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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: MARCH 5, 2003
TOP STORY: COMMUNIST �LEGISLATURE� OPENS SESSION
JIANG TO KEEP STATE CMC CHAIR AS WELL AS PARTY CMC CHAIR; MILITARY GETS ANOTHER HUGE BUDGET INCREASE; ZHU WARNS OF LABOR UNREST, RIPS U.S. �HEGEMONISM�
Communist China�s rubber-stamp legislature, known as the National People�s Congress, opened its reshuffle session today. The session began with outgoing Prime Minister Zhu Rongji warning the gathering that the so-called People�s Republic was risking labor and farmer unrest in the rural interior that could �threaten the entire national economy� (BBC). Also reporting: CNN, Washington Post
Zhu also spent some time blasting what he called �all forms of hegemonism and power politics� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). Zhu was using the standard Communist cover of �hegemonism� for the United States, in particular, according to Lam, �what (Communist China) sees as the �unilateralist� tendencies of U.S. President George W. Bush.� To that end, the Communist military received a 17.6% budget increase.
The other major event of the session will, of course, be the formal handing over of the title of PRC President from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao, the Communist party boss. Many are taking it as the final act of Jiang transferring power to Hu. They couldn�t be more wrong, for the fellow who is in charge of the military is not Hu, but Jiang, who is still Chairman of the Communist Central Military Commission.
The Chair of the party�s CMC is the powerful post from which Deng Xiaoping wielded power in the late 1980�s, including overruling then-party chief Zhao Ziyang and order the Tiananmen Square massacre. However, Jiang also managed to keep the state CMC Chair, which Lam (3/2), noted was �further indication that the party elder wants to hang on to power at least for two to three years.�
With both CMC Chairs, as Lam put it �Jiang remains the de facto head of the People's Liberation Army� and Hu �will still have to defer to the septuagenarian regarding major matters of state.� For good measure, Jiang also ensured his top prot�g�, Zeng Qinghong, the number two position in a number of Communist bodies, plus many �senior ministers to be elected at the NPC.�
RESHUFFLE, SECURITY, �REFORMS� ARE MAIN TOPICS
Outside of the reshuffling of titles, the Communists will likely �devote more resources to security-related operations such as the Strike Hard campaign against . . . �destabilizing� elements such as the Falun Gong spiritual movement and underground trade unions� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN).
Some �reform� of the regime will also be discussed. However, as Lam noted, �the leadership of party chief Hu Jintao had decided not to pursue Western-style political reforms such as multi-party politics.� As such, �tinkering with the administrative structure has been billed by the official media as indicative of Beijing's commitment to reform.�
PROT�G�S OF ZHU RONGJI, JIANG ZEMIN SPLIT MAJOR CABINET POSTS
The major positions in the State Council (Cabinet) have been split between prot�g�s of Zhu Rongji, the outgoing �reformist� Prime Minister, and Jiang Zemin, the outgoing President and not-going-anywhere Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Zhu�s prot�g� Wen Jiabao � who is on the Politburo Standing Committee � will get Zhu�s job. Report: Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN
JIANG ALLY LANDS CPPCC CHAIR
In yet another sign that Jiang Zemin isn�t giving up power with his titles, longtime prot�g� Jia Qinglin officially landed the post of Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Jia was actually won the job in a secret deal made by the top Communists last fall (although it wasn�t secret enough to escape the 11/6/02 Update). Report: BBC
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
COMMUNIST CHINA�S HOSTILITY TO IRAQ CAMPAIGN GROWING, BUT VETO UNLIKELY
Communist China, according to Willy Wo-Lap Lam of CNN, �has hardened its stance on the Iraqi issue due to the growing perception that Washington's anti-Baghdad campaign is emblematic of a �neo-imperialism� that will also threaten China.� The rising anti-Americanism has led to Communist blessings for an anti-war petition drive (see below), and anti-American protests.
Meanwhile, current party chief and incoming PRC President Hu Jintao has �called for an urgent revaluation of China's national security capabilities.� According to Lam, both Hu and Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin are worried about �hegemonic expansionism� from the U.S., and the possibility that Communist China may come into its crosshairs (if only that were remotely true)
Despite all of this, Lam reports that �the Chinese government is likely to abstain in the event of a vote at the U.N. Security Council that will authorize military action against the Saddam Hussein regime.� However, Hu himself took the opportunity of Fidel Castro�s visit last week to express �our faith in the future of socialism.�
WAR IN IRAQ �CAN AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED,� SAY PRC
Communist China and Russia issued a joint statement telling the United States that military action in Iraq �can and should be avoided� (CNN). The statement came from Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister of the so-called People�s Republic, and Russian FM Igor Ivanov. The two ministers also made the standard Communist call for a �political solution� to Iraq.
Communist Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan repeated the line days later (Fox News), while Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin insisted, again, on �supporting the United Nations to continue arms inspections in Iraq and to take every possible method to avoid war� (Washington Times).
In 2001, a Communist Chinese firm built a fiber optic network in Iraq to integrate the Ba�athist regime�s air-defenses (see also 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, and 3/21/01 Updates). The PRC also tried to sell a ship full of missile-launching patrol boats to Iraq � the U.S. had to buy the cargo to stop the shipment � and built Iraq an underground bunker to hide its weapons of mass destruction (see 12/18/02 and 2/5/03 Updates).
�OPEN LETTER� BY COMMUNIST PROFESSOR CALL FOR PRC VETO ON IRAQ RESOLUTION
Han Deqiang, a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is circulating an �open letter� calling for Communist China to veto any UN resolution �authorizing military force against Iraq� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). While Han was cryptic about the Communists� view of the letter, academics in the PRC are usually the most reliable shills for the regime.
Check out these stories and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
ANTI-SHIP MISSILE TEST FIRED BY NORTH KOREA WAS A PRC VARIANT
According to Bill Gertz of the Washington Times, North Korea�s new anti-ship missile, test-fired last week, was �an advanced, homemade version of the Chinese Silkworm anti-ship missile.� This blasted a good-sized hole in Communist China�s heated denial of earlier reports of its involvement in its Stalinist ally�s missile development (see last Update).
For the latest on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
PRC RIPS AUSTRALIA FOR POSSIBLE COOPERATION WITH U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE
Communist China criticized Australia for entertaining plans to work with the U.S. to build a possible missile defense against �threats from rogue states and terrorist groups� (CNN). Most of the �rogue states and terrorist groups� driving American and Australian concern � Iran, Iraq, al Qaeda, Syria, North Korea, the Taliban, etc. � are or have been military customers, friends, or allies of the PRC.
CLINTON SAID BUSH ASKED HIM TO MEDIATE IN HAINAN OUTRAGE
Former President Bill Clinton told Atlantic Monthly that President Bush �asked me to . . . talk to Jiang (Zemin about) . . . that plane down in China� (Newsmax), a reference to the Hainan outrage (for more on the outrage, see 4/5/01 and 4/11/01 Updates).
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
WANG BINGZHANG LOSES APPEAL OF LIFE SENTENCE; ZHANG QI EXILED TO U.S.
Long-time anti-Communist activist Wang Bingzhang, whose support for democracy led him to leave the safety of exile in the United States twice to work with political and labor dissidents in Communist China, lost his appeal of a life sentence imposed upon him by the PRC (CNN). Wang was planning to meet with Chinese labor dissidents in Vietnam when he �disappeared� (see 7/31/02, 12/26/02, and 2/12 Updates).
Two other dissidents, Yue Wu and Zhang Qi, were with Wang when the Communists captured them. The PRC sent Zhang into exile over the weekend (they had released Yue earlier, according to the BBC). Wang, on his second trip into or near the PRC to aid dissidents in Communist China, was not so lucky.
The Communists laid it on especially thick with the lies against Wang. They claimed he passed state secrets to Taiwan, plotted to bomb the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, tried to build a terrorist training camp in northern Thailand, and plotted bombings and assassinations in China in 1999. One should remember these outlandish charges the next time East Turkestan comes up for discussion.
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
LOCAL-LEVEL COMMUNISTS FIGHTING TO KEEP CONTROL OF SOME CITIES
In industrial towns and other �middling parts� (Washington Post) of Communist China, the party is starting to have trouble with its rubber-stamp election process. At the local level, delegates are beginning to vote out Communist-approved candidates. Of course, no such thing is allowed to occur at the national level, but the Communists are beginning to get worried �about the threat of creeping democracy.�
PRC TO BUILD UP OIL STOCKPILE, MAY CREATE OIL PURCHASE FUND
The PRC is �considering setting up a $10bn (�6.3bn) fund to purchase oil for a strategic reserve� (BBC) and to build an oil stockpile. The moves are in part due to uncertainty over the fate of Ba�athist Iraq.
COMMUNIST CHINA AIMING FOR THE MOON
As the Communists prepare for their first manned space launch later this year (see 1/22 Update), they are also making plans to send someone to the moon in the next decade. Several unmanned moon flights are being slated, to begin around 2005 and finishing five years later. Those flights would leave the PRC �closer to planning for a manned mission to the moon� (CNN). Also Reporting: BBC
PRC �WHITE GOODS APPLIANCE� FIRM LOOKING FOR EXPORT MARKETS
Communist Chinese firm Haier � which specializes in �white goods appliances� such as refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners � is �bidding to become a global brand� (BBC). This is, in part, due to the firm winning an agreement from Wal-Mart to stock items in Haier�s name, rather than its own. The PRC-owned firm will raise capital for the expansion through its Hong Kong subsidiary.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA HOSTS FIDEL CASTRO
Fidel Castro, Cuba�s Communist dictator, visited Communist China to meet incoming President and current Chinese Communist Party boss Hu Jintao, and outgoing President and not-going-anywhere Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin. Communist China is �Cuba's main political and financial partner� and �the main credit provider for businesses on the island� (Agence France Presse).
HONG KONG NEWS
�ANTI-SUBVERSION� BILL GIVEN TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Hong Kong�s Communist-appointed government has finally sent its �anti-subversion� bill to the city�s majority-Communist-appointed Legislative Council (LegCo). The bill has raised the ire of pro-democracy and human rights groups because of its infringement on civil liberties (see 2/19 Update) and the supposed autonomy of the city under �one country, two systems.� Report: BBC
TAXES GOING UP IN HONG KONG
The Communist-appointed government of Hong Kong will increase taxes in that city to balance a budget thrown badly out of whack by a weak economy. It will be the first tax hike in 20 years, but more taxes that �the economy was too weak to absorb right now� (BBC), are on the way in future years.
No news was reported from Taiwan or Tibet this week.
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