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SYDNEY (AFP) - A former Chinese diplomat who defected to Australia has charged that Beijing has sent a hit squad to kill him, but Canberra said the claim should be treated with caution. Chen Yonglin, 37, who was last month granted a permanent protection visa after abandoning his post at the Chinese consulate-general in Sydney in late May, told ABC television a friend had warned him that assassins were on his trail. "I receive a message from one of my closest friends in China, working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that the government has sent -- one month...

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The Australian government said Friday it has granted a permanent visa to a diplomat who defected from Beijing's consulate in Sydney in May and claimed China has a vast network of spies in Australia. Kirk Coningham, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, confirmed Chen Yonglin, his wife and six-year-old daughter had been granted a permanent protection visa, most often given to people fleeing persecution in their homeland. Chen, who has been in hiding since fleeing China's Sydney Consulate, could not immediately be reached for comment. At several news conferences he has given since going...

CROSS-STRAIT TIES: The president said Beijing's attitude has not changed and he wouldn't meet with Beijing's leaders if it meant compromising Taiwan's national interests CNA AND AP , TAIPEISaturday, May 14, 2005,Page 1 President Chen Shui-bian (’…G) said yesterday that he will hold talks with China only on condition that he can protect Taiwan's national sovereignty and the interests of the 23 million people of Taiwan. Chen, who made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Formosa TV, also questioned the meaning of a visit to China that might demand that the nation's leadership accept some conditions set by Beijing....

TAIPEI (AFX) - Taiwan thanked US President George W Bush for calling on Chinese leaders to talk to the island's government and saying direct dialogue is essential to improving cross-strait relations. 'Many high-ranking US officials have repeatedly urged Beijing to talk to Taiwan's elected government and its leader ... and we thank and welcome President Bush's talk,' presidential spokesman Chen Wen-tsung said. 'The presidential office reiterated that the fundamental way to improve cross-strait relations is by direct dialogues and negotiations between the two governments,' he added. Bush called on Chinese President Hu Jintao to 'reach out' more formally to Taiwanese...

The president taïwanais calls with negotiations with China TAIPEI - the president taïwanais Chen Shui-bian called Monday with negotiations with rival China for a reconciliation and establishment of a permanent peace, according to remarks' brought back by the agency taïwanaise Central News Agency (CNA). Mr. Chen, visits some in the Marshall Islands, also offered the installation of a bilateral mechanism of consultation on the military questions and safety in order to alleviate the tensions between the two enemy sisters of Asia. The president taïwanais had already invited Sunday China to open a dialogue with him in an attempt at...

TOEING THE LINE: US government officials are now in agreement regarding Lien Chan's meeting with the Chinese president, saying that Beijing must speak to Chen By Charles Snyder STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON Sunday, May 01, 2005,Page 1 Advertising The US State Department has fallen into line with the White House in urging China to talk directly with President Chen Shui-bian (’…G) to settle cross-strait issues peacefully, according to statements made by US officials. Meanwhile, the White House again expressed the hope that the meeting between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (˜AD) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (ŒÓ‹ÑŸ·) will...

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has called for a million people to take to the streets of Taipei later this month to protest against China's anti-secession Bill, which allows for the use of force against the island. It was his first open response to the proposed law, which he described as 'a major threat to regional stability'. His call, coming before the expected passage of the law in Beijing tomorrow, could raise tensions across the Taiwan Strait. 'Let us mobilise one million people, never mind their gender, age, political affiliation and occupation, to take part in the march on March 26'...

China's player looks to the big game Entertainment chief's raid could make him leading online contender China's second-richest man, Chen Tianquiao, looks poised to become the country's leading new media player after staging the sector's first aggressive raid on a rival's shares. In a stealthy swoop over the spring festival holiday, Mr Chen's online game company Shanda Interactive Entertainment bought a 19.5% stake in Sina Corp, China's leading internet news portal, for $196m (£102m). The move finally turned the tables on Sina, which had tried to buy Shanda in 2003. The possibility of a takeover that would create China's...

BOSTON -- The FBI notified law enforcement agencies in Boston to be on the lookout for several people described as possible terror suspects who may be headed to the city Wednesday. An uncorroborated report said that four illegal immigrants from the California/Mexico border were on their way to Boston via New York carrying some sort of explosive material. So far, no threat has been corroborated. The immigrants have been identified as Zengrong Lin, Wen Quin Zheng, Xiujin Chen and Guozhi Lin. "We have no information at this time that is confirmed by reliable sources. We have information from one single...

The US and China will hold their first high-level discussions on Beijing's proposed "anti-secession" law this week during a three-day visit to Washington by the director of Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Yunlin (êë…ÁÖ), which comes at a critical time in US-Taiwan-China relations. The State Department confirmed on Monday that Chen was to arrive yesterday for talks with US officials on a number of cross-strait issues. He is also expected to meet members of Congress. Included will be a meeting tomorrow with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in which the "anti-secession" law is expected to be a main topic...

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's pro-independence parties suffered an upset defeat in legislative elections Saturday, a result sure to please Chinese leaders who regard the island as part of the mainland. The coalition that included President Chen Shui-bian's party had been widely favored to win control of the legislature. But the opposition rallied, keeping its grip on parliament. The opposition won 90 of the 176 seats that are directly elected by voters, while the president's group won 76 seats, the Central Election Commission said. The remaining 10 seats were still unconfirmed, the commission said. Another 49 seats will be divided...

...As [Lilley] explains, "It was ambiguity over whether the U.S. would defend South Korea from attack -- created when Secretary of State Dean Acheson left the Korean peninsula outside the U.S. "defense perimeter" he described in a 1950 speech -- that convinced Kim Il Sung he could act with impunity. And when Saddam Hussein in 1991 informed U.S. ambassador April Gillespie that Kuwait was in his sights, and she gave an ambiguous response, tragedy also ensued. By contrast, there was nothing ambiguous about mutual assured destruction; and it worked for decades. Ambiguity [is] what Mr. Kerry offers on the subject...

TAIPEI - Proposed Chinese legislation that would give a mandate for the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland would provide a legal basis for an attack on the island, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has said. Mr Chen, speaking for the first time on the mainland's proposal to adopt a reunification law, said he was very concerned about it. 'China is undertaking a legal battle. If Taiwan does not follow, it will undertake a military battle,' he was quoted by the United Daily News as saying during a visit to the southern county of Tainan late on Thursday. 'The reunification law...

Says she thought it was a bottle of perfume. "I opened it to smell it" A huge blast rocked the Tel Nof army base on Monday morning, with smoke coming out of Brigadier General Benny Zucker's office. Soldiers who rushed in to the general's office were astounded to find that the explosion was not the result of a terrorist infiltration of the base, but rather from a tear gas grenade set off by Zucker's secretary by accident. The soldiers found the stunned secretary at her desk in a cloud of tear gas smoke. She explained that she thought it was...

LOW PROFILE: The foreign affairs minister said yesterday that he was the only person in the ministry informed of Presidential Office Secretary-General Chou I-jen's US visit The US sent warnings to the Taiwanese government against changing the status quo through recent comments by the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, James Kelly, and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) deputy director David Keegan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (³¯­ð¤s) said yesterday.Attending a legislative question-and-answer session for the first time since he took office two weeks ago, Chen was bombarded with questions from lawmakers. Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen...

Obituaries in the News Mar 27, 2004 The Associated Press Bryan L. Armstrong FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Bryan L. Armstrong, a former newspaper editor and reporter who became a public relations director for Kentucky's community college system, was found dead of a gunshot wound Thursday in Frankfort. He was 45. The case was under investigation, according to the coroner's office. Armstrong was a journalism graduate of Western Kentucky University. His early career included internships at the Tampa Times in Florida and The Louisville Times. He was an editor at The Kansas City Times before moving to The Cincinnati Post in...

MARCH 27, 2004 Taiwan crisis dashes appeal of democracy in ChinaBy LAI HONGYI FOR THE STRAITS TIMES THE legitimacy and appeal of Taiwan's democracy have been critically undermined. At the very moment that the Central Election Commission announced that Taiwan's incumbent President Chen Shui-bian had won re-election by a razor-thin margin of 0.22 per cent over Pan-Blue challenger Lien Chan, his trustworthiness and integrity became immediately in doubt at home and abroad. At home, opposition Pan-Blue supporters question his role in the shooting incident that helped him win tens of thousands of sympathy votes, and they cast doubt on...

STAFF WRITER Saturday, Mar 20, 2004,Page 1 Chen wins, Lien demands recount Incumbent President Chen Shui-bian and running mate Annette Lu have won the election by 29,518 votes. Central Election Commission Chairman Huang Shih-cheng made a formal announcement of the results at 9:20 pm (GMT+8) (8:20 AM EST). The Chen-Lu ticket won a total of 6,471,970 votes while the opposition ticket, featuring Lien Chan of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP), won 6,442,452 votes, Huang said. The turnout for the presidential election was 80.28 percent. Responding to the opposition demand for invalidation of...

Taiwan Opposition to Concede in Election-Sources 21 minutes ago TAIPEI (Reuters) - Former vice president Lien Chan, standard bearer of the opposition Nationalist Party, is to concede defeat in the tightly run Taiwan presidential election Saturday, two senior campaign sources said. "Based on our own data, it's over, we have lost," said one senior campaign source. That win for President Chen Shui-bian was set to make a statement shortly, one official said. At Chen's headquarters, firecrackers erupted in a storm of celebration. The result is likely to anger China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must be reunited by...

More than a million people have linked hands the length of Taiwan in a demonstration against China. The 500km human chain, organised by supporters of President Chen Shui-bian, was in protest at China's deployment of missiles against Taiwan. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which should be reunited with the mainland - by force if necessary. Analysts say the protest, three weeks before a presidential poll, will boost support for Mr Chen's re-election. His sole challenger, Lien Chan, has organised rival events - including a marathon and concerts - to try to wrest back some of the media attention....