News of the Day (May 14)

U.S. demands Communist China stop selling weapons to terrorists: An unnamed State Department official told Newsmax that the Administration sent this message to Communist China: “Stop selling advanced weapons technology or face tough sanctions.” Of particular concern are the Communists’ past weapons sales to Iran, Pakistan and Stalinist North Korea. The cadres’ involvement with Iran is quite extensive, as is, of curse, their ties to the Stalinist regime.

U.S. imposes restrictions against Communist textiles: A surge in textile exports from Communist China that followed the end of worldwide textile trade restrictions (fifth item) could be stemmed by new restrictions by the Bush Administration to “limit annual growth in Chinese imports to as little as 7.5 percent a year” (Washington Post). U.S. textile firms were not alone in struggling against the Communists’ combination of union-less wages, prison workers, and the artificially cheap currency (fourth item); “Central America and Bangladesh were preparing for devastating competition from China.”

U.S. court grants political asylum to all “one child” victims: Those who have suffered forced sterilization under Communist China’s hideous “one child” policy, along with their husbands, are now entitled to political asylum in the United States under a Ninth Circuit Appeals Court ruling. Communist China’s “one child” outrage has also included forced abortions, infanticide, and murder. Report: Los Angeles Times via Guardian (UK)

Taiwan rejects mainland-hoppers Lien and Soong in National Assembly elections: Despite all of the fawning press Nationalist leader Lien Chan and People First leader James Soong received from their visits to Communist China, Taiwanese voters stuck with the anti-Communist “pan-green” parties in the vote for the National Assembly, a body elected to consider changes to Taiwan’s Constitution. The lead “green” party – President Chen Shui-bian’s Democratic Progressives – led the field with 42.5%, followed by Lien’s Nationalists at 38.9% (BBC). People First plummeted to 6% (Time Asia), and was beaten by Lee Teng-hui’s “pan-green” Taiwan Solidarity Union, who scored 7% (Washington Post). It was the first time formed by the former Nationalist President had come in third place.

Taiwan’s Legislature blasts Communist China for dissident arrests: Finally, Taiwan’s Parliament “unanimously passed a resolution calling on the international community to express its concern over China's continuing detention of Dr. Wang Bingzhang and other Chinese dissidents” (Worldrights via China Support Network, last item). It was “the first time such a resolution focusing on imprisoned Chinese dissidents has been passed by the Taiwan legislature.”

Lien and Communists ripped: Meanwhile, Lien received more criticism from Ruan Ming, a leading Taiwan analyst now in America (Epoch Times). Taiwanese Prime Minister Frank Hsieh, like Chen a Democratic Progressive, predicted “the future of the CCP is in doubt” (Epoch Times), but noted the cadres would conduct “aggressive gestures” to try and avoid that fate.

Cadre meets Castro: Jia Qinglin, member of the Communist Politburo Standing Committee, “met with President Fidel Castro during a visit aimed at cementing political and economic ties between the two communist nations” (Washington Post). Among the topics for discussion were Cuba’s nickel deposits (twenty-second item).

NTDTV faces Saturday deadline: Eutelsat is once again threatening to take New Tang Dynasty Television off the air, this time on Saturday, May 21. The last time the satellite firm tried to cut off the dissident station’s signal into Communist China (sixth item), 78 members of the European Parliament, longtime French anti-Communist and former Minister of Culture Jack Lang, and 53 members of Canada’s Parliament called for the signal to stay on the air (Epoch Times). Even the Pentagon, a major Eutelsat customer, weighed in on the station’s behalf (third item).

Post-Nine Commentaries resignations top 1.5 million: As a seminar spotlighting the victims of Communist persecution and the Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party met in Osaka (Japan), the number of Party members who have resigned as a result of the Commentaries has passed 1.5 million (both links via the Epoch Times).

Jewelry factory workers unpaid for almost a year go on strike: In reaction to the decision by Eryou Jewelry Material Limited that “forced all employees to take a leave without pay” (Epoch Times), the workers at the factory – already working without pay for “nearly a year” – went on strike, “took to the streets and blocked the main bridge and road in the township.” In Communist China, the only labor union allowed is the one now controlled by the Communists, who have now become strikebreakers (twelfth item).

Falun Gong marks thirteenth anniversary: Thirteen years ago Friday, the spiritual practice of Falun Gong born. The date was marked in Toronto, Philadelphia, Bangalore, and New York (both links via Epoch Times).

On “managing” Communist China: Robert Kagan, Washington Post, examines the school of thought that believes Communist China can be “managed” (i.e., “engagement” by another name), and gives it some well-deserved skepticism.

Capture of Panchen Lama (ten years ago tomorrow) noted: Olympic Watch took note of tomorrow’s significance: the tenth anniversary of the Communist capture of the Panchen Lama, “one of the most important figures of Tibetan Buddhism” (China Support Network). The lama, six years old when he was captured, has not been seen since.

Other Commentary on Communist China: Qi Zhiyong, Epoch Times, has high praise for Ding Zilin, founder of the Tiananmen Mothers group. The editors of the Epoch Times are far less happy with the embarrassing performance of “Doctor” Mao Xinyu: grandson of and apologist for Mao Zedong. Finally, Professor Stephan Garelli of the Institute for Management Development tells John Zarocostas (Washington Times) why Communist China is falling in his ratings of economic competitiveness: its terrible financial sector.

U.S. and Japan make vague threats against possible Stalinist nuclear test: Stephen J. Hadley, national security adviser to President Bush, “warned North Korea for the first time that if it conducted a nuclear test, the United States and several Pacific powers would take punitive action” (New York Times). What such “action” entailed was not explained. Japan was more specific: governing Liberal Democratic Party secretary general Shinzo Abe “noted that Japan would be capable of cutting off a considerable flow of money into North Korea sent by ethnic Koreans living in Japan.” However, both Abe and Hadley feel Communist China must be brought in to help (Will they never learn?). Japan also floated the idea of “five-party nuclear talks without North Korea if the communist nation continues its boycott of negotiations” (Washington Times, third item). The three previous rounds of talks include Stalinist North Korea, South Korea, Russia, the U.S., Japan, and Communist China; they didn’t go so well.

South Korea holding talks with SNK: Meanwhile, the dovish government of South Korea restarted talks with the Stalinist regime, and “offered new incentives for North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear weapons programme (UK sp)” (BBC). Such a move is typical of the government of President Roh Moo-hyun, who was elected by younger and far less anti-Communist voters (Time Asia).

Well, we obviously can’t send him to the United Nations: Jasper Becker examines Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il in Rogue Regime (reviewed by Austin Ramzy, Time Asia), and opines: “After a succession of statesmen—Jiang Zemin, Vladimir Putin, Kim Dae Jung, Sweden's Goran Persson, Madeleine Albright—have returned home to tell us how rational, well informed, witty, charming, and deeply popular Kim Jong Il is, President Bush's judgment that Kim is loathsome seems the only honest and truthful one.”