| 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. Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: NOVEMBER 20, 2002 TOP STORY: JIANG�S SHANGHAI FACTION WINS BIG IN PARTY RESHUFFLE FACTION GETS MAJORITY ON POLITBURO STANDING COMMITTEE, JIANG KEEPS CHAIR OF POWERFUL CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION, TOP PROT�G� MAY TAKE OVER IN 2007 The Communist Party Central Committee, �elected� Thursday by the Party Congress, �elected� the all-important Politburo Standing Committee and the Central Military Commission on Friday. As Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN 11/15/02 reported, Jiang Zemin, won big � getting a majority of PSC slots (five out of nine) for his faction and keeping the Chair of the Central Military Commission (CNN). Jiang, as expected, yielded the highest-ranking party post to Hu Jintao. However, with his CMC post, and the makeup of the PSC, Jiang is clearly, �the power behind the throne� (Lam 11/14/02). Making things even tougher for Hu, there are already hints that Jiang�s faction is moving to get Jiang prot�g� Zeng Qinghong �to take over from Hu at the 17th CCP Congress in 2007� (Lam 11/19/02). Zeng is slated to take over the Shanghai faction from Jiang in a couple of years; Jiang was even ready to give Hu the CMC Chair if it meant Zeng took the Vice-Chair. Given the above machinations by the so-called Shanghai Mafia, one can see why Hu turned that down. Still, as the Washington Post put it, �Hu will probably need years to secure his position as the most powerful man in China, if he does at all.� That could be a much bigger �if� than was previously expected. Not only does Jiang still have the CMC Chair � the post from which Deng Xiaoping wielded power in the 1980s, up to and including the Tiananmen Square massacre � but his cronies may already be plotting to put their future leader, Zeng, in Hu�s place. It was another stunning reminder that the top party job does not ensure control of the regime. As if to emphasize the point the Communist military leadership pledged its full support � to Jiang, never mentioning Hu, and �fanning speculation (Jiang) will not be retiring any time soon� (Lam 11/20). Meanwhile, two generals, both Jiang prot�g�s, won CMC vice-chairmanships � Hu has the third. Meanwhile, Li Peng � the butcher of Tiananmen Square, suffered a stunning defeat when the anti-corruption PSC post went to Wu Guanzheng. The post was originally slated for Luo Gan (see 11/06/02 update), a prot�g� of Li who is �still nervous about his role in the June 4, 1989 crackdown � as well as widespread innuendo about the business activities of his children,� according to Lam. Regarding corruption, it should also be noted that one of Jiang�s prot�g�s who landed on the PSC � Li Changchun � was Guangdong Party Secretary during the $12 billion tax evasion scandal (see 1/3/01 and 1/17/01 updates), the largest corruption scheme in the People�s Republic, even bigger than the infamous Xiamen smuggling scandal. Now we know why it slipped off the radar screen after a couple of weeks. As for Hu, even if he can eventually take charge of the PRC � as said before, a big �if� � it is still to be determined if Hu is the reformer some people whisper he is � despite almost no evidence of it � or the brutal, murderous Tibet party chief he actually was. Also reporting: BBC, Cybercast News NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR �XINJIANG� COMMUNISTS WIN BIG IN RESHUFFLE, LAND SEATS ON CENTRAL COMMITTEE In a sure sign that the crackdown in East Turkestan has the full attention and support of the Communists, at last four cadres from �Xinjiang� � party boss Wang Lequan, a close friend of new party boss Hu Jintao and three generals, landed seats on the Central Committee (the body that �elected� the PSC and the CMC). The Communist governor of the region, Ablait Abdureschit, is also on the Central Committee. Wang�s ascension � �very rare� for a party boss from the region (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN) was a sure sign of PRC backing for the brutality. In this case, it is all but certain both Hu, who ordered a brutal crackdown during his reign in Tibet, and his predecessor cum rival Jiang Zemin, heavily dependent on the military he still controls as CMC Chair, are of one mind � crush all the dissenters. COMMUNIST CHINA WANTS �DIALOGUE� WITH NATO Communist China has approached the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to consider a �continuing strategic dialogue between Nato and Beijing� (BBC). The move comes as the war on terror shifts NATO�s attention toward Central Asia, a region the PRC considers its �backyard.� Check out these stories and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page. OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS PELOSI ELECTED HOUSE MINORITY LEADER, MENENDEZ ELECTED CAUCUS CHAIR The Democratic members of the House of Representatives elected California Democrat Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader last week. Pelosi is arguably the most anti-Communist China Democrat in Washington. She led the House Working Group on the PRC for years, and was a leading opponent of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Communist China in 2000. Report: CNN, Fox News The House Democrats also named a Communist China opponent as Chairman of the Caucus (the number three post in the caucus, behind Minority Whip): New Jersey�s Robert Menendez. Also reporting: Washington Post, Washington Times COMMUNIST CHINESE SHORT RANGE MISSILE NOT AS SHORT RANGE AS BELIEVED Communist China test-fired a YJ-83 anti-ship cruise missile, and American intelligence discovered that the missile has a test range of over 150 miles, twice what was originally suspected. Richard Fisher, Jamestown Foundation, said the missile is now beyond the range of missiles equipped on Kidd-class destroyers, the class Taiwan bought recently from the U.S. Report: Bill Gertz, Washington Times HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH RIPS COMMUNIST CHINA ON NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES Human Rights Watch put the spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of North Korean refugees hiding in Communist China. The PRC usually sends back any refugee it finds from the Stalinist regime that has led the North into a massive famine. HRW notes that since refugees who get found and sent back end up either in prison or executed, they are at the mercy of the people in the PRC. Report: CNN The results are horrifying for those who meet the wrong person on the Communist Chinese side of the border � �extortion, rape, human trafficking, torture and death� are common, as is forced prostitution, known as �sex slavery� there. Nearly 100 refugees from the North have escaped to the South through embassies of democratic nations in Communist China. Sign up for the North Korea Report, sent out every Mondaay. ARTWORK SHOWING EP-3 PLANE FROM HAINAN OUTRAGE BANNED BY COMMUNISTS Communist China refused to allow Huang Yongping to show his artwork � �a 50-foot long piece depicting part of the stricken EP-3 plane� (BBC) from the Hainan outrage (see 4/5/01 and 4/11/01 update). Huang thought the U.S. pushed the Communists to ban the artwork, but the U.S. Embassy denied any role in the action. OTHER MAINLAND NEWS LEFTIST SLATED TO BECOME LI CHANGCHUN�S REPLACEMENT IN GUANGDONG Communist China will appoint Zhang Dejiang, the party chief of Zhejiang province, to take Li Changchun�s old job of Guangdong Party boss, according to Willy Wo-Lap Lam (CNN). Li, a Jiang prot�g� won a spot on the Politburo Standing Committee (see Top Story). Zhang is apparently close to Zeng Qinghong, the top Jiang prot�g�, and, as Lam put it, �did not have a reformist reputation.� �BUSINESSMEN� WELCOMED INTO THE COMMUNIST PARTY The Chinese Communist Party solidified its corporatist sheen by officially allowing �private� businessmen into the Party. Of course, this welcoming of the �private� sector did not include protection of private property. As such, the move did little more than give the Communists �the benefits of private business without giving up the party's iron grip on the country's political system� (BBC). GLOBAL CROSSING SELLS ASSETS TO CHINA NETCOM Global Crossing�s Asia unit plans to sell assets to China Netcom, a PRC firm, for roughly $270 million. The move comes after the firm was sold to a consortium led by Hutchison Whampoa, the firm founded by Communist sympathizing Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing (see 8/14/02 update). Li�s firm also currently manages two container ports in the Panama Canal. Report: CNN SUBSIDIARY OF CHINA NATIONAL OFFSHORE OIL GAINS IN IPO Guess they can�t all be like China Telecom (see 11/6/02 and 11/13/02 updates). China Oilfield Services, �the drilling services arm of China's largest offshore oil producer, China National Offshore Oil� (BBC), made its initial public offering of stock shares, and was up 14% in Hong Kong trading. INTERNATIONAL NEWS FOREIGN INSURANCE FIRMS PULLING OUT OF PRC Reality is starting to sink in � at least in the insurance industry. Japan�s Dai-Ichi and Germany�s Gerling AG are pulling out of Communist China, citing the fact that �the distant prospect of healthy profits remains just that: distant� (BBC). Of note, Allstate is also pulling up its stakes � maybe one is really is in good hands with that insurance firm. JAPANESE ATTACHE TO PRC DRIVEN OUT FOR ENTERING UNMARKED RESTRICTED AREA Japanese Navy Captain Hiromasa Amano, who was Japan�s military attach� to Communist China, took a taxi to a PRC military facility in Ningbo last month. Communist China claimed he violated a restricted military area, and despite the fact that there was no markings declaring the area off-limits, it �him for the rest of the day� (BBC). They then pressured Japan to �recall� the captain, which Japan did last week. REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS ACADEMICS SAY COMMUNIST CHARM OFFENSIVE IS A COVER, NOTHING MORE Three Taiwanese academics told the Washington Times that Communist China is still looking to �one country, two systems� as the �goal� in regards to Taiwan. They said the latest effort by the Communists to appear accommodating was a �trick to lull the unsuspecting.� They also did not think highly of Hu Jintao, the new Communist Party chief. TAIWAN�S ECONOMY STRONG IN THIRD QUARTER Taiwan�s Gross Domestic Product was up over 4�% in the third quarter of this year, the best economic performance in two years � a possible sign that the island democracy is slowing getting past its economic doldrums. The ROC did say the fourth quarter would likely not be as good. Report: CNN TAIWAN PARLIAMENTARIAN WANTS NEW ANTHEM Lin Yu-sheng, a member of the Taiwanese Parliament from President Chen Shui-bian�s Democratic Progressive Party, has called for a new national anthem for the island democracy � citing the fact that it is also the song of the Nationalists � who were in power until Chen�s election in 2000 (BBC). HONG KONG NEWS HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CALL FOR SCRAPPING OF �ANTI-SUBVERSION� LAW Ten human rights organizations in Hong Kong called on the Communist-appointed government to drop its proposed �anti-subversion� law, claiming the law was �ambiguously worded� (BBC). The new law would ban any acts deemed subversive by the PRC, including the great Communist catchall: stealing �state secrets� (see 10/30/02 update). TIBET NEWS COMMUNIST CHINA SAYS STOP CALLING IT MOUNT EVEREST Communist China is demanding that the rest of the world drop the name Mount Everest and give the highest mountain in the world the name Mount Qomolangma. The Communists blamed the British �colonialists� for the Everest name. Colonialists? Isn�t this the pot calling the kettle black? Report: London Daily Telegraph via Washington Times Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it Anyonewho 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. |