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China Declassifies Diplomatic Documents
2004-01-20
A Zhou Enlai-led diplomatic mission attended an event celebrating the Soviet Union Revoulionary in Moscow in October of 1964. |
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BEIJING - China's secretive government says it has declassified thousands of diplomatic documents from the 1940s and 1950s, a move it touts as part of the country's opening to the world.The first cache of 10,000 items from the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic archives includes telegrams on establishing relations with Moscow after China's 1949 communist revolution, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. It said most of the items come from between 1949 and 1955. The state-controlled newspaper China Daily cast the decision as ``an indication of social progress and the country expanding to the outside world.'' ``It is not easy to take the first step,'' said Li Jiasong, the archives' former director-general, quoted by China Daily. The newly opened files include directives and speeches by then-Premier Zhou Enlai, who also was the country's foreign minister, and documents from international conferences, Xinhua said, citing Zhang Sulin, a ministry archivist. It wasn't clear how comprehensive the files would be or whether they include material about such sensitive issues as the 1950-53 Korean War, when China fought alongside North Korea against U.S.-led United Nations troops. The ministry is opening the files under rules requiring historical records to be declassified 30 years after they are compiled. There was no explanation why this batch of documents - some of which are more than 50 years old - were not released earlier. Even so, the release of such a trove of documents is striking given the Communist Party and the government it controls remain highly secretive, and obtaining information from them is an arduous task even for Chinese citizens. Anyone who wants to see them must apply 20 days in advance, the government said. It didn't say how officials would decide what applicants would be allowed to see. A call to the ministry Tuesday morning wasn't answered. The Foreign Ministry plans to open the records in batches as the 30-year deadlines arrive, according to the official Communist Party newspaper People's Daily. The newspaper said ``the opening of the records will help the public at home and abroad'' to learn about China's diplomatic affairs and ``its great achievements'' since the revolution. AP
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