News of the Day (March 2)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth reprints Lloyd Billingsley Front Page Magazine piece on how San Francisco (next to last and fifth items) has slowly fallen into following the Communist line on Falun Gong. The Korea Liberator comments on Minxin Pei's exposé of Communist China (last item), the continuing India-U.S. rapproachement, Kaesong again - including an upcoming visit by Deputy Stalinist-in-chief (ahem, new Uri Party Chairman) Chung Dong Young - Stalinist announcement on nuclear weapons and counterfeiting, a documentary on abducted South Koreans, Europe's views on SNK refugees (it's actually better than ours), and the South's dovishness (confirmed by reports of recent high-level talks between the Stalinists and the doves "aimed at easing military tension and boosting trade" - BBC).

As Communist China tightens ties to Pakistan, U.S. finalizes India nuclear deal: South Asia has become the metaphor for the world. Communist China's increasing military ties with autocratic Pakistan - already a fifty-plus year Communist ally - go under Wisconsin-Eau Claire Professor Tarique Niazi's microscope (China Brief). Meanwhile, Pakistan and Communist China's longtime rival - democratic India - finalized a major nuclear energy deal with the U.S. - which had the Communists miffed (BBC).

On Communist China's naval expansion: New South Wales Professor You Ji examined the Communist navy's ambitious plans for the future in China Brief.

Communists preparing to pump oil out of occupied East Turkestan: Starting this October, two pipelines "will pump oil from Urumqi," which United Press Int'l (via Washington Times) called the "capital of northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region." To the Uighur natives, "Xinjiang" is actually East Turkestan, the nation that has been brutally occupied by the Communists since 1949. Of course, exploitable resources were one of the main reasons the Communists invaded in the first place.

Communist China may split off its internet: Communist China "created three of its own top-level domains that will use the domain names .cn, .com and .net" (CNet). This is leading many to believe the cadres may split off from the ICANN-controlled web domain and establish their own web.

Hunan hunger striker and "Tiananmen gentleman" arrested: Yu Zhijian, one of the "Tiananmen gentlemen" who was jailed for throwing paint at Mao Zedong's portrait during the 1989 spring protests, is now in jail for "subverting the government," i.e., starting a relay hunger strike in Hunan Province (Epoch Times).

Communist new solution to rampant corruption - information officers: The latest Communist attempt "to improve transparency and increase public trust" (UPI via Washington Times) is the mass appointment of "information officers" for the Party.

The state of the workers in the workers' state - health (again): Communist China has become a nightmare for anyone unfortunate enough to get sick, as Louisa Lim (BBC) reports.

On Communist China and the United States: Mark Levin, who himself is uneasy about the UAE ports deal, uses his National Review Online blog to highlight Communist China's already dangerous involvement in North American ports (not once, but twice). Meanwhile, Ethan Gutmann, author of Losing the New China (and Member since 2004), examines the prospects of the Global Online Freedom Act (tenth item) and the lack of seriousness coming from its foes, in the Enlightened Comment of the Day (Front Page Magazine).

No Ignorant Comment of the Day, but University of Haifa Professor Yitzhak Shichor comes close with his near-paean to higher education in Communist China (China Brief).