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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 24, 2003
TOP STORY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION SHOWS TWO FACES ON COMMUNIST CHINA
AS PRESIDENT GIVES PRC HIGH PRAISE; MORE SANCTIONS COME AGAINST NORINCO;
ALL �CONTROLLED GOODS,� SATELLITE LAUNCHES IN PRC BANNED, �BILLIONS� OF OTHER COMMUNIST IMPORTS COULD BE BANNED; UNNAMED MISSILE SALE THE REASON
American policy towards Communist China went through a double-take, literally. President Bush called U.S. relations with the Communists �full of energy� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN), and had high praise for their �constructive role� regarding North Korea�s nuclear ambitions.
Communist China hosted two rounds of talks on North Korea�s nuclear weapons program, neither of which went anywhere. After both rounds, the Communists insisted that the U.S. soften its position, while saying nothing publicly about North Korea�s broken promises or its continued intransigence (see 4/30 and 9/3 Updates). That�s a �constructive role�?
Meanwhile, the United States imposed new sanctions on the People�s Republic, banning all imports of �controlled U.S. goods� (Bill Gertz, Washington Times) and any �launches of U.S. satellites on Chinese rocket booster(s).� Harsher sanctions against Communist China �could lead to a ban on imports of a large number of Chinese goods into the United States.�
For now, however, the only Communist firm hit by the sanctions is Norinco, a PRC-owned company that was already under U.S. penalties for selling missile skin to Iran (see 5/28 and 7/9 Updates). Everyone else in Communist China won a one-year reprieve in the form of an Administration waiver.
That waiver would disappear if �China continues to permit its companies to sell missiles to rogue states, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.� That would mean the toughest trade restrictions against the Communists in quite some time. The immediate action was due to unnamed Communist �sales of missile technology.�
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
SCO TO OPEN �ANTI-TERRORISM� OFFICE IN TASHKENT
Communist China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan � the six members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization � have agreed to set up a joint �anti-terrorism� office in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. Unfortunately, the SCO considers anti-Communist Uighur activists off all stripes to be �terrorists.� Reports: BBC, CNN
The Uighurs have suffered brutally under Communist rule ever since their country � East Turkestan (called �Xinjiang� by the Communists�) � was absorbed by the PRC in 1949.
Check out this and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA ON REPORTS ITS MILITARY IS ON NORTH KOREAN BORDER: NOT SO
Communist China flatly denied any military presence on its border with North Korea, and further insisted that the situation on the border was �calm� (Washington Times, third item). Reports of the Communists putting their armed forces on the border with its long-time ally had left some perplexed and intrigued (see last Update).
COMMUNIST CHINA HELPED NORTH KOREA DEVELOP MISSILES
During its report on North Korea�s Taepodong 2 missile, Geostrategy-Direct, via World Net Daily, noted that Communist China has had a long history of helping its Stalinist ally develop its missile arsenal.
For more on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
PRC RESISTS MORE PRESSURE ON CURRENCY; NAM CALLS FOR WTO ACTION
The National Association of Manufactures demanded that the Bush Administration file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over Communist China�s fixed currency. The PRC�s renminbi, a.k.a. the yuan, is set at roughly 12 cents � far less that it would be worth in the free market. Report: BBC 9/18
The effects of the cheap Communist currency are cheaper imports, which have hit both American manufacturing and exporters in Asian democracies, and greatly increased Communist holdings in foreign currency. Naturally, the PRC insists it�s �peg� was �beneficial to the whole world� (BBC 9/21).
The Communists also repeated earlier pledges to let the renminbi float. Unfortunately, such pledges have gone back years, and the PRC has never followed through on it. As a result, several American senators are supporting tariffs against all goods from Communist China unless it actually floats its currency (see 9/3 and last Updates).
LIEBERMAN�S PUNISHMENT FOR PRC: A WTO COMPLAINT
Democratic Presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman has a bill that would give Communist China 90 days to float its devalued currency, with the consequence of � a WTO complaint against the PRC. However tough Lieberman thinks this is, it�s nothing compared to the Schumer et al tariff bill (see last Update). Report: New Haven Register
TAIWAN OFFICIAL SAYS WASHINGTON IS THE PRC-ROC BATTLEGROUND
Alexander Chieh-cheng Huang, vice chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told the Washington Times that the real battle between Communist China and the island democracy is in the streets of Washington: �Taiwan is not afraid of Beijing's tactics and hostility, but Taiwan is vulnerable if Washington sides with Beijing. The battleground is here.�
FORMER FIRST LADY�S MEMOIRS GET COMMUNIST RE-WRITE
Communist China rewrote the memoirs of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) while publishing the Chinese translation of her Living History. Among the items out of the Chinese version are �References to prominent human rights activist Harry Wu and mentions of China deemed offensive� (BBC). The Senator was not happy. Also reporting: CNN
U.S. AND COMMUNIST CHINA GET WOMEN�S WORLD CUP DRAW
The Women�s World Cup draw has landed the defending champion United States in Group D � the same group as North Korea (Washington Post 1). Communist China is in the far easier Group D (Post 2).
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
INTERNET ACTIVIST ARRESTED
Li Zhi, an official in the town on Dazhou (Sichuan province) is under arrest and charged with �conspiracy to subvert state power,� according to Human Rights in China, cited by the BBC. Li�s �crime� was that he �expressed his views on online bulletin boards and chat rooms.�
UN EDUCATION INVESTIGATOR RIPS COMMUNIST CHINA
Katarina Tomasevski, a United Nations investigator on education, blasted Communist China for, among other things, refusing to allow religious schools and forcing migrant laborers �to pay huge fees if they want to send their children to urban schools� (Washington Post).
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
HU MANEUVERING AGAINST JIANG
A new word entered the Communist lexicon: �de-Jiangification� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). This is what PRC President Hu Jintao intends to do to consolidate his power over his predecessor, who still holds the powerful post of Central Military Commission Chairman. Of course, actual democracy is nowhere to be found in Hu�s �de-Jiangification.�
COMMUNIST UNION TALKS UP MIGRANT WORKERS
The Communist-controlled All China Federation of Trade Unions � the only union allowed in Communist China � had high praise for migrant workers during a recent confab. However, the �union� is still refusing to support any efforts to form independent, non-Communist unions for migrant workers or any other laborers. Report: Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN
COMMUNIST CHINA SAYS MANNED SPACE FLIGHT COMING THIS YEAR, AGAIN
Communist China repeated its earlier announcement that it would launch a manned spaceflight before the end of the year. The Communists are trying to put a man on the moon by 2010 (see 5/22/02 and last Updates). Report: CNN
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
RUSSIAN OIL PIPELINE TO COMMUNIST CHINA ON HOLD
Russia has put on hold the controversial pipeline project to deliver oil to Communist China, pending �technical and environmental studies for construction of the $2.5bn pipeline� (BBC). Various factions within the Russian government are pushing for and against the pipeline, with the alternative being a pipeline to Japan (see 7/16 Update).
COMPUTER FIRMS TO THROW OVER $1 BILLION INTO COMMUNIST CHINA
They�ll never learn. Infineon, a German microchip firm, will �invest $1.2bn (�760m) in China over the next four years� (BBC 9/17). At present the firm is still looking for their Communist economic minder � ahem, joint partner.
Meanwhile, the Korean firm Samsung is planning �to shift PC manufacturing to China� (BBC 9/19) in a cost-cutting move. Moving production into the PRC helps firms take advantage of the Communists� undervalued currency (see American-Related News) and the downward pressure on wages coming from prison labor and a complete lack of independent unions.
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
UN REJECTS TAIWAN AGAIN
The United Nations shot down the ROC�s latest application to join last week, thanks to the insistence of the PRC that it alone is the rightful ruler of Taiwan, despite having never set foot there. The island democracy remains the only piece of real estate on the planet not represented at the UN. Reports: BBC, Cybercast News
TELECOM WORKERS FIGHTING PRIVATIZATION
About 2,000 workers from Chunghwa Telecom are on strike in a protest against President Chen Shui-bian�s plan to privatize the ROC-owned firm. Report: BBC
HONG KONG NEWS
HONG KONG PEOPLE GROWING ANGRIER AT COMMUNIST CHINA
July 1, 2003, the day half a million entered the streets to protest the now-shelved �anti-subversion� law (see 7/2, 7/9, and 7/16 Updates), has dramatically transformed the city�s perception of itself. The people of Hong Kong are now more mindful of their liberties, and more determined to keep them. Report: Washington Post
Donald Tsang, man just below Communist-appointed Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in Hong Kong�s hierarchy, called the shelving of the proposed law �pragmatic� (Washington Times), and was noncommittal on �whether there is room for compromise on the antisubversion laws.�
TIBET NEWS
DALAI LAMA ENDS U.S. TOUR IN CENTRAL PARK
The Dalai Lama, Tibet�s spiritual leader finished his U.S. tour with a brief address to �tens of thousands of New Yorkers� (London Telegraph) in Central Park. Part of his tour included a meeting with President Bush (see last Update).
TIBETAN CULTURE POPULARITY GROWING AMONG HAN CHINESE
After suffering under years of Communist oppression, Tibetan culture is now becoming popular among young Han Chinese disillusioned with life �inland� (Washington Post). Of course, the Communist are doing all they can to corral this new interest away from any sympathy towards the suffering of the Tibetan people.
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