China, Taiwan examine cross-strait relations

Taiwan's President Lee reasserts his position on two states

In this story: Macau readies to become part of People's Republic Former Soviet first lady remembered in Russian media Humans largely to blame for Lebanon's raging fires Clay vessels carry hopes of saving culture Sacred stone centerpiece of Togolese ceremony More about CNN World Report RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Kevin Grieves and Brian Yasui
CNN World Report

CNN World Report continued its focus on China in conjunction with CNN International's Visions of China programming. Contributors from Taiwan and the mainland examined the touchy issue of relations between the two.

The recent earthquake that devastated many areas of Taiwan prompted international messages of sympathy and pledges of aid. One response came unexpectedly from long-time rival, the People's Republic of China. Within hours of the quake, Chinese President Jiang Zemin extended an offer of disaster aid and relief supplies.

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The offer belies the underlying tensions across the Taiwan Strait, however. Those tensions have been especially high since Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui made a statement in July that suggested the two sides were equal states. That remark, with its implication of independence for Taiwan, infuriated Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province of China.

Formosa TV tackled the issue from Taiwan's perspective, declaring that President Lee's statement of equality is necessary so that "both sides can prepare for future political negotiations on equal footing." But the Chinese reaction, including threats of armed intervention and increased military exercises off Taiwan's shores, has caused alarm in Taiwan. Formosa TV reporter Ching-yi Chiang says "Most Taiwanese support the status quo of de facto independence, although they don't want to provoke a military retaliation."

"The issue of Taiwan remains." That's the conclusion reached by China Central Television, which provided CNN World Report viewers with the mainland Chinese point of view on China-Taiwan relations. CCTV reporter Han Bin says the "one country, two systems" theory developed by former leader Deng Xiaoping is ready to be applied to Taiwan, now that it is in place in Hong Kong and soon to be applied in Macau.

But the CCTV report underscored Beijing's resolve to use force if Taiwan pursues what the mainland government considers attempts to become an independent state. "If leaders like Lee Teng-hui insist on provoking the mainland with an attempt to split the country, the Chinese government will have no choice but to fight to crush the splitists' attempt," says Han.

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Joao Guedes, from Macau TDM, reports on infrastructure projects under way as Macau prepares for its transition to Chinese rule. Windows Media 28K 80K

Macau readies to become part of People's Republic

Residents of Macau are preparing for December 20th, when the island will undergo a transformation from a Portuguese colony to a Chinese Special Administrative Region, just as Hong Kong did two years ago.

Links between Macau and China are taking physical shape as well. As the Portuguese government prepares to relinquish control over Macau, it is embarking on one final major construction project to help get the island's infrastructure ready for the new millennium: the Lotus Flower Bridge.

TDM of Macau showed CNN World Report viewers the current progress of the bridge, which will link Macau with mainland China. The completion ceremony is scheduled for December 20th, to coincide with the handover of the former colony to China.

Former Soviet first lady remembered in Russian media

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union, put an arm around his wife's head, stroked her face and hair - then said his final goodbye as Raisa Gorbachev's coffin was lowered into a Moscow grave. She died September 20 of leukemia in a German hospital at the age of 67.

Raisa Gorbachev at her husband's side during the Soviet Union's final days

News of Mrs. Gorbachev's death was the top story in major newscasts in Russia that day. This is notable because of her strained relationship with the people of the U.S.S.R. at the time her husband was in office: Raisa Gorbachev was disliked at home because she refused to take the traditional role of the Kremlin wife, which included shying away from publicity. She further alienated many because she wore colorful clothes bearing a distinct western flair, rather than the more subdued Soviet style.

Now, however, people openly praise her for being the first Soviet woman to be recognized around the world, and for representing a hopeful era in Soviet history. In the late 1980's when he led the Soviet Union, her husband, Mikhail, brought in the era of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (reconstruction), which eventually helped bring an end to the cold war.

Russian broadcaster ORT reported that her grief-stricken husband declined to comment to reporters on the day of her death, but the previous day mentioned that he didn't think she could hear him talking to her during his visits because she was unconscious. The Gorbachevs were married for more than 40 years.

Humans largely to blame for Lebanon's raging fires

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and typhoons... Many parts of the globe have been plagued by a variety of natural disasters in recent weeks, demonstrating the destructive forces of nature and creating in many people a sense of powerlessness. Lebanon has also been affected by a large-scale disaster, but in the case of the forest fires consuming large areas of forest and brushland in the Middle Eastern nation, human hands appear to be at the root of the problem.

Future TV of Lebanon took its cameras out to the hillsides above Beirut, where fires have been raging since early this month. Reporter Mohalhel Fakih says farmers burning sticks on their fields, coupled with merchants who burn woodland to gather charcoal, are behind many recent blazes. But he adds that the conditions have been worsened by a lack of environmental awareness among Lebanese. That absence of environmental concern has left the country with large dry areas that are especially susceptible to fires.

Environmentalists say that Lebanese must learn to care more for their ecological surroundings, or the wave of forest fires will worsen in the future, leaving authorities unprepared. As Adnan Melki of the Greenline organization puts it, "Prevention is the key word for forest fire control; it is not control [the fires] after damage occurs, when we do not have the tools to do it."

Clay vessels carry hopes of saving culture

Putting the final touches on a piece of cultural heritage

In the rain forests of the Amazon region of Brazil, flames in earthen kilns are helping preserve a native culture. The kilns are really little more than holes in the ground, and members of the Guanavenas and Caboquenas tribes harden their clay pottery in them.

As contributor Amazon Network of Brazil explained, that pottery is helping native peoples establish a link with their ancestral heritage. Many elements of Amazon culture were lost following the arrival of European settlers in Brazil, but pottery artifacts found in the Amazon basin are serving as models for native craftsmen today. They are making pottery in part to preserve their people's traditions, and in part to maintain a livelihood from the sale of the clay works of art.

One craftsman says the economic benefits of the pottery sales will help his descendants in the Indian villages of Brazil's interior. If his current business success is any indication, those descendants will be well provided for: His pottery pieces are finding buyers as far away as Europe.

Sacred stone centerpiece of Togolese ceremony

The long-awaited arrival of the sacred stone at the Epe-Ekpe festival

A former German colony, the west African nation of Togo is home to more than a dozen major linguistic and cultural ethnic groups. One of those groups, the Guin, first settled on the shores of Lake Togo some 400 years ago.

Early September marks the beginning of a new year for the Guin people, and it's an occasion to celebrate. The country's broadcaster and CNN World Report contributor Television Togolaise was on hand as the new year festivities of Epe-Ekpe got underway.

Reporter Akitan Philomene explained that one of the central aspects of the Epe-Ekpe ceremonies involves locating a sacred stone in a sacred forest. In the Guin belief, the stone is shaded a "luminous light blue" to proclaim a promising year to come. This year, the Guin king was able to announce to the people that the stone was indeed light blue. Therefore, the gathered crowds were promised among other things the benefits of heavy rains, good harvest and abundance of food.