SOUTH KOREAN DEFENSE
U.S. Troops to Pull out of Seoul
WASHINGTON — All U.S. troops based in Seoul will be moved out by December 2008, Pentagon officials announced.
The 8,000 troops will be redeployed to new facilities in Pyongtaek, some 50 miles south.
U.S. forces have been based at Yongsan in Seoul since the 1945 defeat of Imperial Japan in World War II and grew dramatically after the 1950-53 Korean War. The sprawling installation occupies 630 acres in the heart of the South Korean capital of 11 million people.
The United States has already announced plans to withdraw some 12,500 troops from its 37,000-strong military contingent in South Korea.
The last big cut in U.S. forces in South Korea took place during the Vietnam War in 1971. President Richard Nixon brought some 20,000 troops back to the United States.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter announced he would withdraw all U.S. troops from South Korea, but the plan drew fire and only 3,400 troops ultimately returned before President Ronald Reagan cancelled the plan.
CHINA ENERGY
China Stresses Homegrown Nuclear Plants
The Chinese State Council has approved two nuclear power plant projects in the southern province of Guangdong and the eastern province of Zhejiang.
Up to now, China has put into use or is constructing 11 nuclear power generating units.
“But still only a small portion of the country’s total power supply is provided by nuclear plants, which were constructed expensively,” sources with the meeting said.
The meeting stressed that the relevant sectors should make great efforts to raise capabilities to build China’s own brand of nuclear power station with its own design by absorbing advanced technology from foreign countries.
Electricity generated by nuclear power accounts for only about 1.4 percent of China’s total electricity supply, compared to 16 percent in developed countries, according to figures from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
PHILIPPINE PEACEKEEPING
Jay Leno Riles Filipino Nationalism
MANILA, Philippines — People here are fuming over Jay Leno’s quip that Philippine peacekeepers established a world speed record in their withdrawal from Iraq.
“Our courage has been demonstrated in [the World War II battlegrounds] Bataan and Corregidor and every other field where we have fought,” said Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo. “All we can say is that what is first and foremost is the national interest of the Philippines.”
Leno also joked about the 51-member size of the Philippines’ contingent, saying rap artist Sean “P. Diddy” Combs had a bigger crew.
The Philippines’ action is the strongest statement of nationalism and rebuke against its former colonial master since 1991 when its Senate voted to throw out U.S. military bases.
COPYRIGHT LAW
‘Little Match Man’ Sues Nike
BEIJING — A Chinese Internet cartoonist is suing athletic footwear and apparel maker Nike Inc. over its use of a stick figure in an ad campaign.
Zhu Zhiqiang, 28, has filed a lawsuit asking for 2 million yuan ($240,000) in compensation from Nike as well as a public apology for allegedly copying his “Little Match Man” illustration in one of its worldwide ad campaigns, the China Daily said.
The Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike denied Zhu’s claim, saying the logo was designed by an American advertising company in 2002 at a cost of 25 million yuan ($3 million).
The case is an unusual reversal of roles; America has frequently criticized China for not protecting intellectual property.
Zhu said he had been negotiating to release a book about the illustrated character when the Nike advertisement was first broadcast in Beijing last year. Now, he said, negotiations are off.
VIETNAM-U.S. RELATIONS
Vietnam Slams Human Rights Bill
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam slammed U.S. legislation that links some of Washington’s aid for the communist country to an improvement in its human rights record, calling the bill “an unfriendly act” in light of efforts to improve relations between the two countries.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill last week 323-45, though it still must be approved by the Senate. “The United States itself has the moral responsibility to overcome the war crimes committed against the Vietnamese people,” wrote Vietnam’s state-run Nhan Dan newspaper. “The war of aggression against Vietnam was really the highest level of violation of human rights and national self-determination.”