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Prior to 9.11, China had sold more than 30 of its 180-mile range M-11
ballistic missiles to Pakistan, along with the means to build solid-fuel
450-mile-range Shaheen-1 and 1,200-mile-range Shaheen II missiles. Also in
that part of the world China has sold Iran nuclear fuel reprocessing
components and cruise missiles that could carry a small nuclear device. In
both cases, this advanced weaponry poses an extreme threat throughout the
entire Middle East.
Red China, however, saw an opportunity to "support" the US war on terrorism
in order to open the floodgates of further internal suppression of groups
seeking greater freedom. For internal consumption, though, Red China
portrayed the US as having received a blow it deemed well deserved.
Red China stepped up its suppression of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement
in China. There have been 295 confirmed deaths of Falun Gong members at the
hands of Red Chinese police. It recently arrested a Hong Kong businessman for
importing bibles into China, calling Christianity "an evil cult." The bibles
were intended for use by an underground Christian group in Red China's
Fujiann Province. On December 30th, a Red Chinese Court handed death
sentences to two leaders of an underground South China Church. Reportedly,
sixteen Christian organizations have been identified as evil cults.
The Red Chinese have shut down 17,500 Internet cafes throughout the nation
and another 28,000 are being monitored by its vast secret police. This
nation, like the former Soviet Union, fears any access to information from
the world outside its closed society.
The Bush administration came into power making no secret of its opposition to
China's record on human rights, its threats to Taiwan, and its provision of
missiles and nuclear arms technology to nations in the Middle East. It
skillfully handled the downing of one of our intelligence gathering planes,
but after 9.11, in order to secure a coalition that would permit the US to
wage its war on terrorism, the administration has backed off its strong
rhetoric and policies.
Red China's intent is to take on this nation in its quest to dominate the Far
East and Pacific Basin. While battling Islamic militants in the Philippines
and in Indonesia, both nations are struggling to ward off being so weakened
they could not defend against an invasion by Red China. New Zealand, having
abandoned support for its airforce and navy is ripe for such adventurism.
Gao Zhan, an American University scholar, released from a Red Chinese prison
last year, has warned, "The Chinese are only in the anti-terrorism war to
serve their own interests (and) to divert the attention of international
society on its continued human rights abuse." He reminded Americans that
"Over the past 50 years, 30 million to 50 million people were persecuted for
having different political views. China has been in the terror business for
over five decades."
Is the US wavering now? In October, the Bush administration let it be known
that it was considering a waiver on sanctions imposed after the 1989
crackdown in Tiananmen Square. Those sanctions bar the sale of
military-related equipment to Red Chinese security forces, but the Red
Chinese are known to have been spending seventeen percent of their GNP on
defense and many analysts believe this figure may be much higher. There are
even fears that the US may accede to its "One China" policy, abandoning
Taiwan to Red China's takeover.
The former ambassador to Red China, James R. Lilley, warned against any
softening of our opposition to its ambitions in April. "We prefer to see our
security relationships as maintaining stability, the status quo. The Chinese
believe they have a manifest destiny to fulfill-and a need for a protective
shield to buffer their most vital and productive area on the coast of China
from Canton in the south to Dalian in the north." He warned against Red
Chinese adventurism.
As this new century begins, the United States must surely seek to reduce the
threat of a militant Islam and, with considerable irony, that is also a goal
of the Red Chinese for the Muslims within its borders. It extends its
definition of terrorism, however, to include Christians and Buddhists as well
as anyone who dares to question its repressive system.
We cannot afford, therefore, to turn our attention away from the long-term
threat Red China represents. It must be contained, and it must be ended just
as we ended the threat of the former Soviet Union.
Tom DeWeese is the publisher/editor of The DeWeese Report and president of
the American Policy Center, a Warrenton, Virginia grass-roots think tank. The
Center maintains an Internet site at www.americanpolicy.org.
Published by permission.
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