News of the Day (August 31)

On Communist leader Hu Jintao: A Nine Commentaries forum in Washington, DC, heard sharply differing views on Hu Jintao. Epoch Times columnist Zhang Tianling came dangerously close to having the Ignorant Comment of the Day by holding out hope that Hu “could have his own choice,” and move away from the Chinese Communist Party. On the more realistic side was Wei Jingsheng, who addressed the forum by phone. Wei cited abundant evidence that Hu “is preparing for a war with Taiwan” (Epoch Times), which supports earlier reports of a planned Communist invasion of the island democracy by 2012. Meanwhile, Zheng Ming and Luo Bing (Epoch Times) detail Hu’s recent crackdown on dissent, and Alex Gnessin (Epoch Times also) reviews the issues likely to come up in Hu’s summit meeting with President Bush.

U.S. turning away Communist persecution victim? The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals denied an asylum request by Li Xiaodong, a Christian who escaped Communist China after being tortured for his beliefs (World Net Daily). Unless the decision is reversed, Li could follow in the bloody footsteps of Xiaoping Hu and Jiang Renzheng (fourth item).

Attacker of anti-CCP van in Australia is arrested: Police in New South Wales, Australia, arrested the unnamed man who was “caught on video tape damaging a vehicle that is a mobile ‘Quit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)’ centre” (Epoch Times). The owner of the van, Grant Liu, suspects “links to the Chinese Consulate in Sydney.”

San Francisco Councilwoman gives in to Communists on art exhibit: San Francisco City Councilwomen Fiona Ma told Victor Yu, organizer of a Chinese art exhibit in the city, “that she withdrew her support due to pressure from the Chinese Communist government” (Epoch Times). The art is owned by Mei-Ling Dai, who has “been outspoken about the Chinese Communist government’s persecution of Falun Gong.”

Communist prosecutor sued in Denmark: Falun Gong practitioners in Denmark have filed lawsuit against the Jia Chunwang, Chief Prosecutor of Communist China, for “leading activities that persecute practitioners of Falun Gong in China” (Epoch Times).

Communists order 7,000 mines closed: Communist China has ordered 7,000 mines “to suspend production by the end of the year” (BBC) due to safety concerns. Mining has become very dangerous in Communist China, thanks in large part to the fact that the mine’s “owners” are local cadres who flout safety regulations (next to last item).

Communist China invites HK legislators to Beijing, just before shooting down vote: Communist China invited the entire city legislature “to tour the neighboring province of Guangdong next month” (Washington Post). The invitation extends to “pro-democracy lawmakers who have been banned from the mainland for more than a decade.” However, the move “appeared timed to soften the impact of a soon-to-be-released report in which Tsang is expected to reject popular demands for direct elections to choose the territory's next chief executive.” One country, one-and-a-half systems rolls on.

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Today’s winner is Harlan Ullman, Washington Times, who joins the folks calling on President Bush to make a deal with Stalinist North Korea on the latter’s nuclear weapons – largely on the latter’s terms. Will they never learn?

More commentary on Communist China: The Epoch Times runs Chen Yonglin’s speech to a Chinese community meeting in Melbourne, Australia. Wu Fan, from the Alliance for a Democratic China, reveals the differences between Communist China’s real economy and the false one the Communists present to the world in the Epoch Times. Charles R. Smith, Newsmax, details the latest arms sales from Russia to Communist China. Donna Borak, United Press Int’l (via Washington Times), examines the fate of Communist textile talks with the European Union and the U.S.