On the afternoon of June 12, 2008, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang held a regular press conference and answered questions on the Six-party Talks, German Foreign Minister's visit to China, the relationship between China and South Pacific island countries and etc.

Qin Gang: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to start with an announcement.

On June 14, the EU High Representative Javier Solana, the Political Director-Generals of China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany will deliver to Iran the Six-nation plan for the resumption of the talks, and the letter from Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany will also be sent to their Iranian counterpart. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi will attend the delivery on behalf of China.    

China hopes relevant parties to strengthen diplomatic efforts, show flexibility and achieve resuming talks at an early date so as to seek a comprehensive and long-term solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Now I'm ready to take your questions.

Q: An Australia think tank released a report saying that China's economic aid to South Pacific island countries is increasing year by year while the usage is not transparent, and it leads to instability and has negative impact on democracy and fairness in the region. Do you have any comment?

A: In recent years, China's relationship with Pacific island countries has maintained a sound momentum. The departure point for China to develop relations with South Pacific island countries is to maintain local peace and stability and promote sustainable economic and social development of these countries. For this purpose, China has provided aid to some island countries within our capacity in recent years. These aids are based on equality and mutual benefit, and are aimed to boost local economic development and improve people's livelihood. It is sincere help and support between friends. China will not use its aid to interfere with the internal affairs of these countries or attach any political strings upon the aid. China and Pacific island countries established cooperation forum for economic development, and within this framework, China has committed to provide support and help to some island countries in the region and established some cooperative projects. Now the projects are in a sound process of implementation.

I shall stress that China opposes and never engages in any so-called money diplomacy in its external relations. We are ready to develop cooperative relations and friendship with Pacific island countries based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and five principles of peaceful co-existence.

The accusation against China's policy to South Pacific island countries by the Australian think tank is groundless and unacceptable.

Q: Some US congressmen said the FBI found yesterday four of its computers were hacked by sources from China. Some US officials said the laptops of Americans might be bugged by Chinese Government through emails. Do you have any response to that?

A: I have read the report. I don't know whether or not you believe these accusations. What is the evidence? Now the people to people exchanges between China and the US are so close and frequent. You may interview any US citizen who come to China for travelling, work, business or study and ask whether their computers encounter any danger mentioned in the report. We would like to advise some people in the US not to be paranoid or make sensational remarks. They should rather do more things that help China-US mutual trust and friendship.

Q: Dalai is now visiting Australia. Do you have any comments on his visit? It is reported that some Australian leaders may meet with him. What is your response? Today, Dalai said his representatives might resume the dialogue with the Central Government, please confirm.

A: The Chinese Government firmly opposes Dalai's separatist activities in any country in any capacity and firmly opposes any country providing support or convenience for Dalai's separatist activities.

We request the Australian side to attach importance to China's solemn concerns and do not allow Dalai to conduct separatist activities on Australian territory.

As to the next contact between the Central Government and the Dalai side, it will be held in due course and now it is still under discussion.

Q: Foreign journalists are not allowed to go to Tibet since the happening of the violent incident in Lhasa on March 14. Three months has passed, and when will foreign journalists be allowed to enter Tibet?

A: First of all, I'd like to point out that Lhasa and some other places in Tibet are still not open to foreign journalists at present due to the severe violent incident happened in Lhasa on March 14. But the responsibility should not fall on our shoulders. We have noted that foreign journalists want to go to Tibet, and we believe that as social stability continues to be restored in Tibet, relevant authorities will take your aspiration into consideration.

Follow-up: You said that the responsibility should not fall on the shoulders of the Chinese Government, who's responsible for this?

A: Is it really not clear to you? Of course it's the Dalai Clique.

Q: Would you like to tell us the exact date of the torch relay in Lhasa? Foreign Minister of Germany will visit China tomorrow. Will the two sides talk about the Tibet issue? China-Germany relations were undermined after German Chancellor Mekel met with Dalai Lama. Has the relationship already recovered? The US has decided to suspend the arms sales to Taiwan so as to avoid negative impacts on the cross-straits dialogue. What's your comment on that?

A: According to the information from relevant authorities, the Olympic torch relay in China including that in Tibet may be adjusted because of the earthquake in Wenchuan. The specifics will be arranged by BOCOG and you may refer to them for further information.

Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Steinmeier of Germany will pay a visit to China tomorrow. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will have talks with him. Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Dai Bingguo will meet with him respectively. The two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and other issues of common interests. If the German side shows interest in issues related to Tibet and Dalai, we are willing to brief them on the relevant situation and elaborate on our principled position.

China-Germany relations have been developing with a good momentum. Many Cabinet members of Germany have visited China this year, and China-Germany Seminar on Law and the cultural event "Germany and China, Together in Movement" is proceeding smoothly. After the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan, leaders of Germany have expressed solicitude to China immediately, and the German Government and people have offered a large amount of relief materials and money, which fully demonstrates the friendly affections of the German people to the Chinese people, and we express heartfelt thanks to them. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to China-Germany relations. We are willing to make joint efforts with Germany to strengthen political trust, increase cooperation and promote a healthy and stable development of the bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality, reciprocity and properly handling the major issues of mutual concern.

The Chinese Government is firmly opposed to the US arms sales to Taiwan and is firmly opposed to the so-called military relations between the United States and Taiwan. We urge the US to honor its commitments in the three China-US Joint Communiqués especially the Joint Communiqué on Arms sales to Taiwan. The US should not just suspend arms sales to Taiwan but stop arm sales permanently, not just partially stop arm sales but thoroughly stop them.

Q:Japan and the DPRK are having talks in Beijing on remaining historical issues, including the abduction cases of Japanese nationals, between the two countries. What is China's expectation for the talks? The Energy and Economic Cooperation Working Group of the Six-party talks is having a meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Could you brief us on the schedule of the next meeting of the Six-party talks?

A: Regarding the talks between Japan and the DPRK, please refer the question to the two countries. We hope that the talks between the two sides could contribute to the solution of the pending issues between the two countries, and thus promote the improvement of the bilateral relations. It is our hope that the interaction and negotiations between Japan and the DPRK would produce positive results, for the normalization of Japan-DPRK relations is also an important part of the Six-party Talks process. We hope that all parties concerned would work together and meet in the half way to press ahead with the Six-party Talks.

With regard to the on-going meeting of the Energy and Economic Cooperation Working Group of the Six-party talks in the ROK, I haven't received any report about the meeting. We will brief you in due course if we have any information in this regard. In general, we hope that working group meetings could produce positive results. We now have an opportunity of overcoming temporary difficulties and further press ahead with the Six-party talks. We hope that all parties concerned could work together to this end.

At present, the parties concerned are actively having a new round of interaction, maintaining communications and coordination on next meeting of Heads of the Six-party Talks. China is ready to play a constructive role in implementing the remaining actions of the second stage in a comprehensive and balanced manner, and moving the Six-party Talks to a new stage.

Q: World Wildlife Fund and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development jointly published a report on Tuesday, saying that China is now consuming more than twice as much as what its ecosystems can supply sustainably, and has doubled its average ecological footprint since the 1960s. What's your response to the report?

A: You have raised a question on environmental protection and sustainable development. The Chinese Government is thoroughly applying the Scientific Outlook on Development aimed at sustainable economic development. An important content of the policy is the harmonious development of the human beings and environment, which has been written into the Report of the 17th National Conference of the Chinese Communist Party. Protecting environment is one of China's national policies. We attach great importance to the environmental protection and the harmony among population, natural resources and environment in China's national economic development and foreign economic cooperation. Meanwhile, international cooperation is also needed to solve global environmental issue. We will continue to cooperate with other countries in this regard to protect our common home.

If there are no more questions, thanks for coming and see you next time!