The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 20, 1999, Page 5, Image 5
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China's Communist party marks 50 years of power
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by Elaine Kurtenbach
Associated Press
Beijing — China’s ruling Communist Party is cel
ebrating 50 years in power with a pre-anniversary
housecleaning reminiscent of political purges of the
past.
The grand celebrations marking the Oct. 1,1949,
founding of modern China trumpet the party’s
progress in transforming an impoverished, semi-feu
dal society into a modem state. But the “three stress
es” political campaign is a relic of the Maoist era.
Looking ahead to the party Central Commit
tee’s annual policy-setting plenum that convenes
Sunday, millions of senior bureaucrats and party of
ficials in state-run factories, banks and other insti
tutions spent weeks this summer in political study
and criticism sessions.
“In a puige like this, you see a reliance on ex
tremely anachronistic methods,” said Geremie Barme,
a China expert at the Australian National Universi
ty
He said such campaigns, which occur roughly
every two years, are “a normal part of the political
biorhythm of China.”
The aims are to ensure loyalty among the par
ty’s 61 million members and to root out the cor
ruption that permeates virtually every aspect of life
in China.
“Party leaders at all levels should improve their
study of Marxism, Leninism, Mao Tse-tung thought
and particularly Deng Xiaoping theory so as to sharp
en their political consciousness,” Vice President Hu
Jintao, a member of the party’s powerful Politburo,
told students recently at the Party School, a uni
versity devoted to instilling those beliefs.
By invoking the revolutionary icons, including
the late leader Deng Xiaoping, who launched the
current era of economic and social reforms, the com
munist leadership seeks to reinforce its claim to pow
er. Its need to do so reflects the party’s slipping grasp
on the hearts of a public no longer in thrall to its
leaders and thoroughly alienated by corruption.
“The party has lost its ideological appeal and its
spiritual hold over the people. But as an organiza
tion, it has to keep going, to pretend that it works,
to try anything to keep going rather than surrender,”
said Dali L. Yang, a China specialist at the Univer
sity of Chicago.
The discovery this spring that many party mem
bers belonged to the since-banned Falun Gong med
itation movement despite the communists’ atheist
creed was further evidence of its waning influ
ence.
The most intractable and perhaps most urgent
goal of the latest campaign — stressing theoretical
study, political awareness and good conduct — is to
combat corruption that appears as rampant as ever.
Auditors found that $14.2 billion in government
money was misused in the first half of the year, the
equivalent of one-fifth of total central government
revenue last year.
One glaring example among many: The Min
istry of Water Resources, in charge of preventing
floods, illegally collected money to build luxury of
fice buildings and also embezzled funds for other us
es, official reports said. Annual summer floods last
year killed 4,150 people. Andrew Nathan, a politi
cal science professor at Columbia University in New
York, said China is likely to remain stuck in its cy
cle of periodic purges until political reforms estab
lish balances of power, a free media and an inde
pendent legal system.
Three decades ago, politics dominated practi
cally every aspect of daily life. But the often violent
campaigns of the past — particularly the anti-right
ist crusade of the late 1950s and the 1966-1976 Cul
tural Revolution — made leaders wary of hard-to
control mass movements.
Today’s campaigns have little impact outside bu
reaucratic circles. Even within the party, while some
senior officials have lost their posts or been sen
tenced to prison, most have been assigned to new
jobs. Barme, the Australian scholar, said purge pol
itics do serve a purpose. They offer opportunities
for bonding — and backstabbing — and are practi
cally the only method the party has for assessing
its members, he said.
“This is the way the party conducts its business,
and it does result in a response. People know to shut
up, to pull their heads in, to be careful, to play it
safe,” he said.
Security lapses seen at weapons labs
’ by H. Josef Herbert
Associated Press
Washmgion—Despite finding marked improvements in se
curity at the government’s three nuclear weapons labs, inves
tigators still were able to penetrate some sensitive areas of the
labs’ computer systems, according to a top-level Enetgy De
partment review. However, a team of security experts was un
able to penetrate the top-secret computer network used for
nuclear weapon design during the intense security review con
ducted over the summer. But one official said at two of the labs
— Sandia and Lawrence Livermore— the security specialists
were able obtain from the outside “sensitive,” though not se
cret, information on unclassified computer systems “without
a whole lot of difficulty.”
At Los Alamos, which has been the focus of a three-year
investigation into alleged Chinese espionage, such penetrations
were successful only from within the lab compound, said the
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The report by the Eneigy Department’s Office of Inde
pendent Oversight says the Los Alamos National Laboratory
in New Mexico overall showed significant improvements in
its security and was given a “satisfactory” rating.
. The Sandia National Laboratory near Albuquerque, N.M.,
and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California
both were given a “marginal” rating. Officials said security im
provements already under way make it likely the two labs' rat
ings will be raised to satisfactory by year’s end. Eneigy Sec
retary Bill Richardson said that while more work is needed,
the findings of the report, to be formally released today, showed
major improvement and demonstrated that his security reforms
were working. “It’s good to get a decent report card on secu
rity measures,” Richardson said when questioned about the
forthcoming report in a recent telephone interview. “Securi
ty at our labs is good and getting better. The labs deserve cred
it for their improvements rather than continued criticism.”
Separately, Sandy Beiger. the president’s national security
adviser, said Sunday that attempts to beef up security, begin
ning in 1997, were hampered by “bureaucratic resistance” and
“an institutional unwillingness” by the research labs to adopt
more rigorous security controls. Beiger, appearing on NBC’s
"Meet the Press,” defended administration responses to alle
gation of Chinese espionage at the labs about which he got a
detailed briefing in mid-1997.
President Clinton directed new security measures in
February 1998, but it wasn’t until earlier tliis year that tough,
new measures were put in place by Richardson.
The independent review by a team of investigators Richard
son calls “junkyard dogs” was intended to test those new se
curity measures, including computer safeguards and improved
handling of classified material. Over the past six months, new
procedures have been put in place to guard against moving da
ta out of the top-secret classified system, and to better safe
guard the unclassified system against outside access, officials
said For example, the unclassified network has been com
partmentalized separating “sensitive" from other information,
and electronic mail is being randomly monitored.
Nevertheless, said one official familiar with the review, in
vestigators were able to get into the sensitive areas of the un
classified system at all three labs during their reviews this sum
mer. He said changes were made at each of the labs to plug the
gaps.
•»
Dole talks health care
in New Hampshire
by Kathy Webster
Associated Press
Concord, N.H. — Elizabeth Dole
talked health care and heard compli
ments Saturday as she kicked off a walk
in support of the American Heart As
sociation.
Tie former president of the Amer
ican Red Cross, Dole also pointed
out that her campaign, like the Amer
ican Heart Association and Red Cross,
relies heavily on volunteers.
“I regard volunteers as so very spe
cial and near and dear to my heart,”
she said. “I hope all of you will join
my race and help make history.”
More than a dozen of Dole’s New
Hampshire campaign volunteers
took part and donated money that will
benefit heart disease and stroke re
search in the state.
. Jessica Wright, a 12-year-old vol
unteer at the heart walk, said she likes
Dole because “she realizes what the
problems are and she reacts to them
very nicely, like stroke and women’s
health.”
And because “it would be nice to
have a woman in the office,,” she said.
Dole campaign volunteer Mary
Littlefield, a staunch Republican, would
be tempted to vote for a Democrat if
the Democrats nominated a woman.
“I think it’s time for a woman in
the White House,” Littlefield said.
“This is the year 2000 — look at all
the other countries who’ve had women
in office, and they’ve all done well.”
Girl Sica, a Republican and retired
U.S. Army colonel, said gender has
nothing to do with how he will vote.
When Dole was secretary of La
bor, he remembers thinking, “Boy, she
would be a great president!”
Still, now that Dole is actually run
ning, Sica is undecided about whom to
support. At the moment, he is leaning
toward another Republican, publisher
Steve Forbes.
Memorial held for four church shooting victims
by Stefani Kopenec
Associated Press
Fort Worth, Texas — Friends and strangers both
k hurting and hopeful turned to Scripture on a Saturday
“of phenomenal sadness and mourning” to remember
victims cut down in the most sacred of places — a
house of worship.
The funerals for four of the victims were the first
held as a result of Wednesday night’s massacre at Wedg
wood Baptist Church. Gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook
killed seven people before committing suicide.
Those mourned were a Sunday school teacher
studying to be a youth minister, a seminary student
with a bright smile, a favorite church soloist who taught
inner-city youth and a high school student who dreamed
of owning a film and sound production company.
Three of the services were at Southwestern Bap
tist Theological Seminary, while the funeral for the
high school student was held at a Methodist church.
More than 1,000 people packed the seminary au
J ilitorium for the funeral of Shawn Brown, the 23-year
old Sunday school teacher.
Pastor A1 Meredith told those grieving to breathe
deeply and focus on their faith “to get your mind off
the pain, and just hang in there.”
“Don’t expend too much enemy trying to under
stand what happened ... the other night,” said
Meredith, who called the funerals “a day of phe
nomenal sadness and mourning.”
“This is not Shawn Brown,” the pastor said, point
ing to Brown’s cherry-stained wooden casket. “He’s
with the Lord today.”
Brown was studying at the seminary for his mas
ter’s degree and hoped to become a youth minister.
He was eulogized as fun-loving and eager to learn,
studying guitar and sign language.
In the rotunda just outside the auditorium, Brown’s
college baseball letter jacket was draped over the arms
of a chair. His glove and ball rested in the seat and his
empty spikes beneath. Family photos from happier
days surrounded the display.
Dan Biaz, who was best man at Brown’s wedding
two years ago, recalled Iris friend’s “almost-mischievious,
rapid fire giggle.”
“He was always ready to laugh and make you laugh,”
Biaz said.
Brown’s widow, Kathy Jo, said her husband’s goal
was to immerse himself in his Baptist faith.
“Shawn ran the race victoriously, all the way to
God’s arms,” she said.
Susan “Kim” Jones, 23, worked with youth at Wedg
wood. She lived on campus at the seminary, where she
just recently began classes after graduating front Texas
Cliristian University. Friends said she loved mission
ary work and had a ready smile and a personality that
lit up a room.
Meredith said Ms. Jones led her sorority in Bible
study the night before she was shot.
“We are not angry, and we have peace that God
is in control,” said Ms. Jones’ mother, Stephanie Jones.
“She was a joy and a delight.”
Toward the end of the service at the seminary, the
grieving mother stood and urged those gathered to “put
a smile on our faces.”
“Because if you haven’t seen her smile, then you’ve
missed something,” she said. Ms. Jones’ white casket
was covered with messages scrawled by family and
friends in black marker. One read: “Let your light so
shine,” and was signed, “Dad.”
A bagpipe led the funeral procession for Sydney
R. Browning, a 1991 seminary graduate and the chil
dren’s choir director at Wedgwood. Brett Cooper, a
friend of Ms. Browning’s, recalled her “unique Syd
ney wisdom” for the standing-room-only crowd.
“As long as you thought she was funny, she was
OK with any other opinion” of her, he said.
Cooper asked friends and family to think of “the
joy, the laughter so much that she brought into our
lives that made them immeasurably richer.”
The 36-year-old taught at Success High School, a
night school on the Trimble Tech High School cam
pus, where many of her students were dropouts. She
was shot while sitting on a couch in the foyer with a
friend. She also sang in the choir and was a favored
soloist.
Justin Ray, 17, whose service took place at a
Methodist church, is said to have blossomed after trans
ferring to the Cassata Learning Center, an alternative
school with a self-paced environment.
“We are not angry, and we have
peace that God is in control."
Stephanie Jones
victim’s mother
Russia targets Chechnya with air, artillery strikes
by Nabi Abdulayev
Associated Press
Makhachkala, Russia—Russian forces
if lunched overnight air and artillery strikes
against suspected guerrilla bases in the
breakaway republic of Chechnya in
southern Russia, military officials said
today.
The strikes were ordered to prevent
a possible raid of Islamic militants from
Chechnya into the neighboring repub
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lie of Dagestan, the ITAR-Tass news
agency said, quoting a military spokesman
at the regional federal force headquar
ters. Russian aircraft will have flown up
to 100 sorties by the day’s end, the
spokesman said.
The suspected bases were also shelled
by Russian artillery from Dagestan, Russ
ian television reported.
Federal forces were gathering in the
Dagestani towns of Kizylar, Khasavyurt
i
and Babayurt after intelligence reports
indicated that guerrilla groups were
preparing to attack Russian bases in
Dagestan, the spokesman said.
Islamic militants have twice crossed
the Chechen border and seized vil
lages in Dagestan since the beginning of
August, clashing with Russian forces.
Chechen separatists drove out Russ
ian troops in the 1994-96 war, winning
de facto independence for the republic.
Islamic militants from Chechnya now
want to declare an independent Islamic
state in Dagestan and other Caucasus
Mountains regions.
Before the upper house of parlia
ment, the Federation Council, Putin said
lawmakers had urged him “to act harsh
ly and rapidly” to stabilize the situation
in the Caucasus Mountains region.
“This is exactly what we are going
Russia see page e
Drought
affects
foliage
Staff Reports
Associated Press
Highlands, N.C.—A midsummer dry
spell that created water shortages and
hurt crops has at least one silver lining
— it should lead to spectacular fall col
ors in western North Carolina.
“Midsummer drought should lead
to a brilliant fall color season in the cen
tral Piedmont and good color in the
mountains," said professor Dan Pittillo,
a Western Carolina University biolo
gist and Appalachian plant ecology.
“Moisture stress has historically been
associated with good fall color, and the
year will be at least average over the en
tire state and above average in the more
drought-stricken regions.”
1 hat s good news tor rail tourism.
“We hope it is, we always hope it
is,” said Carol Wilkes, co-owner of High
land Hiker, in Highlands. The store of
fers wildflower walks and other hikes in
the western part of the state. “We just
think every season is wonderful,” she
said.Leaf forecasters say the Piedmont
might be prettier than the mountains this
year, because the middle part of the state
had even less rain than in western areas.
“The basic principle at work here is
stress on trees,” Pittillo said. “A short
age of water hinders the normal
growth pattern, and the trees become
stressed.
“That stress causes a slowing of the
cellular processes, including the for
mation of green chlorophyll that nor
mally masks the other pigments present
in the leaf. We typically see the bright
est fall color in years when the grow
ing season has been dry,” he said.
World Briefs
■ U.S. military holds
Y2K drills in Japan
Tokyo (AP) — U.S. jets roared over
Japanese beaches and amphibious assault
vehicles stormed ashore Friday as the
Navy and Marines tested their readiness
for the so-called Y2K computer glitch.
In the drills, which will continue un
til Saturday, the forces will advance the
dates inside computers running ships, air
planes and other equipment, the U.S. Sev
enth Fleet said.
As the reset clocks roll over from
Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, Marines will be be
sieging beaches in Okinawa, the release
said. More than 50,000 U.S. troops are
stationed in Japan. About two-thirds are
concentrated in Okinawa, about 1,000
miles southwest of Tokyo.
The exercise will also involve de
stroyers, helicopter carriers and food and
oil supply vessels, said Lt. Jeff Davis fleet
spokesman. More than 5,000 people will
participate.
There is widespread concern around
the world that computers will grind to a
halt at midnight, New Year’s Eve, because
of a programming bug that might confuse
the year 2000 with 1900.
The Navy hopes that the test will find
any weak links in systems that coordi
nate everything from automatic bank
teller machines aboard ships to comput
ers that help navigate at sea, Davis said.
Though some of the ships carry
missiles, the drills won’t involve hve fire,
Davis said. He said nuclear weapons will
not be involved.
Less than 5 percent of the Navy’s
equipment is sensitive to the Y2K bug,
he added.
■ NASA auctions
name tag for $310 K
New York (AP) — A NASA name tag
coated with lunar dust that was worn by
an astronaut who walked on the moon
sold at auction for $310,500.
The 6-by-12-inch cloth keepsake was
cut from an insulated jacket worn by an
astronaut, the late James Irwin, during
the 1971 flight of Apollo 15. The lunar
dust, which created a dark gray tint around
the raised edges of the tag, became em
bedded into the tag during three separate
moon walks Irwin took.
The jacket and other equipment were
left on the moon to lighten the load on
the spacecraft’s return trip home, but Ir
win cut out and kept his tag, which also
bears a NASA emblem, before discard
ing the jacket.
The item, which was sold Saturday
by Christie’s auction house on behalf of
Irwin’s estate, sold for three times its pre
sale estimate and was the highest-sell
ing lot in a sale of nearly 300 space-re
lated items.
A spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong
during training brought the second-high
est price of the sale — $178,500, more
than twice its presale estimate.
The suit bears a NASA emblem, has
Armstrong’s name on an interior label
and has several layers designed to protect
die body both from temperature extremes
and punctures.
Any item that was flown into space
and all spacesuits must first be offered to
the Smithsonian before they can be sold
on the open market, which contributes
to their rarity and value.
■ Human bones
discovered in Mexican
city
Mexico City (AP) — Archaeologists
have discovered what they believe to
be an ancient religious offering of human
and animal bones in a pyramid in the pre
Columbian city of Teotihuacan, Mexi
co’s government news agency reported
Saturday.
The artifacts were discovered in a pit
filled with loose stones inside the Pyra
mid of the Moon, Notimex said.
Archaeologists have been digging a
tunnel to the center of the pyramid since
last year. Last October, the team, led by
Arizona State University archaeologist
Saburo Sugiyama, found a skeleton of a
man who died about 1,800 years ago. He
was buried among rich offerings of green
stone figurines, obsidian knives, eagles
and jaguars.
The latest discovery, made about two
weeks ago and announced Saturday, con
sisted of four human bones, the skeletal
remains of cats and birds, snails, dozens
of pieces of jade, and arrowheads of dark
stone, Notimex said.
Teotihuacan, in the valley of the same
name 30 miles north of Mexico City, used
to be a thriving city and ceremonial cen
ter that predated the Aztecs by several
centuries.