| CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: MARCH 28, 2001 TOP STORY: COMMUNIST VICE-PREMIER MEETS BUSH FOR TALKS MISSILE DEFENSE, TAIWAN ARMS, GAO ZHAN�S ARREST, AND HUMAN RIGHTS DISCUSSED President George W. Bush met with Qian Qichen, Vice-Premier of the People�s Republic of China, on Thursday. The talks were described as �friendly and cordial.� Bush did insist to the press, with Qian sitting next to him, that the U.S. would �honor its obligations under U.S. law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself,� as Agence France Presse put it. Link: AFP Of particular concern to the Communists was the sale of Aegis-armed destroyers to Taiwan, which could be used to defend the island democracy against the hundreds of missiles Communist China has aimed at it. CNN reported Bush as saying, �If (Qian) cares to bring up the subject and wishes to make a case, I will be glad to listen.� The subject did not come up. Link: CNN Meanwhile, Admiral Dennis Blair, Pacific Commander-in-chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the �near term� balance of power between the PRC and ROC was �stable,� but that the continuing Communist missile buildup in bases opposite Taiwan could be �destabilizing.� Link: Washington Times AFP also noted Bush was also explicit on the matter of religious freedom: �It would certainly be a lot easier to move forward in a constructive way when the people with whom we conduct our affairs honor religious freedom within their borders.� But he also told Qian, �Nothing we do is a threat to you, and I want you to tell that to your leadership.� Bush also pressed for the release of Gao Zhan, still in custody after the Communists claimed she �confessed� to spying. Secretary of State Colin Powell blasted her arrest, and that of her husband Xue Donghua and their American-born son Andrew. Qian reportedly told Bush he would �get back to� him on the matter. Links: CNN, Washington Times, BBC Xue -- released and reunited with Andrew in the U.S. -- ripped into the Communists for forcing his wife to �confess.� He also said the Communists had told him not to go public with what was done to his family, or his wife would face �serious negative impact.� Gao is a researcher on Taiwan issues at American University; she and Xue are both permanent U.S. residents; she has applied for U.S. citizenship. Link: Washington Times Willy Lo-Lap Lam of CNN, in his analysis of the talks, said Qian failed in his efforts to turn Bush away from his policies, which are far from perfect but certainly tougher on the Communists than Clinton�s were. For those who missed the piece in Friday�s �The Week�s Links,� here�s Lam�s piece again. Link: CNN AFP reported that the ROC will send a delegation to Washington in early April to �contain the damage� to its position caused by Qian�s talks with Bush. Link: AFP WASHINGTON POST INTERVIEWS COMMUNIST PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN Over the weekend, the Washington Post conducted an interview with Communist President Jiang Zemin. During the interview, which came after the Communists demanded and received the Post�s questions, Jiang wondered out loud why the U.S., with �a lot of things to occupy yourselves with,� would be so worried about human rights abuses in his country. Links: Washington Post, Excerpts of the interview Fred Hiatt, in a column on the interview, noted Jiang more chilling comments on Taiwan. Jiang said in the interview, �If the United States had not troubled itself over the question of Taiwan, we would have been able to solve the question and liberate Taiwan at any time.� He also commented in the Gao Zhan case: �If they were subjected to a certain legal procedure, that means they must have violated the law to a certain extent.� Link: Washington Post AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS COMMUNIST CHINESE COLONEL DEFECTS TO UNITED STATES As President Bush was meeting with Qian, the Washington Post reported the defection Colonel Xu Junping of the Communist People�s Liberation Army to the U.S. The defection occurred sometime in December. AFP reported that Xu served in the PLA General Staff's foreign affairs section. He had been part of many PRC military exchanges with the U.S., meaning he could know much about Communist policies toward us. Link: Washington Post, AFP OVER 50 CONGRESSMAN, TWO SENATORS BACK RESOLUTION TO KEEP OLYMPICS OUT OF PRC A bipartisan group of 52 Congressman � ranging from House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) � have joined Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California) in sponsoring a resolution to keep the 2008 Olympics out of Beijing. Senators Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) and Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) are preparing a companion resolution in the Senate. Link: Washington Times QIAN DARKLY HINTS OF WAR IF TAIWAN WEAPONS SALES ARE APPROVED In a speech dealing for the most part with the PRC economy the day after his meeting with President Bush, Qian once again dropped hints of a military reaction if the U.S. sold Taiwan the weapons it seeks. Qian told the audience at the Willard Hotel that if the weapons sales are approved �the spark will turn into a great flame. We don't want to see flame of war there.� Link: Washington Post INTERNATIONAL NEWS PHILIPPINES GUARDS SHOAL; SAYS COMMUNIST CHINA IS MAJOR SOURCE OF LOCAL DRUGS Roilo Golez, the national security advisor for the Philippines, said Communist China is the source for nearly one fifth of all narcotics in his country, according to the BBC. Golez also dropped hints that members of the Communist military may be involved. Golez also said the Philippines would send a gunboat to the disputed Scarborough Shoal to ensure the PRC does not attempt to build any structures there, according to AFP. Links: BBC, AFP HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS NEWS CHINESE WOMAN WINS JUDGEMNT FOR DAMAGES DUE TO FORCED ABORTION, SORT OF A woman in Yiyang won a judgment for $14,000 due to medical injuries caused by a hospital involved in an abortion forced upon her by "family planning officials." The hospital, not the agency that ordered the procedure, was held liable. The case is on appeal. The Communists insisted on the abortion because the woman's husband was too young to be a father � by 10 days. Link: Washington Post COMMUNIST CHINA TO DROP TRADE UNION CLAUSE TO UN TREATY BBC reported that Communist China had told the UN it will �opt out� of the trade union clause of the Social and Economic Rights Treaty it just ratified. Without that clause, which allows for independent labor associations, the treaty�s effects in Communist China are greatly reduced, and perhaps negligible. Link: BBC FILES FROM THE FALUN GONG WAR: TAIWAN VP SLAMMED BY PRC: The PRC has accused Vice President Annette Lu � a fiery advocate of a greater international role for Taiwan � of �joining hands� with Falun Gong because she spoke at an event sponsored by the spiritual movement. The Communists are hoping to twist Taiwan�s insistence on religious freedom and Falun Gong�s brave resistance to the lack thereof on the mainland. Link: BBC It should be noted that over 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners are in Taiwan, which somehow doesn�t see it as the threat the Communists do. The membership is reported to have grown rapidly since the PRC ban. OTHER MAINLAND NEWS BLAST SUSPECT ARRESTED; SOME QUESTION HIS ROLE The Communist-labeled suspect in four blasts in Shijiazhung has been arrested, according to AFP. Jin Ruchao was taken into custody on Friday. The arrest comes as the Communists imposed a 90-day �Strike Hard� crackdown on, as CNN�s Willy Lo-Lap Lam put it, �crime and other �unstable factors in society.�� The PRC also announced it had arrested Jin's supposed supplier of explosives, according to the BBC. Links: AFP, Lam, BBC BBC later reported the Communist media account of Jin�s �confession� and insistence that he acted alone. Many are questioning the validity of the Communist account, and some noted that his arrest, in a city 2,000 miles from the blast cite, casts doubt on whether he had anything to do with the blasts. Link: BBC HUNDREDS OF WORKERS PROTEST LACK OF RETIREMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT PAY Two more state-run firms laying off hundreds of workers and then refused to pay promised severance benefits were the site of protests this week. AFP, citing the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in China, reported that about 1,500 blocked roads at the Guizhou Number Seven Metallurgical Construction Company. Roughly, 500 at the Xinye County Fertilizer Factory did the same. Link: AFP �ONE CHILD� POLICY LEADING TO FEWER AND FEWER GIRLS; MOST DOUBT NEW COUNT Communist China admitted today that their �one child� policy, including forced abortions and sterilization, has led to a dramatic drop in the number of girls relative to boys. Meanwhile, the PRC�s announced census figure for its population (1.26 billion) was widely criticized by outside experts as inaccurately low. Links: AFP - boy/girl ratio, AFP - census figures �SNAKEHEAD� GANG ARRESTED IN SHANGHAI Communist police announced several arrests involving a criminal enterprise to help residents of the PRC escape. The BBC reported ten arrests. The desire to get out of Communist China is so strong many are willing to pay thousands for manufactured travel documents, leading to the rise of such �snakehead� groups. Once out of the PRC, those who escape usually face indentured servitude due to indebtedness, or repatriation. Link: BBC 140 STOPPED ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE In an unrelated story, 140 people trying to escape Communist China were discovered off the coast of South Korea. The Koreans who helped them leave will be under arrest, the Chinese are headed back to the PRC. Link: AFP HENAN TRANSPORT OFFICIAL GETS LIFE FOR BRIBES Zhang Kuntong, former director of Henan's transport department, received life in prison for taking over $100,000 in bribes and embezzling another $100,000, according to AFP. Meanwhile, the Communist-run China Daily acknowledged that over $4 million in public funds were swindled in Beijing by corrupt officials. Link: AFP REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS PREMIER SAYS ROC WOULD JOIN U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE IF INVITED ROC Premier Chang Chun-hsiung told CNN that Taiwan was interested in being part of a U.S.-based missile defense, but only if the U.S. invited them in and if there was �consensus� within Taiwan on this issue. It is the first time a Taiwan official has ever spoken in favor of the missile defense. It might have something to do with the hundreds of missiles the Communists are pointing at it. Link: Lam PARLIAMENTARY SCUFFLE LEAVES PFP MEMBER INJURED Lo Fu-chu, and independent member of the Legislative Yuan reputed to be linked with organized crime, lashed out physically at People First Party legislator Diane Lee, forcing her to go to a hospital to heal her injuries. PFP leader James Soong was deeply upset by the incident, which he said highlighted the need to fight organized crime in the ROC. Source: Taiwan�s Central News Agency (CNA) LIEN CHAN RE-ELECTED NATIONALIST PARTY LEADER Former Vice President Lien Chan won re-election as leader of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party. There was little suspense in the vote, as Lien was the lone candidate. Lien was the party�s presidential nominee in last year�s election, which he lost to Chen Shui-bian. Source: CNA LEGALIZED PROSTITUTION ENDS IN TAIPEI As of this morning, prostitution in Taipei, legal since 1959, was officially banned. The ban was first passed in 1998, thanks in large part to then-mayor Chen Shui-bian, but with a grace period that ended Tuesday. Link: BBC TIBET NEWS DALAI LAMA TO MEET PRESIDENT CHEN WHILE IN TAIWAN Hong Kong iMail reported last week that the Dalai Lama has arranged to meet ROC President Chen Shui-bian during his visit to the island democracy, which began over the weekend. The Communists had no response to the meeting, but have previously blasted both men as �splittists.� Link: Hong Kong iMail No news from Xinjiang/East Turkestan or Hong Kong this week. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving this. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]m. |