Letter: Wake up to China, America

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/06/08/2003364356

Friday, Jun 08, 2007, Page 8
To the American people and the US Congress:

It's time to open your eyes regarding the basic agenda and very real threat posed by communist China -- that country you love to put on an exotic pedestal festooned with technicolored tourist photos and pretty Chinese movie stars.

Let's not mince words: China is a dictatorship ruled by an aggressive Communist Party that does not believe in human freedom, human dignity, morality or the pursuit of happiness.

Stop your love affair with communist China. Wake up and smell the Starbucks being roasted by Chinese chauvinists inside the Forbidden City tourist trap. China is out to squash the US and will use every means possible to attain this end. This is not your grandfather's China. This is the Chinese Communist Party of the People's Republic of China.

But it is a not a "republic" and it is not run by the people or for the people. It is the old Soviet Union in Chinese clothing.

China is not our friend, by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, Gong Li (??) is gorgeous, and Zhang Ziyi (???) is slim and beautiful, but don't get distracted by China's Hollywood exports. Don't be fooled by the 2008 Beijing Olympics "show." China's leaders, like the leaders of the former Soviet Union, are bent on world domination. Fly too close to Hainan and they'll threaten to shoot your planes down.

No amount of friendly smiles and warm handshakes will change their agenda. It is not a free, democratic country and never will be, at least not as it is currently set up.

Did someone say pet food? Did someone say toothpaste? Do you remember who dumped dangerous chemicals into a Chinese river and didn't alert residents living downstream? Who burns coal in coal-fired power plants as if there were no tomorrow? Does the term "acid rain" ring a bell?

China is a country that covers up SARS and bird flu. Global warming? China's leaders never heard of that Western concept.

God? There is no God for China. China is one of the most godless nations on Earth. So why is the US sucking up to China?

This China you so love to do business with is dangerous. This China needs to be confronted.

Wake up, America. China is polluting the world, and not only with carbon dioxide emissions and other atmospheric pollution.

If you hated the old Soviet Union, you should hate the current People's Republic. Different clothing, same evil empire. There should be no compromise with this state.

China is a threat to the American and European way of life. Darfur? You know the drill.

Stop kissing the ground the Chinese government stands on. Tear down that Great Wall of lies and deception full of state-sanctioned cover-ups and fabrications.

The US needs a transparent and democratic China. And the Chinese people are up to it. But Americans seem to be turning a blind eye.

Dan Bloom

Individual freedom is what China needs most

HEADLINE:

TEAR DOWN THIS GATE, HU JINTAO!

based on a speech 20 years ago by US President R Reagan in Berlin on Tear Down this Wall. With apologies to Mr Reagan's speechwriters.... - db

Longtime observers of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have often said that the China question will remain open as long as the CCP rules China.

In fact, as long as the gate of freedom in China remains closed, it is not the "China question" alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all humanity.

Yet, today there is a message of hope inside China, a message of triumph, with Chinese slowly trying to take matters into their own hands and set up a democratic movement that can finally replace the CCP.

It can happen and it will happen.

Leaders of democratic countries understand that just as truth can flourish only when the press is free, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy sustained economic freedom.

China will learn that soon enough.

In fact, even now, in a limited way, the leaders of China may be coming to understand the importance of freedom.

We hear much from Beijing about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Some foreign news broadcasts and Internet sites are no longer being blocked. And some companies have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.

Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the CCP? Are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West?

Or are they meant to strengthen the Chinese system without really changing it?

The West welcomes change and openness because it believes that freedom and security go together and that the promotion of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.

There is one sign the Chinese communists can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.

If Chinese President Hu Jintao (???) truly seeks peace, liberalization and prosperity for China, Hong Kong and Macao, he must let freedom ring.

I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict today's Chinese leaders. However, when freedom finally comes to the Chinese, they and their leaders will be surprised by how wonderful it feels.

Today represents a moment of hope. The West stands ready to cooperate with China to promote true openness, break down barriers that separate people and create a safer, freer world.

The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulses to create, to enjoy and to worship. The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and worship to be an affront.

As one looks at China today, one can perhaps catch a glimpse of some words crudely spray-painted upon the gate of freedom, perhaps by a young Beijinger: "This gate will open. Beliefs become reality."

Yes, across China, the gates barring freedom will open because they cannot withstand the forces of faith, truth and freedom.

Tear down these gates, Hu Jintao!

I feel sorry for Taiwan, but they have stay still.

I sympathized with what is happening right now in Taiwan but I guess every test is an opportunity to prove one's self courage and determination.

With all these changes happening, do we see China town flourishing in Costa Rica?

In a sense, Costa Rica did turn its back on Taiwan. However, looking to the future and to the continued progress of Costa Rica's economy, China can not be ignored. Costa Rica is following a world wide trend in finally recognizing that Taiwan was always considered a Chinese Province.