Conference 7.286::digital

PRC Headquarters is in Hong Kong; we have offices and people in Beijing who
are both HK and PRC citizens.

You can learn all about it in HANZI::FAR_EAST.  Read the conference notice for
info about where a few of the really hot topics are.

/john

    re .0
    
    On last night's 7-30 Report Bob Hawke said we had about 500 diplomats
    and business people, plus about 1500 tourists in the PRC at any
    one time.  While he noted that obviously he expected them not to
    do anything stupid he said that the government did not see that
    they were in any danger and that he relied on the embassy to protect
    them.

       <<< Note 368.138 by HWSSS0::SZETO "Simon Szeto @HGO, Hongkong" >>>
                     -< PRC employees are safe, thank you >-

re .98:   >How are our own employees in Beijing doing?  

I've just talked to someone in the PRC hq in Kowloon.  Most of the HK staff
have returned to HK.  A very small number are left.  The local staff still
went to work yesterday, but they've been advised to be careful of their
safety.

Simon

    

There were about 10,000 Americans in the PRC.

The U.S., U.K., and Germany (among others) were picking up students from the
University and housing them in (hopefully) safer places.

/john

    The position of the U.S. State Dept. (and several other countries) is
    that the situation has esculated in danger and that American's in the
    PRC are "...advised to leave the country immediately."
    
    This is not the highest level of concern possible of the State Dept.
    While the situation is dangerous, further steps that MIGHT be taken
    would consist of, in part, - 
    
        o Ordered exit of U.S. business personnel.
        o Total travel ban from U.S. to the PRC.
        
           highest level
        o Total evacuation of embassy/consulate personnel.
    
    Each of these options (and others) will depend on the conditions that 
    develop.  The current level of advisory can be obtained (if this i
    information is necessary) from the U.S. State Dept. at 212-647-6532.
    
    Since there is a good deal of concern and utilization of this number
    is quite heavy, use of this number for curiousity purposes is 
    discouraged.

>The current level of advisory can be obtained (if this information
>is necessary) from the U.S. State Dept. at 212-647-6532.

Washington is 202.

/john

    The Australian Government has chartered a jumbo to fly out Australian
    citizens and all non-critical embassy personnel. They are leaving
    TODAY!
    
    Even the national broadcaster (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
    is cutting down to 2 reporters and a cameraman.
    
    YADE

    My how quickly things change!  One night the Prime Minister says
    there's no immediate danger and the next we're flying a jumbo up
    to get everybody out.  (And that's not being cynical - it's a comment
    on the pace of events).

        Yup, even the striking qantas ground crew released the 747 to go.
        
        I believe Tom Schwartz in Australian EDU Services was there only a
        week or two back.
        
        q
        

    The last 8 Digits returned to Hongkong from Beijing.  Only Beijing
    residents are left.  Two in Shanghai and one in Wuhan were still there,
    last report I read in the Far_East notesfile.
    
    In addition, one American Digit in Beijing on leave (i.e. not on
    company business) also returned to Hongkong.
    
    --Simon
    

The news from China is truly grave, and deserves widest dissemination.

However, let's be factual in attributing sources.  I've received several copies
of note 368.135 in HANZI::FAR_EAST, which was written by Chinese students here
in the U.S., Canada, and Switzerland.  It had been forwarded around the world 18
times before reaching me, and it was claimed to be eyewitness accounts by DEC
employees.  At some point, while being forwarded, the names of the authors
were removed.

Although these messages may contain much factual information, and the rumours
they contain are worth reading, let's not add false information or falsely
attribute information from one source to another.  At times like this it is
important to know the actual source of information, so that we can filter it
and determine whom we can trust and of whom we should be cautious.

The people who wrote the messages are NOT DEC employees, and are NOT in China,
as some of the people forwarding the messages have claimed.

The original message had the names of the authors.  It is reasonable (even a
good idea) to remove some or all forwarding headers.  It is IMPROPER to remove
the names of the original authors:

The original authors are:

Reply-To: [email protected] (Liu)
Organization: EE/CS Dept. U.C. San Diego

>From: [email protected]
Organization: Wirtschaftsinformatik HSG - Switzerland

>From: [email protected] (Chun Chang)
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
 
>From: [email protected] (Hong Yuzhang)
Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
 
>From: [email protected] (Platt Mutman)
Organization: Princeton University

>From: [email protected] (Tom Tedrick)
Sender: [email protected]

  None of the notes written in HANZI::FAR_EAST were written by DEC people
  stationed in Beijing.  What few notes were written by employees in the
  PRC operations, were written by employees stationed in Hongkong.  All the
  so-called "hard news" notes with "graphic descriptions" originally came
  from outside EASYnet, and were reposted by concerned employees OUTSIDE
  the Far East.  The notes could just as easily have been written to a
  conference in Maynard as to a conference in Hongkong.

  I have heard from Merrimack, New Hampshire the FALSE report that Digital
  MOVED all their Beijing employees to Hongkong.  I repeat, this is FALSE.
  What is true is that all the Hongkong employees RETURNED to Hongkong.

  Simon Szeto, in Hongkong