Free Republic

N.Korean Forces Crack Down on Protesters in Border Town Hundreds of people clashed with security forces in the North Korean town of Sinuiju on the border with China on Friday, a source in the Stalinist country said Wednesday. The military was deployed to quell the demonstration, leaving some protesters wounded. The source said police officers cracking down on traders in a market in Sinuiju after the public holidays marking leader Kim Jong-il's birthday beat one of them unconscious. The victim's family protested and many other traders went along to support them. When it looked as though other people might join...

Arrest turns spotlight on China's tax cheatsBy Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING - Beijing's crackdown on tax cheats has gained momentum with the arrest of a prominent businessman Yang Bin - hand-picked by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to lead Pyongyang's bold experiment with free enterprise - as Chinese President Jiang Zemin is struggling to persuade the Communist Party to change its constitution and welcome capitalists into its ranks. Last month, the Chinese orchid tycoon made the headlines when Pyongyang announced that he was to become the chief executive of Sinuiju Special Administrative Region (SAR), a walled capitalist enclave in hardline-communist North...