News of the Day (October 13 – sort of)

I humbly apologize for the delay.

Violence in Chongqing caused by police disguised as protestors: Why am I not surprised? The police attack on a demonstration in Chongqing by laid-off workers demanding promised severance pay (second item) was justified by a riot staged by their fellow Communist policemen, in particular “over 200 plain-cloth police who pretending to be sacked workers came and turned two police vans over” (Epoch Times). Remember this the next time media reports describe “riots” in Communist China.

Children in rural interior suffering from malnutrition: The situation in Communist China’s impoverished rural interior has become so bad “in poor western regions of China that nearly 30 percent of children younger than five years old have malnutrition” (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times).

Google admits Taiwan is, well, Taiwan: The internet search engine dropped “Province of China” from its designation of the island democracy (Epoch Times).

Textile talks return to impasse: Another round of talks on Communist China’s export surge in textiles to the U.S. ended without an agreement (BBC). Worldwide curbs on the textile trade ended last January 1, leading a surge in Communist textile exports that has crowded out several developing nations (fifth, fourth, second, fifth, and third items).

More on Communist China and the United States: Edward Lanfranco (United Press Int’l via Washington Times) sees the aforementioned textile issue as “just the tip of the iceberg” of CCP-US trade friction. Friendly Blog One Free Korea is calling for more friction in reaction to Communist China’s colonization of northern Korea. Martin Sieff, also from UPI (via Washington Times) notes the cadres’ deeply ambitious plans to pass the U.S. in space power. Finally, Alvaro Vargas Llosa, of the Independent Institute, wins the dreaded Ignorant Comment of the Day award for swallowing the “engagement” Kool-aid on Communist China’s interaction with Latin America (Newsmax).

On Communist China and the media: The Epoch Times reprints the Reporters Without Borders report on the Communist Xinhua news agency. Kevin Steele, Western Standard, notes Communist China’s curbs on internet content, and wonders why Canada is still sending millions in foreign aid to the regime, in the Friendly Blog Shotgun.

Woe Canada! Speaking of the Great White North, John Gleeson (Winnipeg Sun) errs slightly in his description of Han Guangsheng – who is more trying to atone for his sins than anything else – but that is a minor blemish on a column that rips Canadian Prime Minster Paul Martin for his moral blindness on Communist China, and easily scores Gleeson the Enlightened Comment of the Day award.