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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: DECEMBER 17, 2003
Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror is now available! My book detailing Communist China�s history of aiding terrorist states, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, and al Qaeda can be ordered here, at Barnes and Noble, or at Amazon. � D.J. McGuire
The next Week�s Links will be sent out tomorrow, December 18, one day ahead of schedule.
TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA AIDED IRAQI AIR DEFENSES WELL PAST 2001
SADDAM RECEIVED HELP FROM PRC AS LATE AS THIS YEAR
Communist China �played a key role in helping Iraqi air defenses withstand coalition air strikes in the months preceding Operation Iraqi Freedom� (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times). The news came from Lt. Col. al-Dabbagh, one of the United Kingdom�s major sources on the Ba�athists� weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. al-Dabbagh �said he worked with a number of Chinese air-defense specialists during 2002 and the early part of this year to devise methods to stop coalition air strikes from destroying Iraq's air defenses.� The Peoples� Republic also helped integrated Saddam�s air defenses in 2001 (see 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, 3/21/01, and 4/9 Updates).
Communist China also tried to sell him missile-launching patrol boats, and did sell his Ba�athist regime missile fuel components (see 12/18/02 and 3/19 Updates). Naturally, Communist China opposed the liberation of Iraq.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
COMMUNIST CHINA SHUT OUT OF IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS SO FAR
Due to the above, Communist China continues to be locked out of �the lucrative reconstruction projects in Iraq, including oil exploration� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam). The PRC is looking into oil in particular due to its increasingly voracious appetite for the substance.
COMMUNIST CHINA TAGS POLITICAL GROUPS AS �TERRORISTS�
Communist China put the terrorist label on four East Turkestan groups and demanded �international assistance to track them down� (BBC-1). The list included the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that many diplomats �described . . . as defunct,� two political organizations that have no ties to terror, and one that many doubt even exists.
Those two groups, the World Uighur Youth Congress and the East Turkestan Information Centre, won a defender in Enver Can, from the East Turkestan National Congress. Can said the two groups �were, like his own group, simply NGOs based in Germany whose main function was to provide information.�
Can challenged the existence of the other groups, the Eastern Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO) and ETIM. Michael Dillon, of the University of Durham, also doubted �that (ETIM and ETLO) even exist� (BBC-2). Dillon also echoed Can regarding the ETNC and WUYC: �there is no sign of any evidence linking either of these groups to terrorism.�
The People�s Republic managed to convince the U.S. to the dangers of ETIM despite its questionable existence � it�s reported to have never stepped foot in the occupied land (see 9/18/02 Update). Communist China has brutally repressed the Uighur population in East Turkestan (called �Xinjiang� by the PRC) ever since it occupied the nation in 1949.
The Communists have repeatedly insisted the Uighurs are supporters of bin Laden, despite a complete lack of evidence. In fact, the Uighurs are arguably the most pro-American Muslims on the face of the earth (see 10/17/01, 12/21/01, 10/23/02, and 11/5 Updates).
U.S. MAY SEND UIGHURS HELD IN GUANTANAMO BACK TO COMMUNIST CHINA
The United States is actually contemplating sending twelve Uighurs currently held in Guantanamo back to Communist China, despite the near universal assumption that they face execution there. The Uighurs are apparently scheduled for release, but in this case the more humane thing to do is to keep them on American soil. Report: Washington Times
Check out the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
For more on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
COMMUNISTS SAY U.S. IS �RIGHT WHERE WE WANT THEM� ON TAIWAN
Communist China is thrilled with President Bush�s unprecedented verbal slap at Taiwan (see last Update). One Politburo member told Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN, that Bush�s �unambiguous opposition to attempts by Taipei change in the status quo� means �We've finally got the Americans right where we want them.� Also reporting: Washington Post
More ominously, the Communists also see Bush�s comments as a green light to swallow Taiwan if the island democracy �were to disturb the status quo via holding referendums and other means.� Taiwan is holding a referendum on March 20, the same date as the presidential election, calling on the PRC to withdraw the 500 missiles pointed at Taiwan.
CONGRESSIONAL TAIWAN CAUCUS SENDS ANGRY LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH
The leaders of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus sent a letter to President Bush (Cybercast News) criticizing the President�s statements on Taiwan. The letter, sent by Reps. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Dana Rohrbacher (R-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), said Bush�s comments �send the wrong signal to the international community.�
COMMUNIST PM PROMISES MORE IMPORTS, TAKES ANOTHER WHACK AT CHEN
Communist Premier Wen Jiabao promised his regime would import more American goods in an interview with CNN�s Lou Dobbs, but said nothing about a major cause of the massive trade imbalance between the U.S. and the PRC � the deliberately devalued Communist currency. He also took a few verbal shots at Taiwan�s elected President Chen Shui-bian.
POLICYMAKER BEHIND TAIWAN SLAP MAY BE HEADED TO NEPAL
James F. Moriarty, the National Security Council (NSC) official who is a major pro-Beijing force in the Administration (see 12/3 Update), is �the pick to be ambassador to Nepal� (Washington Post, item straddles both pages). On the plus side, his replacement at the NCS, Michael Green, is �much more favored by the anti-Beijing folks.�
DEAN BACKS PRESIDENT�S POLICY ON TAIWAN, BUT NOT WORDS
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean had this to say about President Bush�s aforementioned rebuke of Chen: �The president's policy is right, but the president's public slap [at Taiwan] wasn't necessary� (Washington Post). For more on Taiwan, see Republic of China (Taiwan) News.
U.S. CONSIDERING TARIFFS ON COMMUNIST BEDROOM FURNITURE
The Bush Administration�s piecemeal defense against Communist imports expanded to �bedroom furniture� (Washington Post) with a dumping investigation into the PRC�s pricing for the goods. The Administration has already place restrictions of Communist imports of textiles and televisions (see 11/19 and 11/26 Updates).
Of course, the main reason for such low import prices � the deliberate Communist devaluation of its own currency � truly requires a broad response.
GREENSPAN SAYS COMMUNIST CURRENCY CORRECTION WILL HELP ALLIES, BUT NOT U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan challenged the theory � backed by this quarter � that the deliberately devalued Communist currency is harming the American economy (BBC). He did acknowledge that other Asian nations, including American allies badly damaged by the devaluation, would benefit if the currency were to rise to market levels.
COMMUNIST CHINESE INSURANCE FIRM MAKES BIG OPENING ON WALL STREET
China Life, a Communist-owned insurance firm, �jumped more than 30%� (BBC) in its first day of stock sales in New York. The firm hopes to make $3 billion for the PRC.
PRO-TIBET PROTESTOR CRASHES WEN SPEECH AT HARVARD
During Communist PM Wen Jiabao�s speech at Harvard University, a lone pro-Tibetan protestor �was removed 12 minutes into Wen's Harvard speech after unfurling a Tibetan flag she smuggled in a pantleg and demanding freedom for the Tibetan people� (Boston Herald). The protestor, Megan Howard, was co-president of the school�s Students for a Free Tibet.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
PROTESTORS RUN OVER BY TRAIN; FOUR KILLED
Residents of Luohe, in Henan province, tried to block a railroad track to protest the demolishing of their homes. The Communists responded by letting a train run right through the protest. Of the 1,000 who took part, eleven were hit, and four died (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times, HK). Also reporting: BBC
CHRISTIAN CHURCH HOST UNDER ARREST
Xu Yonghai, a Beijing Christian who �has held gatherings in our home,� according to his wife (Voice of America via Epoch Times), is under arrest for �spying on national secrets.� Xu has already spent two years in a labor camp for his faith. �National secrets,� a.k.a. �state secrets,� is a standard catchall charge for anyone who acts against the PRC�s wishes.
WHISTLEBLOWER SENT TO JAIL FOR EIGHT YEARS
Li Zhi, a Chinese official who exposed government corruption on the Internet� (Washington Post, second full item), is going to jail for eight years for �subversion.� Also reporting: Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times
FIRED WORKERS ATTEMPT SUICIDE PROTEST
Twelve workers at the Nanchang City Ninth Printing Plant who lost their jobs due to a major restructuring in the plant owner�s firm attempted suicide to protest �the insignificant sum of 800 yuan (approximately $100) a year as unemployment compensation� (Epoch Times) offered by the firm. The firm is bankrupt due to embezzlement by its managers.
CORRUPTION NEWS
FUJIAN PROVINCE BACK IN THE NEWS, AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY
Fujian province, home to the multi-billion dollar Xiamen smuggling scandal (see 8/16/00, 9/02/00, and 9/28/01 Updates), has done it again. Chen Kai, a member of the Chinese People's Consultative Congress in Fuzhou, is now in jail for leading a criminal conspiracy that has ensnared �more than 17 senior provincial and city officials� (Washington Post).
Chen led �an organized criminal operation that specialized in gambling, prostitution, illegal bank loans and the laundering of drug money.� Others in prison include Fuzhou�s deputy mayor, its deputy party secretary and the deputy chief of the province�s state security bureau, i.e., the police. The probe could bring down �scores of government officials.�
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
ENGERY SHORTAGE SPREADING FROM SHANGHAI
The energy shortage that led to power rationing in Shanghai (see last Update) has �now extended to Guangdong Province� according to Paul Wood, an analyst quoted by Radio Free Asia (via Epoch Times). The power shortage in Shanghai led to a surge in fuel demand, for generators. The shortage sparked a protest in the town of Chongqing.
COMMUNIST CADRES SEIZE LAND ILLEGALLY
Several provinces are now under investigation for �illegal seizure of land� (Epoch Times). While the Communist regime owns all land within the PRC, there are apparently certain rules for the provincial cadres to follow. The land seizures have forced many victims �to relocate or become homeless.�
SHANGHAI POLICE WANTS TASK FORCE TO HANDLE BEGGARS
The Shanghai police force �is considering setting up a special taskforce to control its huge numbers of homeless people and beggars� (BBC). The city, Central Military Commission Chair Jiang Zemin�s political base, has a �floating� population of three million.
TWO INDEPENDENTS SNEAK THROUGH IN BEIJING ELECTIONS
In elections for the �the bottom rung of the parliamentary system� (BBC), the District People's Congress, two independents managed to win seats, including one that promises to �campaign for change to the system of re-education through labour (UK sp),� the very system by which the Communists skip the �rule of law� charade for prisoners.
ORGY PLANNERS GET LIFE IN PRISON
The main planners of a massive weekend orgy involving hundreds of Japanese visitors and prostitutes in the PRC received a sentence of life in prison for their role in the incident. The embarrassing incident wrapped up on the 72nd anniversary of Japan�s invasion of Communist China (see 10/8 Update). Report: BBC, CNN
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
COMMUNIST PREMIER TRIES TO SOOTHE MEXICAN ANGER, THEN VISITS AFRICA
Fresh from his visit to the U.S. (see last Update), Communist Premier Wen Jiabao �sought to assure Mexican leaders that their country's economy is not threatened by China's lower wages and cheaper goods� (Washington Post, fourth item). Mexico is already feeling the economic pinch from the PRC, Wen�s soft words notwithstanding (see 12/3 Update).
Wen then traveled to Africa to build upon �its already formidable clout in Africa and the Third World� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). Communist China, naturally, built that �clout� by presenting itself as an alternative to American �hegemony.�
FOSTERS, AUSTRALIAN FOR APPEASEMENT?
The brewers of Fosters beer is scurrying from claims it �was buying a 19.5% stake� (BBC) in the Communist Chongqing Brewery Group. Scottish & Newcastle, which also brews Kronenbourg, admitted to talking with the PRC firm, but insisted, �no definitive agreement has been concluded.�
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
CHEN SHUI-BIAN, ANNOUNCING FOR RE-ELECTION, NOT HURT BY BUSH SLAP
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, fresh from the Bush rebuke, launched his re-election campaign, and defended the referendum (Washington Post 12/11). Despite the rebuke, Chen is still tied in polls with Nationalist Lien Chan, who has tacked much closer to Communist China. Also reporting: CNN, Taiwan News via Epoch Times, Taipei Times
As for the missile referendum, opinion in Taiwan is deeply divided, according to a poll released this week (Cybercast News).
PRC VOWS TO �CRUSH� TAIWAN; CHEN TELLS PRC THREATS COULD MEAN INDEPENDENCE
Communist Chinese mouthpiece Li Weiyi ripped Chen Shui-bian as �immoral� (BBC) for his referendum push on the 500 Communist missiles aimed at Taiwan. Li also had this ominous comment: �In the face of outrageous splittist activities, we must make necessary preparations to resolutely crush Taiwan independence plots.�
Almost in response, Chen announced that �even the testing of missiles off Taiwan by China� (Financial Times, UK) would be enough for him to consider the island democracy he governs under attack, and as such would push for outright formal independence for the ROC.
Chen flatly said any more missiles aimed at Taiwan �would only drive Taiwan further away� from the mainland. �It would invite a backlash from the people of Taiwan, and would also cause even more people to see China as a hostile country rather than the motherland.�
PARLIAMENT PASSES RESOLUTIONS CALLING FOR COMMUNIST MISSILE WITHDRAWAL
Taiwan�s Parliament passed two resolutions � one by the governing Democratic Progressive Party, the other backed by the opposition � calling for Communist China to remove the aforementioned 500 missiles pointed at the island democracy. The DPP resolution was clearly the stronger of the two. Report: BBC
SARS RESURFACES IN TAIWAN
A medical researcher at a military hospital in Taipei has come down with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the first case of its kind in months. SARS began in Communist China last year, and was allowed to spread throughout the PRC, Taiwan, and Canada due to a Communist cover up. Reports: BBC, CNN
HONG KONG NEWS
FORMER FINANCE SECRETARY AVOIDS CHARGES IN CAR TAX FLAP
Antony Leung will not face charges for buying a Lexus �shortly before he introduced a higher tax on new vehicles� (BBC). Leung coincidental buy led many to believe he tried to skirt the new tax. He resigned over the issue in July.
No news was reported from Tibet this week.
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