Free Republic

Zhao Ziyang, former Secretary-General of mainland China’s Communist Party, died at a Beijing hospital last Monday. Good riddance to another communist? In this case, no. Not all tigers are incapable of changing their stripes. During his tenure in China’s one and only political party, Zhao took steps that truly can be called “reforms.” Zhao's greatest moment occurred during the pro-democracy rebellion of 1989, which was centered in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. He opposed the use of China’s vast military might against the peaceful protestors gathered in the square. On May 19, 1989, Zhao personally pleaded with the protestors, mostly...

Despite the Chinese government’s horrific oppression of its people, dissent persists. Today, six women held a protest on an apartment building rooftop in Beijing. They waved a banner reading, “We accuse the police, the prosecutors and the courts in Liaoning province of corruption and trickery.” The women threatened to commit suicide if their demands were not met, but were later taken away by police. The protest took place not far from communist government headquarters. A similar incident occurred several weeks ago. According to the BBC, A growing number of Chinese have been bringing petitions to Beijing to try to gain...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - In a sure sign the summer's budget brouhaha is frothing over, the Capitol's leading Democrat said Monday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can start looking for a new cappuccino pal. Senate President Pro Temp John Burton, D-San Francisco, said he was steamed with remarks the Republican governor made over the weekend accusing Democrats of holding up the budget and acting like "girlie men" for not standing up to special interests. With more than manhood on the line, Burton said the remarks could set the budget process back another two weeks because of reaction within the Legislature's Democratic majority...

Major liberal donors are demonstrating their willingness to fund a new shadow Democratic Party, according to reports filed Friday by a network of nominally independent organizations committed to defeating President Bush in November. At the same time, momentum to bar their activities gained new strength. On Thursday, the legal staff of the Federal Election Commission proposed regulations that could choke off the groups' plans, with backing from an alliance of Republican Party leaders and campaign-watchdog groups. The reports filed Friday with the Internal Revenue Service and the FEC showed millions of dollars flowing from unions, wealthy individuals, environmental groups and...