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CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: NOVEMBER 26, 2003
Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror is now available! My book detailing Communist China�s history of aiding terrorist states, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, and al Qaeda can be ordered here. � D.J. McGuire
TOP STORY: COMMUNISTS TAKING TOUGHER LINE ON TAIWAN, U.S.
PREPARING FOR �UGLY CONFRONTATION� WITH U.S. REGARDING THE ISLAND DEMOCRACY; TAIWAN TELLS COMMUNIST CHINA TO BUTT OUT OF ITS PLANS
Communist China is growing increasingly worried about the prospect of a re-elected Chen Shui-bian and the possibility � never spoken by Chen himself � that he would declare formal independence for Taiwan. The People�s Republic is so worried at this prospect it is preparing for �an ugly Sino-U.S. confrontation� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN 11/25) on Taiwan.
Such preparations include letting the world know the Communists would not �swallow the bitter fruit [of Taiwan independence] just because of the Olympics,� and, of course, beefing up its military presence opposite Taiwan, including �two more missile brigades to bases close to the Taiwan Strait . . . missiles are capable of hitting American aircraft carriers.�
On the rhetorical front, Taiwan fired back at Communist China�s war threats (see last Update). From spokesman, ROC Lin Chia-lung: �Taiwan is a democratic country. Only its 23 million people have the right to decide its future and what is best for them. We can't tolerate interference with our internal affairs by any undemocratic countries.� (CNN). Ouch!
Meanwhile, the State Department pointedly refused to dispute Therese Shaheen�s assertion from last week that American lack of support for Taiwanese independence did not mean opposition to same (Cybercast News). The bruhaha ensures that Taiwan will be a major topic of discussion when PRC Premier Wen Jiabao visits the U.S. next month (Lam 11/26).
NATIONALISTS NO LONGER OPPOSE INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM
Just how powerful this issue has become in Taiwan became clear when the Nationalist Party � whom the PRC has courted ever since Chen�s victory in 2000 � suddenly dropped their opposition to an independence referendum and changing the official name of the island democracy to include Taiwan. One can only imagine the Communists� shock at this (BBC). For more on the island democracy, see Republic of China (Taiwan) News.
NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
IAEA SAYS COMMUNIST CHINA HELPED IRAN ENRICH URANIUM
The International Atomic Energy Agency labeled Communist China, its longtime ally Pakistan, and Russia as �among the probable suppliers of equipment that Iran used to enrich uranium as part of its suspected nuclear weapons program� (Washington Post). Iran has been a military customer of the Communists for years.
COMMUNIST CHINESE WMD FIRM SENDS POWER EQUIPMENT TO IRAQ
China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corp., a firm caught sending �WMD-related� (Washington Post) equipment to Saddam Hussein, was allowed to continue its Saddam-era contract and ship $13 million in power station equipment.
It should be noted that the PRC helped integrate Saddam Hussein air defenses, sold the Ba�athist regime missile fuel, and tried to sell it missile-launching patrol craft to before the war (see 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, 3/21/01, 12/18/02, and 3/19 Updates).
Check out the Communist China and the Terrorist War page.
NORTH KOREA NEWS
COMMUNIST PM ON WHETHER NORTH KOREA HAS NUKES: �I TRULY DON�T KNOW�
Communist Premier Wen Jiabao gave an interview to the Washington Post, during which he actually had this answer to the question of whether or not North Korea is a nuclear power, �I truly don't know.� Come again? Does anyone still think this regime can be �helpful� on North Korea when it won�t even admit to the extent of the problem?
For more on Communist China�s Stalinist ally, sign up for Monday�s North Korea Report.
OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM COMMUNIST PM INTERVIEW WITH WASHINGTON POST
North Korea wasn�t the only thing Wen discussed in his Washington Post interview. He also defended his regime�s deliberately devalued currency, called on the U.S. �not send any wrong signals� to Taiwan, �all but ruled out talks with Tibet's Dalai Lama, and he rejected bold reform of China's one-party political system� (Full Interview transcript).
U.S. SLAPS TARIFFS ON COMMUNIST CHINESE TELEVISIONS
One week after the U.S. limited growth in Communist Chinese textile imports to 7.5% (see last Update), the U.S. announced a 45% tariff on PRC televisions. (BBC) Is this a long march to repealing Permanent Normal Trade Relations, or a deflection away from repeal? Either way, the Communists were not happy. Also reporting: UPI via Washington Times
MARY KAY UNDER FIRE FOR PUSHING SALES FORCE AWAY FROM FALUN GONG
Mary Kay Cosmetics is hearing it from three U.S. Congressmen � Christopher Smith (R-New Jersey), Tom Lantos (D-California), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) � for forcing its sales force in Communist China not to join Falun Gong. Company Vice President Randall Oxford admitted to this, but was too obtuse to realize it. Report: Cybercast News 11/20
According to Oxford, �the pledge that Mary Kay China sales force members were asked to sign simply stated that they would conduct their Mary Kay business in accordance with all local laws and that they will not be a member of or participate in any organization or activity determined to be illegal by the Chinese government.�
Somebody should tell Oxford that such a statement does very much indeed force his employees not to join Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that has suffered under a Communist crackdown for over four years.
Even worse, the group apparently did use an earlier �pledge� that specifically cited Falun Gong as an example of a banned group (Cybercast News 11/21, full disclosure: yours truly�s better half happens to be an Avon distributor).
ANOTHER COMMUNIST-OWNED FIRM TO FLOAT NYSE SHARES
China Life, a Communist-owned insurance firm, is preparing to swallow up $2.5 billion in Wall Street funds with a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) offering. Of course, the Communists will only offer one quarter of the firm for sale. Report: BBC
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS
BIBLE OWNERS SENT TO LABOR CAMPS
Communist Chinese police in several provinces are rounding up Christians, especially Bible owners, and sending them to labor camps. The crackdown began �after the political transition to a new leadership led by President Hu Jintao was completed in March were also ongoing� (Agence France Presse via Epoch Times, HK). Also reporting: World Net Daily
Communist China only allows for one �Patriotic� Catholic Church, and one �Patriotic� Protestant church, each controlled by the PRC. Ten million Catholics reject the �Patriotic� church for the Vatican-loyal Roman Catholic Church. The number of Protestants who reject the Communist-controlled Church is not known, but it is likely even larger.
MISSING CATHOLIC BISHOP FOUND IN COMMUNIST CUSTODY
Roman Catholic Bishop Su Zhimin, who vanished after his arrest by the Communists in 1997, was in the Baoding Central Hospital for �an eye operation and treatment for heart ailments� (AFP via Epoch Times). He was also still under PRC arrest. Also reporting: Cybercast News
COMMUNISTS SHUT DOWN 125 CHURCHES
Meanwhile, Communist police in Jiangsu province have shut down 125 Christian churches since July, cutting off roughly 3,000 believers from their places of worship (World Net Daily). This is part of the endless crackdown against non-Communist Protestant churches, where millions worship under constant fear of discovery, arrest, and torture.
PROTESTORS ARRESTED IN HOUSING PROTESTS AT ZHONGNANHAI, TIANANMEN SQUARE
Beijing police arrested 54 housing evictees from Qingdao who protested at the Communist leadership compound known as Zhongnanhai. The PRC razed the protestors� homes �without coming to any written agreement� (AFP via Epoch Times 11/20). In the Communist China, homes are privately owned, but the PRC owns the land.
The Communists soon let the protestors out of jail, but ordered them back to Qingdao (AFP via Epoch Times 11/21). About 300 residents of Qingdao had lost their homes. Meanwhile, a Beijing evictee/protestor was arrested for protesting in Tiananmen Square against the Communists� treatment of him (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times 11/25).
WIFE AND SISTER-IN-LAW OF ZHENG ENCHONG KIDNAPPED BY CADRES
Six Communist thugs kidnapped Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong�s wife and her sister as they were speaking to an attorney in Beijing (AFP via Epoch Times, HK). They forced Jiang Meili and her sister Jiang Zhongli on a train out of Beijing and into Shanghai, where six men grabbed her by the arms and legs and forced her into a car, injuring her hand.�
Zheng who represented homeowners evicted by Shanghai cadres to clear land for corrupt �entrepreneur� Zhou Zhengyi (see 6/4, 6/11, 6/18, and 10/29 Updates), is serving a three-year sentence for �passing state secrets to foreigners,� a charge �used against people considered to be enemies of China's ruling communist party.�
YANG JIANLI COURT SESSION CANCELLED
A Communist court cancelled a session �to contemplate new evidence� (AFP via Epoch Times) against Yang Jianli. The PRC still hasn�t handed down a verdict against Yang, who was arrested after re-entering Communist China from the U.S. during major labor protests in the spring of 2002 (see 5/1/02 Update).
CORRUPTION NEWS
LOCAL ANTI-CORRUPTION CADRE SENT TO JAIL FOR BRIBERY
The Chief of Panjin City Procurator�s Anti-corruption Bureau will spend the next six years and eight months in jail for taking the equivalent of nearly $35,000. The cadre, known only by his last name, took a car and almost $20,000 in cash. Report: Epoch Times
FORMER NEWSPAPER DIRECTOR SENT TO JAIL FOR BRIBERY
Wang Chang�an, former director of the Xi�an Daily newspaper, was sent to jail for taking $18,000 in bribes from a 1997 land deal. Report: CNA via Epoch Times
OTHER MAINLAND NEWS
PRC �GROWTH� INFLATION DRIVEN, NOT REAL, SAYS ECONOMIST
Jiang Zhongnan, a senior economist at the German Economic Association, says the recent wave of �growth� in the PRC economy is essentially a sham, driven by �government policy of financial expansion and increased bank loans� (Epoch Times). The result, says Jiang is banks without any real value and a rapidly approaching hyperinflation.
If Jiang is right, it would mean this quarter � and nearly everyone else � would be wrong in assuming the Communists are deliberately devaluing their currency, since hyperinflation comes with overvalued, not undervalued, currency rates (although the dollar has taken a beating lately). It also means the PRC�s claim to be a rising economic power is bunk.
THOUSANDS PROTEST LAYOFFS IN HUBEI PROVINCE
Seven thousand workers in Xiangfan, a city in Hubei province, took to the streets to protest layoffs and �alleged corruption� (AFP via Epoch Times) at a PRC-owned automobile factory. It was yet another sign of labor unrest and anger in the rural interior of Communist China.
COMMUIST CHINA TO PUSH FIRMS TO GIVE MIGRANT WORKERS THEIR BACK PAY
Meanwhile, Communist China will soon �press employers to pay about $12bn of back-pay owed to the country's millions of migrant workers� (BBC). The PRC would like to see the firms, most of which it owns, to pay the workers before the Chinese New Year.
YANGTZE RIVER WETLANDS VANISHING UNDER POWER PLANT CROWDING
The Yangtze River wetland area, suffering under a slew of power plants packed like sardines, is disappearing, another example of Communist overdevelopment demolishing the ecology. Report: CNA via Epoch Times
HUNDREDS OF NEWSPAPERS GET THE AX
Communist China �has suspended the publication of 673 state-run newspapers as part of its shake-up of the media industry� (BBC). The �shake-up,� designed to make the papers that survive more profitable, is no real surprise (see 10/22 Update). Of course, what the papers can report, and how it�s reported, is still what the cadres demand, and nothing else.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
CANADA FELL VICTIM TO PC �VISA SCAMS�
Canadian immigration officials have admitted that several escapees from Communist China used non-existent Canadian universities to enter Canada as �students� (National Post, Canada). The inefficiency of its government aside, is anyone in the Great White North asking why so many Chinese are willing to use deception such as this to escape the PRC?
AIR CANADA TOLD TO GO FORWARD ON LI DEAL DESPITE OTHER, HIGHER, BIDS
Air Canada (see 11/12 Update) was told by a court-appointed monitor to �proceed for the time being with its $650-million sale of equity to Hong Kong businessman Victor Li� (National Post) despite a higher bid from Cerebrus Capital Management.
Li is the son of Li Ka-shing, the pro-Communist Hong Kong tycoon who runs Hutchison Whampoa, the part PRC-owned firm that controls two container points in the Panama Canal, and nearly bought telecommunications giant Global Crossing (see 5/7 Update).
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA THREATENS PHILIPPINES ON ROC VICE PRESIDENT�S VISIT
Communist China has threatened �bilateral relations can be damaged� (AFP via Epoch Times) against the Philippines if it allows Taiwanese Vice President Annette Lu, a fiery anti-Communist politician, to visit for two conferences later this month. Three cabinet ministers from the island democracy are scheduled to travel with her.
PEOPLE SMUGGLER TO BE EXECUTED FOR THROWING WOMEN OVERBOARD
A Taiwanese court sentenced a ship captain who was part of a cross-straits people smuggling ring to death for �murdering six Chinese women by throwing them off his speedboat as he tried to escape a coastguard patrol� (BBC).
HONG KONG NEWS
HONG KONG DEMOCRATS SCORE BIG IN DISTRICT ELECTIONS
The Hong Kong Democratic Party surged ahead of the pro-Communist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) in district council elections, taking 50% more of seats in the council and sending three DAB members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) to �humiliating defeats� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN).
The Democrats won over 90 seats in the councils; the DAB won roughly 60 (AFP via Epoch Times-1) in a vote amid widespread disapproval with the PRC-appointed regime (AFP via Epoch Times-2). Over a third of the voters said the July protests against the �anti-subversion� bill inspired them to vote (see 7/2, 7/9, and 7/16 Updates).
The pro-Communist press quickly reminded the city, and the world, that they don�t get it by �accusing the pro-democracy movement of cheating and deceiving voters� (BBC). The head of the DAB, more willing to face the truth, offered to resign (AFP via Epoch Times-3). Also reporting: Washington Post, Cybercast News
TIBET NEWS
�ANTI-TERRORISM� EXERCISES TARGETED DALAI LAMA
According to the Communist-run Zhongguang News Agency (cited by the Epoch Times), recent �anti-terrorist� exercises in Tibet were �targeting the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan independence movement.� Tibet�s spiritual leader has never advocated terror of any kind.
TIBETAN CULTURE IN TROUBLE
A mass influx of ethnic Chinese and massive development is slowly killing the culture of occupied Tibet, according to the Voice of America (via Epoch Times). The VOA neglects to mention that this is no accident, but part of the Communists� design.
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