WASHINGTON: China's head of military intelligence took funds from Beijing and secretly spent them to re-elect President Bill Clinton, former Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung told federal investigators, the Los Angeles Times reported today. Quoting ``sources familiar with Chung's sealed statements to prosecutors,'' the Times said he met three times with General Ji Shengde, ``who ordered 300,000 dollars deposited in the Taiwanese businessman's bank account to subsidise campaign donations intended for Clinton.'' ``We like your president,'' Ji told Chung, the newspaper reported, quoting sources. ``Chung's testimony has provided investigators the first, direct link between a senior Chinese government official and illicit foreign contributions that were funnelled into Clinton's 1996 election campaign, it is the strongest evidence to emerge --in two years of federal investigations -- that the highest levels of the Chinese government sought toinfluence the US election process,'' the Times said. The accusation was denied by a spokesman at the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Nigerian boat mishap: Survivors found

PORT HARCOURT: Scores of survivors have been found two days after a ferry boat sank in waters off the southeast coast of Nigeria, a local community leader said on Sunday. Nengi James, head of the Bayelsa Youth Federation told mediapersons that survivors had come ashore on Saturday at remote spots on the coast. ``There are scores of survivors,'' he said. The places at which they had come ashore were difficult to reach and the exact number of survivors would not be known for a while, he added. Five more bodies had also been found, bringing to 20 the number of corpses fished out of the water after the sinking of the MV George on Thursday, officials said.