News of the Day (May 10)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator takes aim at a Stalinist North Korea apologist, notes with wry irony the political troubles of Roh Moo-hyun, examines the next possible financial target for anti-Stalinist American investigators, laments the State Department's unwillingness to highlight its new policy on Stalinist refugees, and has the latest SNK news.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: The Harvard Alumni Association's field trip to Stalinist North Korea has been cancelled (Phi Beta Cons Blog: National Review Online), and "some alums suspect an opinion piece published last week in The New York Post caused the cancellation." If so, kudos to the piece's author - Deborah Orin (for a link to her piece, see second item).

Liberal MP tells Canadian government to keep quiet on Communist espionage: Raymond Chan, a former junior Minister in Cabinet under the recently turfed Liberal government, criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper et al for making their concerns about Communist Chinese espionage public (thirteenth item): "It’s important that we don’t do this kind of thing over the media" (Asian-Pacific Post). Such silliness is why this quarter endorsed Mr. Harper's Conservatives in the last Canadian election.

Communist China wins a seat on UN Human Rights Council: While there were several abysmal regimes who managed to win seats on the council that is supposed to be ensuring their peoples are free (Cybercast News), the Communists actually won over 140 votes. Also reporting: BBC

Falun Gong demonstration broken up by thugs in Indonesia: A man "claimed to be from the 'China Society' but refused to disclose his name" (Epoch Times), came with a bunch of fellow thugs to disrupt an exhibit by Falun Gong practitioners highlighting Communist organ harvesting. It was the second such attack in Indonesia in two weeks (seventh item).

More on organ harvesting: A conference on the subject was held in Auschwitz, Poland (Epoch Times).

Communists blame Dalai Lama for statue destruction in Tibet: Two statues depicting Dorje Shugden - a deity whose worship is opposed by the Dalai Lama - were destroyed in Lhasa, Tibet's capital. Local cadres quickly blamed Tibet's spiritual leader, despite his repeated opposition to violence (BBC).

Scientists call for cleaner research in Communist China: Over a hundred "US-based Chinese scientists" (BBC) publicly criticized Communist China because scientific research there "is improperly monitored" and "could damage the country's scientific reputation."

Epoch Times honored by German rights group: The International Society for Human Rights gave Die Neue Epoche (the German-language version of the Epoch Times) "a special media prize for its 'extensive and regular reporting' about violations of human rights in China."

Imprisoned journalist Yang Xiaoqing now has Hepatitis B: Yang Xiaoqing, a reporter jailed on trumped-up extortion charges (fourth item) after exposing a corrupt cadre, has "been diagnosed with Hepatitis B since his detention" (Boxun).

World Bank says Communist economic growth to continue: The World Bank projected that economic growth in Communist China will be at 9.5% this year (BBC). The proportion of said growth would be in regime-funded industrialization of useless or unwanted products (fifteenth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth, tenth, sixth, last, last, and seventh items) was not projected.

Return to the Songhua River: The Voice of America (via Epoch Times) examines the fallout from the Petrochina chemical explosion in Jilin (seventh, fourth, ninth, fourth, fourth, fifth, fourth, fifth, third, seventh, tenth, and twelfth items).