Two on China

My expensive (time-wise) civics lesson continues today. In the meantime, I noticed these two news items on China on a quick visit to The Drudge Report.

Nuremberg Defense Updated

In an article that says Reporters without Borders is pressuring American companies that sell Internet-related equipment and software to China, I read the following:

China is the world's second-largest Internet market.

It employs an estimated 30,000 people to trawl Web sites for subversive material and is a leading jailer of journalists, with at least 32 in custody, and another 50 Internet campaigners also in prison, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The largest U.S. network equipment maker Cisco and several other U.S. technology companies, including Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., are facing the ire of some U.S. lawmakers, activists and investors for their alleged complicity in allowing the Chinese government to commit human rights abuses.

...

Microsoft senior policy counsel Fred Tipson defended Cisco.

"The condition of doing business in a country is to abide by the law in that country," Tipson said. [bold added]

I can only assume that Tipson is as big a fan of antitrust legislation as he is of Chinese restrictions on freedom of speech. If so, Microsoft at least has the legal representation it deserves.

Interestingly, this is (or promotes) the same error that some anti-immigration types make when they decry illegal immigration simply for being illegal. The fact that something is encoded in law does not exempt it from critical evaluation. Laws are creations of man, not metaphysical facts. They can be changed, and I always suspect the motives of those who want me to forget that.

Gertz on China and Nuclear Proliferation

This Bill Gertz article is a must-read.

China helped North Korea develop nuclear weapons and in the past year increased its support to Pyongyang, rather than pressing the regime to halt nuclear arms and missile activities, according to a congressional report.

The final draft report of the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission also says that Chinese government-run companies are continuing to threaten U.S. national security by exporting arms to American enemies in Asia and the Middle East.

The report is based on public testimony and highly classified intelligence reports made available to its members and staff. It indirectly criticizes the Bush administration for failing to pressure Beijing into joining U.S.-led anti-proliferation programs and calls for Congress to take action to force the administration to do more.

"China has contributed at least indirectly to North Korea's nuclear program," the report stated, noting that China was a "primary supplier" to Pakistan's nuclear-arms program.

--CAV