| CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: JANUARY 10, 2001 Note to members: You may notice the Top Story runs much longer than previous Top Stories, and that the Update itself is longer than usual. This is due only to the nature of the story � the release of the Tiananmen papers � and not a trend away from the usual succinct summaries. TOP STORY: NEW PAPERS REVEAL THE INSIDE STORY DURING TIANANMEN HARD-LINERS BROUGHT CURRENT COMMUNIST PRESIDENT INTO HIERARCHY DURING PROTEST A set of papers released by a former official in the People�s Republic of China has provided a detailed look at meetings held by the Communist hierarchy during the Tiananmen Square protests. In many respects, the papers confirm old information. Then-Prime Minister Li Peng was the chief supporter of the massacre, which killed hundreds if not thousands, and then-Communist Party secretary Zhao Ziyang was its lead opponent. What the papers reveal, according to several sources, is how current Communist President Jiang Zemin figured into the massacre. The party �elders,� former officials who held the ultimate power in Communist China, elevated Jiang to be party secretary during the protests to replace Zhao, whose adamant opposition to a crackdown infuriated them. Zhao has been under house arrest ever since the massacre. Previously it was thought Jiang moved up after the massacre. The papers reveal Jiang was, in fact, a hard-line favorite who owes his rapid rise, and thus his current post as PRC President, to those who gave Li the green light to start shooting. The papers also reveal the �elders� rammed Jiang�s appointment through without Politburo approval, showing the Communists couldn�t even follow their own rules at the time. Most who reported the story focused on whether the documents were authentic (all believe they are). The source, known by the pseudonym Zhang Liang, is a supporter those within the Party who support more political freedom. He is now out of the PRC. The papers make it clear: the �elders� all but owned the Politburo standing committee. Several news sources reported on the papers over the weekend. Links: Time Asia, Time Asia � on authenticity, Washington Post, Agence France Presse, Washington Times Communist China, of course, called the documents fake and said the massacre was �highly necessary to the stability and development of China.� Jiang, clearly annoyed, also called the documents �erroneous.� Human rights groups and relatives of those who died during the massacre reacted quite differently. Human Rights in China said the papers would �remind the world of the unresolved June 4 tragedy.� Links: AFP - Communists and human rights groups, AFP - relatives� reaction, AFP - Jiang�s reaction In a sad irony, dissidents inside Communist China told CNN that Zhang�s goal, to help reformers within the Party, would probably not be realized. Dai Qing, a journalist imprisoned after the massacre, both said the release could �make them even more obstinate.� Bao Tong, an aide to the reformist Zhao during the protests, agreed. Link: CNN TOP AMERICAN STORY: PRC USES (SLIGHTLY) SOFTER WORDS ON ROC IN PITCH TO BUSH MOST ANALYSTS SAY THE COMMUNISTS ARE FAKING CALMER ATTITUDE ON TAIWAN In what was widely believed as a signal to the incoming Bush Administration, Communist Vice-Premier Qian Qichen appeared to soften the rhetoric on Taiwan, saying there is no need for �war against each other,� and that he could understand that the PRC position on �One China� left Taiwan�s leaders �trapped.� The Washington Post labeled that Qian�s statements a possible marker for a significant change in PRC policy. Link: Washington Post Others were less sanguine. Joseph Cheng, a China expert at the City University of Hong Kong, told AFP that �there is no softening.� Jean-Pierre Cabestan, of the French Center for Research on Contemporary China said the Communists were talking nice out of fears that Bush �might implement its electoral promises on Taiwan and on the deployment of an anti-missile shield.� We can only hope their fears are right. Link: AFP An academic in Communist China, which usually means a Communist spokesperson, told AFP that Bush must clear up Clinton�s �ambiguous policy,� regarding Taiwan. Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Qinghua University, said weapons shipments to Taiwan must end and Bush should side with Beijing on the reunification issue. Link: AFP HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS THREE FALUN GONG FOLLOWERS GIVEN UP TO SIX YEARS IN JAIL FOR DISTRIBUTING FLYERS A Communist court sentences three Falun Gong practitioners to up to six years in jail for distributing flyers defending the faith, according to AFP. Li Jinpeng, who received a six-year sentence, was arrested for distributing 7,000 flyers, and was stopped from giving out 2,000 more. He Yaunsheng and Shi Xiufen were given lesser sentences. Link: AFP WITNESSES IN JIANG QISHENG TRIAL SAY THEIR TESTIMONY WAS FABRICATED Four witnesses in the trial of dissident Jiang Qisheng have openly challenged their own testimony, according to AFP. The four say the testimony attributed to them by the court �is not only purely fictitious, it is a complete reversal of the facts.� Jiang was convicted of subversion for writing articles supporting the 1989 Tiananmen protests. Link: AFP DAUGHTER OF IMPRISONED FALUN GONG FOLLOWER ASKS FOR HIS RELEASE LingDi Zhang, a student at the Universtity of Ottowa, called on Communist China to release her father KunLun Zhang, from prison, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The elder Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner with PRC and Canadian citizenship, was arrested last November after returning to Communist China to look after a sick relative. Canadian PM Jean Chretien is to visit the PRC next month. Link: CBC CORRUPTION NEWS THREE GORGES DAM BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT, WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR THE COMMUNISTS The Washington Post ran a damning (sorry, couldn�t help it) in-depth story on the mammoth Three Gorges Dam, begun in 1993 as the brainchild of Tiananmen butcher Li Peng. The paper detailed the corruption, economic problems, ecological disasters, and resettlement issues that the dam has caused. One engineer bluntly told the paper that the PRC �doesn't seem to be able to correct such a massive mistake.� Link: Washington Post COMMUNISTS FOUND 136,000 MEMBERS CORRUPT; 3,000 IN ONE PROVINCE; 1,500 IN COURTS Wei Jianxing, the chief prosecutor for corruption cases, said the number of party officials �disciplined� for corruption was a staggering 136,000. Wei proposed some new disclosure laws and gift bans, whacked the foreign press and human rights groups for �denigrating� the anti-corruption campaign, and admitted numerous officials were refusing to implement his anti-graft measures, according to the BBC. Link: BBC A separate report by AFP quoted a high-ranking Communist official in the judiciary acknowledging that corruption is �very serious in some places.� Over 1,500 court officials were �disciplined,� over 900 by the Communist Party itself. Meanwhile, in Yunnan province, officials acknowledged about 3,000 officials fell to corruption charges last year alone. Links: AFP - judiciary, AFP - Yunnan OTHER MAINLAND NEWS COMMUNISTS LAUNCH ANIMAL INTO SPACE Communist China launched its second unmanned, astronaut-capable capsule into orbit today, in preparation for the manned launch in a year and a half. The vessel had an animal of some kind on board, but the BBC did not know what it was. Space technology � some of which, it should be noted, the Communists received from U.S. companies in violation of export laws � can also be and has been put to military use by the PRC. Link: BBC SCANDAL-PLAGUED LIAONING HAS NEW GOVERNOR Bo Xilai was appointed acting Governor of Liaoning province today, following the resignation of Zhang Guoguang. AFP reports that Zhang will take a job in the Hubei provincial government, meaning he is not implicated in the growing scandal in the city of Shenyang. After a $40 million gambling scandal broke, it was found that the former mayor and the deputy mayor of Shenyang were linked to organized crime. Link: AFP SEVEN COUNTERFEITERS AND A HUSBAND AND WIFE EMBEZZLEMENT TEAM EXECUTED The seven counterfeiters who lost their appeal last week were executed. A husband and wife, who together embezzled $1 million from the state-owned Chinese Academy of Sciences were also killed for their crimes. Communist China routinely executes white-collar crimes, particularly during their current fight against party and government corruption. Links: AFP - counterfeiters, AFP - husband and wife COMMUNIST BAN ACCENTS ON TELEVISION Communist China has issued new rules for television banning the use of regional accents in Mandarin-language programs, according to the BBC. The move is apparently designed to stop the spread of Hong Kong and Taiwan accents. Link: BBC COMMUNISTS SENTENCE UNMARRIED COUPLE FOR BIGAMY In a rather strange example of taking things to extremes, Communist China sent a couple to prison for �bigamy� despite the fact that, according to the BBC, neither of them was married, either to each other or anyone else. The Communists are trying to stop the spread of adultery in the PRC, especially as it has been the apparent reason for a myriad of Communist officials succumbing to corruption. Link: BBC INTERNATIONAL NEWS COMMUNIST CHINA LETS BBC IN TO BROADCAST After years in the cold due to its coverage of the Tiananmen Square massacre, BBC has been allowed back into Communist China as of last Tuesday. Previously, the news service had its transmissions into the PRC jammed. Link: BBC INDIAN PRIME MINISTER IN VIETNAM FOR SUMMIT, PRC A LIKELY SUBJECT India Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is visiting Vietnam this week for talks on trade and �regional security,� implied by the BBC to mean Communist China. The two countries, close friends for years, have both had serious problems with the PRC, and defense agreements may also be in the offing. Link: BBC CANADA SAYS ESCAPEES FROM COMMUNIST CHINA STILL COMING The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that hundreds of refugees from the PRC are still entering Canada despite Communist efforts to stop them, and that over 15,000 have entered in the last decade. Canada is particularly upset about it, and AFP, which cited the paper in its story, noted that �the majority have been repatriated.� Why the escapees were punished for the criminals that helped them get out was not answered. Link: AFP SINGAPORE NEWS AFP, citing Jane�s Defense Weekly, reported that Communist China has offered Singapore the use of a military base on Hainan Island, in an attempt to charm the small country away from Taiwan, with which it holds strong military ties. Meanwhile, 15 Falun Gong protesters arrested on New Year�s Eve for not having a permit were given 4 weeks to prepare their defense. Links: AFP - Hainan, AFP - Falun Gong REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS EFFECTS OF �MINI-LINKS� DEBATED IN TAIPEI, BEIJING, AND ELSEWHERE As the �mini-links� between Communist China and the ROC-controlled islands of Kinmen and Matsu entered their first full week, debate raged over the effect of the move. Taiwan�s Central News Agency reported the major worry was visitors engaging in �illegal activities,� and the major hope was large increase in tourism. Link: CNA Communist China, meanwhile, accused ROC President Chen Shui-bian of �creating a false appearance of improving cross-Strait ties� with the links. As usual, the Communists attacked Chen for refusing to accept �One China� as they see it � i.e., the only legitimate China is the PRC. They also met with Taiwan opposition members for talks on extending the links, a now favored tactic of the Communists to undermine Chen. Links: AFP - Communist reaction, AFP - talks with opposition 1, AFP - talks with opposition 2 BBC, in an analysis piece was skeptical of a warming between the PRC and ROC, noting that for the Communists, reunification is paramount, while in Taiwan, preserving freedom is a higher priority. Link: BBC MILITARY CONDUCTS PRE-CHINESE NEW YEAR DRILLS The ROC military announced they were conducting drills off Penghu Island to, as CNA put it, �prepare for heightened combat readiness during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays.� Penghu is widely believed to be the first flash point of any Communist attack, since it lies halfway between �Taiwan proper� and the mainland. Link: CNA TAIWAN ENCOURAGING DESIRE FOR FREEDOM AMONG MAINLANDERS AFP analyzed the effect of Taiwan on Xiamen, the scandal-plagued port just across the Taiwan Strait. Due to the close proximity, Xiamen has had a close view of Taiwan, including its transition to democracy. Apparently, it has won over some mainlanders. One was brave enough to say, �I like Taiwan because it has freedom . . . I wish we had freedom, too.� Link: AFP NATIONALIST CHAIRMAN RECOMMENDS �CONFEDERATION� FOR PRC AND ROC Lien Chan, head of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party, has repeated his call for a �confederation� to be formed by the PRC and ROC, so that the �mutual goal of reunification� could survive alongside Taiwan�s political autonomy. Lien had mentioned the idea before, as the party�s presidential candidate. The result was the worst Nationalist showing ever. Link: CNA PRESIDENT CHEN TO LOOSEN MAINLAND INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS ROC President Chen Shui-bian has decided to life the ban on investments in the PRC of $50 million or more, according to AFP, which cited the United Daily News. The new policy, which will be announced later this month, would allow for the large investments on a case-by-case basis. Link: AFP Hong Kong was unusually quiet this week. TIBET NEWS HUNDREDS PROTEST LI PENG IN INDIA Tibetan protestors in New Delhi demonstrated against Li Peng, ex-Prime Minister of the PRC, during his continuing stay in India. The protest, which drew about three hundred, included burning Li, the butcher of Tiananmen Square and now No. 2 in the Communist hierarchy, in effigy. Link: AFP COMMUNIST CHINA�S TREATMENT OF TIBETANS WORSENED IN 2000 The Communist government�s abuses of Tibetans� human rights increased last year, according to a report from the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy. The report, cited by AFP, noted over 800 expulsions from Tibetan religious sites � including over 100 nuns � and 26 new political prisoners in 2000. The report said the PRC is �one of the few nations of the world that institutionalizes human rights abuses.� Link: AFP 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]. |