News of the Day (July 7)

Hao Fengjun details Communist espionage in New Zealand: Hao Fengjun, the former Communist cop who escaped from Tianjin with evidence of Communist espionage in Canada (third item), gave the Epoch Times a detailed example of similar espionage in New Zealand against a Christian church, under his supervision. Hao also told the paper, “when I was in the team monitoring Falun Gong, the most situation reports I saw were from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand” – all the more reason the United States should grant him (as well as Chen Yonglin and his family) asylum.

More on Communist espionage and intimidation: Liu Yucheng, a longtime pro-democracy activist, talked to the Epoch Times about how Communist China used espionage and intimidation to harass him and his late wife.

Han Guangsheng’s anti-Communist journey: Meanwhile, Han Guangsheng, the former cadre whose request for asylum was denied by a Canadian court, also talked to the Epoch Times about his long journey from Communist police officer to anti-Communist exile. The editors of the paper lament the cruel irony that the “court’s ruling that members of the Chinese security apparatus are complicit in crimes against humanity” ends up hurting a man who “traded his high rank, chauffeur, and government perks, for the scorn of his colleagues, a basement room in Toronto, and his conscience.”

Bishop arrested: Monsignor Julius Jia Zhiguo was arrested, again (see nineteenth and tenth items) as part of a Communist plan “to convince him to join the association” (World Net Daily), i.e., the “Catholic Patriotic Association,” the Communist-controlled church. Over 10 million of Catholics, and anywhere from forty to seventy million Protestants (eighth item), face the possibility of arrest and torture for their refusal to put the Chinese Communist Party between themselves and their God.

Kuomintang sucking up to Communist China again: A delegation from Taiwan’s Sinocon Industrial Standard Foundation led by Kuomintang (Nationalist) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, visited Communist China on a trip inspired by “a visit by KMT leader Lien Chan in early May, Xinhua reported” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). The visit was the latest in the minuet between the Chinese Communists and Taiwan’s political opposition – part of the cadres attempt to isolate and discredit the elected government of President Chen Shui-bian, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Chevron responds to Communist China’s bid for Unocal: Chevron vice chairman Peter Robertson slammed the Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s attempt to buy Unocal (third, third, fourth, seventh, and second items). Robertson also insisted that his firm – if its bid is accepted by Unocal shareholder vote on August 10 – has no intention of splitting Unocal up to let the Communists swallow up its Asian assets (Agence France Presse).

Financial Times hint Bush may dump Bolton: A Financial Times (UK) story hints The Bush Administration has given up on UN Ambassador-designate John Bolton. However, Newsmax, which relayed the story, insisted it heard from “Washington insiders (who) tell Newsmax that the Financial Times report is wrong.” Bolton scored points and earned enemies for his tough stances on Communist China and Stalinist North Korea (fifth item).

The Kudlow disease spreads: The latest to fall victim to the contagion is National Review Online’s Tom Nugent, who wonders why “the gray beards in Congress appear offended by China,” while completely ignoring the pertinent national security answers.

On Jiang Zemin: The Epoch Times brings forward the next installment of its biography of the man who owes his entire tenure as Communist leader to the Tiananmen massacre.

On Stalinist North Korea: Jong-Heon Lee, UPI (via Washington Times), talks to analysts who rightly note SNK’s dependence upon having American as an enemy.