China frowned on Taiwan's efforts to invite former Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to visit the island, and urged
Japan yesterday to be "on high alert" to such an invitation.
Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian on Wednesday formally invited
Koizumi to visit the island, an action China views as separatist
activity.
"We oppose Taiwan authorities' activities of separating the
motherland on the international stage in any name or with any
excuses," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news
briefing.
"We hope the Japanese side can be on high alert to this," Qin
warned, while urging Japan to handle the question of Taiwan
properly under the one-China principle.
Despite relinquishing the Prime Minister's mantle to Shinzo Abe
on Tuesday, Koizumi remains a member of the Japanese
parliament.
Discussing the prospects of a summit between China and Japan,
Qin said that the Chinese government attaches importance to
relations with Japan and is willing to make joint efforts with
Japan to improve and push Sino-Japanese relations.
"As for a summit meeting between the two leaders, our stance has
been consistent and clear," Qin said, but didn't elaborate.
Abe and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun held a 15-minute
phone conversation yesterday, agreeing to meet at an early date to
improve strained ties.
China and South Korea had shunned summits with Abe's
predecessor, Koizumi, over his pilgrimages to the Yasukuni Shrine,
which honors Japan's class-A WWII war criminals along with others.
Thus, a South Korea-Japan summit could be a prelude to an official
meeting between Chinese and Japanese leaders.
Qin yesterday criticized Japan's new defense chief Fumio Kyuma
for his remarks about the so-called "China threat."
Kyuma was quoted on Wednesday, one day after being named to the
post in Abe's cabinet, as saying that China's increasing military
spending posed a threat to Japan.
"China sticks to the road of peaceful development. China's
development is not a threat to any other country," Qin said.
Turning to the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, Qin said Vice
Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's chief representative on the
six-party talks, would visit Seoul from Friday to Sunday.
"He will exchange views with the South Korean side on promoting
the resumption of the six-party talks and other issues of mutual
concern," Qin said.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry also confirmed the visit,
adding that Wu would also discuss a planned summit meeting between
the leaders of the two countries in October. It said Wu would meet
South Korea's foreign minister and chief envoy to the six-party
talks.
Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that his country has informed North
Korea of a South Korea-US joint approach aimed at jump-starting the
stalled talks on the North's nuclear weapons program, but said that
Pyongyang hasn't yet given a response.
Qin also said China would welcome a visit by US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice at an appropriate time.
"We would welcome Rice's visit at an appropriate time to discuss
Sino-US relations and issues of common concern," he said.
Rice previously visited China in her capacity as secretary of
state in March and July last year.
In another development, Qin refuted a foreign media report that
organs of executed prisoners are traded in China, saying the use of
organs is "very cautious."
"The sale of organs is prohibited. Donated organs must have the
consent of the donor in written form," he said, adding that the use
of organs must also be approved by the provincial health department
and the local provincial high court.
Hospitals carrying out organ transplants must be qualified to do
transplant surgery and should be approved by the provincial health
department, he added.
China has always abided by principles of the World Health
Organization on human organ transplants, and health departments
deal with those operations in strict accordance with the law, Qin
said.
He said China had implemented regulations on administration of
human organ transplants on July 1, requesting hospitals to ensure
quality and safety of such medical treatment. And any activity that
violated relevant regulation would be punished according to
law.
Moving on to Iraq, Qin said China aims to resume and promote oil
cooperation with the Middle Eastern country based on equal and
mutual benefit.
"Chinese companies had contracts on some projects like oil
exploration and construction before the war in Iraq," Qin said in
response to a question on whether Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein
Shahristani was visiting China, before adding that no information
was available on the Iraqi minister's China visit.
"Current Sino-Iraqi cooperation simply focuses on oil trade and
training programs due to the US-led war in Iraq that broke out in
March 2003," he said.
According to Hussein Shahristani, the country's daily oil
production had reached 2.5 million barrels, returning to the level
prior to the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.
"China is willing to resume and promote oil cooperation with
Iraq based on equally mutual benefits," Qin said, adding that
China's interests and rights should be safeguarded and protected in
Iraq.
China, the world's second largest energy consumer and producer,
imported 136 million tons of petroleum last year, accounting for 6
percent of the total world trade volume of crude oil that year.
As for the UN peacekeeping efforts in Sudan's Darfur region, Qin
said that the deployment of UN peacekeepers there should require
the permission of the Sudanese government.
"The issue should be fully discussed and especially approved by
the Sudanese government so that the peacekeeping actions can show
real achievements," he noted.
The Chinese government's consistent stance was that peacekeeping
actions should first have the permission of the country concerned,
not only on the issue of Darfur, but in other actions in which
China has participated, Qin said.
"China has always been concerned about the situation in Darfur
and done everything it could to help," Qin said, adding that China
has provided humanitarian aid to Sudan and assistance to the
peacekeeping troops of the African Union (AU) in the region.
Last month, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that
would allow the UN to assume control over the peacekeeping mission
from the AU, whose mandate is to expire on September 30.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2006)