News of the Day (September 20)

SNK still insistent on light-water reactor as part of deal: Stalinist North Korea ruffled a few feathers by repeating its demand for “a light-water nuclear reactor” (BBC) before it dismantled its nuclear arsenal. While the U.S. and Japan immediately ripped the Stalinists for their assertion, the deal itself merely calls for the reactor issue to be discussed “at an appropriate time.” The U.S. itself is ready for a “discussion” on the subject, so long as the Stalinists “come into full compliance with the NPT and IAEA safeguards” (Cybercast News). The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is the agency who missed Iran’s nuclear weapons program for years (third item). Meanwhile, praise for the deal poured in from people who should know better: Michael Hirsh of Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, and Shaun Waterman of United Press Int’l (via Washington Times). Parapundit founder Randall Parker (Member since 2003) and the editors of the Washington Post were more skeptical. However, the Enlightened Comment of the Day comes from James Robbins, of National Review Online: “After two years of effort, our negotiators seem to have beaten the North Koreans down to accepting what they originally proposed. This is the art of diplomacy – agreeing to your adversary's terms, but taking credit for the deal.” The rest of his column is just as good.

More on Stalinist North Korea: Bill Gertz, Washington Times, reports on the latest uncovered Stalinist illicit schemes: counterfeit money.

Cadres claim arrests in Linyi for “one child” atrocities; locals scoff: Communist China loudly boasted that cadres in Linyi Province were “arrested or sacked over claims that they forced people to have abortions or sterilizations” (BBC). However, in Linyi itself, where the atrocities were first exposed by activist Chen Guangcheng (tenth, second, ninth, ninth, and thirteenth items), a lawyer representing the victims of the abuses “said the government may have disciplined a few low-level officials but appeared to have refrained from punishing the local party leaders who ordered Chen's arrest and the population-control crackdown” (Washington Post). Chen, meanwhile, is under house arrest and the number two cadre for the Communist “national population and family planning commission” (Cybercast News) insisted “one child” would continue.

Communist China now top monthly exporter to the United States: Communist China replaced Canada as the largest exporter to the U.S. this past July (Globe and Mail, Cdn.).

CNPC buys up part of another Canadian oil firm: Meanwhile, the Communists continued their poaching of Canadian-owned resources (third and third items) with the Communist-owned China National Petroleum Corporation’s “$1.4 billion acquisition of the Ecuadorean oil assets of Canada's EnCana Corp. this week” (Washington Times).

Japan accuses Communist China of drilling in disputed area: Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa announced that Communist China has begun drilling for oil or natural gas in the disputed East China Sea, citing “flames (that) have begun burning on top of a chimney” (BBC). Japan fears “drilling in the area may tap into deposits on the Japanese side of the line.” Communist China, of course, has its own version of the border in that sea, one which is deep into Japanese maritime territory.

U.S. official rips Taiwan on lack of defense preparedness: Defense Department bigwig Edward Ross “sharply criticized Taiwan's government for not moving ahead with an arms buildup to counter a mounting threat from China” (Washington Times), and even implied the U.S. would not come to Taiwan’s defense in case of attack “if you cannot defend yourself.” Ross also noted “Taiwan's political stalemate over the defense budget” – which implies the real beef Ross has is not with President Chen Shui-bian, but with the opposition-controlled legislature that has stymied Chen’s efforts to buildup his nation’s defenses. Of course, the opposition may not have won control of the legislature had the Bush Administration not treated Chen so shabbily in recent years.

Commentary on Communist China: Gabriel Martinez Cabrera, of the China Support Network, summarizes a forum on Communist leader Hu Jintao. Lev Navrozov, of Newsmax, rages against the “experts” who refuse to see Communist China for the danger it really is. Finally, while Russia remains Communist China’s largest arms supplier, Russians themselves are increasingly becoming victims of “encountering hostility and even abuse from Chinese citizens and officials” (UPI via Washington Times), while “the Russian government and its consular officials have seldom been willing to intervene in defense of the rights of Russians visiting China.”