Though the Communist Chinese Party has lost three million of its members, is persecuting the non-military spiritual Falun Gong and has proven to have great difficulties performing the simplest industrial tasks it is receiving great economic and industrial aid from the west. Ostensibly it is to tap into the billion and a half population, a "market" which the west first has to develop.

A large share of the manufactured product that is used in the west is made in China. Phillips Electronics, that used to have its factories in Leaside, now has its top selling products made in China. Wal-Mart, the top U.S. retailer is well known for its heavy sales of Chinese-made products.

How did this happen? We recall during the second election campaign of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, how his Vice-President Al Gore received substantial election funding from a Chinese lady whose influence stretched to communist China.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's lifelong mentor Maurice Strong now spends half his time in communist China, where he was ostensibly UN's mediator with North Korea. He was released from this post for hiring a family member and other misdeeds have been alleged. His influence and activity continues nonetheless, building bridges between Canada and communist China.

Part of Strong's influence is perhaps in how many times Martin and former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien have gone on trade junkets to communist China. The dichotomy is when Martin praises communist China as a rising economic power and then opens up millions of dollars of aid money through the government to help communist China.

Communist China has made moves towards buying Canadian resources companies, which it says it needs to continue its manufacturing and it is doing so with Canadian money from the government and others.

China aid in the U.S. stopped when President George W. Bush came into power. He most recently forced communist China to raise the value of its currency to come close to being more competitive with the U.S.

The U.S. is also worried about how communist China will spend its new-found wealth (which the west has given it). Communist China can perhaps destabilize the American economy with the U.S. dollars it has acquired. It can also start buying Russian military equipment and kick-start the arsenals of both countries. Communist China has long been desirous of American military technology.

Every time we look at the label "Made in China" on a product we have to remember the Tiananmen Square slaughter is only a decade and a half in the past. The Falun Gong, Taiwan and Tibet are facing similar threats. Things have in no way changed.

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