Posted on 03/16/2005 1:41:00 AM PST by Gengis Khan
BEIJING : President Hu Jintao was named China's top military chief on Sunday, promptly telling the army to prepare for war to safeguard the country's territorial integrity, in an apparent reference to Taiwan.
In a move that marked the final step in China's first bloodless leadership transition, Hu, 62, replaced aging former leader Jiang Zemin, 78, as chairman of the state's Central Military Commission (CMC).
He was selected by an overwhelming majority of 2,886 votes to six against and five undecided at a meeting of China's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), the official Xinhua news agency said.
State television CCTV showed Hu bowing to the NPC delegates while they gave him a long round of applause.
Hu used his appointment on Sunday to show China's new leadership intended no let up in its determination to stop rival Taiwan from becoming independent.
The president told a meeting of military delegates to the NPC that China's top priority was safeguarding its territorial integrity.
"We must ... always place the task of defending national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and safeguarding the interests of national development above anything else," Hu was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
His comments came on the eve of a meeting on Monday in which the parliament is expected to pass an "anti-secession" law which gives the Chinese military the legal basis for attacking Taiwan if it moves towards independence.
At the same time, Beijing insists that despite the law, "non-peaceful means" will be used only as a "last resort."
Hu indicated that reunifying with Taiwan by force, as Beijing has often said it would do if necessary, was not far from China's mind.
"All comrades of the military should correctly understand the situation and resolutely perform the military's historical mission in the new century and the new development stage," he said.
"We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars if any," Hu said.
The Chinese president had already succeeded Jiang in September as chairman of the Communist Party's CMC, which holds the real power over the world's largest military.
Sunday's appointment marks a further consolidation of power by Hu, whose rise to China's top leadership positions began in November 2002 when he replaced Jiang as secretary general of the Communist Party.
He took over from Jiang as state president in 2003.
With Sunday's appointment, Hu has taken over all of Jiang's responsibilities.
Jiang had held the military post for 15 years, since he was hastily installed after the massacre of pro-democracy protesters at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Like Jiang, Hu faces the handicap of having never served in the armed forces and like him, Hu is expected to win over loyalty from the military by promoting supporters to key positions and advocating modernisation of the armed forces - essentially keeping the top brass happy by boosting their budget.
On Sunday, Hu emphasised the importance of continuing to modernise the military, but underlined the need to "balance the country's economic development and national defence building," urging the military to modernise with "low cost yet high efficiency."
On Monday, the largely rubber stamp legislature is expected to approve a 12.6 percent year-on-year increase in the official military budget for this year.
Analysts said a major challenge Hu will face is maintaining a tough stand on Taiwan, to prevent the island Beijing wants reunified from declaring formal independence.
"It remains an important priority for the Chinese leadership ... each new leadership needs to show it has a credible position on Taiwan," said Brian Bridges, a political scientist at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.
"I'm not sure Hu Jintao wants to go to war with Taiwan so early after he took power, but the fact the law comes at this early stage of his (Hu's) power, he's probably trying to show nationalists in China that he's standing up for national rights."
Taiwan has been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949. - AFP
Didn't all the Wall Street guys tell us that by making China a wealthy nation it wouldn't be so warlike?
Wasn't economic good times suppose to give China a more "Western" outlook; where the bottom line profit took the place of the bayonet?
How come the Wall Street guys never told us that every time we bought a $10 can opener that that money was going to the Chinese military?
This is not good
But..... what would happen to Walmart ?
Something smaller just to see what the American reaction will be before biting off something bigger.
An extreemly brilliant move by China.
How come the Wall Street guys never told us that every time we bought a $10 can opener that that money was going to the Chinese military?
I figured that out on my own.
Lovely way to describe the Communists takeover of China and the bloodbath that accompanied it.
No wonder China has been consuming oil at an increased rate. I'd lay odds that a great deal of its increased consumption has never made it to the general population, but is sitting in military reserves.
Something smaller just to see what the American reaction will be before biting off something bigger.
An extreemly brilliant move by China.
My God, they are going after Wal-Mart!
Oops, I forgot you said "SMALLER".
Well I think it's bluster. They have their highly sought after Olympic Games comming up. Any move on the ROC would be a big hit to their prestige when it comes to the games. I just don't see it.
You might be on to something.
What does this mean?
Well, even in Manila we don't see that kind of brazen theft.
Perhaps -- but I remember here in the U.S. when copper prices went up, there were thieves who were taking copper cables.
I went to do a google search to see if I could find any of those old stories, and it turns out that this behavior has returned among our criminal element. Here's a story from January 28th out of Seattle:
Got metal? Better check -- it's going fast
Deirdre Gregg
Staff Writer
The Puget Sound area is well-known for its recycling ethic, but some enterprising thieves are carrying that concept a bit further than usual -- taking and selling metal for scrap even before the original owner is done with it.
Driven by the rising prices of scrap metal, thieves have stolen high-school aluminum bleachers, highway and overpass guard rails, copper power lines and phone cables, airplane and ship propellers, street signs, aluminum manhole covers and just about any metal it's possible to steal.
"You name it, it's been done," said Seattle Police Detective Samuel DeJesus. "If it's metal, it's been taken."
Metal theft has always been an issue for utilities, public agencies and others. But the incidence of theft is increasing as scrap metal prices keep climbing. Copper prices rose almost 40 percent during 2004, and aluminum prices rose 20 percent to the highest point in nine years. At press time, copper cost about $1.45 a pound and aluminum was about 88 cents a pound.
The price surges are making thieves bolder -- and requiring scrap metal recyclers, police, and victims, including public agencies and private businesses, to step up security and work together to try to prevent theft and catch perpetrators.
In Vancouver, Wash., thieves stole a 176-foot-long aluminum guard rail from an overpass in November. The rail will probably cost more than $5,000 to replace, though it likely netted less than a third of that when sold as scrap, said Bob Eichhorst, supervisor for road maintenance with city of Vancouver. Clark County also had some aluminum manhole covers stolen around that time, Eichhorst said.
In Tacoma, thieves have stolen aluminum bleachers, the foot pads from a crane, and copper pipes and wire from subcontractors. Some enterprising crook even tried to steal copper ground wires from a transformer, which could easily have electrocuted the perpetrator, said a Tacoma police detective.
Utilities are often targeted by metal thieves. Ed Mosey, spokesman for the Bonneville Power Authority, said the utility has worked with law enforcement and recovered several million dollars in property over the past few years. Recent incidents included nabbing thieves for $14,000 worth of insulated copper stolen from one substation, and 500 pounds of aluminum wire stolen from another.
Such thefts have increased with a struggling economy and high unemployment, Mosey said. "People get desperate and take big chances on easy money," he said.
Police in Seattle and Tacoma say scrap metal recyclers have worked closely with them to try to make stealing metal less profitable. For example, a Seattle scrap yard recently helped the police recover $39,000 of aluminum plates, DeJesus said.
At Joseph Simon & Sons in Tacoma, employees question people who bring in scrap and record their IDs and license plates, said Mark Simon, a company official and grandson of its founder. They also keep their eyes open: "If someone comes in in a station wagon with a light pole hanging off the back end, they're probably not legit," he said.
Simon said he's been getting about three or four calls a week from victims and police -- a lot more than usual -- telling him to be on the lookout for stolen items. He's not surprised: Thefts go up whenever scrap prices do, he said.
"With scrap prices so high, and a lot of people out of work, it's like the perfect mix for thefts," said Lois Young with Skagit River Steel & Recycling Inc., who is also president of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. She said metal thefts are a nationwide problem, and she's hearing of problems in Canada, as well.
Young and Simon both said they'll turn away suspicious items, and alert the police and other scrap yards. They've also both helped catch people, in some cases using stalling tactics to delay people until the police arrive. On one occasion, Young said, a suspect fled from police, leaving a vehicle running with children inside.
Once a thief hit Skagit River Steel and then tried to sell the material back to the recycler, Young said.
Detective DeJesus said enforcement efforts and awareness on the part of potential victims may be making a dent in scrap metal theft, but that thieves are increasingly bold and determined.
"To the people that do this, it's their business and their livelihood," he said. "They'll look for a way around."
Contact: dgregg@bizjournals.com • 206-447-8505x114
All warfare is deception
Maybe we should send him this:
http://www.bigwhiteguy.com/archive/2005/02/02/feng_shui_underwear/
It IS the year of the rooster, and he's probably in need of calming down...
And what would happen to the American companies who are building factories in China? IMO, if push came to shove, I would be surprised if we defended Taiwan.
Carolyn
To take on Taiwan all China needs is the lift capability (land and sea) for its near 2.3 million foot soldiers.... assuming of course the US stays out of the equations. China is modernising its army, navy, airforce and building lift capability. It is doing so at brisk pace.
For all their modern weapon systems the Taiwanese (without US support) are defenseless against a full scale Chinese invasion. Although Taiwan has a much more modern (but a much smaller) airforce compared to China it will not be enough to defend against the mainland.
In the event of an actual war China in the first phase will launch a barrage of SSBMs with conventional warheads (rather than going for air superiority over Taiwanese airspace) which in itself will take out a lot of Taiwanese military capabilities. China has a huge arsenal of tactical SSBMs aimed Taiwan. This alone would deter Taiwan from making any moves towards declaring independence.
There after it wont take Chinese airforce much time to wipe out whatever is remainin of the Taiwanese airforce and the Taiwanese navy will not be able to put up much of a defense against China without the crucial airsupport.
The only variable here is the US involvement.
The bottom line is Taiwanese military might is good enough only to delay a full scale invasion on Taiwan until US help arrives. It would be a big mistake to assume China to be weak or lacking the military capability to take over Taiwan. In anycase all these are mere speculation for now.
LOL
They cannot feed themselves nor can they effectively move their troops across the channel. It would be wise for the Taiwanese to develop their own nuclear weapon just in case...
They arguably have a more modern air force than Taiwan now, with hundreds and hundreds of new SU-27, SU-30 and J-10 fighters.
If we become more invovled in the Mid East, and then if things get hot in Korea...it is then that I expect China will act on Taiwan. They are not going to go it alone or withou us being significantly distracted elsewhere IMHO.
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