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Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), a prominent Chinese dissident who was sentenced to 11 years in jail by a Beijing court on Friday, said last year that he dreamed China could develop a democratic system similar to that in Taiwan.

Liu, who had been detained since December last year, was given the jail term on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” a vague term that China uses to prosecute its dissidents.

Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波)

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The West wrings its hands as Beijing laughs at human rights

The risible process that led to the conviction of Liu Xiaobo is evidence enough that China thinks foreign pressure can be brushed off on matters of liberty

By Andrew Jacobs
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, BEIJING
Sunday, Dec 27, 2009, Page 9

The harsh sentence handed down on Friday to Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), one of China’s most prominent campaigners for democracy and human rights, prompted strong rebukes in the US and Europe, but it also raised fresh questions over whether the West has much leverage over a government that is increasingly self-assured on the world stage.

By sentencing Liu to 11 years in prison for subversion, the Chinese government sent a chilling message to advocates of political reform and free speech. Liu, 53, a former literature professor who helped draft a manifesto last December that demanded open elections and the rule of law, was convicted after a closed two-hour trial on Wednesday in which his lawyers were allowed less than 20 minutes to state his case.

But many experts on Chinese politics said that Liu’s conviction on vague charges of “incitement to subvert state power” through his writing was also an unmistakable signal to the West that China would not yield to international pressure when it came to human rights. During his visit to China last month, President Barack Obama raised Liu’s case with President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). Leaders of the EU have been pressing for his release.

But a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry described such pressure on Tuesday as “gross interference in China’s judicial internal affairs.” The next day, more than two dozen US and European diplomats who sought to observe the trial were barred from the courthouse.

“If China’s Communist Party wanted to advertise to the world that they will do anything to protect their power and use the judiciary to accomplish that, then the persecution of Liu Xiaobo was a perfect vehicle,” Jerome Cohen, an expert on China’s legal system and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said on Friday.

The US State Department issued a statement on Friday calling on China to release Liu, saying that the “persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognized norms of human rights.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “dismayed” by the sentence. The UN said Liu’s conviction had thrown “an ominous shadow” over China’s commitments to human rights.

Such pointed criticisms are unlikely to have much effect, many China analysts said. Hu assumed power in 2004 after a period of modest legal reforms. But under his leadership, the government has presided over a tightening of Internet restrictions, the repression of rights lawyers and the persecution of intellectuals who call for greater transparency and an end to single-party rule. Those who thought that the leadership might loosen its controls for the Beijing Olympics last year were disheartened by the crackdown that took place to prevent people who wanted to stage demonstrations.

Edward Friedman, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said many people in the West had been clinging to the misguided notion that China’s economic development would quickly lead to political liberalization.

“It’s clear that what matters most to the Chinese Communist Party is the survival of the regime and their monopoly on power,” he said.

Many human rights advocates partly blame Western political leaders for putting up with China’s growing intolerance of domestic dissent. They contend that as China’s economic power has expanded, the US and Europe have been softening calls for human rights.

They were especially critical of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Beijing last February, arguing that human rights took a back seat to an agenda focused on economic concerns and efforts to gain China’s cooperation in dealing with Iran and North Korea.

Many human rights advocates were also critical of Obama’s decision to put off a meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, shortly before the president’s visit to Beijing. The move, they said, was designed to avoid offending China.

The White House insists that it is committed to promoting freedom, but says that it is trying to make its case without the public hectoring favored by the Bush and Clinton administrations. Hillary Clinton has called the approach “principled pragmatism.”

Phelim Kine, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong, said quiet diplomacy was valuable at times, but that without real pressure from the US, its largest trading partner, China had no incentive to improve its human rights record.

“In the aftermath of the tragic conviction of Liu Xiaobo, we really need to think about how the US is going to engage China and make sure that there are real benchmarks for progress,” he said.

He and others maintain that the US and its allies must break free from a mentality that fears the economic might of a rising China. The US can no longer prod China on human rights through the annual battle over “most-favored nation” trading status, because China is now a member of the WTO. But human rights advocates say that the White House still has substantial leverage when it comes to trade.

And while China may hold hundreds of billions of dollars of the US government’s debt in the form of Treasury bonds and other Treasury securities, some analysts play down concerns about the possibility of China retaliating against US pressure over human rights by selling off its holdings. Gordon Chang (章家敦), author of The Coming Collapse of China, said that the Chinese government simply had nowhere else to park its swelling foreign reserves.

China’s huge trade imbalance with the US, Chang said, is a potential cudgel that Washington should be prepared to use.

“President Obama can get on the phone with Hu Jintao and say these are the things you need to do,” he said.

“We are extremely indulgent about irresponsible Chinese conduct when it comes to human rights,” Chang added. “We are encouraging the very type of behavior we’re trying to prevent.”

The Chinese leadership is still nervous about the potential for domestic unrest that could threaten its power. Although not timid in its prosecution of Liu, the authorities made sure that coverage of his trial stayed out of the state-run news media.

Even as it questioned hundreds of people who put their signatures on Charter 08, the manifesto that Liu helped to draft, government censors made sure that any mention of the document was quickly scrubbed from the Internet after it became public a year ago.

There was one exception, however. On Friday, the English-language edition of Xinhua, the official news agency, published a brief item about Liu’s sentencing. The article said the court “had strictly followed the legal procedures in this case and fully protected Liu’s litigation rights.”

The Chinese-language version of Xinhua, however, made no mention of the verdict. Instead, it declared 2009 the “year of citizens’ rights.”
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liar ma

Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/12/08/2003460439 ECFA to continue despite poll outcome TRANSPARENCY PROMISES: The president said he would forge ahead with the ECFA, but promised to keep the legislature informed and make the negotiations transparent By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Ko Shu-ling STAFF REPORTERS Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009, Page 1 “There is no need to fine-tune our cross-strait policy.” — Wu Den-yih, premier Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday there was no need to revise the government’s cross-strait policies despite the party’s lackluster performance in Saturday’s local elections. Wu made the remarks when asked for comment on whether the poll results would affect the government’s plans for an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China or its other cross-strait policies. “There is no need to fine-tune our cross-strait policy,” Wu said, adding that the government would pursue policies in line with the principles of “putting Taiwan first” and “benefiting the public.” An ECFA can be signed as long as three conditions are met: The nation needs it, the public supports it and there is legislative oversight, he said, adding that the ECFA will proceed as scheduled — meaning that it should be inked at the fifth round of cross-strait talks early next year. “That’s the plan for now, but we need more public support,” Wu said. “Surveys conducted recently showed that approval rates were between 50 and 56 percent. If the rate goes above 60 percent and the disapproval rate falls below 20 percent that will be better for signing the ECFA.” The government has not dispelled the public’s misunderstandings concerning the ECFA, Wu said, adding that it would step up its efforts. “In southern Taiwan, there are people saying that the government has allowed [imports of] many agricultural products from the mainland since [President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office], but that’s not true … Also, on labor matters, there is a false rumor about [Taiwan importing] mainland workers [after singing an ECFA],” Wu said. At a separate setting yesterday, Ma vowed to forge ahead with the ECFA, but promised to keep the legislature informed and make the negotiations and content as transparent as possible. Ma said his administration would work to convince the public that not signing an ECFA would be detrimental to the nation. “Our policy is to take a Taiwan-centric approach,” he said. “We will further the interests of Taiwanese. Cross-strait negotiations will benefit both sides if they are conducted under the principle of equality and dignity.” Ma made the remarks while meeting winners of this year’s National Outstanding Manager Awards at the Presidential Office yesterday morning. With the fourth round of high-level, cross-strait talks scheduled to take place in Taichung later this month, Ma said there would not be any “politically sensitive language” in the agreements to be signed because they were “very technical” in nature. The talks between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), will address four issues: fishing industry cooperation, quality checks of agricultural products, cooperation on inspection and certification, and preventing double taxation. Ma said he has asked government agencies to make the four agreements as transparent as possible. Citing the financial memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently signed with Beijing, Ma said the public would know that it is not political as soon as the Financial Supervisory Commission makes public the content. In order to maintain the principles of equality and dignity, Ma said both sides had used less sensitive titles to dodge the sovereignty issue. “Because the public is very concerned about this, we are very sensitive in handling the matter,” he said. As the two sides will “exchange opinions” on an ECFA during the Chiang-Chen meeting, Ma said the government would report to the legislature before the ECFA is signed and send the agreements to the legislature for approval after they are signed. “Thus there will be discussion and the information will be transparent,” he said. “If not, the public could misunderstand and we would have greater difficulty pushing this policy.” Calling the ECFA necessary, Ma said it was not easy to sign free-trade agreements with the nation’s major trading partners because they were not diplomatic allies. “But if we can make a breakthrough in an ECFA with the mainland, other countries may be more willing to negotiate with us and this is very important for Taiwan,” he said. “If we don’t overcome such obstacles, it will have a negative impact on Taiwan’s trading business. This is a problem that no party in power can avoid.” On Chinese agricultural products, Ma said the government had not allowed imports of new products over the past 19 months, nor would they do so if the country signed an ECFA or “anything else,” he said. At a separate setting yesterday, KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) said the KMT risked another blow in future elections unless the government revises its cross-strait policies. “The ECFA, cross-strait policies and US beef [imports] caused the KMT to fail in [Saturday’s] elections. Voters taught the KMT a lesson. If it does not change, they will teach it another lesson,” she said. Meanwhile, at the legislature, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang (施顏祥) agreed with KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao’s (賴士葆) proposal that a TV debate be held to inform the public about the ECFA. Lai said the ECFA lacked public support mainly because the ministry had not succeeded in promoting the advantages of the pact. He suggested a TV debate could help. Shih said many people in farming regions remained unconvinced that the ECFA would not result in imports of Chinese workers and agricultural products, despite repeated assurances from the ministry. Some underground radio shows are misleading people about the ECFA, Shih said, adding that a TV debate “could be planned” as Lai suggested. In related news, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that Taiwan must try to sign free-trade pacts with the US, Japan, Singapore, the EU and Southeastern Asian countries after inking an ECFA, as this would ease public misgivings about relying too much on China. Wu also said that a minor Cabinet reshuffle was planned for Dec. 20. Wu dismissed allegations that the reshuffle was related to the elections, but said: “It would be suitable for excellent county commissioners and city mayors to continue to serve the public in the Executive Yuan or at state-run enterprises once they retire as local government heads.”

Copyright © 1999-2009 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.

Dubai World and Chinese illusions

Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/12/06/2003460251 THE LIBERTY TIMES EDITORIAL: Dubai World and Chinese illusions Sunday, Dec 06, 2009, Page 8 Is the world financial crisis rearing its ugly head again? Dubai World, the biggest state-owned conglomerate in Dubai, the second-biggest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, has fallen into financial difficulties, and a few days ago asked its creditor banks for a half-year delay on repayments of nearly US$60 billion in debt. This move sparked fears among investors everywhere that the global financial crisis is heating up again and triggered big falls in European, American and Asian stock markets. The Dubai crisis could hit financial institutions in many countries hard. Statistics from the Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday showed that Taiwanese financial institutions’ exposure to Dubai equity investments totaled NT$34.7 billion (US$1.08 billion), including NT$21 billion in loans. Although the figure is small compared with their NT$80 billion exposure in Lehman Brothers, the end of the Dubai dream has significant implications for Taiwan. The past few years have seen “economic miracles” take place in several countries, with Ireland and Dubai, for example, hailed as fast-rising stars. However, the truth behind these “miracles” has yet to be fully analyzed. It is too early to say whether they were but an economic bubble that has visited many countries throughout history. Whatever the long-term outcome may be, the fact is, certain Taiwanese media and politicians have built these “miracles” into fairy tales, contrasting them with what they consider Taiwan’s isolationism and failure to keep up with the globalization trend that has left it marginalized. In reality, the fairy tale these people want to promote is that of China. They say that Taiwan needs to break free of the constraints of an island-state mentality and embrace the world by riding the tide of globalization and internationalization. Such proposals may sound attractive, but they are mere words that lack substance. Their real motive is to have Taiwan open wide its gates to China, without any kind of precautionary measure. In other words, what these pundits call globalization is really integration with China. When they talk about internationalization and embracing the world, they mean climbing the Great Wall and hugging the Chinese panda. We have seen these dreams crumble one by one in Ireland and Dubai among others. Will the Chinese fairy tale be the next to fall? Let us take a closer look at what happened in Dubai. Dubai is the second-biggest city-state in the United Arab Emirates. Its population is just 1.8 million — about 90 percent of whom are immigrants — and its area is just one-ninth that of Taiwan. It is a desert country with next to no rainfall all year round. These conditions are hardly favorable to its existence as an independent state. The only advantage Dubai enjoys is oil, which was discovered in 1966; but oil only accounts for 6 percent of its GDP. The main driving force behind the creation of the Dubai fairy tale is the ambition of its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, backed up by effective marketing. Dubai was willing to borrow a lot of money and invest it in major construction projects such as Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building; the manmade Jumeirah Islands, which some have called the eighth wonder of the world; the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, the world’s only seven-star hotel; and the world’s biggest shopping mall. Dubai has been touted as an international financial center, transshipment center, prime tourist destination and investment paradise. Hot money pouring in from abroad has made the Dubai bubble bigger and bigger, but now the economy is faltering and Dubai finds itself in a tight corner. However lacking in resources a country might be, as long as its people are willing to work hard, and as long as it chooses the right direction, it can build a bright future. Dubai, too, has development potential, but it ought to establish its own manufacturing base. Unfortunately, the ambitious Sheikh Mohammed chose to take a short cut, using borrowed money to make money the easy way. With this in mind, the country launched dream projects in the desert — skyscrapers, manmade lakes, sumptuous hotels, an airport and so on. It seemed like Aladdin’s magic lamp. All you had to do was rub it and make a wish, and a palace would appear right there in the desert sands. Sheikh Mohammed’s magic show did produce some amazing achievements. Dubai’s GDP grew 230 percent between 1995 and 2005, giving its population an average yearly income of about US$30,000. However, this show was built on money that was mostly raised through loans. It had all the features of a bubble, but greed won over wisdom. Investors could see there was a tiger lurking, but they convinced themselves they could tame it. Andrew Lawrence, an analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities in Hong Kong, has created what he calls a skyscraper index. Lawrence said economic recessions and stock market slumps often occur around the time that new tall buildings are built. New York’s Empire State Building was finished in 1931, just when the US was bogged down in the Great Depression. Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, then the tallest building in the world, were built in 1998, in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis. Now the world’s new tallest building, at 160 stories high, is under construction in Dubai. The country’s present crisis seems to be proof of Lawrence’s skyscraper curse. In Taiwan, Ireland was first presented as a model for development, followed by Dubai. The dazzling show Dubai put on made it a place of pilgrimage for some Taiwanese politicians and media personalities, who used its example to attack pro-localization policies in Taiwan. Taiwan does not have many opportunities left, they say — and its biggest chance lies with China. If Taiwan does not grab this window of opportunity, its decline and fall would be inevitable, they warn. In reality, the Chinese economy is a super-bubble a hundred times as big as the Ireland and Dubai bubbles. If it bursts, the disaster will be worldwide, and there has never been a bubble that did not burst. It can only be a matter of time before the China illusion crumbles. Regrettably for Taiwan, the government of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is committed to eventual unification. Ma’s policies have already made Taiwan over-dependent on China. When the China bubble bursts, the shock to Taiwan will be unimaginable. In its 18 months in government, the Ma administration has brought Taiwan to the edge of a precipice. If Taiwan perishes as a result, Ma will be a villain for eternity. TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG

Copyright © 1999-2009 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.

China sentences another eight to death in Urumqi

Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/12/05/2003460180 China sentences another eight to death in Urumqi RIOTING: More suspects were condemned to death for bludgeoning people with a club, killing a police officer with a brick and other crimes in Xinjiang AFP AND AP, BEIJING Saturday, Dec 05, 2009, Page 6 A woman leaning on a crutch shouts at Chinese soldiers wearing riot gear as angry locals confront security forces on a street in the city of Urumqi in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region on July 7. PHOTO: REUTERS A court in China’s restive Xinjiang yesterday sentenced three more people to death for their roles in July ethnic violence, Xinhua news agency reported, raising the total reported condemned to 17. On Thursday, the court handed out death sentences to five others. The Intermediate People’s Court of Urumqi also sentenced one person to life in prison, while three defendants were given varying jail terms for the violence that left nearly 200 dead and over 1,600 injured, the agency said. Last month nine people previously sentenced to death were executed for their roles in the violence, the worst strife in China in decades. Violence erupted in the streets of Urumqi on July 5, when Uighurs — a Muslim minority that has long complained of Chinese repression — reportedly attacked members of China’s Han ethnic majority. In subsequent days, mobs of Han roamed the city’s streets seeking revenge. Xinhua identified those sentenced to death yesterday as Heyrinisa Sawut and Ruzikhari Niyaz — both apparently Uighurs judging from their names — and Li Longfei. Sawut was convicted of beating one man to death and injuring three others by repeatedly bludgeoning them with a wooden club, Xinhua said, while Niyaz was convicted of killing a taxi driver. Li Longfei was convicted over the beating deaths of at least two victims, whose names suggested they were Uighurs. So far 41 people have been tried and sentenced in the unrest. Of the five sentenced to death on Thursday, Memeteli Islam was accused of killing a police officer by smashing him in the back of the head with a brick. Mamattursun Elmu and Memeteli Abburakm were accused of attacking a minibus and kicking a man and woman inside until they died. Mamattursun Elmu was also charged with setting fire to a grain distribution center, killing five people. Helil Sadir was accused of killing a bystander with a beer bottle and kicks to the face, and Kushiman Kurban was found guilty of stabbing a bystander to death. Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress, said in a statement e-mailed to journalists: “The Chinese government has brazenly ignored all standards of due process of law in a campaign to silence and intimidate the Uighur population through executions and mass detentions.”

Copyright © 1999-2009 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.