News of the Day (December 30)

The Canada file: Friendly Blog Between Heaven and Earth continues to establish itself as the go-to blog for news and events intersecting Communist China and Canada with today's reprint of Kevin Steele's Western Standard piece on the Nine Commentaries and the blindness of the Canadian MSM to them. The editors of the Epoch Times Canadian edition, and list among them the lamentable fact that "the Canadian government gets even more comfortable in bed with the communist regime" (yet another reason why we endorsed the opposition Conservatives in next month's election).

Beijing News staff protest editors' firings by walking out: Nearly 100 reporters from the Beijing News, whose editors were fired by the Communists this week (sixth item), have staged a walkout in protest, a move the BBC rightly notes is "highly unusual." The Beijing News last summer exposed the cadre-inspired thug attack on farmers in Shengyou village (Dingzhou city) protesting a land seizure. It should be noted that yours truly mistakenly read (and reported) that the Beijing News had exposed the police attack in Dongzhou, better known as the Shanwei massacre; apologies for yesterday's error.

Communists preparing to register cell phone users: Communist China, ostensibly worried about "fraud", is "set to begin registering the names of cell-phone users on the first of the year" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). The potential for Communist surveillance is so obvious that even the Communist-run Xinhua news agency had to pay lip service to "complaints that the registration is . . . an intrusion on privacy."

Communists admit to worker exploitation - in "private" firms: Communist China released a report documenting employer abuse of employees, but only in "private" firms. Left unmentioned by the China Daily report is any mention of abuse at Communist-owned firms; nor does the Communist-run paper mention that most, if not all, "private firms" are owned at least in part by Communist cadres, their relatives, or their protégés. Report: BBC

Renewable energy to get 2006 push: Communist China has announced a goal of having renewable energy resources "account for 15 percent of national consumption" (UPI via Washington Times, third item) by 2020. It's seven percent now. While under normal circumstances this is good news, given how Communist China is building its renewable energy plants (water and wind) today, this report means we must brace ourselves for more Hanyuans and Shanweis.

Another currency dodge: Communist China "approved 13 domestic and foreign banks to act as market-makers for yuan trading" (BBC). The move supposedly "will limit the extent to which it can intervene in the currency markets," but it will not stop the Communists from holding down the value of the currency by unloading excess supply of yuan on the market. Communist China's deliberately devalued currency has been "making Chinese exports artificially cheap and damaging other countries' trade balances" - and their exporters.

Dalai Lama refutes comments of Communist-picked monk: The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, refuted the earlier comments of the Communist-appointed Panchen Lama (tenth item), who claimed the Communist-occupied nation "was open and happy" (Washington Times). The real Panchen Lama has not been seen since Communist China detained him and his family over ten years ago, when he was six years old.

Vietnam not happy with Taiwan's Spratly airstrip: The island democracy of Taiwan is planning to build an airstrip "on one of the biggest islets in the disputed Spratly Island chain" (Washington Times, second item). Vietnam, which also claims the Spratlys, demanded the plans be stopped. There was no comment from the other claimant to the entire Spratly chain: Communist China.

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Today's dubious prize goes to David Ignatius, Washington Post, who says this about the year that was in Communist China: "It was hard to know what was more depressing: the contempt of Russian and Chinese leaders for democracy, or the willingness of their publics (and the rest of the world's leaders) to play along." Did Mr. Ignatius miss the news from his own paper on Shengyou, Taishi, or Shanwei, or Sanshan (sixth item)?

Other Commentary on Communist China: Edward Lanfranco, UPI via Washington Times, gives the year that was in Communist China - almost; he forgot Taishi, Chen Yonglin, Hao Fengjun, the Nine Commentaries resignations . . .

On Stalinist North Korea: China Freedom Blog Alliance Member One Free Korea traces the latest asset move by Communist China's would-be colony, offers a radio question to Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il, fires another well-deserved rhetorical shot at Chung Dong-young, whose remarks on Stalinist counterfeiting of American currency (Washington Times) weren't nearly as positive as originally thought (last item), tracks the travails of Stalinist diplomats, rips the dovish South Korean government for its aid to SNK, comments on politics in the South, and notes the departure of Joseph DeTrani from the diplomatic scene. Stunningly, OFK actually missed a couple of things: the United States finally growing a spine and telling the Stalinists they'll get no food aid unless they promise outsiders can make sure it goes to the people who need it (BBC and Cybercast News), and the trouble SNK is having regulating cell phone use (Daily NK).