My Thought on Trial for man accused of York University webcam murder starts this week

This trial will be the focus of much attention in China.  I am ardently hoping that the Canadian justice system will function in a way that will do Canada credit.


http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/15/trial-for-man-accused-of-york-university-webcam-murder-starts-this-week#disqus_thread

My Op-Ed in this morning's Globe and Mail China’s leadership entrenches – this cannot bode well

China’s leadership entrenches – this cannot bode well - The Globe and Mail



Unfortunately, the signal importance to these minorities of language, culture and religious rights evidently escapes China’s leadership. For many Uyghurs and Tibetans, for instance, the fight for symbols that recognize their identity – their own flag, a seat at the United Nations, a free media that tells their people’s story in their own terms, their own schools and political leaders – is a paramount concern. It is the stuff of their souls, for which some will resort to terror and violence, even laying down their lives in horrible ways. 

.  .  .

Wednesday’s report suggests China will step up its struggle for regional power and influence against Japan in the coming year. The government indicated ominously that “we will safeguard the victory of World War II and the postwar international order, and will not allow anyone to reverse the course of history.” Combined with a promise to increase the military’s budget by 12.2 per cent, well in excess of anticipated gross domestic product growth, this cannot bode well.

My Take on the Terrible Incident at the Kunming Railway Station

Mercifully, none of our family and friends were at the Kunming Railway Station that terrible evening.

Yesterday, I was asked to make a few comments for the Toronto Mandarin TV News.  I judge that the questions the reporter asked me shed more light on the issue than my answers.  For example, I was asked if I thought that the reason the incident occurred in Kunming is because so many Uyghurs travel to Yunnan to buy drugs.  Another was did I think that the reason that the Uyghurs engage in terrorism is because they want are an independent East Turkestan so they can keep all the wealth generated by natural resource extraction in Xinjiang for themselves.  So is it about greed?  And there was the implication that all Uyghurs, coordinated by Rebiya Kadeer with U.S. support, foment terrorism to further their cause.

But I see the Han-Uyghur conflict as fundamentally a problem of incompatible and evidently  irreconcilable narratives of history about the same piece of territory.  Unfortunately, the signal importance of language, culture and religion to the Uyghurs largely escapes most Han people.  But the fight for recognition of their identity, the symbols of their own flag, a seat for their nation at the U.N., a free media in the Uyghur language that tells their people's story in their own terms, and of course their own schools and political leaders is to many Uyghurs their paramount abiding concern, because it is the stuff of their souls.  And for this some will resort to terror and violence and even lay down their lives.

I wish that I could see some path to a resolution of all this.  But, regrettably, I cannot.

Report in Chinese that Zhou Yongkang has been expelled from the Party

快讯：中共中央下发《关于周永康涉嫌严重违纪的通报》，通报指出，周永康在担任中国石油天然气集团、国土资源部、四川省委书记领导职务和中央政法委书记期间，严重违反党的纪律，滥用职权，犯有严重错误、负有重大责任；利用职权为他人谋利，直接和通过家人收受他人巨额贿赂；利用职权、其子周某利用其的职务影响为他人谋利，其家人收受他人巨额财物；与多名女性发生或保持不正当性关系；违反组织人事纪律，造成严重后果；涉嫌侵吞巨额国有资产；包庇和纵容黑社会团伙犯罪。周永康的行为造成了严重后果，极大损害了党和国家声誉，在国内外产生了非常恶劣的影响，给党和人民的事业造成了重大损失。中共中央政治局会议决定，根据《中国共产党章程》、《中国共产党纪律处分条例》的有关规定，给予周永康开除党籍处分，待党的十八届四中全会予以追认

It has not been denied by the Chinese MFA yet