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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: AUGUST 25, 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.
Uighur Rally Tomorrow: For those who happen to be in the Washington area, a rally will be held in commemoration of the last free East Turkestani government, whose leaders died in an August 27, 1949 plane crash, and to condemn the Communist occupation since then. The event will be held at Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C.
TOP STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA CAUGHT TRANSFERING MISSILE PARTS TO IRAN
INTELLIGENCE CONFIRMS UNSPECIFIED TRANSFER �WITHIN THE PAST SIX MONTHS�
American intelligence sources told Bill Gertz, Washington Times, that Communist China �supplied missile-related technology to Iran . . . within the past six months.� It was just the latest of instances of the People�s Republic coming to the aid of Iran�s missile development, which Gertz details in the article.
Communist China has also been involved in several steps of Iran�s nuclear weapons program (see 6/16 Update), and has allowed itself to be used as a stopover for �weapons exports to third countries� by its fifty-plus-year ally, Stalinist North Korea.
Check out the latest on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
EAST TURKESTAN NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA NOW TAKING LAND FROM CHINESE FARMERS IN EAST TURKESTAN
Farmers in Gucheng Township have lost over 1,000 acres of farmland to seizures by local cadres, who promptly cheated them out of the compensation due them (Epoch Times). The action in Gucheng is unusual in that the cadres are stealing land from ethnic Han Chinese farmers in �Xinjiang;� usually, it is the Uighurs who are targeted in occupied East Turkestan.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
Sign the petition for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
TAIWAN PM SAYS COMMUNIST CHINA PREPARING FOR �CONFRONTATION� WITH U.S.
Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwan�s Premier (Prime Minister), told a Taiwanese group in New York this week that Communist China is �coming to the Pacific Ocean for a confrontation with the United States� (Cybercast News). Yu cited as evidence �numerous� PRC naval intrusions into Taiwan�s waters, and at last 21 into Japan in the past two years.
Yu said the purpose of these incursions was �mapping underwater terrain in the Pacific in preparation for an eventual conflict with the US there� (Taipei Times via Epoch Times). Communist China largely expects some type of American intervention against an invasion of Taiwan. Without U.S. help, Taiwan would fall in less than six days (see last Update).
CHEN TO STOPOVER IN HAWAII AND SEATTLE
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian will visit Panama for the Presidential Inauguration. He will stopover in Hawaii on the way there, and Seattle on the way back. However, Boeing, a major airplane supplier for Taiwan in Seattle, will not host him, due to a concern that such a move �would anger China� (Project for the New American Century). Sigh.
OTHER REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
SINGAPORE PM TELLS TAIWAN IT WON�T HELP IF WAR STARTS
Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore�s new Prime Minister, told Taiwan his nation would not recognize the island democracy if it sought formal independence, and would back the PRC if such an independence move, which ROC President Chen Shui-bian has never even hinted of making, would cause a war (BBC). Lee visited Taiwan last month (see 7/14 Update).
TAIWAN MAKES ANOTHER BID TO ENTER THE UNITED NATIONS
Taiwan has begun its annual campaign to enter the United Nations; a campaign Communist China has defeated every time. This time, the campaign includes an �advertising blitz in the U.S. and Europe� (Cybercast News).
TAIWAN�S PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CUT ITSELF IN HALF
The Legislative Yuan gave preliminary approval to a bill that would reduce its membership from 225 to 113. The bill �still has to be confirmed by further votes� (BBC), but as it has widespread support in Taiwan, it is expected to pass. It will not take effect until 2007, meaning this December�s upcoming legislative elections are unaffected.
THE VELVET CRACKDOWN (HONG KONG NEWS)
HONG KONG DEMOCRATS FURIOUS OVER CANDIDATE SENT TO LABOR CAMP
Hong Kong Democrats and the pro-democracy allies are furious over the arrest of Ho Wai-to (Cybercast News). Ho was apparently beaten into confessing soliciting prostitution, and definitely sent to a labor camp (traditional punishment for hiring a prostitute in the PRC is a fine). Ho was running in the most closely contested election for Hong Kong�s legislature.
If he�s still there on Election Day (September 12), he will be barred from taking a seat in the Legislative Council. Half the seats are up for election next month; the rest are picked by a Communist-appointed panel. Ho�s arrest is seen by nearly every Hong Kong politician not tied to the PRC as an attempt to short-circuit the will of the people (see last Update).
No news was reported on Tibet this week.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
For news on North Korea, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
FIFTEEN MORE REFUGEES ENTER SOUTH KOREAN CONSULATE IN BEIJING
South Korea�s consulate in Beijing took in 15 more North Korean refugees who made it into the consulate to request asylum. Over 100 refugees are now on South Korean diplomatic territory in Beijing. Communist China sends back any North Korean refugee it finds; many suffer brutal treatment upon repatriation (Washington Post, second item).
PRC MAKES HISTORICAL CLAIM TO NORTH KOREA; SOUTH KOREA FURIOUS
Communist China�s historical-ethnic claim to the ancient kingdom of Koguryo has infuriated South Koreans. Koguryo consisted of parts of the PRC�s northeast and almost all territory in Stalinist North Korea. Meaning Communist China could make a future claim to northern Korea if Kim Jong-il falls. Report: London Daily Telegraph via Washington Times
As Yonsei University Professor Kim Woo-jun explicitly noted, �If Koguryo is incorrectly interpreted by China as China's old kingdom, the North Korean region becomes China's historical territory. And this can serve as justification for future Chinese intervention.� South Korea �has protested the actions formally, even sending a special envoy to Beijing.�
Perhaps this will remind South Korea that Communist China is a far more sinister regime than many recognize, particularly Uri Party members (see 1/28 and 6/2 Updates).
SOUTH KOREAN ECONOMY SURGES, BUT BECOMES MORE PRC-DEPENDENT
The economy of South Korea �was up 5.5% on a year earlier and 0.6% from the previous three months� (BBC), which was �faster than expected�. The numbers were for the second quarter of this year (April-June). Here�s the bad news: �Growth continues to be driven by strong exports to nearby China, but is still constrained by weak domestic spending.� Uh oh.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA�S HEAVY INVESTMENT IN SUDAN CONTINUES
The radical Islamic regime in Sudan is receiving well earned scorn for the Darfur slow-motion massacre. Communist China, however, has no problem plowing money into Sudan, and is now the regime�s largest trading partner (see 8/30/00, 7/21, 7/28, and 8/5 Updates). Report: Washington Times
MG ROVER DENIES PRC TAKEOVER
UK car maker MG Rover denied reports that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation is looking to buy the firm. MG Rover already has �a far-reaching strategic relationship� (BBC) with the PRC auto maker. A MG Rover called the report �flattering.� Flattering? Ugh!
COMMUNIST CHINA TO LET FOREIGNERS STAY LONGER, IF THEY CAN HELP PRC
Communist China is extending visa intervals for foreigners. Adults can now stay for ten years on a visa, and children for five. However, the new visas will only be for �those who hold business posts which promote China's economic, scientific and technological development� (BBC) and their families.
NEWS ON THE FALUN GONG WAR
BO XILAI SUED AGAIN, THIS TIME IN MOSCOW
A Falun Gong practitioner who lives in Russia filed suit against PRC Commerce Minister Bo Xilai for his �particularly brutal campaign� (Epoch Times) against Falun Gong while he was governor of the thoroughly corrupt Liaoning Province. Bo is also facing a lawsuit for his bloody Liaoning tenure in the United States (see 4/28 Update).
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
GROUPS TO PUT SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNIST CHINA AS 2008 OLYMPICS APPROACHES
With the Athens Olympics nearly over, attention is shifting to the 2008 host: Communist China (Cybercast News). Human Rights Watch has an eye toward human rights abuses; the Free Tibet Campaign is echoing China Support Network�s call (backed by this quarter) to move the Games, and Reporters Without Borders is calling for a boycott (so are we).
UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIALS UPSET AT PRC TREATMENT OF WANG BINGZHANG
Ms. Louise Arbour, the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, pledged to �bring Dr. Wang's case to the attention of the Permanent Mission of China and inquire about progress� (China Support Network). Two other UN human rights officials have already written Communist China �regarding Dr. Wang's incarceration.�
Dr. Wang is Wang Bingzhang, a Chinese dissident who ended over two decades in exile and attempted to return to the PRC to help labor dissidents in 2002 (7/31/02, 12/26/02, and 2/12/03 Updates). He was disappeared in Vietnam, and reappeared in a Communist jail. He was sentenced to life in prison, has since suffered a stroke, and is in terribly poor health.
COMMUNISTS SHIFTING FROM STICKS TO CARROTS ON �ONE CHILD� IN RURAL AREAS
Communist China will, according to its mouthpiece Xinhua News Agency, shift to �rewarding birth control� (Epoch Times) in the rural interior: �Under the new regulations, a 60-year-old farmer, having only one child or two girls or no children, will be rewarded 600 yuan (US $75) every year.� No reward is apparently coming before aged 60.
Communist China�s hideous �one child� policy � still firmly in place in the cities � has led to led to forced abortions, forced sterilizations, infanticide, and murder (see 8/30/00, 8/8/01, 7/24/02, and 8/5 Updates).
COMMUNISTS SET FREE SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN DAILY STAFF EDITOR . . .
Communist China, in an apparent reaction to �public opinion in China and abroad� (Epoch Times) released Deng Haiyan, the vice-chief editor of South Metropolitan Daily (a.k.a. South Metropolis Daily, depending on who�s doing the translation). Deng had been in prison for seven months. The paper�s editor-in-chief and general manager remain in jail.
SMD was one of the most open papers in Communist China. It was the paper that blew the lid off SARS and the murder of Sun Zhigang last year, and its high-ranking staffers paid for it with jail terms (see 5/28/03, 6/11/03, 6/25/03, and 4/7 Updates).
. . . BUT MEDIA IS BANNED FROM REPORTING ON COLLAPSE OF DORMITORY
Further evidence that freedom of the press is nowhere near Communist China came from Sichuan Province � where a student dormitory collapsed eleven days ago, killing seven. When �many reporters from various regions of Sichuan arrived at the spot to cover the incident� (Epoch Times), local cadres banned �all media from freely reporting the incident.�
DU DAOBIN APPEAL DENIED, HOUSE ARREST STANDS
Internet dissident and Epoch Times columnist Du Daobin lost his appeal of his �subversion� conviction last week. The conviction � including a house arrest sentence � thus remained in place (see 11/12/03, 1/21, and 6/16 Updates).
SIX WOMEN THREATEN SUICIDE TO PROTEST LIAONING CORRUPTION
Six women stood atop a Beijing building and threatened to jump in order to bring attention to �corruption and trickery� (BBC) in Liaoning province. Communist police brought them down and arrested them after six hours. One of the women �asserted that her son had been unjustly sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the north-eastern province.�
Liaoning is one of the most corrupt, mafia-tainted provinces in Communist China (see 9/13/00, 12/27/00, 6/20/01, 10/17/01, 3/13/02, and 12/24/03 Updates).
OVER 2,000 PEOPLE LOSE THEIR HOMES IN JILIN TO COMMUNIST ROADS
Cadres in Jilin Province have destroyed 180 homes, and made over 2,000 homeless in an apparent zeal for road construction. The households also lost land they used to farm, leaving them �with no means to survive� (Epoch Times).
LI PENG SAYS DENG XIAPOING SUPPORTED TIANANMEN MASSACRE AS 100th IS OBSERVED
Li Peng, who was Communist Premier during the Tiananmen Square massacre, wrote in the PRC-run Seeking Truth that Deng Xiaoping ��resolutely backed� the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989� (CNN). According to Li, Deng also backed �the controversial Daya Bay nuclear plant in southern Guangdong province and the massive Three Gorges Dam.�
It wasn�t the first time Deng � who would have been 100 on Sunday had he not died in 1997 (BBC) � was fingered as the chief backer of the massacre. The Tiananmen Papers (see 1/10/01 Update) presented convincing evidence that Deng � as Central Military Commission Chairman � overruled Party boss Zhao Ziyang and authorized the slaughter.
GUANGDONG PROVINCE BANS OFF-CAMPUS LIVING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS
Cadres in Guangdong have �banned college students from living off-campus� (Free Asia Online, via Epoch Times). The move is supposedly due to �concern for students� safety.� However, it likely has more to do with the fact �that more and more college students rent apartments to live off campus so that they can have freedom in their personal lives.�
COMMUNIST CHINA TALKS ABOUT ENDING LABOR CAMPS, IN FIVE YEARS
Parliamentarians in Communist China are discussing �abolishing China�s �Re-Education through Labor� system� (Epoch Times). Before anybody get their hopes up: �The standing committee reportedly plans to rectify the legislation over the next five years.�
CORRUPTION NEWS
PRC LOST $50 BILLION TO CORRUPT OFFICIALS WHO ESCAPED IN LAST TWENTY YEARS
Communist China admitted that �that about 4,000 corrupt officials have fled the country over the past 20 years� (BBC), taking roughly $50 billion with them. The cadres chief method of outside embezzlement has been dummy corporations formed in �offshore financial centres (UK sp), such as the British Virgin Islands or the Bahamas.�
ANTI-CORRUPTION WEB SITE SHUT DOWN
Chinese Public Opinion Surveillance Net, an anti-corruption web site that exposed the crimes of Jining Deputy Mayor Li Xin, �has been closed down for the third time� (Epoch Times) in less than three months. The site operator, Li Xinde, has a price on his head of over $100,000 for exposing the deputy mayor.
WIFE OF ANTI-CORRUPTION CADRE DISFIGURED IN BOMB BLAST
A bomb meant for Xingtai anti-corruption cadre Li Huisheng took off his wife�s legs instead. The cadre himself was unhurt. Report: BBC
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
COMMUNISTS PROMISE TO KEEP 55TH ANNIVERSARY FRUGAL
Communist China �would keep an eye on costs during celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on Oct. 1� (United Press Int�l via Washington Times). Since October 1, 1949, tens of millions of Chinese have died on the whims of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao.
POWER SHORTAGE SPARKS FISTFIGHT IN ZHEJIANG, RISE IN GAS PRICES
Communist China�s power shortage has now forced major factories in Zhejiang Province to shut down under PRC orders. Workers in one factory �stopped and attacked� (BCC via Epoch Times) cadres as they shut their plant down. Meanwhile, the PRC �will raise domestic petrol and diesel retail prices by 6%� (BBC), in reaction to the continuing high price of oil.
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