| CHINA E-LOBBY UPDATE: JANUARY 31, 2001 TOP STORY: ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE BECOMING POLITICAL WEAPON MAFIA FOUND IN ONE PROBE, WESTERN BRIBES IN ANOTHER Agence France Presse has reported that Communist China�s vaunted anti-corruption drive has spilled into the factional politics surrounding next year�s party conference, which is expected to lead to wholesale changes in the Communist Party hierarchy. One scandal has hit the faction led by ex-Prime Minister Li Peng, the butcher of Tiananmen Square, while another has sullied a prot�g� of Communist President Jiang Zemin. Link: AFP The Jiang prot�g�, Li Changchun, cut his teeth in Liaoning province, particular in the city of Shenyang, where he was mayor. His old city � some say he still has many contacts there � has been rocked by charges that Vice Mayor Ma Xiangdong has ties to the mafia, �triads.� Li�s current job hasn�t been much better. He is party boss in Guangdong province, soon to see many trials regarding a $12 billion tax-evasion scandal. The Washington Post revealed the corruption probe of State Power Corporation, the state-run utility in the People�s Republic of China, over the weekend. The investigation has led to claims of corruption against Li Peng�s allies and relatives. Western companies offering bribes for contracts � including one backed by President Bush and, even more troubling, Senator Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) � are also under probe. Link: Washington Post Communist Prime Minister Zhu Rongji launched the utility investigation, which has led many to believe this is in part of political move against Li, the highest-ranking hard-liner. Zhu, who head the so-called �reform� element in the Communist Party, has a prot�g� in charge of the anti-corruption efforts. Li is trying to get one of his friends into that job at the next party conference next year, according to CNN analyst Willy Lam. Link: CNN TOP AMERICAN STORY: COMMUNIST CHINA ILLEGALLY BUYING U.S. WEAPONS TECH PRC ALSO SELLING MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAQ, IRAN AND BUYING RUSSIAN JET ENGINES The Washington Times reports this week that Communist China, using front companies in Hong Kong and Singapore, are buying up U.S. military technology, such as �radiation-hardened� integrated circuits and communication equipment. The paper also reported that the Communists are still selling missile technology to, among other nations, Iraq and Iran, violating pledges not to do so. Courtesy of Ron Vogel: Member since 2000. Link: Washington Times Meanwhile, AFP reported that Russia has agreed to sell 100 SU-27 fighter plane engines to the PRC. The delivery date was not given for the contract, yet another major military deal between the Communists and Russia, the PRC�s biggest weapons supplier. Link: AFP FOLLOW UP: WERE THE SUICIDE PROTESTORS FALUN GONG? GROUP, PRC ARGUE ROLE Falun Gong repeated its assertion today that last week�s self-immolating protestors were not following the movement�s teachings, and that no proof of even their membership has been shown. One spokesperson told AFP that �suicide is a sin� to Falun Gong. Another spokesman said the suicide were �fishy� � implying Communist trickery of some kind � and bluntly called it �foreign to genuine Falun Gong practitioners.� Link: AFP Meanwhile, the Communists are milking this for all it�s worth, insisting the protestors � one died while four others were injured � were Falun Gong practitioners. They focused on a supposed 12-year-old girl � AFP said hair braids were �the only sign� she was 12 � taken to the protests by her now deceased mother. Link: AFP WILLY LAM: RURAL UNREST COULD BE GREATEST THREAT TO COMMUNISTS Willy Lam, CNN analyst ever since his firing by a Hong Kong newspaper for being to critical of the Communists, has an analysis piece on rural unrest in the PRC. Thanks to local Communists imposing impoverishing fees, and an uncaring national leadership � Lam says this could be a major threat to the Communist regime. Link: CNN OTHER MAINLAND NEWS COMMUNIST TAXES LEAD PEASANT TO SUICIDE AFP reported that a peasant in Fujian province killed himself after being threatened by local officials regarding a tax bill he deemed unfair. The local Communists imposed taxes on his family for nine persons; the family only had six. His wife also tried suicide but was taken to a hospital and recovered. Several local officials have since been fired. Link: AFP OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS POWELL MEETS WITH COMMUNIST CHINESE AMBASSADOR Less than one week into the job, Secretary of State Colin Powell met with outgoing Communist Chinese Ambassador Li Zhoaxing. Li, the first foreign dignitary to see Powell, received apparently harsh criticism of the Communist crackdown on Falun Gong. State Department spokesperson Rick Boucher said Powell told Li �we would raise human rights issues and we would raise them frankly.� Link: Washington Times AFP described the meeting between the American Secretary of State and Ambassador from the PRC in a very different light. The agency noted the several topics were discussed, including Taiwan and human rights, and that Powell emphasized that the PRC �is not an inevitable foe.� Still, Boucher insisted that �we�ll be firm and open about . . . differences.� Link: AFP Meanwhile, Communist China bristled at the criticism by the Bush Administration, saying the Falun Gong issue was an excuse to �interfere in China�s internal affairs,� according to the BBC. Clearly, whatever Powell said miffed Beijing. Link: BBC SECRETARY OF STATE IN JAPAN FOR FIRST FOREIGN TRIP, U.S. POLICY DUBBED �UNCHANGED� Secretary of State Colin Powell also made his first trip abroad this week; he visited Japan�s foreign minister for talks on several subjects, including �watching carefully with China is doing� militarily, according to CNN. Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Rick Boucher insisted that U.S. policy toward the PRC was �unchanged,� despite the Communists� fury over recent criticism of the crackdown on Falun Gong. Links: CNN, AFP CONSERVATIVES ASK PRESIDENT BUSH TO REMEMBER HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMMUNIST CHINA Several conservatives have written President Bush in a joint letter calling on him to �promote freedom and stop tyranny� by focusing on human rights as well as military matters. The Washington Post reports that the group, which includes Elliot Abrams, William Bennett, Rev. Chuck Colson, and Marvin Olasky among others, specifically mentioned the �mass religious persecution� in Communist China. Link: Washington Post TRADE NOMINEE SAYS COMMUNIST CHINA MUST STICK TO TRADE DEAL, LET TAIWAN IN WTO Robert Zoellick, Bush nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, told a Senate committee that the new Administration would insist that Taiwan enter the World Trade Organization (WTO) simultaneously with Communist China. He also said the PRC must stick to its deal with U.S., from which it has been backtracking ever since Congress passed Permanent Normal Trade Relations with it last year. Link: AFP INTERNATIONAL NEWS CANADIAN OFFICAL STILL MULLING LAI CHANGXING�S REQUEST FOR RELEASE FROM JAIL A Canadian immigration adjudicator � AFP�s word � is still considering the request of Lai Changxing to be released from jail in favor of house arrest. Lai, the central figure in the Xiamen smuggling scandal, escaped the PRC 18 months ago, and would face almost certain execution if he is sent back. Canada is currently holding him on immigration charges. The adjudicator said he would make his decision on Friday. Link: AFP REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) NEWS PRESIDENT CHEN OFFERS DIRECT LINKS WITH PRC FOR CROSS-STRAIT TALKS ROC President Chen Shui-bian has offered to expand trade, transport, and mail links to Communist China in exchange for cross-strait talks. The Kyodo News Agency reported that Chen said the expansion of the liunks, currently limited to Kinmen and Matsu Islands, is �a done deal,� if the PRC will resume talks with Taiwan. Link: Kyodo News Agency PARLIAMENT VOTES TO COMPLETE NUCLEAR PLANT Taiwan�s Parliament � known as the Legislative Yuan � has voted to overturn President Chen�s cancellation of a nuclear power plant by a margin of 134-70. The major opposition parties � Kuomintang (Nationalist) and People First (PFP) � had previously threatened to recall Chen, a Democratic Progressive, over his decision to kill the plant; they voted for the motion. Chen had not responded to the vote as of this hour. Link: BBC HONG KONG AND MACAO NEWS DISSIDENT NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN HONG KONG Gao Xingjian, the exiled Chinese dissident who won the Nobel Prize for Literature this year, visited Hong Kong this week. Although the Communists, who banned his work on the mainland, were incensed at his award, he stayed away from politics during his trip, except for recounting the horrific Cultural Revolution. Link: BBC TIBET NEWS IS COMMUNIST CHINA LIGHTENING UP? The Washington Post reported this week that Guo Jinlong, the Communist picked to run Tibet last September, has been loosening up the crackdown against Tibetan Buddhism that was so severe it was compared to the Cultural Revolution. No specifics were given, however, on just how and where Guo was backing off. Link: Washington Post DALAI LAMA SAYS COMMUNIST HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO DELEGATION OFFER The Dalai Lama, Tibet�s spiritual leader, told AFP that Communist China has not responded to his offer to send a delegation to Beijing for talks. His brother visited Beijing recently to restart talks, which were suspended in 1998 after the defection of the Communist-picked Karmapa Lama to India. Link: AFP No News from Xinjiang/East Turkestan 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]. |