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China's anti-corruption czar who is also the Communist Party official in charge of all financial policies will step down this week from his position on the powerful Standing Committee of the Politburo. The official, Wang Qishan, for the past five years directed a vast anti-corruption campaign that struck fear into political and military leaders and ensnared scores of senior officials and thousands of lower-level Party cadres linked to corruption that observers says is an endemic feature of the current system. The ouster of large numbers of Party officials also is widely viewed as a subterfuge for the consolidation of power...

"The American people, they're very simple people." -- WANG QISHAN, Vice Premier of China, saying, in a rare interview on U.S. public television, that Americans have a limited understanding of China's "ancient civilization" and are generally drawn first to Europe

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will press Vice Premier Wang Qishan on China's exchange-rate policy in Beijing Thursday, the latest signal the U.S. and China are trying to resolve the touchy issue of the Chinese currency's value. In his visit, announced unexpectedly on Wednesday, Mr. Geithner is expected to outline the U.S. rationale for why China should allow its currency, the yuan, to rise, according to U.S. government officials. The U.S. doesn't expect to come out of Beijing with an explicit agreement on the currency, officials said. But they added there are "encouraging" signs the Chinese are preparing to let the...

Brute tyranny in China Posted: March 15, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Why doesn't anyone seem to notice the brute tyranny still being employed in China on a daily basis? Is it because China's economy is so big? Is it because China already has nuclear weapons pointed at us? Is it because U.S. businesses, including media corporations, have too much invested in China? Is it because China is paying off U.S. politicians? Is it because what's happening is just so scary most people prefer to pretend it's not happening? This weekend, Beijing issued its strongest ultimatum yet to...