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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2004
Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror is now available: here, at Amazon, or call 1-888-280-7715.
The next Summer Olympics, in 2008, will take place in Beijing. Will the U.S. take part in a Communist Chinese version of the Munich Nazi propaganda event of 1936? Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
TOP STORY: EX-CADRE RIPS PRESIDENT BUSH
COMMUNIST CHINA RUNS AWAY FROM COMMENTS AS BUSH WINS RE-ELECTION
Ex-Communist Vice Premier Qian Qichen ripped President Bush�s foreign policy, which he charged �advocates the United States should rule over the whole world with overwhelming force, military force in particular� (Washington Times). The verbal slap came just before Election Day, leading many to wonder if the People�s Republic was hoping to defeat Bush.
Among the other possible reasons for the sudden intervention were �Washington's refusal to send home Chinese Muslim detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba� (BBC, see also News on Communist China, East Turkestan, and the Terrorist War) and �trade disputes� (see Other American-Related News).
The day after Americans re-elected President Bush, Communist China quickly backed away from Qian�s incendiary column; they even tried to deny its existence: �Mr. Qian Qichen was not interviewed by the China Daily or other media. He did not write any essays for the China Daily or other media� (Voice of America via Epoch Times).
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
Check out the latest on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
UIGHURS IN GUANTANAMO CLEARED, BUT U.S. WON�T LET PRC HAVE THEM
An unknown number of Uighurs held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba �have been determined not to pose a threat any longer to the United States or its allies� (Cybercast News). For anyone else, this would mean a flight home. Given that things are more dangerous for Uighurs in Communist China than in �Gitmo,� the U.S. has refused to let the PRC have them.
At present, the U.S. �was looking into resettlement opportunities elsewhere.� State Department spokesman Richard Boucher �said he did not know whether the Uighurs would qualify for asylum in the U.S.� The East Turkestan government-in exile and the Uighur Association of America have both called for asylum for the cleared prisoners.
Communist China has repeatedly smeared the Uighurs of occupied East Turkestan as terrorists and bin Ladenites; in fact they are arguably the most pro-American Muslims on the planet (10/17/01, 12/21/01, 10/23/02, and 11/5/03 Updates).
COMMUNIST CHINA TO DEVELOP IRANIAN OIL FIELD
Communist China �signed an agreement to buy oil and gas from Iran and to develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field� (BBC). The PRC-owned Sinopec was the signatory on the deal. Communist China has had extensive and growing ties to Iran, including major support of the mullah�s nuclear weapons program (see 5/28/03, 7/9/03, 12/24/03, and 6/16 Updates).
NORTHERN KOREA NEWS
Sign up for Monday�s Northern Korea Report.
PRC INISTS TALKS ON SCNK NUKES COULD STILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR
Meanwhile, Communist Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei told PRC-run media that another round of talks on Stalinist-controlled northern Korea�s nuclear weapons program �could resume by the end of November� (Voice of America via Epoch Times).
There have been three rounds of six-party talks on SCNK�s nuclear ambitions, which include the Stalinist regime itself, the PRC, Japan, the U.S., Russia, and �South� Korea. The only tangible results of the talks have been substantial American concessions (see 6/30 Update).
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
U.S. QUICKLY CLARIFIES POWELL�S REMARKS
The United States � through de facto Ambassador Doug Paal, of all people � told Taiwanese officials that Secretary of State Colin Powell�s provocative comments on �reunification� (see last Update) �did not constitute any change to long-standing policy� (Cybercast News), which supported ��peaceful resolution� rather than �peaceful unification.��
That Paal, a gentleman with a long history of tilting toward Beijing (see 3/6/02 Update), had to execute the undercutting of his boss is ironic to say the least. More importantly, it seemed to ease concerns in the understandably jittery island democracy. Also reporting: Taipei Times via Epoch Times and Voice of America via Epoch Times
U.S. OPEN TO KEEPING TRADE RESTRICTIONS ON PANTS FROM COMMUNIST CHINA
Just days before the PRC ripped President Bush, his administration �announced yesterday that it will consider a request by the U.S. textile industry to maintain caps on shipments of Chinese-made cotton trousers to the United States� (Washington Post). The quotas are planned for extinction after January 1, as is all other global restrictions on textile trade.
That date has led to heavy concern in the U.S. and nearly everywhere else on the globe that Communist China will �capture a vast swath of the global market because of their low cost and efficiency� (see also last Update). There is also the deliberately devalued PRC currency, which has damaged both American manufacturing and exporters among U.S. allies.
COMMUNIST CHINA EXPORTING UNSAFE VIAGRA KNOCKOFF TO U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration told American consumers to steer clear of Actra-Rx, �a product advertised as a natural impotence treatment that actually contains the ingredient in Pfizer Inc.'s prescription pill Viagra� (Washington Post, third item). The unhealthy knockoff �is imported into the United States from China . . . and sold via the Internet as Actra-Rx.�
NEWS ON THE FALUN GONG WAR
PRACTITIONER STARVED TO 70 POUNDS IN PRC PRISON
Zhao Jianshe, a Falun Gong practitioner arrested by Communist police last year, �has suffered daily forced feedings, hunger strikes and drug injections� (Epoch Times). Zhao has been so badly treated that he �now weighs only 70 pounds and is on the brink of death.�
COMMUNIST CRACKDOWN ON FALUN GONG INCLUDES VIOLENT BRAINWASHING
Meanwhile, Communist China�s continuing war against Falun Gong practitioners is more than just labor camps and prison torture. Among the other techniques to which the PRC resorts are �numerous brainwashing classes� and harsher �brainwashing� such as �beating, threats, long periods of isolation and sleep deprivation� (Epoch Times).
ELEVEN NEW ZEALANDERS SUE JAING ZEMIN FOR FALUN GONG CRACKDOWN
Eleven Falun Gong practitioners � New Zealand citizens all � victimized in Communist China by former PRC leader Jiang Zemin have filed suit against him and two other cadres in a New Zealand court. Report: Epoch Times
When asked why the eleven were not filing suit in the PRC itself, their lawyer answered matter-of-factly, �The Chinese legal system, controlled as it is by the defendants, is unable to provide my clients justice.� Indeed.
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
COMMUNIST POLICE CLASH WITH 100,000 FARMERS IN SICHUAN
Communist police were sent into Sichuan Province to combat 100,000 farmers who took to the streets to protest �being displaced for a new hydroelectric power project� (VOA via Epoch Times). The farmers wanted more compensation for the loss of their homes; PRC �compensation� in these cases � when not pocketed by corrupt cadres � is a pittance.
LABOR PROTESTERS JAILED
Four workers protesting low wages at a foreign-owned factory in Communist China were sent to jail for three and a half years for �destroying property� (BBC), despite no evidence that they had done it. Their real crime was taking part in a strike at the Dongquan factory.
Communist China only has one legal union � the one controlled by the Communists. Since the PRC is more interested in gobbling up foreign capital than the fate of its own people, many exploited workers have resorted to independent strikes to get noticed. The PRC has responded, as above, with jail terms. Thus do we have Communist strikebreakers.
ACTIVISTS CALL FOR ZHAO ZIYANG�S RELEASE AS CROWDS GATHER TO SEE HIM
Human Rights in China has called for the end of Zhao Ziyang�s house arrest. Zhao, the party boss fired and placed under house arrest after opposing the Tiananmen Square massacre, is believed to be very ill. There are also reports of crowds �gathered for the past three days� (Epoch Times) in front of Zhao�s house �in an attempt to see him.�
COMMUNISTS ORDER 18,000 INTERNET CAFES TO CLOSE
Communist China ordered 18,000 internet cafes �to stop operating� (CBC) due to �porn, gambling and violence.� However, the Communists also cited �other violations,� which almost certainly includes anti-Communist and pro-democracy sites that were the true target of the regime. The Communists also imposed over $12 million in fines.
REPORTS OF CORRUPTION IN HELIONGJIANG KEPT UNDER STRICT BLACKOUT
Five officials in Harbin, a city in Heliongjiang Province, were fired for corruption, but the Communists insisted on a news blackout of the story. The action occurred �several weeks ago� (Washington Post). It should be noted that one cadre in Harbin was apparently murdered to stop him from uncovering local perfidy (see 1/28 Update).
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
HU JINTAO DISAPPOINTS . . .
PRC leader Hu Jintao is �miles away from the average Chinese man�s expectation of him.� That quote, cited in the Epoch Times, came from Mingpao, itself a PRC-run paper. Hu allowed his own press to admit he is a disappointment �with the aim of preventing Chinese and foreigners living in China from having unrealistic expectations of their new leader.�
. . . BUT PREDECESSOR JAING ZEMIN MAY HAVE MADE THE JOB IMPOSSIBLE
Minxin Pei, senior associate and director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Epoch Times that the policies of Hu�s immediate predecessor, Jiang Zemin, �damaged the nation both politically and economically as evidenced by the corruption rampant in China today.�
While Pei does believe Hu �has a very good chance of succeeding in consolidating his power,� he does not expect Hu to �adopt a more transparent political policy.� Hu will instead �take some minor actions to prop up his populist image such as anticorruption, demanding official accountability and increased transparency with the Communist Party.�
PRC LOOKING TO FIVE-DAY SPACE MISSION NEXT YEAR
Communist China is aiming for a manned space flight (that) will carry two astronauts into space and will orbit the Earth for five days� (BBC). The flight will be their second in two years, and �is part of a planned three-stage programme, would be followed by the landing of an unmanned vehicle on the Moon by 2010 and a sample return mission by 2020.�
COMMUNIST CHINA RAISES INTEREST RATES
For the first time in nine years, Communist China has increased interest rates �to rein in the booming economy� (BBC). While many analysts had high praise for the move, Julian Jessop of Capital Economics dismissed it as �essentially a sideshow.� Some economists expect more interest rate hikes (VOA via Epoch Times). Also reporting: Epoch Times
PRC-OWNED �BIG FOUR� BANKS ARE THE LEAST COMPETITIVE IN COMMUNIST CHINA
Amidst a report on Communist China allowing foreign banks to exchange currency, the Epoch Times let loose these stunners: �Not one investment bank owned by China was among the top 12 most competitive banks in China� and �the least competitive banks were the four major state-owned commercial banks that retain 70 percent of the Beijing market.�
HUI-HAN VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN HENAN
A traffic accident dispute led to an ethnic battle between ethnic Han Chinese and Hui Muslims in Henan Province. The violence, which killed three and forced the Communists to impose martial law, involved the towns of Nanren and Nanwei. The BBC did not say which town was affiliated with which ethnicity.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EU ENDS PRC TEXTILE FAVORS
The European Union removed Communist Chinese textiles from its list of imports receiving favorable trade preferences. The EU move was done �to benefit more vulnerable developing countries� (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times). The move comes as more and more developing nations fear the PRC wiping them out of export markets worldwide.
NEW BURMESE PRIME MINISTER IN COMMUNIST CHINA
Soe Win, installed by Burma�s military dictators as Prime Minister, is now in Communist China for �a business summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)� (BBC). Communist China is one of the oldest friends of Burma�s military junta.
OTHER REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
VANUATU ESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH TAIWAN
Vanuatu established diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a policy that will all but ensure Communist China will break off its own diplomatic ties with the Pacific archipelago nation. The move comes amid joint plans �to strengthen economic, technical and agricultural co-operation, according to the Taiwanese foreign ministry� (BBC).
ROC HIGH COURT TO RULE ON PAN-BLUE ELECTION LAWSUIT
Taiwan�s High Court �is due to rule on Thursday on whether President Chen Shui-bian's election in March should be overturned because of alleged fraud� (BBC). The court will decide the fate of a lawsuit by the Nationalists � the leading anti-Chen, �pan-blue� party � claiming, among other things, that Chen staged his own shooting.
Chen Shui-bian was narrowly re-elected President last spring against a joint Nationalist-People First �pan-blue� ticket. The Nationalists held power in Taiwan from 1949 until Chen�s first victory in 2000. They have tarred Chen as an anti-Communist extremist, but their own coziness toward the PRC has been a major self-inflicted wound (see 3/24 and 3/31 Update).
CHEN SHUI-BIAN SAYS NATIVE TAIWANESE WILL HAVE OWN CHAPTER IN CONSTITUTION
President Chen Shui-bian �reaffirmed his campaign promise to include a special chapter on the rights of indigenous people in the new constitution that he plans to introduce in 2008� (CNA via Epoch Times). Chen made the promise during his first campaign in 2000.
No news was reported on Hong Kong or Tibet this week.
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