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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: FEBRUARY 26, 2003
TOP STORY: POWELL MEETS JIANG ZEMIN, HU JINTAO
COMMUNISTS TIE NORTH KOREA TO TAIWAN, DENY THEY�RE DOING IT
Secretary of State Colin Powell has met with the Communist Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Communist Party chief Hu Jintao over the weekend for talks on North Korea and Iraq. Powell said the Communists �are anxious to play as helpful a role as they can� (BBC) regarding its Stalinist ally, but he could not get Communist China to sign on to U.S. plans to corral the North�s nuclear ambitions (CNN).
In fact, according to the Washington Post, the so-called People�s Republic sees the situation in North Korea as an opportunity for ��trade-offs,� meaning more U.S. flexibility on the issue of Taiwan.� As an unnamed Communist diplomat put it, �We are not linking the issues. But what we are saying is this: The United States cannot expect us to continually give unless it gives us something, too.�
Funny, that sounds a lot like �linking the issues� in this quarter. Meanwhile, Powell and his hosts also sparred on Iraq � the PRC insisted on a �political solution� (Washington Times) � and human rights. This was the only news regarding the island democracy of Taiwan reported this week.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
COMMUNIST VETO OF IRAQ RESOLUTION IN UN �UNLIKELY�
Despite, �opposition to a US-led war against Iraq (that) has been strong and consistent� (BBC), Communist China �is unlikely to use its veto to block any UN resolution supporting military action in Iraq.� This report is similar to numerous reports from CNN�s Willy Wo-Lap Lam, whose sources have also put the word out that a veto was not in the offing.
REGAN CONVICTED OF TRYING TO SPY FOR COMMUNIST CHINA, IRAQ
Brian Regan, an ex-Air Force master sergeant arrested last year on charges of attempted espionage (see 4/24/02 and 6/19/02 Updates), was convicted last week of trying to spy for Communist China and Iraq. The jury that convicted chose not to have him executed. Reports: BBC, CNN, Washington Times, Washington Post
ABC STUMBLES UPON THE PRO-AMERICAN UIGHURS IN EAST TURKESTAN
ABC News asked a provocative question: could East Turkestan become an al Qaeda heaven? After describing briefly the Communist line and the Uighurs, and the defunct East Turkestan Islamic Movement (see 9/18/02 Update), the network waits until the end of the piece to notice the strong pro-Americanism of the Uighur people, who have been persecuted by the Communists for over half a century.
As University of Hawaii professor Dru Glandey put it, �Every one of these (anti-Communists Uighur) groups, though Muslim, are pro-U.S.,� which would normally make them less than susceptible to bin Ladenism. Sadly, this only came after the mentions of ETIM and the Independent Movement for Uzbekistan (IMU), both of which are or were based outside East Turkestan.
Check out these stories and more on the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
COMMUNISTS DENY INVOLVEMENT IN MISSILE LAUNCHED BY NORTH KOREA
Communist China denied reports in Japanese and South Korean media that it was involved with the development of a North Korean land-to-ship missile test-fired earlier this week, according to Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN. The test came hours before the inauguration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
For the latest on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
HUTCHISON WHAMPOA STILL IN THE RUNNING FOR GLOBAL CROSSING
Hutchison Whampoa, the firm founded by Communist sympathizer Li Ka-shing and currently in charge of two container ports in the Panama Canal, is still in the running for taking control of Global Crossing, the bankrupt telecommunications firm with a world-wide fiber optic network. The firm is partnering with Singapore Telemedia Technologies for a majority stake in Global. Report: Newsmax
The danger to national security is all the graver given �that the telecommunications company carries all the confidential data of the Justice Department, the FBI and the CIA.� A rival firm, led by ex-Congressmen James Courter of New Jersey, has said it will top HW�s bid for Global. An earlier report of the deal being finalized (see 8/14/02 Update) was apparently erroneous.
COMMUNIST CHINA INVOLVED IN MASSIVE TEXTILE SMUGGLING INTO U.S.
American customs officials seized more than $45 billion in illegal textiles last year, and according to Janet Labuda, the chief textile enforcer at the U.S. Customs Office of Field Operations, �Ninety percent of the problem is China� (Washington Times). However, Labuda said her office is �not catching most of what's going on� in the Communist Chinese illegal textile business.
The smuggling costs the government millions and the economy �tens of thousand of textile jobs,� according to Cass Johnson, associate vice president for the American Textile Manufacturers Institute.
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
HU RESORTING TO POPULISM AGAIN, BUT NOT DEMOCRACY
In his attempt to build his power base and put his stamp on the PRC, Communist party boss Hu Jintao is indulging in populist rhetoric and an �apparent resuscitation of the Maoist concept of �being in unison with the masses�� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). According to Lam, Hu may use the rhetoric to justify a crackdown against corruption � or use corruption as a cover to hit political rivals.
Chief among those rivals, of course, is Central Military Commission Chairman and outgoing PRC President Jiang Zemin, whose Shanghai faction �a number of senior cadres and �princelings� � offspring of party elders � implicated in the Xiamen case� but �spared prosecution.� However, there was no mention of Hu making any move toward democracy for the Chinese people.
The �Xiamen case� is the multi-billion dollar smuggling scandal that ensnared hundreds of Communist cadres (see 8/16/00 Update). Fujian province, where Xiamen is the capital, had over 10,000 Communists under investigation for corruption (see 12/13/00 Update).
TWO UNIVERSITIES HIT WITH BOMBS
Two bombs exploded in two of Communist China�s universities � one each at Beijing University and Tsinghua University. According to the BBC, two were injured seriously, and seven other were also hurt. No motive has surfaced for the bombings. Also reporting: CNN
FILM ON DENG XIAOPING HITS THE SCREEN
Communist China has released a film chronicling the rule of Deng Xiaoping, who took control of the PRC in the late 1970s. The BBC reports that in the film �his darker times in office � including his order for troops to clear Tiananmen Square in 1989 � are brushed over�.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
RUSSIA�S ARMS SALES TO COMMUNIST CHINA INCLUDE CRUISE MISSILES
Part of Russia�s massive arms account with Communist China includes �its most sophisticated cruise missile . . . the Kh-31, NATO code-named AS-17 Krypton,� according to Newsmax. Russia is the PRC�s largest arms supplier, and Communist China is the largest client of the Russian military.
JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA LOOKING TO COMMUNIST CHINA FOR COAL
Steelmakers from Japan and South Korea are �due to begin negotiations with Chinese officials� (CNN) on investing in coal mines in Shanxi province. The Communists have yet to approve the investment in the mine project, which will include the PRC firm Shanghai Baosteel Group.
No news was reported from Hong Kong or Tibet this week.
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