On the arrogance of the Chinese Communist Party and the accidental complicity of the free world

In Weng'an, Guizhou, a teenage girl was raped and murdered. The three suspects "were interrogated for a day and then released" (Washington Times). The reason for the leniency was as simple as it was outrageous: "two of whom were related to officials in the county's public security bureau." The ensuing events revealed how and why the Chinese Communist Party continues to get away with enslaving its own people and threatening the rest of the globe.

After the local cadres declared the murder a "suicide" (Washington Post), the victim's uncle demanded justice - and was beaten to death by Communist-backed thugs. Enraged, thousands of citizens descended upon the police stations and local regime buildings and counter-attacked - and odds are, that last part is all most Americans and others will know about what happened. For the Communists, that's a huge win - it's just another "riot" due to some cadre misdeed or other that led to a local overreaction, while the hidden truth is only known to the folks who were there.

There are many reasons for this. First and foremost - the Communists have wronged their own people in so many ways (Boycott 2008, Central News Agency of Taiwan, The Epoch Times, London Telegraph, and the Washington Times) that the rest of the world becomes inured. Even other reports of the Weng'an incident (CNN and, in a rare misstep, the Epoch Times), stray into the general Communist oppression. Only the Post noticed and reported how the cadres' thugs beat the grieving uncle to death - which not only explains the actual reason for the violent reaction but puts it in badly needed context. Without that vital piece of information, this story can fall into the usual "yes-but" mode into which "engagement" supporters shift when the truth about the CCP starts to seep out.

This has become such an easy reflex that the cadres have picked it up, too. They'll have "negotiations" with the Dalai Lama (BBC and Washington Times) in no small part to blunt the embarrassment of their latest Tibet "media tour" (NRO Media Blog). When their alliance with "entrepreneurs" reveals the rapacious greed of all involved (Washington Post), they highlight their Potemkin cities and their "flexibility" (Washington Post). Extending beyond the borders, the cadres can deflect criticism over its support for Zimbabwean thug Robert Mugabe (Channel News Asia and Washington Times) with a warming of ties with Japan (Epoch Times), and the recent good behavior of its Korean colony (BBC and CNN).

Yet even here, the conversation can only go so far. Communist China's reconciliation with Taiwan may bring sighs of relief (BBC), but it also brings new pressure for Taiwan to muzzle its own citizens in order to "accommodate more than 3,000 mainland tourists starting in July" (Epoch Times). America's dealings with Stalinist North Korea look promising on the surface, but look too closely and it becomes clear that there is far less than meets the eye (BBC, One Free Korea, and the Washington Post).

More broadly, the entire "peaceful rise" meme gets tripped up by the discussion of radical nationalism - the one issue that "engagement" backers and other appeasers of the regime treat as the dark monster in the forest that no one can discuss (Int'l Hearld Tribune). Any discussion of Communist espionage (WLS) or its overseas intimidation (Epoch Times) becomes taboo (and, if they're in a pinch, all of the other issues above) - and here is where the need for proper context reasserts itself.

The "nationalist" argument is supposed to silence any critic of the regime, much like the report of a "riot" is supposed to silence any questions about Weng'an. Yet like Weng'an, the conventional wisdom misses a pertinent fact: the greatest thing holding the Chinese nation back is the Chinese Communist Party, which is itself a foreign infection from Moscow. Thus, an incomplete discussion of the nationalism issue redounds to the Communists' benefit - even if the folks having the discussion are themselves critics of the regime.

What this teaches us is to always look for the entire story; the cadres can turn half-truths to their benefit all the time. No better example of this exists than in Weng'an itself, where the cadres covered up for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, murdered her uncle, and still got decent publicity because the ensuing outrage by the locals dominated the coverage.

The more you look at it, the worse it gets

Whenever news involving Communist China comes out, one usually has to wait until the "engagement" crowd (like James Dorn - Washington Times) stops coloring things before the truth can be seen. Such has been the case with the Olympics (Washington Post), the regime's reaction to the Sichuan earthquake (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times), and relations with both India (Asia Times) and the United States (DC Examiner). The best example, however, continues to be the Bush Administration's craven surrender to Stalinist North Korea.

We are now discovering that in addition to getting no information on the Stainists' uranium enrichment plans, the Administration is also empty-handed on the Stalinists' actual nuclear arsenal (Fox News via The Write Side of My Brain):

One item that won’t make the declaration, which the White House says is due Thursday, will be North Korea’s nuclear bombs. The omission means the world will have to wait for an answer to the question at the heart of the nearly six-year-old standoff: Is the North ready to give up its nuclear weapons?

So, now we know that Communist China's de facto colony will be able to keep its nuclear arms stockpile - and keep it secret - and still have the Bush Administration push to have it removed from the list of terror sponsors (Washington Times), all because they blew up part of a nuclear reactor that was on its way to be mothballed anyway (BBC, CNN, Washington Post, and the Washington Times).

This nonsense requires the OK from Congress, and given their respective reactions (CNN), I feel a lot better about endorsing the Republicans in 2006 - unfortunately, they lost. The Democrats who replaced them seem much closer to Ban Ki-moon (Newsmax) than the folks at National Review.

In other words, the next President (see One Free Korea and NRO - Campaign Spot for the candidates' reactions) will saddled with an agreement to bend over backwards to a regime that doesn't keep its word - much like the Bush Administration was saddled with the 1994 Agreed Framework.

Once again, this President hasn't departed from Bill Clinton, but has instead emulated him.

As "engagement" strengthens in North America, is it weakening in Eurasia?

Throughout the first Cold War, the peoples and nations who were most adamant about ending Soviet Communism tended to be those who had the most experience in dealing with it. Soviet refugees, occupied nations, and badly disillusioned socialists formed the unexpected core of anti-Communism, and kept it going during its darkest hour (the 1970s). A generation earlier, it was Western Europe that all but begged the United States to lead the anti-Communist alliance that would become NATO. The situation with Communist China is, obviously, different, but today I saw echoes of the same pattern on the world stage.

First, the bad news: North America seems to have all but capitulated. Compounding the bad news from Canada, President Bush has decided to take Beijing's Korean colony off the list of terrorist sponsors (CNN, NRO - The Corner, Washington Post, Washington Times), despite the fact that the Stalinist North said nothing of substance about its uranium enrichment program (which started this whole thing back in 2002), and of course, there was no movement on the issue of Japanese and South Korean abductees (One Free Korea). Making matters worse, this is all based on information that Kim Jong-il sent not to the United States, but to Communist China (BBC and Washington Times). It is an appalling end to a weak policy from the President.

Not that the United States and Canada are alone on this - Taiwan has begun internalizing the Communists' Falun Gong War (Between Heaven and Earth) - but as the leader of the free world, the U.S. in particular should be immune to this sort of thing. In fact, the strength of ordinary Americans themselves was enough to stop the Communists' attempts at intimidation in New York City (Epoch Times); one can only shudder to think what might have happened had Mayor Bloomberg taken the Tainan approach.

Absent such strength on the global stage, the cadres are continuing their advance. They are now trying to apply revisionist history to Darfur (Washington Times), turning the Olympics into a weapon for "smashing the separatist plot of the Dalai Lama clique" (BBC and the Epoch Times).

Yet with all of this good news, the cadres may face trouble in their closest and most geopolitically profitable relationship - the one with Russia. After years of being Communist China's largest arms supplier, the Russian government is starting to wonder if it is "supplying weapons to an army that may turn against it tomorrow."

No military has been closer to Beijing than the one based in Moscow, yet now, as Communist China is starting to reverse engineer the weapons they have imported (and even export their version to other nations, like Pakistan), Moscow is getting skittish. Russia isn't alone either; several Asian neighbors of Communist China have responded to Beijing's charm offensive by demanding to know why the United States hasn't stopped it (Daniel Twining in the Weekly Standard):

Asian leaders broadly seek closer relations with Washington, scold their U.S. counterparts for neglecting the region, are deeply insecure about any hint of an American pullback, and increasingly identify democratic political values as the basis for closer cooperation with America and each other.

Once again, the closer one is to the Communist regime, the more one is worried.

The parallels to the first Cold War here, in particular the pre-NATO era, is striking. Once again, front-line nations looking eerily across the divide at a rising tyranny are looking to a somewhat indifferent United States for help. As for Russia, its journey will be much longer, and may never come to fruition, but if it does, it would deal a hammer-blow to the Communists' geopolitical objectives.

Either way, we are once again seeing that those with the most exposure to Communism (in this case, the Chinese version) are the most worried about it (that especially applies to the Chinese people themselves - Boycott 2008 and Washington Post - even as the outside world misses it - Newsweek). As with the Soviet Communists before them, the Chinese Communists may very well sow the seeds of their own destruction not by how they treat their enemies, but their friends and neighbors.

It's time for a change in the Conservative Party of Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his retreat from anti-Communism official with the permanent appointment of pro-"engagement" David Emerson as Foreign Minister (CTV and National Post). As someone who supported Harper in the 2006 election for the anti-Communist policies he had espoused as Opposition Leader, I have no choice but to withdraw that support now and call for the Conservative Party of Canada to change leaders.

Placing Emerson permanently in Foreign Affairs is a terrible mistake; wrong on principle, wrong on national interest, and wrong on politics. That Harper did it anyway reveals a PM who has lost his way, and unless he is removed, will also lead the Tories into the wilderness.

On principle: Under Harper's leadership, the Conservative Party became arguably the most anti-Communist party in the democratic world. Its election in 2006 gave Canada an opportunity to be the world's genuine conscience (as opposed to the phony conscience the Liberals and used as a model, which the rest of the world ignored, BTW). That potential is now in ashes.

On what is best for Canada: After the scare on exports from Communist China, the numerous attempts by the cadres to grab Canadian resources, and the espionage-intimidation network exposed three years ago, one would think most politicians would be aware of the danger the Beijing regime poses to the free world. Sadly, the elite in Ottawa (much like Washington, I should add) do not see clearly enough - and one of the worst was Liberal Industry Minister David Emerson. To put him in charge of Foreign Affairs is to ignores these and many other ways where Beijing's action damage both Canadian economic interests and the health and welfare of the Canadian people.

On the politics: It is all but certain that in the next election, the Liberals will try what they always try - scare left-wing and center-left voters who have tired of them to "Stop the Conservatives." Yet, on this issue (before today), NDP and Bloc voters were closer to the Conservative view than the Liberal one. Anti-Communism was one issue where these voters would see why it would not make sense to vote Liberal just to prevent the Tories from winning a majority. That rationale is now gone.

I want to make clear that this change, in my view, must be within the CPC. This is no way is meant to imply any support for the Liberals. In fact, replacing one ex-Liberal Foreign Minister who spouts the "engagement" line on Communist China with an actual Liberal who will spout the "engagement" line on Communist China would accomplish nothing. It must be another Conservative, an anti-Communist Conservative, who replaces Harper; the sooner, the better.

Cross-posted to the Shotgun

When nationalism goes awry (and what it will mean)

The Chinese Communist Party has come to rely on radical nationalism as its regime's raison d'etre for nearly two decades. It is their only response to outrages like poor export control (Epoch Times), questions about its ties to corrupt and cruel dictators (like, say Fidel Castro - Washington Times), and especially the appalling brutality against its own people (Epoch Times) and the occupied nations (BBC and the Washington Times). The Communists' only answer is to insist that they are defending Chinese pride and honor against pernicious outsiders, and that all who disagree are enemies of the Chinese nation. So one can imagine what the reaction has been to the newest political disaster in Hong Kong, where the local democrats actually managed to outflank the cadres on the nationalism issue.

It all began when the Communist-appointed leader of the city, Donald Tsang, decided to make seventeen political appointments to his staff, on the notion that "political appointees would provide more accountable government than bevies of civil servants" (BBC). Local democrats seized on that fairly quickly:

The obvious problem with the theory, pointed out by Hong Kong's feisty democratic camp, is that without proper elections, there is no mechanism for getting rid of ministers and none has yet taken responsibility for anything. Instead, say the critics, the appointees are government loyalists who get in the way of professional managers at the expense of taxpayers.

At this point, it's still a normal (well, normal for HK) argument between the democrats and the Communists over political power, freedom, and accountability. Then things took a very ominous turn for the cadres (emphasis added):

The pan-democratic opposition mounted a concerted campaign, questioning the opaque nature of the appointment process, the US$17,000 (£8,600) to US$28,600 monthly salaries being paid to allies of the chief executive, and the new staffers' claimed loyalty to Hong Kong.

The most prominent new appointee, Greg So, is deputy chairman of the pro-Beijing political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB). Alongside his Hong Kong identity and Chinese nationality, he also holds a Canadian passport.

The question was raised: How patriotic can Mr So be if he has kept his foreign nationality? It then came to light that most of the new appointees held dual nationality.

For the Communists, this was an absolute nightmare. One of their lead propagandists in Hong Kong was exposed as what we would call a "dual citizen" - giving the democrats to the chance to accuse him and his fellow cadre-blessed pols as having divided loyalties. Even worse, the democrats actually won the argument:

The government mishandled the affair from the start - refusing to reveal the salaries on offer only to be forced into a humiliating apology and full disclosure.

On the nationality issue, it first stated that the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitution, did not require deputy ministers to relinquish second passports. Then it refused to reveal who did or did not have extra passports.

Finally, public pressure forced most of the new appointees to say they would give up their foreign citizenship, to "prove" their patriotism.

So not only did the cadres have to hear accusations of being unpatriotic, they had to respond to them and alleviate them. In other words, after the democrats claimed the Communist-backed appointees weren't fully patriotic, the appointee ceded the point and changed policy.

One can easily see how this could be disastrous for Beijing. It wasn't outside forces who were damaging the Middle Kingdom; nor was it angry dissidents who were dividing the Chinese people. The Hong Kong cadres themselves were caught without sufficient patriotism, and even worse, the dissident-democrats were the ones who exposed them and grabbed the flag for themselves.

As word of this spreads, the regime will find itself on the defensive on the one issue that is essential to its survival. In the long run, that could bring closer the day when the Chinese people rise up and take their country back.

In the short run, however, we can expect from Beijing more repression at home (Boycott 2008), more historical justification what is both ahistorical and unjustifiable (Times of London), more suspicion towards "outsiders" (Boycott 2008), and more overseas intimidation (Epoch Times). Of course, the anti-American policies that have defined Communist China's foreign policy for years will also continue.

The free world must be prepared to ride out this storm and band together to contain, isolate, and undermine the Communist regime. That means a recognition that international "improvements" with Beijing are superficial at best (BBC), and that disputes am0ng ourselves must be minimized (Washington Post and Washington Times). America and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

What the "peaceful rise" really means

For the last few years, Communist China has tried to deflect criticism and questions about its increasing global power (World Tribune via Boycott 2008) was to insist that this was nothing but a "peaceful rise." Never mind the regime's increasing grip on Africa (Epoch Times) and South America (Weekly Standard), or its continued support for Kim Jong-il's outlaw dictatorship (One Free Korea), or anything else that would imply that the cadres are interested in removing any opposition to its continued rule over China, no matter how far from its borders and how much violence is necessary. Most in the free world, sadly, are falling for the Party line. Even in the island democracy of Taiwan, where they should know better, the propaganda is working (Washington Times). I'm guessing they would think differently, however, if they saw the regime's true face.

It should be no surprise that two of the nations with the most resistance to the "peaceful rise" nonsense are the United States and South Korea. In addition to being leading democracies, these two allies have seen the cadres' goons up close - in Seoul (Epoch Times) and New York City (Epoch Times and more Epoch Times). This is more important than many realize. What these two cities have witnessed is the future for the entire democratic world when the "peaceful rise" is finished - hired Communist goons silencing exiled dissidents and their supporters to the point where the political freedom that is a fundamental and necessary characteristic of democracy is a hollow joke.

Thus aware of the future, Americans are far more worried about Communist China's increasing power, whatever the reason (Washington Post). Canada, which has suffered its own versions of overseas intimidation, is also more aware of the dangers than others (Steve Janke).

In the past, it was Russian refugees that made America and her allies aware of the Soviet danger. This time, the efforts by the Communists to silence Chinese exiles have themselves become the warning to the free world that it will never be secure until the Communist regime is ended.

What they are trying to hide

As the Communists continue their efforts to prevent anyone from speaking the truth (Epoch Times, The Hill, and Techstructions), the rest of the world may still ponder why. This weekend, we got several answers.

Be it substandard exports (Epoch Times and Washington Post), the real story behind the earthquake devastation (the shoddy construction that led so many buildings to fall and children to die - Epoch Times and Washington Post), or the truth about occupied Tibet (BBC and Epoch Times), in a normal country, the regime would be facing harsh questions. The cadres, however, are not interested in those, in no small part because they would eventually lead to the inevitable one - Why are you guys in charge? This especially holds true now that they have stopped subsidizing fuel and electricity (Epoch Times and Washington Post) - to say nothing of the Olympics (CNN, Epoch Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times).

So, the Communists hide the truth, and threaten anyone who will reveal it. They will also make sure their Korean colony provides enough distraction (One Free Korea, Washington Post, and Washington Times); of course, the regime has learned a thing or two about the need for repression in order to survive (One Free Korea).

For Beijing, its satellites, and its allies, anyone who looks to speak truth to power is a threat, and any nation that is willing to let them speak is also a danger. So the hacking, overseas intimidation, and anti-American policies will continue unless the free world ceases to be free, or the regime itself ceases. America and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

From the Information Front

The battle between Communists and anti-Communists over the truth is the main theme of today's news. While the Long Arm of Lawlessness continues (Epoch Times), exiled dissidents are fighting back by trying to helping their fellow Chinese get around the "Great Red Firewall" (Fox News).

There are many who think this is just about human rights. Thus, while they'll acknowledge the problems Communist China has with the truth (Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times, Voice of America via Epoch Times, and Washington Times), they don't believe it affects the real world.

They couldn't be more wrong.

For starters, the Communists are getting American help. As Jeffrey Fideler noted, "American companies have played a prominent role in facilitating the government's construction of this internet control regime" (Epoch Times).

More importantly, however, the Communists have so badly twisted the truth into "angry, defensive Chinese nationalism" (Fideler again) that the regime has to rely on said nationalism in order to survive, which means "War is theoretically a real possibility," according to Dr. Peter Gries.

For more concrete examples of the aftermath, we have Communist espionage against the United States (Epoch Times and Boycott 2008), and kidnapping of Americans themselves (One Free Korea).

The behavior of Communist China towards their own people is directly tied to its relations with the rest of the world. That is the lesson we are painfully learning. American and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

Japanese kidnap victims' relatives to the free world: Grow a spine

The United States is planning to take Stalinist North Korea off the list of terror sponsors (Weekly Standard). Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, reminding me why I never want her near the executive branch ever again, insists that the "concessions" (Washington Times) from Communist China's de facto colony make the move worth wile.

Sadly, this is the common reaction of officials who have become either delusional in the face of repeated dangerous behavior from Pyongyang and Beijing or simply too exhausted to fight it. Thus, the abduction not only of Japanese citizens but also an American refugee goes into the memory hole (Washington Post), never mind the Stalinist regime's horrific treatment of its own people (CNN and One Free Korea).

Lest anyone think this is limited only to Beijing's Korean colony, keep in mind that the Communists themselves continue to harass and intimidate exiles in the free world (The Epoch Times), kidnap (at best) hundreds of citizens of occupied nations (BBC and CNN), and arm anti-American terrorists (including those killing Americans in Iraq today - World Net Daily), yet the buildup to the 2008 Communist Olympiad continues apace (Boycott 2008).

There are still some, however, who refuse to be deluded or overwhelmed. They will not give up the fight, and they are calling on their leaders (and the rest of us) not to abandon them. They are the relatives of the Japanese abductees, and there open letter to the Japanese Prime Minister is below, in full (emphasis added).

June 17, 2008
An Urgent Appeal Addressed To:

Honorable Yasuo Fukuda,
Prime Minister of Japan
and
Mr. Nobutaka Machimura
Chief Cabinet Secretary

On June 13th, in the wake of Japan-North Korea talks in Beijing, the Japanese government announced that it is going to lift Japan’s sanctions “partially” in exchange for North Korean promise to “re-investigate” the abduction of Japanese citizens without clinging to its standard position that “the abduction issue has been resolved.”

It is obvious that North Korea changed its longstanding position and came to the negotiating table to discuss the abduction issue only as a result of pressure applied in recent years from both Japan and international community. However, by proceeding with the lifting of sanctions prematurely at a stage where repatriation of the abductees remains unforeseeable, Japan’s unilateral easing of pressure on North Korea would be inconsistent with the “action for action” principle and is therefore unacceptable.

In particular, reinstatement of port visits by North Korean vessels, including large freighter passenger ships such as the Man-gyong-bong, poses a problem since the definition of “humanitarian goods” eligible to be boarded remains unclear with the possible effect becoming a major lifting, not a “partial” lifting of existing sanctions. This approach cannot be tolerated, even if it is presented as a negotiating technique. Even though the Japanese government maintains it has not changed its policy, the explanation is not plausible.

There are reports that procedures for reinstatement of the Man-gyong-bong’s Japanese port visits were initiated several days before the reopening of the recent Japan-North Korea negotiation in Beijing. If true, this would be a very suspicious and mysterious development suggesting that somehow the content of the Japanese position was leaked in advance to the Kim Jong-il regime.

Our concern is that Japan’s partial lifting of sanctions could accelerate the movement in the United States for lifting North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. If that happens, the likelihood increases that North Korea would buy time by resorting to deception without conducting an actual investigation that would bring about the return of the abduction victims.

Under these circumstances, we strongly urge the members of the Fukuda Government to reinvigorate the government’s efforts and determination to accomplish Japan’s original purpose of resolving the abduction issue by bringing all the abductees home.

We urge the Japanese Government to undertake the following measures:
1. To sufficiently and intelligibly explain to the Japanese people whether or not Japanese government policy on the abduction issue has been changed.
2. To refrain from lifting any sanctions until North Korea conducts a satisfactory “reinvestigation that leads to the repatriation of victims”.
3. To impose tougher sanctions if North Korea prolongs its investigation despite its promise;
4. To advise the United States that as long as the country of North Korea does not take concrete action to allow repatriation of all of the abduction victims, it is Japan’s position that there would be no substantive progress on the abduction issue and to ask our ally the United States therefore not to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sincerely,

Shigeo Iizuka, Chairman
Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea (AFVKN)

Katsumi Sato, Chairman
National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARKN)

Takeo Hiranuma, Chairman
Parliamentarian League for Early Repatriation of Japanese Citizens
Kidnapped by North Korea

Cross-posted to the Shotgun and the right-wing liberal

The CCP and Syrian nukes: an ominous warning

As I've spent the last few days discussing Communist China's appalling treatment of its own people and recent overseas intimidation, I'm sure at least a few readers have wondered about the relevance of this to the free world. Although I would think the persecution of exiles in democratic nations would be enough to draw concern, the "engagement" impulse runs deep (for the latest examples, see the BBC, the Epoch Times, and National Review Online). However, Communist China's repressive regime goes hand in hand with its frightening support for anti-American terrorists and their allies, including one of the largest underwriters of terrorism - the Syrian Ba'athist regime.

In yesterday's Epoch Times, experts discuss Syria's attempt to become a nuclear power - an attempt that Israel wiped out last year - and they see Communist China's fingerprints all over it (emphasis added):

Dr. Ronen Bergman, a journalist and the author of the coming book The Secret War With Iran, said: "I would say that in spite of the fact that the reactor that was bombed in Dir A-Zur, in Al Kibar, in Syria was North Korean reactor the basis of the Syrian nuclear knowledge are Chinese and China through out the years was helping research and supplying some know-how to the Syrians."

In other words, the Communist regime looked at Syria - an ally of the Iranian mullahcracy, a base for Hezbollah and Hamas, and a leading haven for anti-American terrorists operating in Iraq - and decided that helping it develop nuclear weapons would be an excellent idea. There is no better symbol of what the Chinese Communist Party thinks of the United States, the free world, and their enemies.

This isn't the first time a terrorist regime has found a friend in Communist China; in fact, it is merely the latest in a long history of Beijing reaching out to America's enemies, be it North Korea, Iran, Syria, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, and yes, al Qaeda. The question now becomes, will the free world finally take notice?

After all, none of these links are accidental. The Chinese Communists learned from the failure of their Russian comrades that the West is no friend of a tyrant, even if it wishes to be. Thus the cadres know that their dissidents (BBC, Boycott 2008, Epoch Times, Washington Times, and World Net Daily) and citizens of occupied nations (BBC, Boycott 2008, CNN, and the Epoch Times) look to the United States as an example of the freedoms they could enjoy.

Moreover - and likely even more importantly - the cadres have exhausted every rationale for maintaining their regime except one: radical nationalism. Since the U.S. is not interested in allowing the Communists to do what is necessary to preserve that rationale (namely the conquest of Taiwan, the subjugation of Japan, and the removal of the U.S. as the leading superpower in Asia and throughout the world), America is a threat to the regime per se. This is why terrorists will find a willing supporter in Communist China - the more Americans they kill, the more useful they are to the cadres (especially since they are so willing to take the credit for it).

The approaching Olympic Games has caused the cadres some minor headaches (Boycott 2008), and has led some to ask several pointed questions about their objectives (Washington Post). These are questions that need to be asked, but we should not hold out hope for the answers. Communist China will continue to support anti-American terrorists, and so long as the response to the free world is similar to what One Free Korea discovered, they will continue to get away with it. That must change soon. The Syrian nuclear incident is a warning to all of us: American and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Is the CCP prepared for the NBA?

I have always insisted that I will not watch one second of the upcoming Communist Olympiad - and I still won't see any of it. I have always considered awarding the Games to the Communists to be a mistake - and I still do. That said, I have already seen at least one possible upside to the Games (after they are over), and another one may be popping up in the most unexpected of areas: basketball.

For much of the world (and nearly all American watchers), basketball will be the marquis event of the Games. Several nations (host included) have NBA players on their squads. Odds are the cadres were more than happy with this, since the NBA has been one of the major "engagement" proponents, but that was before anyone heard of Ira Newble.

Newble, a former Cleveland Cavalier reserve who is now a reserve for the Western Conference Champion L.A. Lakers, has been using his position to bring attention to Communist China's complicity in the Darfur outrage (Boston Globe via Boycott 2008). He may even be willing to take his case to the host site itself, although as he noted, "Security might be an issue because China really doesn't look at this too kindly. They are already fabricating stories over there about me."

Normally, this would just be another story of an anti-Communist shoved to the margins or silenced. The cadres have been hard at work doing that for sometime - in China proper (Between Heaven and Earth), occupied East Turkestan (BBC, BBC again, and the Washington Times), and as far away as New York City (The Epoch Times). This time, however, Newble has managed to get Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher to sign on. Bryant is one of the faces of the NBA, while Fisher, although less known to the population at large, is a vital role player who is well known and respected throughout the league. More importantly, Bryant is a stone-cold, lead-pipe lock to make the Olympic team.

Now, the regime has been leaning very hard on their "guests" to keep quiet about its abuses against its own people and its role in propping up other brutal tyrants (such as the Sudan or, say, North Korea - BBC), but track-and-field athletes getting their one moment in the sun are much easier to intimidate than an NBA star.

What would the cadres do if Kobe decides to speak out? They'll surely have the usual engagement crowd (the Toronto Star has a perfect example of what these idiots are likely to say about Kobe), and Kobe has his critics here at home (although Newble also has a Celtic supporter on this, so relying on rivalries within the league probably won't help the cadres much). However, going after Kobe will be an eye-opener not only to him, but to his millions of fans in Los Angeles and across the country. One of the most apolitical areas in America - professional sports - could become an accidental anti-Communist recruiting ground overnight.

If, by contrast, the Communists keep silent, then Kobe's criticism still becomes front-page news, and the Chinese people will wonder why he was allowed to speak in such a manner. The resulting logic train from that will all but ensure the regime will come down hard on Kobe. I don't expect the Laker star to be detained or imprisoned, but the Communist media will likely rip him in ways that would make a Sacramento Kings fan blush. Once again, though, the Pandora's box I described above would still be opened.

The question is, will Kobe criticize the regime during the Games? I don't know. I do know that this is one variable the cadres (and, truth be told, I) didn't consider. Are there other variables out there that could combine with the likely post-Olympic corruption scandals? Only time will tell.

Pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I was driving home from the Hampton Roads area about two weeks ago when a radio station (the name eludes me) managed to play (just once) the title track from Coldplay's Viva la Vida. It was one of the most beautiful and haunting songs I've ever heard. Now that it's in the regular radio repertoire, I'll hear it more often, but one lyric has stayed with me:

And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

That lyric continually ran through my head as I saw the flurry of news from over the weekend on Communist China and its cronies.

Since my last post, we discovered that Communist China is the undisputed leader in greenhouse gas emissions (International Herald Tribune), while the regime is continuing to hide the truth about its role in making the Sichuan quake as deadly as it was (Epoch Times and Washington Times) - and, perhaps, will still be (Human Rights Torch via Boycott 2008). Meanwhile, its Korean colony lost two walking prisoners to escape (Washington Times), and that may be the least of its problems (Washington Times).

By themselves, these events mean little, but knitted together with the rest of the the regime's myriad problems, they reveal a "government" that has yet to resolve the lack of legitimacy that has at least nineteen years with no end in sight - and this is prior to the great Olympic propaganda event that could blow up in the cadres' faces the minute it ends.

Indeed, the entire edifice that is the Chinese Communist Party rests on "pillars of salt and pillars of sand."

Naturally, the cadres who make up the regime have no plans to "sweep the streets (they) used to own" (yes, that's another lyric from the song). Instead, they are doing their best to make sure no one notices the weak foundation, be they in China proper (Epoch Times and Washington Times), occupied East Turkestan (Epoch Times), New York City (Epoch Times, Epoch Times again, and more Epoch Times), or anywhere else (Guardian, UK, via Boycott 2008).

If that were all the cadres were doing to preserve their power, that would be bad enough, but they are also determined to ensure any examples dissidents and others can use against them either knuckle under or are destroyed. Thus their satellites (North Korea and Iran) manage to leap ahead on their nuclear ambitions with the help of longtime Communist ally Pakistan (Washington Post), while the democratic nations of the world lack the courage of their convictions (Japan being the latest example - Washington Times).

The CCP knows it is vulnerable; the free world should recognize it, too. American and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free - and whenever a cadre says otherwise, it's "never an honest word."

The West asks for little, gets less, yet won't wise up

The driver of my latest attempt to turn the News of the Day from a dry list of stories into a thematic column actually comes from what many call “another Chinese province” - i.e., Stalinist North Korea. The Kim Jong-il regime has been a master of breaking, remaking, and getting new concessions for repeating old promises. In this case, it involves the most outrageous of the regime's many sins against outsiders: the abduction of citizens of Japan and South Korea.

In the past, KJI's clique has admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese between 1978 and 1983 (they make no such admittance on Koreans from the South). Five were allowed to come home; the rest were declared dead. Every attempt by Japan to get evidence of their passing has been met with fiery rhetoric and/or forgery. This was maintained as long as the United States insisted the fate of Japan's abductees had to be resolved at the six-party talks centered on North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Then came the Singapore Surrender, and everything changed.

Suddenly, Japan was on its own regarding its abductees. Isolated and politically weak at home, the Japanese government was in a serious pickle. The time was right for the North Korean regime to move, and it did. Now, in exchange for merely agreeing to "re-examine cases of a number of Japanese people seized" (BBC) - not an admission of wrongdoing, or even a hint that it may change its tune - the Stalinist regime has gotten Japan to drop a travel ban. In other words, Kim Jong-il once again get something for nothing (meanwhile, his regime is once more dragging its feet on the agreement to end its nuclear weapons program - One Free Korea).

Why do I focus on this particular matter? I do because the Stalinists' colonial masters (Communist China) have been playing the same game for decades, with the same success. Political leaders all over the western world talk about :engagement" with Communist China merely in reaction to flowery words out of Beijing, when the actual deeds (as David Kilgour points out - via Boycott 2008) are the archetype of what we once called a "rogue state." Already, the regime has managed to convince the new leadership in Taiwan to partially open up its economy to the mainland (BBC), without a single pledge from Beijing to even slowdown its massive missile buildup just across the straits from the island democracy.

The Communists have now become so brazen that they have even resorted to intimidating and attacking anti-Communists in democratic nations (Epoch Times), including the United States (Epoch Times). On one level, this reveals a boldness and arrogance that could lead the free world to snap out of its stupor and see Communist China for the enemy that it is. On a more important and deeper level, however, it also reveals weakness - for as I mentioned yesterday, the regime is clearly worried that dissidents and their supporters abroad could lead to more informed citizens at home. The Sichuan earthquake is already losing its propaganda appeal (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times), and heaven knows what will happen when the Olympic Games are over and the reality of the regime's methods in preparation for it come to light (Boycott 2008 - WARNING: ECHO CHAMBER MOMENT).

Of course, the Chinese people already know - and know painfully well - how the Communists refuse to keep their word on anything that interferes with their survival and their ability to enrich themselves with the latest corrupt scheme. This is where the intimidation and silencing efforts have another bonus for the Communists - the very people who could best remind democratic leaders of the regime's dishonesty and danger are kept out of the conversation, thus making it harder for the truth to come out.

Even so, one would think that the leaders of the free world have witnessed enough broken promises from both the Beijing cadres and their Pyongyang viceroy to wise up. We can only hope that the reality hits home without a tragedy similar to Pearl Harbor or 9/11. We must never forget: America and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

The Importance of the Hill Hack Attack

Yesterday morning, Congressmen Frank Wolf and Chris Smith revealed that their computers had been hacked by Communist China (Bloomberg, Voice of America, and the Washington Examiner). In Wolf's case, it was his office computers; in Smith's case, the office that was hit belonged to the Human Rights subcommittee of the House Int'l Relations Committee (Smith chaired the subcommittee when the hack attack occurred two years ago). I am pleased to say that the blogosphere has been all over this one. Fellow CFBA members Makina (Between Heaven and Earth and Boycott 2008) and Joshua (One Free Korea) pounced, and the latter's title was particularly apropos. That said, I fear the reason for the hacks has not been given the attention it deserves.

Communist China was not interested in military information, national security secrets, or industrial espionage targets (although it's fairly clear from this that anyone who is interested in such things may have a much easier time lifting them from the legislative branch than the executive one). They wanted information on exiled dissidents here in the U.S. Take a look at the consequence Wolf discussed (VOA):

Pressed on the extent to which individuals were compromised by the attack or placed in jeopardy, Wolf had this response: "Yes, they [China] have sent public security police to an individual in Fairfax County [Virginia]," he said. "They photographed her house. She was wise enough to get their license plate. I had the FBI run the license plate, and yes they were Chinese officials in Fairfax County."

In other words, the hacking was part of the overarching Communist plot to silence and intimidate anti-Communist exiles outside Communist China - part and parcel with the espionage/intimidation network exposed in Canada three years ago and the ongoing Battle of Flushing between Falun Gong practitioners and Communist-instigated mobs (the Epoch Times has the latest from "the front").

With this new (or, to be more precise, more recently revealed) reality in mind, we can come to certain conclusions:

1. The Chinese Communist Party clearly considers exiled dissidents to be a threat at least on par with the United States or any other major power - and perhaps the regime sees the exiles as a greater threat.
2. Given that both American political party establishments are drinking the "engagement" Kool-Aid, it must be the reaction at home to these exiles that bothers the regime so much (in particular the contradictions between the image the Party projects and the brutal reality - see the Epoch Times, Newsmax, and the Washington Times for more on this).
3. If the cadres are this determined to keep tabs on Chinese dissident exiled across the ocean, what are they doing in the island democracy just across the Formosa Strait (something the leaders of said island democracy might want to keep in mind as they resume talks with the cadres - CNN, Central News Agency via Epoch Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times)?

The larger point is this: for the Chinese Communist Party, the only concern is maintaining power. Nothing else - not China's national interest, not regional harmony, not the wishes of the Chinese people - matters to them. Whatever is an obstacle - as large as the United States and as small as dissidents who seek shelter there - must be watched, restricted, contained, and eventually neutralized.

This is something we must keep in mind whenever the regime tries its heavy hand abroad (say, Tibet - AAP via Epoch Times and Washington Times), refuses to abandon unsavory or dangerous anti-American regimes (Sudan - Washington Post - or North Korea - BBC and the Washington Times). These aren't strange one-offs, or remnant policies from the past that "reformers" can't quite shake. These are the deliberate actions of a regime that does not care what rules, ethics, or people it must violate in order to survive.

The regime's determination to silence exiles in democratic nations should be a warning to all of us: America and her democratic allies will never be secure until China is free.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Whither the Olympics (and other News of the Day)?

The devastating Sichuan quake took many eyes off the upcoming Olympics in Beijing this summer. At first, that was a welcome thing for the cadres, who took in the world's sympathy and offers for help (not that they actually accepted the latter, but I digress). Over time, as it became clear many of the casualties came not from the earthquake itself but the shoddy school construction due to corrupt cadres, the bloom came off the rose. This is especially true for those of us in the United States who saw the horrifying attempts by Communist-instigated mobs to silence the people of the Flushing neighborhood in New York City.

Still, even at its worst (so far), the earthquake aftermath has diverted attention from the upcoming Communist Olympiad. As August approaches, I suspect that will change.

What this means for the Communists is fairly simple - they want a propaganda bonanza, and they're determined to get it. Already, the Committee to Protect Journalists is sounding the alarm about Olympic censorship (Boycott 2008), but I sincerely doubt that MSM will raise such a stink and risk losing access. Several Olympic committees outside Communist China attempted to order their own athletes silenced, only relenting after intense pressure at home (for one example, see the New Zealand Herald, via Boycott 2008).

So, for August of 2008 anyway, this will be fantastic for the Communists. What it will mean for the Chinese people is much less clear.

I have never subscribed to the notion that the Olympics can be a catalyst for change. The supposed model for this thinking (South Korea 1988) is full of holes, and the other two Olympiads which bear resemblance (Berlin 1936 and Moscow 1980) did what they were supposed to do for the home tyrants. Already, the cadres are making sure the lockdown on the locals is firmly in place (Between Heaven and Earth).

What makes me less than completely pessimistic is what will likely come to light after the Games.

Beijing has been on a mass construction binge to accommodate the demands of the Summer Olympics. Already, the city has witnessed arbitrary land seizures normally reserved for the rural interior (where cadres can turn ordinary peasant farmland into useless industrial complexes with the kickbacks a member of the Chinese Communist Party can come to expect in life). To date, however, there hasn't been a lot of talk about corruption within the building spree. I don't expect that silence to last much into September (let alone 2009).

Why am I so certain? The CCP is not just a corrupt and totalitarian dictatorship; it is also a home for several factions (large and small) to compete against each other for power and money. In some respects, it closely resembles the American Mafia's "Commission" - the organization set up by Lucky Luciano to bring the Mafia families together to settle disputes and map out strategy. While all factions within the CCP are loyal to the CCP itself (the regime is, after all, the source of their riches), there is no such loyalty to other factions within.

Thus, anyone from the remnants of Jiang Zemin's faction is sure to find their "Olympic errors" exposed within weeks of the closing ceremonies. Meanwhile, said remnants are by now sure to find some of Hu Jintao's cronies with their hands "in the cookie jar."

A project with this much to do and this little time to do it ends up with cost overruns just due to human error under the best of circumstances - and the CCP running the show is about as far removed from optimal as one can get. I'm suspecting the graft on this is titanic.

So could the effect of it be. Corruption is the political weak link in the chains the Communists have placed on their own people. Before now, the average citizen of Communist China could console himself or herself with the notion that only local-level cadres were corrupt - or, to be more accurate, that the corruption of high-level cadres was done discreetly enough for no one to notice it. However, if the Olympics, the one event that has supposedly brought all Chinese together in pride, is found instead as a symbol of the embarrassing graft and incompetence that killed so many in Sichuan, opinion of the Games could turn on a dime.

The only rationale the Communist regime has left for denying freedom to the Chinese people was the notion that only the CCP could protect Chinese pride in a dangerous world. If the above comes to fruition, that logic will not merely be debunked; it will be made laughable. The Chinese people would then have no reason not to demand their country back from the cadres who have imprisoned them for so long. The Communists can't afford to have that happen, but their thirst for ill-gotten gains and rampant factionalism may make it inevitable.

If so, then perhaps the Olympics really will become an agent of change - only it won't be an intended and gradual change, but rather an accidental, ironic, and revolutionary one.

Meanwhile, here's what else made the news today.

Taiwan diplomats in Communist China: Formal talks between the island democracy and the Communist regime are set to resume in earnest tomorrow (BBC).

Dalai Lama in Australia: Tibet's spiritual leader will spend five days Down Under, and will meet acting Prime Minister Chris Evans (BBC and Epoch Times). Green Party leader Bob Brown hopes Prime Minister Rudd will also meet the Dalai Lame when he (Rudd) returns from Japan (AAP via Epoch Times).

South Korean kidnapped by Stalinist regime over three decades ago flees to Communist China: Yun Jong-su, who was a South Korean fisherman until Stalinist North Korea kidnapped him in 1975, "is said to have escaped from North Korea into China in May, taking refuge at the South Korean consulate in the Chinese city of Shenyang" (BBC). Sadly, the news is not all good: "Mr Yun fears his wife and daughter - who he had hoped would follow him - have been arrested since his escape."

More news on “another Chinese province”: The Stalinists refuse South Korean corn, criticized American beef, and are getting Filipinos hooked on meth; One Free Korea covers it all.

News of the Day (June 10)

How power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely: The Washington Post chronicles the rise and fall of a local party boss.

Quake aftermath news: The cadres put on a good face for the people (Washington Post) but the cold reality in Juyuan Town cannot be ignore (Epoch Times).

More Congressmen condemn the Battle of Flushing: Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) and Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) pledge to take action to protect New Yorkers from pro-Communist mobs (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, Chen Yonglin talks about how the Communist use "local Chinese mafias" (Epoch Times) abroad to impoes their will on overseas ethnic Chinese.

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: The Communists' colonization of Africa catches the attention of the Council on Foreign Relations (Washington Post); Andre Chang (UPI via Space War) examines the latest generation of Communist missiles aimed at Taiwan.

News on “another Chinese province” (all links from One Free Korea): Northern Koreans are dying from starvation and disease, and they're getting angrier about it. Meanwhile, the regime is so short of food that it's ordering soldiers to send their families home (which is sure to only add fuel to the fire). Luckily for Kim Jong-il, whatever conflagration may come could be stalled by another American foolishly feting him.

News of the Weekend (June 7-9)

The Battle of Flushing gets worldwide attention: The collusion of the Communist Chinese diplomatic corps and pro-Communist mobs in New York City continued over the weekend (Epoch Times), and was noticed as far away as New Zealand (Epoch Times). Things seemed to simmer down (Epoch Times), but the memories of the mob have been scarred into the psyche of New Yorkers (Epoch Times, Epoch Times again). The Communists, of course, are using the incident for more lies and propaganda (Epoch Times).

More on the Long Arm of Lawlessness: The Battle of Flushing is reenacted in Poland (Epoch Times); an Epoch Times reporter resurfaces after being detained in Russia.

Enlightened Comment of the Day: The editors of the Washington Post take the crown for warning against American firms which "sell tools of repression to authoritarian regimes abroad," especially in Communist China.

International Olympic Committee grows more worried about Beijing 2008, although given the IOC's recent behavior, they'll likely blame "athletes who choose to speak out against the Chinese regime" (Guardian, UK, via Boycott 2008).

Tibetan monks leave temple to avoid "patriotic education campaign", which in the rest of the world is known as brainwashing (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times).

Remembering Tiananmen: Members of Congress and Polish anti-Communists commemorate the victims of the massacre (Epoch Times).

Quake aftermath - another shoddy building exposed and more arrests made: As a middle school that collapsed in Sichuan was found to be substandard (Radio Free China via Epoch Times, protesters calling on the regime to hold itself accountable are hauled off to jail (Epoch Times).

Other news from inside Communist China: Toymakers are still below safety standards (BBC); the regime is moving back to the planned economy (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times).

News on “another Chinese province”: The reauthorization of the North Korea Human Rights Act passes the House of Representatives on a voice vote (One Free Korea); the latest famine is so widespread that "more and more people will not believe in the Party’s directions or policies because of their continued deception" (OFK).

News of the Day (June 6)

More on the United States helping Communist China repress its people for the Olympics: The Washington Times both continues its investigation and rails against the Administration for compromising American security and making it easier for the cadres to crackdown on dissidents.

More on the Olympics: Marni Soupcoff (National Post, Canada) finds more reasons that the cadres should not be enjoying this propaganda bonanza (h/t Boycott 2008).

Anti-Communist Congressmen rip the regime for the Battle of Flushing: Congressman Tom Tancredo and Dana Rohrbacher demanded the Bush Administration hold Communist China to account for instigating the pro-Communist mobs in New York City (Boycott 2008). Meanwhile, the cadres' floozies are have resorted to smearing the NYPD (Epoch Times).

NASA official says Communist China could get to the moon in ten years, which would be about two years before the United States plans to send another expedition there (Kansas City Star).

Communist Ambassador to the U.S. talks to the Washington Times: Zhou Wenzhong discussed Taiwan and America's presence in Asia with nice, soothing words (the deeds are, of course, not his bailiwick).

Tibetan monks arrested in "bomb" plot: Here we go again (CNN and Washington Post).

As Communist crackdown on quake reaction continues, victims' parents are fighting back: The parents of the Sichuan quake victims "are beginning to mount organized efforts to seek redress for the collapse of schools during last month's earthquake" (Washington Post), in the Post understates as "a potent challenge to the government." Meanwhile, likely in reaction to the parents' determination to get to the truth, the regime is reversing course on all that media openness that won it such praise last month (Los Angeles Times via Boycott 2008); first on the list of unmentionable topics - "questions about school construction." I wonder why.

Remembering Tiananmen: Jonathan Mirsky, who was covering the Tiananmen protest for the London Observer talks to the Epoch Times about what he saw on that bloody day in June.

Japan- SNK talks to be held in Beijing: They will be the first talks between Japan and the Stalinists in almost a year (BBC).