Obama working on plan to free jailed journalists
　

COMPASSION: Two possible choices as envoys on the issue are former US vice president Al Gore and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, an old hand

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON, AND AFP
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009, Page 1

Sources say US President Barack Obama has become directly involved in developing a strategy to free Taiwanese-American Laura Ling (凌志美) and South Korean-American Euna Lee who have been sentenced to 12 years hard labor in a North Korean prison camp.

Obama is holding Oval Office talks with his closest advisers — including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — and sources say that one leading option may be to send a special envoy in the hope of negotiating the women’s release.

ENVOYS

There are believed to be two leading candidates for the task — former US vice president Al Gore, who co-founded Current TV, the company for which the women work, or former UN ambassador and current New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has experience dealing with Pyongyang.

Gore has refused to comment, but Richardson confirmed that the White House had called him for advice in playing the “high stakes poker game” North Korea is waging.

“What we would try to seek would be some kind of political pardon, some kind of a respite from the legal proceedings,” Richardson said.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said: “The president is deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release.”

Meanwhile, Clinton appealed on Monday for North Korea to show clemency and deport the two US journalists, calling it a humanitarian case.

ENGAGED

Clinton also said Obama’s administration was “engaged in all possible ways through every possible channel to secure their release” as it appears to contemplate trouble-shooting roles for high-profile politicians.

Like others in the administration, Clinton urged North Korea to treat the women’s case as separate from the UN Security Council debate over how to respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons test on May 25.

“We view these as entirely separate matters,” Clinton told reporters after a North Korean court sentenced the journalists for an illegal border crossing and an unspecified “grave crime.”

“We think the imprisonment trial and sentencing of Laura and Euna should be viewed as a humanitarian matter. We hope that the North Koreans will grant clemency and deport them,” Clinton said.

The chief US diplomat, speaking during a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, called for their “immediate release on humanitarian grounds,” but did not explain why they should be freed on those grounds.

Group accuses China of ‘attack’ on lawyers

THE GUARDIAN , BEIJING
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009, Page 1

Human rights campaigners have accused Chinese authorities of an “all-out attack” on lawyers who take on sensitive cases, using methods ranging from the non-renewal of their licenses to harassment, detention and house arrest.

The lawyers concerned have handled clients that included dissidents, members of the banned Falun Gong, farmers who have lost their land and Tibetans charged after last spring’s unrest. They have warned that the increasing pressure could leave some of the most vulnerable groups in society without representation.

At least 17 rights lawyers did not receive the new licenses they needed at the end of last month, in effect disbarring them. Three firms were also denied approval, affecting more lawyers.

In a joint statement, several of the advocates warned: “As the Chinese government bears down heavy-handedly to rein in petitioning citizens, free intellectuals, rights defenders and religious figures, it has ... intensified its full-scale repression of rights defense lawyers to an unprecedented degree. The process of building a country ruled by law has suffered a serious setback.”

The measures follow the recent disappearance of Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), a high-profile, self-taught advocate who once said that every human rights lawyer ended up as a human rights case. No one has been able to contact the Nobel Peace Prize nominee since police took him from his home in February. Tang Jitian (唐吉田), a Beijing lawyer, was released on Sunday night after being held at a hotel for three days by public security officials over an alleged theft at an educational institution.

“It was just an excuse. It is a violation of the law ... Even some of the police I spoke to in private said they were not proud of what they were doing and were just following orders,” Tang said.

“Some authorities don’t like those lawyers who speak for the people. They think we are enemies,” Tang said.

Asked about Tang’s case, the local public security department said it was not authorized to talk to the media. The public information office of the Beijing public security bureau said it would only reply to a faxed request.

Several other lawyers were put under house arrest or heavy surveillance last week. They believe the measures were connected to the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, as well as a broader attempt to clamp down on dissidents, religious advocates and human rights lawyers in a sensitive year marking the 60th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party rule.

Jiang Tianyong (江天勇), who has not received a new license and spoke from under house arrest, said: “What police and the authorities are doing is destroying Chinese law. China evolving into a country with the rule of law would totally benefit China itself — it’s part of a world trend. All these things I have done have completely obeyed Chinese law and benefited the people. The illegal treatment I have received is to China’s shame.”

He said that on June 3 he was barred from leaving his home by officers who warned him: “Think about your wife and child.”

The US-based group Human Rights in China accused the authorities of “an all-out attack” on rights lawyers.

Ma defends lawsuit against prosecutor Hou
　

By Ko Shu-ling and Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTERS
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009, Page 3

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended his decision to file an appeal in court, insisting that he did the right thing and it was his duty to go forward and not to turn back.

“I did something I am supposed to do and I will proceed without hesitation,” Ma was quoted as saying by Presidential Office Public Affairs Department Director Tsai Chung-li (蔡仲禮), who said Ma made the remarks after learning about public criticism of his decision to appeal.

Ma was referring to the letter of committal for trial his lawyer submitted to the Taipei District Court with regard to a forgery lawsuit Ma filed against Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (侯寬仁) in January last year.

Hou was one of the prosecutors probing Ma’s handling of his special allowance funds when Ma was Taipei mayor, minister of justice, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council and other posts.

Ma accused Hou of inaccurately documenting Hou’s questioning of Wu Li-ju (吳麗洳), a Taipei City Government treasurer, about how Ma used his special mayoral fund.

Last year Ma asked the court to remove three prosecutors from his cases for “bias,” but State Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) rejected the request.

Although Ma has dropped ­several of the lawsuits he filed during the presidential campaign last year, he did not drop the charges against the prosecutors who investigated him for graft.

On Monday, the Democratic Progressive Party criticized Ma’s move as “big president bullies small prosecutor.”

Ma yesterday said he was acquitted of embezzlement charges and that his decision to appeal was for public justice and not out of personal interest.

It was the first time a president of the country exercised his litigation rights and Ma said he believed it had drawn much attention to the issue and would eventually lead to the further protection of human rights of ordinary people.

Incorrect interview records might seem insignificant to some, but they can change a defendant’s life forever, Ma was quoted by Tsai as saying, adding that he hoped his appeal would serve as an example to others.

Ma said he would take a two-pronged approach to dealing with the problem. On the one hand, he would proceed with the legal procedure. On the other hand, he would continue to push for judicial reform.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday threw its support behind Ma’s decision to pursue a lawsuit against Hou.

“Such an appeal has two positive meanings. First, it can safeguard the human rights of the plaintiff when prosecutors decide not to indict the accused and it highlights the importance of procedural ­justice,” said KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池). “Second, we can also remind prosecutors of the importance of dealing with a legal case with caution. [Prosecutors must know] that they can never distort witnesses’ testimony.”

At a separate setting yesterday, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said Ma has the power to conduct a comprehensive overhaul of the judiciary and reform the Ministry of Justice. Although Hou deserved scrutiny, the examination must not be targeted at him alone, she said.

Lu is also under investigation for her use of the special allowance fund during her stint as Taoyuan commissioner. Lu urged Ma to help all those embroiled in cases involving the discretionary fund, which she described as a “historic glitch.”

Succession, missiles form ‘dangerous mixture’: US
　

EXPLOSIVE: As the US intelligence chief warned of a growing level of risk posed by North Korea, Pyongyang said it was ready for ‘advanced pre-emptive’ nuclear strikes

AFP , WASHINGTON
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009, Page 5

North Korea’s nuclear test and threats to test intercontinental ballistic missiles amid concerns over a leadership succession makes for “a potentially dangerous mixture,” the top US intelligence official warned.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said North Korea’s recent behavior was following a familiar pattern, but this time it was “using more dangerous sorts of weapons, potentially intercontinental missiles and nuclear weapons.”

“So although the pattern is familiar the level of risk is higher,” he said late on Monday in remarks to business leaders with ties to the intelligence community.

The assessment comes amid rising US-North Korean tensions following Pyongyang’s test last month of a nuclear bomb, a series of short-range missile launches, and the renunciation of the 1953 truce that ended the Korean war.

South Korean media reported last week that the North appears to be assembling a long-range missile, possibly of intercontinental range, for another test launch in defiance of international criticism.

“I think overlaid on that are the succession concerns of the current leader,” Blair said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

“He had a stroke last summer and recently designated his son as his successor,” Blair said, referring to reports that Kim had tapped his 26-year-old son Kim Jong-un to replace him.

“So any time you have a combination of this behavior, doing provocative things in order to excite a response, plus succession questions, you have a potentially dangerous mixture,” he said.

Blair said the judgment that the risks are greater this time around was “informing the activities the US is involved in now, working with the other countries in the six-party talks to try to put a ring around North Korea and handle it.”

For its part, North Korea said yesterday it would use its nuclear weapons both to defend itself and to carry out a reprisal for any attack by its enemies.

The country would answer any pre-emptive strike with “an advanced pre-emptive strike” of its own, the Cabinet newspaper Minju Joson said.

The nuclear deterrent would be a strong tool to protect regional peace and carry out a “just retaliatory strike” which would be “merciless” on those who infringe on its dignity and sovereignty, it said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the US was working hard to create a mechanism that would allow for interdiction of suspect North Korean shipments of missiles or nuclear material.

“If we do not take significant and effective action against the North Koreans now, we’ll spark an arms race in Northeast Asia,” Clinton said.

“And so part of what we’re doing is, again, sharing with other countries our calculus of the risks and the dangers that would lie ahead if we don’t take very strong action,” she said in a television interview.

Meanwhile, Washington is being forced to grapple with North Korea over its sentencing of two US journalists to 12 years in a labor camp.

On Monday, Clinton asked North Korea to show clemency and deport the two, Laura Ling (凌志美) and Euna Lee, who were detained in March along North Korea’s border with China while researching a story on refugees for San ­Francisco-based Current TV.

Ma no fan of democracy

In his June 4 op-ed piece, “Bullets over Beijing,” in the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof recounts how 20 years earlier he stood at the northwest corner of Tiananmen Square and watched as Chinese troops opened fire and slaughtered hundreds of unarmed students.

In Kristof’s account, everyone was terrified and no one dared to help the injured, who writhed in pain in the 100m space that separated the crowd from the soldiers.

At the end of his article, Kristof writes this paragraph: “In Taiwan in 1986, an ambitious young official named Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] used to tell me that robust Western-style democracy might not be fully suited for the people of Taiwan. He revised his view and now is the island’s democratically elected president.”

That Ma has always been ambitious is incontrovertible. In fact, he now seems to have his sights set on holding the post of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman while simultaneously serving as president.

In addition, Ma was indeed democratically elected to the presidency, winning by a substantial margin.

But Kristof is wrong when he purports that Ma has “revised” his stance on democracy. There is absolutely nothing in Ma’s political record to indicate that he has revised his view even slightly.

There is no evidence that Ma has had a change of heart in regard to the suitability of democracy for Taiwanese.

On the contrary, his actions would seem to indicate that he has hardened his heart and even developed a hostility toward democracy and human rights.

MICHAEL SCANLON
East Hartford, Connecticut