Asia Times

<html> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.atimes.com:80/atimes/Global_Economy/EF13Dj01.html","20030801212107","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1059772867"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title>Asia Times</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1250"> <link href="/web/20030801212107cs_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atimes.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="/web/20030801212107js_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atimes.js"></script> <script language="javascript1.1">  </script> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#003399" vlink="#003399" alink="#003399" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <table width="782" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="775" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="252" height="81"><img height="81" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atime_logo1.gif" width="284"></td> <td height="81" align="middle" valign="center" width="524"> <table width="470" height="56" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="468" height="60"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/newsfeed_info.html"><img alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/banner-6.gif"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="252"><img height="53" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atime_logo2.gif" width="284"></td> <td align="middle" valign="center" width="524"><img height="53" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/mid_top.jpg" width="492" usemap="#Map" border="0"></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="7" background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"><img height="7" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="7"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="118" align="middle" valign="top" bgcolor="#003366"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"> <table width="118" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img height="7" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_01.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/frintpage.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_03.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China.html"><img height="13" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/china.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/southeasta.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/southa.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan.html"><img height="15" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/japan.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea.html"><img height="13" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/korea.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/cen_a.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="15" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_10.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East.html"><img height="13" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/mideast.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/War_and_Terror.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/wandt.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="15" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_13.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Business_in_Brief.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/binb.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/asiane.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/globale.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_17.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Letters.html"><img height="12" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/letters.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="7" alt="" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_19.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> </table> <br> <table class="" id="Table14" height="130" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="65" align="center" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="darkorange" align="left" bgcolor="#000000" height="0"> <p align="center"></form></form> <form id="Form2" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/cgi-bin/es/esearch.asp"> <font size="1"><font face="Arial" color="#99ccff">Search Asia Times</font> </font> <input id="Hidden5" type="hidden" size="1" value="0" name="start"> <input id="Hidden6" type="hidden" size="1" value="10" name="perPage"> <input id="Hidden7" type="hidden" size="1" value="yes" name="summary"> <input id="Hidden8" type="hidden" size="1" value="rank" name="sort"> <center> <input id="Text2" size="11" name="search"></center> <br> <center> <input id="Submit1" type="submit" value="Search" name="submit" d="Submit1"></center> <p align="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/search.asp"><font color="#99ccff" size="1">Advanced Search</font></a></p> </td> </tr> </table></form> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="javascript:Currency();"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/currency-logo.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="top"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/book_reviews.html"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/books_logo.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" height="31" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top" background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/top_bg.gif"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr align="middle" valign="top"> <td width="20%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/archive.asp"><strong><img height="18" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/archive1.gif" width="80" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> <td width="20%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/about.html"><strong><img height="18" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/about1.gif" width="80" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> <td width="20%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/contact.html"><strong><img height="18" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/contact1.gif" width="80" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> <td width="20%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html"><strong><img height="18" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/advertise1.gif" width="80" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> <td width="20%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html"><strong><img height="18" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/media.gif" width="80" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> <td width="407" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><font class="subhead"><strong class="head"> Global Economy </strong></font> </td> </tr> </table> <br> <table width="392" border="0" align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" width="392"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#ff0000"><strong>A NEW WORLD ORDER</strong></font><br><font color="#000000" size="3"><strong>Part 2: Europe's 3D vision</strong></font> <br>By Pepe Escobar <br><br><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF12Dj02.html"><font color="#0000ff">Part 1: The South strikes back </font></a><br><br>SAO PAULO - A new idea of Europe is at the center of frenetic realignments currently evolving on the world stage. The European Union is fully engaged in the complex process of forging itself as an alternative political and social model for the rest of the world. But the EU still grapples with the fact that from 193 nation-states in the world today, 125 were its former colonies. And the EU still has not come up with a meaningful project to offer to most of these former colonies. <br><br>Neo-conservatives in the Bush administration love so-called "new Europe" (pliable, money-hungry, former communist, Eastern European states, plus starry-eyed opportunists like Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar). They dismiss "old Europe" (whose core, France and Germany, is nothing else but the core of the European Union). But as many political scientists have stressed, the dismissal barely masks extreme unease. What really worries the neo-conservatives and selected parts of the American establishment is how Germany, for instance, and Russia (whose destiny is inextricably linked with Europe) are increasingly giving full force again to their national development projects - away from the American model. <br><br>The EU as a whole does not have a national development project: it is shaping a continental and even global project that it would like to sell to the world. American neo-conservatives may dismiss "old Europe" at their own peril. There has been virtually no serious discussion in American corporate media on why France and Germany went against the Bush doctrine. But in Europe three key themes have been at the center of the debate as far as the Franco-German coalition is concerned - an entente cordiale revitalized by the whole Iraqi episode. <br><br>The three themes are the widespread European popular opposition to the war on Iraq and the unilateralist hegemony of the US; the meaning of this evolving, elusive "European identity"; and the current debate over the EU constitution. Nothing better illustrates what's at stake than a text published simultaneously on May 31 by the French daily Liberation and the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, written by two towering intellects of the European Union: Jacques Derrida and Jurgen Habermas. <br><br>Derrida (b El Biar, Algeria, 1930) is arguably the leading living French philosopher: his ideas also exert tremendous influence in leading American universities. Habermas (b Dusseldorf, 1929) is part of the second generation of the legendary Frankfurt School, which has congregated thinkers of the Critical Theory like Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse. Since the 1930s, the Frankfurt School has conceptualized many developments in modern and post-modern history by stressing that the capitalist system was "closed" and without any possibility of "concrete negation": the only challenge to it would come from fringe social groups (today personified by the globalization movement) and from the peoples of the Third World (the former colonies with which the EU still does not know how to deal). <br><br>Asia Times Online has learned that Habermas himself invited other European intellectuals to write manifestoes in their country's newspapers, to be published on the same day, May 31: that was the case with Umberto Eco and Gianni Vattimo in Italy, Fernando Savater in Spain, and the philosopher and Stanford University professor Richard Rorty in the US. <br><br>Derrida and Habermas start with "two dates which we should nor forget": the day European newspapers published "new Europe's" declaration of loyalty to Bush's war at the end of January; and February 15, the day of massive anti-war protests in most European capitals. Derrida and Habermas say that "the simultaneity of these magnificent protests, the largest since the end of the Second World War, maybe will enter the history books as marking the birth of the European public sphere". One wonders when and if one day there will be an "Asian public sphere". <br><br>To configure a new form of future global politics, Derrida and Habermas stress that Europe "must show its weight to counterbalance the hegemonic unilateralism of the US". But where will this "attractive and even contagious vision" come from? It can only be born from a current "sense of perplexity" and "it must be articulated in the febrile cacophony of a public sphere of multiple voices". And indeed there's a lot of debate going on now all over Europe, from universities and parliaments to the streets. <br><br>Derrida and Habermas say that "Christianity and capitalism, natural science and technology, Roman law and the Napoleonic code, the urban and civilian form of life, democracy and human rights, the secularization of state and society, these conquests are no more an European privilege. The 'West', in the quality of a spiritual profile, includes more than only Europe." This should connect to "the desire of a multilateral and juridically regulated international order and the hope of effective global politics in the framework of a reformed UN". <br><br>Derrida and Habermas also make a crucial point: "The constellation that allowed privileged Western Europeans to develop such a mentality under the shadow of the Cold War has disintegrated since 1989-90. But February 15 shows that the mentality itself has survived its original context. This also explains why 'old Europe' considers itself challenged by the energetic hegemonic policy of the allied superpower. And why so many in Europe who salute the fall of Saddam as a liberation reject the character contrary to international law of the unilateral, preemptive invasion, justified in such a confusing and insufficient manner." Both philosophers barely disguise their irony when they add that "in our longitudes, it's hard to imagine a president that starts his daily activities with a public prayer and ties his political decisions full of consequences to a divine mission". <br><br>Neo-conservatives could learn a thing or two from Derrida and Habermas: "Each of the great European nations lived the flowering of imperial power and, what is more important in our context, had to assimilate the experience of the loss of an empire: with increasing distancing from imperial domination and colonial history, European powers also got the chance of taking a reflexive distance from themselves. Thus they were able to learn to perceive themselves, from the perspective of the vanquished, in the dubious role of victors which would have to be accountable for an authoritarian modernization. This might have nurtured a refusal of eurocentrism, and stimulated the hope for a truly global politics." <br><br>Will the neo-conservatives listen to "old Europe"? Hardly. Another towering intellect, Italian Toni Negri, co-author with Michael Hardt of <i>Empire</i>, says that he relies on John Dewey - an American author - to, in Negri's words, "stimulate the conscience of necessary reforms to fight Bush's brutalizing philosophy". For the best European minds - and for much of its public opinion - neo-conservative-inspired American unilateralism is just another brand of terrorism. And if the world is forced to choose between barbarism and barbarism, it's up to Europe to offer an alternative. <br><br>(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/mailto:content@atimes.com"><font color="#0000ff">content@atimes.com</font></a> for information on our sales and syndication policies.)</font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" width="392"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="105" align="middle" valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="44" align="middle" valign="center"><font class="time"><strong> Jun 13, 2003 </strong></font> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="75"><img height="75" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="javascript:atprint();"><img height="26" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/print.gif" width="91" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="5" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="javascript:SendNews();"><img height="26" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/email.gif" width="91" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="5" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="javascript:Currency();"><img height="26" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/currency.gif" width="91" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> <table width="104" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="104"> <hr size="1"> <img height="16" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/relatedart.gif" width="101"><br> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF11Dj01.html"><font color="blue" size="2">The free trade charade</font></a><font size="2"> <br><font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 11, '03)</font> <br><br></font><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EA31Ak04.html"><font color="#0000ff" size="2">'New Europe' vs 'Old Europe' on Iraq</font></a><font size="2"> <br><font color="#999999" size="1">(Jan 31, '03)</font> </font><br><br> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> </td> <td width="10" valign="top" background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"><img height="1" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="9"></td> <td width="130" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="117" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html"><img height="120" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/right-way-ad.gif" width="120" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5"><img height="5" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.wsicorporate.com/business.asp?id=5292" target="_blank"><img height="120" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/Big-Button-new.gif" width="120" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="117" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#000000"><font color="#ff9900" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Affiliates<br> </strong></font><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html#AF"> <font color="#ff9900" size="1">Click here to be one</font></a>)</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top" bgcolor="#000000"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.asiaobserver.com/" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/ao-affiliate.gif" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.taipeitimes.com/" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/tt-affiliate.gif" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.kwrintl.com/fforwards/atimesadin.html"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/kw-affiliate.gif" border="0"></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.manager.co.th/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/mo-affiliate.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://news.google.com/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/gn-affiliate.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://news.yahoo.com/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/yn-affiliate.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top"> <div align="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html" target="_blank"><img height="60" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/shut-out-ad-banner.gif" width="468" border="0"></a></div> </td> <td width="10" valign="top" background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"> </td> <td width="130" align="left" valign="top"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> <td width="407" align="left" valign="top"> </td> <td width="105" align="middle" valign="top"> </td> <td width="10" valign="top" background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"> </td> <td width="130" align="left" valign="top"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"><img height="7" src="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="7"></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="50" align="middle" valign="center" bgcolor="#003366"> <div align="center"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="table-text"> <tr> <td height="17"> <div align="center"></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="17"> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">No material from Asia Times Online may be republished in any form without written permission.</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="13"> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="1">Copyright 2003, Asia Times Online, 4305 Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd, Central, Hong Kong</font></div> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font> </div> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="2"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/policies.html"> <font color="#ffffff">Privacy and Legal Policies</font></a></font></div> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="2"></font> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p></p> <font color="#ffffff" size="1"></font><font color="#ffffff" size="2"></font> </div> </td> <td background="/web/20030801212107im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"> </td> </tr> </table> <map name="Map"> <area shape="RECT" coords="347,3,488,47" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801212107/http://www.asiatimes-chinese.com/" target="_blank"> </map> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Asia Times