Jiang Zemin's regional tour goes to communist-soulmate Cuba
By Toby Westerman. © 2001
WorldNetDaily.com.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Cuba for a three-day visit "to
strengthen the already broad and excellent relations between Cuba and the
Peoples Republic of China," according to official Cuban sources.
"It is common knowledge that China and Cuba have very good bilateral
relations," stated China's ambassador to Cuba, Wang Chengjia. "Cuba
and China are both socialist countries; we share the same ideals and objectives,"
Wang declared.
The statements were carried by Radio Habana Cuba, the official broadcasting
service of the Cuban government.
Jiang's Cuban tour, which began Thursday, is part of an extended trip
throughout much of Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay,
Venezuela and Chile, as well as a number of Central American states. This is
Jiang's first official visit to the region since 1993 and occurred in the midst
of the Chinese-U.S. crisis over 24 U.S. service personnel held for 11 days in
China.
Jiang is visiting Cuba, according to Radio Habana, in response to an
invitation from Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Trade and other forms of mutual cooperation are expected to increase even
further after Jiang's visit to the island, especially in the areas of
electronics and telecommunications.
China-Cuban trade already stands at some $500 million annually.
Just prior to Jiang's arrival on the island, Havana and Beijing signed an
accord in the "electronics, infomatics and telecommunications sector,"
according to Cuban sources.
China and Cuba are planning joint production of "TVs, VCRs, air
conditioners, mobile telephones, and short-wave radios" for both Cuban
consumption and foreign export, Havana stated.
Although no mention was made of any military use of China's high-tech aid to
Cuba, some observers are uneasy about Beijing's increasingly sophisticated
technological assistance to Havana.
Beijing is in possession of advanced technology from U.S., western European
and Russian sources -- and some sources claim that China is already operating a
spy base in Cuba similar to the Russian surveillance facility at Lourdes.
U.S.-Cuban relations remain very cool, even hostile at times. While the U.S.
condemns a variety of human-rights abuses on the Caribbean island, Cuba
regularly denounces various U.S. activities throughout the world.
In April 2000, at a meeting of under-developed nations in Havana, Castro
called for "Nuremberg trials" for the leaders of the "current
economic world order," of which the U.S. is seen by Cuba as the prime
moving force.
It was Easter weekend exactly one year ago that saw the culmination of
another tense incident in U.S.-Cuban relations. In an early-morning raid, U.S.
Justice Department officials seized 6-year-old Cuban Elian Gonzalez from his
relatives' home in Miami before returning him to the custody of his father, who
returned him to Cuba. Gonzalez had been rescued at sea after a shipwreck that
cost his mother her life, as she attempted to secure freedom for her family in
the U.S.
Cuban-U.S. ties have also been affected by the ongoing trial of the
participants in the "Wasp Network", a group of Cuban agents allegedly
seeking to acquire sensitive military information regarding U.S. defenses, as
well as attempting to cripple ant-Castro forces in the U.S.
The leader of the "Wasp Network" has been implicated in the death
of several Cuban exiles whose plane was intercepted and destroyed by Cuban jet
fighters. The exiles were attempting to aid refugees fleeing the communist-held
island.
Jiang's visit also is provoking concern in Taiwan. The government of the
Republic of China on Taiwan has expressed concern that Jiang is seeking to
undermine support for the ROC in Central America.
Taiwan believes that Jiang is attempting during his tour to "increase
China's influence" among nations that have been "staunch allies of
Taiwan," according to Radio Taipei International, the official broadcasting
service of the ROC.
China regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has vowed to retake the island
-- by force if necessary. Taiwan regards itself as the heir to the Republic of
China established by Sun Yat-sen in 1912 after the overthrow of the last Manchu
monarch.
I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing writer for WorldNetDaily who
focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Balkans.
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