A Song for Chinese People

God Damn!
So unluck we are !
Scared of people's action become our deadly jail
CCP ~ fallen, and is disappearing,
We officers are escaping hurriedly
Fleeing!
Fleeing!
Fleeing!
We shall not be caught;
Grabbing people's money
Going!
Grabbing people's money
Going!
Going!
Going! Go!

Japan Is Wary of the Potential Threat from China

The contents of a new white paper by the official Japan defense Agency that devotes considerably more attention to the potential threat from China has major significance for Taiwan's own security.

Last Sunday, major Japanese media reported on the draft contents of the "defense of Japan 2005 White Paper," which will be officially presented to Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and his Cabinet in August.

The major feature of the annual white paper released this year by the Japan defense Agency is a considerable increase in discussion about the People's Republic of China and its emphasis on the close attention that Japan's Maritime Self-defense Force is paying to the actions of the PRC navy.

According to media reports, the white paper calls on Japan to heighten its alertness over the People's Republic of China's intensive efforts to promote military modernization and a rapid increase in military expenditures and adopt its own "active defense strategy" in response.

At the same time, the white paper noted that China's naval forces are adopting a strategy of outward projection to complement the exploration and development of offshore oil fields and also raises a warning to Tokyo to closely monitor the activities of PRC submarines.

Japanese concerned

The new defense report pointedly described how Tokyo reacted to last November's incursion into Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea by a PRC nuclear submarine.

It points out that the Japanese people are concerned about Chinese activities in Japan's territorial seas and that therefore "it is important that China makes its military activities transparent."

The new white paper obviously lists China as a factor that poses a threat to the security of the East Asian waters.

It is also worth noting that the new Japanese defense white paper points out that China's growth in military expenditures has exceeded the torrid rate of increase in the PRC's gross domestic product and has displayed double-digit expansion for 17 consecutive years.

The new white paper clearly stated that "China is at present continuing to adopt a military strategy of active defense" and frequently mentioned the "theory of the Chinese threat."

Its use of language such as "alert" and "pay attention" transparently signaled Tokyo's wariness about China's military modernization drive.

Military expansion

The People's Republic of China's continuous rapid expansion of military spending and upgrading as well as Beijing's declared refusal to abandon the possible use of force against Taiwan indicates that the threat posed by China to Taiwan is considerably greater than faced by Japan.

Since the late 1940s under the then Kuomintang regime, to the present Democratic Progressive Party administration, Taiwan has always carried out its own separate assessments of threats and our reaction plans in the Taiwan Strait and has over the past half century invested considerable resources in national defense.

However, in light of current trends, even if Taiwan devotes all of its central government budget to defense, it will still be unable to catch up with China's present level of military spending. We therefore need to engage in serious and rigorous rethinking about how to develop an effective response.

Taiwan's traditional strategic concepts are already obsolete and unsuitable for use in the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, given the yawning gap in the military power of the two sides.

Tri-literal cooperation

Taiwan should cooperate with the United States and Japan to develop ways to redress the imbalance of military force in the Taiwan Strait in order to form a competent defense against the various and multi-layered threats from the PRC's misnamed "People's Liberation Army."

Such cooperative efforts can not only enhance the security guarantees for the Asia-Pacific region, but also constitute the best choice for Taiwan's own security.

Therefore, by adopting a capability-oriented comprehensive strategy, Taiwan can manifest its own self-defense capabilities and can also avoid overextending its own resources and capabilities.

In the past, the stability of the Taiwan Strait seemed to be a national security problem for Taiwan alone. It is becoming increasingly evident that Taiwan's security in fact also affects the security commitment of the United States toward the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

Ever-rising threat

Regardless of whether China has a peaceful or non-peaceful rise, the PRC's rising military clout will pose an ever-rising threat to the positions of the United States and Japan in the western Pacific region.

Unless Washington or Tokyo is keen to see Taiwan become part of the PRC, they must establish a long-term and capability-oriented strategic planning and cooperation model together with Taiwan.

To allow Taiwan to face the pressure of the steadily expanding power of the PRC's military alone will absolutely lead to the disappearance of the "Taiwan Strait problem" and leave Beijing in the driver's seat for strategic domination in the western Pacific.

The findings of Japan's new defense white paper reinforce the conclusion that only the improvement of the imbalance in military power in the Taiwan Strait and the effective linkage and coordination of strategic and diplomatic policies among Washington, Tokyo and Taipei will be able to maintain lasting regional peace.

China Lies about Its Expansionism

China, whose military buildup alarms the Pentagon, marked Army Day on Monday with a pledge never to engage in expansionism but warned self-ruled Taiwan against formally declaring statehood.

The U.S. Department of Defense said in a report in July it was concerned about China's military modernization and economic might and feared that a changing balance of power in Asia could threaten democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

Making no reference to the report, General Cao Gangchuan, the defense minister, insisted that China was a peace-loving nation but warned Taiwan it would never be allowed to formally secede, said the People's Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece.

"China will resolutely pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and a defensive national defense policy," Cao told a gathering at the Great Hall of the People on Sunday, the eve of the 78th founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army.

"We will never engage in expansionism or seek hegemony and will resolutely walk the path of peace and development," said Cao, who is a vice-chairman of the decision-making Central Military Commission, which commands the PLA.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since their split at the end of China's civil war in 1949. It has vowed to attack the island if it formally declares independence.

Cao toed the new line set by Communist Party and military chief Hu Jintao to show "the utmost sincerity and exert the greatest effort to seek peaceful unification" with Taiwan.

"(But) we will never allow 'Taiwan independence' splittist forces to cut off Taiwan from the motherland under any name or in any form," Cao said.

The PLA menaced Taiwan with war games and missile tests in 1995-96 ahead of the island's first presidential elections.

Political tensions continued to simmer until a mainland visit in April this year by the chairman of the Nationalist Kuomintang, the party which once ruled all of China but fled in 1949.

China, a nuclear power, has far more jet fighters, warships and submarines than Taiwan. But Western expert say Taiwan, armed to the teeth with U.S. and French jet fighters and frigates, could give China a bloody nose in any conventional conflict.

The United States has pledged to help Taiwan defend itself against any Chinese invasion.

LOYALTIES SPLIT

Hu, 62, took formal control of the military from Jiang Zemin, 78, last September, completing China's first smooth generational leadership change since the Communists took power.

But military sources say Hu, who had earlier replaced Jiang as Communist Party chief and state president, has yet to fully consolidate power in the 2.5-million-strong PLA.

Jiang promoted 79 men to full general rank during his 15 years in power, and clearly still wields some influence. Sources say PLA loyalties are split between Hu and Jiang.

In a sign of Jiang's residual influence, Cao paid tribute to Jiang's "Three Represents" political doctrine, which cracked open the party's doors to wealthy entrepreneurs.

Cao also pledged to carry out Jiang's precepts on national defense building, before stressing that the PLA would also seriously implement Hu's directives.

In Communist protocol, the names of leaders are mentioned in order of importance.

In a front-page editorial, the Liberation Army Daily urged the PLA on Monday to "obey and follow the party at all times and under any circumstances."

Hostile forces were out to "Westernise" and "divide" China and change the nature of the PLA by calling for depoliticisation, the editorial said without elaborating.

China ready to use nuclear weapons against US over Taiwan

BEIJING (AFP) - China could use nuclear weapons to retaliate against the United States if it attacked in any conflict over Taiwan, reports said citing a Chinese general.

"If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," said General Zhu Chenghu.

His comments were reported by the Financial Times and the Asian Wall Street Journal, which attended a briefing with the general organised by a private Hong Kong organisation, the Better Hong Kong Foundation.

"If the Americans are determined to interfere (then) we will be determined to respond," said Zhu, a professor at China's National Defence University.

"We ... will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xian. Of course the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds ... of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese."

Analysts said the remarks were largely rhetoric but also indicated that Beijing wanted to show the United States it was serious about Taiwan.

"China's leaders, especially the military, think it is important for weaker countries like China to demonstrate their willingness to defend their core interests," Joseph Cheng, a political analyst at City University in Hong Kong, told AFP.

"It's an old-fashioned strategy that is also meant for domestic consumption.

"On the Taiwan issue, the US government tends to adopt a strategic ambiguity approach. On the part of China, it wants to show it is ready to make the sacrifices," Cheng said.

China's military spending has risen at an average double-digit rate over the past decade, hitting 24.5 billion US dollars in 2004.

Despite this, it would still not have the capability to fight a conventional war against the United States, leaving the nuclear card as the only option, analysts said.

Although China has a no first-strike nuclear policy, Zhu said he believed the policy applied to non-nuclear powers and could be changed, the reports said.

Chinese Troops to Train Hong Kong High School Students

Hong Konger Press, July 16, 2005

A hundred form 3 and form 4 secondary school students are going to receive military training in the Hong Kong-based Chinese Garrison barracks from July 19 through July 30. The event will be the first of its kind. It is a shame Hong Kong youngsters will become trophies of the psychological and ideological wars the Chinese troops waging against Hong Kongers – the warfare which Beijing regime has been fighting against the former British colony since undemocratic 1997 Handover.

The 10-day so-called Hong Kong Youth Military Summer Camp was allegedly resulted from a joint operation of the pro-China Army-People-Having-Fun-Together Activities Preparatory Committee, the pro-China Advocates of Ethical Education, the Chinese Hong Kong Garrison, and the Education Planning Bureau of the HKSAR puppet regime.

During their ten-day military training, the mostly Hong Kong born and bred summer cadets will be taught to drill and run in the mornings, and in the afternoons they will have to attend ethics lessons wherein Chinese hegemonic thoughts and nationalism will probably be instilled into the poor Hong Kong kids.

Surprisingly, the Chinese Hong Kong Garrison will permit three famous Hongkong-trained physicians, namely Dr. Xie Defu, Dr. Wu Weiyong and Dr. Gao Yongwen to attend to the teenager cadets for the sake of“health care” – a move, coupled with the extremely short duration of the military summer camp, indicates that the Chinese troops try every means to make the Hongkonger-oriented military training camp look civilian and harmless.

Disguised, the so-called military training camp represents the first step Beijing regime takes to augment its political influence on Hong Kong students so that its decades-long political propaganda will no longer be limited to pro-China high schools in Hong Kong.

The CCP Is Willing to Attack Taiwan and Implement Fascism to Protect Its Political Power
Professor Yuan Hongbing, a well-known jurist, made a speech during a rally supporting Mr. Chen and Mr. Hao’s withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Sydney, Australia. He said that drawing Australia into its political camp is part of the CCP’s long-term global political strategy. The CCP is preparing to declare war on Taiwan in 2012, so that it can step into an overtly Fascist (1) state in order to solve the comprehensive crises it is facing today.
The Timetable of the Entire Fascist Strategy
Professor Yuan stated that the CCP’s entire Fascist strategy would proceed through the following stages:
1. Before the 2008 Olympic Games
During this period of time, the CCP primarily proposes to instigate and propel nationalism. At the same time, it will try hard to ensure a relatively stable social climate and maintain the present state so that it can push fanatical nationalism to a climax using the competitive environment of the Olympic Games.
2. For Two Years After the 2008 Olympic Games
The CCP will eliminate opposing voices inside its system. The CCP will solve its political crisis through severe political pressure. It will comprehensively oppress opposing groups, defined by the CCP as Falun Gong, political dissidents, and underground Christians.
3. Declare War Against Taiwan before 2012
The CCP intends to declare war against Taiwan before the 18th National People’s Congress in 2012. Once it declares war, it can move the country into a state of emergency. The CCP believes that only by declaring a state of emergency can its social, political, and financial crises be solved.
Professor Yuan said that because the CCP passed the Anti-secession Law in March, it incurred an intense response from the international community. The European Union stopped discussions about lifting the ban on sales of military equipment to China. Many observers did not understand why the CCP would commit such a foolish act. In fact, it is not a foolish act, but an intentional strategy.
Professor Yuan also revealed that the CCP plans to pass the Emergent State Act this year. It is also part of the comprehensive Fascist strategy as is the Anti-secession Law.
Regional Diplomatic Strategies
1. U.S. and Japan
In the eyes of the CCP, the U.S. and Japan are strategic allies that cannot be separated. Once China declares war against Taiwan, the two countries will become the real enemies of the CCP.
Although the U.S. and Russia have nuclear weapons, the CCP does not fear the U.S. the way it fears Russia, because it believes that Americans are afraid to use the weapons, as they cherish life. To China, the U.S. is not as big a threat as Russia.
2. The Northern and Southwestern Frontiers
Through many years of negotiations with the former Soviet Union, the CCP believes that if there were a nuclear war, the Russian’s strong nationalism means they would rather die than surrender. Therefore, the CCP is not willing to become Russia’s enemy. To placate the Russians, and guarantee that no military incidents will happen in the north of China, the CCP has freely given huge tracts of its Northern Frontier lands to Russia.
As for China’s southwest, the CCP wants to prevent India from invading through Tibet. The Tibetan Himalayas are actually a natural defensive barrier. Professor Yuan said, “The Dalai Lama intends to maintain a workable relationship with the CCP, because he hopes by doing so he can reverse the CCP’s policy of exterminating Tibetan religious beliefs. Actually, such a reversal will never happen because exterminating the Tibetan’s religion is part of the CCP’s larger strategy.”
3. Asia-Pacific Arena
The CCP wants to be allied with countries in the Asia-Pacific Arena. When war breaks out, these countries will, at least, be neutral and can form a buffer zone around China to deter the U.S. and Japan.
Viewing things from the present situation, some small countries in Southeast Asia, such as Burma, Laos, Singapore, etc. have basically become the CCP’s political colonies.
South Korea can be balanced by North Korea.
As for Indonesia, because it is a Muslim country, the CCP believes it cannot be subdued ideologically. Therefore, the best plan is to let Indonesia remain in a state of endless civil wars, able to focus only on itself.
As for Australia, a close ally of the U.S., the CCP’s strategy is to pacify it through education, economic alliances, culture, media, Chinese communities, etc. and gradually influence the Australian people’s ideology. Eventually, it will accept the CCP’s political and ideological ways.
Professor Yuan said, “Seen from the behavior of Australia’s people, this strategy has been effective. Public opinion in Australia already tends to support the CCP. When dealing with some problems relating to China, Australia has shown a tendency to betray its original guiding principles, such as freedom, democracy, and human rights.”
The CCP’s control of the Australian Chinese community and Chinese media is already a fact. Moreover, a teacher from Hong Kong working at a university in Australia lists anti-Falun Gong material as required reading and expects students to answer questions consistent with these materials in their exams. We really have to deeply ponder such a phenomenon.
The Real Purpose of Starting a War with Taiwan
Professor Yuan said, “Is the aim of starting a war with Taiwan really to protect China’s sovereignty and territory? Is it really for the benefit of China? No! This is entirely for the party’s own benefit. It attempts to solve its political, social, and financial crises through wars and emergent situations and in this way continue to maintain its despotic rule.”
“Once an emergent situation presents itself, the CCP can use the blood-and-iron method to suppress dissident groups to solve its political crisis, and suppress some hundred million unemployed workers to solve its social crises. Chinese people save their money, so it can also freeze people’s bank accounts, and can even legally transfer citizens’ private property to state-ownership or to the companies of corrupt officials. The CCP’s banking system is teetering on the edge of a black hole, which has unpaid debts as high as 40 percent to 60 percent of the total. This problem cannot be solved by any other means at present.”
Who Really Controls the CCP?
Professor Yuan stated that the people who really have the power are the “Taizi Party,”(children of former CCP leaders, who now hold important positions in the CCP, government offices, and the military) or the so-called Youth School. Its members are people like Jiang Mienheng, Bo Xilai, Liu Yazhou, etc. Politicians like Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao actually do not direct the CCP’s policies.
Professor Yuan reiterated that his assessment of the Chinese political system is accurate. This kind of understanding comes from many of his friends and classmates, such as the Provincial Party Committee Secretary of Liaoning Province, Li Keqiang, the former Provincial Party Committee Secretary of Henan Province, Meng Hongwei, Vice-minister of the Ministry of Public Security, and Wang Sanyun, Vice-minister of the Organization Department, and others. They are either his former classmates in the Law Department at Beijing University or old friends for many years. All of them are the central figures of the so-called fifth generation of the CCP.
*National Security Leading Team
The final decision-maker of important national strategy is the CCP’s “National Security Leading Team.” Jiang Zemin is still a member of the team.
*National Security Research Teams
Since 1990, CCP members have informally developed research groups to evaluate national security strategies. Most of the people in the Youth School or the Taizi Party mentioned above are members of these groups.
Before 2000, these groups often held informal meetings to discuss the CCP’s strategies. After 2000, they started to hold regular conferences. Any attendee is allowed to speak, but only one person records their comments. The speaker signs his approval after the speech is recorded. Then, it is submitted to the National Security Leading Team.
The discussions from these groups about national security strategies become the CCP’s real political direction.
The Origin of the Fascist Strategy
Professor Yuan said “The strategy to develop a Fascist state has actually been in place for a long time. It was first proposed by He Xin, who is my age or older.”
Professor Yuan then said, “The political leaders at that time, such as Zhao Ziyang and Hu Yaobang, despised He Xin’s proposal, but President Wang Zhen strongly supported the idea.”
It is said that the core of the CCP keeps He Xin, a member of Jiang Zemin’s intellectual group, in a low profile position to avoid exposing a complete political and economic conversion to Fascism.
The Persecution of Falun Gong in the CCP’s Fascist Strategy
A reporter asked, “Then, in this ambitious strategy, what is the importance of Falun Gong? If the CCP has such an ambitious global strategy, why does it go to such great lengths to suppress Falun Gong?”
Professor Yuan said, “In the big picture, Falun Gong is only one of the CCP’s political problems that need to be solved. When it announced its suppression of Falun Gong, it really thought that it would exterminate the practice within three months. However, things developed differently than expected, and now they have no choice but to continue to suppress Falun Gong.”
“To suppress people, including Falun Gong, the democratic movement, dissidents, and underground Christians using Fascist methods, is part of the CCP’s strategy.”
The Biggest Mistake the West Can Make is to Underestimate China
Professor Yuan suggests that the biggest mistake the West makes in evaluating China is that it always analyzes problems rationally, so it cannot precisely understand things happening in China. In fact, many important decisions made by the CCP are irrational. Though there are 9,999 reasons why one should not do something, and only one reason that one should do it, the CCP may make a decision based that one reason.
For instance, the day before the massacre of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement on June 4, Deng Xiaoping held a family meeting. During the meeting, Deng’s son’s, Deng Pofang and Deng Chihfang, said that if those people have their way our whole family will be pulled into the street and chopped into meat for sauce.
It is said that Deng made his final decision to massacre the people in Beijing because of that statement.
Spies Exceed 1,000
Mr. Chen Yonglin said, “There are more than one thousand spies in Australia.” Professor Yuan believes that the actual number is higher than that. He knows that people who go abroad with official passports must talk with the Security Department before leaving. “When they return to China, they have to report to the Security Department and provide written reports of their findings.”
Professor Yuan said that soon after he arrived in Australia, the Vice-minister of the Security Department personally flew to Australia and retained a well-known Western attorney to inquire about his activities in Australia. The CCP can find well-known Western attorneys to help find the information they want.
How Financial Black Holes are Formed
Professor Yuan gave an example, based on fact, of how gaping black holes in bank assets are formed.
A general manager in the most well-known real estate company in Beijing brought only 200 thousand yuan (US$24,155) to Beijing. He spent some money bribing the head of a county and signed a contract for 10,000 mu (1,640 acres) of undeveloped land at a cost of 50 yuan per mu.
After the general manger bought the land, he asked someone to prepare a development plan for the land, which no one had ever thought of developing. He did some minor work to start developing the land. Then, he bribed a property appraisal company to give him a land appraisal report. In the report, the land bought at 50 yuan per mu was valued at 10,000 yuan per mu. The general manger suddenly owned an asset worth one hundred million yuan.
But the one hundred million yuan was only on paper. How could it be turned into cash? He applied to a bank for a mortgage.
The general manger used the land now valued at one hundred million yuan, as collateral for a loan of fifty million yuan. He paid half of the money, 25 million yuan, to some related officials in the bank as a reward for their assistance and took the other half as profit. When the loan was due, the general manager gave the bank the deed to the undeveloped land because he was unable to pay the back the loan.
As a result, the 10,000 mu of undeveloped land was taken from the nation and returned to the nation. However, 50 million yuan was lost in the transaction. It became a bad account and the bank can never recover the money.
The CCP clearly understands that they cannot recover the money on these bad debts. So in their minds, risking Fascism has become the sole solution to their problems.
Doing One’s Best to Prevent Tragedies
Lastly, Professor Yuan indicated that he made public the CCP’s terrifying strategy of wholly espousing Fascism because he hopes to get the attention of all governments and people in the world. He wants to do his best to prevent the CCP from dragging China and the entire world into disaster for its own profit.

Military Build-up by Beijing Regime
China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials.

U.S. defense and intelligence officials say all the signs point in one troubling direction: Beijing then will be forced to go to war with the United States, which has vowed to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack.

China's military buildup includes an array of new high-technology weapons, such as warships, submarines, missiles and a maneuverable warhead designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses. Recent intelligence reports also show that China has stepped up military exercises involving amphibious assaults, viewed as another sign that it is preparing for an attack on Taiwan.

"There's a growing consensus that at some point in the mid-to-late '90s, there was a fundamental shift in the sophistication, breadth and re-sorting of Chinese defense planning," said Richard Lawless, a senior China-policy maker in the Pentagon. "And what we're seeing now is a manifestation of that change in the number of new systems that are being deployed, the sophistication of those systems and the interoperability of the systems."

China's economy has been growing at a rate of at least 10 percent for each of the past 10 years, providing the country's military with the needed funds for modernization.

The combination of a vibrant centralized economy, growing military and increasingly fervent nationalism has transformed China into what many defense officials view as a fascist state.

"We may be seeing in China the first true fascist society on the model of Nazi Germany, where you have this incredible resource base in a commercial economy with strong nationalism, which the military was able to reach into and ramp up incredible production," a senior defense official said.

For Pentagon officials, alarm bells have been going off for the past two years as China's military began rapidly building and buying new troop- and weapon-carrying ships and submarines.
The release of an official Chinese government report in December called the situation on the Taiwan Strait "grim" and said the country's military could "crush" Taiwan.

Earlier this year, Beijing passed an anti-secession law, a unilateral measure that upset the fragile political status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The law gives Chinese leaders a legal basis they previously did not have to conduct a military attack on Taiwan, U.S. officials said.

The war fears come despite the fact that China is hosting the Olympic Games in 2008 and, therefore, some officials say, would be reluctant to invoke the international condemnation that a military attack on Taiwan would cause.

Army of the future

In the past, some defense specialists insisted a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a "million-man swim" across the Taiwan Strait because of the country's lack of troop-carrying ships.

"We left the million-man swim behind in about 1998, 1999," the senior Pentagon official said. "And in fact, what people are saying now, whether or not that construct was ever useful, is that it's a moot point, because in just amphibious lift alone, the Chinese are doubling or even quadrupling their capability on an annual basis."

Asked about a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan, the official put it bluntly: "In the '07-'08 time frame, a capability will be there that a year ago we would have said was very, very unlikely. We now assess that as being very likely to be there."

Air Force Gen. Paul V. Hester, head of the Pacific Air Forces, said the U.S. military has been watching China's military buildup but has found it difficult to penetrate Beijing's "veil" of secrecy over it.

While military modernization itself is not a major worry, "what does provide you a pause for interest and concern is the amount of modernization, the kind of modernization and the size of the modernization," he said during a recent breakfast meeting with reporters.

China is building capabilities such as aerial refueling and airborne warning and control aircraft that can be used for regional defense and long-range power projection, Gen. Hester said.

It also is developing a maneuverable re-entry vehicle, or MARV, for its nuclear warheads. The weapon is designed to counter U.S. strategic-missile defenses, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The warhead would be used on China's new DF-31 long-range missiles and its new submarine missile, the JL-2.

Work being done on China's weapons and reconnaissance systems will give its military the capability to reach 1,000 miles into the sea, "which gives them the visibility on the movement of not only our airplanes in the air, but also our forces at sea," Gen. Hester said.

Beijing also has built a new tank for its large armed forces. It is known as the Type 99 and appears similar in design to Germany's Leopard 2 main battle tank. The tank is outfitted with new artillery, anti-aircraft and machine guns, advanced fire-control systems and improved engines.

The country's air power is growing through the purchase of new fighters from Russia, such as Su-30 fighter-bombers, as well as the development of its own fighter jets, such as the J-10.

Gen. Hester compared Chinese warplanes with those of the former Soviet Union, which were less capable than their U.S. counterparts, but still very deadly.

"They have great equipment. The fighters are very technologically advanced, and what we know about them gives us pause for concern against ours," he said.

Missiles also are a worry.

"It is their surface-to-air missiles, their [advanced] SAMs and their surface-to-surface missiles, and the precision, more importantly, of those surface-to-surface missiles that provide, obviously, the ability to pinpoint targets that we might have out in the region, or our friends and allies might have," Gen. Hester said.

The advances give the Chinese military "the ability ... to reach out and touch parts of the United States -- Guam, Hawaii and the mainland of the United States," he said.

To better deal with possible future conflicts in Asia, the Pentagon is modernizing U.S. military facilities on the Western Pacific island of Guam and planning to move more forces there.

The Air Force will regularly rotate Air Expeditionary Force units to Guam and also will station the new long-range unmanned aerial vehicle known as Global Hawk on the island, he said.

It also has stationed B-2 stealth bombers on Guam temporarily and is expected to deploy B-1 bombers there, in addition to the B-52s now deployed there, Gen. Hester said.

Projecting power

China's rulers have adopted what is known as the "two-island chain" strategy of extending control over large areas of the Pacific, covering inner and outer chains of islands stretching from Japan to Indonesia.

"Clearly, they are still influenced by this first and second island chain," the intelligence official said.

The official said China's buildup goes beyond what would be needed to fight a war against Taiwan.

The conclusion of this official is that China wants a "blue-water" navy capable of projecting power far beyond the two island chains.

"If you look at the technical capabilities of the weapons platforms that they're fielding, the sea-keeping capabilities, the size, sensors and weapons fit, this capability transcends the baseline that is required to deal with a Taiwan situation militarily," the intelligence official said.

"So they are positioned then, if [Taiwan is] resolved one way or the other, to really become a regional military power as well."

The dispatch of a Han-class submarine late last year to waters near Guam, Taiwan and Japan was an indication of the Chinese military's drive to expand its oceangoing capabilities, the officials said. The submarine surfaced in Japanese waters, triggering an emergency deployment of Japan's naval forces.

Beijing later issued an apology for the incursion, but the political damage was done. Within months, Japan began adopting a tougher political posture toward China in its defense policies and public statements. A recent Japanese government defense report called China a strategic national security concern. It was the first time China was named specifically in a Japanese defense report.

Energy supply a factor

For China, Taiwan is not the only issue behind the buildup of military forces. Beijing also is facing a major energy shortage that, according to one Pentagon study, could lead it to use military force to seize territory with oil and gas resources.

The report produced for the Office of Net Assessment, which conducts assessments of future threats, was made public in January and warned that China's need for oil, gas and other energy resources is driving the country toward becoming an expansionist power.

China "is looking not only to build a blue-water navy to control the sea lanes [from the Middle East], but also to develop undersea mines and missile capabilities to deter the potential disruption of its energy supplies from potential threats, including the U.S. Navy, especially in the case of a conflict with Taiwan," the report said.

The report said China believes the United States already controls the sea routes from the oil-rich Persian Gulf through the Malacca Strait. Chinese President Hu Jintao has called this strategic vulnerability to disrupted energy supplies Beijing's "Malacca Dilemma."

To prevent any disruption, China has adopted a "string of pearls" strategy that calls for both offensive and defensive measures stretching along the oil-shipment sea lanes from China's coast to the Middle East.

The "pearls" include the Chinese-financed seaport being built at Gwadar, on the coast of western Pakistan, and commercial and military efforts to establish bases or diplomatic ties in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The report stated that China's ability to use these pearls for a "credible" military action is not certain.

Pentagon intelligence officials, however, say the rapid Chinese naval buildup includes the capability to project power to these sea lanes in the future.

"They are not doing a lot of surface patrols or any other kind of security evolutions that far afield," the intelligence official said. "There's no evidence of [Chinese military basing there] yet, but we do need to keep an eye toward that expansion."

The report also highlighted the vulnerability of China's oil and gas infrastructure to a crippling U.S. attack.

"The U.S. military could severely cripple Chinese resistance [during a conflict over Taiwan] by blocking its energy supply, whereas the [People's Liberation Army navy] poses little threat to United States' energy security," it said.

China views the United States as "a potential threat because of its military superiority, its willingness to disrupt China's energy imports, its perceived encirclement of China and its disposition toward manipulating international politics," the report said.

'Mercantilist measures'

The report stated that China will resort "to extreme, offensive and mercantilist measures when other strategies fail, to mitigate its vulnerabilities, such as seizing control of energy resources in neighboring states."

U.S. officials have said two likely targets for China are the Russian Far East, which has vast oil and gas deposits, and Southeast Asia, which also has oil and gas resources.

Michael Pillsbury, a former Pentagon official and specialist on China's military, said the internal U.S. government debate on the issue and excessive Chinese secrecy about its military buildup "has cost us 10 years to figure out what to do"

"Everybody is starting to acknowledge the hard facts," Mr. Pillsbury said. "The China military buildup has been accelerating since 1999. As the buildup has gotten worse, China is trying hard to mask it."

Richard Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said that in 10 years, the Chinese army has shifted from a defensive force to an advanced military soon capable of operations ranging from space warfare to global non-nuclear cruise-missile strikes.

"Let's all wake up. The post-Cold War peace is over," Mr. Fisher said. "We are now in an arms race with a new superpower whose goal is to contain and overtake the United States."

Hong Kong Criticizes Beijing's Decision to Restrict Reform Discussions
HONG KONG – Hong Kong democracy activists reacted with alarm after China's central government asserted its right to final authority over the territory's political future.
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress ruled that Hong Kong must get Beijing's permission before its legislature may debate proposals for democratic reform.

The ruling goes to the heart of a debate over Hong Kong's constitution, known as the Basic Law.

The document provides for the possible direct election of Hong Kong's chief executive by popular vote as early as 2007. The legislature may be directly elected by 2008. But the ruling means the changes may not be done until Beijing says they can be.

Presently, Hong Kong's leader, the chief executive, is appointed by a pro-Beijing committee. Less than half the legislature is directly elected, the rest are appointed or are chosen by professional groups.

Law Yuk Kai, director of the group Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, says the ruling is a political power play.

"This is a barbaric act in the name of law…," he said. "The Chinese leadership has already severely undermined the integrity of the Basic Law itself."

Hong Kong retained its Western style judiciary and civil liberties when the colonial British government handed it back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Bruce Liu, an elected municipal official, says reform legislation should originate in Hong Kong, and reach the National People's Congress only after extensive discussion.

He says Tuesday's ruling flips that process on its head, and lets Beijing block debate.

"The NPC would take the initiative, if the National People's Congress takes the position to negate the proposed bill, then we would not have the opportunity to discuss that bill," said Mr. Liu.

Chinese authorities have expressed a desire to temper the speed of democratic reform in Hong Kong since last July, when a peaceful protest by half a million Hong Kong residents prompted the government to postpone a controversial internal security law. Some Hong Kong residents say the NPC ruling will heat up, not cool down, the desire for reforms.

Despite the controversy, financial markets are taking the ruling in stride. The Hang Seng ended the day up more than one percent.

Recruitment
To join the Hongkong Independence Movement (HIM), send an email to freehongkong25@hotmail.com

Hongkong Independence Movement (HIM)
The Hongkong Independence Movement (HIM) advocates an independent Hong Kong and it pursues for the independence of Hong Kong.

Hongkongers are not Chinese, nor is Hong Kong a part of China. The fact that Beijing regime engulfed Hong Kong in 1997 is an illegal atrocity Beijing regime committed against the free will of Hongkongers.

The goal of the Hongkong Independence Movement is to establish the Republic of Hong Kong. The Republic of Hong Kong shall be of Hongkongers, by Hongkongers and for Hongkongers.