TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA OFFERS TO HOST NORTH KOREA-U.S. TALKS
Communist China has offered to host talks between the United States and Stalinist North Korea �on the dispute over its nuclear plans� (Washington Post). The so-called People�s Republic repeated its call on the U.S. to �engage in dialogue with the North Korean government.� The Stalinist regime of starving North Korea has been an ally of Communist China for over five decades.
Communist Chinese President and Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin called for �direct dialogue between the US and the DPRK (North Korea)� (CNN) on the North�s nuclear weapons program. PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan also called for talks between the U.S. and the Stalinist regime.
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NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
PRC ON THE LOOKOUT FOR �ENEMY FORCES,� ESTABLISH �ANTI-TERRORIST� UNITS
Communist China told its police to watch for what it called �disruptive activities by various enemy forces from within and outside China� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). While the main focus was on criminal and violent actions, the Communists, according to Lam, �have not revealed what kind of terrorist incidents they are targeting, or who the �enemy forces� involved are.�
Lam later reported that the Communists have gone so far as to �set up an Anti-Terrorist Office as well as an undisclosed number of rapid-response, anti-terrorist squads.� One of the proposed targets � no surprise here � is none other than independence supporters in East Turkestan (what the Communists call �Xinjiang�), whose Muslim Uighurs have suffered from a brutal Communist crackdown for years.
This and more can be found on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
FROM THE FALUN GONG WAR: PRACTITIONERS SUE JIANG ZEMIN
Practitioners of Falun Gong, the spiritual movement that has suffered under a three-and-a-half-year Communist crackdown that has killed numerous followers, filed suit against PRC President and Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin in Federal court. The plaintiffs cited the 1789 Alien Tort Claim Act as the basis for their suit. Report: Washington Post
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
LIOYANG PROTEST LEADERS ON TRIAL, COULD BE EXECUTED
Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang, two of the leaders in the Lioyang protests last spring (see 3/13/02, 3/20/02, and 3/27/02 updates), are now on trial for subversion, a charge that can get them executed in the PRC. The two helped bring tens of thousands of laid-off workers into the streets to protest Communist refusal to honor pledges of paying back wages and pensions. Report: BBC
In Communist China, no non-Communist unions are allowed, creating a convenient situation in which Communist China both owns the factories and �represents� the workers. Just recently, the Communists released two other protest leaders, on the condition they help gather evidence against Yao and Xiao (see 12/26/02 update).
COMMUNIST CHINA ARRESTS UNDERGROUND CHRISTIAN LEADER
Xu Guoxing, leader of an underground Christian church in Shanghai, is now in a labor camp � and will be for 18 months � according to Human Rights in China, cited by the BBC. The PRC arrested over 20 other church members, but later released them.
OUTGOING PREMIER CALLS FOR CRACKDOWN AGAINST �ILLEGAL� RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
Zhu Rongji, soon to retire as PRC Premier, insisted, �the management of religious affairs must be done according to law� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN), and called for a crackdown against what he called �illegal� religious activities. Lam noted that the main focus of such �illegal� acts of faith is against the restive anti-Communist Uighurs of East Turkestan and Tibetans.
COMMUNISTS ARREST DISSIDENT FOR LETTER DEMANDING POLITICAL REFORM
Dissident Han Lifa, who signed a letter asking Communist China to enact political reform, was arrested by the Communists, according to Human Rights in China, cited by the BBC.
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
COMMUNIST MILITARY CONDUCTS MASSIVE MILITARY EXERCISE
The so-called People�s Liberation Army conducted large-scale war games involving �infantry, air and naval forces� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN) geared towards �the need to be prepared for crises precipitated by unexpected developments overseas and inside the country.� Lam reported that this applied to Iraq, North Korea, and �defusing domestic incidents such as large-scale demonstrations by jobless workers.�
COMMUNISTS GIVE INTO STUDENT SAFETY DEMANDS IN HEFEI
Communist China�s �top leadership� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN) weighed in on protests by university students in Hefei - Anhui province - over a traffic accident that killed two students. The protestors demanded the driver be prosecuted, and the safety measures, including a bridge, be built. Communist Party chief Hu Jintao himself agreed to the demands, according to the BBC.
COMMUNIST CHINA WON RECORD FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAST YEAR
Investment from foreigners into Communist China came in at $52.7 billion, a record high, although the rate of growth �has slowed down from the previous year� (BBC).
HONG KONG NEWS
TUNG TRIES TO REASSURE HK RESIDENTS ABOUT �ANTI-SUBVERSION� LAW
Communist-appointed Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa tried to reassure residents of the city �that a proposed anti-subversion law would not diminish the rights they currently enjoy� (Washington Times). The proposed law would, among other things, ban �leaking state secrets,� a Communist catchall for any information the PRC finds embarrassing.
DISNEY BEGINS CONSTRUCTION ON HONG KONG PARK
The Walt Disney Company has begun construction on its planned park in Hong Kong. Report: BBC
No news was reported from Tibet or, oddly, Taiwan this week.
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