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November 18, 2007 (Sunday) Issue No. 127 |
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One Incident, Two Different Reports |
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Beijing
Bans 43 Groups of People for Beijing 2008 |
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Dalai
Lama Accuses Beijing Authorities of Demographic Aggression |
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Embarrassed by Official's Open Letter Chinese leaders were embarrassed into silence when an active Chinese Communist Party official published an open letter highly critical of them, said a former newspaper reporter in China....…Full Article |
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Chinese Authorities Expand Military Power Some experts believe that China now has the military capacity to control the waters of the first chain of islands as its inland sea, and that China's next goal will be to construct an oceangoing navy, aimed at the second chain of islands and the entire western Pacific......…Full Article |
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The two reports clearly show the level of media censorship in mainland China. The Communist Party version: Taihu Mingzhu net reported—At 10:15 a.m., October 22, a homemade bomb exploded and wounded people in Wuxi. According to the investigation, Xu Guoxin, a resident in room 102, No. 38 Helie Street, Wuxi, had a dispute with neighborhood office staff regarding the termination of electricity to his home on October 21. The local Police Station quickly sent officers to handle the incident. During the dispute, the bomb that Xu was carrying exploded, seriously wounding police officer Wang and injuring Xu's right arm. They were sent to The No. 4 Wuxi Municipal People's Hospital for emergency treatment. The BBS version submitted by Nu Hai At about 10:00 a.m. October 22, 2007, a suicide bombing occurred in the demolition project office of Wanda Commercial Plaza in Wuxi. A police officer died and the bomber's right arm was blown off. Sources revealed that the bomber, Xu Guoxin, 48, and a resident at room 102, No 38 Helie Street had tried several times to prevent the pending demolition of his home by a demolition company located in Helie of the City government. The company was not willing to negotiate with Xu and even hired thugs to beat him up, which caused Xu to suffer physically and mentally. However, the Helie police station refused to investigate the beating when Xu reported it. On the morning of October 22, Xu reported to the power company electrical power to his home had been terminated. When an electrician investigated, he concluded that the electrical line had been purposefully damaged. Xu went to the demolition company, but once again he was beaten by a group of people and locked up in the company's office. Xu eventually escaped and reported what had occurred to the Helie Police Station; but again, the police refused to register the case. In his indignation, Xu returned to the demolition company office, this time carrying a homemade bomb at around 9:30 a.m. The group beat him again. Meanwhile, the company called the police. Police officer Wang Jianfeng and another civilian police officer arrived within a few minutes. When officer Wang reached for the bomb on Xu, it went off. Wang sustained severe injuries to his abdomen and Xu had lost an arm. An ambulance took 25 minutes to arrive, and transported the two injured people to the 4th Wuxi Municipal People's Hospital. The 32-year-old Wang Jianfeng died on the way to the hospital, leaving behind a 5-year-old son. According to local residents, Xu had been unstable after his girlfriend broke up with him because he was unable to get an apartment from his work unit. On the night of
October 22, the official report concealed that the incident was caused
by a pending demolition of Xu's home, and changed the "City government
demolition company" to an unspecified "neighborhood-related
department." Back On November 12, 2007, Radio Free Asia (RFA) quoted a Texas based religious group saying the Chinese Ministry of Public Securities issued an order nationwide in April. The order banned eleven categories, 43 types of people from participating in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The Texas group said the Chinese government's suppression against religious groups has intensified. RFA reported that China Aid Association, headquartered in Midland, TX, recently published a confidential document issued by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in April to other public security departments nationwide. In the document, it ordered all public security offices to conduct strict checks on everyone, in and outside of China, who participate in the Olympic Games, including members of the Olympic Committee, athletes, media, and sponsors. The document listed eleven categories (43 kinds) of "opposing individuals" including Falun Gong practitioners, religious extremists, religious infiltrators, separatists, media staff who endanger the Olympics, appellants, and people who are dissatisfied with the Chinese Communist Party. These people are not allowed to participate in Beijing 2008. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Public Security said, "It is an international convention to check the visitors during the Olympic Games." However, Dr. Wang Guanhua, professor at the University of Connecticut who specialize in sports history, said this document, unlike an international convention, clearly comes with "Beijing's style." Reverend Bob Fu of the China Aid Association told RFA that Beijing has intensified its suppression against religious groups though it's still nine months away from the Olympics. He also said that
since the document was sent out nationwide, as far as they know, over
100 overseas religious activists were expelled from China or had their
Visa's revoked by the government. "Suppressing these innocent,
peaceful groups in the name of the Olympics will result in just the
opposite effect," said Fu. Back At the 8th International Seminar on Chinese Characters in Beijing on October 30 and 31, 2007, scholars from mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan reached a consensus to standardize the font of commonly used words, mainly the traditional characters. This has put an end to the long-standing debate over simplified versus traditional Chinese characters. The seminar attracted particular attention. This was the first time the Chinese regime has officially endorsed the idea of "coexistence between simplified and traditional Chinese characters." Traditional Chinese Characters as Unified Font According to Chosun Daily , a South Korean newspaper, more than 5,000 commonly used words will be standardized mainly to traditional characters by experts. The simplified version of some rare characters will be kept if it already exists. The seminar was co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education's Language Application Research Institute and the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL). During the seminar, a plan was introduced which would expand the participating parties to Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese-speaking countries and regions. A Dictionary of Comparative Studies of Chinese Characters from the four countries was agreed to be published to uniform the fonts. It was also decided that the ninth seminar will be held in Seoul next year. The International Seminar on Chinese characters was initiated by South Korea in 1991. Its aim has been to identify the commonly used words, promote the standardization of the fonts, so as to prevent confusion between different fonts used in East Asian countries, such as the traditional characters used in South Korea and Taiwan, the simplified characters being used in mainland China, and the abbreviated words in Japan. CCP's Simplified Characters Unable To Replace Traditional Characters Dr. Zhang Tian Liang, an Epoch Times columnist, believes that mainly using traditional characters as the unified font has positive significance. A major feature of Chinese characters is the stableness of the fonts. People can still communicate within the written domain, no matter what dialect they speak. He said that this unique aspect of Chinese characters has made it easy for people to read literature from as early as the Han or even the pre-Qin Dynasty. It would cause cultural disintegration if the font changed. The Editor-in-Chief of Web Digest, Xu Shuiliang, stated that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) started working on the simplified version of Chinese characters even before it seized power. It announced the Chinese Character Simplification program in 1956, and published the "Summary of Simplified Chinese Characters" in 1964. But, the "Second Chinese Character Simplification program (draft)" failed its ratification and was forced to withdraw in 1977. Taiwan linguistic researcher and editor-in-chief of "What Ancient Prophecies Tell Us of Today," Zhang Fuzhang said that the CCP wanted to replace traditional characters with simplified ones or even Pinyin after it gained power. Its ultimate goal has been to undermine the profound spiritual connotation of traditional Chinese culture, and to cut itself off from any heritage of the traditional culture. It failed, however, due to the large number of homonyms in Chinese. In the process of promoting Chinese, people also found that the simplified characters are simply unable to replace the traditional characters. Reunification of the fonts back to the traditional form has been the general trend. As Zhang stated,
although the simplified characters have fewer strokes, they actually
undermine the rules of basic structural components of Chinese characters
and their own cultural connotation. Some of the simplified characters
even carry the opposite meaning of the originals, thus making Chinese
more difficult to learn. It's difficult for people who learn simplified
characters to understand ancient literature. Consequently, the Chinese
culture has been damaged, and the most valuable part of the culture
has been destroyed. Back NEW DELHI—On November 3, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, accused Chinese authorities of committing demographic aggression against Tibet, saying that Tibetans had been reduced to a minority in their homeland under Beijing's rule. "Every Tibetan mind lives with fear and feeling of terror," the Dalai Lama said at a gathering by religious and peace groups here to honor him for his acceptance of the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal last month, the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. Congress. "The population of (Tibetan capital) Lhasa used to be 50,000 to 60,000. Now it is 300,000, of which 200,000 are Chinese," he said, adding that Tibetans were being deprived of an opportunity to learn their native language and monasteries were being politicized under what he called a "cultural genocide." "It's quite stupid to [ask Tibetans to] criticize the Dalai Lama," he said, referring to the occasional arrests of Tibetans who refused to condemn him at monasteries. The 72-year-old Dalai Lama said, the Qinghai-Tibet railway launched last year linking Tibet to the rest of China, was being used for "exploitation of natural resources." The Dalai Lama added that he was in semi-retirement, and hoped to retire from his political role. "I am looking for complete retirement and (to) spend time on preparation of my next reincarnation," he told the gathering of diplomats, religious leaders and Tibetans. "I want to make clear: the Dalai Lama may die, (but) the Tibetan community will remain," he said to applause. The Dalai Lama expressed a wish that his authority be handed over to the Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lama has resided in Dharamsala since a failed uprising against Beijing's rule in 1959. His office has previously stated that the Tibetan leader wants to remain his position as a spiritual leader, but reduce his political responsibilities. In 1951, Beijing authorities sent its troops to "liberate" Tibet, and has violently suppressed regional revolts since then. The Dalai Lama
said that these honors of the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 have been a recognition of his efforts to
promote religious harmony and his striving for Tibetan regional autonomy.
Back Chinese leaders were embarrassed into silence when an active Chinese Communist Party official published an open letter highly critical of them, said a former newspaper reporter in China. "Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao haven't responded to the open letter Wang Zhaojun wrote them on October 22. This means they are embarrassed by it just as they are by the campaign of people quitting the CCP," commented former reporter Li Yuanlong. Hu and Wen haven't responded to the open letter in public. Li said, "Hu is very conservative and won't address the public about the letter. Hu can't really say much because if he is against what Wang said in the letter, that'll turn him against the people. Hence what Hu can do is, just like treating the campaign of people quitting the CCP, pretend nothing happened." "In my opinion, during Hu's term, it is impossible to have substantial progress in the Falun Gong issue, the June 4th Massacre, political, economic, and medical system reform," added Li, "Many people were blindly optimistic when Hu and Wen took over. I didn't think much of "Hu & Wen's new politics" at the time because they and previous leaders all come from the same dictatorial party and are all brainwashed by the same party culture. In some ways, Hu is worse than others. For example, Hu often goes to worship at the (1)"Holy land of the Communist Party." One can see he is very conservative and has no idea what the rest of the world is doing and what direction China should take. He does everything to maintain the dictatorship." Wang Possesses Characteristics of Courage and Conscience After reading Wang's open letter Li said, "Being a standing member of a Provincial Political Consultative Committee, Wang is a man of courage and conscience- he couldn't have written this letter without either. In the letter, Wang mentioned sensitive issues such as Falun Gong, the June 4th Massacre, and environmental protection." "Every year in the Political Consultative Conference, issues in Wang's letter are unlikely to be discussed at the conference. Being a member, he is truly patriotic and everything he's bottled up for years exploded. His letter won applause from so many people because everyone is suppressed under the rule of the CCP." "Culprits Who Started Suppression Against Falun Gong Should be Punished" Wang calls for the immediate stop to the suppression of Falun Gong in his open letter. He then suggests punishing those who initiated the suppression and offering victims state compensation. Li talked about his own personal experience with Falun Gong, "When I was imprisoned in the Guizhou National Security prison, an inmate told me he had personal contact with Falun Gong practitioners in the prison since 2005 and felt they are very nice and benevolent people." "During the two years I was in prison and after I was released, I can say, except for a few very muddle-headed people, most people don't have ill impressions of Falun Gong. People generally say the practitioners are kind and do not endanger society." Li continued, "Wang mentioned to punish those who started the persecution against Falun Gong, I agree. Killers should be punished by the law. Having the CCP redress Falun Gong is like letting the killer redress the one who was killed; it is absolutely of no meaning." Li is a former reporter for Bijie Daily based in Guizhou Province. Li published four articles on overseas websites and was sentenced to two years for subversion. He was released on September 24, 2007. The four articles he published are "A one-hundred-year-old man joins the CCP," "Adding the U.S. Passport to Your Thoughts," "Born Commonly and Die Pathetically," and "A Secretary Who Continues His Meeting After Being Notified of His Mother's Death." (1) The "Holy land of the Communist Party" is Yan An City in Shaanxi Province, where the CCP hid during the Sino-Japan war. It is the place where Mao consolidated his power and finally took over China. Back Chinese
Authorities Expand Military Power Back TAIPEI—According to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan's Executive Yuan 1 , between April and May of this year, the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) twice passed through the waters between the islands of Kkinawa and Miyako, through the East China Sea, to arrive in the South China Sea of the Eastern Pacific. Some experts believe that China now has the military capacity to control the waters of the first chain of islands as its inland sea, and that China's next goal will be to construct an oceangoing navy, aimed at the second chain of islands and the entire western Pacific. PLA Show of Strength The MAC official information showed that during the recent visit to mainland China of Admiral Timothy Keating, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, a Chinese military proposal was made to him to divide up the Pacific Ocean into U.S. and Chinese spheres of influence: control of the eastern Pacific region is to be given to the United States, while China would control the western Pacific. Although the proposal was refused later by General Paul V. Hester, commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, the Chinese authorities' military expansion was clearly exposed. The MAC said that in addition to the attempt to show its strength, China has actively engaged in strengthening its projected military capability: The second-generation strategic missiles include the DF-21, DF-25, DF-31, DF-41 and Great Wave-2. All of these intercontinental-range ballistic missiles can be launched by a mobile launcher, can carry nuclear warheads and are accurate. Moreover, their survival rate is high. Nuclear Threat Beyond Taiwan The DF-25 is the most advanced medium-range surface-to-surface Chinese strategic missile and PLA troops have recently been trained in its use. It has the effective range of 3,200 kilometers (almost 2000 miles). This missile can reach most of Asia, including the U.S. military base on Guam, from the Chinese mainland. The DF-25 uses the high-energy solid rocket booster, and can carry three guided nuclear warheads. It is the world's only medium-range missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads. The DF-21 has been upgraded, equipped with advanced guided missile warheads. These will be the first anti-ship ballistic missiles built by the Chinese military with the capability of attacking U.S. aircraft carriers in the Pacific. The MAC pointed out that the projected Chinese air force capability has been restricted for a long time due to the lack of large aircraft. To overcome this problem, on February 26 of this year, the Chinese State Council approved, in principle, a long-term scientific and technological plan to develop large aircraft. The State Council set up a large aircraft shareholding company to kick it off. This large aircraft program includes both military and commercial aircrafts. The military project is said to be located in Xi'an, while the commercial project was established in Shanghai. Note: [1] The president is both leader of Taiwan and commander in chief of its armed forces. The president has authority over the five administrative branches (Yuan): Executive, Legislative, Control, Judicial, and Examination. The president appoints the premier, the head of the executive Yuan. The Executive Yuan is comprised of the premier and the cabinet members who are responsible for policy and administration. Back |
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