The Irony is that today, with Bush as incompetent and/or corrupt President of the U.S.. we are still not ready to help Taiwan defend itself thanks to $BILLIONS wasted in Iraq and on RMA mental gadgets.
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All signs point to invasion
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According to Hong Kong media outlets, the central command of the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party decided to move their army to the south, closer to Taiwan -- yet another indication of China's plans to attack the island nation seeking independence from the communist giant.
In 1980, ex-leader of the Communist Party, Deng Xia-peng, decided to cut his military force by retiring almost one million PLA officers and soldiers. And in 1990, the Chinese government forced another half-million soldiers into retirement. These actions, however, did not lower the PLA's military readiness. Quite the opposite effect occurred -- by cutting the number of mouths to feed, the PLA was able to use its resources toward modernizing its still-immense military force. At an Aug. 27 meeting, Chinese officials decided to split three army groups and sent them to join armies already in the south. The relocated forces are reputed to be the most powerful and most modern forces. They are now stationed at the southern command bases of Guang-zhou and Nan-jing, which face the Taiwan Strait. It is interesting to note that the 27th army of a military division relocated near Taiwan is the same force that moved into Beijing in 1989, killing students and other pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square.
Over the last few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin have had several meetings. Something is definitely going on there that cannot be ignored. I would not be surprised if the PLA moves its forces currently located at the northern Russian border down to the south near the Taiwan Strait. If these little chats between the two leaders have led to a non-aggression agreement, China would be free to relax its northern military readiness in favor of a southern conflict. All Jiang wants to concentrate on now is how to "unite China." One concrete result of the two leaders' conversations was a contract signed by Putin and Jiang, selling China high-tech aircraft that Russia would deliver in three years. But that wasn't fast enough for Jiang, who arranged to lease existing Russian fighters, the first of which arrived two months ago.
What's the rush?
China's decision to relocate some of its military forces was the result of a Bei-dai-he meeting. Bei-dai-he is a Chinese Camp David, of sorts. For generations, emperors and their wives have vacationed there during the summer, when Beijing heats up like an oven. The weather at Bei-dai-he is very mild as it is near the ocean. Communist Chinese rulers have followed in their emperors' footsteps. Officially, the ruler is on "retreat," but every year, China's top military leaders are invited for the two-month getaway. It is common knowledge that those two months are used by political and military leaders to decide the nation's agenda for the next year.
I believe they have reached three goals at this year's retreat. The first of those goals is to maintain a good relationship with the United States. That would be the "only way" to stop Taiwan's independence movement and consequently, to reunite the island with its communist "motherland." Eventually, Taiwan will have to make a decisive move asserting its independence, but it will not be able to do so without the support of the United States. If China and the U.S. are buddy-buddy, that move will have far less likelihood of succeeding. Second, I believe China will step up its efforts at direct or indirect communication with the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan. The DPP gained power with the election of President Chen Shui-Bian, who is a champion of Taiwan independence. If Chen's party can be wooed into seeing the "benefits" of communism and Taiwan-China unity, the Taiwanese people will be more attracted to the "one China" policy. And third, China will continue increasing PLA military readiness. Communist Chinese leaders do not trust Taiwan's President Chen. They know that sooner or later, he will attempt to formally establish Taiwanese independence. When that happens, China will be ready to use force to crush Chen's efforts.
For the last eight years of his presidency, Jiang has worked to centralize control of China's military into his political realm. Once the largest money-making business organization in China, the PLA was ordered by Jiang about three years ago to stop much of its non-military business. That was a serious blow to the military that shifted the bulk of China's internal power base from the PLA to the politicos. In the hopes of regaining the stature they once had, PLA generals are surely planning to attack Taiwan. That may be one reason for China's anticipated invasion of Taiwan, but don't forget that Jiang would love nothing more than to leave a legacy as the great ruler who united China. Under Jiang's leadership, China again made sure Taiwan's application for admission to the United Nations was rejected this year at the United Nations' annual meeting in New York. This was Taiwan's eighth attempt at recognition, and Clinton seemed to take China's side. According to the Asian media, America's president urged Chen very strongly to negotiate with China. Recently, it has also been reported that the United States moved defense missiles into Guam, which is near the Taiwan Strip. According to the American media, Guam has never been home to such a huge capacity of weaponry before, indicating that the United States is also preparing for a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Remember, China is already performing military exercises in the south, including invasion techniques. So just when will all this take place? Let's look at surrounding events. The American election is just around the corner. Nothing will happen before Election Day on Nov. 7, because Beijing rulers like Democrat presidents. They wouldn't want to risk creating a bad situation for their favorite American political party. But while they won't do anything militarily, they will surely ask the current administration for something in return for their calculated restraint.
And just what does China want from the U.S., you ask? PNTR -- that little acronym that has caused such heated debate in Congress and abroad. In case you've forgotten, it stands for Permanent Normal Trade Relations. It is obvious that President Clinton is the lobbyist-in-chief for China on this issue.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have a prediction: After our election on Nov. 7, American politicians will be exhausted from their campaign war, and the American people will either be wrapped up in their glee or sorrow over the results. Then Christmas arrives. I hope I am wrong, but the most dangerous moment for Taiwan will be from Dec. 15-31. All China needs is two weeks to invade the island, empower its own leaders and declare "one China." President Clinton will use lip service, telling China that it "just can't do that." But then he will leave office, placing the conflict in the hands of the next president. When I think how Jiang attended the U.N. world peace conference, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. He wants to project the image of peacemaker to the world, but it's not true. And unless Americans do something about it, a nation struggling for independence from a communist giant will pay a heavy price for daring to believe in freedom and justice for all. That's the reason why I asked George W. Bush two days ago, face-to-face, when he came down to Los Angeles, "Would you defend Taiwan?" He said he "definitely" will.
Johnny Chung is a news analyst and exclusive columnist for WorldNetDaily.