Dear Mr. Trent Lott,
Mr. Newt Gingrich,
Beijing, Dec. 27 ---
Mainland China on Sunday sentenced labor activist Zhang Shanguang
to 10 years imprisonment for "endangering state security"
the fourth heavy jail sentence handed to a dissident in less
than a week.
New Delhi, Dec. 27 ---
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday flashed out
at Beijing and said its "rigid and negative" attitude
stood in the way of a peaceful solution in his occupied homeland.
"In the recent past, Chinese authorities have
turned more rigid and negative towards Tibet resulting in increased
hostilities between China and the people of Tibet"
the press trust of India quoted him as saying.
Manila, Dec. 27 ---
A senior U.S. congressman who has inspected a disputed chain
of islands in the south China Sea has accused Washington of
playing down mainland China's aggression in the area, documents
obtained Sunday said reports from Beijing; President Jiang Zemin
warned in two tough recent speeches that subversive activities
would be "nipped in the bud" and said China would
never tolerate western-style democracy..
Shortly after the warning, China targeted the arts and entertainment
industries, mandating harsh punishments for those found guilty
of "inciting to subvert state power".
The new rules cover writing, music, movies, television, video
recordings and computer software, outlawing material that "endangers
social order" --- the catch-all phrases for words or deeds
that challenge the Communist Party's monopoly on
power.
The other reports --- Beijing's number two negotiator with
Taipei said over the weekend that Taiwan should
not determine its future by holding a plebiscite.
On the other hand; a leading mainland dissident Wei Jingsheng
said Taipei should categorically tell Beijing that " you
have your aims while we have our conditions" adding that
discussions cannot be called negotiations if one side is not
even given the chance to place conditions on agreement.
In our view; Taiwan is not a troublemaker. As Confucius said
"one who is not humane cannot remain in a state of poverty
for long, nor can he remain in a state of happiness for long.
A humane man finds peace in humanity. A wise man
finds advantage in humanity". We hope Beijing
authority worked as "humane man and wise man" .