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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: JULY 2, 2003
TOP STORY: PRO-COMMUNISTS ASSAULT FALUN GONG PRACTITIONERS IN NYC
LEADING PRC SYMPATHIZER ARRESTED BY POLICE
A dinner for Communist Chinese Ambassador to the United States Yingfan Wang quickly descended into an ugly spectacle when some of the dinner guests, angry at Falun Gong practitioners handing out anti-Communist leaflets outside the restaurant, began to threaten and beat the practitioners. Report: Newsday (New York), Falun Dafa Information Center
Several witnesses heard the violent dinner guest shout, �If you are Falun Gong, I will beat you to death!" Guan Jun Liang, chairman of the Unified Organization of Overseas Chinese Associations, punched at least one practitioner. Police arrested him two days later; his only statement on the matter was to slander the spiritual movement, calling it an �evil cult.�
That, of course, is the common Communist slur for Falun Gong � a spiritual movement that continues to survive against a vicious four-year crackdown in the so-called People�s Republic. The above is one of several incidents in which Communist officials and their fellow travelers have disrupted rallies and meetings outside Communist China.
Whatever Guan�s motives � be they the quest for the mythical investment dollar in Communist China or fear what might happen to relatives in the PRC (see 8/8/01 Update) � his actions bring home just how long the Communist arm of repression is, as well as how determined they are to fight the �Falun Gong War� wherever they find a field of battle.
MORE FROM THE FALUN GONG WAR: LAWSUIT AGAINST COMMUNISTS STILL INTACT
A lawsuit by Friends of Falun Gong against two Communist officials for their roles in the crackdown against the spiritual movement received a major boost when U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward M. Chen �denied foreign sovereign immunity� (Falun Dafa Information Center, courtesy David Jerke, Member since 2003) for the Communist officials.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
350,000 TAKE TO HK�S STREETS TO PROTEST �ANTI-SUBERVSION� LAW, TUNG REGIME
On the sixth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC, roughly 350,000 residents of the city marched in protest of an �anti-subversion� law due to take effect next week. It was easily the largest protest in the former British colony since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. Reports: CNN, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor
The �anti-subversion� law, soon to be enacted by the majority-appointed Legislative Council, bans all �against treason, sedition and the theft of state secrets, and certain political groups� (BBC, emphasis added). �Theft of state secrets� is the Communists� most popular method of quieting people they don�t want speaking out against them.
The law has garnered widespread criticism for curtailing Hong Kong�s freedoms and autonomy, but the Communist-appointed majority on the �LegCo� is prepared to pass it anyway to please Beijing, despite the fact that the people of the city oppose the new law by a 55%-16% margin (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN 6/30).
More ominously for the Communists, the protestors also called for the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa, the PRC-appointed leader of the city who is about as popular as the new law. However, the Communists are sticking by Tung despite his numerous flaws, which as Lam (7/1) put it �will further damage the one country, two systems framework.�
While the size of the protest outstripped even the organizers� expectations (they had hoped for 200,000), Lam (7/2) noted that it was �extremely unlikely Beijing would make any concessions to public opinion in Hong Kong.� Another major protest is scheduled for next Wednesday.
HOUSE OF RERPRESENTATIVES CONDEMNS HONG KONG �ANTI-SUBVERSION� LAW
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives voted to condemn the aforementioned �anti-subversion� law (Washington Post). See Hong Kong News for more on Hong Kong.
TELEVISION SERIES YANKED OFF THE AIR
Communist China has pulled off the air a historical television drama based in the early 20th Century. According to the BBC, one major reason for the Communists� action was their anger at the show�s sympathetic portrayal of the Empress dowager, a woman the Communists have labeled a villain for decades.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
COMMUNIST AMBASSADOR TO U.S. SAYS PRC IS WITH U.S. ON TERRORISM
Yang Jiechi, outgoing Communist Ambassador to the U.S., said his regime and the U.S. �share a good basis for cooperation on issues such as the fight against terrorism� (Washington Times). This is news to those who remember how the PRC saw Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein as �some kind of check on U.S. power� (see 9/19/01 Update).
PAKISTANI TERRORIST GROUP MEMBERS ARRESTED IN UNITED STATES
Seven members of the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba are under arrest in the United States. The terrorist received training from the al Qaeda-linked group based in Kashmir � a region divided between Pakistan and India � and some �even fought against Indian troops in Kashmir.� Report: Times of India
Pakistan has repeatedly insisted that terrorism in Kashmir was not happening, despite earlier pledges of �moral support� to those same terrorists. Communist China, a long-time ally of Pakistan and rival to India, received a chunk of Kashmir from Pakistan in the 1960s.
Check out the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA, AGAIN, REFUSES TO LET UNITED NATIONS CRITICIZE NORTH KOREA
Communist China has continued its battle with the rest of the world on its half-century ally North Korea, refusing to even talk with fellow members of the United Nations Security Council about condemning North Korea for its nuclear weapons development. One American diplomat told Newsmax, �They won't negotiate. They won't even talk about it.�
For more on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
U.S. TRIES TO REASSURE TAIWAN AS HOUSE CAUCUS MEETS WITH ROC LEGISLATORS
Bush Administration officials met with Parris Chang, the legislator who worried about a �perceived tilt toward China� (see last Update), and �reassured me that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan remains firm and unchanged� (Washington Times).
Chang vocalized his �tilt� concerns after reports that the U.S. was pressuring the ROC into dropping a planned referendum on joining the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, the House Taiwan Caucus met with a dozen legislators from the island democracy last week (Washington Post). This was the only news on Taiwan this week.
LEADING SNAKEHEAD IN U.S. TO FACE CHARGES
Cheng Chui Ping, one of the most well-known �people smugglers� � those who help people escape Communist China for exorbitant fees � is back in the United States facing charges that she �smuggled thousands of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and used violent gang members to hold them hostage until relatives paid her up to $40,000� (New York Post).
Such an operation is sadly typical of those who help people escape Communist China, especially sine any escapee who reports the sordid behavior to police will usually end up on the first plane back to the PRC.
COMMUNIST CHINA SAYS DENVER NUGGET DRAFTEE NOT GOING TO TEAM
Communist China put the kibosh on Xue Yuyang�s NBA career. The PRC told the Denver Nuggets that Xue � a second round draft pick � never said his name was in the draft, and would not join the NBA until �his skills and experience level were right� (Agence France Presse via Daily Times (Pakistan)). Should we be worried about Xue�s health?
MAINLAND NEWS
MORE INCOMPETENCE FROM THE COMMUNIST POLICE: CHILD LEFT TO DIE IN TUANJIE
In Tuanjie village � in the PRC�s rural interior, police there left a child alone to starve to death after arresting her mother on theft charges. Reports have sparked outrage throughout Communist China, but web postings on the subject �were reportedly deleted a few hours after they were posted� (BBC).
JIANG�S CRONIES FORCE HU SPEECH REWRITE
PRC President Hu Jintao is rewriting his speech commemorating the founding of the Chinese Communist Party to appease the Shanghai faction of Central Military Commission Chair Jiang Zemin, dropping calls for �internal democracy� (Washington Times) within the party. Also reporting: BBC
Of course, for all the buzz about Hu�s �internal democracy� (see 6/18 Update), none of it involved challenging the Communist hammerlock on power in mainland China. Even the Washington Post, which is slightly behind the curve on Hu, admits that most of the predictions Hu would be a great reformer �appear to be wishful thinking.�
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INDIAN PM CALLS FOR PRC-INDIA �COMBINATION� ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
As he ended his weeklong trip to Communist China, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for �combination, rather than . . . competition� (BBC) between his country and the PRC. While this is certainly disturbing, some think India is really seeing the PRC in this case �as a springboard to Japan's software market.�
VAJPAYEE�S TRIP WINS RAVE REVIEWS
Vajpayee�s trip won praise throughout Asia, although one analyst called Beijing�s warm welcome of the Indian PM, and their supposed willingness to cooperate on border issues �much hype without substance� (Cybercast News). Each side appointed a high-level official to resolve the border dispute, which goes back decades and includes a 1962 border war.
Naturally, Vajpayee himself was glowing about his trip, and insisted India won a lot more than �hype� on the border issues (BBC).
PEOPLE SMUGGLERS SENT TO JAIL IN NETHERLANDS
The leaders of a smuggling scheme that led 58 escapees from Communist China to their deaths in 2000 were sent to jail by a Dutch court. The dead were just a few on the many who have sought help from anyone � including criminals like these � to escape Communist China. Many are then forced into indentured servitude. Report: BBC
HONG KONG NEWS
HK SIGNS FREE TRAFE ACCORD WITH COMMUNIST CHINA
Communist China finally agreed to remove a number of barriers from Hong Kong businesses looking to invest in the PRC. However, the Communists maintained the right � through listing of �favorable companies� allowed to do business � to freeze out foreign firms in favor of domestic ones, i.e., ones easier to control. Reports: CNN, BBC
TIBET NEWS
NEPAL ARRESTS ANOTHER NINETEEN TIBETAN REFUGEES
Nepal once again arrested a group of Tibetan refugees escaping Communist China. Nepal had deported a group of eighteen refugees earlier this year in a departure from its previous policy of allowing them to seek refuge in India (see 6/4 Update). Report: BBC
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