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Profiles in Obscurity: Jiang Zemin By Tony DeCarvalho
Do you know who this is?
He continues to abuse the basic human and religious rights of his people ... and he is welcomed into the WTO. His nation is building the largest and most environmentally destructive dam of all time ... and he is applauded by western media for bringing the Olympics to China. Jiang Zemin continues to display an elusive quality that Bill Clinton would be proud of. Jiang Zemin, in case you didn't know, is president of China, Communist Party General Secretary, and chairman of the Central Military Commission. He is easily the most powerful man in China. The list of atrocities perpetrated by President Zemin and his administration are amazing. Tibetan monks are not welcome in China. There is no freedom of speech, or even choice. 1.2 million people have been forced to relocate because of Three Gorges Dam.
Let's talk about the Three Gorges Dam. According to Jeff Freymueller, a geophysics professor who studied the seismic risk of the dam, "A catastrophic failure of the dam would be perhaps the single most destructive event in human history." The chances are small that the dam would be destroyed by an earthquake, but the threat remains, nonetheless. Instead of confronting China about their human rights abuses, the U.S. commits massive international blunders. The midair collision over the South China Sea ... the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy during the Bosnian conflict -- and the apologies that followed from the U.S. ... we have given China plenty of reasons to ignore our complaints and maintain their status quo. In the end, follow the money and you'll know the truth about China. Companies are willing to sell our souls to tap a potential market of 1 billion people for American products. This greed provides Jiang Zemin with the smokescreen he needs to continue his totalitarian regime. If the money's right, maybe we'll all be speaking Chinese someday.
Do not adjust your browser! Three Gorges Dam will span this entire area.
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