News of the Day (July 15)

Communist major general says U.S. should expect nuclear war over Taiwan: So how does Communist China intend to keep the United States on the sidelines for its invasion of Taiwan (sometime between 2007 and 2012)? Here’s how: “A Chinese general said Friday China will use nuclear weapons against the United States if it attacks his country over Taiwan” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). Communist Major General Zhu Chenghu also helpfully noted “that China's definition of its territory included warships and aircraft” (Financial Times, UK). Of course, Zhu quickly tried to downplay his own words – “my assessment, not the policy of the government” (BBC), but it’s not the first time a Communist general has pulled the nuclear card regarding American support for the island democracy (World Net Daily). Also reporting: Cybercast News

U.S. general rips Russian and Communist “bullies”: The call by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for an American military withdrawal from Central Asia (third item) drew a harsh response from General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Myers accused Russia and Communist China – the big players in the SCO – of “trying to bully some smaller countries” (Washington Post), in particular Uzebkistan and Kyrgyzstan, the only two SCO members with American military bases.

Russia falls over toward Communist China on oil: “Leans” just wouldn’t cut it, as Russian President Vladimir Putin “said Moscow will give China priority when supplying crude to Asian markets in the next decade” (UPI via Washington Times).

Republicans and Democrats offer competing bill against Communist imports: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-California) “threw his weight behind legislation that would allow U.S. companies to seek duties on goods found to be subsidized by the Chinese government” (Washington Post). Democrats almost immediately derided the move as weaker than their own bill, which would “amend trade laws ‘to allow U.S. action against currency manipulation and would define it as a trade violation.’” Normally, this is nothing more than hot air – the Senate has always been where curbs on Communist imports go to die, or enter suspended animation (fourth item).

Resignations approach 3 million: As the number of ex-Communists reaches the three million mark, Ukrainians lined up tp express their support for the exodus (Epoch Times).

Power shortages hitting more cities: The power shortage that forced Shanghai to ration electricity (tenth item) has spread to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. In the Communist capital, over 5,000 businesses have been forced “to arrange special holidays for employees during the peak summer month” (China Post, Taiwan).

Next Communist space launch set for October: Communist China announced plans for an October manned space launch, which “will send two astronauts into space and they will orbit the Earth for five or six days” (BBC). The regime “hopes to set up a space station within five years and wants to land an unmanned probe on the moon by 2010.”

Don’t they read the Epoch Times? It took nearly three weeks for the BBC to notice Henan vice-governor Lu Debin’s plot to murder his wife (eleventh item).

On the long arm of Communist tyranny: Chen Yonglin went into detail on the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to monitor and suppress dissent outside Communist China (Epoch Times). We repeat our call for the U.S. to grant Hao Fengjun asylum.

On Communist China and the United States: Fu Chengyu, head of CNOOC, tries to convince Time Asia that his Communist-owned oil firm’s bid for Unocal is harmless. Admiral Walter F. Doran talks to the Richard Halloran, Washington Times, about his tenure as commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Janaki Kremmer, Christian Science Monitor, examines how “Australia's ever-closer relationship with China is causing no small discomfort at the White House.”

On Jiang Zemin: The Epoch Times present Chapter 5 of Anything for Power.

Woe Canada! In response to the mass outrage at Microsoft’s willingness to censor its blogs for Communist China (second and sixth items), Gary Reid, Canada Free Press, reminds his fellow Canadians to remember their own firms’ involvement in Communist China’s repression of the internet – such as Nortel role in the Golden Shield project.

On Communist China and Stalinist North Korea: Edward Lanfranco (UPI via Washington Times) has what amounts to a puff piece on Communist China and its supposed efforts to get its Stalinist ally to disarm (Will they never learn?). Meanwhile, Nicholas Kralev, also in the Washington Times, gauges U.S. expectiations for the talks.

News of the Day (July 14)

Hu Jintao bans people of Color, closes publishers to maintain Communist power: Ok, that was a word twist – the “Color” is actually a reference to the Color Revolutions that hit Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia. The order came directly from Communist leader Hu Jintao, who also “ordered strict media control and censorship” (Epoch Times), “instructed county governments to closely monitor those who promoted the liberalization of the capitalist class, those who promoted human rights, Falun Gong practitioners, and all non-governmental organizations,” and “ordered a comprehensive clean up of all publishing groups.” Over fifty publishing houses were promptly shut down.

Media joint ventures halted: Echoing Hu’s order sbove, Communist China effectively shut the door on any foreign media ventures, specifically stating, “all local TV and radio stations should not rent their channels to foreign companies and also should not co-operate with foreign companies in running channels” (BBC).

Han Guangsheng reveals details of Falun Gong war: Han Guangsheng, the cadre who is trying to defect to Canada (third item), provided details of Communist China’s persecution of Falun Gong to the Epoch Times. In addition to confirm much of Hao Fengjun’s information on the anti-Falun Gong 610 office (we repeat our call to grant Hao asylum in the U.S., and add Han to that call), he (Han) also detailed how Communist labor camps treated practitioners, and the punishment deemed out to local cadres by Zhongnanhai if practitioners from their areas keep reaching Beijing.

Foreign investment falls again, as does oil consumption: Direct foreign investment in Communist China fell for the fourth straight month and is now “down 22 per cent from a year earlier” (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, oil consumption in Communist China also fell (Small Dead Animals) – a key indicator implying that the cadres’ claims of white-hot economic growth are bogus (tenth item, fifteenth item).

Chen Yonglin worried about Brisbane consulate: Former cadre diplomat Chen Yonglin “revealed that the Chinese Government’s new consulate in Brisbane, that opened on Tuesday July 12, was established so its officials could pressure local Queensland Governments and monitor the Taiwanese community, Chinese dissidents and Falun Gong practitioners” (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, Australia – which granted Chen a protection visa nearly two months after he defected, and is still quiet on Hao Fengjun – is finally debriefing him (United Press Int’l via Washington Times).

Pakistan military signs deal for Communist frigates: Pakistan’s military will receive four F-22 P frigates from Communist China over the next eight years as part of what Pakistani Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah called “a new era of friendship and cooperation” (UPI via Washington Times, second item). Pakistan, which supported the Taliban for years before 9/11/01, is a half-century-plus Communist ally.

Japan awards drilling contract in disputed zone: Japan awarded Teikoku Oil the right to drill in East China Sea waters also claimed by Communist China. Report: BBC

Communist auto firm tries again to get MG Rover: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation “signed an agreement with Martin Leach, ex-head of Ford of Europe, to rescue MG Rover” (BBC). It is the latest attempt by the Communist-owned auto firm to buy MG Rover (seventh and sixth items).

On Communist China and the United States: The Communists’ attempt to buy Unocal has incensed John Farmer (Star Ledger). Gary Andres (Washington Times) seems less disturbed by it; nor does the cadres’ devaluation of their currency bother him – like many opponents of the currency tariff, he treats the fact that “boosting the currency would only decrease PRC imports into this country and raise them from other Asian nations” is irrelevant, rather than of the major purposes of the tariff. Finally, exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng talks about the Communist China-U.S. minuet to the Epoch Times.

Other Commentary on Communist China: George Wehrfritz, Newsweek, examines the bad debt that threatens to drown Communist China’s banking system, but says nothing of value about the corruption that has created it. Jing Xibing, Epoch Times, details the Communist disinformation campaign against the Chinese people and Western media.

On Taiwan: Caroline Gluck, BBC, profiles the two candidates in the race to lead Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang Party. The party vote will take place Saturday.

A harrowing tale of hiding from the Stalinists and their Communist allies: To couples who escaped Stalinist North Korea were forced to dig holes in the mountains of Communist China “to hide from police . . . for years despite bitter cold and the constant threat of starvation” (Radio Free Asia). Communist China sends back all SNK refugees it finds – forcing them to live as nonperson and risked being “raped, trafficked, and otherwise abused in China.”

Is a deal on SNK nukes in the offing? This is just a guess by yours truly, but with Glenn Kessler Washington Post, taking about U.S. envoy Christopher Hill thinking “he has won significant leeway to negotiate a deal,” and Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il talking about “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” (CNN), the impression is that the next round of talks may reach an agreement similar to last year’s U.S. surrender – ahem, offer – never mind that the regime has already busted through the last deal (although Jonathan Beale, BBC, is skeptical). Meanwhile, officials from the U.S., South Korea, and Japan met to discuss “how to address North Korea's energy needs and to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.” Will they never learn?

News of the Day (July 13)

Communist China had $1.3 billion oil deal with Saddam Hussein: As part of its efforts to feed its voracious appetite for energy, Communist China had acquired access to “the Al-Ahdab field in central Iraq, under a $1.3 billion contract signed in 1997 by its largest state-owned firm, China National Petroleum Corp.” (Washington Post), which could have delivered “90,000 barrels a day” of oil. The regime was also “pursuing rights to a far bigger prize – the Halfayah field, which could produce 300,000 barrels a day.”

Leading Bush advisor’s law firm lobbying for CNOOC: James C. Langdon Jr., chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, “met last winter with investment bankers in China to help secure his law firm's role in lobbying for a state-run Chinese energy firm and its bid for the U.S. oil company Unocal” (Washington Post). The news comes as the bid by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to buy Unocal (second, third, third, third, fourth, seventh, and second items) continues to take heat from members of Congress (Fox News).

Saudis looking to help Communists refine oil: The Communist-owned Sinopec is in talks with Saudi Aramco for a joint venture “in China's refinery industry in the northern port city of Qingdao” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). Communist-owned firms will, of course, maintain majority control of the venture. The Saudis are “investing in China's refineries to help guarantee a market in the country by building capacity to process its heavier crude as well as opportunities to sign long-term supply agreements.”

Bolton may get recess appointment: UN Ambassador-designate John Bolton may end up with a recess appointment to his post “unless the administration and Senate Democrats can resolve differences that have held up the confirmation for four months” (Washington Post). A recess appointment would mean Bolton would remain at his post until the end of next year – unless the Senate filibuster blocking his confirmation ends. Some Bolton opponents have cited his willingness to speak the truth on Stalinist North Korea and his tough stand on Communist Chinese weapons proliferation (fifth item) as reasons why.

Unsafe dams in Communist China number in the tens of thousands: That is no typo: “It has been reported that around 30,000 dams have safety concerns, which threatens over 400 cities and 146 million people” (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times). Over the last half-decade, nearly 3,500 dams have collapsed.

Chen Yonglin speaks: At the press conference where former Communist political consul Chen Yonglin presented documents detailing Communist espionage in Australia (fourth item), he also discussed what led him to defect (Epoch Times). We repeat our call for the United States to grant Hao Fengjun asylum.

On Communist China and the United States: Yours truly has a column in the Epoch Times on Communist China and terrorism. Martin Sieff, UPI (via Washington Times), examines the cadres’ diplomatic gains in Central Asia (thanks to their Shanghai Cooperation Organization) in. Maryland Professor Peter Morici says Communist China should want to revalue its currency “if it wants foreign capital worth having” (Washington Times). Arnold Beichman, also in the Washington Times laments the racism in Communist China that came full force at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Meanwhile, on Stalinist North Korea . . .

Rice hopeful for nuclear deal, praises South Korea electricity offer: Speaking of Secretary of State Rice, she said she was “very optimistic that our joint efforts to improve the security situation on the Korean peninsula could indeed bear fruit” (Epoch Times). The “joint efforts” was a reference to the resurrected talks on SNK’s nuclear arsenal. The next round of talks begins in less than two weeks. Meanwhile, Rice had high praise for dovish South Korea’s offer (ninth item) to provide the Stalinists electricity, calling the idea “useful and creative” (BBC). The offer was made as the South Korean government signed a twelve-point economic agreement with SNK for “combining each other's economic factors – resources, capital and technology – for a balanced development of national economy,” to use the words of South Korean Unification Ministry spokeperson Kim Hong-jae (UPI via Washington Times). Will they never learn?

News of the Day (July 12)

Secretary of State won’t call Communist China a threat: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked: “does the United States consider China as a serious threat?” She answered, in part, “There is no doubt we have concerns about the size and pace of the Chinese military build up and it's not just the Pentagon. I've made it clear to people that this is a view held by the U.S. government; that does not mean that we view China as a ‘threat.’ We just take note of the fact that there is a significant military build up going on” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). We just take note?!

Communist China wants telecom firms to follow CNOOC: Lu Yang, a cadre in the Ministry of Information, told the Communist-run Xinhua News Agency that the regime is “encouraging telecom companies to invest globally” (UPI via Washington Times). The kind of “encouragement” one can anticipate was revealed by Newsweek in reference to the Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s attempt to buy Unocal (third, third, third, fourth, seventh, and second items): a zero-interest loan from the Communists valued at “$9.50 per Unocal share” far more than the difference between CNOOC’s bid and that of rival Chevron.

As WTO talks begin in Communist China, PNTR comes under scrutiny: World Trade Organization talks resumed in Dalian, Communist China (BBC). Meanwhile, retired U.S. Army officer and current national security analyst Robert Maginnis, details how Communist China’s military has benefited from Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) – at the expense of the U.S. – in the Washington Times.

More on Communist China and the United States: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein, a professor at Purdue University, examines how Communist China is using the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (third item) to build a Central Asian anti-U.S. alliance (PINR). Charles R. Smith, Newsmax, reveals a sickening business deal – air radar systems sold by an American company (New York-based Telephonics) to Communist China’s military.

Tibetan pageant contestant quits after Communists meddle with title: Miss Tibet “has withdrawn from an international pageant in Malaysia after the Chinese embassy insisted that she compete as ‘Miss Tibet-China’” (London Telegraph).

On Jiang Zemin: The Epoch Times releases chapters three and four of its biography on the biggest beneficiary of the Tiananmen massacre and author of the Falun Gong war.

On Communist China’s rural interior: Peter S. Goodman, Washington Post, has a clear-eyed look at the Communist China that the Party, its enablers, and “engagement” supporters don’t want anyone to see – the impoverished rural interior.

Meanwhile, on Stalinist North Korea . . .

U.S. and Japan support each other on talks agenda: As Communist China, the U.S., Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Stalinist North Korea prepare for the resumption of talks on the Stalinists’ nuclear weapons programs, Secretary of State Rice expressed support for Japan’s demand the matter of its citizens abducted by SNK – who still assert, without any evidence, that all abductees not returned are dead – be resolved, while Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura “told reporters that the six-way talks must produce concrete results concerning North Korea's nuclear weapons programs” (Voice of America via Epoch Times). Rice herself insisted that the Stalinists must be “ready to give up their nuclear weapons because without that these talks cannot be successful” (CNN).

South Korea offers electricity to SNK, calls on others to give security guarantee: Meanwhile, the dovish government of South Korea announced it would “provide electricity to the North if it gives up its nuclear-weapons capabilities” (VOA via Epoch Times). The electricity grid “could be ready by 2008.” South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who announced the proposal, also called on “other parties” (BBC) – read the U.S. and Japan – to give the Stalinist regime the security guarantees it craves. The South will also send half a million tons of rice to the Stalinists.

Not a good editorial, but it could have been worse: The editors of the Washington Post still believe the last, hole-filled position the Bush Administration took at the negotiating table “is sound” (Will they never learn?), but at least they recognized that the Stalinists have “yet to accept” a complete dismantling of its nuclear program/arsenal.

Outrage in Turkey

Those who were looking for the News of the Day can find it here.

Well, well, well, less than three days after I highlight the plight of the people of occupied East Turkestan, my friend Anwar Yusuf Turani, Prime Minister of the Government-in-exile, is subjected to an outrage in Istanbul, Turkey.

The government in exile was set to take part in a conference sponsored by the Turkic Cultural and Folklore Association, starting next week. The mayor of Yalova (a suburb of Istanbul, I believe), had invited Prime Minister Turani to the conference. Prior to the start of the conference, Turani had planned to spend about a week in Istanbul, after a couple of days in Munich.

The Turkish government apparently had other ideas.

Turani touched down in Istanbul on July 9, picked up his visa, presented it to the immigration office at the airport – and was promptly surrounded by airport security. He was then detained by Turkish officials – “on orders from Ankara” – for nine hours, then given his passport, and put on a plane back to Munich. No explanation was given for his treatment – outside of “orders from Ankara.”

Now, most people may wonder why I am so agitated about this. I have several reasons.

First, I know Turani well; the idea that he and his people are a threat to anyone is absurd. He has been in the U.S. for nearly two decades after escaping occupied East Turkestan, and has been a model resident and citizen.

Secondly, I helped put together the government in exile over the course of about six months last year. The government’s goal is freedom and democracy for its people, and an end to Communist China’s occupation. Moreover, it is explicitly non-violent, has repeatedly condemned al Qaeda-sponsored acts of terrorism, and has offered support for the United States in the War on Terror (ETNFC).

Third, there is the fact that East Turkestan is occupied by Communist China: the largest supporter of terrorism on the planet. Whether it’s the Iranian mullahcracy’s lust for nuclear weapons, Saddam Hussein’s desire for weapons and defenses of any kind, or even al Qaeda’s need for a money launderer, Communist China has been there – ready and willing to help anyone who wants to kill Americans and weaken America. Yet the Communists have taken advantage of East Turkestan’s overwhelmingly Muslim population to smear them as al Qaeda supporters and anti-American terrorists, when nothing could be further from the truth (third, third, second, second, and second items).

The proof of that comes from al Qaeda itself, which has not mentioned East Turkestan so much as once in any of its diatribes against the civilized world. Osama bin Laden has demanded the U.S. leave Iraq (and before that, Saudi Arabia), the Israelis leave Palestine, and even that the Spaniards leave Spain. However, he has never criticized his Communist cronies – who, according to at least one expert on Islam, have turned their Communist-controlled “official” Islam into a Wahabbist knock-off – for their horrific occupation of East Turkestan.

In other words, as Communist China continues to give aid and comfort to our enemies in the War on Terror, the Muslim country they have brutally occupied for over half a century has been struggling to make its pro-American voice heard. Instead, its leader, democratically elected from among the diaspora, gets this outrageous treatment.

The blood boils again.

News of the Day (July 11)

Talks on Stalinist North Korea’s nuclear weapons to start in two weeks: Here we go again. Stalinist North Korea announced it would “resume negotiations in Beijing during the week of July 25” (Washington Times) on its nuclear weapons program. The Stalinists made the decision to return to the talks “after the U.S. made it clear it recognized North Korea as a sovereign state and that it would not invade” (Cybercast News). SNK took that “as a ‘retraction’ of Ms. Rice's earlier criticism of Pyongyang as an ‘outpost of tyranny’” (Voice of America via Epoch Times). Amid the euphoria, it would be good to remember that the talks, which also include the U.S., Communist China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, have pushed the Bush Administration substantially away from its initial insistence that SNK completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program before any discussion of aid and/or diplomatic relations. Now, the Stalinists can get aid by merely promising to dismantle its nuclear arsenal – and even that may be dropped for something more generous to the Stalinists (Washington Post). Will they never learn?

Rice calls for talks between Communist China and Taiwan: Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – whose visit to Communist China was largely upstaged by the above – called on the Communists to “begin direct talks with Taiwan's government” (BBC). The elected government of Taiwan is the only entity to which Communist China hasn’t talked; they prefer pumping up opposition leaders at the government’s expense.

Other Taiwan news: President Chen Shui-bian publicly criticized the U.S. over the current imprisonment of New York Times reporter Judith Miller (Newsmax). Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s government-owned phone company, is about to offer 13% of itself on the New York Stock Exchange. The government “intends eventually to cut its stake in Chunghwa to less than 50 percent” (United Press International via Washington Times).

Chen Yonglin releases espionage documents, blasts Communist ambassador: Former Communist political consul Chen Yonglin “made public three documents, which he says show the Australian Chinese community is being spied on” (Epoch Times), and detailed how the Communist consulate in Sydney “approached Sydney councils to get them to restrict the activities of dissidents, and in particular, Falun Gong practitioners.” Chen also publicly rebuked Fu Ying, Communist China’s Ambassador to Australia, for claiming he was lying about his spying claims. However, Chen also noted how Fu suffered during the Cultural Revolution, and expressed hope “that Fu will soon find the courage to resign from her post” (Epoch Times).

U.S.-Communist talks on textiles begin: Communist China and the United States have begun talks in part on textiles (BBC), stemming from U.S. restrictions on Communist imports – itself a reaction to a surge in said imports after worldwide trade restrictions ended (fifth item). The Communists have crowded out nearly everyone else – including many developing nations – in the textile market due to its use of prison labor and refusal to allow independent trade unions (fourth and second items).

On Unocal: The Washington Post continues to distinguish itself for bad analysis of Communist China’s attempt to buy Unocal. An unnamed piece in the paper’s Business section calls all national security concerns about the deal “bogus,” but at least recognizes that the involvement of the CCP makes this “hardly the purely free-market transaction that (China National Offshore Oil Corporation head) Fu (Chengyu) claims it is.” An Op-ed column in the paper by David J. Rothkopf – former deputy undersecretary of commerce in the Clinton administration – is far worse; it actually talks of a “shared sense of values” between the U.S. and Communist China! Meanwhile, Bill Powell, Time Asia, details how the CNOOC bid took shape.

More on Communist China and the United States: Edward Lanfranco, UPI (via Washington Times), examines the geopolitical situation in Central Asia. Alan Reynolds, of the Cato Institute, is more interested in whacking textile magnate Roger Milliken, but in the process, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) gets slapped with the label of “co-author of the most dangerous act of trade warfare since 1930” (Washington Times). The editors of the aforementioned Washington Post give a decent list of “genuine points of conflict with China,” but don’t include Unocal or the currency issue, which are dubbed “phony ones.” Meanwhile, Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby has a column on the Communist economy subtly shot through with “engagement” talking points.

On the Falun Gong War: The Communists’ determination to destroy Falun Gong has separated yet another family – that of Celia Wong, whose husband is only halfway through his prison sentence in Communist China. Lori Har-El, Epoch Times, was there for Celia’s reunion with her nine-year-old daughter in New York.

On London II: The anti-terrorist Muslims of East Turkestan

One aspect of the political aftermath of the London terrorist attack has been painfully predictable: the discussion of the “Muslim community.” As has become typical when an attack like this occurs, a whole slew of pundits, bloggers, and the like are lamenting – “the muted responses of ‘moderate’ Muslim spokespersons to attacks on innocents” as the Friendly Blog Small Dead Animals put it earlier today. Every time I see this, my blood boils.

Now, that’s nothing against SDA, or anyone else who brings up this point. What bothers me is that they are continually looking in the wrong places. Whenever I see lines like the above, I want to scream, they’re right here; I’ve known several of them for years.

Well, now I don’t have to scream, I can just type it: the people you all seek – the Muslims ready and willing to call terrorism the evil it is and stand up for those who resist it – have been here for quite a while. They are the East Turkestan National Freedom Center and, since September 2004, the East Turkestan Government in Exile.

For those who are not familiar with the folks I just mentioned, here's a little background . . .

In 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party defeated Chiang Kai-shek’s government on the mainland, they invited the leaders of East Turkestan, then an independent nation just north of (and a bit larger than) Tibet, to come to Beijing for talks on the country’s future. On August 27 of that year, the plane carrying the leaders of East Turkestan crashed, killing all on board. The Communist marched in and have occupied the overwhelmingly Muslim country ever since (they even renamed it “Xinjiang”).

The occupation has been beyond brutal: open-air above-ground nuclear tests that killed hundreds of thousands, executed political prisoners, razed mosques, mass forced immigration of ethnic Chinese, deliberate economic discrimination in favor of said ethnic Chinese, “Sinicization,” etc.

Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden has spoken out against the American military presence in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the Israeli military presence in the West Bank, and has even talked of reclaiming Spain (last under Muslim control in the 15th Century), but on the brutal treatment of Muslims in East Turkestan – just next door to his five-year headquarters in Afghanistan – he has been completely silent, lest he offend his Communist friends.

Despite this, on September 11, 2001, Communist China saw an opportunity, and grabbed it with both hands. Suddenly, the Muslim resistance in East Turkestan was all the rage in Communist China, with one change: the Communists were now claiming their Muslim dissidents were supporters of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

This was, and still is, the height of unmitigated gall. Communist China is itself one of the leading supporters of terrorism on the planet, with aid and succor given to the aforementioned al Qaeda, Iran’s Islamofascist regime, the Taliban (second and third items), and Saddam Hussein. The idea that they would now be fighting terrorism was ridiculous, but they continue to say it, and far too many people continue to believe them.

It was in researching for my book that I came across the East Turkestani exiles here in the United States, including the folks at the East Turkestan National Freedom Center. Talking to these East Turkestani exiles (also known as Uighurs, their predominant ethnic group, although there are many Kyrgyzs, Uzbeks, and Tajiks among them), I found Muslims who were unabashedly supportive of the United States, and wanted nothing to do with al Qaeda or any other terrorists. One of them actually told me the country for which he has the most affection in the Middle East is Israel.

On September 14, 2004 (on my advice) they formed the East Turkestan Government in Exile, to give those in occupied East Turkestan a voice once again, and let the American people – indeed, the peoples of all democracies – know that there was a Muslim nation that condemned terrorism and supported freedom. They have proclaimed that message ever since.

I have been very close to some of the leaders of the Government in Exile, and I am proud to call the Prime Minister, Anwar Yusuf Turani, a friend. As such, the back-and-forth over Islam that follows every major terrorist attack, coupled with the fact that no one seems to notice my friends and what they are trying to do, always has me seething.

Now, I can finally give them some of the attention they deserve. The next time someone asks where are the Muslims willing to stand up against terrorism? – and believe me, it won’t take long – please point them in the direction of the East Turkestan National Freedom Center and the East Turkestan Government in Exile. You will not only help a group of pro-American Muslims; you will also help those resisting the terrorists’ greatest benefactor: Communist China.

On London

Up until now, I have been silent on the London terrorist attack, largely because I was trying to collect my thoughts on it, and the fact that I wanted to gauge the reaction from the powers and pundits that be.

I’m sure that many of you will be a little surprised I mention London at all. In fact, in many of the pro-democracy events I have attended, the War on Terror is the equivalent of the 800-pound elephant in the middle of the room – it’s almost never discussed. Whenever yours truly brings it up (as I have in every statement I’ve given at the aforementioned gatherings), the reaction is usually surprise and shock. Many inside the “movement” – and nearly everyone outside it – believe that Communist China and the War on Terror are two separate and distinct issues.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Communist China has tried to hide their ties to terrorism, but those ties are there for all to see. The Communists have laundered Osama bin Laden’s drug money for him. They have been instrumental in the Iranian mullahcracy’s efforts to become a nuclear power as the Khameini regime was giving aid and comfort to al Qaeda operatives, including many of the 9/11/01 terrorists. They signed an economic agreement with the Taliban the day the World Trade Center fell (second and third items). They installed a fiber-optic network in Iraq to help Saddam Hussein integrate his entire defense network, and then sold him missile gyroscopes and other missile technology for oil-for-food vouchers. They have a long history of economic and military ties to Syria, which was the host of current Communist leader Hu Jintao when he called Israel a “colonialist plot aimed at detaching from the Arab nation a part that is dear to it – Palestine” (sixteenth item).

Back in the days of the First Cold War, between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Moscow outsourced a good deal of its operations to its Cuban satellite state. The Communists in Angola, Nicaragua, and El Salvador were all clients of Havana. Everyone rightly pointed to Moscow as the ultimate beneficiary and benefactor of these forces.

Yet Communist China has managed to turn the Iranian regime into its chief ally and proxy in the Middle East and almost no one thinks to finger Zhongnanhai for its client state’s support of terrorists, including al Qaeda.

That has to change.

As longtime members of the China e-Lobby know (largely because I have all but hammered it into their heads), I wrote a book on this subject two years ago on the ties between the War on Terror and the Second Cold War (Communist China vs. the United States). Yet almost no one seems willing to connect the dots. Even today, hardly anyone is willing to call to account al Qaeda’s state sponsors and protectors (at this point almost exclusively Iran, although Syria is clearly helping anti-American jihadists join the Zarqawi clique), let alone the Communists.

If this continues, the War on Terror can not and will not be won.

Folks, you may hear this nowhere else, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true: America, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the free world will never be secure until China itself is free. The road to victory in the War on Terror does not end in Kabul, Baghdad, Tehran, or Damascus, and it certainly doesn’t end in Jerusalem. The road ends, and lasting victory can be found, only in Beijing. Until China is on the list for liberation, preferably peaceful, the War on Terror will never end.

News of the Day (July 8)

Chen Yonglin’s family gets protection visas from Australia: Well, it took a while, but the Australian government has finally given protection visas to Chen Yonglin – the former political consul at Communist China’s Sydney consulate – and his family. Chen pledged “help the Chinese people cast off the communist tyrannical system” (Epoch Times). Communist China’s Ambassador to Australia, Fu Ying, insisted Chen – who exposed the regime overseas espionage network – “had nothing to fear if he went back to China” (BBC), just after she “accused Mr. Chen of greed and lying about his homeland.” Meanwhile, we continue to ask the United States to grant Hao Fengjun asylum.

More on Communist overseas espionage: Lateline, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television show that interviewed Hao Fengjun, talks to former Canadian intelligence officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya on Communist espionage, and an unnamed Communist “legal officer” offers his support for Chen, Hao, et al, in the Epoch Times.

Some of Unocal’s stockholders open to Communist China’s bid: Unocal stockholders talking to the Washington Post publicly called on Chevron – the American bidder for Unocal – “to raise its $16.5 billion bid” to avoid losing the firm to the Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The stockholders, “who are a minority of the company's stockholders” and “mainly come from hedge funds and merger-arbitrage firms,” also expect CNOOC’s bid, if it wins, to get approved by the U.S. government. None of them had any problem with the notion of a Communist-owned firm buying out an American oil company, in contrast to Terrence Jeffrey in the Washington Times.

Canadian energy firm may subcontract to Communist China for Colorado drilling: Meanwhile, EnCana, a Canadian energy firm and “major player in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times), is examining the prospect of “bringing in Chinese companies to construct and operate drilling rigs in the Colorado Rockies.” Already, local politicians are up in arms, including Congressman John Salazar, whose brother is a U.S. Senator from the state.

More on Communist China, the United States, and oil: Geoffrey York, Globe and Mail (Canada), examines the recent reports on Communist China’s military buildup – although the term “panicky” was completely unnecessary – and the CNOOC-Unocal bid. Han Shan, Epoch Times, has a thumbnail sketch of the Communist energy shortage.

Cai trial ends, verdict not announced: The trial of Cai Zhouhua (fifth and eighth items) for “illegal business practices” (printing Bibles) ended with no verdict. Cai and three fellow underground Christians were tortured into signing confessions they never read. The Communists are holding off on reporting the verdict until “a time when political fall out from the decision will be less” (China Aid via Epoch Times).

Nine Commentaries is the news in Communist China, and Canada: Dissidents managed to interrupt the Communists’ propaganda on 25 television channels with news of the Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party and the subsequent resignations from the party, now over 2.8 million (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, Kevin Steele, Western Standard, comments on the Commentaries and the withdrawals.

More commentary on Communist China: The Epoch Times editors release Chapter 2 of their biography of Jiang Zemin, while former Radio Free Europe editor Peter Zvagulis examines the propaganda of the CCP, and finds that the regime “has preserved all the traditional totalitarian political characteristics” (Epoch Times).

On Stalinist North Korea: Ron Strom, World Net Daily, relays the testimony of “Lee,” a Korean-Chinese Christian arrested and imprisoned by the Stalinists for his faith. His description of SNK’s prison camps is particularly painful to read. Meanwhile, World Tribune.com finds that some Stalinist propaganda can backfire: in this case, a film on loyal Stalinist Lee In-Mo’s ten-year imprisonment in South Korea. The result: “Many North Korean defectors said their first reaction upon seeing the film was to ask how people could stay in prison for more than 10 years and remain alive? They say few people survive even three years in North Korean political prisons. Being fed three regular meals a day is utterly unimaginable.” Whoops!

News of the Day (July 7)

Hao Fengjun details Communist espionage in New Zealand: Hao Fengjun, the former Communist cop who escaped from Tianjin with evidence of Communist espionage in Canada (third item), gave the Epoch Times a detailed example of similar espionage in New Zealand against a Christian church, under his supervision. Hao also told the paper, “when I was in the team monitoring Falun Gong, the most situation reports I saw were from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand” – all the more reason the United States should grant him (as well as Chen Yonglin and his family) asylum.

More on Communist espionage and intimidation: Liu Yucheng, a longtime pro-democracy activist, talked to the Epoch Times about how Communist China used espionage and intimidation to harass him and his late wife.

Han Guangsheng’s anti-Communist journey: Meanwhile, Han Guangsheng, the former cadre whose request for asylum was denied by a Canadian court, also talked to the Epoch Times about his long journey from Communist police officer to anti-Communist exile. The editors of the paper lament the cruel irony that the “court’s ruling that members of the Chinese security apparatus are complicit in crimes against humanity” ends up hurting a man who “traded his high rank, chauffeur, and government perks, for the scorn of his colleagues, a basement room in Toronto, and his conscience.”

Bishop arrested: Monsignor Julius Jia Zhiguo was arrested, again (see nineteenth and tenth items) as part of a Communist plan “to convince him to join the association” (World Net Daily), i.e., the “Catholic Patriotic Association,” the Communist-controlled church. Over 10 million of Catholics, and anywhere from forty to seventy million Protestants (eighth item), face the possibility of arrest and torture for their refusal to put the Chinese Communist Party between themselves and their God.

Kuomintang sucking up to Communist China again: A delegation from Taiwan’s Sinocon Industrial Standard Foundation led by Kuomintang (Nationalist) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, visited Communist China on a trip inspired by “a visit by KMT leader Lien Chan in early May, Xinhua reported” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). The visit was the latest in the minuet between the Chinese Communists and Taiwan’s political opposition – part of the cadres attempt to isolate and discredit the elected government of President Chen Shui-bian, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Chevron responds to Communist China’s bid for Unocal: Chevron vice chairman Peter Robertson slammed the Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s attempt to buy Unocal (third, third, fourth, seventh, and second items). Robertson also insisted that his firm – if its bid is accepted by Unocal shareholder vote on August 10 – has no intention of splitting Unocal up to let the Communists swallow up its Asian assets (Agence France Presse).

Financial Times hint Bush may dump Bolton: A Financial Times (UK) story hints The Bush Administration has given up on UN Ambassador-designate John Bolton. However, Newsmax, which relayed the story, insisted it heard from “Washington insiders (who) tell Newsmax that the Financial Times report is wrong.” Bolton scored points and earned enemies for his tough stances on Communist China and Stalinist North Korea (fifth item).

The Kudlow disease spreads: The latest to fall victim to the contagion is National Review Online’s Tom Nugent, who wonders why “the gray beards in Congress appear offended by China,” while completely ignoring the pertinent national security answers.

On Jiang Zemin: The Epoch Times brings forward the next installment of its biography of the man who owes his entire tenure as Communist leader to the Tiananmen massacre.

On Stalinist North Korea: Jong-Heon Lee, UPI (via Washington Times), talks to analysts who rightly note SNK’s dependence upon having American as an enemy.

News of the Day (July 6)

American Falun Gong practitioner receives death threat: Mitchell Gerber is a student at Georgia State University and a Falun Gong practitioner who has highlighted the Communist persecution against the practice. For that, an unnamed caller, through an unnamed translator, said this: “We will kill many more of your people in China, and kill you and anyone else who tries to come against our great nation” (Epoch Times).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it will put an office in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing “aimed at enhancing cooperation on energy and nuclear energy security between the two countries” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times), and the Communist-run Xinhua news agency announced that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is headed to Beijing for talks on, among other things “the North Korean nuclear crisis” (UPI via Washington Times). Two questions: will Mr. Gerber’s plight be addressed, and regarding Stalinist North Korea – altogether now – will they never learn?

“Anti-terrorism” group led by Communist China wants U.S. out, Iran in: The Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SCO) which has a “stated focus . . . of combating terrorism and instability in Central Asia” (Cybercast News), completely undermined said purpose by inviting the mullahcracy of Iran to become an observer nation. The SCO –which consists of Communist China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan – also called “for the United States to set a date for withdrawing from military bases in Central Asia.” This move reveals the real reason Communist China created the SCO: to create a “Chinese NATO,” i.e., an anti-American Central Asian alliance.

Espionage in Europe known for two years: It turns out the Communist espionage network in Europe was known “for about two years” (Epoch Times), and merely confirmed by the unnamed defector to Belgium (third item). Why was no action taken? According to Claude Moniquet, CEO of European Strategic Intelligence Security Center, “The intelligence and security services in Europe are under high pressure from the politicians because the politicians don’t want any trouble with China. China is stealing the secrets and spying on the dissidents in Europe, but they have the possibility to sell what they want to sell to China.” Moniquet rightly called this “very short-term thinking.”

Communist China sells arms to Taiwan: The cadres agreed to a tanks-for-food deal with Thailand. UPI (via Washington Times, second item) started the story thusly, “China is now moving into a field previously monopolized by the West – arms exports.” Monopolized? That would be news to the mullahs of Iran and Saddam Hussein.

Sydney University of Technology tells the Communists to buzz off on Falun Gong: Communist China told the Sydney University of Technology (UTS) to remove any mention of a Falun Gong university club from its website. UTS initially buckled, but then reversed itself after hearing from outraged professors and students. Communist China then blocked the site, “which is expected to lower the number of incoming Chinese students, substantially affecting university revenue” (Epoch Times).

Japan moving ahead on missile defense: Japan announced plans to “its sea-based missile defense research project to the development stage in the coming fiscal year” (UPI via Washington Times). The move comes “after consultations in early June with Henry A. Oberling III, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.” There has yet to be a reaction from Communist China, but one can be assured they’re not happy.

Minister on trial for handing out Bibles: Cai Zhuohua, his wife, and two other members of the underground church of which he is a minister are all on trial for “illegal business practices” (BBC), i.e., printing and handing out Bibles. Cai has already spent ten months in prison, which has included torture with electric cattle prods (fifth item).

Maybe the Vatican didn’t appoint Xing after all: Earlier reports that the Vatican and the Communists had jointly appointed Xing Wenzhi as a bishop may have been in error. Liu Bainian, from Communist China’s “Patriotic Catholic Association,” insisted Xing was “elected by the masses” (UPI via Washington Times), i.e., picked by the cadres only.

CCP anniversary chills stock markets: According to investors willing to talk to the Epoch Times, the swoon in Communist China’s stock markets last Friday was caused by the date: July 1 – the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

On Jiang Zemin: The main beneficiary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and the man who began Communist China’s continuing military buildup, is the subject of an in-depth biography from the Epoch Times. Here are the Introduction and the Prologue.

On Communist China and the United States: Jeffrey R. Nyquist has an excellent piece in Financial Sense Online on Bill Gertz’s recent exposés on Communist China’s plans for the U.S. Meanwhile, a fellow who calls himself “P. Gvaskov, scientist of China” writes in Pravda that Russia should work with Communist China and Japan against the U.S., and if that sounds nonsensical, then you already get the jist of the piece. Almost as bad is Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, who dismissively claims: “if we reflexively treat the Chinese as a threat . . . They will become a threat” (Um, Robert, they’re already a threat). Harold Meyerson’s answer veers a bit off course, but he comes down on the right side. Finally, Charles Q. Choi (UPI via Washington Times) sounds the alarm about the U.S. risking “its global lead in nanotechnology,” but maddeningly, he makes no mention of the military aspects of such (where in fact we remain far behind).

On Hong Kong: While this story from Thomas Olivier (Epoch Times) does not report anything new, the Hu Jintao/Donald Tsang puppet display was well worth the mention.

News of the Day (July 5)

Use of Taiwan invasion for massive crackdown confirmed: Yuan Hongbing confirmed earlier reports that Communist China “is preparing to declare war on Taiwan in 2012, so that it can step into an overtly Fascist state in order to solve the comprehensive crises it is facing ” (Epoch Times). The former Communist law professor who is (for now) a refugee in Australia also detailed the cadres’ plans for the U.S., and the rest of the world.

Say What? This stunning news on Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile’s views comes via James Burke, Epoch Times: “ABC’s Lateline interviewed the new National’s leader Mr. Mark Vaile who has held the portfolio of trade for over five years. When questioned about the slave force used in the Chinese re-education through labor camps, he denied any direct knowledge and implied he didn’t need to know as his role is to facilitate the economic ties between the two countries” (Emphasis added).

Communist espionage confirmed in Canada, found in Europe: Han Guangsheng, the cadre-turned-refugee Canada may deport back to Communist China (fourth item), “confirmed that Australian defector, Mr. Hao Fengjun, former Tianjin City Public Security official, was indeed speaking the truth” (Epoch Times) when he (Hao) blew the whistle on Communist spying in Canada (third item). Han, whose Epoch Times interview on corruption is a must-read, also revealed that a majority of participants in “business” delegations from Communist China are in fact regime officials and/or spies. Meanwhile, a “leading figure in the Chinese Students and Scholars' Association of Leuven” (Daily Telegraph, UK) is now asking for asylum in Belgium, and brought with him evidence of a “network of Chinese industrial spies . . . across Europe.” We repeat our call for the U.S. to grant Chen Yonglin, his family, and Hao asylum.

Communist China tells U.S. to buzz off on Unocal: Communist China “sharply criticized the United States for threatening to erect barriers aimed at preventing the attempted takeover of the American oil company Unocal” (MSNBC). The Communists also publicly asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to examine China National offshore Oil Corporation’s bid for Unocal – despite the fact that Unocal has already accepted Chevron’s merger bid (BBC). The Communists won the support of the Washington Post editors over the weekend, while the rival Washington Times editorial dissolved into incoherence. Columnist Robert Novak has found the Communist China is pulling out all the stops on lobbying Washington for this deal (Townhall).

Communist China invites human rights activist – than arrests her: Communist China scored some public relations points when it invited Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, to Beijing for a conference on human rights “organized by the E.U. and the Chinese Foreign Ministry” (Washington Post). Now we know why, the Communists’ security agents tried to arrest her at the conference. She was held for over three hours before she was able to leave, thanks to European and American intervention.

Southern Metropolitan Daily detainees get support from fellow journalists: In a surprise move, over 2,300 reporters in Communist China “called on the provincial High Court of Guangdong to release the former director-general and the head editor of the Southern Metropolitan Daily” (Asia News). SMD had a history of reporting stories the Communists didn’t want to get out – SARS and the Sun Zhigang murder among them – before the leaders of the paper were sent to jail (twentieth and nineteenth items) “under the charge of having embezzling money from the State and accepting bribes.”

Communists remain immobile on Tibet, and get sued for it in Spain: One day before seventieth birthday of the Dalai Lama, Communist China “again said it will not change its stance on Tibet” (BBC), insisting Tibet’s spiritual leader “must admit that Tibet was part of China.” Meanwhile, the Madrid-based Support Tibet Committee “sued former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, former Chinese premier Li Peng, and other Chinese government officials for genocide, national terrorism and torture” (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times) for continuing the brutal half-century-plus Communist occupation of Tibet.

On Communist China and the United States: Yours truly comments on how Iran’s “election” could signal the regime’s willingness to be more public in its anti-American policies – much to the benefit of its Communist Chinese benefactor (Epoch Times – note: the column is quite similar to this blog entry). Brad Carson and John Nania praise the U.S. for allowing freedom of worship, while condemning the lack thereof in Communist China (both links from the Epoch Times).

From the events of the past week: John Patrick, Director Emeritus of the China Support Network, addresses the future of Communist China in a forum last Wednesday, and gives a joint statement from himself and yours truly to Sunday’s “Party to End the Party.”

Other Commentary on Communist China: Curry Kenworthy, the head of CSN, rips the outsiders who helped Communist China survive long enough to murder Gao Rongrong. The China Information Center (via Epoch Times) provides a painful primer on Communist labor camps. Jeordie White, Epoch Times, reveals how Communist China has put foreign allegiances over sparing its own people from drug addiction. Jon Speller, also in the Epoch Times, details the continuing effects of the Nine Commentaries.

South Korea believes SNK will come back to talks: Chung Dong-young, Unification Minister for dovish South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, “said Seoul and Washington would combine their proposals to coax North Korea back to six-nation talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons programs” (United Press Int’l via Washington Times). Why restarting the overhyped talks would be considered a good things was not discussed.

Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin blow it on SNK: The two senators pen a terrible column in the Washington Post, in which they never mention liberation, insist on more talks, and hold up the 1994 Agreed Framework debacle as an example of successful diplomacy. Say it with me, folks: will they never learn?

Art Exhibit Depicting Communist Persecution in Fredericksburg

The following is the press release for the Uncompromising Courage art exhibit, which depicts Communist persecution against Falun Gong practitioners, at the Caroline Street Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia this weekend. A few minutes ago I put up a vent on the disturbing rise of anti-anti-Communism among U.S. conservatives, which can be accessed here.

The next News of the Day will be on July 5. In the meantime, Happy Independence Day.

UNCOMPROMISING COURAGE – July 2-3, 2005

THE ART EXHIBIT DEPICTING THE PERSECUTION OF FALUN GONG

On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party banned the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, and began a brutal crackdown that has killed hundreds, and sent thousands more to jails and labor camps where they have suffered unspeakable torture.

In place of words, there are now works of art depicting the Communist persecution against Falun Gong, and the heroic resistance of those who have refused to submit to Communist brutality. These works of art now comprise the Uncompromising Courage art exhibit.

On the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, as we Americans celebrate our independence and the freedoms that have come with it, let us remember there are millions who must still fight for those freedoms. Pursuant to that, the China e-Lobby hereby invites all who are interested to the Uncompromising Courage exhibit at the Caroline Street Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The exhibit will be open from 9AM to 5:30 PM EST on Saturday, July 2 and from 1 to 5:30 PM EST on Sunday, July 3.

The China e-Lobby is an organization dedicated to exposing the abuses of human rights, threats to American security, and attacks on general decency committed by Communist China, and to influencing American policy to ensure these egregious acts do not go unopposed.

For more information:

D.J. McGuire, China e-Lobby: china_e_lobby@yahoo.com, (540) 845-1335

For those who can attend, thank you, and here are the directions:

FROM I-95 (north or south): take exit 133A (US Rte. 17 Business - Falmouth). Take 17 Bus. to the intersection with U.S. Rte 1, and take a right (US 1 South). Take US 1 South over the bridge to Princess Anne Street, and take a left. Take Princess Anne to Lewis Street, and take a left. Take Lewis Street to Caroline Street - the Library is at the corner of Lewis and Caroline.

Trouble on the Right

I was pondering whether or not I should take aim at William Lind’s temper tantrum reaction to Japan’s recognition of the Communist threat (UPI – Washington Times) when Larry Kudlow (remember him?) answered the question for me in NRO. Kudlow and Lind, of course, come from very different angles: Kudlow is an economic conservative luminary, while Lind is a higher-up with the socially conservative Free Congress Foundation. Together, however, the two of them share one common flaw – a flaw that seems to be spreading in American conservatism – a refusal to see Communist China for the threat it really is.

Just so everyone is aware (especially folks new to this blog), my domestic politics – which never see the light of day on this space – plant me firmly in the American political right. I mention this for two reasons: 1) so Lind and Kudlow – assuming they even notice my vent – can’t use the usual anti-left labels to pigeonhole me (something Kudlow does to Schumer in today’s column), and 2) so fellow anti-Communists, especially conservative ones, can be on the lookout for these folks and their ilk in the future.

Kudlow largely resorts to type in his missive – he calls Schumer a “protectionist,” which may or may not be true, but it changes the subject from confronting Communist China to global trade policy. He then repeats his earlier wholesale acceptance of Communist growth figures and the belief that such “growth” reaches “hundreds of millions of heretofore impoverished Chinese.” Perhaps if he actually examined the plight of the still-impoverished Chinese, who have seen their Communist overlords pocket the gains from “growth” for decades while those who demand an end to the corrupt kleptocracy get mowed down like grass, he might think twice about such flowery language.

Then he resorts to the usual sky-will-fall predictions (contradicting his claim from last week that the American consumer will simply shift to other importers), before throwing in Schumer’s opposition to CAFTA, which brings us full-circle to his earlier insistence that this is a matter of global trade patterns and policies, rather than a matter of national security requiring urgent attention to ensure the American consumer no longer fuels Communist China’s military buildup.

Truth be told, Kudlow’s position, while regrettable, is predictable – trade will cure all ills; the Communists aren’t really Communists; etc. It is the argument many American conservatives – but not all – grabbed with both hands during Cold War I (US-USSR) when Mao and Deng decided to sit the battle out. Unfortunately, Kudlow et al have still clung to it long after Cold War I ended, and Cold War II (US-CCP) began.

It is Lind’s piece that I actually find more disturbing, for he is also the Director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism for the Free Congress Foundation (the FCF is Paul Weyrich’s group, and Weyrich is one of the best-known and longest serving social conservative activist in Washington). As such, Lind’s column shows a virulent strain of anti-anti-Communism among the social conservatives – a group heretofore largely immune due to the Communist persecution of Christians.

Lind takes aim at Japan for challenging Communist claims to “an area of the South China Sea” (I can only assume he misspoke and means the East China Sea) and its new willingness to express concern over the Communist bloodlust for Taiwan. The remarkable thing about Lind’s rant is not his concern for a Communist overreaction – even he knows that’s a foolish fear – but rather a concern that “A Chinese defeat by Japan and America in a crisis over Taiwan could well bring that government down.”

Let that sink in for a moment: the possibility of the Chinese Communist Party falling from power is, in Lind’s mind, a bad thing – never mind the tens of millions of Christians forced to worship underground, sent to prison, or tortured to death (let alone the political dissidents, labor dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners . . .). How could Lind possibly come to such a mind-boggling conclusion? He answers that question with his description of the Bush Administration: “strategically imbecilic,” and without “a morsel of strategic sense.” Now, as longtime readers of this blog (and its website in a previous virtual life) will know, this corner does not spare the Bush Administration from well-deserved criticism, but there’s something deeper here, and it involves not Communist China, but Iraq.

For the record, as an institution, the China e-Lobby remains neutral on the military action in Iraq (for reasons that will become clear below), and of course, there are a number of conservatives who oppose it. However, many right-wingers who oppose the war have started to go off the deep end when it comes to America’s role in the world in general. If Lind is any indication – and given Lew Rockwell’s willingness to continually reprint the viciously anti-anti-Communist David Chu, Ron Paul’s idiotic claim that the U.S. should apply a hands-off policy towards Taiwan, and Pat Buchanan’s long, slow, but steady retreat on Communist China in general, he could very well be – conservatives who felt America’s war on terror was an incorrect projection of power are now starting to see any projection of American power as wrong – even when it is desperately needed, such as in East Asia.

Those who agree with the above folks will slap the “neo-conservative” label on yours truly – assuming anyone who sees Communist China as a threat must follow Bill Kristol and George W. Bush in lockstep. The fact that Kristol himself has railed against Bush’s “engagement” of Communist China (as has this corner) should have been enough to give them pause. However, and more importantly, the traditional conservatives have enough evidence of their wrong-headedness from their own ranks. Howard Phillips has repeatedly called for a stronger American military and a harsher policy towards Communist China – and no one has mistaken him for a “neo-conservative.” Likewise, Newsmax’s Lev Navrozov has been just as derisive toward the Bush Administration as Lind vis a vis Iraq, but the notion that we should keep the Chinese Communist Party in power at all costs would give him apoplexy. One does not have to support the invasion/liberation (choose your noun) of Iraq to oppose Communist China.

It should be noted that Weyrich himself has never espoused such silliness, and I say that as much to separate him from Lind’s comment as to provide a healthy reminder that Lind’s views are far from the majority among the political Right. Lind also spent nearly a decade as an aide to Gary Hart, and while that isn’t enough to make me suspicious (hey, I was a Democrat in 1986, too), it will be enough for many other conservatives.

Still, when you add this to Pat Robertson’s unthinkable defense of the hideous “one child” policy (fourth item), former Congressman Bill Archer feting Tiananmen butcher Li Peng (sixteenth item), and the Kudlowesque myopia of a whole slew of economic conservatives, the Right is dealing with a serious problem.

Anti-Communism was never an exclusively conservative position. Liberals have been a part of the movement from Syndey Hook to Scoop Jackson. Even today, some of the best advocates for getting tough on Communist China are Tom Lantos, Nancy Pelosi, Paul Wellstone (rest in peace) and – you read this right – Bernie Sanders. However, in my politically formative years (the 1980s) to be an anti-Communist automatically made you more right-leaning than to not be an anti-Communist. Perhaps my concern is overblown, but as a conservative, I take this personally.

News of the Day (July 1)

In honor of Dominion Day, the China e-Lobby presents the links on Communist China’s espionage network in Canada (third, first, first, third, sixth, first, and fourth items).

Hu Jintao visits Russia, which tests new missile for sale to Communists: Russia’s military-industrial complex, whose number one customer is Communist China, “recently tested a . . . newly developed Russian missile is designed to attack naval targets, and well suited for attacks against U.S. carriers” (Epoch Times). The Raduga Kh-59M missile was tested on a SU-30MK2 jet fighter, which has already been sold to the Communists in the past. The news comes as Communist leader Hu Jintao heads for Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin (United Press International via Washington Times).

Russia and Communist China to sign electricity deal: Meanwhile, Russia’s Unified Energy Systems will sign a deal with Communist China this month “increase Russia's electricity exports to China” (UPI via Washington Times, last item).

House votes to block CNOOC-Unocal deal: The House of Representatives voted 328-91 “block the Bush administration from backing a Chinese takeover attempt for US oil firm Unocal” (BBC). The bill would bar any federal funds from being spent to approve the deal (Cybercast News). The Administration did approve Chevron’s bid for Unocal, which makes the bid by the Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation more of a long shot, thankfully (third, fourth, seventh, second items).

Tariff bill postponed on claimed currency movement, which Communists then deny: The vote on the Schumer-Graham tariff on Communist Chinese imports (second item) was put on hold after Treasury Secretary John Snow said the cadres “agreed that it is in their interest to adopt greater exchange rate flexibility” (BBC). Having dodged that bullet, the Communist regime “again denied that it plans to revalue the yuan.”

Australian official promised Communist China it would block Falun Gong suit: According to Chen Yonglin, the former political officer in Communist China’s Sydney consulate, the Deputy Secretary for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade “promised the Chinese government he would ask for the materials from the Supreme Court, cancel the lawsuit, and put an end to the case” (Epoch Times). It was more evidence that the Communists’ efforts to compromise Australia were bearing fruit, and another reason the U.S. should grant Chen, his family, and Hao Fengjun asylum.

Malaysia bans Epoch Times: The government of Malaysia has stopped all distribution of the Epoch Times on the archipelago; no reason was given, but one can guess.

French anti-Communist declares for Presidency: In much better news, former French Education Minister Jack Lang – easily one of the most anti-Communist politicians in his native land – announced he would run for President in 2007 (UPI via Washington Times).

Crackdown against Christians continues: China Aid, a group dedicated to helping Christians in Communist China who would rather risk prison and torture than put the Chinese Communist Party between themselves and their God, reported more arrests in Henan, Shanxi, and occupied East Turkestan.

As HK democrats mark handover, Chen Shui-bian rejects Communist control: Over 10,000 residents of Hong Kong marched to demand democracy in the city on the eighth anniversary of the city falling under Communist control (BBC, UPI via Washington Times). Meanwhile, Chen Shui-bian – the democratically elected President of Taiwan – cited Hong Kong as an example of why he “categorically rejected . . . China's persistent "one country, two systems" reunification overtures” (Washington Times).

On Corruption in Communist China: Xu Huian, Epoch Times, examines the drive among all cadres to steal anything they can get their hands on before mandatory retirement hits (a.k.a. “The 59 Years Old Phenomenon”).

William Lind, useful idiot: That was what Lenin called those in the United States that could be counted on to stumble into aiding him, and his heirs in the ruthless Chinese Communist Party are sure to have the same opinion of William S. Lind of the Free Congress Foundation after they read his hideous UPI (via Washington Times) column.

SNK restarts nuclear plant construction: T.A. Frank, of The New Republic, has another installment of “Today in Despotism,” which tracks the latest in bombast from, among other tyrannies, Stalinist North Korea. Of course, missing from SNK’s announcements (and thus from Frank’s column) was the news that the regime had “resumed building two nuclear reactors whose construction was suspended under a 1994 agreement with the United States” (Washington Times, second item) – that would be the 1994 agreement the Stalinists violated with its uranium-based nuclear weapons program.