The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 07, 2001, Page 5, Image 5
“Che Gamecock
China warns U.S. to deny
Taiwan military weaponry
by John Leicester
Associated Press
BEIJING —After announcing one of
its laigest increases in military spending
in 12 years, China sought Tuesday to deny
weaponry to Taiwan, warning Washington
tliat providing high-tech amts to the island
would be dangerous and harm U.S.-China
ties.
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said
selling upgraded Patriot missile batteries
and warships with state-of-the-art radars
would send “a very wrong signal” to
Taiwan’s government, inflame tensions
and encourage Taiwanese who want to
remain separate from China.
“It would only feed their arrogance,”
^ Tang said at a news conference on the
sidelines of the Chinese legislature's annual
meeting. “The U.S. side should recognize
the serious dangers involved and rein in
its wild horse at the brink of the
precipice.”
Tang’s combative tone appeared aimed
at dissuading the Bush administration
from stepping up support for Taiwan,
an island democracy China views as part
of its territory. Beijing has threatened
to attack if Taiwan indefinitely refuses to
peacefully unify with China.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman
Rear Adm. Craig Quigley declined to say
whether the 17.7 percent defense
spending increase announced by China
exceeded U.S. expectations. But he
said it was well known that China is
modernizing its military.
As for U.S. intentions to sell additional
advanced weaponry to Taiwan, Quigley
said, “There is an ongoing debate, both
within the government of the United
States and with the Taiwan authorities,
as to what are the defensive systems that
need to be made available to the Taiwanese
for their legitimate defensive needs.”
Tang’s warnings came after China’s
finance minister told legislators that the
government would boost military spending
by 17.7 percent this year, the 12th straight
year of double-digit increases for the
People’s Liberation Army. It was the
third-highest increase since 1990,
surpassed only by increases of 21 percent
in 1995 and 18 percent in 1994.
Tang said the U.S.-proposed $310
billion defense budget dwarfed Beijing’s
$17.07 billion budget.
“Although you could draw the
conclusion .from a couple of figures that
China’s defense spending has increased
significantly, the defense budget is the
smallest among major nations,” Tang said
China’s actual defense spending is
thought to be up to five times the official
budget. China is believed to be spending
more than $1 billion a year on foreign
weaponry, and has bought Russian
destroyers that could threaten a U.S. Navy
attempt to aid Taiwan in the event of
Chinese attack.
Taiwan is seeking decommissioned
Kidd-class destroyers from the United
States. It’s also interested in Arleigh
Burke-class destroyers, equipped with
the formidable Aegis radar system which
tracks more than 200 targets.
Washington, which is obliged by U.S.
law to sell Taiwan sufficient weapons
to defend itself, is expected to announce
a decision by next month.
i-:
Census
from page 4
money given each year to states.
Democrats and civil rights groups
wanted an adjustment using statistical
sampling to protect against traditional
•> undercounts of minorities, the poor and
children.
Republicans generally argued
adjustment could inject more errors into
a 2000 census already proven to be more
nearly accurate than the 1990 count. They
also contend the Constitution calls only
for an “actual enumeration.”
Members of both parties have said
district lines redrawn with adjusted data
could add more Democratic-leaning
minorities to voter rolls and could threaten
the GOP’s narrow House majority.
“We have achieved a quality count,”
Evans said at a news conference.
Evans praised the people the Census
Bureau hired to do the head count, saying
“their toil and their sweat set a very high
standard on the issue of whether to
statistically adjust. To make that decision,
we required a standard that was open and
transparent and reasonable and fair. We
consulted with experts from across the
scientific spectrum.”
Evans said he weighed all factors and
concluded that the recommendation of
the Census Bureau professionals “was
correct and prudent. Thus, we will send
unadjusted data for the purpose and only
the purpose of redistricting.”
f
Cheney released from hospital
after surgery to repair artery
BY Christopher Newton
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Vice President
Dick Cheney was released from the
hospital Tuesday, a day after
undergoing a surgical procedure to
repair a damaged
artery.
The vice
president
walked out of
George
Washington
University
Hospital, shook
hands with his
doctors and was Cheney
driven away.
“Good,” he said in response to a
reporter’s shouted question about
how he felt.
Cheney was up about 7 a.fli. and
was “antsy” to leave, said senior aide
Mary Matalin. Three sets of cardiac
enzyme tests showed no damage to
Cheney’s heart muscle, and “multiple
. i
EKGs have been unchanged, Matalin
said.
Speaking to reporters, President Bush
said he last talked with the vice president
Monday night, and Cheney told him he
felt great. Asked whether Cheney should
cut back on his duties, the president said
no because “he is needed. This country
needs his wisdom and judgment.”
Bush said there’s no question that
Cheney is fit enough to continue serving
as vice president. “Thanks for asking. I
don’t think that he needs to cut back on
his work,” Bush said in a brief question
and-answer session.
He said Cheney is the kind of person
who “ listens to his body ’ ’ and takes care
of himself when he isn’t feeling 100
percent.
Cheney will rest at home and likely
return to work later this week, said White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
“No restrictions have been placed
on his work,” Fleischer said. He said
President Bush hadn’t spoken with
Cheney about his work schedule, but the
president “expects him to follow his
doctor’s orders.”
' The procedure Cheney underwent
Monday was prompted by “a common
complication” of his prior heart procedure,
not a progression of heart disease, Matalin
said.
Cheney should be able to continue
in his job unimpeded by his latest heart
problems, doctors said, shrugging off any '
suggestion that he should curtail travel
or his intense workload.
fje was given some bad news after
he had an angioplasty to unclog a coronary
artery Monday. Even if he sticks to his
no-beef diet and rigorous workout
regimen, there’s a fair chance he’ll be
back in the hospital feeing the same trouble
soon, his physicians said.
“Well, it’s possible for the narrowing
to come back, and I think I quoted around
40 percent,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner,
who performed the surgery at George
Washington University Hospital. “There
are studies that may show, you know, a
little bit higher than that. If the narrowing
is going to come back, usually it comes
■ back within the first six months.”
Cheney, who has had four heart
attacks, underwent the angioplasty
after he experienced a series of subtle
pains in his chest. Doctors said their best
evidence indicated that Cheney, 60, hadn’t
suffered another heart attack.
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