It's been 15 years since the Chinese Army moved into Tiananmen Square in Beijing and massacred hundreds and possibly thousands of their fellow citizens who peacefully gathered demonstrating for democracy. I was a high school junior at the time, and had recently taken the Advanced Placement U.S. History test. I was reaching the age when […]
The Spoons Experience offers a handy chart outlining the differences and similarities between the Enron scandal, the Martha Stewart scandal and UNSCAM, the U.N.'s oil-for-palaces program.
Vice President Dick Cheney spoke live and uncensored on Chinese Television -- for those who were lucky enough to be channel-surfing and catch it. There was no notice of the speech on television or the newspapers before the speech actually occurred. But the broadcast received no advance promotion or even a listing in the Chinese […]
I recently finished David Frum and Richard Perle's "An End to Evil," and I agree with about 99 percent of what they write. The book is an excellent roadmap to dealing with the post-9/11 world, both at home and abroad. My one area of disagreement with the authors is their attitude toward China. Frum and […]
Some in the Chinese leadership are suggesting giving President George W. Bush "The Thatcher Treatment" over Taiwan. Soon after Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong's fate began in the early 1980s, late patriarch Deng refused to entertain suggestions by then British Prime Minister Thatcher about alternate ways to prolong Britain's lease over the crown colony. In […]
China continues to persecute those who would push for freedom and democracy. During his trial, Xu (Wei) told the court he had been brutally beaten and tortured with electric shocks to his genitals after refusing to admit guilt, according to Human Rights in China. "His health is rapidly deteriorating because of the abuse he suffered […]
The Chinese government has sentenced a U.S.-based dissident to life in prison after it kidnapped him from neighboring Vietnam.
Today's Washington Post has an interesting article on the growth of Protestantism in China and how the government is responding. One thing I noticed in the story, however, is what I would consider a lack of elementary religious knowledge. Or, at least, an unwillingness to call a spade a spade. Some Chinese churches push the […]
Today's winner of the "Idiot on the Bench" award goes to Ninth Circuit (surprise!) Judge J. Clifford Wallace. Wallace turned down an appeal for asylum from a Chinese couple who feared (rightly) forced sterilization if returned to their country. Wallace wrote in his opinion: While one may condemn the way Xu (Ming Li) was treated […]
While Krugman sees a vast right-wing conspiracy on every channel, his colleague Nicholas Kristof does some good work exposing the AIDS crisis in China. Since it is responsible for making these people sick, the Chinese government owes them supplies of the antiretroviral drugs that combat the virus. If the Communist Party used the money squandered […]