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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: MAY 14, 2003
TOP STORY: WHO RIPS COMMUNIST CHINA FOR �MISSING� SARS INFORMATION
DISEASE GIVEN A HELPING HAND BY FACTIONALISM WITHIN COMMUNIST PARTY
Is Communist China really being completely open on SARS? According to David Heymann, World Health Organization director for communicable diseases, they have not. In testimony to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, Heymann testified, in CNN�s words, �Chinese authorities had not been helpful with international efforts to control the outbreak.�
Heymann further told the subcommittee �We don't know if China will commit the full resources necessary� (Washington Times). The WHO repeated their criticisms over the weekend, with a slight twist. The information the WHO desperately needed to track the virus was simply not in existence, which, as one WHO official put it, �means you don't understand what's going on� (BBC).
Meanwhile, Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN, reports that the so-called People�s Republic has been badly hampered in its fight against the disease by the continuing battle between Party boss/PRC President Hu Jintao and Central Military Commission Chair Jiang Zemin. Lam has noted that Jiang and his faction have �been less than enthusiastic� about Hu�s very public treatment of the virus, for what it�s worth.
Of course, Hu�s campaign of accountability and honesty only goes so far � no one in Guangdong Province has suffered retribution. Communist secrecy on SARS allowed the disease to spread from Guangdong last November to ravage Beijing, hit nearly every nation in East Asia, and circle the globe (see 3/19, 3/26, 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, and last Updates).
OTHER SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) NEWS
PRC SAYS SARS IS AMERICA�S FAULT
Hong Kong�s Communist newspaper, Wen Wei Po, says the earlier outbreak of SARS occurred last February in the United States. The paper even went so far as to say the disease �originated as a bioweapon in a U.S. research lab� (World Net Daily; link courtesy Susan Prager, Member since 2003).
The facts on the disease � that it first surfaced in Guangdong province last November and that the Communists covered it up for months � are, for obvious reasons, things the Communists don�t want getting out. It makes one wonder if these pieces of information aren�t already �state secrets.�
WHO HEADS FOR HEBEI
Meanwhile, the WHO sent a team to Hebei Province, where over 100 SARS cases have been reported in the past three weeks. The WHO is obviously hoping to stem the disease in Hebei before it becomes a rural epidemic. As the last Update, reported, the Communist health system in the rural interior is far too woeful to stop SARS, or even slow it down, on its own. Report: Washington Post
COMMUNISTS SAY THINGS IN BEIJING ARE IMPROVING; WHO NOT SO SURE
As the number of SARS victims in Communist China passed 5,000 this week (CNN 5/12), the Communists told the world, �the situation is turning for the better� (CNN 5/9) in Beijing. The WHO publicly challenged that, saying �it is too early to claim the virus has been contained there� (CNN 5/14).
CARDES TOLD TO STAY VIGILANT, NOT COVER UP DATA
Communist Premier Wen Jiabao told fellow cadres throughout Communist China that �all our efforts will come to naught� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN) against SARS if �over-optimistic projections� of the future of the disease lead to slack reactions. Given what the WHO said last week (see above), there�s good reason to believe even continued vigilance, while certainly welcome, might not be enough.
Communist China also told cadres �that they will be punished if they seek to cover up any information about the spread of the deadly Sars virus� (BBC). Talk about the horse already out of the barn! Also reporting: Washington Post, Newsmax
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA AND THE TERRORIST WAR
IRANIANS OFFERED KIM JONG-IL �BILLIONS� FOR NUKE TECHNOLOGY
Michael Ledeen, National Review Online, has numerous sources within Iran. Some are now telling him that the Islamic regime �offered Kim Jong-il billions of dollars for nuclear weapons and technology,� and judging from the reaction he reported (�top leaders of the Revolutionary Guards were informed by the National Security Council that Iran would �soon� have nuclear weapons�), the Stalinists likely accepted.
What does this have to do with Communist China? Well, the Iranians did not fly directly to the Stalinist regime but to the PRC; the Communists allowed them to use the PRC as a transit stop � from plane to train. One doubts the cadres were duped about what the Iranians wanted. More likely, the PRC is, as expected, taking advantage of the situation to continue helping the Iranian mullahs.
Check out this story and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
OTHER NORTH KOREA NEWS
NORTH KOREA USED COMMUNIST CHINESE LASER AGAINST U.S. HELICOPTERS
Two American helicopters patrolling the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea had an encounter with �a weapon that had the characteristics of a Chinese laser gun� (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). The particular laser, believed to be a ZM-87 from the PRC, is �the world's only laser device designed for use against troops,� and is specifically aimed to damage eyes for a range of three miles.
This incident, which �occurred around the time that four North Korean jets intercepted a U.S. spy plane,� should serve as a timely reminder to those who see the Communist Chinese as a potential friend on issues regarding North Korea�s nuclear weapons.
For more on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
�PARLOR MAID� AND LOVER INDICTED BY GRAND JURY
James J. Smith, the former FBI handler and lover of PRC double agent Katrina Leung, was indicted for gross negligence and wire fraud. In particular, the grand jury charged him with �keeping key information from the FBI about Katrina Leung� and taking �classified documents from the FBI office in Los Angeles . . . to meetings he had with Leung, where she was able to read and copy them� (Washington Post 5/8).
The grand jury later indicted Leung for �obtaining, copying and retaining documents connected with U.S. national defense without authorization� (CNN). Leung and Smith both pleaded not guilty (Washington Post 5/13). Also reporting: Newsmax, Washington Times
YET ANOTHER ESPIONAGE CASE UNDER REVIEW DUE TO LEUNG
Another Communist China-espionage case that all but collapsed in the 1990s is now under review due to the Katrina Leung case. This case involves Peter Lee, a physicist who �confessed to revealing classified national defense information to Chinese officials five years ago� (Washington Post), but �served no jail time and did not cooperate with U.S. defense officials trying to assess the damage he had done.�
COMMUNIST CHINA MOVING FORWARD ON SEVERAL WEAPONS SYSTEMS
Communist China is making �substantial advances in some areas of its ground and naval forces, including upgrades to tanks and armor, laser systems and anti-submarine warfare� (Jane�s Defense Weekly cited by World Net Daily). In particular, the PRC is �set to deploy a new main battle tank,� and has �successfully conducted a live-fire anti-submarine search-and-destroy exercise.�
INTERNET, MEDIA COMPANIES STYMIED BY COMMUNIST THIRST FOR CONTROL
Media companies, including AOL Time Warner, News Corp., and Viacom, are finding there visions of PRC profits going up in smoke, largely because the Communists are insistent on keeping control information. As an official from the PRC State Administration of Radio, Film and Television put it, �Media is the country's mouthpiece� (Bloomberg News, link courtesy Susan Prager, Member since 2003).
HOUSE COMMITTEE RESTORES UNFPA FUNDING, FOR NOW
The House International Relations Committee temporarily restored funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in next year�s budget. The UNFPA lost its U.S. funding due to its operations in Communist China, home of the hideous �one child policy� (see 7/24/02 Update). Since many UNFPA opponents on the committee missed the vote (Cybercast News), it�s unlikely the funding will survive.
U.S. AMBASSADOR CALLS INDIA EQUAL TO JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA IN U.S. EYES
Robert Blackwill, outgoing American Ambassador to India, said the United States now considers the long-time rival of Communist China an ally equal to Japan and South Korea. Report: Washington Times
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
LABOR PROTESTORS IN LIAOYANG SENT TO PRISON
A Communist court sentenced Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang, two leaders of last spring�s Liaoyang labor protests (see 3/20/02, 3/27/02, and 4/3/02 Updates), to seven and four years, respectively, in prison for leading the protests, or as the PRC called it, �subversion� (BBC). Also reporting: Washington Post
OVER 100 ARRESTED FOR SARS TEXT MESSAGE �RUMORS�
Buried near the end of a Washington Post story on the political fallout from SARS is this note: �Chinese authorities have arrested 107 people in the past week for sending �rumors� via the text messaging system used on Chinese mobile phones. And as Henk Bekedam, head of the WHO office in Beijing, said, �A lot of those rumors turned out to be true.��
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA ANNOUNCES NEW MEASURES TO KEEP ECONOMY MOVING
The PRC announced measures �aimed at minimizing (UK sp) the economic impact� (BBC) of SARS. They included �orders to local officials to ensure that crops were harvested and measures were taken to help tourism,� and �pledging more public spending to create jobs and support faltering businesses, and ordering employers in areas hit by the flu-like disease not to lay off workers� (Washington Post).
COMMUNIST CHINA TO REDO UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES
The PRC announced it would use �a new definition of unemployment that could see the official jobless rate soar� (BBC). Previous figures were usually dismissed by outside analysts as ridiculously low, in part because it only covered �the registered unemployed in urban areas - not the millions of workers laid off from state firms on meager (UK sp) benefits, migrant workers, and the rural population.�
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INDIAN PM TO VISIT COMMUNIST CHINA
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit Communist China in June. India has long been the PRC�s leading rival in South Asia � the two fought a bitter border war in 1962, and Communist China has been a long-time ally of Pakistan, with whom India has fought three wars. Report: BBC
COMMUNIST CHINA GOING TO G8 MEETING
The PRC accepted an invitation from France to attend the �G8� summit of leading economic nations in France next month. France gave the invitation in April (see 4/30 Update). Reports: CNN, BBC
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
CAMPAIGN FOR TAIWAN TO JOIN WHO BEGINS ANEW; PRC READY TO SPIKE IT
Supporters of Taiwan�s bid to join the World Health Organization are trying again, their causes given a tragic boost by SARS. Communist China, who still laughably insists that it alone is the rightful ruler of Taiwan, has blocked island democracy�s efforts every time, and will likely succeed in doing so again this year, according to Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN. Also reporting: Washington Post
TAIWAN TAKES SARS TURN FOR THE WORST; HOSPITAL IS ACCUSED OF COVERUP
The World Health Organization included Taiwan in its list of SARS-affected areas it recommended avoiding in its �travel advice� (CNN 5/8) last week. On Monday, Taiwan saw �a record jump of SARS infections� (CNN 5/10), and a housing complex was sealed off.
Meanwhile, ROC President Chen Shui-bian told the media that the head of Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, Wu Kang-wen, had tried to cover up the disease. Wu, who apparently learned nothing from the Communist failure to contain the disease with a bunch of lies, is now out of a job (Washington Post).
HONG KONG NEWS
SCHOOL QUARANTINE ENDS; SECURITY AT CHECKPOINT WITH REST OF PRC BEGINS
The Communist-appointed government in Hong Kong lifted the order closing schools in the city to stop the spread of SARS (BBC). Meanwhile, the city has �strengthened screening measures at the checkpoint (with the PRC), which hugs the border with Guangdong� (Washington Post). This is a welcome change from previous laxness at the checkpoint (see 4/23 Update).
TIBET NEWS
TOURISTS BANNED FROM TIBET, SUPPOSEDLY DUE TO SARS
In one of the odder offshoots of the SARS epidemic (or, more likely, a move to take advantage of the disease to keep outsiders out), the Communists banned �foreign tourists� (Time Asia) from Tibet. Some, but not all, domestic flights have also been �cut back� (BBC).
PRO-TIBET PROTESTERS IN LONDON PARACHUTE OFF TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Four demonstrators protesting Communist China�s occupation of Tibet jumped off the Trafalgar Square monument to Admiral Nelson and �unfurled a photo of the Dalai Lama� (BBC) on the statue.
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