Bush branded the Iraqi president as a "danger" and an "enemy," but stressed he had "no timetable" for any military action against Baghdad. 5. ROK Presidential Health Agence France-Presse ("SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT UNABLE TO MAKE KEY SPEECH," 08/14/02) reported that ROK President Kim Dae-Jung, who has pneumonia, will not make a keynote independence day speech, officials said. The 76-year-old president was twice hospitalized this week because of pneumonia but is now resting at his Blue House official residence. Traditionally the president gives a major speech on August 15, the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. But deputy presidential spokesman Kim Ki-Man said Wednesday the president would not take part in August 15 ceremony. Prime Minister-designate Chang Dae-Whan will take part in the ceremony and read the speech for President Kim." According to the spokesman, President Kim is resting but still handling "key" affairs of state and monitoring developments in talks with the DPRK that were to end Wednesday. "His condition is better," said the spokesman, "but doctors recommended that he should make a full recovery before taking part in events." Doctors have told the president, who must stand down next February at the end of his single permissible five year term, should rest for two or three days. 6. Inter-Korean Relations Agence France-Presse ("SOUTH KOREA URGES NORTH TO DELIVER PROMISED 'GIFTS,'" 08/13/02) reported that the DPRK and ROK started a second round of high level reconciliation talks with the ROK seeking to fix dates for crucial military meetings. While anti-communist demonstrators burned a DPRK flag outside, the two sides closed on an accord to hold new reunions of families separated by the division of Korea before the September 21 fall harvest holiday, sources close to the talks said. They also agreed in principle to reactivate economic talks in late August and to resume Red Cross talks on separated families in September, the sources said. Rhee Bong-Jo, a top official with the ROK unification ministry, said: "The talks are proceeding in a good atmosphere we are making efforts to narrow differences. We will continue talking through working level contacts this afternoon." 7. ROK Soccer Chief for President Agence France-Presse ("SOUTH KOREANS WANT SOCCER CHIEF CHUNG AS PRESIDENT," 08/12/02) reported that according to a series of polls released many ROK citizens want the mastermind of the country's successful World Cup campaign, Chung Mong-Joon, to be their next president. But the scion of the Hyundai business empire, who is not an official candidate and does not even have a party, is so far maintaining publicly his reluctance to enter the cut-throat contest ahead of the December election. Chung beat Lee Hoi-Chang, presidential candidate for the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), in polls conducted by three newspapers -- Dong-A Ilbo, Hankyoreh and Munhwa Ilbo. He won 39.7 percent of support in a Dong-A survey, compared with 33.5 percent for Lee. Hankyoreh and Munhwa said Chung held a slight lead over Lee. A fourth poll by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, however, indicated Lee had marginally more support than Chung. Monday's polls suggested Chung could translate his popularity into votes if he became the candidate of a new party to be created by the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP). 8. PRC Space Launch Reuters ("CHINA PLANS ANOTHER UNMANNED SPACE LAUNCH THIS YEAR," Beijing, 08/14/02) reported that the PRC is hoping to launch its fourth unmanned spacecraft by the end of the year, hurtling its space program ever closer to manned flights and moon missions, state-run media said on Wednesday. "We have intensified development of the Shenzhou IV and its carrier rocket, which we plan to launch sometime in the remaining months of the year," the China Daily quoted Zhang Qingwei, head of the PRC Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, as saying. Another source told the newspaper the rocket might not be launched until next year, but that if the fourth Shenzhou, or Divine Vessel, was successful a manned mission would be "just around the corner." The PRC hopes to launch people into space by 2005 and join the US, the former Soviet Union and Russia as the only countries to put someone into orbit. It is aiming to send a mission to the moon by 2010. 1. Japan-US Relations Kyodo ("FORMER NSC OFFICIAL TO LEAD U.S. SECURITY POLICY ON JAPAN," Washington, 08/04/02) reported that Richard Lawless, a former US National Security Council official, is expected to become deputy assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific affairs, a key post for the planning of security policy toward Japan, US government sources said. Lawless, also a former Central Intelligence Agency operations officer, will replace the outgoing deputy assistant secretary, Peter Brookes, the sources said. The Defense Department is recommending Lawless for the post, which is important for Japan-US missile defense cooperation and bilateral policy coordination on Asian issues. He is expected to take over the position by the end of September with approval from the White House, they said. 2. Hiroshima 57th Anniversary The Japan Times (Takuya Asakura and Eriko Arita, "CONGRESSWOMAN MEETS A-BOMB VICTIMS," Hiroshima, 08/04/02) reported that Barbara Lee, the only member of the US Congress to oppose the US military campaign in Afghanistan, met survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing. After laying flowers at the memorial monument at the Peace Memorial Park, Lee expressed her determination to pursue a nuclear-free world and nonviolent resolutions to world problems. She was welcomed by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, representatives of survivors of the atomic bomb and peace activists. 3. Overseas A-Bomb Survivors Kyodo ("A-BOMB SURVIVORS IN BRAZIL SEEK HEALTH-CARE ALLOWANCES," Hiroshima, 08/01/02) reported that seven Japanese atomic bomb survivors living in Brazil lodged a joint lawsuit with the Hiroshima District Court, protesting the government's refusal to grant them health-care allowances. The plaintiffs are seeking about 11 million yen in allowances under the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law. They claim they should not be denied these allowances because of their foreign residency status. A similar suit was filed March 1 by 78-year-old Takashi Morita, the head of an association of A-bomb victims in Brazil. One of the seven plaintiffs, 72-year-old Shunji Mukai, was a-bombed in 1945 and emigrated to Brazil in 1955. He received a health-care allowance for one month when he returned to Japan in June 1999, but these payments were suspended after he left Japan again, according to the suit. "Physically and economically, it is a big burden to go back to Japan for medical treatment," Mukai said. 4. US Bases in Okinawa Kyodo ("NAGO PANEL TO OPPOSE NEW AIRPORT," Naha, 08/02/02) reported that a Nago Municipal Assembly committee will soon submit a resolution against a plan to relocate US Marine Corps helicopter operations from Ginowan to a proposed airport off Nago, committee members said. The assembly is currently adjusting its schedule in order to hold an extraordinary session early next week, the members said 5. Japanese Logistical Support for US The Japan Times ("ANTITERROR LAW WON'T COVER IRAQ: NONAKA,", 08/05/02) reported that Hiromu Nonaka, a former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said that Japan's antiterrorism law does not enable its defense forces to extend help to the US military in the event of a military strike against Iraq. "Unless we make arrangements under a new law, no cooperation can be extended under the existing special measure law against terrorism," Nonaka said. He was also critical of the current support the SDF is providing in the Indian Sea, saying: "Even now (the support we are giving) is unusual. I think this country is headed in a strange direction." Taku Yamasaki, the current LDP secretary general, meanwhile, said, "There exists the harsh reality of various preconditions" before Japan can offer cooperation for a possible attack against Iraq. Yamasaki also said that action by Japan might be possible under the existing law if the UN adopts a resolution endorsing such cooperation or if it turns out that Iraq is closely linked to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden. 6. Japan Nuclear Agency Scandal The Asahi Shimbun ("NUKE SAFETY OFFICIAL QUIZZED ON BRIBERY," Tokyo, 08/01/02) reported that a Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official allegedly received 20 million yen from a software firm in exchange for information on nuclear power plants. Tokyo police are questioning the 45-year-old technical official on suspicion of taking bribes from the Shizuoka Prefecture-based software firm. Several senior officials at the firm are also being questioned. The nuclear agency official admitted to accepting about 100,000 yen in cash every month while being wined and dined by the firm. In exchange, the official provided information on new nuclear reactors, while sharing his expertise in nuclear energy and related business ideas, sources close to the case said. The Japan Times ("NEW ARREST IN NUCLEAR BRIBERY CASE," 08/03/02) reported that the former president of a waste management firm was arrested on suspicion of bribing a government official to obtain classified information relating to the nuclear power industry, police said. Osamu Ishikura, 52, the former owner of a company based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, turned himself in to authorities two days after the arrest of Toshiyuki Takahashi, a deputy division chief at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. Takahashi is suspected of receiving 10.5 million yen in bribes between August 1999 and August 2001 from Ishikura and Yoshinori Okamoto, a former board member at a Shizuoka-based computer software firm.
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