People still tremble when they recall the dark night of June 4, 1989 -- especially those who witnessed the truth about the bloody massacre on Tiananmen Square. We've all heard the popular saying: "The People's Liberation Army is an army for the people."
A quick reality check sure blows that theory to shreds after thousands of pro-democracy students were killed, hundreds of peasants have been mowed down by paramilitary police over land seizures, not to mention countless liberal scholars, human-rights activists and members of religious groups thrown in jail and tortured. Seventeen years later Christians have peacefully taken back the night, attempting to free themselves from the grip of the regime with more than 10 million people quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
It is no surprise that the CCP is no longer worshipped as more Chinese recognize the oppressive ways of the Party, the benevolent law of heaven and earth and the value of freedom.
We wish them well as they slowly progress towards a new free China.
Marie Beaulieu
Victoria, British Columbia
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
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