News of the Day (April 9)

How can you wage a “war” on terror on people who are not terrorists? That is the question the Taipei Times asks regarding Communist China's brutal occupation of East Turkestan (h/t Uyghur American Association).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: John Noonan edges past the above link with his excellent commentary on the need to build up the U.S. Navy and Air Force to meet the Communist threat (Weekly Standard Blog).

Other Runners-up: Congressman Dana Rohrbacher calls for an Olympic Boycott in USA Today (h/t Boycott 2008) and Andy McSmith has an illuminating historical review of the Olympic flame (Independent, UK).

Australian Prime Minister criticizes Communist treatment of Tibet - in Beijing: Kevin Rudd, not previously known for being tough on Communist China, told a Beijing University audience that the regime had to address the "significant human rights problem in Tibet" (AAP via Epoch Times). The cadres were not happy. Several U.S. Senators also called for an end to the repression (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, in Tibet itself, monks crashed a Communist propaganda tour in Xiahe (Below the Beltway).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Joan Chen takes the prize with an awful Washington Post column on the Communist Olympiad, nudging out James Dorn, who continued to ignore national security in the Washington Times.

Irish athletes face Olympic gag order, but the Olympic Council of Ireland says athletes could still boycott the opening ceremony by saying they are "training" (Independent, Ire., via Boycott 2008). How nice.

As the Games approach, the cadres get tougher on dissidents: The Washington Post details the treatment of Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong; Hu Jia's house is now off limits to anyone not approve by Communist police - even though he is already in jail (Epoch Times).

More Olympic news: As protesters in Paris celebrate their success (BBC), relay organizers in San Francisco - who already shortened the route (Epoch Times) - consider change it again (Washington Post). Australians prepare for their own protests against the torch (AAP via Epoch Times). President Bush's spokesperson bobs and weaves when asked about the Games (World Net Daily). Steve Janke recommends sending Jason Kenney. The German press comment on Europe's Olympic torch debacle (Der Spiegel), while Communist China basically asks for more (BBC). Finally, more than two-thirds of Americans say award the Games to Communist China was a mistake (One Free Korea).

Anti-Stalinist party wins South Korean legislative elections: Building on the victory of Lee Myung-Bak, the Grand National Party unseated ex-President Roh Moo-hyun's dovish allies in the legislature (BBC).

News of the Day (April 8)

"Terror" raid in occupied East Turkestan is "news to residents": A supposed Communist raid against terrorists in the Happiness Garden apartments of Urumqi, East Turkestan never actually happened, according to residents interviewed by Agence France Presse (h/t Uyghur American Association). Tellingly, even an ethnic Chinese apartment dweller contradicted the Communist account (local police refused to talk to AFP). Still, the phantom terror raid was a wonderful excuse to crack down on Uighurs in both occupied East Turkestan and China proper (Wall Street Journal via UAA).

As for actual terrorists, the cadres gave Iranian nuclear info to change the subject from Tibet: The cadres apparently decided that admitting to helping Iran become a nuclear power would get them better publicity than the Tibetan bloodshed (Epoch Times). Sadly, it actually worked for a few days - to this day, no one has called the Communists to account for their long-time alliance with the mullahcracy. Meanwhile, said mullahcracy is charging ahead with their nuclear ambitions (Bloomberg).

Communist China is helping its colonial Korean regime avoid U.S. and UN sanctions by allowing Stalinist firms to due business in Communist China - even setting up accounts in Communist Chinese currency for them. One Free Korea explains how this basically makes any international sanction against Stalinist North Korea's nuclear ambitions utterly useless.

Other news on "another Chinese province": Christopher Hill has more talks with the Stalinists, and more happy words after (BBC); James Zumwalt praises South Korea for standing up to the Stalinist North (Washington Times); and the Stalinists resort to public executions - again - to terrify the populace (OFK).

More espionage arrests: Chao Tai Wei and Guo Zhiyong were charged with trying to ship hi-tech, dual-use cameras to Communist China (Newsmax).

Okinawa furthers Japan's claim to the Senkaku islands with a goat cull, of all things (Weekly Standard Blog).

Protesters force Olympic torch relay in Paris to shut down: In a further sign of the deep revulsion to the Communist Olympiad, anti-Communist protesters in Paris were so numerous that the torch route had to be shortened (BBC, Boycott 2008, and Sky News). The Int'l Olympic Committee is even considering dropping the entire international part of the relay (Times of London - h/t Andrew Stuttaford), but Communist China insisted the spectacle must go on (BBC and CNN). Meanwhile, the presence of Communist Chinese "security" during the British leg of the relay angered many Brits, including 2012 Olympic organizer Sebastian Coe (Curly's Corner Shop and Epoch Times).

Will Canada stay home? That is still a possibility, according to CTV. Edward Greenspan (Toronto Sun) and Steve Janke support the idea; Johann Hari (Independent, UK via Boycott 2008) and apparently, President Bush (World Net Daily), do not.

More Olympic news: As the torch reached San Francisco overnight (Washington Post), politicians across the spectrum called on President Bush not to attend the opening ceremony - Senator Hillary Clinton (Jim Geragthy) for the Democrats, and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (Human Events) for the Republicans.

Leading lawyers in Communist China offer to help Tibetan detainees: Eighteen lawyers have signed on so far. One of them, Wen Haibo, explained his motives to the Epoch Times, "We believe Tibetans may encounter greater cultural and legal difficulties. With these considerations in my mind, I feel, as a lawyer, I have the obligation to provide some free legal assistance to them." Thus is Shakespeare refuted.

More on Tibet: The Dalai Lama takes (rhetorical) aim at the propagandists in Beijing (National Post, Can.), as does Sushil Seth in the Taipei Times (h/t Boycott 2008).

Daughter of "Taiwanese spy" says her father "could have been forced to confess": Ran Chen is trying to save her father's life (BBC). Wo Weihan was convicted of being a Taiwanese spy, but her daughter is certain he is innocent, and "has not received a fair trial."

News of the Weekend (April 5-7)

Communist police kill more Tibetans: At least eight Tibetans were murdered by Communist police for the crime of marching peacefully and calling for the release of two arrested monks (Times of London).

Pro-Tibet protesters wreak havoc on Olympic torch procession: Nearly three dozen Britons were arrested for trying to halt the procession (BBC, Epoch Times and Daily Telegraph). As the Olympic torch crossed the channel into France, authorities chose "to twice extinguish the flame and put the torch on a bus" (CNN).

"Many politicians have still not come to terms with China, the terror state" - these were the words of British Conservative MEP Edward MacMillan-Scott, who penned Enlightened Comment of the Weekend in the Guardian (via Boycott 2008). A close second were the editors of the Washington Post.

More Olympic news: The Washington Post reprints the letter that got co-author Hu Jia jailed (h/t Boycott 2008). The head of the Int'l Olympic Committee finally spoke out on the bloodshed in Tibet (BBC). Australian PM Kevin Rudd insists he won't boycott the Beijing Games, but he won't say for certain if he will attend (AAP via Epoch Times). Human rights activists mount an anti-Communist Olympic campaign in New Zealand (Stuff NZ via Boycott 2008). Finally, Rebecca Novick (Huffington Post via Boycott 2008) examines how the Communists' great propaganda coup has gone horribly wrong.

More Tibet and East Turkestan news: Communist police are now seizing ceremonial swords and knives held by Tibetans in order to frame them for the recent "riots" (Epoch Times); Sethu Das, founder of Friends of Tibet, and Tsepak Rigzin, from Atlanta's Drepung Loseling Monastery, speak to the Epoch Times about their journeys in support for the Tibetan cause. Meanwhile, many analysts believe the problem for the Communists has only gotten worse with the spread of protests to occupied East Turkestan (Inter-Press Service via Uyghur American Association and Time via UAA).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: The CBC is upset at being blocked by Communist China. The United States and the European Union join forces to "persuade Chinese toy-makers to improve the safety of their products" (BBC). A French utility company get fleeced by the Communist-run Chongqing Water Group (BBC). New Zealand signs a free-trade deal with Communist China (BBC), even as the Long Arm of Lawlessness wreaks havoc in Auckland (Epoch Times).

Another tale of Communist persecution, this one comes from Gong Yu, the seven-year-old daughter of a prisoner in a Communist labor camp (Epoch Times).

Zimbabwe dictator clings to power: Communist China's best friend in Africa is getting ready to pull out all the stops to stay right where he is, the will of the voters be damned (Washington Post).

News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): One Free Korea compares Japanese and Communist Chinese colonization of Korea (albeit without that actual term), and finds the latter to be far worse. Meanwhile, the Washington Post re-tells the strange tale of Charles Robert Jenkins.

Why Zimbabwe matters

If there is one place that has ridden the Zeitgeist in the early 21st century, it is Africa. From the bleeding of Darfur to the crippling weight of debt burdens built by kleptocratic dictators, the continent's suffering has been a literal cause celebre for years. Yet now, at a time when one African nation in particular (Zimbabwe) needs it more than any other, there is a shocking and painful silence. I would humbly submit, however, that Zimbabwe is more important than Sudan, the Congo, or anywhere else on the African continent.

For those unaware, this has come to a head last month because, for the first time since a constitutional referendum eight years ago, Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe lost control of the election process, and his party was actually defeated in Parliament. It is widely believed that he finished second in the presidential election as well, although it's in dispute whether a run-off is required. At first, it appeared Mugabe might actually step aside. Now, it's becoming clearer he is playing for time (BBC) as he arrests journalists (Committee to Protect Journalists), ransacks the offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (Guardian, UK), and hoping that the world will become exhausted and relent before he does.

So why does this matter? Why is Zimbabwe so important? Why must Robert Mugabe go?

Mugabe does not survive because of the support of his people. He has already stolen two elections this decade, and clearly has his eye on a third. The force that keeps him in power is his foreign ally - the only true friend he has - Communist China.

I've explained before what Zimbabwe means to the Communists, but suffice to say, Robert Mugabe is Exhibit No. 1 to terrorists and tyrants everywhere of just what Communist China can do for them. Beijing has helped Mugabe build up his military, block opposition radio transmissions, and take advantage of oceans of "investment" money. In exchange, the Communists get two things: the best of the Zimbabwean economy, and an enthusiastic salesman for them around the world (all is discussed in detail in the above link).

Should Mugabe survive, he will remain a symbol to all other tyrants that the West can be resisted, especially with the aid of the Chinese Communist Party. All other anti-American thugs - including many of the enemies we face in the War on Terror (or as I call it, the Wahhabist-Ba'athist-Khomeinist War) - will take notice, and be drawn even further into Communist China's orbit. This holds especially true of the Khomeinist mullahs who imprison the Iranian people and Kim Jong-il.

From the narrow perspective of the War on Terror (WBK War), Zimbabwe is peripheral. From the broader perspective - one that recognizes we are in fact in a nearly two-decade long cold war with Communist China - Zimbabwe is a central battleground. We must give it the importance it deserves.

Does that require military action? I don't believe so, at least not yet. However, we must make clear a few things. First of all, that we will honor the true election results - meaning that if Mugabe succeeds in stealing another election, we will recognize only Morgan Tsvingirai as the true leader of Zimbabwe. Second, we should also make clear to the rest of Africa that we expect them to follow suit (support for Tsvingirai and the MDC could be an excellent condition for the debt relief that so many of these nations want and need). Finally, if the MDC needs help, we should come to its aid as we came to the aid of Solidarity in the 1980s and the Serbian opposition to Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s.

If we do this, can we also send a message of our own - a message to every other tyrant who relies on Communist China to survive: namely, that we will do whatever we can to help their own people take their country back. However, we must not only do this for Communist China's allies and satellites; we must do it for China itself. Without the CCP, tyranny around the world would suffer a crushing blow, one from which several tyrants - including Mugabe, if he still lives, or his successor, if he doesn't - would not recover.

Victory in the War on Terror, and the larger Cold War of which it is a part, cannot be achieved in Harare, or Tehran, or Baghdad, or Kandahar, or even in the mountains of western Pakistan. Victory will come - and can only come - in Beijing. America and her allies will never be secure until China is free - and that day will be much closer if we can help the people of Zimbabwe free themselves from their Communist-supported tyrant.

Eight years on . . .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

News of the Day (April 4)

Details of Communist support for Iran's nuclear weapons program comes to light: Among the documents Communist China just happened to have for the Int'l Atomic Energy Agency were "blueprints for 'shaping' uranium metal into warheads, the testing of high explosives used to detonate radioactive material and the procurement of dual-use technology." Yet even the London Telegraph (source for the quote) couldn't bring itself to admit that these documents meant detailed Communist support for the mullahcracy's nuclear ambitions. That said, at the paper acknowledged the regime's long-time alliance with Iran.

Stalinist North Korea to beg Communist China for "massive" food aid: Desperate to stave off food protests, prying eyes from South Korea, and famine (in that order), the Stalinists will go hat in hand to their colonial masters to bail them out again, according to One Free Korea (more SNK news at the end of this post).

Leading retired U.S. flag officers "seem more afraid of The Washington Times" than the CCP: That was the jaw-droppping but accurate conclusion of Gabe Schoenfeld, senior editor of Commentary, upon hearing that several retired generals and admirals have decided to "provide a counterpoint to the current writing about China's military, for example that of Bill Gertz of The Washington Times" (which was the source for the story and the Schonfeld quote, which in its entirety was as follows:

I was struck that American generals singled out Bill Gertz as someone they needed to answer. It seemed remarkable that in a joint document with Chinese generals, these Americans seem more afraid of The Washington Times than the People's Liberation Army. It left me puzzled, perplexed.

You're not alone on that one, Mr. Schonfeld.

Enlightened Comment(s) of the Day: I officially have a new favorite paper - the Washington Examiner. Its editors responded to the Chi Mak case and other Communist saber-rattling brilliantly: "Such aggressiveness requires a no-nonsense response that sends an unmistakable message of firmness to China. A U.S. boycott of the Olympics in Beijing along with the European Union would be an excellent amplifier" (emphasis added). In a strong second came retired Admiral James Lyons, who set out a military blueprint for countering the regime's plans to "to become the dominant player in the Western Pacific and force our allies to sever their relationship with the U.S. and seek accommodation/subjugation to the People's Republic of China" (Washington Times).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (CNN) and Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier (Agence France Presse) criticize the jailing of Hu Jia. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made clear he would not attend the Beijing Olympics (Epoch Times), but he did plan to send an envoy, for now (CTV).

Communist regime orders an intensified pre-Olympic crackdown: The cadres are calling on every security force under their command to increasing domestic spying and come down like a ton of bricks an anyone not spouting the CCP line (the terrifying Bill Gertz, Washington Times).

New protests in Tibet: Yes, I called them protests; I refuse to call them "riots" until the cadres answer the now multiple accounts of them staging the violence (Asianews) and allow outside media to get a look for themselves, which they still can't (BBC). Meanwhile, an American Congressman floats the idea of a U.S. envoy in Tibet (Washington Times); the government in exile responds to the cadres' suicide-bomber charges (CNA via Epoch Times); younger Tibetans share their frustrations with Jason Motlagh (Washington Times); and Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad shows his solidarity with Hu Jintao (National Review Online).

East Turkestan news: The Communists are using home invasions to find and silence anti-Communist Uighurs (Radio Free Asia via Uyghur American Association); Rebiya Kadeer talks to Newsweek (also via UAA); and Dru Gladney of the Pacific Basin Institute debunks the Communists' attempt to link all dissent in the occupied nation to terrorism (Monsters and Critics via UAA).

As promised, more news on "another Chinese province": One Free Korea catches the Stalinists making arms deals in violation of Security Council directives and posits some questions for Ambassador-designate Kathleen Stephens in these respective posts. Meanwhile, John Sudworth (BBC) talks to some Koreans who are ready to risk life and limb to get out the truth about the Stalinist North.

News of the Day (April 3)

Suddenly, Communist China comes clean about its alliance with Iran: Of course, that wasn't what any of the headlines for this Associated Press report (via Newsmax) - and in fact, the AP writer himself missed the point. Instead, the regime's presentation of "intelligence linked to Tehran's alleged attempts to make nuclear arms" is being spun as a sign of "growing international unease over Iran's atomic agenda." It would be nice if more Americans were wondering why Communist China continued (and, in fact, continues) to stand with the Iran mullahcracy while coming clean only when it can maximize international praise and avoid well-deserved outrage. As for the mullahs' reaction, they are still applying to become a full-fledged de jure Communist ally, which speaks volumes about the actual relationship between Beijing and Tehran (Washington Times).

Communist spy sent into U.S. twenty years before he was activated: Chi Mak, the Communist spy busted two years ago and sentenced to more than two dozen years in prison, "acknowledged that he had been placed in the United States more than 20 years earlier, in order to burrow into the defense-industrial establishment to steal secrets" (Counterintelligence Chief Joel Brenner to the Washington Post, emphasis added). Chi is just one of a slew of Communist sleeper agents who in some cases have been here, in active and passive roles, for nearly thirty years.

More on Communist China and the United States: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen visits Beijing, holds the usual meetings, and spouts the usual boilerplate (BBC).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Canadian blogger Ezra Levant discusses on the slew of pro-Communist commenters who show up whenever he criticized the regime.

With Olympics on the horizon, Communist China's behavior is getting worse: Amnesty Int'l has found that the cadres' "bid to portray a stable and harmonious image ahead of the Games in August" (BBC) has led to more arrests and torture, not less (AAP via Epoch Times). One such example is drummer and Falun Gong practitioner Yu Zhou, one of more than 100 who died while in Communist police custody this year alone (Epoch Times). Sadly, some leaders, such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (BBC) are still missing the point.

The latest from Tibet: Paul Danahar, Asia bureau chief for the BBC, discusses the challenges of trying to get the truth out of Tibet. Foreign diplomats who were actually in Tibet had the same problem, since they "were prohibited by China from having any independent contact with locals - those imprisoned after the protests or even those on the street" (Globe and Mail via Uyghur American Association). Ren Baiming (Epoch Times) examines the deplorable performance of the Communist media. Meanwhile, Ho Qinglian (Huaxia Electronic News via Epoch Times) details how the cadres' brutal policies in Tibet have failed.

The latest from East Turkestan: The protests in Khotan reached the rest of the media, albeit with plenty of Communist spin (Guardian via UAA, Wall Street Journal via UAA, and the Washington Post, more balanced versions from the BBC and the Taiwanese Central News Agency via Epoch Times). One hopeful sign - the CNA actually referred to East Turkestan by its proper name.

"Herein lies the problem: the darkness of tyranny fears the light of freedom": Those were the words of Zhang Tianliang; in fact, they were at the center of his argument that it is the Communists who are deathly afraid of reunification with democratic Taiwan (Epoch Times). While I am unconvinced (Zhang left out the possibility of military conquest), it is a compelling piece.

Hu Jia jailed for more than three years: What was his crime, you ask? According to the cadres, it was "inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system" (BBC) - in other words, highlighting the Communists' human rights abuses, including its abhorrent treatment of AIDS patients who were infected during the regime's unhygienic blood drives of the 1980s (sixth, eleventh, twenty-first, seventeenth, second, ninth, and tenth items). Hu's lawyer was furious - and said so (BBC) - ensuring he'll be joining Hu in prison at some point.

On the state of the workers in the workers' state: Pilots forced to sign "99-year deals with state-owned airlines which force them to pay up to 2.1 million yuan ($300,000; £150,000) if they quit" (BBC) have responded with an airline version of "blue flu." Lest anyone forget, independent labor unions are banned in Communist China.

News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): The Stalinists ratchet up their war of words with the democratic South (CNN and the Washington Times), including an accusation of naval incursions (BBC); South Korea's government asked the regime, in effect, to cut it out (CNN). Meanwhile, Christopher Hill is expecting the Stalinists to move the nuclear talks forward "in the next few days" (BBC), although One Free Korea thinks this Hill is just "expressing impatience" (I agree). OFK also reminds us that Kim Jong-il has not shut down his counterfeiting operations.

News of the Overnight (April 1-2)

Pentagon official admits to espionage role: Gregg Bergersen pleaded guilty to "conspiracy to disclose national defence information 'to persons not entitled to receive it'" (BBC). Bergersen handed over information on Taiwanese defenses, but the island democracy has said the spy ring "had not compromised key technology."

Bleeding Tibet continues to shadow upcoming Olympics: A pro-Tibetan Indian athlete refuses to carry the Olympic torch (BBC). Rebiya Kadeer compares the Olympic ideal with the Communist reality (Washington Post), as does Trudy Rubin (Dallas Morning News via Uyghur American Association).

More Olympic news: The International Olympic Committee asks the cadres to lift their internet crackdown (BBC and Below the Beltway). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls on President Bush to "consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games in Beijing" (CNN), as do pro-Tibet protesters in the nation's capital (Washington Post).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: Matthew Claxton (Chilliwack Times via UAA) wins the honor by emphasizing the main point of the Tibetan crackdown - "The primary victims of the Chinese government are the people who live inside its borders, whether Tibetan, Uighur or Han Chinese."

More Tibet news: Desperate to turn aside the public relations wave against them, the Communists now claim Tibetans are becoming suicide bombers - with no evidence, of course (BBC and CNN). At least one Tibetan monk dies under siege by Communist police (Epoch Times). Los Angelenos protest the crackdown (Epoch Times). India's government goes very wobbly on Tibet (BBC) - although the opposition doesn't (Washington Post) - while Nepal continues slavishly following the Communist line (CNN). Michael Richardson (New Zealand Herald via UAA). Tibetans in Canada call for the Communist TV station to be taken off the air there (Epoch Times).

One country, one-and-a-half systems rolls on: Li Zhen (Epoch Times) examines how the Hong Kong press is starting to fall into line with the Communists.

More on Communist media suppression: Not even foreign press were immune, as was evidenced in the detailed screening the cadres implemented for its little Tibet tour last week (Epoch Times).

Protests spread to occupied East Turkestan: Following the death of Mutallip Hajim - in a Communist prison cell - and orders from the cadres to the family "to bury him immediately and inform no one of his death" (Radio Free Asia via UAA), Uighurs took to the streets with autonomy demands similar to Tibetans, plus a call for the Communist regime to "release all political prisoners."

Corruption news: The trial of ex-Shanghai boss Chen Liangyu was held in secret last week, turning the Jiang Zemin crony into the latest (and one of the least likely) human rights causes (Epoch Times).

U.S. provides Stalinists with list of the regime's nuclear personnel who were in Syria: While it might help convince the rest of the world that the Stalinists were helping Syria's Bashar Assad become a nuclear power, but One Free Korea is right to wonder why this information is too dangerous for Congress.

More news on "another Chinese province": The Stalinists continue to blast South Korea's new president (BBC). One Free Korea explains why the would-be American Ambassador to South Korea - Kathleen Stephens - is not the should-be Ambassador. OFK also rips Glenn Kessler and highlights the stories of defectors from northern Korea running for office in the South.

News of the Weekend (March 29-31)

Tibetans "refused to be cowed": The quoted phrase comes from One Free Korea in his description of the return of protests to Tibet just as the Communists were presenting Lhasa as a quite place (Washington Post). The Dalai Lama asked for dialogue (CNN). Meanwhile, the Communists are hoping that Nepal's pliant reaction (BBC) can be repeated in India (BBC), because in the rest of the world, the cadres are taking it on the chin (Macleans, Macleans again in the Enlightened Comment of the Weekend, San Francisco Chronicle via Uyghur American Association, and the Washington Post). Even inside Communist China, the stoked-up nationalism of those kept ignorant by the CCP (Int'l Herald Tribune) is being challenged by leading dissidents (Wall Street Journal via UAA).

Ignorant Comment of the Weekend: The dubious honor goes to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband for his idiotic comments on the Olympics - ". . . if you care about human rights in China, the last thing you want is to have the Olympic games spoilt or broken" (BBC). Jim Hage (Washington Post) comes a close second.

More on the Communist Olympiad: Miliband does not speak for the rest of Europe, as Ulf Gartzke notes (Weekly Standard Blog). A possible partial American boycott is discussed (Boycott 2008). Meanwhile, the Olympic torch reaches Beijing (BBC and the Washington Post).

Pro-Communist rally in Toronto gets nasty: Americans see this all the time - a "peaceful" rally turns hateful and ugly just because the opposing side dared show up to counter-protest. The pro-Communist Chinese in Canada have quickly learned all the wrong lessons from down here (Epoch Times).

More on Canada and Communist China: Geoffry York (Globe and Mail) examines Canadian magnates who are looking for blood money in Tibet. Ivan Morgan (Newfoundland Independent via Boycott 2008) calls for a threat to stay home from the Beijing Games, at the least. Makina at Boycott 2008 excerpts some Globe and Mail stories on how average Canadians "upstaged Beijing." Finally, the family of Huseyin Celil try to determine his whereabouts within the Communist prison system (CBC via UAA).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: The cadres dig their meathooks deeper in to thr American trucking market (World Net Daily). New Zealand may be about to sign a tread agreement with Communist China (Epoch Times), but that's not helping wins over many Kiwis to the Communist Olympiad (Boycott 2008). Finally, the long arm of lawlessness reaches Australia (Between Heaven and Earth and the Epoch Times) and Malaysia (BH&E and the Epoch Times).

News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): One Free Korea gauges the change in South Korea since Lee Myung Bak took over. OFK also has good news on the refugee front. LiNK establishes a training regimen for Koreans from the north preparing to rebuild after the Stalinists are forced out (OFK). The U.S. calls the Stalinists' recent missile tests "not constructive" (BBC).

News of the Day (March 28)

Witness says Communist cop disguised as Tibetan started riot: An anonymous witness told the Tibetan Government in exile that one of the "Tibetan rioters" was in fact a Communist policeman (Epoch Times):

A Chinese woman from Thailand (who prefers that her name not be used) was studying in Lhasa when the protests broke out in March. As one of her friends is a policeman, she visited him at the local police station quite often and got to know other policemen there.

After the protests on March 14, she and other foreigners were sent to the police station where she saw a man with a knife in his hand walking in with some arrested Tibetans. The man later took off the Tibetan-style clothes and put on a police uniform.

This woman was sent out of Lhasa with other foreigners the next day. When she arrived in India via Nepal, she recognized the policeman she had seen in Tibetan garb from BBC TV news and photos that the Chinese embassy had provided to the media.

Ngawang Nyendra said the witness was shocked when she saw the policeman in the BBC broadcast. She realized then that the man had disguised himself as a Tibetan in order to incite people to riot.

This isn't the first piece of evidence revealing Communist instigation of violence in Tibet; it is, however, the first time (I think) that we have an eyewitness to the cadres' actual role in all of this. Another Epoch Times piece examines the way Communist media handled the "riot," and finds compelling evidence of Communist orchestration - including the fact that thousands of Communist police were already at the scene the day before the "riots" began.

Canada rips "military crackdown" in Tibet: Canada's Minister for Democratic Reform (who also serves as House Leader - their version of a legislative Majority Leader) openly supported "the people of Tibet" and became one of the few elected officials on the planet outside Taiwan to call the Communist action a "military crackdown" (Globe and Mail). Meanwhile, Canadian blogger Ezra Levant took aim at the Communist regime's "ventriloquist puppets" in Canada.

More on Tibet: Communist China invited diplomats into the occupied nation to examine its handiwork (BBC). Joseph Klein (Front Page Magazine) focuses on lack of action at the UN. San Diegans stand with the Tibetan people (Epoch Times). Andrew Martin Fischer details the history of Communist China's occupation (Far Eastern Economic Review). Tsering Woeser (via Epoch Times) provides a running account of the last two weeks in Tibet. Tibetan teenagers protest the mass arrest by the cadre-friendly Nepal government (BBC).

Calls for Boycotting the Olympics continue to come in: Jason Lee Steorts (NRO) calls for the free world to stay home, while the editors at the Canadian National Post leave the option open (h/t Boycott 2008). Naturally, the cadres are not happy (Washington Post). Meanwhile, Congressman Frank Wolf (one of our favorites), moves to defund any political junket that would include the Communist Olympiad (Below the Beltway). Czech President Vaclav Klaus will skip the opening ceremony (ABC). Meanwhile, the IOC begs the cadres not to force the Olympics to tape delay (Financial Times, UK).

U.S. officials count 1,400 Communist missiles pointed at Taiwan: The unnamed officials based their calculation on new "intelligence assessments" (Washington Times). The number is even higher than outgoing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's estimate of 1,328.

Australian Foreign Minister insists his government is tough on Communist China, all evidence to the contrary, including the minister's own words on the Olympics (AAP via Epoch Times).

Hong Kong bans Falun Gong practitioners from entering the city: The latest example of one country, one-and-a-half systems, was noted by the HK Standard (h/t Between Heaven and Earth).

News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): It was a busy day for Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il, with a missile test (BBC and CNN) and anti-American screed (CNN).

News of the Day (March 27)

New report says Communists started the violence in Tibet: Gordon Thomas, citing sources with the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), says that members of the Communist military force, "posing as monks, triggered the riots that have left hundreds of Tibetans dead or injured" (G2 Bulletin via Epoch Times) in a move "deliberately calculated by the Beijing leadership to provide an excuse to stamp out the simmering unrest in the region." Meanwhile, several monks messed up the Communists' scripted press conference in Lhassa (BBC, CNN, and NRO - Media Blog); more Chinese intellectuals took the CCP to task for its brutality in Tibet (Epoch Times); and the Associated Press shamed itself (NRO - Media Blog).

Communist Ambassador to Canada blasts Dalai Lama - and uses Nazi propaganda for evidence: In one of the more embarassing moments in diplomatic history, Lu Shumin - Communist China's Ambassador to the United States, cited Nazi propaganda as evidence that Tibet was a violent and backward place before the cadres "liberated" it in 1950 (CBC and CTV). The farce had no real effect on Canadian public opinion (Embassy), but Communist Chinese media - aired in Canada by Rogers - amplified the nonsense (Epoch Times).

East Turkestan Uighurs also suffer under Communist China's thumb: Rebiya Kadeer discussed the plight of her people to the Toronto Star.

More calls for an Olympic Boycott: Blogger Rojas of the Crossed Pond (h/t Below the Beltway) adds his voice to the just-stay-home coalition, as does Juanita Giles (The Hook via Boycott 2008), while Human Rights Without Frontiers (h/t Boycott 2008) and Father Raymond J. de Souza (via Boycott again) call for a more limited boycott. The Belgians leave both options on the table (Canadian Press), while Sally Jenkins (Washington Post) wants the Games moved (another h/t to Below the Beltway).

News on "another Chinese province" (North Korea): South Korea demanded the Stalinists come clean about their nuclear weapons program (Washington Times); the cadres responded by kicking South Koreans out of Kaesong (BBC, CNN, and the Washington Post). Meanwhile, Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il is blaming his intransigence on his military (and sadly, the Washington Post fell for it). Finally, One Free Korea comments on Kim's latest money-making scheme: "converting part of its embassy in Berlin into a (hotel)."

News of the Day (March 26)

Polish PM to skip Olympic Opening; French President may join him: Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, announced that he would not attend the opening ceremonies to the Communist Olympiad (Phayul). He may not be alone - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has left the door open to a similar snub due to the continuing bloodshed in Tibet (BBC, Below the Beltway, and Times of London).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: Step forward, editors of the Washington Post, for your terrific column on what the Beijing Olympics has not delivered: "it looks increasingly likely that the Olympics will serve to remind the world not of China's emerging greatness but of its continuing denial of freedom to its citizens, its repression of minorities and its amoral alliances with rogue states" (emphasis added). Honorable mention goes to Guy Walters of the British Daily Mail (courtesy CFBA member Makina of Boycott 2008).

Other Olympics news: Australia insists that the People's Liberation Army will not set foot on Aussie soil, Olympic torch or no Olympic torch (AAP via Epoch Times).

More Tibet news and commentary: Communist China claims that hundreds of Tibetans have given themselves up to police (BBC and the Washington Post). Nepal gets in the repression act (Fox News). A leading cadre calls for more "patriotic education" in Tibet (Washington Post). France's Foreign Minister praises the Dalai Lama (Newsmax) as does Richard Gwyn of the Toronto Star.

Whoops! U.S. ships nuclear triggers to Taiwan by mistake: Naturally, Communist China was not happy with this snfau (CNN and Washington Post); then again, as Below the Beltway notes, that alone means this wasn't a complete disaster.

More on Taiwan: William R. Hawkins, of the U.S. Business and Industrial Council, calls for the U.S. to be a better friend and ally to Taiwan in Front Page Magazine.

On the state of the workers in the workers' state: Dangerous coal-mines which had been shut down for safety reasons are up and running again (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times), while the water situation is so bad the cadres are actually going to the UN for help (Epoch Times).

Winds of change blowing in South Korea? Newly inaugrated President Lee Myung-bak publicly called on the Stalinist North to send home abductees from the South (One Free Korea), and for the first time in years, the democratic South "is set to vote for a draft UN resolution expressing deep concern over the rights violations in the North" (BBC). Even South Korea's Human Rights Commission is promsing to take a serious look at the Stalinist regime's abuses (OFK).

More news on "another Chinese province": The food situation in northern Korea is now so bad that "even in Pyongyang," theere is no food, "except for the city center, where they have been reduced to 40% or less of the normal ration" - according to sources who talked to OFK.

News of the Day (March 25)

Death toll in Tibet passes 100: The Tibetan government in exile has put the number killed by the Communists at roughly 140 (CNN). The cadres, meanwhile, are insisting its less than 20, and actually claiming most were "ethnic Han Chinese targeted by rampaging Tibetans" (same link) - Stephen Gregory, of the Epoch Times, put that nonsense to rest. The cadres also went after Western media (BBC) and Speaker Pelosi (One Free Korea).

Then again, do the Communists really have a choice? As Liu Binyan noted (h/t Jennifer Chou at the Weekly Standard Blog): "Nationalism and Han chauvinism are now the only effective instruments in the ideological arsenal of the Chinese Communist Party." Meanwhile, Tibetans in India talk about their predicament to the Washington Post, and Dennis Prager wonders why Tibet doesn't get nearly as much attention as Palestine (World Net Daily).

Steve Janke calls for an Olympic Boycott: I particularly liked the biting pun he used- "Now is the time to strike and strike hard" (emphasis added).

More on Communist Olympiad: Anne Applebaum scores Enlightened Comment of the Day honors with a concise, point-by-point, and wonderfully written takedown of the nonsensical arguments in favor of the Beijing Games:

No one involved in the preparations for this year's Olympics really believes that this is "only about the athletes," or that the Beijing Games will be an innocent display of sporting prowess, or that they bear no relation to Chinese politics. I don't see why the rest of us should believe those things, either.

Meanwhile, Yang Chunlin, who "dared to claim that human rights were more important than the Olympic games" (Boycott 2008), was sent to prison for five years. Jaime FlorCruz (CNN) examines the cadres larger exposure problems as the Games near.

Cadres lift block on BBC English, but "the firewall remains in place for Chinese language services on the website and for any links in Chinese" - which tells me this move was more for foreign consumption.

Communist spy sentenced to 24+ years in prison: Chi Mak, the Communist spy busted two years ago, will spend more than two dozen years in jail for "conspiring to export sensitive US defence technology to China" (BBC). Federal District Court Judge Cormac Carney explained his decision thusly (Bill Gertz - Washington Times): "A high-end . . . sentence will provide a strong deterrent to the [People's Republic of China] not to send its agents here to steal American military secrets." Nice to see somone is trying to send Beijing a message.

On the Taiwanese President-elect: Don Feder is quite sanguine about Ma Ying-jeou (Washington Times), while the Washington Post editors believe it is Hu Jintao who is now on the hot seat (I hope they're right; I fear they're wrong).

News on "another Chinese province" (Stalinist North Korea): One Free Korea has two examples of the continuing decay of the Kim Jong-il regime - one symbolic (the apparent end of annual Kim Il-sung celebrations), the other very, very real (reports of food protests).