LOL. This is toooooo easy.....
Posted on 07/31/2003 3:56:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Ten Koreans, possibly from the communist North, sneaked into the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok on Thursday, diplomats said, apparently seeking political asylum.
The group - consisting of four men, four women, a boy and a girl - entered the embassy compound through a gate when it opened to let a car in, said embassy spokesman Toshihisa Takata. They passed beside the car shouting "North Korea" in English.
"They are safely in the building of the Japanese Embassy. We are now investigating their names and their wishes, those sorts of things," Takata told reporters.
He said they speak only Korean. "They don't speak Japanese or English but we are trying to communicate with them," he said.
"About whether or not they are trying to seek asylum we are investigating," Takata said.
A security guard stopped them inside the gate and they were escorted into the building where they were later provided lunch.
"It seems to me their health condition is normal and they seem to be reasonably relaxed at the moment," Takata said, adding that he doesn't know how long they had been in Thailand.
In the past, North Koreans have attempted to sprint into Japanese missions in China to seek political refuge.
In Tokyo, the national Kyodo News, citing unnamed sources, said the Foreign Ministry was cautioning embassies and consulates abroad that people who have fled from North Korea may be asking for protection.
In March, four people, all apparently from North Korea, entered the Japanese School in China's capital carrying letters asking for Tokyo's help in seeking asylum.
In May last year, five asylum-seeking North Koreans dashed into a Japanese consulate in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang and were forcibly removed by Chinese authorities. The incident spurred recriminations between Beijing and Tokyo.
Scores of North Korean asylum-seekers have sought refuge in foreign missions in China over past years.
As its biggest ally, China has a treaty with Pyongyang requiring it to send back any illegal escapees. Yet, it hasn't always done so in cases that have become public for fear of international backlash, and many asylum-seekers have eventually made their way to South Korea via third countries.
Who were your ancestors? There are very few of us here who aren't the descendents of people who fled from tyrants and famine. Tyrants and famine are what North Korea is all about.
You drone on and on about how "the system is overwhelmed." Whose fault is that? The North Korean's? No, it's our own fault for not fixing a moronic bureaucratic system chock full of incompetent Clintonistas. Should we screw people over who are escaping from what amounts to nation-sized concentration camp because we have stupid laws? Not just no, but Hell No! We have Free Republic to work to fix things like liberal-infested government agencies.
Note also that we wouldn't just be taking in ones who wondered over here. One would think that we would be actively helping those crossing into China by allowing them into our embassies and consulates...setting up a sort of "underground railroad" to get them out of NK and China safely. Do some reading and see what happens to people who get returned to NK from China and maybe you'll lose some of that...unpleaseantness.
Would you have turned away Jews fleeing the Holocaust because it would be an inconvenient "strain on the system"? What about Russians fleeing Stalin's terrible famine in the Ukraine? Cambodians fleeing the Khymer Rouge? Hmong from Vietnam? Chinese fleeing the Cultural Revolution?
Could you look them in the eye and say "Screw you, we don't want your sort here. Go back to your ****hole little country and die." That's basically what we are doing if we send North Koreans back into the loving graces of the prison guards at Chongjin Re-education Camp No. 14.
Screw it. I'm too mad to be reasonable any longer...I'll come back in a few hours. :/
I don't care. They (racists) don't represent me and I don't represent them neither does Buchanan. I cannot take responsibility for every stinking Buchanan supporter, nor can any Bush supporters take responsibility for every stinking Bush supporter, some who were for example the Austin 12 homosexuals who would tear down our cultural underpinnings as a nation or corrupt business leaders who have since landed in jail. Don't paint everyone who supported Buchanan as you have just done. You are looking at someone who has none of the attributes you just rattled off. Thanks for your ideas. I mean no anger toward you, just wanted to clarify your charge.
Don't exactly see what that has to do with whether Japan should expect to manage part of the Korean refugee problem that will occur when Kim falls, but, hey, ride a bus...subway...and all that signifies.
Don't exactly see what that has to do with whether Japan should expect to manage part of the Korean refugee problem that will occur when Kim falls, but, hey, ride a bus...subway...and all that signifies.
LOL. This is toooooo easy.....
But SKoreans who try to shift the burden to the US are NOT racist.
Yeah, I guess that about sums it up.
Instead, only Americans can be racist for not being thrilled at the prospect of more third-world immigration.
But the Japanese, well, they're just so *crowded*. That means they're not racist. Just *crowded.*
Like I said, keep playing that race ace. It's about all you've got, and you'll wear it out quickly.
Need more subway (bus) pictures!!
Our immigration is the most generous on earth. Americans died by the tens (hundreds?) of thousands to set Korea and Japan free to become wealthy world powerhouses. And now I hear that they're just too crowded to help take responsibility for Kim's refugees. They can't be racist, of course. Only Muricans can be racist.
%/
I regret you find me...unpleasant.
And where did I say anything about sending refugees back to NK!?
Skorea and Japan need to take responsibility for this. They are closely tied culturally and historically, do not take in many immigrants in toto, they can afford it.
The posters here rather ignore the thousands of gallons of 'Murican blood spilt on behalf of Korea and Japan. This country has paid dues, and then some!
It's just plain THEIR TURN. And crowded buses just doesn't persuade me.
If we want to do guilt trips, I'd like to talk about the debt Japan owes Korea for WWII cruelty.
Is that really coffee you're spewing?
Hey, if you want someone to get your goat, find yourself a "comfort woman"...
Anyone who aids these people does so at great personal risk, something the SK and Japanese governments are not interested in for whatever reason, though there are numerous private organisations that do help (as AiT mentioned). SK and Japan, though great and beautiful nations, do not have nearly the degree of freedom that we have here. The United States is the land of liberty and opportunity, and I believe, the freest nation on earth bar none. Let me tell you how.
In South Korea, there is little effort given to stopping North Korean agents from moving about freely. Often as not, they are SK liberals who have starry-eyed dreams about reunification...under the flag of the DPRK. North Koreans are not allowed to speak out against the regime in South Korea, a part of the bass-ackwards "Sunshine Policy." When they do speak out, they or a family member sometimes accidentally end up dead.
It is also widely known that NK is just looking for any reason to attack the south. Their economy is in the crapper and headed swiftly for the sceptic tank. Their power will only shrink with time, making it favorable to use it now while there is still time. SK knows this as well. SK also knows that there literally thousands of modern and semi-modern pieces of artillery hidden all along the DMZ, enough to completely level Seoul in under 10 minutes from the first shell fired. Irregardless of any nuclear threat, this is something we couldn't stop, and would likely kill millions before the guns could be silenced. This is, of course, heaped on top of the fact that the SK government is a nest of hippie losers who think that if they "play nice" with crazy Kim they can all be friends, pass the bong, and sing peace songs around a campfire. They haven't the mettle to help themselves, much less deperate North Koreans.
As for the Japanese helping, there is a two-fold problem: 1) Yes, the Japanese are somewhat leery of foriegners. They aren't as bad as some folks though, and certainly better than my "dear old grandpa", who was in the KKK. Japanese might not be welcoming, but they won't try to kill you either. The world has plenty of morons to go around, but it isn't the deciding factor.
2) Many Koreans, whether just or not, have a deep and abiding hatred for Japan. SKs are more reasonable, but they haven't been brainwashed. NKs are taught from childhood that the Japanese are devils, and that most of their problems are the result of the Japanese occupation. Those determined to be "colaborators" are killed, and their descendents imprisoned or murdered to the third generation, and the survivors are assigned one of the lowest levels in the 51-level social hierarchy system. This means no rations ever in a country where 80% of the populations exhibit signs of starvation.
This has a way of being counterproductive when a brave Japanese person risks life and limb to help, and is then treated like a monster. This is obviously problematic.
Then there is the overarcing threat of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. They will always think twice about attacking us, especially when the only juicy targets are Hawaii, Alaska, and West Coast cities like SF. We would erase them from the face of the earth instantly. SK and Japan are different. We might retaliate against a nuke attack on our allies, but then we might chicken out and simply act "very disappointed." The Japanese and SK comprehend how fickle our leaders can be.
Moreover, any move that these two governments have made in the past has been heralded by NK as a sign of emminent invasion, followed by many threats and warnings involving hyperbole like "seas of fire" and similar nonsense. NK leadership being as loony as it is, though, it will give pause to any reasonable Japanese or SK government. Is it worth helping refugees if it might cost Tokyo or Seoul?
We have therefore come full circle. You want to know why I think you are advocating sending NKers back to hell. It goes something like this--without any help, most NKs have to find a way to blend in long enough to get to a friendly embassy, counsulate, or border while not knowing Mandarin, being dressed like a hobo, and looking like a Holocaust survivor. This generally involves depending on the kindness of strangers for food, shelter, clothing, and transport. Where this is not available, NKers live in the wild in holes and lean-tos in a strange land while traveling thousands of miles on foot. They usually suffer from frostbite and malnutrition. They are already sickly to beginwith, looking like dwarves compared to Chinese natives--they are a foot shorter on average compared to South Koreans with similar genetic heritage).
With odds like this, most die from exposure or starvation or are rounded up and sent back to North Korea. Very few have ever been seen again, much less get to make a second attempt. Their only hope is for someone to raise hell about it. SK and Japan can't or won't. That leaves us.
I remember reading a story about a French UN peacekeeper in Rwanda being "horrified" about the things he saw. He says that while he was on guard duty, which implies he had a loaded weapon, one of the warring tribes attacked the town where his post was located. A woman came running to him, begging him to protect her, and he stood there and watched a man hack her to pieces with a machete not ten feet away. Why didn't he protect her, you ask. Why didn't he at least threaten the goon, or hold her in his arms? Or just shoot the b*stard? He didn't have orders to do that, you see. W
We have been blessed with prosperity and power--the mightiest force the world has ever known. Yet we watch this hideous evil before our very eyes. We don't want to be bothered, we don't want to get in trouble, we want to be safe and left alone. I'm not talking about opening fire yet, just hold the woman in your arms and see if the sword wielding yahoo is brave enough to fight a man. When we do nothing, we are the Frenchman.
Think think that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.