| 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. As Communist China�s allies and customers enter the cross-hairs, check out the latest on �Communist China and the Terrorist War,� either directly or via our main page. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: MARCH 20, 2002 TOP STORY: NORTH KOREA MAY ALREADY BE A NUCLEAR POWER U.S. WILL CONTINUE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT DESPITE EVIDENCE OF VIOLATIONS AND THREATS FROM THE PRC ALLY TO KILL THE DEAL, OTHER AXIS OF EVIL STATES MOVING TOWARDS LONG-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE CAPABILITY WITHIN 15 YEARS In reaction to being included as a possible nuclear target of the U.S. (see last update), North Korea threatened to pull out of the 1994 agreement in which the U.S. agreed to build two nuclear power plants for it. In exchange, the Stalinist regime agreed to freeze, but not drop, its nuclear weapons program (CNN, BBC). But recent intelligence reports reveal that North Korea may already be nuclear capable. The Washington Post reported that North Korea �almost certainly hid nuclear material from inspectors in the 1990s, leaving it out of compliance� with the 1994 deal. They have also been blocking inspectors from conducting the examinations of North Korean nuclear sites, as also required under the deal. Despite this, the Bush Administration is still sending $95 million in fuel oil as part of the deal. Meanwhile, Cybercast News Service and National Review Online (Rich Lowry) cite a CIA report and testimony to Congress by CIA official Robert Walpole, respectively. Walpole also told Congress that the Stalinist regime and 50-plus-year ally of the People�s Republic of China is continuing tests of the Taepo Dong 2 missile � which would be capable of hitting the U.S. Lowry, citing Walpole again, also noted that Iraq and Iran are building intercontinental ballistic missiles (the kind that could also hit the U.S.), and could have them tested � and in Iran�s case, ready to go � by 2015, less than 15 years away. The only thing Lowry did not mention was what these three states have in common: a history of military support or purchases from Communist China. OTHER NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA AND THE TERRORIST WAR IRAN GETTING COMMUNIST CHINESE MISSILES AND NORTH KOREAN GUNBOATS Bill Gertz of the Washington Times reported that Communist China shipped �naval missiles� to Iran in January. Also, its long-time ally � the aforementioned North Korea � is �sending a shipment of gunboats to Iran that U.S. intelligence agencies say will be converted into guided-missile warships.� This is the latest in a series of weapons transfers to Iran from the PRC and North Korea. COMMUNISTS SEE TERRORIST WAR AS U.S. EXCUSE TO INCREASE MILITARY PRESENCE Communist China is coming to the conclusion that the terrorist war is growing worse � for Communist China. As reported by Stratfor.com via the Washington Times, Communist China is increasingly upset about the U.S. military presence in Central Asia, and Russia and India �growing closer to Washington.� The PRC is even worried events will leave �the regime . . . shattered.� We can only hope their right. SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT DEMANDS NORTH KOREA REPOEN TALKS South Korean President Kim Dae Jung called on North Korea to restart talks with the U.S., saying the Stalinist regime and PRC ally had �no other choice� (CNN, BBC). FOLLOW UP: DAQING PROTESTORS �HAVE SET UP THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT UNION� WORKERS IN LIAOYANG START SECOND PROTEST AGAINST STATE FACTORIES The massive protests at the Daqing oil field (see last update) are continuing. The BBC reported that the protestors � fired workers promised severance pay that has not been given � have �set up their own independent union.� Only the PRC-controlled union and its affiliates are legal; of course, the PRC also owns the oil field, the largest in Communist China. Also reporting: Washington Post (1), Los Angeles Times According to the BBC, the firm involved is none other the PetroChina, the state-owned firm whose listing on the NYSE was reported in our first update. Meanwhile, thousands of workers �from several factories� started a second major protest in Lioayang, where some workers haven�t been paid for three months. Protest leader Yao Fuxin has disappeared, but the protest didn�t stop. Also reporting: Washington Post (2) HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS FOREIGN JOURNALIST RECOUNTS TALE OF POLICE INTIMIDATION AND VIOLENCE For Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, the BBC correspondent in Beijing whose reports are cited frequently in these updates � a Falun Gong protest two weeks ago, on which he was merely reporting � turned into a daylong ordeal under arrest by police. Communist police threatened, harassed, followed, and then grabbed him by the throat. His report and how it re-opened his eyes on Communism: BBC NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN PRC ESCAPE TO SEOUL THROUGH SPANISH EMBASSY Six families of North Koreans who �escaped� into Communist China were forced to escape again � to the South Korean capital of Seoul via the Philippines via the Spanish Embassy in Beijing � to avoid being sent back by the PRC (CNN, BBC). The families have tried to escape the Stalinist North Korea before, but Communist China had sent them back to its 50-year ally every time. COMMUNIST CHINA AND NORTH KOREA REACT WITH �MANHUNT� FOR REFUGEES The Communists insisted that this action allowing the North Koreans to escape to Seoul �does not constitute a precedent for resolving similar situations in the future� (CNN). He wasn�t kidding, either. The BBC reports that the two Communist allies and neighbors �have launched a massive manhunt� for any other North Koreans so desperate to escape starvation that they are hiding in the PRC. Many groups in South Korea have been trying to help the refugees get out North Korea and then the PRC. Many were upset at how Communist China, and South Korea for that matter, tried to sweep this under the rug (Washington Post). The families mentioned above were helped by Dr. Norbert Vollertsen, who was expelled North Korea after exposing how it stole international food aid for Communist families. Vollertsen plans several more actions against North Korea, with a breathtaking goal: to bring down the regime of starvation, weapons proliferation, and torture (Los Angeles Times): �We will create a flood of refugees to embassies, and it will lead to the collapse of North Korea.� CORRUPTION NEWS PARTY OFFICIAL IN FUJIAN PROVINCE SENT TO JAIL FOR 13 YEARS OVER XIAMEN SCNADAL Remember the multi-billion dollar smuggling scandal in Xiamen? Communists are still going to prison over it. Shi Zhoabin, once a deputy regional chief for the Communist Party in Fujian province � the capital of which is Xiamen � was sent to prison for 13 years for his role. According to the BBC, the PRC has executed fourteen Communists due to the scandal; many of them were reported in previous updates. COMMUNISTS START BLAMING CORRUPTION ON �FOREIGN SYNDICATES� We should have seen this coming from a mile away. Zhang Xin-feng, the �head of the country's criminal investigation department� (CNN) said his efforts to fight corruption was being hampered by �foreign syndicates.� Corruption in the Communist party is rampant, and was so before the recent spike in Mafia-style criminal activity. Still, the desperate party may have found a scapegoat to trick the uninformed. BANK OF CHINA SCANDAL GROWING The Bank of China, in an attempt to win back credibility severely damaged by revelations of corruption at its highest level, is �scouring its operations and airing the dirt it finds,� according to CNN. The result so far is more scandal, including the reports of five executives embezzling $483 million from the bank. OTHER MAINLAND NEWS PRC PREMIER PRAISES SELF, ADMITS TO FAILURE IN RURAL POLICIES AMID CRITICISM While Communist Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji brazenly boasted about his performance in economic matters � did he run any of his accomplishments past the Daqing protestors? � he admitted his �biggest headache� was a lack of progress improving the plight of the impoverished rural interior. CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam and the BBC noted that Zhu admitted farm income �in certain areas has declined. Not everyone has been pleased with Zhu�s record. Lam and the Washington Post noted that a number of Zhu�s claims of success were somewhat inflated, and a few were simply specious � in particular the issues of economic growth in light of questionable statistics, and the corruption in the banking system. Also reporting: Los Angeles Times COMMUNIST PRESIDENT PRAISES HIS MISSILE BUILDERS PRC President Jiang Zemin heaped praise on the missile-building division of the Communist People�s Liberation Army. CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam reported that Jiang�s praise for his missile corps was likely in reaction to �the recent coziness between the US and Taiwan� (see below). Communist China already has several hundred missiles aimed at the island democracy � and is adding to the arsenal every year. COMMUNIST PARLIAMENT ENDS SESSION The Communist National People�s Congress (parliament) ended its yearly session last week (BBC), largely by giving rubber-stamp approval of the Communist regime. OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL MEETS ROC DEFENSE MINISTER Taiwanese Defense Minister Tang Yao-ming met with American Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz last week, in what Cybercast News Service called �the highest-level direct military contact between the two countries since . . . 1979.� Tang also met with the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, James Kelly. The Communists were livid about the visit. PRC STUNNED, ENRAGED AT GROWING U.S.-ROC TIES The PRC ripped American policy on Taiwan in general, according to CNN, as �inflating the arrogance of the separatist forces� in the island democracy. Communist China has repeatedly been upset at any action by the U.S. that runs afoul of the Communist goal of swallowing up the ROC. Also reporting: Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Washington Post Fortunately, the U.S. is paying little attention to the Communist complaints about closer ties with Taiwan. For example, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), a military research arm of the U.S. Pacific Command, has invited members of the Taiwanese military to join a �a 12-week-long course on administrative and security issues.� According to CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam, this is a first. INTERNATIONAL NEWS FALUN GONG DEMONSTRATION BANNED IN AUSTRALIA, OPPOSITION FURIOUS Australia has banned Falun Gong from protesting near the Communist Chinese embassy in Canberra, ending a nine-month demonstration there. An opposition senator �accused the government of bowing to Chinese pressure� in ending the protest (BBC). OTHER REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS EUROPE, FOLLOWING U.S. LEAD, SLOWLY SHIFTING ON TAIWAN The �sudden leap forward� in U.S.-Taiwan ties (see above) is starting to affect Europe�s viewpoint on Taiwan. In another Lam report on the subject (about halfway down), he notes that �a number of private and semi-private German and French weapons manufacturers have quietly begun to test the waters in Taiwan after an absence of several years.� USE OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS LANDS TAIWANESE MAGAZINE IN HOT WATER The ROC government has raided Next magazine for using classified documents in a major story on former President Lee Teng-hui. The magazine claimed that Lee � widely praised for bringing democracy to Taiwan � maintained a secret fund �to spy on the mainland� (BBC) and �to finance special diplomatic missions aimed at boosting ties with the U.S.� (CNN). ECONOMICS MINISTER RESIGNS After a mere two months on the job, Economics Minister Christine Tsung resigned her post. Both CNN and the BBC cited the Taiwan�s raucous politics � the most open and rambunctious in all of Asia � as the reason for her leaving. HONG KONG NEWS COMMUNIST-APPOINTED REGIME PUSHING LOCAL MEDIA TO TOE THE LINE The Washington Times, citing the Hong Kong Journalists Association, reports that the city government � led by the Communist-appointed and deeply unpopular Tung Chee-hwa � �is creating an environment of media self-censorship and is influencing reporting on issues sensitive to Chinese leadership.� The HKJA report notes that self-censorship has played a large role in the slow Communization of the media. FROM THE FALUN GONG WAR: FALUN GONG MEMBERS ARRESTED FOR OBSTRUCTION Police in Hong Kong arrested 16 Falun Gong practitioners for �obstruction,� in what the BBC called �the first time legal action has been taken against the group in Hong Kong.� Tung Chee-hwa has repeatedly threatened follow the Communist crackdown on the spiritual movement. No news was reported from Tibet or East Turkestan (�Xinjiang�) this week. 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. |