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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: APRIL 15, 2004
Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror is now available: here, at Amazon, or call 1-888-280-7715.
TOP STORY: VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY VISITS COMMUNIST CHINA
TAIWAN AND NORTH KOREA TWO MAJOR TOPICS OF DISCUSSION; VP LINKS ONE COUNTRY, ONE-AND-A-HALF SYSTEMS TO THE TAIWAN SITUATION
Vice President Richard Cheney has finished a two-day trip to Communist China; he talked to People�s Republic President Hu Jintao and Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin. Taiwan and North Korea were two of the major topics discussed. Sadly, Cheney said the U.S. �did not support any moves towards Taiwanese independence� (BBC).
The Communists demanded the U.S. stop selling weapons to the island democracy. Cheney at least rejected that, but not very strongly, saying, �the Taiwan Relations Act, which permits the arms sales, is �an important piece of legislation�� (Bill Gertz, Washington Times).
By far, Cheney�s finest hour in the trip was when he �warned China's leaders Wednesday that any efforts by Beijing to thwart democracy in Hong Kong would likely reinforce the budding movement in Taiwan to formally separate from China� (Washington Post 1).
Cheney also heard from the China Democracy Party, which wrote Cheney to bring to light the PRC imprisonment and abuse of its members (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times). Cheney also spoke at Fudan University, where he focused on the need for political freedom in China. Now if we could just have some policies to back that up (Washington Post 2).
CHENEY ON NORTH KOREA: PRC NEEDS TO DO MORE
As for North Korea, Cheney actually �expressed gratitude for Beijing's leading role in organizing (UK sp) talks aimed at encouraging North Korea to give up its nuclear programme� (BBC). Those would be the talks that have gone nowhere for months.
Cheney asked the PRC �to move more aggressively� (Voice of America via Epoch Times), on North Korea � a statement that reflects the Bush Administration illusion that Communist China has moved at all on this issue. Also reporting: Cybercast News, Newsmax
Sign up for the North Korea Report to get the next edition on Monday.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
Check out the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
SEVEN PRC RESIDENTS HELD HOSTAGE IN IRAQ, THEN RELEASED
The recent hostage-takings in Iraq briefly included seven temporary captives from Communist China; they were released within 24 hours. Reports: CNN
Communist China opposed the liberation of Iraq last year, and was a key supplier of military aid to Saddam Hussein, including with his air defenses and, more ominously, his weapons of mass destruction program, whatever state it was in (see 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, 3/21/01, 12/18/02, 2/5/03, 3/19/03, 4/9/03, 12/17/03, and last Updates).
COMMUNIST CHINESE FIRMS HIT WITH IRAN SACNTIONS NAMED
The PRC firms hit with U.S. sanctions for selling arms components to Iran were unmasked just after the last Update was sent. Worryingly, two of them were missile-producing military-owned firms, including Norinco, which once pocketed $100 million annually from U.S. consumers (see 5/28/03, 7/9/03, and 9/24/03 Updates). Report: Newsmax
Even worse, two others, Oriental Scientific Instruments Corporation and Zibo Chemical Equipment Plant, were involved in potential biological weapons testing and chemical weapons and production, respectively.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
ANTI-COMMUNIST THERESE SHAHEEN �RESIGNS�; ROC FOREIGN MINISTER ALSO QUITS
Well, that didn�t take long. Therese Shaheen, the anti-Communist head of the Washington arm of the American Institute in Taiwan, has �resigned� (CNN). Just last week, reports surfaced that the PRC wanted Shaheen out because of her support for the island democracy, and the State Department was ready to oblige (see last Update).
Less than 24 hours later, she quit, �to spend more time with her daughter� (Cybercast News). Familial issues and Administration denials aside (Voice of America via Epoch Times, HK), she was railroaded. Bill Gertz, Washington Times reported: �Mrs. Shaheen was allowed to resign but had been pressed to leave the post over differences on Taiwan policy.�
Shaheen gave the PRC fits, and �was a strong defender of Taiwan and clashed with pro-China AIT official Douglas Paal, the U.S. representative in Taipei� (Gertz again). The repercussions quickly crossed the Pacific: Eugene Chien resigned as Taiwan�s foreign minister quit last week �as a result of the fallout� (Washington Times 4/11, second item).
Chien offered to resign amid concerns �the Foreign Ministry had abused Mrs. Shaheen's support in order to further domestic political goals� (Washington Times 4/10). President Chen picked Chen Tang-shan to serve as the new Foreign Minister.
JUDGE TO �PARLOR MAID� PROSECUTORS: GET SPECIFIC
The judge in the espionage case Katrina Leung called the indictment against her �so vague that Leung has been unable to prepare an adequate defense,� (Washington Post, third item). Leung was the FBI operative known as �Parlor Maid� who was a key fundraiser for the California Republican Party � and a double agent with Communist China.
According to some reports, Leung had a hand in sabotaging every major investigation into Communist Chinese espionage in the U.S. for two decades (see 4/16/03, 4/23/03, 4/30/03, 5/7/03, and 5/14/03 Updates).
COMMUNIST CHINA BEGINS NEW VISA POLICY
Communist China has begun retaliatory actions for American plans to fingerprint most foreign visitors to keep track of them in order to prevent a repeat of September 11, 2001 (see 3/31 Update). The PRC �implemented a new policy stipulating that U.S. citizens have to apply for a visa outside of China� (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times).
ACTIVISTS COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF U.S. RESOLUTION IN DC, NYC, AND MASS.
Anti-Communists and other activists held demonstrations in support of an American resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning Communist China�s horrific record. Events were held in New York, Harvard (Epoch Times), and Washington, DC (China Support Network), which included some remarks by yours truly.
ANDREW XUE GETS FIFTEEN MONTHS IN JAIL
Andrew Xue, husband of Gao Zhan � the woman who was both a microchip seller to and prisoner in Communist China (see 3/21/01, 3/28/01, 4/18/01, 5/2/01, 6/27/01, 7/25, and 8/8, and 12/3/03 Updates) � received a fifteen month jail sentence for keeping the income from the microchips off the family income tax return. Report: Washington Post
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
BISHOP JIA RELEASED
Communist China released Bishop Julius Ja after arresting him last week (see last Update). His imprisonment lasted through Easter Sunday (Asia News), and was blasted by the Vatican (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times).
Millions of Catholics and Protestants continue to worship �underground,� refusing to worship in Communist-controlled churches. The number of Catholics, whose �underground� faith is loyal to Pole John Paul II and recognized as legitimate by the Vatican, is estimated between 5 to 10 million; the figure for Protestants is estimated to be 70 million.
GONG SHENGLIANG EXPECTS TO DIE IN PRISON
One of those Protestants, South China Church Pastor Gong Shengliang, advised his sisters to �please transfer me to another prison" or, "just come and pick up my corpse� (World Net Daily). Gong had been slated for execution for resisting the Communists with his faith (see 1/2/02, 10/16/02 and 12/11/02 Updates). It appears the PRC will still be able to kill him.
JOURNALISTS AND INTELLECTUALS HAVE SHORTER THAN AVERAGE LIFESPANS IN PRC
According to the Communist-run Xinhua news agency, intellectuals and journalists die sooner than the average person in the PRC. Xinhua cited �social pressure� (United Press International via Washington Times). The fact that both groups include those most likely to oppose the Communist regime at present was not discussed.
The Cultural Revolution was cited, but not in its real, horrific, murderous manner � this was Xinhua, after all. Instead, the Communist news agency said the �experiences� (Sydney Morning Herald) drove the affected groups �to work hard and seize every opportunity, often to the detriment of their own emotional and physical well-being.�
EXEMPTION TO �ONE CHILD� FOR DIVORCEES IN SHANGHAI
The city of Shanghai has begun to relax the hideous �one child� policy, in this case allowing divorcees who remarry to have a second child (Guardian, UK, via The Age, Australia). �One child� has led to forced abortions and sterilizations, and infanticide (see 8/30/00 Update).
EPIDEMIC NEWS
NOW COMMUNIST CHINA SAYS AIDS SHOULD NOT BE COVERED UP
After years of letting local cadres hide the epidemic of AIDS, the Communist regime now promises �severe punishment for any attempt at a cover-up� (BBC) and is offering �free AIDS tests to anyone who wants one and free treatment for infected people who cannot afford it� (Washington Post, second item).
This will all be news to Henan province above all. Henan is where an unhygienic Communist blood-drive infected as many as one million with AIDS (see 9/4/02 and 9/25/02 Update).
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
WAGES ON THE WAY DOWN IN COMMUNIST CHINA . . .
The next time someone mentions the benefits of �engagement� and the growing PRC economy, ask them this: if this is so good for the Chinese people, why is the average salary this year falling by 14 percent (CNA via Epoch Times)? Wages are falling across the board, including most of the �highest paying industries� in Communist China.
. . . BUT ECONOMY IS SUPPOSEDLY STILL HOT
Communist China claimed economic growth of almost ten percent for the first quarter of 2004, but there are already whispers �that unchecked growth could topple over into a slump, impacting the rest of Asia� (BBC). The validity of the statistic itself was not discussed; the PRC has a history of number fudging (see 10/30/02 Update).
PRC CENTRAL BANK WANTS FEWER BANK LOANS MADE
The Communist central bank �has taken fresh measures to try to curb the amount of money that Chinese banks are lending� (BBC). The restrictions are apparently designed to prevent �overheating in the economy,� although the massive amount of bad debt floating around in Communist China may also have something to do with it.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
RUSSIA LIKELY TO SEND PRC SOME OIL BY RAIL
Communist China is planning to build �a pipeline to the Russian border� to take in Russian oil coming to the border by rail instead of the now junked Russo-PRC pipeline. This will enable the Communists to import about half the oil it would have gotten under the pipeline deal (see 7/16/03, 2/25, and last Updates). Report: RFA via Epoch Times
AIRBUS TO SELL 21 PLANES TO PRC AIRLINE FOR OVER $1 BILLION
The fruits of Jacques Chirac�s disgusting behavior toward Communist China (see 1/28, 2/4, and 3/17 Updates) continue to grow. Now Airbus has officially won a $1.2 billion contract with Communist-owned South China Airlines for 21 planes. Report: BBC
VICTOR LI NOT BUYING AIR CANADA AFTER ALL
The Great White North doesn�t know it (judging from this Calgary Sun column), but it dodged a bullet: Victor Li will not be buying Air Canada. Li is the son of pro-Communist Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, who control two container ports on the Panama Canal and nearly bought Global Crossing last year (see 11/12/03 and 11/26/03 Updates).
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA BLASTS CHEN SHUI-BIAN�S CONSTITUTION PLANS
President Chen Shui-bian took it on the rhetorical chin from Communist China for his plans to put a new constitution in place for the island democracy in 2008. The Communists called the plan a �naked timetable� toward formal independence, despite the fact the Chen has pointedly denied such a thing. Report: VOA via Epoch Times
�PAN-BLUE� PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT; 13 ARRESTED
A major protest �for an independent probe into the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian on the eve of elections� (BBC) turned violent over the weekend, and 13 were arrested in the aftermath. The leadership of the two anti-Chen, �pan-blue� parties �expressed regret over the incident,� and then tried to blame Chen�s supporters for the violence.
According to the Washington Post (second item), �About 2,000 protesters used a large scaffold as a battering ram and tried to charge through the iron barriers and barbed wire that protect the president's office. They threw at least one gasoline bomb, tables, chairs, placards and bottles.�
The pan-blue parties (Nationalists and People First) have repeatedly accused Chen of staging the shooting, saying the incident won him the election (see 3/24, 3/31, and last Updates). The �pan-blues� still haven�t noticed how their own cozy relationship with the Communists since Chen defeated them in 2000 cost them dearly this time.
NOW THE OPPOSITION IS OK WITH REFERENDA
Meanwhile, the �pan-blue� supporters are threatening �to call a public referendum asking for an independent probe of the election eve shooting� (Voice of America via Epoch Times) of Chen and Vice President Annette Lu. This from a coalition that spent the entire pre-election campaign blasting the idea of referenda (see 3/24 Update).
HONG KONG NEWS
THOUSANDS MARCH IN ANTI-COMMUNIST PROTEST IN HONG KONG
Roughly 15,000 residents of Hong Kong took to the streets �to protest at China tightening its grip in the former British colony� (BBC, which gets it exactly right). The marchers demanded that Communist China allow the city to elect the next Chief Executive and all members of the Legislative Council. Also reporting: Cybercast News
Last week, Communist China told Hong Kong any attempts to bring full democracy to the majority-PRC-appointed legislature and allow the people to choose the city�s Chief Executive would have to win Beijing�s approval � in other words, it won�t happen (see last Update).
HOW MANY ACTUALLY SHOWED? DEPENDS ON WHOM YOU ASK
The PRC-controlled press in Hong Kong tried to deflate the number of protestors; down to 7,000 in one case. Independent newspapers had the turnout at 20,000. Report: BBC
TUNG CHEE-HWA CALLS FOR �CHANGES� IN CHOOSING OF OFFICIALS
Even Tung Chee-hwa, the PRC-appointed Chief Executive of Hong Kong, �recommended to China that Hong Kong alter the way it chooses its leader and legislators from 2007 onwards� (BBC). However, Tung insisted that any change occur �in a gradual and orderly manner.�
He also said, �No proposed amendments shall affect the substantive power of appointment of the chief executive by the central authorities� (Washington Post). Hong Kong Democratic Party leader Martin Lee translated it thusly: �Hong Kong people cannot choose their leader.�
GREAT BRITAIN WORRIED ABOUT ONE COUNTRY, ONE-AND-A-HALF SYSTEMS
Great Britain, the rulers of Hong Kong, �has expressed concern� (BBC) about Communist China strangling Hong Kong democracy in its crib. Britain demanded the city maintain its autonomy in exchange for giving it to Communist China. Now, it says the PRC action will �erode that autonomy.� The Communists told the UK to stuff it (VOA via Epoch Times).
TIBET NEWS
CANADIAN PM TO MEET DALAI LAMA
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin �will become the first Canadian prime minister to meet with the Dalai Lama� (Canadian Press via CANOE). Tibet�s spiritual leader�s visit to Canada begins next week. The PRC has yet to issue its customary condemnation.
HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES
Sonam Wangdu, Dolma Choephel, and Gyatso are still on a hunger strike, demanding the Communists end their horrific treatment of the Tibetan people (see last Update). Their brave determination has, sadly but not surprisingly, put their own lives in danger rather than convince the Communists of their errors. Report: China Support Network
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