| Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the 2008 Olympic Games being awarded to Beijing, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: MAY 8, 2002 TOP STORY: COMMUNIST POLICE ENTER JAPANESE CONSULATE, SEIZE REFUGEES JAPANESE GOVERNMENT FURIOUS AT PRC ARREST OF NORTH KOREAN ESCAPEES, THREE MORE STOPPED BEFORE ENTERING, TWO NORTH KOREANS MAKE IT TO U.S. CONSULATE In a dramatic show of how desperate North Koreans are to escape to freedom, seven refugees tried to enter American and Japanese consulates in the Communist Chinese city of Shenyang. The BBC reported that the two who tried to reach the U.S. consulate succeeded. The Japanese consulate, however, was witness to yet another example of the arbitrary power of the �People�s Republic of China.� Communist police stopped three of the five trying to enter the Japanese consulate, but two others made it inside. The police followed them into the compound and against the wishes of the Japanese government, forcibly removed the escapees from the consulate and into custody. Japan lodged a protest within hours. All North Korean refugees found by Communist China are sent back to the Stalinist regime � a PRC ally for over 50 years � despite the near-decade long famine in North Korea, and the Communist policy of feeding themselves and the army while everyone else starves. Those who have made it into embassies and consulates have ended up in South Korea, the desired destination for refugees from the North. An earlier BBC story reported on how the PRC �strengthened security around foreign embassies� to prevent refugees from using them to reach South Korea. For more on this story, sign up for the next North Korea Report, due out on Monday. OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS HU JINTAO COMPLAINS ABOUT U.S. SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN In a speech at the Capital Hilton in Washington, PRC Vice President Hu Jintao said the issue of Taiwan could make it �difficult for China-U.S. relations to move forward� (CNN). Hu�s warning on close U.S. relations with the island democracy was the only public statement the Communist heir apparent made during his trip to Washington (see last update). Report: Washington Times BOTH JIANG AND TAIWAN HAPPY WITH HU�S TRIP Hu�s trip did not lead to any change in U.S. policy towards Taiwan, which the BBC said is �basking in the glow of its warmest relationship with a US administration for some time.� The lack of �nasty surprises� made the island democracy quite happy as Hu flew home. Meanwhile, Communsit President Jiang Zemin, while meeting with the former President Bush, was happy with Hu�s trip (Cybercast News). For more on Taiwan, see Republic of China (Taiwan) News There�s still time to contact the President and tell him not to appoint pro-PRC Doug Paal as de facto ambassador to Taiwan. STATE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE FORCED ABORTIONS IN COMMUNIST CHINA The U.S. State Department announced the selection of a team to investigate Communist China�s hideous �one child� policy, which has led to forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and, infanticide. While some welcomed the probe, many watchers of the PRC expressed concern that the Communists would use the time between now and the actual start of the investigation to hide the truth. Report: Cybercast News MORE JOINT EXERCISES FOR U.S. AND INDIA India, a long-time nemesis of Communist China, will be conducting more joint military exercises with the U.S. later this month, according to Cybercast News. Communist China swiped some 400,000 square miles of territory from India in a 1962 border war, and makes an occasional claim to more Indian real estate. As Communist China�s allies and weapons customers enter the crosshairs, check out the latest on �Communist China and the Terrorist War,� either directly or via our main page. HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS NEARLY 200 INTERNET CAFES IN SHANGHAI SHUT DOWN Continuing its latest attempt to crush �illegal activities,� �harmful� content, and anything else that on the web that might threaten the Communist grip on power, Communist police shut down roughly 200 internet cafes in the Shanghai area. Report: BBC OTHER MAINLAND NEWS JIANG TO STAY ON AS CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN According to CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam, Communist Chinese President Jiang Zemin �will very likely retain his chairmanship of the Central Military Commission.� The CMC Chair is the little-known but very powerful post from which Deng Xiaoping ran the so-called People�s Republic �behind the scenes� for years. Whether ornot Jiang will be as powerful is debatable, but he isn�t going away any time soon. While he is still President, Jiang is trying to raise the profile of his prot�g� and �alter ego,� Zeng Qinghong, at the expense of Hu Jintao and others, in order to preserve his legacy and his power base. RAND ANALYST PUTS COMMUNIST CHINESE UNEMPLOYMENT AT 23 PERCENT Charles Wolf, Jr., an economist at the Rand Corporation, give his estimate of the real unemployment rate in Communist China: �23 to 24 percent . . . That�s 170 million people� (Los Angeles Times). The PRC says its unemployment is only 3.4%, but even it admits that�s only for urban areas, not for the economically crippled rural interior. All agree that it will only get worse in the near future (see last update). REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS DROUGHT-STRICKEN MATSU BUYS WATER FROM MAINLAND For the first time, Matsu Island, home to a Taiwanese military garrison, will buy water from the Communist mainland to help combat a severe drought (BBC). The entire ROC is suffering under a major water shortage. Still, the government insisted that this would not be a trend. Also reporting: CNN ROC GOVERNMENT APOLOGIZES TO ISLAND FOR NUCLEAR WASTE The Taiwanese government has officially apologized to residents of Lanyu Orchid Island for storing nuclear waste there, and pledged to move the waste from the island. President Chen Shui-bian�s Democratic Progressive Party has a history of opposition to nuclear power. Report: BBC PRESIDENT CHEN UNVEILS ELECTION REFORM PLAN President Chen has announced an election reform plan to reduce the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan (parliament) from 225 to 150, and eliminate multi-delegate districts in favor of single-seat districts. The BBC noted that while the plan may make Taiwanese politics a bit less unwieldy, it has to be approved by the parliament � and it�s unlikely that they would �vote themselves out of a job.� HONG KONG NEWS THE HUNT FOR �MIGRANT� CHILDREN CONTINUES Hong Kong police �have begun raiding homes across the territory� to find about 4,000 people slated for deportation to the mainland (BBC). The group, all children of Hong Kong residents, won the right to stay in Hong Kong from the city�s highest court in the 1990s, only to have the decision overruled by the Communists at the �request� of the PRC-appointed local government in the supposedly autonomous city. No news was reported from Tibet or East Turkestan (�Xinjiang�) this week. 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