For the Chinese Communist Party, foreigners come first

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

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

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

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

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

Eight years on . . .

On April 5, 2000, I sent an email with all of the news from Communist China that I could find on the internet. Twelve people received that message. If memory serves, it rose to about 20 by the time the next Update would be sent a week later.

It's been a dramatic eight years, for me, for my country, and for this cause. Yet somehow, I am still here, drawn to the cause of the Chinese people and their struggle for freedom.

I could give several reasons why: the horrifying treatment of the Chinese people by their Communist rulers, the arms deals with terrorist regimes, the anti-American ambitions of Beijing, the gutsy resistance of the Taiwanese people (now joined, and perhaps replaced, by the people of southern Korea). In the end, however, they all wrap into one -because the fate of the planet is in the hands of the Chinese people.

The day will come when the Communist regime falls, and once China enters the free world, its resources and its resourceful people all but ensure it will lead that free world within one or two generations. The question is this: how will it happen? Germany and Japan, after all, went from irridentist tyrannies to democratic models in six decades - but would anyone want a repeat of those sixty years? By constrast, Eastern Europe was liberated with only two shots fired (into the heads of the Ceaucescus).

If we can help the Chinese people liberate themselves, it can be done without bloodshed, and China can be the model for every tyranny left on earth whose people yearn to be free. If it takes a war, it will likely be the bloodiest the world has ever seen.

It is that war and carnage that those of us who support the Chinese democracy movement from outside are desperate to prevent. Thus, we are not only trying to help the Chinese people, but all the world's peoples. As Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (or Michael Shaara) put it: "in the end, we're fighting for each other."

So I will go on fighting - through the Olympics, through the anniversaries (Tibet's 50th, East Turkestan's 60th, and Tiananmen's 20th are next year), through the various change in deck chair on the Zhongnanhai Titanic - and I will not rest - in fact, I cannot rest - until China is free.

China 'arms surge' supports terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan

by Curry Kenworthy

Insurgents fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will be happy to know that more help is on the way--as part of its 'Cold War II' strategy against the U.S. and its allies, China's Communist government is apparently working with Iran to arm terrorists.

According to a June 15 report by Bill Gertz in the Washington Times, intelligence indicates that China is selling large quantities of small arms and weapons to Iran for use in the Iraq insurgency as well as for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Not only that, but China is even helping to deliver the weapons to ensure that they reach their destinations successfully.

Need a better gun? Parts for an IED? An anti-aircraft missile, perhaps? Not to worry, Uncle Hu's got it all covered. Best of all, that includes delivery.

The Gertz report mentioned small arms, ammunition, sniper rifles, RPGs, and components for roadside bombs, as well as previously-reported HN-5 missiles. Gertz also states that the U.S. administration has been trying to hush or downplay this intelligence to maintain the image of China's government as a partner.

Too bad America is listening to the engagement crowd. Communist China is 'engaging' U.S. forces right now through the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has plans to 'engage' the U.S. much more directly in future conflict, as we will continue to show at the China e-Lobby.

McGuire discusses China on Nyquist radio show

China e-Lobby president D. J. McGuire talked about China developments on the Jeff Nyquist radio show earlier this month. Nyquist is a geopolitical columnist, author, and host who has raised awareness on post-Cold War threats to the free world, including strategic deception on the part of enemies of the West.

On the program, McGuire and Nyquist discussed the Communist China military threat, support for terrorists and anti-Western regimes and movements, religious persecution in China, the geopolitical significance of India, and more. This interview provides an excellent opportunity to learn about threats to freedom and hear two very knowledgeable commentators presenting their views. You can listen to a podcast of the show here.

Beware the cult of engagement

by Curry Kenworthy

I love Japan. Each free nation in Asia is infinitely precious, and Japan is one of several beacons of light in that region of our world.

As my bookcase testifies, I'm a big fan of Doraemon. (As well as a fan of his favorite snack, Dorayaki, which at times I've often eaten almost as enthusiastically as the cat-shaped cartoon robot himself.) I like Japanese noodle soup, and yakisoba too. (In fact, I've eaten noodle soup in Narita airport, where Wei Jingsheng recently had a surprising experience.)

Japanese influence on worldwide art, entertainment, and technology has been stunning, and its culture is fascinating. From creating trends in cell phones and electronic devices, to changing the face of characters in our cartoons and games, to igniting global crazes for inexplicable but cute fashions like Hello Kitty, to providing many of the cars we drive, and even to fielding walking, talking robotic servants, Japan has made its mark during the decades of reinventing and rebuilding after the Second World War. Its traditional philosophy and martial arts have also provided interest and influence in the world. The Japanese seem to lend a unique style to everything they do. I once saw a documentary on business in Japan showing a fast-food franchise where a customer might receive one of dozens of different styles of greeting based on the perceived type of customer.

But freedom is by far the most important characteristic of modern Japan. That island nation is not only shining a light in Asia, it also is an important military and cultural ally of the free world.

That's why it was a bit depressing to receive alerts from the Wei Jingsheng Foundation about Wei's detention by the Japanese government, preventing him from attending a Tiananmen Square commemoration event in Tokyo, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech.

Wei Jingsheng finally was released, a few days later, and is now out of customs and in Japan. (Update: and he's now on the way back home, if all goes as expected.)

I'm not sure exactly what chain of decisions led to Wei's detention. We may hear more about that, or it may remain somewhat obscured. But since it was a problem for this man to step out of Narita airport before June 4th, but not a problem to step out into the streets of Japan after the event had safely passed, it's reasonable to assume that this was the issue.

Whether China asked Japan specifically to detain Wei, or whether Japanese officials imagined that it would be the polite and cautious thing to do, and whatever reasoning was invoked in the process, I think someone has been listening to the dangerous lies of the engagement/appeasement cult theology.

This is the idea that keeps popping up everywhere, that the enemies of freedom, human rights, and so on can be placated and turned into our bosom friends if we just dialogue, give a little, listen to their demands, and treat them like decent people. Even if they are ruthless dictators, mass murderers, or wild-eyed radicals looking to blow themselves up in your presence. So, if we detain Wei for just a few days, it won't hurt Wei much, and China's government may hate us a bit less, right?

I'd say wrong, on both counts. China's leaders will still despise Japan, and the latest word is that Wei's health hasn't been so good.

Engagement sounds nice, I know. We like a positive-sounding approach. It also reflects the attractive idea of high expectations leading to positive behavioral outcomes. But we need not only high expectations, but realistic expectations, which make sense based on what we know from previous observations. Expecting a hardened criminal to become your buddy and the pillar of your community if you pat him on the back and give him a little of what he demands is a flaky dream. We all know better. And while engagement may be positive-sounding in rhetoric, its results are negative in practice.

Engagement generally only changes the people who are trying to do the engaging. Like a cult, its ideas can appeal to good, well-meaning people. They dream of easy solutions and polite, politically-correct interactions to defuse problems. They start to blame themselves (and others) for aggressions on the other side--absent any real provocation, they imagine that not giving in to unreasonable expectations is itself provocation and aggression. It can all sound so persuasive at first. The next thing you know, you find yourself doing strange things. Like providing development aid to a neighbor who builds up a dangerously capable military force and keeps hyping up popular opinion campaigns against you. Or like detaining Wei Jingsheng for a few days when he comes to give a speech.

We shouldn't pick on Japan in particular, of course. Not by any means; this cult of engagement has been all around the political circles of the world. I'm sure these pernicious beliefs were at work (as well as the government-as-god tendency that develops as our nations become increasingly socialized) when Wang Wenyi was detained in the U.S. for interrupting an event to speak out against a terrible dictator. Which do we hold more sacred, the integrity of the rituals enacted at our political events, or the notions of liberty and justice upon which a nation was founded? U.S. policy is riddled with mistakes deriving from these cult-like beliefs, from the One China policy to the free trade fiasco. Many other countries have gotten taken in by the cult, too.

So, this is not about Japan-bashing. To the contrary, this is about telling our dear friends in Japan to keep shining a light in Asia, and that means not listening to the insidious teachings of the engagement/appeasement cult. It won't help you, and it's dangerous. It leads to policies that weaken and undermine free nations while empowering those who threaten them. And there's a pattern everyone should notice by now: placating the bullies never results in attaining their respect. It only places them in control and gives them, if possible, even more disdain for those they manipulate. When you're dealing with geopolitics, such ideas can have terrible consequences. Engagement is not only a strange belief system, it's potentially suicidal.

Curry Kenworthy is an advocate for China and world freedom. His writings on China issues can be found at http://china-e-lobby.blogspot.com.