China on Thursday lashed out at the terrorist attack against
Chinese workers in Afghanistan.
More than 20 gunmen raided a Chinese construction site in
northern Afghanistan early Thursday, and 11 Chinese workers have so
far been confirmed killed and four others wounded.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a news briefing
Thursday that upon hearing the news, Chinese leaders strongly
condemned the terrorist activities.
They instructed the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Chinese
Embassy in Afghanistan and other relevant departments to put all
their strength into rescuing the injured workers, properly deal
with the incident and assist the Afghan side in ensuring the safety
of other Chinese people in Afghanistan.
The Chinese leaders also asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry to
send their deep condolences and comfort to the victims and their
families, Liu said.
According to Liu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese
Embassy in Afghanistan started their work immediately after
learning of the incident. Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo has
called people in charge of the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Department has also held an
emergency meeting with the Afghan ambassador to China, demanding
the Afghan government to take all measures possible to rescue the
injured workers, ensure the safety of other Chinese citizens in the
country, and meanwhile launch an investigation into the incident
and bring the murderers to justice.
The spokesman said the Chinese Foreign Ministry has also
notified the Ministry of Commerce and the China Railway Shisiju
Group Corporation (CRSGC), employer of the workers. Chinese
Ambassador to Afghanistan Sun Yuxi had also rushed to the
scene.
The injured workers have been sent to a hospital in Kunduz
Province, where medical staff of the United Nations are also
helping with the treatment, he said. An 11-member work team sent by
the CRSGC is to set off Friday to Afghanistan to deal with the
incident.
Liu said that in a phone conversation with Dai Bingguo, Afghan
Vice Foreign Minister Zalmay Aziz also expressed condolences to the
victims. Aziz said Afghan leaders attach great importance to the
incident, and he has instructed relevant departments to hunt down
and severely punish the murderers.
The Afghan side will cooperate well with the Chinese side in
rescuing the injured and dealing with the aftermath, and take all
measures to guarantee the safety of Chinese people in Afghanistan,
Aziz said.
The spokesman said China would not surrender to terrorism in any
form and the country would continue to participate in the
reconstruction process of Afghanistan.
He said China and Afghanistan have a tradition of friendship and
have forged good cooperation so far, vowing that China would not
withdraw from the country's reconstruction project.
China considers the incident as a terror attack, to which great
importance should be attached by various parties, especially by the
Afghanistan side, Liu said, calling on the Afghan side to learn
lessons from the incident and take more effective measures to
ensure the safety of nationals of various countries in
Afghanistan's territory.
China has been a target, as well as a victim, of terrorism for a
long time, and that's why China supports the campaign against
terrorism in all forms, Liu noted, expressing the hope that the
international community should continue effective strikes on
terrorism.
According to Liu, the Chinese workers had just arrived in Kunduz
Province when the assault took place and they didn't even know each
other very well. The attack happened at around 1:00 am local time
when most of the workers were sleeping.
Chinese workers did not receive adequate protection, Liu
added.
In another development, the spokesman refuted a recent report
issued by the Pentagon on Beijing's military forces, saying that
the report was filled with cold war mentality and had ulterior
motives.
According to a journalist present at yesterday's briefing, the
report suggested Taiwan would attack the Three Gorges Dam, the
world's biggest hydroelectric project, to counter a possible
Chinese attack.
Liu said if it is true, it reflects the report was filled with
cold war mentality and had ulterior motives.
He said the basic principles of "peaceful reunification" and
"one country, two systems" that China adheres to on the Taiwan
issue will not change and the Chinese government is willing to try
its best, with the utmost sincerity, to realize a peaceful
reunification.
But, Liu said, China will never tolerate "Taiwan independence,"
neither will China allow anybody to split Taiwan from the
motherland with any means. "Nothing can shake the determination of
the Chinese people to reunify its motherland."
Liu said China urges the United States to take concrete steps to
fulfill its commitments of adhering to the one-China policy,
abiding by the three China-US joint communiqués and opposing
"Taiwan independence."
The spokesman also asked the United States to refrain from
sending wrong signals to Taiwan so as not to harm the peace and
stability across the Taiwan Straits and the interest of the United
States itself.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend the state
funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan on Friday at the
National Cathedral in Washington, said the spokesman, adding that
Li would attend the funeral as the special envoy of President Hu
Jintao.
Reagan, who served as the 40th US president from 1981 to 1989,
passed away at the age of 93 at his home in California on Saturday
after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. US President
George W. Bush and an array of world leaders are expected to attend
his funeral.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
sent messages of condolence to their US counterparts respectively
last Sunday.
In the messages to US President Bush and Secretary of State
Colin Powell, Hu and Li also expressed sympathy to Reagan's wife,
Nancy, and his relatives.
Turning to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the spokesman
said China expects progress, even if small, in each round of the
six-party talks.
Liu said it was difficult to make progress in solving the
nuclear issue due to the complexity of the issue, and all concerned
parties should remain patient and not expect too much from the
six-party talks.
At the first working group meeting of the six-party talks in
Beijing last month, negotiators from China, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea
(ROK), Russia and Japan agreed the third round of six-party talks
will be held in Beijing before the end of June after one more
working-level discussion.
Liu said all concerned parties now had put forward their
proposals on the date of the next round of talks, and China will
continue to consult with the other five parties on this issue, so
as to reach consensus soon.
Liu said the third round of six-party talks is very important,
and the key to success lies in whether all parties concerned will
have been fully prepared before the talks.
Now that there are still comparatively big differences among the
parties concerned, China hopes the related parties would continue
to take a constructive attitude, show flexibility to the full, seek
and expand common ground, narrow differences, and work actively to
find solutions, the spokesman said.
Liu said the most important thing for all concerned parties was
to continue the process of resolving the nuclear issue in a
peaceful way, and to implement all the consensuses that had been
reached.
The issues related to the specific themes and date of the next
round of six-party talks will be consulted by all concerned
parties, so as to provide full preparation for the talks, Liu
said.
China holds an open attitude toward the issue of when the talks
would be held, Liu said, adding that China will continue to play an
active role in facilitating the peaceful settlement of the nuclear
issue in a constructive manner.
Also at yesterday's briefing, the spokesman announced the third
foreign ministers' meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
will be held in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong
Province on June 21 and 22.
Liu said 22 Asian foreign ministers will attend the meeting,
which will be presided over by Chinese Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing.
On the sideline of the meeting, the China-ASEAN foreign
minister's informal meeting and the first meeting of the Three
Party Committee of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea will also
be convened, Liu said.
The following is the basic information of the three meetings
given by Liu.
ACD, founded in June 2002, is the only official dialogue and
cooperation mechanism open to the entire Asia. This foreign
ministers' meeting will review the progress in various fields
within the ACD framework over the past two years, explore the
direction for ACD's development and exchange views on international
and regional issues.
The China-ASEAN foreign ministers' informal meeting is the first
meeting of China and ASEAN foreign ministers since the two sides
established a strategic partnership. The foreign ministers will
have a free exchange of views focused on the international and
regional situation, the ways to deepen China-ASEAN relations and
their respective development strategies.
The Three Party Committee of China, Japan and the ROK was set up
in line with the Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Tripartite
Cooperation issued by leaders of the three counties last
October.
The committee, led by foreign ministers of the three countries,
is mainly responsible for planning and coordinating cooperation of
the three sides.
Liu also announced Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong will pay
an official visit to Tunisia, Togo, Benin and South Africa from
June 20 to 29, at the invitation of Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed
Ghannouchi, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema, Beninese
President Mathieu Kerekou and South African Deputy President Jacob
Zuma.
(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2004)