China Increases Military Spending
When China was granted Most Favored Nation status, the thinking was that once the communist stronghold opened up to the free market, democracy would soon follow. It's been ten years since China became our friends in commerce and they've done nothing to advance human rights. In fact, China is using our consumer dollars to fund an unprecedented military build up.
China will boost military spending by 17.8 percent this year, (14.7% last year) a spokesman for the national legislature said Sunday, continuing more than a decade of double-digit annual increases that have raised concerns among the United States and China's neighbors.
Underscoring the concerns about China's military, the legislature's spokesman, Jiang Enzhu, also accused the president of Taiwan of manipulating political divisions there to steer it toward formal independence. China's military spending is largely oriented toward possible conflicts over Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949 and has refused Beijing's offers for peaceful reunification.
Jiang said Taiwanese voters would abandon President Chen Shui-bian, whose pro-independence stance has drawn criticism from China.
Couple this with China's suppression of free speech on the internet, occupation of Tibet, aggression towards Taiwan, forced abortions, and friendship with North Korea and Iran. It's difficult to justify a continuing trade relationship with a devoutly communist nation who clearly doesn't hold our best interests at heart.
Related: Democracy Crushed
Trackposted to Stop the ACLU, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, Mark My Words, Allie Is Wired, Faultline USA, stikNstein... has no mercy, Overtaken by Events, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, The Bullwinkle Blog, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
