Current Event Tidbits
- Hong Kong Legislature Does Exist After All
(6-24-97) Down below you'll see an entry called "US Government Won't Recognize the Hong Kong Provisional Legislature". Well, ignore it.
Today it was announced that, all though Madeleine Albright will "boycott" the swearing, in her sted Richard Boucher, the U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, will attend the swearing in ceremony. Albright seems to think a fig leaf will cover her nakedness.
The same Nicholas Burns, State department spokesman par exellance who earlier spoke "There is a pefectly good legislature in place..." (see below) today speaks thus: "[Boucher]has to work, for better or worse, with the new legislature. For practical reasons, he will go."
What a difference a fortnight (as the leaving colonialists would say) makes.
- More Money Trail: California Man A Foreign Agent? Also: Lying Columnist.
(6-10-97) Earlier I mentioned the "Chinese money scandal" and how Newsweek was following the money. Since that time a number of reports appeared about Ted Sioeng the man in question.
What I wanted to mention is not the scandal reports per se, but a video clip on the local TV news I saw. Sioeng is local guy whose businesses are in Southern California where I live. The reports that came out since my last tidbit on this "scandal" were saying Sioeng was being investigated as a potential chinese agent. The local news did a piece when this came out with the hook local businessman suspected as Chinese agent.
What was eye-opening about the story was the video that went with it. They had video of Sioeng at some sort of PRC event where he sat with many others all holding and waving the PRC flag, and, even more eye-popping, another scene where the group (around 20 - 30 people as I recall) stood around a flag pole as the PRC flag was being raised, with their hands over their hearts singing the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. And who was in the middle hoisting the flag and singing as loud if not louder than anyone else? You guessed it: our man Ted Sioeng.
Another eye-opener I saw on TV had to do with the reporting of the Sioeng saga. If you will remember I mentioned that one aspect of this particlular "Chinese money scandal" that the press liked was that a Republican politician, Matt Fong, was involved. The press like it because they can then smear a Republican as well as the Democrats who were at the center of it and also claim a neutrality to their reporting. But, it came out as well that Sioeng really had given to Democrats and was involved with Clinton's friend Riady and John Huang. There was a picture of the mutton chopped Sioeng sitting next to the Commander in Chief at a Beverly Hills fund raiser with the younger Riady on President Bill's other side.
But, facts be darned, Eleanor Clift of Newsweek and one of the mouths of TV's McGlaughlin Gang (or whatever it is called or however he spells his name) still felt it necessary to lie egregiously about this scandal and state bald-facedly (I am paraphrasing) that Sioeng's money was funnelled through Matt Fong.
Her statement was 100% inaccurate. There is no evidence that Fong was involved in taking money from Sioeng for distribution, there is not even any indication or suspiscion that he or his office did anything of the sort. How or why Clift came to this conclusion or made the statement is beyond me. I feel it was due to the fact that she did not know any details except that Fong is the first politican to be identified as receiving money from Sioeng, and that in her partisanship has been embarrassed by the Democratic fund raising behavior and was happy to have a Republican to be able to accuse.
But her comment was a totally off the wall outright lie. The sad part is none of her fellow panelists on this joke of a show even called her on it. They did stop for a second and maybe furl their brow and wrinkle their nose as if they smelled something not quite right in Clift's statement. But my guess is none of them were really familiar enough to contradict her either so they errred on the part of not-losing-face by being wrong by staying silent.
They don't need to jump om Matt Fong for something he didn't do, they do seem to have Haley barbour with his own Republican "asian money scandal" to keep them happy.
- US Government Won't Recognize the Hong Kong Provisional Legislature
(6-10-97) U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is said to have "snubbed" the Chinese Beijing government in declaring she would not attend the swearing in ceremony of the Beijing-appointed provisional legislature. This legislature will replace the current elected legislature of Hong Kong.
State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said "We have never believed that the appointment of a provisional legislature is justified or necessary. There is a pefectly good legislature in place, it's a democratically elected legislature for the people of Hong Kong, the Legislative Council."
- US Government says no PLA troops in Zaire
(4-23-97) It was reported that Zairean rebels claimed that PLA tropps were in Zaire to support the Mobuto regime against the rebels (see below). State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns spoke saying that such claims on the part of the rebels are not true.
- California Treasurer Matt Fong returns $100,000
(4-23-97) Matt Fong, the state treasurer for California returned $100,000 in campaign contributions from Ted Sioeng and his daughter Jessica Elnitiarta (reported in the LA Times today). This is due to the report in Newseek that Sioeng's money may have come directly from the People's Republic of China. Fong's staff apparently asked for the Sioengs to provide information to show that the money did not emanate from the alleged source, but failed to do so. Fong then returned the money. He is quoted in the LA Times as saying "Those of us in public service should set an example. For this reason we're returning the money immediately."
The Democratic National Committee chose not to return any money from Elnitiarta because she was determined to be a legal resident.
Matt Fong will be running for the Senate and is raising money for his campaign. It will be interesting to see if the news media and his opponents try to tarnish him with this broad brush. To my mind there is no comparison between Fong or any other candidate accepting money given under false pretenses (if this is the case) and the workings of Clinton associates such as John Huang and Charlie Trie who are believed to have been working along similar lines as Sioeng is reported to have done. If Sioeng had been part of Fong's campaign solicitation team then it would analogous to the allegations about Huang and Trie. But my guess is that Fong's opponents will try to use this against Fong.
- No Long Beach Port for COSCO
(4-22-97) I saw in the LA Times this morning that the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO--a PRC government owned entity) would not be getting the lease of the former Long Beach Naval Shipping yard complex that they were earlier, essentially, promised. After the "Chinese money scandal" (which is still going on, see below)this sweetheart deal for the mainland Chinese government began to get a lot of play. There was a hue and dry against it. Reasons being that there was no reason to give the communist Chinese a beachhead to the US. This company was associated with the earlier smuggling of automatic weapons to the US. And it was argued that the human rights situation in mainland China should be taken into account and the US shouldn't give such a regime such a nice spot there in Long Beach at the site of the former Navy Shipyard.
Politicians came out for it and against it. The local officials of Long Beach seemed to be for it as they felt that it would bring revenue in to the city.
But, the lease will not go through (at least for now). A judge put the deal on hold due to the objections environmental and preservationist groups presented in a lawsuit. Apparently if the modifications of the shipyard (modifications to be paid for by US tax payers) that are needed for COSCO to operate, a number of herons who make their homes there would be upset.
The CCP may be able to squelch complaints about human rights, but animal rights have thrown a monkey wrench in their plans.
- PLA Troops in Zaire?
(4-22-97) Reports from the wire services appeared today saying that Zairean rebels claimed seeing troops from the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China in Zaire. Ostensibly they would be there to support and prop up Mobuto against the rebel forces.
I think we'll need to wait for some pictures or a more authoritative report to know for sure. But I can see why this may be. The CCP has been good friends with the Mobuto regime since 1972 when Zaire recognized the PRC and formed diplomatic ties with them. Over the last 25 years the CCP have given many dollars to the Mobuto regime. If this regime falls all this investment will fall by the wayside. After the rebel forces take over and a new government is installed the bidding war for recognition between the PRC and ROC will begin. All the CCP's previous investment will be down the drain.
- Clinton Clamp on Burma Business
(4-22-97) President Clinton has decreed that US business will no longer be able to invest in busines in Myanmar (Burma) due to the unjust political situation and human rights abuses that are said to occur there. This dovetails failry well with a legal decision handed down the other day that said US corporations in partnership with foreign businesses or governments would be liable for illegal activities (such as human rights abuses, e.g. conscripted labor)that their partner carried out. In other words Unocal, the major US company trying to expand into Burma, would be criminally liable if their partner, the Myanmar government, conscripted labor (often called slave labor).
This lawsuit seems to me to have potential bearing on US Chinese business as well. It is somewhat strange that Clinton banned the Burma business a day after this legal decision came down. It seems almost as if Clinton is looking out for the US businesses. The decision would almost certainly put a chill into any US-Burmese joint ventures (because the government of Burmese is the partner on the Burmese side), but some compamies might have continued anyway risking the criminal liability, or perhaps feeling that they would be able to win the court case if they were ever to be charged with a crime under this decision. Indeed this decision is being, and will continue to be, appealed.
But Clinton's kibosh takes the decision out of the hands of the US company that might want to challenge the decision in the real world.
I think it is pertinent to ask how different is mainland China? If Clinton wants to ban business to Burma, why doesn't he want to nix it with mainland China. Most large US-Chinese joint ventures involve the CCP government in one way or another. Yet it can be argued that Burma is more politcally free than mainland China. All the mainland's "dissidents" are jailed or exiled. In Burma though, the leaders of the opposition are hassled and persecuted, but are not all in jail and actually have some means to voice their dissent.
Will a wag asked Clinton about this seeming descrepency?
And will this new legal decision put a chill to US-Chinese joint ventures?
- Newsweek Follows the Money
(4-22-97) A report in the current Newsweek (on the stands now) traces some money in the "Chinese money scandal". It concerns a fellow whose name is Ted Sioeng. He's an Indonesian born, non-ethnic Chinese LA businessman. He owns some motels, a strip mall and a Chinese language newspaper, the International Daily news. This newspaper apparently changed over from being pro-Taipei to pro-Beijing in its' editorial slant after Sioeng purchased it. One of its' recent headlines was Deng Xiao Ping's vision for China is a model for all of the world.
What the report described were transactions from mainland China sources to the Grand National Bank headquartered in Alhambra California (the great city of the San Gabriel valley where Ms TKG was born). Checks drawn from Sioeng's account there were given as campaign contributions to various candidates.
What is new here is that the report is trying to tarnish Republicans. One of the recipients of the campaign contributions is Matt Fong, the treasurer of California, a Republican. The report seemed to try and implicate Fong as being possibly unduly influenced by this money with regard to the PRC government as it seems Clinton and some democrats are accused of being.
I think it's worth pointing out that Matt Fong has been around California politics for a long time and is the son of March Fong Eu who was California's Secretary of State in the past (she was a Democrat). Fong's camp has said if this money is from foreign source they will return it.