| Due to Independence Day falling on a Wednesday, the update is a day early. It also includes a correction from July 5, regarding the Top Story. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: JULY 3, 2001 TOP STORY: FALUN GONG FOLLOWERS IN LABOR CAMP HANG SELVES IN PROTEST BEATINGS BY POLICE LEAD 30 TO GO ON HUNGER STRIKE, 16 TO SUICIDE Sixteen Falun Gong practitioners in a labor camp in the northeastern town of Harbin hanged themselves after Communist police beatings, according to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in Hong Kong. The ICHR&D said the Communists are keeping the matter a secret. About thirty followers have gone on a hunger strike in the camp to protest the beatings by police. Link: BBC The incident was a harrowing example of the effects of the crackdown by the Communists (which we call the �Falun Gong War�). The movement has lost nearly 200 to Communist torture, including � as reported in previous updates � freezing, beating, and in one case, force feeding through a nose broken by beatings. The movement was banned in July 1999; three months after 10,000 protested Communist criticism of the group. Correction: Subsequent reports marked the number of dead at anywhere from 3 to 16, and how they died is now deeply in dispute. Falun Gong vehemently denies that the practitioners hanged themselves � insisting they were tortured. The movement emphatically repeated that it opposed suicide. Links to the subsequent stories: Washington Times, BBC, CNN, Washington Post TOP INTERNATIONAL STORY: RUSSIA OFFERING AIR/MISSILE DEFENSE TO INDIA MOVE APPARENTLY DESIGNED TO SOFTEN INDIAN SUPPORT FOR U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFT AWAY FROM PRC-PAKISTAN AXIS LIKELY In a stunning story, Stratfor.com reported that Russia �has offered to build an integrated air defense system for India that can defend against attacks by either aircraft or missiles.� The stunning offer, if carried out, �may shift the strategic balance in South Asia� away from Pakistan and its long-time ally and arms supplier � namely the People�s Republic of China. The dramatic move is, in part, designed to counter U.S. plans for a missile defense, which India strongly supports. Still, it would be a major boost to India�s growing regional power, and provide a major check to PRC ambitions. Why Russia would alienate the Beijing � also one of Russia�s biggest arms clients � was not explored. Link: Stratfor.com via WorldNetDaily � Courtesy Ron Vogel, member since 2000 OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS DISSIDENT WRITER FEARING ARREST ESCAPES TO U.S. He Qinglian, a widely read writer on social upheaval and corruption in the People�s Republic of China, fled to the United States last week to avoid arrest. He, who as based in Shenzhen, told CNN that Communist police had ransacked her home looking for �personal documents, particularly material regarding my activities in and relationship with foreign countries and friends.� Fearing imminent arrest, she left quickly. Link: CNN � Willy Wo-Lap Lam He is the author of The Pitfalls of Modernization, and is �an internationally recognized expert on corruption and other social problems in China,� according to Lam. Not surprisingly, her views on Communist corruption and other issues �incurred the wrath of several party cadres.� PRC BLAMES PHOTOGRAPHER FOR POLICE BEATING DURING �THREE TENORS� CONCERT Communist China has blamed Stephen Shaver � an Agence France Presse photographer covering the �three tenors� Olympic promotion concert last week in Beijing � for �provoking� police into punching, kicking, dragging and arresting him. What was Shaver�s provocation? He photographed the arrest of a protestor at the event. Link: CNN OTHER MAINLAND NEWS COMMUNIST DENY TALES OF DEATH-ROW ORGAN PROFITEERING Communist China blasted Dr. Wang Guoqi, an ex-military doctor who is seeking asylum in the U.S., for his reports of Communists harvesting the organs of executed prisoners to sell to wealthy foreign recipients. The PRC said the doctor is using what they call �appalling lies� to ensure his asylum. Dr Wang�s charges support earlier claims � that made it to the Village Voice and a previous update � of said organ harvesting. Link: BBC Michael Parmly, of the U.S. State Department�s bureau for human rights, also backed up Dr. Wang, who testified before Congress. Parmly said of the organ harvesting, which the doctor said even included one prisoner who was still alive, �sources who have reported this are credible and numerous.� In response, a bill in Congress to block visas for PRC doctors interested in transplant training is picking up steam. Link: CNN JIANG OPENS COMMUNIST PARTY TO PRIVATE BUSINESSMEN On the 80th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, PRC President Jiang Zemin officially open the CCP to �entrepreneurs� and private businessman. The move was a shift away from the neo-Marxism Jiang, who is also party leader and � most importantly � head of the Central Military Commission, had been pushing, and is seen by some as an effort to keep control of the party apparatus. Link: CNN � Lam Jiang also pledged more �inner-party democracy,� but adamantly refused to move away from the CCP�s monopoly on power. Jiang is hoping that the new breed of Communists will give him more control over next year�s major personnel reshuffle, give the party of more professional look, and combat the massive corruption that currently infects the party, and makes it a lot less popular with the Chinese people. Link: CNN � Lam Jiang did not just discuss party membership during his speech. He also called, again, for �reunification� with Taiwan, and an end to �money worship� and corruption. Link: BBC WORK ON ANOTHER HUGE DAM BEGINS, ALONG WITH ECOLOGICAL WORRIES . . . Communist China began construction on what is to be its second largest hydroelectric dam on the mainland. The Guangxi province dam will supposedly start generating power in 2007. Only Three Gorges Dam would be bigger, and like Three Gorges, this new dam already has many concerned it could cause, and has caused in the preliminary work, massive ecological damage. Link: BBC . . . AS THOSE FORCED TO MOVE DUE TO THREE GORGES GET ANGRIER . . . Meanwhile, Three Gorges Dam continues to rack up problems. The �resettlement� of over 1 million people, whose homes either have been or will be flooded by the project, continue to complain about being forced to move, and not getting enough compensation to do, despite a specific agreement guaranteeing it. Protests are rising as a result; the Washington Times put the number of protestors in the thousands. Link: Washington Times . . . AND POLLUTION AND OVERDEVELOPMENT CONTINUE TO DRAIN RIVERS AND LAKES The Washington Post details the debilitating effects of a massive drought in Communist China. While noting the dry weather, the paper also gives credit where credit is due for the ecological disaster: �Reckless economic development, low water prices and poor planning have exacerbated the problem.� The rampant water demand is so bad that the mainland�s most famous group of lakes, in Baiyangdian, is disappearing. Link: Washington Post AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS CHENEY: U.S. AND COMMUNIST CHINA NEITHER ENEMIES NOR FRIENDS . . . Vice President Dick Cheney said of relations between the U.S. and Communist China � which have been warming over the past few months � �We're not enemies at this point, probably not friends either.� He further said the �jury�s out� on future ties. Cheney made his comments as the EP-3 surveillance plane forced to land on Hainan Island last April finally began coming home � in several pieces. Link: CNN . . . BUT POWELL HAS �UPBEAT CHAT� WITH PRC COUNTERPART Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell and PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan had an �upbeat chat,� and talked of meeting later in the year, another sign that the oldest continuing democracy in the world is cozying up � again � to the largest totalitarian dictatorship on the planet. The CNN story made no mention of U.S. citizen Li Shaomin or near-citizen Gao Zhan, both now starting their fifth month in prison. Link: CNN U.S. PLACES SANCTIONS ON TWO COMMUNIST FIRMS FOR IRAN ARMES SALES The U.S. had imposed sanctions on Jiangsu Yongli Chemicals and Technology Import and Export Corp., two PRC firms, for selling undisclosed military support to Iran. Chillingly, American officials said the arms deal that caused the sanctions involved the Chemical Weapons Convention. A North Korean firm was also hit with sanctions. Link: CNN, Washington Times, Washington Post OTHER INTERNATIONAL NEWS NORTH KOREAN FAMILY ALLOWED TO LEAVE COMMUNIST CHINA Communist China has decided against sending a family of North Korean refugees back to the starvation-plagued Stalinist state. The family left Beijing for Singapore last week. An official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the Communists had let the family go for �health� reasons. No elaboration was given. Links: BBC, CNN JAPAN-PRC TRADE TALKS BEGIN Japan and Communist China began talks to end their trade spat, now three months old. Japan placed restrictions on some agricultural imports that largely affected the PRC. Beijing retaliated with heavy tariffs on Japanese consumer products. Links: BBC, CNN AIDS MEETING HELD IN SOUTHWEST PRC A meeting of about 100 Red Cross officials discussed AIDS in Southeast Asia during a conference in Kunming, PRC. The BBC story on the conference did not say if the horrifying tragedy of Wenlou � the Communist village where a government-backed blood donation scheme infected 2/3 of the population with HIV � came up at the event. Link: BBC REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS SWISS FREEZE ACCOUNTS OF ARMS DEALER WANTED IN TAIWAN Swiss authorities froze accounts belonging to Andrew Wang, an arms dealer involved in the early 1990�s sale of six French missile frigates to the ROC. The deal is part of two French corruption scandals � a wide-ranging one in France, and a sensational one in Taiwan that involves the murder of a naval officer who opposed the deal. Wang is wanted by the ROC for the officer�s murder; his whereabouts are unknown. Link: BBC HONG KONG NEWS �ONE CHILD� POLICY MAY DEPORT CHILDREN BACK TO MAINALND, FORCE A FAMILY TO SPLIT BBC reported on a sickening consequence of Communist China�s �one child� policy. Thanks to the draconian policy, a family that moved to Hong Kong in the early 1990s only had one of its three children registered with the Communist authorities. As such, the younger two � 10 and 5 � do not have the proper papers to reside in Hong Kong, and may be forced to leave their parents and be deported back to the PRC. Link: BBC TIBET NEWS TIBET AND GREENLAND PLAY �FRIENDLY� SOCCER MATCH, PRC UPSET Greenland, the North American island owned by Denmark but with limited autonomy, hosted a friendly (non-tournament) soccer match between its team and Tibet. Despite losing 4-1, the Tibetans were thrilled just to be playing. Communist China, meanwhile, was not pleased; they even �tried to have the game stopped.� Link: BBC WESTERN RAILWAY BEGUN Communist China began construction of a 650-mile railway connecting Tibet�s capital of Lhasa to the city of Golmud. The railway is part of the development �carrot� in Communist China�s attempt to consolidate control over Tibet and wipe out the native culture. The stick, of course, is the mass jailing of Buddhist minks and nuns, and the razing of houses of worship. Link: BBC Once again, there is no news from East Turkestan this week, but the plight of the people there, trying to protect their faith against Communist oppression, is never forgotten. If you happen to find any news on the region � which the Communists call Xinjiang � please do not hesitate to send it. This, of course, goes for anything else on the PRC you find. Thank you again for your support and help. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving this. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. |