• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DATE=7/15/99
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-251787
TITLE=CHINA / BOMB (L)
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT: 
INTRO:  BEIJING SAYS IT HAS DEVELOPED THE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE 
NEUTRON BOMBS -- AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT COMES AT A TENSE TIME FOR 
RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND TAIWAN.  AS V-O-A'S STEPHANIE HO 
REPORTS, A CHINESE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN MADE HIS COMMENTS IN A 
BRIEFING CALLED TO COUNTER U-S ALLEGATIONS THAT CHINA STOLE 
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FROM THE UNITED STATES.
TEXT:  CHINA'S CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ZHAO QIZHENG PRESIDED 
OVER A NEWS CONFERENCE THURSDAY INTENDED TO REFUTE ACCUSATIONS BY
A U-S CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE THAT IT STOLE AMERICAN NUCLEAR 
SECRETS.
MR. ZHAO SAID CHINA HAS BEEN RESEARCHING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FOR 
35 YEARS.
                 // ZHAO AND INTERPRETER ACT //
         AS EARLY AS IN 1964, WHEN CHINA SUCCESSFULLY EXPLODED 
         ITS FIRST ATOM BOMB, THE NOTED CHINESE NUCLEAR PHYSICIST
         AND ALSO AN ACADEMICIAN OF  C-A-S, THE CHINESE ACADEMY 
         OF SCIENCES, MR. WANG GANCHANG, INITIALLY  ADVANCED THE 
         CONCEPT OF LASER-BASED NUCLEAR FUSION.  AND HE IS 
         CONSIDERED ONE OF THE EARLIEST SCIENTISTS WHO PUT 
         FORWARD, INDEPENDENTLY, THIS CONCEPT IN THE WORLD.
                          // END ACT //
A LENGTHY REBUTTAL ISSUED AT THURSDAY'S BRIEFING SAID SINCE CHINA
ALREADY POSSESSED ATOM BOMB AND HYDROGEN BOMB TECHNOLOGIES, IT IS
ONLY NATURAL THAT IT WOULD ALSO MASTER NEUTRON BOMB TECHNOLOGY.  
IT SAID CHINA FELT FORCED TO MASTER NEUTRON BOMB DESIGN 
TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE OF THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE BETWEEN THE UNITED 
STATES AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION IN THE 1970'S AND 1980'S.
A U-S CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, HEADED BY REPRESENTATIVE 
CHRISTOPHER COX, ISSUED A REPORT IN MAY ALLEGING CHINA HAD STOLEN
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY SECRETS FROM THE UNITED STATES.
THE CHINESE SPOKESMAN CHARACTERIZED THE REPORT'S FINDINGS AS 
UTTERLY ABSURD AND RACIST.  HE SAID THE IMPLICATION WAS THAT THE 
CHINESE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DEVELOP ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY 
ON THEIR OWN.
CHINA HAS ALREADY EXTENSIVELY ATTACKED THE COX REPORT AFTER IT 
WAS FIRST RELEASED.  BUT THURSDAY'S BRIEFING TO PRESENT WHAT THE 
CHINESE CALLED "FURTHER REFUTATION" OF THE REPORT WAS CALLED ON 
TUESDAY, DAYS AFTER TAIWANESE PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI ANNOUNCED 
THAT TAIWAN WANTED TO DEAL WITH CHINA AS AN EQUAL STATE.
BEIJING HAS REACTED WITH FURY TO THE TAIWANESE POSITION.  CHINA 
CONSIDERS TAIWAN PART OF CHINESE TERRITORY AND HAS NOT RENOUNCED 
THE USE OF FORCE TO TAKE THE ISLAND BACK IF IT DECLARES 
INDEPENDENCE. (SIGNED)
NEB/HO/JO
15-Jul-99 4:28 AM EDT (0828 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.