FBIS3-41247
"jptdd007__l94037"
JPRS-TDD-94-007-L
Document Type:JPRS
Document Title:Narcotics
14 February 1994
CHINA
Gelbard Visit Viewed as `Successful,' Greater Anti-Crime Cooperation Urged
HK0702090294 Hong Kong TA KUNG PAO in Chinese 4 Feb 94 p 1
HK0702090294
Hong Kong TA KUNG PAO
Language: Chinese
Article Type:BFN
["Special article" by staff reporter Chang Shao-wei (1728
1421 1218): "China and the United States Increase Cooperation
in Cracking Down on Crimes"]
[Text] "The Chinese and U.S. Governments have clear
differences in terms of human rights, missile proliferation, and
trade methods and we neither deny nor ignore them. However,
since internationalized crime poses a common threat to both our
countries, we are making joint efforts to face squarely the
common interests we have on this issue."
That is the view aired by Robert Gelbard, U.S. assistant
secretary of state for international narcotics matters, in a
speech in Hong Kong yesterday. It was precisely for this reason
that Gelbard recently led a high-level delegation to China to
seek increased cooperation in cracking down on crime.
Since President Jiang Zemin and President Clinton met last
November, Sino-U.S. relations have further improved. Gelbard's
trip proves that, as two big powers, China and the United States
have many spheres of cooperation. With the rise in
international organized crime, the focus of the crackdown has
shifted to how to get more information to accurately deal a
crushing blow from top to bottom at transnational crime
syndicates. This makes it necessary for the law-enforcement
departments of various countries to work with good cooperation.
In his speech, Gelbard described how transnational organized
crime syndicates carry out illegal activities with advanced
weapons, telecommunications, and transport facilities, as well
as monetary means. He said: "If the boss of an Asian syndicate
enterprise wants to fix up a kidnapping case in New York, he can
order his subordinate in New Jersey by directly dialling his
subordinate's mobile telephone number using satellite
telecommunications equipment. Afterward, they can make contact
again by coded fax. If funds are needed, the money can be
remitted to the United States electronically, possibly through a
Hong Kong bank. The ransom can also be remitted to a bank in
the Bahamas, then sent again from there to Panama, eventually
arriving in a numbered Swiss bank account. The entire process
can be completed in one day."
This description is like the plot of a movie but it is
really
shocking, especially the fact that what has been revealed is
only the tip of the iceberg. Given such modern methods of
committing crime, it has become even more difficult to crack
down on crime.
Gelbard pointed out that half the drugs on the U.S. market
come from Asia.
With the opening up of the country, the economic
development,
and the influx of Western ideas, various different factors have
contributed to the resurrection of drug-taking in China, where
it had disappeared for decades. The drug-trafficking activities
through China's long borders have also become increasingly
rampant. The crime syndicates in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the
United States not only smuggle drugs to other countries through
the Chinese mainland but also smuggle "human cargo" to the
United States in a big way, making it more urgent for China and
the United States to jointly crack down on such organized crime.
As a financial and information center, Hong Kong is
naturally
regarded by the international crime syndicates as a paradise for
money laundering and a supreme headquarters for mobilizing and
organizing various criminal activities. What is needed now is
for the world's law-enforcement authorities to make joint
efforts to crack down on the frenzied criminal activities. It
is gratifying that such joint efforts are being stepped up.
Gelbard said that from his talks with Chinese officials he had
got the impression that the Chinese side approached
drug-trafficking and other issues very seriously and
conscientiously and that Sino-U.S. cooperation would be further
strengthened. His successful visit to China also shows that
through their joint efforts China and the United States can more
effectively crack down on crimes and safeguard people's security
and social stability.