News of the Day (March 20)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: China Intel had several posts over the weekend, including comments on the Pentagon's latest assessment of the Communist military, a well-deserved ripping against Australia's plans to sell uranium to the Communists, and a review of Constantine C. Menges' China: The Gathering Threat. CI also relays reports of Communist support for Russia's efforts to become the world's nuclear fuel producer, the U.S.-Japan-Australia talks on Communist China and other issues, and a huge anti-Communist rally in Taipei. Meanwhile, The Korea Liberator relays and agrees with Chosun Ilbo's criticism of U.S. indifference towards refugees from Stalinist North Korea. Of course, the CFBA wasn't alone in examining these issues.

The Australia-Japan-U.S. talks: The overhyped tripartite talks between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso turned out to be a flop. The only reference made to Communist China in the post-talks communiqué "welcomed China's constructive engagement in the region" (AAP via Epoch Times). Australia's skittishness in confronting the Communists likely had a role in the "welcome" (Cybercast News). Rice event went so far as to call for better ties between Communist China and Japan (BBC, Washington Times).

Taiwan: The BBC, citing Taipei police, put the anti-Communist rally attendance at 45,000; a rally in favor of the more Communist-friendly Kuomintang and People First Parties (better known as the "pan-blues") apparently drew less (BBC). Edward Cody, Washington Post, interviewed Taipei Mayor and Nationalist Party leader Ma Ying-jeou; the likely pan-blue presidential contender had harsh words for elected President Chen Shui-bian, and even criticized the United States, but said nothing about the Communist military threat to the island democracy. Sadly, Stephen M. Young, the new de facto U.S. Ambassador to Taiwan, was little better (Washington Times, last item).

Russia: Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova, Newsweek International, find opposition to the growing Russia-Communist China friendship - from nervous Russians.

The Communists' Korean colony: Five Koreans escaped the Stalinist North by boat (BBC). Daily NK has found taped footage of the last days of Kim Jong-il; the online paper also documents the rise and fall of the trade in contraband Japanese cars, and how the Stalinist regime profited from it.

More on Communist China and the United States: Joseph Farah, World Net Daily, wonders why there is no outrage surrounding Westinghouse's deal - underwritten by the American taxpayer - to build nuclear power plants in Communist China. Walmart is putting down more roots in Communist China (BBC). Bill Powell, Time Asia, examines the strained trade ties between the U.S. and Communist China (seventh item), but the piece ignores security issues entirely.

Witness confirms Sujiatun "donors" were imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners: A witness who earlier confirmed the existence of the Sujiatun organ-harvesting camp told the Epoch Times that the people killed for their organs in Sujiatun "are all Falun Gong practitioners." Meanwhile, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong is continuing its own probe (Epoch Times); an anonymous reader talks about murder prisoners and infants used for "donation" and "research" (Epoch Times); and the Epoch Times' Chicago staff wonders if its hometown will condemn its "sister city" of Shenyang. Additionally, a petition is circulating calling on the new Canadian government to demand an investigation.

Hunger strike news: The Relay Hunger Strike Support Group adds the future victims of Sujiatun to the list of those in need of support (Epoch Times). The strike spread quickly among residents of Shouzhou, Shanxi, largely due to disgust at the local cadres who "have been robbing them for so many years they have reached the ends of their ropes" (Epoch Times). Human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng (sixth, tenth, fifth, lead, third, last, twelfth, eighth, third, second, third, eighth, eleventh, eighth, fourth, fourth, last, fourth, fifth, twelfth, fifth, second, lead, next to last, seventh, last, next to last, lead, second, last, sixth, tenth, eighth, second, eighth, ninth, lead, and sixth items), continued to offer his support (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, a new, short strike will take place Wednesday "in solidarity with the dozens of Chinese people with AIDS who have been harassed by authorities in recent weeks, and for Hu Jia, a Chinese activist currently in his fourth week of detention" (Boxun). Communist China allowed at least one million people in Henan province to contract AIDS from an unhygienic blood drive in the 1980s, and has been trying to cover up the truth ever since (sixth, fourth, and sixth items).

Christian house church leaders now missing for a week: It has been one week since Communist police "raided a house church meeting at Wen County, Henan Province" (China Aid Association via Epoch Times). Eighty church leaders were arrested; twenty-four are still missing as of this hour.

Communists banning newborn names: The Communist regime is now telling parents what names they can give their children - or to be more exact, what names they cannot give them: "babies’ names must be drawn from a list that excludes tens of thousands of rare Chinese characters" (London Times, UK - link courtesy Andrew Stuttaford, National Review Online columnist and Member since 2002).

Reporters Without Borders condemns Ren Zhiyuan arrest: The international press- freedom group (via Boxun) called for Ren's immediate release (second item).

On the state of the workers in the workers' state: Tong Xin and Lu Qingshuang (Epoch Times) examines how the widespread poverty in Communist China could mean serious trouble for the Communists, while Taiwan's Central News Agency (via Epoch Times) reports that Communist China's per capita farmland is "less than 40 percent of the average world standard, 1/8 of the US average, and ½ of the India average."