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February 11, 2007 (Sunday) － Issue No. 88 |
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Chinese
Sign Petition to Counter Skyrocketing Housing Prices |
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Japanese
Reporter's Attempt to Interview Gao Zhisheng Obstructed |
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Canadian
Taxes Help Pay for Illicit Organ Trade |
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US$257 Billion in Illegal Funds Devoured in China An investigation carried out by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Research Office of the State Council, and the Ministry of Supervision reveals that government and party [Chinese Communist Party] bodies illegally consumed 2 trillion yuan (approximately US$257 billion) in public funds in 2006. The figure includes fund embezzlement, entertainment, holiday and tourism expenses, study abroad, gifts, bonuses, benefits....…Full Article |
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San Francisco Gathering Celebrates 18 Million Who Quit the CCP On Feb. 3, the Northern California Service Center for Quitting the CCP held an assembly in San Francisco's Portsmouth Square to celebrate the fact that 18 million Chinese people have awoken and quit the CCP. "Today we are very happy that there are 18 million people who have awakened. The days of the CCP's enslavement of the Chinese people are numbered."......…Full Article |
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As housing prices continue to rise in China, citizens are fighting back. But it seems real estate developers are ready for the challenge. A group of people in China's Changsha City, Hunan Province, have recently launched a nationwide signature campaign against the hiking of housing prices. However, real estate developers in Shanghai City were quick to respond, proposing jointly hiking housing prices. The Oriental Morning Post reported that Zhao Zhiqiang, head of the National Association of Individual Cooperative Housing and main organizer of Whenzhou Individual Housing Cooperative, said on January 26 he and his association were launching a signature-collecting campaign to protest rising housing prices. He called it the "One-hundred-million Chinese People Countering High Housing Prices" campaign, and added that the association would come up with a proposition for individual cooperative housing projects. He added that they would present the signed petition together with the proposition to the National People's Congress scheduled to convene in early March 2007. According to the report, the main mover of the Changsha Individual Cooperative House Building Zhou Wenjian, said that in the following days they would set up booths at busy market places in Changsha to collect signatures from the general public and that they would urge people to sign their online petition. The signature-collecting campaign is expected to be launched successively in about 20 major cities in China by the National Association of Individual Cooperative Housing. There are currently over 20 individual housing cooperatives in China, and 17 of them are preparing to join the National Association of Individual Cooperative Housing. The cities joining the association include Beijing, Shanyang, Xi'an, Chengdu, Kunming, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wenzhou and Changsha. Sina.net quoted informed sources as saying that recently some Chinese websites have circulated a document entitled "Real Estate Association's Declaration on Timely Adjustment of Property Risk," which is said to have been signed by 42 real estate developers in the Shanghai area. The report added that although some people have doubted the authenticity of this message, it has caused quite a stir in the society. The declaration supposedly indicates that the real estate developers that joined the real estate association have promised that they will not lower housing prices, and instead they are actually planning to increase housing prices by two to four percent per month effective December 1, 2007. Every enterprise that signs the declaration is said to be required to pay 1.26 million yuan (US$162,466) as risk-based deposit insurance which will be confiscated should they break the promise. As to the reasons for contracting this declaration, the document indicates: "Owing to unusual phenomena in recent real estate sales in Shanghai, many real estate developers have created promotional policies to ensure their vested interests." "In order to maintain the stability and prosperity of the real estate market in Shanghai, Shanghai estate dealers have decided to establish a tentative Shanghai Real Estate Association and stipulated the following regulation and policies…." The report added
that some real estate developers in Shanghai acknowledge the truth
of the message, while others don't. Back TOKYO—Following Chinese communist regime's announcements that restrictions will be relaxed for overseas reporters, a Japanese reporter in Beijing made attempts to interview the famous human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng. However his interview was obstructed by the authorities with the excuse that Gao Zhisheng is "different from ordinary Chinese citizens." At noon on January 16, after searching for some time, the reporter finally succeeded in finding the apartment building that Gao Zhisheng lives in. However, as soon as he stepped into the building and approached Gao's apartment, he was stopped by four men. The men interrogated the reporter and demanded him to go away. According to the reporter's web-published report, the men, who were all public security personnel, had even set up beds inside the building so they could monitor Gao and people who entered the building 24-hours a day. Reporter from Japan's Sankei Shimbun Beijing office publicized his experience under an affiliate website of Sankei Web. The report mentioned that Gao Zhisheng is dedicated in his rights-defending activities. Gao sent public letters to the high-ranking leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last October to call on them to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. At that time his law offices were forcibly closed down; he has since then been suppressed and constantly monitored. On December 22, 2006 Gao was convicted of "inciting subversion of state authorities" and sentenced to three years in jail plus five years probation. However, the authorities, seemingly to avoid international condemnation, released Gao on the same night and put him under house arrest. The report said that after Gao's case was exposed to the media, the issues he had spoken out about such as the Chinese regime's forced acquisition of land from farmers, unfair treatment of workers, and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners have started to receive more attention around the world, and so the CCP has increased its control on Gao's activities. Because Gao is being tightly monitored, there is not much known about him since he has been under house arrest. Recently, Beijing authorities announced that from 1 January 2007 until the end of the 2008 Olympic Games, restrictions on foreign reporters' interviews in China would be relaxed. The officials said that reporters from foreign countries and Hong Kong would not need authorization from the usual units or the local foreign affairs offices prior to conducting an interview. After CCP's announcements, Reuters successfully contacted and interviewed Bao Tong, former secretary to the former General Secretary of the CCP Zhao Ziyang, which led some people to believe that the restrictions were truly loosened as promised. However, some
rights activist and people who have suffered persecution by the Chinese
communist regime are calling the announcements an "empty promise".
A Beijing human rights activist, Hu Jia, has said that the Chinese
laws, including the Constitution, are not respected or enforced in
China. Hu said that Chinese authorities have made many empty promises,
and he wasn't optimistic that there is much truth to their new announcements.
Back At a high-level Vatican meeting to discuss relations between the Vatican and Beijing, Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun—an outspoken advocate for freedom of worship—condemned the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Pope Benedict is to call for the unity of followers of the state-sanctioned church and underground worshippers, eliminating altogether the influence of the Patriotic Association. In addition to the Pope's letter, the Vatican will establish a commission on China to more closely monitor the situation of the church in that country, providing a coordinated response to developments there. When the Chinese communist regime formed the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in the 1950s, the organization officially severed ties with the Vatican, while an underground church loyal to the Papacy continued in spite of persecution. Bishops Ordained without Vatican Approval In 2005 several bishops were ordained, approved by both the Patriotic Association and the Vatican. But this mutual understanding broke down in 2006 with the illicit ordinations of three new bishops without Vatican consent. According to AsiaNews, the Patriotic Association coerced two bishops into presiding over the rites. The Association vowed to financially ruin the candidate and concelebrating bishops, and even went as far as threatening their families, if they did not submit to the ceremony. At least 45 of China's 97 official Church dioceses are either empty or are held by aging bishops. Increasing Persecution
of House Churches According to Chinese law, church properties claimed by the state during the Cultural Revolution were to be returned to the Catholic Church. However, officials from the Patriotic Association and the Religious Bureau currently control these properties. They have either sold them or rebuilt them as hotels, pocketing the profit. According to a recent report by the Hong Kong Holy Spirit Study Center, these unlawfully seized properties occupied by the Patriotic Association and the Religious Bureau are valued at close to 130 billion yuan (approximately US$16.72 billion). The Vatican called upon its adherents to boycott the Patriotic Association as a way to constrain and marginalize the organization. At the meeting in Rome, one individual even called on the Holy See to use its influence to persuade Beijing to abolish the Patriotic Association. As China weighs
the desire for tight control against a more favorable international
profile, one will see just how influential the Vatican can be. Back Taxpayers could be footing the bill for patients who receive organ transplants from persecuted groups in China, says a recent report. A revised report on organ harvesting in China entitled "Bloody Harvest" concludes that a major portion of the organs being used in China's booming transplant trade come from unwilling donors, most notably Falun Gong practitioners. The report, authored by former MP David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas, details how a sudden explosion of organ transplants in China in 2000 coincided with mass arrests and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners. The report also states that a high proportion of transplant recipients come from countries other than China. In British Columbia, about 42 people have traveled to China for transplants in the past 5 to 10 years, according to BC Transplant Society spokesperson Ken Donahue. He said BC does not reimburse patients that receive transplants in other countries but they can receive aftercare once they return. Donohue said that although the implications of the organ harvesting report were disturbing, it was unlikely patients would ever be denied care, whether they got an organ from an unwilling donor or not. "I'm not saying we're not outraged, of course we are," he said, referring to the findings of the report. Donohue believes that one way to stop Canadians from getting organ transplants in China is for the provinces to outlaw the businesses that facilitate such trips.
The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons said it's "not within their mandate" to have doctors warn patients of illicit organ harvesting in China. Lorne Hollingshead and Auruna Thurairajan own an Alberta-based company that arranges for people to go overseas to receive treatments that are difficult to get in Canada because of the long waiting lists. While the company used to deal mainly with people seeking hip and knee replacements, Hollingshead said their customers have been looking for a larger variety of treatments in recent years. He said some have sought organ transplants from hospitals in China. He believes the majority of people traveling to China for organ transplants from Canada would likely be Chinese immigrants who are familiar with that medical system. Just as pedophiles can be charged in Canada for having sex with children in other countries, the report says Canada should enact similar extra-territorial legislation that would penalize Canadians who participate in organ harvesting without the consent of the donor. The authors also
recommend that doctors from China should not receive visas to enable
them to train in organ transplantation surgery in Canada. Back CHINA—An investigation carried out by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Research Office of the State Council, and the Ministry of Supervision reveals that government and party [Chinese Communist Party] bodies illegally used 2 trillion yuan (approximately US$257 billion) in public funds in 2006. The figure includes funds embezzled for, entertainment, holiday and tourism expenses, study abroad, gifts, bonuses, and benefits. The astronomical amount—2 trillion yuan—was revealed in the 2006 CCDI working report at the CCP Political Bureau meeting on Dec. 25, 2006. The investigation entitled "The Condition about Government and Party Organizations Illegally Borrowing and Embezzling the Public Fund (Taxes)," was conducted from Nov. 1, 2006 to Dec. 18, 2006. More than 700 CCDI committee members, officials, and experts were involved in the investigation and reexamination. He Yong, deputy secretary of the CCDI and secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee was in charge of the investigation. Two trillion yuan equals 50.5 percent of the national taxes in 2006 (3.980 trillion yuan) or 11.5 percent of China's GDP in 2006 (18.5 trillion yuan). Two trillion yuan is equivalent to the national taxes in 1996 and in 1997 (The total in 1996 was 1.71 trillion yuan and in 1997, 1.983 trillion yuan.) Two trillion yuan equals the gross national product of agriculture, forestry, and the livestock industry of the entire nation in 2005. Sources of Illegal Funds The report shows eight main sources of illegal funds: 1. Budgeting huge sums of unnecessary funds 2. Allocating funds banned by regulations 3. Keeping different books for taxation 4. Embezzling administration and project funds that should be allocated to low-level organizations 5. Manipulating of accounting systems by people in power and positions of authority 6. Taking loans from financial organizations 7. Inflating the number of employees in the organization 8. Having local authorities set favorable policies During a state conference, the Auditor General, Li Jinhua said, "No provincial government has submitted a report of administrative expenses within 5 percent accuracy. It is a big problem and a complex issue. It is characteristic of systemic corruption." Back San
Francisco Gathering Celebrates 18 Million Who Quit the CCP Back SAN FRANCISCO—On Feb. 3, the Northern California Service Center for Quitting the CCP held an assembly in San Francisco's Portsmouth Square to celebrate the fact that 18 million Chinese people have awoken and quit the CCP. People who attended the assembly protested the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP and called on more Chinese people to wake up and get rid of the CCP, and to quit the CCP for their own safety. Gathering host Ma Youzhi said that while this is another day worth celebrating, it is mixed with sadness because China has been enslaved by the CCP for such a long time. There have been too many Chinese people who perished through the CCP's cruelty and violence, Ma Youzhi continued. Today, mainland China is still under the enslavement of the CCP. "Today we are very happy that there are 18 million people who have awakened. The days of the CCP's enslavement of the Chinese people are numbered," Ma Youzhi said. Epoch Times Vice-Chairman Huang Wanqing said that his younger brother Huang Xiong, who practices Falun Gong, has been missing for almost four years. In April 2003, the two spoke for the last time on the phone in Shanghai when Huang Xiong told his brother that he had to leave because Shanghai police drew a picture of him and were looking for him everywhere in order to capture him. Since then, Huang Wanqing has heard nothing of his brother's well-being or whereabouts. Huang Wanqing said that the second investigative report into the CCP's live organs transplants from Falun Gong practitioners by David Matas and David Kilgour had recently been published. He added, "I do not want to associate the facts in this report with my brother, but do you have any relatives back in China who have been chased for two years by the regime's evil policemen and who have then disappeared for four years? A representative of the Northern California Service Center for quitting the CCP, Dr. Zou Wei, made a speech. He said that he read a story when he was little about a few people who were trying to decide what the strongest thing in the world is. Some said a lion, another said a tiger. Yet another said an elephant or a whale in the sea weighing over a hundred tons. But, he relates, there was an old man who said that the strongest thing in the world was a tiny seed. He said that even if there is a rock on the seed, it can sprout and send out roots, break out from underneath the obstruction of the big rock, and become a large and mighty tree. The seed's strength is the greatest because it has the strength of life and nature within it. Zou Wei said, "Up to now, 18 million people have quit the CCP. They have opened their minds and let the seed of the Nine Commentaries into their hearts; so they have the strength of life and the strength of nature. And these 18 million people have also become the seeds of the powerful current of quitting the CCP. They, as the seeds, will sprout and grow up, and then strengthen the powerful current of quitting the CCP." Zou Wei believes that in the near future, the wave of withdrawals from the Party will become more and more powerful. He hopes that everyone can open his mind to embrace the Nine Commentaries and step into the wave of people quitting the CCP. After the assembly, the people who joined the assembly held a parade in Chinatown to support quitting the CCP. Back |
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