FOREIGN Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang expressed the hope yesterday that ongoing talks in Beijing on the disposal of Japanese chemical weapons left in China in 1945 will produce positive results.
Shen said the use of such chemical weapons was among the serious crimes committed by Japanese militarists during the invasion of China and remains a significant problem in present Sino-Japanese relations that must be solved.
"The Japanese Government has the responsibility and obligation to completely settle this issue," he said at a routine news briefing.
When asked to comment on the recent First World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Singapore, Shen said the outcomes of the conference were dominated by the concerns and interests of the developed countries.
"It is our hope that, in future negotiations, the WTO will genuinely take into account the demands of all participants, in particular the developing countries, so that the new agreements will give full expression to the actual disparity of economic development between members and make allowance for the economic interests of all parties in a balanced way," he said.
Shen also told the briefing that, after July 1, 1997, official contacts and exchanges, in whatever names, between the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) and Taiwan must be approved by the Chinese Government or by the HKSAR Chief Executive via the central government.
He vouched that Taiwanese organizations and personnel in Hong Kong will be allowed to remain after 1 July, 1997.
But, he said, they must observe the Basic Law of the HKSAR and should not violate the "one China" principle.