February 14, 1996
Web posted at: 12:30 a.m. EST (0530 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary William Perry Tuesday accused China of failing to keep its promise to become a responsible world power.
Addressing a symposium on China-Taiwan relations, Perry said China was reneging on its word by conducting missile tests and large military maneuvers off Taiwan.
He urged communist China and democratic Taiwan to settle their differences peacefully.
There are indications that China is worried that Taiwan's first democratic presidential elections next month could lead the island to declare independence. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province of China.
At a separate meeting, Perry called for the creation of a new forum for the defense chiefs of China, Japan, the United States and other Asia-Pacific nations to discuss regional security issues.
KUALA LAMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Kuala Lampur, Malaysia dislodged Chicago, United States, Tuesday to boast the world's tallest building -- the 1,483 feet-tall (452 meters) Petronas Twin Towers, which will house Malaysia's national oil company, Petronas.
Described as a city within a city, the building spreads over 18 million square feet and will contain stores, hotels, apartments, and a huge mosque.
Chicago's Sears Towers, at 1,454 feet, held the record for 25 years.
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The former wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and her entourage were reported missing Tuesday and possibly on the run, according to the South Korean Agency for National Security Planning.
A South Korean newspaper reported that Kim's former wife, Sung Hye-rim, and her entourage, which included her older sister and aide, were last seen in Sung's apartment in Geneva, Switzerland, earlier this month.
Seoul officials confirmed that the group was missing, but would not comment on whether they were seeking asylum from South Korea.
An earlier report from the Agency for National Security Planning said there was concern about the group's safety because of media reports in Seoul. The son of Sung's older sister is living in Seoul after defecting from North Korea in 1982.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Arsons plagued polling centers, government offices and vehicles throughout Bangladesh Tuesday, sparking tightened security for Thursday's elections.
In Chittagong, army patrols were beefed up after four state-run schools and a local office of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party went up in flames. Witnesses said opposition activists set them on fire.
Similar incidents were reported in at least four other towns.
A last minute peace offering by Bangladesh's prime minister was rejected by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, leader of the main opposition party.
Police said attacks with crude bombs occurred in and around the nation's capital of Dhaka Tuesday, and about 25 people were injured by police during an opposition-enforced blockade of transportation routes.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Rebels holding 13 hostages in a remote Indonesia province made contact with the Red Cross Tuesday, the first formal word from the rebels since January.
Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross began dropping leaflets throughout the jungle by helicopter Friday. They also have given leaflets to tribespeople, hoping to contact the kidnappers.
"The rebel leader, Kelik Kwalik, received the message sent by the ICRC through the Amungme tribespeople last week," a source told Reuters.
The communication was the first confirmed word from the rebels since the army lost radio contact with them January 25, after Roman Catholic Bishop Herman Munninghoff met with Kwalik.
Twenty-six people were seized on January 8. The rebels freed 13 of them -- 12 villagers and a German. Six Europeans and seven Indonesians remain hostage.
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