Ten years ago this Saturday, the Chinese Communist Party openly announced its own demise. It didn't realize it was doing this, so don't go looking for Kevorkian references or anything, but the suicide was publicly proclaimed all the same; for it was on July 25, 1999 that the CCP officially began the conflict that will eventually lead to its downfall: the Falun Gong War.
With just about every tyranny that has darkened the world with its shadow, there is an event, a moment, where an observer can pinpoint things beginning to go "off the rails." At that moment, the regime loses its rationality and its perspective - an inevitable consequence of its loss of humanity. Difficult to see when they happen, these inflection points stand out in bas relief when the regime's history is reviewed.
On occasion, this is a foreign policy blunder (the Nazis' invasion of the Soviet Union), but usually it occurs when the regime decided to turn a non-political issue into a political one - best shown by European Communism's visceral reaction to Solidarity in Poland. The world's peoples understand when a tyrants go after their political enemies - they don't approve, mind you, but they understand the reasons for it. As such, the tyrants' victims use this understanding to help survive the dictatorship - stay clear of political no-go areas, chant the regime's slogans at the right place and the right time, etc., and no one will come for you in the middle of the night. It is when the regime decides to attack something widely perceived as apoliticial that the persecuted people(s) realize they have no choice but to rise up against the regime. The regime need not fall immediately (it took eleven years for European Communism to finally and completely collapse), but it will, inevitably, fall. For the CCP, that moment was July 25, 1999.
To understand why, we need to remember what Falun Gong was before it became an enemy of the state. In the 1990s, Falun Gong was one of many qigong movements spreading among the Chinese people. Unlike most of the others, it quickly found favor with the regime for its refusal to engage in politics. Moreover, Falun Gong was inherently Chinese in its aspirations, its methods, and even its flaws (note: I am not a practitioner). If there was any spiritual movement that the CCP could co-opt, it was Falun Gong.
However, as the decade came to a close, the regime suddenly discovered that Falun Gong had more adherents than the Chinese Communist Party. This, in the minds of the paranoid post-Tiananmen leadership of the CCP, made it dangerous, and worthy of a crackdown. Outside the CCP, however, the crackdown made no sense whatsoever. Why would the regime care about something so firmly non-political as Falun Gong? What else would the regime suddenly decide was "political" and worthy of a prison term or a spell in a labor camp? Practitioners themselves were so surprised that they demanded the regime stop: 10,000 of them in one April day. Ironically, that demonstration (which was largely a show of fealty to the CCP) was twisted by the regime into an act of dissent it never was.
The rest is tragic history - although there have been some darkly comical moments. As always, they center around the regime's charges of foreign influence - an utterly hilarious notion given that it comes from a regime inspired by German philosopher and aided in its quest for power by two Russian tyrants. Looking from 2009, it appears the regime succeeded. However, it looked just as dark in Poland in 1987, or even the Soviet Union itself in early 1991. We now know better.
The regime does, too. They're not foolish enough to think they've won the Falun Gong War (although they are intelligent enough to claim they have). Perhaps they are even aware of the massive unforced error they committed in turning Falun Gong into a dissident faith. In any event, the regime will - and in fact, must - continue its path of repression until the Chinese people rise up and take their country back.
When that happens, history and historians may very well look back to July 25, 1999 as the tipping point.
Showing posts with label falun gong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label falun gong. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Friday, January 02, 2009
Here comes the Anniversary Year
With 2008 now drifting off into history, most Americans are looking forward to the new Administration (including many of its would-be critics; defending George W. Bush can be exhausting work), and the usual challenges that come with any new year. Most of the rest of the planet will likely do the same - albeit with somewhat less interest in the new President.
In the halls of Zhongnanhai, however, 2009 promises to be a tumultuous year of crisis and crackdowns - and that would have been true even without the economic slowdown that has sent foreign investors running for the exits (Wall Street Journal), for this year can best be described as the "Anniversary Year" - the year several milestones in tyrannical history of the Chinese Communist Party are due for remembrance.
In just over two months, things begin with the fiftieth anniversary of the anti-Communist Tibet uprising of 1959. True, some of the pressure building for this year was let loose by last year's brouhaha (which is in no small part why I believe the cadres were determined to instigate something last March), but there is plenty of resentment left in reserve. Add to it the Dalia Lama's determination to link his cause to the greater movement for democracy in China, and the first anniversary could set a very troubling tone for the CCP.
Just over a month later, as April nears its exit and spring really kicks into gear, we'll have a new decade marker - the tenth anniversary of the Falun Gong protest of 1999. That quite but determined demand for religious freedom - followed three months later by the CCP's decision to ban the entire practice - will shine a bright light on Communist persecution for at least three months, and bring even greater attention to the practitioners' plight.
However, before we get to the July ban and the official ten-year demarcation for the Falun Gong War, we'll hit the mother of all anniversaries (pun partially intended) - the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
Actually, if the Communists are lucky, Tiananmen will only come up in June. More likely, May 2009 will have a long crescendo of memorials to the Tiananmen spring, and the million-plus who made their way to the square to show their disapproval of the corrupt tyranny (if the cadres are really unlucky, the May 1989 protests outside Beijing - which according to some accounts brought out more than 100 million people - will finally be given their due). It will build to the observance of the bloody crackdown itself.
This is the one day the cadres have dreaded, which is why I am still certain they will do anything to shift attention away from it, including giving the silent green light to an Iranian nuclear test just before June begins (lest anyone think I'm being alarmist, let's not forget that Iran's Hamas proxies are now killing Israelis with CCP-made missiles - Epoch Times).
July, as mentioned earlier, will have the Falun Gong War anniversary, but the surprising calendar landmine will come the following month - or, to be precise, on August 8, 2009. This will be the one-year anniversary of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a time to remember what the Communists hoped to get out of the Games (more international prestige, more support at home, etc.), and what actually came after them (the economic slowdown, domestic anger at the over-the-top spending on Olympic renovations and land seizures, international questions about corruption in Communist sport programs, etc.). More ominously for the cadres, it will also be the first time for the Chinese people to look back and count the cost of the whole farce.
Before August is out, we will also see the sixtieth anniversary of the occupation of East Turkestan, which in the present global environment is sure to get some attention. While most of it will follow the CCP line in some way, shape, or form, odds are at least a few more journalists (and many more readers) will have their eyes opened to the real situation there.
Compared to that kind of spring and summer, the early fall will be a welcome relief. September 19 will mark five years for Hu Jintao as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (and thus, ruler of the country - more on that later). October 1 will be the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the "People's Republic of China," which may actually go quite will for the cadres until someone reminds the world just how may Chinese died to satiate the mad whims of the founder.
The final two anniversaries (both in November) will - in different ways - go straight to the heart of the issue: the nature of the CCP regime. The 9th will be the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall's demise. While most of the discussion will center around how Europe is today, I'm sure there will also be plenty of ink spilled and bandwith used about the one Communist behemoth that hasn't fallen yet.
The other November anniversary will be felt much more inside the CCP's realm: the fifth anniversary of the Hanyuan County massacre. It will be a sharp reminder to all who remember it of Hu Jintao's willingness to rely on bullets and blood to maintain "stability."
All in all, the cadres can expect an interesting year. Given the tragic inability of the free world's leaders to understand the stakes of Cold War II, it will likely be a year the regime survives, but it will also add more fuel to the fires of resentment felt by the CCP's greatest victims: the Chinese people. Thus 2009 will bring freedom that much closer to China.
How much closer would that be? As always, only time can tell.
In the halls of Zhongnanhai, however, 2009 promises to be a tumultuous year of crisis and crackdowns - and that would have been true even without the economic slowdown that has sent foreign investors running for the exits (Wall Street Journal), for this year can best be described as the "Anniversary Year" - the year several milestones in tyrannical history of the Chinese Communist Party are due for remembrance.
In just over two months, things begin with the fiftieth anniversary of the anti-Communist Tibet uprising of 1959. True, some of the pressure building for this year was let loose by last year's brouhaha (which is in no small part why I believe the cadres were determined to instigate something last March), but there is plenty of resentment left in reserve. Add to it the Dalia Lama's determination to link his cause to the greater movement for democracy in China, and the first anniversary could set a very troubling tone for the CCP.
Just over a month later, as April nears its exit and spring really kicks into gear, we'll have a new decade marker - the tenth anniversary of the Falun Gong protest of 1999. That quite but determined demand for religious freedom - followed three months later by the CCP's decision to ban the entire practice - will shine a bright light on Communist persecution for at least three months, and bring even greater attention to the practitioners' plight.
However, before we get to the July ban and the official ten-year demarcation for the Falun Gong War, we'll hit the mother of all anniversaries (pun partially intended) - the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
Actually, if the Communists are lucky, Tiananmen will only come up in June. More likely, May 2009 will have a long crescendo of memorials to the Tiananmen spring, and the million-plus who made their way to the square to show their disapproval of the corrupt tyranny (if the cadres are really unlucky, the May 1989 protests outside Beijing - which according to some accounts brought out more than 100 million people - will finally be given their due). It will build to the observance of the bloody crackdown itself.
This is the one day the cadres have dreaded, which is why I am still certain they will do anything to shift attention away from it, including giving the silent green light to an Iranian nuclear test just before June begins (lest anyone think I'm being alarmist, let's not forget that Iran's Hamas proxies are now killing Israelis with CCP-made missiles - Epoch Times).
July, as mentioned earlier, will have the Falun Gong War anniversary, but the surprising calendar landmine will come the following month - or, to be precise, on August 8, 2009. This will be the one-year anniversary of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a time to remember what the Communists hoped to get out of the Games (more international prestige, more support at home, etc.), and what actually came after them (the economic slowdown, domestic anger at the over-the-top spending on Olympic renovations and land seizures, international questions about corruption in Communist sport programs, etc.). More ominously for the cadres, it will also be the first time for the Chinese people to look back and count the cost of the whole farce.
Before August is out, we will also see the sixtieth anniversary of the occupation of East Turkestan, which in the present global environment is sure to get some attention. While most of it will follow the CCP line in some way, shape, or form, odds are at least a few more journalists (and many more readers) will have their eyes opened to the real situation there.
Compared to that kind of spring and summer, the early fall will be a welcome relief. September 19 will mark five years for Hu Jintao as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (and thus, ruler of the country - more on that later). October 1 will be the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the "People's Republic of China," which may actually go quite will for the cadres until someone reminds the world just how may Chinese died to satiate the mad whims of the founder.
The final two anniversaries (both in November) will - in different ways - go straight to the heart of the issue: the nature of the CCP regime. The 9th will be the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall's demise. While most of the discussion will center around how Europe is today, I'm sure there will also be plenty of ink spilled and bandwith used about the one Communist behemoth that hasn't fallen yet.
The other November anniversary will be felt much more inside the CCP's realm: the fifth anniversary of the Hanyuan County massacre. It will be a sharp reminder to all who remember it of Hu Jintao's willingness to rely on bullets and blood to maintain "stability."
All in all, the cadres can expect an interesting year. Given the tragic inability of the free world's leaders to understand the stakes of Cold War II, it will likely be a year the regime survives, but it will also add more fuel to the fires of resentment felt by the CCP's greatest victims: the Chinese people. Thus 2009 will bring freedom that much closer to China.
How much closer would that be? As always, only time can tell.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
North Korea has a lot to cover-up
No, I'm not referring to the Stalinist nuclear weapons program, which they are, in fact, flaunting once more (BBC). I'm referring to the numerous problems of the Beijing regime which were supposed to be ignored by the rest of the world when the Korean colony first starting acting up.
Not only has the melamine scandal continued to careen out of control Epoch Times), but there are also questions about contaminated medicine again (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, the traditional opposition to the regime from within (Epoch Times) and without (Epoch Times) are now joined by former military personnel are protesting against the regime (Epoch Times).
With all of this to sweep off the front pages around the world, Beijing will be watching its Korean colony closely. Expect any effort to get North Korea to cooperate again on its nuclear ambitions to hit a brick wall until the CCP can get maximum advantage, again (One Free Korea).
Not only has the melamine scandal continued to careen out of control Epoch Times), but there are also questions about contaminated medicine again (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, the traditional opposition to the regime from within (Epoch Times) and without (Epoch Times) are now joined by former military personnel are protesting against the regime (Epoch Times).
With all of this to sweep off the front pages around the world, Beijing will be watching its Korean colony closely. Expect any effort to get North Korea to cooperate again on its nuclear ambitions to hit a brick wall until the CCP can get maximum advantage, again (One Free Korea).
Friday, May 23, 2008
News of the Day (May 23)
Ignorant Comment of the Day: Usually an official from the Clinton Administration has a leg up on anyone else for this dubious honor (most former employees of the current Administration are just as bad, but not all), and true to form, Jamie Metzl (Business Standard) wins with a piece so bad it even gets the facts about the Zimbabwe arms shipment wrong.
ICOD Runner-up: Nicholas Kristof takes second place with this ridiculous ode to "grass-roots politics" in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake (Int'l Herald Tribune via Uyghur Human Rights Project). The Washington Times has a more reasonable assessment of the post-quake aftermath.
Taiwan announces restart of talks with Communist China: The cadres themselves have not confirmed this, but they have dropped broad hints about it (BBC).
Witnesses in New York say Communist consulate officials incited anti-Falun Gong riot: The particulars of the "Battle of Flushing" - and the Communists' role in same - are becoming more clear (Epoch Times).
Huseyin Celil letter makes it out of Canada: The Uyghur exile who became a Canadian citizen has been jailed for over two years laments his fate (Globe and Mail, Cdn.).
News from "another Chinese province": The latest man-made famine continues. One Free Korea has the heartbreaking dispatches.
ICOD Runner-up: Nicholas Kristof takes second place with this ridiculous ode to "grass-roots politics" in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake (Int'l Herald Tribune via Uyghur Human Rights Project). The Washington Times has a more reasonable assessment of the post-quake aftermath.
Taiwan announces restart of talks with Communist China: The cadres themselves have not confirmed this, but they have dropped broad hints about it (BBC).
Witnesses in New York say Communist consulate officials incited anti-Falun Gong riot: The particulars of the "Battle of Flushing" - and the Communists' role in same - are becoming more clear (Epoch Times).
Huseyin Celil letter makes it out of Canada: The Uyghur exile who became a Canadian citizen has been jailed for over two years laments his fate (Globe and Mail, Cdn.).
News from "another Chinese province": The latest man-made famine continues. One Free Korea has the heartbreaking dispatches.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
News of the Day (May 20)
Ma Ying-jeou takes the helm in Taiwan: The former Mayor of Taipei and leader of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party pledged to work toward "a new chapter of peace" (BBC) between the island democracy and Communist China. However, he also "promised that there will be no negotiations on unification with Beijing during his presidency." His predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, was indicted almost immediately after he left office (BBC).
Cisco on the hot seat for anti-Falun Gong memo: The tech giant will be facing questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about "an internal marketing presentation in which it appeared to be willing to assist the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in its goal of 'combating Falun Gong evil cult and other hostile elements'" (Washington Post; h/t Between Heaven and Earth). Ironically but tellingly, the grilling comes less than two weeks after it was revealed that Cisco was the victim of counterfeiting by Communist tech exporters who sold fake Cisco products to the Pentagon and several other military agencies.
The Long Arm of Lawlessness reaches New York City: An anti-Communist rally was attacked in Chinatown (Epoch Times).
"Is Chinese Regime Preparing for Nuclear War?" That's not my headline, but after reading this G2 Bulletin story (via Epoch Times), it certainly was my question.
Dalai Lama in London: Tibet's spiritual leader "will address Parliament and give evidence on human rights to a parliamentary committee during his trip" (BBC). It is the first stop in his 10-day visit to Britain.
The truth seeps out about the earthquake in Communist China: No, I'm not saying the cadres caused the quake, but the mass corruption that led to substandard buildings crushing and killing thousands (Weekly Standard) and the incompetence of cadres in getting help to those who need it (Epoch Times) is finally entering the view from the outside world.
News from "another Chinese province": One Free Korea details how the Stalinist elite in North Korea keep themselves fed - by stealing from everyone else.
Cisco on the hot seat for anti-Falun Gong memo: The tech giant will be facing questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about "an internal marketing presentation in which it appeared to be willing to assist the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in its goal of 'combating Falun Gong evil cult and other hostile elements'" (Washington Post; h/t Between Heaven and Earth). Ironically but tellingly, the grilling comes less than two weeks after it was revealed that Cisco was the victim of counterfeiting by Communist tech exporters who sold fake Cisco products to the Pentagon and several other military agencies.
The Long Arm of Lawlessness reaches New York City: An anti-Communist rally was attacked in Chinatown (Epoch Times).
"Is Chinese Regime Preparing for Nuclear War?" That's not my headline, but after reading this G2 Bulletin story (via Epoch Times), it certainly was my question.
Dalai Lama in London: Tibet's spiritual leader "will address Parliament and give evidence on human rights to a parliamentary committee during his trip" (BBC). It is the first stop in his 10-day visit to Britain.
The truth seeps out about the earthquake in Communist China: No, I'm not saying the cadres caused the quake, but the mass corruption that led to substandard buildings crushing and killing thousands (Weekly Standard) and the incompetence of cadres in getting help to those who need it (Epoch Times) is finally entering the view from the outside world.
News from "another Chinese province": One Free Korea details how the Stalinist elite in North Korea keep themselves fed - by stealing from everyone else.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
News of the Day (April 23)
Communist police kill land-seizure protester in Saxi (Yunnan): Local in the town who protested their land being seized without compensation for a land mine were greeted with a hail of bullets (BBC). It is merely the latest in a long line of Communist land seizures, protests, and subsequent murders.
As April 25 approaches, the Taipei Times remembers the peaceful protest that made Falun Gong a household phrase - and short-hand for the Communists' brutal persecution against people of faith (h/t, Between Heaven and Earth).
Communist China's radical nationalism hits victim to torch "attack": Put aside the still open question of whether or not the cadres staged the attack on Jin Jing. It turns out Jin herself is now being vilified, because she "she expressed a word of caution about a boycott of Carrefour, a French-branded grocery store chain in China" (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, One Free Korea sees a precedent for the Communist reaction, and it's not a good one.
Enlightened Comment of the Day: Today's winner is Rob Breakenridge (Calgary Herald) for his defense of anti-Communist MP Rob Anders' call for an Olympic Boycott.
Other Olympic News: The torch comes to Australia (BBC), as do the protests (Epoch Times). The World Uyghur Congress calls for an Olympic boycott (Earth Times via Uyghur American Association). A pro-Tibet protester is kicked off Mount Everest by Nepalese authorities (CNN).
U.S. praises Zimbabwe neighbors for blocking Communist Chinese arms shipments: The Bush Administration went public with its opposition to the arms sale; at present, the arms still have not made landfall (Washington Post and Washington Times).
Top South Korean spymaster granted asylum in the United States: Surprisingly, an American judge has allowed Kim Ki-Sam to stay here despite the change of government in South Korea, leading One Free Korea to conclude that Kim "must know where a lot of the bodies from the 2000 North Korea summit scandal are buried." Indeed, Kim "is promising to reveal plenty of juicy detail" about the bribe to Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il that greased the skids for that summit with then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
As April 25 approaches, the Taipei Times remembers the peaceful protest that made Falun Gong a household phrase - and short-hand for the Communists' brutal persecution against people of faith (h/t, Between Heaven and Earth).
Communist China's radical nationalism hits victim to torch "attack": Put aside the still open question of whether or not the cadres staged the attack on Jin Jing. It turns out Jin herself is now being vilified, because she "she expressed a word of caution about a boycott of Carrefour, a French-branded grocery store chain in China" (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, One Free Korea sees a precedent for the Communist reaction, and it's not a good one.
Enlightened Comment of the Day: Today's winner is Rob Breakenridge (Calgary Herald) for his defense of anti-Communist MP Rob Anders' call for an Olympic Boycott.
Other Olympic News: The torch comes to Australia (BBC), as do the protests (Epoch Times). The World Uyghur Congress calls for an Olympic boycott (Earth Times via Uyghur American Association). A pro-Tibet protester is kicked off Mount Everest by Nepalese authorities (CNN).
U.S. praises Zimbabwe neighbors for blocking Communist Chinese arms shipments: The Bush Administration went public with its opposition to the arms sale; at present, the arms still have not made landfall (Washington Post and Washington Times).
Top South Korean spymaster granted asylum in the United States: Surprisingly, an American judge has allowed Kim Ki-Sam to stay here despite the change of government in South Korea, leading One Free Korea to conclude that Kim "must know where a lot of the bodies from the 2000 North Korea summit scandal are buried." Indeed, Kim "is promising to reveal plenty of juicy detail" about the bribe to Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il that greased the skids for that summit with then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
Friday, April 18, 2008
News of the Day (April 18)
Communist Chinese weapons shipment to Zimbabwe blocked by South African dockworkers: In an unexpected twist, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union is refusing to unload a Communist Chinese vessel loaded with weapons for Zimbabwe (BBC). The weapons were ordered three days after the March election in Zimbabwe (Guardian, UK). South Africa's government had no objection to the Communists arming Mugabe, but the SATAWU did, and for now, the weapons, including "three million rounds of ammunition for small arms, 3,500 mortar bombs and mortar tubes, as well as 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades" (Independent, UK) aren't going anywhere.
More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Is Kevin Rudd about to become the most ironic and unexpected anti-Communist of 2008? Sonya Bryskine (Epoch Times) gauges Australian opinion on the question. Meanwhile, more Europeans are seeing Communist China as "the greatest perceived threat to global stability " (Speigel, Ger., via Weekly Standard Blog), a trend likely to continue as the EU takes another look at exported Communist toys (BBC).
Communist China orders the "spontaneous" citizen reaction to end: The cadres clearly believe the anti-Tibet/pro-Communist-Olympiad propaganda has served its purpose, or perhaps it became too embarrassing (BBC for the report, and WS Blog to get an idea of how things went off the rails).
Japanese Buddhist temple won't host the Olympic torch: The stunning rejection was due in part to security issues and "concern over recent unrest in Tibet" (BBC). One temple official was specific: "Indiscriminate killings were undertaken in Tibet. We were concerned about Buddhists in Tibet who rose up and a subsequent crackdown against them" (CNN).
More Olympic news: Canadian Rob Anders, en route to meet the Dalai Lama today (CBC), took aim at the "torch goons" (CanWest via Boycott 2008) who have already darkened the Olympic relay (Stratfor, also via Boycott 2008). Officials from the Flemish region of Belgium will skip the opening ceremonies (Epoch Times). Amnesty Int'l asks the Int'l Olympic Committee to clarify its ban on athletes' "propaganda" (Epoch Times).
Persecution news: Between Heaven and Earth reprints a Nigerian Times post on the casualties from the Falun Gong War.
Communist stock market hits 12-month low, dragged down mainly by PetroChina (BBC).
Washington Post editors aren't happy with the Singapore surrender either, and their editorial highlighting the problems with the disaster win them Enlightened Comment of the Day honors. Meanwhile, the deal actually got worse as the U.S. has agreed to keep the Stalinists' nuclear disclosures secret (Washington Times) - I can't wait to see how One Free Korea reacts to this.
More news on "another Chinese province": The Democratic Chairman and Republican ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee co-sponsor a new North Korea human rights bill (and OFK approves). Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak reveals his plans (Washington Post) for dealing with the Stalinist regime, while Sung-Yoon Lee reveals what should be our plans (OFK).
More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Is Kevin Rudd about to become the most ironic and unexpected anti-Communist of 2008? Sonya Bryskine (Epoch Times) gauges Australian opinion on the question. Meanwhile, more Europeans are seeing Communist China as "the greatest perceived threat to global stability " (Speigel, Ger., via Weekly Standard Blog), a trend likely to continue as the EU takes another look at exported Communist toys (BBC).
Communist China orders the "spontaneous" citizen reaction to end: The cadres clearly believe the anti-Tibet/pro-Communist-Olympiad propaganda has served its purpose, or perhaps it became too embarrassing (BBC for the report, and WS Blog to get an idea of how things went off the rails).
Japanese Buddhist temple won't host the Olympic torch: The stunning rejection was due in part to security issues and "concern over recent unrest in Tibet" (BBC). One temple official was specific: "Indiscriminate killings were undertaken in Tibet. We were concerned about Buddhists in Tibet who rose up and a subsequent crackdown against them" (CNN).
More Olympic news: Canadian Rob Anders, en route to meet the Dalai Lama today (CBC), took aim at the "torch goons" (CanWest via Boycott 2008) who have already darkened the Olympic relay (Stratfor, also via Boycott 2008). Officials from the Flemish region of Belgium will skip the opening ceremonies (Epoch Times). Amnesty Int'l asks the Int'l Olympic Committee to clarify its ban on athletes' "propaganda" (Epoch Times).
Persecution news: Between Heaven and Earth reprints a Nigerian Times post on the casualties from the Falun Gong War.
Communist stock market hits 12-month low, dragged down mainly by PetroChina (BBC).
Washington Post editors aren't happy with the Singapore surrender either, and their editorial highlighting the problems with the disaster win them Enlightened Comment of the Day honors. Meanwhile, the deal actually got worse as the U.S. has agreed to keep the Stalinists' nuclear disclosures secret (Washington Times) - I can't wait to see how One Free Korea reacts to this.
More news on "another Chinese province": The Democratic Chairman and Republican ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee co-sponsor a new North Korea human rights bill (and OFK approves). Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak reveals his plans (Washington Post) for dealing with the Stalinist regime, while Sung-Yoon Lee reveals what should be our plans (OFK).
Friday, March 28, 2008
News of the Day (March 28)
Witness says Communist cop disguised as Tibetan started riot: An anonymous witness told the Tibetan Government in exile that one of the "Tibetan rioters" was in fact a Communist policeman (Epoch Times):
This isn't the first piece of evidence revealing Communist instigation of violence in Tibet; it is, however, the first time (I think) that we have an eyewitness to the cadres' actual role in all of this. Another Epoch Times piece examines the way Communist media handled the "riot," and finds compelling evidence of Communist orchestration - including the fact that thousands of Communist police were already at the scene the day before the "riots" began.
Canada rips "military crackdown" in Tibet: Canada's Minister for Democratic Reform (who also serves as House Leader - their version of a legislative Majority Leader) openly supported "the people of Tibet" and became one of the few elected officials on the planet outside Taiwan to call the Communist action a "military crackdown" (Globe and Mail). Meanwhile, Canadian blogger Ezra Levant took aim at the Communist regime's "ventriloquist puppets" in Canada.
More on Tibet: Communist China invited diplomats into the occupied nation to examine its handiwork (BBC). Joseph Klein (Front Page Magazine) focuses on lack of action at the UN. San Diegans stand with the Tibetan people (Epoch Times). Andrew Martin Fischer details the history of Communist China's occupation (Far Eastern Economic Review). Tsering Woeser (via Epoch Times) provides a running account of the last two weeks in Tibet. Tibetan teenagers protest the mass arrest by the cadre-friendly Nepal government (BBC).
Calls for Boycotting the Olympics continue to come in: Jason Lee Steorts (NRO) calls for the free world to stay home, while the editors at the Canadian National Post leave the option open (h/t Boycott 2008). Naturally, the cadres are not happy (Washington Post). Meanwhile, Congressman Frank Wolf (one of our favorites), moves to defund any political junket that would include the Communist Olympiad (Below the Beltway). Czech President Vaclav Klaus will skip the opening ceremony (ABC). Meanwhile, the IOC begs the cadres not to force the Olympics to tape delay (Financial Times, UK).
U.S. officials count 1,400 Communist missiles pointed at Taiwan: The unnamed officials based their calculation on new "intelligence assessments" (Washington Times). The number is even higher than outgoing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's estimate of 1,328.
Australian Foreign Minister insists his government is tough on Communist China, all evidence to the contrary, including the minister's own words on the Olympics (AAP via Epoch Times).
Hong Kong bans Falun Gong practitioners from entering the city: The latest example of one country, one-and-a-half systems, was noted by the HK Standard (h/t Between Heaven and Earth).
News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): It was a busy day for Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il, with a missile test (BBC and CNN) and anti-American screed (CNN).
A Chinese woman from Thailand (who prefers that her name not be used) was studying in Lhasa when the protests broke out in March. As one of her friends is a policeman, she visited him at the local police station quite often and got to know other policemen there.
After the protests on March 14, she and other foreigners were sent to the police station where she saw a man with a knife in his hand walking in with some arrested Tibetans. The man later took off the Tibetan-style clothes and put on a police uniform.
This woman was sent out of Lhasa with other foreigners the next day. When she arrived in India via Nepal, she recognized the policeman she had seen in Tibetan garb from BBC TV news and photos that the Chinese embassy had provided to the media.
Ngawang Nyendra said the witness was shocked when she saw the policeman in the BBC broadcast. She realized then that the man had disguised himself as a Tibetan in order to incite people to riot.
This isn't the first piece of evidence revealing Communist instigation of violence in Tibet; it is, however, the first time (I think) that we have an eyewitness to the cadres' actual role in all of this. Another Epoch Times piece examines the way Communist media handled the "riot," and finds compelling evidence of Communist orchestration - including the fact that thousands of Communist police were already at the scene the day before the "riots" began.
Canada rips "military crackdown" in Tibet: Canada's Minister for Democratic Reform (who also serves as House Leader - their version of a legislative Majority Leader) openly supported "the people of Tibet" and became one of the few elected officials on the planet outside Taiwan to call the Communist action a "military crackdown" (Globe and Mail). Meanwhile, Canadian blogger Ezra Levant took aim at the Communist regime's "ventriloquist puppets" in Canada.
More on Tibet: Communist China invited diplomats into the occupied nation to examine its handiwork (BBC). Joseph Klein (Front Page Magazine) focuses on lack of action at the UN. San Diegans stand with the Tibetan people (Epoch Times). Andrew Martin Fischer details the history of Communist China's occupation (Far Eastern Economic Review). Tsering Woeser (via Epoch Times) provides a running account of the last two weeks in Tibet. Tibetan teenagers protest the mass arrest by the cadre-friendly Nepal government (BBC).
Calls for Boycotting the Olympics continue to come in: Jason Lee Steorts (NRO) calls for the free world to stay home, while the editors at the Canadian National Post leave the option open (h/t Boycott 2008). Naturally, the cadres are not happy (Washington Post). Meanwhile, Congressman Frank Wolf (one of our favorites), moves to defund any political junket that would include the Communist Olympiad (Below the Beltway). Czech President Vaclav Klaus will skip the opening ceremony (ABC). Meanwhile, the IOC begs the cadres not to force the Olympics to tape delay (Financial Times, UK).
U.S. officials count 1,400 Communist missiles pointed at Taiwan: The unnamed officials based their calculation on new "intelligence assessments" (Washington Times). The number is even higher than outgoing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's estimate of 1,328.
Australian Foreign Minister insists his government is tough on Communist China, all evidence to the contrary, including the minister's own words on the Olympics (AAP via Epoch Times).
Hong Kong bans Falun Gong practitioners from entering the city: The latest example of one country, one-and-a-half systems, was noted by the HK Standard (h/t Between Heaven and Earth).
News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): It was a busy day for Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il, with a missile test (BBC and CNN) and anti-American screed (CNN).
Monday, March 24, 2008
News of the Weekend (March 22-24, 2008)
Tibetan "violence" exposed as a Communist plot: Communist China is insisting that they are fighting a violent riot in occupied Tibet. That caught the attention of Ruan Ming, former speechwriter to the late Party boss Hu Yaobang, who explained how the cadres staged the event (Epoch Times):
Ruan also believes this was part of a plot to influence the Dalai Lama to resign (which he threatened to do last week), in order to move him out of public view. Meanwhile, the cadres kept up the charade with a list of "most wanted" (BBC and CTV), and labelled the Dalai Lama a terrorist to boot (Times of London). Sadly, the combination of Communist propaganda (Epoch Times) and a refusal to let anyone outside the regime report the truth (Epoch Times and NRO - Media Blog) has combined to give the Chinese people a badly distorted picture (Washington Post).
Yet not everyone is swallowing the propaganda. Several intellectuals - including one under house arrest in Beijing - "appealed to the Chinese government Saturday to admit that its policy of crushing dissent in Tibet and blaming the ensuing violence on the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was failing" (Washington Post).
Persecutor-in-chief for East Turkestan is also in charge of Tibet suppression: Michael Sheridan has the scoop in the Times of London, which includes how the Party has decided to wipe out native cultures in the occupied nations with massive ethnic Chinese migration. Abrahm Lustgarten has more on that subject in the Washington Post.
More on the Tibetan crackdown: More Westerners are calling for the Communists to let the truth come out in Tibet, including the German Foreign Minister (Washington Post), several Canadian MPs (Epoch Times), and thousands of Britons (BBC). A monk in Gansu talks to the BBC. The Epoch Times has the latest from Lhasa. The Communists are also using the long arm of lawlessness to take down pro-Tibetan websites (Washington Times).
Amidst the blood in Tibet; boycott talk hits the Olympics: The president of the European Union called upon EU member nations to consider staying away from the Communist Olympiad if the crackdown in Tibet continues (CNN). At least one on-line poll shows that Canadians agree (Bourque), and Lorne Gunter of the Edmonton Journal certainly does, but few others are rising to the challenge, for now (Chicago Tribune via Detroit Free-Press).
Meanwhile, the Olympic Torch route began with a protest (BBC and CNN); sponsors of the Communist Olympiad are facing more pointed questions (Washington Post); and the cadres are even considering forcing the Olympic to tape-delay to prevent damaging footage (MSNBC).
Enlightened Comment of the Day: Robert Kagan (Washington Post) and Matthew Continetti(Weekly Standard) each have terrific pieces on what the Tibetan crackdown has revealed about the Chinese Communist Party. But for the other, both would have won easily. As it is, it's Continetti by a nose.
Ma Ying-jeou wins Taiwanese Presidency, calls for "peace treaty" with Communist China: The most acceptable face of the Kuomintang Party overcame the party's terrible recent history to score a landslide victory over Frank Hsieh, the candidate of the ruling and anti-Communist Democratic Progressives (CNN). Ma promised to "work towards a peace treaty with Beijing" (BBC), but "only if China removed missiles pointed at Taiwan" (although that wouldn't solve the issue of long-range missile from the heart of the mainland). Mroe troubling is his plan to "shelve" (Washington Post) the question of Taiwan's future and his apparent belief that Hu Jintao is as interested in peace as he is.
Communists step up the persecution of Falun Gong: Naturally, the "stability" and the "Safety of the Beijing Olympics" were the justification for the crackdown (Epoch Times).
On "another Chinese province": David Ignatius makes some bad mistakes in this Washington Post column on Stalinist North Korea, but he does show how the Stalinists have once more resorted to stonewalling the United States - this time on revealing the extent of their nuclear cooperation with Bashar Assad.
"The demonstration on March 10 was meant to be peaceful. You can see from the pictures that the demonstration was all monks," Ruan explained.From that provocation came all the claims of "violence in Tibet.""The CCP arrested some of these monks and killed them. The killing angered some young Tibetans. By March 14, the Tibetans could no longer stand the killing of innocent monks and protested."
Ruan also believes this was part of a plot to influence the Dalai Lama to resign (which he threatened to do last week), in order to move him out of public view. Meanwhile, the cadres kept up the charade with a list of "most wanted" (BBC and CTV), and labelled the Dalai Lama a terrorist to boot (Times of London). Sadly, the combination of Communist propaganda (Epoch Times) and a refusal to let anyone outside the regime report the truth (Epoch Times and NRO - Media Blog) has combined to give the Chinese people a badly distorted picture (Washington Post).
Yet not everyone is swallowing the propaganda. Several intellectuals - including one under house arrest in Beijing - "appealed to the Chinese government Saturday to admit that its policy of crushing dissent in Tibet and blaming the ensuing violence on the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was failing" (Washington Post).
Persecutor-in-chief for East Turkestan is also in charge of Tibet suppression: Michael Sheridan has the scoop in the Times of London, which includes how the Party has decided to wipe out native cultures in the occupied nations with massive ethnic Chinese migration. Abrahm Lustgarten has more on that subject in the Washington Post.
More on the Tibetan crackdown: More Westerners are calling for the Communists to let the truth come out in Tibet, including the German Foreign Minister (Washington Post), several Canadian MPs (Epoch Times), and thousands of Britons (BBC). A monk in Gansu talks to the BBC. The Epoch Times has the latest from Lhasa. The Communists are also using the long arm of lawlessness to take down pro-Tibetan websites (Washington Times).
Amidst the blood in Tibet; boycott talk hits the Olympics: The president of the European Union called upon EU member nations to consider staying away from the Communist Olympiad if the crackdown in Tibet continues (CNN). At least one on-line poll shows that Canadians agree (Bourque), and Lorne Gunter of the Edmonton Journal certainly does, but few others are rising to the challenge, for now (Chicago Tribune via Detroit Free-Press).
Meanwhile, the Olympic Torch route began with a protest (BBC and CNN); sponsors of the Communist Olympiad are facing more pointed questions (Washington Post); and the cadres are even considering forcing the Olympic to tape-delay to prevent damaging footage (MSNBC).
Enlightened Comment of the Day: Robert Kagan (Washington Post) and Matthew Continetti(Weekly Standard) each have terrific pieces on what the Tibetan crackdown has revealed about the Chinese Communist Party. But for the other, both would have won easily. As it is, it's Continetti by a nose.
Ma Ying-jeou wins Taiwanese Presidency, calls for "peace treaty" with Communist China: The most acceptable face of the Kuomintang Party overcame the party's terrible recent history to score a landslide victory over Frank Hsieh, the candidate of the ruling and anti-Communist Democratic Progressives (CNN). Ma promised to "work towards a peace treaty with Beijing" (BBC), but "only if China removed missiles pointed at Taiwan" (although that wouldn't solve the issue of long-range missile from the heart of the mainland). Mroe troubling is his plan to "shelve" (Washington Post) the question of Taiwan's future and his apparent belief that Hu Jintao is as interested in peace as he is.
Communists step up the persecution of Falun Gong: Naturally, the "stability" and the "Safety of the Beijing Olympics" were the justification for the crackdown (Epoch Times).
On "another Chinese province": David Ignatius makes some bad mistakes in this Washington Post column on Stalinist North Korea, but he does show how the Stalinists have once more resorted to stonewalling the United States - this time on revealing the extent of their nuclear cooperation with Bashar Assad.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Spring cleaning with Communist characteristics
by Curry Kenworthy
China's Communists are working hard to tidy up the country before hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Of course, "cleansing" is nothing new for the heirs of Mao. Following other preparatory crackdowns, the latest project for the CCP clean-up crew has been getting rid of foreign missionaries.
Voice of the Martyrs reported on the expulsion of more than one hundred missionaries from April to June, marking the largest operation of its kind since 1954. The winds of this year's Operation "Typhoon No. 5" targeted religious workers from the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and Israel. Earlier reports this year noted increasing actions against Chinese Christians and house-church leaders, also motivated by the approach of the Olympics.
When Chinese citizens go "bad" (from a Communist point of view) and desire unconscionable things like freedom or faith, foreign influence always gets some of the blame. If we send the house-church leaders off to prison camp and then kick out the foreign church workers, the Reds may reason, we may finally put a lid on this thing.
But in truth, these problems worrying China's tyrants are movements that are very Chinese, carried out by China's own. The house-church movement is adding more than one million members per year. These people join despite facing incredible risks and mind-blowing persecution, and they are not passive members--they make huge sacrifices to spread their movement to others.
Far from being puppets of the West, some Chinese Christians actually question the state of their brethren's faith in Western countries such as the U.S. Why? Interestingly enough, because of a lack of persecution--at least at the severity level they are accustomed to seeing. The Bible speaks of persecution for believers, and they consider this a universal symptom, to be fully expected. In other words, Chinese underground believers are not going to be put off their faith by one more crackdown or by sending away the foreigners--they enter their faith expecting persecution as the natural result of their commitment, and the Christians of China plan to launch their own missionary movements to other parts of the world.
Falun Gong is another Chinese movement whose growth scared China's government, leading to massive crackdowns which have spread, rather than silenced, the beliefs and messages targeted. China's own political movements, too, have continued to press for freedom.
China's political and religious janitors are going to have their hands full scrubbing away at all the unsightly stains that keep spreading on their own, thwarting the shiny propagandistic veneer that the Communists would like to display at upcoming Games.
Curry Kenworthy is vice president of the China e-Lobby. Visit china-e-lobby.blogspot.com for China news, opinion, and action opportunities for making a difference.
China's Communists are working hard to tidy up the country before hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Of course, "cleansing" is nothing new for the heirs of Mao. Following other preparatory crackdowns, the latest project for the CCP clean-up crew has been getting rid of foreign missionaries.
Voice of the Martyrs reported on the expulsion of more than one hundred missionaries from April to June, marking the largest operation of its kind since 1954. The winds of this year's Operation "Typhoon No. 5" targeted religious workers from the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and Israel. Earlier reports this year noted increasing actions against Chinese Christians and house-church leaders, also motivated by the approach of the Olympics.
When Chinese citizens go "bad" (from a Communist point of view) and desire unconscionable things like freedom or faith, foreign influence always gets some of the blame. If we send the house-church leaders off to prison camp and then kick out the foreign church workers, the Reds may reason, we may finally put a lid on this thing.
But in truth, these problems worrying China's tyrants are movements that are very Chinese, carried out by China's own. The house-church movement is adding more than one million members per year. These people join despite facing incredible risks and mind-blowing persecution, and they are not passive members--they make huge sacrifices to spread their movement to others.
Far from being puppets of the West, some Chinese Christians actually question the state of their brethren's faith in Western countries such as the U.S. Why? Interestingly enough, because of a lack of persecution--at least at the severity level they are accustomed to seeing. The Bible speaks of persecution for believers, and they consider this a universal symptom, to be fully expected. In other words, Chinese underground believers are not going to be put off their faith by one more crackdown or by sending away the foreigners--they enter their faith expecting persecution as the natural result of their commitment, and the Christians of China plan to launch their own missionary movements to other parts of the world.
Falun Gong is another Chinese movement whose growth scared China's government, leading to massive crackdowns which have spread, rather than silenced, the beliefs and messages targeted. China's own political movements, too, have continued to press for freedom.
China's political and religious janitors are going to have their hands full scrubbing away at all the unsightly stains that keep spreading on their own, thwarting the shiny propagandistic veneer that the Communists would like to display at upcoming Games.
Curry Kenworthy is vice president of the China e-Lobby. Visit china-e-lobby.blogspot.com for China news, opinion, and action opportunities for making a difference.
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