Communist China
China (03/05)
Political parties: Chinese Communist Party, 66.35 million members; 8 minor parties under communist supervision. ... As the PLA armies moved south to complete the communist conquest of China in 1949, the American Embassy followed the Nationalist government headed by Chiang Kai-shek, finally moving to Taipei later that year. U.S. consular officials remained in mainland China. The new P.R.C. Government was hostile to this official American presence, and all U.S. personnel were withdrawn from the mainland in early 1950. Any remaining hope of normalizing relations ended when U.S. and Chinese communist forces fought on opposing sides in the Korean conflict. ... [Read More]
China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)
The law does not prohibit religious believers from holding public office; however, most influential positions in government are reserved for Party members, and Communist Party officials state that Party membership and religious belief are incompatible. This has a disproportionate effect in such minority-inhabited areas as Xinjiang and Tibet. Party membership also is required for almost all high-level positions in government and in state-owned businesses and organizations. The Communist Party reportedly issued a circular in 1997 ordering Party members not to adhere to religious beliefs. This followed a 1995 document circulated to Party organizations at the provincial level ordering the expulsion of Party members who belonged to any religious organization, whether open or clandestine. There were reports that the Government issued a circular in early 1999 to remind Party cadres that religion was incompatible with Party membership, a theme reflected in authori ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Helms Calls Permanent Trade Status for China "Ill-Advised"
"The fact is," Helms continued, "the United States has had normal trade relations with Communist China for the past 20 years. Yet Communist China's behavior has not improved one iota -- it has worsened dramatically ... during those two decades of normal trade." ... "We must dare to ponder the most realistic of questions -- for example: Will granting Permanent Most Favored Nation trade status to Communist China persuade its rulers to retreat from their threats to invade Taiwan if Taiwan does not negotiate reunification with the Communist mainland? ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Senator Bunning Says China Does Not Deserve PNTR
The People's Republic of China is an authoritarian state in which the Chinese Communist Party is the paramount source of all power. At the national and regional levels, party members hold almost all top government, police and military positions. Ultimate authority rests with members of the Politburo. Leaders stress the need to maintain stability and social order and are committed to perpetuating the rule of the Communist Party and its hierarchy. Citizens lack both the freedom peacefully to express opposition to the party-led political system and the right to change their national leaders or form of government. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Senator Helms Backs Thompson Amendment to China PNTR Bill
No matter how many times the United States raises the matter of China's military exports, the Communist leadership in Beijing refuses to cease and desist. Indeed, the history of U.S.-Chinese relations on nonproliferation matters is one littered with broken promises. It is a tale of deceit and trickery by Communist China. ... I deeply regret the appalling legal hijinks of the Clinton-Gore administration in trying to avoid sanctioning Communist China for its military trade. Some will recall that The New York Times once quoted President Clinton as having declared that U.S. sanctions laws put "enormous pressure sure on whoever is in the Executive Branch to fudge an evaluation of the facts of what is going on." ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
In 2001 there were numerous reports that Uighurs were being executed or sentenced to long prison terms for separatist activities. In April 2001, immediately after the start of the strike hard campaign, 25 political activists in Kashgar prefecture were arrested for allegedly conspiring to set up an "Eastern Turkestan Republic." Charges ranged from "endangering state security" to "illegally setting up an organization," although human rights groups stated that no specific act committed by the group was mentioned. In April 2001, three Uighurs were sentenced for being members of the "1999 August 9 disturbances," which refers to a demonstration held in front of the local Communist party building to protest the arrest of an imam. Also in 2001, police arrested 186 persons in Aksu prefecture for offenses such as "endangering state security" and seized illegal religious publications, while in the capital, Urumqi, eight persons accused of having endangered social stability were sentenced to priso ... [Read More]
China (Includes Hong Kong and Macau)
The law does not prohibit religious believers from holding public office; however, most influential positions in government are reserved for Party members, and Communist Party officials state that Party membership and religious belief are incompatible. This has a disproportionate effect in such minority-inhabited areas as Xinjiang and Tibet. Party membership also is required for almost all high-level positions in government and in state-owned businesses and organizations. The Communist Party reportedly has issued circulars ordering Party members not to adhere to religious beliefs, and to remind Party cadres that religion was incompatible with Party membership, a theme reflected in authoritative media. The "Routine Service Regulations" of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) state explicitly that servicemen "may not take part in religious or superstitious activities." Party and PLA military personnel were expelled for adhering to the Falun Gong movement. On December 13, all seven members ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
Most Tibetans practiced Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, the traditional Tibetan Bon religion. This held true for many Tibetan government officials and Communist Party members. Bon includes beliefs and ceremonies that practitioners believe predate the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet in the 7th century. Approximately 615 Tibetan Buddhist religious figures held positions in local people's congresses and committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the TAR. However, the Government continued to insist that Communist Party members and senior employees adhere to the Party's code of atheism, and routine political training for cadres continued to promote atheism. Government officials confirmed that some Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) officers were members of the Communist Party and that religious belief is incompatible with Party membership. However, some lower level RAB officials practiced Buddhism. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Another Democrat Opposes China Normal Trade Relations
Today, as this Congress stands on the verge of voting on permanent trade privileges to Communist China, it is incumbent upon us to remind ourselves of Taiwan, the only outpost for democracy in the Pacific Rim. Does mainland China, a Communist nation, whose human rights record is deteriorating, really deserve a blank check from this Congress of the United States? There is not one iota of indication that that totalitarian regime has any respect for liberty's cause. ... The United States should be supporting democratic Taiwan, and not the communists who rule in Beijing, says the senior-most woman Democrat in Congress. ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
The Communist Party continued to control tightly media and academic discussion of many political topics. In March, reporting about the National People's Congress was strictly controlled, and the Beijing newspaper 21st Century World Herald was closed for publishing articles on political reform deemed too controversial. In June, the weekly newspaper Beijing Xinbao was closed and its editors fired after it published an article that mocked Party officials. In July, the Government issued a directive known as "The Three Forbiddens." According to western media reports, it banned open discussion of constitutional reform, political reform, and reconsideration of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen movement. More broadly, in a June meeting, the Communist Party's Propaganda Department advised all media to avoid the following sensitive topics: Dr. Jiang Yanyong's communication with foreigners about SARS, the Sun Zhigang case (see Section 1.c.), corruption cases against Shanghai-based businessman Zhou Zheng ... [Read More]
|