Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Melamine!

Halloween is supposed to be the day for fake scares (at least it is now - back when it was All Hallow's Eve things were different), but instead we have a genuine scare from Communist China (BBC):

The toxic chemical melamine is probably being routinely added to Chinese animal
feed, state media has reported.

Correspondents say the unusually frank reports in several news outlets are an admission that contamination could be widespread throughout the food chain.


Read those words slowly, "contamination could be widespread throughout the food chain." Even the Communist-run newspaper China Daily went as far as to say, "We cannot say for sure if the same chemical has made its way into other types of food" - although even that is skirting around the truth, since we do know "the same chemical has made its way" into eggs.

Lest anyone think this is just a problem for East Asia, at least one American lab "found 30 samples of animal feed contaminated with melamine . . . all imported to the U.S. from China and came from the same company" (Epoch Times).

Thus the real scare trumps the phony ones.

Happy Melamine!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The view from abroad

So long as the Chinese Communist regime refuses to submit itself to the will of the people (in other words, for as long as it continues to exist), it will need to rely on the approval of foreign leaders to enhance its own reputation and pretend it is making China "respectable" (in fact, the only thing not respectable about China is the CCP, but that's for another day).

From that perspective, today was a bad day for the Communists.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his new cabinet, and it was much improved from his last one. The move that most especially please me was Stockwell Day going to the Ministry of International Trade (Steven Taylor). To have a dedicated anti-Communist in this position is a genuine coup; that the Asia-Pacific Gateway was added to his portfolio is an unexpected bonus.

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, greeted the news that the CCP wants more talks with him by hinting he might allow full independence for his occupied homeland to be part of his agenda (BBC). Clearly the Korea colony's wildly successful use of threats to get what it wants (One Free Korea) rubbed off in a way Beijing did not expect.

Not that they've learned anything from it, given their saber-rattling on global warming (BBC).

Meanwhile, the American election hasn't focused on Communist China much (Washington Times), but more attention is being paid to the cadres' ambitions in the Caribbean (Times again).

Finally there is - or is supposed to be - the world financial crisis, and the Communists' chance to stride the world stage and help alleviate it. That may not be in the cards, though, given their own economic straits (Epoch Times) and the continuing melamine fall-out (BBC).

Clearly, anti-Communism was on the march today. Whether it stays there will likely be up to the Tibetan monk and the Trade Minister.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The latest Communist propaganda effort falls flat

The Chinese Communist Party's much-hyped "land reform" did not get the reception for which the cadres were hoping (Washington Post):

. . . here in the rice-and-corn-growing region of Guangdong province, where tensions are still running high weeks after the protest, farmers say the changes do not address their main grievance: corruption, much of it directed by local party officials far below the radar of the central government in Beijing.

"I don't think this will give us more protection," said a farmer in the village of Xianyi, two hours' drive from Hebu, who gave his surname as Li. "We have no expectations. We just hope the government will not further take away our land, because we live on the land. If it's sold, we will lose our livelihoods."


In fact, illegal land seizures by cadres looking to profit from development - the biggest corruption issue in the farming areas - was left completely unaddressed by the "reform." In fact, lack of accountability for corruption is still the hallmark of CCP "governing" - even as the most visible example, the export poison fiasco, continues to spread in North America (Epoch Times).

Meanwhile, in another place far away from the Potemkin cities, cadres used police to silence concerned parents upset at a school teacher's harassment of their daughter (she was driven to suicide). The heavy-handed tactics brought 10,000 into the streets of Suqian, Jiangsu (Epoch Times).

Even outsiders are getting wise to the Communists' game. Leading IT firms are reaching out to human rights activists to create a framework for protecting online speech (Boycott 2008), and South Korea and Mongolia continue to side with those persecuted by the colonial viceroy (One Free Korea).

How do I know the cadres are really going through a rough patch? They're dropping hints about talks with the Dalai Lama again (BBC and CNN), which they only do when they're looking for some quick positive publicity on the cheap . . .

. . . the sort of thing they thought they would get with the land reform.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Where does the government end and the criminal element begin?

It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the cops and the crooks these days (Epoch Times):
On the evening of October 23, at 10:00 p.m., villagers of Hongsu Village of Jiangxi Province were raided by crime syndicate members allegedly hired by the Green Sea Wood Co., Ltd (The Green Sea Company) of Tonggu County. One villager was killed, dozens were hospitalized and several were in critical condition. Villagers said that they called for the police but no police were sent to help them on that night. On October 24, 2008, hundreds of armed police gathered in front of the Green Sea Company to suppress a large crowd calling for justice in regard to the attack of the previous day.

So now the cadres have turned their police force into the private security force for the triads who help line their pockets.

Not that this should surprise anyone. The regime itself has been forced to admit that corruption is shot through the mining industry (Epoch Times), giving a whole new meaning to the term "dirty industry" (BBC).

Meanwhile, the satellite states are following suit. Even as the Korean viceroy does his best impersonation of the J. Alfred Prufrock's night sky (BBC and the Times of London), his minions are threatening to atomize South Korea - or, to be more precise, to turn it into "debris" (BBC and One Free Korea). Halfway around the world, Sudan - dependent upon Communist China's appetite for its oil - can't protect the laborers its benefactor sends over, so it blames rebel groups indiscriminately (BBC). I can't imagine where they came up with that idea.

The Communists' bureau of numerical propaganda claims that their imprisoned nation is "no longer a low income country" (BBC). Perhaps that is so, but so long as the gains from prosperity remain so tightly concentrated among the cadres and those in their Potemkin cities, the vast majority of the Chinese people will remain as poor and desperate as they have been for years, until they rise up and take their country back.

Monday, October 27, 2008

The CCP's priorities do not include the Chinese people

The two links juxtaposed in my inbox (many thanks to the membership for continuing to send them along) summarized the CCP's situation very well.

First, there was the fact that the economic crisis that started with a Wall Street panic has reached Guangdong (Epoch Times):

According to an Eastern Daily report, the Association of Foreign Investment
Enterprises estimates that by January2009, about 9,000 factories out of the 45,000 factories in Dongwan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou will be forced to close down due to their orders being reduced sharply as a result of the current financial tsunami.

About 2.7 million mainland Chinese workers could lose their jobs by next year as a result.


Rest assured, the Communists were responding with a rescue package for - Pakistan (Canada Free Press):
China is quietly working to provide Pakistan a soft loan of $1.5 billion to overcome its financial crisis in addition to more than $3.7 billion to be invested in the telecom and power generation sectors in the next two to three years, Chinese officials told The News here on Friday.

That news may come as a surprise to some, but for those of us who have been watching the CCP operate, it's par for the course. Even as the massive closures were being reported, Communist Premier Wen Jiabao feted foreign leaders and basked in the glow of their admiration (Washington Post), rather than admit that the financial problems which brought them together have afflicted his countrymen, too.

In part, this may be driven by simple denial, but I suspect there is more to it than that. The CCP has always focused more on foreign approval than on the fate of the Chinese people. This is especially true in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre, when radical nationalism became the regime's sole justification for its continued existence - and thus evidence that the CCP was advancing Chinese "honor" became the gold standard for propaganda aimed at the Chinese people. This is why the melamine scandal was largely ignored until the poison surfaced off the mainland (BBC, Epoch Times, and Taipei Times).

There is a lesson to be learned here - not for the Chinese people (who are already sure to be aware of it) - but for those who are coveted by the regime, namely the people of Taiwan and possibly Korea. Their future can be found not in Beijing's flowery words but in its thuggish actions - be it on the mainland, where homeowners who refuse eviction are murdered (Epoch Times), or Macau, where the "one country, two systems" chicanery continues to melt away (Epoch Times).

The people of Taiwan may very well be listening (BBC and Epoch Times). Of course, no one in northern Korea can do much against the colonial viceroy (One Free Korea), but South Koreans should take heed, and remember that Beijing has no interest in Korean reunification (the Vietnamese might want to be careful, too, all niceties from Beijing notwithstanding - BBC).

Meanwhile, the Chinese people continue to be silenced, abused, and closely watched to make sure they say nothing about their plight (Voice of America via Epoch Times). After all, the Communists drive to get and keep power never had anything to do with them in the first place.

The CCP

Friday, October 24, 2008

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 1

The international arena saw two examples of how to handle pressure from Communist China and its satellites. Interestingly enough, the right way (with resolve, determination, and pluck) came from Europe, while the wrong way (appeasement, obfuscation, and cynicism) came from Washington.

The European Parliament awarded Hu Jia the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought this week (NRO - The Corner). One MEP, Helga Trüpel of Germany, detailed the efforts of the cadres to intimidate her and her fellow MEPs into backing down (Epoch Times). The editors of the Washington Post also note that a decision by the cadres to keep slightly looser restrictions on foreign journalists may well have been done "to stop the measure" - and that wasn't all the regime did, as the Post editors document.

Thankfully, it didn't work; even the American State Department took the opportunity to call for Hu's release (Boycott 2008). Sadly, there was far worse news coming from Washington.

One Free Korea goes deep into the wickets of the "agreement" that got North Korea off the State Department terrorist list. It's a shocker; the Communists' Korean colony did not have to agree to anything concrete about its nuclear weapons program. The big, painful requirements were put off to be negotiated at some future date - making just who ends up in the White House more dramatically important than could ever have been imagined just a week ago.

Of even deeper irony, as the Washington Times notes, this is one issue where McCain is the departure from Bush Administration, while Obama would preserve the horrific status quo for a regime so awful not even the UN can mitigate it (BBC).

While the corruption (Epoch Times) and repression (Epoch Times) continue, today was a revelation for determining how the free world will respond to future challenges from the tyrannical one. The glass is only half-full, but that could change for the better on November 4.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

What the next President will confront

I have already detailed my concern over the lack of discussion of Communist China as an issue in the Presidential campaign (admittedly tempered by Senator John McCain's strong opposition to the Administration's surrender to North Korea). My concern is growing as it becomes clear just what the next President will face across the Pacific over the next four years - a Chinese Communist Party desperate to preserve its rationale for the continued oppression of the Chinese people, no matter what the consequences.

I'll start with the weaknesses, because they will drive the regime's actions. We are now aware that the economy is no longer the white-hot dynamo that the CCP has always claimed it is, meaning the "bread" in the bread-and-circus routine will be more scarce. While a 9% growth rate certainly sounds terrific, one must keep in mind that population growth in the area under Communist rule is roughly 6-7%. This means that most of the economic growth is due to increased labor, rather than increased capital or higher productivity. Moreover, GDP per capita (the measure by which economic growth translates into higher prosperity for the people) is actually close to 2-3%, which might be entirely explained not by any real economic gains but rather from Communist chicanery with the statistics (or, if one prefers, dubiety).

While economic growth ceased to be the lead justification for the Communist tyranny after the Tiananmen massacre, it certainly helped the regime preserve itself. Now, the Chinese people will see their own incomes stagnate (or worse - Boycott 2008), as corrupt cadres flee for the very democratic world the regime criticizes without end (BBC) and the Party leaders who stay scramble to contain the damage from things such as the melamine fiasco (Epoch Times). These tidings do not bode well for "stability," i.e., the regime's continued status as tyrant-in-thief.

Given these problems, we can expect the regime to act as it has always done - silence its critics at home (Between Heaven and Earth) and rattle its saber abroad. What the next President must understand is that these are the actions of a weakening regime, not a strengthening one. Thus, rather than appeased, the Chinese Communist Party must be confronted when it chooses to misbehave.

There will be plenty of opportunities for the incoming White House occupant to make this plain. The CCP is already trying to silence critics outside China via the Long Arm of Lawlessness. Thankfully the European Union refused to be gagged (BBC, Epoch Times, and Washington Post). However, the more troubling aspects to this are happening right here in the United States, particularly in New York City, where the regime's minions have waged a campaign of intimidation and terror against those who point out its persecutions back home (The Epoch Times).

Will the next President step up and make it clear to Beijing that such criminal actions against the rights of Americans on American soil will no longer be tolerated? This will be an immediate test of his abilities and a signal as to his priorities. The Communists themselves will certainly notice action - or inaction - on this front.

That won't be the only test either. The RAND Corporation has echoed a warning yours truly has sounded for years - that the Chinese Communist Party will occupy North Korea before ever letting its colonial regime fall (Chosun Ilbo, ROK). Considering how much of a headache Kim Jong-il has been to Washington - and how little blame his colonial masters have received for it - it is quite likely that such an intervention would be welcomed by the usual elites in the capitals of the democratic world. The next American President must have the resolve to resist this combination of appeasement and exhaustion to send an unmistakable message that the partial conquest of Korea will never be tolerated or recognized. Any other reaction would embolden the regime for future military operations - like one against a rather large island southwest of Japan that the cadres claim as their own (hint: it starts with a "T").

Of course, the next American President must also face the War against Wahhabism, Ba'athism, and Khomeinism (better known as the War on Terror). Will he be aware that the CCP is the common ally of anti-American terrorists? Will he have the resolve to face this reality and rally the American people to victory in what is really the Second Cold War? This will be the most important question the new President will face.

We have forgotten this as 9/11 seared our memory, but the outgoing Administration's first foreign-policy challenge wasn't al-Qaeda's attack, but the Hainan outrage. President Bush's weakness then sent exactly the wrong signal to the rest of the world, al Qaeda included. His successor cannot make the same mistake. America will never be secure until China is free.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

John McCain gives anti-Communists a reason to vote for him

At long last, we see some difference between the major party candidates on an issue near and dear to anti-Communists, as Senator John McCain took aim at the Bush Administration's North Korea debacle (Weekly Standard Blog):

"I don't agree with it, and I think we have basically contradicted Ronald Reagan's great dictum of trust but verify. And particularly--many aspects of this are disturbing--but we told the South Koreans and the Japanese after we had made the decision. That's not a partnership with the allies."

McCain livened up a bit as he talked about the North Korea deal, at one point comparing the Bush administration's efforts on North Korea with the Clinton Administration's failed diplomacy. "It's a decision that I hope we don't regret over time because the North Koreans have a long pattern of breaking--a long history of breaking agreements that are not verifiable. I was very critical of the Clinton agreement--the Agreed Framework as I recall--because I didn't think that one was
verifiable and I don't think this one is verifiable."

Engaging the North Koreans in face-to-face talks at the presidential level as Obama has promised to do would present serious risks, McCain argued, with the potential not only for bad deals but embarrassment. He pointed once again to the Clinton
administration, citing Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meetings in Pyongyang. "She had a very nice experience with children dancing while the gulag--the largest gulag in the world continued to function," he said with obvious contempt.


Despite the two candidates painfully similar blindness on Communist China, McCain's clarity on the Korean colony is very, very welcome, especially given that Pyongyang is once again resorting to old tricks against its own people (Agence France Presse) and its neighbors (BBC).

One should not underestimate the importance of the Korean colony in the Communists' plans. What with an ailing economy, an angrier peasantry (Epoch Times), and more attention being paid to its police-state tactics (Epoch Times), Beijing will be needing North Korea as a distraction to the free world even more than in the past.

This is an unusual election in that several third-party candidates have arisen to lay claim to their piece of the debate. That's fair enough, but they have all been terribly disappointing, in particular two tickets (Libertarian and Constitution) that have been silent on East Asia despite the potential of either to advance anti-Communism. Bob Barr (Libertarian nominee) had a tremendous anti-Communist record that went down the memory hole the moment he was nominated. Meanwhile, the Constitution Party as a whole seems to have forgotten the anti-Communism of its founder, Howard Phillips.

Many had hoped that Nancy Pelosi's anti-Communist history would mean a different direction for the House of Representatives once she became Speaker, even if she never addressed the issue in 2006. We should know better now. What isn't an issue in the campaign is clearly not a priority in victory.

Thus, John McCain - however unintentionally or accidentally - has become the only candidate willing to address any issue of concern to anti-Communists during this campaign. For that reason, anti-Communists should support him on November 4, as I do.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The word of the day: dubiety (courtesy David Frum)

This blog post by David Frum caught my attention in more ways than one:

As Predicted Here

China's growth rate slumps. To 9% in the third quarter , according to official figures - but given the dubiety of Chinese statistics, it is the trend not the number that matters. And the fourth quarter will be worse.


The information wasn't exactly news but I was struck by the word "dubiety." Not only was it was I hadn't seen before (I had resorted to the more pedestrian "dubiousness"), but I found it to be the running theme of the days events.

The latest "terrorist" alert by the Communist regime (BBC) was quite the example of dubiety in foreign affairs. Their recent claim to "reform" land use privileges was cloaked in dubiety that was exposed less than 24 hours later (Epoch Times). Any claim the Communists make to respect religion is literally dripping in dubiety (and some other substances - Epoch Times). Then there's the continuing dubiety surrounding food safety (BBC and Epoch Times).

The Korean colony took things a step further, as the dubiety that permeated the texts of their "major announcements" has now expanded to include the existence of "major announcements" (One Free Korea).

Thanks, David, for providing the word (and theme) of the day.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Awaiting the "major announcement" . . .

As I'm typing this (8AM), we still don't have the "major announcement" from Communist China's Korean colony. Given that this "announcement" comes after its succeeded in bring the Bush Administration to heel (Agence France Presse via Breitbart, BBC, CNN, and a very detailed and cogent One Free Korea), most expect something on Kim Jong-il's health, or lack thereof.

Clearly, the Zhongnanhai clique assumed something big was in the works, since they chose today to mention that their economy shifted into a lower gear (BBC and BBC again), not to mention the conviction of the former Vice-Mayor of Beijing for corruption (BBC and the Washington Post).

The announcement - whatever it is - is not really relevant, even if it's to reveal KJI's death. In fact, Communist China has already tightened its grip on the Korean colony, Kim or no Kim. If anything Kim's would-be successors would merely confirm what keen-eyed observers have already noticed.

The Korean colony isn't the only place where the cadres are strengthening their position. Nominal American ally Pakistan continues to get "help" from Beijing (BBC), all but ensuring the nation that supposedly must be cooperative to win the War on Terror will listening far more to Hu Jintao than to whomever the American people elect to the White House.

This shouldn't surprise anyone. If anything, the slowing economy means Beijing needs its anti-American allies more than ever. Without the radical nationalism on which the regime has built its legitimacy after the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, all the regime would have to show for its rule are corrupt cadres, persecuted truth-tellers (Epoch Times), internet crackdowns (Between Heaven and Earth), and a health care system that makes its socialist slogans laughable (BBC). Even its attempts at "reform" - such as with farmland (Washington Post) - are merely piecemeal actions that don't address the biggest issue: the fact that all land is still owned by the Chinese Communist Party, which they can use and repeatedly have used to enrich its members at the expense of the Chinese people.

Replacing one Korean viceroy with another may provide some distraction from these realities, but it will not change them.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Friday, October 17, 2008

For the Chinese Communist Party, foreigners come first

The Chinese Communist Party has spent many a year insisting that it was the only entity that could be entrusted with the safety, prosperity, honor, and dignity of the Chinese people. Today's news and events have combined to expose that claim as utterly laughable.

How many ordinary Chinese even know that foreign journalists had more freedom to operate than Chinese reporters over the last few months (BBC and Boycott 2008)? Given the restrictions already in place on cyberspace in Communist China (Boycott 2008), we can be all-but-certain the number is very, very low.

I'm sure the Chinese people would also be thrilled to hear that the regime has been far more sensitive to reports of tainted exports (Epoch Times) than the fate of domestic children who have fallen ill.

Workers who are seeing their jobs disappear (BBC) will likely not react well to the news that the very regime which refuses to pay their wages is sending rivers of cash to Pakistan (Washington Times).

At some point, the Chinese people will want to know why Pakistani rulers, foreign reporters, businessmen in New Zealand (Between Heaven and Earth), and Korean sycophants (Washington Times) get more attention from Beijing than they do. When that happens, imprisoning Tibetan monks and flailing against Falun Gong (Boycott 2008) won't stop the CCP from sinking beneath the waves of history.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The elephant in the room

The last of the American presidential debates were held last night. Domestic issues dominated, in no small part because the debate was supposed to be limited to them, but on occasion foreign affairs entered the discussion, most often in reference to international trade. All three debates dealt with a host of issues, except one: the Chinese Communist Party. The lack of attention to the regime looking to replace us as the world's leading power was stunning, and one that the American people (and even the candidates themselves) are sure to regret.

There are many reasons why the CCP should be an issue per se in our national discourse. They are building up their military for no other purpose than to challenge our position in East Asia. They have alliances with some of the most tyrannical and anti-American regimes on the planet, including many terrorist-sponsoring entities. Their rank efforts at using violence to silence opposition in New York City (Epoch Times) should frighten anyone who values freedom of speech in the United States of America.

However, they also have - at least - a tangential role in the dominant issues of the campaign. Already there is talk of Communist Chinese money "bailing out" our ailing financial sector (BBC), which would enable the regime to meddle in American economic and political affairs like never before. Meanwhile, Pakistan - America's most tenuous ally in the War on Terror and one of the most contentious issues of the campaign - is once again looking to its oldest ally for help, the CCP (Washington Post).

Despite all of this we are seeing another election in which neither major-party candidate chooses to make the Communist Chinese regime an issue. Why?

First, there is history. Mao Zedong caused his country and his regime a lot of damage, but his greatest gift to his political heirs was his decision to tilt towards Washington in the early 1970s. That move continues to pay dividends more than thirty-five years later, despite the above facts. It has led to an entire political clique that is deeply vested in the fantasy that a quarrel between Mao and Leonid Brezhnev is somehow an opening to a "new" China. Thus, Communist China's human rights abuses (American Scholar and Epoch Times) ad rampant corruption (Epoch Times) are all swept under the rug.

Second, there is politics - in this case, the unique politics of modern anti-Communism. The Mao shift suddenly meant anti-Communists in America had to carve out an exception for Beijing. For most voters, the exception was purely conditional and temporary. For others, it had a more permanent effect. This division was especially obvious in the Republican Party - where the "establishment" was clearly more taken with Beijing as an American ally (however weak) than the GOP right wing. As the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, this division moved to the front burner, but even as the conservative wing of the party moved into the establishment in the 1990s, anti-Communists were largely left out in the cold.

Meanwhile, Mao's move soured many left-wing Democrats on Beijing. That led to a strong anti-CCP sentiment among Democrats in the 1980s, to the point where Bill Clinton could actually claim to be more anti-Communist than President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Clinton, as history sows us, turned his back on the Democratic left - including the anti-Communists in it - and made the Democratic establishment as slavish to "engagement" as the Republican establishment.

The result is one of the more unusual ideological alignments in America: one where right and left stand against the center. Yet both party establishments still listen to their centrist factions, so the divided anti-Communist majority is left almost entirely disenfranchised.

Still, there is ample reason to believe this cannot continue. For starters, the CCP's role in both the financial sector and in Pakistan will lead more politicians to wonder if Beijing really does have our interests at heart. When they realize the answer is no, questions will be asked, polls will be taken, and someone will notice that this is an issue that is pertinent, critical, urgent, and (unfortunately, this is vital) a potential way to peel votes away from the insert-name-here Administration.

Secondly, there are whispers that Communist China's white-hot (and somewhat overhyped) economy may be slowing down (David Frum), ensuring far more problems for the regime in dealing with the Chinese people and a much greater likelihood that said regime will resort to geopolitical chicanery in order to use the radical nationalism card. After all, there is still the issue of what diplomats call the Republic of China (and the rest of us call Taiwan), and the Communist Chinese regime's plans to conquer it.

The next President will likely be forced to face the danger of the CCP whether he likes it or not. On the plus side, this makes it much more likely that the election of 2012 will be the chance for anti-Communism to find its voice in one of the major parties. Unfortunately, the Communist regime can do a lot of damage in the intervening four years.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Why the Canadian election was good for anti-Communists

Now that Canada's election has come and gone, it's time to take stock of how the new Parliament differs from the old - and, for those of you reading this outside Canada, why you should care. Normally, Canadian elections matter to Canadians and few others, but the outgoing American Administration losing all sense of courage regarding North Korea (Washington Post) despite the latter's continued antics (BBC and Newsmax) combined with serious flaws in either potential successor means the free world will have to look elsewhere for leadership against the Long Arm of Lawlessness (Epoch Times) and the ever-growing poisoned product scandal (BBC, BBC again, CNN, the Daily Mail, UK, and The Epoch Times).

Even so, Canada's election looked like a sleeper at first for anti-Communists. The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a tremendous early record, but was disappointing as of late (especially with the appointment of ex-Liberal and always "engagement" backer David Emerson as Foreign Minister). Meanwhile, during the campaign itself, the Chinese Communist Party were largely relegated to the sidelines (most likely where they preferred to be) while the election centered around domestic issues, especially the economy.

That change dramatically in the final weekend, as Liberal candidate Wendy Yuan revealed the cruel face of the Liberal Party regarding human rights in China. Compounding the outrage was Liberal leader Stephane Dion, who not only refused to rebuke his Vancouver-Kingsway nominee but actually criticized Harper for being to hard on the Communists. Suddenly, Communist China was an issue again, forced to the table by the Liberals - of all people.

So what did the election hold for anti-Communists? A lot of good news, and not just because the Liberals did poorly. Harper's weakness at the end of the previous Parliament made it clear that one cannot simply pick one party over the others on things like this and assume all will be well if it wins (although yours truly did think that, in the end, the Conservatives' re-election to power was essential). A deeper look is required. For anti-Communists, though, that deeper look reveals an even better situation than one would expect just from the stronger Conservative victory.

For starters, the return of Communist China to the front burner was the major news event of the final weekend, meaning one could expect it to have at least some impact on voter decisions (especially for the late-breakers). The results themselves bear it out - the Liberal vote tanked nearly everywhere. In fact, two of the three greatest shifts from Liberal to Conservative happened in the two areas with the most visible Chinese-Canadian presence: southern British Columbia and Southern Ontario (the third Tory surge was in New Brunswick).

Liberals most closely associated with "engagement" were roughed up badly. Yuan herself not only lost Vancouver-Kingsway to the New Democratic Party, but she nearly finished in third place (as an added bonus, the NDP winner will replace the retiring Emerson). Just next door in the Richmond riding, Raymond Chan - who served as Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific under Beijing-friendly Jean Chretien - was bounced in an upset by an anti-Communist Tory. Meanwhile, leading anti-Communist Conservatives such as Jason Kenney, Rob Anders, and Stockwell Day cruised to re-election, as did anti-Communist NDP MP Pat Martin.

Even where the Conservatives were weaker than they'd hoped (Quebec, although they held their own with 10 seats), it wasn't the Liberals who capitalized, but the Tibet-friendly Bloc Quebecois. In fact, all the Liberals could do was make up for the loss in Outrement (to the NDP) with a victory in Papineau (although if the winner of that riding, Justin Trudeau, is anything like his father on Communist China, Election 2008 could be rued until enternity for that result alone).

What makes this all the more important is that the Conservative surge and Liberal drop-off were largely unexpected, meaning that the events of the last weekend shifted more than a few voters away from the Liberals and toward the other parties (mostly the Conservatives). The effect of the anti-Communist late surge may be best shown in Scarborough-Guildwood (Ontario), won once more by John McKay - one of the very few anti-Communists in the Liberal caucus. While the Liberals were losing 6% of their 2006 Ontario vote share, McKay shed less than 3%, and still won the riding with a majority of all votes cast. A general anti-Liberal wave would have impacted him far more greatly than what was seen.

In other words, what we saw was more than just an improvement for the Conservatives, more even than a rejection of the Liberals. The voters rejected of Beijing-friendly Liberals, in favor of the nearest anti-Communist they could find.

No matter what party one supports or what country one calls home, that makes the Canadian election a night to remember and celebrate (with the Trudeau caveat, of course).

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

To my Canadian readers: Please vote Conservative today

During the long weekend, Communist China finally popped up as an issue in the Canadian election - due to a Liberal candidates refusal to criticize the CCP (Between Heaven and Earth, Boycott 2008, and the Epoch Times). Within hours, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion reminded everyone why he cannot be trusted with power (Epoch Times, Marie at BH&E and Boycott has more). Combine that with New Democrat leader Jack Layton's loose talk of "coalition" (Globe and Mail) with Dion, the Green Party's deal with the Liberals to give Elizabeth May a clear shot at a seat in Nova Scotia, and the Bloc's limited appeal, the only choice for anti-Communist voters in Canada is the Conservative Party. I say this with less enthusiasm than I did in 2006, but with more urgency (and not just because it's Election Day).

Canada has been a quiet yet fierce battleground where Communist China is concerned (Epoch Times and the Wall Street Journal). In fact, Prime Minister Harper's record on Communist China - imperfect as it has been in recent months - is still better than any other major democracy on Earth (although I expect India to be much improved should the BJP reclaim power in the upcoming elections there). Moreover, while the biggest drag on their anti-Communism (David Emerson) is on his way out, some of the most anti-Communist voices (Jason Kenney and Stockwell Day) will continue in future Conservative governments.

Their anti-Communism is sorely needed.

The Bush Administration has completely caved in to the CCP's Korean colony (BBC, BBC again, CNN, CNN again, Christian Science Monitor, National Review Online, Newsmax, Washington Post, more Washington Post, Washington Times, Weekly Standard, and World Net Daily).

The Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to be a factor in New York (Epoch Times), Europe (Boycott 2008), and apparently even with the Nobel Committee (Epoch Times).

The continuing rash of poisoned products - fed by continuing Communist silence (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times) - reached New Zealand (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, another regime-run firm was caught poisoning drinking water (BBC).

Add to this the usual persecution (Epoch Times) and anti-Americanism (WND) and it becomes clear that the stakes are even higher than they were in 2006.

The Liberals have made it clear they would ignore all of this in favor of "engagement" nonsense (like this non-story that the BBC used to waste bandwith) and their usual coddling of Beijing (see the Wall Street Journal link again for more on CCP guest Maurice Strong, one of the Liberals' elite movers and shakers). The behavior of the other left-wing parties has effectively disqualified them. In my (admittedly not-so-humble) opinion, the Conservatives must be re-elected.

Friday, October 10, 2008

President Bush caves in to Kim Jong-il, again (and you can bet Beijing and Tehran are taking notes)

As I write this, the Bush Administration is preparing their latest surrender to North Korea. Never mind that the Stalinists have basically refused to make any effort to verify that their out of the nuclear weapons business; never mind that when pressured to verify, they responded by rebuilding their nuclear program. We're going to give in to their demand to take them off the terror-sponsoring list anyway (One Free Korea):
I heard the rumor yesterday afternoon, but now I see the AP is reporting it. According to the Financial Times, the only thing holding up the announcement is notifying / strong-arming the Japanese, and perhaps the South Koreans. You can see
Condi and her mouthpiece not answer questions about this below the fold, if you’re interested.

OFK hadn't caught any details about what the Stalinists had to do on their end; he just assumed it wouldn't be nearly enough - and the Washington Post confirmed his fears this morning:
A Japanese news report yesterday -- and sources who have been briefed on the discussions -- said the United States might be prepared accept a partial verification plan that focused first on North Korea's plutonium program at Yongbyon, leaving until later questions about its alleged uranium enrichment program or its proliferation activities.

In other words, the Stalinist don't have to say anything about uranium and their nuclear aid to Syria (among others) until some point down the road - at which point they can play this lovely little game again on the next bunch of saps in the White House.

The substance of the "agreement" was bad enough itself. Ironically enough, the circumstances - coming after the Stalinists ratcheted things up (BBC) - may finally blow away the air freshener Washington has sprayed on this for years, and leave the stench of surrender unchallenged. Then the outrage may finally move beyond policy wonks like yours truly and Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard.

While nearly everyone will acknowledge this as a huge victory for the Korean tyranny, far fewer will recognize the benefits for its colonial masters in Beijing. Once again, the Chinese Communist Party will be praised for shepherding its "ally" to the table instead of condemned for helping Kim Jong-il imprison tens of millions of Koreans (Forbes via OFK). Meanwhile, the continuing drip, drip, drip of the melamine scandal (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times), continuing corruption (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times), and the reverberating effects of the "one child" nightmare (Epoch Times) were all washed away.

Still, as bad as this is, it can't be repeated, right? Wrong.

There is another Communist Chinese ally who is rapidly working to become a nuclear-armed regime: the mullahcracy of Iran. They, too, have largely thumbed their nose at the rest of the world. They, too, have seen little if any consequences for their actions. They have certainly been watching their fellow Beijing-backed-regime (and arms business partner) game the United States so successfully. What's to stop them from doing it themselves?

The most ignominious surrender actually began last year, after the Korean colony conducted its nuclear test. Look for the mullahs to expect the same thing after their nuclear test, which I'm still guessing will come on (or perhaps about) May 31, 2009.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

For Beijing, the only defense is a good offense

The Chinese Communist Party has used an aggressive foreign policy and radical nationalism to justify its regime and distract its people for nearly twenty years now. However, its efforts at empire-building may now have an added purpose, intimidating the free world into silence about its previous bad behavior.

As I noted yesterday, the cadres' Korean colony continues to make trouble for the United States and her allies - now to the point of testing more missiles to see which one is best for a nuclear warhead (BBC and One Free Korea). That isn't the only arena in which the CCP is on the march. They are looking to expand their reach and influence from Africa (Weekly Standard) to Wall Street (Washington Times), while the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to be felt in both America and Canada (Epoch Times).

None of this is actually news, but it may carry a new sense of urgency for the cadres, and therefore those of us in their way (i.e., the rest of the world). The domestic pressures that are leading the CCP to make these moves (Epoch Times) are being compounded by international pressures, particularly over melamine-tainted exports (another batch hit Canada - Ottawa Sun). The cadres are slowly (at best) losing the gains earned through a quarter-century long charm offensive (Boycott 2008), with no clear end in sight (Epoch Times). Add to it the possibility of a dissident winning the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow (Epoch Times) and the regime has some serious problems.

For now, their attempt at intimidating the Nobel Committee is sure to backfire (Epoch Times), but the more geopolitical power the CCP gains, the more likely it is that fear will replace outrage after future outbursts from Beijing - and once the free world can be intimidated into silence, the cadres have far less to fear from their own people.

The fall of the CCP is inevitable, but like other tyrannies, the inevitable is made to look impossible by its would-be victims. The melamine scandal in particular makes it clear to the democratic world that the inevitable is also desirable. The cadres are racing against time to prevent America and her allies from grasping that realization and putting it to good use.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The fate of northern Korea and its role in Beijing's plan

It has been quite a surprise to yours truly that the Communist Chinese colony in Korea (otherwise known as "North Korea") has been unable to move the melamine scandal (BBC and Epoch Times) off the front pages. Based on most recent reports, Beijing has clearly been pressing the colonials to up the ante.

We'll start with the BBC:

North Korea is trying to develop a nuclear warhead that would fit on to a missile, South Korea's top military official has said.

. . .

"I understand that North Korea is working to develop a small nuclear warhead which can be loaded into a missile," Gen Kim Tae-Young was quoted by South Korean media as saying.

"As I said earlier, it is certain that North Korea possess plutonium. It is certain the North has enough plutonium to make six to seven nuclear weapons, but it is not clear whether it has produced nuclear weapons," he said.

Gen Kim is the chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff - the country's highest-ranking military officer.


Of course, the Korean viceroy (otherwise known as Kim Jong-il) has its own reasons to do this - namely the Bush Administration's surprising refusal to cave in to his demands to be taken of the American list of terrorist sponsors. Whenever Washington runs out of concessions (or chooses to stop giving them away), the colonial regime reaches into its usual bag of scare tactics.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has also been bust keeping Beijing's Middle Eastern friends happy (CBS News, h/t One Free Korea):

“The Middle East remans (sic) on the receiving end of the DPRK’s reckless activities,” Israeli delegate David Danieli told the meeting, referring to North Korea by its acronym.

“At least half a dozen countries in the region … have become eager recipients” of the North’s black market supplies of conventional arms or nuclear technology, he said _ mostly “through black market and covert network channels.”

While he did not name any of the suspected countries, he appeared to be referring in part to Iran and Syria, which are both under IAEA investigation . . .


The Iranian mullahcracy and its Syrian ally in particular have been Beijing's closest comrades (unless one includes Pakistan in the Middle East), but arms shipments and other signs of direct support have become more difficult for Beijing to hide lately. Lucky for them, too many outside East Asia still pretend that "North Korea" is an independent regime.

This should help Beijing get through some more short-term public relations scrapes (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times), but more importantly, it makes sure that some of America's most dangerous enemies can still threaten her without any fingerprints from the Chinese Communist Party to raise suspicion.

Truth be told, the Korea file may very well be the biggest success of the Hu Jintao era. The viceroy has managed to wean concession after concession from the United States and her allies, yet no one has even considered putting an end to this charade and calling Kim Jong-il on this nonsense, let alone point the finger at his oldest ally and largest benefactor.

What can we expect in 2009 and beyond? If the polls here in the U.S. are any indication, more of the same. One Free Korea gave this some serious thought, and I have to agree with him:
So what will Obama do about North Korea? Pretty much what Bush did. He’ll react to North Korean provocations with empty tough talk. He’ll make occasional cryptic references to North Korea’s atrocities against its people at moments of convenience. Behind the scenes, the State Department will be firmly in charge, and State will continue — even accelerate — a policy of unilateral concessions. After Obama wins, expect the North Koreans to declare themselves open to some kind of “new beginning” with America … if only we’d drop all of our sanctions and ease up on verification. We’ll agree, and this will start a whole new renegotiation of a deal that had already ceased to pretend to disarm. Come February, the Groundhog will see his shadow, and so will you. The most (South Korean President) Lee will do to oppose this is to work quietly through friends in Washington and allow a few carefully timed leaks to slip out. Obama may not be able to deliver significant economic benefits to the North because the North will need to keep up a state of hostility with the United States, thus giving Republicans reasons to oppose him. Also, all of the Republicans who kept quiet during Bush’s second term will suddenly realize that appeasement is a bad thing after all. They will then run against Obama’s “weakness” — the charge will happen to be accurate — to make gains in Congress in 2010, as is typical of mid-term elections.

All the while, the CCP will continue to exploit their Korean colony as a tool against the free world and arms-provider of last resort to anti-American terrorists. No matter what happens to Kim and his minions, Beijing's fairly certain it will win - and so is OFK:
None of this will matter in the end, because eventually, North Korea will collapse for its own reasons, largely because Lee Myung Bak and Kim Jong Il would both have to agree for there to be any kind of “soft landing” or reform, and neither of them does agree. When the collapse comes, America will be unprepared. The Chinese will estimate Obama as unwilling to confront them and will seize the opportunity to take control, through friendly generals, over an Outer Koguryo Autonomous Zone, which of course has “historically” been a part of China.

Of course, South Korea may then decide it is finally time to take on Beijing, but I'm guessing in North America and Europe the reaction will be quiet relief. Thus will the Korean nation become the first permanent victims of the "engagement" nonsense. Meanwhile, the cadres in Zhongnanhai will take heart from their seizure of northern Korea, and look to other places to conquer.

Here's a hint for the first item on the post-Korea list: it's a decent-sized island south of Japan that starts with a "T."

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

CCP's plans continue to go awry

As the Communist export scandal grows again (thanks to lead-contaminated candy in California - Sacramento Bee via Boycott 2008), we're finding that this is not the only thing the Communists have touched that is turning to lead these days.

Remember the Olympics? They were supposed to be the great propaganda event of the young century for the Chinese Communist Party. Instead, the Communist Olympiad has upset the Nobel Committee so much it may award the Nobel Peace Prize to Hu Jia or Gao Zhisheng (BBC and Boycott 2008). The former would bring back to light the regime's brutal treatment of AIDS victims (especially in Henan), while the latter would bring the persecution of Falun Gong back into focus (Between Heaven and Earth and Boycott 2008).

Remember the election of Ma Ying-Jeou to the Taiwanese Presidency? It was supposed to usher in a new era of "cooperation" between Beijing and Taipei. Instead, Taiwan is buying American weapons (Washington Times) and its National Security Bureau Director is accusing the cadres of weaponizing SARS (Taipei Times).

How do the cadres respond? They cancel all military contacts with the United States (BBC and CNN), effectively rewarding anti-Communists in the process.

Once again, we are seeing the fundamental weakness of dictatorial regimes, as explained by John Lewis Gaddis (We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History), "who is about to tell the authoritarian in charge when he is about to do something stupid?"

Monday, October 06, 2008

Melamine scandal spreads anew - and may be creating political side effects

The melamine scandal has broken free of dairy products (BBC) and reached vegetable production in Communist China (Taiwan Central News Agency via Epoch Times), as even longtime allies like the Burmese junta are putting their imprisoned citizenry over their Communist benefactors (Washington Post).

Meanwhile, we may be seeing the first political effects of the scandal with the announcement of a major American arms sale to Taiwan (CNN and Washington Post). Although the arms sale itself was a rehash of a proposed deal in 2001, its return to life surprised some, who noted the move may "complicate efforts to get North Korea, an ally of Beijing, to end its nuclear programme" (BBC).

In fact, the antics of the Korean colony would usually be enough to slap down anything like this (BBC and BBC again), especially with the viceroy making an appearance (BBC and CNN). However, so far, the reaction has been muted.

In the past, the cadres could count on enraging their imprisoned people about American interference in Taiwan. This time, however, the melamine scandal may have hit the point where the Chinese people would turn their anger on the Communists rather than with them. On top of the melamine fiasco, the Sichuan earthquake recovery is still causing headaches for the regime (Epoch Times); then there are the usual problems with persecuting the population (Epoch Times).

Moreover, what with the numerous tainted exports, an angry reaction to the arms deal by the cadres could get more attention from the rest of the world - the kind they don't like. The free world might find it curious (at best) that Beijing is spending so much time and effort blocking American arms sales to Taiwan rather than making sure their own products avoid lethality of an entirely different nature.

Of course, at this point, we're deep in speculation. The Communist regime may publicly rip the deal or push their Korean puppets to become more demanding and demeaning. However, what is clear as of right now is that the cadres are weaker now than in previous years. Absent any other dramatic difference between then and now, the melamine scandal may be showing effects far beyond what anyone anticipated.

Friday, October 03, 2008

The Korean colony finally did its job

It may have taken longer than it was supposed to take, but if the BBC is any indication, the Communists' Korean colony finally moved the melamine scandal (Boycott 2008) off the front pages. It also made sure the Beijing petitioners arrested on the anniversary of the founding of the "People's Republic" were all but completely ignored (Epoch Times).

Of course, the cadres still need the viceroy to give them political cover, so American negotiator Chris Hill wasn't allowed to get anything done this week (One Free Korea), but the talks were enough to ensure he'll come scurrying back the next time Beijing needs a distraction - um, North Korea acts up.

Speaking of Beijing needing distractions, numerous plans are already in the works to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 (Taiwan Central News Agency Epoch Times). Of course, June 4, 2009 is a eight months away, plenty of time to plan how Pyongyang can monopolize the front page.

If the Korean colony doesn't have the heft to pull it off, the cadres do have other options, like their biggest ally in the Middle East (the Iranian mullahcracy). Circle May 31, 2009 on your calendar. I'm going out on a limb and predicting that as the date for Iran's nuclear test.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Melamine hits the U.S. and Taiwan (but don't text that!)

The biggest news from yesterday was the passage of the U.S.-India nuclear deal (Washington Post), but that was expected as of yesterday morning, and thus covered here.

The melamine scandal resurfaced in the two places Communist China desperately wanted to be spared, the United States and Taiwan. For the former, the poison has now hit both coasts, as Connecticut joined California on the afflicted list (Seattle Times). In the real estate otherwise known as the Republic of China, it was Nestle milk powder imported from the mainland's brutal and thoroughly corrupt northeast (CBC); the overall situation there is so bad that the ROC Prime Minister (from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, I might add) is demanding an apology (Epoch Times).

This news will inevitably bring more attention to the ongoing scandal, just in time for news to leak out of plans for a coverup "weeks before the contamination of milk with melamine became public knowledge" (BBC - whose phraseology tells me the plans succeeded at least for a time). That the apparent source of the problem is careening toward bankruptcy will likely please few, if any, at this point (Epoch Times).

The other news getting attention in the blogosphere is the discovery of the Communists' Skype surveillance system for text messages (Boycott 2008 and International Herald Tribune) - it should surprise no one that one of the strike-out-and-let-the-cadres-know-you-texted-it phrases is "milk powder."

In fact, that little factoid reveals how these two issues are linked. There has always been discussion about the value of free speech in a political sense, but very few people extend that to other realms where information is highly valuable - such as exposing corruption. It's no surprise that those who cover up dirty deeds should expect more of them, but the political and religious persecutions in Communist China tend to take our attention away from this. Thus the melamine scandal and others like it continue to surprise (look for another one on formaldehyde and furniture - Epoch Times), when given how the regime treats whistleblowers (Epoch Times), we really should be surprised we don't see more of it.

Of course, the regime has other tricks up its sleeve, like unleashing its league of anti-American allies to cause us trouble (David Kilgour goes into extensive detail in Boycott 2008; BBC and One Free Korea have the latest from the Korean colony), but it won't work forever. At some point, the Chinese people will rise up and take their country back.

The only question is, how much blood and treasure must be lost before that happens?

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Even the Wall Street panic means bad news for Communist China

I'm sure there are many, many cadres in Beijing who are deeply grateful that the Wall Street panic has dominated the news for so long.

Whatever one thinks of the panic (either as a localized problem in the financial sector or a prelude to a global economic meltdown), it has done what the Korean colony's nuclear antics (CNN and One Free Korea) could not do - distract attention from the melamine fiasco (Epoch Times), to say nothing of more recent reports of fraud (Epoch Times) and repression (World Net Daily).

The initial Congressional refusal to approve the Wall Street bailout meant even more time when these pesky problems would stay away from the spotlight, but it also meant that Congress would remain in session past its expected adjournment. That could mean a welcome surprise for anti-Communists everywhere: approval of the U.S.-India nuclear deal (Washington Times):

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said Tuesday he was close to
an agreement to let debate proceed on the controversial pact, which U.S. officials see as the centerpiece of new strategic alliance with one of the world's emerging economic and military powerhouses.

"I'm quite sure that we can finalize [an agreement] so that there can be a vote on that tomorrow," said Mr. Reid.

Over the objections of opponents who said the pact would undercut global efforts to restrain nuclear proliferation, the House passed the India agreement in a 298-117 vote Saturday. But it was not clear that the Senate would have time to act until lawmakers were kept in session to deal with the Wall Street credit crisis.


In other words, the Wall Street shenanigans will give Congress enough time to cement the emerging U.S.-India alliance.

The further context of this is equally damning for Beijing: increasing concern within the American military about the buildup of the so-called People's Liberation Army (Forbes, Washington Times, and Yomiuri Shimbun), further exposure of the Long Arm of Lawlessness (Epoch Times), the nomination of Hu Jia for the Nobel Peace Prize (Epoch Times), and the continuing focus on Tibet (Epoch Times and more Epoch Times).

At the very least, the Wall Street brouhaha was supposed to make the United States look bad, make the cadres look good by comparison, and as I said earlier, distract attention from a host of troubles. It was not supposed to accidentally allow Washington and New Delhi to move closer together.

Yet that appears to be exactly what it will do. I guess Bismarck's adage will be proven true once more!