Tibet and West

By Adrian Croft - Analysis

LONDON (Reuters) - When it comes to speaking out on Tibet, China has just got too much economic clout for western powers to talk too loudly.

In contrast to western condemnation of a crackdown on demonstrations in Myanmar (Burma) last year, western criticism of China's handling of protests in Tibet have been much more muted, analysts say.

"There's a tendency in Washington to make a China exception'," said John Tkacik, China expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative U.S. think tank.

"Things we would whack Burma, Sudan or Uzbekistan for, we want to ignore when China does them," he said.

The United States and other western nations called for restraint after a crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet in which Chinese authorities said 13 had been killed, while exiled Tibetans put the death toll at around 100.

But expressions of concern have stopped there.

"There's a general unwillingness of governments to speak out on human rights violations involving China," said Corinna-Barbara Francis, a China researcher at human rights group Amnesty International in London.

"A lot has to do with this perception that has emerged of an all-powerful, influential presence of China which I think is exaggerated and goes beyond its economic clout," she said.
With economic growth of 10 percent or more a year since 2003, China now has the world's fourth biggest economy and may be on track to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy within a couple of decades.

It has been doing deals around the world to secure supplies of oil and metals -- notably when state-owned Aluminum Corp of China teamed up with U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa in February to buy a $14 billion stake in mining giant Rio Tinto.

Analysts argue that Tibet, which Chinese troops marched into in 1950, has never enjoyed much international support even when it launched a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, prompting the flight of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Then, long before China's economic boom, the west saw Beijing as a potential Cold War ally against the Soviet Union.

And although Tibet's ancient Buddhist culture won sympathy from many individual westerners, its remoteness and poverty gave it no international clout.

But a traditional western "hands off" approach to Tibet has been underscored this time around by the increasing economic interdependence between the United States and China.

CREDIT CRUNCH

The anti-government protests in Tibet come at a particularly delicate time, as Washington battles a credit crunch and a falling dollar, and looks to China to bail it out.

China has about $1.5 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, a large proportion of which are in dollar-denominated bonds. If China stopped buying, the dollar would likely fall sharply.
China's new investment fund pumped $5 billion into Morgan Stanley in December after the U.S. investment bank posted $9.4 billion of losses in subprime mortgages and other assets.

The economic interdependence is not however only one-way. China relies on U.S. and western markets to buy its exports which underpin its healthy trade surplus. The U.S. trade gap with China soared to a record $256 billion in 2007.

This has prompted some to argue that the United States and others could take a tougher stand with China.

Gerrit van der Wees, from the Formosan Association for Public Affairs in Washington, which lobbies for Taiwan's separate identity in international affairs, said the United States felt it had to be more accommodating to China.

"But, in our view, that doesn't mean giving in to what China says and does, which is what the U.S. has been doing a little bit too much over the past year," he added.

China's economic lure, however, seems to be strong, not just for the United States but the European Union.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on a visit to China in January that Britain was open to Chinese trade and investment and pitched for China's new $200 billion sovereign wealth fund to open an office in London.

French firms sealed $30 billion of deals during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China last November. Tue Mar 18, 2008(Ruuter)

comfort women Korean comfort women in increase

Modern Korean comfort wmen are in increase abroad, according to OneKoreannews.net.
According to the article, it is due to the fact the strict law against prostitution's was enacted a few years back in Korea. Some women are deceived by brokers, but others go voluntarily abroad such as to Australia and Japan for quick money.

onekoreanews

現代版　人身売買 2008年3月12日発行


　





０４年「性売買特別法」施行後
学生ら安易な考えで海外に

　韓国人女性の売春が韓国国外で急増している。韓国では０４年に、売春行為を取り締まる「性売買特別法」が施行された。これによって居場所を失ったゆえの “海外遠征売春″なのか。売春行為が法で認められているオーストラリアなどのほか、近距離の日本でも急増している。“遠征売春″は金銭トラブルなどで人身売買につながるケースもあるようだ。韓国側の取締当局は、「それ以上に問題なのは、プロではなく学生や主婦が売春を承知で海外に出かけていることだ」と頭を抱えている。
（崔世一）
　今月８日、オーストラリアのシドニー市警に１０人の韓国人女性が保護された。彼女たちは１日２０時間以上も売春行為を行っていたという。
　ＡＦＰ通信によれば、売春組織は甘い労働条件で女性たちを誘い、偽造旅券を与えてオーストラリアに入国させたとみられている。入国すると彼女たちは旅券を取り上げられた上、想像以上の過酷な条件を押しつけられたという。
　韓国の警察庁外事局関係者は、「性売買特別法」で国内に居場所をなくした売春婦だった可能性が高いとみている。
　「たくさん稼げるという甘い話に乗って遠征売春に出かけても、密入国にかかった偽造旅券などの“斡旋料”や、現地で思いのほかかかった生活費などがかさみ、売春組織からの借金が雪だるま式に増えていく。だが、それこそがブローカーの真の狙いで、彼女たちを底なし沼に誘う。早い話が現代版の人身売買だ」
　韓国の警察庁関係者は、こうしたケースは逆にめずらしいという。
　「確かに、性売買特別法の実施により、国内の売春婦が海外に流れたのは事実だ。しかし、最近は、外国語取得とカネ稼ぎを目的に、売春を承知で海外に出る女子大生や主婦のほうがはるかに多いのではないか」
　韓国の警察庁外事局国際犯罪捜査隊は２月、これまで１５００人もの韓国女性に海外での売春をあっせんした組織を摘発した。ブローカーたちは「働きながら外国語を学べる」という言葉で女性たちを募っていた。
　韓国の女子大生が好む国は、英語圏のオーストラリアやカナダ、米国などだ。最近ではしかし、カネを稼ぐ目的で日本にやってくる学生や主婦が急増しており、彼女たちは売春が手っ取り早い稼ぎ手段と簡単に割り切っているようだ。日本はターゲットになりやすい。距離的に近いことや、オーストラリアなどに比べてブローカーの仲介料が安いからだという。
　都内のある韓国デリバリーヘルスの店長の話だ。
　「昔はブローカーに騙され売春をさせられることがあったかもしれないが、今は自ら望んで日本にやってくるケースが増えている」
　ビザを必要としない日本への渡航。不法滞在で取り締まりに遭ったことがなく、犯罪歴もない学生や主婦は、入国には何の問題もない。密入国する必要もなければ、偽造旅券を所持する必要もない。ブローカーの仲介料はしれている。店の紹介料や空港まで迎えにきてもらう手数料くらいだ。
　「１週間働いてブランド品を購入して帰国する人もいれば、３カ月で１年間の学費を稼ぐ人もいる」と言うのは、前出のヘルス店長だ。
　問題は、韓国や日本政府が、こうした実態を把握しきれていないことだ。今年３月、警察庁が発表した「来日外国人売春防止法違反検挙状況」をみると、韓国人の場合、０７年の摘発件数はわずか２５件にすぎない。前年比では、６７．９％も減少している。警察庁関係者は「増加しているとの認識はない」との見方を示している。現代版人身売買ともいえる実態に、日韓両国の警察が迫りきれていないのは事実だ。

　性売買特別法　売春斡旋などの行為の処罰に関する特別法。０４年から施行されている。人身売買、売春の強要、売春の広告行為に対する厳しい処罰を主な内容としている。特別法は暴行や監禁、人身売買などにより売春を強いられていた被害女性たちを救うために制定されたが、売春婦からでさえ歓迎されなかった。彼女たちは「売春を職業として認め、生存権を保障せよ」と訴えていた。


「短期間で稼げる」

　これまで、韓国人女性が短期間のうちに稼げるところといえば、“コリアンクラブ”だった。今では店舗を持たない“デリバリーヘルス”で働くケースが多い。駐在員など韓国人がよく訪れるコリアンクラブに比べ、人目につくことも少なく、摘発されるリスクも小さい。万一、摘発されても、“恋人同士”で通せる。韓国人女性に限った話ではない。日本では最近、主婦やＯＬの“援助交際”が盛んになっており、ビジネスホテルが頻繁に利用されているという。統一日報

Donation to South Korean Namdaemun

Japanese media reported that South Korean Namdaemun, national treasure in the heart of Seoul was reduced to ashes last month. Although Korean government will reconstruct it with her budget, the donations from Japanese and Koreans in Japan were made to All Korean Residents' Organization in the hope that they will be of help. And now it amounts to 30000000 yen. Some people wrote the letter to the effect that it pains me to see the South Gate collapse, or my husband began to study Hangule and I was fond of Korean drama, we really wish that it would be restored. It was the first time all Korean Resident's Organization received the donation this much from non-member of the organization. The person in charge of the organization says, "Japan-Korean communication has been developed well, and many Japanese has seen it once. I am glad Japanese and Koreans share the sentiment of sadness to lose something important." The organization will send this money to K government through Korean civil organization.

先月１０日、ソウル中心部にある韓国の国宝第１号の崇礼門（スンネムン）、通称、南大門が全焼した火災は、日本でも大きく報じられました。南大門の復元は、韓国政府が国の予算で行う方針ですが、在日韓国人で作る民団・在日本大韓民国民団には「復元に役立ててほしい」と火事の直後から募金が寄せられ、これまでにおよそ３０００万円に上っています。なかには、手紙を添えて現金を送ってくる日本人もいて、「南大門の崩れ落ちる姿を見て胸が痛みました」とか「夫がハングルを習い、わたしも韓国ドラマで韓国に興味を持ち始めました。元どおりに復元されることを祈っています」などと書かれています。これほど多くの募金が、日本人を含めた民団組織以外の人からも寄せられるのは初めてだということです。民団の担当者は「日韓の交流が進み、南大門が、日本人にも一度は目にしたことのある身近な建物になっていたのではないか。大切な物を失った悲しみを共有できて、ほんとうにうれしい」と話しています。民団では、寄せられた募金を市民団体を通じて韓国政府に贈ることにしていますNHK

魚拓

Military Power of China

ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS
Military Power of the
People’s Republic of China
2008
Office（PDF）

Comfort women 'Sex Slaves' Freed in Sydney

10 Korean 'Sex Slaves' Freed in Sydney

2 days ago

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Police have rescued 10 South Korean women who were forced to work in a Sydney brothel by a sex slavery syndicate that lured them to Australia with promises of legitimate jobs, officials said Friday.

Four Australian men and women and a South Korean woman were arrested early Friday and charged with multiple offenses relating to a sex trafficking business that was making $2.8 million a year, Australian Federal Police and the Immigration Department said in a joint statement.

The victims, who were rescued by police Thursday, were receiving counseling and government support, immigration official Lyn O'Connell said. She said no decision had been made on whether they would remain in Australia as prosecution witnesses.

Police allege the syndicate recruited women in South Korea by deceiving them about the jobs on offer and then organized their work visas, the government statement said. It did not say what type of jobs the women were offered.

Once in Australia, the syndicate took the women's passports and forced them to work as prostitutes in a legal brothel for up to 20 hours a day, the statement said. It did not say how long the women had been enslaved.AP

魚拓

さらに

China’s Views of Sovereignty

....Sovereignty Consolidation.

China’s East China Sea boundary dispute with Japan provides a good example of its efforts to consolidate its sovereign claims in its maritime periphery. The focus of the maritime boundary dispute between China and Japan in the East China Sea is an expanse of nearly 70,000 square nautical miles of water space that constitutes the overlap between China’s claim―which reaches from the mainland eastward to the Okinawa Trough just west of the Ryukyu Island chain--and Japan’s claim along a line equidistant from the coastlines of each state.......Significantly complicating factors in the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the East China Sea are the dispute over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai to the Chinese) and the unique status of Taiwan. The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands are a group of 5 small uninhabited rocky islets, the largest of which is 3.6 square kilometers in area. Historically, they were known to the Chinese and mentioned in official documents as early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but there is no evidence they were ever taken under effective administration and control by the Chinese.....The tension between China and Japan over resources, boundaries and sovereignty in the East China Sea―and especially the confrontation over Japanese administration of and claim of sovereignty to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands--provides to the PRC government a lever of nationalism to use to divert the attention of the Chinese people from domestic difficulties and to shore up support for the central government during times of domestic political competition.
Peter A. Dutton
Associate Professor, China Maritime Studies Institute
U.S. Naval War College
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
China’s Views of Sovereignty and Methods of Access Control
February 27, 2008USCC魚拓

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