Statement from Wang Dan

Wang Dan discusses China
at DC's National Press Club

Transcript of his prepared remarks follows.

November 29, 2007 in Washington, D.C.:

Carrie Conko: Good morning, and welcome to the Morning Newsmakers at the National Press Club. My name is Carrie Conko, and I'm a member of the Newsmakers Committee here at the National Press Club. I'd like to welcome club members and our guests here this morning as well as those of you watching on C-Span and other networks. This morning's speaker is Wang Dan, one of the most prominent advocates for Chinese democracy. At the age of 20, Wang Dan gained notoriety in China and across the world, as one of the undergraduate student organizers of the pro-democracy protests that culminated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Following these protests, Wang Dan was arrested and sentenced to prison twice: once in 1989, and once in 1995. He ultimately served seven years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the Communist Party of China. In 1998, under intense international political pressure, Wang Dan was released from prison and exiled to the United States. Here, he completed his Masters in East Asian History at Harvard University, where he's pursuing his PhD. He's speaking with us today about his life in China, the country's histroic economic and social reforms, and the Chinese policies that continue to pose challenges to the country's growth and development. The talk will be followed by a Q&A with members of the media. I should note that Wang Dan will be reading his speech in English. However, when we go to the Q&A, he'll be aided by the assistance of an interpreter. She'll be interpreting his responses. He's able to understand the questions that are being asked. So, please be patient. Thank you. [New information comes in.] --We're doing the whole thing in Chinese with the aid of the interpreter.

Wang Dan: Well, first of all, I'd like to thank [inaudible] Center as well as NPC [National Press Club] for giving me this opportunity to meet with all of you.

The emergence of China is now an issue that is drawing a lot of attention, especially in the West. However, I think when the West is looking at China's emergence, you are looking at it from two perspectives, which I think are myths or mythified perspectives. A lot of the reports from the West these days about China are looking at China's economy, and I also think that a lot of the way the West is looking at China depends a lot on the conclusions of the pundits. And therefore, I think because of these two myths -- so when we look at the economic development of China today, we have ignored the two very important characteristics.

- First of all even though China's economic development is growing at a very rapid pace, however we have to recognize that it is a very unbalanced development.

- And also we need to recognize that this kind of growth is actually bulit on a very unequal, unfair fundamentals in the society.

And therefore, I think if we overlook these two important characteristics, then our judgment or our conclusion on China's economic development would be inaccurate. So, what we think today is that despite it's rapid economic development, China is also experiencing very dramatic or sharp social conflict. I think that the West should not look at only China's economic development and ignore China's social conflict.

Now what is the primary conflict? --As China develops economically, we see a kind of division in the society. First of all you see one group which is the interest group, or what we call vested interest group, or the elite group. On the other side, you see another group who has lost their rights during this process of reform, and we call them the vulnerable group. And the conflict between these two groups will bring a lot of problems to China. Although this kind of conflict is not quite obvious yet, but we cannot conclude that it wouldn't happen just because we are oblivious to it for now.

And I think the solution, the only solution to avoid this kind of social conflict is to bring democracy to China. Because now, there are many interest groups in China that are dividing the national assets. So, we need to impose some kind of checks and balances through bringing democracy to China. And we also believe that China's economic development will eventually lead to privatization. However, this kind of privatization will be extremely unfair if it is not supported by democracy.

A while ago the director of the Asian deparatment of the Rand Corporation mentioned that there is now political reform in China, which I think is actually a misunderstanding on his part. I don't see any realistic or real political reform in China today. We can use four criteria to judge or conclude whether there is political reform in China.

- First of all we need to look at the elections of the officials. Because we don't see any real election for officials who are above the county level.

- And secondly, we know that the military or the armed forces is still under the leadership of the party -- not under the leadership of the country.

- And, you don't see any real judicial independence in China yet.

- And, you can see that the government is still very much in control of the media and other propaganda organs.

And therefore, if we don't see any changes in what I just mentioned--the four issues above--then we cannot conclude that there is true or genuine political reform in China. Maybe some people argue that, "Well, we do enjoy more freedom in China now than we did compared to ten years or twenty years ago." --But, I have to point out very clearly that this so-called "freedom" is one that is not safe guarded or protected by a certain institution. This is a kind of freedom that is really shaky; that the government can terminate at any time. So, we say that this kind -- this is just an illusion, it's not true freedom. And, like all the other members of the world community we do look forward to China's prosperity and stability. But, I believe that the prosperity and stability in China will not be sustainable if there's a lack of freedom, and true freedom and true equality.

Finally, I would like the media to think about this one question: What is China going to look like in ten years? Now, think about China in ten years if it has finally become a military and an economic superpower, but without real democracy --what is it going to look like? Now are we willing -- the Western world in particular -- are we willing to face another Cold War? And therefore, I believe that bringing democracy to China is not something that concerns [just] China, but all of us in the international community who are stakeholders in that.

I would also like to take this opportunity to raise an issue that I think that everyone cares about and which is the human rights issue in China. Many Chinese have exiled to the United States since 1989, and many of them are still not allowed to return to China. It is really unfair not to let them return to the motherland after 20 years. Many of them have grown older and it's really -- they do need to go back.

We are very happy to see that the Olympics Games is going to be held in China next year. And therefore, we hope that these Olympics Games is going to give the Chinese government an opportunity to become more liberal and open and also to allow the exiles to return home. And we hope that this is an issue that the entire world will pay attention to.

--And next, you can ask questions and I will respond to your questions....

Tibet heats up; Beijing loses its cool

Tibet heats up, and
Beijing loses its cool

Tibet may have a Burma-style uprising with Buddhist monks;
part of the fallout from the Dalai Lama's award received in the U.S.

October 21, 2007 (CSN) -- Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong, has reported that the Dalai Lama's award ceremony in the U.S. was followed by four days of clashes in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Reportedly, one monastery with over 1,000 monks was surrounded by 3,000 Communist Chinese security personnel.

This conjures to mind similar scenes that have recently occurred in Burma -- where monasteries full of saffron-robed Buddhist monks have been raided by security forces.

The reports from Tibet have not indicated that any raids or arrests have occurred; just "clashes" and the encirclement of a monastery. The monks within were attempting to celebrate the U.S. award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama, as occurred at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday, October 17.

The October 17 ceremony was also followed by reports on October 18 that Communist China was hijacking and redirecting internet traffic, bound for the U.S. search engines Google, Yahoo, and MSN, to instead land at the Chinese search engine Baidu.com. Analysts speculated that Communist China was retaliating, in a fit of anger, at the United States for conferring its honor upon the Dalai Lama.

Throughout all of this time, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been holding its 17th National Congress, an event that happens once every five years. "They are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," offered John Kusumi of the China Support Network, in his analysis of the Party Congress. "The CCP has declining relevance and is not expected to last until the next Party Congress. (PRC President) Hu Jintao made a speech that can be summarized as 'Stay the curse.' He is resisting the Chinese democracy movement, and I trust that in the near future, there will be penalties for so doing."

Another item that Hu Jintao is resisting is the demand for China to get out of Tibet. Kusumi offered his view that "When a bank robber is caught on the scene, it is correct to say, 'Put down the loot.' Similarly, Tibet and East Turkestan had their independence prior to 1949 when the Communists came to power. The rise of Mao included the invasions of Tibet and East Turkestan (referred to by the PRC as Xinjiang province). Because their independence was not rightfully taken, one could say to China--just as to a bank robber--'Put down the loot.' Is it not correct that criminals should disgorge their ill-begotten gains?"

Continuing with his tradition of hardline anti-communist thoughts, Kusumi added that "The PRC claim over Taiwan is also specious, because Taiwan was a part of the ROC, and never for one minute was it ever a part of the PRC. The Red Army of Chairman Mao never set foot on Taiwan; one cannot re-unify two items that were never unified in the first place."

Even while it is an anti-communist thought that re-unification is impossible, Kusumi noted that Chinese dissident Xu Wenli, with his China Democracy Party, wants to implement a "rollback" to China's political state of 1947. "If this were 1947, Taiwan would be in China, while Tibet and East Turkestan would be independent. If that's where Xu Wenli wants to go, he should consult with the present leaders of Taiwan. Maybe Xu can accomplish what Mao could not."

Kusumi also noted that "The Dalai Lama has stood for a Middle Way of having Tibet with meaningful autonomy as a confederated state within China. While that way is better for Tibetan taxpayers, Tibet has a strong faction with understandable sentiments that demand total independence from China and full restoration of Tibet's sovereignty; let's call it the Rangzen faction. I believe that this faction should be offered the chance to campaign for the outcome which they prefer, and at the least, the matter should be put to a vote of Tibetan-blooded electorate in a public plebiscite. Let Tibetans vote on the question, 'Should China put down the loot?'"

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Published October 21, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Splendid day for anti-communism

Opinion: Today is a "splendid day"
to confront Chinese Communism

by John Kusumi

It is a splendid day on which to confront the regime of the Chinese Communist Party. Today, the Dalai Lama is being honored at the U.S. Congress with a Congressional Gold Medal. He is a man with a cause. As the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, he is supposed to be both the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. That's also a head of state, to you and me, and a God-King in the old days of theocratic Tibet. He is certainly a holy man; a preacher of non-violence; and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize -- a stark contrast to the profane, godless, and violent atheists of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has the nation of Tibet under brutal occupation as a colony annexed to China.

To end the brutal occupation of Tibet is a valid foreign policy objective for the United States, and it is an objective of two organizations for which I am responsible: the China Support Network, and the Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition (FFOSC). [FFOSC is a joint project with the Free China Movement, the China Support Network, the China Shadow Government, and many more human rights groups.] At my groups, more generally the objective is freedom from the Communist Party, no matter who is doing the suffering. Directly or indirectly, suffering attributable to the CCP extends to Sudan, Burma, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Mainland China, Tibet, and East Turkestan, with further inconvenience for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. And that's not to mention the inconvenience of recalled and toxic products in the United States and many other nations.

The CCP is a scourge upon humanity. It is not a fitting candidate to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. I am heartened by reports that 59% of Americans agree, when polled, that these 2008 Olympic Games are an opportune time to pressure China about cleaning up its act. Does America include a namby-pamby element in its elite, that believes life is a dinner party? Yes. Driven by their inane attention to minutiae, they worry about today's tensions in U.S.-China relations. Is our reception of the Dalai Lama ruffling the feathers of Beijing? Well, Beijing's playbook of standard operating procedure instructs them to squawk at this point.

But if we ask me, I think that there is not enough heat on Beijing today. I think that Beijing has it too easy. We know that I represent the Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition; but, even that is not enough heat for Beijing. Therefore, let me recall to mind another capacity of my organization. A few years back, there began the Boycott Made In China Coalition. The China Support Network joined that coalition, and remains a member to this day.

To boycott Chinese products is to boycott the Chinese economy, not just the Olympics. This is a more fitting level of escalation, for the human rights concerns that we have -- given that in the human rights issue alone, it is a matter of life-and-death for people who are incarcerated, tortured, or under attack today. The human rights issue, by one alternate name, is the murder issue. I believe that civilization was invented to curtail arbitrary murders and brutal savagery. And in civilized lands, murderers belong in prisons, not in national leadership.

The CCP is a party of murderers, and when history corrects this injustice, as it inevitably will, they will be brought to justice to answer for their crimes against humanity. To step up the pressure, I recommend that we redouble our efforts, supporting not just the Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition (see NoOlympics.org), but also the Boycott Made In China Coalition, and one more coalition that my group has joined: The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ultimately, the ICC may try the Chinese Communist murderers. We will remain in these coalitions until justice is achieved -- for China, for Tibet, and for all of East Asia. Thank you.

Washington DC Event on Monday

News Conference Follows Washington's "Olympic Freedom Run"

The Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition invites press to the National Press Club

Time: 9:00 am - 11:00 am, Monday, October 1, 2007

Location: Morrow Room, National Press Club (529 14th Street, NW, 13th Floor; Washington, DC 20045)

Speakers:

Kai Chen -- Former Chinese National Basketball Player. Author of 'One in a Billion - Journey toward Freedom, the Story of a Pro-Basketball Player in China.' Kai Chen is the initiator of the Olympic Freedom T-shirt Global Movement.

Tang Baiqiao -- Activist. Former student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Founder of 'China Peace & Democracy Federation,' a member organization of the Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition.

Other important guest speakers may be present.

Contact information: Kai Chen (323) 630-1739. Email: elecshadow@aol.com. Home: (323) 734-2544, or 323-734-3071. For more information: Click on "Kai Chen Forum" in www.youpai.org

Tang Baiqiao: Email: tbqfl64@hotmail.com

This press conference will discuss the Olympic Freedom Run that is happening on Sunday, September 30 (see that invitation, below). An actual Chinese athlete with a strong conscience is appealing to one and all, including Olympic athletes and tourists. If they must go to the Olympics (in the absence of a boycott advocated by the Freedom First, Olympics Second Coalition), they are asked to please wear the Olympic Freedom T-shirts with their strong "message" for the Chinese government.

Note. This run is happening in multiple U.S. cities in sequence. Last weekend, it was the New York Olympic Freedom Run, and coverage (a television story) about that occasion is seen here, at this URL of New Tang Dynasty (NTD) TV-- http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/en/2007/09/25/a_51201.html

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The Olympic Freedom T-Shirt Global Movement presents its
- Olympic Freedom Run, Washington DC -

• Day: Sunday, September 30, 2007
  
• Time: 10:00 am Ending (estimate) 12:00 noon
  
• Starting point: Communism's Victims' Memorial
  
• Ending point: Washington Monument
  
• Route: through famous Freedom memorials and monuments
  
• Distance: 5 miles (on the side walk, observing traffic lights.)
  
• Attention: Walking or running is OK. Please bring water and avoid heat stroke if it's hot, and arrange your own pick up on the way back.
  
• Registration: Those who participate in the Olympic Freedom Run will get a free T-shirt.
  
• Donation and fund-raising: Donation is voluntary and any sum is welcome. The entire proceeds from Kai Chen’s book sale (One in a Billion – Journey toward Freedom, the Story of a Pro-Basketball Player in China) will be donated to the Olympic Freedom T-Shirt Global Movement.
  
• Fund Usage: All funds will be used to plan for the future production of the T-shirts and future Olympic Freedom Run in the US and around the world, until the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
  
• Donation checks may be made to: OFTGM, PO Box 1341, Rohnert Park, CA 94927-1341
  Contact Kai Chen: Email: elecshadow@aol.com
  

PS. Media interviews are best conducted at the end of the run. [Or at the National Press Club on the following day]

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Published September 29, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Yang Jianli is stronger than ever, upon freedom

Yang Jianli says he's
"stronger than I have ever been";
China's prison only "strengthened my resolve"

Freed from captivity and
reunited with his family in the U.S.,
Chinese dissident Yang Jianli held a Capitol Hill press conference

August 22, 2007 (CSN) -- During this past weekend, Chinese dissident Dr. Yang Jianli flew to the United States, arriving on Saturday. Dr. Yang lives with his family in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he has U.S. permanent residency. Five years and four months ago, he was captured by Chinese authorities while on a return visit to his native land, China. Authorities there had blacklisted him for his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. Yang is also the founder of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, a pro-democracy group.

The Capitol Hill press conference was organized by the group Freedom Now, where its President Jared Genser has worked ceaselessly on Yang's case during the five years of his absense. At the press conference, Genser and Yang spoke, along with Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), and Chairman of the SEC Christopher Cox (formerly a Republican Congressman).

The China Support Network welcomes this development and congratulates both Jared Genser and Yang Jianli, and both of their groups. The reunion was a long time in coming, and a long overdue celebration is in order. What follows is an excerpt from Dr. Yang's remarks at the press conference, where the speeches were "exemplary, state of the art, and perfect" in the review offered by CSN's president, who added "If China is not listening to this material, it should be."

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Yang Jianli:I am here today, stronger than I have ever been; more determined than I ever thought possible; more convinced that the one party system in China is fatally flawed. And deeply heartened by the knowledge --especially after the four months I spent in Beijing since my release-- that the democratization process in China is irreversible.



While the Chinese Communist Party may choose to fight this process every step of the way, it shouldn't. The Chinese people are increasingly demanding accountability from their government. They want to know that the resources being invested and spent are being used wisely, efficiently and without corruption, fraud, waste, or abuse. They want transparency and good governance. They want to know that their government has their best interests in mind. And most important, they are educated enough that they want a say in directing how those resources are invested and spent.


One only need to understand that there are literally tens of thousands of protests in China every year to see that the Chinese government is sitting on a powder keg, as frustration with the one party system mounts. The Chinese government claims that what's required is stability to deliver on its promise to the people, and that it needs to control people's lives. But, the tighter the grip onto power, the more difficulty they will have in holding on. If a thirsty man plunges his fist into a bucket of water to get a drink, and then pulls it out, he will have nothing. It is only by extending an open hand into the bucket that he can get the drink he requires. So too it is with the Chinese government.



While counterintuitive for those who are too convinced of the righteousness of their cause, it is only by opening up their hands and trusting the wisdom of its own people that China can reach its full potential.



The answer to China's major challenges is not suppressing the countless protests across the country for fear they will spiral out of control. But rather, it is to acknowledge that they are a symptom of a broader, deeper, and more fundamental problem: that the people do not believe that their government has their best interests in mind. It is only by embracing public debate and placing more power to make the decisions that affect people's lives into the hands of the Chinese people that the Chinese government has the opportunity to relieve the tremendous pressure it is under. And by making these decisions, inevitably China will also play a more responsible, and less self centered, role on the world stage.



Information is power. And with the internet, mobile phones, text messaging, education, trade, and greater travel abroad, the Chinese people have had a taste of freedom. And they like what they see. The Chinese government has a fundamental decision to make. It can swim against the tidal wave, or it can surf it in to shore. I believe that inevitably, we will see vibrant democracy take root in China. And my time in prison only reaffirmed and strengthened my resolve to continue this struggle.

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Note that the above is an excerpt. The full transcript has been placed into the CSN Blog for readers who want the contextual remarks.

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Published August 22, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

The sound of justice reaches China from afar

Timothy Cooper reminds China
of the sound of justice

Marking July 20's eighth anniversary of Falun Gong persecution,
from Washington DC's Mall, Timothy Cooper delivered this speech
with live broadcasting into China

By Timothy Cooper
Executive Director of Worldrights

Friends of China, friends in China,

Contemporary Chinese writer Zhang Kangkang has written, “A country that cannot use today in order to examine yesterday will have no tomorrow.”

This truth-as immutable as the laws of nature-stands as the single greatest impediment to the welcome rise of China as a player on the world stage today. No matter how many billions of Yuan the CCP sold in cheap exports last year, no matter how many high-rises it builds in Shanghai this year, and no matter how many tens of thousands of sports fans it entertains at the Beijing Olympics next year, China will have no tomorrow until the CCP is held accountable for its horrific crimes against the Chinese people.

It is long overdue. By all that is right and just in this world, its leaders must be brought before the bar because the Chinese people are entitled to render a verdict on a regime that is as merciless as it is cruel.

For the millions of victims who died, and for the millions who survived and remember what they were made to endure, the CCP's era of impunity must end. If for no other reason than for them to be able to answer their children when they ask: What did you do to remember the victims? What did you do to make sure that it never happens again?

Friends of China, friends in China, it's time for you to sound the call. Let your word go forth: “Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. This court will come to order-Let the trials begin-It's time for the CCP to stand before the bar to answer for its crimes!”

First on the docket: The People v. the “Anti-Rightist Campaign”. Let the writers, doctors, teachers, students, and journalists who were humiliated and persecuted, separated from their families and sent to impoverished villages far and wide to labor hard, rise to take the witness stand. Let them testify to CCP's crimes. And let the CCP defend itself, if it can…

Because it's time for the CCP to stand before the bar to answer for its crimes.

Next: The People v. the Cultural Revolution. Let the so-called counter-revolutionaries, teachers, and political dissidents who were made enemies of the state for preaching social idealism and then beaten, jailed and tormented, rise to take the witness stand. Let them testify to CCP's crimes. And let the CCP defend itself, if it can...

Because it's time for the CCP to stand before the bar to answer for its crimes.

Next: Students of Tiananmen Square v. the Deng Xiaoping, et al. Let the students who survived Tiananmen Square, those who saw their fellow students shot and killed, those students who were jailed and remain in jail today, those who were forced to flee their country and live in exile far from their families, rise to take the witness stand. Let them testify to CCP's crimes. And let the CCP defend itself, if it can...

Because it's time for the CCP to stand before the bar to answer for its crimes.

And finally: Falun Gong v. the CCP. Let the millions of Falun Gong, those who were fired from their jobs, had businesses destroyed, were kicked out of schools and universities, were evicted from their homes, had their families ruined, were hunted down, harassed and abused, and sent to reeducation through labor camps, where they were brainwashed, tortured, starved, and learned-horror of horrors-of other Falun Gong practitioners who had their organs harvested, let them rise to take the stand. Let them testify to CCP's crimes. And let the CCP defend itself, if it can…

Because it's time for the CCP to stand before the bar to answer for its crimes.

Let the court hear from Beijing university student, Alex Hsu, who was tortured and brainwashed and forced to renounce his practice of Falun Gong at the direction of the 610 Office. Let the court hear from Falun Gong practitioner, James Ouyang, who is too afraid-even now-to use his real name, about how he was beaten so often and so badly by the Chinese police that he was forced to denounce Falun Gong just to survive. Let the court listen to his words about his experience "…I have seen the worst of what man can do. We really are the worst animals on Earth."

Let them rise to testify to CCP's crimes. And allow the CCP to defend itself, if it can...

Only the Chinese People can take this momentous step. Only you can-as the ancient saying goes-“startle the Heavens and move the gods”. But if you do, those of us you see and hear today are ready to stand with you, to help you startle the Heavens and move the gods. And when justice is done, when the CCP is relegated to history, we will walk into tomorrow together.

Xie Xie.

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Published July 20, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Are Vietnam Dissidents Having a Tiananmen-style situation?

July 18, 2007 (CSN) -- Note. CSN is passing along the following report that originates from a Vietnamese-American group. While we believe the group (vietnamvote.net, an ethnic Vietnamese bloc of American voters) to be credible, we have not independently corroborated the news within. The CSN is passing this along on an "FYI" basis and does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of this journalism.

In 1989 the Tiananmen Square protests were a series of protests led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in China.

[Ed note. The Tiananmen protests were a seven week uprising, centering on Tiananmen Square in Beijing China, and supported around the Chinese nation. Led by college students, the unarmed civilians called for less corruption, more freedom, and democracy in China. The Communist Chinese government responded by sending in the army and used troops, tanks, and live ammunition to clear Tiananmen Square, resulting in a cowardly one sided fight in which 3,001 innocent civilian protestors were killed, by CSN's estimate.]

In 2007 history may be about to repeat in Vietnam with over 1700 Vietnamese peasants from 19 provinces peacefully protesting the illegal confiscation of their land and properties.

Since June 22nd, 2007, a growing number of peasant farmers have protested outside of the office of Vietnam Congress, at 194 Hoang Van Thu Street, Saigon. Their requests for meeting with communist officials went unanswered. While being disappointed, the protesters vowed not to give up as additional protesters from other provinces are coming in Saigon to join in the protest.

By protesting, they all became homeless, sick, tired, and hungry and to discourage them, Vietnamese communist have shut down public restrooms and stopped other fellow countrymen from offering the protesters food, beverages and medicine.

According to sources from within Vietnam, Vietnamese communist has deployed armed police in uniformed in marked and unmarked vehicles surrounding the protestors, ready for an attack.

Vietnam communist government has turned off electricity, scrambled cellular phone signals, restricted media coverage, and deployed hundreds of military personnel with heavy equipment and military tanks ready for the crackdown and slaughter of the protesters.

The Vietnamese communist could begin the massacre at any moment.

Vietnamese Americans are pleading with all Americans, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, members of US Senate and Congress, and members of the media to take immediate actions in order to prevent another Tiananmen Square massacre from happening.

Thank you and God bless America!!!

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Published July 18, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Goddess of Democracy provides focus

Goddess of Democracy
Becomes Focal Point for
'Second June 4 Movement'

Recent rallies deliver ideas for China and criticism for
US President, IOC President, US media, HK media

July 6, 2007 (CSN) -- Tang Baiqiao, Chairman of the China Peace and Democracy Federation, is advocating that Chinese people should undertake a "second June 4 movement" to rid the nation of Communism. The first June 4 movement, led by Chinese college students in 1989, was itself a challenge to Communism. For several weeks of that year's springtime, Tiananmen Square was occupied by college students clamoring for less corruption, a free press, and more democracy. Streets all over China erupted with sympathy protests.

If Tang's call leads to a second uprising, the second June 4 movement is bound to be different than the first. In the first, students thought that reform was possible in a negotiated way, within the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) system. The CCP showed them just the opposite, going to unreasonable extremes in the Tiananmen Square massacre -- using troops, tanks, and live ammunition to retake Tiananmen Square. The China Support Network estimates that 3,001 people died in the Tiananmen crackdown. The CCP has also shown later depravity, with matters like the Falun Gong crackdown, the Internet crackdown, and the pre-Olympic crackdown.

The result is that Chinese dissidents are now less interested in a reform agenda, and more interested in an agenda to remove and replace the CCP -- entirely ridding China's politics of Communism. The interest to completely overcome Communism has been popularized by two recent campaigns, "jiuping" and "tuidang," that have been running since late 2004. Jiuping refers to the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party -- an editorial series published by the Epoch Times. Through the Nine Commentaries, the CCP becomes exposed in its diabolical and brutal methods, and in the pain, suffering, and damage that China has incurred under its rule. "It's a vivid expose," commented John Kusumi, President of the China Support Network. "The CCP comes across as evil, vile, and vicious. Just like the news used to say about the Soviet Union, and just like CSN has been saying about the CCP all along." The Nine Commentaries became a book, widely smuggled around inside China.

Upon reconsidering the Communist Party, many Chinese people are shocked -- and proceed to take the next step as advocated by the tuidang ("Quit the Party") campaign. The tuidang campaign runs a web site at which statements of resignation are posted. Thus far, over 23 million Chinese people have taken them up on the opportunity to do so.

Kusumi noted, "That suggests that one third of the membership of the CCP has walked out. Others may remain fearful, but clearly there is a shift as Chinese people have overcome their fear, and begun to condemn the party openly." One side effect is that the tuidang campaign has prompted some defectors from high level positions (for example, diplomat Chen Yonglin left his post at a Chinese consulate in Australia). The high profile defectors have tended to turn around, speak out, and spill more ugly details about the Communist Party. This encourages more withdrawals, resignations, and defections -- adding a positive feedback cycle into the tuidang campaign. The number of those separated from the party has only climbed as time progresses in the campaign.

On July 2, 2007, the China Peace and Democracy Federation rallied at the new Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC. The new Memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007, with a speech by U.S. President George Bush. The Memorial has a replica statue of the Goddess of Democracy, the figure first raised in Tiananmen Square by college students in the first June 4 movement of 1989. The Chinese army's mechanized assault on the unarmed demonstrators also crushed the first statue under tank treads; but now, the statue is back, in bronze, in Washington, DC.

"There is some powerful symbolism implied by that statue," commented Kusumi. "When it appeared the first time, it projected a message of defying and challenging Communism, and was a slap in the face to that regime. It still does, and it still is. I looked at the news coverage from the recent rally, and there is a politically charged edginess, where that statue is now 'in the shot.' The Communists are fearful of that statue, for its political symbolism. It represents their shame, and injustice perpetrated at their hands. And, it still represents the hope of a generation, for freedom."

The trend to rally for freedom with the statue developed further the next day. A New York-based contingent of the China Democracy Party rallied at the same location, expressing thanks to President Bush for dedicating the Memorial, and pledging resistance to overcome the tyranny of the CCP. Both rallies were addressed by CSN's President John Kusumi. CSN is developing a cross-movement joint structure called the "Freedom First, Olympics Second" coalition. "The big day for that coalition will be August 8, 2007 -- one year prior to the slated opening of Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games. Details will follow, but I recommend reading my speech for a slam-dunk case against the Olympics in Beijing. If I may say so, by the extent of three paragraphs into the speech, the Beijing Olympics are on the ropes!"

In addition to the International Olympic Committee, others came in for criticism. Kusumi notes, "In the case of George Bush, he gets a thank you for dedicating the Memorial; but, I proceed to note that the game in Washington is to speak of Communism in the past tense, so as to avoid any necessity to address the evils of Communism in the present tense. This is also known as the 'free pass' for Beijing to commit atrocities. Bush dedicated the Memorial, but he also hewed to that insidious game of Washington. So, while dissidents thank him, I gave him a rhetorical hard shove. This is division of labor. I feel that both the thanks and the criticism are deserved and well placed."

In a recent letter, dissident Ni Yuxian gave a better review to George Bush on his June 12 speech dedicating the Memorial. "Your remarks are a great encouragement for the Chinese people who are struggling for the freedom. I hereby would like to express my heartfelt respect to you," he wrote in a letter addressed to the White House, dated July 3 and shared with CSN the same day. Ni also praised remarks that Bush made in Prague.  Yet, his thank you was balanced with a plea for more support. "The freedom of the Chinese people must get support from the free countries. Mr. President, I therefore request you exercise pressure on the Chinese Communist rulers and urge them to change their one-party dictatorship."

In a public statement at the July 3 rally, dissidents noted-- "We have no freedom of speech, no freedom of assembly, no freedom of beliefs. We do not have freedom to select government and social system. We do not have freedom of gathering, no freedom of migration. We have to be subjected to the abuses of the Chinese Communist Party submissively. In addition, we lost our basic rights as human beings. We do not have money to go to school. We lost our land, we lost our jobs, we lost our houses. We are forced to perform dangerous work. We drink dangerous water and we breathe odious air. We have no place to ask for help. We have no place to file complaints. We are hopeless. We become victims of false prosperity. Moreover, the Communist Party controls all the propaganda and educational means to control our thoughts. ...the 1.3 billion of Chinese people are still under the brutal persecution of Communist totalitarian system." They also vowed to overcome the dictatorship and to establish government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Kusumi observed that "something is qualitatively different about this Memorial. Usually, memorials pertain to dead people. But, as the dissidents are reminding us, 1.3 billion victims of Communism are still alive in China. U.S. China policy is as good as leaving the Jews in the gas chambers!" The U.S. news media was also scorched by criticism in Kusumi's speech. "If you put this article and other matters discussed at the rally before an ordinary American news viewer, it's news to them. American news is mouse-quiet about all of the matters raised here. To discerning observers, that's a tip off."

Another rally participant, Dr. Sen Nieh, also criticized the Hong Kong media for not reporting recent deportations of Falun Gong practitioners. Evidently, the authorities of Hong Kong have begun to use a 'no fly' list to prohibit the entry of Falun Gong practitioners from elsewhere.

Related

Report by the Epoch Times (English)

Report by the Epoch Times (Chinese)

Report by New Tang Dynasty television (Chinese)

Reprint of speech by CSN's John Kusumi (The Conservative Voice, English)

(Duplicate) Reprint of speech by CSN's John Kusumi (OpEdNews.com, English)

(Duplicate) Blogger picked up Kusumi's speech (English)

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Published July 6, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

An Invitation to Washington

China's pro-democracy movement:

Washington event upcoming Monday, 7/2

Veteran figures will road test their political messages

at the new Victims of Communism Memorial -

featuring a statue of Tiananmen Square's Goddess of Democracy

June 29, 2007 (CSN) -- Less than a month after Washington, DC's new Victims of Communism Memorial was dedicated by U.S. President George Bush, an inevitable new trend is now getting under way. "A statue of the Goddess of Democracy gives us a new favored place at which to hold rallies in the cause of Chinese freedom," said John Kusumi, President of the China Support Network.

Kusumi will appear Monday, July 2, 2007 within a program sponsored by the China Peace and Democracy Federation (CPDF). Another veteran figure, Tang Baiqiao, now the Chairman of CPDF, is expected to appear and to likewise give a speech. The program at the Victims of Communism Memorial will run from 1pm - 2pm. The Memorial is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave., N.W., New Jersey Ave., N.W., and G Street, N.W., two blocks from Union Station.

The two campaigners will be road testing two political messages. Mr. Tang is expected to call for a "Second June 4 Campaign," one to echo the 1989 uprising for democratic reform in China, in which Tang himself was a leader of college students in Hunan province. Tang made world headlines in 1992, when he formed the All China People's Autonomous Federation. More recently he was Chairman of China Peace, which recently reorganized to become the China Peace and Democracy Federation -- the sponsor of Monday's event.

Mr. Kusumi is expected to press the theme of "Freedom First, Olympics Second," with the endorsement of Mr. Tang. The CSN is forming a coalition by the same name -- Freedom First, Olympics Second (FFOS). A formal announcement about the coalition and its makeup will not take place Monday, but related events are anticipated for late July and early August this summer.

Kusumi added, "Mr. Tang and I are in agreement that Olympics hosted by the Communist system are unacceptable. But conversely, if China held an election first, then Olympics hosted by a democratic system would be acceptable. This enables us to unify on the message, Freedom First, Olympics Second!"

U.S. President George Bush dedicating the Victims of Communism Memorial

in Washington, DC, June 12 2007. Behind him is a replica Goddess of Democracy statue,

first raised by Chinese college students in their Tiananmen Square democracy protests of 1989.

Tang Baiqiao in September 2003, announcing the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice	Tang Baiqiao in October 2003, campaigning with the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice

Newsmaker profile: Who is Tang Baiqiao? China's pro-democracy movement has a series of leaders who were "non-Beijing students," and yet led parts of the uprising that swept the nation in 1989. Examples include Arthur Liu, a student leader in Guangdong province, and Mike Hu, from Shanghai. CSN previously reported that "Liu was able to organize protests of between 500,000 and 1 million people." Outside of China in exile, these people have risen to further prominence as dissident leaders. For example, Liu became Chairman of the Chinese Republican Party. Tang Baiqiao fits into that category of "non-Beijing leaders" in the movement. In 1989, he was a student leader in Hunan province. In 1992, he formed the All China People's Autonomous Federation and the announcement was echoed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek magazine, and the South China Morning Post. More recently in exile, he was Chairman of the China Peace organization, subsequently renamed the China Peace and Democracy Federation. Tang was one of the earliest Chinese dissidents to embrace campaigns initiated by Falun Gong partisans, thereby forming a bridge between the Falun Gong camp, on the one hand, and the political dissident camp, on the other hand. This encouraged more crossover and cooperation between the two groups. In the result, he has esteem from both camps, and he has campaigned tirelessly and worked well in the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice, and in the jiuping ("Nine Commentaries") and tuidang ("Quit the Party") campaigns. Over 23 million people have tendered resignations from the Chinese Communist Party in the latter campaign. His new initiative, to encourage a "Second June 4 Campaign," is the subject of his speech to be given in Washington, DC at the Victims of Communism Memorial, on Monday July 2, 2007.

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Published June 29, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

CDP Takes The Lead

Chinese democracy movement
rises above its Inside Baseball

The news from CDP suggests that a highly competent
Xu Wenli is winning his high-stakes power play

By John P. Kusumi

DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT INSIDE BASEBALL

The Chinese pro-democracy movement has a lot of Inside Baseball -- internecine rivalry, dispute, disagreement and conflict -- that constantly threatens to backfire, and to reduce the public image of the movement into being merely the scene of an angry squabble, where leadership is impossible.

I have previously expressed my disappointment in the Tiananmen Generation Association, a group that might have carried on the voice of the leadership of 1989's pro-democracy uprising; it might have done so, but for the fact that the group could not agree to exist. (The group was first formed, and then suspended operation.)

As a campaigner who works in the China Support Network to boost and support Chinese dissidents and related activities, I have been privileged to meet numerous Chinese dissidents -- both the top leaders, and the rank-in-file dissidents -- at numerous occasions. The China Support Network has always enjoyed high-level access and the ability to contribute work, both actual and suggested, to the dissident activities in exile overseas ("Overseas" means outside of China).

It means that I have been privileged to meet them, but I have also seen the result of their political and competitive instincts. When I ask a Chinese dissident about any other top Chinese dissident, I do not hear any recognition of why the second dissident is prominent or esteemed. In fact, it is impossible to talk about the wider group of dissident leaders, because no matter what question is asked, the response is an answer to a different question: "What are the negatives about this person? Why should this person be discounted, disregarded, or disrespected as a leader?" Please remember, that I don't ask these latter two questions. I simply hear the answer.

Therefore, it is my experience that if you ask a dissident about another dissident, you will hear a personal, ad-hominem trashing of the second dissident, and this is the natural first instinct of too many Chinese dissidents. I don't want to name names, nor to give real-world examples here, but imagine a hypothetical dissident named Xing Guizhen. And suppose that Xing Guizhen is the leader of a group called FCDCCSS, the Free China Democracy Coalition of Chinese Students and Scholars. Another Chinese dissident might say, "Well, I support the FCDCCSS, but I oppose Xing Guizhen. Xing Guizhen tried to open a Chinese laundry and failed; that resulted from his bad judgment and failed management / leadership skills." The negative point gets the attention; never mind if Xing Guizhen is in the news receiving a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Is there any better esteem for another dissident? My example could continue. I could ask, "What about the famous Tiananmen Square leader, Xin Luchaixi?" I would be told, "First, he misappropriated money at Tiananmen Square. Then, he misappropriated money at FCDCCSS." To observers outside the circle of Chinese dissidents (the general public), Xin Luchaixi may be a phenomenal hero, famous for stopping tanks at Tiananmen Square. But inside the circle, his name is mud, and they don't care about heroism or esteem from the outside world (the general public).

Some of this is sour-grapes jealous carping from people with less public prominence, directed against people with more public prominence. No one can ever take away the fame that is attached to people like Wang Dan and Harry Wu. Others who are less famous may naturally have a condition that may be called "sore runner-up syndrome." They can speak reasons why the person in question really does not deserve such fame and prominence. But, public perception does not change based on gripes and grumbling uttered in private. The wider community still holds a place for the famous public figures. They have the kiss of being media darlings.

This is what I call democracy movement Inside Baseball, and it is the reason why cooperation seems impossible -- even to be discussed, inside the movement.

XU WENLI MAKES HIS MOVE

Usually, maneuvers within the democracy movement are not loud enough to impact U.S. public perceptions. On June 4 and 5, 2007, dissident Xu Wenli held a First Party Congress of the China Democracy Party in Providence, Rhode Island. The Congress adopted a Declaration of "China's Third Republic," an expression of intent to build a third republic while respecting the work, effort, and legacy of two earlier attempts (1911 and 1946) to make a democratic Chinese republic.

This time, it was loud enough to impact the public face of the democracy movement, in English, as observed by the U.S. public. Mainstream U.S. news outlets including the Providence Journal and Channel 10, a Rhode Island affiliate of the NBC network, covered the Congress. (At the China Support Network, we have adjusted our "splash page," the first one seen at www.chinasupport.net. It shows a Chinese dissident waving a copy of the Providence Journal on the second day of the Congress. By following links at the splash page, one read the Providence Journal story, or view the Channel 10 story.)

The Rhode Island news coverage stands out, because Chinese democracy rarely gets attention in the American news. As such, this was a public relations victory for the entire movement. It is also noteworthy in light of the movement's Inside Baseball. With the usual bickering in the movement, what are the odds that a news story comes out and makes the movement appear to be professional, competent, and unified? --The Rhode Island coverage made no mention of splits, divisions, back biting, recrimination, and Balkanization at our movement. Why? Because it was "top line" coverage, looking at the major points of our situation, and reporters had no time to study, research, or look up the Inside Baseball.

To overlook the Inside Baseball is actually good editorial judgment. If we prefer a movement of progress, rather than gridlock, we must embrace occasions like this, when the news reports progress. Xu Wenli is to be congratulated for holding a successful Congress, even if it was an "invitation only" exclusive group of hand-picked dissidents. The Rhode Island reporters are to be thanked for making us look good. As we know from my discussion of Inside Baseball, above, any story could be told in a way that is more dark. The Rhode Island reporters "took the high road," something that I wish Chinese dissidents themselves would do. To give credit where credit is due, and to acknowledge the legitimate standing of other dissidents -- that is a habit of "larger men," and I wish that Chinese dissidents would take up that habit. To be the bigger man means that one must acknowledge the actual significance of actual work by others, even if the "other" is a rival, competitor, opponent, or is to be found with a differing stance, "across the aisle" politically.

In his remarks, Xu Wenli acknowledged that China's political opposition has many factions. His CDP Congress brought together the leaders of other parties -- the Chinese Labor Party and the China Social Democratic Party were each participants in the Congress, through their representatives who were given time on the floor with a microphone to speak. (The Chinese Republican Party was notably absent, as was the "Mainland KMT," or Nationalist Party.) The presence of the other parties was not hidden -- but, it was overlooked by the American reporters who didn't pick up the nuance. They reported "the news at first blush," which was a CDP Party Congress. If they reported "the news at second blush," then they would be covering the Inside Baseball of the Chinese democracy movement.

Baskin Robbins is a store that is famous for having 31 flavors of ice cream. If there is a child who likes chocolate ice cream, he or she might walk into Baskin Robbins and say, "Hey -- there's chocolate ice cream!" That is what the American reporters recently did. Someone else might walk in and say, "Hey -- there are 31 flavors of ice cream here!" An intellectual could take exception with the American reporting, because of the 30 additional flavors of Chinese dissent that we have in the store. But, the situation worked in favor of Xu Wenli and the China Democracy Party, who may feel like "the cat who swallowed the canary."

In a victory of public relations, Xu Wenli bolstered his standing as perhaps the top leading Chinese dissident at work today. The CDP became the leading public face of the Chinese democracy movement. (And meanwhile elsewhere -- in Japan during the Congress -- Wei Jingsheng was having a public relations disaster. He was arrested upon trying to enter Japan for a June 4 commemoration.)

IMPACTFUL FROM HERE TO BEIJING

The Providence Journal story included this note-- "An audio broadcast of yesterday’s events...was sent out over the Internet. It was unclear if residents of mainland China had access to the Web cast, although it seems certain that one way or another, accounts of the congress will reach the country."

I will add my own anecdote. There is a citizen in Beijing whose name I will protect by calling him Hank. Hank reports that he got word of Xu Wenli's successful Congress, and added, "some friends around me heard the real time broadcasting from the internet." We can see from my anecdote that the "free China" community was paying attention to the event. Therefore, we should all sit up and take notice of the recent contributions, given by Xu Wenli to the movement.

A PLAN FOR CHINESE DEMOCRACY

It is easy to find disagreement in the Chinese democracy movement, by asking about the vision of a future China. Three questions are obvious questions, but they get a variety of answers: (1.) What should be the name of the future Chinese nation? (2.) What should be the flag of the future Chinese nation? (3.) What should be the Constitution of the future Chinese nation? Any one of these questions will reveal a diversity of opinion. About the name, some people want a "United States of China." Other names bandied around include "Democratic Federal Republic of China," the "Free Republic of China," or simply ROC -- a return to the Republic of China as once existed earlier. Likewise, the movement has more than one flag, and more than one Constitution, sitting on the shelf as contenders for consideration.

However, most people in the movement lack the stature to make their choice "stick" among the others. Our community can point to a string of failures, where one dissident or another tried to make a government-in-exile -- Hua Xiazi ("Linda") and her DROC; Peng Ming and his China Federation Foundation; Zhang Hongbao and his China Shadow Government. These efforts failed to "stick" because they were vehicles for an individual to have a fiefdom. They did not attract wide participation or "political buy in," hence they failed to represent the whole democracy movement. For that matter my group, CSN, issued its Road Map To Democracy, a similar plan, which met with a similar fate. Without wide participation or "political buy in," we cannot say that it is the will of the democracy movement.

With its recent Congress, the CDP did something interesting. It answered all of questions (1.), (2.), and (3.) and then it stopped short of forming a government-in-exile. The Chinese democracy movement now has "default answers" for (1.) What is the name of the future Chinese nation? (Republic of China.) (2.) What is the flag of the future Chinese nation? (See ROC flag as in 1947.) (3.) What is the Constitution of the future Chinese nation? (See ROC Constitution as in 1947.)

The three questions are answered, but CDP denies that the Third Republic of China is a government-in-exile.

It was politically astute for Xu Wenli to move in this way. In an environment where the movement's dissidents would never agree on anything else, Xu reached for the model provided by history. Chinese dissidents do respect, admire, and honor the work done by the earlier founders of the Republic of China. Xu leveraged that earlier work, and has stepped into a role as the enforcer of China's earlier government. The Third Republic of China carries with it the weight and the authority of an earlier Chinese government, and by adding new life to China's old clothes, there is a powerful blend. It amplifies the voice and moral authority of Xu Wenli and the CDP in general.

As it turns out, Xu Wenli had the stature to "swing" this much, and to make the event a success. As I say, he is to be congratulated for his achievement.

TIME TABLES OF HISTORY

The CDP Party Congress further underscored a political tract that CDP first released in May, 2006. It is the "Proposed Direction and Timeline to the Chinese Government for the Implementation of Political Reform in the People’s Republic of China." The proposal states that this year (2007), the Chinese government should release prisoners of conscience and allow the exiled dissidents to return to China. If the PRC/CCP government makes that goodwill gesture, then in turn the CDP and those it influences would allow the 2008 Olympics to be held without the expected protest which is otherwise coming. That would be a reciprocal gesture of goodwill from the pro-democracy forces.

Further along CDP's timeline in Fall, 2009, a "Future of China Conference" should be held in Beijing, and should authorize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 2010. The document calls for the CCP and political opposition factions to establish working groups for the Future of China Conference, and calls for delegations from these working groups to meet in earnest dialogue, this year and next (2007 / 2008). Even if the United Nations must mediate these discussions, CDP wants them to prepare "the topics, schedules, and implementation" of its proposed Future of China Conference. Among political factions to be included at the conference, the CDP wants Taiwanese, Tibetans, Falun Gong, and June 4 (Tiananmen Square) victims to be represented.

The document calls for Hong Kong to have direct elections for its chief executive in 2008. Also, a "News Publication Law" to take effect in 2009 would allow freedom of the press in the Mainland from that time forward. The document suggests that one or two provinces be designated "Early Political Reform Provinces," with direct elections at city and county levels by 2010, and province-level elections by 2011.

The Providence Journal, in reporting from the CDP Party Congress, said "the CDP has set a goal of becoming a legal party in China by the year 2015 — and of becoming the ruling party by 2020." Actually, many Chinese seem to have a superstition about the year 2012. There is a widely shared expectation of Chinese democracy by that year. Perhaps because "the fourth generation" of Chinese leadership must give way to the fifth: the Tiananmen generation. Also, many people feel that 2011 is a fitting target date, because of the centennial of the 1911 Revolution. If Chinese politics found its way to freedom and stability on solid footing, then the prior century would become known as "the Hundred Years Revolution" -- a revolution rudely interrupted by such things as World War II, Civil War, and Communism. The latter led to the PRC's empire of lies, which continues today.

NOT A VIOLENT REVOLUTION

China should count itself fortunate to have Xu Wenli as its rising dissident / opposition leader. Very clearly, he has studied history extensively. His approach is intellectual so that it remains principled and pure. Xu's forethought about an opposition party stretches back more than 20 years. With most men, if you offered to make him a king, he would accept. Departures from that tendency are rare -- George Washington is the obvious example of a man who was offered to be a king, and he preferred (chose of his own volition) to be a democrat. Xu Wenli strikes me as similarly inclined. He has suggested a standard whereby participants in the Constitutional Convention would foreswear the subsequent holding of political office. And, he has indicated that he would sooner work on constitutional issues, rather than be President of China. In this way, he is showing more concern for future generations than for personal gain in his own lifetime.

Through Xu Wenli, the Chinese democracy movement is keeping its character as a non-violent movement. In its prisons, China is holding two dissidents -- Peng Ming and Wang Bingzhang -- who, if they were free, might be more favorably inclined to the use of force and paramilitary actions. For those, such as the Communists, who value stability, the approach of Xu Wenli allows for a transition, rather than a revolution and a sharp break with the past. Because he remains open to following the path of transition, Xu is being cagey and straddling the fence on many issues.

It remains to be seen whether the Communists will play ball, but they have unique pressure due to the upcoming 2008 Olympics. If they want smooth Olympics rather than a riot, the CDP is offering a path to the achievement of that objective. The press and public relations surrounding the Olympics has been sliding in a negative direction -- recently, it grows uglier and uglier. The rioters are getting ready. Everyone is looking for a goodwill gesture from the CCP. A failed Olympics would be the end of the CCP, whether or not they are cooperating and playing ball.

The China Support Network, the Falun Gong, and many related groups are preparing to announce their stepped up push for an Olympic boycott on August 8, 2007. The announcement is inevitable, unless the CCP comes through with a goodwill gesture as suggested in the 2006 CDP document to the PRC government. The time is now for the CCP to decide about the end of Falun Gong persecution, and the release of its prisoners of conscience. A decision that stops Falun Gong persecution would be a clear signal that Hu Jintao's group has won the power struggle with the faction headed by former PRC President Jiang Zemin. Indeed, the absence of that decision suggests that Jiang Zemin is still in charge and protecting his legacy. (It was Jiang's decision, late in his tenure, to begin Falun Gong persecution. Hence, this continued pain for China is Jiang's legacy and has been saddled to the administration of Hu Jintao.)

On the public relations front, thanks in part to the CDP, dissidents and those who question the Olympics are gaining the upper hand. The movement has continued to build the case against the CCP regime -- including damning confirmation from the United Nations about the regime's practice of harvesting organs from unwilling Falun Gong prisoners. And, U.S. President George W. Bush recently dedicated a new Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC. China is having one PR setback after another. The Olympics are clearly under threat based on these human rights concerns.

By the time that Chinese Communists figure out their political calculus, it turns out that they would do well by accepting Xu Wenli, the CDP, and the Third Republic of China. There are yet more reasons why their back is to the wall, politically. The CDP Congress was blessed with auspicious timing, due to the many other factors surrounding Chinese politics. He may not be a democrat, but Hu Jintao is a smart man. It may be politically expedient for him to become a democrat.

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Published June 15, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Victims of Communism Memorial Dedicated

Victims of Communism
Remembered and Memorialized

George W. Bush dedicates a memorial in Washington, DC
featuring Tiananmen Square's "Goddess of Democracy"

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks at Victims
of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC, June 12, 2007

Remarks by George W. Bush

June 12, 2007

Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Dr. Edwards, thanks for your kind words. Congressman Lantos -- no better friend to freedom, by the way; Congressman Rohrabacher, the same. Members of the Czech and Hungarian parliaments; ambassadors; distinguished guests; and more importantly, the survivors of Communist oppression, I'm honored to join you on this historic day. (Applause.)

And here in the company of men and women who resisted evil and helped bring down an empire, I proudly accept the Victims of Communism Memorial on behalf of the American people. (Applause.)

The 20th century will be remembered as the deadliest century in human history. And the record of this brutal era is commemorated in memorials across this city. Yet, until now, our Nation's Capital had no monument to the victims of imperial Communism, an ideology that took the lives of an estimated 100 million innocent men, women and children. So it's fitting that we gather to remember those who perished at Communism's hands, and dedicate this memorial that will enshrine their suffering and sacrifice in the conscience of the world.

Building this memorial took more than a decade of effort, and its presence in our capital is a testament to the passion and determination of two distinguished Americans: Lev Dobriansky, whose daughter Paula is here -- (applause) -- give your dad our best. And Dr. Lee Edwards. (Applause.) They faced setbacks and challenges along the way, yet they never gave up, because in their hearts, they heard the voices of the fallen crying out: "Remember us."

These voices cry out to all, and they're legion. The sheer numbers of those killed in Communism's name are staggering, so large that a precise count is impossible. According to the best scholarly estimate, Communism took the lives of tens of millions of people in China and the Soviet Union, and millions more in North Korea, Cambodia, Africa, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, and other parts of the globe.

Behind these numbers are human stories of individuals with families and dreams whose lives were cut short by men in pursuit of totalitarian power. Some of Communism's victims are well-known. They include a Swedish diplomat named Raoul Wallenberg, who saved 100,000 Jews from the Nazis, only to be arrested on Stalin's orders and sent to Moscow's Lubyanka Prison, where he disappeared without a trace. They include a Polish priest named Father Popieluszko, who made his Warsaw church a sanctuary for the Solidarity underground, and was kidnaped, and beaten, and drowned in the Vitsula by the secret police.

The sacrifices of these individuals haunt history -- and behind them are millions more who were killed in anonymity by Communism's brutal hand. They include innocent Ukrainians starved to death in Stalin's Great Famine; or Russians killed in Stalin's purges; Lithuanians and Latvians and Estonians loaded onto cattle cars and deported to Arctic death camps of Soviet Communism. They include Chinese killed in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; Cambodians slain in Pol Pot's Killing Fields; East Germans shot attempting to scale the Berlin Wall in order to make it to freedom; Poles massacred in the Katyn Forest; and Ethiopians slaughtered in the "Red Terror"; Miskito Indians murdered by Nicaragua's Sandinista dictatorship; and Cuban balseros who drowned escaping tyranny. We'll never know the names of all who perished, but at this sacred place, Communism's unknown victims will be consecrated to history and remembered forever.

We dedicate this memorial because we have an obligation to those who died, to acknowledge their lives and honor their memory. The Czech writer Milan Kundera once described the struggle against Communism as "the struggle of memory against forgetting." Communist regimes did more than take their victims' lives; they sought to steal their humanity and erase their memory. With this memorial, we restore their humanity and we reclaim their memory. With this memorial, we say of Communism's innocent and anonymous victims, these men and women lived and they shall not be forgotten. (Applause.)

We dedicate this memorial because we have an obligation to future generations to record the crimes of the 20th century and ensure they're never repeated. In this hallowed place we recall the great lessons of the Cold War: that freedom is precious and cannot be taken for granted; that evil is real and must be confronted; and that given the chance, men commanded by harsh and hateful ideologies will commit unspeakable crimes and take the lives of millions.

It's important that we recall these lessons because the evil and hatred that inspired the death of tens of millions of people in the 20th century is still at work in the world. We saw its face on September the 11th, 2001. Like the Communists, the terrorists and radicals who attacked our nation are followers of a murderous ideology that despises freedom, crushes all dissent, has expansionist ambitions and pursues totalitarian aims. Like the Communists, our new enemies believe the innocent can be murdered to serve a radical vision. Like the Communists, our new enemies are dismissive of free peoples, claiming that those of us who live in liberty are weak and lack the resolve to defend our free way of life. And like the Communists, the followers of violent Islamic radicalism are doomed to fail. (Applause.) By remaining steadfast in freedom's cause, we will ensure that a future American President does not have to stand in a place like this and dedicate a memorial to the millions killed by the radicals and extremists of the 21st century.

We can have confidence in the power of freedom because we've seen freedom overcome tyranny and terror before. Dr. Edwards said President Reagan went to Berlin. He was clear in his statement. He said, "tear down the wall," and two years later the wall fell. And millions across Central and Eastern Europe were liberated from unspeakable oppression. It's appropriate that on the anniversary of that speech, that we dedicate a monument that reflects our confidence in freedom's power.

The men and women who designed this memorial could have chosen an image of repression for this space, a replica of the wall that once divided Berlin, or the frozen barracks of the Gulag, or a killing field littered with skulls. Instead, they chose an image of hope -- a woman holding a lamp of liberty. She reminds us of the victims of Communism, and also of the power that overcame Communism.

Like our Statue of Liberty, she reminds us that the flame for freedom burns in every human heart, and that it is a light that cannot be extinguished by the brutality of terrorists or tyrants. And she reminds us that when an ideology kills tens of millions of people, and still ends up being vanquished, it is contending with a power greater than death. (Applause.) She reminds us that freedom is the gift of our Creator, freedom is the birthright of all humanity, and in the end, freedom will prevail. (Applause.)

I thank each of you who made this memorial possible for your service in freedom's cause. I thank you for your devotion to the memory of those who lost their lives to Communist terror. May the victims of Communism rest in peace. May those who continue to suffer under Communism find their freedom. And may the God who gave us liberty bless this great memorial and all who come to visit her.

God bless. (Applause.)

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Published June 13, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Third Republic of China Declared

"China's Third Republic"
Declaration passes at
CDP Party Congress

JPK reports from the site of
the CDP First Party Congress
in Rhode Island

By John P. Kusumi

June 4 is that day in every year that is the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown and massacre, as occurred in Beijing, China on June 4, 1989. That makes it a busy time for Chinese dissidents.

This year it was more busy than usual. Xu Wenli, a leading Chinese dissident who was a co-founder of the China Democracy Party (an opposition political party founded in Mainland China in 1998), chose June 4 of this year to open the First Party Congress, convened by the China Democracy Party United Headquarters - Overseas Division. (Note. Xu Wenli is among the dissidents now in exile, hence "overseas" to China. After his 2002 arrival in exile, Xu became a professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.)

Three more items this year made June 4 into a "busy news day" in the Chinese democracy movement.

The key public communique from the CDP Party Congress is the Declaration of China's Third Republic. This informs observers as to the intended shape of China's future, as envisioned by dissidents in the CDP. The vision held out is one that adheres closely to the Republic of China as it existed before the Communist Party took over in 1949. It may be a fair summary to say that CDP wants to "restore" the Republic of China.

The Declaration that was approved by the Party Congress on June 4, 2007 is a short three sentences. The text says--

"We shall pursue the spirit and tradition of the leaders of the Revolution of 1911 and their creation of 'Asia's First Republic.' We shall acknowledge and respect the 1946 People’s Constitutional Convention and the establishment of the Second Republic. And we solemnly declare our aspiration to build a Third Republic based on the principles of freedom, equality, human rights and constitutional democracy."

As seen above, the Declaration becomes the guiding star of the China Democracy Party, and will be added into the Party Constitution. Other orders of business at the Party Congress include the Party Constitution and leadership.

Also, this author gave "this year's June 4 speech" to the Congress, the third rendition of that speech in as many days. U.S. President George W. Bush was scolded for a third time for his weakness in the face of Communist China. (For web readers, see the speech in a separate blog post. For email readers, the speech is appended. See below.)

The speeches were incidental to dissident events -- there remains a second item beyond the Congress that made June 4 into a "busy news day" in the Chinese democracy movement. That other item is the arrest of Wei Jingsheng, another leading Chinese dissident known as "China's most famous dissident."

Wei traveled to Japan on June 1, expecting to speak at a gathering related to the Tiananmen Square crackdown. He never made it to his expected speaking engagement on June 3, 2007. Japanese customs police at Narita airport arrested him upon his arrival in Japan. Japan's government actually cared to stop Wei from speaking at the Tokyo observance of the Tiananmen anniversary. Apparently, there is a special variety of Japanese visa for which Wei did not apply. Instead, he sought "permission for landing in transit" on his way to Guam. This type of entry is routinely granted in Japan; evidently, someone in that government saw fit to object to Wei's attendance at a June 4 memorial observance.

I first heard the news during the June 2 rally, opposite China's embassy in Washington, while I waited to speak. Dr. Quan Nguyen was speaking, as a Vietnamese dissident offering solidarity to Chinese dissidents. (Vietnamese freedom lovers join in protest of the Tiananmen Square massacre.) From his speech, these words: "Before I finish my piece, I heard the bad news that our great friend Wei Jingsheng was arrested yesterday at the airport in Japan. I and my organization [the International Committee to Support the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam] join with our friends, our Chinese friends, to protest [to] the Japanese government."

That same evening, the news appeared in emails from the Wei Jingsheng Foundation. At this writing, late on June 4 (U.S. east coast time), the disposition of Wei Jingsheng is unresolved. Japan is being accused of mistreating him. Concerned people can contact the Japanese embassy in the USA at 1-202-238-6700, or fax 1-202-328-2187. The Narita customs office in Japan is reachable at 81-476-326-848.

A third item, beyond the Congress, which made June 4 memorable was the arrest of 200 protestors at Tiananmen Square itself. They attempted to gather to commemorate the 18th anniversary of that massacre. Chinese police arrested all of them. Even so, the appearance of 200 people for that purpose speaks of brazen and open dissent. China is in fact changing. Dissidents in this year's gatherings have spoken about how many web postings show open contempt for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China's internet police cannot erase the messages as quickly as they are posted. For the CCP, the gig is just about up.

When time permits, I will write a "think piece" of analysis, about the Third Republic of China and its meaning in the Chinese democracy movement. For now, I will sign off -- "In Providence, Rhode Island, this is your roving reporter. Back to you."

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Published June 4, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Speech delivered at Tiananmen Anniversary, 6/2/2007

CSN to China:
"This is unacceptable"

Speech by John P. Kusumi
June 2, 3, and 4, 2007

Hello once again; it's good to see the faces of those who care deeply about freedom, democracy, and human rights -- and for Mainland China specifically. At this gathering, we remember the travesty and the atrocity of China's June 4 massacre at Tiananmen Square. This is our annual candlelight vigil, where we remember the fallen -- the innocent civilian victims, gunned down by China's army on that ugly night in 1989.

This is where we remember, and we know that justice remains to be served in this atrocity that is without closure. We believe firmly that China's best days are still ahead of it -- that the light of freedom will come to that land which has been darkened and victimized by 58 years under the iron-fisted, totalitarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party.

This is a dark time in our fallen world. But our faith tells us that freedom is the right side of history, and the light of freedom will not be extinguished. We gather here at dusk, but rather than curse the darkness, we light a candle. Literally. That is our event here today. We do not let Communist China off the hook; we do not countenance extreme and flagrant human rights abuse; we do not appease the tyrants -- far from it, we demand justice and we insist on accountability.

Ours is a special community of freedom fighters. We are here to hold Communists' feet to the fire; and when our work is done, China's communists, dictators, tyrants and thugs will be brought to justice. As we witnessed the Tiananmen massacre 18 years ago, what we saw was a crime in progress: a crime against humanity, perpetrated by the Chinese government under the CCP. Experts agree that politically, China's government is unchanged in the intervening years, having achieved no progress on the path to reform, democracy, and justice. What that means is that today's political condition of China is unchanged. A crime is still in progress: a crime against humanity, perpetrated by the Chinese government under the CCP. Persecution and crackdowns continue unabated. China has yet to improve its human rights practices; it is in fact easy to argue that China under the CCP has gotten worse.

Those who value the Olympic spirit will not want it mixed and mingling amid crackdowns, persecution, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Editorials in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have already dubbed these 'the Genocide Olympics.' They can say that again! In fact, they should say that again -- once for the killing in Darfur, Sudan, where the Chinese Communist government is the biggest financial enabler for the Sudan regime that is committing genocide -- and they can say that AGAIN for the killing of Falun Gong practitioners, including grisly medical theft of organs for transplant -- in the case of China, we must speak of genocides, holocausts, and crimes against humanity in the plural. China's regime is so far beyond the pale that no upright nation in the free world should countenance the carnage; nor aid; nor abet the genocidal practices of that regime. (Like with trade -- trade indeed finances the carnage, enriches the regime, and fuels a nuclear-armed, communist superpower.)

There are reasons why we hear the slogan, "Stop the killing" so often from the various groups opposed to China's CCP government. --Did we know that Communist China is in the Guiness Book of World Records for mass murder? The record holder is not Hitler, and not Stalin, but rather Communist China -- and that regime is still in place today! It's not carnage in the history books, it's carnage in downtown Beijing right now, today as we speak!

"Stop the killing" is one good point. And for the leader of the free world, the right thing to say -- the correct response to China's carnage that is ongoing even today -- is to say, "This is unacceptable." In 1990 George H. Bush and Margaret Thatcher looked at Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and they said -- "This is unacceptable. This will not stand." They drew a line in the sand with moral clarity. --But, that was not their response to Tiananmen Square. To simply be clear and say to China, "this is unacceptable" -- that much remains to be heard out of the Executive Branch in Washington DC! I believe earnestly that the White House owes us one.

In fact, in the Tiananmen Square cause, we owe the White House a receipt. As long as I'm here facing the Chinese embassy, I can do the honors -- addressing myself to China:

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! Don't ask me to attend your Olympics, and don't ask me to buy any 'Made in China' products! The only Chinese item I might buy is Chinese food, unless it's got melamine. I will not be a tourist there, and I will not buy your goods. And furthermore, I have established America's China Support Network in order to support the students and the civilians of Tiananmen Square. We will keep alive the cause, and we will work with your dissidents until democracy comes to China. We insist that justice will be served."
In the face of such carnage and injustice on a massive scale, it boggles the mind that the United States Executive Branch has continued to run its bent, craven, and depraved U.S.-China policy. What does it say when, in the face of all of this, the White House cannot say, "This is unacceptable." America fought a 45 year Cold War to overcome Communism, where we know it's wrong; we know of its human rights abuse; we know of its disregard for human life, and its military threat to nearby free lands like Taiwan. What can explain U.S.-China policy? Why didn't George H. Bush say, "This is unacceptable?" Why didn't Bill Clinton say, "This is unacceptable?" Why hasn't George W. Bush said, "This is unacceptable?" What does it take for a U.S. President to space out, and to ignore this issue? Very clearly, if a U.S. President takes the carnage to be acceptable, that speaks of dereliction at the U.S. White House.

To miss the uptake and to fail to call it unacceptable -- to ignore all of this, it takes a wuss bunny of moral cowardice. And so we come to my opinion of three recent U.S. Presidents. On China, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have all been "wuss bunnies of moral cowardice." They couldn't be here this evening because none of those men has ever come out to a Tiananmen Square anniversary memorial. This is the issue where their skills of duck, dodge, avoid, evade, and deny come into play.

While they have their heads in the sand, we at this event still have the light of freedom burning with us. Justice will come with the dawn of a new day. China will be free. And may God bless the victims of atrocity and the dissidents who give voice to their concerns.

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Published June 3, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.

Remembering Tiananmen Square's Massacre

Remembering Tiananmen Square's
June 4 Massacre:

Is the U.S. President "a wuss bunny of moral cowardice"? Hear the answer, as IFCSS and CSN present the 18th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, to be memorialized with a candlelight vigil, Washington DC, Saturday, June 2, 2007

The 18th anniversary of the June 4 Massacre in Beijing is upon us. Along with other co-sponsoring organizations, the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the USA (IFCSS) and the China Support Network (CSN) will hold a candlelight vigil at the Chinese embassy in Washington DC.

The time is from 7pm to 8:45pm on Saturday, June 2, 2006. The place is in front of the Chinese embassy in the U.S., located at 2300 Connecticut Ave. NW, in Washington, DC. The candlelight vigil this year marks the 18th continuous year that this memorial event is held.

During the candlelight vigil, IFCSS will announce the winners of this year's Spirit of Freedom Award. The award recognizes Chinese who do not surrender themselves to dictatorship; who maintain independent thought and dignity; and who display human conscience and the spirit of freedom. Past awardees include Song ZhongQiu, who criticized Chinese Communism from his death bed, suffering terminal cancer; Hu ShiGen, organizer of the PFDC (Party for Freedom and Democracy in China) in 1991 in the wake of Tiananmen Square's Massacre; Jiang QiSheng, a leader of the 1989 pro-democracy uprising who has continued his fight to push for democracy in China; and last year's awardees, Yang TianShui and the three heroic workers who challenged Mao ZeDong during the 1989 uprising by splattering paint on the huge Mao portrait in Tiananmen Square.

Also during this year's vigil, CSN's President John Kusumi will (rhetorically) remove the gloves and take the fight to the U.S. President, with a speech very unforgiving of the faulty United States policy towards Communist China. Kusumi has a new appellation for the U.S. Presidents ever since Tiananmen Square's Massacre. In his formulation, they are "wuss bunnies of moral cowardice." It has taken 18 years of that cowardice to work up to the frothy state of frustration that drives Kusumi to also note that the U.S. President "lacks situational awareness." According to Kusumi, "This is just like the first days after Hurricane Katrina. There is carnage, and the U.S. President just doesn't display situational awareness ('doesn't get it'). On China, he has continued his predecessors' tradition of a blind eye for all of China's carnage. There is a reason why I am pointing the finger, and saying 'Here is a wuss bunny of moral cowardice.' Ditto for the AP (Associated Press) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee), who don't want to admit that carnage is taking place."

Members of IFCSS, CSN, and more co-sponsors will gather in Washington to attend this memorial activity. The CSN will also commemorate the massacre in New York on June 3 and in Providence on June 4.

The candlelight vigil this year marks the 18th continuous year that this movement has been commemorating Tiananmen Square's Massacre. We believe this annual event is not just a memorial to martyrs -- who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy in that troubled land called China -- but moreover, is a continuation of the Chinese Democracy Movement. This event expresses the Movement's firm belief in, and effort to achieve, freedom and democracy in China. We hope all friends of freedom, who support the Chinese Democracy Movement, will not forget about June 4. We invite active involvement and participation in the Chinese Democracy Movement. And, if you cannot be at one of these commemorative events, please light a candle and put it in your window to remember the June 4 Massacre. As ever, we thank you for your support.

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Published June 2, 2007 by the China Support Network (CSN). Begun as the American response group in 1989, CSN represents Americans who are "on the side" of the students in Tiananmen Square -- standing for democratic reform, human rights, and freedom in China. For dissident news; to support a stronger China policy; or get more information, see http://www.chinasupport.net/.