[NormsRevenge]

Another motif is China's historic greatness. The apartment used by first astronaut Yang is named after a 1,000-year-old poem, "Ask the Sky," in which the speaker looks to the sky and wonders when the moon will be bright. "This poem ... shows China's ancient dream of exploring outer space," Yun said.

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I wonder if they have apartments named after Bill Clinton, Sandy Berger and Bernie Schwarz too?

Where would their "space" program be without them? ;-)

[NormsRevenge]

A Chinese interpreter gathers journalists near the launch platform that launched China's first manned flight last year at the Jiuquan aerospace center near Jiuquan, northwestern China, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004. China's secretive space program opens its gates for the foreign media for the first time Wednesday but excluded most sites from photography. China is planning its second manned flight next year and is seeking cooperation from other countries as it further its space ambition. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

[RightWhale]

its recent success in orbit

If that is about their manned spaceflight, there was one, but some time ago. Of course, we're not moving very fast ourselves right now.

[Bald Eagle777]

In cases of perhaps unprecedented strategic turn-coating (maybe not seen since the days of Benedict Arnold -excepting some recent examples: 50's spy cases, the Janssen problem, US soldier turned Al Qaeda and some others), the more left-leaning Democrats and unprincipled US "global" minded business types have helped the ChiCom space, satellite and other key industrial elements. There are stories about this all in the public domain, yet I bet the serious dents (probably the espionage cases) will be classified for a few hundred years or more or less permanently. These people really hurt us badly by helping China.

The people who will pay most for this are any US Military personnel killed should we ever get into any type of armed conflict with China. One of the absolute last things on our list of national interests is our assisting in with force modernization for the ChiCom military, whether it is a missile guidance system or satellite “overhead” technology. That objective is strangely high up on some peoples’ peculiar lists, however.

What can not be forgotten is that Chinese business and "commercial" enterprises are in many cases controlled by personnel from the People's Liberation Army and many business dealings, even on so-called "dual use" purchases, usually have a military application. They mask their intentions with an obsequious attitude, yet they are steady and focused in achieving their agenda. China has been engaged in a massive, unprecedented and unrelenting arms buildup, and has been seeking, and will continue to seek, "Western" technology in their force modernization effort. Some in the so-called "west" are only too glad to help their Chinese communist buddies.

If we get into a hot war with China in the future, take casualties, and we can also prove beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that certain technology came from certain firms and certain individuals in the US, then there should be some form of significant punishment(s) proscribed by law. I am not sure what is on the books about this scenario, yet if not, we need to hurry up and get some tough laws on the books. I have a hunch that we may need them in the future.

[Cronos]

Only China, Russia and the United States have sent men into space

In proper chronological order that would be The Soviet Union, the USA and China