brainstorming

Eyes on Korea

Don't miss the Marmot's excellent round-up of all things Korean in Eyes on Korea at Winds of Change.

I'm not far enough through it to excerpt my picks, but that's no reason to keep it from you!

Looking for more on North Korea?

The World Tribune reports that leader Kim Jong-Il has not been seen in public since Oct. 31., (link via Drudge.)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has not been seen in public since Oct. 31, fueling concerns that the reclusive communist leader has gone into hiding. ... U.S. security sources said Kim is concerned about increased U.S. accuracy with unmanned air vehicles [UAVs) or drones which delivered targeted attacks with smart bombs and missiles during the Iraq War.

And this bit is interesting:

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported that Kim's eldest son, Kim Chong-Nam might return to North Korea. Quoting a North Korean source in Beijing, the newspaper said the younger Kim was reportedly banished from North Korea following an ill-fated attempt to enter Japan in May 2001. He is currently believed to be in Austria and could return to Pyongyang before the end of the year.

Senior North Korean officials were recently in Austria. Their visit is believed to be connected to preparing for Kim Chong-Nam's return home.

Meanwhile, the North continues its policy of extortion:

North Korea on Tuesday demanded energy aid and other concessions in order to attend a new round of talks on ending its suspected nuclear weapons program, a proposal quickly rejected by the United States. ... "What is clear is that in no case the DPRK would freeze its nuclear activities unless it is rewarded," said a statement issued by North Korea's KCNA news agency. ... "The resumption of the six-way talks in the future entirely depends on whether an agreement will be reached on the DPRK-proposed first-phase step or not," it said. DPRK are the initials for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Measures such as the U.S. delisting the DPRK as a terrorism sponsor, lift of the political, economic and military sanctions and blockade and energy aid including the supply of heavy fuel oil and electricity by the United States and neighboring countries should be taken in exchange for the DPRK's freeze of nuclear activities," it added.

I demand that you compensate me for lying to you!

The United States made clear it had little interest in the idea.

"The goal of the United States is not for a freeze of the nuclear program; the goal is to dismantle a nuclear weapons program in a verifiable and irreversible way," U.S. President George W. Bush said as he met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Also, Parapundit is advocating blanketing North Korea with wind up radios to break the information blockade by the Kim regime. A commentor to the post notes that human rights activists tried to launch ballons with radio sets into North Korea from the South in August, but were stopped by South Korea riot police.

Another don't miss is Cankor, who I will be adding to my links. Great stuff in their latest weekly briefing, including:

The North Korean Freedom Act: Introduced Nov. 25 in the U.S. Senate.

The lawmakers said the Brownback-Bayh bill establishes human rights as a priority item in any US negotiations with the North Korean government and requires comprehensive classified reports on the extensive gulag system in North Korea. The legislation would also expand Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America broadcasts to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The bill also seeks to provide support to North Koreans who have left their country to flee persecution.

Inside the Ring: Communist Infiltration: Am article on N. Korea infiltration into the South

North Korea's communist government is successfully exploiting the openness and democracy in the South by infiltrating spies and saboteurs, US military officials in South Korea tell us. ... But when South Korean society loosened up in the 1990s, the North beganusing different methods. "Now they're using agents with fake passports who are posing as tourists," the officer said. The agents are sent for intelligence-gathering work and also for assassination and sabotage missions in the event conflict starts up.

Army Gen. Leon LaPorte, commander of US forces in South Korea, said earlier this week in an interview that North Korea's 120,000 special-operations commando force is the largest in the world and is the key element in Pyongyang's "asymmetric" warfare strategy.

Another major security problem is a result of the South's pro-North "sunshine" policy of taking a conciliatory approach toward Pyongyang. South Korean counterintelligence efforts against North Korean agents have decreased sharply. Fewer North Korean agents are being uncovered and those that are often get freed by the government.

"We call it catch and release," a second senior officer said. This officer said some spies have been caught in the last few years but many are being missed. North Korean propaganda also has been given a huge boost by the sunshine policies. Once unthinkable, South Korean media now regularly feature pro-North Korean propaganda on both electronic and print outlets.

"We'll see reports from KCNA [the official North Korean news agency] replayed on South Korean media shortly after they come out," the senior officer said.

DC

Asia Weblog Awards

Phil at Flying Chair was inspired by Kevin's 2003 Weblog Awards and is now hosting the Asia Weblog Awards.

DC

Democracy and China

I don't know who the author is behind The Ventilator, (am I the only one who generally looks for an "About Me" page the first time I visit any blog?), but I confess to being just a mite intimidated by their reading list. Don't mind me. My current mid-life crisis is a pining for the intellectual college life. Might be a myth, but one must hold fast to their fantasies.

Where were we?

Oh, right. In any case, the Ventilator linked to a fine essay at Andres Gentry on Democracy's implications for China. There's really too much there to excerpt, so go read it yourself if you've got the Asian bug, (not to be confused with that nasty flu.)

One comment. I certainly agree that Tibet would opt for independence given the chance. However, when it comes to Chinese provinces, it's my experience that even Hong Kong considers itself Chinese first.

Of course, China has given Taiwan absolutely no reason to trust them. More on the lastest cross straits posturing here.

DC

China Threatens Taiwan

Chinese generals talk dirty:

"Chen has reached the mainland's bottom line on the Taiwan question," said Luo Yuan, a senior colonel with the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, referring to Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-Bian. "If they refuse to come to their senses and continue to use referenda as an excuse to seek Taiwan independence, they will push Taiwan compatriots into the abyss of war."

Maj. Gen. Peng Guangqian was quoted as saying that the mainland would attack without hesitation if Taiwan sought a formal split. "Taiwan independence means war," Mr. Peng said. "This is the word of 1.3 billion people, and we will keep our word."

Does this mean no more Taiwan VIP lounge at PRC Customs? What has them riled up?

At issue is whether Taiwan will hold some kind of referendum, possibly in tandem with its presidential elections in March, that would broach the delicate subject of sovereignty.

Mr. Chen, fighting a tough battle for re-election, has promoted just such a referendum to invigorate his supporters, many of whom favor formal independence from the mainland.

The last time they started arguing across the straits, we put a U.S. battleship there as a warning. But, I'm not sure the U.S would be willing to take on China over Taiwan with its resources stretched covering the war on terror. You have to think the Chinese are asking themselves the same question, which would make it poor timing on the part of Tawain to hassle the sleeping dragon.

Read the whole thing here, (NYT article, registration required, Link via Drudge.)

DC

We Need to Get the Queen Bees

Those of us from the West usually find Singapore's authoritarian style a little discomforting. Rules abound. (Do Not Urinate in Elevators! The Punishment for Drug Trafficking is Death! etc.) I was somewhat surprised to see this Newsweek interview of Singapore's leader, Lee Kuan Yew, which says to me he gets it, although I don't agree with his view on getting the UN involved in Iraq:

"The Europeans underestimate the problem of Al Qaeda-style terrorism," he said. "They think that the United States is exaggerating the threat. They compare it to their own many experiences with terror—the IRA, the Red Brigade, the Baader-Meinhof, ETA. But they are wrong."

He went on: "Al Qaeda-style terrorism is new and unique because it is global. An event in Morocco can excite the passions of extremist groups in Indonesia. There is a shared fanatical zealousness among these different extremists around the world. Many Europeans think they can finesse the problem, that if they don't upset Muslim countries and treat Muslims well, the terrorists won't target them. But look at Southeast Asia. Muslims have prospered here. But still, Muslim terrorism and militancy have infected them."
...
"The Americans, however, make the mistake of seeking largely a military solution. You must use force. But force will only deal with the tip of the problem. In killing the terrorists, you will only kill the worker bees. The queen bees are the preachers, who teach a deviant form of Islam in schools and Islamic centers, who capture and twist the minds of the young."
...
I asked Lee how to handle this broader problem. "Well, America can't do it alone," he said. "You can't go into the mosques, Islamic centers and madrassas. We don't have any standing as non-Muslims. Barging in will create havoc. Only Muslims can win this struggle. Moderate, modernizing Muslims, political, religious, civic leaders together have to make the case against the fundamentalists. But the strong, developed countries can help. The NATO allies must, as they did during the cold war, present a solid block. Muslim modernizers must feel that the U.S. and its allies will provide the resources, energy and support to make them winners. No one wants to be on the losing side."

Lee was critical of both sides of the Atlantic alliance on Iraq. "When America and Europe are divided, when Japan is hesitant, the extremists are emboldened and think they can win against a divided group.

Calling all Muslim Modernizers!!!!!

Link via a great post with lots of other links at Incestuous Amplification.

DC

China Internet Dissident Released!!

You know we've been tracking the status of jailed Chinese blogger Liu Di, the Stainless Steel Mouse, (see here and here.)

Great news! She's been released!

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese Internet dissident Liu Di has been released from a Beijing prison after being held for a year without charges, a Hong Kong rights group said.

Liu, 23, who used the online name of Stainless Steel Mouse, was released from Qincheng Prison on parole Friday afternoon, according to her father Liu Qinghua, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.

Her case has drawn widespread attention both in and outside of China as a reflection of the government's policy to severely curb any political opposition to the ruling Communist Party on the Internet.

....

The release comes ahead of a visit to Beijing by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Monday and of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Washington later next week. Human rights issues are expected to be discussed during both visits.

Would she have been released if not for trade and political pressure? Kudos to the blogosphere and the press (yikes!) for keeping the focus on these cases.

DC

Update Dec. 1: Brainstorming's first Instalanche! Whoo-hoo! Thanks Glenn, and thank you for stopping by! Check out the main blog here or my Asia category here.

Activist Admits Sending China Technology

Apparently it's not only some European countries who are prone to forget who their friends are:

A human rights activist whom the U.S. government helped free from a Chinese prison in 2001 pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally sending $1.5 million worth of high-tech items to China.

Gao Zhan entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to one count of unlawful export and another count of tax evasion. Her husband, Xue Donghua, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Gao, a permanent U.S. resident alien, was arrested by Chinese authorities in February 2001 and convicted of spying for Taiwan. She was released after five months in jail under intense pressure from the U.S. government and worked until spring 2002 as a researcher at American University here.

According to federal prosecutors, from August 1998 through 2001 Gao ran Technology Business Services, a business specializing in exports of technology to China. The exports were made to Chinese companies tied to ``institutes'' which perform research and development for the Chinese government, including the Chinese military.

Among the items sent to China were microprocessors that can be used in digital flight control and weapons systems, including identification of targets. Although these microprocessors also have commercial uses, they cannot be exported without permission of the U.S. government.

If you can stomach it, read the whole thing here, (link via Instapundit.)

DC

Asia Blog News

Bandwidth Magazine has an article up, The rise and rise of the Asia weblog. Phil of Flying Chair is prominently featured.

Statistics from Alexa.com, a Web measurement service, suggest these sites now reach audiences comparable to those of mass media. Each day, Instapundit is read by 311 out of every 1 million Internet users, while Andrew Sullivan is read by 287 out of a million. .....

But it is this lack of commercialism that is the secret to the audience appeal of weblogs, argue some. “There is tremendous dissatisfaction with the mainstream media,” argues Phil Ingram, the real name of the blogger behind Hong Kong site FlyingChair.Net.

....

Unsurprisingly, most of the most controversial sites in Asia come from Hong Kong, notable for its freewheeling press. “This is Hong Kong – insulting the government, often in offensive and distasteful ways, is normal for TV, radio, newspapers and the man in the street. Most Hong Kong English-language bloggers are amateur by comparison,” argues Hemlock, the writer of the Hemlock Diaries.

China’s notoriously sensitive government has already seen fit to block all sites hosted by the leading American blogging provider, Blogger.com, but for the moment, English language blogs appear to be tolerated in much of Asia. “The most popular blogs in Asia do not probably have a large enough audience to concern the authorities within more restrictive governments nor are they large enough to have a significant impact on public opinion,” argues Conrad of the Gweilo Diaries. “When Asia spawns its own Glenn Reynolds or Andrew Sullivan, the situation may well be different, but that hasn’t happened yet,” says Conrad.

What I find most impressive is the article seems to be written by someone who actually reads blogs and therefore gives their readers a decent chance at understanding what this blogging thing is all about, as well as pointing them to major Asia bloggers. There's too much good stuff there to excerpt, so go read the whole thing.

And if you're up to a pat on the back, you can congratulate Phil here.

DC

Site Changes

If you take a look on the sidebar, I've divided "Asian Blogs" into:

China and Hong Kong
South Korea
North Korea Info

In the process, I've added quite a few links, especially on the South Korea list.

I'd love to highlight some posts from these fine blogs, but can't do it right now.

Guess you'll just have to read for yourself. :)

DC

China web dissident 'soon free'

This is good news!

A 23-year-old "cyber dissident" detained last year for criticising the Chinese government may be released soon, family members say. ... Liu Di, a former psychology major at Beijing Normal University who wrote under the screen name "Stainless Steel Mouse", became a high-profile symbol for democracy and free speech in China since her detention in November 2002. ... "I am hopeful she will be released, but it's not definite," grandmother Liu Heng, 81, told Reuters by telephone. "They could still lengthen her detention if they find additional evidence."

She said police had not given a date for the release, but a Hong Kong-based human rights group said Liu could be freed by the end of November, before Premier Wen Jiabao flies to the United States for a visit.

You might remember her plight led to this post by Glenn, and my response here.

More from the BBC on China's efforts to control the internet.

The campaign group Reporters Without Borders estimates that China employs 30,000 people to watch what its people are doing online.

Filters installed by the government ban access to foreign websites run by dissidents, human rights groups and some news organisations.

The content of domestic sites is also carefully monitored.

Reporters Without Borders estimates that 36 people have been arrested and jailed in recent years for putting controversial content on the internet.

DC