UFO Info Week-End

As they left the camp the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey arrived in Rwanda saying he had not come

As they left the camp, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey arrived in Rwanda, saying he had not come to “judge or condemn” AFP. BY DIANE COYLE

Economics Correspondent
The pound plummeted to a new low against the German mark and a basket of other currencies yesterday. The final group was taken by truck to Butare for screening before being returned to their home villages. Most of the survivors fled, but hundreds took refuge in a school building, where they lived on rainwater and the few rations they had with them. Kigali – The last 546 Hutus holding out at the Kibeho camp in south-west Rwanda surrendered to government soldiers who massacred about 2,000 refugees 19 days ago. If this is the start of an end-game ahead of Deng Xiaoping’s death, it could prove to be a long hot summer for many cadres.. At the send-off for Mr Jiang on his way to Moscow this week, Mr Li’s smile looked even more forced than usual.Who will be next to tumble? Peking’s mayor, Li Qiyan, and the remaining executive deputy, Zhang Baifa, look the most vulnerable, despite their oaths of loyalty to Mr Jiang since their party boss was detained.

Chen Yun’s death and then Chen Xitong’s downfall have undermined the hardliners. But some diplomats suggest that Mr Jiang is weakening his own position by moving too fast and too soon against his perceived political rivals and that Mr Qiao – a far more impressive figure – could be the final beneficiary.Mr Qiao certainly looks a lot stronger than Li Peng, the hardline Prime Minister, who is still much loathed for the Tiananmen massacre. The man chosen to replace Mr Chen was Wei Jianxing, the head of the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and one of the rare political figures in China these days to retain a reputation for honesty.Rather than the job going to an ally of Mr Jiang, Mr Wei is a longtime associate of Qiao Shi, the increasingly powerful former internal security chief who now heads the National People’s Congress.Most analysts now look to Mr Qiao to play an important role after Mr Deng’s death, certainly as a power-broker and possibly as a main player At the moment he seems to be aligned with Mr Jiang. This is a popular move: Mr Chen is widely disliked in the city for his support of the bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989 and despised for heading one of the most corrupt local governments in the country.Factional politics and inner-palace power plays are none the less the centre of speculation.

Could Mr Jiang really be targeting the most princely of “red princelings” while Mr Deng was still alive?According to the most obvious interpretation, Mr Jiang is using the anti- corruption campaign to purge his hardline foes, particularly Chen Xitong, in the Peking municipal government. Sons of paramount leaders do not usually respond to press reports. There are reports that dozens of other Peking government cadres are also being held and there are rumours of another suicide.Most unusual in this saga was a statement issued last week by Deng Zhifang denying Hong Kong media reports that he had been questioned as part of the government’s anti-corruption drive. A Politburo member, Mr Chen was probably among the most powerful 20 party officials in China His son, Chen Xiaotong, is also said to be in detention. Very soon after the news became public, however, it was overshadowed by the death of 90-year-old Chen Yun, the hardline party elder who had come to symbolise conservative opposition to the Deng reform programme.Then, on 27 April came the “resignation” and house arrest of Chen Xitong who, according to the official statement, was taking “complete responsibility” for Wang Baosen’s suicide. He was the most senior official to commit suicide since the Cultural Revolution. They included former aides to the mayor, Li Qiyan, and to Mr Chen.