China opposes sanctions against Iran's nuclear ambitions and urges countries to consider a Russian compromise, a Chinese spokesman said yesterday, as Tehran's nuclear negotiator held talks in Beijing.
"We oppose impulsively using sanctions or threats of sanctions to solve problems. This will complicate problems," Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan (
In Moscow on Wednesday, Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani said referring Iran's nuclear activities to the UN Security Council would prompt Tehran to start uranium enrichment.
But he also signaled interest in a Russian proposal to enrich Iranian uranium on Russian soil -- a compromise backers say would give Iran nuclear power but restrain any moves to make weapons.
Kong said Russia's offer should be seriously considered.
"We think the Russian proposal is a good attempt to break this stalemate," he said.
China yesterday urged all parties involved in the dispute to step up diplomatic efforts as Larijani underscored the country's close ties with Beijing.
"We agreed members of the [Non-Proliferation Treaty] have right [sic] to peaceful nuclear energy," Larijani told reporters after meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
In turn, Tang told Larijani that all "parties concerned should step up diplomatic efforts to create favorable conditions for the resumption of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue," Xinhua news agency said.
Earlier this month, Iran removed UN seals on uranium enrichment equipment and resumed nuclear fuel research. It says it does not want nuclear weapons, and has the right to enrich uranium at home.
The US and its EU allies, who fear Iran might move to developing nuclear weapons, say the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should turn Iran over to the UN Security Council.
Russia and China have urged other solutions to the standoff.
The council's veto-wielding permanent members plan to meet in London on Monday to try to resolve differences over what to do about Iran.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
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CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
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