Geo-Strategic Trend - 260. page

China’s head Hu Jintao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak are meeting in Seoull on August 25. This is the third meeting in three months between the two countries’ heads. One particular topic that has attracted attention is whether the China-South Korea military hotline will make progress in the meeting so that the hotline will be opened before year’s end. It is anticipated that the implementation of the concept that China and South Korea be strategic partners will be discussed. Therefore the expectation that the military hotline [will open] also runs high.

Source: people.com.cn, August 25, 2008
http://military.people.com.cn/BIG5/1077/52987/7725521.html

Xinhua’s Global Times published a report today stating that the Northwestern region of Xinjiang is under U.S. threat due to the presence of a U.S. air force base in Kyrgyzstan’s Manas International Airport in its capital Bishkek. The article says, “It has never been heard of that a country’s capital airport be entered by a foreign country’s air force, civil and military planes sharing the same track. The author says that the U.S. hits three birds with one stone with the base: getting close to Russia’s soft part in the South; directly threatening China’s wester areas; and encroaching on Iran from another direction.

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-08/05/content_8959634.htm

Taiwan Communist Party announced its establishment in Town of Xinghua in Tainan County on July 20. Taiwan Ministry of Interior issued its final approval last month. Huang Laoyang was elected as the Chairman by 70 party members. He has been seeking approvals of the Taiwan administration since 1984.

Source: Taiwan United Daily News, July 21, 2008 http://www.udn.com/2008/7/21/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT1/4434848.shtml

Hu met the visiting Russian Foreign Minister S. V. Lavrov on July 21, 2008, in the People’s Hall in Beijing. During the meeting, Hu expressed appreciation for Russia’s supports to China in the issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, and Beijing Olympics. Hu said that China always puts developing Sino-Russian strategic partnership in priority in China’s foreign relations work and hopes to further implement the various achieved agreements and consensuses between the two countries, deepen the strategic cooperation.

Source: People’s Daily, July 22, 2008
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/7541032.html

Japan rejected China’s request for names of Falun Gong practitioners currently living in Japan, reported Kyodo News Service July 16. The request was made in connection with the security of the upcoming Olympics. Since it has a visa waiver program with Japan, China is concerned that Falun Gong adherents might enter China from Japan as tourists without applying for visas and peacefully protest during the games. Japan rejected the request citing protection of privacy.

Source: Epoch Times, July 18, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/7/18/n2195279.htm

Eleven judges of the re-established Sanhedrin, a body that aims to emulate the ancient Jewish Supreme Court reached a conclusion that according to available evidence Falun Gong members in China are indeed being persecuted and sent to detention camps, where they are killed and likely having their organs harvested and sold. Judge and Rabbi Meir Jaacov Halevy announced the conclusion on behalf of the Sanhedrin last week. The court also urged the Communist Party to respect ancient principles of respecting life and not killing.

The court accepted to hear the complaint in January 2007 which was brought forth by Falun Gong practitioners in Israel against the Chinese Communist regime. The Chinese embassy in Israel was invited but did not appear in court. Earlier its representatives attempted to pressure the court not to hear the case, saying that it might harm the relations between Israel and China. In 2004 the Sanhedrin appointed itself as an international Torah court.

Source: New Tang Dynasty TV, July 19, 2008
http://ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2008/07/19/a172973.html
Falun Info Center, July  29, 2008
http://media.faluninfo.net/media/doc/2008/07/FINAL_DECISION_RE_FG_-_PRC.pdf  

A telephone recording shows that the Chinese Ambassador in Italy, Sun Yuxi, directly pressured Eutelsat, an European Satellite carrier, to cut off the signal of New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV). NTDTV is an independent TV media company based in NY. With its uncensored broadcasts, NTDTV is the only Chinese TV station broadcasting to people inside China. On June 16, Eutelsat turned off NTDTV’s signal on the grounds of lacking electric power.

The recording has confirmed that the Chinese Communist Party played a major role in this incident. Ambassador Sun personally negotiated the turning off of the NTDTV signal. Eutelsat reported immediately to Sun Yuxi after shutting down NTDTV’s broadcasting into China. Ambassador Sun supported Eutelsat on this move. Eutelsat expects to develop some relationships with the Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and Chinese Aerospace and Aeronautics Industry Group.

Source: World Orgnization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, July 16, 2008
http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/en/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=184&pop=1&page=0

On Monday, June 16, weeks before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, New Tang Dynasty Television’s (NTDTV) broadcast into Asia was stopped. Millions of households in China are no longer able to receive the broadcast of the largest independent Chinese-language TV network. The cause of the downed signal, according to Eutelsat Communications, the satellite operator, was due to "an anomaly to the satellite power supply system". The broadcasting of VOA programming using the same satellite, however, has not been affected. Eutelsat has declined NTDTV’s request to provide an estimate on when the signal may be restored. Kerry Hong, spokesperson for NTDTV, suspected that the “termination” was made under pressure from the Chinese government in exchange for lucrative contracts. NTDTV, widely known for being the only uncensored Chinese-language TV program broadcast over China, has been using the Eutelsat satellite service since 2002.

Source: NTDTV, July 1, 2008
http://ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2008/07/01/a159985.html