1. China celebrates 60th anniversary of navy
2. Background about Falun Gong and "4﹒25" incident
1. China celebrates 60th anniversary of navy
Qingdao, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off a grand maritime ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of its navy on April 20 off the coast of the eastern city of Qingdao. The four-day festivities, concluded on April 23, include seminars, a sampan race and a fleet review.
The celebration, with a theme of "peaceful ocean," sees the participation of 21 foreign naval vessels from 14 countries, including the United States and Russia, and delegations from 29 countries. Many senior national naval officials, including the chief of naval operations of the United States and the Russian Navy's commander-in-chief, also attend.
On Thursday April 23, Chinese president Hu Jintao, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, met with heads of foreign navy delegations attending celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
China's armed forces, including the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, will always be an important force in safeguarding world peace and development, and China will never be a threat to other nations, Chinese President Hu Jintao said.
China would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations, President Hu said.
Hu said China will unswervingly stick to the road of peaceful development, which demands China to adhere to its defensive national defense policy.
The road of peaceful development is a strategic choice made by the Chinese government and people in the line of the nation's peace-loving traditional culture, the trend of our times and the fundamental interests of China, Hu said.
He noted that cooperation and exchanges between naval forces of different countries are key to build a "harmonious ocean," which is the theme of the anniversary celebrations.
The PLA Navy had carried out a series of cooperation and exchange missions with its foreign counterparts and enhanced friendship and mutual understanding since China began its reform and opening up drive, Hu said.
The PLA Navy will be more open and practical in international maritime security cooperation in the future and unremittingly work towards the goal of building an harmonious ocean, Hu continued.
International maritime security cooperation must observe the principals of international relations established by the United Nations Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said.
Hu urged the nations to respect each other's sovereignty and interests and to seek mutual development while combating conventional and unconventional threats in the oceans and protecting maritime safety.
Speaking for the foreign navy delegations, Admiral Julio Soaresde Moura Neto, commander of the Brazilian navy, thanked Hu for his meeting and congratulated the PLA Navy for its 60th anniversary. He also expressed his appreciation of the efforts by the Chinese government and the PLA Navy in building a harmonious ocean.
Source: Xinhua (www.chinaview.cn)
2. Background about Falun Gong and "4﹒25" incident
Falun Gong is an anti-humanity, anti-society and anti-science cult organization. It has a hierarchical structure, advocates the "doomsday"theory, exercises mind control over its practitioners, and amasses great quantity of money by illegal means. Falun Gong often incites disturbances and organizes illegal gatherings, which seriously undermines the public law and order and gravely disrupts the normal life of the citizens.
On April 25 1999, more than 10,000 people systematically gathered around Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council. This large-scale illegal gathering seriously disturbed the normal work of the top organizations of the Party and the State, disrupted social order in the capital Beijing.
Up to now, thousands of people died of refusal of medical treatment, suicide or self-destruction, many suffered from mental disorder, and tens of thousands of Chinese families are deprived of peace and happiness. This is grave encroachment on the basic human rights of the people such as life and freedom. It is for the purpose of safeguarding and protecting the basic human rights and freedom of Chinese people that the Chinese government banned the cult of Falun Gong according to law, and this action has been widely endorsed and supported by the Chinese people across the country.
The policy adopted by Chinese government on the Falun Gong issue is: educating, converting and emancipating the majority of the Falun Gong practitioners who have been deceived by Li Hongzhi and his Falun Gong, and punish, according to law, the few who have engaged in criminal activities in violation of law instead of having practiced Falun Gong,which is entirely in line with the practice of the international community in cracking down the cults.
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