     President Lee Teng-hei and his entourage arrived in Pretoria last 
night for the upcoming inauguration of South Africa's first black 
president, Nelson Mandela.  Lee took a China Airlines chartered flight to 
South Africa, on the third and probably most-important leg of his global 
trip, following a five-day visit to Nicaragua and Costa Rica in Central 
America.  Lee's presence at Mandela's swearing-in ceremony highlights the 
71 year-old ROC president's aggressive efforts to promote Taiwan's presence 
in the international arena.  Official delegations from more than 100 coun-
tries will attend the presidential inauguration ceremony of South Aftrica.  
Lee's presence indicates Taipei's Temporary victoiry in its ongoing po-
litical struggle with Beijing, which only sent a low-key unofficial repre-
sentative from the private mainland China's African Friendship Association.
     Beijing, which regards Taiwan a renegade province, has consistently 
sought to undermine Taiwan in the international diplomatic arena.  Lee, of 
course, will take the opportunity to consolidate Taiwan's official 
relations with the new South African government.  President elect Mandela 
has called Beijing an old friend he will not forget.  "Given the status of 
our ties with the ROC in the past... I think it is a good thing that 
President Lee will be present when we change governments, to show the 
ROC also regards its ties with South Africa," South African ambassador to 
the ROC Johannes Lodewikus Viljoen told local reporters yesterday.  South 
Africa is the largest among 29 nations diplomatically allied with the ROC.  
Beijing is trying to induce such nations to switch their official recogni-
tion to the mainland.  Right after his arrival, Lee and his entourage went 
from the Johannesburg airport to Pretoria City Hall, where Pretoria Mayor 
Nico Stofberg hosted a banquet in honor of all the foreign delegates.
     To strengthen friendly relations be tween the two nations, the ROC 
embassy in pretoria has arranged for president Lee to meet with Mandela and 
his predecessor F.W. de Klerk, as well as with the new governors of south 
Africa's nie provinces.  Analysts here said South Africa is the last major 
ROC diplomatic ally considered likely to officially recognize both Beijing 
and Taipei, a prece dent for dual recognition of both Chinese governments.  
Beijing succeeded in pressuring both Saudi Arabia and South Korea into 
dropping their recognition of Taipei when they established diplomatic ties 
with the mainland.  The Atomic Energy Council yesterday denied withholding 
early information on radiation contamination in the Minsheng Villas 
housingproject, but failed to answer lingering questions.  AEC chairman 
Hsu Yih-yun made pubic previously withheld records of the Minsheng Villa 
contamination and declared the councils handling of the case to have 
beenabove the board.  But questions persisted as to why information on the 
affair was not released previously.  Hsu said conflicting versions of 
events were behind the non-disclosure.
     But the head of the Minsheng Villa residents' committee, Wang Yu-lin, 
has accused the AEC of suppressing the true results of those tests.  At a 
press conference last Thursday Wang accused officials of faking the X-ray 
machine's reports to hide an earlier cover-up.  Three AEC officials are 
under invesitigation for repressing evidence of radiation contamination at 
Minsheng Villa discovered in 1985, nearly eight years before residents 
learned of the dangers.  According to AEC Vice Chairman wang Manchao, 
testing procedures were designed to detect radiation leaks from the machine 
and did not measure dangerously high background radiation levels.
     The Kaohsiung side alleged that the Saturday vote was illegal, as the 
standing sub-committee's decision should be final according to the group's 
normal practice.  "we hope the Control Yuan can investigate the vote-vote 
is necessary, the Olympic committee should arrange one," Kaohsiung Legis-
lator Huang Chaoshun told reporter after meeting with Control Yuan member.  
Whereas Mayor Huang Tachou denied any irregularities, the Olympic committee 
ruled out the possibility of a revote.  Officials with Taipei's Education 
Department, which oversees sports activities, said Huang had lobbied the 
committee members in the last week be fore the committee cast their votes.  
But the mayor never promised any subsidies.  The officials alleged that it 
was the Kaohsiung side that had off ered "bribes."  But the Taipei mayor 
has been unable to win full support from his own front.  Although the comm-
ittee's decision is unlikely to be reversed, some Taipei city councilors 
questioned the city's ability to host such large scale sports events.
     Five councilors have threatened to withhold funds for the games 
budget, which may range from NT$120 billion to NT$150 billion, four to five 
times the annual budget for the Education Department.  The councilors 
poilted out that the event will worsen the City's debt, which already 
stands at more than NT$100 billion.  The construction of the sports park in 
Kuantu needs some NT$100 billion, which means Taipei will have to pay a 
daily interest of NT$20 million if the money is loaned from banks, said 
Chang Ling.  Chang questioned whether it isworthy to host an Asian Games 
that may be boycotted by mainland China, the best Asian sports nation.  But 
the City'streasurer, Liao Cheng-chin, said the city may cover the expense 
by issuing a lottery.  Although the road to hosting the game is still long, 
Education Department head Lin Chao-hsien said Taipei stand a great chance.  
"Of the four Asian little dragons, South Korea has hosted the games in the 
past.  Hong Kong and Singapore ande not interested.  Therefore we stand a 
great chance."  said Lin. A well-lit model home promoting sales of similar 
models in the Taipei suburb of Neihu becomes a local night spot at-
traction.  A deueloper reportedly spent more than NT$1 million on the decor 
of the model home.  Kaohsiung police said yesterday they found a charred 
male body and a gasoline bottle on a beach near the Chichin tunnel.
