Statement opposing anti-China campaign

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A PSL press release

We are opposed to the campaign of disinformation and demonization that is targeting the People’s Republic of China (PRC.) The timing of the campaign is linked to China’s hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics. That the Olympics are taking place in China is of historic significance and great pride to all the country’s people. It was less than six decades ago that China emerged from a century of colonialist humiliation at the hands of the same big powers that are spearheading the China-bashing campaign today.

Washington is providing financial, political, diplomatic and propaganda support to the racist demonization effort, supposedly because of concern for “human rights.” This is the same government that is directly responsible for the death of one million Iraqis since 2003.

While one out of every three Iraqis have been killed, wounded or displaced since 2003 the US government is eager to have people in the US., especially students, protest any government other than their own. One pretext for the anti-China campaign is the fact that the PRC has trade relations with Sudan. The US wants to overthrow the government of oil-rich Sudan and replace it with a puppet. It has supported “rebel groups” who are prolonging the civil war. The people of the Sudan, who are suffering greatly, are cynically used as a fund raising vehicle by organizations that have raised tens of millions of dollars but have never spent a penny actually helping the people of Sudan, including those who live in the Darfur region.

Demonization campaigns against particular countries and their leaders are not just media exercises. Over the last two decades, such campaigns have preceded the invasions of Iraq and Panama, the bombing war against Yugoslavia, the coups in Haiti and attempted coup in Venezuela, and a threatened war against Iran. The pattern is clear and so too is the danger.

Regarding Tibet, for many centuries a region of China, the hand of Washington in the latest events is obvious for anyone who wants to see. For more than 50 years, the CIA and other U.S. government agencies have trained, funded, coordinated and supported the old feudal and repressive regime in Tibet represented by the Dalai Lama. The CIA front group the National Endowment for Democracy funds the International Campaign for Tibet, the Tibetan Youth Congress, the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement and the Dalai Lama himself. The U.S. maintains close ties with the Tibetan “government-in-exile” in India, whose real aim is to break away a region making up a quarter of China’s territory. These U.S. actions constitute an effort to de-stabilize and dismember the Peoples Republic of China. The progress in education, women’s rights, employment and health care would be immediately eviscerated if the old serf-owning ruling elite, represented by the Dalai Lama, was brought back to power.

No one, least of all progressive people, should be misled about what is really going on. The real motivation for the anti-China campaign has nothing to do with human rights or liberation, and everything to do with an agenda of global domination.

We the undersigned call for an end to the disinformation and demonization campaign against China, and a halt to the attempts to boycott and disrupt the 2008 Olympics.

Initial Signers:

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General
Muna Coobtee, Party for Socialism and Liberation
Tony Gonzales, American Indian Movement-West*
Richard Becker, Western Region Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition*
Dave Ewing, Co-Chair,U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association,San Francisco
Willie Bartolome, Coordinator, Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante)-USA
Arturo P. Garcia, Philippine Immigrant Network for Empowerment
Bob Anderson, Stop the War Machine, Albuquerque, New Mexico*
Chuck Kaufman, Co-Coordinator, Nicaragua Network*
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Civil Rights Attorney
Peter Erlinder, Law Professor, former President of the National Lawyers Guild
Riva Enteen, member, National Lawyers Guild
Idriss Stelley Foundation
Education Not Incarceration, San Francisco Chapter
San Francisco Village Voice Community Radio
Mesha Monge Irizarry, San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper reporter*
Gilberto López y Rivas, Professor and Journalist
Beatrice Eisman, U.S.-Vietnam Friendship Association*
Mario Santos, National Coordinator,Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines—USA
Jim Lafferty, Interim General Manager, KPFK 90.7 FM Pacifica Radio* and Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles*
Ecumenical Fellowship for Justice and Peace-Los Angeles
Judi Cheng, New York City, NY
Eli Stephens, Left I on the News
Allen Cooper, Veterans for Peace, GI Rights Hotline*
Col.Peping Baclig, Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV)*
Cmdr.Jack Vergara, Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC)*
Pons De Leon, First Quarter Storm Network (FQSN)-USA-
Harald Neuber, journalist, Germany
Jazy Bonilla D.C.16 IUPAT Organizer *
Dr. Carmen Mercedes Baez, Argentina
Eladio González, (toto) Ernesto Che Guevara Museum, Argentina
Tara Hui, activist, San Francisco
Christine Araquel, Chair, Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB,Pro-PeopleYouth), USA
Riya Ortiz, UGNAYAN, NJNY
Ernesto Arce, Pacifica Radio, KPFK 90.7FM, Los Angeles*
Salvador Cordon, Coordinator, FMLN, Northern California

*Organizations for Identification Only

I appreciate the fact that these individuals have added their names to that PRC sympathetic statement. It is important to have clarity. I am not surprised about Ramsey Clark. This is not the first time that he has been an apologist for a repressive government. The left wingers on the signature block remind of those folks back in the 1930's who were pro-Stalin but were blind to the millions who died in the USSR during his imfamous purges and five year plans. We all know about the murderous history of the PRC since its inception. The PRC wants to open itself up to the world and host the Olympics. Well, the PRC should realize that the price for such prestige is a spotlight on some of its policies that have until this point have been largely ignored by the international community and big business. On the world scene the PRC is the proverbial 800 pound gorilla. As the old saying goes...what does an 800 pound gorilla do? Answer: Whatever it wants! The PRC has more than 1 billion people and is an economic powerhouse. As a result, the international community has been afraid to stand up to the PRC and has largely cow towed to it rather than confront it on its abuses. As a result, less than 20 years after the massacre of Tienamen Square the IOC has agreed to hold its games in Beijing. The amorality of such a decision is only surpassed by their choice to hold the games in Berlin back in 1936. I welcome these protests wherever the torch is carried. The PRC has sought the prestige of hosting the games, and it must accept everything that comes with it. The protesters in the streets are holding a mirror up to the PRC and perhaps the PRC does not like its policies questioned like this in public. We all know that it would not permit such protests on its own soil without serious consequences to follow as witnessed in 1989. As for the choice of some of the world leaders to boycott the opening ceremony, I have a different take. I think rather than boycotting the ceremony, they should all attend together in the same entourage, and bring along the Dalai Lama their special guest. We must stand up to the PRC and hold it to account for its actions. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Let us always remember the image of the lone protester in Tienamen Square who courageously stood in front of the tanks. May we have but a fraction of his bravery and integrity.

The whole pro-Tibet scene is rife with contradictions. While the struggle for an independent Tibet is legitimate and right, there's also funding from the CIA and other right-wing groups, because Tibet's enemy happens to be the USA's enemy as well. Frankly, these supporters don't care about Tibetans or Buddha. They probably hate Buddha as much as they hated Osama Bin Ladin's Allah -- they just like to fund the enemy's enemy.

What China's guilty of is colonizing Tibet as part of it's long-term imperial expansion. This is the pot calling the kettle black -- the entire United States is a colony, that became an empire, and is presently invading Iraq. In both places, the indigenous nationalist movement is seen as a dangerous insurgency threatening chaos and, potentially, ending the colonial project.

It's hypocrisy to support Tibetans, but not to support the Iraqi insurgents. It's hypocrisy to support the Iraqi insurgents, but not to support the Tibetans.

You have to support car bombs against American troops as much as you support Tibetans firebombing Han Chinese shops.

The comparison between blowing up U.S. troops in Iraq and the Tibetans blowing up Han chinese shops is really really atrocious. First of all, Iraq is no colony of the U.S. anymore than Germany and Japan were at the end of WWII. Do we have a vested oil interest in Iraq? Of course we do! Is their government one that was installed by us? Yes. But so were the post WWII governments of Germany and Japan. Both of those countries are their own independent countries today, each with a strong national identity and nobody else's colony. Iraq is a basket case of rival Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd factions. It took a repressive government like Sadaam Hussein's to keep these groups from all out war. Tito had to do the same for Yugoslavia. I am not defending either Hussein or Tito, but I am using them as examples as to why Iraq does not compare to Tibet. First of all, the Tibetan culture is more pacifistic and peaceful. I don't know about any stories of Tibetans blowing up Han Chinese shops. Moreover, I doubt that the Dalai Lama would support such violence on behalf of Tibetan independence. In addition, I think the previous writer who stated that we probably hate the Buddhists as much as Al Qaida was way over the top. Do we often support the enemy of our enemies? Yes, of course we do! But I am sorry but no Tibetans flew airplanes into our buildings on 9/11. I have no idea why the previous writer would think that we would hate the Buddhist Tibetans as much as Al Qaida. Instead, I think most Americans have a certain amount of respect for the Tibetan struggle. America has many many Buddhists who are in solidarity with the Tibetan struggle. Remember Richard Gere? As far as the "insurgents in Iraq" are concerned, the writer paints a with a very broad and simplistic brush. Many of these "Iraqi insurgents" are not even Iraqi but are foreign jihadist fighters who are part of Al Qaida themselves. Many of the sheiks in the Sunni Triangle that fought against us have now changed over to our side to fight against Al Qaida. In Basra, the primarily Shiite Iraqi government forces are fighting against the Shiite Mehdi Army. Iraq is very complex and is not so simple as the US coming in to colonize Iraq and the insurgents fighting against them are all trying to wage a war of independence. Instead it is more like a multi sided civil war with shifting alliances and loyalties, and that many of those fighting against the US are not even Iraqi nor have any real interest in any form of Iraqi independence. In reality, Iran would love to colonize Iraq and Al Qaida would love to keep it as a base of operations and supply. On the other hand, Tibet is an Himalayan Kingdom with a long history and tradition of Buddhist culture and thought. When one thinks of Tibet, visions of mountain monks in their robes as spin prayer wheels often come to mind. Not bombs. We all know China's role in Tibet since the 1950's has been that of oppression and violence towards an otherwise peaceful people. However there is still no Tibetan version of Hamas or Al Qaida. It aint a Buddhist thing!

The comparison between blowing up U.S. troops in Iraq and the Tibetans blowing up Han chinese shops is really really atrocious. First of all, Iraq is no colony of the U.S. anymore than Germany and Japan were at the end of WWII. Do we have a vested oil interest in Iraq? Of course we do! Is their government one that was installed by us? Yes. But so were the post WWII governments of Germany and Japan. Both of those countries are their own independent countries today, each with a strong national identity and nobody else's colony. Iraq is a basket case of rival Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd factions. It took a repressive government like Sadaam Hussein's to keep these groups from all out war. Tito had to do the same for Yugoslavia. I am not defending either Hussein or Tito, but I am using them as examples as to why Iraq does not compare to Tibet. First of all, the Tibetan culture is more pacifistic and peaceful. I don't know about any stories of Tibetans blowing up Han Chinese shops. Moreover, I doubt that the Dalai Lama would support such violence on behalf of Tibetan independence. In addition, I think the previous writer who stated that we probably hate the Buddhists as much as Al Qaida was way over the top. Do we often support the enemy of our enemies? Yes, of course we do! But I am sorry but no Tibetans flew airplanes into our buildings on 9/11. I have no idea why the previous writer would think that we would hate the Buddhist Tibetans as much as Al Qaida. Instead, I think most Americans have a certain amount of respect for the Tibetan struggle. America has many many Buddhists who are in solidarity with the Tibetan struggle. Remember Richard Gere? As far as the "insurgents in Iraq" are concerned, the writer paints a with a very broad and simplistic brush. Many of these "Iraqi insurgents" are not even Iraqi but are foreign jihadist fighters who are part of Al Qaida themselves. Many of the sheiks in the Sunni Triangle that fought against us have now changed over to our side to fight against Al Qaida. In Basra, the primarily Shiite Iraqi government forces are fighting against the Shiite Mehdi Army. Iraq is very complex and is not so simple as the US coming in to colonize Iraq and the insurgents fighting against them are all trying to wage a war of independence. Instead it is more like a multi sided civil war with shifting alliances and loyalties, and that many of those fighting against the US are not even Iraqi nor have any real interest in any form of Iraqi independence. In reality, Iran would love to colonize Iraq and Al Qaida would love to keep it as a base of operations and supply. On the other hand, Tibet is an Himalayan Kingdom with a long history and tradition of Buddhist culture and thought. When one thinks of Tibet, visions of mountain monks in their robes as spin prayer wheels often come to mind. Not bombs. We all know China's role in Tibet since the 1950's has been that of oppression and violence towards an otherwise peaceful people. However there is still no Tibetan version of Hamas or Al Qaida. It aint a Buddhist thing!

Anything that supports China's actions against Tibet's self-governance is ethically wrong, regardless of what side of the fence the so called pro-China progressives believe themselves to be. Leftists supporting China with or without their Wal-mart sweatshops? Talk about hypocrisy, a nation that calls themselves a People's Republic forcing thousands of children to work at slave wages in sweatshops so Wal-mart stores can sell cheap plastic toys to U.S. consumers??

What kind of outer space communism is that, we work so hard in our sweatshops that we sweat blood, all for the greater good of the People's Republic of China? Or for the greater good of Mr. Sam Walton, the billionaire owner and founder of Wal-mart stores that profit in excess from cheap Chinese labor??

IF China were ethically correct in their actions in Tibet, would they continue to operate sweatshops within their own country, trapping their own people in virtual slavery while the profiteer of this cheap labor remains the top of the Fortune 500, Wal-mart founder Sam Walton? Sounds like something is wrong with the ethics of these pro-China signers, maybe they should visit and work in one of these Chinese sweatshops for a few days and then see if they're still willing to sign on as pro-China..

Here's the scoop on the Wal-mart & China sweatshop connection;

"Children's Toys Made Under Miserable Conditions: Report Released by China Labor Watch and the National Labor Committee, December 21, 2005

Yet again, it is evident that whatever attempts Wal-Mart is making to clean up its factories in China have not been enough. Workers at the Huangwu No. 2 Toy Factory in Dongguan City report that there have been inspections, but the factory was warned ahead of time and was therefore prepared. Workers were told what to say and how to answer questions. The inspections accomplished nothing.

Here are some of the things the inspectors at Huangwu No. 2 Toy Factory did not have a chance to see:

There are few safety precautions for any of the workers. Those who work with oil-based paint or glue report that their hands become caked and dry and often crack and bleed. Due to the rudimentary face masks given to workers in the paint-spraying department, one worker recently inhaled so many paint fumes he experienced numerous nose bleeds and had to take time off to go to the hospital. When he returned, his nose simply started to bleed again. Despite this, he has yet to be given better safety gear.

Workers at the Huangwu No. 2 Toy Factory are worked at an unbelievable pace. The paint workers are spraying 1,115 small toys per hour. That's one toy every 3.23 seconds. Workers have reportedly passed out from exaustion.

These workers are making only 28 yuan per day and receive only 3.9 yuan per hour for overtime -- well below the legal minimum.

Workers are putting in upwards of 15 hours a day in the peak season and 13 hours a day in the slow season.

Workers here, like the workers at most other factories that produce for Wal-Mart in China, are provided with no insurance, no pensions, no maternity leave, no marital leave and no leave to bury family members. Pregnant women who cannot keep up with the pace are forced to take time off -- unpaid."

visit China Labor Watch;
http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/en/web/

Karl Marx must be rolling in his grave every time China's government tries to call themselves communist!!

Next thing the pro-China coalition will be telling us is that the sweatshops in China don't exist and are another CIA concocted hoax because we're all just a bunch of anti-China racists looking for a good excuse to hate China!!

It is beyond belief that so-called communists in the U.S. still cling to the belief that China is a pro-worker nation and that they are somehow justified by their actions occupying Tibet, not to mention their sweatshops in the mainland!?

My guess is that some of these pro-China sympathizers are actually on the Wal-mart payroll, and their greatest fear from the Free Tibet movement is the disruption of trade between the U.S. and China..

People in the U.S. will continue to protest the unjust U.S. occupation of Iraq, the unjust Israeli occupation of Palestine AND the unjust Chinese occupation of Tibet!!