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Yahoo!
June 21, 2002.
Taiwan gives 'strong support' to new U.S. policy for Cuba
Thu Jun 20,10:59 PM ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan is expressing "strong support" for U.S.
President George W. Bush ( news - web sites)'s new demands that Cuba allow free
and fair elections and begin adopting meaningful economic reforms, the foreign
ministry said.
Bush's policy "is an effort to bring Cuba into the Western Hemisphere's
community of democracies," Taiwanese Foreign Minister Eugene Chien said in
a statement.
The policy — announced last month and called "Initiative for a new
Cuba" — says that American won't lift its 40-year trade embargo on
Cuba until the communist nation allows free and fair elections. It is also
demands that Cuba legalize independent trade unions, free all political
prisoners and adopt meaningful market reforms, among other changes.
Taiwan wants to express "strong support" for the U.S. policy "based
on Taiwan's successful democratization and its sharing the values of democracy
and respect for fundamental human rights with the U.S.," Chien said in the
statement released late Thursday.
Once ruled by an authoritarian government, Taiwan peacefully evolved into a
democracy about a decade ago. The island now has one of Asia's most vibrant
democracies.
Cuba's parliament president accepts millions of signatures favoring
socialism
Thu Jun 20, 9:02 PM ET
HAVANA - The president of Cuba's parliament equated socialism with democracy
Thursday as he received more than 8 million signatures collected for a
constitutional change declaring that the island's socialist system is "untouchable."
Ricardo Alarcon said the parliament would welcome the proposed
constitutional amendment when it meets July 5.
"Only socialism offers the possibility of a real democracy; today is a
historic day," Alarcon said after receiving boxes of signatures
representing more than 99 percent of Cuba's legal voters. The boxes arrived in
23 vehicles, each identified with the name of a different province.
"We are sure that this effort will be welcomed and backed by a
genuinely popular assembly," Alarcon said.
Cuba's mass organizations, which are tied to the country's ruling Communist
Party, orchestrated the signature drive over three days, ending Tuesday.
Also pending before the parliament are results of a very different petition
drive. It gathered more than 11,000 signatures for a referendum asking voters if
they favor new laws guaranteeing civil liberties such as freedom of expression,
the right to own a business, amnesty for political prisoners and electoral
reforms.
Organizers of the Varela Project say the official signature drive in favor
of socialism was the government's response to their democratic reform effort.
The National Assembly has made no public pronouncements about the Varela
Project since organizers delivered their signatures on May 10, but several Cuban
officials have given it little hope for success.
Accused Cuban 'spy' says he's clean
Miami Herald | WPLG Click10.com/ Thursday June 20
A South Florida man with the training to spy on the United States government
for Fidel Castro is being threatened with deportation to Cuba, and he's saying
he's innocent.
Juan Emilio Aboy received Russian training similar to what a Navy SEAL goes
through and even used that training to fix reactor one at Turkey Point nuclear
power plant at one point.
He says he only got the training so he could work and never spied on the
United States. He also says he told everything he knew when detained at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1994.
"I say everything in Guantanamo about me. I say everything here.
Everybody know me here. Everybody know me in Cuba," Aboy said.
The charge against Aboy is that he failed to report to the U.S. Attorney
General within 30 days of legally coming to the United States. Aboy's attorney
says that when her client disclosed information in Guantanamo Bay in 1994 he
fulfilled that requirement.
Aboy does face deportation. His attorney also says that if she ever comes
across any evidence that points to Aboy being a spy, she will not represent him.
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