13September2000

CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 2000

TOP STORY: DEMOCRATS WIN POPULAR VOTE IN HONG KONG DESPITE LOW TURNOUT
PEOPLE ALLOWED TO VOTE IN ONLY 24 OF 60 SEATS, NEARLY ALL THE REST TO PRC ALLIES
Despite low turnout caused by high dissolution in their base, the opposition Democratic Party maintained its top position in the Legislative Council with 12 seats, edging out the pro-Communist ï¿½Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong,ï¿½ which scored 11. The Democrats also won the popular vote with 35%, but that was down from the 1998 result of 43%. The pro-democracy Frontier Party also won 3 seats.

BBC reported the people of Hong Kong could only elect 24 of the 60 members. Various ï¿½professional and business groups" and an 800-member committee appointed by Beijing chose the rest. Not surprisingly, nearly all were pro-Beijing. The committee also picks the next Chief Executive, widely expected to be incumbent Tung Chee-hwa despite his abysmal popularity with Hong Kong residents. Link: BBC

OTHER HONG KONG NEWS
TWO HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS QUIT OVER POLL SCANDAL
Meanwhile, two officials criticized for telling Professor Robert Chung to stop polling Tungï¿½s sinking popularity, apparently at Tungï¿½s suggestion resigned last week. Hong Kong University Vice Chancellor Patrick Cheng and his deputy Wong Siu-lun said they were leaving to protect the schoolï¿½s reputation. The poll flap, reported in earlier updates, has caused Tungï¿½s approval to sink to 30%, according to the BBC. Link: BBC

TIBET NEWS
ORGANIZATION OF ï¿½UNREPRESENTED PEOPLESï¿½ TELLS PRC TO STOP PERSECUTING TIBET
As Tiananmen butcher Li Peng, now chairman of the Legislature of the Peopleï¿½s Republic of China, left Estonia last weekend, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) released a statement from there demanding Communist China end their persecution with Tibet and begin talks with the Dalai Lama, Tibetï¿½s spiritual leader. Link: AFP

XINJIANG/EAST TURKESTAN NEWS
MILITARY VEHICLES EXPLODES IN URUMQI, KILLS 60, COMMUNSITS ADMIT TO ACCIDENT
A military vehicle exploded late Friday in the regional capital of Urumqi. After a worrisome silence for a few days, the Communists admitted it was an accident. Some had worried ï¿½ OK, maybe just yours truly ï¿½ that the Communists would frame the Muslim Uighurs. They have suffered badly under Communist rule, and many support an independent East Turkestan. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR HARSH CRACKDOWN ON UIGHURS
As if to remind the world why so many Uighurs support a state of their own, Communist PM Zhu Rongji demanded an ï¿½iron fistï¿½ be used to crush the independence movement and, as AFP put it, ï¿½religious fundamentalists.ï¿½ Zhu said, ï¿½Any act that disturbs national unity and social stability, we have to firmly struggle against it.ï¿½ Link: AFP

AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA RAPIDLY ADVANCING THEIR MILITARY CAPABILITIES
The Washington Times, citing a report for the House International Affairs Committee, reported that Communist China is expanding its war-fighting capabilities ï¿½at a rate far ahead of the Pentagon's previous predictions.ï¿½ The report specifically noted advance in joint operations, military communications, and advanced weapons that could give the Communists and ï¿½asymmetricalï¿½ advantage over U.S. forces. Link: Washington Times

WEN HO LEE PLEADS GUILTY TO ONE COUNT
Former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty to one count of mishandling classified information, sentenced to time served, and set free today, according to CNN. Lee agreed to help prosecutors determined what happened to the information he downloaded onto tapes and, he says, destroyed. Los Alamos was where Communist China stole several of the United Statesï¿½ top nuclear secrets during the late 1980s and 1990s. Link: CNN

CLINTON MEETS COMMUNIST PRESIDENT JIANG AT UN SUMMIT
As the UN Millennium Summit winded down last week, President Clinton met with Communist President Jiang Zemin on Friday. The Washington Post reported Clinton talked about missile defense and human rights with Jiang, but Jiang would not agree to any policy changes. At a post-meeting lunch, Jiang defended the crackdown of Falun Gong. Link: Washington Post

U.S. NEGOTIATORS HEAD TO BEIJING FOR PROLIFERATION TALKS
As the U.S. Senate debates PNTR with Communist China (see above), American negotiators are meeting in Beijing with their Communist counterparts to discuss one of the most contentious issues in threat Senate debate ï¿½ Communist Chinaï¿½s continuing military aid to rogue states such as Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Link: AFP

MCDONALDï¿½S FIRES SHENZHEN TOYMAKER OVER LOW WAGES, POSSIBLE CHILD LABOR
McDonaldï¿½s told a Shenzhen factory to stop making toys for the fast-food chain after an investigation found wages were lower than acceptable, according to the BBC. The Christian Industrial Committee and Hong Kongï¿½s South China Morning Post had also found the factory was employing children as young as 14 to work 16-hour days for $3. Link: BBC

COMMUNIST CHINESE NAVY VISITS PEARL HARBOR
Pearl Harbor hosted two Communist Chinese navy ships last week. AFP reported the Qingdao and Taicang crews received a tour of a U.S. destroyer as part of renewed military excahnges between the two countries, which has come under much criticism. Link: AFP

HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
TWO BUDDHIST-TAOIST FOLLOWERS SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON
Communist China has sentenced two followers of a Taiwan-based sect to 3 years in prison for organizing an ï¿½illegal reactionary organization,ï¿½ according to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in China. AFP reported the movement, a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism, has joined Falun Gong and Zhong Gong on the list of ï¿½harmfulï¿½ religions. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST CHINA SEIZES ï¿½ILLEGALï¿½ NEWSPAPERS
Communist officials in Taiyuan City arrested a newspaper editor for printing ï¿½illegalï¿½ newspapers. The source for this story, Zhongguo Tongxun She, was rather less than sympathetic, but the story is a reminder of how ï¿½freeï¿½ the press is in Communist China. Link: AFP

OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
XIAMEN SMUGGLING TRIALS BEGIN
Trials in the biggest Communist corruption scandal ever began today in four cities. Between 200 and 600 officials have been charged with or linked to the Xiamen smuggling scandal in which over $10 billion in goods escaped customs duties due to bribery. Despite the litany of arrests and expected executions, some high-level Communists have avoided prosecution, and AFP noted many residents are cynical about the case. Link: AFP

THREE WORKERS KILLED IN ACCIDENT AT THREE GORGES DAM SITE
The great white elephant known as the Three Gorges Dam suffered another blow last week as three workers were killed in a crane accident. The Washington Post, which reported the story, also noted the mass ecological damage and corruption, estimated at about $81 million, that have plagued the project ever since Tiananmen butcher Li Peng, now No. 2 in the Communist hierarchy, rammed the project through. Link: Washington Post

YET ANOTHER MAJOR CORRUPTION SCANDAL ERUPTS IN COMMUNIST CHINA
Just as the trials in the Xiamen scandal gets under way (see below), news of a second major scandal has broken. AFP reported that Yu Hui, head of a state-owned securities firm in Yunnan province, and Liu Chaozhing, brother of Yuï¿½s mistress, were charged in June with embezzling over $250 million. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST MISMANAGEMENT CAUSING SEVERE DROUGHT
The Washington Post also had a feature last week on the slow drying up of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in Communist China. Analysts, including a few inside the PRC, are saying Communist mismanagement is responsible for a major drought that has caused the Yellow River to dry up before it reaches the sea for part of every year. It has also reduced crop yields by nearly 10%, and is causing the city Shanghai to slowly sink. Link: Washington Post

COMMUNIST VICE-MAYOR CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT, CAUGHT BY GAMBLING SPREE
Ma Xiangdong, executive vice-mayor of Shenyang, was formally charged with ï¿½misappropriatingï¿½ over $500,000 of public funds into his own pocket, according to AFP. Ma, considered a promising young Communist official before his arrest in July, came under suspicion after a gambling spree in Macao. Link: AFP

COMMUNIST PRESIDENT JIANG GETS HIMSELF INTO HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Communist President Jiang Zemin has now managed to get into the high school curriculum, in his latets attempt to elevate himself to the status of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. AFP reported Jiangï¿½s speech to Beijing University in 1998 will be part of all high school textbooks. Jiang has been pushing Communist indoctrination heavily since January. Link: AFP

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ANOTHER COMMUNIST CHINESE SPY SHIP SPOTTED IN JAPANESE WATERS
Just after Japanï¿½s ruling party agreed to release $160 million in loans to Communist China that had been blocked due to excess spying, another Communist Chinese vessel entered Japanese waters last week, staying there for two days. Japan called the PRC Ambassador on Monday to register a complaint. It was the 18th time a PRC ship has entered Japanese waters this year. Link: AFP

REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
FORMER ROC REPRESENTATIVE TO U.S. SAYS CLINTON COULD GIVE ï¿½PARTING FAVORï¿½ TO PRC
Nationalist Party spokesman, Jason Hu, formerly chief representative to the United States, advised Lee Ying-yuan, newly appointed deputy chief representative (see below) to be on the lookout for a warming of ties between the PRC and the U.S. Taiwanï¿½s Central News Agency (CNA) reported Hu said Clinton was likely to give a ï¿½farting favorï¿½ to Beijing. Link: CNA

COMMUNIST CHINA BLOCKS TAIWAN BID TO UNITED NATIONS FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT YEAR
Once again, Communist China used its muscle to stop the United Nations from considering UN representation for Taiwan. The ROC has been trying to get back into the UN since 1993. Taiwan is now the only country in the world without representation in the UN. Taiwan officials blasted the PRCï¿½s ï¿½hegemonic mentality.ï¿½ Link: AFP

MAINLAND AFFAIRS COUNCIL SAYS ï¿½MINI-LINKSï¿½ ARE FEASIBLE
According to CNA, the Mainland Affairs Council conducted a study on the feasibility of allowing postal, trade, and communication links between Communist China and ROC-controlled offshore islands. The ï¿½mini-linksï¿½ were deemed to be feasible. Communist China has been pushing the links for years, but Taiwan had worried about excessive PRC influence. That concern has ebbed in Taiwan as self-confidence has grown. Link: CNA

PRESIDENT CHEN ACCUSED OF SPYING ON POLITICAL OPPONENTS, CHARGE DENIED
Members of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) have charged President Chen Shui-bian with continuing the practice of using the bureau to spy on political opposition parties. They say the practice, routine during the Nationalist governments of the past, has not been changed by Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. Chenï¿½s aide denied the charge, according to Taiwanï¿½s Central News Agency. Link: CNA

VICE MAYOR OF TAIPEI VOWS TO HELP THAW RELATIONS WITH BEIJING
Pai Hsiu-hsiung, vice mayor of Taipei, returned form his trip to the mainland last week saying he was willing to work to improve ties with Communist China, according to AFP. Pai did tell the Procuratorial Daily that efforts to thaw the icy relations between Taiwan and the PRC were ï¿½not easy.ï¿½ Pai is the highest official from the ROC capital to visit the mainland. Link: AFP

INDEPENDENCE SUPPORTER NAMED DEPUTY ENVOY TO UNITED STATES
Taiwanï¿½s Central News Agency reported legislator Lee Ying-yuan, a leading supporter of Taiwanï¿½s independence and member of the Democratic Progressive Party, is the new deputy envoy to the U.S. Lee said he did not think his political views would hinder his ability to do his new job. President Chen Shui-bian, who ran on the pro-independence DPP ticket, has softened his stand on the issue since winning the election. Link: CNA

DPP CHAIRMAN SAYS REUNIFICATION IS POSSIBLE, SPARKS CONTROVERSY WITHIN PARTY
Meanwhile, Frank Hsieh, mayor of Kaohsiung and leader of the DPP, said his party ï¿½must not rule out the possibilityï¿½ of reunification with the mainland, but that it shouldnï¿½t happen now. Others the DPP, which still officially backs a separate Taiwanese state, criticized Hsiehï¿½s statement. Of the three major political parties ï¿½ DPP, PFP, and KMT (Nationalist) ï¿½ none support reunification with a Communist-controlled mainland. Link: AFP

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