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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2004
Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror is now available: here, at Amazon, or call 1-888-280-7715.
The next Summer Olympics, in 2008, will take place in Beijing. Will the U.S. take part in a Communist Chinese version of the Munich Nazi propaganda event of 1936? Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
TOP STORY: JIANG ZEMIN RESIGNS; PROT�G� FROZEN OUT OF CMC
HU JINTAO NOW HOLDS ALL THREE POWER POSITIONS IN PEOPLE�S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Jiang Zemin resigned as Chairman of the Central Military Commission at the annual Communist plenum last week, giving up what is arguably the most powerful post in Communist China. Jiang�s action confirms reports of his resignation that were noted in the 9/8 Update. Communist Party boss Hu Jintao took over the post. Reports: CNN, BBC
Jiang�s departure revealed a shocking weakness in his faction�s strength; he had hoped his lead prot�g�, PRC Vice President Zeng Qinghong, would get the CMC Vice Chair. Instead, Hu managed to freeze Zeng out of the CMC completely (Washington Post, Cybercast News). Also reporting: Voice of America via Epoch Times
FALUN GONG, TAIWAN, AND U.S. EYE HU NERVOUSLY
Now that Hu � who is also PRC President � has all three of the most powerful and prestigious posts in Communist China, the rest of the world is setting markers. The China Support Network called for him to �reverse the foregoing parts of Jiang Zemin's legacy,� and to do so quickly. No one should hold their breath on that one (see last Update).
Meanwhile, CNN�s Willy Lam noted that most analysts consider Hu to be more anti-American than Jiang was. Hu also �might have more hard-line views on Taiwan than those of ex-president Jiang.� Lam cited as evidence Hu�s tenure as party chief in Tibet, where he �became famous for suppressing anti-Beijing riots in early 1989.�
It should be noted that Lam � one of the shrewdest PRC correspondents with excellent sources within the Chinese Communist Party and an independent streak that has miffed pro-Beijing media (see 11/8/00 Update) � has never subscribed to the conventional wisdom on Hu as a �reformer� who would take a softer position than Jiang on Taiwan and the U.S.
Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan�s recently re-elected President, said this about Hu�s consolidation of power, �We cannot harbour (UK sp) any illusions, nor can we have unrealistically high expectations� (BBC). Some analysts, however, are not listening to Lam or Chen, and are anticipating political reform (Epoch Times) which will likely never come.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
Check out the latest on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
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EAST TURKESTANIS LAUNCH GOVERNMENT IN EXILE; COMMUNISTS UNHAPPY
A gathering of the East Turkestan diaspora last week led to the election of a government in exile. Anwar Yusuf Turani � elected Prime Minister � offered �our hand of friendship� (China Support Network, second item) to the United States. Prime Minister Turani also noted Communist China�s support for terrorism over the years.
Communist China claims that East Turkestan � which it renamed �Xinjiang� in 1949 and has brutally occupied ever since � is full of al Qaeda supporters. Turani and his government hope to debunk that myth, and show America that it has few better friends in the Muslim world than East Turkestanis (see 10/17/01, 12/21/01, 10/23/02, and 11/5/03 Updates).
It took the Communists a week to say they were �firmly opposed to the Uighur separatists' announcement in Washington� (Voice of America via Epoch Times).
COMMUNIST CHINA EXPORTS ANOTHER OSAMA TOY
WFTV-TV (Orlando, FL) has discovered another toy glorifying Osama bin Laden, in this case, a toy call phone. The station had previously reported a children�s toy re-enacting the 9/11/01 attack on the World Trade Center (see 9/1 Update). This toy came via the same exporter, and from the same place: Communist China.
AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
COMMUNIST POLICE BEAT UP AMERICAN REPORTER
Police from the thoroughly corrupt Liaoning Province were interrupted in their savage beating of two Henan petitioners by an unnamed American reporter. The Communist police proceeded to �beat him until he collapsed into unconsciousness� (Epoch Times).
Liaoning sent over 1,000 police to Beijing to stop petitioners from their province, which is better known for rank, Mafia-style corruption. It is another example of how far the Communist police will go to stop petitioners � they beat one to death last month (see 9/13/00, 12/27/00, 6/20/01, 10/17/01, 3/13/02, 12/24/03, 9/1, and last Updates).
DR. CHARLES LEE TO APPEAL PRC JAIL SENTENCE
Dr. Charles Lee � American citizen, Falun Gong practitioner, and prisoner in Communist China � �intends to appeal the guilty verdict handed down last year by a Yangzhou court� (Epoch Times). A Communist court sentenced Lee to three years in jail for his beliefs.
SAUDI ARABIA SELLING MORE OIL TO COMMUNIST CHINA, LESS TO U.S.
The folks who wanted the U.S. to become less dependent on Middle Eastern oil are getting their wish: �Saudi oil sales to the United States peaked in 2002 at 1.7 million barrels per day but had fallen to 1.1 million barrels per day in May� (United Press International via Washington Times). The Saudis have a new best customer for their oil: Communist China.
FORMER AMERICAN OFFICIAL ARRESTED FOR MEETING WITH TAIWAN INTEL
Donald Keyser, a retired former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, was arrested for meeting with two Taiwanese � believed to be intelligence officials � and handing them unspecified information. Keyser also visited Taiwan, and did not report it, while on a trip to Communist China and Japan last year. Reports: Cybercast News, Washington Times
Taiwan denied any wrongdoing, and while Keyser was charged with �violating State Department rules� (Agence France Presse), he was not charged with espionage. The trial is set to begin October 13.
TAIWAN WORRIED ABOUT JOHN KERRY
Joseph Wu, Chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (its agency for relations with the PRC) told the Washington Times the Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry�s statements on Taiwan �were a little bit alarming to us.� In particular, Wu was upset about Kerry�s call for the U.S. to push Taiwan towards �one country, two systems.�
Mr. Wu also noted that the Democratic platform had �no reference to the Taiwan Relations Act.,� and said, �We feel we ought to understand more of [Mr. Kerry's] foreign policy.� Wu did note that President Bush himself was not perfect on Taiwan, having �zig-zagged �a little bit.�� See the 4/25/01 Update for the zig, and the 12/10/03 Update for the zag.
STATE DEPARTMENT CITES COMMUNIST CHINA�S PERSECUTION OF RELIGION
The State Department, in its annual report on worldwide religious freedom, found that in Communist China, �respect for freedom of religion remained poor, especially for unregistered religious groups, and spiritual movements such as the Falun Gong� (VOA via Epoch Times). For this reason, the PRC was listed among �Countries of Particular Concern.�
COMMUNIST CHINA NOT HAPPY WITH REPORTS OF TEXTILE RESTRICTIONS
Word that the U.S. would likely be imposing some type of restrictions on textile imports from Communist China next year (see last Update) reached the cadres, who were not happy. PRC Commerce Minister Bo Xilai blasted the move (Washington Post, fourth item).
DALAI LAMA VISITS FLORIDA
The Dalai Lama, Tibet�s spiritual leader, met 10,000 admirers and followers at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). This was the only news regarding Tibet this week.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
JAPANESE PANEL TELLS PRIME MINISTER PRC IS �POTENTIAL MILITARY THREAT�
An advisory panel to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi �will recommend that China be viewed as a potential military threat for the first time� (New York Times via International Herald Tribune). It would move the Japanese government closer to the opinion of Japan�s leading anti-Communist, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara (see 5/3/00 Update).
JAPAN WANTS PERMANENT SEAT ON SECURITY COUNCIL; PRC OPPOSES IDEA
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Koizumi �made his pitch for Japan to become a permanent member of the Security Council� (Cybercast News). Among the leading opponents of the idea is � surprise! � Communist China.
YUKOS OIL STOPS SHIPMENTS TO COMMUNIST CHINA
Russian President Vladimir Putin�s war with Yukos Oil continues to pay unexpected dividends � the beleaguered firm �is stopping most of its exports to China, saying that it cannot pay the transport costs� (BBC). Most believe the move is actually �a ploy designed to put pressure on the Kremlin ahead of a visit to Moscow by China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.�
Yukos signed a deal to build a pipeline to Communist China before Putin put the firm in his crosshairs. Russia is now exploring a pipeline to the Pacific to serve Japan and the United States (see 7/16/03, 2/25, and 4/7 Updates). The longer this war of wills lasts, the worse it is for Communist China.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIALS IN COMMUNIST CHINA
Officials from the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights are in Communist China this week �to gather information on prisons, mental hospitals, and labor camps� (VOA via Epoch Times). It is the first UN investigation team to visit the PRC in seven years.
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
PETITIONERS POISON THEMSELVES TO PROTEST TREATMENT BY COMMUNISTS
Four petitioners from an unnamed city in southern Communist China went to the gates of Zhongnanhai � the Communist headquarters in Beijing � and poisoned themselves to bring attention to their plight. Communist police arrested them � and every witness on which they could get their hands. Report: Epoch Times
COMMUNISTS SHUT DOWN BEIJING UNIVERSITY BBS
A Beijing University Bulletin Board System called �Yi ta hu tu� (which translates to �All of a Mess�) was shut down by the Communists. Prior to the shutdown, it was �best known for its loose management and democratic freedom� (Epoch Times), and naturally was immensely popular. Now, no one is even allowed to discuss it on the Communist internet.
COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA CHIEF DEMANDS . . . MORE PROPAGANDA
Communist China�s Propaganda Ministry �issued a few instructions in its attempt to tighten media disciplines� (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times). The Ministry demanded that the PRC press �keep providing the correct guidance to the public, step up positive reporting, and create a better atmosphere� for the Communist Party.
DISSIDENT SET FREE
Xu Guang, who was an environmental protection bureau technician before he joined an unnamed opposition party in Communist China, finished his five-year jail term for �subversion,� and is now free. Report: Washington Times, last item
PROTEST LEADERS SENTENCED TO EIGHTEEN MONTHS
Wu Pinlu and Yang Yuhan, who led a protest in the city of Jinhua against the local cadres were sent to prison for 18 months for �an illegal gathering and protest� (Epoch Times). Two hundred demonstrators took to the streets to protest the cadres� reconstruction plan � which likely included more than a few cadre-enriching land seizures.
ONE AND A HALF CHILD POLICY?
Shanghai has partially loosened the hideous �one child� policy � which has spawned numerous forced abortions, forced sterilizations, and infanticides (see 8/30/00, 8/8/01, 7/24/02, and 8/5 Updates). Parents who are themselves only children may have more than child � but no more than two (Epoch Times).
CORRUPTION NEWS
NUMBER OF CORRUPT OFFICALS RECAPTURD: 71 DOWN, 3,929 TO GO
Communist China is boasting of having captured �71 fugitive corrupt officials from overseas� (Epoch Times) since 1998. That is still a small fraction of the �4,000 Chinese corrupt officials (who) fled overseas, absconding with more than US$50 billion.�
EXECUTED EMBEZZLERS NAMED
The Voice of America (via the Epoch Times) named the four bank embezzlers Communist China executed (see last Update): Wang Liming, Wang Xiang, Miao Ping, and Liang Shihan.
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
ENERGY SHORTAGE COULD COST PRC $37 BILLION
The energy shortage that has spread throughout the PRC now has a price tag - $37 billion, according to the Asia Exploration Bank (cited by the Epoch Times). For more on the power shortage, see the 12/10/03, 12/17/03, 3/31, 6/10, 6/16, 7/21, 8/5 and 8/25 Updates.
COMMUNIST CHINA PREPARING FOR STEEL FIRM STOCK OFFER
Communist China suspended trade in Baoshan Iron & Steel, �ahead of what looks set to be a huge stock offering� (BBC). Judging by the reaction of analysts, Wall Street is once again ready to send more millions to Communist China.
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
TAIWAN�S BID TO ENTER UNITED NATIONS FAILS AGAIN
Taiwan�s annual attempt to enter the United Nations failed once again. Nearly two dozen nations supported the island democracy likely, but over ninety � spurred by Communist China � opposed it (VOA via Epoch Times). To add insult to injury, the UN expelled Taiwan�s post-mortem video-remote press conference from its grounds (Weekly Standard).
NEWS ON THE VELVET CRACKDOWN (HONG KONG)
�ANTI-SUBVERSION� LAW COMING BACK
Fresh of its success in turning a minority of the Hong Kong popular vote into a Legislative Council majority (see last Update), Communist China �is so confident about its prowess that it will likely ask the Tung Chee-hwa administration to re-introduce the hated �Article 23� anti-subversion bill in 2005 or 2006 (Willy Lam, Jamestown Foundation, via Epoch Times).
The �anti-subversion� law � which would have brought to Hong Kong the Communist catch-all crime of messing with �state secrets� � was shelved after half a million Hong Kong citizens marched in opposition to it last summer (see 7/2/03, 7/9/03, 7/16/03 Updates).
MAGAZINE WITH ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION GOES MISSING
An edition of the Hong Kong magazine Frontline detailing corruption in Tianjin Province �was unavailable in some areas of Hong Kong� (Epoch Times). Why? Rumors are rife that the Tianjin cadres �covertly purchased all of the available copies of the magazine in an attempt to limit the damage to the government leaders concerned.�
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