Tuesday, February 12, 1991
World and nation
The Battalion
Chinese activist claims
sedition charge unfair
BEIJING (AP) — Looking pale and thin from a four-
day hunger strike, a leading democracy activist told a
court Monday that the sedition charge against him was
“unfair and incorrect,” sources close to his family said.
Chen Ziming, the 38-year-old founder of a private
research institute, began the hunger strike Thursday in
an attempt to postpone the trial so his lawyer would
have more time to prepare a defense.
His lawyer was allowed access to the government
materials on Chen only last week, after his charges were
formally lodged with the court.
Chen’s mother and sister were allowed to attend the
trial but not to speak with him, so it was not known if he
had resumed eating, the sources said.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said he looked wan and told the court several times dur
ing the six-hour session that he was tired. But he re
jected as “unfair and incorrect” the charge that he
plotted to overthrow the Communist government dur
ing the 1989 democracy demonstrations.
Chen gave advice behind the scenes to the college
students who led the movement. He was arrested in the
fall of 1989, several months after the army crushed the
movement, and has been in solitary confinement since.
The trial was adjourned without a verdict being an
nounced. It is expected his sentence will be announced
this week together with the sentences of three associates
also charged with sedition. ..
The trials of two of them, Chen Xiaoping and Liu
Gang, began last week and are suspended pending sen
tencing. Sources have said Liu insisted he was innocent,
but Chen Xiaoping told the court boldly that he would
have liked to overthrow the “corrupt government.”
The two Chens are not related. Chen Xiaoping is a
university law lecturer who also did research for Chen
Ziming’s institute. Liu worked at the institute.
The fourth man, Wang Juntao, who edited the insti
tute’s newspaper, is expected to be tried this week. He
contracted hepatitis in jail,
and his physical condition is
not known.
The maximum punish
ment for sedition is death,
but China rarely executes
intellectuals, and the four
are expected to get at least 10-year prison terms.
Altogether, 30 democracy activists have been tried or
sentenced since Jan. 5 in carefully planned trials that
authorities hope will put the democracy movement be
hind them.
The movement’s impact lingers, however, in the
leadership’s continued preoccupation with security,
close surveillance of students and dissidents and daily
articles in the official media praising socialism and de
nouncing multiparty democracy.
United, American airlines seek Heathrow spots
British, U.S. battle for airways
LONDON (AP) — United Air
lines on Monday urged the United
States and Britain to break a dead
lock over the right of it and Ameri
can Airlines to use Heathrow air
port, a key obstacle in the global
expansion plans of both U.S. car
riers.
United officials traveled to Britain
for a few days to conduct a public re
lations campaign promoting the U.S.
point of view on this side of the At
lantic. They also were applying a bit
of pressure publicly and in private
meetings with government and Brit
ish airlines’ officials.
The United officials also provided
a detailed description of what is on
the negotiating agenda.
United plans to buy most of Pan
American World Airways’ London
routes and other items in a deal
worth $400 million, and American
has agreed to buy Trans World Air
lines’ London and some other over
seas routes for $445 million.
But the British government is not
allowing United and American to as
sume the existing Heathrow landing
rights without concessions.
The American side says the exist
ing air services agreement between
the two governments allows such
succession, and the U.S. airlines
don’t want to be diverted to Lon
don’s less attractive Gatwick and
other airports.
Talks between the United States
and Britain broke off Jan. 30 after
six rounds of negotiations over four
months.
Britain has offered two dates for
renewing talks, in Washington, said
Paul McKie, a spokesman for the
Department of Trade and Industry.
“There’s been no response from
across the way yet for getting the
talks going again,” McKie said.
Lawrence Nagin, senior vice pres
ident and general counsel foi
United, told a news conference die
United States put forth an offer he
called extremely beneficial to Bril
ain, but it was “not going to be on the
table forever.”
If Pan Am — which has filed for
bankruptcy protection from cred
itors — is forced out of business be
cause of failure to get British appro
val, only one American carrier, the
weak TWA, will continue to serve
Heathrow, he said.
“There might be some reaction to
put some balance in the (U.S.-Brit
ish) aviation relationship, which isni
going to be good for either side,
Nagin said.
“There are ways the United States
could reduce services but I wouldni
want to speculate what they would
do and not do," Nagin said.
The United States found unac
ceptable Britain’s demand for a cap
on United and American’s capadtv
at Heathrow, and for the scrapping
of rights of the U.S. carriers to fls
onward tea other destinations, negtr
tiators have said.
Bee
Soeech
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Airline ponders
selling routes,
merger options
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Nortf
west Airlines Co-Chairman Alfred
Checchi has broached the idea o(
merging with a stronger airline oi
selling the carrier’s lucrative Padfit
routes in talks with Northwest’s pi
lots union.
But airline industry analysts saidn
was unclear whether Checchi trai
sincere or just posturing in a stratejp
to extract concessions from employ
ees to help the airline get through!
financially troubled period.
The Air Line Pilots Associatiot
said Checchi discussed a possibl:
merger with AMR Corp.’s American
Airlines or Delta Air Lines as a possi
ble solution to Northwest’s prod
lems. The pifots’ account of the dis
cussions was reported Monday inthi
Wall Street Journal and confirmee
by the pilots union.
As another solution, the union
said, Checchi explored the ideaol
selling the Pacific routes as a step to
ward retrenching the Minnesota
based carrier as a solely domestic air
line.
Checchi’s comments about a possi
ble merger or a Pacific route sale
came early last week when he anil
John Dasburg, the airline’s presiden:
and chief executive officer, met with
the pilots union to seek contract con
cessions, the union said.
Barton
Continued from page 1
is close to 100 percent.”
Barton said the cost of the war-
an estimated $1 billion a day —will
not strain the budget if the conflict is
resolved in six months.
“The equipment in use is from
war stocks that have already been
paid for,” Barton said, “We only pay
if we have to replace it.”
He said it is still too early totellifa
prolonged conflict will drain re
sources from other areas of the bud
get, but he said it was unlikely anv
large burden would be created.
Continued from page 3
gram of administrative internships
for female faculty members.
• A request from the Rules and
Regulations Committee to change
the 1991-92 Texas A&M Universit'
Regulations attendance policy to
grant excused absences to students
experiencing a major illness in their
immediate families; and to allow de
partments and colleges to set GPR
requirements for post-baccalaureate
non-degree students and students in
graduate degree programs.
• A request by the Bylaws Com
mittee to alter the Chapter V Meet
ings portion of Senate bylaws.
• A request from the University
Curriculum Committee to add a
bachelor of arts in International
Studies and a bachelor of science in
Agribusiness (deleting Agribusiness
option in Agricultural Economics);
to revise the WFSC teaching option
and to change the B.S. in Biology to
a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology.
• A request from the Graduate
Council to add HIST 637 Birth of
the Middle Ages.
• A request from the University
Curriculum Committee to add
WFSC 202 Natural History of the
Invertebrates.
All resolutions passed. All action
taken by the Senate must be ap
proved by Mobley before being en
acted.
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