letter from jp
my letter from japan people wrote kindly to make a date with me.thats my hobby to see people online. there you can see some japanes words you have to learn. even there have about uyghur.
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Chinese Border Forces Fire on Tibetan Asylum-Seekers
KATHMANDU - Chinese border forces opened fire in a bid to halt the flight of 51 Tibetan asylum-seekers into Nepal, witnesses have told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
All but three were taken into custody and their whereabouts remain unknown.
"There were about 30 Chinese soldiers who started firing from surrounding hills and the valley. The firing went on for quite some time," one of the group told RFA's Tibetan service on condition that he not be named.
The border forces, according to eyewitness reports, then surrounded and detained 48 members of the group in a hilly region close to the Nepal border, but three were able to flee through the Nepali region of Solukhumbu.
Go to Radio Free Asia for more.
Leading Vietnamese Monk Arrested
By Radio Free Asia
A key Vietnamese dissident and leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City as he prepared to lead a group of monks to visit the church's leader, who is under house arrest, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
Police from precincts 38 and 40 of the Ho Chi Minh City police arrested the Venerable Thich Quang Do at 6:45 a.m. Feb. 16, a member of the monks' delegation told RFA's Vietnamese service. They were led by a Colonel Xuan, the source said.
"There were fights at the scene and as a result, [and] the most venerable Thich Quang Do fainted before police took him away in a car," Ven. Thich Thien Minh said. "The situation is very tense."
Thich Quang Do, 78, was leading a group of several dozen monks to Binh Dinh province to visit and wish longevity to the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Venerable Thich Thien Minh told reporter Y Lan.
As of 10 p.m., the remaining monks-who had been joined by several dozen more-were staging a silent protest outside the train station and vowing to remain there until Thich Quang Do's release, he said. Around 10 p.m., police came to the station, summoning one of the monks, identified as Thich Khong Tanh, to follow them to the police station with medications for Thich Quang Do. The whereabouts of both monks are unknown.
No further information has been available about the monks because the police appear to have confiscated their mobile phones.
Long history of harassment
Religious leaders from the banned UBCV face ongoing persecution for their long history of confronting Vietnamese authorities, according to the nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch. The UBCV was the main Buddhist organization in south and central Vietnam before 1975, when administration of its properties and institutions were taken over by the government.
In 1981 the UBCV was dissolved by the government and replaced with the state-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church. Since that time tensions have risen steadily between the government and the UBCV, which does not recognize the authority of the Vietnam Buddhist Church, particularly during the 1990s when the government jailed many UBCV monks.
The Supreme Patriarch of the UBCV, Thich Huyen Quang, in his 80s, remains under pagoda arrest in Binh Dinh province.
Thich Quang Do has frequently faced official harassment in the past for his opposition to the government.
Chinese Authorities Step Up Anti-Separatist Campaign in Tibetan Region
KATHMANDU-Chinese authorities have expelled some 40 Buddhist nuns from a convent in the Tibetan regional capital, Lhasa, in what authoritative sources there describe as a renewed crackdown on suspected separatists in Tibetan Buddhist institutions, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
According to one source who asked not to be named, new monks approved by the authorities are bypassing the lengthy process of preparing for monastic life and appearing at popular Tibetan monasteries carrying mobile phones for contacting Chinese officials.
Another source, a monk who recently fled to Nepal, told RFA's Tibetan service 40 out of 50 nuns had been expelled in July from the Gyarak nunnery in Dzongshul town, in Phenpo Lhundrup County (in Chinese, Linzhou Xian), administered by the Lhasa city government.
"There were about 50 nuns in Gyarak nunnery. Some time in July [2005], the Chinese authorities insisted on [their] participating in the patriotic re-education programs and abiding by the rules," the monk said. "One of the rules was to get themselves registered in the campaign by having their photographs taken...Only a few nuns-those who held important positions, six of them-had photos taken, but the rest refused."
Religious affairs officials in Lhasa couldn't be reached to comment on the reports.
Renewed crackdown
In a separate interview, another man who also asked not to be identified corroborated the first account and described the ongoing "patriotic re-education" campaign as aimed at criticizing Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, whom officials have long viewed as undermining loyalty to the Chinese state.
"Chinese officials started the campaign in the area and all the participants needed to take photos, but only six nuns who held responsible positions took their photos. This nunnery is a subsidiary of the Talung monastery," the man said.
The man said Chinese authorities in the region had renewed a campaign aimed at rooting out potential Tibetan separatists. A key component of the effort requires monks and nuns to sign a written statement condemning the Dalai Lama, sources say.
A campaign 'in full swing'
"All the monks and nuns must fill in a form-the most important is a criticism of the Dalai Lama, and other parts have to do with opposing separatism and so on," a source in Lhasa said.
In one Lhasa nunnery, a group of nuns refused to fill in the forms and were called individually to sign the forms or face expulsion from the nunnery, he said.
"This campaign is in full swing in all the nunneries and monasteries. Even in Tsuklakhang [in English, Jokhang] Temple," Tibet's main cathedral, he said. "Five newly admitted novice monks filled in the forms and agreed to condemn the Dalai Lama, so the other monks in the temple had to follow-they were extremely sad and embarrassed."
The campaign was reinvigorated with the appointment of new members from a variety of government departments, the source said, adding that the new members didn't know or trust each other well enough to overlook lesser infractions.
New monks vetted, carry mobile phones
The task force is charged with "cleansing anyone who has allegiance to the Dalai Lama," he said. "Ordinarily, only those monks who have studied for five to 10 years are admitted in the popular monasteries in Lhasa. Now the Chinese authorities are issuing red certificates to some new monks, and they suddenly appear in monasteries with cell phones," the source said.
"If any kind of activity or prayer is performed with slightest reference to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, these new monks call the local officials. Even in the offering for those dead, if the Dalai Lama is mentioned, the officials are informed. There were cases when Chinese officials raided monasteries even before the conclusion of prayers if there was some reference to Dalai Lama."
Ex-political prisoners harassed
According to local sources, former political prisoners face increased harassment from authorities in the form of increased surveillance during public holidays and celebrations-apparently to discourage public protest.
"Every time there is a celebration of national event, security officials go to these ex-prisoners and harass them with all kinds of restrictions. Their movements are controlled. During the event, officials go to their homes daily to check on them and harass them," one source said. "When the former prisoners react angrily, the authorities use it as an excuse to raid their homes-and if they find any contraband, such as photos of the Dalai Lama, they go back to jail."
The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a nongovernmental group backed by the exile Tibetan government in northern India, also reported this week that recently exiled monks describe an intensified official "patriotic education" campaign in Tibetan monasteries.
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Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in those East Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Burma Detains Opposition AIDS Activist
By May Pyone Aun
BANGKOK - Burmese authorities in the former capital Rangoon have detained an opposition activist and outspoken critic of the junta's AIDS policies, the woman's family has told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Five male and two female police officers who identified themselves as belonging to the Ministry of Home Affairs took Phyu Phyu Thinn, 35, into custody at her home in Rangoon around 8:15 p.m. on May 21, after assuring her mother they would bring her home at midnight, her relatives said.
The family has received no information about her since, they told RFA's Burmese service. The officers said she was "wanted by higher authorities," the family said. Phyu Phyu Thinn, who suffers from asthma, brought one change of clothing with her, they said.
Authorities may have pegged her as the architect of a plan to organize mass prayers for the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house arrest was ultimately extended May 25, they said.
"They said they wanted to question Ma Phyu Phyu Thinn, seven of them, and they took her away," her mother, Daw Khin Shwe, said.
Officials in Rangoon couldn't be reached to comment.
Activist and AIDS carer
Phyu Phyu Thinn has volunteered with Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in caring for HIV and AIDS patients since 2002 at her home in Rangoon's Dagon township, her family said.
She was previously detained for four months while traveling with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2000.
In January, Phyu Phyu Thinn publicly complained that Rangoon facilities treating HIV/AIDS patients had stopped providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for new patients because supplies were exhausted.
In an interview before her detention, Phyu Phyu Thinn suggested that mortality among AIDS patients in Burma could be far higher than the official tally-and climbing since NGO clinics had stopped giving out ARVs.
"Currently, we are sending many patients to hospitals and clinics. We are constantly in touch with the patients," Phyu Phyu Thinn said May 15. "When patients learned that they weren't getting more ARVs, many people became discouraged and died."
Throughout Burma, she said, "we know that the death rate from this disease is high."
"ARV medication is no longer distributed in NGO clinics. Because of that, we are seeing an increase in the number of deaths... People don't know that there are medicines like these, and they don't know how to treat [this disease] either," she said. "We find in some places that they are treating it with Burmese herbal medicines. When it is treated this way, not only is it ineffective, they spend a lot of money, and it endangers their lives."
"We can't reduce the death rate with such little help. Many people still need ARV medicines that can control HIV. Until these medicines can be put directly into the hands of patients throughout the country, the death rate will be high."
The ruling junta doesn't keep a record of AIDS deaths, she said, suggesting mortality may be far higher than reported.
"For some, when they die at home, on the death certificates, they list all kinds of other diseases but do not mention that it is from HIV/AIDS. In some regions, there are many who didn't go to the hospitals or clinics. They didn't know they had HIV/AIDS and so they died from it. Actually, the authorities should be working on it systematically-what is the rate of those dying from HIV and the cause of death? They're not doing these things...There are no instructions, and they don't want people to know about it, so they are not paying attention to this matter. Whatever the cause of death is, they just leave it be."
Prison steeled her, sisters say
Phyu Phyu Thinn's younger sister, Ma Sabeh Oo, said her sister's previous detention turned her into an activist. "In the year 2000, she traveled with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, there was some commotion, and she was arrested and put in prison."
"In prison, she saw the opposition government. She realized that everyone had sacrificed for this work. She saw many people in prison like that. It outraged her, and she made a decision right there in prison that she would become involved in politics. She was imprisoned for more than four months.
Then she was released. She began to do this work after her release."
Phyu Phyu Thinn attended HIV and AIDS training sessions run by the NLD and by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and then she began working in rural areas.
"She took the patients to their clinics. She knows how to take care of them and encourage them, and that's how it got started," Ma Sabeh Oo said.
Her older sister, Ma San San Oo, said Phyu Phyu Thinn tried to demonstrate non-discrimination against HIV and AIDS patients.
"She lived by example and corrected our misconceptions. She worked well with all her mind and might. When she's taking care of patients, she's not like ordinary people. She doesn't shrink from the patients. Some patients had sores. We told her, 'You're going to become infected,' but she said, 'No, we need to be close to the patients. Only then, will they understand us, and it'll be easier to treat them.'"
"When these patients first came to our house and ate their meals with us, we felt uncomfortable. Later, we got used to it, and we forgot that they were patients. Before she left for work, there'd already be about 10 or 15 at our house. At first when eating, we'd like to clear away the things.
Later, after seeing her, we mingled with them and ate and drank together," Ma San San Oo said.
Patients at a loss
"For me as well as for other patients, we are all in trouble because of Ma Phyu's arrest," said HIV patient Ma Aye, from Kyauk Badaung.
"We have not received our medicines, which she administers. Emotionally, we are very discouraged because she's not around. All of our other patients are sad and crying. We don't know what to do."
Intimidation, poor treatment
Opposition activists have accused the junta of intimidating HIV/AIDS patients and their supporters.
And while Burma has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Asia, estimated at 1.2 percent of adults, fears that aid money could be misdirected by the secretive junta has left donors reluctant to contribute proportionately.
An estimated 339,000 people were infected with HIV at the end of 2004, according to the military government's National AIDS Program - nearly double the estimated 177,279 cases reported at the end of March 2002.
In the last three years, the junta has opened up to about 30 international agencies working to fight the disease, but their activities remain limited.
Volunteers say the junta's attitude toward HIV prevention has improved recently, after officials denied its rapid spread throughout the 1990s.
Original reporting by May Pyone Aun for RFA's Burmese service. Edited by Khin May Zaw. Service director: Nancy Shwe. Produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.
Chinese Diplomat Says He Was Told To Harass Falun Gong
By RFA News
WASHINGTON - A Chinese diplomat seeking asylum in Australia says he had orders to confiscate the passports of Chinese-born Falun Gong practitioners in the country and deny them extensions on Chinese passports that were set to expire.
Chen Yonglin also said he managed to remove "most" names from a blacklist of 800 Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in Australia during his four years as Chinese consul for political affairs in Sydney.
He left his post and sought political asylum in Australia on May 26. His asylum application was rejected, and he was advised to apply for a protection visa, which is now under consideration.
In an interview with RFA's Mandarin service, Chen said he became "very afraid" of the potential consequences if Chinese authorities learned of his efforts to help the Falun Gong, a grassroots group that Beijing has outlawed as an "evil cult."
"I managed to do a few things to help the Falun Gong. For example, to get passports extended for some of them and to get some names taken off the list," Chen told RFA reporter Shi Shan in a telephone interview.
"When I got there, there were around 800 names on the Falun Gong blacklist, and I managed to get rid of most of them. If my successor should check out my work, [he or she] would realize there were big problems with the way I was carrying out government policy on the Falun Gong."
"There was no room for this sort of religion back home in China," he said, adding that Beijing has asked Australian police guarding the consulate "to do something about [Falun Gong] activities, which I thought was very wrong."
"One of the other things they did to them, which I thought was inhumane and a contravention of their human rights, was to refuse to extend their passports if they were going to expire, and also to confiscate the passports of Falun Gong practitioners," he said.
"These are Chinese citizens, whatever you may think about them. They must have documentation in order to travel," Chen said. "I had to keep my mouth shut and do as I was told. If I didn't do it, I'd be criticized."
"I quite sympathized with the Falun Gong, who would arrange activities on various important dates...They would tell me to put pressure on the Australian government officials not to allow them to do this. But theFalun Gong in Australia is a legal organization which exists only to spread the teachings of Falun Gong."
"If my successor should check out my work, he or she would realize that there were big problems with the way I was carrying out government policy on the Falun Gong. So suddenly I began to be very afraid. I was also concerned about my conscience. I knew I would have to continue to work for this government, and I wouldn't be able to stand it," he said.
"Secondly, things could get much worse for me if they ever discovered what I'd done. At least in Australia I have the opportunity to become a Chinese person with a conscience, and to show that through my actions. I never had the opportunity to leave before now, so now that the opportunity is before me, I thought I should try to take it."
Chen's father was beaten to death on orders from a Communist Party official during the Cultural Revolution, he said, in retaliation for his writing a big-character poster for a group of villagers while he was a student at Qinghua University.
Later, during the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China, Chen said, he was obtaining work experience at the U.S. television network NBC in Beijing.
"I witnessed the bloodshed in person," he said. "At the time I was coming to the end of my studies at China Foreign Affaire University, and I was doing my work experience, helping the NBC camera team as an interpreter."
"During that time, if I wasn't needed at work, I would go to Tiananmen Square and take part in the demonstrations. I also helped out some of the hunger strikers during their protest."
On the night of June 3-4, 1989, he said, he joined a group of people holding hands and trying to stop Chinese troops from entering Tiananmen Square.
"At the time I was very nervous and extremely scared. I thought my life was probably in danger. But I still went with everyone to obstruct their advance."
Then the troops stopped, and Chen said, "I panicked. I jumped over a traffic barrier, cut through a small alleyway, and took cover in the hotel."
Chen arrived in Australia in April 2001 and was assigned to monitor and report back on the activities of the pro-democracy movement, he said.
"According to my understanding, there are a lot of spies among the Chinese community here," he said, adding that most are business people whose work takes them back to China. "They would tell the consulate everything. We could get information on someone as soon as we needed it."
"There are professional spies right in the consulate," he said, adding that they "definitely" tapped dissidents' phones.
"Whenever there was an important event, such as a Chinese leader coming to visit, we would get information from the security body in China. Very detailed information on what, where, and when about activities being planned" in protest. "I was in charge of four main groups," he said. "The Falun Gong, pro-democracy activists, Taiwan independence activists, and supporters of Uyghur and Tibetan independence."
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Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Its mission is to broadcast Asian domestic news and information to listeners in those Asian countries that do not permit free news media. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. In addition to its news programming, RFA strives to be a "university of the air" and broadcasts works of literature and nonfiction that have been banned in RFA's target countries.
© 2005, Radio Free Asia
Schoolchildren Appeal to China
HONG KONG?A group of schoolchildren in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu has appealed to Premier Wen Jiabao to close an unlicensed fireworks factory that they fear is endangering their lives, and which villagers say is being protected by a murky web of local political power and influence.
"There is a fireworks factory behind our school. It hasn't got a license to operate. It has been in illegal production for seven or eight years now," the children and teachers of Honglin Elementary School said in a statement read out by 11-year-old Huang Minghao on an RFA call-in show.
"Every day they let off several dozen fireworks for testing. This makes us all very frightened. If the factory were to explode, we would all be blown to pieces," Huang told RFA Mandarin service's Listener Hotline program.
"All the teachers and students in our school would like to ask you, uncle, to send our request to Grandfather Wen Jiabao in the State Council in central government, to ask him to stop this factory's production immediately, so we can continue with our studies in peace, and go on to become the next generation of talent, and be of use to our country," Huang said in a message broadcast shortly before International Children's Day on June 1.
While there were no suggestions of forced child labor in Huang's story, his plea echoed the March 2001 tragedy at Fanglin Elementary School in Jiangxi Province.
In that incident, angry villagers said a massive explosion that killed 50 children was caused by an illegal fireworks factory using students as labor. The government blamed a "madman" for that blast.
Fears of explosion hang over school
Honglin villagers told RFA they wanted to get the factory?just 20-30 meters from the school, and even closer to a residential area?closed down before they faced a similar disaster on their own doorstep.
"I think that this is a very dangerous industry," Huang's school principal Zhu Zhonglu told a RFA's Investigative Report as it followed up on the 11-year-old's initial phone call.
"The factory butts onto a narrow road, and then there is a residential area next to that...There are so many explosives in there?if they exploded, we'd all be finished," Zhu said. He said that the noise of test explosions frequently disrupted lessons.
Villagers blamed the factory's continuing operation on a cosy and intricate web of relationships between local officials and the factory owner, although corruption allegations were denied by the Jiangyan municipal party secretary.
"The Taizhou and Jiangyan areas are the most corrupt in the whole province. It's enough to have money. Then you can do what you like, and nobody can do anything about it," Huang Minghao's grandfather, Huang Xikang, told RFA.
Taizhou is the birthplace of President Hu Jintao, who was recently pictured with children from China's Communist Party youth league on International Children's Day.
Factory owner admits not having license
"There's an old Chinese saying: if you have money, you can even get ghosts to come and work for you. And those government officials are certainly working for the factory."
Honglin village chief Huang Hua agreed. "The factory owner is very well connected with all the local government leaders. They know each other very well," he said.
Initially, when contacted by RFA, factory owner Wang Qiaozhen denied she was manufacturing fireworks, saying the factory now produced cardboard tubes.
But she later replied to questions regarding safety as if they were relevant to a fireworks operation.
Asked what would be the result of an explosion at her factory on the surrounding buildings, Wang said: "Who can guarantee that? I watch out for the safety of my factory. The only thing I can do is to request my safety supervisor to take care of safety issues."
Wang, who is a Party member and the delegate for nearby Louzhuang township to the National People's Congress, admitted not having a license.
Officials vow to investigate
"Oh that license," Wang said. "We used to have one, but then the licenses were rescinded in the Taizhou area of Jiangsu Province. They took all those licenses away without giving us any paperwork. We are a legal enterprise. I enable many villagers to make a living," she told RFA.
The head of the production safety bureau in nearby Jiangyan City said that the Honglin Fireworks Factory had ceased production.
"It doesn't produce anything. Hasn't done for nearly five years now," the bureau chief, surnamed Zhang, told RFA.
But village chief Huang Hua said there were still sounds of fireworks being let off from within the factory in late May, although he had heard nothing in the week before speaking to RFA.
It was impossible to tell if the factory was still in operation because no-one was allowed inside, he added.
"This factory used to have an operating license once, but all the licenses in this area were withdrawn in around 2001 Jiangyan city banned production of fireworks because there were too many accidents happening," he said.
Fish-farmer Xiao Zhengyou also reported hearing blasts recently.
"This factory is still in production. It's very close to my fish pond. I feel nervous every time I go there to feed my fish," Xiao told RFA reporter Bai Fan.
Officials in the municipal government of Jiangyan city gave widely differing responses when asked about the factory. An official surnamed Zhang in the alcohol and tobacco bureau, which also has responsibility for fireworks, said the government would thoroughly investigate the allegations.
"Our position on this issue is that we must carry out an investigation into the situation...We take complaints like this from local residents very seriously," he said.
His municipal Party boss appeared to take a different view.
"This problem doesn't exist. If such a thing did exist, we would have investigated it," Jiangyan municipal Party secretary Gao Jiming said.
"It's not very likely that there would be people living right next to a fireworks factory," Gao said, adding that he didn't know of the Honglin factory.
Asked if a close relationship between the factory owner and officials in local government enabled it to continue production, Gao replied: "Not likely. Those officials wouldn't want to lose their jobs. We have very strict regulations."
Original reporting in Mandarin by Bai Fan. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Copyright ? 2005, RFA. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. http://www.rfa.org.
The Impact of The Sino-Iranian Strategic Partnership
By Ilan Berman
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission
Hearing on "China's Proliferation to North Korea and
Iran, and Its Role in Addressing the Nuclear and Missile Situations in Both Nations"
Ilan Berman
Vice President for Policy
American Foreign Policy Council
September 14, 2006
Chairman Wortzel, distinguished members of the Commission:
It is a privilege to appear before you today. Thank you for inviting me to discuss the strategic partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It is a topic of utmost importance. Today, Iran's nuclear ambitions have emerged as a cardinal challenge for the United States and its allies. Over the past four years, the Islamic Republic's concerted quest for a nuclear capability has catalyzed a widening international crisis.
Tehran's intransigence in this stand-off has been made possible in part by its strategic partnership with Beijing. Since the start of international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program some three years ago, China has worked actively to dilute the effectiveness of any global response. It has done so initially through its vociferous opposition to Iran's referral to the United Nations Security Council, and more recently by its resistance to the imposition of multilateral sanctions against Tehran.
The Logic Behind Sino-Iranian Cooperation
China's obstructionism on the Iranian nuclear issue has been driven by two primary considerations.
The first is energy. China's runaway economic growth has brought with it a voracious appetite for energy. In 2003, the PRC surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest consumer of oil and petroleum products. Since then, China's oil consumption has continued to grow at an unprecedented rate; oil demand is now projected to reach 7.4 million barrels daily this year - a half-a-million barrel per day increase over 2005 levels.[1] By 2020, according to some estimates, Beijing's energy deficit could top eight million barrels per day.[2]
All of this has made Tehran an indispensable energy partner for the PRC. Home to approximately 10 percent of proven world oil reserves and the world's second largest reserves of natural gas, Iran is a bona fide energy superpower. Beijing's engagement with-and investment in-the Islamic Republic has reflected this reality. In 2004, the two countries came to terms on two massive accords, estimated to be worth some $100 billion over the next twenty-five years, granting Chinese firms extensive rights to develop Iranian oil and natural gas reserves.[3] A flurry of additional deals has followed, and today Tehran and Beijing boast an energy partnership valued at some $120 billion or more.[4]
The results have been dramatic; Iran has become China's single largest oil supplier, and as long ago as 2002 already accounted for more than 15 percent of the PRC's annual oil imports.[5] This degree of economic dependence, moreover, is poised to deepen considerably as energy projects now underway between the two countries begin to come online over the next several years.
The benefits of this partnership are hardly one-sided, however. Iranian officials remember well the experience of the late 1990s, when low world oil prices and international isolation brought their country's economy to the brink of collapse. As a result, the Islamic Republic has embarked upon an ambitious effort in recent years to diplomatically and economically engage foreign nations, more often than not through its chief export commodity: oil. The burgeoning partnership between Tehran and Beijing is a testament to its successes on that front.
While energy represents the primary driver of contemporary cooperation, mutual opposition to America's primacy in world affairs serves as an important secondary force. In the post-Cold War era, officials in Beijing have expressed their commitment to a multi-polar world in which American influence is diluted, and have pursued partnerships with nations antagonistic to the United States as part of this effort. As numerous observers have noted, China today has embraced a "balancing" strategy designed to frustrate U.S. policy through robust international diplomacy.[6] While it is doing so most directly in Asia, the Chinese government has increasingly sought Middle Eastern partners for this venture as well. Cooperation with Iran, the emerging geopolitical center of gravity in the post-Saddam Hussein Middle East, has consequently emerged as a major point of political focus.
These sentiments have been echoed in Tehran. Ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the regime in Tehran has viewed the United States as its principal enemy. For just as long, Iran's ayatollahs have sought external partners for their anti-American regional and international policies. This focus, moreover, has deepened dramatically since the start of the War on Terror. The U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, and the subsequent removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq two years later, may have eliminated Iran's chief ideological and military adversaries. But it also raised fears among Iran's ayatollahs of a dangerous encirclement-and of the possibility of a similar U.S.-driven transformation in their country. Iran has responded by seeking to strengthen its international partnerships, with China emerging as a major area of Iranian attention. As one conservative Iranian paper put it following then-president Mohammad Khatami's landmark visit to the PRC in the year 2000, "the strengthening of the Tehran-Beijing axis is of great importance" in the context of "confronting the unipolar world being considered by America."[7]
These trends have found their expression in an increasingly robust proliferation partnership, and in the integration of Iran into Chinese-dominated security structures.
From China, With Arms
Beginning in the early 1990s, the Chinese government launched a series of steps to alleviate mounting international concerns about its proliferation practices. In 1992, it acceded to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Two years later, in a joint statement with the United States, the Chinese government pledged to abide by the Missile Technology Control Regime. Then, in 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and independently announced a moratorium on nuclear testing. The following year, it officially joined the Zangger Committee (NPT Exporters Committee). Most recently, in 2004, China became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). In tandem with these measures, the PRC has repeatedly issued "white papers" and communiques pledging greater unilateral restrictions on the sale of missile and WMD-related technologies abroad.[8] But as a practical matter, China's record of proliferation to Iran is poor - and getting worse.[9]
Conventional arms sales
Over the past decade-and-a-half, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been engaged in a sustained, multi-spectrum modernization of its military, and China has played a big part in these plans. For the period between 1993 and 1996, Chinese arms sales to Iran stood at approximately $400 million. Between 1997 and 2000, that number had risen to $600 million.[10] (Numbers for 2000 through 2006, though preliminary, appear to be more modest.) The goods provided by the PRC have included anti-ship cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, combat aircraft, and fast-attack patrol vessels, as well as advanced technology designed to expand the versatility of Iran's burgeoning cruise missile arsenal. These supplies have contributed significantly to what has become the central element of Iran's military rearmament-a revitalization of its naval forces. As a direct result, U.S. intelligence agencies now estimate that Iran has the ability to shut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf for brief periods of time, even with a Western military presence in the region.[11]
Ballistic missiles
Despite its commitment to abide by the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime, China remains an active missile partner of the Islamic Republic. The U.S. intelligence community believes that Chinese entities continue to provide substantial assistance to the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program, and have assisted the Iranian regime in erecting an indigenous production capability for its strategic arsenal.[12] In particular, American officials have expressed concerns that Chinese firms have aided in the development-and subsequently the enhancement-of the centerpiece of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, the 2,000-kilometer range Shahab-3.[13]
China has also provided Iran with sophisticated cruise missile technology. Beginning during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), large quantities of Chinese-origin "Silkworm," C-801 "Eagle Strike," and C-802 cruise missiles found their way to the Islamic Republic.[14] Iran, in turn, has wasted no time in transferring this technology to its terrorist proxies. A recent example took place in July, during the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, when an Israeli warship, the INS Hanit, was hit and disabled by an Iranian variant of the C-802 "Silkworm"-a missile that Israeli officials previously did not know the Shi'ite militia possessed.[15]
Chemical weapons
Iran's efforts to acquire chemical weapons (CW), like its ballistic missile program, began during the Iran-Iraq War, when the Iranian leadership launched a national effort to develop a response to Iraqi chemical weapons attacks on Iranian troops. During the mid-1990s, this effort received a substantial boost from foreign suppliers, including China, who provided the Iranian regime with critical precursor chemicals and key weapons know-how.[16] The results have been dramatic; since the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has termed Iran's CW program to be the "most active" in the developing world-encompassing nerve, blister, choking and blood agents, as well as "a stockpile of at least several hundred metric tons of weaponized and bulk agent."[17] And, despite its status as an original signatory of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, Chinese firms still appear to be actively engaged in the transfer of "dual-use CW-related production equipment and technology" that could assist in this effort.[18]
Nuclear assistance
China's most active WMD assistance to Iran, however, has been in the nuclear sphere. Preliminary nuclear contacts between the PRC and the Islamic Republic began in the mid- to late-1980s. The two countries are known to have signed nuclear accords in 1989, and again in 1991, paving the way for what would become a vibrant and multifaceted atomic partnership.[19] By 1996, in a manifestation of the strength of this collaboration, the Pentagon had officially designated China as a "principal supplier of nuclear technology to Iran."[20]
A decade on, this aspect of the Sino-Iranian strategic partnership is still going strong, despite the threat of U.S. sanctions. China has reportedly been a major focus of Iranian procurement activities, with Iranian front companies successfully acquiring nuclear-related materials from the PRC in recent years.[21] Iranian opposition elements have also charged that Chinese experts are employed at multiple nuclear facilities inside Iran, including the Saghand uranium mine and a uranium centrifuge facility outside Isfahan.[22] Beijing's most important support, however is moral; through its resistance to U.S. and European efforts to hold Iran accountable, Beijing has bought Tehran valuable time to forge ahead with its nuclear program.
Shanghai Calling
Iran is likewise expanding its links with the premier security bloc in the "post-Soviet space," the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Established in June of 2001, the SCO is an expansion of the "Shanghai Five," a regional grouping begun in 1996 with the purpose of strengthening the common security of its member states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. By contrast, both the membership and the mission of the SCO are substantially broader. Ostensibly, the purpose of the new bloc, which now also encompasses Uzbekistan as a full member and Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran as observers, is to expand regional economic, cultural and counterterrorism cooperation.[23] Iran's involvement, however, increasingly underscores the bloc's unstated purpose: the diminution of American influence in the "post-Soviet space." As Iranian observers have made clear, "[t]he national interests of Iran and China are in clear contradiction to the presence of the American military forces in [C]entral Asia, and the support of China for Iran's membership... should be seen within that framework."[24]
Indeed, Beijing appears to be receptive to Iranian efforts to expand its role in this grouping. Iran's radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a guest of honor at the SCO's most recent summit in June 2006, delivering a public address that called upon the group to play a greater role against "the threats of domineering powers"-a thinly-veiled reference to the United States.[25] Beijing has also sent positive signals to Iran regarding its quest for full blown membership in the six-country bloc (though so far stopping short of directly lobbying for the Islamic Republic's full inclusion in the forum).
Such a union, however, would have major benefits for both sides. Iran, facing a looming confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program, is eager to obtain a measure of collective security. China, meanwhile, has a vested interest in securing its most important energy partner against external threats. And while Iran's immediate membership is not likely as a result of both institutional and political constraints,[26] the potential of such an expanded bloc, if and when it does materialize, will be immense. As David Wall of Cambridge University has explained, an SCO incorporating Iran "would essentially be an OPEC with bombs": an energy-rich geopolitical alliance stretching from the Taiwan Strait to the Strait of Hormuz.[27]
Trouble Ahead
With the expiration of the United Nations-imposed August 31st deadline to cease uranium enrichment, the international crisis over Iran's nuclear program has entered a new and dangerous phase. World attention is now focused on available punitive measures against the Islamic Republic, sanctions chief among them.
China has a decisive vote in this process. By virtue of its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, China has the ability to stymie the UN's implementation of multilateral measures against Iran. And, despite repeated U.S. entreaties, Chinese officials have done just that, steadfastly refusing to back sanctions against Iran on the grounds that they would be "counterproductive."[28]
Beijing's resistance is logical. Sanctions against Iran threaten to undermine an increasingly important element of the PRC's economic construct. China requires steady supplies of oil in order to maintain its current economic momentum, and can ill afford a supply interruption-particularly from an energy source as important as Iran. By way of comparison, the impact for China of Iran going "offline" as a result of sanctions would be roughly equivalent to the effect a sudden cessation of oil supplies from Saudi Arabia would have on the U.S. economy. It has likewise not been lost on Chinese officials that a likely result of sanctions could be an escalation to military action against Iran, and the possible loss of a major Chinese ally to U.S.-supported regime change.[29]
Iran is well aware of China's calculus. As one Iranian analyst recently put it: "The dimensions of the historical, religious, economic and commercial cooperation between Iran and China are numerous, and it seems that China has always considered very seriously the dilemma of choosing either Iran or the United States, and it is hoped that in the end, it is going to choose that option which will safeguard the long term interests of China."[30]
None of this is to say that Chinese officials are not cognizant of the dangers of Iran's atomic drive. In recent months, China has joined with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council in pressuring Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment activities. But, in keeping with its internal economic imperatives, the PRC has insisted on "diplomacy" as the sole means of resolving the Iranian nuclear impasse.[31]
China's stance has far-reaching implications. So far, the Bush administration has focused on international diplomacy as the primary means by which to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that China's political and economic priorities militate strongly against a constructive role for Beijing in the peaceful resolution of this crisis.
Notes:
[1] Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy, "Country Analysis Brief: China," August 2006, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Oil.html.
[2] Matthew R. Simmons, presentation at the Camden Conference on China, Camden, Maine, February 11, 2006, http://www.simmonsco-intl.com/files/Camden%20Conference%20on%20China.pdf#search=%22chinese%20oil%20demand%202015%20iea%22.
[3] Robin Wright, "Iran's New Alliance with China Could Cost U.S. Leverage," Washington Post, November 17, 2004, A21.
[4] Gal Luft, Statement before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, July 21, 2005, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2005hearings/written_testimonies/05_07_21_22wrts/luft_gal_wrts.htm.
[5] Jin Liangxiang, "Energy First: China and the Middle East," Middle East Quarterly XII, no. 2 (2005), http://www.meforum.org/article/694.
[6] See, for example, Yuan-Kang Wang, "China's Grand Strategy and U.S. Primacy: Is China Balancing American Power?" Brookings Institution Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies Working Paper, July 2006, http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cnaps/papers/wang2006.pdf.
[7] "Evaluation of President's Trip to China," Abrar (Tehran), June 29, 2000.
[8] Shirley A. Kan, China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (Washington: Congressional Research Service, July 2006), 1-2.
[9] During the Clinton administration, Chinese entities were subject to proliferation-related sanctions 17 times. During the first term of the Bush administration, that number rose to 50, in part due to more stringent monitoring requirements contained in the 2000 Iran Nonproliferation Act. See Daniel A. Pinkston, testimony before the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, March 10, 2005, http://cns.miis.edu/research/congress/testim/pinkston.pdf.
[10] Richard F. Grimmett, Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1993-2000 (Washington: Congressional Research Service, August 2001), 28.
[11] Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lowell E. Jacoby, "Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States," statement before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 24, 2004, http://intelligence.senate.gov/0402hrg/040224/jacoby.pdf.
[12] U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July Through 31 December 2003, November 2004, https://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/721_reports/pdfs/721report_july_dec2003.pdf; U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2005 Report to Congress, November 2005, 128.
[13] "Pentagon Fears Russia, China Helping Iran Build Ballistic Missile," cnn.com, July 19, 2000, http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/07/19/iran.missile.test/index.html.
[14] Once in Iran, these missiles were reverse-engineered as part of an Iranian effort to produce indigenous variants of foreign rockets. They were also deployed by the regime's clerical army, the Pasdaran, on naval vessels and patrol craft, as well mounted on coastal batteries along the Strait of Hormuz. "C-802 / YJ-2 / Ying Ji-802 / CSS-C-8 / SACCADE," globalsecurity.org, n.d., http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/c-802.htm.
[15] Alon Ben-David, "Hizbullah Hits Israel's INS Hanit With Anti-Ship Missile," Jane's Defence Weekly, July 18, 2006, http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw060718_1_n.shtml.
[16] See, for example, "CW Deliveries From China," Iran Brief, July 6, 1995.
[17] Michael Eisenstadt, Iranian Military Power: Capabilities and Intentions (Washington: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1996), 26; Norman Schindler, "Iran's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs," Statement before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services Subcommittee, September 21, 2000, http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2000/schindler_WMD_092200.htm.
[18] U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July Through 31 December 2003.
[19] Herbert Krosney, Deadly Business: Legal Deals and Outlaw Weapons (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993), 250-51.
[20] Office of the Secretary of Defense, Proliferation: Threat and Response 1996 (Washington: U.S. Department of Defense, 1996), 14.
[21] Glenn Kessler, "Group Alleges New Nuclear Site in Iran; Facility Said to Be Used to House Equipment to Enrich Uranium for Use in Weapons," Washington Post, February 20, 2003, A31.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Shanghai Cooperation Organization, "Declaration on Establishment of Shanghai Cooperation Organization," June 15, 2001, http://www.sectsco.org/html/00088.html.
[24] Sharq (Tehran), August 19, 2006.
[25] Oliver August, "Iran in Talks to Join Alliance Against West," Times of London, June 16, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2228233,00.html.
[26] See, for example, "The Limits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Press Report, August 7, 2006, http://www.rferl.org/releases/2006/08/428-070806.asp.
[27] As cited in Michael Mainville, "Central Asian Bloc Considering Iran for Membership," Washington Times, June 5, 2006, http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060604-103052-2402r.htm.
[28] "Chinese PM Dismisses Iran Sanctions as 'Counterproductive,'" IRNA (Tehran), September 7, 2006, http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/7/2006&Cat=2&Num=014.
[29] People's Daily (Beijing), April 13, 2006, as cited in John J. Tkacik, Jr., "Confront China's Support for Iran's Nuclear Weapons," Heritage Foundation Webmemo no. 1042, April 18, 2006, http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm1042.cfm.
[30] Sharq (Tehran), August 19, 2006.
[31] "Major Powers Warn Iran on Nuclear Programme," Times of London, March 30, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2111093,00.html
The top 100 Most Read stories July 2005
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KATHMANDU - Chinese border forces opened fire in a bid to halt the flight of 51 Tibetan asylum-seekers into Nepal, witnesses have told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
All but three were taken into custody and their whereabouts remain unknown.
"There were about 30 Chinese soldiers who started firing from surrounding hills and the valley. The firing went on for quite some time," one of the group told RFA's Tibetan service on condition that he not be named.
The border forces, according to eyewitness reports, then surrounded and detained 48 members of the group in a hilly region close to the Nepal border, but three were able to flee through the Nepali region of Solukhumbu.
Go to Radio Free Asia for more.
Leading Vietnamese Monk Arrested
By Radio Free Asia
A key Vietnamese dissident and leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City as he prepared to lead a group of monks to visit the church's leader, who is under house arrest, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
Police from precincts 38 and 40 of the Ho Chi Minh City police arrested the Venerable Thich Quang Do at 6:45 a.m. Feb. 16, a member of the monks' delegation told RFA's Vietnamese service. They were led by a Colonel Xuan, the source said.
"There were fights at the scene and as a result, [and] the most venerable Thich Quang Do fainted before police took him away in a car," Ven. Thich Thien Minh said. "The situation is very tense."
Thich Quang Do, 78, was leading a group of several dozen monks to Binh Dinh province to visit and wish longevity to the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Venerable Thich Thien Minh told reporter Y Lan.
As of 10 p.m., the remaining monks-who had been joined by several dozen more-were staging a silent protest outside the train station and vowing to remain there until Thich Quang Do's release, he said. Around 10 p.m., police came to the station, summoning one of the monks, identified as Thich Khong Tanh, to follow them to the police station with medications for Thich Quang Do. The whereabouts of both monks are unknown.
No further information has been available about the monks because the police appear to have confiscated their mobile phones.
Long history of harassment
Religious leaders from the banned UBCV face ongoing persecution for their long history of confronting Vietnamese authorities, according to the nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch. The UBCV was the main Buddhist organization in south and central Vietnam before 1975, when administration of its properties and institutions were taken over by the government.
In 1981 the UBCV was dissolved by the government and replaced with the state-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church. Since that time tensions have risen steadily between the government and the UBCV, which does not recognize the authority of the Vietnam Buddhist Church, particularly during the 1990s when the government jailed many UBCV monks.
The Supreme Patriarch of the UBCV, Thich Huyen Quang, in his 80s, remains under pagoda arrest in Binh Dinh province.
Thich Quang Do has frequently faced official harassment in the past for his opposition to the government.
Chinese Authorities Step Up Anti-Separatist Campaign in Tibetan Region
KATHMANDU-Chinese authorities have expelled some 40 Buddhist nuns from a convent in the Tibetan regional capital, Lhasa, in what authoritative sources there describe as a renewed crackdown on suspected separatists in Tibetan Buddhist institutions, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
According to one source who asked not to be named, new monks approved by the authorities are bypassing the lengthy process of preparing for monastic life and appearing at popular Tibetan monasteries carrying mobile phones for contacting Chinese officials.
Another source, a monk who recently fled to Nepal, told RFA's Tibetan service 40 out of 50 nuns had been expelled in July from the Gyarak nunnery in Dzongshul town, in Phenpo Lhundrup County (in Chinese, Linzhou Xian), administered by the Lhasa city government.
"There were about 50 nuns in Gyarak nunnery. Some time in July [2005], the Chinese authorities insisted on [their] participating in the patriotic re-education programs and abiding by the rules," the monk said. "One of the rules was to get themselves registered in the campaign by having their photographs taken...Only a few nuns-those who held important positions, six of them-had photos taken, but the rest refused."
Religious affairs officials in Lhasa couldn't be reached to comment on the reports.
Renewed crackdown
In a separate interview, another man who also asked not to be identified corroborated the first account and described the ongoing "patriotic re-education" campaign as aimed at criticizing Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, whom officials have long viewed as undermining loyalty to the Chinese state.
"Chinese officials started the campaign in the area and all the participants needed to take photos, but only six nuns who held responsible positions took their photos. This nunnery is a subsidiary of the Talung monastery," the man said.
The man said Chinese authorities in the region had renewed a campaign aimed at rooting out potential Tibetan separatists. A key component of the effort requires monks and nuns to sign a written statement condemning the Dalai Lama, sources say.
A campaign 'in full swing'
"All the monks and nuns must fill in a form-the most important is a criticism of the Dalai Lama, and other parts have to do with opposing separatism and so on," a source in Lhasa said.
In one Lhasa nunnery, a group of nuns refused to fill in the forms and were called individually to sign the forms or face expulsion from the nunnery, he said.
"This campaign is in full swing in all the nunneries and monasteries. Even in Tsuklakhang [in English, Jokhang] Temple," Tibet's main cathedral, he said. "Five newly admitted novice monks filled in the forms and agreed to condemn the Dalai Lama, so the other monks in the temple had to follow-they were extremely sad and embarrassed."
The campaign was reinvigorated with the appointment of new members from a variety of government departments, the source said, adding that the new members didn't know or trust each other well enough to overlook lesser infractions.
New monks vetted, carry mobile phones
The task force is charged with "cleansing anyone who has allegiance to the Dalai Lama," he said. "Ordinarily, only those monks who have studied for five to 10 years are admitted in the popular monasteries in Lhasa. Now the Chinese authorities are issuing red certificates to some new monks, and they suddenly appear in monasteries with cell phones," the source said.
"If any kind of activity or prayer is performed with slightest reference to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, these new monks call the local officials. Even in the offering for those dead, if the Dalai Lama is mentioned, the officials are informed. There were cases when Chinese officials raided monasteries even before the conclusion of prayers if there was some reference to Dalai Lama."
Ex-political prisoners harassed
According to local sources, former political prisoners face increased harassment from authorities in the form of increased surveillance during public holidays and celebrations-apparently to discourage public protest.
"Every time there is a celebration of national event, security officials go to these ex-prisoners and harass them with all kinds of restrictions. Their movements are controlled. During the event, officials go to their homes daily to check on them and harass them," one source said. "When the former prisoners react angrily, the authorities use it as an excuse to raid their homes-and if they find any contraband, such as photos of the Dalai Lama, they go back to jail."
The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a nongovernmental group backed by the exile Tibetan government in northern India, also reported this week that recently exiled monks describe an intensified official "patriotic education" campaign in Tibetan monasteries.
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Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in those East Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Burma Detains Opposition AIDS Activist
By May Pyone Aun
BANGKOK - Burmese authorities in the former capital Rangoon have detained an opposition activist and outspoken critic of the junta's AIDS policies, the woman's family has told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Five male and two female police officers who identified themselves as belonging to the Ministry of Home Affairs took Phyu Phyu Thinn, 35, into custody at her home in Rangoon around 8:15 p.m. on May 21, after assuring her mother they would bring her home at midnight, her relatives said.
The family has received no information about her since, they told RFA's Burmese service. The officers said she was "wanted by higher authorities," the family said. Phyu Phyu Thinn, who suffers from asthma, brought one change of clothing with her, they said.
Authorities may have pegged her as the architect of a plan to organize mass prayers for the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house arrest was ultimately extended May 25, they said.
"They said they wanted to question Ma Phyu Phyu Thinn, seven of them, and they took her away," her mother, Daw Khin Shwe, said.
Officials in Rangoon couldn't be reached to comment.
Activist and AIDS carer
Phyu Phyu Thinn has volunteered with Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in caring for HIV and AIDS patients since 2002 at her home in Rangoon's Dagon township, her family said.
She was previously detained for four months while traveling with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2000.
In January, Phyu Phyu Thinn publicly complained that Rangoon facilities treating HIV/AIDS patients had stopped providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for new patients because supplies were exhausted.
In an interview before her detention, Phyu Phyu Thinn suggested that mortality among AIDS patients in Burma could be far higher than the official tally-and climbing since NGO clinics had stopped giving out ARVs.
"Currently, we are sending many patients to hospitals and clinics. We are constantly in touch with the patients," Phyu Phyu Thinn said May 15. "When patients learned that they weren't getting more ARVs, many people became discouraged and died."
Throughout Burma, she said, "we know that the death rate from this disease is high."
"ARV medication is no longer distributed in NGO clinics. Because of that, we are seeing an increase in the number of deaths... People don't know that there are medicines like these, and they don't know how to treat [this disease] either," she said. "We find in some places that they are treating it with Burmese herbal medicines. When it is treated this way, not only is it ineffective, they spend a lot of money, and it endangers their lives."
"We can't reduce the death rate with such little help. Many people still need ARV medicines that can control HIV. Until these medicines can be put directly into the hands of patients throughout the country, the death rate will be high."
The ruling junta doesn't keep a record of AIDS deaths, she said, suggesting mortality may be far higher than reported.
"For some, when they die at home, on the death certificates, they list all kinds of other diseases but do not mention that it is from HIV/AIDS. In some regions, there are many who didn't go to the hospitals or clinics. They didn't know they had HIV/AIDS and so they died from it. Actually, the authorities should be working on it systematically-what is the rate of those dying from HIV and the cause of death? They're not doing these things...There are no instructions, and they don't want people to know about it, so they are not paying attention to this matter. Whatever the cause of death is, they just leave it be."
Prison steeled her, sisters say
Phyu Phyu Thinn's younger sister, Ma Sabeh Oo, said her sister's previous detention turned her into an activist. "In the year 2000, she traveled with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, there was some commotion, and she was arrested and put in prison."
"In prison, she saw the opposition government. She realized that everyone had sacrificed for this work. She saw many people in prison like that. It outraged her, and she made a decision right there in prison that she would become involved in politics. She was imprisoned for more than four months.
Then she was released. She began to do this work after her release."
Phyu Phyu Thinn attended HIV and AIDS training sessions run by the NLD and by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and then she began working in rural areas.
"She took the patients to their clinics. She knows how to take care of them and encourage them, and that's how it got started," Ma Sabeh Oo said.
Her older sister, Ma San San Oo, said Phyu Phyu Thinn tried to demonstrate non-discrimination against HIV and AIDS patients.
"She lived by example and corrected our misconceptions. She worked well with all her mind and might. When she's taking care of patients, she's not like ordinary people. She doesn't shrink from the patients. Some patients had sores. We told her, 'You're going to become infected,' but she said, 'No, we need to be close to the patients. Only then, will they understand us, and it'll be easier to treat them.'"
"When these patients first came to our house and ate their meals with us, we felt uncomfortable. Later, we got used to it, and we forgot that they were patients. Before she left for work, there'd already be about 10 or 15 at our house. At first when eating, we'd like to clear away the things.
Later, after seeing her, we mingled with them and ate and drank together," Ma San San Oo said.
Patients at a loss
"For me as well as for other patients, we are all in trouble because of Ma Phyu's arrest," said HIV patient Ma Aye, from Kyauk Badaung.
"We have not received our medicines, which she administers. Emotionally, we are very discouraged because she's not around. All of our other patients are sad and crying. We don't know what to do."
Intimidation, poor treatment
Opposition activists have accused the junta of intimidating HIV/AIDS patients and their supporters.
And while Burma has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Asia, estimated at 1.2 percent of adults, fears that aid money could be misdirected by the secretive junta has left donors reluctant to contribute proportionately.
An estimated 339,000 people were infected with HIV at the end of 2004, according to the military government's National AIDS Program - nearly double the estimated 177,279 cases reported at the end of March 2002.
In the last three years, the junta has opened up to about 30 international agencies working to fight the disease, but their activities remain limited.
Volunteers say the junta's attitude toward HIV prevention has improved recently, after officials denied its rapid spread throughout the 1990s.
Original reporting by May Pyone Aun for RFA's Burmese service. Edited by Khin May Zaw. Service director: Nancy Shwe. Produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.
Chinese Diplomat Says He Was Told To Harass Falun Gong
By RFA News
WASHINGTON - A Chinese diplomat seeking asylum in Australia says he had orders to confiscate the passports of Chinese-born Falun Gong practitioners in the country and deny them extensions on Chinese passports that were set to expire.
Chen Yonglin also said he managed to remove "most" names from a blacklist of 800 Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in Australia during his four years as Chinese consul for political affairs in Sydney.
He left his post and sought political asylum in Australia on May 26. His asylum application was rejected, and he was advised to apply for a protection visa, which is now under consideration.
In an interview with RFA's Mandarin service, Chen said he became "very afraid" of the potential consequences if Chinese authorities learned of his efforts to help the Falun Gong, a grassroots group that Beijing has outlawed as an "evil cult."
"I managed to do a few things to help the Falun Gong. For example, to get passports extended for some of them and to get some names taken off the list," Chen told RFA reporter Shi Shan in a telephone interview.
"When I got there, there were around 800 names on the Falun Gong blacklist, and I managed to get rid of most of them. If my successor should check out my work, [he or she] would realize there were big problems with the way I was carrying out government policy on the Falun Gong."
"There was no room for this sort of religion back home in China," he said, adding that Beijing has asked Australian police guarding the consulate "to do something about [Falun Gong] activities, which I thought was very wrong."
"One of the other things they did to them, which I thought was inhumane and a contravention of their human rights, was to refuse to extend their passports if they were going to expire, and also to confiscate the passports of Falun Gong practitioners," he said.
"These are Chinese citizens, whatever you may think about them. They must have documentation in order to travel," Chen said. "I had to keep my mouth shut and do as I was told. If I didn't do it, I'd be criticized."
"I quite sympathized with the Falun Gong, who would arrange activities on various important dates...They would tell me to put pressure on the Australian government officials not to allow them to do this. But theFalun Gong in Australia is a legal organization which exists only to spread the teachings of Falun Gong."
"If my successor should check out my work, he or she would realize that there were big problems with the way I was carrying out government policy on the Falun Gong. So suddenly I began to be very afraid. I was also concerned about my conscience. I knew I would have to continue to work for this government, and I wouldn't be able to stand it," he said.
"Secondly, things could get much worse for me if they ever discovered what I'd done. At least in Australia I have the opportunity to become a Chinese person with a conscience, and to show that through my actions. I never had the opportunity to leave before now, so now that the opportunity is before me, I thought I should try to take it."
Chen's father was beaten to death on orders from a Communist Party official during the Cultural Revolution, he said, in retaliation for his writing a big-character poster for a group of villagers while he was a student at Qinghua University.
Later, during the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China, Chen said, he was obtaining work experience at the U.S. television network NBC in Beijing.
"I witnessed the bloodshed in person," he said. "At the time I was coming to the end of my studies at China Foreign Affaire University, and I was doing my work experience, helping the NBC camera team as an interpreter."
"During that time, if I wasn't needed at work, I would go to Tiananmen Square and take part in the demonstrations. I also helped out some of the hunger strikers during their protest."
On the night of June 3-4, 1989, he said, he joined a group of people holding hands and trying to stop Chinese troops from entering Tiananmen Square.
"At the time I was very nervous and extremely scared. I thought my life was probably in danger. But I still went with everyone to obstruct their advance."
Then the troops stopped, and Chen said, "I panicked. I jumped over a traffic barrier, cut through a small alleyway, and took cover in the hotel."
Chen arrived in Australia in April 2001 and was assigned to monitor and report back on the activities of the pro-democracy movement, he said.
"According to my understanding, there are a lot of spies among the Chinese community here," he said, adding that most are business people whose work takes them back to China. "They would tell the consulate everything. We could get information on someone as soon as we needed it."
"There are professional spies right in the consulate," he said, adding that they "definitely" tapped dissidents' phones.
"Whenever there was an important event, such as a Chinese leader coming to visit, we would get information from the security body in China. Very detailed information on what, where, and when about activities being planned" in protest. "I was in charge of four main groups," he said. "The Falun Gong, pro-democracy activists, Taiwan independence activists, and supporters of Uyghur and Tibetan independence."
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Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Its mission is to broadcast Asian domestic news and information to listeners in those Asian countries that do not permit free news media. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. In addition to its news programming, RFA strives to be a "university of the air" and broadcasts works of literature and nonfiction that have been banned in RFA's target countries.
© 2005, Radio Free Asia
Schoolchildren Appeal to China
HONG KONG?A group of schoolchildren in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu has appealed to Premier Wen Jiabao to close an unlicensed fireworks factory that they fear is endangering their lives, and which villagers say is being protected by a murky web of local political power and influence.
"There is a fireworks factory behind our school. It hasn't got a license to operate. It has been in illegal production for seven or eight years now," the children and teachers of Honglin Elementary School said in a statement read out by 11-year-old Huang Minghao on an RFA call-in show.
"Every day they let off several dozen fireworks for testing. This makes us all very frightened. If the factory were to explode, we would all be blown to pieces," Huang told RFA Mandarin service's Listener Hotline program.
"All the teachers and students in our school would like to ask you, uncle, to send our request to Grandfather Wen Jiabao in the State Council in central government, to ask him to stop this factory's production immediately, so we can continue with our studies in peace, and go on to become the next generation of talent, and be of use to our country," Huang said in a message broadcast shortly before International Children's Day on June 1.
While there were no suggestions of forced child labor in Huang's story, his plea echoed the March 2001 tragedy at Fanglin Elementary School in Jiangxi Province.
In that incident, angry villagers said a massive explosion that killed 50 children was caused by an illegal fireworks factory using students as labor. The government blamed a "madman" for that blast.
Fears of explosion hang over school
Honglin villagers told RFA they wanted to get the factory?just 20-30 meters from the school, and even closer to a residential area?closed down before they faced a similar disaster on their own doorstep.
"I think that this is a very dangerous industry," Huang's school principal Zhu Zhonglu told a RFA's Investigative Report as it followed up on the 11-year-old's initial phone call.
"The factory butts onto a narrow road, and then there is a residential area next to that...There are so many explosives in there?if they exploded, we'd all be finished," Zhu said. He said that the noise of test explosions frequently disrupted lessons.
Villagers blamed the factory's continuing operation on a cosy and intricate web of relationships between local officials and the factory owner, although corruption allegations were denied by the Jiangyan municipal party secretary.
"The Taizhou and Jiangyan areas are the most corrupt in the whole province. It's enough to have money. Then you can do what you like, and nobody can do anything about it," Huang Minghao's grandfather, Huang Xikang, told RFA.
Taizhou is the birthplace of President Hu Jintao, who was recently pictured with children from China's Communist Party youth league on International Children's Day.
Factory owner admits not having license
"There's an old Chinese saying: if you have money, you can even get ghosts to come and work for you. And those government officials are certainly working for the factory."
Honglin village chief Huang Hua agreed. "The factory owner is very well connected with all the local government leaders. They know each other very well," he said.
Initially, when contacted by RFA, factory owner Wang Qiaozhen denied she was manufacturing fireworks, saying the factory now produced cardboard tubes.
But she later replied to questions regarding safety as if they were relevant to a fireworks operation.
Asked what would be the result of an explosion at her factory on the surrounding buildings, Wang said: "Who can guarantee that? I watch out for the safety of my factory. The only thing I can do is to request my safety supervisor to take care of safety issues."
Wang, who is a Party member and the delegate for nearby Louzhuang township to the National People's Congress, admitted not having a license.
Officials vow to investigate
"Oh that license," Wang said. "We used to have one, but then the licenses were rescinded in the Taizhou area of Jiangsu Province. They took all those licenses away without giving us any paperwork. We are a legal enterprise. I enable many villagers to make a living," she told RFA.
The head of the production safety bureau in nearby Jiangyan City said that the Honglin Fireworks Factory had ceased production.
"It doesn't produce anything. Hasn't done for nearly five years now," the bureau chief, surnamed Zhang, told RFA.
But village chief Huang Hua said there were still sounds of fireworks being let off from within the factory in late May, although he had heard nothing in the week before speaking to RFA.
It was impossible to tell if the factory was still in operation because no-one was allowed inside, he added.
"This factory used to have an operating license once, but all the licenses in this area were withdrawn in around 2001 Jiangyan city banned production of fireworks because there were too many accidents happening," he said.
Fish-farmer Xiao Zhengyou also reported hearing blasts recently.
"This factory is still in production. It's very close to my fish pond. I feel nervous every time I go there to feed my fish," Xiao told RFA reporter Bai Fan.
Officials in the municipal government of Jiangyan city gave widely differing responses when asked about the factory. An official surnamed Zhang in the alcohol and tobacco bureau, which also has responsibility for fireworks, said the government would thoroughly investigate the allegations.
"Our position on this issue is that we must carry out an investigation into the situation...We take complaints like this from local residents very seriously," he said.
His municipal Party boss appeared to take a different view.
"This problem doesn't exist. If such a thing did exist, we would have investigated it," Jiangyan municipal Party secretary Gao Jiming said.
"It's not very likely that there would be people living right next to a fireworks factory," Gao said, adding that he didn't know of the Honglin factory.
Asked if a close relationship between the factory owner and officials in local government enabled it to continue production, Gao replied: "Not likely. Those officials wouldn't want to lose their jobs. We have very strict regulations."
Original reporting in Mandarin by Bai Fan. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Copyright ? 2005, RFA. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. http://www.rfa.org.
The Impact of The Sino-Iranian Strategic Partnership
By Ilan Berman
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission
Hearing on "China's Proliferation to North Korea and
Iran, and Its Role in Addressing the Nuclear and Missile Situations in Both Nations"
Ilan Berman
Vice President for Policy
American Foreign Policy Council
September 14, 2006
Chairman Wortzel, distinguished members of the Commission:
It is a privilege to appear before you today. Thank you for inviting me to discuss the strategic partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It is a topic of utmost importance. Today, Iran's nuclear ambitions have emerged as a cardinal challenge for the United States and its allies. Over the past four years, the Islamic Republic's concerted quest for a nuclear capability has catalyzed a widening international crisis.
Tehran's intransigence in this stand-off has been made possible in part by its strategic partnership with Beijing. Since the start of international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program some three years ago, China has worked actively to dilute the effectiveness of any global response. It has done so initially through its vociferous opposition to Iran's referral to the United Nations Security Council, and more recently by its resistance to the imposition of multilateral sanctions against Tehran.
The Logic Behind Sino-Iranian Cooperation
China's obstructionism on the Iranian nuclear issue has been driven by two primary considerations.
The first is energy. China's runaway economic growth has brought with it a voracious appetite for energy. In 2003, the PRC surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest consumer of oil and petroleum products. Since then, China's oil consumption has continued to grow at an unprecedented rate; oil demand is now projected to reach 7.4 million barrels daily this year - a half-a-million barrel per day increase over 2005 levels.[1] By 2020, according to some estimates, Beijing's energy deficit could top eight million barrels per day.[2]
All of this has made Tehran an indispensable energy partner for the PRC. Home to approximately 10 percent of proven world oil reserves and the world's second largest reserves of natural gas, Iran is a bona fide energy superpower. Beijing's engagement with-and investment in-the Islamic Republic has reflected this reality. In 2004, the two countries came to terms on two massive accords, estimated to be worth some $100 billion over the next twenty-five years, granting Chinese firms extensive rights to develop Iranian oil and natural gas reserves.[3] A flurry of additional deals has followed, and today Tehran and Beijing boast an energy partnership valued at some $120 billion or more.[4]
The results have been dramatic; Iran has become China's single largest oil supplier, and as long ago as 2002 already accounted for more than 15 percent of the PRC's annual oil imports.[5] This degree of economic dependence, moreover, is poised to deepen considerably as energy projects now underway between the two countries begin to come online over the next several years.
The benefits of this partnership are hardly one-sided, however. Iranian officials remember well the experience of the late 1990s, when low world oil prices and international isolation brought their country's economy to the brink of collapse. As a result, the Islamic Republic has embarked upon an ambitious effort in recent years to diplomatically and economically engage foreign nations, more often than not through its chief export commodity: oil. The burgeoning partnership between Tehran and Beijing is a testament to its successes on that front.
While energy represents the primary driver of contemporary cooperation, mutual opposition to America's primacy in world affairs serves as an important secondary force. In the post-Cold War era, officials in Beijing have expressed their commitment to a multi-polar world in which American influence is diluted, and have pursued partnerships with nations antagonistic to the United States as part of this effort. As numerous observers have noted, China today has embraced a "balancing" strategy designed to frustrate U.S. policy through robust international diplomacy.[6] While it is doing so most directly in Asia, the Chinese government has increasingly sought Middle Eastern partners for this venture as well. Cooperation with Iran, the emerging geopolitical center of gravity in the post-Saddam Hussein Middle East, has consequently emerged as a major point of political focus.
These sentiments have been echoed in Tehran. Ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the regime in Tehran has viewed the United States as its principal enemy. For just as long, Iran's ayatollahs have sought external partners for their anti-American regional and international policies. This focus, moreover, has deepened dramatically since the start of the War on Terror. The U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, and the subsequent removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq two years later, may have eliminated Iran's chief ideological and military adversaries. But it also raised fears among Iran's ayatollahs of a dangerous encirclement-and of the possibility of a similar U.S.-driven transformation in their country. Iran has responded by seeking to strengthen its international partnerships, with China emerging as a major area of Iranian attention. As one conservative Iranian paper put it following then-president Mohammad Khatami's landmark visit to the PRC in the year 2000, "the strengthening of the Tehran-Beijing axis is of great importance" in the context of "confronting the unipolar world being considered by America."[7]
These trends have found their expression in an increasingly robust proliferation partnership, and in the integration of Iran into Chinese-dominated security structures.
From China, With Arms
Beginning in the early 1990s, the Chinese government launched a series of steps to alleviate mounting international concerns about its proliferation practices. In 1992, it acceded to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Two years later, in a joint statement with the United States, the Chinese government pledged to abide by the Missile Technology Control Regime. Then, in 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and independently announced a moratorium on nuclear testing. The following year, it officially joined the Zangger Committee (NPT Exporters Committee). Most recently, in 2004, China became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). In tandem with these measures, the PRC has repeatedly issued "white papers" and communiques pledging greater unilateral restrictions on the sale of missile and WMD-related technologies abroad.[8] But as a practical matter, China's record of proliferation to Iran is poor - and getting worse.[9]
Conventional arms sales
Over the past decade-and-a-half, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been engaged in a sustained, multi-spectrum modernization of its military, and China has played a big part in these plans. For the period between 1993 and 1996, Chinese arms sales to Iran stood at approximately $400 million. Between 1997 and 2000, that number had risen to $600 million.[10] (Numbers for 2000 through 2006, though preliminary, appear to be more modest.) The goods provided by the PRC have included anti-ship cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, combat aircraft, and fast-attack patrol vessels, as well as advanced technology designed to expand the versatility of Iran's burgeoning cruise missile arsenal. These supplies have contributed significantly to what has become the central element of Iran's military rearmament-a revitalization of its naval forces. As a direct result, U.S. intelligence agencies now estimate that Iran has the ability to shut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf for brief periods of time, even with a Western military presence in the region.[11]
Ballistic missiles
Despite its commitment to abide by the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime, China remains an active missile partner of the Islamic Republic. The U.S. intelligence community believes that Chinese entities continue to provide substantial assistance to the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program, and have assisted the Iranian regime in erecting an indigenous production capability for its strategic arsenal.[12] In particular, American officials have expressed concerns that Chinese firms have aided in the development-and subsequently the enhancement-of the centerpiece of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, the 2,000-kilometer range Shahab-3.[13]
China has also provided Iran with sophisticated cruise missile technology. Beginning during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), large quantities of Chinese-origin "Silkworm," C-801 "Eagle Strike," and C-802 cruise missiles found their way to the Islamic Republic.[14] Iran, in turn, has wasted no time in transferring this technology to its terrorist proxies. A recent example took place in July, during the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, when an Israeli warship, the INS Hanit, was hit and disabled by an Iranian variant of the C-802 "Silkworm"-a missile that Israeli officials previously did not know the Shi'ite militia possessed.[15]
Chemical weapons
Iran's efforts to acquire chemical weapons (CW), like its ballistic missile program, began during the Iran-Iraq War, when the Iranian leadership launched a national effort to develop a response to Iraqi chemical weapons attacks on Iranian troops. During the mid-1990s, this effort received a substantial boost from foreign suppliers, including China, who provided the Iranian regime with critical precursor chemicals and key weapons know-how.[16] The results have been dramatic; since the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has termed Iran's CW program to be the "most active" in the developing world-encompassing nerve, blister, choking and blood agents, as well as "a stockpile of at least several hundred metric tons of weaponized and bulk agent."[17] And, despite its status as an original signatory of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, Chinese firms still appear to be actively engaged in the transfer of "dual-use CW-related production equipment and technology" that could assist in this effort.[18]
Nuclear assistance
China's most active WMD assistance to Iran, however, has been in the nuclear sphere. Preliminary nuclear contacts between the PRC and the Islamic Republic began in the mid- to late-1980s. The two countries are known to have signed nuclear accords in 1989, and again in 1991, paving the way for what would become a vibrant and multifaceted atomic partnership.[19] By 1996, in a manifestation of the strength of this collaboration, the Pentagon had officially designated China as a "principal supplier of nuclear technology to Iran."[20]
A decade on, this aspect of the Sino-Iranian strategic partnership is still going strong, despite the threat of U.S. sanctions. China has reportedly been a major focus of Iranian procurement activities, with Iranian front companies successfully acquiring nuclear-related materials from the PRC in recent years.[21] Iranian opposition elements have also charged that Chinese experts are employed at multiple nuclear facilities inside Iran, including the Saghand uranium mine and a uranium centrifuge facility outside Isfahan.[22] Beijing's most important support, however is moral; through its resistance to U.S. and European efforts to hold Iran accountable, Beijing has bought Tehran valuable time to forge ahead with its nuclear program.
Shanghai Calling
Iran is likewise expanding its links with the premier security bloc in the "post-Soviet space," the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Established in June of 2001, the SCO is an expansion of the "Shanghai Five," a regional grouping begun in 1996 with the purpose of strengthening the common security of its member states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. By contrast, both the membership and the mission of the SCO are substantially broader. Ostensibly, the purpose of the new bloc, which now also encompasses Uzbekistan as a full member and Mongolia, Pakistan, India and Iran as observers, is to expand regional economic, cultural and counterterrorism cooperation.[23] Iran's involvement, however, increasingly underscores the bloc's unstated purpose: the diminution of American influence in the "post-Soviet space." As Iranian observers have made clear, "[t]he national interests of Iran and China are in clear contradiction to the presence of the American military forces in [C]entral Asia, and the support of China for Iran's membership... should be seen within that framework."[24]
Indeed, Beijing appears to be receptive to Iranian efforts to expand its role in this grouping. Iran's radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a guest of honor at the SCO's most recent summit in June 2006, delivering a public address that called upon the group to play a greater role against "the threats of domineering powers"-a thinly-veiled reference to the United States.[25] Beijing has also sent positive signals to Iran regarding its quest for full blown membership in the six-country bloc (though so far stopping short of directly lobbying for the Islamic Republic's full inclusion in the forum).
Such a union, however, would have major benefits for both sides. Iran, facing a looming confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program, is eager to obtain a measure of collective security. China, meanwhile, has a vested interest in securing its most important energy partner against external threats. And while Iran's immediate membership is not likely as a result of both institutional and political constraints,[26] the potential of such an expanded bloc, if and when it does materialize, will be immense. As David Wall of Cambridge University has explained, an SCO incorporating Iran "would essentially be an OPEC with bombs": an energy-rich geopolitical alliance stretching from the Taiwan Strait to the Strait of Hormuz.[27]
Trouble Ahead
With the expiration of the United Nations-imposed August 31st deadline to cease uranium enrichment, the international crisis over Iran's nuclear program has entered a new and dangerous phase. World attention is now focused on available punitive measures against the Islamic Republic, sanctions chief among them.
China has a decisive vote in this process. By virtue of its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, China has the ability to stymie the UN's implementation of multilateral measures against Iran. And, despite repeated U.S. entreaties, Chinese officials have done just that, steadfastly refusing to back sanctions against Iran on the grounds that they would be "counterproductive."[28]
Beijing's resistance is logical. Sanctions against Iran threaten to undermine an increasingly important element of the PRC's economic construct. China requires steady supplies of oil in order to maintain its current economic momentum, and can ill afford a supply interruption-particularly from an energy source as important as Iran. By way of comparison, the impact for China of Iran going "offline" as a result of sanctions would be roughly equivalent to the effect a sudden cessation of oil supplies from Saudi Arabia would have on the U.S. economy. It has likewise not been lost on Chinese officials that a likely result of sanctions could be an escalation to military action against Iran, and the possible loss of a major Chinese ally to U.S.-supported regime change.[29]
Iran is well aware of China's calculus. As one Iranian analyst recently put it: "The dimensions of the historical, religious, economic and commercial cooperation between Iran and China are numerous, and it seems that China has always considered very seriously the dilemma of choosing either Iran or the United States, and it is hoped that in the end, it is going to choose that option which will safeguard the long term interests of China."[30]
None of this is to say that Chinese officials are not cognizant of the dangers of Iran's atomic drive. In recent months, China has joined with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council in pressuring Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment activities. But, in keeping with its internal economic imperatives, the PRC has insisted on "diplomacy" as the sole means of resolving the Iranian nuclear impasse.[31]
China's stance has far-reaching implications. So far, the Bush administration has focused on international diplomacy as the primary means by which to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that China's political and economic priorities militate strongly against a constructive role for Beijing in the peaceful resolution of this crisis.
Notes:
[1] Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy, "Country Analysis Brief: China," August 2006, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Oil.html.
[2] Matthew R. Simmons, presentation at the Camden Conference on China, Camden, Maine, February 11, 2006, http://www.simmonsco-intl.com/files/Camden%20Conference%20on%20China.pdf#search=%22chinese%20oil%20demand%202015%20iea%22.
[3] Robin Wright, "Iran's New Alliance with China Could Cost U.S. Leverage," Washington Post, November 17, 2004, A21.
[4] Gal Luft, Statement before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, July 21, 2005, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2005hearings/written_testimonies/05_07_21_22wrts/luft_gal_wrts.htm.
[5] Jin Liangxiang, "Energy First: China and the Middle East," Middle East Quarterly XII, no. 2 (2005), http://www.meforum.org/article/694.
[6] See, for example, Yuan-Kang Wang, "China's Grand Strategy and U.S. Primacy: Is China Balancing American Power?" Brookings Institution Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies Working Paper, July 2006, http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cnaps/papers/wang2006.pdf.
[7] "Evaluation of President's Trip to China," Abrar (Tehran), June 29, 2000.
[8] Shirley A. Kan, China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (Washington: Congressional Research Service, July 2006), 1-2.
[9] During the Clinton administration, Chinese entities were subject to proliferation-related sanctions 17 times. During the first term of the Bush administration, that number rose to 50, in part due to more stringent monitoring requirements contained in the 2000 Iran Nonproliferation Act. See Daniel A. Pinkston, testimony before the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, March 10, 2005, http://cns.miis.edu/research/congress/testim/pinkston.pdf.
[10] Richard F. Grimmett, Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1993-2000 (Washington: Congressional Research Service, August 2001), 28.
[11] Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lowell E. Jacoby, "Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States," statement before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 24, 2004, http://intelligence.senate.gov/0402hrg/040224/jacoby.pdf.
[12] U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July Through 31 December 2003, November 2004, https://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/721_reports/pdfs/721report_july_dec2003.pdf; U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2005 Report to Congress, November 2005, 128.
[13] "Pentagon Fears Russia, China Helping Iran Build Ballistic Missile," cnn.com, July 19, 2000, http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/07/19/iran.missile.test/index.html.
[14] Once in Iran, these missiles were reverse-engineered as part of an Iranian effort to produce indigenous variants of foreign rockets. They were also deployed by the regime's clerical army, the Pasdaran, on naval vessels and patrol craft, as well mounted on coastal batteries along the Strait of Hormuz. "C-802 / YJ-2 / Ying Ji-802 / CSS-C-8 / SACCADE," globalsecurity.org, n.d., http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/c-802.htm.
[15] Alon Ben-David, "Hizbullah Hits Israel's INS Hanit With Anti-Ship Missile," Jane's Defence Weekly, July 18, 2006, http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw060718_1_n.shtml.
[16] See, for example, "CW Deliveries From China," Iran Brief, July 6, 1995.
[17] Michael Eisenstadt, Iranian Military Power: Capabilities and Intentions (Washington: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1996), 26; Norman Schindler, "Iran's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs," Statement before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services Subcommittee, September 21, 2000, http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2000/schindler_WMD_092200.htm.
[18] U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July Through 31 December 2003.
[19] Herbert Krosney, Deadly Business: Legal Deals and Outlaw Weapons (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993), 250-51.
[20] Office of the Secretary of Defense, Proliferation: Threat and Response 1996 (Washington: U.S. Department of Defense, 1996), 14.
[21] Glenn Kessler, "Group Alleges New Nuclear Site in Iran; Facility Said to Be Used to House Equipment to Enrich Uranium for Use in Weapons," Washington Post, February 20, 2003, A31.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Shanghai Cooperation Organization, "Declaration on Establishment of Shanghai Cooperation Organization," June 15, 2001, http://www.sectsco.org/html/00088.html.
[24] Sharq (Tehran), August 19, 2006.
[25] Oliver August, "Iran in Talks to Join Alliance Against West," Times of London, June 16, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2228233,00.html.
[26] See, for example, "The Limits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Press Report, August 7, 2006, http://www.rferl.org/releases/2006/08/428-070806.asp.
[27] As cited in Michael Mainville, "Central Asian Bloc Considering Iran for Membership," Washington Times, June 5, 2006, http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060604-103052-2402r.htm.
[28] "Chinese PM Dismisses Iran Sanctions as 'Counterproductive,'" IRNA (Tehran), September 7, 2006, http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/7/2006&Cat=2&Num=014.
[29] People's Daily (Beijing), April 13, 2006, as cited in John J. Tkacik, Jr., "Confront China's Support for Iran's Nuclear Weapons," Heritage Foundation Webmemo no. 1042, April 18, 2006, http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm1042.cfm.
[30] Sharq (Tehran), August 19, 2006.
[31] "Major Powers Warn Iran on Nuclear Programme," Times of London, March 30, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2111093,00.html
The top 100 Most Read stories July 2005
See also:
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Afghanistan: Marriage Practice Victimizes Young Girls, Society
dreams - and ends in nightmare.
Torpekay, for example, is an Afghan girl from western Herat Province. Although just 17, she has been married for four years.
Torpekay tells RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that becoming a wife at the tender age of 13, being forced to serve her husband's family, and having virtually no say in her own life have taken a heavy toll on her. So heavy, she says, that she tried to escape - by taking her own life.
She survived the attempt, and has been recovering at a local hospital. "I was so angry that I wanted to kill myself," she says, asking that her surname not be used. "I didn't have a knife, I didn't have any drug to inject into myself, so I decided to set myself on fire. Using gasoline was the easiest way."
The issue of child marriages, which affects more than 50 million girls worldwide according to the United Nations, was thrust back in the headlines recently when the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) selected its "Photo of 2007." The winning shot, by American photographer Stephanie Sinclair, shows a 40-year-old Afghan man, Mohammad, sitting next his visibly horror-stricken fiancee, Ghulam. She is barely 11 years old.
"We needed the money," Ghulam's parents, from Ghor Province, were quoted as saying.
UNICEF says child marriages are a reaction to extreme poverty. They mainly take place in Asian and African regions where poor families see daughters as a burden and as second-class citizens. The girls are given into the "care" of a husband, and many of them end up abused. Morever, they are often under pressure to bear children, but the risk of death during pregnancy or childbirth for girls under 14 is five times higher than for adult women.
Still Clutching Toys
According to UNICEF, 57 percent of Afghan marriages involve girls under 16. Women's activists say up to 80 percent of marriages in the country are either forced or arranged. And the problem is particularly acute in poverty-stricken rural areas.
In such places, many girls are forced into marriages when they are as young as nine or 10, says Khatema Mosleh of the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), a nonpartisan group of organizations that campaign for women's rights in Afghanistan. Most marry far older men - some in their 60s - whom they meet for the first time at their wedding.
So young are some girls, Mosleh says, that they hold onto their toys during the wedding ceremony. And they usually become mothers in their early teens, while they are still children themselves.
"When we speak with girls who married very young, they usually say, 'It feels like we didn't have a life, we didn't have childhood,'" Mosleh says. "These girls don't even remember their wedding day because they were so young. They say, 'We had a wedding, but we didn't even understand what the ceremony meant.'"
Women and children's rights activists in Afghanistan say the marriages are imposed on young girls for a variety of reasons.
In Afghan villages, it's considered dishonorable for families for daughters to meet and date boys. Some parents try to marry their daughters as soon as possible to avoid such a prospect. A lack of security during more than three decades of war, and the risk of kidnapping and rape, has also prompted many families to force their young daughters into marriage. And widespread poverty still compels many parents to get their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them.
According to Mosleh, most men who marry young girls are much older and wealthier, and they pay significant amounts of money to the families of the young brides.
Deadly Consequences
Young marriages have contributed to high rates of death among women, infant mortality, and particularly maternal deaths. At 44, an Afghan woman's life expectancy is one of the lowest in the world.
Badriya Hassas, a gynecologist in Rabiya Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, says that shortly after being married, many young girls are admitted to hospital in a state of shock from serious physical injuries and psychological trauma. "Some of these girls suffer irreversible physical damage," Hassas tells RFE/RL. "They suffer from tearing and extensive bleeding. Besides, they usually come to hospital too late - after massive bleeding, and in a state of shock. We have personally seen many such cases."
Sami Hashemi, an expert at UNICEF's Kabul office, says it is a tragedy for Afghan society that "young girls who are supposed to be thinking about toys, books, and cartoons are being forced to become wives, to serve their husbands' families, and bear a child."
The Afghan government has taken some steps to tackle the problem. The country has recently changed the legal age for marriage for girls from 16 to 17. Men who want to marry girls under 17 are not entitled to obtain a marriage certificate, although rights activists say many men simply do not bother with officially registering their marriages.
Local NGOs and their international partners have also started an awareness campaign throughout the country to promote children's rights to education and self-determination.
Mosleh says many parents, teachers, and local leaders take part in workshops and meetings organized by her and other NGOs in Afghanistan's remote towns and villages. But she and other activists harbor few illusions: It will take years, perhaps a generation, to root out the tradition of child marriages.
dreams - and ends in nightmare.
Torpekay, for example, is an Afghan girl from western Herat Province. Although just 17, she has been married for four years.
Torpekay tells RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that becoming a wife at the tender age of 13, being forced to serve her husband's family, and having virtually no say in her own life have taken a heavy toll on her. So heavy, she says, that she tried to escape - by taking her own life.
She survived the attempt, and has been recovering at a local hospital. "I was so angry that I wanted to kill myself," she says, asking that her surname not be used. "I didn't have a knife, I didn't have any drug to inject into myself, so I decided to set myself on fire. Using gasoline was the easiest way."
The issue of child marriages, which affects more than 50 million girls worldwide according to the United Nations, was thrust back in the headlines recently when the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) selected its "Photo of 2007." The winning shot, by American photographer Stephanie Sinclair, shows a 40-year-old Afghan man, Mohammad, sitting next his visibly horror-stricken fiancee, Ghulam. She is barely 11 years old.
"We needed the money," Ghulam's parents, from Ghor Province, were quoted as saying.
UNICEF says child marriages are a reaction to extreme poverty. They mainly take place in Asian and African regions where poor families see daughters as a burden and as second-class citizens. The girls are given into the "care" of a husband, and many of them end up abused. Morever, they are often under pressure to bear children, but the risk of death during pregnancy or childbirth for girls under 14 is five times higher than for adult women.
Still Clutching Toys
According to UNICEF, 57 percent of Afghan marriages involve girls under 16. Women's activists say up to 80 percent of marriages in the country are either forced or arranged. And the problem is particularly acute in poverty-stricken rural areas.
In such places, many girls are forced into marriages when they are as young as nine or 10, says Khatema Mosleh of the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), a nonpartisan group of organizations that campaign for women's rights in Afghanistan. Most marry far older men - some in their 60s - whom they meet for the first time at their wedding.
So young are some girls, Mosleh says, that they hold onto their toys during the wedding ceremony. And they usually become mothers in their early teens, while they are still children themselves.
"When we speak with girls who married very young, they usually say, 'It feels like we didn't have a life, we didn't have childhood,'" Mosleh says. "These girls don't even remember their wedding day because they were so young. They say, 'We had a wedding, but we didn't even understand what the ceremony meant.'"
Women and children's rights activists in Afghanistan say the marriages are imposed on young girls for a variety of reasons.
In Afghan villages, it's considered dishonorable for families for daughters to meet and date boys. Some parents try to marry their daughters as soon as possible to avoid such a prospect. A lack of security during more than three decades of war, and the risk of kidnapping and rape, has also prompted many families to force their young daughters into marriage. And widespread poverty still compels many parents to get their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them.
According to Mosleh, most men who marry young girls are much older and wealthier, and they pay significant amounts of money to the families of the young brides.
Deadly Consequences
Young marriages have contributed to high rates of death among women, infant mortality, and particularly maternal deaths. At 44, an Afghan woman's life expectancy is one of the lowest in the world.
Badriya Hassas, a gynecologist in Rabiya Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, says that shortly after being married, many young girls are admitted to hospital in a state of shock from serious physical injuries and psychological trauma. "Some of these girls suffer irreversible physical damage," Hassas tells RFE/RL. "They suffer from tearing and extensive bleeding. Besides, they usually come to hospital too late - after massive bleeding, and in a state of shock. We have personally seen many such cases."
Sami Hashemi, an expert at UNICEF's Kabul office, says it is a tragedy for Afghan society that "young girls who are supposed to be thinking about toys, books, and cartoons are being forced to become wives, to serve their husbands' families, and bear a child."
The Afghan government has taken some steps to tackle the problem. The country has recently changed the legal age for marriage for girls from 16 to 17. Men who want to marry girls under 17 are not entitled to obtain a marriage certificate, although rights activists say many men simply do not bother with officially registering their marriages.
Local NGOs and their international partners have also started an awareness campaign throughout the country to promote children's rights to education and self-determination.
Mosleh says many parents, teachers, and local leaders take part in workshops and meetings organized by her and other NGOs in Afghanistan's remote towns and villages. But she and other activists harbor few illusions: It will take years, perhaps a generation, to root out the tradition of child marriages.
The top 400 Most Read stories October 2005
See also:
Most read stories July 2005
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Most read stories September 2005
Most read stories October 2005
Most read stories December 2005
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433 : Multi-National Forces Capture Abu Ghraib IED Cell
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399 : World Community has "Blind Spot" on Global Weapons Trade
397 : Female Officers Train Iraqi Soldiers
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342 : Guantanamo Bay Detainee Released to Egypt
333 : Assessing al Qaida Progress in Iraq and Afghanistan
296 : Pretty Ricky & B5 to Hit the Road on Scream IV Tour
285 : Operation Iron Fist Begins in al Anbar Province
273 : Crossfire War: Malaysian Groups Radicalize Islamic Communities in Macedonia
262 : Crossfire War: Middle East Theatre; Paris Pursues its Obsession
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226 : Trek Madone SSLx - The New Lance Bike
225 : Marlboro Man's Ad Agency Goes Smokefree
224 : New Index Sets Benchmark for Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases
223 : UN says Global Economy Declined in 2005
219 : Democratic Elections Proposed for Nepal
217 : Real Estate Lessons from Trammell Crow
214 : Drug Courts: A Shot in the Arm for Our Struggling Healthcare System?
209 : Bush, Rice Send Condolences, Offer Aid After Pakistan Earthquake
205 : Farrakhan and Jackson Don't Speak for Black Americans
189 : Operation River Gate Update - October 10 2005
186 : Chinese Authorities Step Up Anti-Separatist Campaign in Tibetan Region
186 : Crossfire War: NW China/Xinjiang Province (East Turkestan) - "Time Bomb"
180 : "Heart Of America," a Song of Hope; Michael McDonald, Wynona Judd and Eric Benet Join Terry Dexter and the First Full Gospel Choir of New Orleans
176 : Iraqi Tip Leads Soldiers to Terrorist Mortar Site, Terrorist Killed
175 : Employment Scam Traps Unwary Job Seekers
172 : U.N. investigators in Lebanon identify Four Suspects in Hariri Assassination
166 : Cheney Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Iraq, Praises U.S. Marines
164 : President Bush Hosts Iftar Dinner at White House
162 : Iraq: One Year Anniversary Of Murder of Nepalese Workers
159 : Father, Son Reunite on Deployment in Iraq
158 : Air Force supports Iraqi, Afghan and Coalition Objectives
156 : 'Running Dry' Documentary Film on Global Water Crisis
155 : Maoists Pressure Nepalese People with Threats, Violence
149 : Five Soldiers killed in Ramadi
148 : ASPCA Databases Created for Katrina Lost Pets and Volunteer Opportunities
148 : Iraq Reconstruction Money Released for Basra Pump Station
147 : Crossfire War: Iran Tests a Nuclear Warhead for the Shahab-3
145 : California Requires Fire-Safe Cigarettes
145 : Seven Egyptians Designated "Terrorist Supporters"
145 : Adore Shop Magazine-Introducing Southern California's First Regional Shopping Magazine
143 : Wal-Mart Marketing Veteran to Lead Sweet Success National Mass Market Rollout
142 : Is Aruba's Government Covering Up Again
139 : Nepali Civilians Physically Assaulted by Indian Border Security Force
138 : New Hurricane Song About Katrina Angers Bush Administration and Other Politicians
136 : Arrest of 36 Suspects in Iraq Within 24 hours, Sunday
135 : Kidnapper Killed after Car Chase, Victim Rescued by U.S Soldiers
135 : Blind Social Activist, Lawyers Beaten in China
134 : The Notorious B.I.G. Lives on: "The Final Chapter" Duets Album Due November 29th; First Track, "Hold Ya Head," Featuring Bob Marley, Premieres Exclusively via AOL First Listen Today; Album to Feature Superstar Artist/Producer Line-Up
134 : The Mind-Body Connection: Complexity in Weight Loss
131 : Global Drug-Trafficking Ring Broken up by U.S., Canada, Spain
131 : Government Grants, Government Jobs, Work-at-Home Jobs and Home-Based Business Ventures Provide Fast Cash
129 : U.S. Supports the Arts Through Blend of Public and Private Funding
128 : ASPCA Announces Annual Humane Award Winners
128 : Crossfire War: Beijing - Premier Wen Jiabao Under Severe Criticism
128 : Multi-National Forces capture Al-Qaida terrorist brigade leaders
127 : BME/Warner Bros. Recording Artist Lil Scrappy and Bohagon Join Label Head Lil Jon on Anger Management Tour
126 : Sexy Halloween Costumes By Hipwear
125 : Crossfire War: Bush Administration Writes Israel Off - Tells Them - Go to the EU
124 : Tikrit, Balad: Task Force Liberty Soldiers Killed in Two Incidents
124 : Afghan Reconciliation Program Grows after Successful Elections
124 : Back On Stage After 36 Years - No Limit Productions Is Introducing Butterflies Are Free With A 2005 Point Of View
124 : John Garang Memorialized by Sudan’s Top Novelist
122 : Troop Tribute Spotlights National Guardsman
121 : Kola Boof talks about John Garang, Bin Laden and More
121 : Lil Rob's "Twelve Eighteen"
121 : FunMail's Wallpaper Universe Still Sizzling in Verizon Wireless' #1 Spot
120 : The Project Group Announces Dismissal of Sarbanes-Oxley Complaint of Former Controller
120 : Six-Party Talks Still Face "Perilous" Times
118 : One Soldier Killed and Two Soldiers Wounded by IED Attack
117 : Jim Jones' Much-Anticipated New Full-Length Album "Harlem: The Diary of A Summer" Set for Release on 8.23.05
117 : O.A.R. to Release "Stories of a Stranger" on October 4, 2005
116 : 10km NW of Tikrit, Iraq
115 : Technology Promises to Treat Attention and Behavioral Problems
114 : More States Go Smokefree, Increase Cigarette Taxes as Momentum Builds for Combatting Tobacco Use
114 : VoIPSupply.com Expands Buffalo Headquarters
114 : Alliance Group Entertainment's, Confessions Of A Pit Fighter Expose's Underground Street Figting
113 : Rice Reiterates U.S. Support for Haitian Electoral Process
113 : Breast Cancer Basics and Beyond
112 : Avenged Sevenfold's "City Of Evil" Unleashed June 7
111 : Israel to Leave Gaza Despite Suicide Attack
110 : Crossfire War: Damascus; Convenient Suicide of Syria's Interior Minister
109 : Atlanta Public School District Focus on High School, College Preparation
109 : Bush Urges U.N. Session on Syria Role in Hariri Assassination
109 : BlueBear Network Acquires Breakthrough 3D Face Camera
108 : Iraqi Recruits Prepare to Fight al Zarqawi's Followers
108 : Mocking the Downing Street Memo
106 : Crossfire War - Iran's President States World Without U. S. - Israel Possible
105 : State Department Update on U.S. Aid to Earthquake Victims
105 : Home Inspection Gaining National Attention From State Legislators
104 : Miracle Happening in Iraq - Positive Progress
103 : "Nashville Star" Winner Gives to Military Families
102 : GPS Industries Adds New Sales Director, and Two New Distributors
101 : Crossfire War: Bombs Wound Nearly 90 People - Iranians Blame US/UK
100 : Funds For 35,000 Head Start At-Risk Children Slots to Vanish Under 2% Cut
99 : Crossfire War: Gaza - Anarchy Reigns - Police Storm Parliament
96 : Two Marines Killed by IED Near al Amariyah
96 : Recycling Katrina-Damaged Homes
95 : President Bush Expresses Condolences on Earthquake, Visits Pakistan Embassy
95 : Crossfire War: Eurasian Theatre; In Service to Tehran
94 : U.S. Deeply Disappointed by Vote on UNESCO Diversity Convention
94 : Visa Waiver Program Visitors need Digital Photo After October 26
93 : Iraqi Soldiers Send Donation for Katrina Victims
92 : Nicole Richie Voted September Beauty Icon of the Month by Online Women
91 : Political-Military Success Strategy for Iraq Laid Out
91 : Iraq Referendum Facts
90 : China Closes Web Site after Taishi Village Standoff Report
89 : In War on Terror, Many Countries Violating Human Rights Standards
88 : Soldiers Foil Ambush, Find Weapons Cache in al-Rashid
87 : Time for "Real Action" on North Korea's Pledge
87 : Devastating Disease finally gets International Attention
87 : Spike Television's Extreme 4x4 Selects Hill Killer Transmissions To Provide A Hill Killer Allison 1000 Transmission For Its 1,000 Horsepower Hybrid Vehicle
86 : Endure No More: Five Ways to Say "Enough Is Enough"
84 : Tough Day for US Troops, 5 Killed
84 : Compliance Key to World Peace, State's DeSutter Tells U.N
84 : How To Eat More and Lose Weight! No, Really…
83 : Crossfire War: Middle East Theatre; The Four Fs - Fouda, Fitnah, Fasad, Falatan
82 : CostumeUniverse.com Reports Strong September Costume Sales
81 : Three MEF Marines Killed, MEF Soldier Dies from Wounds
80 : After the Glycemic Index, now Meet the Satiety Index
80 : Bush Touts Border Protection, Immigration Reform
79 : Crossfire War: Al-Qaeda Now Within Striking Distance of Suez Canal
79 : NTS Communications Selects Coaxsys' TVnet for In-Home IPTV Distribution
79 : Crossfire War: Small Arms Trade $2-10 Billion a Year - Increase in Terrorists
78 : Solar Energy-Saving Competition Hosted by Energy Department
78 : Crossfire War: Iran's Longer Range Missiles - Shehab-4 and Kosar ICBM
77 : Terrorist Stronghold Raided in al Ushsh, Northwest al Qaim
77 : Help save Public Television - Producer
76 : Teens Think They're Slimmer Than They Are!
76 : Israel has reached "A Moment of Great Significance"
75 : Students Win Essay Contest on 2005 'Summit of the Americas' Theme
75 : Crossfire War: British Turning Basra Over to Islamic Militias
75 : Gold Star Families Lead Rally to Support Troops, Their Mission
74 : Al Qaeda in Iraq Terrorist Cell Meeting Site Destroyed
74 : Loyal Partners Sniff Out Trouble in Iraq
74 : NCSBN Welcomes New Hampshire to the Nurse Licensure Compact
73 : Update to Previous Release, Two Additional II MEF Marines Killed in Action
73 : Columbus Day from Historical Perspectives
72 : AcuityID LLC And Retriever Industries LLC Partner To Insure RFID Privacy And Security
72 : Pakistan Relief Effort Must Be Augmented Quickly, Admiral Says
72 : Two Marines Killed near Ar Rutbah, Four Enemy Killed
72 : Nevtah/Cassandra Oil Sands Joint Venture Pilot Plant Mobilized in Utah
72 :
71 : "THE PEOPLES CHAMP" Gets a Platinum Grill; #1-Charting Paul Wall Album Earns First RIAA Certification
71 : Move to Middle Leaves Conservatives Looking for New Home
71 : 10th Mountain Soldiers Assist Iraqi Forces at Polls
71 : Operation River Gate update
71 : Zingo, Inc. Initiates Massive Marketing Campaign With Yahoo!, Google, MSN to Introduce Its $14.95 Unlimited Telephone Calling Plan for USA and Canada
70 : Each Day, Around the World, Women and Girls are Bought And Sold
70 : U.S. Treasury Appoints Financial Attache to China
70 : Metavante Gains Electronic Bill Pay Momentum With New UMB Contract
70 : Hot 'n Sexy Maternity Wear From Joelle Maternity
70 : Queen of Self-Help says Life is HUGE!
69 : US Provides $50Million to Pakistan for Initial Relief and Reconstruction Aid
69 : International Space Station Takes on New U.S., Russian Crew
69 : Four Marine Expeditionary Force Soldiers Killed in 3 Incidents
69 : NASA, Google To Collaborate on Technology Research, Development
69 : Marques Houston, T.U.G. Recording Artist And Star Of UPN's Cuts, Performs Live At Virgin Mega Store
68 : China Urged to Institute Additional Market Reforms
68 : Task Force Liberty Soldiers and Iraqi Forces Detain Terrorists in Kirkuk
68 : Transfer Huge Files Online Fast And Free
67 : Iraqi and Task Force Freedom Soldiers Seize Major Weapons Cache
67 : Iraqi Contractors Earned $22 Million in Cash
67 : Crossfire War: Senior Kosovo Serb Police Officer Shot and Wounded
67 : Broadcastbid.com Effectively Delivers Wake-up Call To Attendees At The NAB Radio Show 2005
66 : Completed Diwaniyah Water Construction Project Employs 50 Iraqis
66 : AcuityID And RAM Engineering Join Forces To Attack Item Level RFID Market
66 : Make Your Own Miracle
66 : The Summer of Code for students begins.
65 : Crossfire War: Tehran Watch; 3 Explosions Timed for Maximum Death
65 : Terrorist Safe House Destroyed near al bu Hardan, NW of Al Qaim
65 : Honor Comes to Those Who Serve
64 : USAID Provides Food Transportation Assistance to Nicaragua
64 : UNICEF to Receive City's Goodwill from Yokohama Students October 10
63 : Coalition Forces Disrupt Terrorist Ambush in Taji
63 : Fact Sheet: President Bush Remarks on the War on Terror
63 : Iraqi, Coalition Forces September Weapons Haul in Baghdad Biggest Since May
63 : Write Your Way to SAT Success
63 : Ed Waller, Kevin Dains, Robert Miller Join New First NLC Financial Services Correspondent Lending Division
62 : IEDs Kill 3 Soldiers in Two Separate Incidents
62 : Nanny Scam - an Employment Scam with a Twist Rips Off the Unaware
62 : McNair Beauty Team - Providing Hair Stylists, Make-up Artists And Manicurists For TV, Film, Print, Fashion Shows, Music Videos, Weddings And Other Special Events
62 : New Washington Monument Honors Leaders in Volunteer Movements
62 : AccountNow Selects PRBC To Assist Underbanked Consumers
62 : Is it Pointless to Even Try to Lose Weight? ...The Rebound Effect
62 : Restraint at Abu Ghraib leads to Army Commendation Medal
61 : WJ Communications to Webcast Third Quarter 2005 Financial Results at 5:00 p.m. ET on October 27th, 2005
61 : Rice's Meetings in Moscow Covered Nuclear Iran, Central Asia, Middle East
61 : President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy
61 : Crossfire War: Bangladesh has 15,000 Private and 9,000 Government Madrasas
61 : Bhutanese Refugees and International Community
61 : U.S. Researchers Develop Tests for Devastating Cattle Disease
61 : Michael Casey Enterprises, Inc. Seeks $10,000,000 in Damages Against Charles Ho and Cirtran-Asia, Inc. for Allegedly Stealing Patent Rights
61 : Loan Officer School Now Offers Classes Nationwide
61 : SignatureLink Acquires Signature Technology From Cattledriver LLC
60 : AcuityID LLC And BA Systems LLC Join Forces In The RFID And Wireless Technology Arena
60 : Iraqi, U.S. Forces Surprise Terrorists, Detain 57
60 : CAIR Asks U.S. Muslims to Help, Pray for S. Asia Quake Victims
60 : GoFish and IODA Team to Distribute Promotional Content for Independent Music Labels
60 : Chinese Authorities Arrest Rights Lawyer in "Test-Case" Taishi Village
60 : Economic Woes May Be Ending for Japan
60 : Supporting Democracy and Monarchy or Defending Criminals in Nepal
60 : Hook 'em, Horns! University of Texas Runs Internet-Based Video Magazine Campaign Series to Promote Longhorns Football
60 : Beauty Tour is a Fine Thing
60 : 2nd Generation Engine Completed
60 : Stylus Studio Selected as Finalist in the 5th Annual eWEEK Excellence Awards
59 : UCB: Phase III Study Shows CIMZIATM is an Effective and Well-Tolerated Treatment for Crohn's Disease
59 : JumpZone Announces A New Franchise Location In Loganville, Georgia
59 : U.S., Guatemalan Officials Seek Deeper Dialogue on CAFTA
59 : Twenty-Six Year Data With COPAXONE(R) Reinforce Clinical Efficacy and Safety in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
59 : Orange County, CA Investment Banker Launches Billboard Campaign Seeking Wife
58 : Rosa Parks To Lie in Honor at Capitol Rotunda
58 : Task Force Baghdad Soldiers Uncover Weapons Cache
58 : Crossfire War: An Evening in the Garden of Sudan’s Head of Intelligence
58 : Rice Says Iraqis Are Seeking To Govern Themselves Freely
58 : East Coast to Help Gulf Coast: Long Island Music Community Presents Exciting Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert
58 : Crossfire War: Dhaka - RAW Uses Ford Foundation in Anti-Bangladesh Campaign
57 : S-LCD (A Join Venture of Sony and Samsung Corporations) Selects CinTel's iCache and PacketCruz iLog for an Efficient and Robust Network
57 : Online Women Search for Ashlee Simpson's Hairstyle More Than Any Other Celebrity 'Do
57 : Polls Show Europeans, Americans Support Gaza Withdrawal
57 : Email broadcasters unknowingly break the law
56 : REVELATIONS - The MSM's Drooling Beast
56 : Choose Yours(TM)... and Win!
56 : Western Hemisphere Nations Share Health Concerns
56 : Master P's "Ghetto Bill" Debuts at #1
55 : Terrorists Fleeing Attack Scenes Nabbed by U.S. Soldiers
55 : Bill Hicks "Salvation: Oxford November 11, 1992" First Ever Official CD Release/Complete & Unedited
55 : Operation Iron Fist Update
55 : Sequoia Productions Swept Emmy(R) Week
55 : Crossfire War: Democratic Implosion - Talabani Demands Prime Minister Resign
55 : Weight and Slow Metabolism: Myth or Reality?
55 : Greenspan Expects Housing Boom To End, U.S. Economy To Adjust
55 : Low Cost 3D Camera Developed for Facial Capture
54 : UN Debates Member State Contributions
54 : Torbay Holdings Inc.: "Of Mice & Alleged Misrepresentation": Complaints Filed With the Federal Trade Commission in Regards to Section 508 Compliance Advertisements
54 : Secretary of State's Key Role in Designating Terrorist Groups
54 : Ramadan Greetings Extended to Muslims Around the World
54 : "Too Close For Comfort's" Lydia Cornell Is Back in Primetime on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
54 : Crossfire War: Palestine - Ceausescu Advised Arafat - PRC his Terror Creation
54 : U.S. Dealers Offer Diamo Scooter Buyers One Year Free Gasoline
54 : KUNNA Jeans to Launch Spring 2006 Line at Project Trade Show in Las Vegas; Signs Eight-Eighteen as Marketing Agency of Record
54 : TaglineGuru.com Releases List of Most Influential Taglines and Jingles in the TV and Internet Era
54 : Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Inc. Secures $1 Million Equity Financing
53 : Bush Praises Macedonia's Implementation of Peace Agreement
53 : Leerink Swann & Company Expands Equity Research Department
53 : IDVelocity Makes Dramatic Move to Speed RFID Adoption
53 : Heartland Holdings, Inc. Announces The Intention To Buy Ohio Valley Lumber
53 : WJ Communications Launches a High Performance Multi-Protocol RFID Reader Platform
53 : Fit After Fifty Inc. Gets $5.50 Price Target by Market Advisors Inc., Announces The IO Circuit
53 : Jermaine Dupri Expands His Media Empire With Grand Opening of Cafe Dupri on July 12th in Atlanta
52 : Chinese Villagers Detain Officials Over Exhumed Corpses
52 : Ramadi Counter-Terrorism Operation Kills 70 Terrorists
52 : Voters, Ballots Protected for Constitutional Referendum
52 : VA Finding Jobs for Iraq, Afghanistan Vets
52 : Liberty Corner Capital Sued in Refco Investor Lawsuit Filed by Shalov Stone & Bonner LLP
52 : Are you pre-Diabetic? ...How do you know?
51 : View Systems Reports Twenty One SecureScan Orders From New Jersey
51 : Task Force Liberty Soldiers detain Driver in Bayji
51 : OR-Live.com Presents: Brigham and Women's Hospital Hosts Live Webcast Featuring Multidisciplinary Treatment for Breast Cancer
51 : Bush Says Miers Will be "Outstanding Addition" to Supreme Court
51 : Iraqi, U.S. Forces Seize Terrorist Weapons, Bombs
51 : Pictureanywhere - Measuring Entertainment Before It Happens
50 : IMF Reports Colombia's Economy on Upswing
50 : El Salvador Flood and Volcano Victims receive Assistance From USAID
50 : U.S. Soldiers Capture 18 Terror Suspects, Weapons
50 : Crossfire War: Nepal - Communists Expanding into Nepal and Bangladesh
50 : Crossfire War: Asia; Al-Qaeda Planning Asian Attack on Financial Centers
50 : Investors Real Estate Trust Announces Increase in Regular Quarterly Common Share Distribution, and Declares Series A Preferred Share Distribution
50 : BlogHer Conference Criticized from Blogoshere
50 : U.S. Officials to attend Garang Funeral in Sudan
50 : Avoid the Fatal Presentation Trap: Why Making Presentations Can Cost You the Sale
50 : The Adventures of Rilo Kiley
49 : 2GeeksinaLab Unveils Exciting Technology
49 : Symbollon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to Start Study Focused on Proliferative Benign Breast Tissue
49 : Operation River Gate Update
49 : Quicksilver Resources Names New Chief Financial Officer
49 : Harlequin to Provide Best-Selling Romance Novels as eBooks to Nation's Libraries
49 : Global IP Sound VoiceEngine Technology Enables Superior Voice Quality in Google Talk Instant Communications Service
49 : X2 and DAVETV Form Partnership to Develop IPTV and Interactive Television (ITV) Products
49 : Redfish Introduces New Football Menu in Phoenix
49 : US Condemns Belarus Action Against Union of Belarusian Poles
49 : President Of CGM Applied Security Technologies, Derails Dep't. Of Homeland Security Plan To Use RFID Technology To Track Foreigners
49 : Summit Poised To Acquire 49 Percent Of QZAR USA
49 : Consumers Rejection of RFID Passports Consistent With Research Findings
48 : InternetSearchEngineStocks.com Reports: Google Beats the Street Revealing Strong Growth and Opportunity in Search Arena
48 : American Physical Therapy Association Again Named as One of Washingtonian Magazine's "Great Places to Work"
48 : Saddam Hussein's Trial Begins in Baghdad
48 : Internationally Acclaimed Architect/Designer Gensler Selected to Create Jose Eber Salon in Las Vegas
48 : Crossfire War: Central Asia Theatre; News from Region
48 : More Peace, More Tourism.
48 : SIPquest Selects Global IP Sound VoiceEngine to Maximize Voice Quality Across Its Offering of Soft Client Solutions
48 : Nestor, Inc. Acquires Business and Assets of Transol Group
48 : Digital Descriptor Systems, Inc. Subsidiary To Participate In Marine Transportation And USDOT Seminar
48 : Nickelback Single Delivered Exclusively by Musicrypt's DMDS Across North America
47 : Stryker Brigade Unearths Another Large Weapons Cache Near Rawah
47 : Mexico Air Quality, Environmental Improvement Plan
47 : PowerShares Capital Management Prepares for October 26th Launch of Eight New Industry ETFs
47 : UL Warns of a Potentially Hazardous Shop Light Which Bears a Counterfeit UL Label
47 : U.S. House of Representatives Passes Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
47 : California News Tech Announces Cancellation of Letter of Intent
47 : Crossfire War: Iran - Iraq to Facilitate Military Cooperation Against Occuptaion
47 : PitBOSS Entertainment Completes Colorado Casino Acquisition
47 : m2any Is Buying AudioID Technology for Music Recognition of Fraunhofer
47 : Korea Joins International Computing Infrastructure
47 : Acordia Inc. Acquires the Assets of Somerton Student Insurance Services
47 : Operation River Gate Launched in al Anbar Province
47 : Keren Peled Jewelry Featured on HGTV; Launches New Online Store
47 : Jeantex Group to Show Product Lines at Magic Apparel Show
47 : PitBOSS Entertainment Schedules August 5 Conference Call
46 : Earthquake Relief an "Urgent International Priority" - Congressman Leach
46 : Westbrook Technologies Appoints Michael Cohn Western Regional Sales Manager
46 : Modern Technology Corp Announces Launch of Its Energy Conservation and Alternative Energy Initiative Through Alliance With DeMarco Energy
46 : Bush Congratulates Iraq on Successful Vote on Draft Constitution
46 : AcuityID LLC And BA Systems LLC Join Forces In The RFID And Wireless Technology Arena
46 : Sports Media Challenge Adds Kaufman as Training Team Consultant
46 : Genesis' Internationally Renowned Shanghai Partner Forecasts "$10 Million in Income Near Term"
46 : Announcing the First Annual Women in Concrete Forum
46 : Verilink to Present at ISPCON Fall 2005
46 : Registration Begins for the Capstone / Foundation International Challenge
46 : U.S. Generals Cite Positive Trends in Battle with Iraqi Insurgents
46 : Tip leads Soldiers to cache in Diyala Province
46 : Unmanned Aerial Vehicles In New Orleans
46 : Portion Distortion: Supersizing America!
46 : VoxBox World Telecom, Inc. Releases Analyst Report Which Is to Appear in Investors Business Daily
46 : Crossfire War: Bangladesh - Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Threatens to Strike Back
46 : HomelandDefenseStocks.com New Featured Company: Sense Holdings, Inc., a Provider of Biometric Solutions, Micro-Sensor Identification Systems, RFID and Enabling Technology for Explosives Detection
46 : Mozely Rose Launches Debut Album to National Radio Charts
46 : Study Sees First Increases in Management Consulting Fees in 3 Years
46 : Candy-Flavored Cigarettes Try to Make Tobacco a Sweet Treat for Kids
46 : June and July: The Wedding Months
45 : Crossfire War: Southeast Asia Theatre; Attacks Increase with End of Ramadan
45 : United Bank Card Ranked 19th On This Year's Inc. 500 List Of Fastest-Growing Private Companies
45 : VHA Survey Shows Hospitals Are Re-Evaluating Their Disaster Recovery Plans Following Katrina and Rita
45 : Generex Biotechnology Clinician to Present Clinical Trial Results at 6th International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region Congress
45 : Abbas Claims Desire for Peace, But Actions Don't Yet Match His Words
45 : New Edition of Book Spells Out 101 Reasons Why Students Fail at College
45 : Symbiotix Delivers Cost Effective Marketing, Education and Training Services for Pharmaceutical Companies With ON24
45 : Iraqi Referendum "Great Day" for Democracy - State Department
45 : Learn Tips for Small Business Growth, Success at Nov. 1st Technology Boot Camp in Dallas
45 : Blue Laser Design Launches Emergency Plan Websites
45 : FRBV Partners With Marketing Firm to Expand Sales of Its Oxygenated-Vitamin Flavored Water, "FIVE O-2", to New Markets
45 : Emtec, Inc. Announces Final Results Of Self Tender Offer
45 : Reminder - Kilopass Presents & Exhibits at FSA Conference, Highlights Applications of XPM Embedded Non-Volatile Memory
45 : Crossfire War: Hizbollah Call on International Community to Support Palestinians
45 : Gains of "baby weight" in pregnancy can be permanent
45 : Crossfire War: Middle East; Shadow Government in Place - Tehran Iraq Influence
45 : Maine & Maritimes CEO Says Rising Oil Costs Point to Immediate Need for Sustainability Measures
45 : Transportation Driving Up Production Costs, CPG Industry Survey Finds
45 : Fulton Financial Corporation Completes Acquisition of SVB Financial Services, Inc.
45 : Tiny Books . . . Tremendous Transformations
45 : Cepstral TTS Voices Released for Mac OS X
44 : Superstar Line-up Set for "THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. DUETS: THE FINAL CHAPTER," in Stores December 20th
44 : ImageMixer(TM) LabelMaker Now Available for Download Online
44 : Government Tests Give High Marks to World Am's Isotec Subsidiary Technology
44 : Airmen deliver first relief supplies to Pakistan, Yesterday
44 : For Families, Halloween Second Only to Christmas
44 : Terrorist Safe House in Rashid Raided by U.S. Forces
44 : Kilopass Presents & Exhibits at FSA Conference, Highlights Applications of XPM Embedded Non-Volatile Memory
44 : US Treasury Urges More Fiscal Flexibility Worldwide
44 : Beyond the Bestseller: Dig for Literary Buried Treasure
44 : U.S. Congratulates Iraq on Completion of Draft Constitution
44 : Rice meets South Korean Foreign Minister
44 : Carbon Dioxide to overwhelm Earth Storage Capacity
44 : China Leads Effort in North Korea Six-Party Talks
44 : The Gabe Dixon Band: U.S. Tour Dates Announced in Support of "Transcendent" (The Lefsetz Letter) New EP "Live At World Cafe"
44 : VIDEO AVAIABLE: Beau Monde: Where The World's Rich And Famous Go When They Don't Want Anyone To Know They Are In Rehab
44 : America - Superpower or Fair Weather Friend?
44 : Guantanamo Provides Valuable Intelligence Information
43 : Global Bird Flu Strategy Being Developed
43 : Crossfire War - TEHRAN WATCH: Islamic Axis - Convergence Toward India
43 : Iraqi Citizens Applaud Operation Restoring Rights
43 : Envoy Vows Thorough Investigation of Alleged Taliban Burning
43 : Rumsfeld Visits South Korea To Assess Security Alliance
43 : Female Detainee Released after Review
43 : Sciax Announces Name Change and Stock Symbol Change
43 : Gambler, Bad Toys, & American Eagle to Exhibit
43 : ScorpioGem Records Announces R and B Sensation Ron Anthony Performances At The Crimson Lounge In The Bronx, N.Y.
43 : William Joseph Joins Holiday Tour With Clay Aiken
43 : Chertoff, Chao Outline Efforts To Curb Illegal Immigration
43 : Ultra Pure Water Technologies, Inc. Announces Installation of "Ice Island" Systems at E-Z Mart Stores, Inc. Convenience Store Chain
43 : Book Review: Little Red Book of Selling
43 : Crossfire War: SE Asia; Thailand/Malaysia - Bangkok in Secret Negotiations
43 : Story Of The Year "Determined" to Capture Their Live Sound on Record
43 : Axial Vector Engine Discusses Breakthrough Combustion Engine Technology and Corporate Strategy in Online Interview With PRBroadcast.com
42 : Prospect Energy Corporation Schedules First Fiscal Quarter 2006 Earnings Release and Conference Call
42 : Hubble Telescope Looks for Resources on the Moon
42 : WVT Announces Filing of 2005 1st Quarter 10-Q
42 : Insurgent Attack Kills and Wounds Detainees
42 : Roadside Bombers Arrested by Task Force Baghdad Soldiers
42 : 48th Brigade Prepares Security at Polling Sites in Iraq
42 : NewGen to Launch E-Diesel at ReFuel America Terminals
42 : Integra NeuroSciences Launches New Non-Stick Bipolar Forceps
42 : AXS-One Boosts Global Presence by Adding Resellers, Solutions Providers for AXS-One Compliance Platform(TM)
42 : Stop Stripping: Your Hair Deserves Better
42 : Washington's New "Walk of Fame" Honors America's Social Pioneers
42 : Verilink Appoints Abernathy Vice President of Operations
42 : Communists are Terrorists
42 : OR-Live.com presents: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Surgeons to Perform Immediate Breast Reconstruction Surgery
42 : BroadcastBid.com Debuts Cure For Radio Industry At NAB Radio Show 2005
42 : The One Piece Of Jewelry Even Hollywood A-Listers Can't Get Their HANDs On
42 : "The Maltese Falcon," Dashiell Hammett, and Detective Sam Spade Discoveries Revealed in New Book
42 : Rice Urges Armenia, Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh Compromise
42 : Two Million Americans View Anti-Terror Announcement
42 : AirTight Networks SpectraGuard Enterprise Helps RFID Leader Assa Abloy ITG Secure Network Against Unauthorized Access From Wi-Fi Access Points
42 : MKK Consulting Engineers Are on the Move
42 : July is National Baked Beans Month
42 : gh's MathSpeak(TM) Finds Its "Voice" With Pittsburgh Speech Synthesis Company
41 : Crossfire War: Mubarak Makes Sudden Trip to Damascus
41 : Lowe's Mortgage, America's Premier Online Lender, Announces The Formal Release Of Its Rate Advisor Version 2.12
41 : First Financial Corporation Reports Third Quarter Earnings of $.47 per Share
41 : Expanded Effort Recognizes All Students Should Be Prepared for College
41 : David Oliver Joins Tri-Valley Corporation Unit as Senior Geologist
41 : Cinderella Leads Technical Revolution in Bed & Bath
41 : Rice Praises Kyrgyz Reform Efforts, Cooperation Against Terrorism
41 : Carbon to Show VSP(TM) - CoWare(TM) SPW Demo at GSPx Conference
41 : CEO America and Txtstation Global Marketing
41 : Spescom Software Awarded Major Contract by Leading Nuclear Utility
41 : Chinese Border Forces Fire on Tibetan Asylum-Seekers
41 : California Legislature Passes Fire-Safe Cigarette Law
41 : Crossfire War: Eurasia; Berlin-Moscow Concern - Iran's Nuclear Program
41 : Immediatek's DiscLive Rolling Out Live DVDs
41 : Iraq Reconstruction Report
41 : Crossfire War: Southeast Asia; Bangkok Airport - Man Arrested with 452 Forged Pa
41 : Radio Free Asia Founding President To Retire
41 : Cepstral Breaks the 2 MB Voice Barrier
See also:
Most read stories July 2005
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Readers : Title
658 : CubeWerx Releases An OGC WMS Connector To Google Maps
487 : Looters, bad Guys Keep Guns, Law Abiding Citizens Denied
433 : Multi-National Forces Capture Abu Ghraib IED Cell
420 : Iraqi, U.S. Raids Net More Than 50 Terrorist Suspects
399 : World Community has "Blind Spot" on Global Weapons Trade
397 : Female Officers Train Iraqi Soldiers
391 : All About You, not Low-Carb or Low-Fat
383 : India, While Seeking UN Security Council Status, Takes Nepali Land
342 : Guantanamo Bay Detainee Released to Egypt
333 : Assessing al Qaida Progress in Iraq and Afghanistan
296 : Pretty Ricky & B5 to Hit the Road on Scream IV Tour
285 : Operation Iron Fist Begins in al Anbar Province
273 : Crossfire War: Malaysian Groups Radicalize Islamic Communities in Macedonia
262 : Crossfire War: Middle East Theatre; Paris Pursues its Obsession
246 : Women Want Jessica Alba's Hairstyle More Than Any Other Celebrity
226 : Crossfire War: Decades Old Environmental Warfare Experiments Continue
226 : Trek Madone SSLx - The New Lance Bike
225 : Marlboro Man's Ad Agency Goes Smokefree
224 : New Index Sets Benchmark for Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases
223 : UN says Global Economy Declined in 2005
219 : Democratic Elections Proposed for Nepal
217 : Real Estate Lessons from Trammell Crow
214 : Drug Courts: A Shot in the Arm for Our Struggling Healthcare System?
209 : Bush, Rice Send Condolences, Offer Aid After Pakistan Earthquake
205 : Farrakhan and Jackson Don't Speak for Black Americans
189 : Operation River Gate Update - October 10 2005
186 : Chinese Authorities Step Up Anti-Separatist Campaign in Tibetan Region
186 : Crossfire War: NW China/Xinjiang Province (East Turkestan) - "Time Bomb"
180 : "Heart Of America," a Song of Hope; Michael McDonald, Wynona Judd and Eric Benet Join Terry Dexter and the First Full Gospel Choir of New Orleans
176 : Iraqi Tip Leads Soldiers to Terrorist Mortar Site, Terrorist Killed
175 : Employment Scam Traps Unwary Job Seekers
172 : U.N. investigators in Lebanon identify Four Suspects in Hariri Assassination
166 : Cheney Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Iraq, Praises U.S. Marines
164 : President Bush Hosts Iftar Dinner at White House
162 : Iraq: One Year Anniversary Of Murder of Nepalese Workers
159 : Father, Son Reunite on Deployment in Iraq
158 : Air Force supports Iraqi, Afghan and Coalition Objectives
156 : 'Running Dry' Documentary Film on Global Water Crisis
155 : Maoists Pressure Nepalese People with Threats, Violence
149 : Five Soldiers killed in Ramadi
148 : ASPCA Databases Created for Katrina Lost Pets and Volunteer Opportunities
148 : Iraq Reconstruction Money Released for Basra Pump Station
147 : Crossfire War: Iran Tests a Nuclear Warhead for the Shahab-3
145 : California Requires Fire-Safe Cigarettes
145 : Seven Egyptians Designated "Terrorist Supporters"
145 : Adore Shop Magazine-Introducing Southern California's First Regional Shopping Magazine
143 : Wal-Mart Marketing Veteran to Lead Sweet Success National Mass Market Rollout
142 : Is Aruba's Government Covering Up Again
139 : Nepali Civilians Physically Assaulted by Indian Border Security Force
138 : New Hurricane Song About Katrina Angers Bush Administration and Other Politicians
136 : Arrest of 36 Suspects in Iraq Within 24 hours, Sunday
135 : Kidnapper Killed after Car Chase, Victim Rescued by U.S Soldiers
135 : Blind Social Activist, Lawyers Beaten in China
134 : The Notorious B.I.G. Lives on: "The Final Chapter" Duets Album Due November 29th; First Track, "Hold Ya Head," Featuring Bob Marley, Premieres Exclusively via AOL First Listen Today; Album to Feature Superstar Artist/Producer Line-Up
134 : The Mind-Body Connection: Complexity in Weight Loss
131 : Global Drug-Trafficking Ring Broken up by U.S., Canada, Spain
131 : Government Grants, Government Jobs, Work-at-Home Jobs and Home-Based Business Ventures Provide Fast Cash
129 : U.S. Supports the Arts Through Blend of Public and Private Funding
128 : ASPCA Announces Annual Humane Award Winners
128 : Crossfire War: Beijing - Premier Wen Jiabao Under Severe Criticism
128 : Multi-National Forces capture Al-Qaida terrorist brigade leaders
127 : BME/Warner Bros. Recording Artist Lil Scrappy and Bohagon Join Label Head Lil Jon on Anger Management Tour
126 : Sexy Halloween Costumes By Hipwear
125 : Crossfire War: Bush Administration Writes Israel Off - Tells Them - Go to the EU
124 : Tikrit, Balad: Task Force Liberty Soldiers Killed in Two Incidents
124 : Afghan Reconciliation Program Grows after Successful Elections
124 : Back On Stage After 36 Years - No Limit Productions Is Introducing Butterflies Are Free With A 2005 Point Of View
124 : John Garang Memorialized by Sudan’s Top Novelist
122 : Troop Tribute Spotlights National Guardsman
121 : Kola Boof talks about John Garang, Bin Laden and More
121 : Lil Rob's "Twelve Eighteen"
121 : FunMail's Wallpaper Universe Still Sizzling in Verizon Wireless' #1 Spot
120 : The Project Group Announces Dismissal of Sarbanes-Oxley Complaint of Former Controller
120 : Six-Party Talks Still Face "Perilous" Times
118 : One Soldier Killed and Two Soldiers Wounded by IED Attack
117 : Jim Jones' Much-Anticipated New Full-Length Album "Harlem: The Diary of A Summer" Set for Release on 8.23.05
117 : O.A.R. to Release "Stories of a Stranger" on October 4, 2005
116 : 10km NW of Tikrit, Iraq
115 : Technology Promises to Treat Attention and Behavioral Problems
114 : More States Go Smokefree, Increase Cigarette Taxes as Momentum Builds for Combatting Tobacco Use
114 : VoIPSupply.com Expands Buffalo Headquarters
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China Closes Investigative Reporting Pages of Top Newspaper
By Radio Free Asia
HONG KONG, Jan. 24 - Chinese authorities have closed a key supplement linked to one of the country's most influential newspapers after an explosive dispute between the paper's top editors and Communist Party officials over journalistic values, Radio Free Asia(RFA)reports.
The long-running conflict between editorial staff at the China Youth Daily and the paper's ruling body, the Chinese Communist Party Youth League, escalated Tuesday with the scrapping of the papers's popular Freezing Point supplement by administrative decree.
Freezing Point's founding editor and chief editor, Li Datong, confirmed the news to RFA's Mandarin service. "I can't tell you any details," Li told RFA reporter Ke Hua. "All I can do is to confirm that this story is true."
"Because we have no say in this matter, there will be no issue of Freezing Point tomorrow. There's nothing we can do about it," said Li, who said it would be "inconvenient" to give reasons for the decision.
Freezing Point made its debut in January 1995. By the end of that year, readers voted it their favorite supplement.
Analysts say the move highlights a fresh initiative by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao's government to tighten state control over China's media.
Simmering dispute
The dispute at the paper has been simmering for the last two years but blew up in mid-2005 after Li wrote an angry internal memo criticizing a reward system linking journalists' salaries to the good opinion of top government officials.
The memo was leaked to www.observechina.com. It followed the resignation of a top journalist, Li Fang, and a diatribe against a top Youth League official by senior editor Lu Yuegang the previous year.
Lu, who is currently out of Beijing on a business trip, said he had heard a rumor that Freezing Point had been closed but received no formal notification from his employers.
"I heard that the supplement was closing for rectification. But I don't know any of the details. I heard that the Party's Central Propaganda Department would run a column in the paper, but I haven't seen it," Lu told RFA.
"We will know the reasons if and when we get a formal notification. Then we will respond to it," he said. "I don't know about anyone else, but I will definitely respond to this...Exactly how is hard to say right now-it will depend on how things unfold."
Beijing-based dissident Liu Xiaobo said the authorities had had Freezing Point in their sights ever since the open letter last year.
"These top-quality journalists at Freezing Point have already had many run-ins with the editor-in-chief, Li Erliang. Usually because they have had many stories spiked at the last minute by him," Liu said.
He cited an in-depth investigation into a plagiarism scandal surrounding a professor at the University of Wuhan in central China. "Perhaps that story was a major factor in the closure of Freezing Point."
Wide readership
Liu said the move was the latest in a series by the Hu and Wen leadership targeting the media. But he said the crackdown would undermine government aims to increase competition and decrease state subsidies to Chinese media.
Established in 1951, the China Youth Daily has always drawn a wide readership, owing to compulsory subscriptions taken out by China's schools and colleges.
Published nationwide, it has widened its reach to take in ordinary citizens. It is a highly respected publication, reporting daily sales figures of around 500,000 copies.
Original reporting in Mandarin by Ke Hua. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
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Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media.
Tibetans, Westerners Describe Deadly Shooting at China-Nepal Border
By Radio Free Asia
KATHMANDU, Oct. 11, 2006 - Members of a group of 43 Tibetans have described their terrifying flight to Nepal under deadly fire from Chinese border guards who took several dozen other Tibetans into custody, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
Witnesses said at least one person was killed and at least one wounded by gunfire Sept. 30 near the Himalayan pass at Nangpa La in the Mount Everest region. Others set the death toll higher. Another 36 or 37 Tibetans were detained, witnesses told RFA's Tibetan service.
The group, which originally numbered around 80 Tibetans, began their journey out of Chinese-controlled Tibet on Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, according to members of the group - 41 asylum-seekers and two Tibetan escorts - who arrived in Kathmandu on Oct. 10.
"When the Chinese fired at us, I was so tense and frightened. It is still difficult for me to explain what happened," one man said in an interview after arriving at the Tibetan Reception Center in Kathmandu. "It was so tense and confusing that I just thought of staying alive and escaping. I couldn't think of anything else or help the others."
"I think the Chinese fired for about 15 minutes. I felt bullets whizzing past my ears. In fact I felt about five bullets pass by me and luckily they missed me. I was so frightened that I crawled in the snow using my hands and feet. The snow was about knee-deep," he said.
The man, who asked not to be named, said the group initially thought the gunshots were fireworks, because there were many Western visitors who had come to climb the mountains in the area.
"I thought they were playing with fireworks. But then we realized it was gunshots and about 30 to 40 rounds were fired. In the confusion, we split into two groups. Those of us who were in the front managed to escape and the later group of about 30 or more Tibetans could not escape," he said.
Buddhist nun shot dead
Another Tibetan, who hid in the mountains for two nights before crossing into Nepal, said: "I saw a small child... There was another young boy who was shot in the foot and an old man. They were detained in the area until late afternoon and then the Chinese police took them away."
"Those who escaped later saw the body of the nun who was killed. She was Kalsang Namtso, 17 years old from Ngachu Dri-ru (in Chinese, Biru Xian) county. They gave a local yak herder 100 yuan and asked him to take the body away but we heard that he didn't do it. So we don't know what happened later," the second man said.
A Western climber who witnessed the incident told RFA's Tibetan service that two others in his group had been contacted by the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and asked to attend a meeting there. "They have since left Nepal and gone home" without visiting the Chinese Embassy, the climber said.
"We heard five shots very, very quickly," the climber said. "We saw a line of refugees making their way up the pass and obviously the Chinese army coming with guns."
Tibetans working as cooks at the climbers' base camp reported that seven people had been killed and their bodies left in a crevasse, the climber said, although this information couldn't be confirmed.
Residents in the mountainous area of Solokhubum, on the Nepal side of the border, confirmed the shootings had occurred.
"There were about 77 Tibetans who escaped in a group, and the Chinese police shot at them on Sept. 30," one resident said in an interview.
"Forty of them managed to escape and about 37 were arrested by the Chinese police. Among them seven were either injured or killed. Again on Oct. 1, three more Tibetans crossed the same pass and the Chinese again fired at them but they managed to escape unhurt. There were about eight or nine armed Chinese police who fired on the escaping Tibetans."
The resident said escape across the mountains was becoming more difficult as what were previously Tibetan border guards were gradually being replaced with Han Chinese. "Chinese officials recruit Tibetans who are paid to spy and inform on the escapees. Spies in the area are paid 300 yuan a month, and they get a special bonus for tracking and informing on Tibetan escapees," the resident said.
No comment from Chinese officials
An official at the Tibet Autonomous Region's Foreign Liaison Office declined to comment on the incident when contacted by RFA's Mandarin service. "On this matter, we are not very clear. We don't know about it. I have never heard of it," the official said. "I can tell you nothing," he said, before hanging up.
Phone calls on Wednesday by RFA's Cantonese service to both the external affairs office of the Tibetan exile government in Dharamsala and the Chinese Embassy in Nepal went unanswered.
In recent years, thousands of Tibetans have risked the illegal border crossing into Nepal and India in search of better educational opportunities and religious freedom. Many end up in Dharmasala, a town in northern India where their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. More than 20,000 Tibetan refugees currently live in Nepal, although those who arrive now are required to travel on to neighboring India.
Original reporting by RFA's Tibetan service. Director: Jigme Ngapo. Translated and edited by Karma Dorjee. Additional reporting by Lillian Cheung of RFA's Cantonese service, Xin Yu and Xi Wang of RFA's Mandarin service, and Richard Finney. Produced in English by Luisetta Mudie and edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine Asian languages to listeners who lack access to full and free news media. The purpose of RFA is to provide a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within these Asian countries. Strict adherence to the highest standards of journalism is at the very core of RFA's mission. Our Web site adds a global dimension to this objective. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Radio Free Asia
Scores of Tibetans Detained for Protesting at Festival
By Radio Free Asia
KATHMANDU - Chinese authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan have detained scores of people for protesting at a traditional holiday picnic, sources in the region have told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Rongyal Adrak, of the Yonru nomadic group, called at a festival in Lithang (in Chinese, Litang) on Aug. 1 for the Tibetan exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, to be permitted back into Tibetan territory under Chinese control, sources told RFA's Tibetan service.
"Rongyal Adrak is generally a religious and good person, but because he was frustrated at being unable to meet the Dalai Lama... he shouted in the midst of all the people that the Dalai Lama must be invited home," one source said.
Many people detained
"[He said,] 'If we cannot invite the Dalai Lama home, we will not have freedom of religion and happiness in Tibet.'"
"He raised a protest and then others joined him" at a traditional picnic Aug. 1, the day Chinese citizens celebrate the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the source said. Aug. 1-15 also marks a fortnight of horse-racing and other celebrations among Tibetans, when the local weather is ideal.
"About 20 persons, young and old, belonging to the Yonru group are now behind bars. Then others from outside the jail also raised a protest... and now some 200 Tibetans have been taken into custody," the source said.
Another source who witnessed the protest said Yongyal Adrak had thrown a khatak, or ceremonial white scarf, into the crowd before "snatching the microphone from the Chinese [official] on the ceremony platform and asking, 'Should the Dalai Lama return home or not ?'"
"The crowd yelled 'yes,'" the witness said. "He then asked, 'Should the Panchen Lama be released ?' Everyone responded, 'Yes.'"
"Then the Chinese official snatched the microphone back, and a monk from the local monastery who had earlier called the Dalai Lama a 'splittist' was verbally attacked by the crowd," the source said.
Local Chinese security officials, contacted by telephone, reported that the incident had been brought under control, but they declined to comment further.
Last year's horse festival cut short
Sources in the area reported hearing gunshots near the local jail, but they said no one appeared to have been injured.
A year ago, Tibetan nomads ransacked a local police station in Lithang after a dispute over the results in a major annual horse race.
The Lithang Horse Race Festival, which drew tens of thousands of spectators, was cut short because of clashes over who won third place. Four men were beaten by police, according to witnesses, when they tried to complain about cronyism. They refused to seek medical attention and instead commandeered a stage at the festival that was to have been used for a cultural performance.
The festival is a major event in the region and has drawn up to 50,000 participants and spectators from all over China in previous years.
At 4,000 meters above sea level, Lithang is one of the highest human settlements on Earth. It is home to the 16th-century Lithang Monastery, now rebuilt after being bombed in the 1950s.
Original reporting by Lobsang Choepel for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Benpa Topgyal. Service director: Jigme Ngapo. Written for the Web by Sarah Jackson-Han.
Source: Radio Free Asia
China Hardens Tibet Policy Along Ethnic Lines
By Radio Free Asia
China is intensifying its crackdown on supporters of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence out of fear that Tibetan cadres will turn against the Communist Party amid a growing wave of protests and civil disobedience, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
"There still exists a small number of dissident elements within our Party whose commitment to its ideals, beliefs, and political standpoint is a wavering one," an internal memo of the Communist Party's Commission for Discipline Inspection, leaked to RFA's Tibetan service, said.
It accused internal dissidents of "suckling at the breast of the Chinese Communist Party, while calling the Dalai Lama mother," implying that some Tibetans were simply using the Party while secretly following the Dalai Lama.
The memo, which experts say highlights a tougher line in Tibet since a change of leadership in the Himalayan region a year ago, reported in detail the case of Phuntsok Gyaltsen, a dissident Party member, and Lhadon "the Younger," a schoolteacher.
According to Document No. 2, 2007, of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Phuntsok Gyaltsen, 33, deputy head of Phurbu township and a special agent of the Palgon (in Chinese, Bange) county police department, was expelled from the Party and arrested for shouting "reactionary slogans" in public.
Lhadon "the Younger," 31, a middle-school teacher in Khangma county, was dismissed and arrested for telling his class that the 11th Panchen Lama selected by Beijing was a fake.
Tibetans in Party targeted
"If we cannot eliminate dissidents like Phuntsok Gyaltsen and Lhadon 'the Younger,' it will be very dangerous. It could be a major hidden danger threatening the stability and harmony of our society," the memo said. The memo called on Party members to keep a "clear political head" and step up vigilance against pro-independence sentiment among Tibetan Party members.
The document, dated Sept. 4, comes after a year of escalating protests in Tibetan areas of China following the appointment of a new regional Party secretary, Zhang Qingli, in 2006.
"I think that we are seeing, since early last year under Zhang Qingli, a really different way of dealing with these kind of problems," Robbie Barnett, who teaches contemporary Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York, said.
Barnett said the new clampdown was "very aggressive and very much in the Party tradition, where you use a small incident, you magnify its significance... and you make this a reason to enforce Party discipline amongst your Party members... This suggests that Zhang Qingli is very, very nervous about the loyalty of Tibetan Party members in Tibet."
The document shed light on an atmosphere within the Tibetan Party of intense suspicion divided along ethnic lines, he said. "I think [the Party has] become increasingly worried that it can never know what is really in the hearts of these people," Barnett said.
"[Since 1994, there has been] a huge increase in income for Tibetan officials working for the government and Party members-a massive increase in their personal wealth and their family conditions - but they still cannot know what these people really think and where their loyalties really lie. So this is a preoccupation for the Chinese leadership, which I would have to say is almost at a pathological level."
According to the memo obtained by RFA, Phuntsok Gyaltsen was born in Riwoche county in Chamdo prefecture, was college-educated, and joined the Communist Party in 2002. On April 19, 2007, he shouted "Independence for Tibet!" and "Long live the Dalai Lama!"
He was subsequently expelled from the Party, dismissed from public service, and arrested.
Lhadon "the Younger" was born in Khangma county and was also college-educated. He told his class of 44 students on April 3, 2007: "The 11th Panchen Lama recognized by the central government is a fake one. The real 11th Panchen Lama was reincarnated in India. The central government Panchen Lama went to India to meet the real Panchen Lama." He was expelled from public service June 14 and then arrested.
Similar campaigns in Sichuan
Similar campaigns are under way in the separately administered region of Lithang, in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. Lithang is home to a high proportion of Tibetans, especially nomads, and saw a mass protest during a horse-racing festival in mid-August following a call for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet.
A source in Lithang told RFA's Tibetan service: "[A] patriotic re-education campaign was formally launched in the Lithang nomadic area on Sept. 7. It was launched by a company commander of the People's Armed Police, who arrived in the area with a contingent of about 200 police."
Officials told Tibetans they had to choose between the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama.
"Kensur Drakkar Rinpoche of Lithang monastery, who has experience of several years in jail, refused to comply," the source said. "He replied that he carries the title of 'Rinpoche,'" an honorific given to senior religious teachers in Tibet. "As a Buddhist practitioner," the source said, "he has to be fully devoted to his root teacher, and the Dalai Lama is his root teacher. Therefore he cannot criticize the Dalai Lama, who is not only our religious leader but also our political leader."
Dissent at political meetings
The re-education campaign was also directed against local leaders and schoolteachers of above sub-district level, the source told RFA.
"While the campaign was going on, many schoolteachers voiced their decision to choose the Dalai Lama and not China. Many of them walked away from the meetings. The officials threatened that their salary would be downgraded and placed among the common masses. The teachers responded with walk-outs."
Meanwhile, Adruk Adrak-a nephew of Ronggyal Adrak, whose arrest for Dalai Lama slogan-shouting sparked the mid-August protests in Lithang-walked out of a political meeting shouting, "Long live the Dalai Lama!" and "May the wishes of Ronggyal Adrak be fulfilled!"
Barnett said the campaigns seemed to herald a tightening of China's response to public protest and dissent. "It seems that the state and certainly the local people, both in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan and probably nationally, have moved into a kind of rapid-response mode, where even a single incident, even a very small incident like these two, can lead to major campaigns or major policy shifts or major policy responses."
"So we certainly shouldn't rule out the possibility that this indicates a really potentially very big security sweep or ideological re-training."
According to Barnett, beginning in 2000, ethnic Chinese began to be trained in the Tibetan language at Lhasa University with the idea that they would be sent out to townships and the countryside as low-level officials. About 200 to 300 of these are now in place. "This is a whole new configuration of the face of the Chinese state in the rural areas of Tibet."
In Lithang, Tibetan officials are now being replaced by Chinese.
"The Lithang change is an extremely rapid version of the same thing-done even with a cudgel by force, rather than by plan, we could say. But it's part of a larger trend which represents a very, very major change in policy about how to deal with the countryside," Barnett said.
Original reporting by RFA's Tibetan service. Director: Jigme Ngapo. Additional reporting by Richard Finney. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han and Karma Dorjee.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects: in Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, and the Wu dialect; Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham); Burmese; Khmer to Cambodia; Korean to North Korea; Lao; and Vietnamese.
Source: Radio Free Asia
Thailand, Under Pressure, Bars Tiananmen Protester from Asylum in Canada
By Radio Free Asia
Lu Decheng Was Set To Fly to Canada March 14
HONG KONG - Under pressure from China, Thailand has barred a former Chinese bus driver sentenced to 16 years in prison for defacing a portrait of Mao Zedong from flying to Canada to seek political asylum, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has learned.
"Something unexpected has happened," Lu said Friday in an interview with RFA's Mandarin service. "We will try to appeal to the higher-ups. I hope it will work. I feel guilty that I have caused trouble for everybody. I am grateful to everybody for their help."
Lu Decheng served just over nine years of a 16-year jail term before being paroled early in 1998. He fled through Burma to Thailand in November 2004 and was arrested by Thai police in December 2004. He has remained in an immigration detention center since. He had been scheduled to leave Thailand for Canada on March 14 under a resettlement program run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
All arrangements made, voided
One of Lu's five Canadian immigration sponsors, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Chen, said he received an e-mail from the Canadian Embassy in Thailand informing him that the Chinese government had asked the Thai government to prevent Lu from leaving for Canada.
"Lu Decheng told me Feb. 21 that all arrangements had been made for him to travel to Canada on March 14. But then the Chinese government found out about it and applied pressure on the Thai government. And now the Thai government will not release him," Chen told RFA Mandarin service reporter Xi Hong from his home in Calgary.
In 1989, Lu Decheng, along with Yu Zijian and Yu Dongyue, traveled from Hunan to Beijing to participate in the pro-democracy protests. The three men defaced the portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over Tiananmen Square, for which Lu was sentenced to 16 years in jail, Yu Zijian was sentenced to life, and Yu Dongyue was sentenced to 20 years.
Chen said he and Lu's other sponsors would seek help from Canadian parliamentarians and human rights organizations and urge Ottawa to petition Bangkok for Lu's release.
Last of three men freed in February
Chinese authorities last month released the last of the three men, former newspaper editor Yu Dongyue. Yu left Chishan Prison, Yuanjiang city in the central province of Hunan, under police escort, his mother Wu Pinghua said.
Asked about Yu Dongyue's physical condition, his sister, Yu Rixia, told RFA's Mandarin service: "His health is not very good. He can not manage his own personal chores. The priority now is for him to adjust to the current situation and hope that his health can be gradually improved... He acts like a 3- or 4 year-old boy, and he can't take interviews," she said. "He has no logical thinking now."
His mother, Wu Pinghua, said the family had been warned against spreading news of her son's release. "I am very happy today, but also very nervous," Wu said. "We are cooking dinner right now, but officials told us not to tell other people, not to have friends and relatives come and visit him."
Pressure for men's release
Dozens of fellow Tiananmen veterans signed an online petition in support of Lu and Yu Dongyue, including former student leader Wang Dan, exiled China Democracy Party founders Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai, and Pittsburgh-based poet Huang Xiang.
The three men came from the same hometown, where Lu Decheng and Yu Zhijian were playmates as children, while Yu Zhijian and Yu Dongyue were classmates at school, Lu said.
Before they defaced the Mao portrait on May 23, 1989, all three had been active in the pro-democracy movement in the provincial capital Changsha, traveling to Beijing in mid-May that year to join thousands of demonstrators on Tiananmen Square.
Yu Dongyue, Lu, and Yu Zhijian were handed over to national security police after prolonged negotiations with the student command on the Square, a decision Lu and Yu Zhijian regard as having been made with the broader interests of the student movement in mind.
Go to www.rfa.org for more.
By Radio Free Asia
HONG KONG, Jan. 24 - Chinese authorities have closed a key supplement linked to one of the country's most influential newspapers after an explosive dispute between the paper's top editors and Communist Party officials over journalistic values, Radio Free Asia(RFA)reports.
The long-running conflict between editorial staff at the China Youth Daily and the paper's ruling body, the Chinese Communist Party Youth League, escalated Tuesday with the scrapping of the papers's popular Freezing Point supplement by administrative decree.
Freezing Point's founding editor and chief editor, Li Datong, confirmed the news to RFA's Mandarin service. "I can't tell you any details," Li told RFA reporter Ke Hua. "All I can do is to confirm that this story is true."
"Because we have no say in this matter, there will be no issue of Freezing Point tomorrow. There's nothing we can do about it," said Li, who said it would be "inconvenient" to give reasons for the decision.
Freezing Point made its debut in January 1995. By the end of that year, readers voted it their favorite supplement.
Analysts say the move highlights a fresh initiative by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao's government to tighten state control over China's media.
Simmering dispute
The dispute at the paper has been simmering for the last two years but blew up in mid-2005 after Li wrote an angry internal memo criticizing a reward system linking journalists' salaries to the good opinion of top government officials.
The memo was leaked to www.observechina.com. It followed the resignation of a top journalist, Li Fang, and a diatribe against a top Youth League official by senior editor Lu Yuegang the previous year.
Lu, who is currently out of Beijing on a business trip, said he had heard a rumor that Freezing Point had been closed but received no formal notification from his employers.
"I heard that the supplement was closing for rectification. But I don't know any of the details. I heard that the Party's Central Propaganda Department would run a column in the paper, but I haven't seen it," Lu told RFA.
"We will know the reasons if and when we get a formal notification. Then we will respond to it," he said. "I don't know about anyone else, but I will definitely respond to this...Exactly how is hard to say right now-it will depend on how things unfold."
Beijing-based dissident Liu Xiaobo said the authorities had had Freezing Point in their sights ever since the open letter last year.
"These top-quality journalists at Freezing Point have already had many run-ins with the editor-in-chief, Li Erliang. Usually because they have had many stories spiked at the last minute by him," Liu said.
He cited an in-depth investigation into a plagiarism scandal surrounding a professor at the University of Wuhan in central China. "Perhaps that story was a major factor in the closure of Freezing Point."
Wide readership
Liu said the move was the latest in a series by the Hu and Wen leadership targeting the media. But he said the crackdown would undermine government aims to increase competition and decrease state subsidies to Chinese media.
Established in 1951, the China Youth Daily has always drawn a wide readership, owing to compulsory subscriptions taken out by China's schools and colleges.
Published nationwide, it has widened its reach to take in ordinary citizens. It is a highly respected publication, reporting daily sales figures of around 500,000 copies.
Original reporting in Mandarin by Ke Hua. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
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Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media.
Tibetans, Westerners Describe Deadly Shooting at China-Nepal Border
By Radio Free Asia
KATHMANDU, Oct. 11, 2006 - Members of a group of 43 Tibetans have described their terrifying flight to Nepal under deadly fire from Chinese border guards who took several dozen other Tibetans into custody, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
Witnesses said at least one person was killed and at least one wounded by gunfire Sept. 30 near the Himalayan pass at Nangpa La in the Mount Everest region. Others set the death toll higher. Another 36 or 37 Tibetans were detained, witnesses told RFA's Tibetan service.
The group, which originally numbered around 80 Tibetans, began their journey out of Chinese-controlled Tibet on Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, according to members of the group - 41 asylum-seekers and two Tibetan escorts - who arrived in Kathmandu on Oct. 10.
"When the Chinese fired at us, I was so tense and frightened. It is still difficult for me to explain what happened," one man said in an interview after arriving at the Tibetan Reception Center in Kathmandu. "It was so tense and confusing that I just thought of staying alive and escaping. I couldn't think of anything else or help the others."
"I think the Chinese fired for about 15 minutes. I felt bullets whizzing past my ears. In fact I felt about five bullets pass by me and luckily they missed me. I was so frightened that I crawled in the snow using my hands and feet. The snow was about knee-deep," he said.
The man, who asked not to be named, said the group initially thought the gunshots were fireworks, because there were many Western visitors who had come to climb the mountains in the area.
"I thought they were playing with fireworks. But then we realized it was gunshots and about 30 to 40 rounds were fired. In the confusion, we split into two groups. Those of us who were in the front managed to escape and the later group of about 30 or more Tibetans could not escape," he said.
Buddhist nun shot dead
Another Tibetan, who hid in the mountains for two nights before crossing into Nepal, said: "I saw a small child... There was another young boy who was shot in the foot and an old man. They were detained in the area until late afternoon and then the Chinese police took them away."
"Those who escaped later saw the body of the nun who was killed. She was Kalsang Namtso, 17 years old from Ngachu Dri-ru (in Chinese, Biru Xian) county. They gave a local yak herder 100 yuan and asked him to take the body away but we heard that he didn't do it. So we don't know what happened later," the second man said.
A Western climber who witnessed the incident told RFA's Tibetan service that two others in his group had been contacted by the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and asked to attend a meeting there. "They have since left Nepal and gone home" without visiting the Chinese Embassy, the climber said.
"We heard five shots very, very quickly," the climber said. "We saw a line of refugees making their way up the pass and obviously the Chinese army coming with guns."
Tibetans working as cooks at the climbers' base camp reported that seven people had been killed and their bodies left in a crevasse, the climber said, although this information couldn't be confirmed.
Residents in the mountainous area of Solokhubum, on the Nepal side of the border, confirmed the shootings had occurred.
"There were about 77 Tibetans who escaped in a group, and the Chinese police shot at them on Sept. 30," one resident said in an interview.
"Forty of them managed to escape and about 37 were arrested by the Chinese police. Among them seven were either injured or killed. Again on Oct. 1, three more Tibetans crossed the same pass and the Chinese again fired at them but they managed to escape unhurt. There were about eight or nine armed Chinese police who fired on the escaping Tibetans."
The resident said escape across the mountains was becoming more difficult as what were previously Tibetan border guards were gradually being replaced with Han Chinese. "Chinese officials recruit Tibetans who are paid to spy and inform on the escapees. Spies in the area are paid 300 yuan a month, and they get a special bonus for tracking and informing on Tibetan escapees," the resident said.
No comment from Chinese officials
An official at the Tibet Autonomous Region's Foreign Liaison Office declined to comment on the incident when contacted by RFA's Mandarin service. "On this matter, we are not very clear. We don't know about it. I have never heard of it," the official said. "I can tell you nothing," he said, before hanging up.
Phone calls on Wednesday by RFA's Cantonese service to both the external affairs office of the Tibetan exile government in Dharamsala and the Chinese Embassy in Nepal went unanswered.
In recent years, thousands of Tibetans have risked the illegal border crossing into Nepal and India in search of better educational opportunities and religious freedom. Many end up in Dharmasala, a town in northern India where their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. More than 20,000 Tibetan refugees currently live in Nepal, although those who arrive now are required to travel on to neighboring India.
Original reporting by RFA's Tibetan service. Director: Jigme Ngapo. Translated and edited by Karma Dorjee. Additional reporting by Lillian Cheung of RFA's Cantonese service, Xin Yu and Xi Wang of RFA's Mandarin service, and Richard Finney. Produced in English by Luisetta Mudie and edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine Asian languages to listeners who lack access to full and free news media. The purpose of RFA is to provide a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within these Asian countries. Strict adherence to the highest standards of journalism is at the very core of RFA's mission. Our Web site adds a global dimension to this objective. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Radio Free Asia
Scores of Tibetans Detained for Protesting at Festival
By Radio Free Asia
KATHMANDU - Chinese authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan have detained scores of people for protesting at a traditional holiday picnic, sources in the region have told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Rongyal Adrak, of the Yonru nomadic group, called at a festival in Lithang (in Chinese, Litang) on Aug. 1 for the Tibetan exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, to be permitted back into Tibetan territory under Chinese control, sources told RFA's Tibetan service.
"Rongyal Adrak is generally a religious and good person, but because he was frustrated at being unable to meet the Dalai Lama... he shouted in the midst of all the people that the Dalai Lama must be invited home," one source said.
Many people detained
"[He said,] 'If we cannot invite the Dalai Lama home, we will not have freedom of religion and happiness in Tibet.'"
"He raised a protest and then others joined him" at a traditional picnic Aug. 1, the day Chinese citizens celebrate the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the source said. Aug. 1-15 also marks a fortnight of horse-racing and other celebrations among Tibetans, when the local weather is ideal.
"About 20 persons, young and old, belonging to the Yonru group are now behind bars. Then others from outside the jail also raised a protest... and now some 200 Tibetans have been taken into custody," the source said.
Another source who witnessed the protest said Yongyal Adrak had thrown a khatak, or ceremonial white scarf, into the crowd before "snatching the microphone from the Chinese [official] on the ceremony platform and asking, 'Should the Dalai Lama return home or not ?'"
"The crowd yelled 'yes,'" the witness said. "He then asked, 'Should the Panchen Lama be released ?' Everyone responded, 'Yes.'"
"Then the Chinese official snatched the microphone back, and a monk from the local monastery who had earlier called the Dalai Lama a 'splittist' was verbally attacked by the crowd," the source said.
Local Chinese security officials, contacted by telephone, reported that the incident had been brought under control, but they declined to comment further.
Last year's horse festival cut short
Sources in the area reported hearing gunshots near the local jail, but they said no one appeared to have been injured.
A year ago, Tibetan nomads ransacked a local police station in Lithang after a dispute over the results in a major annual horse race.
The Lithang Horse Race Festival, which drew tens of thousands of spectators, was cut short because of clashes over who won third place. Four men were beaten by police, according to witnesses, when they tried to complain about cronyism. They refused to seek medical attention and instead commandeered a stage at the festival that was to have been used for a cultural performance.
The festival is a major event in the region and has drawn up to 50,000 participants and spectators from all over China in previous years.
At 4,000 meters above sea level, Lithang is one of the highest human settlements on Earth. It is home to the 16th-century Lithang Monastery, now rebuilt after being bombed in the 1950s.
Original reporting by Lobsang Choepel for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Benpa Topgyal. Service director: Jigme Ngapo. Written for the Web by Sarah Jackson-Han.
Source: Radio Free Asia
China Hardens Tibet Policy Along Ethnic Lines
By Radio Free Asia
China is intensifying its crackdown on supporters of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence out of fear that Tibetan cadres will turn against the Communist Party amid a growing wave of protests and civil disobedience, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
"There still exists a small number of dissident elements within our Party whose commitment to its ideals, beliefs, and political standpoint is a wavering one," an internal memo of the Communist Party's Commission for Discipline Inspection, leaked to RFA's Tibetan service, said.
It accused internal dissidents of "suckling at the breast of the Chinese Communist Party, while calling the Dalai Lama mother," implying that some Tibetans were simply using the Party while secretly following the Dalai Lama.
The memo, which experts say highlights a tougher line in Tibet since a change of leadership in the Himalayan region a year ago, reported in detail the case of Phuntsok Gyaltsen, a dissident Party member, and Lhadon "the Younger," a schoolteacher.
According to Document No. 2, 2007, of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Phuntsok Gyaltsen, 33, deputy head of Phurbu township and a special agent of the Palgon (in Chinese, Bange) county police department, was expelled from the Party and arrested for shouting "reactionary slogans" in public.
Lhadon "the Younger," 31, a middle-school teacher in Khangma county, was dismissed and arrested for telling his class that the 11th Panchen Lama selected by Beijing was a fake.
Tibetans in Party targeted
"If we cannot eliminate dissidents like Phuntsok Gyaltsen and Lhadon 'the Younger,' it will be very dangerous. It could be a major hidden danger threatening the stability and harmony of our society," the memo said. The memo called on Party members to keep a "clear political head" and step up vigilance against pro-independence sentiment among Tibetan Party members.
The document, dated Sept. 4, comes after a year of escalating protests in Tibetan areas of China following the appointment of a new regional Party secretary, Zhang Qingli, in 2006.
"I think that we are seeing, since early last year under Zhang Qingli, a really different way of dealing with these kind of problems," Robbie Barnett, who teaches contemporary Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York, said.
Barnett said the new clampdown was "very aggressive and very much in the Party tradition, where you use a small incident, you magnify its significance... and you make this a reason to enforce Party discipline amongst your Party members... This suggests that Zhang Qingli is very, very nervous about the loyalty of Tibetan Party members in Tibet."
The document shed light on an atmosphere within the Tibetan Party of intense suspicion divided along ethnic lines, he said. "I think [the Party has] become increasingly worried that it can never know what is really in the hearts of these people," Barnett said.
"[Since 1994, there has been] a huge increase in income for Tibetan officials working for the government and Party members-a massive increase in their personal wealth and their family conditions - but they still cannot know what these people really think and where their loyalties really lie. So this is a preoccupation for the Chinese leadership, which I would have to say is almost at a pathological level."
According to the memo obtained by RFA, Phuntsok Gyaltsen was born in Riwoche county in Chamdo prefecture, was college-educated, and joined the Communist Party in 2002. On April 19, 2007, he shouted "Independence for Tibet!" and "Long live the Dalai Lama!"
He was subsequently expelled from the Party, dismissed from public service, and arrested.
Lhadon "the Younger" was born in Khangma county and was also college-educated. He told his class of 44 students on April 3, 2007: "The 11th Panchen Lama recognized by the central government is a fake one. The real 11th Panchen Lama was reincarnated in India. The central government Panchen Lama went to India to meet the real Panchen Lama." He was expelled from public service June 14 and then arrested.
Similar campaigns in Sichuan
Similar campaigns are under way in the separately administered region of Lithang, in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. Lithang is home to a high proportion of Tibetans, especially nomads, and saw a mass protest during a horse-racing festival in mid-August following a call for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet.
A source in Lithang told RFA's Tibetan service: "[A] patriotic re-education campaign was formally launched in the Lithang nomadic area on Sept. 7. It was launched by a company commander of the People's Armed Police, who arrived in the area with a contingent of about 200 police."
Officials told Tibetans they had to choose between the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama.
"Kensur Drakkar Rinpoche of Lithang monastery, who has experience of several years in jail, refused to comply," the source said. "He replied that he carries the title of 'Rinpoche,'" an honorific given to senior religious teachers in Tibet. "As a Buddhist practitioner," the source said, "he has to be fully devoted to his root teacher, and the Dalai Lama is his root teacher. Therefore he cannot criticize the Dalai Lama, who is not only our religious leader but also our political leader."
Dissent at political meetings
The re-education campaign was also directed against local leaders and schoolteachers of above sub-district level, the source told RFA.
"While the campaign was going on, many schoolteachers voiced their decision to choose the Dalai Lama and not China. Many of them walked away from the meetings. The officials threatened that their salary would be downgraded and placed among the common masses. The teachers responded with walk-outs."
Meanwhile, Adruk Adrak-a nephew of Ronggyal Adrak, whose arrest for Dalai Lama slogan-shouting sparked the mid-August protests in Lithang-walked out of a political meeting shouting, "Long live the Dalai Lama!" and "May the wishes of Ronggyal Adrak be fulfilled!"
Barnett said the campaigns seemed to herald a tightening of China's response to public protest and dissent. "It seems that the state and certainly the local people, both in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan and probably nationally, have moved into a kind of rapid-response mode, where even a single incident, even a very small incident like these two, can lead to major campaigns or major policy shifts or major policy responses."
"So we certainly shouldn't rule out the possibility that this indicates a really potentially very big security sweep or ideological re-training."
According to Barnett, beginning in 2000, ethnic Chinese began to be trained in the Tibetan language at Lhasa University with the idea that they would be sent out to townships and the countryside as low-level officials. About 200 to 300 of these are now in place. "This is a whole new configuration of the face of the Chinese state in the rural areas of Tibet."
In Lithang, Tibetan officials are now being replaced by Chinese.
"The Lithang change is an extremely rapid version of the same thing-done even with a cudgel by force, rather than by plan, we could say. But it's part of a larger trend which represents a very, very major change in policy about how to deal with the countryside," Barnett said.
Original reporting by RFA's Tibetan service. Director: Jigme Ngapo. Additional reporting by Richard Finney. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han and Karma Dorjee.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects: in Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, and the Wu dialect; Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham); Burmese; Khmer to Cambodia; Korean to North Korea; Lao; and Vietnamese.
Source: Radio Free Asia
Thailand, Under Pressure, Bars Tiananmen Protester from Asylum in Canada
By Radio Free Asia
Lu Decheng Was Set To Fly to Canada March 14
HONG KONG - Under pressure from China, Thailand has barred a former Chinese bus driver sentenced to 16 years in prison for defacing a portrait of Mao Zedong from flying to Canada to seek political asylum, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has learned.
"Something unexpected has happened," Lu said Friday in an interview with RFA's Mandarin service. "We will try to appeal to the higher-ups. I hope it will work. I feel guilty that I have caused trouble for everybody. I am grateful to everybody for their help."
Lu Decheng served just over nine years of a 16-year jail term before being paroled early in 1998. He fled through Burma to Thailand in November 2004 and was arrested by Thai police in December 2004. He has remained in an immigration detention center since. He had been scheduled to leave Thailand for Canada on March 14 under a resettlement program run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
All arrangements made, voided
One of Lu's five Canadian immigration sponsors, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Chen, said he received an e-mail from the Canadian Embassy in Thailand informing him that the Chinese government had asked the Thai government to prevent Lu from leaving for Canada.
"Lu Decheng told me Feb. 21 that all arrangements had been made for him to travel to Canada on March 14. But then the Chinese government found out about it and applied pressure on the Thai government. And now the Thai government will not release him," Chen told RFA Mandarin service reporter Xi Hong from his home in Calgary.
In 1989, Lu Decheng, along with Yu Zijian and Yu Dongyue, traveled from Hunan to Beijing to participate in the pro-democracy protests. The three men defaced the portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over Tiananmen Square, for which Lu was sentenced to 16 years in jail, Yu Zijian was sentenced to life, and Yu Dongyue was sentenced to 20 years.
Chen said he and Lu's other sponsors would seek help from Canadian parliamentarians and human rights organizations and urge Ottawa to petition Bangkok for Lu's release.
Last of three men freed in February
Chinese authorities last month released the last of the three men, former newspaper editor Yu Dongyue. Yu left Chishan Prison, Yuanjiang city in the central province of Hunan, under police escort, his mother Wu Pinghua said.
Asked about Yu Dongyue's physical condition, his sister, Yu Rixia, told RFA's Mandarin service: "His health is not very good. He can not manage his own personal chores. The priority now is for him to adjust to the current situation and hope that his health can be gradually improved... He acts like a 3- or 4 year-old boy, and he can't take interviews," she said. "He has no logical thinking now."
His mother, Wu Pinghua, said the family had been warned against spreading news of her son's release. "I am very happy today, but also very nervous," Wu said. "We are cooking dinner right now, but officials told us not to tell other people, not to have friends and relatives come and visit him."
Pressure for men's release
Dozens of fellow Tiananmen veterans signed an online petition in support of Lu and Yu Dongyue, including former student leader Wang Dan, exiled China Democracy Party founders Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai, and Pittsburgh-based poet Huang Xiang.
The three men came from the same hometown, where Lu Decheng and Yu Zhijian were playmates as children, while Yu Zhijian and Yu Dongyue were classmates at school, Lu said.
Before they defaced the Mao portrait on May 23, 1989, all three had been active in the pro-democracy movement in the provincial capital Changsha, traveling to Beijing in mid-May that year to join thousands of demonstrators on Tiananmen Square.
Yu Dongyue, Lu, and Yu Zhijian were handed over to national security police after prolonged negotiations with the student command on the Square, a decision Lu and Yu Zhijian regard as having been made with the broader interests of the student movement in mind.
Go to www.rfa.org for more.
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108 NewsBlaze U.S. Researchers Develop Tests for Devastating Cattle Disease
108 NewsBlaze Beauty Tour is a Fine Thing
104 NewsBlaze Multiple operations concentrate on terrorism eradication
103 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Khartoum - Dispute Surfaces Over Sudan?s Oil
103 NewsBlaze U.S. Officials to attend Garang Funeral in Sudan
102 NewsBlaze Devastating Disease finally gets International Attention
100 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Europe; Turkey - Greece - Half Moon Joint Exercise - Regional Imp
98 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Middle East; Tehran - New Defense Minister Takes Office
98 NewsBlaze Bush To Nominate Californian as Ambassador to Togo
95 MarketWire TaglineGuru.com Releases List of Most Influential Taglines and Jingles in the TV and Internet Era
90 MarketWire Trek Madone SSLx - The New Lance Bike
88 NewsBlaze Iraq Reconstruction Money Released for Basra Pump Station
88 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: East Asia; China - Hu Jintao Attempts to Strengthen Tenuous Hold
88 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Southeast Asia; Bangkok Airport - Man Arrested with 452 Forged Pa
88 MarketWire Jim Jones' Much-Anticipated New Full-Length Album "Harlem: The Diary of A Summer" Set for Release on 8.23.05
87 NewsBlaze Task Force Liberty Soldier, six others killed by suicide bomber in Baqubah
87 MarketWire BME/Warner Bros. Recording Artist Lil Scrappy and Bohagon Join Label Head Lil Jon on Anger Management Tour
86 NewsBlaze China Leads Effort in North Korea Six-Party Talks
85 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Middle East; Shadow Government in Place - Tehran Iraq Influence
84 MarketWire O2Diesel Corporation Announces Second Quarter Earnings
84 Eworldwire VIDEO AVAIABLE: Beau Monde: Where The World's Rich And Famous Go When They Don't Want Anyone To Know They Are In Rehab
83 Eworldwire Spike Television's Extreme 4x4 Selects Hill Killer Transmissions To Provide A Hill Killer Allison 1000 Transmission For Its 1,000 Horsepower Hybrid Vehicle
82 NewsBlaze U.S. Army colonel receives Distinguished Service Cross
82 NewsBlaze Arrest of 36 Suspects in Iraq Within 24 hours, Sunday
78 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Europe/Middle East; Hosein Musavian Boasts Iran Bought Extra Time
78 NewsBlaze Israel has reached "A Moment of Great Significance"
78 NewsBlaze Queen of Self-Help says Life is HUGE!
78 MarketWire Pretty Ricky & B5 to Hit the Road on Scream IV Tour
77 MarketWire Bad Toys Holdings, Inc. Releases 2nd Quarter Results
76 MarketWire Platinum Songwriter Maia Sharp to Tour With Bonnie Raitt
75 NewsBlaze Tiny Books . . . Tremendous Transformations
75 MarketWire Story Of The Year "Determined" to Capture Their Live Sound on Record
75 MarketWire Trey Songz Hits Road on Cingular College Tour in Wake of Top 20 Billboard 200 Debut; Singer Makes It With "I GOTTA MAKE IT"
75 Eworldwire Marques Houston, T.U.G. Recording Artist And Star Of UPN's Cuts, Performs Live At Virgin Mega Store
74 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Guardian Council Plans for Occupation to Continue Until 2009
73 MarketWire Consumers Rejection of RFID Passports Consistent With Research Findings
72 MarketWire Intelligent Systems Chooses IBM to Help Deliver On Demand Solutions to Meet Retail Industry Customer Needs
70 NewsBlaze Avoid the Fatal Presentation Trap: Why Making Presentations Can Cost You the Sale
70 MarketWire Leerink Swann & Company Initiates Coverage of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., Cerner Corporation, Eclipsys Corporation, IDX Systems Corporation, Quality Systems, Inc.
70 Eworldwire SignatureLink Acquires Signature Technology From Cattledriver LLC
69 MarketWire Axial Vector Engine Discusses Breakthrough Combustion Engine Technology and Corporate Strategy in Online Interview With PRBroadcast.com
68 NewsBlaze Water Workout Station Making A Splash For Exercisers
68 NewsBlaze Help save Public Television - Producer
68 MarketWire O.A.R. to Release "Stories of a Stranger" on October 4, 2005
67 MarketWire Stylus Studio Selected as Finalist in the 5th Annual eWEEK Excellence Awards
66 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Sudan - SPLM Withdraws from Committee Investigating Riots
66 MarketWire FunMail's Wallpaper Universe Still Sizzling in Verizon Wireless' #1 Spot
65 NewsBlaze Task Force Liberty Soldiers Detain 8 in Suspected Tikrit IED cell
65 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: E.Asia; China - Spontaneous Combustion - Demonstration in China
65 NewsBlaze Polls Show Europeans, Americans Support Gaza Withdrawal
64 NewsBlaze Turkey "Mishandled" its Rebellious Kurds, Moves to Improve
64 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: SE Europe; ANA Signal Campaign Against International Administrati
64 MarketWire Master P's "Ghetto Bill" Debuts at #1
63 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: East Africa; Uganda - Senior Officer of LRA Killed Near Sudanese
63 NewsBlaze Guantanamo Provides Valuable Intelligence Information
63 MarketWire Redfish Introduces New Football Menu in Phoenix
62 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Central Asia - Faith Still Spreading - Unity in Hatred
62 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Bangladesh - "Third Call" - Unprecedented Bomb Attacks
62 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Eurasia; Ukraine - Security and Law Enforcement Corruption Block
62 MarketWire Jermaine Dupri Expands His Media Empire With Grand Opening of Cafe Dupri on July 12th in Atlanta
61 NewsBlaze Email broadcasters unknowingly break the law
61 Eworldwire Adore Shop Magazine-Introducing Southern California's First Regional Shopping Magazine
61 Eworldwire Summit Poised To Acquire 49 Percent Of QZAR USA
60 NewsBlaze Three Guantanamo Detainees released
59 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Violence Erupts in Capital During General Strike Called by Awami
58 NewsBlaze Iraq Terrorists Killing Indiscriminately
58 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Middle East; Western Iraq - Staying Iran?s Course
58 MarketWire SIPquest Selects Global IP Sound VoiceEngine to Maximize Voice Quality Across Its Offering of Soft Client Solutions
58 MarketWire Aliant Offers Customers New Online Self-Service Options
57 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Eurasia; Berlin-Moscow Concern - Iran?s Nuclear Program
57 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: NW Africa; Nouakchott - New Government Free Imprisoned Islamists
57 MarketWire VoxBox World Telecom, Inc. Releases Analyst Report Which Is to Appear in Investors Business Daily
57 Eworldwire Digital Descriptor Systems, Inc. Subsidiary To Participate In Marine Transportation And USDOT Seminar
57 Eworldwire President Of CGM Applied Security Technologies, Derails Dep't. Of Homeland Security Plan To Use RFID Technology To Track Foreigners
56 MarketWire Elan Launches World's Biggest Off-the-Shelf Multiple PC Card Tester
56 MarketWire EYEFORTRANSPORT - RFID IN TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
56 MarketWire Agility Unveils Inventory Management "To Go"
55 NewsBlaze Foreign Fighters, Supporters a Significant Threat to Iraqis
55 MarketWire First-Ever Recording Arts Day on Sept. 7 Brings Leading Music Makers to Washington for Congressional Meetings and Grammy Events
55 MarketWire Prospect Energy Corporation Schedules Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2005 Earnings Release and Conference Call
55 MarketWire Investors Real Estate Trust Announces Increase in Regular Quarterly Common Share Distribution, and Declares Series A Preferred Share Distribution
55 MarketWire Current Data Now Available for powerOne(R) Calculation Software
54 MarketWire MKK Consulting Engineers Are on the Move
53 NewsBlaze Coalition forces capture terrorist, destroy hide-out
53 MarketWire KUNNA Jeans to Launch Spring 2006 Line at Project Trade Show in Las Vegas; Signs Eight-Eighteen as Marketing Agency of Record
53 Eworldwire VoIPSupply.com Expands Buffalo Headquarters
53 Eworldwire MEDIA AVAILABLE: Alliance Group Entertainment's, Confessions Of A Pit Fighter Expose's Underground Street Figting
52 Primezone Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Inc. Secures $1 Million Equity Financing
52 NewsBlaze U.S., Ukraine Sign Agreement to Counter Bioterrorism Threat
52 NewsBlaze Crossfire War:NW Africa- New Government Pressured to Sever Relations with Israel
52 NewsBlaze Two Million Americans View Anti-Terror Announcement
52 NewsBlaze Transfer Huge Files Online Fast And Free
52 MarketWire Harley-Davidson Rentals and Tours Now Available in Big-Sky Country
52 MarketWire ISR Launches Commercial Division to Address Growing Thermal Issues in High-Performance Electronic Design
52 MarketWire Ed Waller, Kevin Dains, Robert Miller Join New First NLC Financial Services Correspondent Lending Division
51 MarketWire Matthew Leutwyler's Terrifyingly Hysterical Horror Comedy "Dead and Breakfast" Awakens on DVD September 6 From Anchor Bay Entertainment
51 MarketWire Mozely Rose Launches Debut Album to National Radio Charts
51 MarketWire Right Hemisphere Honored in Start Magazine's Annual Hottest Companies Awards
51 Eworldwire Hot 'n Sexy Maternity Wear From Joelle Maternity
50 Primezone Nicholas-Applegate Convertible & Income Fund II Declares Monthly Dividend of 11.5625 Cents Per Common Share
50 NewsBlaze Radio Free Asia Founding President To Retire
50 NewsBlaze Israel to Leave Gaza Despite Suicide Attack
50 NewsBlaze Turn Off Your PC for a week - Yeah, Right
50 MarketWire Jeantex Group to Show Product Lines at Magic Apparel Show
50 MarketWire Intentia Experts Say Seasonal Retail Is Extinct
50 MarketWire Study Sees First Increases in Management Consulting Fees in 3 Years
50 MarketWire Hook 'em, Horns! University of Texas Runs Internet-Based Video Magazine Campaign Series to Promote Longhorns Football
50 MarketWire Bad Toys Holdings, Inc. to Acquire an Additional $10 Million in Revenues
50 Eworldwire Immediatek's DiscLive Rolling Out Live DVDs
49 NewsBlaze "Nashville Star" Winner Gives to Military Families
49 NewsBlaze Iraqi Constitutional Process is "Democracy at Work"
49 NewsBlaze U.S. Envoy Outlines Iraq's Compact with America
49 MarketWire HomelandDefenseStocks.com New Featured Company: Sense Holdings, Inc., a Provider of Biometric Solutions, Micro-Sensor Identification Systems, RFID and Enabling Technology for Explosives Detection
49 MarketWire Microfabrica Kicks Off EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition
48 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Bangladesh - Former Director of Islamic Foundation Arrested
48 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Northeast Asia; Chinese General Threatens Use of Nuclear Weapons
48 MarketWire Fit After Fifty Inc. Gets $5.50 Price Target by Market Advisors Inc., Announces The IO Circuit
48 MarketWire Women Want Jessica Alba's Hairstyle More Than Any Other Celebrity
48 MarketWire AirTight Networks SpectraGuard Enterprise Helps RFID Leader Assa Abloy ITG Secure Network Against Unauthorized Access From Wi-Fi Access Points
47 NewsBlaze U.S. Congratulates Iraq on Completion of Draft Constitution
47 NewsBlaze WebSite Promotes Positive Images for Blacks
47 NewsBlaze June and July: The Wedding Months
47 NewsBlaze The Summer of Code for students begins.
47 MarketWire Global Development & Environmental Resources Awarded Environmental Assessment of 20 Gasoline Stations From Bulk Petroleum
47 Eworldwire Heartland Holdings Announces Stock Purchase Agreement With Persinger Equipment, Inc.
46 NewsBlaze Coalition Aircraft fly 50 Close Air Support and Reconnaissance Sorties Daily
46 NewsBlaze Voter Registration Progressing in North-Central Iraq
46 NewsBlaze IAEA Supervision of Iranian Nuclear Activities Continues
46 MarketWire D&E Communications, Inc. Announces Termination of Voting Trust of Shareholders
46 MarketWire Fargo Resident Recognized for Her Spirit of Freedom
46 MarketWire Fulton Financial Corporation Completes Acquisition of SVB Financial Services, Inc.
46 Eworldwire Summit Entertainment Approves Share Buyback Plan
45 NewsBlaze Three North African terrorists killed in Mosul
45 MarketWire StreetIQ.com Launches Its Executive Lounge Series of Podcast Interviews
45 MarketWire X2 and DAVETV Form Partnership to Develop IPTV and Interactive Television (ITV) Products
45 MarketWire Study Validates Sensitivity of Quidel Rapid Test to Detect Bacterial Vaginosis
45 Eworldwire Pictureanywhere - Measuring Entertainment Before It Happens
44 NewsBlaze Tony Blair Urges All Iraqis to Participate in October Constitutional Referendum
44 NewsBlaze Rice meets South Korean Foreign Minister
44 NewsBlaze Baghdad Press Center Control handed over to Iraqis
44 MarketWire Global IP Sound VoiceEngine Technology Enables Superior Voice Quality in Google Talk Instant Communications Service
44 MarketWire Nestor, Inc. Acquires Business and Assets of Transol Group
44 MarketWire Sourcing Leader Announces MINDFLOW Scorecard(TM) to Improve Supplier Cost, Quality and Responsiveness
44 MarketWire Maine & Maritimes CEO Says Rising Oil Costs Point to Immediate Need for Sustainability Measures
44 MarketWire Transportation Driving Up Production Costs, CPG Industry Survey Finds
44 Eworldwire PitBOSS Entertainment Lands First Client
43 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Gaza- Palestinian Groups Dismiss Each Other?s Claims
43 NewsBlaze Zoellick Meets Hong Kong Chief Executive
43 NewsBlaze America - Superpower or Fair Weather Friend?
43 MarketWire TrenStar CEO Greg Cronin Resigns
43 MarketWire The Linley Group Seminar Focuses on Designing Security in Networking Systems Program Features Cavium, Hifn, Freescale, SafeNet, Intel, Broadcom, Tarari, and Britestream
43 MarketWire Curative Health Services Announces Engagement of Financial Advisor to Evaluate Strategic and Financial Alternatives
43 MarketWire Lower Prices for Music Subscription Services Key to Adoption
43 MarketWire Nu Image MedSpa's Bareskin Location Revenue Up 30% Annualized
43 MarketWire Agriculture Fuels America's Clean Air in Des Moines, Iowa Through CityHome(TM) Program
43 MarketWire Viscount Introduces MESH Datastream Security Modules
43 MarketWire The Gabe Dixon Band: U.S. Tour Dates Announced in Support of "Transcendent" (The Lefsetz Letter) New EP "Live At World Cafe"
43 MarketWire Global Triad, Inc., a Leading Provider of Broadband Content Delivery Systems, Announced Today That Robert Friskney Has Been Named Executive Vice President of Sales and Chief Operating Officer for Global WiFi Plus
43 MarketWire Eisai Inc. Honors Employee for Outstanding Community Involvement
43 MarketWire Candy-Flavored Cigarettes Try to Make Tobacco a Sweet Treat for Kids
43 Eworldwire Loan Officer School Now Offers Classes Nationwide
42 NewsBlaze Crossfire War: Beijing Arrests 179 Members of Chinese Islamic Group
42 MarketWire Music Finalists & Panelists Announced: Noteworthy Participants Hit the 11th Annual Temecula Valley Int'l Film & Music Festival
42 MarketWire Entelos Publication in Immunity Reveals Potential Reasons for Type 1 Diabetes Drug Failures
42 MarketWire Michael Casey Enterprises, Inc. Seeks $10,000,000 in Damages Against Charles Ho and Cirtran-Asia, Inc. for Allegedly Stealing Patent Rights
42 MarketWire Sean Paul Returns With "THE TRINITY": First Single, "We Be Burnin'," Set To Sizzle; Eagerly Awaited New Album Due September 27th
42 MarketWire Nickelback Single Delivered Exclusively by Musicrypt's DMDS Across North America
42 Eworldwire PitBOSS Entertainment Schedules August 5 Conference Call
