Hu Jintao has strengthened his control over the Chinese military by appointing loyalists to top military positions ahead of the upcoming leadership transition. The new appointees are Hu's protégés who have been promoted multiple times by him. Key figures who were allies of disgraced politician Bo Xilai or part of the faction led by retired leader Jiang Zemin were not promoted, indicating Hu's faction has consolidated power over the military as he prepares to exit leadership.

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DECEMBER 13 – 19, 2012
RUSSIACONTINUEDFROM A1
Exposing the fraud got Browder
barred from Russia, but his law-
yer, Magnitsky, paid a higher
price. He was jailed, mistreated,
andkilledinNovember2009.He
was denied medical treatment
foraseverepancreaticcondition
he developed while held in the
infamous Butyrka prison.
Browder said the fact that
the Russian government would
attack people for exposing tax
fraud shows the corruption had
reached the highest levels of the
government.
Browder has been on a mis-
sion to hold those responsible
to account. That effort led to the
U.S. House of Representatives
and Senate passing the Mag-
nitsky Act to impose financial
and travel restrictions on Rus-
sian officials suspected of being
involved.
Liberal MP and human rights
lawyer Prof. Irwin Cotler wants
Parliament to pass similar
restrictions and has tabled a
private member’s bill to that
effect. He has also approached
Immigration Minister Jason Ken-
ney on the matter.
On Tuesday, Cotler announced
the creation of an international
group of Parliamentarians from
over 10 countries who will work
to get justice for Magnitsky.
“The tragic torture and death in
detention of Russian lawyer Ser-
gei Magnitsky, who uncovered
the largest international crimi-
nal conspiracy and tax fraud in
Russian history and paid for it
with his life, is a looking glass
into the pervasive culture of cor-
ruption and impunity implicat-
ing senior government officials
in Russia today,” Cotler said.
In a move Cotler says would
make Kafka blush, the Russian
government has initiated a
posthumous trial against Mag-
nitsky, accusing him of the
same crimes they themselves
perpetrated.
Magnitsky’s family is also
being intimidated and threat-
ened with reprisals, he said.
A4 NATION
BY OMID GHOREISHI
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
While the majority of Canadi-
ansdon’tagreewithpurchasing
counterfeit products, less than
half are confident that they can
identify fake goods this holiday
season,accordingtoasurveycom-
missionedbyMicrosoftCanada.
Only 43 percent of survey
respondentsexpressedconfidence
that they can identify counterfeit
albums and movies, and even
fewer said they can identify other
products including clothing (30
percent), computer software (28
percent),electronicdevices(27per-
cent), handbags (24 percent, and
sunglasses (21 percent).
“The counterfeiting and piracy
industry is one of the largest and
fastest growing industries in the
world,” Lorne Lipkus, founding
member of the Canadian Anti-
Counterfeiting Network (CACN),
said in a press release.
“TheriskstoCanadianconsumers
both online and in-store are high
duetolackofeducationonhowto
detect counterfeit products.”
The increasing difficulty in
identifying counterfeit goods is
also reported by the RMCP, which
notes counterfeit products have
become much more diverse and
now include electrical products,
pharmaceuticals,automotiveparts,
and food products.
“The criminals producing these
products put so much effort into
disguisingaproduct’sappearance
thatitcanbeverydifficulttodeter-
mine whether or not a product is
genuine,” reads a statement on
RCMP’s website.
Around a third (38 percent) of
survey respondents see the price
oftheproductasthebestindicator
of whether it is counterfeit. Poor
construction and off-brand logos
were also reported as key indica-
tors by 21 percent and 18 percent
of respondents, respectively.
Some indicators to watch for
listedbytheCACNinclude:amuch
lower price than average, spelling
mistakesontheproductorpackag-
ing, products that are normally
sold in packages being sold indi-
vidually,shoddyappearanceofthe
product or package, and products
that have no name brand.
Risk both online and in-store
While 58 percent of Canadians
are concerned about purchas-
ing fake products online, only
35 percent express the same
concern regarding purchas-
ing counterfeit in-store, the
Microsoft survey shows.
“Counterfeit crime and soft-
ware piracy is a global problem
both online and in-store,” said
Chris Tortorice, anti-piracy cor-
porate counsel with Microsoft
Canada.
“Canadians need to take extra
precautions to educate them-
selves on what to look for to
ensure they do not inadvertently
buy illegitimate products when
purchasing gifts this holiday
season,” Tortorice added.
The survey also shows that 77
percentofCanadiansindicatethat
they would not buy counterfeit
goods knowingly, and 71 percent
see counterfeit goods being harm-
ful to the economy.
Additionally, Canadians agree
that counterfeit products open
them up to a number of personal
risks such as productivity loss
(77 percent), privacy breaches (72
percent), and personal injury (64
percent).
The survey was conducted by a
sample of 1,501 Canadian adults
from Nov. 20 to 21.
BarRussianmurdersuspects,saysCotler
MPcallsfortravelrestrictionson
Russianofficials
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler gestures during a press conference
announcing that an international group of Parliamentarians
will work to ensure justice for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, looks on.
MATTHEW LITTLE/THE EPOCH TIMES
Holidayshopping:
Canadiansmaybe
vulnerabletocounterfeits
Canadianslackconfidencein
theirabilitytoidentifyfakegoods,
surveyfinds
Thediversityof
thepoemsthat
havebeensentin
kindofimitates
thebiodiversityof
theforest.
PoetSusanMcCaslin
Poetsrallyinlast-ditchefforttosaveLangleyforest
BY JUSTINA REICHEL
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
What do award-winning Cana-
dian poet Lorna Crozier, a leg-
endary Chinese hermit, and
many residents of Langley, B.C.,
have in common?
They are all involved in an
effort to save the McLellan Park
East Forest, a 25-acre tract of
unique older forest located in
Langley’s Glen Valley area.
The township, which acquired
the land in the 1930s, is plan-
ning to sell the parcel to private
developers unless those who
want to preserve it can raise
$3 million to purchase it by
Dec. 17.
So far, local conservation
group Watchers of Langley For-
est (WOLF) has raised less than
$50,000.
The group argues that the for-
est, which includes 200-year-
old trees, is one of the last of its
kind that exists in the area, and
its rare biodiversity provides a
unique nature experience that
should be protected for future
generations.
Susan McCaslin, a Fort Lange-
ly resident and award-winning
poet, decided to use her talent
and connections to fight for the
forest after she was “taken” by
its beauty on a recent hike.
“As an artist, as a poet, I decided
that I would like to contribute
something from the arts angle
to the cause of trying to protect
the forest,” she says.
As a way to bring attention
to the issue, McCaslin worked
with WOLF to organize a
“poetry hanging” inspired by
famed Chinese philosopher and
recluse Han Shan, who wrote
more than 300 poems during
the Tang Dynasty.
Shan was known for writing
poetry on rocks and hanging
them from trees in the moun-
tains where he lived, calling
himself a “guest” of nature.
Artists and writers from
across Canada and around
the world have been sending
in their poetry or visiting the
forest to contribute to the
preservation cause, including
a poem from acclaimed writer
Lorna Crozier and a visit from
world-renowned wilderness art-
ist Robert Bateman.
So far, McCaslin has received
about 200 poems, with “more
flowing in every day”—some
from far-flung locations such as
Australia, the U.K., New Mexico,
and Turkey.
“The [writers] say, ‘Your issue
really resonates with us, we
have the same issue going on
here, and we’re with you,’” says
McCaslin. “It’s just been an
incredible outpouring of sup-
port.”
“The diversity of the poems
that have been sent in kind of
imitates the biodiversity of the
forest.”
McCaslin and WOLF have also
been organizing other events
to raise awareness about the
issue in recent months, includ-
ing local musical performances,
poetry readings, nature walks,
photography exhibits, and envi-
ronmental speakers.
Land zoned as residential
Langley councillors and locals
attended a packed town hall
meeting on Dec.10 where McCa-
slin, along with local residents,
activists, and scientists gave pre-
sentationsinfavourofpreserving
the forest.
Although the presentations
brought up important envi-
ronmental and cultural issues,
council members asked few ques-
tions and did not appear to be
“swayed,” McCaslin said.
Council has argued the par-
cel is the smallest of the town-
ship’s many land holdings in the
area, and that they have already
agreed to forgo sale of another
land holding in the western
part of the forest after locals
objected earlier this year.
The 25-acre parcel in question
is also zoned as residential, low-
density land. Council says this
zoning designation would pro-
tect it from extensive develop-
ment, as it will most likely be
used for “country estates” and
single-family dwellings because
buildings cannot cover more
than 33 percent of the lot.
Council members originally
intended to sell both parcels of
forest land to fund a community
centre, swimming pool, and ice
rink in nearby Aldergrove, but
have since announced they will
find the money elsewhere.
The BC Ministry of Environ-
ment said in a recent letter to
some opponents of developing
the land that the forest has
“high biodiversity values,” mak-
ing it a potential candidate for
an ecological reserve. However,
the Ministry does not currently
have the money to purchase
the land.
PoemsadornmatureconifertreesinMclellanParkEastForest,a25-acreparceloflandnearLangely,
B.C. The Township of Langley will sell the land unless those who want to preserve it can come up
with $3 million to purchase it by Dec. 17.
COURTESY MYRNA PFEIFER
Petrina Arnason,
a member of the
conservation
group Watchers
of Langley
Forests, hangs a
poem on a tree
in Mclellan Park
East Forest.
COURTESY MYRNA PFEIFER
A6 CHINA
NOVEMBER 1 – 7, 2012
CHINA BRIEFS
PARTY LEADER CONTINUED FROM
A1
StatemediaCCTValsoreportedon
Oct. 23 that Ma Xiaotian, 63, was
recentlynamedcommanderofthe
airforce.
Hu Jintao’s protégés
Thenewappointeesarebasicallyall
incumbentPartyleaderHuJintao’s
protégés,accordingtopoliticalana-
lysts.Mostofthemhavebeenpro-
motedthreetimesbyHusincehe
rosetoparamountleaderin2002.
When new commander of the
Air Force, Ma Xiaotian, was deputy
chief of staff of the PLA, there was
a standoff between China and
the Philippines over the disputed
islandsofScarboroughShoalinthe
South China Sea. Ma said during
an interview with the Hong Kong-
based Phoenix TV that China was
not prepared to use military force
intheSouthChinaSea,theOriental
Morning Post reported on May 29.
Ma’sremarksechoedHu’sspeech
at the fourth round of the China–
U.S. Strategic and Economic Dia-
logue on May 4, during which Hu
said he hoped that China and the
United States could explore ways
tobuildtheChina–U.S.cooperative
partnership.
Defence Minister Liang Guan-
glie, who is a long-time friend of
disgraced former Chongqing Party
chiefBoXilai,haddirectlyopposed
Hu’sstance, and Ma’sremarks were
an open disagreement with Liang.
The new head of the GPD, Zhang
Yang,isoneofthetopmilitarylead-
ers who pledged loyalty to Chair-
man Hu after the Bo scandal broke
outearlierthisyear.Inanarticlehe
wrote for People’s Daily on June 5,
heemphasizedthatthearmymust
follow Hu’s order of “steadfastly
obeying the guidance of the Party.”
Bo Xilai’s allies
Twogenerals,LiuYuanandZhang
Haiyang, who both had ties with
Boandwerepreviouslyconsidered
candidatesfortopposts,werenot
includedinthenewlineup.
Liu Yuan is the son of Liu Shaoqi,
former head of the Chinese Com-
munistParty(CCP).ZhangHaiyang
is the son of a former Central Mili-
taryCommission(CMC)ViceChair-
man Zhang Zhenzi.
WangLijun,formerpolicechiefof
Chongqingwhosefailedattempted
defection to the U.S. consulate in
FebruaryledtoBo’sdramaticdown-
fall,hasgiventheCentralDiscipline
Inspection Committee informa-
tion regarding Bo, Liu Yuan, Zhang
Haiyang, and other army officials
who were plotting a coup against
the presumptive next party head
Xi Jinping, according to a report by
HongKong’sOpenMagazineinMay.
The report also said that Bo’s
father Bo Yibo was Liu Shaoqi’s
trusted aide, and the two families
therefore have a close relation-
ship. Bo promised to make Liu the
chairman of CMC once he success-
fullyusurpedXi’spower,thereport
added.
Several high-ranking military
officials who are Bo’s allies have
reached retirement age and will
retireafterthe18thPartyCongress.
Among them are Guo Boxiong and
Xu Caihou, who are vice chairmen
oftheCMC,aswellasDefenceMin-
ister Liang Guanglie.
Changes in military and political
landscape
Huisnowinfullcontrolofthemili-
tary,andhewillgainanevenstron-
ger foothold if he can appoint his
loyalistsasthevicechairmenofthe
CMC, according to dissident Song
Yuxuan,whooverseesChinaAffairs
Research Centre in the U.S.-based
ChinaSocialDemocraticParty.
“Liu Yuan and Zhang Haiyang
have all been implicated by Bo
Xilai, and now the faction led by
Bo’s strong ally, former Party head
Jiang Zemin, doesn’t have any oth-
er candidates to compete for top
military posts,” Song Song told The
Epoch Times.
“Thefactionhasbeendismantled
in this reshuffle.”
Most of these new appointees
will become members of the CMC,
which will be very different from
the current CMC, according to New
Tang Dynasty Television’s political
commentator Wen Zhao.
Jiang Zemin’s direct influence in
the army will be phased out after-
ward, and judging from the recent
personnelchangesinorganizations
under the Central Committee,
including the United Front Depart-
mentandGeneralOfficeoftheCCP,
the overall political landscape in
China has also shifted, and Jiang’s
faction has lost ground, Wen said.
ShiZangshan,aWashington,D.C.-
based expert on Chinese politics,
told The Epoch Times that the fact
thatprominentprincelingLiuYuan
didn’t get a promotion during this
round of the military reshuffle is
a sign that Bo Xilai will receive a
harsh sentence in the upcoming
trial against him.
Partyleaderstrengthens
controlofmilitarybeforeexit
Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao inspects the People's
LiberationArmyGarrisonduringavisittotheStonecuttersNaval
BaseinHongKongin2007.Hurecentlymadeaseriesofpersonnel
changes that increase his power over the Chinese military.
MIKE CLARKE/POOL/GETTY IMAGES
BY MATTHEW ROBERTSON
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Half a dozen villagers from a
small town in a Chinese prov-
ince surrounding Beijing have
beenroundedup,detained,and
tortured by local police after
they attempted to secure the
release of another villager and
friend who was persecuted for
his belief in the Falun Gong
spiritual practice.
Three individuals have been
sent to forced labour camp
while three are being punished
through the judicial system,
according to Amnesty Inter-
national, which has followed
the case and released an Urgent
Action Alert about it recently.
Trouble started in Zhendging
County, Hebei Province, in June,
around the time of a visit to the
province by Chinese Vice Chair-
man Xi Jinping and Iowa Gov.
Terry Branstad. Local authori-
ties used the occasion to carry
out a “cleanup” of Falun Gong
practitioners in the area.
Falun Gong has been per-
secuted in China since 1999
after then-regime leader Jiang
Zemin began to fear that the
Chinese people would prefer
Falun Gong’s traditional moral
teachings to the Communist
Party’s ideology.
Li Lankui, a Falun Gong prac-
titioner and well-liked man in
Donganfeng village in Zheng-
ding County, was targeted by
police during the security mobi-
lization earlier this year.
After Li’s capture on June
7, villagers rallied to support
him, defying the authorities
and risking violent retaliation.
They collected 700 signatures,
stamped with red wax thumb-
prints, from villagers calling on
the authorities not to persecute
their friend.
They also sent a letter to
Branstad’s office in Iowa call-
ing on him to support their
plight. Branstad’s office did not
respond to requests for com-
ment in August.
A prolonged campaign of pay-
back was then waged by com-
munist security forces, with
a series of arrests carried out
and leading so far to at least one
death.
Amnesty recently drew atten-
tion to the arbitrary detention
of Gao Suzhen and her hus-
band Zhang Tianqi, who were
detained on Aug. 7. A week later,
on Aug. 13, a villager named
Jia Zhijiang was also detained.
The three were charged with
“criminal offences,” Amnesty
says, and are being held in the
Zhengding County Detention
Centre.
Gao, on the night of her arrest,
was sent to the No. 260 hospi-
tal for emergency treatment,
indicating that she may have
been tortured soon after being
detained to the extent that she
needed immediate medical
treatment to prevent her death.
She was transferred to a special
investigative group afterward,
Amnesty said, where she was
“further tortured during inter-
rogation.”
The other three captives are
Bai Suqin, Wang Yuexia, and
Yang Rongxia, who were also
detained on Aug. 7 and trans-
ferred to a re-education through
labour camp in Shijiazhuang,
a large city in Hebei Province,
on Aug. 29. There they are at
the mercy of camp guards and
may be tortured, Amnesty indi-
cated. They are not allowed to
hire their own lawyers.
To date at least 16 people have
been detained in the retalia-
tory crackdown against support-
ers of Li Lankui, according to
Amnesty. The group says that
one woman was tied to an iron
chair for 10 days and beaten
with electric batons, as police
attempted to find out who was
behind the petition, and who
sent information overseas.
Six individuals remain in
detention while the other 10
have been released, Amnesty
indicated.
Chinesevillagersmaybe
torturedfortryingtorescue
friend,Amnestywarns
Li Lankui (R)
shown with
his son before
his arrest. Li is
currently in a
brainwashing
centre after being
arrested during a
“cleanup” before
and after the visit
of Iowa Governor
Terry Branstad to
Hebei Province.
MINGHUI.ORG
AfterLi’s
captureon
June7,villagers
ralliedinstrong
supportofhim,
defyingthe
authoritiesand
riskingviolent
retaliation.
Petitionersroundedupandstifled
beforePartyCongress
In the week leading up to the 18th Party Congress, where a once-
in-a-decade change of leadership in the Communist Party will
take place, Shanghai has cracked down on petitioners attempting
to travel to Beijing. Petitioners travel to the capital to try to seek
justice they cannot obtain at the local level in China. By placing
them under heavily guarded house arrest, Shanghai hopes to avoid
embarrassing the Chinese Communist Party prior to or during
the 18th Party Congress. The Epoch Times called the police station
in Anting, a township in Shanghai, on Oct. 28 and spoke with a
policewoman who refused to give her name. She said that it was
the municipal government’s decision to prevent petitioners from
going to Beijing, adding that no explanation had been given for the
decision. However, she added, “During the 18th Congress, petition-
ing is bad behaviour.”
Kidneytraffickingtrialhalted
The trial for the largest organ trafficking case in China was can-
celled on the same day that it was announced that disgraced official
Bo Xilai would be stripped of his position in the Communist Party’s
legislature, the National People’s Congress. The Legal Evening News
reported that the 15 defendants who are suspected of involvement
in the organized sale of human organs have been arraigned in the
Haidian Court for trial. The fact that the trial was cancelled with
little explanation on the same day that the announcement about
Bo Xilai was made led some analysts to surmise that the decision
to cancel the trial was linked to Bo’s case. After Wang Lijun, Bo’s
former associate, fled to the Chengdu U.S. consulate in February, the
atrocity of forced organ harvesting in China has taken on a higher
profile. Sources have told The Epoch Times that Wang provided
the U.S. government with documentation about the persecution
of Falun Gong, as well as Communist Party involvement in organ
harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.
Noendinsightforrelianceon
foreignenergy
China is worryingly dependent on foreigners for key energy
resources like oil and gas, according to a recent report from the
Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) external propaganda office. The
State Council Information Office, also known as the CCP’s arm for
foreign propaganda, published a white paper on China’s energy
policy recently, noting that the country’s dependence on foreign oil
sources already sits at 57 percent. The white paper doesn’t propose
any easy solutions for the problem.

3. HALF-PAGE DOUBLE SPREAD - YOGA AD
World
The Epoch Times
September 23 – 29 , 2010 September 23 – 29, 2010
A6
World
The Epoch Times A7
By EKATERINA POPOVA
Epoch Times Staff
Warshipsfrommorethan10countries
were sent to patrol the Gulf of Aden—
the only place that leads to and from
the Suez Canal and that connects the
Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean
Sea.
Although the 15-nautical-mile cor-
ridor at the Gulf of Aden is protected
frompiratesbywarshipsfromcountries
including the United States, Canada,
and Russia, areas outside of it remain
vulnerable to attack.
To avert any run-ins with the inter-
national Navy, Somali pirates have en-
larged their area of operations, which
now stretches as far as the Seychelles
Islands.
Whenthepiratesbegantheirattacks
years ago, the international Navy was
advised to keep a distance of 320 km
when passing along the coast of So-
malia. The distance later grew to 800
km, and then to the current 1,600 km,
said Bulgarian navigation officer Ivan
Zhelyazkov.
Close to 30 percent of the world’s oil
istransportedthroughtheGulfofAden
annually, and an estimated 16,000 ves-
sels pass through, according to official
statistics cited by Capital, a leading Bul-
garian economic weekly.
Each ship is seen by pirates as a for-
tunewaitingtobegrabbed.Littleregard
isoftenpaidtowhattheshipcarries,as
in most cases the ransom is where the
moneycomesfrom.Ransomstypically
paidbyshipownerscanvaryanywhere
between $300,000 and $6 million.
TheGulfofAdenisnottheonlyarea
intheworldwhereshipsareatriskfrom
pirate attacks. Also critical are the nar-
row Strait of Malacca in the Indian
Ocean, and the Caribbean region in
the Atlantic Ocean.
AsidefromtheGulfofAden,themost
threatenedareasareoffthecoastsofNi-
geria, the Philippines, and Indonesia,
although the rate of successful attacks
is not very high. Typically vessels are
robbed,butthecrewandshipareoften
left alone, according to Zhelyazkov.
Piracy tends to be more prevalent in
countrieswithhigherpovertyratesand
wherelocalauthoritieshavelittlepower,
Zhelyazkov said. This has become an
impeding factor in thwarting piracy
through the use of force.
rise of piracy in somalia
In Somalia, where there is little gover-
nanceandpovertyisrampant,theprob-
lem of piracy is more pronounced. The
country is divided into various tribes.
Individuals in the freight business
hold the theory that the most effective
solutioninhaltingpiracyofftheSomali
coast is to stabilize the situation in the
country, where civil conflict raged for
18 years.
Somalia fell into anarchy after its
former dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre,
wasoverthrownin1991.Thisgaveway
toAsianandEuropean shipspoaching
and dumping industrial waste in So-
mali waters.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN
Secretary-General’s Special Represen-
tative to Somalia, said in an interview
withtheLondonIndependentthatthe
country’s nine million people began
to starve in the years following the
civil war. Disease spread along the
coasts, people began getting strange
rashes,andbirthdefectsbecamemore
common.
A tsunami in 2005 pulled up toxic
barrelsfromthewatersandthrewthem
across the coastal cities. Many people
became ill, and hundreds died.
“Somebody is dumping nuclear
material here. There is also lead, and
heavy metals such as cadmium and
mercury—you name it,” Ould-Abdal-
lahsaid,addingthatwidespreadpoach-
inginSomaliwatershascausedmany
people in Somalia to die of starvation.
Poaching and dumping of toxic
waste by foreign ships spurred local
fishermenandfighterstoformgroups
calledthe“SomaliCoastalGuards”and
“NationalVoluntaryCoastalGuards”to
drive away or detain ships from coun-
tries including South Korea, Italy,
Spain, and Thailand, according to the
Bulgarian news website Vesti.bg.
Itsoonbecamecleartothesegroups
how easy it is to abduct a ship. They
then began forming pirate gangs,
expanded their operations, and im-
proved their skills with each ship they
captured.
AmovieseriesbyBulgarianNational
Television was the first to film cadres
in the pirate town of Eyl. The film re-
veals that the alleged “peaceful life” in
Somalia is only a smokescreen.
The moviemakers begin their film
in Bussaso, the largest port city in
Somalia, where pirates buy weapons,
satellite telephones, boats, and other
equipment for their attacks.
The movie concentrates on the pi-
rates themselves—their way of life,
theirfamilies,andthereasonordinary
fishermenandevenadolescentsliving
in extreme poverty would join the pi-
rate groups. “Being a pirate is like a
promotionforanordinaryfisherman,”
a novice in the pirate business told the
journalists.
use of force
The strategy of the pirates is to attack
quickly. They typically deploy on
speed boats launched from a larger
“mothership.” While approaching
they’ll threaten the crew with rocket-
propelled grenade launchers, as oth-
erstypicallyarmedwithassaultrifles
board the vessel.
Threegroupscomposetheirranks:
fishermen who know the sea, former
insurgents and soldiers who launch
the attacks, and individuals who can
speak different languages and are fa-
miliar with modern technology.
Their most common targets are
merchant ships which are slow-
moving and easily accessible. Once
captured, the ships are taken to So-
mali ports where they are held for
ransom.
The individuals most affected by
the attacks are crew of the abducted
ships who live in stress and are sub-
jected to hunger, fear, and sleepless-
ness.Theirfamiliesalsosuffer,asfor
months they live in uncertainty as to
what the outcome will be.
While crossing the Gulf of Aden,
ships take their own measures of
protection. Some line the ship with
barbedwireandarmthemselveswith
weapons such as rifles and Molotov
cocktails, and some use non-lethal
sonar and thermal weapons.
The Bulgarian ship “Panega” and
its 15 crew members were captured
bypiratesonMay11,2010.Theywere
bound for Pakistan where the ship
would be sold for scrap parts. The
ship and its crew were released in
September, nearly four months after
they were captured.
The same day they were released,
however, pirates captured another
ship, the German “Magellan Star.”
Not long after, U.S. Special Forces
retook the ship, freed its crew, and
captured nine pirates.
Crew members on board took ref-
ugeinasealedpanicroom,theship’s
operator, Dr. Peters, told the media.
Whenthepiratesboardedtheyfound
theshipemptywithitsengineturned
off. Confused, they called the ship
company to find out what was going
on. A man with broken English said
over the phone: “What’s going on
here?” and “Why doesn’t the engine
work?” The company staff told them
jokingly that the crew was on holiday
and that the engine was out of order.
the russian solution
Russia’sbrutalresponsetothepirates
has proven the most effective in stop-
ping the attacks. After the Russian
tanker “Moskovski Universitet” and
its23crewmemberswerecapturedby
pirates on May 5, Russia retaliated.
Crew members sealed themselves
in the panic room and Russian au-
thorities sent their Navy ship, the
“Marshal Shaposhnikov” and a heli-
copter to the site. Pirates opened fire
on the helicopter and the Russians
fired back. One Somali pirate was
killed and 10 others were captured.
The captured pirates were “freed”
on an inflatable raft without any sup-
plies on the open sea, according to
Reuters. There have been no pirate
attacks on Russian ships since.
U.S. forces have launched several
successfulrescueoperationsonships
captured by pirates. In 2009, Navy
SEAL snipers killed three pirates to
free a U.S. captain.
Similar incidents have taken place
when pirates had run-ins with the
Navy of other countries as well. A
skirmish with an Indian warship
in November, 2008, ended with the
sinking of a pirate mothership.
In 2008 alone, Somali pirates car-
riedoutnearly100attacksintheGulf
of Aden and successfully captured
45 vessels. According to the London-
based International Maritime Bu-
reau’spiracyreportingcentre,attacks
bySomalipiratesagainstcommercial
shipsinthefirstquarterof2009dou-
bled from that of the previous year.
Overall, the rescue missions and
retaliationshavedonelittletostopthe
pirates, and paying ransoms has also
done little to insure countries from
further attacks. Rather, the preva-
lence of attacks has been growing.
Somali pirates: The world’s challenge
A militia man stands on a beach in the town of Hobyo, Central Somalia, on Aug. 20. The fledgling Galmadug administration
in Central Somalia says it lacks the resources to confront the well-organized and well-equipped pirate gangs. Galmadug
armed forces, militias, and pirates tolerate each other and work together, at times acting as security forces for the region.
roberto schmidt/afp/getty images
By CINDY DRUKIER
Epoch Times Staff
Once again I am preparing to head
off to Japan. I’ve been there many
times before and some years back
I lived there for two fascinating
years.
Like many places, contradictions
abound in Japan. Imagine being
able to buy a fresh mocha cappuc-
cino from a vending machine that
has a video display screen streaming
a live feed of your mechanical bar-
rista making your drink inside. And
on the same day, your bill is tallied at
the local noodle shop by a not-so-old
young woman using an abacus.
So while there are heavy contra-
dictions, and some may wish to
challenge what I’m about to put
forward (especially if you have only
spent time in Tokyo), but what im-
presses me every time about Japan is
the country’s overall sheen of small
town politesse and good graces.
In Japan you can still find honesty
boxes for buying fruit, vegetables,
or cottage handicrafts. I remember
the intense feeling of suddenly step-
ping into a more proper and polite
past the first time I walked down
the historic main street of a coastal
village and saw, in lieu of sellers, un-
lockable wooden cash boxes beside
appealing wares.
What amazed me was not so
much that it worked—for clearly it
must have—but that it even worked
among the tourists who didn’t grow
up in this quaint, trusting town.
Good manners are contagious.
My friend who lives in Yoko-
hama—a Tokyo bedroom commu-
nity of about 3.6 million people—
says his city has become unsafe,
very unsafe. Very unsafe by Japa-
nese standards means that he heard
about a crime ... somewhere.
But I checked and the numbers
don’t bear out the perception. In
2008, the crime rate overall actu-
ally dropped—for the sixth straight
year—for all sorts of crimes includ-
ing murder, robbery, arson, and
rape.
One thing is for sure, safety
precautions in the cities have got-
ten more sophisticated. I’m not sure
if this is a reflection of higher crime,
or of the Japanese penchant for de-
veloping cool technology.
My Yokohama friend recently
moved into a new high-rise build-
ing in the city centre with a security
apparatus that must rival Fort Knox,
and possibly more high tech. A ma-
chine spits out a visitor’s card, which
I needed to use three times before
reaching the elevator. I swiped the
elevator pad and my friend’s floor lit
up, no unscheduled stopovers per-
mitted. My temporary pass didn’t
open my friend’s door, but his card,
that looked remarkably similar to
mine, did—with a very satisfying
whishhh.
Incidentally, one of my favourite
features of his apartment is that
you can hang your wet laundry in
the small shower room and with
a press of a button it instantly be-
comes a drying chamber. Very clever
indeed.
But even in the major cities, it
isn’t all security doors. On my recent
trips I’ve spent a lot of time in Kyoto.
One place I stay is a nearly 100-year-
old traditional wooden townhouse,
called a machiya, converted to a tiny
guest house with a very tiny door.
In the old days in Kyoto, you were
charged taxes based on the size
of your door, so locals made their
doors as small as possible, which is
remarkably small.
The intricately described instruc-
tions of how to get to the house, with
step-by-step photos, included where
to find the key—under the umbrella
stand, predictably. The couple who
own the place live 20 minutes away
by bicycle, the information says, so
you’re to check yourself in and then
give them a call that you arrived.
“Is the area safe?” reads a FAQ (fre-
quently asked by westerners, I as-
sume) on their detailed form. “It’s
very safe. We’ve never had any trou-
bles, and the neighbours are quite
friendly.”
In this isolated archipelago, gra-
cious familial trust is extended to
all, even complete strangers.
Global Dispatches:
Japan—A world of trust By AURELIEN GIRARD
Epoch Times Staff
PARIS—Amid stepped-up security
in Paris prompted by intelligence
reports of a renewed terrorist threat
from militant Islamists, a piece
of suspect luggage brought a halt
to the public transit system in the
French capital’s southern suburbs
on Tuesday.
It turned out that the item was a
fake bomb.
The luggage was found around 11
a.m. at the Massy-Palaiseau train sta-
tion. Security forces quickly alerted
bomb disposal experts when it ap-
peared to them that the item was not
a forgotten piece of luggage.
A scan showed that the luggage
contained all the key components of
a bomb. However, when the experts
later made a careful visual examina-
tion, they discovered that it contained
wire and batteries along with hygienic
paper and shampoo, all arranged to
mimic the setup of a bomb.
This is the third instance in a few
days of a false bomb alert in France.
The Eiffel Tower and St. Michel sta-
tion—where a deadly blast had killed
eight people in 1995—had to be fully
evacuated on Sept. 17, affecting thou-
sands of people.
French authorities announced a
week ago that the level of terrorism
threat was at its highest in France.
This announcement followed the
government’s ban of full face-cover-
ing veils last week and alleged anti-
Islam statements made by President
Nicolas Sarkozy.
According to Le Figaro newspaper,
Paris authorities have been advised
by the Algerian government that an
attack was being planned by a female
suicide-bomber.
The French socialist opposition
has asked for a meeting with the
interior minister to receive more
detailed information on the nature
of the threat. Some socialist party
executives hypothesized that the
threat had been exaggerated to divert
public attention from repeated Euro-
pean Union criticisms of the French
government.
Meanwhile, also on Sept. 21, the
militant Islamist group al-Qaeda
claimed responsibility for the kid-
napping of five French citizens in
Niger last week. All were employees
of or associated with Areva, a French
global nuclear energy giant.
Despite rumours that an attack is
imminent in Paris, Parisians seem
more focused on whether and how
they will be able to go to work next
Thursday. Labour unions have called
for a national strike against the re-
form of the pension system, and in-
tend to paralyze most public trans-
portation systems and services for
the second time this September.
Fake bomb blocks trains in Paris
A French Army soldier is on patrol as part of France’s national security alert system Vigipirate at the Eiffel Tower in Paris,
on Sept. 20. Terrorism threat in France has “risen” since Sept. 16, said a source close to French interior Minister Brice
Hortefeux. fred dufour/afp/getty images
By JASPER FAKKERT
Epoch Times Staff
Seven weeks after floods sub-
merged large parts of Pakistan,
thousands of people continue to
flee their homes every day, the
United Nations said on Tuesday.
“The flood waters are rising, and
every day we are seeing 20,000 to
30,000 people newly displaced,”
said Andy Pendleton, a UN offi-
cial in the southern Pakistani city
of Hyderabad, in a news release.
According to Pendleton, water
surrounding Lake Manchar is
forcing flood victims living in
temporary shelters to flee again.
“First we had the rain, then the
water from the river, and now the
lake,” said Fawad Hussain, a UN
relief coordinator.
There are also still flood sur-
vivors who have been stranded
in submerged villages for weeks,
the UN said.
An estimated 20 million people
have been affected by the floods.
More displaced in Pakistan floods

4. PRINT AD DESIGN JANUARY 25 – 31, 2013
Home & LivingB8
ZoeOrganics:
A mother’s
inspiration
BY KIRBY KOO
Motherhood is a life-changing
experience for most, but for
Heather Hamilton, founder of
Zoe Organics, it was an oppor-
tunity to pursue a lifelong pas-
sion.
A beauty and wellness enthu-
siast by nature, Hamilton was
always seeking organic, all-
natural, and safe products for
her family.
Dissatisfied with the range
of products on the market
and pregnant with her second
child, Hamilton was deter-
mined to provide the best for
her children. With fire in her
belly and a loving mother’s
instinct to protect her chil-
dren, Zoe Organics was born.
“The name ‘Zoe Organics’
came to me and it just felt
right,” Hamilton explained.
With the passing of her
beloved sister-in-law, mentor,
and friend Suzanne, Hamil-
ton felt it was a great tribute
to name her brand after the
3-month-old daughter Suzanne
left behind, Zoe Anne.
Coincidentally, “Zoe” also
means life, which Hamilton
hopes to bring to families
around the world through her
brand.
“Initially, I was discouraged
by many people when I told
them I was going to create
an all-natural and organic
cosmetic brand. Rather than
spending thousands of dol-
lars on a chemist to help me
create products, I decided to
create my own products and
learn about all the ingredients
independently,” she said.
Two years after experiment-
ing and creating in the labora-
tory, her brand was launched.
To this day, she sticks with
only organic and all-natural
ingredients.
“I am very strict with the
process and always make sure
to double-check the origin
certifications for the highest
quality organic ingredients,”
she said.
Now, Zoe Organics is adored
all across the board, from
families to A-list celebrities.
As for Hamilton, she hopes to
continue to inspire families
and mothers around the world.
“The last Christmas Suzanne
spent with us, she gifted me
a ring with the inscription in
French: ‘Il faut vivre et non pas
seulement exister.’ Translated,
it means, ‘One must live life,
not just exist.’ I have taken this
to heart in both my everyday
life and in my business,” she
said.
May we all be inspired and
safe, thanks to Zoe Organics.
The products can be found at
www.zoeorganics.com
Kirby Koo is a freelance writer
and soon-to-be yoga instructor
based in Hong Kong. Inspired
by her grandfather who was a
doctor during the 1950s–1970s
in Hong Kong, she incorporates
Chinese medicinal properties
with Western medicine into her
beauty DIY recipes. She can be
contacted at www.kirby-koo.
com
Zoe Organics
COURTESY OF ZOE ORGANICS
Zoe Organics founder Heather Hamilton,pictured with her family,created her line of products with
good health and well-being in mind.
COURTESY OF ZOE ORGANICS
Winterkalesaladwithroasted
squashandpinenuts
BY SANDRA SHIELDS
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Until the end of the Middle
Ages, kale was one of the most
common green vegetables in
all of Europe. It is becoming
a more popular food item in
Canada and the United States,
especially served raw. Kale
grows well into winter, and
is very high in beta carotene,
vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein,
zeaxanthin, and rich in cal-
cium.
The following recipe can be
served as a healthy, colour-
ful lunch or side salad. Kale
freezes well and actually tastes
sweeter and more flavourful
after being exposed to a frost.
Makes 2-4 servings
1 bunch fresh kale
250 mL (1 cup) butternut
squash, cut into bite-sized
pieces
50 mL (1/4 cup) pine nuts
40 mL (3 tbsp) olive oil
25 mL (2 tbsp) apple cider
vinegar
10 mL (2 tsp) honey
Sea salt and fresh ground
pepper
Parmesan cheese shavings
Preheat oven to 240º C (425º
F). Sprinkle squash with a
few drops of olive oil, toss to
coat, and roast in the oven on
a baking pan for 20 minutes,
turning over occasionally
until golden and tender. Turn
off oven and roast pine nuts
in a small pan for a couple of
minutes in the oven at the end
of cooking the squash. Watch
closely to make sure the pine
nuts don’t brown or burn.
Remove stems from kale,
break leaves into bite-sized
pieces, and wash and dry. Driz-
zle remaining olive oil over
kale, add sea salt, and massage
the kale leaves with your fin-
gers for a couple of minutes
to tenderize it and release its
flavours. The kale will darken.
Add roasted squash and pine
nuts to kale. Mix together vin-
egar and honey and pour over
salad. Toss to combine. Add
freshly ground pepper to taste.
Add parmesan cheese shavings
and serve.
A colourful winter salad of kale, roasted butternut squash, pine
nuts, and parmesan cheese.
SANDRA SHIELDS/THE EPOCH TIMES

5. PRINT AD DESIGN
www.incredibleindia.org
Renowned as a destination for spiritual upliftment, India today offers great
stopovers for business. With a mix of spectacular heritage and modern venues,
rest assured, your business is going to profit from a visit.
Your destination for meetings, incentives,
conferences, exhibitions and inner peace.

6. Epoch Times Staff
Germany’s Chancellor Angela
Merkel, in a speech to the youth
wing of her Christian-Democratic
Union party, said “The multicul-
tural approach ... has failed, and
failed absolutely.”
Germany opened its borders to for-
eign workers in the 1960s and made
no demands that immigrants learn
the language or integrate into German
society.
Merkel said that the hope of hav-
ing separate cultural groups happily
coexisting inside Germany was “not
the reality.”
The chancellor made it clear that she
was not proposing Germany seal its
borders. Germany could not risk being
seen as a country that rejected foreign-
ers, she said, because “that would do
great damage to our country. Compa-
nies would go elsewhere, because they
couldn’t find workers here.”
Merkel went on to explain that “in-
tegration is one of the key tasks fac-
ing us in the future. At the same time
it must be a trademark of Germany
that the country gives people here an
opportunity.”
World
The Epoch Times
October 21 – 27 , 2010 October 21 – 27 , 2010
A6
World
The Epoch Times A7
WIN a Trip
to INDIA
www.industravels.ca
1 866 978 2997
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1 877 817 3111
global dispatches
By SIMON VEAZEY
Epoch Times Staff
The English national flag is appar-
ently the only flag in America that, in
a few circumstances, is allowed to be
flown above the Stars and Stripes.
I would love to think this is a sop
of respect thrown to a long-distant
cousin, separated by a long-forgotten
family feud, but I know it’s just an-
other example of how the St. George’s
cross means different things to dif-
ferent people.
For some English, the flag is sim-
ply a symbol of national identity that
sits innocently alongside other Eng-
lish national symbols, like the red
rose, and the oak tree. But for oth-
ers it carries darker, unpleasant, and
controversial connotations.
Adopted as the English national
flag around 800 years ago, the red
on white cross is the symbol of St.
George, the patron saint of England.
In America it was adopted not as a
symbol of England, but as “God’s
flag,” and thus allowed a higher sta-
tus than the American flag.
Exactly how it came to be the Eng-
lish national flag is a little hazy. Ini-
tially it was used during the crusades
by French knights; the English even-
tually reclaimed it, but not before it
had cemented itself as a symbol of
the Crusades.
These days, the symbol still brings
disputes over ownership, and its
origins in the Crusades still attract
controversy.
I was reminded of this a few days
ago while reading a Web headline
about a 1,000-strong protest in a
nearby city against the so-called “Is-
lamification of Britain.” As I read the
headline an image was already form-
ing in my mind and when I clicked
the to the article, the image appeared
justasIhadenvisioned:thecontorted
faces of angry young men draped in
St. George’s flag, framed by the yel-
low jackets of riot police.
The protesters, supporters of the
“counter-jihadist” English Defense
League (ELD), argue that they are
patriotically defending Englishness
in the face of encroaching Islamic
influence. EDL critics say they are
a fascist organization using the flag,
with its Crusades affiliation, as a de-
liberately provocative symbol.
The association of the flag with
the far-right National Front party is
not new as over the last few decades
many people of ethnic minorities
have come to see the flag with trepi-
dation, and the flag’s more proper
use, has in turn, frequently become
the victim of political correctness.
England as a legal or national en-
tity is largely swallowed up by Great
Britain—although the identity of
England itself still remains sharply
distinct.
England is governed by the Brit-
ish Parliament, not the English par-
liament, ruled by British laws, and
represented abroad by the British
prime minister. There isn’t much
of an excuse to fly the flag.
Only in sport does the English flag
really come into its own—when the
kingdom splits neatly and comfort-
ably into its constituent parts, like
some uber-transformer toy.
But even the world of sport hasn’t
kept the reputation of the flag clean.
The rampant football hooliganism
of the ’80s carved out a dark repu-
tation for England fans around the
world. The St. George’s cross was the
leitmotif running through shocking
footage of chair-smashing, bottle-
hurling swarms of England fans that
frequently hit news screens.
The reputation of the fans has im-
proved in recent years, but the flag is
once again running the gauntlet of a
potential fascist symbol and political
correctness.
But if history is anything to go by,
it may yet emerge cleanly as the sym-
bol of Englishness it once was. It has
after all already endured 800 years
of change.
A cross to bear
An English supporter waves a national
flag prior to a 2010 World Cup game
john macdougall/afp/getty images
BOMB CONTINUED FROM A1
In the first six months of 2010, close
to 6,000 IEDs killed 557 Afghan
civilians and injured 1,137 people,
accounting for 29 percent of all
Afghan civilian deaths, said David
Johnson, assistant secretary of the
Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs, in a
Department of State transcription.
With more than 10 years in the
field each, Pifer and Laughlin were
around before IEDs were widely rec-
ognizedasamajorthreatagainstthe
United States and have watched the
same tactics and technology dupli-
cated, and built upon.
“Foryearswejumpedupanddown
as a community as to how large a
threat the improvised device pres-
ents,” Laughlin said. “Now we’re see-
ing it used in the capacity it’s being
used against us—we’ve seen it used
inothercountries,usedagainsttheir
armiesandtheirpeople,inthatsame
respect.”
Pifer and Laughlin emphasize to
students that an encounter with an
IEDisdirectenemycontact.Somede-
vicesexplodewhenapersonstepson
them, others are remotely activated
with a wire or a phone. Regardless,
if an IED is found, there are usually
enemy fighters nearby.
Laughlin said that each IED is “al-
most always accompanied by either
direct or indirect fire,” and once the
troops get into the “kill zone,” the
enemy will open fire with assault
rifles, mortars, rocket launchers, or
other weapons.
the ied battle
Laughlin hits a pressure plate
on a training IED, and an alarm
screeches loud enough to make
a nervous trainee jump out of his
boots—which is the intention.
Laughlin laughs because in every
class, a trainee exclaims “Hey that
was in The Hurt Locker!” Or some-
one asks about Hollywood-style
bomb disposal.
“It’s pretty much exactly like that,
only we don’t do all that shaking and
sweating stuff,” Laughlin said.
He says that in addition to being
able to recognize an IED, the main
skill they teach students “is how
to remain calm, focused, and col-
lected, and then react and respond
in the right way when these events
happen.”
They have a “crawl, walk, run”
training method, where troops
begin in the classroom, do hands-
on work in the field, then “we move
uptowherewe’respinningthemfast,
where we’ve got them going just like
it would be downrange, and that’s
the ‘run,’” Laughlin said. “So they
learn a good foundation before they
get to go out and actually perform a
mission.”
During the latter parts of the
trainings, the two will place train-
ing IEDs on a field and have train-
eestryanddisarmthemwhileunder
pressure. The adrenaline-pumping
missionsseeninmoviesarenotwhat
EOD specialists do. They are trained
to disarm the explosives while keep-
ing a clear head and staying calm.
“Ifyoucankeepcalm,keepfocused
through anything, then everything
else will kind of smooth itself out.
But the minute you let panic set in,
then things run amok really quick,”
Laughlin said.
He added that they tell students
their sincere hope is that this train-
ingwillbesomethingtheywillnever
use and will be a complete waste of
their time.
“But unfortunately, the real world
and the way things actually are over
there, this is probably some of the
most important training they’ll ever
receive,” Laughlin said. “It’s just un-
fortunately the nature of the beast.”
U.S. troops train to thwart taliban bomb threat
A training improvised explosive device (IED) sits on a table at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, on Oct.
15. joshua philipp/the epoch times
REGIME CONTINUED FROM A1
Unbalanced and unsustainable de-
velopment has resulted in enormous
wealth disparities and lurking eco-
nomic, environmental, demographic,
and social crises.
Ithasalsofosteredaclassofinterest
groupsinandaroundtheCCPthatare
only able to maintain their wealth by
maintainingthestatusquo.Networks
of Party officials, often through state
resourceandmarketmonopolies,have
dominated and manipulated China’s
economy,leadingtoadistortedprofile
of income distribution and a myriad
other problems.
“It is not only that most of the na-
tional wealth is occupied by vested
interest groups of the CCP, but that
thecentralgovernmentalsotakestoo
much of the fiscal income for itself,”
says Cheng. “That’s the real reason
why income distribution can’t be im-
proved and why the economic struc-
ture can’t be changed or adjusted.”
Action would require political re-
form, essentially reducing and re-
straining the power of the Commu-
nistPartyanditscadrecorps.“Thatis
exactly what they cannot do,” he says.
Xi was seen as the best choice in a
field of not very good choices, primar-
ilybecausehewillbeabletomaintain
thestatusquoandhopefullyholdback
the contradiction that lies at the heart
of the ruling clique’s grip on power.
“He’s someone that people don’t op-
pose, and who can protect all these
interest groups,” says Li Tianxiao, se-
nior political analyst with New Tang
Dynasty Television.
a reluctant candidate
Given the difficulties, Xi did not even
really want to take the top job, accord-
ing to Cheng.
“The easiest tasks which could be
done by the Chinese leadership have
alreadybeenusedandemployed.The
toughissues,theproblemsthatcannot
beeasilysolved,havebeenleftoverfor
the next generation.”
ThisiswhyseveralyearsagoXisent
a letter to the Politburo, the country’s
chiefpowerorgan,requestingthathe
beremovedfromthelistofcandidates
for vice-chairman of the Central Mili-
tary Commission.
But as in leadership successions in
the former Soviet Union, where can-
didates simply could not get out of
difficult political accessions, “if other
peoplepushthemintoit,theyhaveto
do it. That’s called ‘collective leader-
ship,’” Cheng said.
Li Keqiang, next in line to take over
the premiership from Wen Jiabao, is
in the same quandary. “Now, this is
not a good job for anyone. In China,
the economic problems are no longer
an easy job for the prime minister,”
Cheng said.
difficulties ahead
Apartfromthegrowingeconomicand
social contradictions, which some
scholars have predicted will result
in a “trapped transition,” the CCP’s
stubborn interest groups and fac-
tions that have moved the economy
and the society to the brink will
compound the difficulty of Xi’s rule
as general secretary.
“They can’t just give up their
vested interests and change the
way things work, it’s not feasible,”
says Li Tianxiao, NTDTV’s politi-
cal analyst. “For example, the issue
of high-level officials disclosing
their wages and property has been
raised again and again, and vetoed
again and again—every high-level
official has a lot interests wrapped
up here.”
Thisisparticularlythecasewhere,
as a new leader, Xi’s legitimacy will
largely be decided by his perfor-
mance, rather than a network of
patronage in the Party.
“Hu was anointed by Deng
[Xiaoping],sohewasalittlebitsolid,
but Xi Jinping does not have that
kind of authority,” Cheng says. “It
is very likely that they’re not going
to have good performance, and
that will certainly damage their
legitimacy.”
Byallaccounts,Xiwasnotanyone’s
firstchoice.“EveryoneknowsthatHu
JintaowantedLiKeqiangtotakeover,”
says Hu Ping, chief editor of Beijing
Spring, the flagship pro-democracy
journal,inatelephoneinterview,“but
the Jiang Zemin faction didn’t want
him, so they came up with someone
else.”
Xi is not thought to be highly ca-
pable,either.“Thespecialthingabout
these new CCP leaders is that there’s
nothing special about them,” Hu
says.
Xiroseupthroughtheranksquickly,
builtrelationshipswitharangeoflead-
ersinthesystem,asa“princeling”has
agoodpoliticalbackground(meaning
he is the son of a revolutionary from
Chinese communism’s early years),
and has made no major mistakes—
though,accordingtoHu,“ofcoursehe
hasn’t done anything good either.”
LisaysthechoiceofXiwasthebest
waytomaintainthestatusquo.“They
can’t reverse the collapse of the CCP,
buthe’stheonlypersonthateveryone
can accept.”
Already, according to Li, Xi’s rheto-
ric raises contradictions: “Xi Jinping
has said that ‘the power comes from
the people,’ and everyone thinks he’s
talking along the lines of political re-
form. But if Xi really wishes this, he
needs to firstly stop the CCP’s perse-
cutions of the people.”
Difficult decisions of that order
are unlikely to come. “The job of the
next tenure of the leadership is much
tougherthanthepreviousleadership,”
Cheng says. “And the quality of the
nextgenerationleadershipisweaker
than before.”
Reluctant, mediocre candidate next Chinese leader
Epoch Times Staff
Nationwide strikes opposing a pro-
posed pension reform bill turned
violentasFrenchyouthclashedwith
police in cities across France.
Youths in the mostly immigrant,
underclassParissuburbofNanterre
battled police using stones against
tear gas. In the eastern part of Paris
young people attacked police and
set fires.
On Tuesday French President Ni-
colasSarkozyorderedpolicetobreak
blockades at gas stations in order to
restore fuel deliveries. On Wednes-
day it was reported that more than
3,000,oraquarterofallgasstations,
were empty.
The student organization Confé-
dération Étudiante called on all stu-
dents to join the demonstrations, ac-
cording to the Wall Street Journal.
Students and young people in
Francehaverepeatedlydemonstrated
against austerity reform since 2005,
when riots swept through Nanterre
for several days, prompting the gov-
ernment to shelve reform plans.
France’s Senate was to vote on the
pension reform bill on Wednesday,
Oct. 20, but the vote was postponed
to Friday afternoon at the earliest,
euronews reported.
The bill would raise the mini-
mum age for retirement benefits
from 60 to 62, if both houses of
Parliament pass it. Retirement age
in France has been 60 since 1981
when President Francois Mitterand
lowered it from 65.
French protests turn violent
French Youth run away from anti-riot police forces during clashes on Oct. 20, 2010,
on the sideline of anti-pensions reform protests in Lyon. philippe desmazes/afp/
getty images
Merkel says multiculturalism
has failed in Germany
By ANDREY VOLKOV
Epoch Times Staff
Afghan election officials claimed
Wednesday that they had eliminated
morethanonemillionvotesfromlast
month’s parliamentary elections be-
cause of suspected fraud.
TheAfghanElectoralBodysaidthe
cancelled ballots consist of about 1.3
millionoralmost25percentofthe5.6
million cast, media reports said.
The parliamentary elections that
took place on Sept. 18 were the sec-
ond since the demise of the Taliban
movement in 2001.
The released findings proved ear-
lierstatementsonfraudandmultiple
irregularities reported by elections
observers.
A quarter of
votes cancelled
in Afghan
elections‘Companies
would go
elsewhere,
because they
couldn’t find
workers here’
– Angela Merkel

7. Incredible Design