| CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: NOVEMBER 22, 2000 TOP STORY: U.S. WAIVES PROLIFERATION SANCTIONS ON COMMUNIST CHINA MOVE COMES DESPITE WEAPONS, TECHNOLOGY SALES TO IRAN AND PAKISTAN Despite Communist China helping Iran and Pakistan develop nuclear-capable missiles, the Clinton Administration waived sanctions on the PRC. The move to nix the sanctions came after the PRC said it would stop the technology and parts transfers. BBC reported the U.S. would sanction firms in Iran and Pakistan instead. Link: BBC The Washington Times noted the PRC have promised halting weapons sales repeatedly, but never actually get around to doing it. The paper also cited a CIA report detailing weapons sales to Libya and Syria. Link: Washington Times OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS COMMUNIST CHINA HOTLY DENIES SPYING ON U.S. Communist China bitterly denied the accounts of spying reported by Bill Gertz of the Washington Times in his new book from The China Threat: How the People's Republic Targets America. AFP reported the Communists issued their denial through foreign ministry spokesperson Sun Yuxi, who called the accounts �sheer fabrication.� Link: AFP HUMAN RIGHTS TALKS RESTARTED BBC reported last week that Communist China had agreed to resume human rights talks with the U.S. No date was given for resumption of the talks, which were suspended after the bombing of the PRC Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. Link: BBC SPECIAL: DISSIDENT YU JIE GIVES HIS VIEW OF THE FUTURE Yu Jie, writer in the PRC who lost his job due to his criticism of the Communist Party, writes a piece for Asiaweek giving his analysis of where Communist China is headed. While he fears the Party will use rampant nationalism to justify its reign and hide its horrific failings, he retains hope that �this is the darkness before the dawn� of political freedom for his people. He is also suing to get his job back. Link: Asiaweek OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS TWO MORE FALUN GONG FOLLOWERS DIE DUE TO POLICE BEATINGS Communist Chinese police trotured two Falun Gong practitioners to death, according to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. The Communist denied killing Li Wenrui and Yang Guijin, claiming the latter suffered from heart disease, while the former committed suicide. Li�s mother and wife were skeptical, especially after seeing bruises on Li�s body and a large hole in his skull. Link: AFP PRC-UN AGREE, THEN DISAGREE, ON HUMAN RIGHTS AMID WIDESPREAD CRITICISM Communist China and the United Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on human rights this week. Within days, the two sides disagreed, publicly, over what human rights were. UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson admitted her discussions with Communist President Jiang Zemin on human rights did not go very far, despite the MOU. Link: BBC Meanwhile, human rights groups lambasted the MOU as toothless. The Information Center on Human Rights and Democracy said the MOU would have no effect on the PRC�s ever deteriorating human rights record. Human Rights in China agreed, calling it �nothing more than one-shot efforts, with no impact on China's rights situation.� Link: AFP RAPED PEASANT GIRL TOLD BY POLICE TO HAVE RAPISTS� BABY TO PROVE ACCUSATION Communist police in Henan province, when told by a 16-year-old girl that she was raped, told the girl that she had to have the baby to prove her accusation. Whatever we may think on the abortion issue (and members� views run the gamut, including a divided board), can�t we all agree that this reaction was a little cold? Link: AFP ARREST OF CANADIAN FALUN GONG FOLLOWER INFURIATES GOVERNMENT The government of Canada, in the throes of an election campaign, is demanding access to a Canadian citizen, Kulun Zhang, who was arrested and sent to a labor camp without trial for his belief in Falun Gong. Zhang has been subject to electric shock torture, and his wife is currently under house arrest, according to their daughter. Link: AFP CENSUS TAKERS RATTING OUT �ONE CHILD� VIOLATORS, BREAKING PROMISES NOT TO DO SO The Communist Hunan Commercial Post reported a disturbing trend among census takers to go back on their word regarding the reporting of children. According to the paper, census takers were violating an earlier promise not to turn in families who broke the �one child� policy. Families are being charged up to $700 for the offense. Many are refusing to report their children. Link: Hunan Commercial Post via AFP Time Asia also reported on the danger of being honest to census takers in Communist China. Link: Time Asia COMMUNISTS ORDER PRISON GUARDS TO TAKE EXAMINATIONS Communist China has order all 30,000 of its prison guards to take �professional exams every five years,� according to AFP. The announcement came as Amnesty International accused the Communists of torturing to death Abdulhelil Abdumijit, a Uighur Muslim arrested for his role in an anti-Communist street demonstration in 1997. Link: AFP CORRUPTION NEWS THREE GORGES DAM CORRUPTION LEADS TO NEARLY 100 OFFICIALS PUNISHED The Communist Shanghai Evening Post reported that almost 100 officials involved in the Three Gorges Dam fiasco have been punished for corruption. AFP, which cited the paper, noted that the project is already reviled for the forced resettlement of over 1.3 million people. Still, as the brainchild of Tiananmen butcher Li Peng, the project goes on. Link: AFP DEATH SENTENCE COULD BE IN OFFING FOR EX-ANTI-SMUGGLING CHIEF Li Jizhou, former vice-minister for public security, may receive the death sentence in his upcoming trial for taking bribes in the Xiamen smuggling scandal, according to AFP. Li, who headed the national anti-smuggling office, reportedly took over $1.2 million in bribes from the Yuan Hua Group, the firm at the center of the scandal. Link: AFP PROVINCIAL MINISTER GETS SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE FOR TAKING BRIBES AFP, citing the Communist Beijing Youth Daily, reported a suspended death sentence for Sichuan Transport Minister Liu Zhongshan. Liu�s particular actions were not mentioned in the report; his sentence may be reduced to life imprisonment. Link: AFP GUANGDONG PROVINCE HIT 172 MORE CORRUPT OFFICIALS The Communist Xinhua News Agency reported punishments for 172 officials in Guangdong province for corruption, according to AFP. In another sign of the widespread criminality in Communist China, a police chief testified that over 200 mafia-style gangs were found in his province this year, according to the BBC. Links: BBC - Mafia groups, AFP OTHER CORRUPTION TALES AFP has two disturbing stories on the extent of corruption in the PRC. The first details the proliferation of �fake� products, which have company logos in violation of copyright laws, in some cases with the encouragement of local governments. The second story is a brief report on students bribing their way into majors at various colleges. Links: AFP - fake good, AFP - College bribes OTHER MAINLAND NEWS 14 �SNAKEHEADS� SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR HELPING ESCAPEES FOR EXORBINANT FEES AFP reported a Communist court sentenced 14 �people smugglers� to varying prison terms for their efforts in helping resident of the PRC escape. Usually, escapees are charged high fees for documents to help them leave, as high as $30,000 in some cases. Sadly, those who escape are left to choose between near-servitude to pay the fee, or telling authorities of their plight, which usually means repatriation to Communist China. Link: AFP On Wednesday, 2 more �snakeheads,� were arrested, one in Shanghai, one in Tokyo, for running an operation that sent escapees to Japan. Link: AFP COMMUNISTS CLAIM �ABSOLUTE POVERTY� IS WIPED OUT Communist China claimed last week that �absolute poverty,� i.e. below subsistence levels, had been �eliminated.� Not everyone agrees with the PRC�s grand claim, which even if taken at face value still leaves, by the Communists� own admission, twenty-six million who earn �less than the government recommended level.� Link: BBC REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS ROC DEFENSE MINISTER RESPONDS TO SENIOR COMMUNIST WARNING WAR IN FIVE YEARS Wu Shih-wen, Defense Minister for the Republic of China (Taiwan), said the ROC has been �preparing for the worst for several years,� and thus was ready to withstand any attack from Communist China. Agence France Presse reported that Wu also pledged Taiwan would not fire the first shot in a war with the People�s Republic of China, should one break out. Link: AFP Wu was responding to Zhang Wannian, vice-chairman of Communist China�s central military commission, the most powerful organization in Communist China. Zhang said war with Taiwan is certain to come �during the period of the 10th five-year plan,� according to AFP. The tenth plan runs from 2001 to 2005. Link: AFP Prior to this, Chang Chun-hsiung, newly chosen Premier of the ROC, pledged to support increase in the military budget to boost the island democracy�s defenses against Communist China, according to AFP. The Communists have been rapidly upgrading their military capabilities over the past few years, with Russian weaponry and materiel being the main component. Link: AFP DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN VISITS TAIWAN, SAYS SOLUTION MUST BE ACCEPTED BY PEOPLE Representative Joe Crowley (D-New York) visited Taiwan on Monday. According to the Taiwan Central News Agency, Crowley discussed his efforts to pass a resolution through Congress calling for the cross-strait resolution to be �in a manner acceptable to the people of Taiwan.� That is a critical addition to, and departure from, standing U.S. policy, which is silent on the wishes of the Taiwanese people. Link: BBC ADVISORY GROUP TO PRESIDENT CHEN IN THROES OF DEBATE OVER �ONE CHINA� AFP reports that an advisory group on reunification to ROC President Chen Shui-bian is having a very difficult time reaching consensus on the issue. Link: AFP NATIONALIST VICE CHAIRMAN VISITS COMMUNIST CHINA Wu Po-hsiung, vice chairman of the Nationalist Party, began an 11-day visit to Communist China last week. According to AFP, Wu hopes to meet Communist President Jiang Zemin during his trip to Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. Wu�s party supports re-unification with a democratic, non-Communist mainland. Meanwhile, Ma Ying-jeou, Nationalist mayor of Taipei, said he would push for more exchanges with the PRC. Links: AFP - Wu, AFP - Ma KINMEN OFFICIALS TO VISIT PRC TO WORK OUT DETAILS ON �MINI-LINKS� AFP reported several officials from the ROC island of Kinmen will visit Xiamen next week to discuss the establishment of trade, postal, and travel links with the mainland. All major parties support increasing the �three links� between the ROC and PRC, but President Chen recommended Kinmen attempt it first as an experiment. Link: AFP COMMUNIST CHINA TELLS ALBRIGHT NO CONCESSIONS ON TAIWAN FORTHCOMING BBC relayed a report by the Communist Xinhua news agency in which PRC Vice-Premier Qian Qichen told U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger that the PRC �will tolerate no activities aimed at splitting the country.� Link: Xinhua via BBC TIBET NEWS COMMUNIST OFFICIAL SAYS MORE IDEOLOGY WILL BEAT �SPLITTISM� BBC relayed a �report� from Communist Chinese radio in Tibet last week in which Xiangba Pingcuo, a Communist official in Tibet, talked about using ideological indoctrination to defeat those fighting for Tibetan autonomy, which the PRC calls �splittism.� Transcript Link: PRC radio via BBC SOUTH KOREANS STILL FIGHTING TO INVITE DALAI LAMA NEXT YEAR Yonhap News Agency, in a story cited by the BBC, reported the efforts of the Preparatory Committee for the Dalai Lama's Visit to Korea. The Committee hopes to get the South Korean government to let the Dalai Lama visit South Korea next year; they claim 200,000 supporters. South Korea blocked a planned visit last month after the PRC�s objections. Link: Yonhap XINJIANG/EAST TURKESTAN NEWS RUSSIA WILL COOPERATE WITH PRC IN FIGHTING INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT Russia and Communist China pledged to cooperate in fighting �ethnic separatism in Central Asia,� according to AFP. Russia agreed to work with Communist China to fight the anti-Communist Uighur Muslim independence movement in what the PRC calls Xingjaing and the Muslims call East Turkestan. Link: AFP Hong Kong was unusually quiet this week. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving this. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. |