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The findings are clear: A deadly virus that could kill untold numbers of people worldwide escaped from a Chinese research lab. Chinese health officials have confirmed four suspected cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), including one death, which appear to have been caused by a safety breach at a laboratory... It's the first SARS death reported since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the initial SARS outbreak more than nearly a year ago. That's from BioSpace, 2004. The words may have changed over the past 16 years, but the song remains the same. There were also reports that...

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Jiang Zemin, chairman of China's State Central Military Commission (CMC), has requested for resignation from his remaining post as chairman of the commission, according to a letter read at a presidium meeting of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, here Friday.

...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...

CMC Chairman Jiang's reunification speech anniversary marked A workshop was held at the Great Hall of the People, in central Beijing, Monday, to mark the ninth anniversary of an important speech on the reunification of China by then President Jiang Zemin, who is now chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Present at the gathering were Jiang Qinglin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), along with a number of other senior officials including...

<p>The executives at Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. know a thing or two about guanxi, the web of connections that fuel so much of business in China. The Shanghai-based company was co-founded by Jiang Mianheng, the son of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin. The other co-founder is Taiwan-born Winston Wong, whose father Y.C. Wang runs petrochemical maker Formosa Plastics and is probably the island's most powerful businessman. That's not to say the two don't have pretty solid credentials: Wong founded Nanya Technology Corp. in Taiwan, while Jiang has a PhD in physics from Drexel University in Philadelphia and is vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Science. But as they set out to raise the billions of dollars needed to start a semiconductor company, their true-blue bloodlines didn't hurt.</p>

Friday, February 28, 2003Cuba's leader receives pledge of economic aidNAILENE CHOU WIEST in BeijingSignalling socialist solidarity, China spread out the welcome mat for Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro yesterday, pledging economic aid to the Caribbean nation in a time of heightened international tension. Greeted by President Jiang Zemin, Dr Castro said Cuba attached great importance to its relations with China. Dr Castro has looked to China's economic transformation as a model in reforming the struggling Cuban economy. During his last visit to China in 1995, he toured Shenzhen accompanied by Mr Jiang. "[Former paramount leader] Deng Xiaoping once said the...

<p>HONG KONG -- Communists love slogans, so much so that one can chart the course of the People's Republic of China by its leaders' favorites: Mao Tse-tung told his followers "Unity Is Strength"; Deng Xiaoping proclaimed "To Get Rich Is Glorious." At the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party, which ended last Friday, outgoing General Secretary Jiang Zemin changed the party charter to include what he calls "The Three Represents." While this may sound like a clunky, if not empty, slogan, it may one day be recognized as a watershed reform with significant unintended consequences.</p>

China's Jiang Opens Communist Party to Capitalists Nov. 7 — By Jeremy Page BEIJING (Reuters) - President Jiang Zemin called on China's Communist Party to open its doors to the new capitalist rich on Friday at the opening of a watershed congress expected to usher in a new generation of leaders. But Jiang, speaking before a backdrop of a giant hammer and sickle, also stressed the China would not follow Western-style multi-party democracy or abandon its traditional support base of workers and peasants. Jiang told the 2,114 delegates in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People the theme of the...

The closest political associate of Jiang Zemin, who is expected to end his 13-year tenure as China's Communist party chief this week, has won a place on the politburo's standing committee, according to official sources. The ascent of Zeng Qinghong is of crucial importance in securing Mr Jiang's legacy and may help ensure continuity in key areas such as foreign policy, Beijing's attitude toward Taiwan and issues such as structural reform to the political system, one insider said. Several official sources said Mr Zeng's influence within the new politburo could rival that of Hu Jintao, the vice-president who is expected...

A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the hammer and sickle logo of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on November 4. REUTERS/Wilson Chu Suo Xincai pauses for a picture before a lush hill of plants topped with towering tropical palm trees brought to Beijing's Tiananmen Square despite near freezing temperatures. Plain-clothes police brave the cold and shuffle to and fro, attempting to blend in with tourists while uniformed colleagues check identity papers of people entering the square. Beijing, with Tiananmen at its heart, has whipped into a clean-up frenzy ahead of a key Communist Party congress due to...

Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President George W Bush have begun what will probably be their last bilateral talks before the Chinese leader hands over power later this year. The two presidents are likely to address a number of international issues during their 90-minute talks, which are taking place at Mr Bush's ranch in Texas. Possible conflict in Iraq and North Korea's nuclear development are top of the agenda. Mr Jiang and his wife, Wang Yeping, kept Mr Bush waiting by arriving 30 minutes late at the ranch. Following the meeting, the two men will join their wives for...

Jiang backs Bush on terrorism, nukesBy Jim ForsythFrom the National DeskPublished 10/24/2002 3:37 PMView printer-friendly version COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- On the eve of his meeting with President George W. Bush, China's President Jiang Zemin Thursday pledged support on two issues key to the U.S. administration: terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea.Reading his speech in English but answering questions from the audience in Chinese, Jiang said terrorism and weapons of mass destruction "cause problems for peace and development worldwide."China is one of seven countries confirmed to have nuclear weapons."China will continue to step...

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Chinese President Jiang Zemin walked through a life-sized model of a space shuttle and dined with Houston's business and political elite during a Wednesday visit choreographed to avoid the protesters who had sought to line his path. The day culminated with a $500-a-plate dinner for 800 sponsored by the Greater Houston Partnership and the Asia Society, where Jiang gave a 10-minute speech praising Houston's two-decade business links with China. "History tells us that friendly and cooperative relations between China and the United States will not only generate great benefits to the two peoples, but also contribute...

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Local & State Oct. 23, 2002, 12:37PM Another hotel tosses out Falun Gong reservations Inter-Continental denies pressure from China By DALE LEZON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Two Galleria-area hotels have canceled reservations of Falun Gong practitioners in Houston to demonstrate against Chinese President Jiang Zemin when he visits here this week. "I don't understand what the problem is," said Lisa Nappi, a Falun Gong practitioner from Virginia. "This is America. This is a free land." Practitioners from around the world have come to Houston to peacefully protest what they consider Jiang's attempt to eliminate their...

HONGKONG - World attention is likely to focus this week on what one Chinese newspaper has described as 'the most significant hour in Sino-US summitry'. According to Global Times, a paper affiliated to the authoritative People's Daily, that will be the one hour when Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his American counterpart George W. Bush will be alone with one interpreter each. They will talk in complete privacy on board a boat on a lake in the US leader's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where Mr Jiang is scheduled to arrive on Thursday. If history is any guide, the two leaders,...

Are Hong Kong's liberties gradually being taken away? THROW a frog into boiling water and it jumps out; gently bring it to the boil, and the frog, never noticing the incremental increases in heat, allows itself to be cooked. Is Hong Kong a frog in a pot in Beijing's kitchen? If so, then on September 24th the temperature rose another notch. On that day, Hong Kong's government formally began—by circulating a consultation paper—the process of enacting a controversial set of laws against subversion, sedition, treason and other ills, as required by Article 23 of the Basic Law, the territory's constitution....

Jiang Must Step Down AUGUST 30, 2002 22:03 by Young-Ee Lee (yes202@donga.com) Some leftist faction within the Chinese Communist Party filed a formal request to the party calling for resignation of President Jiang Zemin last month, Japanese daily Yomiuri reported on August 29 citing sources close to Beijing. An official letter titled “abolition of permanent party membership in the 16th Party Congress,” was delivered to the communist party’s central committee members including President Jiang on July 1, signed as “in behalf of senior members, officials and professors”. The letter said, “The 16th National Congress will mark a generational shift in...

Bush-Jiang Meeting Set for Oct. 25 Meeting Between President Bush, Chinese President Jiang Zemin Set for Oct. 25 at Crawford Ranch KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine Aug. 2 — It's a date: President Bush is hosting Chinese President Jiang Zemin at his Texas ranch on Oct. 25 for wide-ranging talks on the anti-terror war, weapons proliferation and other issues. "This visit is an opportunity for the president to work with the Chinese leader on a number of areas of mutual concern and to make progress in resolving outstanding differences," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Friday in a statement. A late-October summit between...

It's reported all over the Chinese media that Jiang Zemin will be making a house call at President Bush's Crawford Texas ranch in October. Jiang, the General Secretary of China's Communist party who is referred to as the "President" of China was known to be planning a US visit in October to coincide with the APEC meeting in Mexico. But it was never known, and was a matter of some speculation, whether he would get the peronsal invite to the President's ranch. The White House hadn't said anything about it and still hasn't. Who spilled the beans is a State...

An orchestrated campaign to have China's president keep most of his influential posts is being played out in the media, and it's not yet clear if he can succeed By Hsia Wen-szu ®L¤å«ä Jiang Zemin (¦¿¿A¥Á) is needed for political stability," read the cover headline of the March issue of Hong Kong's leftist magazine The Mirror (Ãè³ø). The article said, "That Jiang will serve another term as the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) secretary-general ... is a consensus among Chinese people and within the party," and "Jiang's taking the nation's helm is good news for the Chinese people." This is the...