China is deeply shocked by a report in the Los Angeles Times about a U.S. move to prepare contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against at least seven countries including China. According to the Los Angeles Times, a Defense Department study outlined a contingency plan to use nuclear weapons against at least seven countries -- namely China, Russia, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria.

　　During the cold war, the United States employed nuclear weapons to prevent a Soviet attack on Western Europe. But now, the Pentagon report claims, the nation faces new contingencies in which nuclear weapons might be employed, including "an Iraqi attack on Israel or its neighbors, or a North Korean attack on South Korea or a military confrontation over the status of Taiwan."

　　Washington has promised that it will not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states that have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty unless those countries attack the United States or its allies "in alliance with a nuclear weapon state." Significantly, all of those countries have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

　　Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi demanded an explanation and stressed that China and the United States had agreed not to target each other with nuclear weapons. Sun pointed out that China is a peace-loving country and poses no threat to any country.

　　"Like many other countries, China is deeply shocked with the content of this report,'' Sun said. ``The U.S. side has a responsibility to explain this. Sun reminded Washington that former U.S. President Bill Clinton had reached an agreement with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on a visit to Beijing in 1998 not to target each other's country with nuclear arms. ``China has always upheld that all nuclear weapons should be comprehensively banned and completely destroyed, and that nuclear countries should pledge unconditionally not to use nuclear weapons first, and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons on non-nuclear countries or regions,'' Sun said. ``Any cold war mentality will run counter to this trend and will come to no end at all."

　　China has all along advocated the comprehensive ban and complete elimination of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapon states should commit themselves to the unconditional no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and promise not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against nuclear weapon-free countries and regions.

　　OVERSEAS RESPONSE HARSHLY

　　The reaction overseas to the policy shift was predictably harsh, with the Vice Secretary General in charge of disarmament of the UN saying on March 12 that the US review was a strike against the efforts of global nonproliferation and it encourages other countries to cast away the obligations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In addition, it was a severe step, even if it was just a plan, because it demonstrated that the US has departed from the standpoint of taking nuclear weapons as a political deterrent. He said that using nuclear weapons tramples humanitarianism and breaches the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. According to the nonproliferation treaty, nuclear countries should cut their nuclear arms and destroy them completely. The standpoint of the US is against the No.984 resolution of the UN Security Council in 1995, which prescribed nuclear weapon-free countries and regions are free of the threat of the nuclear weapons. He said it is wanton that using nuclear weapons to deal with the attack of biological weapons because nuclear weapons kill people but the whole ecosystem that humankind depends on.

　　A Russian legislator asked if Americans "have somewhat lost touch with the reality in which they live. Throughout the nuclear age, the fundamental goal has been to prevent the use of nuclear weapons," said Ivo Daalder, a foreign policy specialist at the Brookings Institution. "Now the policy has been turned upside down. It is to keep nuclear weapons as a tool of fighting and offensive rather than a tool of deterrence."

　　The Pentagon, for its part, argues that in a world full of unexpected threats and rogue states, it needs a broader array of options. It describes nuclear and nonnuclear weapons as " strike systems". "Composed of both non-nuclear systems and nuclear weapons, the strike element of the new triad can provide greater flexibility in the design and conduct of military campaigns to defeat opponents decisively," the review says.

　　"Nonnuclear strike capabilities may be particularly useful to limit collateral damage and conflict escalation. Nuclear weapons could be employed against targets able to withstand nonnuclear attack (for example, deep underground bunkers or bioweapons facilities). Nuclear and nonnuclear strike systems can attack an enemy's war-making capabilities and thus contribute to the defeat of the adversary and the defense of the United States and its security partners."

　　Throughout the cold war, nuclear weapons had an enormous role in American military planning. The Pentagon not only built a formidable strategic arsenal to deter a nuclear attack on the United States; it also reserved the right to use nuclear weapons to deter a Warsaw Pact attack on Europe. The Kremlin did much the same.

　　But as the cold war waned, so did the notion that nuclear weapons could be used to fight a war. The United States and Russia withdrew their tactical nuclear weapons from Europe and from their fleets. While Washington did not formally give up its option to make the first use of nuclear weapons against a Warsaw Pact attack, it cast the use of such weapons as a last resort.

　　With the end of the cold war, the need for nuclear weapons seemed to fade further. Arms control advocates pushed for radical cuts in the American and Russian arsenals and for taking nuclear-tipped missiles off alert, though hard-liners insisted that there was still a need for nuclear arms.

　　The potential blurring of those roles, critics fear, would eliminate the firebreak between nuclear and conventional war. Some specialists also argue that it sends a message to third world powers that nuclear weapons are militarily useful.

　　On March 12, an editorial named America as Nuclear Rogue in the New York Times said that if another country was planning to develop a new nuclear weapon and contemplating pre-emptive strikes against a list of non-nuclear powers, Washington would rightly label that nation a dangerous rogue state. Yet such is the course recommended to President Bush by a new Pentagon planning paper that became public last weekend. Mr. Bush needs to send that document back to its authors and ask for a new version less menacing to the security of future American generations.

　　In a worldswheresnumerous countries are developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, it is quite right that America retain a credible nuclear deterrent.swheresthe Pentagon review goes very wrong is in lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons and in undermining the effectiveness of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is backed by promises that as long as signatories stay non-nuclear and avoid combat alongside a nuclear ally, they will not be attacked with nuclear weapons. If the Pentagon proposals become American policy, that promise would be withdrawn and countries could conclude they need nuclear weapons to avoid nuclear attack.

　　Background:US plotted four nuclear assaults against China

　　Newly reported from abroad that the US National Secrecy Archives disclosed for the first time 41 top-secret files of the US government and a 500-hour-long speech record of president Nixon in his office of the White House. They disclosed a series of shocking insights: The US government has attempted to mount nuclear assault on China for four times.

　　Firstly, in 1950, the US threatened to attack China with nuclear weapons during the 3-year Korean War. President Truman said, "We were always thinking to use A-bombs!" President Eisenhower also declared similarly. Their threat was not merely oral: the American army corps really set down a complete project named "Shakedown Action". Along with the stretching of the Korean War, on November 28th 1950, the US rear admiral Luro asked the joint conference of the chief of staff to use A-bombs insgroupsto stop the Chinese Army from joining the Korean War. On January 11th, 1951, the chairman of the US national safety committee proposed to mount a nuclear assault on China, and at the same time declared the ultimatum toward USSR, warning it not to take indiscretionary action. On May 19th 1953, the joint conference requested to carry out a plan that extended the war out of the Korean peninsula, including the possibility of using nuclear weapons, but the then prime minister of Britain, Churchill, and the then premier of France strongly opposed the US plan on November 27th.

　　The US attempted to use nuclear weapons on China for the second time during the Vietnam War. In March 1954, the French troops were tightly encircled by the Vietnam People's Army. On March 8th, the US land forces suggested use nuclear weapons in Vietnam. President Eisenhower first agreed to employ 735 tactical bombers with 1750 warheads to attack China and the USSR. But the French foreign minister refused American's suggestion. On May 25th, the National Safety Committee suggested again while President Eisenhower denied it this time in consideration of the Soviet Union's involvement.

　　The US attempted to implement nuclear attacks on China for the third time in 1954 when the PLA start bombing Jinmen Island. On November 23rd, China tried openly the 13 pilots of the US Air force, whom brokesintosthe Chinese airspace in the Korean War. The joint conference cried again to strike China with nuclear weapons. However, Churchill strongly opposed that US help Chiang Kaishek protect JInmen and Mazu with A-bombs. Neither did the international society agree on US's scheme.

　　The fourth time American planned to attack China with nuclear weapons was in 1958 when the PLA bombed the two islands again. On August 8th the chairmen of the joint conference requested the president accredit the seventh fleet of nuclear reaction authority. On September 7th, the Soviet Union notified the president Eisenhower definitely they would stand on China's side if the US mounted a nuclear assault on China. On September 19th, the former Soviet Union warned again.

　　Background:Taiwan--an Inalienable Part of China

　　Located to the southeast of the Chinese mainland opposite Fujian Province, the island province of Taiwan is flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Taiwan Straits to the west. Covering an area of 36,000 square kilometers, Taiwan comprises China's largest island, Taiwan Island, and more than 80 other smaller neighboring islands and islets, the largest of which is the Penghu Islands. Taiwan was called Yizhou and Liuqiu in ancient times. Taiwan's early development by the Chinese people has been recorded in many historical books and documents. The Chinese governments through the past ages set up administrative organizations to exercise its jurisdiction over Taiwan. Traditional Chinese culture has been continuously passed on during the development of Taiwanese society, even during the 50 years of Japanese occupation. After the Chinese people won the War of Resistance against Japan in 1945, the Chinese Government restored the administrative organs of Taiwan Province. On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Kuomintang authorities retreated to Taiwan from the mainland. In 1950 the Korean War broke out and the United States dispatched its Seventh Fleet to invade Taiwan and occupy the Taiwan Straits. In 1954, the government of the United States and the Taiwan authorities signed a "Mutual Defence Treaty," bringing about the separation of Taiwan from the mainland.

　　Background:President Jiang Zemin's Eight-point Proposals

　　On January 30, 1995, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of China Jiang Zemin delivered an important speech entitled "Continuing to Strive Toward the Reunification of China." In his speech Jiang Zemin put forward eight propositions on the development of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and the peaceful reunification of China on the current stage:

　　1. Adhering to the principle of one China is the basis and prerequisite for peaceful reunification. China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must never be allowed to suffer division. We must resolutely oppose any statement and action for creating "the independence of Taiwan"; and we must also resolutely oppose the propositions to "split the country and rule under separate regimes," "two Chinas over a certain period of time," etc., which are contrary to the principle of one China.

　　2. We do not have objections to the development of nongovernmental economic and cultural ties between Taiwan and other countries. According to the principle of one China and the characters of international organizations concerned, Taiwan has joined the Asian Development Bank, the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and other international economical organizations in the name of "Chinese Taibei." However, we oppose Taiwan's activities in "expanding its living space internationally," aimed at creating "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." All patriotic compatriots in Taiwan and other people of insight understand that instead of solving problems, such activities can only help the forces working for the "independence of Taiwan," and undermine the progress of peaceful reunification. Only after peaceful reunification is accomplished can our Taiwan compatriots and other Chinese truly and fully share the international dignity and honor attained by our great motherland.

　　3. It has been our consistent stand to hold negotiations with Taiwan authorities on the peaceful reunification of the motherland. Representatives of all political parties and groups from both sides of the Taiwan Straits can be invited to participate in the negotiations for peaceful reunification. I said in my report at the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 1992, "On the premise that there is only one China, we are prepared to talk with the Taiwan authorities about any matter, including the form that official negotiations should take, a form that would be acceptable to both sides." By "on the premise that there is only one China, we are prepared to talk with the Taiwan authorities about any matter," we mean, naturally, that all matters of concern to the Taiwan authorities are included. We have proposed time and again that negotiations should be held on officially ending the state of hostility between the two sides and accomplishing peaceful reunification step by step. Here again I solemnly propose that such negotiations be held. I suggest that, as a first step, negotiations should be held and an agreement reached on officially ending the state of hostility between the two sides under the principle that there is only one China. On this basis, the two sides may bear responsibilities together, maintain China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as plan the future development of the relations between the two sides separated by the strait. As regards the name, place and form of these political talks, a solution acceptable to both sides can certainly be found so long as consultations on an equal footing can be held at an early date.

　　4. We shall try our best to achieve the peaceful reunification of China since Chinese should not fight Chinese. We do not promise not to use force. If used, force will not be directed against our compatriots in Taiwan, but against the foreign forces who intervene in China's reunification and go in for "the independence of Taiwan." We are fully confident that our compatriots in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao and those residing overseas would understand our principled position.

　　5. Challenged with world economic development in the 21st century, we shall spare no effect to develop economic exchange and cooperation between the two sides separated by the Taiwan Straits so that both sides enjoy a flourishing economy and the whole Chinese nation benefits. We maintain that political disagreement should not impede economic cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. We shall continue, for an extended period, to implement a policy of encouraging Taiwanese investment on the mainland and carry out the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protecting Investments by Taiwan Compatriots. In any circumstances, we shall protect all legitimate rights and interests of Taiwanese investors in a down-to-earth way and continually encourage exchange and contacts across the Taiwan Straits which promote mutual understanding. Since the direct links for postal, air and shipping services and trade between the two sides are the objective requirements for their economic development and contacts in various fields, and since they are in the interests of the people on both sides, it is absolutely necessary to adopt practical measures to speed up the establishment of such direct links. Efforts should be made to promote negotiations on certain specific issues between the two sides. We are in favor of conducting this kind of negotiations on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit and signing nongovernmental agreements on the protection of the rights and interests of industrialists and business people from Taiwan.

　　6. The splendid culture of 5,000 years created by the sons and daughters of all ethnic groups of China has become ties keeping the entire Chinese people close at heart and constitutes an important basis for the peaceful reunification of the motherland. People on both sides should jointly inherit and carry forward the fine traditions of the culture.

　　7. The 21 million Taiwan people, whether born there or in other provinces, are Chinese and our own flesh and blood. The lifestyles of our Taiwan compatriots and their desire to be masters of their own country should be fully respected. All their legitimate rights and interests must be protected. All relevant departments in our Party and government, including agencies stationed abroad, must improve their relations with our Taiwan compatriots, listen to their views and requests, show concern for and take care of their interests and do everything they can to help solve their problems. We hope that Taiwan Island enjoys social stability, economic growth and affluence. We also hope that all political parties in Taiwan will adopt a sensible, forward-looking and constructive attitude and promote the expansion of relations between the two sides. We welcome all political parties and personages from different walks of life in Taiwan exchange opinions with us on the relations between the two sides and on peaceful reunification. Their visits to the mainland are also welcome. All personages from various circles who have contributed to the reunification of China will go down in history for their deeds.

　　8. We welcome leaders of Taiwan to visit the mainland in their proper status. We also are ready to accept invitations to visit Taiwan. We may discuss state affairs or exchange opinions on certain issues first. Even a simple visit to the side will be useful. The affairs of Chinese people should be handled by us, something that does not take an international occasion to accomplish. People on both sides of the Taiwan Straits eagerly look forward to meeting each other and being able to freely exchange visits.