The Communist Party of China Is No Friend of NZ

For those who think closer ties between NZ and China are a good thing, please check out this sobering article on China from Frontpage Magazine.

Here are some extracts;

The PRC has also experienced double-digit growth in military spending for 17 straight years. China’s 2006 military budget increased 14% over 2005 – and that’s what Beijing admits to.

China’s military expansion is the reason 60% of the U.S. fleet is now stationed in Asian waters.

A Department of Defense review, published last February, observes: "Of the major emerging powers, China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that over time offset traditional US military advantages absent US counter strategies."

Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy told a congressional hearing last year, "I believe the PRC’s aim is to inexorably supplant the United States as the world’s premier economic power and, if necessary, to defeat us militarily."
Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Aso calls China a "considerable threat."

But neither China’s booming economy nor its alarming military growth is the root of the problem. In any discussion of China, the place to start is with an understanding of the reality of political power on the Mainland.

The People’s Republic of China remains what it was at its inception in 1949, at the end of the civil war – a ruthless, totalitarian state. As the name implies, a totalitarian regime attempts to exert near- absolute control over the lives of its subjects.

China is controlled by the Communist Party. Ostensibly, political power resides in the 3,000-member National People’s Congress. But the Congress is a rubber stamp. In reality, power is exercised by a 9-member standing committee of the CCP politburo. In other words, 9 individuals decide the fate of 1.2 billion people.

In its latest report, Freedom House observes, "The Chinese government continued to restrict political rights and repress critics of the regime in 2005. Restrictions on communications became more severe." Also, Freedom House notes, "The Chinese state closely monitors political activity and uses vaguely worded national security regulations to justify detainment or imprisonment of those who are politically active without party approval."

In 2003, Amnesty International reported that in Chinese prisons, "Torture and ill treatment remained widespread … . Common methods included kicking, beating, electric shocks, suspension by the arms, shackling in painful positions, and sleep and food deprivation. Women in detention were vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse."

In China, there are over 1,000 "re-education-through-labor" camps scattered about the country.

There are credible reports of organ harvesting from executed prisoners.

In the People’s Republic, no fewer than 65 offenses carry the death penalty.
China’s one-child-per-family policy has led to forced abortions, infanticide and a booming sex industry.