| May 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
July 2007 Stats for The Big Picture.
Is your favorite website blocked in China? Find out here. (Hat tip: A.M. Whittaker).
"'THOUSANDS RIOT' IN CHINA PROTEST":
A protest staged by thousands of rural workers in central China ended in violent clashes last week, reports say.
Several people were injured as up to 20,000 people clashed with 1,000 police in Hunan province on Friday, a local official told Reuters news agency.
Internal concerns such as this may make China reluctant to make more trouble for themselves, e.g. by invading Taiwan.
Bruce Herschensohn
Last weekend Bruce Herschensohn spoke at a private residence at Pepperdine University about his new book, Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy. Here are a few points he made ( from my handwritten notes - not expected to be verbatim: )
Since May 1, 1991, there has been total democracy in Taiwan.
...On March 14th, a law was passed in China stating that it is the official policy of China to use non-peaceful means to conquer Taiwan.
...China has 900 missiles aimed at Taiwan, and is adding 2 more per week.
...China has already had 11 rehearsals for a military invasion of Taiwan - the most recent being with Russian troops.
...China says Taiwan is a renegade province of China - but the flag of the People's Republic of China has never flown over Taiwan.
...Yet the official policy of the U.S. is to oppose the people of Taiwan voting on their own constitution.
...The State Dept. believes that they are the permanent government of the United States. They believe that Presidents are a nuisance -- a temporary nuisance that they can put up with. They can put up with them for 4 to 8 years, and then they're gone. The State Department believes in stability -- not in liberty. They believe that Patrick Henry said, "Give me stability or give me death."
Herschensohn argued powerfully that it is in the best interests of the U.S. to support freedom and democracy in Taiwan.
U.S. Says China Must Address Its Intentions:
Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick bluntly warned China last night that it must begin to take concrete steps to address what he called a "a cauldron of anxiety" in the United States and other parts of the world about Chinese intentions.
Zoellick, delivering the administration's most comprehensive statement on its dealings with China, said the United States has worked hard to bring China into the international system over the past three decades. Now, he said, the United States will focus on ensuring that China becomes a responsible player on the world stage.
"Uncertainties about how China will use its power will lead the United States -- and others as well -- to hedge relations with China," Zoellick told the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in New York. "Many countries hope China will pursue a 'peaceful rise,' but none will bet their future on it."
Zoelick has done well. This will help. If China refuses to cooperate on this, that would be meaningful. If they do cooperate, their words can be checked against their future actions.
Page 1 of 1 pages
