| �Communist China and the Terrorist War�: The latest on the actions of Communist China and its allies after the terrorist attack can be accessed on our web site, either directly or via our main page. Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the 2008 Olympic Games being awarded to Beijing, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. Please feel free to send any news on Communist China you happen to find to the same address. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: JANUARY 16, 2002 TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA MIFFED AT GROWING U.S. POWER IN CENTRAL ASIA WAR ON TERRORISM HAS LED TO STRONG U.S. PRESENCE IN PRC�S �BACKYARD� MSNBC reports that Communist China is growing increasingly nervous about the new presence of the U.S. in Central Asia due to the terrorist war and the influence of the U.S. in trying to move India and Pakistan away from war after December 13 (see below). The story also noted Beijing�s use of the war �to intensify its crackdown on suspected Muslim separatists in the Uigher region of western China.� OTHER NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA AND THE TERRORIST WAR INDIA, ISRAEL, AND TURKEY BUILD STRONGER TIES AFTER SEPTEMER 11, DECEMBER 13 One consequence of September 11 and December 13 (the day Kashmir terrorists previously backed by Pakistan attacked the India Parliament) is the growing alliance among Israel, Turkey, and India. The growing partnership among the two official U.S. allies and Communist China�s long-time rival could �alter the military balance in South Asia,� according to the United Press Intl. (via the Washington Times). PAKISTAN WANTS U.S. OUT OF ITS BASES As tensions with India rise over December 13, Pakistan has asked the U.S. military to leave some of Pakistan�s military bases, according to the Washington Post. India and Pakistan � the latter of which is one of the Beijing�s oldest allies � control a part of Kashmir and claim the entire region. Pakistan, which backed the anti-India Kashmir terrorists for years, wants the bases for a �war footing� against India. COMMUNIST PREMIER ZHU RONGJI VISITS INDIA Communist Prime Minister Zhu Rongji began a six-day visit to India this week, where he and Indian PM Atal Bahari Vajpayee agreed to fight terrorism. They did not, however, agree on Kashmir, source of the actual terrorists from December 13 (CNN, CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam). Beijing controls �about 20 percent� of Kashmir, ceded to them by Pakistan. India called the cession of territory illegal. AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS CIA SAYS COMMUNIST CHINA COULD HAVE UP TO 100 NUCLEAR MISSILE AIMED AT U.S. Bill Gertz of the Washington Times reported on a CIA-issued report released last week that said �within 13 years, China is likely to have between 75 and 100 inter-continental missiles aimed at the United States . . . about four times the current number of missiles.� North Korea and Iran � both large military client of the People's Republic � may also have nuclear tipped missiles aimed at the U.S., according to Fox News. The CIA also reported that the PRC is working on multiple warhead missiles (Gertz 2) and will have �several hundred� short-range missiles aimed at Taiwan by 2005. Reports in previous updates have noted that Beijing projected to have 800 anti-Taiwan missiles by 2005. Communist China naturally blasted the report as �baseless speculation.� (BBC, CNN, Cybercast News Service) PRESIDENT BUSH PUTS HOLD ON UN FUNDS OVER PRC�S �ONE CHILD� POLICY President Bush may use the power Congress gave him to block $34 million from going to the UN Population Fund for �providing aid to family planning programs in China,� according to the Washington Post. Communist China�s �One child� policy has led to several cases of forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and infanticide. The President will make his decision later today. Look for the President�s decision in the Follow Up section of The Week�s Links on Friday. LORAL TO PAY $14 MILLION FINE FOR MISSILE DATA SENT TO COMMUNIST CHINA Loral Space & Communications, the firm that sent missile launch data to the PRC during the Clinton Administration, agreed to pay $14 million in fines to avoid prosecution, according to Bill Gertz of the Washington Times. Hughes Corp. � which also transferred data to Beijing that �likely gave China a �significant� boost in its long-range missiles� � is still under investigation. Also reporting: Fox News LEE SAYS RACE LED TO HIS ARREST, DOESN�T SAY WHAT HAPPENED TO 1997 DOWNLOADS Wen Ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist who pled guilty to a charge of �mishandling nuclear data,� says he was targeted in the probe of weapons information getting to Communist China due to his race. However, the Washington Post noted that Lee, in his new book on the incident, did not state what happened to the tapes from which codes were downloaded in 1997, or why he downloaded them. HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS CASE OF LI GUANGQIANG GETS ATTENTION OF PRESIDENT BUSH, TWO CONGRESSMEN President Bush and two anti-Communist China Congressmen have taken the cause of Li Guangqiang as their own, according to Cybercast News Service. Their �personal interest� in Li � slated for execution for importing Bibles into Communist China � has �helped allay concerns of human rights activists� on the matter, who worried the terrorist war would distract the Administration from the case. California Representatives Dana Rohrbacher (Republican) and Tom Lantos (Democrat) rallied to Li�s side last week. Meanwhile, four religious leaders � Christian, Muslim, and Hindu � answered an Inland Valley Times question, �Should people outside of China try to influence the Chinese government as it prosecutes Li?� with a resounding "Yes" (Los Angeles Times). Also reporting: Washington Times REPRESSION RISES WITH THE GROWTH OF �UNDERGROUND� CHURCHES As increasing millions within the PRC choose to worship in churches that refuse to submit to Communist control, the crackdown against them is intensifying, according to CNN. The growth in �underground� churches is greatest in the �poorest provinces . . . left behind in the country's economic boom.� TWO MEMBERS OF THE CHINA DEMOCRACY PARTY SENT TO PRISON FOR FOUR YEARS The Communists convicted two members of the China Democracy Party � Lu Xinhua and Wang Jiabo � of �subversion� and sentenced them to four years in jail. Both men used the internet to spread their democratic message, according to the BBC. Membership in the CDP, founded by dissidents throughout the PRC in 1998, has been a near-certain mark for Communist arrest, persecution, and imprisonment. EX-COMMUNIST WANG RUOSHUI DIES, EXPELLED FROM PARTY FOR BACKING DEMOCRACY Wang Ruoshui, a Communist in Mao Zedong�s time later to be kicked out of the party for supporting human rights and democracy, died in Massachusetts at the age of 75 this week (Los Angeles Times). Wang joined Human Rights in China in 1992, five years after his expulsion from the Communist Party. OTHER MAINLAND NEWS MORE OF LI PENG�S CORRUPTION AND PATRONAGE EXPOSED Li Peng � he who ordered the Tiananmen Square massacre � has always managed to take care of his family and friends through patronage in the utility sector. Now, the PRC-publication Securities Weekly revealed that a state-owned utility �had been basically turned into a Li family business,� according to the Washington Post. Naturally, the Communists confiscated the issue, and the author is under house arrest. U.S. PROBING BANK OF CHINA; SEA OF RED INK THREATENS TO DROWN PRC ECONOMY The Bank of China � the PRC�s main foreign exchange bank � is under investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to CNN, which cited the Wall Street Journal. The Communists have fired the bank�s former President (also CNN) and the Washington Post reported that Beijing is also launching a probe. The paper reported that both center on allegations of money laundering. The Washington Post also reported on the massive burden on bad loans from state banks weighing down the Communist economy. Citing Ernst & Young, the paper put the level of bad debt at a �staggering� 44% of the national economy: �a bad-loan problem far more serious than that of Japan, where financial gridlock has paralyzed a once formidable industrial giant for much of the past decade.� 200,000 WILL LOSE JOBS IN JIANGXI PROVINCE DUE TO FIREWORKS BAN The decision in Jiangxi see province to shut down all firework making there � after an explosion in a school in March and one in a warehouse in December � will leave 200,000 without jobs in the province, according to the BBC. The school doubled as a fireworks factory in which children were required to make the explosives to as part of a scheme by local Communists (see previous updates). COMMUNIST PREMIER ADMITS ECOLOGY IS DETERIORATING IN PRC Communist Premier Zhu Rongji admitted that the ecology within the PRC is badly suffering, and could face even worse due to �a growing population and rapid urbanization,� according to the BBC. The report does mention the Communist contribution to the mess, such as monstrosities like the Three Gorges Dam. INTERNATIONAL NEWS COMMUNIST CHINA BUYING MORE SOVREMENNY DESTROYERS FROM RUSSIA Communist China has inked a deal to buy at least two more Sovremenny-class destroyers from Russia, with an option to expand the buy to four ships (Jane�s Defense Weekly). Russia is already the PRC�s biggest arms supplier � including Sovremennys previously sold to Beijing (see previous updates). FALLING YEN HAS COMMUNISTS MIFFED Communist China expressed �concern� (BBC) over the state of the Japanese yen, which continues to fall in currency markets. The PRC maintains a narrow trading band for their currency � the yuan/renminbi. That would hamper their exports in comparison to Japanese products. Japan replied saying it did �understand� the PRC�s concern, but it won�t �do China�s bidding� (CNN, quoting Bank of America). REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS ROC LOOKS FOR RETALIATORY MISSILE CAPABILITY AGAINST PRC The ROC government is developing a �credible retaliatory capability if the country comes under Chinese attack� from missiles, according to the Taipei Times. The paper quoted Lin Cheng-yi, of Academia Sinica, who said Taiwan is working on cruise missiles and surface-to-surface missiles to ensure an ability to strike back against the Communists. U.S. LOOKING AT OPTIONS FOR DIESEL SUBMARINES PLEDGED TO TAIWAN Meanwhile, the U.S. is examining �up to four �preferred concepts�� to build the diesel-powered submarines promised to the ROC last year, according to the Taipei Times. Germany and the Netherlands, the only countries that currently makes diesel subs, have refused to sell them to the island democracy. PRESIDENT CHEN CALLS HONG KONG CHIEF TUNG CHEE-HWA �BEIJING�S PUPPET� ROC President Chen Shui-bian dubbed Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa �Beijing�s puppet� in a meeting with California Congressman Doug Ose (Republican). Chen cited the fact that Tung relied on the support of the Communists � not the people of Hong Kong � to get and keep his post. He was explaining why Taiwan could never accept HK�s supposed �one country, two systems� model (BBC). COMMUNIST CHINA�S LATEST COMPLIANT: TAIWAN�S NEW PASSPORT Communist China�s obsession with isolating Taiwan opened up another front in the cross-strait war of words: passports. The ROC government will add �Taiwan� to the official name �Republic of China� on its passports, so as to avoid confusion with PRC passports (BBC 1). The PRC � insisting only it should rule over the island democracy � responded with another tirade of threats. (BBC 2, Cybercast News Service) 2,000 MORE ITEMS ADDED TO LIST OF GOODS IMPORTABLE FROM MAINLAND The ROC government announced a list of 2,000 goods that can now be imported from Communist China, including computers, cigarettes, and agricultural products. According to the BBC, the opening up of trade and investment will be �expanded regularly as part of Taiwan's commitments when it joined the World Trade Organization last year.� HONG KONG NEWS CHILDREN OF HK RESIDENTS ORDERED BACK TO MAINLAND, CATHOLIC BISHOP OBJECTS Hong Kong�s Court of Final Appeal ruled against about 5,000 �migrants� seeking residency in Hong Kong (CNN 1). A 1999 ruling by the same court had allowed the group � all of whom are children of current HK � to stay in the city. Beijing overturned the ruling at the �request� of HK Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. The court allowed those who entered the city prior to the 1999 ruling to stay. The stunning move by �Beijing�s puppet� (see above story) �sparked an outcry in Hong Kong.� Many felt �the territory's judicial independence, guaranteed when it was returned to China, was being undermined.� (BBC 1) Among those who �queried whether the judiciary had become an instrument of the Hong Kong Government� was Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen (BBC 2). This was one of the first Communist end runs around the �one country, two systems� model under which HK was supposed to be governed. The Communists insisted on a quick repatriation for the �migrants,� but lawyers for the group said they would appeal to the United Nations (BBC 3). Many of them are afraid of punishment by the Communists for trying to get into Hong Kong. Also reporting: Los Angeles Times No news was reported from Tibet; see Top Story for news from East Turkestan ("Xinjiang"). |