DATE=04/03/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=EAP WEEK IN REVIEW

NUMBER=2-289400

BYLINE=DON BENSON

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

CONTENT=

INTRO:

Burma's ruling generals prepare to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. China's vice president and leader-in-waiting visits the United States. And, the newly elected leader of East Timor visits neighboring Indonesia. Those stories highlight news from East Asia and the Pacific this week, as V-O-A's Don Benson reports.

TEXT:

Burmese government and opposition negotiators were reportedly close this week to a deal that would allow pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed from house arrest. The vice chairman of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, Tin Oo, told reporters he thinks the party leader will be released by Sunday. He said he met with Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, and she told him to announce that a deal is near. Her release would be a significant breakthrough in peace talks that began 18 months ago, but had appeared to be stalled.

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Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao traveled to the United States this week -- his first official visit here. In Washington, Mr. Hu met with his U-S counterpart, Dick Cheney, and with President Bush. The Chinese vice president, who is expected to rise to the top leadership next year, warned that U-S overtures toward Taiwan could hurt ties with Beijing. He called Taiwan the most sensitive issue in dealings between Washington and Beijing. And he said U-S arms sales to the island are not consistent with U-S commitments to the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, in Taipei, President Chen Shui-bian rejected Mr. Hu's warning.

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Aiming to build a new relationship, East Timor's President-elect Xanana Gusmao this week invited Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to attend independence ceremonies in the territory. Mr. Gusmao was on a two-day visit to Jakarta, where he met with Ms. Megawati and invited her to East Timor's independence celebrations on May 20th. Ms. Megawati and her entourage have repeatedly said they plan to attend the ceremonies. However, the Indonesian president has encountered strong opposition from some of the lawmakers of her party. Elements in Indonesia's military are also uneasy about her visit.

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The Bush administration this week announced it has accepted a North Korean offer to restart stalled dialogue. A White House statement said the administration is working on the timing and details of renewing talks. The statement said Pyongyang relayed the offer through its United Nations mission in New York. U-S presidential envoy Jack Pritchard is expected to lead a delegation to North Korea at a date that has yet to be decided. High-level discussions between the United States and North Korea have been at a stalemate since shortly after President Bush took office last year.

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Dozens of elderly Koreans from both the North and the South participated this week in family reunions that followed decades of living apart. The South Koreans went to Diamond Mountain, a resort on North Korea's eastern coast. Tears flowed as they met with and then said farewell to their North Korean relatives. For days, they had exchanged photos and gifts while trying to catch up on 50 years of news. This was the fourth set of reunions since the two Koreas held a historic leaders summit in June of 2000.

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U-S auto maker General Motors this week signed an agreement to acquire some of the assets of beleaguered Korean car maker Daewoo. Under an agreement signed in Seoul, General Motors and its partner companies will hold a combined 67 percent share in a new company to which Daewoo will sell some of its assets. Daewoo creditors will hold the remaining 33 percent. Analysts say the deal gives General Motors a bigger foothold in the Asian car market. The agreement follows several months of negotiations between General Motors and Daewoo, which has a total debt of at least 17 billion dollars.

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The United Nations this week said it may have to stop distributing food to more than one million under-nourished North Koreans because of a lack of international aid. U-N officials said the world body has received less than one-tenth of the 258-million dollars in food aid it had requested last November. Humanitarian officials warned that more than six million North Koreans, primarily women, children and the elderly, will face potentially life-threatening food shortages unless international aid is more forthcoming. The world body has warned of potential famine and disastrous food shortages in North Korea for years.

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And a new report from Amnesty International this week said China is using repression, jail and torture to combat growing labor unrest. The 16-page report from London-based Amnesty was issued on the eve of May Day -- China's traditional holiday honoring labor. China immediately denounced the report as groundless. Amnesty said there is massive and widespread labor unrest throughout China. And it said those who participate in the unrest are being arrested, beaten and even tortured by police. The report also said Chinese officials crack down at any hint of workers trying to organize. And it said conditions in many workplaces violate international standards of safety, but that workers who speak out are disciplined, dismissed and sometimes physically abused.

NEB/DLB/SAB