04October2000

CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: OCTOBER 4, 2000

TOP STORY: COMMUNIST ï¿½NATIONAL DAYï¿½ ANNIVERSARY MET WITH OPPOSITION
FALUN GONG PROTESTORS BEATEN AND ARRESTED, CNN HAS VIDEO FOOTAGE SWIPED
Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners passed out leaflets, chanted slogans, and unfurled banners in Tiananmen Square to protest their treatment by the Communists on Sunday, the 51st ï¿½anniversaryï¿½ of the founding of the Peopleï¿½s Republic of China. As expected, Communist police arrested and beat them; the Washington Post reported 300 were arrested in one hour. Police were forced to close parts of the square. Link: Washington Post

The Falun Gong followers, as usual, demonstrated in revolving groups rather than all at once, ensuring a near continuous protest. According to CNN, the Communists confiscated video footage of the protests, including tapes shot by CNN cameraman Wen-Chun Fan. CNN correspondent Lisa Weaver estimated the total number arrested at 1,000. Link: CNN

BBC reported the protest came despite ï¿½almost unprecedentedï¿½ security levels at the square, where the Communists conducted a dawn flag-raising ceremony two hours before the protest started. The number of tourists impeded police efforts, and for a time they ï¿½lost control of the square.ï¿½ The protest was a symbol of Falun Gongï¿½s determination to fight and defeat a 15-month ban on the spiritual movement. Link: BBC

POPE JOHN PAUL II CANONIZES 120 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN CHINA
On the same day as the ï¿½anniversaryï¿½ and the protests, Pope John Paul II canonized 87 Chinese and 33 foreigners who died in China between the 1680ï¿½s and 1930ï¿½s for their faith. The decision riled the Communists, who have called the 120 martyrs ï¿½evilï¿½ and, as reported the last update, implied that they all deserved to die. Link: BBC

In an attempt to quell the nasty one-way war of words, Pope John Paul II asked Communist China to forgive the recently canonized saints for any mistakes they may have made, according to AFP. Link: AFP

IN FOCUS: THREE GORGES DAM RESIDENTS PROTESTING RESETTLEMENT
COMMUNISTS REFUSE TO HEAR THEM, PROTESTORS TURNING VIOLENT IN FRUSTRATION
Human Rights in China, cited by AFP, reported this week that farmers to be displaced by the Three Gorges Dam continue to be met with the cold shoulder by the Communists and are using violence as a last resort to get the government to listen to them. The group reported several melees involving resettlement officials, including an attack on officials last month in Sichuan province.

Attempts to complain peacefully about resettlement money, planning, and embezzlement resulted in jail terms, threats, and even knifings by gangs condoned by the Communists. The dam, already an ecological, logistical, and economic nightmare, is the pet project of Parliamentary Chairman Li Peng, who as Prime Minister ordered the Tiananmen massacre. Link: AFP

OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA ISSUES NEW INTERNET RESTRICTIONS, CRITICISM IS SWIFT
Communist China issued new, tighter internet restrictions Monday. Under the new regulations, all companies with an internet presence must provide a complete list of users and content posted going back two months, which Communist police can ask for anytime. According to the BBC, all ï¿½harmfulï¿½ content, be it pro-Taiwan, pro-Falun Gong, or anything else the Communists donï¿½t like, is illegal. Link: BBC

Condemnation of the new rules was quick in coming. AFP reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the international media association Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), both slammed the Communists for trying to control Internet content, in this case using the site providers as ï¿½proxy policemen.ï¿½ Link: AFP

FALUN GONG MEMBERS, INCLUDING ONE ESCAPEE FROM ARREST, VOW TO FIGHT ON
Members of Falun Gong pledged to continue their battle with Communist China as they fight for legitimacy and respect. AFP reported the crackdown against Falun Gong intensified after the groupï¿½s major protest on ï¿½National Dayï¿½ (see above). The groupï¿½s spokesperson said Communist President Jiang Zemin continues to insist on the crackdown because heï¿½s ï¿½insecure.ï¿½ Link: AFP

Meanwhile, A lawyer who was arrested in Falun Gong demonstrations Sunday told AFP, ï¿½I know Chinese law and I know what the government is doing is illegal.ï¿½ The lawyer, who called himself Zak, said the Communists had built two prisons for Falun Gong members; each can hold 50,000. Zak was able to escape from police custody on Sunday. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST TO LABEL ZHONG GONG AN ï¿½EVIL CULTï¿½ AT NEXT CENTRAL COMMITTEE SESSION
AFP, citing the Information on Human Rights and Democracy, reported the Communists plan to mark Zhong Gong, a spiritual movement similar to Falun Gong, as an ï¿½evil cult.ï¿½ Falun Gong was hit with the label last year. Zhong Gong is already illegal, and its founder, Zhang Hangbao, has fled to the U.S. territory of Guam. Link: AFP

OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
HUNDREDS PROTEST AT STEEL FACTORY
Afraid a state-owned steel firm would be sold and they would lose their jobs, between 300 to 500 steelworkers protested in Yunnan province, blocking the railroad in Lufeng county, according to AFP. The protestors took to the streets ï¿½as the only way to get the governmentï¿½s attention.ï¿½ A county official said police were dispatched, but no one was hurt, an assertion neither confirmed nor denied by outside observers. Link: AFP

COMMUNISTS BAN RED ENVELOPES, SPOUSAL APPOINTMENTS FOR CUSTOMS OFFICIALS
AFP, citing the Communist Xinhua news agency, reported new regulations by Communist authorities in their latest efforts to combat widespread corruption. One unusual order discouraged giving customs officials red envelopes. Many used the cultural custom to hide bribes to the officials as a way to avoid customs duties. The Communists also banned the appointment of officialsï¿½ family members to company boards. Link: AFP

EX-POLICE CHIEF COMMITS SUICIDE IN REACTION TO CORRUPTION PROBE
Wan Guozhong, former police chief in Qingdao and deputy director of public security (police) in Shandong province, killed himself last week as investigators closed in on him for protecting a bribery racket headed by his son-in-law. Wan had resigned his post early last month, and taken blame for the scandal, according to AFP. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST POLICE OFFICIAL GIVEN 15 YEARS FOR CORRUPTION
Former deputy chief of the Hainan Provincial Bureau of Public Security Lu Jinglin received a 15-year jail term for ï¿½abusing his power.ï¿½ AFP reported the Communists confiscated $646,000 worth of ï¿½ill-gotten gains.ï¿½ The actual offenses were not reported, an unusual omission. Link: AFP

AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
FORMER INVESTIGATOR SAYS FBI FOCUSED ON LEE, IGNORED OTHER LEADS
Former Energy Department official Notra Trulock, whose candor on Communist Chinaï¿½s theft of American nuclear secrets has made him a controversial figure, told a congressional committee this week the FBI ignored 11 other leads he gave them on the espionage case and focused solely on Wen Ho Lee. Lee was given a plea bargain last month. Link: Washington Post

CONGRESS RECEIVES BILL LINKING BEIJING OLYMPICS TO HUMAN RIGHTS, PRC NOT HAPPY
AFP reported Congressmen Tom Lantos (D-California), and Christopher Cox (R-California) introduced legislation calling for Beijing to lose its bid for the 2008 Olympic Games if human rights abuses in the PRC continue. Naturally, Communist China blasted the proposed legislation as tainted with ï¿½prejudice.ï¿½ Link: AFP

COMMUNIST CHINA WARNS AGAINST VIOLATING ABM TREATY, WHICH IT NEVER SIGNED
Once again, Communist China has called on the U.S. to stick to the ABM treaty, which the PRC never signed. The Communists insist the treaty, which was signed by the U.S. and the now non-existent USSR in 1972, would preclude a proposed American missile defense against ï¿½rogue statesï¿½ such as North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Communist China happens to be selling weapons technology to all of those nations. Link: AFP

BUSH ADVISORS SAY ï¿½STRATEGIC PARTNERHSIPï¿½ WITH COMMUNIST CHINA SHOULD END
In a Washington Times story, advisors to Governor George W. Bush, Republic nominee for President, said that a Bush administration would drop the ï¿½strategic partnershipï¿½ with Communist China that President Clinton is attempting. The advisors were not willing to calling Communist China a threat, and one flatly told the Washington Times that ï¿½China is not the new enemy.ï¿½ Link: Washington Times

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA LOANS $300 MILLION TO VIETNAM
Communist China has awarded $300 million to Vietnam for various industrial projects, according to the BBC. The loans are to build two power plants, a textile plant, and a copper smelter. Link: BBC

REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
PREMIER TANG FEI RESIGNS, PRESIDENT CHEN APPOINTS DEPUTY TO SUCCEED HIM
The BBC reported today that ROC Premier Tang Fei resigned due to poor health. President Chen Shui-bian appointed Vice Premier Chang Chun-hsiung, a fellow Democratic Progressive, to replace Tang, a Nationalist whose party had held the Presidency for 50 years and still has a majority in Taiwanï¿½s legislature. Link: BBC

PENTAGON TELLS CONGRESS TAIWAN WILL GET AMRAAM MISSILES SOON
The Pentagon informed Congress last week of its plans to sell more then $1 billion in weapons to Taiwan, including the highly advanced AMRAAM missiles, according to the BBC. The weapons could be delivered at the end of this year. President Clinton approved the sale in April, but he did not include Aegis naval cruisers requested by Taiwan. Communist China said the arms sale could have ï¿½serious consequences.ï¿½ Links: BBC, AFP.

COMMUNIST CHINA DEMANDS REUNIFICATION, AGAIN
Communist Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, giving a speech marking the ï¿½anniversaryï¿½ of the founding of the PRC, called on Taiwan to reunify with the mainland, and ominously warned the issue cannot be delayed indefinitely. BBC reported the speech did not have specific threats of attack, only vague warnings. Link: BBC

VICE PRESIDENT LU SLAMS COMMUNIST CHINA FOR ï¿½BACKWARD MENTALITYï¿½
In Central America for a tour of Taiwan-friendly countries, Vice President Annette Lu called on Communist China to drop the ï¿½one Chinaï¿½ condition and engage in cross-strait talks. According to AFP, Lu went so far as to call Beijingï¿½s insistence that Taiwan accept being swallowed into the PRC as a ï¿½backward mentality.ï¿½ Link: AFP

HONG KONG NEWS
COMMUNIST ASK CATHOLIC CHURCH NOT TO CELEBRATE CANONIZATION
In a sign that one country may not mean two systems anymore, the Communists asked Hong Kongï¿½s Vatican-loyal Catholic Church to ï¿½avoid huge celebrationsï¿½ of the 120 saints canonized by Pope John Paul II on Sunday (see above). Bishop Joseph Zen Zekiun said the request was ï¿½seriousï¿½ because ï¿½(Beijing) was trying to interfere.ï¿½ Link: AFP

TIBET NEWS
REPORTERS CALL FOR RELEASE OF NGAWANG CHOEPHEL
The international media association Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) demanded the release of filmmaker Ngawang Choephel in a latter to the Communist Chinese Justice Minister, according to AFP. The Communists arrested him while he was making a film on Tibet culture; they sentenced him to 18 years in jail for spying and ï¿½counter-revolutionary activities,ï¿½ in 1995, he has grown seriously ill since then. Link: AFP

DALAI LAMA TO JOIN EX-ROC PRESIDENT LEE IN CZECH REPUBLIC
The BBC, citing the Communist Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, reported the Dalai Lama will join former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui in a meeting to be held next month in the Czech Republic. The report, which covered Communist Chinaï¿½s churlish response, did not say which meeting the two would attend together. Link: Zhongguo Xinwen She via BBC

ACTIVISTS IN SOUTH KOREA LAUNCH PETITION DRIVE FOR DALAI LAMA
Outraged at their governmentï¿½s decision to stop the Dalai Lama from visiting Seoul, the Committee for the Dalai Lamaï¿½s visit to South Korea has launched a petition drive to show support for his visit, according to the Yonhap news agency. As reported in the last update, the government revoked permission for the Dalai Lama to enter South Korea in deference to Communist China. Link: Yonhap

XINJIANG/EAST TURKESTAN NEWS
FOUR INDEPENDENCE FIGHTERS KILLED IN KAZAKHSTAN
BBC reported last week that police in Kazakhstan killed four Uighurs who are members of an independence movement, which is illegal in Kazakhstan. Up to 200,000 Uighurs are believed to live in Kazakhstan. Those who live in Xinjiang have suffered for decades as they try to preserve their religion and culture despite Communist rule. Many as a result support an independent state that would be known as East Turkestan. Link: BBC

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