China Pilot

In April 2001, a Chinese F-8 fighter collided with a U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft flying over international waters south of China. The EP-3 was able to make an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island despite extensive damage; the P.R.C. aircraft crashed with the loss of its pilot. Following extensive negotiations, the crew of the EP-3 was allowed to leave China 11 days later, but the U.S. aircraft was not permitted to depart for another 3 months. Subsequently, the relationship, which had cooled following the incident, gradually improved. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

In February, the Government created the State Council AIDS office, putting policy formation regarding the AIDS issue at the highest Government level. The Government also introduced the China CARES Program, the goal of which was to provide care and treatment to 60,000 poor, rural people with HIV/AIDS. The program began in 51 pilot counties in April and added an additional 76 counties in June. The day before World AIDS Day, President Hu Jintao publicly shook hands with an AIDS patient and spoke about the need for the country to address the disease candidly without stigma. Regulations were also revised to permit, for the first time, those with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B to work as civil servants. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

During the year, deaths in custody due to police use of torture to coerce confessions from criminal suspects continued to be a problem. For example, Zeng Lingyun, a villager in Longxing Town, Chongqing Municipality, was detained by public security personnel on July 26 on suspicion of petty theft. On July 28, Zeng's family was informed that Zeng had died. When they examined the body, they noticed extensive bruises and a bullet wound. Local officials initially told Zeng's family that he had been shot by police. They later claimed to be investigating the case, but refused to answer questions posed by foreign NGOs. As of year's end, the case had not been resolved. Since the crackdown on Falun Gong began in 1999, there reportedly have been several hundred deaths in custody of FLG adherents, due to torture, abuse, and neglect. A 2001 pilot program in Liaoning Province, intended to institute the right to remain silent in criminal trials as a way to combat torture, was discontinued. In Septemb ... [Read More]

China, United States Share Long History of Science Cooperation - US Department of State

According to the State Department China report, Chinese and foreign experts believe that success in the pilot projects could lead to expansion of emissions trading on a national scale. ...

For example, EPA efforts to introduce sulfur-dioxide emissions trading to China to reduce acid rain have received high-level Chinese political support.  Pilot projects for emissions trading have expanded to include Jiangsu, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces; Tianjin, Shangai and Liuzhou municipalities; and the Huaneng Company, the Manjing Power Plant and the Taicang Port Huambao Power Company. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

In March, the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) concluded a 4-year pilot project in 32 counties. Under this program, local birth planning officials emphasized education, improved reproductive health services, and economic development, and they eliminated the target and quota systems for limiting births. However, these counties retained the birth limitation policy, including the requirement that couples employ effective birth control methods, and enforced it through other means, such as social compensation fees. Subsequently, 800 other counties also removed the target and quota system and tried to replicate the UNFPA project by emphasizing quality of care and informed choice of birth control methods. In April, a new UNFPA program began in 30 counties. Under this program, officials defined a list of "legitimate rights of reproduction according to law," including the rights to choose contraception and right to legal remedies, among others. ... [Read More]

China (Includes Hong Kong and Macau)

In 2000, 3,789 criminal convictions or sentences were overturned upon appeal. That same year, the Supreme People's Court announced provisions to enable the poor to afford litigation, and announced that officials postponed, reduced or waived court fees in over 237,000 cases involving the poor, elderly or persons with disabilities. To promote transparency, Shenzhen courts instituted a pilot program requiring judges to write out the reasoning behind their verdicts. An appeals judge could then review a verdict and levy fines against judges making decisions based on faulty legal reasoning. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: U.S. Grant Will Help China Manage Flood-and-Drought Cycle

This pilot project will support efforts by the government of China to implement a national command system to reduce human and economic losses caused by annual floods and droughts, particularly in the Huaihe River region. Installation of this system will enable authorities to monitor meteorological and flood zone conditions, provide advance warnings to threatened populations, and coordinate responses at the local, regional, and national levels. ...

The USTDA-funded technical assistance will support a pilot program that will demonstrate state-of-the-art flood and drought forecasting using computer simulations. It will also evaluate the technical, financial and environmental impacts of implementation of the project on China. In addition to the USTDA grant, the Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, California, which has been selected as the prime contractor for the demonstration project, will contribute additional resources toward the technical assistance program. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Rumsfeld Faults Chinese Pilot for Collision with Navy Plane

"It is clear that the [Chinese] pilot intended to harass the [U.S. Navy] crew," he said. "We had every right to be flying where we were flying. They have every right to come up and observe our flight. What one does not have the right to do, and nor do I think it was anyone's intention, is to fly into another aircraft. The F-8 pilot clearly put at risk the lives of 24 Americans." ...

-- The Navy reconnaissance aircraft was flying in a straight and level flight path while on autopilot before the collision. "It did not deviate from a straight and level path until it had been hit by the Chinese fighter aircraft, at which point the autopilot went off and it made a steep left turn and lost some 5,000-8,000 feet (1,500-2,400 meters) of altitude as the crew attempted to regain control," he said. ... [Read More]

Washington HyperFile - East Asia/Pacific Edition

USIA RELEASES RESULTS OF "USIS 2000" PILOT PROJECT DEC. 16 ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Cheney, Powell Say An Apology to China Is Not Appropriate

According to official reports from the U.S. Pacific Command, a U.S. Navy EP-3E patrol aircraft was conducting a reconnaissance mission approximately 70 miles south of Hainan island over international waters in the South China Sea when a midair collision occurred between the Navy aircraft with a crew of 24 on board and a Chinese air force F-8 fighter jet. The U.S. pilot and crew managed to control the four-engine turboprop aircraft, but because of extensive damage were forced to make an emergency landing at the Lingshui air base on Hainan island where they have been detained by Chinese military authorities in a military guest house. U.S. diplomats in China have visited the crewmembers three times since the plane landed April 1, local time in China, according to official government reports. The Chinese pilot of the F-8 fighter jet is missing at sea and is presumed dead, according to published news reports. ... [Read More]