The New York Times
Editorial

Relations between the United States and China have turned chilly in recent months as the two countries wrangle over Taiwan, Tibet, Iran and China’s continued manipulation of its currency.

President Obama is right to press Beijing to behave more responsibly — toward its own people and internationally. China is certainly pushing its sense of grievance too far and underestimating the fear and resentment its growing power is provoking in Asia and the West.

There is little hope of progress — on the global economy, global warming or Iran’s nuclear ambitions — unless Washington and Beijing work harder to manage their differences.

President Obama’s decision last month to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion in helicopters, Patriot missiles and other defensive items elicited a particularly harsh reaction: Beijing has publicly threatened to punish American arms companies that sell to Taiwan, presumably by cutting off access to China’s huge market.

The sales could not have been a surprise to China’s leadership. Mr. Obama told President Hu Jintao of his intentions at their summit in November in Beijing. The arms were part of a package approved by former President George W. Bush, and Mr. Obama left out the most controversial items: F-16 jets and diesel submarines.

Rather than encouraging Taiwan’s independence, as Beijing claims, the arms sales will give Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, the confidence to continue his efforts to improve relations with the mainland. It is absurd for China to think that any Taiwanese leader would not want to bolster his country’s defenses when Beijing is modernizing its arsenal and stationing more than 1,000 missiles across the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing’s threat to punish American companies is a dangerous game, especially at a time when criticism is rampant — around the world and on Capitol Hill — about China’s unfair trade practices.    more …

Reuters
Chris Buckley
BEIJING
Credit: Reuters/Joe Chan

Members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Aviation stand at attention during a training session at the 60th National Day Parade Village in the outskirts of Beijing, September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Joe Chan

BEIJING (Reuters) – Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defense spending, adjust PLA deployments, and possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan.

World

The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island came from officers at China’s National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences, interviewed by Outlook Weekly, a Chinese-language magazine published by the official Xinhua news agency.

The interviews with Major Generals Zhu Chenghu and Luo Yuan and Senior Colonel Ke Chunqiao appeared in the issue published on Monday.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plays no role in setting policy for China’s foreign exchange holdings. Officials in charge of that area have given no sign of any moves to sell U.S. Treasury bonds over the weapons sales, a move that could alarm markets and damage the value of China’s own holdings.

While far from representing fixed government policy, the open demands for retaliation by the PLA officers underscored the domestic pressures on Beijing to deliver on its threats to punish the Obama administration over the arms sales.

“Our retaliation should not be restricted to merely military matters, and we should adopt a strategic package of counter-punches covering politics, military affairs, diplomacy and economics to treat both the symptoms and root cause of this disease,” said Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences.

“Just like two people rowing a boat, if the United States first throws the strokes into chaos, then so must we.”

Luo said Beijing could “attack by oblique means and stealthy feints” to make its point in Washington.

“For example, we could sanction them using economic means, such as dumping some U.S. government bonds,” Luo said.

The warnings from the PLA come after weeks of strains between Washington and Beijing, who have also been at odds over Internet controls and hacking, trade and currency quarrels, and President Barack Obama’s planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China as a “separatist.”

MILITARY SPENDING BOOST

Chinese has blasted the United States over the planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan unveiled in late January, saying it will sanction U.S. firms that sell weapons to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province of China.

China is likely to unveil its official military budget for 2010 next month, when the Communist Party-controlled national parliament meets for its annual session.    more …

Reuters

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has had his appeal against an 11-year prison sentence rejected by a court in Beijing, his lawyer has said.

Mr Liu was convicted six weeks ago on charges of subversion, to widespread international condemnation.

The United States and the European Union have called for the 54-year-old dissident’s immediate release.

In 2008, Mr Liu co-wrote a direct appeal to Chinese authorities calling for expanded political freedoms.

The dissident’s wife, Liu Xia, had said earlier that she had little hope of a reprieve.

“I’m preparing for the worst,” she said. “If you’re not that hopeful, then you can’t be disappointed.”

‘Persecution’

The United States also hit out at what it called the “persecution” of individuals for expressing their political views, saying it was inconsistent with globally recognised human rights standards.

People are treated for injuries in Hong Kong, 25 December
Hong Kong people protested at the initial conviction of Liu XIaobo

Mr Liu was previously jailed over the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, a conviction which also sparked international condemnation.

Diplomats from 17 countries were outside the court when the appeal was rejected.     more …

The Epoch Times
By Fu Ming & Zhu Jiaqi
Sound Of Hope Network

A new regulation titled Ordinance of House Collection and Compensation on State-Owned Land (Draft For Feedback Collection) was announced on Jan. 29. The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council is under criticism because people believe that the new laws, rather than preventing unlawful forced demolitions, legalize them.

Liu Feiyue, human rights activist in Hubei Province, pointed out that the regulations now include business-related forced demolitions, providing a legitimate excuse for business development/relocation. “The new regulations are supposed to focus on collecting state lands for the public welfare. Including the business sector is in reality a silent approval for forced demolition due to business needs.” Liu believes house demolition for business needs should be strictly regulated by the market.

Liu also remarked that in an autocratic country like China, the new laws are hard to enforce. “Officials hold absolute power, which makes the execution of the laws impossible. We are concerned that the new regulations will not force the local governments that collude with businesses to give up their vested interests.”    more …

Epoch Times
By Zhong Yuan

TAIPEI, Taiwan–Chinese human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng disappeared a year ago. A group of Taiwanese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered for a press conference to support Mr. Gao and to condemn the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for their flagrant disregard of human rights

Gao had previously been arrested and tortured in China for defending the rights of those persecuted for their religious beliefs, including adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

After his arrest and disappearance on Feb. 4, 2009, the first report to surface was a statement by a policeman to his brother, Gao Zhiyi, that “Gao Zhisheng lost his way and went missing in September 2009.”

At the National Taiwan University Alumni Club in Taipei, NGO leaders met on Feb. 3 to publicly call on the Chinese regime to reveal Mr. Gao’s whereabouts. They appealed for Gao’s lawyer and his family members to be able to visit him.

Those present at the press conference included attorney Yong-cheng Kao, representative of the Human Rights Protection Committee of the Taipei Bar Association; Ku Li-hsiung, chairman of the Judicial Reform Foundation; Tsai Chi-hsun, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights; and others.    more …

Tehran News
February 6, 2010
By Arab News

It is not easy to understand why China is apparently prepared to confront the United States at this time on the two issues — arms for Taiwan and Obama’s plans to meet with exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama. Washington has been selling armaments to Taiwan for 61 years since the communists drove the old Kuomintang government from the mainland onto the offshore island then known as Formosa. The Americans are also trying to find some sort of settlement between the Tibetan exiles and Beijing, which seized control of Tibet in 1950.

The $6.4 billion arms deal, involving defensive missiles and helicopters for Taiwan hardly alters the balance of power. Taiwanese investors have become increasingly involved in China’s economic boom, transferring technology as well as cash. The government in Taipei has no interest in threatening its mighty neighbor, with whom it now shares the goal of ever-greater prosperity. Moreover, on Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been consistent in his disapproval of violence and his insistence on a peaceful settlement for Tibet.

China’s political role on the world stage still needs to catch up with its burgeoning economic power. The vision until now has been overwhelmingly pragmatic — dominated by trade and the country’s voracious appetite for raw materials. Thus to the fury of the West, it has been prepared to deal with any state. It has also demonstrated a firm opposition to sanctions motivated by political considerations of Washington. By and large its international behavior has been consistent and predictable. But this needs to evolve. The big question is how Beijing chooses to engage more fully in international affairs.

Thus far its major problem is that it has been reactive rather than proactive. Outside criticism of its human rights — Google’s end to its search engine filters being only the latest manifestation, irks the Chinese government, as does the lofty Western presumption that every state should be driving toward full representative democracy.     more …

The Christian Science Monitor
Michaela Rehle/REUTERS
By Robert Marquand Staff writer / February 5, 2010
Munich, Germany

Today Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, speaking with unusual bluntness in front of 300 leading diplomats – including senior US officials – here in Munich publicly stated that China is getting stronger on the international stage. He said the US was violating international law by a proposed arms sale to Taiwan, offered that China’s TV and radio news service contains “more solid” and reliable news than Western media, and that China is not ready to address sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, stating instead that the Islamic Republic “has not totally closed the door on the IAEA.”

Transatlantic – meet the Pacific.

Foreign Minister Yang is the first Chinese official to speak at the annual Munich Security Conference, the premier transatlantic security meeting, in its 46 year history. He turned heads in the group at a time when the People’s Republic and the US have come to loggerheads over Taiwan arms sales, Internet freedom, currency rates, and climate policy coming out of the Copenhagen meeting in December.

“I haven’t heard a high-ranking Chinese official say, ‘Yes, we are strong,’ in a public setting before,” said a senior German diplomat. “It was a very assertive message, different, and it means we will soon see a different Chinese policy.”

Mr. Yang, a former ambassador to the US and highly respected, gave a somewhat conventional speech – though in a strong voice. He affirmed that China is both a developed and a developing country, that it seeks “win-win solutions,” and that it is preparing for greater “shared responsibilities” on the world stage – and that it played a transformative role in helping avert a global financial crisis in the past year.

Yet during three probing follow-up questions, Yang mopped his brow repeatedly in answering on Taiwan, cyberspace, and China’s position on Iran’s nuclear program, which he earlier admitted was “at a crucial stage.”

“Does China feel stronger? Yes,” he said as questions opened.     more …

It is in my opinion, that it is imperative that the United States not give in to the bullying tactics of Communist China.   Notice I said “Communist China”?  Let no one forget that Communist China is still one of the most repressive dictatorial governments in the world.

Communist China’s latest bullying tactics are akin to economic war.  Sadly, the United States, my country, put itself in this position because of the lust for more and more low-priced gadgets and toys and larger and larger corporate profits.  All at the loss of hundreds or thousands of American jobs.

The US won a major war over 250 years ago.  The war against England for our independence.  England was then deploying similar tactics against the US.    Thousands of men did not shed their blood then so that now the US could cow-tow to the bullying of Communist China.  We won that war and we’ll win this one.

I understand that major companies may sacrifice great revenues if they are forbidden to sell and do business in Communist China.  In war, we all have to make sacrifices.   The overwhelming lust for revenue and profit should not come at the expense of America’s heritage and national honor.  I also understand the desire for cheap gadgets and electronic toys.  After all, if it weren’t for the low price, most of us wouldn’t own a new flat screen HDTV today.

But I urge my fellow Americans to buckle down and show Communist China that we will not simply bend over to their bullying tactics.  We must show them who truly is the super power in the world.

Reuters
Feb 5, 2010

MUNICH (Reuters) – China is indignant about new U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and its opposition to them is “very reasonable,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Friday.

China has said it will impose unspecified sanctions on U.S. firms selling weapons to Taiwan in retaliation for the U.S. announcement that it planned to sell $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.

“The Chinese government and people feel indignant about this,” Yang told a security conference in Germany. “I do hope the U.S. will change its behavior … and will stop arms sales to Taiwan.”

“What China has done is very reasonable and what any dignified people would do,” he added.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communist forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT fled to the island.

China has threatened to attack if Taiwan tries to formalize its de facto independence.    more …

Reuters
Feb 4, 2010
Chris Buckley – Analysis
BEIJING

BEIJING (Reuters) – “Ride on a tiger and it’s hard to climb down,” goes a Chinese saying that is proving apt for Beijing’s quarrels with Washington this year, when swollen ambitions at home are driving China on a harder tack abroad.

Barack Obama  |  China  |  COP15

China’s outrage over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama’s planned meeting with the Dalai Lama has shown that, in the wake of the global financial crisis, Beijing is growing pushier in public.

In past decades, a poorer, more cautious China greeted U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island with angry words and little else.

Not now, as China enters the Year of the Tiger in its traditional lunar calendar cycle of talismanic animals.

The Obama administration last week announced plans to ship $6.4 billion of missiles, helicopters and weapons control systems to the self-ruled island Beijing calls its own. China threatened to downgrade cooperation with Washington and for the first time sanction companies involved in such sales.

Beijing this week also condemned Obama’s plan to meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China.

China’s loud ire adds to signs the country is becoming surer about throwing around its political weight, growing along with an economy soon likely to whir past Japan’s as the world’s second biggest, though it will still trail far behind the United States.

Behind this assertiveness are domestic pressures likely to make it harder work for China’s leaders to cool disputes with Washington and other Western capitals.

“There is this paradox of increasing confidence externally and lack of confidence domestically,” said Susan Shirk, a professor specializing in Chinese foreign policy at the University of California, San Diego.

“There’s also what I consider a serious misperception of the country’s economic strength and how that translates in power.”    more ….