WORLD
WARSAW, Poland — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich — a recent convert to Catholicism — is in Poland promoting a documentary he co-produced on Pope John Paul II's role in defeating communism.
Gingrich, a Republican, is preaching to the converted: the Polish-born pope is revered, and Poles credit him with inspiring the struggle that eventually helped bring down the Soviet-backed communists in Eastern Europe.
Gingrich said Wednesday that his film, "Nine Days that Changed the World," is still needed to remind young Poles, secular historians and people worldwide of John Paul's anti-totalitarian convictions. The film, which will be screened at American universities this fall, is also being translated into Chinese and Spanish in hopes it will inspire people in Cuba and elsewhere, Gingrich said.
"We believe the pope's message of freedom through faith and his principle that no government can get between you and God is a principle that is relevant in every country, for every person around the world," Gingrich said at a news conference in Warsaw attended by the film's director and the other producers.
BEIJING — China said today it has taken a "fair and responsible" attitude in dealing with North Korea's alleged attack on a South Korean warship, batting aside criticism by a top U.S. military official that Beijing hasn't done enough.Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China's goal has been "to safeguard peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula."All that we have done is based on this position, so we hope that all parties can understand that and cooperate with China to properly deal with this issue," he told a regularly scheduled news conference.Qin was speaking a day after Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was disappointed by the international community's "tepid" response to the North Korean attack in March on a South Korean warship, singling out China for not doing more.South Korea has asked the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea after an international investigation found that a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship in March, killing 46 sailors. Pyongyang has denied responsibility and says any punishment will trigger war.The U.S. and South Korea have been looking to China to approve some kind of international condemnation or punishment of the North. China is the communist North's closest ally and largest patron, giving it economic and political influence over an otherwise reclusive and antagonistic regime.However, China has refused to assign blame in the incident, with Qin saying Beijing "always follows a fair and responsible attitude and will decide our position according to the merits of the issues in a fair and objective way."
