<![CDATA[Rallying For Democracy]]> MemHT Portal <![CDATA[Add-ons]]> <![CDATA[How the US ambushed China in its backyard, and what happens next]]> Chief Asia correspondent in Hanoi

The Washington-led ambush of China over the disputed South China Sea at the region's top security forum on Friday marks a landmark shift in Sino-US ties and exposes deepening strategic fault lines in Asia.

Even as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton figuratively waded into the South China Sea in Hanoi, US and South Korean naval vessels prepared to stage large-scale exercises in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, close to China's northeast - adding to the tensions of the new landscape.]]> <![CDATA[US wades into South China Sea disputes]]>
At a regional security forum in Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington was concerned that conflicting claims on the Spratly and Paracel island chains interfere with maritime commerce, hamper access to international waters in the area and undermine the U.N. law of the sea.]]> <![CDATA[Contrary to China-s recent behavior, Washington is still stronger than Beijing]]>
Over the past few months, the Chinese have not-so-softly declined to invite Secretary of Defense Gates to visit Beijing; called the South China Sea a "core interest" (akin to claiming that the sea is China's territorial water); threatened to retaliate if the United States proceeds with the sale of additional F-16s to Taiwan; and refused to so much as condemn the North Koreans for killing 46 South Koreans sailors in cold blood.]]> <![CDATA[Clinton Lauds Vietnam Relationship]]>
22 July 2010
10:50
The Wall Street Journal (Online and Print)
WSJO
World News
English
Copyright 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

HANOI—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the advancement of U.S.-Vietnam relations as a model for reconciliation among former wartime foes during her first visit to Hanoi as Washington's chief diplomat.

But the former First Lady was blunt Thursday in pressing the Southeast Asian country to improve its respect for human rights amid signs its communist leaders are intensifying a crackdown on democracy advocates, Internet bloggers and religious leaders.
]]> <![CDATA[ Full steam ahead for China-s territorial ambitions]]>
In a famous maxim, China's late leader Deng Xiaoping urged his countrymen to "hide your brightness, bide your time". That was more than 20 years ago. It now seems China's leaders have finished biding their time.

In an assertive redefinition of its place in the world, China has put the South China Sea into its "core national interest" category of non-negotiable territorial claims - in the same league as Taiwan and Tibet. China has drawn a red line down the map of Asia and defies anyone to cross it.]]> <![CDATA[Vietnamese Dissidents: Absent from the Western Mind]]>

By Dustin Roasa

On October 8, 2009, a woman from Hanoi named Tran Khai Thanh Thuy was on her way to Hai Phong, a city on Vietnam’s coast, to witness the trial of six pro-democracy activists. But she would never reach the courthouse. Instead, she was met by a police roadblock and ordered to return to her house until further notice. That night, two intruders entered her home and beat her with bricks in front of her husband and daughter, as police officers looked on from outside. The police then arrested Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and charged her with assault.

Tran Khai Thanh Thuy’s trial took place in February of this year and lasted one day. A key piece of prosecution evidence was a photo of one supposed victim with a bandaged head, which Vietnamese bloggers later showed had been crudely altered. “It’s a fabrication and total slander,” Tran Khai Thanh Thuy said of the charges. “I protest this trial, and I did not come here to suffer this.” The court sentenced her to three and a half years in prison, but she did not hear the verdict because the judge had thrown her out of court for talking out of turn. Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling the trial “Kafkaesque.”

]]> <![CDATA[Vietnam-s gravy train derailed]]>
Exposing a growing rift in Vietnam’s one-party regime, the communist-controlled National Assembly has rejected the government's US$56 billion plan to develop a high speed north-south railway. The project, set to cost 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) and based on Japan's cutting-edge Shinkansen technology, would have cut overland travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (1,760 kilometers) from about two days to around six hours.

The government has recently initiated several mega-projects, but this one was surprisingly voted down by the assembly by a 178-157 vote on June 19. The unprecedented result does not mean that Vietnam's legislature, traditionally a rubber stamp for Communist Party decisions, is evolving into an independent branch of government.]]> <![CDATA[Vietnam airport staff member charged with smuggling electronics]]>
Nguyen Duc Vu, 35, a staff member at the Tan Son Nhat Airport Operations Control Centre, and Nguyen Minh Hoang, 47, are accused of receiving smuggled goods and cash from Vietnam Airlines staff, airline spokesman Le Hoang Dung said.The two men were arrested June 16 after Australian police detained and questioned the crew of an outbound Vietnam Airlines flight in Sydney.]]> <![CDATA[Vietnam steps up China-style Internet control]]> By Ian Timberlake (AFP)

HANOI — Blogger Nguyen Hue Chi is locked in an electronic game of cat and mouse with a mystery cyberattacker -- widely believed to be the government.

Chi and his colleagues have set up a series of websites and blogs questioning government policy in the past year, only to see them attacked and blocked.

]]> <![CDATA[G8 Called on to Better Address Malnutrition]]> A medical aid group says if G8 leaders want to improve mother and child health, they must first solve the malnutrition problem.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, is calling for “fundamental changes” in addressing malnutrition, as well as “new sustainable funding resources.”  The group says malnutrition affects 195 million people worldwide – most in sub-Saharan Africa - and is the “underlying cause of at least one-third of the 8 million annual deaths of children under age 5.”

]]> <![CDATA[UN DECLARES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AUNG SAN SUU KYI OF BURMA’S DETENTION ILLEGAL; URGES HER IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE ]]>
Washington, D.C. – Today, Freedom Now released Opinion No. 12/2010 from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The judgment from this international tribunal unequivocally reestablishes that the ongoing detention of Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is illegal and in violation of international law.]]> <![CDATA[Iran-s Arc Of Injustice]]>
When huge protests broke out in Iran over last year's rigged reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, U.S. President Barack Obama had some cool, calm answers. The brutality of Iran's regime he saw as a domestic matter, in which he preferred not to meddle. To the bloodied protesters he offered his assurance that America, as part of the "international community," was "bearing witness." Quoting Martin Luther King, he further assured them of his belief that the long arc of the moral universe "bends toward justice."]]> <![CDATA[The Way Out for China (Part XII) - Workers Movement]]>
Around the June 4 anniversary this year, I visited several Western European countries.  I noticed that both the Chinese and non-Chinese there have not reduced their interest in democracy in China.  It really was not as bad as some people have predicted.  Many friends said that it is partially because the ongoing situation in China has lit the fire of hope again.  Indeed, the development inside China could be far from the expectations of many.  The recent rising of the tide of workers' movements in China is one of the examples that people have been waiting for years, yet were gradually losing their confidence in.]]> <![CDATA[The Alien in the White House ]]>
By DOROTHY RABINOWITZbiendong

The deepening notes of disenchantment with Barack Obama now issuing from commentators across the political spectrum were predictable. So, too, were the charges from some of the president's earliest enthusiasts about his failure to reflect a powerful sense of urgency about the oil spill.

There should have been nothing puzzling about his response to anyone who has paid even modest critical attention to Mr. Obama's pronouncements. For it was clear from the first that this president—single-minded, ever-visible, confident in his program for a reformed America saved from darkness by his arrival—was wanting in certain qualities citizens have until now taken for granted in their presidents. Namely, a tone and presence that said: This is the Americans' leader, a man of them, for them, the nation's voice and champion. Mr. Obama wasn't lacking in concern about the oil spill. What he lacked was that voice—and for good reason.]]> <![CDATA[China freezes military ties with U.S.]]>
By Al Santoli, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
8:11 p.m., Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Pentagon's military-exchange program with China for 2010 was canceled earlier this year because of Beijing's anger at arms sales to Taiwan, and military ties remain in deep freeze after the unusually combative exchange in Singapore last week between a Chinese general and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

In remarks to a security conference June 4, Mr. Gates defended U.S. arms sales to Taiwan as legal under U.S. law and carried out carefully by successive administrations.]]> <![CDATA[In Chinese admiral-s outburst, a lingering distrust of U.S.]]> Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 8, 2010; A10

BEIJING

On May 24 in a vast meeting room inside the grounds of the state guesthouse at Diaoyutai in Beijing, Rear Adm. Guan Youfei of the People's Liberation Army rose to speak.

Known among U.S. officials as a senior "barbarian handler," which means that his job is to deal with foreigners, not lead troops, Guan faced about 65 American officials, part of the biggest delegation the U.S. government has ever sent to China. ]]> <![CDATA[After Suicides, Scrutiny of China-s Grim Factories]]> After Suicides, Scrutiny of China’s Grim Factories
By DAVID BARBOZA
SHENZHEN, China

The body of a 19-year-old worker named Ma Xiangqian was found in front of his high-rise dormitory at 4:30 a.m. Police investigators concluded that he had leapt from a high floor, and they ruled it a suicide.

His family, including his 22-year-old sister who worked at the same company, Foxconn Technology, said he hated the job he had held only since November — an 11-hour overnight shift, seven nights a week, forging plastic and metal into electronics parts amid fumes and dust. Or at least that was Mr. Ma’s job until, after a run-in with his supervisor, he was demoted in December to cleaning toilets. ]]> <![CDATA[Bribery charges eyed]]> June 9, 2010

THE Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is considering whether federal police have sufficient evidence to lay criminal charges against executives of two Reserve Bank of Australia subsidiaries for bribery.

The revelation that the DPP has been asked to review aspects of the case - involving the RBA banknote companies Securency and Note Printing Australia - is the strongest indication yet that the probe could lead to Australia's first-ever prosecution for bribery of an overseas official.]]> <![CDATA[CPJ-s Letter to Thai Prime Minster Abhisit]]> Royal Thai Government
Pitsanolok Road
Dusit, Bangkok

Thailand

Via facsimile: +662 629 8213

Dear Prime Minister Abhisit:

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns recent violence against journalists in Thailand, including the shooting deaths of two foreign reporters killed while covering news events. We call on your government to launch independent probes into recent attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.]]> <![CDATA[Choppy Sino-Viet Ties Waters]]> Choppy Sino-Viet Ties Waters
By Jason Miks
June 7, 2010
       
 
Image credit:Maurice Koop

As well as his combativeness over Taiwan and Beijing's refusal to extend an invitation to him during his trip to Asia, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates also broached the subject of disputes in the South China Sea during the just-concluded Shangri-la Dialogue.
]]> <![CDATA[Unanimously Approved Motion of the General Council of the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnational and Transparty]]>
     Noting the presentations of the Party’s leaders and the other presenters, in particular those hinging on human rights by Cesare Romano, Tullio Padovani and Emanuele Rebasti;.

     Appreciating the extraordinary commitment of all concerned in participating for the entire length of the deliberation;

     Taking note of the success of the first step in the formal, political and statutory process leading to the Congress of the Party, which step is aimed at overcoming the political crisis and the crisis in organization objectively flowing from the deterioration of international legality and worldwide democracy;]]> <![CDATA[Unrest May Signal New Phase in China Economy]]>
Rapidly rising industrial wages are beginning to allow China’s workers to share in their country’s rising prosperity. The question is whether these gains can be maintained and even increased without disrupting supply lines to companies around the world, and without discouraging much future investment by Chinese and global companies alike.

The biggest eye-opener for multinationals in China recently has been a nine-day-old strike at a sprawling Honda transmission factory here in Foshan, about 100 miles northwest of Hong Kong.]]> <![CDATA[REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ MEETS WITH SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS, BORDER VIOLENCE]]>
During the meeting, Rep. Sanchez urged Secretary Clinton that the State Department be proactive about engaging Vietnam into changing its Ministry of Information and Communication policies, specifically policies concerning the ability to use the Internet freely and without government interference. As a result, Secretary Clinton agreed to convene a meeting with Members of Congress to discuss how to better address the issue of Internet freedom in the international community.]]> <![CDATA[Stop Cyber Attacks Against Online Critics]]> <![CDATA[The world-s biggest threat is corruption, not nuclear weapons]]> Wednesday, May 26, 2010; A17

MOSCOW Last week I held my fourth hunger strike since being jailed on trumped-up charges in 2003. I did not do this to raise awareness of how my own legal case has been unfairly handled. The courts' actions have made it clear that I am going to be imprisoned no matter what. But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has taken the initiative to fight corruption in law enforcement in our country, should know how his efforts are being undercut by his own officials.
]]> <![CDATA[Many Faiths, One Truth]]> Many Faiths, One Truth
By TENZIN GYATSO

WHEN I was a boy in Tibet, I felt that my own Buddhist religion must be the best — and that other faiths were somehow inferior. Now I see how naïve I was, and how dangerous the extremes of religious intolerance can be today.

Though intolerance may be as old as religion itself, we still see vigorous signs of its virulence. In Europe, there are intense debates about newcomers wearing veils or wanting to erect minarets and episodes of violence against Muslim immigrants. Radical atheists issue blanket condemnations of those who hold to religious beliefs. In the Middle East, the flames of war are fanned by hatred of those who adhere to a different faith.]]> <![CDATA[Isolated Political Detainees at Risk of Torture]]> <![CDATA[Key political risks to watch in Vietnam]]> By John Ruwitch
Currencies

HANOI, May 24 (Reuters) - Vietnam reported economic growth of 5.83 percent in the first quarter, but the southeast Asian frontier market is seen as risky and opaque for investors.

Sovereign 5-year credit default swaps VNGV5YUSAC=R are trading at a spread of around 263 basis points, or about 80 basis points higher than those of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Following is a summary of key risks to watch in Vietnam:]]> <![CDATA[Vietnam Human Rights Day: Asia-Europe Director of the Solidarity Center]]>
On behalf of President Richard Trumka and the 10 million working men and women of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, I bring you greetings on Vietnam Human Rights Day.  The American labor movement remains committed to promoting the rights of workers all over the world, including Vietnam.  Today, the Vietnamese government is seeking improved trade ties with the US government in order to improve the living standards of their people and increase involvement with the United States.  Key to this improved trade regime must be adherence by Vietnam to the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization, particularly freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain.  The AFL-CIO urges the US government to continue to press for workers' rights in Vietnam, and the American labor movement stands by its brothers and sisters in the Vietnamese workforce to achieve these rights and goals.

Thank you, in solidarity,

Timothy Ryan
Asia-Europe Director of the Solidarity Center]]> <![CDATA[China, America, and a New World Order]]>
Filed under: World Watch, Culture, Government & Politics

      For years the major question regarding China has been whether it will embrace the post–World War II order. The answer is no.
       
      The global financial crisis has telescoped shifts in the world order, especially for a rising China.

      For many years, the major strategic question regarding China has been whether, as it grows in economic, political, and military might, it will embrace the post–World War II order: the treaties, multilateral institutions, and norms developed largely with United States leadership. The answer is no. China will not adapt to the existing global
]]>