| 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. Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: OCTOBER 9, 2002 TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA WANTS �POLITICAL SOLUTION� ON IRAQ PRESIDENT BUSH�S SPEECH ON THE SUBJECT WINS NO MOVEMENT FROM COMMUNISTS Communist China repeated its insistence on a �political solution� (BBC) on Iraq, repeating its opposition to any military action against Saddam Hussein. While the Communists would likely avoid a veto of an American-British UN resolution for military force, they have signaled support for France and Russia�s resolution calling on Iraq to follow the dozen or so UN resolutions it has violated since 1991. The so-called People�s Republic made clear its preference for the French plan, as reported in the last update. The Communists have repeatedly �opposed sanctions on Iraq� (CNN 10/3/02). In reaction to President Bush�s Monday speech on Iraq, Communist China repeated its previous call for a �political solution� (CNN 10/8/02). It should be noted that in February of last year, Huawei Technologies, a Communist Chinese firm, was caught building the fiber optic network to integrate Iraq�s air-defenses (see 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, and 3/21/01 updates). It led to the first air raid on Iraq authorized by President Bush. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he doesn�t know if the PRC is still there (see 9/18/02 update). No news was reported on East Turkestan this week. Check out these stories and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page. OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS CRAWFORD SUMMIT CONCESSIONS ON TAIWAN �MOST UNLIKELY� Willy Wo-Lap Lam (CNN) quotes an unnamed Western diplomat who told him that despite Communist hopes for diplomatic gains regarding Taiwan during the upcoming Bush-Jiang summit in Crawford next week, �it is most unlikely that U.S. will yield on anything substantial such as Taiwan.� For more on Taiwan, see Republic of China (Taiwan) News. SUN MICROSYSTEMS EQUIPMENT WENT TO PRC MILITARY; BUSH ADMINISITRATION UPSET According to the Bush Administration, Sun Microsystems violated export rules �in high-speed computer sales it made to China during the Clinton administration.� As reported by Newsmax.com, equipment sold by Sun to a reseller in Hong Kong, who unloaded it to PRC �military organizations.� Sun is currently negotiating a settlement with the Administration over the sales. HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS COMMUNIST CHINA ON LIST OF WORST RELIGIOUS REPRESSORS Communist China was one of the six regimes were singled out as the worst for religious freedom in the State Department�s annual report on the subject. The BBC, citing the State report, noted the following PRC practices: �Unapproved religious groups are kept under close watch and often harshly repressed in order to curb any threat to the authority of the government.� Also reporting: Washington Times DEATH SENTENCES FOR FIVE CHRISTIANS THROWN OUT A Communist court in Hubei province threw out execution sentences against five Christians in Communist China. The five members of the eleven-year-old South China Church had been sentenced to death for being members of what the Communists called an �evil cult� (BBC). Communist China only allows two Christian churches: its PRC-run Protestant Church and its PRC-run Catholic Church. OTHER MAINLAND NEWS SURPRISE! POLITICAL REFORM NOT ON THE AGENDA AT PARTY CONGRESS NEXT MONTH This may come as a shock to you, but Willy Wo-Lap Lam (CNN) reports that next month�s Communist Party Congress � the one with the mass reshuffle � will reveal that �the party elite is only interested in improving � and strengthening � strict one-party rule.� Lam notes that while there will be much talk of �reform,� none of it will involve political liberalization or any moves toward democracy. Lam also notes Communist President Jiang Zemin�s determination to follow the �so-called Deng Xiaoping model� of retaining the Chair of the Central Military Commission, and thus �he will remain the CCP's �leadership core�� even after November�s Congress ends. Lam concludes, �The president's cynical power bid . . . indefinitely postponed the day when real reform will blossom in Chinese politics.� Indeed. COMMUNIST CHINA SAYS OK TO FOREIGNERS GETTING A �CONTROLLING� STAKES The PRC announced it would allow foreigners to buy a �controlling� (BBC) stake in Communist Chinese firms come December. The Communists refused to say, however, what the �controlling� stake would be � it need not necessarily be a majority stake, and any transfer of control to the outside firm �will be banned for a twelve month period.� CHINA UNICOM OPENING FALLS FLAT State-owned China Unicom opened itself up to investors within Communist China for the first time (BBC). The move, however, did not lead to expected gains, but did send �the company's Hong Kong-listed shares to a record low.� Oops. This was the only news from Hong Kong this week. ENERGY NOW A NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER FOR COMMUNIST CHINA Communist China has now declared the acquisition of energy fuels �elevated to the level of national security� (CNN). The move is in part �to lessen its dependence on the Middle East� for oil. INTERNATIONAL NEWS THREE REFUGEES ENTER GERMAN EMBASSY SCHOOL IN BEIJING Three more refugees from North Korea entered the German Embassy School in Beijing by which a previous group of refugees were allowed to fly to freedom in South Korea (BBC). Refugees fleeing the repressive, famine-wracked North are forced to hide in the People�s Republic due to the Communist policy of sending back any refugee they find (see 9/4/02 and 9/11/02 Updates). Nearly 100 refugees have used diplomatic compounds of democratic nations to escape. NORTH KOREA AXES HEAD OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE AFTER PRC ARREST This is too good. CNN (10/9/02) reports that Yang Bin, recently appointed head of North Korea�s Sinuiju special economic zone, has been fired. Last week, Communist China placed Yang under house arrest for �tax evasion, stock dealings and illegal real estate development� (BBC). The arrest led to some quick work through �diplomatic channels� between the PRC and its Stalinist ally to end Yang�s brief reign. Meanwhile, the CNN report noted that Yang�s firm � Euro Asia � had its shares suspended after reports of �allegedly inflating sales figures by 21 times over four years.� Moreover, �accountants Arthur Andersen (emphasis added) failed to spot any irregularities.� Look for Euro Asia to become the literal Chinese translation for �Enron.� Time Asia had this report on Sinuiju � before Yang�s quick fall from grace � and how the North intends to use �China as a role model.� They certainly did will on the corruption part of the model right from the start: CNN (10/6/02) reported that Yang was very close to the Mu Suixin and Ma Xiangdong, Shenyang�s corrupt ex-Mayor and ex-Vice Mayor (see 10/17/01 update for more on Mu and Ma). The North Korea Report has the latest on the Stalinist ally of Communist China. Sign up now to receive it every Monday. JAPANESE CAR FIRM TO PRODUCE AUTOS IN PRC; COMMUNIST FIRM WINS ALGERIA OIL The Japanese firm Daihatsu � majority-owned by Toyota � is planning to build small cars in Communist China in partnership with the PRC firm China FAW Group, according to CNN (10/2/02). Meanwhile, the PRC-owned Sinopec won the right to drill for oil in Algeria (CNN � 10/3/02). REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS ROC TO BEGIN LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTING PRC MISSILE BUILDUP The island democracy of Taiwan will �launch a letter-writing campaign in an attempt to force China to get rid of hundreds of missiles pointing at the island� (BBC). The campaign will include all 23 million Taiwanese writing �influential people abroad asking them to put pressure� on the Communists to halt their missile buildup. The PRC adds 50 missiles a year to the roughly 400 already aimed at the ROC. ROC ENDS CLAIM TO MONGOLIA The Republic of China, which still claims the entire mainland as its rightful territory, renounced Mongolia as a piece of that territory over the weekend (Washington Times, last paragraph). The ROC�s claim to the mainland, which it lost to the Communists in 1949 after 37 years, is not as well known than the Communist insistence that they are the rightful rulers of Taiwan, where they have never set foot. No news was reported from Tibet this week. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it Anyonewho wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China you happen to find to the same address. |