News of the Day (September 9)

Pentagon Sinologist says Communists consider U.S. “inevitable foe”: Michael Pillsbury, described by Newsmax as “an influential Pentagon adviser” on Communist China, has concluded that the Communist regime “sees the U.S. as an inevitable foe, and is planning accordingly.” Pillsbury’s analysis, while sounding eminently rational to this quarter, “has rattled many in Washington.”

Communist China to U.S. on regime’s ties to Iran and Zimbabwe – buzz off: Communist Chinese mouthpiece Qin Gang called his regime’s ties to Iran’s mullahcracy (which includes extensive help for its nuclear weapons program) and Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe (third, sixth, sixth, seventh, sixth, and ninth items) as “normal friendly relations” (AFX via Forbes) and insisted, “There is nothing wrong with that.”

More on Communist China and the United States: Ernest H. Preeg, senior fellow at the Manufacturers Alliance, sounds the alarm about Communist China’s rapid rise in the advanced technology sector, and calls for “an equally forceful U.S. strategy to maintain America's longstanding leadership position in technology innovation and application” (Washington Times), although he goes a little wobbly when it comes to specifics. Meanwhile, Edward Lanfranco, United Press Int’l via Washington Times, examines Admiral Fallon’s visit to Communist China (fifth column).

As Hu Jintao visits Canada, regime bribes expatriates into welcome convoys: Communist leader Hu Jintao began his visit to Canada yesterday, and was received by hundreds of enthusiastic Chinese-Canadians. However, the enthusiasm had more to do with the “offers of money, free meals, souvenirs, and good references that will help them get jobs” the Communists spread around to entice them to show up (Epoch Times). Former Communist consul Chen Yonglin told NTDTV (via Epoch Times) how overseas cadres used bribes and threats to make sure visits such as this went off without a hitch.

Communist Embassy staffer at vice consul general rank defects to Canada: Canada acknowledged that a staff member at Communist China’s Embassy in Canada had defected (Epoch Times), but wouldn’t say who it was. Hairdresser Yang Jianhua, along with his wife and son, had defected last month (second item), but according to the paper, “after Yang and his family’s defection, another Chinese official stationed in Canada with a rank at or higher than vice consul general had defected.”

More on Communist China and Canada: Among those not with Hu in Canada was leading Falun Gong persecutor Bo Xilai (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, the Communist-owned China Shipping Group joined with France’s CMA CGM to make a joint bid for Canadian Pacific Ships (UPI via Washington Times, see also third item), making the Communist seizure of yet another Canadian firm almost inevitable (fourth item).

Falun Gong in U.S. protests Communist persecution, which continues apace: At a Washington press conference, practitioners called for the six-year-plus persecution against their spiritual movement in Communist China come to an end (Epoch Times). As this Epoch Times story from Zhaoyuan makes clear, the persecution continued.

Yahoo defense ripped: Yahoo’s rather pitiful defense of its action in the Shi Tao arrest (fourteenth, fifth, lead, and third items) led Human Rights in China’s Nicolas Becquelin to raise a second point with the firm: the role of Yahoo’s Hong Kong division. Becquelin notes that even Yahoo’s unethically flimsy defense falls apart of the Hong Kong office was involved, because: “In Hong Kong a company will not be under any legal obligation to collaborate with an investigation by mainland authorities” (Cybercast News). Of course, if the Hong Kong branch was involved, it would be evidence not just of corporate cravenness, but also of what this quarter likes to call one country, one-and-a-half systems.

Chen Guangcheng is released, tells his story to Radio Free Asia: Anti-“one child” activist Chen Guangcheng (tenth, second, and ninth items) talked to Radio Free Asia about his 38-hour ordeal in Communist custody after being seized by Linyi police in Beijing. Chen says the local cadres – who followed him to Beijing “once they realized he had slipped through a security cordon outside his house” – arrested him to silence him.

On the Communist economy: Wu Fan, of China Affairs and the Alliance for a Democratic China, presents his second installment on the economy in Communist China (Epoch Times, see last item for Part I).

On Stalinist North Korea: Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, examines the argument within the Bush Administration on how to react to SNK’s demand for a nuclear energy program. The demand had previously been an obstacle to a deal at the six-party talks (SNK, the U.S., South Korea, Communist China, Japan, and Russia) on the Stalinists’ nuclear weapons program – talks which have already seen the U.S. make substantial concessions. Some within the Administration are rightly concerned about SNK hiding parts of its nuclear weapons program from inspectors – much easier to do with a civilian nuclear energy program. Others – such as the lead envoy at the talks, Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill – have led us to ask, again: Will they never learn?