The hacking of Google, and the firm's decision to re-evaluate its entire operation in Communist China (h/t to NRO - The Corner) , may lead to dramatic changes on several levels, including bringing the day of liberation closer than before Google made its announcement. That may sound dramatic, but I believe it to be true. To understand why, let's take this step by step.
We'll start with the purpose of the attack on Google: "accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists." The first lesson we - and everyone else - can learn is this: any foreign business in Communist China will become part of the regime's surveillance system - whether they want to be or not. Ethan Gutmann has done a terrific job detailing how low the American business community had fallen in Losing the New China. In those cases, however, the firms were more than willing to help the cadres find and seize anti-Communists. In this case, Google clearly assumed (like most investors and businesses) that they would be "non-political." They found out the hard way that there is no such thing as non-political in Communist China. Current and future investors will take note, and hopefully make some very different decisions based upon this.
There is one line of thought that Google's decision is driven more by dollars and cents than common sense or moral outrage (see Sarah Lacy at Tech Crunch). In its own way, however, even this is good news, in part because the thrust of Lacy's column (revealed in this question: "Does anyone really think Google would be doing this if it had top market share in the country?") completely misses the point. The CCP will ensure Google will never win "top market share." Foreign business aren't supposed to succeed; they're supposed to throw good money after bad into Communist China while the CCP finds their intellectual property and robs them blind (again, Gutmann is a fantastic source). That hasn't stopped so many from dreaming of profits and "one billion customers." Google is no different.
What Google's action tells us is something about the American information technology sector: aiding repression is still considered bad business. We weren't sure if the old hyper-libertarian impulse that had been with the IT sector since its birth was still around. Now we know it is. This means it will be much harder for the CCP to convince Google's rivals or its successors to take its place as a dissident tracker (no one can claim they didn't see it coming anymore).
Given the fallout that is coming from this, why would the CCP risk losing so many investors - present and future - with this move? Well, here's the final (and most important lesson) here: The CCP cares about its preservation and its power first, last, and always. Economics, diplomacy, and everything else are just means to the above end. No one can claim otherwise. No one can be fooled by the CCP propaganda that they peddle about its "peaceful rise" and its supposed concern about economic growth above all else.
In short - to borrow and twist the famous line from The Usual Suspects - the devil can no longer convince the world that he doesn't exist.
This is something that will be remembered with every CCP acquisition abroad, every CCP foray into international politics. The elites of free world may finally began to view the CCP with the suspicion it deserves (the peoples of the free world have that suspicion already). However, this could be most damaging in the area it first started - outside investments in Communist China.
The CCP needs outside investors for a slew of reasons: the money, of course, the de facto endorsement that comes with an investment, and the new friends that can be used as apologists. As I have noted repeatedly, the CCP needs affirmation from outside to justify its regime to the suffering people inside. Without the former, the latter becomes that much harder (one of the lessons learned from European Communism in the 1980s), and getting more of the former took a major hit with Google's announcement yesterday.
Yes, the regime will survive if Google finally does withdraw, but it will be weakened, and with Iran in turmoil, anti-Communists gaining momentum in Taiwan, and India growing more leery of Zhongnanhai, the CCP cannot afford any more weakness.
Showing posts with label Espionage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Espionage. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, April 06, 2009
Here we go again
This was supposed to be the weekend in which the world watched the Chinese people memorialize those who have passed - including the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Hanyuan County massacre, and the Sichuan earthquake (Epoch Times). Given the fact that the casualties from the last of the three were greatly increased due to Communist corruption, it would have been a difficult weekend for the cadres.
Then North Korea - long the de facto colonial regime dependent on the Chinese Communist Party to survive - tried to launch an ICBM (Epoch Times). The rest is forgotten history.
That it took a matter of hours before the CCP was running interference for their Korean viceroy (Guardian, UK) should surprise no one. While the launch had been planned for some time - and the date more than likely given the OK by Beijing to divert attention from the customary April day to honor the dead - the actual firing of the missile was a geopolitical godsend to the Communists.
Consider the world the cadres were facing before Kim Jong-il distracted everyone. Australia was transforming itself from an "engagement" success story into the new anti-Communist hotbed (Agence France Presse and Epoch Times). Making matters worse, the CCP's cyberwarfare against the United States was convincing Americans that perhaps Beijing was not the friend it claims to be after all (David Gelernter, in Forbes, actually used the favorite phrase of this quarter - Cold War II). One of the leading organizations defending the persecuted Uighurs of occupied East Turkestan announced the date for their annual meeting - inside the U.S. Capitol (McClatchy).
Meanwhile, the news from within was equally bad. A leading shipping firm announced a cutback for the first time ever (Steel Guru). The chairman of its first "private" railroad company was jailed for embezzlement (AFP). Dissident groups came together to indict the CCP for its crimes against the Chinese people (China Aid). A factory closure lead 1,000 laid off workers to march into Beijing in protest (AFP). Questions about Gao Zhisheng refuse to go away (New Yorker).
All of this was crowding for the attention of the CCP, the Chinese people, and the rest of the world - before the Korean colony blew it all off the front page. Now, once again, the CCP is the indispensable force, the regime to which the world must come and pay "respect" in the hopes that it will once again corral Kim Jong-il and get him to behave. Meanwhile, "engagement" supporters will be sure to do Beijing's bidding against anyone who refuses to fall for this nonsense and is determined to press the CCP.
In some places, however, the act is waring thin. While President Obama appears willing to keep playing the game, the fellow who won nearly 60,000,000 votes running against him has had enough (Voice of America).
More ominously, however, is the response of the Iranian mullahcracy:
This matters for two reasons. The first and most obvious is the mullahs' desire to become a nuclear-armed state. The second reason, however, is just as important - Tehran's alliance to Beijing.
Lest anyone forget, as the mullahs close in on their first nuclear test, the calendar is closing in on the most dangerous anniversary for the cadres: the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. Once more, the CCP faces the world remembering how it (the CCP) let its military loose on the Chinese people and painted the streets of Beijing in blood. The memory will lead the free world to recoil in horror. Even worse, it will lead to the inevitable examination of the two decades since, and how the regime is still the tyranny it was then, with broken promises about international trade and cooperation to boot.
It is sure to be a harrowing, painful day for the CCP - unless their friends in Tehran pull their own nuclear distraction.
In other words, this week is merely a preview of what we can expect in about two months time - and it will be just as maddening then, too.
Then North Korea - long the de facto colonial regime dependent on the Chinese Communist Party to survive - tried to launch an ICBM (Epoch Times). The rest is forgotten history.
That it took a matter of hours before the CCP was running interference for their Korean viceroy (Guardian, UK) should surprise no one. While the launch had been planned for some time - and the date more than likely given the OK by Beijing to divert attention from the customary April day to honor the dead - the actual firing of the missile was a geopolitical godsend to the Communists.
Consider the world the cadres were facing before Kim Jong-il distracted everyone. Australia was transforming itself from an "engagement" success story into the new anti-Communist hotbed (Agence France Presse and Epoch Times). Making matters worse, the CCP's cyberwarfare against the United States was convincing Americans that perhaps Beijing was not the friend it claims to be after all (David Gelernter, in Forbes, actually used the favorite phrase of this quarter - Cold War II). One of the leading organizations defending the persecuted Uighurs of occupied East Turkestan announced the date for their annual meeting - inside the U.S. Capitol (McClatchy).
Meanwhile, the news from within was equally bad. A leading shipping firm announced a cutback for the first time ever (Steel Guru). The chairman of its first "private" railroad company was jailed for embezzlement (AFP). Dissident groups came together to indict the CCP for its crimes against the Chinese people (China Aid). A factory closure lead 1,000 laid off workers to march into Beijing in protest (AFP). Questions about Gao Zhisheng refuse to go away (New Yorker).
All of this was crowding for the attention of the CCP, the Chinese people, and the rest of the world - before the Korean colony blew it all off the front page. Now, once again, the CCP is the indispensable force, the regime to which the world must come and pay "respect" in the hopes that it will once again corral Kim Jong-il and get him to behave. Meanwhile, "engagement" supporters will be sure to do Beijing's bidding against anyone who refuses to fall for this nonsense and is determined to press the CCP.
In some places, however, the act is waring thin. While President Obama appears willing to keep playing the game, the fellow who won nearly 60,000,000 votes running against him has had enough (Voice of America).
More ominously, however, is the response of the Iranian mullahcracy:
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran said on Monday that North Korea was justified in carrying out its controversial weekend rocket launch and denied there were any links between the two countries' missile programmes.
"We have always maintained that space can be used for peaceful purposes by adhering to international laws," foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters when asked about Sunday's controversial rocket launch.
"As it is our right to do so, we maintain that others also have that right."
This matters for two reasons. The first and most obvious is the mullahs' desire to become a nuclear-armed state. The second reason, however, is just as important - Tehran's alliance to Beijing.
Lest anyone forget, as the mullahs close in on their first nuclear test, the calendar is closing in on the most dangerous anniversary for the cadres: the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. Once more, the CCP faces the world remembering how it (the CCP) let its military loose on the Chinese people and painted the streets of Beijing in blood. The memory will lead the free world to recoil in horror. Even worse, it will lead to the inevitable examination of the two decades since, and how the regime is still the tyranny it was then, with broken promises about international trade and cooperation to boot.
It is sure to be a harrowing, painful day for the CCP - unless their friends in Tehran pull their own nuclear distraction.
In other words, this week is merely a preview of what we can expect in about two months time - and it will be just as maddening then, too.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Mr. President, the China file is calling
I don't want to be too hard on President Obama yet. After all, he has been in the Oval Office less than a week. Still, if his first two days are any indication, East Asia will end up on the back burner - the last place it needs to be.
The Chinese Communist Party is facing its worst economic crises since the Cultural Revolution. Economic growth fell below population growth in the last quarter (BBC, CNN, and the Washington Post), and given the cadres' penchant for inflating their statistics, the population may have outgrown the economy for the entire year of 2008. To make matters worse, the consumer benefits that have come to other economies from the fall in oil prices have not appeared, due to Communist-imposed directives to keep oil prices high.
Lest anyone think this is merely a problem for the CCP and the Chinese people, the cadres are already trying to divert attention on this failure by rattling their sabres abroad (much like the Brezhnev-era Soviets did). In addition to the usual propaganda on Tibet (John Batchelor and Radio Free Asia), the regime is continuing to project its ever growing naval power (Japan Times and the Weekly Standard), and the espionage network is alive and well (Agence France Presse via Yahoo). Meanwhile, the rest of the free world continues to be asleep (BBC).
I fear the President's East Asia policy will not be centered around Communist China, but North Korea. If so, Nicholas Eberstadt has a good column on how his (Obama's) predecessor fouled up (Weekly Standard). Still, even Eberstadt missed the CCP's role in making North Korea the "bad cop" and reeling in the concessions (BTW, they're at it again - One Free Korea).
It took almost a year before the CCP managed to get President Bush where they wanted him, and Clinton took a little longer. It would be a shame if the CCP were able to get President Obama where they want him, especially if its driven by the latter's indifference.
The Chinese Communist Party is facing its worst economic crises since the Cultural Revolution. Economic growth fell below population growth in the last quarter (BBC, CNN, and the Washington Post), and given the cadres' penchant for inflating their statistics, the population may have outgrown the economy for the entire year of 2008. To make matters worse, the consumer benefits that have come to other economies from the fall in oil prices have not appeared, due to Communist-imposed directives to keep oil prices high.
Lest anyone think this is merely a problem for the CCP and the Chinese people, the cadres are already trying to divert attention on this failure by rattling their sabres abroad (much like the Brezhnev-era Soviets did). In addition to the usual propaganda on Tibet (John Batchelor and Radio Free Asia), the regime is continuing to project its ever growing naval power (Japan Times and the Weekly Standard), and the espionage network is alive and well (Agence France Presse via Yahoo). Meanwhile, the rest of the free world continues to be asleep (BBC).
I fear the President's East Asia policy will not be centered around Communist China, but North Korea. If so, Nicholas Eberstadt has a good column on how his (Obama's) predecessor fouled up (Weekly Standard). Still, even Eberstadt missed the CCP's role in making North Korea the "bad cop" and reeling in the concessions (BTW, they're at it again - One Free Korea).
It took almost a year before the CCP managed to get President Bush where they wanted him, and Clinton took a little longer. It would be a shame if the CCP were able to get President Obama where they want him, especially if its driven by the latter's indifference.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Brezhnev bifurcation continues
On the outside, Communist China looks as menacing, powerful, and aggressive as it always has, what with more cyber-espionage (Newsmax), missile deployments (Epoch Times), troop deployments on the border with North Korea (Epoch Times), and even plans to scoop up pieces of General Motors and Chrysler (The Truth About Cars title is a bit overblown).
The regime looks every bit as threatening as Brezhnev's Soviet Union did in the 1970s. Their Korean colony even managed to spook the elected government of South Korea (One Free Korea).
Yet inside Communist China, it's an entirely different story: taxi drivers on strike (Washington Post), botched medical procedures (Epoch Times), the melamine fiasco (Epoch Times), corrupt hospitals getting rich off an earthquake (Epoch Times), and the continuing effects of the economic slowdown (BBC).
In other words, the regime is just as rotten one the inside as Brezhnev's Soviet Union.
Even the troops on the Korean border reveal the cadres' weakness as much as their strength. As an unnamed British intelligence source told Gordon Thomas (Epoch Times), "The problem we have is trying to decide that if Kim dies, who will take over? And during that process could there be a 'palace revolution' which in turn could lead to conflict beyond North Korea’s border if there is an uprising within North Korea."
In other words, the viceroy's successors might decide they don't want northern Korea to be a colony anymore.
What does this mean for the free world? It means we must remember the lessons of the 1970s and 1980s. When European Communism fell, it tried to prevent its demise by taking as much as it could from its enemies. By the early 1980s, the democratic world got wise, and from then it was only a matter of time.
As Chinese Communism suffers the same fate, the cadres are hoping their better PR with the democratic world can enable it to take more from us than the Soviets could. Once our leaders get wise, the end is nigh. Until then, however, blood and treasure remain at risk.
The regime looks every bit as threatening as Brezhnev's Soviet Union did in the 1970s. Their Korean colony even managed to spook the elected government of South Korea (One Free Korea).
Yet inside Communist China, it's an entirely different story: taxi drivers on strike (Washington Post), botched medical procedures (Epoch Times), the melamine fiasco (Epoch Times), corrupt hospitals getting rich off an earthquake (Epoch Times), and the continuing effects of the economic slowdown (BBC).
In other words, the regime is just as rotten one the inside as Brezhnev's Soviet Union.
Even the troops on the Korean border reveal the cadres' weakness as much as their strength. As an unnamed British intelligence source told Gordon Thomas (Epoch Times), "The problem we have is trying to decide that if Kim dies, who will take over? And during that process could there be a 'palace revolution' which in turn could lead to conflict beyond North Korea’s border if there is an uprising within North Korea."
In other words, the viceroy's successors might decide they don't want northern Korea to be a colony anymore.
What does this mean for the free world? It means we must remember the lessons of the 1970s and 1980s. When European Communism fell, it tried to prevent its demise by taking as much as it could from its enemies. By the early 1980s, the democratic world got wise, and from then it was only a matter of time.
As Chinese Communism suffers the same fate, the cadres are hoping their better PR with the democratic world can enable it to take more from us than the Soviets could. Once our leaders get wise, the end is nigh. Until then, however, blood and treasure remain at risk.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
And so it begins
"But if China's downturn turns into an outright recession, the country could face its first serious threat to the regime." - Joshua Kurlantzick, The New Republic (h/t Weekly Standard Blog)
Truth be told, I think Mr. Kurlantzick gets more than a few things wrong in his piece, but his larger theme - namely that the Chinese Communist Party is entering uncharted and dangerous territory for itself - is dead on.
The situation the regime faces looks very much like the beginning of the end. As the Potemkin cities and economic growth zones on the Pacific coasts slow or shut down, migrant workers are coming back to the hometowns in which they were unable to find work in the first place (Epoch Times). Such movement will not only spread the pain of the economic slowdown, it may also enable the interconnections among laborers that the CCP dreads the most - i.e., folks will soon find out their local cadres weren't the only ones stealing wages and making life difficult. Meanwhile, the regime is finding out that earthquake victims are no longer the propaganda pieces that were so useful in the spring, but rather real people to be ignored or slighted at great risk (CNN and Epoch Times). Put it all together and you get an increasingly restive people (Epoch Times).
How have the cadres responded? They've taken a page right from Brezhnev's playbook - in two provinces, company's need government permission before firing anyone (BBC) - so much for the "free" market doing wonders for the Chinese economy. This is coupled with all the usual antics we've come to expect from the regime - espionage (Agence France Presse via Breitbart, BBC, and the Epoch Times) and deals with America's enemies (BBC).
Another sign of the worry gripping the regime was its flat refusal to even consider sending troops to Afghanistan (London Telegraph). Lest anyone forget, al Qaeda is just one of many terrorist entities that Communist China has aided over the last two decades. However, the cadres usually would be wise enough to appear anti-terrorist. Their decision not to even bother with the charade is a clear sign that they are more interested in aggressive, anti-American behavior abroad to counter increasing problems at home.
Yet there are even signs that the usual "charm offensive" in foreign affairs is falling flat. For example, South Korea made history by granting asylum to a Chinese political refugee yesterday (Central News Agency and NTDTV via Epoch Times) - a clear sign that its more muscular stance on North Korea (Washington Times) is turning into an anti-Communist policy across the board. Meanwhile, the American Food and Drug Administration is setting up shop in Shanghai and Guangzhou to get a better idea of the food poisoning debacle (Epoch Times) - although I wouldn't expect the cadres to be very forthcoming to the visitors.
In two months, America will have a new leader. How he chooses to view the Chinese Communist Party (and Wei Jingshen himself is unsure - Epoch Times) will help determine whether China's final triumph over Communism is peaceful and short or long, bloody, and broadly painful.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really do see the end of the CCP regime on the horizon. However, we still have no idea how many years - or casualties - it will take to get here, and we must do what we can to minimize both.
Truth be told, I think Mr. Kurlantzick gets more than a few things wrong in his piece, but his larger theme - namely that the Chinese Communist Party is entering uncharted and dangerous territory for itself - is dead on.
The situation the regime faces looks very much like the beginning of the end. As the Potemkin cities and economic growth zones on the Pacific coasts slow or shut down, migrant workers are coming back to the hometowns in which they were unable to find work in the first place (Epoch Times). Such movement will not only spread the pain of the economic slowdown, it may also enable the interconnections among laborers that the CCP dreads the most - i.e., folks will soon find out their local cadres weren't the only ones stealing wages and making life difficult. Meanwhile, the regime is finding out that earthquake victims are no longer the propaganda pieces that were so useful in the spring, but rather real people to be ignored or slighted at great risk (CNN and Epoch Times). Put it all together and you get an increasingly restive people (Epoch Times).
How have the cadres responded? They've taken a page right from Brezhnev's playbook - in two provinces, company's need government permission before firing anyone (BBC) - so much for the "free" market doing wonders for the Chinese economy. This is coupled with all the usual antics we've come to expect from the regime - espionage (Agence France Presse via Breitbart, BBC, and the Epoch Times) and deals with America's enemies (BBC).
Another sign of the worry gripping the regime was its flat refusal to even consider sending troops to Afghanistan (London Telegraph). Lest anyone forget, al Qaeda is just one of many terrorist entities that Communist China has aided over the last two decades. However, the cadres usually would be wise enough to appear anti-terrorist. Their decision not to even bother with the charade is a clear sign that they are more interested in aggressive, anti-American behavior abroad to counter increasing problems at home.
Yet there are even signs that the usual "charm offensive" in foreign affairs is falling flat. For example, South Korea made history by granting asylum to a Chinese political refugee yesterday (Central News Agency and NTDTV via Epoch Times) - a clear sign that its more muscular stance on North Korea (Washington Times) is turning into an anti-Communist policy across the board. Meanwhile, the American Food and Drug Administration is setting up shop in Shanghai and Guangzhou to get a better idea of the food poisoning debacle (Epoch Times) - although I wouldn't expect the cadres to be very forthcoming to the visitors.
In two months, America will have a new leader. How he chooses to view the Chinese Communist Party (and Wei Jingshen himself is unsure - Epoch Times) will help determine whether China's final triumph over Communism is peaceful and short or long, bloody, and broadly painful.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really do see the end of the CCP regime on the horizon. However, we still have no idea how many years - or casualties - it will take to get here, and we must do what we can to minimize both.
Friday, September 26, 2008
More domestic problems equals more foreign agitation
It shouldn't comes as a surprise anymore. The Communists are back to their usual tricks abroad in order to avoid problems at home.
As the melamine scandal goes Europe-wide (CNN and International Herald Tribune) and spreads beyond dairy products (BBC and CNN), the Communists pick a fight with Norway's Nobel Peace Prize Committee (Boycott 2008) and the German people (Epoch Times).
An exposed spy (Boycott 2008) gets buried in news of Communist China's space launch - a bit early (Times of London).
Finally, there is North Korea's renuclearization (Washington Post and Washington Times), which itself may very well have been a move to minimize the melamine fallout. Trouble is, such things can have consequences - as seen by the reauthorization of the North Korea Human Rights Act (One Free Korea).
All in all, a typical day for the cadres, but not a good one.
As the melamine scandal goes Europe-wide (CNN and International Herald Tribune) and spreads beyond dairy products (BBC and CNN), the Communists pick a fight with Norway's Nobel Peace Prize Committee (Boycott 2008) and the German people (Epoch Times).
An exposed spy (Boycott 2008) gets buried in news of Communist China's space launch - a bit early (Times of London).
Finally, there is North Korea's renuclearization (Washington Post and Washington Times), which itself may very well have been a move to minimize the melamine fallout. Trouble is, such things can have consequences - as seen by the reauthorization of the North Korea Human Rights Act (One Free Korea).
All in all, a typical day for the cadres, but not a good one.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Hong Kong and the Beijing bounceback
Here in the United States, talk of a "bounce" was centered on the Republican and Democratic conventions. In Hong Kong, however, it was a "Beijing bounce" that overawed the political culture. In theory, a surge of "patriotism" from the Communist Olympiad would lead to smashing pro-Beijing victories in Hong Kong's Legislative Council (half the seats are elected by the people, the other half by "functional constituencies," i.e., group designed to ensure a pro-Communist majority).
However, like nearly everything else about the Games, the intended effect was nowhere to be found (BBC). Pro-democracy candidates won 60% of the vote (again - BBC) a majority of the elected seats (again), and even took a couple of the functionals (again). The result was so shocking that the city had its own Dewey-defeats-Truman moment, courtesy of the Hong Kong Standard. So, here, even in a city under Communist control with limited liberty, the Communists' Olympic game plan went awry.
Things have been no better outside Communist China. Japan is still concerned over the Communist military (Japan Times); Communist espionage in Canada continues to be front-page news (Ottawa Citizen) and Europe (London Telegraph); businesses around the world are having second thoughts about using Communist China as an export platform (Washington Post); the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to rankle in New York (Epoch Times); and even the Communists' claim to Taiwan was turned against them by Congressman Elton Gallegly, who cleverly used it to demand the regime make good on $260 billion in Nationalist Chinese debt (Washington Times).
Even elsewhere inside Communist China, things are less than what the cadres had expected: protests in Hunan (Epoch Times), a Paralympiad that merely highlights how terrible the regime treats the disabled (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times and the Washington Post), Sichuan earthquake victims demanding to know what happened to aid promised them (Sound of Hope via Epoch Times), soaring inflation (Epoch Times), and a teenage girl beaten by police (Epoch Times).
About all the Communists can do is declare war on the German press (Epoch Times) and try to divert attention to its space program (BBC), although the Korean colony had a good weekend (One Free Korea).
Still, the big news is in the former British colony. The Communists have now had over a decade to try and wear down and overwhelm the Hong Kong democrats - once united as the Democratic Party and now split among several parties. Yet the regime has always failed. This was their best chance. They had the urbane Donald Tsang as Chief Executive instead of the deeply unpopular Tung Chee-hwa; they had years of building goodwill with democratic nations that should know better; and, of course, they had the Olympics.
In the end, though, it got them nothing in Hong Kong. The voters refused to be seduced by Tsang, or the Games, or anything else. In the one place where democracy was allowed to live - for the express purpose of dying so the Communists could showcase the body to the rest of China - it has continued to survive because the people of Hong Kong refuse to let it expire.
The people of Hong Kong have shown uncommon bravery, compassion, and concern for their fellow man at the ballot box. They live a quiet heroism the cadres fear, and the free world must not ignore (including certain bloggers who usually focus on rural unrest).
However, like nearly everything else about the Games, the intended effect was nowhere to be found (BBC). Pro-democracy candidates won 60% of the vote (again - BBC) a majority of the elected seats (again), and even took a couple of the functionals (again). The result was so shocking that the city had its own Dewey-defeats-Truman moment, courtesy of the Hong Kong Standard. So, here, even in a city under Communist control with limited liberty, the Communists' Olympic game plan went awry.
Things have been no better outside Communist China. Japan is still concerned over the Communist military (Japan Times); Communist espionage in Canada continues to be front-page news (Ottawa Citizen) and Europe (London Telegraph); businesses around the world are having second thoughts about using Communist China as an export platform (Washington Post); the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to rankle in New York (Epoch Times); and even the Communists' claim to Taiwan was turned against them by Congressman Elton Gallegly, who cleverly used it to demand the regime make good on $260 billion in Nationalist Chinese debt (Washington Times).
Even elsewhere inside Communist China, things are less than what the cadres had expected: protests in Hunan (Epoch Times), a Paralympiad that merely highlights how terrible the regime treats the disabled (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times and the Washington Post), Sichuan earthquake victims demanding to know what happened to aid promised them (Sound of Hope via Epoch Times), soaring inflation (Epoch Times), and a teenage girl beaten by police (Epoch Times).
About all the Communists can do is declare war on the German press (Epoch Times) and try to divert attention to its space program (BBC), although the Korean colony had a good weekend (One Free Korea).
Still, the big news is in the former British colony. The Communists have now had over a decade to try and wear down and overwhelm the Hong Kong democrats - once united as the Democratic Party and now split among several parties. Yet the regime has always failed. This was their best chance. They had the urbane Donald Tsang as Chief Executive instead of the deeply unpopular Tung Chee-hwa; they had years of building goodwill with democratic nations that should know better; and, of course, they had the Olympics.
In the end, though, it got them nothing in Hong Kong. The voters refused to be seduced by Tsang, or the Games, or anything else. In the one place where democracy was allowed to live - for the express purpose of dying so the Communists could showcase the body to the rest of China - it has continued to survive because the people of Hong Kong refuse to let it expire.
The people of Hong Kong have shown uncommon bravery, compassion, and concern for their fellow man at the ballot box. They live a quiet heroism the cadres fear, and the free world must not ignore (including certain bloggers who usually focus on rural unrest).
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Beijing, Pyongyang, and Weapons of Mass Distraction
I was pondering the rather silly reports I saw this morning about American officials downplaying apparent efforts by Kim Jong-il to rebuild his nuclear power plant (BBC and Washington Times). In effect, the Washington crew is saying the Korean regime's actions are just a ruse to get itself of the U.S. State Department's terrorist list.
That seemed gallingly naive at first (after all, Japan and South Korea think differently). However, upon further review (yep, it's football season again!), the Bush Administration may actually have a point. This is a Communist regime we're seeing here, and elaborate shows are their specialty. Moreover, the regime has plenty of reason to engage in this sort of bluster, namely to make sure none of the locals complain about starving to death (Christian Science Monitor).
In fact, whether this is a just a ruse or a genuine move to renuclearize, the Stalinists in northern Korea are simply taking a page from Communist China's playbook: when you run out of bread, double the circuses!
To see what I mean, let's take a look at the Chinese Communist Party's interactions with the rest of the world today. We have industrial espionage (United Press International), undue influence in Taiwan (Taipei Times) and Canada (Epoch Times), overseas intimidation in New York (Epoch Times), and racketeering (Epoch Times).
That's a fairly busy week for the CCP!
It leads one to ask, why? What is causing them to lean on democratic governments and electorates to be silent, while trying to rob them blind at the same time?
Much like their Korean colony, the cadres are reacting to problems at home, which have seen no letting up since the Olympics left town.
Australian doctors cracking down on recipients of organs from Communist China - meaning they remain well aware of the regime's policy to extract organs from executed prisoners, including political prisoners and especially Falun Gong practitioners (Between Heaven and Earth).
Meanwhile, and far more importantly to the cadres, they have had to come clean about the substandard school buildings that killed over 90,000 in last spring's Sichuan earthquake (BBC). This takes all of the propaganda gains the Communists scored from earthquake sympathy and turns it into an acidic and poisonous liability - just as students are returning to school (Epoch Times).
It's no wonder that the cadres demanded Skype shut down its discussion rooms (Epoch Times). They can't have the people they imprison know what is going on. Better to make them think the cadres are "protecting Chinese honor" with the various antics aimed at the free world.
Indeed, the Korean colony and the "home office" look quite similar.
Yet northern Korea is considered a basket case, while Communist China is praised as new power astride the globe. Why?
For starters, northern Korea is not very big. Even with the overarching "minders" sent by the Stalinists, it's fairly easy to get the lay of the entire landscape, and to see that whatever propaganda silliness goes on in the capital doesn't translate well in the countryside - leading to quick imprisonment, torture, or worse.
By contrast, Communist China is and remains huge (many of its rural provinces are larger than the entire Korean peninsula), and as in other large nations, it's very easy to just take the easy way out and assume the big cities are what's important. In India, that means the political elites in New Delhi who vie for power must rely on the much larger middle-class and lower-classes, about whom the elites are just ignorant enough to lead to wild election swings and major "upsets." In Russia, the creeping Putinism in Moscow and St. Petersburg is condemned, but the gratitude to Putin for restoring order in the myriad rural hamlets from Belarus to the Bering Sea is ignored (this is not meant as an endorsement of Putinism, just a partial explanation of its staying power). In the United States, the stark divide over Governor Sarah Palin spelt out this paradigm in bold font.
While Communist China is clearly under a brutal dictatorship, beneath that is the same urban-rural divide. In fact, given the CCP's obsession with brainwashing city residents, nearly all of the anger, frustration, and righteous opposition to the regime can be found outside the major cities, where it is both harder for MSM journalists to reach and less appealing for said MSM scribes to visit.
How widespread is the rural anger at the CCP? When will it be unleashed and channeled to topple the regime? No one really knows, least of all the Communists themselves. So they will continue to repress political freedom and resort to nationalistic policies in order to defuse and confuse.
It's more obvious with Pyongyang than with Beijing, but both are deploying weapons of mass distraction in their fight for survival.
That seemed gallingly naive at first (after all, Japan and South Korea think differently). However, upon further review (yep, it's football season again!), the Bush Administration may actually have a point. This is a Communist regime we're seeing here, and elaborate shows are their specialty. Moreover, the regime has plenty of reason to engage in this sort of bluster, namely to make sure none of the locals complain about starving to death (Christian Science Monitor).
In fact, whether this is a just a ruse or a genuine move to renuclearize, the Stalinists in northern Korea are simply taking a page from Communist China's playbook: when you run out of bread, double the circuses!
To see what I mean, let's take a look at the Chinese Communist Party's interactions with the rest of the world today. We have industrial espionage (United Press International), undue influence in Taiwan (Taipei Times) and Canada (Epoch Times), overseas intimidation in New York (Epoch Times), and racketeering (Epoch Times).
That's a fairly busy week for the CCP!
It leads one to ask, why? What is causing them to lean on democratic governments and electorates to be silent, while trying to rob them blind at the same time?
Much like their Korean colony, the cadres are reacting to problems at home, which have seen no letting up since the Olympics left town.
Australian doctors cracking down on recipients of organs from Communist China - meaning they remain well aware of the regime's policy to extract organs from executed prisoners, including political prisoners and especially Falun Gong practitioners (Between Heaven and Earth).
Meanwhile, and far more importantly to the cadres, they have had to come clean about the substandard school buildings that killed over 90,000 in last spring's Sichuan earthquake (BBC). This takes all of the propaganda gains the Communists scored from earthquake sympathy and turns it into an acidic and poisonous liability - just as students are returning to school (Epoch Times).
It's no wonder that the cadres demanded Skype shut down its discussion rooms (Epoch Times). They can't have the people they imprison know what is going on. Better to make them think the cadres are "protecting Chinese honor" with the various antics aimed at the free world.
Indeed, the Korean colony and the "home office" look quite similar.
Yet northern Korea is considered a basket case, while Communist China is praised as new power astride the globe. Why?
For starters, northern Korea is not very big. Even with the overarching "minders" sent by the Stalinists, it's fairly easy to get the lay of the entire landscape, and to see that whatever propaganda silliness goes on in the capital doesn't translate well in the countryside - leading to quick imprisonment, torture, or worse.
By contrast, Communist China is and remains huge (many of its rural provinces are larger than the entire Korean peninsula), and as in other large nations, it's very easy to just take the easy way out and assume the big cities are what's important. In India, that means the political elites in New Delhi who vie for power must rely on the much larger middle-class and lower-classes, about whom the elites are just ignorant enough to lead to wild election swings and major "upsets." In Russia, the creeping Putinism in Moscow and St. Petersburg is condemned, but the gratitude to Putin for restoring order in the myriad rural hamlets from Belarus to the Bering Sea is ignored (this is not meant as an endorsement of Putinism, just a partial explanation of its staying power). In the United States, the stark divide over Governor Sarah Palin spelt out this paradigm in bold font.
While Communist China is clearly under a brutal dictatorship, beneath that is the same urban-rural divide. In fact, given the CCP's obsession with brainwashing city residents, nearly all of the anger, frustration, and righteous opposition to the regime can be found outside the major cities, where it is both harder for MSM journalists to reach and less appealing for said MSM scribes to visit.
How widespread is the rural anger at the CCP? When will it be unleashed and channeled to topple the regime? No one really knows, least of all the Communists themselves. So they will continue to repress political freedom and resort to nationalistic policies in order to defuse and confuse.
It's more obvious with Pyongyang than with Beijing, but both are deploying weapons of mass distraction in their fight for survival.
Monday, August 25, 2008
And so it ends
The Olympics Games are now behind us. For anti-Communists, the regime's clampdown on free expression (BBC, Between Heaven and Earth, CNN, Boycott 2008 Communist Olympics, Epoch Times, NRO - Media Blog, and the Washington Post) and foreign press (CBC) is no real surprise. Nor are MSM's blind assertions that the Games were "a resounding success" for the cadres (Washington Times, although the Post had a similar column).
The real shock is that said assertions were wrong. These Olympic Games failed to do what the Communists asked of them (Epoch Times).
Every praiseworthy comment about the opening ceremony was matched with condemnation for the blackballing of Wang Peiyi. Their success in winning more gold medals than anyone else (although the United States won the overall medal count) was tarnished by the gymnastics scandal (Epoch Times). Add to that the fact that so many rural Chinese tuned the Games out, and what you have is something far less than the propaganda extravaganza the cadres wanted.
Even those who acknowledged a well-run show were put off: Tom Boswell (Washington Post) called it "soulless" while Tom Humphries (Irish Times via Boycott 2008) referred to it as "hermetically sealed."
Then, to top it off, the final day came with a message from Washington ripping the cadres for refusing "to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness" (London Telegraph via Boycott 2008) - definitely not the send-off the regime wanted.
For the Communists, the question is as follows: was it worth it? Was it worth the ruined lives and angry citizens (Boycott 2008)? Was it worth the inevitable corruption scandals? Based on the above, the answer is clearly No.
These Olympics will do nothing to stop Falun Gong from demanding the right to practice without prison, torture, or murder-for-organs (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times). They will not silence investors furious over the cadres fleecing them (Epoch Times). They will not make people forget about Tibet (Epoch Times).
If anything, the Games have led the rest of the world to pay more attention to Communist China's military ambitions (Washington Times) and espionage activities (Ottowa Citizen via Small Dead Animals) - exactly where the cadres did not want any prying eyes.
For the Communists, it's back to business as usual, including propping up the ever more embarrassing Korean colony (BBC, BBC again, and One Free Korea). Whatever glow they have from these Games is pale and short-lived. These Olympics were supposed to add years to the life span of the regime; it would be lucky to get days for it.
The real shock is that said assertions were wrong. These Olympic Games failed to do what the Communists asked of them (Epoch Times).
Every praiseworthy comment about the opening ceremony was matched with condemnation for the blackballing of Wang Peiyi. Their success in winning more gold medals than anyone else (although the United States won the overall medal count) was tarnished by the gymnastics scandal (Epoch Times). Add to that the fact that so many rural Chinese tuned the Games out, and what you have is something far less than the propaganda extravaganza the cadres wanted.
Even those who acknowledged a well-run show were put off: Tom Boswell (Washington Post) called it "soulless" while Tom Humphries (Irish Times via Boycott 2008) referred to it as "hermetically sealed."
Then, to top it off, the final day came with a message from Washington ripping the cadres for refusing "to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness" (London Telegraph via Boycott 2008) - definitely not the send-off the regime wanted.
For the Communists, the question is as follows: was it worth it? Was it worth the ruined lives and angry citizens (Boycott 2008)? Was it worth the inevitable corruption scandals? Based on the above, the answer is clearly No.
These Olympics will do nothing to stop Falun Gong from demanding the right to practice without prison, torture, or murder-for-organs (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times). They will not silence investors furious over the cadres fleecing them (Epoch Times). They will not make people forget about Tibet (Epoch Times).
If anything, the Games have led the rest of the world to pay more attention to Communist China's military ambitions (Washington Times) and espionage activities (Ottowa Citizen via Small Dead Animals) - exactly where the cadres did not want any prying eyes.
For the Communists, it's back to business as usual, including propping up the ever more embarrassing Korean colony (BBC, BBC again, and One Free Korea). Whatever glow they have from these Games is pale and short-lived. These Olympics were supposed to add years to the life span of the regime; it would be lucky to get days for it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
More bad news for the cadres
The revulsion to Olympic fakery continues to ripple around the world (Boycott 2008, National Post, National Review Online, and the Washington Times). The "protest zones" that were supposed to be a model of the regime's human face have become a mocking symbol of its iron fist (Washington Post). To top it off, when the regime finally gets a hand from one of its best friends (ex-Canadian PM Jean Chretien - CanWest) local media responds by finding the whistleblower who started an investigation into Communist espionage that said friend thought he had buried and turning him (the whistleblower) into a household name (Ottowa Citizen via Small Dead Animals).
Yet as bad as all of this was for the Communists, nothing compared to what Joshua Kurlantzick found in the rural hinterland (National Post via Boycott 2008, emphasis added):
That statement is exactly what the Communists did not want from these Games. The entire purpose of this propaganda exercise (and from the cadres' point of view, that's all this is) was to set off a wave of pride that would engulf the rural interior. Yet Communist China's continuous brainwashing and coddling of urban Chinese has clearly angered rural Chinese in a way that no level of propaganda can cure.
I'm not sure if the folks from the hinterland have made the full separation of the Chinese Communist Party from China, but they certainly understand the difference between China as a whole and the urban pockets the CCP has fostered. That may be enough to make most rural Chinese completely immune from the propaganda effect of the Games.
In which case - for the Communists - these Olympics are already a failure. There will be no reservoir of memory from which to draw when the time comes to bail out the Korean colony again (One Free Korea and Washington Times), continue the persecution of dissidents (Between Heaven and Earth and Epoch Times), and deal with the upcoming corruption exposure.
Yet as bad as all of this was for the Communists, nothing compared to what Joshua Kurlantzick found in the rural hinterland (National Post via Boycott 2008, emphasis added):
Interior China’s GDP lags far behind eastern China’s, and as China opens to foreign imports small-plot Chinese farmers will find it even harder to make a living, since they’ll be competing with the massive Brazilian, American and Australian agribusinesses. Worse, the pollution caused by Chinese industry is destroying farmland and water sources — vast parts of the agricultural heartland will virtually run dry within 30 years. Meanwhile, rural people actually face higher tax levies, according to their income, than many richer city citizens, partly because local officials just want to make more money.
Not surprisingly, for many of these rural dwellers the Games might be an interesting distraction on TV, rather than a source of major pride. “It is something that only the people in cities around Beijing care about,” one young Chinese in a rural town told Rian Dundon, a photographer who studies youth culture in China’s interior. “People from Hunan [an interior province] and other far away places don’t really feel very excited about it, and I don’t feel a personal connection to it.”
Indeed, Dundon found that young people in the interior were angry that whatever positive impact the Games had would be limited to the cities. “The Olympics can only affect a very small part China. The rest will be left behind,” another young rural Chinese told him.
That statement is exactly what the Communists did not want from these Games. The entire purpose of this propaganda exercise (and from the cadres' point of view, that's all this is) was to set off a wave of pride that would engulf the rural interior. Yet Communist China's continuous brainwashing and coddling of urban Chinese has clearly angered rural Chinese in a way that no level of propaganda can cure.
I'm not sure if the folks from the hinterland have made the full separation of the Chinese Communist Party from China, but they certainly understand the difference between China as a whole and the urban pockets the CCP has fostered. That may be enough to make most rural Chinese completely immune from the propaganda effect of the Games.
In which case - for the Communists - these Olympics are already a failure. There will be no reservoir of memory from which to draw when the time comes to bail out the Korean colony again (One Free Korea and Washington Times), continue the persecution of dissidents (Between Heaven and Earth and Epoch Times), and deal with the upcoming corruption exposure.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Olympics open with tragedy, repression, and fakery
How apropos; the opening ceremony in Beijing won rave reviews (well, almost rave reviews - Epoch Times), gave the Communists everything they wanted to begin the propaganda show - and like every other Communist-run production, it was exposed as a fake (London Telegraph). So the Potemkin capital of the Potemkin regime had a Potemkin Olympic ceremony!
That was the good news coming from Beijing, at least compared to the murder of Todd Bachman (San Francisco Chronicle). Relax, I am not claiming that the Communists ordered his murder, but I do have to wonder about something regarding these Games.
Everyone is saying that security in Beijing is as tight as it could possibly be, and from thousands of miles away, I am in no position to argue. That said, I have to ponder just what that security is watching and restricting - namely religious believers (Epoch Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times), political dissidents (Epoch Times and Washington Post), Taiwanese (Epoch Times), Tibetans, etc.
Not to be rude, but I have to ask: if the "security" in Beijing weren't so busy cracking down on dissidents of all stripes, would there have been more of it available to patrol the streets, in particular the tourist areas? According to the AP, "Chinese authorities unsettled by the attack during the Beijing Olympics tightened security at tourist spots around the city" (emphasis added). I have to believe that said security could have been tightened before the Games began without so many being diverted for political reasons.
Moreover, while such a statement may sound outrageous in the particular, it makes sense in the abstract for another reason: when political dissent is considered criminal, actual crime is no longer seen as so outrageous. The cadres themselves have resorted to theft and murder repeatedly to achieve their aims. So from a philosophical perspective as well as a resource one, tyranny and criminality seem to go together.
The Beijing Olympics has garnered a slew of protests and warnings over Communist China's human rights abuses (Boycott 2008, CTV, The Epoch Times, more Epoch Times, and National Review Online). As far as I know, however, I'm the only one to broach this subject. Maybe it's because I'm a little more willing to take the logic train where others fear to go - or maybe it's because I'm way off-base.
Either way, the fake splendor that was the opening ceremony can't erase complaints from the Chinese people about the Games (Epoch Times), or the Communists' continued efforts to replace America as the lead power in the world (BBC and Financial Times) - complete with propping up their Korean colony (One Free Korea). It hasn't even stopped James Dorn's slow shift away from the "engagement" crowd (Washington Times), FWIW.
That was the good news coming from Beijing, at least compared to the murder of Todd Bachman (San Francisco Chronicle). Relax, I am not claiming that the Communists ordered his murder, but I do have to wonder about something regarding these Games.
Everyone is saying that security in Beijing is as tight as it could possibly be, and from thousands of miles away, I am in no position to argue. That said, I have to ponder just what that security is watching and restricting - namely religious believers (Epoch Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times), political dissidents (Epoch Times and Washington Post), Taiwanese (Epoch Times), Tibetans, etc.
Not to be rude, but I have to ask: if the "security" in Beijing weren't so busy cracking down on dissidents of all stripes, would there have been more of it available to patrol the streets, in particular the tourist areas? According to the AP, "Chinese authorities unsettled by the attack during the Beijing Olympics tightened security at tourist spots around the city" (emphasis added). I have to believe that said security could have been tightened before the Games began without so many being diverted for political reasons.
Moreover, while such a statement may sound outrageous in the particular, it makes sense in the abstract for another reason: when political dissent is considered criminal, actual crime is no longer seen as so outrageous. The cadres themselves have resorted to theft and murder repeatedly to achieve their aims. So from a philosophical perspective as well as a resource one, tyranny and criminality seem to go together.
The Beijing Olympics has garnered a slew of protests and warnings over Communist China's human rights abuses (Boycott 2008, CTV, The Epoch Times, more Epoch Times, and National Review Online). As far as I know, however, I'm the only one to broach this subject. Maybe it's because I'm a little more willing to take the logic train where others fear to go - or maybe it's because I'm way off-base.
Either way, the fake splendor that was the opening ceremony can't erase complaints from the Chinese people about the Games (Epoch Times), or the Communists' continued efforts to replace America as the lead power in the world (BBC and Financial Times) - complete with propping up their Korean colony (One Free Korea). It hasn't even stopped James Dorn's slow shift away from the "engagement" crowd (Washington Times), FWIW.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
We have our Olympic symbol: the mask
We all knew the Communists would try to mask the reality of China - such as state-sponsored murder (Between Heaven and Earth) and labor camps full of picture takers (BBC) - to hide it from outsiders. We knew the mask the cadres use to deceive the Chinese people would be so invasive (Epoch Times) that those very outsiders would be affected (AFP via Breitbart, BBC, BBC again, and Boycott 2008). They've even reached beyond their borders to silence exiles who could disturb the masks (The Epoch Times).
Now, however, the mask is sure to become the unintended Olympic icon - the athletes are bringing them:
Australian track-and-field athletes will "hold its pre-Olympic training camp in Hong Kong, and athletes will then fly to Beijing a few days before their events, the minimum exposure possible."
Naturally, the Communists will move heaven and earth to ensure none of these masks get inside Beijing's Olympic palaces. These are the same people who have taken it upon themselves to ban blacks from night clubs (Washington Post). Still, the symbolism is unavoidable.
Meanwhile, the cadres are dealing with accusations of cyberspying (CQ Politics, Newsmax, and Washington Times), run-of-the-mill spying (CQ Politics), cheating (Toronto Star), and luring dissidents into the open - and later prison (Epoch Times). Then there are the usual flare-ups over human rights (Boycott 2008 and Washington Post) and Darfur (World Net Daily).
None of that won't stop the propaganda machine already in full swing (Weekly Standard), neither will Beijing's increasing grip on Costa Rica (Epoch Times) or its colony's return to famine (BBC and Washington Post). Odds are the Communists' masks will have more staying power than anyone else's. What happens when the masks fall is another matter entirely.
Now, however, the mask is sure to become the unintended Olympic icon - the athletes are bringing them:
"Concerned about the pollution, the U.S. Olympic Committee is distributing a high-tech mask, developed in secrecy, to its more than 600 Olympians." - Wall Street Journal
"Japan's Olympic delegation will carry 500 dust masks for industrial use to guard against the notorious air pollution in Beijing, a corporate official said Monday." - Boycott 2008, see alsop The Morning Call
Australian track-and-field athletes will "hold its pre-Olympic training camp in Hong Kong, and athletes will then fly to Beijing a few days before their events, the minimum exposure possible."
Naturally, the Communists will move heaven and earth to ensure none of these masks get inside Beijing's Olympic palaces. These are the same people who have taken it upon themselves to ban blacks from night clubs (Washington Post). Still, the symbolism is unavoidable.
Meanwhile, the cadres are dealing with accusations of cyberspying (CQ Politics, Newsmax, and Washington Times), run-of-the-mill spying (CQ Politics), cheating (Toronto Star), and luring dissidents into the open - and later prison (Epoch Times). Then there are the usual flare-ups over human rights (Boycott 2008 and Washington Post) and Darfur (World Net Daily).
None of that won't stop the propaganda machine already in full swing (Weekly Standard), neither will Beijing's increasing grip on Costa Rica (Epoch Times) or its colony's return to famine (BBC and Washington Post). Odds are the Communists' masks will have more staying power than anyone else's. What happens when the masks fall is another matter entirely.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The cadres are getting touchy
With just over two weeks until the opening ceremonies of the Communist Propaganda Extravaganza (a.k.a. the Olympic Games), the regime is cracking down on . . . boycott opponents!
That's right; Kendra Zanotto - 2004 bronze medalist and would-be 2008 Olympic News synchronized swimming reporter - had her visa application denied because of her membership in Team Darfur (San Jose Mercury-News). This comes despite the fact that Team Darfur, while certainly trying to bring attention to the Communist-aided Darfurian outrage, opposes an Olympic boycott.
So, despite getting a de facto endorsement from the Obama campaign (a $5 million ad buy, according to NRO Media Blog), the cadres are determined to rid the games of all "unstable elements," be they local dissidents (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times), or foreign reporters who join an organization even mildly criticizing them.
To understand why, one has to look beyond the Games, which are rapidly becoming the regime's harbor ina sea of troubles. A new agreement with Russia engendered angry reaction over the surrender of Heixiazi Island (Epoch Times). A real estate crisis that at best resembles our own (and more likely makes ours look like a Sunday School picnic) is rocking average mainlanders (Epoch Times). The Communist espionage-intimidation effort in New York City has been exposed to the world (Epoch Times). Even the Communist-backed Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe has created serious PR blowback - to say nothing of Darfur itself (Weekly Standard). All in all, the Communists can't afford to have anything go wrong during the Olympics - especially given the long memories and easy MSM access of the Darfur activists.
One question remains unanswered, however: what happens when the Olympics end? What will the cadres do when the propaganda exercise is replaced by more mundane stories of espionage (Washington Times), bad behavior by satellite states (CNN), and the massive corruption that made the Games possible?
That's right; Kendra Zanotto - 2004 bronze medalist and would-be 2008 Olympic News synchronized swimming reporter - had her visa application denied because of her membership in Team Darfur (San Jose Mercury-News). This comes despite the fact that Team Darfur, while certainly trying to bring attention to the Communist-aided Darfurian outrage, opposes an Olympic boycott.
So, despite getting a de facto endorsement from the Obama campaign (a $5 million ad buy, according to NRO Media Blog), the cadres are determined to rid the games of all "unstable elements," be they local dissidents (Boycott 2008 and Epoch Times), or foreign reporters who join an organization even mildly criticizing them.
To understand why, one has to look beyond the Games, which are rapidly becoming the regime's harbor ina sea of troubles. A new agreement with Russia engendered angry reaction over the surrender of Heixiazi Island (Epoch Times). A real estate crisis that at best resembles our own (and more likely makes ours look like a Sunday School picnic) is rocking average mainlanders (Epoch Times). The Communist espionage-intimidation effort in New York City has been exposed to the world (Epoch Times). Even the Communist-backed Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe has created serious PR blowback - to say nothing of Darfur itself (Weekly Standard). All in all, the Communists can't afford to have anything go wrong during the Olympics - especially given the long memories and easy MSM access of the Darfur activists.
One question remains unanswered, however: what happens when the Olympics end? What will the cadres do when the propaganda exercise is replaced by more mundane stories of espionage (Washington Times), bad behavior by satellite states (CNN), and the massive corruption that made the Games possible?
Monday, July 21, 2008
The egdes are fraying
With less than three weeks to go until the Propaganda Exhibit begins, the cadres are hard at work making sure the tapestry of the nation is on perfect display, but there is still some significant fraying at the edges - largely due to the Communists' efforts themselves, much like repeated vacuuming can damage a carpet (OK, maybe that's just my carpet, but I digress.
The Harmonious Society Department has been hard at work repressing media (Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, and the Washington Times), but as one would expect, the media is making their unhappiness plain, defeating the purpose of the initial restrictions. Meanwhile, a slew of arrests have turned the pre-Olympic buildup into ongoing accounts of the police state (Between Heaven and Earth, Epoch Times, Washington Post, and the Weekly Standard). All of this was before the embarrassing order barring Mongolians and Africans from Beijing bars during the Games (Asia News and World Net Daily) - perhaps Robert Mugabe is exempted (London Telegraph). Then there are the land seizures (BBC) and the bans on foreign entertainers (Int'l Herald Tribune).
Even the "normal" parts of the Olympics (athletics, commerce, and the notion of worldly reconciliation) are hitting snags. The cadres are being exposed as medal-hungry brutes (BBC), commerce-killing paranoids (Washington Times), and Taiwan-hating radicals who have even managed to alienate their friends in Kuomintang (Taipei Times).
Still, as much trouble as the Olympics have been, it's nothing compared to non-Olympic issues.
The cadres are resorting to outright bribes to quite parents of earthquake victims (Epoch Times). The people of Macau and Hong Kong continue to resist one-country, one-and-a-half-systems (Epoch Times). The World Trade Organization (of all people) insists that globalization be a two-way street (BBC and Washington Post).
Even foreign policy issues - long the crutch upon which cadres and appeasers have leaned - are turning on the regime. An espionage scandal straight out of a bad spy novel hits Britain (Times of London); the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to alienate New Yorkers (Epoch Times); and even the Korean colony is getting serious blowback (One Free Korea).
Whether or not these will all combine to disrupt or detract from the Olympics is unclear (not that I'd bet on it), but it is fairly certain that these will continue to give the cadres headaches long after the "triumphant" Games turn into an avalanche of corruption.
The Harmonious Society Department has been hard at work repressing media (Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, and the Washington Times), but as one would expect, the media is making their unhappiness plain, defeating the purpose of the initial restrictions. Meanwhile, a slew of arrests have turned the pre-Olympic buildup into ongoing accounts of the police state (Between Heaven and Earth, Epoch Times, Washington Post, and the Weekly Standard). All of this was before the embarrassing order barring Mongolians and Africans from Beijing bars during the Games (Asia News and World Net Daily) - perhaps Robert Mugabe is exempted (London Telegraph). Then there are the land seizures (BBC) and the bans on foreign entertainers (Int'l Herald Tribune).
Even the "normal" parts of the Olympics (athletics, commerce, and the notion of worldly reconciliation) are hitting snags. The cadres are being exposed as medal-hungry brutes (BBC), commerce-killing paranoids (Washington Times), and Taiwan-hating radicals who have even managed to alienate their friends in Kuomintang (Taipei Times).
Still, as much trouble as the Olympics have been, it's nothing compared to non-Olympic issues.
The cadres are resorting to outright bribes to quite parents of earthquake victims (Epoch Times). The people of Macau and Hong Kong continue to resist one-country, one-and-a-half-systems (Epoch Times). The World Trade Organization (of all people) insists that globalization be a two-way street (BBC and Washington Post).
Even foreign policy issues - long the crutch upon which cadres and appeasers have leaned - are turning on the regime. An espionage scandal straight out of a bad spy novel hits Britain (Times of London); the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues to alienate New Yorkers (Epoch Times); and even the Korean colony is getting serious blowback (One Free Korea).
Whether or not these will all combine to disrupt or detract from the Olympics is unclear (not that I'd bet on it), but it is fairly certain that these will continue to give the cadres headaches long after the "triumphant" Games turn into an avalanche of corruption.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Communists vs. the truth
Three weeks from the opening ceremonies, the battle between the cadres and the truth intensifies.
Inside Communist China and the occupied nations, the regime seems to be winning (Times of London, Washington Post, and Washington Times), helped in no small part by obsequious outsiders willing to do their bidding (Epoch Times).
Things are going better for the truth on the outside, as Communist malfeasance in Zimbabwe (Heritage Foundation), India (UPI Asia), and even the United States (Epoch Times) is getting more attention and scrutiny. Meanwhile, attempts to recruit Japan into the repression crowd have gone nowhere (Between Heaven and Earth); Americans are growing more concerned about the cyberspy threat from the Games (Wall Street Journal); and another boycott call was aired, this time from Israel (Ynet News).
It was not all perfect: an American judge appears to be more interested in the exposure of Communist Chinese espionage than the espionage itself (Washington Post), and we must remain leery about the Beijing-Taipei "thaw" (BBC). However, the Communists' hope for a reality-free Olympics is already dashed.
Inside Communist China and the occupied nations, the regime seems to be winning (Times of London, Washington Post, and Washington Times), helped in no small part by obsequious outsiders willing to do their bidding (Epoch Times).
Things are going better for the truth on the outside, as Communist malfeasance in Zimbabwe (Heritage Foundation), India (UPI Asia), and even the United States (Epoch Times) is getting more attention and scrutiny. Meanwhile, attempts to recruit Japan into the repression crowd have gone nowhere (Between Heaven and Earth); Americans are growing more concerned about the cyberspy threat from the Games (Wall Street Journal); and another boycott call was aired, this time from Israel (Ynet News).
It was not all perfect: an American judge appears to be more interested in the exposure of Communist Chinese espionage than the espionage itself (Washington Post), and we must remain leery about the Beijing-Taipei "thaw" (BBC). However, the Communists' hope for a reality-free Olympics is already dashed.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Could the Communist Olympiad actually fail?
I must confess that I never thought I would actually ask that question. For years, it seemed silly to even consider it. Not even the revulsion over the Tibet crackdown in the spring led me to believe the Beijing Olympics would be anything but the propaganda bonanza the Communists wish it to be (the aftermath is another matter). Now, suddenly, with the news that Communist China is directly helping the Sudanese regime's mass killing spree in Darfur (BBC), I'm not so sure.
Lest anyone forget, it was the Darfur issue that first made an Olympic boycott an acceptable conversation in the mainstream. It has been the Darfur activists who (prior to the Tibet crackdown) caught the attention on MSM and first put meaningful Olympic pressure on the Communists. It was on the Darfur issue that the Communists began making symbolic gestures to appease critics in the hope of silencing them for the Games.
Well, those of us who have watched the Chinese Communist Party knew this was bunk, much as their claims of moderation on Tibet was bunk (Times of London), and their claims of lightening up on the hideous "one child" policy were bunk (World Net Daily), and their supposed willingness to help the rest of the world deal with Robert Mugabe was bunk (Washington Post), and their claims of a harmonious China awaiting the Olympics with joy was bunk (BBC, Between Heaven and Earth, Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, and the Washington Post). For the Darfur folks, however, this is a new and fresh outrage. They won't take this lying down.
When Tibet was bleeding in March, there was still enough time for people to forget and for the "engagement" crowd to rationalize. Four weeks out is not enough time for that. This all but guarantees that Darfur activists will be demanding attention during the Games themselves, and as past history has shown, when they demand attention, they get it. In other words, every moment of Olympic triumph will be countered by the Darfur tragedy. The regime that wanted the world to see them as wonderful Olympic hosts will instead see them as war-mongering merchants of death in Africa - and that's if the Communists are lucky.
If the cadres are unlucky, Darfur will become a political nexus for things like spying on politicians in the free world (Canberra Times via BH&E), intimidating exiles overseas (The Epoch Times), traditional espionage (BBC), muscling in on NTDTV broadcasters (Rapid TV News via Boycott 2008), propping up the bloodthirsty and dishonest Korean tyrant Kim Jong-il (BBC, CNN, CNN again, Washington Post, and the Washington Times), and of course, how the CCP treats the Chinese people (Epoch Times).
The odds of all of these cans of worms opening up on the Communist Olympiad is fairly small. Then again, the odds of the Darfur issue crashing the Games seemed small, too, until this past weekend. For the moment, anything is possible.
Lest anyone forget, it was the Darfur issue that first made an Olympic boycott an acceptable conversation in the mainstream. It has been the Darfur activists who (prior to the Tibet crackdown) caught the attention on MSM and first put meaningful Olympic pressure on the Communists. It was on the Darfur issue that the Communists began making symbolic gestures to appease critics in the hope of silencing them for the Games.
Well, those of us who have watched the Chinese Communist Party knew this was bunk, much as their claims of moderation on Tibet was bunk (Times of London), and their claims of lightening up on the hideous "one child" policy were bunk (World Net Daily), and their supposed willingness to help the rest of the world deal with Robert Mugabe was bunk (Washington Post), and their claims of a harmonious China awaiting the Olympics with joy was bunk (BBC, Between Heaven and Earth, Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, and the Washington Post). For the Darfur folks, however, this is a new and fresh outrage. They won't take this lying down.
When Tibet was bleeding in March, there was still enough time for people to forget and for the "engagement" crowd to rationalize. Four weeks out is not enough time for that. This all but guarantees that Darfur activists will be demanding attention during the Games themselves, and as past history has shown, when they demand attention, they get it. In other words, every moment of Olympic triumph will be countered by the Darfur tragedy. The regime that wanted the world to see them as wonderful Olympic hosts will instead see them as war-mongering merchants of death in Africa - and that's if the Communists are lucky.
If the cadres are unlucky, Darfur will become a political nexus for things like spying on politicians in the free world (Canberra Times via BH&E), intimidating exiles overseas (The Epoch Times), traditional espionage (BBC), muscling in on NTDTV broadcasters (Rapid TV News via Boycott 2008), propping up the bloodthirsty and dishonest Korean tyrant Kim Jong-il (BBC, CNN, CNN again, Washington Post, and the Washington Times), and of course, how the CCP treats the Chinese people (Epoch Times).
The odds of all of these cans of worms opening up on the Communist Olympiad is fairly small. Then again, the odds of the Darfur issue crashing the Games seemed small, too, until this past weekend. For the moment, anything is possible.
Monday, June 30, 2008
On the arrogance of the Chinese Communist Party and the accidental complicity of the free world
In Weng'an, Guizhou, a teenage girl was raped and murdered. The three suspects "were interrogated for a day and then released" (Washington Times). The reason for the leniency was as simple as it was outrageous: "two of whom were related to officials in the county's public security bureau." The ensuing events revealed how and why the Chinese Communist Party continues to get away with enslaving its own people and threatening the rest of the globe.
After the local cadres declared the murder a "suicide" (Washington Post), the victim's uncle demanded justice - and was beaten to death by Communist-backed thugs. Enraged, thousands of citizens descended upon the police stations and local regime buildings and counter-attacked - and odds are, that last part is all most Americans and others will know about what happened. For the Communists, that's a huge win - it's just another "riot" due to some cadre misdeed or other that led to a local overreaction, while the hidden truth is only known to the folks who were there.
There are many reasons for this. First and foremost - the Communists have wronged their own people in so many ways (Boycott 2008, Central News Agency of Taiwan, The Epoch Times, London Telegraph, and the Washington Times) that the rest of the world becomes inured. Even other reports of the Weng'an incident (CNN and, in a rare misstep, the Epoch Times), stray into the general Communist oppression. Only the Post noticed and reported how the cadres' thugs beat the grieving uncle to death - which not only explains the actual reason for the violent reaction but puts it in badly needed context. Without that vital piece of information, this story can fall into the usual "yes-but" mode into which "engagement" supporters shift when the truth about the CCP starts to seep out.
This has become such an easy reflex that the cadres have picked it up, too. They'll have "negotiations" with the Dalai Lama (BBC and Washington Times) in no small part to blunt the embarrassment of their latest Tibet "media tour" (NRO Media Blog). When their alliance with "entrepreneurs" reveals the rapacious greed of all involved (Washington Post), they highlight their Potemkin cities and their "flexibility" (Washington Post). Extending beyond the borders, the cadres can deflect criticism over its support for Zimbabwean thug Robert Mugabe (Channel News Asia and Washington Times) with a warming of ties with Japan (Epoch Times), and the recent good behavior of its Korean colony (BBC and CNN).
Yet even here, the conversation can only go so far. Communist China's reconciliation with Taiwan may bring sighs of relief (BBC), but it also brings new pressure for Taiwan to muzzle its own citizens in order to "accommodate more than 3,000 mainland tourists starting in July" (Epoch Times). America's dealings with Stalinist North Korea look promising on the surface, but look too closely and it becomes clear that there is far less than meets the eye (BBC, One Free Korea, and the Washington Post).
More broadly, the entire "peaceful rise" meme gets tripped up by the discussion of radical nationalism - the one issue that "engagement" backers and other appeasers of the regime treat as the dark monster in the forest that no one can discuss (Int'l Hearld Tribune). Any discussion of Communist espionage (WLS) or its overseas intimidation (Epoch Times) becomes taboo (and, if they're in a pinch, all of the other issues above) - and here is where the need for proper context reasserts itself.
The "nationalist" argument is supposed to silence any critic of the regime, much like the report of a "riot" is supposed to silence any questions about Weng'an. Yet like Weng'an, the conventional wisdom misses a pertinent fact: the greatest thing holding the Chinese nation back is the Chinese Communist Party, which is itself a foreign infection from Moscow. Thus, an incomplete discussion of the nationalism issue redounds to the Communists' benefit - even if the folks having the discussion are themselves critics of the regime.
What this teaches us is to always look for the entire story; the cadres can turn half-truths to their benefit all the time. No better example of this exists than in Weng'an itself, where the cadres covered up for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, murdered her uncle, and still got decent publicity because the ensuing outrage by the locals dominated the coverage.
After the local cadres declared the murder a "suicide" (Washington Post), the victim's uncle demanded justice - and was beaten to death by Communist-backed thugs. Enraged, thousands of citizens descended upon the police stations and local regime buildings and counter-attacked - and odds are, that last part is all most Americans and others will know about what happened. For the Communists, that's a huge win - it's just another "riot" due to some cadre misdeed or other that led to a local overreaction, while the hidden truth is only known to the folks who were there.
There are many reasons for this. First and foremost - the Communists have wronged their own people in so many ways (Boycott 2008, Central News Agency of Taiwan, The Epoch Times, London Telegraph, and the Washington Times) that the rest of the world becomes inured. Even other reports of the Weng'an incident (CNN and, in a rare misstep, the Epoch Times), stray into the general Communist oppression. Only the Post noticed and reported how the cadres' thugs beat the grieving uncle to death - which not only explains the actual reason for the violent reaction but puts it in badly needed context. Without that vital piece of information, this story can fall into the usual "yes-but" mode into which "engagement" supporters shift when the truth about the CCP starts to seep out.
This has become such an easy reflex that the cadres have picked it up, too. They'll have "negotiations" with the Dalai Lama (BBC and Washington Times) in no small part to blunt the embarrassment of their latest Tibet "media tour" (NRO Media Blog). When their alliance with "entrepreneurs" reveals the rapacious greed of all involved (Washington Post), they highlight their Potemkin cities and their "flexibility" (Washington Post). Extending beyond the borders, the cadres can deflect criticism over its support for Zimbabwean thug Robert Mugabe (Channel News Asia and Washington Times) with a warming of ties with Japan (Epoch Times), and the recent good behavior of its Korean colony (BBC and CNN).
Yet even here, the conversation can only go so far. Communist China's reconciliation with Taiwan may bring sighs of relief (BBC), but it also brings new pressure for Taiwan to muzzle its own citizens in order to "accommodate more than 3,000 mainland tourists starting in July" (Epoch Times). America's dealings with Stalinist North Korea look promising on the surface, but look too closely and it becomes clear that there is far less than meets the eye (BBC, One Free Korea, and the Washington Post).
More broadly, the entire "peaceful rise" meme gets tripped up by the discussion of radical nationalism - the one issue that "engagement" backers and other appeasers of the regime treat as the dark monster in the forest that no one can discuss (Int'l Hearld Tribune). Any discussion of Communist espionage (WLS) or its overseas intimidation (Epoch Times) becomes taboo (and, if they're in a pinch, all of the other issues above) - and here is where the need for proper context reasserts itself.
The "nationalist" argument is supposed to silence any critic of the regime, much like the report of a "riot" is supposed to silence any questions about Weng'an. Yet like Weng'an, the conventional wisdom misses a pertinent fact: the greatest thing holding the Chinese nation back is the Chinese Communist Party, which is itself a foreign infection from Moscow. Thus, an incomplete discussion of the nationalism issue redounds to the Communists' benefit - even if the folks having the discussion are themselves critics of the regime.
What this teaches us is to always look for the entire story; the cadres can turn half-truths to their benefit all the time. No better example of this exists than in Weng'an itself, where the cadres covered up for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, murdered her uncle, and still got decent publicity because the ensuing outrage by the locals dominated the coverage.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
It's time for a change in the Conservative Party of Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his retreat from anti-Communism official with the permanent appointment of pro-"engagement" David Emerson as Foreign Minister (CTV and National Post). As someone who supported Harper in the 2006 election for the anti-Communist policies he had espoused as Opposition Leader, I have no choice but to withdraw that support now and call for the Conservative Party of Canada to change leaders.
Placing Emerson permanently in Foreign Affairs is a terrible mistake; wrong on principle, wrong on national interest, and wrong on politics. That Harper did it anyway reveals a PM who has lost his way, and unless he is removed, will also lead the Tories into the wilderness.
On principle: Under Harper's leadership, the Conservative Party became arguably the most anti-Communist party in the democratic world. Its election in 2006 gave Canada an opportunity to be the world's genuine conscience (as opposed to the phony conscience the Liberals and used as a model, which the rest of the world ignored, BTW). That potential is now in ashes.
On what is best for Canada: After the scare on exports from Communist China, the numerous attempts by the cadres to grab Canadian resources, and the espionage-intimidation network exposed three years ago, one would think most politicians would be aware of the danger the Beijing regime poses to the free world. Sadly, the elite in Ottawa (much like Washington, I should add) do not see clearly enough - and one of the worst was Liberal Industry Minister David Emerson. To put him in charge of Foreign Affairs is to ignores these and many other ways where Beijing's action damage both Canadian economic interests and the health and welfare of the Canadian people.
On the politics: It is all but certain that in the next election, the Liberals will try what they always try - scare left-wing and center-left voters who have tired of them to "Stop the Conservatives." Yet, on this issue (before today), NDP and Bloc voters were closer to the Conservative view than the Liberal one. Anti-Communism was one issue where these voters would see why it would not make sense to vote Liberal just to prevent the Tories from winning a majority. That rationale is now gone.
I want to make clear that this change, in my view, must be within the CPC. This is no way is meant to imply any support for the Liberals. In fact, replacing one ex-Liberal Foreign Minister who spouts the "engagement" line on Communist China with an actual Liberal who will spout the "engagement" line on Communist China would accomplish nothing. It must be another Conservative, an anti-Communist Conservative, who replaces Harper; the sooner, the better.
Cross-posted to the Shotgun
Placing Emerson permanently in Foreign Affairs is a terrible mistake; wrong on principle, wrong on national interest, and wrong on politics. That Harper did it anyway reveals a PM who has lost his way, and unless he is removed, will also lead the Tories into the wilderness.
On principle: Under Harper's leadership, the Conservative Party became arguably the most anti-Communist party in the democratic world. Its election in 2006 gave Canada an opportunity to be the world's genuine conscience (as opposed to the phony conscience the Liberals and used as a model, which the rest of the world ignored, BTW). That potential is now in ashes.
On what is best for Canada: After the scare on exports from Communist China, the numerous attempts by the cadres to grab Canadian resources, and the espionage-intimidation network exposed three years ago, one would think most politicians would be aware of the danger the Beijing regime poses to the free world. Sadly, the elite in Ottawa (much like Washington, I should add) do not see clearly enough - and one of the worst was Liberal Industry Minister David Emerson. To put him in charge of Foreign Affairs is to ignores these and many other ways where Beijing's action damage both Canadian economic interests and the health and welfare of the Canadian people.
On the politics: It is all but certain that in the next election, the Liberals will try what they always try - scare left-wing and center-left voters who have tired of them to "Stop the Conservatives." Yet, on this issue (before today), NDP and Bloc voters were closer to the Conservative view than the Liberal one. Anti-Communism was one issue where these voters would see why it would not make sense to vote Liberal just to prevent the Tories from winning a majority. That rationale is now gone.
I want to make clear that this change, in my view, must be within the CPC. This is no way is meant to imply any support for the Liberals. In fact, replacing one ex-Liberal Foreign Minister who spouts the "engagement" line on Communist China with an actual Liberal who will spout the "engagement" line on Communist China would accomplish nothing. It must be another Conservative, an anti-Communist Conservative, who replaces Harper; the sooner, the better.
Cross-posted to the Shotgun
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