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Border
dispute not to block Indo-Chinese co-operation: Envoy Beijing, June 22: Indian ambassador to China Shiv Shankar Menon said on Sunday that the contentious border dispute will figure during Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's talks with Chinese leaders. He said the two sides were determined not to let difficult issues prevent progress on other areas of cooperation. Vajpayee arrives in Beijing this evening on a six-day visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in a decade, during which he would have wide-ranging discussions with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. He is also scheduled to have a separate meeting with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin. "I think certainly we will discuss the border issue, especially since we have the opportunity to discuss at the highest level we will see whether we can move those discussions forward," Menon said in an interview to Asian News International. "Both sides are determined not to allow difficult issues like these to prevent progress on other areas of cooperation. We will try and use the visit to give new impetus to relations. We will do both, while we discuss difficult issues, while we discuss issues that divide us like the border issue, we will also see how we can develop the rest of relations in pushing forward," he added. Border dispute: The two Asian powers are locked in a bitter dispute over their 4500-km border disputes in Kashmir and the north-eastern region of India since the two countries went into a brief war in 1962. China holds about 20 percent of the bitterly disputed territory of Kashmir. This comprises a small area which India says Pakistan ceded to China and the Aksai Chin area in Ladakh region. China claims large parts of the north-eastern states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. India and China have been holding talks since 1988, when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi undertook a historic visit to China. But the progress has been very slow as the two countries have not been able to delineate the Line of Actual Control. Menon said delineation of the Line of Control was a technical work and would take time. He said the main purpose of the exercise was to maintain peace along the Line of Control. "Since the agreement to clarify the Line of Control, we have been doing this work. This is technical work, it will take time. Secondly, I think the purpose of the exercise is to keep the boundary peaceful, to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. In that sense, it has been very successful and it has been joint effort of both sides," he said. Bilateral trade: Menon said India and China have made significant progress on other issues while continuing talks over the border dispute. He said the two countries were cooperating in areas from ocean development to outer space besides improving trade relations. "India and China both as economies and societies have created huge domestic markets, created middle classes, and as we change I think the opportunities to cooperate increase, complementaries increase." The bilateral trade between India and China today stands at five billion dollars. Tibet: In reply to a question that mistrust continues to prevail between the two countries over the issues of India giving shelter to the Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and his followers and India's suspicion over China's military and nuclear supplies to Pakistan, Menon said a proper dialogue mechanism is in place where the two countries discuss all these issues. "What we have done in the last two or three years we have put in place entire dialogue framework where we discuss the issues of mutual concern, we tell them what bothers us, they tell us what bothers them, we talk about the situation around us. We have today a dialogue framework on counter terrorism, policy planning, on strategic issues, and this is very useful," he said. Menon said Tibet was no longer an issue in India-Chinese relations, adding that the Chinese government is appreciative of Indian position on Tibet. Pak N-aid to China: China's close proximity with Pakistan and New Delhi's concerns that Beijing has secretly provided nuclear know-how to Islamabad has been the main irritant in India-Chinese ties. But, of late, the thinking in Indian political establishment is not to make relations with China hostage to its ties with any other country, including Pakistan. Tiananmen
Square now a favoured tourist spot (Go
To Top) Beijing, June 22: Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing, witnessed one of the largest pro-democracy protests in China in June 1989. But today it stands as one of the most favoured tourist spots in the city. In fact, it is the largest public square in the world. The atmosphere is jovial even as people turn up in large numbers everyday to get themselves photographed at the venue. It is a visual delight to see a specially trained battalion marching out each morning and raising the flag exactly at sunrise. As the sun sets, the square, spread over 44 hectares, is brightly lit. Overlooking Tiananmen Square is a Chinese soldier, standing perfectly straight in attention, juxtaposed with a portrait of Mao Zedong. According to the Chinese government, 200 people died in the protests. But independent reports peg the toll at more than 2000. The Tiananmen Square is 880 metres from north to south, and 500 metres from east to west, with total area of 440,000 square metres and can hold one million people. The Tiananmen Gate Tower sites at the north, the five-star red flag flies high on the square, the monument to the people's heroes dominates the centre, the Great Hall of the People and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History to the east and west of it, as well as the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Qianmen gate, sit in the south of the square. Over several hundred years, in front of the Tiananmen, many democracy meetings and demonstrations are held. Tens of thousands of people visit daily. The Square is listed top among Beijing's 16 scenic spots. It is said that hundreds of thousands of demonstrators had occupied the square from early May calling for political reform and the resignation of the communist leadership. They were led by students, 3000 of whom staged a hunger strike in the Square. The massacre that followed was sanctioned by the old guard of leaders, including Deng Xiaoping. -ANI |