Chinese officials seal village after protesters killed

AP , BEIJING

Armed authorities have surrounded and sealed off a village in southern China where police fatally shot protesters this week, leaving some bodies on the ground and banning residents from leaving to buy food, villagers said yesterday.

International rights groups reported that thousands of people in Dongzhou, Guangdong Province, demonstrated on Tuesday because they were unhappy over the amount of money offered as compensation for land to be used in the construction of a wind power plant.

Police fired into the crowd, killing at least two people, the reports said. But villagers have put the number as high as 10.

State media have made no mention of the incident and both provincial and local governments have refused to comment.

One villager reached by phone yesterday said there were at least 10 deaths. She refused to give her name for fear of retribution.

"The riot police are gathered outside our village. We've been surrounded," she said, sobbing. "Most of the police are armed. We dare not go out of our home."

"We are not allowed to buy food outside the village. They asked the nearby villagers not to sell us goods," she said. "The government did not give us proper compensation for using our land to build the development zone and plants. Now they come and shoot us. I don't know what to say."

Another villager said authorities were trying to find the leaders of the demonstration.

"Several young men were shot by the police" on Tuesday, said the man, who also refused to give his name. "Their bodies are just lying there."

"Why did they shoot our villagers?" he asked. "They are crazy!"

The number of rural protests has risen in recent months as anger comes to a head over corruption, land seizures and the growing wealth gap that experts say now threatens social stability. The government says about 70,000 such conflicts occurred last year, although many more are believed to go unreported.

The clashes have also become increasingly violent, with injuries sustained on both sides and huge amounts of damage to property.

"These reports of protesters being shot dead are chilling," Catherine Baber, deputy Asia director at Amnesty International, said in a statement on Thursday.

"The increasing number of such disputes over land use across rural China, and the use of force to resolve them, suggest an urgent need for the Chinese authorities to focus on developing effective channels for dispute resolution," she said.

North Korean sex slaves flooding China: US official

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A US State Department official said thousands of women are being sold as a result of China's population imbalance

AGENCIES , BEIJING AND SEOUL

Thousands of North Korean refugees are working as sex slaves in China under threat of being returned should Chinese authorities catch them, the US ambassador for fighting international slavery said yesterday.

After two days of talks with Chinese officials, John Miller, director of the US State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said many victims of the modern-day slave trade were women and girls forced into prostitution or marriage.

"Sometimes they're trafficked out of North Korea. North Korean officials are complicit," Miller told reporters. "If they are caught by the Chinese authorities, they are sent back to North Korea and punished."

China views North Korean refugees on its territory as illegal economic migrants who should be sent back.

But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the US and other countries have pressed China to treat at least some of them as legitimate refugees who should not be repatriated.

Miller said there were no accurate statistics of the number of North Korean women forced into prostitution or marriage in China.

But he said charities and church groups working in the region estimate between 30 percent and half of the many thousands of North Koreans who cross into China every year are "trafficking victims," forced or tricked into slavery.

Chinese press reports on the cross-border trade have said North Korean women are sold to Chinese brokers for several hundred to a thousand dollars each.

The repatriated women can face prison sentences of five years or longer, or even execution. But most often they are held for several months in forced labor camps, London-based organization Anti-Slavery International said in a recent report.

"There are countless testimonies of beatings, torture, degrading treatment, and even forced abortions and infanticide from those who have escaped," the report said of these camps.

Most of the North Korean women caught in slave trafficking were forced into marriages with Chinese farmers, the report said.

China's growing population imbalance means many poor farmers cannot easily find brides. The women often face abuse and beatings but several interviewed said "their current situation is better than risking repatriation or starvation," the report said.

In related news, activists at a Seoul conference on human rights in the North repeated calls on China not to send North Korean defectors back home, where they can face harsh punishment.

They also pressed the US to accept refugees.

Michael Horowitz, senior adviser to the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said the US has to push China to change its stance on defectors by threatening sanctions.

"China must be forced to choose between supporting this regime and sending those refugees to death camps in violation of law and good relations with the US," Horowitz said.

Ma airs his cross-strait viewpoint in magazine interview

CNA , HONG KONG

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou urged Beijing to enact a special law to deal with the delicate situation of cross-strait ties during a recent interview with Yazhou Zhoukan.

In the weekly's latest edition released this weekend, Ma said that Beijing should consider drawing up a law similar to Taiwan's Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area to handle cross-strait affairs in view of the lack of official government-to-government contacts between the two sides.

Saying that he favors the so-called "1992 consensus" that allows respective interpretations of the one China model to explain Taiwan's sovereignty in its relations with China, Ma said, however, that Taiwan and Beijing differ a lot in their interpretations of the meaning of "one China."

In line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, "one China" refers to the ROC, he said, noting that Taiwan cannot accept Beijing's insistence that "one China" means the People's Republic of China.

Now that there is no way to resolve the dispute at present, Taiwan and China should put aside the "one China" controversy, for what counts now is that the two sides should further bolster bilateral cultural and economic exchanges, he said.

The KMT does not favor a permanent split between the two sides of the strait, neither is it the time for discussions on unification, he said.

Ma hailed former KMT Chairman Lien Chan's efforts in advocating a "cross-strait common market" during his landmark visit to China in spring this year, and claimed that he was very surprised that Lien and the Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General Hu Jintao were able to forge a common perspective with regard to this issue.

The "cross-strait common market" goal should be well underpinned by a solid base, such as a closer economic partnership arrangement (CEPA) or a free trade agreement (FTA), upon which to build, he said.

Claiming that Lien brought back a lot of assets to Taiwan from China, the KMT chairman said he is in no rush to visit China. Instead, he called for creating positive conditions by both sides to expand two-way exchanges, which he said is the top priority at the present stage.

Although Beijing does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, he pointed out, it is an undeniable fact that there is an independent government in Taiwan.

US blasts North Korea on human rights

DEEPLY OPPRESSIVE: The US envoy did little to endear himself to the secretive Stalinist state by criticizing its human-rights record and calling for global help

AGENCIES , SEOUL

The US envoy for human rights in North Korea argued yesterday that the lack of basic liberties in the communist nation was an international issue and called on the world to press Pyongyang to reform.

Jay Lefkowitz, speaking at a US-supported international conference on the issue in the South Korean capital, said a campaign to improve human rights in North Korea -- which he labeled a "deeply oppressive nation" -- would serve to boost regional stability, not shake it.

"The contrast could not be more stark. While South Korea has grown fully into a proud democracy with the rule of law, North Korea is a deeply repressive nation," Lefkowitz said.

He described a trip he took to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a heavily fortified frontier that divides the two Koreas.

"Only a short distance from here, beyond the thicket of barbed wire which I saw yesterday when I travelled up to the DMZ, lies a hidden world of hopelessness and terror," he said.

"Countries that don't give their own citizens the basic fundamental freedoms that are required under international law are very hard to trust in any capacity," he said.

"We do not threaten the peace by challenging the status quo," Lefkowitz said in his first public appearance in South Korea. "Indeed, failing to follow this path and take steps towards liberalization is a far greater risk to the long-term security and economic prosperity in the region."

Lefkowitz's remarks appeared to be have been aimed at the Seoul government, which has pursued a path of reconciliation with the North and refrained from openly criticizing the human-rights situation there. South Korean officials say their policy of maintaining stability on the divided peninsula takes precedence over public demands for improving human rights.

Chung Eui-yong, chairman of the National Assembly's foreign relations committee and a member of the governing Uri party, said the government already connected economic aid with human rights.

"Human rights and economic aid are linked, but the government has no reason to officially confirm it," he said on the sidelines of the conference.

He said Seoul sought to refrain from "unnecessarily provoking North Korea," which might react to provocation by suspending inter-Korean negotiations.

Lefkowitz, who was appointed this year to the position, has been charged with raising the human-rights issue and providing assistance to refugees fleeing the North.

North Korea has railed against any criticism of its human rights record as a US-backed effort to seek the overthrow of Kim Jong-il's regime.

The North's Minju Joson newspaper said yesterday: "The US has become loud in trumpeting that there exists a human-rights issue" in North Korea.

"This is, however, a product of its strategy to realize a regime change," the newspaper said in a commentary carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, who introduced Lefkowitz, said Washington was just seeking to urge the North to reform and live up to its obligations under the UN charter and other international treaties.

"The US has no hidden agenda in raising the issue of human rights in North Korea, we simply want to improve the living conditions of the people of North Korea," Vershbow said. "We want [North Korea] to change its policies and undertake reforms that end the hardships endured by its people."

China and the US discuss their `common challenges'

AP AND AFP , WASHINGTON

Two days of discussions between the US and China indicated the pair have common ground on contentious issues but they sometimes will use differing policies to reach mutual goals.

US officials emerged from the sessions seemingly convinced that the Chinese government has made a policy decision to exercise its emerging economic and political power as a "responsible stakeholder" in world affairs.

The phrase was used in a September speech by Robert Zoellick, the State Department's No. 2 official, that laid out US strategies in its future relationships with China.

Zoellick headed the US side in the talks that ended on Thursday. His counterpart for China was Dai Bingguo, China's executive vice foreign minister.

"During this week's dialogue we discussed how China could work with the US and others on challenges such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea," Zoellick said in a statement about the talks.

"Without always pursuing the same policies, we can still pursue the same policy goals with complementary approaches. We discussed our overlapping interests in fighting terrorism, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, building energy security and reducing the risks of pandemic disease."

Other US officials said Dai, in his first offering of the first session, responded to every statement in Zoellick's September speech, apparently eager to demonstrate its decision to be a major player in world affairs in concert with the US and others.

That harks to the "responsible stakeholder" idea, that China is developing such a huge stake in the coming century that its success will depend on its conduct.

"This concept has spurred a useful debate in China about its modern role in the world and, in particular, China's relations with the US," Zoellick said. "This strategic framework can help us identify mutual interests and guide our future cooperation with China."

The forum for the talks was the second in a "senior dialogue" series suggested to US President George W. Bush by Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first was in Beijing in August.

Zoellick's statement and comments by other US officials came close to effusive in their praise for the exchange.

The snake spills green blood

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei County commissioner-elect Chou Hsi-wei said last Saturday night that his victory "proves that ethnicity is not a problem in Taipei County" for his party. There's a lot of truth in this declaration: No other political party cuts across ethnic boundaries so comprehensively.

In the face of declining Hoklo support nationwide, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) thought it had a hope of bringing Hakka voters into the fold with its tricky campaign in Miaoli, but this gambit failed when the enigmatic Hakka-dominated county voted a Hoklo KMT candidate into the top job despite support for the DPP from the outgoing commissioner.

Once again, however, the most politically polarized ethnic group was the Aborigines. Were the Aboriginal population not so small, the following figures would be the DPP's worst nightmare made flesh. Of the 30 elections for mayor in Aboriginal townships, the DPP won none. And of the 57 city and county council seats reserved for Aboriginal candidates, the DPP also won none. This is a dreadful record for a party that preaches ethnic harmony, but it is not until one looks at the lists of candidates for each electorate that the penny drops. Not a single DPP candidate ran for mayor in Aboriginal townships this year, and a measly four of the party's candidates ran for councilors, all of whom failed, including the DPP's sole incumbent, Tien Chun-chih, who lost her seat in Taipei County.

The DPP's lack of representation in Aboriginal districts is long-standing, but the utter lack of sustained engagement with this electorate after years of central political control symbolizes a party that has lost confidence in its message. President Chen Shui-bian's promise of increased autonomy for indigenous people ("states within a state") sounded impressive. But if sources in the executive are to be believed, Chen's men have been less than enthusiastic about executing such policy, and Aboriginal people on the ground are, after several years, none the wiser despite the formulation of an autonomy law.

Aboriginal electoral numbers are small but they carry a prize for the pan-blue camp, whose near monopoly of representation serves as a handy reminder of the difficulties the DPP faces in adapting to the requirements of local politics. It also offers a convincing display of KMT ethnic inclusiveness for those who warn of rampant Hoklo nationalism under the DPP.

Yet it is safe to say the KMT takes Aboriginal constituencies for granted, and it has never expressed enthusiasm at returning land stolen and defaced by corporations and settlers (the ghastly cuttings at the mouth of the Taroko Gorge are the most cinematic example of this encroachment). There are any number of ways the DPP could right the KMT's historical wrongs, and there has indeed been some progress. Election time, however, reveals the chasm between the ideal and the reality.

The "hundred-pacer" snake is a totemic animal in Aboriginal Taiwan. Its venom can be fatal for humans but it largely minds its own business. A number of Aboriginal ethnic groups consider it a sacred animal; indeed, the Paiwan people of Pingtung and Taitung counties claim descent from it and adorn themselves with its image. It is a beautiful reptile and demands respect and careful handling. Woe betide those who do not.

The fact that the DPP has no local representation in Aboriginal communities anymore suggests that it has all but given up on offering these people an alternative voice. Like a sickly and careless snake handler, such disrespect has led to a small injury from which the DPP can only suffer a spreading paralysis.

Ma should pass arms bill

The "three-in-one" elections have just come to an end. Under the leadership of Ma Ying-jeou, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won a landslide victory. Meanwhile, many academics and political critics have appealed to both the ruling and opposition parties for reconciliation. And this is what voters want to see, because all the people in Taiwan are fed up with the present chaotic situation.

Therefore, I suggest that Ma focus on the predicament of the special arms procurement package and the confirmation of the Control Yuan members to show his sincerity. Especially as the chances of him winning the 2008 presidential election are high. At present, he should pay more attention to national security, monitoring of the ruling party and showing some concern for the livelihoods of all the nation's people.

Ma's rational nature gives people the impression that he is cool-headed. But if he carries on following the KMT's previous path of blocking the arms deal and stubbornly boycotting military procurement, he may in fact end up giving the opposite impression.

Moreover, if one day he is elected president and suddenly realizes that national security is a key issue to Taiwan's survival and that he should transcend partisan politics, he will be faced with the need to boost national defense capabilities. By the time he plans to increase the arms budget, he too may receive severe criticism from opposition parties.

In fact, it would be more pragmatic for Ma to allow the arms bill to pass to the approp-riate legislative committee. Then he can invite academics and professionals to rationally discuss the issue at hearings. After a cautious evaluation and review, legislators can then decide whether or not to buy the arms, or which specific items to buy. To do so, I believe, would show a responsible attitude and it would repay the faith of the people in Taiwan who supported his party in the recent elections.

Chang Juinxiong

Taichung

Non-voters the loser

A shifting political climate is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. Resting on the laurels of past achievements leads to decay and other unworthy pursuits.

The Democratic Progressive Party received a wake-up call. The KMT did not receive a mandate to sell Taiwan to China. It merely received another chance to govern the people of Taiwan.

Now is a chance for more dialogue on where Taiwan wants to go. Along with the older dialogue about who and what Taiwan is, Taiwanese now have yet another chance in a free society to define themselves for the future.

Those who didn't vote are the real losers in this important election. They have already shown a lack of desire to be individual citizens and let others decide their fate. Inaction may be a quality trait for certain religious values but in society it is a formula for disaster.

Bill Parkhurst

California

Judiciary a joke

It is pathetic that the prosecutor-general would discount democracy, even after criminals have been elected ("Election results irk prosecutors," Dec. 6, page 2). The 10 corrupt local council and town chiefs that were elected are but the tip of the iceberg. For one cockroach seen there are 10 unseen.

It is not democracy that is at fault. Rather, it is the system where the vote-buyer gets elected, and after he assumes office is able to profit from his position and pay back his cronies, all the while going unpunished.

As the profits build up -- like the KMT's illegally gained assets, and the 18 percent preferential interest rates that reward its cronies, they are then able to buy more votes. It is the totally incompetent judiciary that is unable to punish them and prevent them from doing this that is at fault.

These "folk heros" of assorted criminals are seen as the win-ners of a dirty game, as they are able to beat the system.

Not to mention KMT Chairman Ma, who was a KMT student spy at Harvard, who sells illegal party assets as chairman, who discards the Republic of China (ROC) flag in Taiwan, and who then is admired by "ROC" compatriots because he can continue to buy votes, win elections and profit from his cronies.

The double standards of treatment for pan-blue and pan-green politicians, as witnessed in the court summons for former president Lee Teng-hui, and the "non-summons" for People First Party Chairman James Soong. The different treatment meted out to supporters of the different camps at CKS International Airport on the day former KMT chairman Lien Chan departed for China. The treatment of the controversial pre-election VCD impresario and TVBS over its foreign funding, and the incapability of the DPP administration to break out of this corrupt and vicious cycle.

A judiciary that allows it to erode democracy, and then jokingly calls itself an "independent judiciary," is all deeply disappointing for pan-green voters.

Have faith in democracy and yourself. Don't let this dirty game continue in Taiwan.

Chen Ming-Chung

Chicago, Illinois

Scandal and loss of trust cost the DPP the election

By Liu Kuan-teh

The results of the Dec. 3 three-in-one elections were undoubtedly a huge blow to President Chen Shui-bian and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Despite the fact that they were local elections, the poor handling of the negative impact of former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan's misconduct, the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal and the "vultures" insider-trading case involving DPP leaders resulted in a huge loss of public trust in Chen and his party.

The fact that the DPP was not defeated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) but by itself deserves more attention. Once the voters begin to question the DPP's integrity and hold the party's misconduct up against the principles of honesty and morality, it will be hard for the government to regain the electorate's support for the party's long-stated goal of upholding clean politics.

Most importantly, Taiwanese people placed high hopes on Chen and the DPP largely because they believed that a DPP government would do better than the corrupt KMT and would bring about reform. While the DPP continues to disappoint by emulating the bad behavior of the old KMT regime, it would naturally receive a stronger backlash from voters who have supported it in the past.

After failing to secure a clear majority in the legislative elections last year, Chen and his government have faced consistent domestic boycotts from the pan-blue camp and cross-strait ones from Beijing. It is going to take greater courage and determination -- and more importantly, a readjustment of leadership -- for Chen to reset the agenda and reframe policy goals in accordance with the political reality and the public's wishes.

A Cabinet reshuffle is a must. The most effective way to regain public trust in the government is to find a premier who can introduce discipline and a team-work ethic to the Cabinet.

Moreover, just because Chen's approval rate has reached a historical low of less than 18 percent it does not mean that he needs to make unnecessary concessions to the pan-blue camp. One of the main contributing factors to the election loss for the administration was the total lack of efficiency in implementing major reforms. Chen must utilize the remainder of his term to accelerate the reforms he touched on in his Double Ten National Day speech.

Chen must also continue to execute the reforms he promised during the campaign, including reform of the pension system, constitutional structure and taxation. Internally, Chen must perform the role of a mediator between the diverse and pluralistic social forces and forge a unified Taiwan.

Chen must also incorporate stronger leadership, determined action and the art of political bargaining into his leadership. Amid great pressure at home and abroad, Chen must be conciliatory without seeming weak, strong without appearing hostile.

Chen must also relentlessly defend Taiwan's national interests as a sovereign and independent nation. While most pressure will be placed on him to continue opening up toward China, pragmatism and caution are needed, particularly when it comes to policy adjustment.

Chen should also keep in mind that a political leader does not just need public support to win elections; he needs it to govern.

Chen should use the nation's craving for cross-party reconciliation and regional concern for cross-strait peace and invite all the leaders from different political parties and social groups to join together.

Only by molding a unified Taiwan can he forge a strong and democratic country. And only by working harder and by regaining public trust can Chen and his government make a turnaround from their present lowly position.

Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.