Is China a Model for U.S. Conservatives?
by Jacob G. Hornberger

Conservatives must be ecstatic over what is happening in China. Joining the U.S. government in its crusade against terrorism, the Chinese communist government is adopting measures that would make any U.S. conservative proud.

For example, the Chinese government recently bused several thousand Chinese students and office workers into a public square. Three convicted terrorists were brought before the crowd and shot at point-blank range.

Now, that’s an action that would surely warm the heart of any U.S. conservative. No coddling of terrorists in China. No lengthy, drawn out legal appeals. And what better way to send a message to everyone in society, especially the young, than to have them witness a public execution of terrorists?

The executed men were members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which has been outlawed by the Chinese government. The operative word is “Islamic,” as in the global Islamic threat. Chinese officials said that the men were part of terrorist conspiracy to disrupt the Olympic Games. The group has long fought for independence for Uighur inhabitants in East Turkestan.

The U.S. government doesn’t like Uighurs either. That’s why it’s imprisoned some of them at Guantanamo Bay. Their crime? No, they’ve never attacked the United States or even threatened to do so. They’ve fighting for independence from the Chinese communist government. That’s their crime. In the eyes of U.S. and Chinese officials, that’s terrorism.

I couldn’t find the judicial method by which the 3 executed terrorists were tried and convicted, but undoubtedly it was a variation of the “judicial” system that the Pentagon employs at Gitmo or the new-fangled, bizarre system for trying terrorists recently proposed by the Washington Post.

In other words, the trial was conducted before a military tribunal or a tribunal of judges rather than a jury of ordinary Chinese citizens. There was no due process of law, independent criminal defense attorneys, or right to confront witnesses. Undoubtedly, coerced confessions and testimony were allowed, hearsay evidence was acceptable, and the defendants were presumed guilty. The defendants never had a chance. But hey—as U.S. officials, along with their communist counterparts, would argue, the world has been made safer by the removal of thee more terrorists.

Even better, from the standpoint of Bush, the Pentagon, and U.S. conservatives, Chinese officials also recently executed nine drug dealers, thereby signaling that China is a loyal partner in the war on drugs. Haven’t conservatives long argued that the only problem with the decades-long war on drugs is that government officials simply haven’t cracked down hard enough? Well, how can the manner in which the Chinese communist regime is cracking down in the war on drugs be anything but a model for U.S. drug warriors?

Also, tell me if the following isn’t a conservative dream-come-true: 80,000 police officers are being joined by half-a-million neighborhood “volunteers” and 100,000 anti-terrorism troops on alert to protect Beijing from the terrorists. To ensure that people are safe, 300,000 surveillance cameras have been placed around the city.

Hey, isn’t security more important than liberty and privacy? Of course it is, according to U.S. conservatives and Chinese communists.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the checkpoints on the highways leading into the city, which are manned by well-armed police gendarmes. Drivers and passengers are asked to present their national ID cards, which are checked against the national database. I’ll bet the NSA and the Pentagon are studying those procedures very carefully.

China’s war on terrorism is also being extended to cover anti-government political protests. Beijing’s Public Security Bureau (which is undoubtedly akin to anti-terrorist agencies in America’s cities) has warned that demonstrations requires prior approval from the authorities. After all, as any U.S. conservative will tell you, anyone who protests against his government, especially in the midst of war, is a terrorist who hates his country.

Did you ever think you’d see the day when the U.S. government and the Chinese communist government would be moving in the same direction? What’s even more tragic in all this is that the Chinese government seems to be moving in the direction of permitting its citizens more economic “freedom” (it’s not freedom if it’s by permission) than the U.S. government is permitting its citizens.

Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email.