A tour of Third World media and ethnic media in the U.S. provides a variety of views on Chinese-Japanese relations, capital punishment, and the situation in the Sudan, as well as news of assassination, insults, and pies. One of a series of reviews of the ethnic media in California and elsewhere published regularly by Pacific News Service.

CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS AT A NADIR

China-Japan relations have slid back to ground zero following President Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan, according to a leading Chinese language daily in Singapore. Calling the trip the biggest setback in Chinese diplomacy in the last several years, the Lianhe Zaobao pointed out that Jiang Zemin was not only unable to resolve the basic problems troubling the two countries, but planted explosive tripwires endangering the relationship.

-- Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore

BEER AND INSULTS

Days after Carlsberg Beer ran an ad aimed at illustrating life in the Big Apple, Korean grocers banded together to call for its removal -- successfully. The ad read "Actually Saw Korean Deli Close, Celebrate Special Occasion!"

The grocers saw it as an "insult" to the "hard work ethic" of Korean Americans, said Richard Pak of the Korean Grocers Association of New York, which includes 2,300 store owners. A representative for Labatt USA, which owns Carlsberg, traveled to the association's headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, to offer a formal apology and several cases of beer in a conciliatory gesture.

"The Korean grocers are valuable partners in selling our beer," said Labatt spokesman Scott Quincy. "So we would never want to do anything to offend them."

-- AsianWeek, San Francisco

FUNERAL FOR KOREAN FILM?

Carrying black-and-white portraits of themselves, about 1000 actors and film producers recently paraded in a mock funeral procession in downtown Seoul denouncing what they call "a plot to kill Korean film."

The protest was prompted by a government announcement that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is considering cutting the number of days local movie theaters are required to run Korean films. Critics fear this will leave the door open for Hollywood to overwhelm the fledgling Korean film industry.

Currently, local cinemas must show Korean films 146 days per year, but the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that number could drop in response to a U.S. request made at the Korea/U.S. Investment Agreement negotiations.

-- The Chosun Daily, South Korea

SIKH MODERATE MURDERED

The publisher of a 20-year-old Punjabi newspaper in British Columbia known for his crusading against violence and terrorism by Sikh extremists was assassinated in his home last month.

Tara Singh Hayer, the 62-year-old founder and owner of the Indo-Canadian Times, had long been the target of death threats and vitriolic radio broadcasts. An assassination attempt ten years ago had left him wheel-chair bound.

The Akal Takht, the highest Sikh spiritual body in India, ordered a boycott of the Times and excommunicated Hayer and four other moderate Sikh-Canadians for using tables and chairs in traditional meals held in Sikh temples. Undeterred, he "wrote whatever he believed in," said Jarnail Singh Bhandal, the vice president of the Khalsa Diwan Society temple. "He believed in freedom of the press."

-- India West, San Leandro, Ca.

FELONIOUS PIE THROWING

Three activists with the Biotic Baking Brigade who pelted San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with pies last month have provoked the outrage of some of the city's most prominent Black leaders.

"There's no way in the world you can make a joke out of a crime," said San Francisco NAACP president, Alex Pitcher. "It's a felony and they should be sent to prison." Glide Memorial Church's Reverend Cecil Williams called the pie throwing "an act of violence" and "felt immediately insulted and humiliated." Community activist Reverend Arnold Townsend asked how the protesters "would feel if they see three or four African Americans heading toward them."

Brown, who ended up with a bruised knee and a sprained ankle, noted that the tin pie plate hit him just above the eye. At issue is whether or not the protesters intended to harm Brown, according to the District Attorney's office.

-- Sun Reporter, San Francisco

ESTRADA AMBIVALENT ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Philippines President Joseph Estrada is appealing to United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities to spare the life of John Aquino, a Filipino worker sentenced to die for murder. In his own country, however, Estrada has repeatedly refused to grant clemency to Leo Echegaray who faces execution for the rape of his step-daughter.

Acting through the Philippines ambassador to Dubai, Estrada appealed to the president of the UAE to commute Aquino's sentence to life imprisonment. The case is being reviewed by the UAE Supreme Court.

-- Manila Bulletin, San Francisco

CHILE'S RETIRED GENERALS OFFER TO TAKE THE HEAT FOR PINOCHET

While Chile's former president Augusto Pinochet awaits a final determination in London on whether he will be extradited to Spain to face charges of crimes against humanity, a number of his former top military officers want to take the heat off him by incriminating themselves for his alleged crimes.

"We should assume the responsibility that General Pinochet is assuming alone," said Eugenio Videla, former director of operations of the Chilean Armed Forces.

Videla and 300 other retired officers will present themselves before Santiago's court of appeals, where Judge Juan Guzman is investigating 14 suits against Pinochet. "We were the ones who were in control of the Armed Forces and had great freedom to act," said Videla. "Pinochet didn't kill any one, absolutely no one."

-- La Tercera, Santiago, Chile

SUDAN REBELS WARRING AMONGST THEMSELVES

A Sudanese writer from the anti-regime opposition, Muhammad Al-Hassan Ahmed, laments the "rise of warfare between and among the southern rebels."

At one time, he writes, southern rebels only fought the northern government but now, each of the three major southern ethnic groups has split and the splitees are fiercely fighting each other. With the possible exception of Dr. John Garang's forces who retain some of their old ideals, the battles are mostly about power and privilege.

With power struggles intensifying throughout the country and shoot-outs in the capital itself, the writer calls on all Sudanese to recommit themselves to unity before the violence in the Sudan brings about even more dangerous struggles involving the country's neighbors.

-- As Sharq, Al Asat, Qatar

HEALTH OFFICIALS FEAR AIDS FIGURES TOO LOW

California health officials worry that the low number of Korean Americans identified as AIDS patients in the Bay Area masks a much larger problem. There are a total of 12 Korean American AIDS patients in the Bay Area, according to California Department of Health statistics compiled from 1980 to 1997 -- a figure experts believe would be much higher if more Korean Americans knew about AIDS risks or didn't fear the shame associated with taking an HIV test.

-- Korea Times, San Francisco