Links of Interest

Anti-Slavery International’s Norma Kang Muico talks about child slave labor in North Korea in the Daily NK, an online newspaper written and edited primarily by North Korean defectors.

The deputy editor of Chinese newspaper the Taizhou Evening News, Wu Xianghu, has died of a beating allegedly carried out by police, a report said. The 41-year-old was beaten in October when about 50 police officers stormed the newspaper’s offices and arrested him, The Times of London reported. Wu’s arrest followed his refusal to apologize for a story about unreasonable fees to get driver’s licenses.

One can only hope that one day, probably after the fall of the Communist Party, those policemen will be tried for murder.

Via the (dissident) Epoch Times:

A lawyer who is world renowned for his public defiance of the Chinese communist regime has called for ongoing hunger strikes across China in protest against the regime’s persecution of innocent people.

Despite being under house arrest and having recently survived an attempted assassination for his outspoken stance on the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Gao Zhisheng published an article on Sunday announcing the establishment of the Hunger Strike Group to Support Human Rights.

. . . .

Gao did not discriminate between the many different groups of people in China, saying the hunger strikes should be an expression of support for all those victimised by the regime, including, “workers, farmers, intellectuals and people with religious beliefs.” He also included members from within the CCP’s system, for instance those in the “political field, army, and public security system,” as well as “overseas citizens who have been subjected to brutal persecution, such as refugees from North Korea.”

I’ve never been overwhelmed with Zakaria’s insight, and this time is no different. I agree that the Bush Adminstration shows no sign of a coherent North Korea policy. I agree that we must take every practical step to disarm North Korea of its nukes. I agree that there’s nothing inherently wrong with negotiating with North Korea (if for no other reason than appearance’s sake). But where is Zakaria going with this, exactly?

China is wrong to support a truly ugly dictatorship, and President Bush is
absolutely correct when he speaks of the immorality of the Pyongyang regime. But he should have faith in that judgment. North Korea’s regime is destined to fall.
An American diplomat talking to Pyongyang about eliminating nuclear weapons
won’t change that. But meanwhile, constructive diplomacy might save the rest of
the world some hair-raising years of danger.

It would all have made sense but for one word: “constructive;” after all, if we’ve learned one thing from history in general and our history with North Korea in particular, it is that diplomacy with regimes that don’t respect human life is seldom “constructive” for very long. Is it Zakaria’s position that we should forget about uranium and supernotes, forget about concentration camps, reach some kind of deal (terms?), pray the North Koreans will comply even minimally, pay them off, and then hope that it won’t forestall the very event Zakaria believes is “destined” to happen?

Parts of what Zakaria is saying makes sense. I just can’t synthesize them with the parts that don’t. Here’s where I disagree with Zakaria: it’s time for us to stop waiting for China to become our ally, when our real allies–those who share our interests–are the people of North Korea. Our problems in North Korea will never end as long as sociopaths reign in Pyongyang.

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The Uri bigs are in Pyongyang. Announcement of a pre-election summit to follow? It would only be the oldest trick in the South Korean Book of Politics.

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At 2209 Massachusetts Avenue, a four-story building that used to house the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has been turned into a center for North
Korea human rights. The building alone is worth $5 million and its monthly rent
at least $7,000, but North Korean human rights groups will be able to use the
entire building for free thanks to Deborah Fikes, executive director of the
Ministerial Alliance of Midland Texas.

Another turning point? This movement, imho, is in dire need of just one thing: publicity. Let us hope that with this new infusion of capital, that, too will follow. Previous OFK posts on Deborah Fikes here, here, and here.

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The good news is that the North Koreans didn’t walk out. But read on:

The Japanese government was left bewildered Tuesday by a new North Korean demand made earlier in the day in Beijing that Tokyo hand over some individuals involved in helping people escape from North Korea to China, claiming they acted in violation of North Korean law.

. . . .

A high-ranking government official, meanwhile, pointed out that it was “silly” for North Korea to seek such handovers and to describe people who are fighting to protect human rights as criminals.

What would Chung Dong-Young have done?