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People’s Republic of China 1993 Jan. 28—A shuffle of the armed forces in which new commanders or political commissars have been named for six of the country’s seven military regions has been completed, the New York Times reports. The changes have greatly lessened the influence of half-brothers Yang Shangkun and Yang Baibing; Yang Shangkun, a former general, is finishing a term as China’s president, and Yang Baibing was removed as the army’s top political commissar. Feb. 17—The government announces the release from prison of Wang Dan and Guo Haifeng, student leaders in the 1989 democracy movement ; it says all students held in connection with the movement have now been released, although several are reportedly still in custody . Dissidents Wang Xizhe and Gao Shan were released earlier this month. March 15–31—The First Session of the Eighth National People’s Congress takes place. Jiang Zemin, the general secretary of the Communist Party, is elected on March 27 as the country’s president, and reelected as chairman of the Central Military Commission . This is the first time since 1980 that the top posts in the party, government , and military have been concentrated in one leader’s hands. Revisions to the state constitution, approved on March 29, make explicit commitment to economic reform and opening up as well as modernizing the country according to the theory of “building socialism with Chinese characteristics.” The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China is promulgated on March 31. April 6—The number of registered companies in China rose 88% last year, to 486,000, reports the New York Times; the capital of private businesses also grew 79% over the year, to $3.9 billion. April 27–29—The chairmen of Chinese mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, Wang Daohan, and Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation, Koo Chen-Fu, meet in Singapore. The two sides issued a joint communiqué and signed three specific agreements. May 24–25—In the largest demonstration in several years, some 600 people in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, protest economic hardships and Chinese control of Tibet. Police disperse the crowd with tear gas. June 6—In Renshou, Sichuan province, paramilitary police fire 217 Chronology of Recent Events tear gas at thousands of peasants who surrounded them and threw stones. The police were attempting to arrest leaders of a recent rebellion against county officials who imposed a tax for the construction of a road. June 20—The State Council, in response to widespread discontent among peasants, rescinds 37 central government taxes and fees. All locally issued burdens are abolished. June 30—It is announced that Li Guixian, one of the state councilors , will no longer be the governor of the central bank after some 100,000 Chinese investors lost more than $175 million in the Great Wall bond scandal earlier this month. He will be replaced temporarily by Deputy Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. July 2—The American brewer Anheuser -Busch, in the first such foreign acquisition allowed by China, acquires about 6% stock share in Tsingtao Brewery Company by converting convertible bonds to stock shares after Tsingtao becomes the first mainland corporation to be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange . July 17—The Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao reports that 44 people were convicted two days ago in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, of smuggling people out of the country and sentenced to terms in labor camps. Another 32 have received prison terms of from 1 to 5 years for the same offence. Aug. 12—The government announces it has closed 1,000 of the 1,200 economic development zones set up by local officials to attract domestic and foreign investment, often by offering unauthorized tax breaks and incentives. In July the state began an effort to cool down the economy, which grew 14% last year. Earlier this month the government made public plans to turn one-third of state-owned enterprises into limited -liability corporations responsible for their own losses. The official newspaper, China Daily, announces that a social insurance system providing all urban workers with guaranteed unemployment bene fits will be established within two years. Aug. 20–25—The second plenum of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission takes place. President Jiang Zemin calls for a crackdown on corruption in government. The official New China News Agency reported recently that between...

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