| CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: APRIL 5, 2001 FIRST ANNIVERSARY ISSUE: After some car trouble precluded the update going out on time Wednesday, I decided to turn the situation into an advantage, and make this the one-year anniversary issue. This is why I waited until Thursday morning to send out this week�s update. The next update will be out on Wednesday, as usual. This also means it�s the longest update we�ve had, although that had more to do with the EP-3 plane incident than anything else. One year ago today, the first China e-Lobby Update went out, to 12 members. Since that time, we�ve grown to 40. We�ve also managed to get out information that would never see the light of day otherwise. We even got one story to the media about two months ago. Now, after the EP-3 standoff, the arrests of U.S. citizens, etc., more and more Americans are starting to see things the way we do, even if we had little to do with it. So here�s to another year of building the e-Lobby, in membership and structure, so that we can continue to do all we can to help the people of China liberate themselves from their Communist oppressors. D.J. McGuire TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINESE, U.S. JETS COLLIDE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA PLANE AND CREW HELD BY COMMUNISTS, WHO BLAME U.S. FOR THE INCIDENT An American EP-3 electronic surveillance plane collided with one of two Communist Chinese military planes about 60 miles southeast of Hainan Island. While no Americans were injured, the plane was forced to make an emergency landing on the island. The Communist Chinese pilot is still missing; an American offer of assistance in finding him was rebuffed. Link: AFP The Washington Post reported today that the Communist plane was directly under the EP-3 as the Americans tried to bank left. Air rules generally grant larger, lower planes the �right of way� in close-up air travel. CNN reported that PRC planes have repeatedly been dealing with U.S. counterparts in an �unsafe manner,� by flying much too close to them. Links: CNN, Washington Post COMMUNISTS BLOCK U.S. ACCESS AFTER ONE MEETING, DEMAND APOLOGY The Communists have only allowed American diplomats to see the crew once, and are ominously referring to them as �lawbreakers,� according to the BBC. The People�s Republic of China is insisting that the American plane caused the collision. The Communists said they were conducting an �investigation,� and would refuse to allow any American contact, let alone release, until the U.S. showed a more �cooperative approach.� Link: BBC CNN reported Communist President Jiang Zemin�s comments, in which he called for a halt to all surveillance flights, as the following: �the U.S. plane bumped into our plane, invaded Chinese territorial airspace and landed at our airport.� Privately, a source told CNN�s Willy Lo-Lap Lam that they have concluded that it was an �accident,� and that Jiang was using the incident as an effort to get the flights stopped. Link: CNN President George W. Bush called for the immediate return of the crew and the plane. However, the Communists boarded the plane and, according to AFP, �China would not quickly return the U.S. surveillance aircraft and its 24 crew.� Link: AFP Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of the US Pacific theatre, flatly challenged the PRC�s version of events, saying of American flying techniques, �It's not a normal practice to play bumper cars in the air.� PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said the U.S. �has displayed an arrogant attitude,� and �used lame arguments,� according to AFP. Link: AFP, BBC PRC TRIES TO LINK CREW TO OTHER ISSUES; PNTR COULD BE REVOKED The Communists have demanded an apology, which the U.S., for now, refuses to give, although it did express �regret� that the PRC pilot died. Already, however, the Communists are dropping hints of linking the fate of the crew members to the Communists� �wish list,� no Aegis sale to Taiwan, the 2008 Olympics, etc. The Communist press, meanwhile, is ratcheting up the anti-American rhetoric. Link: CNN - PRC hints, CNN - U.S. "regret", AFP AFP reported that part of the problem is an increasingly strident Communist military, which the civilian leadership does not want to cross. Link: AFP Yang Chih-heng, deputy director of the Strategic and International Studies for the private Taiwan Research Institute, mentioned the frightening possibility that the crew of the EP-3 could become �hostages� in exchange for Colonel Xu Junping, the Communist military officer that recently defected to the U.S. �Don't you feel the timing of the event was unusual to intercept a surveillance plane on a routine mission?� he asked. Link: AFP Congressman Henry Hyde (Republican � Illinois), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, also mentioned the hostage possibility, asking chillingly, �Are we to assume that all of these individuals are now considered hostages?� CNN reported the plight of the families of the crew members Tuesday. Link: Fox News, CNN Other members of Congress were not happy either. Thirty of them have sponsored legislation calling for the repeal of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Communist China. The Washington Post noted this in its analysis on how the incident could block Communist China�s entry into the World Trade Organization. Link: Washington Post Regarding the plane itself, and whatever equipment was on it, analysts differed over whether the crew would have had enough time to destroy sensitive material and equipment � the stuff the PRC really wants � before the plane landed. Meanwhile, AFP reported the plane was monitoring a highly advanced Sovremenny-class destroyer, one of several which the Communists bought from the Russians in 1999. Links: Washington Times, AFP According to the Washington Times, this isn�t the only recent incident between the US and PRC militaries. An American naval vessel had a �threatening� encounter with a Communist warship last week. Meanwhile, Japan publicly supported the U.S position yesterday, according to the Kyodo News Service. AFP reports New Zealand also called for the crew to be returned. Links: AFP, Washington Times, Kyodo News Service HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS ANOTHER CHINESE NATURALIZED U.S.CITIZEN TAKEN WHILE IN PRC Dr. Li Shaomin, a professor at the University of Hong Kong and a Chinese-born naturalized U.S. citizen, has been in a Communist Chinese prison for over a month, according to the BBC. Li�s wife said he went to Shenzhen, a neighboring city on the mainland, to visit a friend and never came back. The U.S. embassy said the Communists refuse to give any reason for his imprisonment. Link: BBC AFP noted that Dr. Li�s father was a pro-reform Communist in the 1980s, back when the term had meaning in Communist China. The elder Li supported the Tiananmen Square protests, as did his son, although more quietly than his father. Some believed Dr. Li may be suffering for his father�s pro-democracy past. Human Rights Watch said the arrest of the U.S. citizen would have a �chilling effect,� according to AFP. Links: AFP - father, AFP - HRW comments BILLS TO GRANT GAO ZHAN CITIZENSHIP INTRODUCED . . . AFP reported that Senator George Allan (R-Virginia) is sponsoring legislation to grant Gao Zhan, an American University researcher now held in Communist China for a month and a half on �spying� charges, automatic U.S. citizenship in the hope that it would lead to her release. The Communists also held Gao�s husband and her son Andrew, an American-born U.S. citizen, for nearly a month before letting them go. Link: AFP Gao�s husband, Xue Donghua, became a citizen in a special ceremony on Friday. The couple had completed all the requirements for citizenship, except the swearing-in ceremony, according to CNN. AFP reported that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) introduced a House-version of Sen. Allen�s citizenship bill yesterday. Link: CNN . . . AS PRC FILES SPY CHARGES AGAINST HER Meanwhile, Communist China officially charged Gao of espionage, according to CNN. AFP reported the Communist have said the �evidence is solid,� but they �involve state secrets.� The PRC likes to label any inconvenient facts about its regime as �state secrets.� Link: AFP, CNN JOURNALIST COMMITTEE SAYS COMMUNISTS WILL LOSE FIGHT OVER INTERNET CONTENT Lin Neumann, of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told AFP that the Communists are destined to lose their battle to control the Internet. Neumann pointed to the school explosion in Fanglin earlier this year, where despite strict content rules, the truth about the explosion in the school that doubled as a fireworks factory outran the Communists� attempt to squelch it. Link: AFP OTHER MAINLAND NEWS MORE DEFECTIONS FROM PLA? According to AFP, four People�s Liberation Army officers have gone missing, and Beijing fears they may have followed the trail blazed by Colonel Xu Junping and defected. Taiwan�s Central news Agency (CNA), which AFP cited, noted that two of the officers had very sensitive information on the PRC�s military posture vis a vis Taiwan when they vanished. Link: AFP THREE LABOR DEMONSTRATIONS REPORTED BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP The Information Center for Human Right and Democracy, cited by AFP, reported three protests by teachers, steelworkers, and factory workers in Communist China over the weekend. The first protest, in Shaanxi province, was by the steelworkers. The teachers went on strike in Sichuan, and the factory workers protested Shandong province. All were upset at being forced to go months without pay. Link: AFP MORE ARRESTS IN SHIJIAZHUANG BOMBING The Communist-run Hebei Daily announced the arrests of 17 more people accused of providing bomb materials to Jin Ruchao, the �confessed� bomber of Shijiazhuang. But the several arrests lead many to disbelieve the official story � that Jin blew up the four buildings, killing 108, on his own. Link: AFP STATE-RUN POWER COMPANY TO BE BROKEN UP The Communists have slated the state-run State Power Corporation to go the way of the AT&T of old. However, all the new smaller firms would have a stake in every region, which could lead more competition, in theory. What CNN, which reported the story, did not mention was the fact that SP is a major political power and patronage base for Tiananmen butcher and current No.2 Communist Li Peng. Link: CNN AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS BUSH TO DENY AEGIS-ARMED SHIPS TO TAIWAN; MANY HOPE TO CHANGE HIS MIND Tony Blankley, columnist for the Washington Times, reported last week that President George Bush has opted not to sell Aegis-armed destroyers to Taiwan. Blankley cited unnamed military sources close to retired Admiral Thomas Moorer, former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pro-Aegis officials in the Administration are still hoping to �reverse this presidential decision before it is publicly announced.� Link: Washington Times Meanwhile, the Pentagon is set to recommend against an immediate Aegis sale, opting instead for the option of selling four Kidd-class destroyers (which Taiwan also requested), and leaving the Aegis question for another year, according to the Washington Post. Over eighty-three members of Congress � Republican and Democrat � wrote the President supporting the Aegis sale, according to AFP. Links: Washington Post, AFP One analyst from the usually �soft� Heritage Foundation, said such a move on the Aegis sale would �look as if they have caved into China.� The Aegis system is thought to be the technical forerunner of a missile defense, and would be a great help to the Taiwanese military, up against over 300 Communist missiles today and possibly from 600-800 missiles by 2005. Link: AFP U.S. MILITARY WORRIED ABOUT COMMUNIST CHINA�S CYBERWAR CAPABILITIES Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, commander of the U.S. Space Command, told reporters he was deeply concerned about Communist China�s ability to engage in �information attacks,� or attacks on American computer technology. The General admitted the U.S. military has �a long way to go� in cyberwar preparations. Meanwhile, the PRC has apparently begun military exercises with these information attacks. Link: Washington Times HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES OVERWHELMINGLY AGAINST OLYMPICS IN BEIJING The House International Relations Committee has voted 27-8 in favor of a resolution calling for the International Olympic Committee not to award the 2008 Games to Beijing. The resolution cites the PRC�s abysmal human rights record, and is sponsored by Holocaust survivor Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California). Toronto, Osaka, Instanbul, and Paris are also vying for the 2008 Olympic Games. Link: AFP INTERNATIONAL NEWS PRC ASKS PHILIPPINES TO �RESTRAIN� NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR . . . Oh, this is a beauty. In response to statements from Philippine National Security Advisor Roilo Gomez (see last update) regarding the heavy inflow of drugs from the PRC into his country, and possible military involvement, the Communists responded with the following. �We wish that the (Philippines) government could restrain its officials from making such statement that poisons our bilateral relations.� Link: AFP . . . AS THE TWO GOVERNMENTS TRY TO EASE TENSIONS OVER DISPUTED SHOAL The Philippine and PRC governments have agreed to take steps to ease tensions over the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed island group which has seen several Philippine arrests of PRC fisherman. Link: AFP JAPAN CUTS BACK AID TO COMMUNIST CHINA Citing Communist China�s growing military and economy, Japan has decided to scale back its aid to its neighbor, according to AFP. Link: AFP PAKISTAN OPENS SECOND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BUILT WITH PRC HELP The ties binding Communist China and Pakistan became tighter last week. Pakistan opened a second nuclear power plant, built largely with PRC know-how and aid, as the Communists announced that Prime Minister Zhu Rongji would visit General Pervez Musharraf in May. Gen. Musharraf took power in a military coup in October 1999. Link: AFP REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS LEGISLATOR APOLOGIZES FOR SCUFFLE Lo Fu-chu, the independent member of the Legislative Yuan who injured a fellow MLY in a scuffle, apologized for setting �a bad example,� and announced he planned to stay out of legislative activities for three months. He also offered �withdrawing from the political scene completely,� and to donate three months� salary to charity. The legislature condemned his actions in the punch-up. Links: CNA - Lo�s comments, CNA - legislative condemnation OPPOSITION LEGISLATOR DEMANDS ASYLUM FOR TIBETAN REFUGEES Chen Shei-saint, a legislator from the opposition Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party called on the government to grant �special amnesty� to over 100 Tibetan refugees who left Nepal and India over the last decade. The refugees, who say they left with aid from Taiwanese officials, have never been granted legal status in the ROC. Link: CNA LIFTING OF INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS ON MAINLAND TO BE DELAYED Citing rising unemployment and slowing growth, the ROC government announced a delay in plans to loosen investment restrictions on the mainland, according to AFP. Some politicians in Taiwan, particularly Vice President Annette Lu, have blamed excessive investment in the PRC for slowing the ROC economy. Link: AFP HONG KONG NEWS TWO MORE HELD, ONE CHARGED WITH FOR SPYING FOR TAIWAN AFP reported the Communists� arrest of Leung Hwa, a bookstore owner and co-founder of a U.S.-based Chinese dissident group, for spying on behalf of Taiwan. Leung has been missing since November. Missing since August is Xu Zerong, a Hong Kong resident who works at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou. The Communists have refused to give a reason for his arrest to his family, or anyone else, according to AFP. Links: AFP - Leung, AFP - Xu HONG KONG RESIDENTS GATHER TO PAY TRIBUTE TO 1976 PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTORS The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements and the April 5th Action Group held demonstrations to commemorate those who gave their lives for freedom and democracy in China. April 5, 1976 saw the first anticommunist demonstrators in the history of the PRC, in Tiananmen Square. The army killed dozens of them. Link: AFP COMMUNISTS BAN THREE MORE HK DEMOCRATS FROM THE MAINLAND Communist China banned three members of the Hong Kong Democratic Party from entering the mainland last week, bringing to 29 the number of pro-democracy HK residents banned from the mainland. Many are part of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, formed during the Tiananmen protests of 1989. According to AFP, even some members of the city�s legislature are banned. Link: AFP TIBET NEWS DALAI LAMA BEGINS RELIGIOUS VISIT TO TAIWAN The Dalai Lama, Tibet�s spiritual leader for over 40 years, began a religious trip to Taiwan with meetings with ROC Vice President Annette Lu, long a thorn in the PRC�s side, according to the BBC. Communist China, meanwhile, lambasted his trip as a means to �collaborate with separatist forces in Taiwan,� and �raise funds for separatist activities.� Links: AFP, BBC The ROC government announced during the week that it would strengthen Taiwanese ties with the exiled government in Tibet, which the Dalai Lama leads according to CNA. The Dalai Lama also expressed hope for China democratization in a meeting with ROC President Chen Shui-bian, according to the BBC. Links: BBC, CNA No news from Xinjiang/East Turkestan this week. 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]. |