Make China Pay for Not Helping with North Korea

Human Events ^ | 07/08/06 | Human Events Editorial

[garbageseeker]

the People’s Republic of China won’t help the U.S. rein in the rogue regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il -- which this week conducted a failed test of a missile designed to reach American cities -- then the U.S. should stop helping China with its own economic and technological development.

China must support the U.S. position on North Korea in the U.N. Security Council or pay a price for not doing so.

In response to North Korea’s missile tests, Japan has sponsored a resolution in the Security Council that would bar nations from giving North Korea money, material or technology to advance its missile and nuclear programs.

According to a report in The Washington Post today, John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, says the resolution is currently supported by 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council. The two laggards are Russia and the China.

Both nations are parties (along with the U.S., South Korea and Japan) to the so-called six-way talks with North Korea over its nuclear program. But those talks have gone nowhere, and there is no reason to believe Kim Jong Il will give up either his nuclear-weapons program or his program to build a intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. just because of talks.

China, on the other hand, borders on North Korea, is its leading trade partner, shares its repressive and socialist worldview and has tremendous leverage over the regime there. Had China not intervened in the Korean War in the 1950s, sending its own forces in to fight U.S. forces, North Korea would not exist today --- and all of the Korean peninsula would be free and democratic

[garbageseeker]

China should be held responsible for North Koreas actions. After all, North Korea and China have a very cozy diplomatic relationship. China supplies North Korea with energy, food and quite possibly with munitions.

[brain bleeds red]

Punish them by giving Japan the Nuke!

[garbageseeker]

I would give them PAC-III(Patriot) missile defense systems instead of nukes.

[garbageseeker]

That is a good idea.

[kinetics]

After all, North Korea and China have a very cozy diplomatic relationship. China supplies North Korea with energy, food and quite possibly with munitions.

So does Japan and South Korea. I don't think China has the leverage that so many think it has. North Korea is like Vietnam to China.

[G. Stolyarov II]

"Had China not intervened in the Korean War in the 1950s, sending its own forces in to fight U.S. forces, North Korea would not exist today --- and all of the Korean peninsula would be free and democratic..."

While true, this statement is absolutely irrelevant to today's situation. The China of Hu Jintao is *not* the China of Mao Zedong, nor does the current Chinese government bear responsibility for the aid Mao offered to North Korea. People should not be held liable for the sins of their fathers or their political predecessors.

The lag of Chinese support for countermeasures to Kim Jong Il's blatant misbehavior is unfortunate, and I agree that pressure should be exerted to at least make sure the current Chinese government does not interfere with U. S. and Western efforts to restrain Kim's dictatorship. However, we should be careful to not demonize the Chinese while doing so; China is steadily becoming a free-market country, and its government is socialist in name only. It is still repressive in some areas (especially individual political expression), but this has improved and will improve with time. Most importantly, its government is reasonable to deal with -- unlike that of Kim Jong Il.

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G. Stolyarov II
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[kinetics]

This is the most asinine suggestion ever, yet it keeps popping up as if it were viable solution. Made in China products are now found in nearly every single retail store. Even products not assembled in China have ample Made in China parts.

[mgstarr]

Agreed.

While I sympathize with the premise, the author is incredibly naive and simplistic in his approach.

Nations act in their own interest and that doesn't always coincide with ours.

[kinetics]

Stop buying anything from Wal-Mart. You may not know this, but 1/3 of Boeing planes flying around the US have large Made in China parts.

This attack on Walmart is nonsensical; boycotting Walmart will have ZERO effect on the US-China trade deficit, someone else will replace Walmart because the demand is there. A large portion of Walmart's revenues come from its food departments, which are wholly Made in USA.

[grey_whiskers]

and its government is socialist in name only.

Which explains its pressure on Yahoo and similar to help them root out folks who use the internet to tell the truth about China. As well as its continued persecution of Christians.

Not to mention Falun Gong, or the extreme secrecy about Avian Flu.

Cheers!

[Uriah_lost]

One thing that China always responds to is humiliation. Someone really needs to press the story about NK keeping the trains that China sends in loaded with food. It seems that NK is just sending back the crews of the trains and keeping the trains AND cargo. A little mocking of China's inability to keep little old North Korea in line could go a long way.

[monkeywrench]

The chicoms are the biggest proliferators of nukes and other weapons on the planet. Their economy is shot through with corruption. They have the power to punish anyone at any time, and they do so. They enable the "leaders" in sudan, nigeria, iran, etc. to continue on while thee people suffer. Wake up, already!

[nonliberal]

China supplies North Korea with energy, food and quite possibly with munitions.

All supplied by MFN and Bill Clinton's treason.

[kinetics]

Okay...then stop buying made in china products wherever they are found.

Do you own an iPod? a Sandisk flash card or drive? an HP/Compaq, Toshiba computer? An Apple MacBook Pro? Do you have a pair of Nike or Adidas sneakers? Have you ridden a Boeing plane? Chances are, you use and buy Made in China products or parts every single day. Welcome to the global economy.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Not just WalMart -- QVC, HSN, etc.

[kinetics]

All supplied by MFN and Bill Clinton's treason.

When are you going to stop blaming Clinton? It's not like Bush can't revoke MFN/NTR if he wanted to. But he doesn't. Because he's a globalist.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I thought they raised their beef in Mexico?