News of the Day

And away we go.

Communist China occupying northern Korea, not a good thing: John J. Miller of National Review Online half-endorses an invasion of northern Korea by Communist China. Miller got the idea from Bruce Gilley, in a Wall Street Journal column. Miller doesn’t link to the column, so I won’t address Gilley, but the idea itself is terrible.

Those who like the idea – particularly supporters of “engagement” with Communist China – assume that (1) Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il is acting contrary to the will of the “People’s Republic” and (2) a regime controlled directly by the Communists would be less likely to aid or sell to terrorist regimes. Only a gross denial of fact can be behind these assumptions.

First of all, KJI is completely dependent upon the Communists for his survival. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the Communists have been trying to move the United States closer to KJI’s position during the on-again, off-again talks on his nuclear weapons program, not the other way around. The Communists see KJI as a useful instrument to curtail U.S. power, if he really was a nuisance, he’d be long gone.

More importantly, Communist China is itself the leading benefactor of terrorist states. It is intimately involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons program, became a major weapons supplier of Saddam Hussein (in part through the “oil-for-food” debacle), signed an agreement with the Taliban the day the World Trade Center fell, and helped al Qaeda launder drug money. The idea that the Communists are more reliable than their Stalinist neighbors would be laughably wrong, if it wasn’t so dangerously wrong.

Let us not forget the important, and terrifying, assessment of Willy Lam, formerly of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (he quit after being demoted for his honesty about the Communists), about the viewpoint of the Communists in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001: “Chinese leaders also realize countries and elements such as Iraq and the bin Laden group constitute some kind of check on U.S. power. But many senior cadres, including Jiang and Premier Zhu Rongji, have decided it is not yet time to take on the U.S.” Some kind of check on U.S. power . . . it is not yet time to take on the U.S. Ponder that for a moment.

As for northern Korea itself, there can only be one option: liberation. It would take time, and if the U.S. military must be involved, it will cost blood and treasure, but it is infinitely preferable to allowing the Communists the perfect weapon against us, i.e., one they have convinced the world they cannot control.

In Other News from Communist China (scroll down for Taiwan and Stalinist-controlled northern Korea) . . .

Population reaches 1.3 billion despite hideous “one child” policy: The official population count in the “People’s Republic” hit 1.3 billion this morning (BBC), a nice reminder to the outside world of the forced abortions, forced sterilizations, infanticide, and other murders that make up the Communists’ “one child” policy, which the Party insisted would continue (UPI/Washington Times). To hammer the point home, Communist China added three more months to the prison term of Mao Hengfeng (IOL: South Africa), a woman who became an anti-Communist activist after she was forced to abort her second child.

Beijing Attorney Appeals for Falun Gong support: Gao Zhicheng, called a “renowned Beijing attorney” by the Epoch Times (full disclosure: they have run some columns from yours truly, and I consider them a highly trustworthy source) has gone public with a letter he sent to the Communists’ puppet Parliament (called the National People’s Congress) asking for the persecution of Falun Gong to end.

Appeal for Lu Decheng and Zhao Wendong: A number of anti-Communist activists – led by the China Support Network and including yours truly – call for Thailand to allow Chinese dissidents Lu Decheng and Zhao Wendong to remain in exile, rather than be deported back to Communist China.

Washington Times editors notice Communists’ growing influence in Latin America: Unfortunately, they’re all over the map regarding how the U.S. should respond.

Communist-owned bank scores profit surge: Industrial and Commercial Bank, which is also the largest loan issuer in Communist China had profits rise 18% last year (BBC). The Communists are still, however, planning to throw a lot of money at the bank to help defray the cost of bad loans.

From Taiwan (Stalinist-controlled northern Korea is next) . . .

Taiwan to sell bullets to, and buy missiles from, U.S. military: The island democracy is preparing to sell $62.5 million worth of bullets to the U.S. military, according to the United Evening News (cited by Agence France Presse via Spacewar.com). Most of the money will go to a $50 million buy of 400 Hellfire missiles from the U.S. We could use the 300 million bullets to replenish deplete supplies; they need the missiles to help counteract the growing Communist military threat to their existence.

From Stalinist-controlled northern Korea . . .

Japanese PM hopes for progress in talks with KJI’s regime: Junichiro Koizumi maintained his cautiously optimistic view on the “on-again, off-again dialogue with North Korea” (Voice of America via Epoch Times). Anger is rising in Japan over the KJI regime’s treatment of the fate of several Japanese abducted by SCNK between 1977 and 1983. The Stalinists let five return to Japan, but held their children as de facto hostages for a year and a half. They claim eight others are dead (two on the same day, right after they managed to smuggle a letter home), but have twice provided false remains as “evidence.” Many are convinced – including yours truly at this point – that at least some of the eight in question are still alive, and that many other missing Japanese were abducted.

SCNK on possible war – don’t forget the pictures! An alleged manual by the KJI regime telling its prisoners – ahem, the northern Korean people – what to do in case of an American attack: “move portraits of famous generals and ‘revolutionary historical material’ underground and abide by a 10 p.m. curfew” (Washington Times). The manual notes that “Weapons will be stored in underground bunkers or caves if military facilities aren't available.” Said “bunkers,” which according to some reports are a mile deep, could also currently be hiding nuclear weapons, one of the many reasons for skepticism about any pledge by KJI to end his nuclear ambitions (and, in case you missed it above, why northern Korea must be liberated).