washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Australia voices concern over man sentenced to die in China

CANBERRA , Australia ( AP ) - Australia ’ s prime minister said Monday that his government is “ very sad and concerned ” by China ’ s sentencing of an Australian man to death for drug trafficking , and that he had repeatedly raised with China the case of the 56-year-old former actor and motivational speaker .
Karm Gilespie was arrested in 2013 at Baiyun Airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on charges of attempting to board an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms ( 16.5 pounds ) of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday that Gilespie had been sentenced to death and ordered the confiscation of all of his personal property .
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and other Australian officials had raised his case with their Chinese counterparts on a number of occasions .
“ I and the government are very sad and concerned that an Australian citizen , Mr. Karm Gilespie , has been sentenced to death in China , ” Morrison told Parliament .
“ We will continue to provide Mr. Gilespie with consular assistance and engage China on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him , his family and his loved ones , ” he added .
The death sentence comes as bilateral relations are under extraordinary strain over Australia ’ s call for an independent investigation into the coronavirus pandemic , which started in China late last year .
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that the sentence was unrelated to those tensions .
“ Applying the death penalty to drug crimes that cause extremely serious harm can help in deterring and preventing drug crimes , ” Zhao said .
Australia should “ earnestly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And the above-mentioned case has nothing to do with bilateral relations , ” he added .
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has been trying without success to persuade his Chinese counterpart to accept a phone call over China ’ s decision to effectively end trade in Australian barley through crippling tariffs last month .
China has also banned beef exports from Australia ’ s largest abattoirs and warned Chinese against visiting the country because of pandemic-related racism .
Gilespie is among 62 Australians in detention in China , Australia ’ s Department of Foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrested on drug trafficking and fraud charges , The Australian newspaper reported .
The department would not comment on what they were detained for .
The Australian prisoners include Henry Chin , 40 , who was sentenced to death in 2005 for attempting to send 270 grams ( 9.5 ounces ) of methamphetamine to Australia a year earlier .
Birmingham called Gilespie ’ s sentence “ distressing , ” but said it shouldn ’ t necessarily be linked to disputes between China and Australia .
Paul Monk , former head of China analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there was a link .
“ He ’ s been in jail for seven years and only now has he been put through a Chinese-style trial and condemned to death for drug smuggling , so I think it ’ s hard not to see it in the present context of diplomatic confrontation , ” Monk told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Gilespie ’ s family asked friends not to speculate on his case .
“ Our family is very saddened by the situation , ” the family said in a statement .
“ We also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refrain from speculating on his current circumstances , which we do not believe assists his case.
” Gilespie has 10 days to appeal his sentence .
Gilespie made occasional appearances as a character in the popular Australian television crime drama “ Blue Healers ” in the 1990s and toured the country performing a one-man stage show he wrote about Australian poet Banjo Paterson before reinventing himself as an entrepreneur and motivational speaker .
Singapore-based business coach Roger J. Hamilton said on social media that Gilespie was a former student who had been tricked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was told were presents for partners of Chinese businessmen in Australia .

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia’s prime minister said Monday that his government is “very sad and concerned” by China’s sentencing of an Australian man to death for drug trafficking, and that he had repeatedly raised with China the case of the 56-year-old former actor and motivational speaker.
Karm Gilespie was arrested in 2013 at Baiyun Airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on charges of attempting to board an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds) of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage.
The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court announced Saturday that Gilespie had been sentenced to death and ordered the confiscation of all of his personal property.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and other Australian officials had raised his case with their Chinese counterparts on a number of occasions.
“I and the government are very sad and concerned that an Australian citizen, Mr. Karm Gilespie, has been sentenced to death in China,” Morrison told Parliament.
“We will continue to provide Mr. Gilespie with consular assistance and engage China on his case. Our thoughts are with him, his family and his loved ones,” he added.
The death sentence comes as bilateral relations are under extraordinary strain over Australia’s call for an independent investigation into the coronavirus pandemic, which started in China late last year.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that the sentence was unrelated to those tensions.
“Applying the death penalty to drug crimes that cause extremely serious harm can help in deterring and preventing drug crimes,” Zhao said.
Australia should “earnestly respect China’s judicial sovereignty. And the above-mentioned case has nothing to do with bilateral relations,” he added.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has been trying without success to persuade his Chinese counterpart to accept a phone call over China’s decision to effectively end trade in Australian barley through crippling tariffs last month.
China has also banned beef exports from Australia’s largest abattoirs and warned Chinese against visiting the country because of pandemic-related racism.
Gilespie is among 62 Australians in detention in China, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. Most were arrested on drug trafficking and fraud charges, The Australian newspaper reported. The department would not comment on what they were detained for.
The Australian prisoners include Henry Chin, 40, who was sentenced to death in 2005 for attempting to send 270 grams (9.5 ounces) of methamphetamine to Australia a year earlier.
Birmingham called Gilespie’s sentence “distressing,” but said it shouldn’t necessarily be linked to disputes between China and Australia.
Paul Monk, former head of China analysis for the Australian Defense Department, suspected there was a link.
“He’s been in jail for seven years and only now has he been put through a Chinese-style trial and condemned to death for drug smuggling, so I think it’s hard not to see it in the present context of diplomatic confrontation,” Monk told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“It’s spiteful, it’s vicious really,” he added.
Gilespie’s family asked friends not to speculate on his case.
“Our family is very saddened by the situation,” the family said in a statement. “We also request that friends and acquaintances of Karm refrain from speculating on his current circumstances, which we do not believe assists his case.”
Gilespie has 10 days to appeal his sentence.
Gilespie made occasional appearances as a character in the popular Australian television crime drama “Blue Healers” in the 1990s and toured the country performing a one-man stage show he wrote about Australian poet Banjo Paterson before reinventing himself as an entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
Singapore-based business coach Roger J. Hamilton said on social media that Gilespie was a former student who had been tricked into smuggling drugs in handbags that he was told were presents for partners of Chinese businessmen in Australia.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Tennessee company hit with penalties for labor violations

CLARKSVILLE , Tenn. ( AP ) - A Tennessee plumbing company has been ordered to pay back wages , damages @ @ @ @ @ federal requirements related to overtime , record keeping and child labor laws , the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ The department said Tim Jurisin Plumbing Inc. in Clarksville has been ordered by a federal @ @ @ @ @ in back wages and damages to 12 employees .
The company also has been told @ @ @ @ @ civil money penalties for violating child labor protections .
An investigation by the department ’ @ @ @ @ @ showed the residential and commercial plumbing company “ failed to pay employees for time they @ @ @ @ @ company ’ s shop following out-of-town day assignments , ” a news release said .
@ @ @ @ @ minor to use power-driven equipment to perform plumbing duties , the Labor Department said Friday @ @ @ @ @ immediately return a call seeking comment .

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee plumbing company has been ordered to pay back wages, damages and civil penalties for violating federal requirements related to overtime, record keeping and child labor laws, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
The department said Tim Jurisin Plumbing Inc. in Clarksville has been ordered by a federal court to pay $50,000 in back wages and damages to 12 employees. The company also has been told to pay $1,765 in civil money penalties for violating child labor protections.
An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division showed the residential and commercial plumbing company “failed to pay employees for time they spent traveling back to the company’s shop following out-of-town day assignments,” a news release said.
The company also employed one minor to use power-driven equipment to perform plumbing duties, the Labor Department said Friday.
The company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--West Virginia State building greenhouse for new ag courses

INSTITUTE , W.Va. ( AP ) - West Virginia State University is building a greenhouse complex in Institute to accommodate @ @ @ @ @ agricultural courses .
The school said last week it began demolishing dilapidated parts of a @ @ @ @ @ make way for the greenhouse .
It will also renovate the still-inhabitable parts of the @ @ @ @ @ .
The college is offering new programs focusing on agricultural economics , agribusiness and plant-soil @ @ @ @ @ program .

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia State University is building a greenhouse complex in Institute to accommodate the college’s new agricultural courses.
The school said last week it began demolishing dilapidated parts of a rehab center it owns to make way for the greenhouse. It will also renovate the still-inhabitable parts of the rehab center for future use.
The college is offering new programs focusing on agricultural economics, agribusiness and plant-soil science through a federally-funded scholarship program.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Officers fatally shoot suspect who pointed a gun after chase

LAWRENCE , Kan. ( AP ) - Kansas law enforcement authorities have shot and killed a man wanted by the U.S. Marshalls Service who led them on a car chase then pointed a gun at them , the Kansas Highway Patrol said in a news release .
The patrol didn ’ t identify the suspect , a white man who died at the scene .
The chase started Monday afteroon when Highway Patrol troopers located a man wanted by the marshalls near Perry Lake in northeast Kansas .
Troopers pursued the vehicle into Lawrence , where they eventually were able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused it to spin and come to a halt .
The patrol said the man got out of his vehicle and pointed a gun in the direction of two troopers and an officer with a local law enforcement agency , and they exchaged gunfire .
It ’ s not clear how many of the officers fired their weapons or which officer shot and killed the suspect .
A second person was in the vehicle and is now in custody .
No officers were hurt .
The Johnson County Sheriff ’ s Office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chase or shooting , will investigate .
The troopers involved will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation , which is standard practice .

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kansas law enforcement authorities on Monday shot and killed a man wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service who led them on a car chase then pointed a gun at them, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
The patrol didn’t identify the suspect, a white man who died at the scene.
The chase started Monday afternoon when Highway Patrol troopers located a man wanted by the marshals near Perry Lake in northeast Kansas, the KHP said in a news release. Troopers pursued the vehicle into Lawrence, where they eventually were able to stop it using tactical maneuvers that caused it to spin and come to a halt.
The patrol said the man got out of his vehicle and pointed a gun in the direction of two troopers and an officer with a local law enforcement agency, and they exchanged gunfire. It’s not clear how many of the officers fired their weapons or which officer shot and killed the suspect.
A second person was in the vehicle and is now in custody.
No officers were hurt. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, which wasn’t involved in the chase or shooting, will investigate. The troopers involved will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard practice.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Lawmakers locate again $4M for N.C. African American honors

RALEIGH , N.C. ( AP ) - North Carolina legislators again have located money to help build a long-planned park for the contributions of African Americans in the state and to provide “ contextual signage ” for existing monuments on the old Capitol grounds .
The state Senate voted unanimously on Monday evening to earmark $ 4 million toward the projects within a bill that allocates $ 119 million for building construction and repairs for state agencies and University of North Carolina campuses .
The identical projects and the money were included in last year ’ s final House-Senate budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of a stalemate on other budget items between Gov .
Roy Cooper and legislators .
The legislation includes $ 2.5 million designed to follow the recommendations of the North Carolina Historical Commission .
The panel had voted in 2018 to add signage adjacent to three Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds to provide context on the struggles of black residents fighting for civil rights and social justice .
The commission also would erect additional monuments on the grounds honoring the contributions of African Americans in North Carolina .
The commission had acted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cooper to move Confederate monuments off the Capitol grounds .
The panel said a 2015 law made it impossible to move them .
One of the monuments , an obelisk honoring the Confederate soldiers from North Carolina who died during the Civil War , has been defaced during recent demonstrations in opposition to racial inequality and police brutality .
The other $ 1.5 million goes toward the Freedom Park , to be located between the Legislative Building and the Executive Mansion .
The money will be combined with $ 1.7 million already raised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Senate sent the construction spending bill to the House for consideration .

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina legislators again have located money to help build a long-planned park for the contributions of African Americans in the state and to provide “contextual signage” for existing monuments on the old Capitol grounds.
The state Senate voted unanimously on Monday evening to earmark $4 million toward the projects within a bill that allocates $119 million for building construction and repairs for state agencies and University of North Carolina campuses. The identical projects and the money were included in last year’s final House-Senate budget bill. That measure never became law because of a stalemate on other budget items between Gov. Roy Cooper and legislators.
The legislation includes $2.5 million designed to follow the recommendations of the North Carolina Historical Commission. The panel had voted in 2018 to add signage adjacent to three Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds to provide context on the struggles of black residents fighting for civil rights and social justice. The commission also would erect additional monuments on the grounds honoring the contributions of African Americans in North Carolina.
The commission had acted following a request by Gov. Roy Cooper to move Confederate monuments off the Capitol grounds. The panel said a 2015 law made it impossible to move them. One of the monuments, an obelisk honoring the Confederate soldiers from North Carolina who died during the Civil War, has been defaced during recent demonstrations in opposition to racial inequality and police brutality.
The other $1.5 million goes toward the Freedom Park, to be located between the Legislative Building and the Executive Mansion. The money will be combined with $1.7 million already raised by a nonprofit assembling the park.
The Senate sent the construction spending bill to the House for consideration.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Central California wildfire sparks evacuations, road closure

AVILA BEACH , Calif. ( AP ) - A fast-moving wildfire on California ’ s Central Coast prompted evacuations and @ @ @ @ @ Monday afternoon , authorities said .
The fire was reported at around 3 p.m. at @ @ @ @ @ San Luis Obispo County community about midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles .
It @ @ @ @ @ acres ( 121.41 hectares ) and was being fought from the air and ground .
@ @ @ @ @ brush near Interstate 101 , which was closed in both directions , authorities said .
@ @ @ @ @ reported gusting at 15 mph to 20 mph .
Evacuations were ordered for several streets @ @ @ @ @ and no injuries were reported .
There was no immediate word on what sparked the @ @

AVILA BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Authorities lifted evacuations Monday night after making progress against a fast-moving wildfire on California’s Central Coast that closed down a major highway and threatened dozens of homes.
The fire was reported at around 3 p.m. at Avila Beach, an unincorporated San Luis Obispo County community about midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
It quickly spread to about 400 acres (161.87 hectares) and was 10% contained by early evening. About 200 firefighters were battling the blaze and were expected to remain on the scene overnight.;
At its height, the blaze threatened about 100 homes, KSBY-TV reported.
At one point, flames burned right up to some houses in the Shell Beach area but fire officials said no buildings have been damaged.
Evacuations were lifted Monday night and southbound lanes of Interstate 101 were reopened, although the north side remained closed, authorities said.
There was no immediate word on what sparked the blaze.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Arizona man allegedly threatened census workers with shotgun

ASH FORK , Ariz. ( AP ) - A man has been arrested for allegedly threatening census workers with a @ @ @ @ @ according to authorities .
Coconino County Sheriff ’ s officials announced Monday that 55-year-old Kory @ @ @ @ @ has been booked into jail and could face charges involving threatening and intimidating .
They @ @ @ @ @ checking an address for a property in the Kaibab Estates West area north of Ash @ @ @ @ @ loud gunshot .
The workers told authorities that they got back into their car to @ @ @ @ @ the road was blocked by another vehicle and a man carrying a shotgun approached them @ @ @ @ @ identified themselves and then left the area .
Sheriff ’ s deputies investigated the incident @ @ @ @ @ in his arrest .
It was unclear Monday if Beihn has a lawyer yet .

ASH FORK, Ariz. (AP) - A man has been arrested for allegedly threatening census workers with a shotgun in northern Arizona, according to authorities.
Coconino County Sheriff’s officials announced Monday that 55-year-old Kory Beihn of Kaibab Estates West has been booked into jail and could face charges involving threatening and intimidating.
They said the census workers were checking an address for a property in the Kaibab Estates West area north of Ash Fork when they heard a loud gunshot.
The workers told authorities that they got back into their car to leave the area, but the road was blocked by another vehicle and a man carrying a shotgun approached them.
The workers said they identified themselves and then left the area.
Sheriff’s deputies investigated the incident and identified Beihn, resulting in his arrest.
It was unclear Monday if Beihn has a lawyer yet.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Police suicides could spike amid George Floyd protests, advocates fear

America ’ s law-enforcement officers were suffering a suicide epidemic before anti-police and racial justice protests engulfed the country , now police advocates worry it will get worse .
Last year , a record 228 current or former police officers died by suicide according to Blue H.E.L.P.
, a nonprofit that tracks police suicides .
That total is higher than all other line-of-duty deaths last year , the organization said .
The number of suicides had slowed somewhat in the first half of 2020 with only 70 deaths , down from 89 during the same period in 2019 , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vastly underreported because of the stigma associated with suicide .
That was before police officers across the country came under siege because of the death May 25 of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis .
Psychologists and police officers say the torrent of criticism is more traumatic than the life-and-death situations officers face on the job .
They expect the number of police suicides to start climbing again .
“ I hope I ’ m wrong , but I think the number of police suicides will start to creep back up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police officer and national director of the Fraternal Order of Police ’ s national officer wellness committee .
“ Long term , the number of anti-police sentiments could take more of a toll than a singular incident you can compartmentalize , ” she continued .
“ This is a widespread big wave of things coming at officers at once rather than a small whitecap.
” Rioters have hurled bricks and screamed obscenities at officers and burned down a Minneapolis police station during the wave of protests .
Residents of one Seattle neighborhood have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Activists and politicians have called to defund the police .
Congress is hurriedly drafting legislation to combat what ’ s described as racism and brutality in policing .
President Trump plans to sign an executive order on policing to address the nationwide uproar .
It is expected to tread lightly on police powers , with measures such as creating a national database to track officers with repeat misconduct charges .
“ The overall goal is we want law and order , and we want it done fairly , justly , we want it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday .
“ But we want law and order .
It ’ s about law and order .
But it ’ s about justice also , and it ’ s about safety.
” Still , the overriding tone on the streets of U.S cities and on Capitol Hill has been punitive toward police .
Sen. Charles E. Schumer , New York Democrat , said police clashes with protesters and “ overly aggressive tactics have only articulated further the need for bold and wide-reaching reform of police practices.
” “ Being killed by police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death for young black men in America , ” he said .
It is expected to take time before the toll on police officers can be fully calculated .
Most depression usually strikes within 12-to-18 months of a traumatic incident , said Thomas Coghlan , a retired NYPD police detective who served for 21 years on the force before becoming a clinical psychologist specializing in first responders .
Police officers did not experience post-traumatic stress disorder in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks , but rather almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
This time it could be worse for officers as the anti-police animosity takes its toll , Ms. Martin said .
During the two weeks following Mr. Floyd ’ s death , 749 officers nationwide were injured while responding to protests and disturbances , according to Justice Department statistics .
That figure includes the roughly 150 officers hurt during the protests in Washington , D.C. , where 22 officers suffered concussions and other head injuries requiring hospitalization .
“ Katrina and 9-11 were not direct attacks on law enforcement , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentiment is different but it is going to have the same effect .
I ’ ve never seen [ the animosity ] at a level like this .
It is not only the intensity of the sentiment but that it is so widespread.
” As the defund-the-police movement gains momentum , mayors of several large cities , including New York , Philadelphia and Los Angeles , have moved to slash their department ’ s budget .
Analysts expect the cuts to put mental health services within those police departments on the chopping block @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be operational defunding , ” Mr. Coghlan said .
“ It is going to hit social and mental health services .
It is the exact opposite of what needs to be done.
” One of the first signs of potential suicide is burnout , according to Mr. Coghlan .
That burnout , he says , is materializing with police officers resigning en masse from departments across the country : • At least seven police officers have resigned from the Minneapolis police force since Mr. Floyd ’ s death .
• In Buffalo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s emergency response team following the suspension of two officers who are seen on video pushing a 75-year -old protester .
• Ten members of the Hallandale Beach , Florida Police Department ’ s SWAT team resigned saying they are “ minimally equipped ” and abandoned by city commissioners .
“ When you start seeing the most experienced officers handing in their papers , it says to the less senior rank-and-file that the job is really dead , ” Mr. Coghlan said .
“ There is a sense that if you go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book and legally you are still going to be vilified by the department , vilified by the media and vilified by the public so officers are wondering why they would stick around and do this.
” To fight police suicide , Mr. Trump last year signed into law a bipartisan bill that restored grant funding for law enforcement mental health services and expanded officer access to those programs .
In January , Attorney General William Barr formed a new commission to confront the burdens carried by law enforcement officers , including decreased morale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mr. Barr suggested mental health issues experienced by officers is the result of a public increasingly showing contempt for police .
“ There has been , especially of late , a disturbing pattern of cynicism and disrespect shown towards law enforcement , ” he said at the time .
“ All Americans should agree that nobody wins when trust breaks down between police and the community they serve .
We need to address the divide.
” Analysts say the government needs to do a better job tracking officer suicides to get a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem .
A provision in the government ’ s spending bill last year directed the Justice Department ’ s Bureau of Justice Statistics to track officer suicides .
A status report was due to Congress in March but has been delayed for unknown reasons .
Mr. Coghlan called for a partnership between law enforcement , government officials and the media to address the uptick in anti-police rhetoric .
“ The animosity has become so rampant and so acceptable , ” he said .
“ We are seeing unprovoked attacks on officers .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a partnership .
We need to tone down the violence , aggression and anger towards police .
”

America’s law enforcement officers were suffering a suicide epidemic before anti-police and racial justice protests engulfed the country. Now police advocates worry it will get worse.
Last year, a record 228 current or former police officers died by suicide, according to Blue H.E.L.P., a nonprofit that tracks police suicides. That total is higher than all other line-of-duty deaths last year, the organization said.
The number of suicides slowed somewhat in the first half of 2020 with only 70 deaths, down from 89 during the same period in 2019, though mental health experts caution that those numbers are vastly underreported because of the stigma associated with suicide.
That was before police officers across the country came under siege because of the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Psychologists and police officers say the torrent of criticism is more traumatic than the life-and-death situations officers face on the job. They expect the number of police suicides to start climbing again.
“I hope I’m wrong, but I think the number of police suicides will start to creep back up,” said Sherri Martin, a former police officer and national director of the Fraternal Order of Police’s national officer wellness committee.
SEE ALSO: Seattle ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ draws Donald Trump crackdown threat
“Long term, the number of anti-police sentiments could take more of a toll than a singular incident you can compartmentalize,” she said. “This is a widespread big wave of things coming at officers at once rather than a small whitecap.”
Rioters have hurled bricks and screamed obscenities at officers and burned down a Minneapolis police station during the wave of protests. Residents of one Seattle neighborhood have set up a six-block no-police zone. Activists and politicians have called to defund the police. Congress is hurriedly drafting legislation to combat what is described as racism and brutality in policing.
President Trump plans to sign an executive order on policing to address the nationwide uproar. It is expected to tread lightly on police powers, with measures such as creating a national database to track officers with repeat misconduct charges.
“The overall goal is we want law and order, and we want it done fairly, justly, we want it done safely,” the president said Monday. “But we want law and order. It’s about law and order. But it’s about justice also, and it’s about safety.”
Still, the overriding tone on the streets of U.S. cities and on Capitol Hill has been punitive toward police.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said police clashes with protesters and “overly aggressive tactics have only articulated further the need for bold and wide-reaching reform of police practices.”
“Being killed by police is now the sixth leading cause of death for young black men in America,” he said.
It is expected to take time before the toll on police officers can be fully calculated.
Depression usually strikes within 12 to 18 months of a traumatic incident, said Thomas Coghlan, a retired NYPD police detective who served for 21 years on the force before becoming a clinical psychologist specializing in first responders.
Police officers did not experience post-traumatic stress disorder in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but they did about a year later, he said.
This time, it could be worse for officers as the anti-police animosity takes its toll. Ms. Martin said.
During the two weeks following Mr. Floyd’s death, 749 officers nationwide were injured while responding to protests and disturbances, according to Justice Department statistics. That figure includes the roughly 150 officers hurt during the protests in the District of Columbia, where 22 officers suffered concussions and other head injuries requiring hospitalization.
“Katrina and 9/11 were not direct attacks on law enforcement,” she said. “The riots and anti-police sentiment is different, but it is going to have the same effect. I’ve never seen [the animosity] at a level like this. It is not only the intensity of the sentiment but that it is so widespread.”
As the defund-the-police movement gains momentum, mayors of several large cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, have moved to slash their department’s budget. Analysts expect the cuts to put mental health services within those police departments on the chopping block.
“The defunding is not going to be operational defunding,” Mr. Coghlan said. “It is going to hit social and mental health services. It is the exact opposite of what needs to be done.”
One of the first signs of potential suicide is burnout, Mr. Coghlan said. That burnout, he added, is materializing with police officers resigning en masse from departments across the country:
⦁ At least seven police officers have resigned from the Minneapolis police force since Floyd’s death.
⦁ In Buffalo, 57 officers resigned from the department’s emergency response team after the suspension of two officers who are seen on video pushing a 75-year-old protester.
⦁ Ten members of the police department’s SWAT team in Hallandale Beach, Florida, resigned. They said they were “minimally equipped” and abandoned by city commissioners.
“When you start seeing the most experienced officers handing in their papers, it says to the less-senior rank and file that the job is really dead,” Mr. Coghlan said. “There is a sense that if you go out and do your job by the book and legally you are still going to be vilified by the department, vilified by the media and vilified by the public, so officers are wondering why they would stick around and do this.”
To fight police suicide, Mr. Trump last year signed into law a bipartisan bill that restored grant funding for law enforcement mental health services and expanded officer access to those programs.
In January, Attorney General William Barr formed a commission to confront the burdens carried by law enforcement officers, including decreased morale and suicide.
While announcing the commission, Mr. Barr suggested mental health issues experienced by officers result from increasing public contempt for police.
“There has been, especially of late, a disturbing pattern of cynicism and disrespect shown towards law enforcement,” he said at the time. “All Americans should agree that nobody wins when trust breaks down between police and the community they serve. We need to address the divide.”
Analysts say the government needs to do a better job tracking officer suicides to get a better handle on the size of the problem. A provision in the government’s spending bill last year directed the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics to track officer suicides. A status report was due to Congress in March but has been delayed for unknown reasons.
Mr. Coghlan called for partnership among law enforcement, government officials and the media to address the uptick in anti-police rhetoric.
“The animosity has become so rampant and so acceptable,” he said. “We are seeing unprovoked attacks on officers. I think we need a partnership to engage in a partnership. We need to tone down the violence, aggression and anger towards police.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Statue of pioneer linked to California Gold Rush is removed

SACRAMENTO , Calif. ( AP ) - A statue honoring a colonizer who laid claim to the land where the discovery of shiny flakes of gold sparked the California Gold Rush was removed Monday outside a hospital bearing his name in the state capital .
Several dozen people cheered as a work crew lifted the statue of John Sutter - a 19th century European colonizer of California who enslaved Native Americans - off its pedestal outside Sutter Medical Center in the latest reckoning of historical figures being removed from public display .
Across the U.S. and Europe , statues of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toppled , sometimes forcibly by protesters , as the uproar over racism spreads after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
“ OK , he ’ s Sutter , but he ’ s a real son of a b— , ” said Frank Condon , a playwright who was walking to a doctor ’ s appointment .
He had marveled hours earlier that it was still standing and wondered why it hadn ’ t been taken down .
Sutter , a European immigrant who had built a fort in Sacramento in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land on the American River in Coloma about 35 miles away in the Sierra foothills .
James Marshall , a carpenter , was building a mill there for Sutter when he discovered gold in 1848 .
The two tried to keep it a secret , but word got out and men flocked to the foothills in search of their fortune .
In addition to the replica fort in downtown Sacramento that still bears his name across from the hospital , there is a county and several schools and streets named for Sutter across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some community members ’ viewpoints , and in the interest of public safety for our patients and staff , we are removing the John Sutter statue that was originally donated to Sutter General Hospital , ” a Sutter Health spokesman said in a statement .
Sutter Health did not say whether it was considering removing Sutter ’ s name from the nonprofit hospital system .
Ashwut Rodriguez , a California Indian from Sacramento , spit on the statue of Sutter after it was loaded onto a flatbed and tied down .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken .
“ This is only a Band Aid on a broken arm , but we can ’ t celebrate or consider anything until you stop celebrating these evil people , ” said Rodriguez , 42 , who came out with his family and young children to watch .
Sutter himself did not benefit from the gold rush and his empire crumbled after the discovery was made .

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A statue honoring a colonizer who laid claim to the land where the discovery of shiny flakes of gold sparked the California Gold Rush was removed Monday outside a hospital bearing his name in the state capital.
Several dozen people cheered as a work crew lifted the statue of John Sutter - a 19th century European colonizer of California who enslaved Native Americans - off its pedestal outside Sutter Medical Center in the latest reckoning of historical figures being removed from public display.
Across the U.S. and Europe, statues of Confederate officers and colonial figures are being toppled, sometimes forcibly by protesters, as the uproar over racism spreads after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“OK, he’s Sutter, but he’s a real son of a b—,” said Frank Condon, a playwright who was walking to a doctor’s appointment. He had marveled hours earlier that it was still standing and wondered why it hadn’t been taken down.
Sutter, a European immigrant who had built a fort in Sacramento in the mid-1800s, had laid claim to land on the American River in Coloma about 35 miles (56 kilometers) away in the Sierra foothills. James Marshall, a carpenter, was building a mill there for Sutter when he discovered gold in 1848.
The two tried to keep it a secret, but word got out and men flocked to the foothills in search of their fortune.
In addition to the replica fort in downtown Sacramento that still bears his name across from the hospital, there is a county and several schools and streets named for Sutter across California.
“Out of respect for some community members’ viewpoints, and in the interest of public safety for our patients and staff, we are removing the John Sutter statue that was originally donated to Sutter General Hospital,” a Sutter Health spokesman said in a statement.
Sutter Health did not say whether it was considering removing Sutter’s name from the nonprofit hospital system.
Ashwut Rodriguez, a California Indian from Sacramento, spit on the statue of Sutter after it was loaded onto a flatbed and tied down.
“This is only a Band Aid on a broken arm, but we can’t celebrate or consider anything until you stop celebrating these evil people,” said Rodriguez, 42, who came out with his family and young children to watch.
The statue will be kept in storage until a decision is made where it will go, Sutter Health spokesman Gary Zavoral said.
Sutter himself did not benefit from the gold rush and his empire crumbled after the discovery was made.
___
Associated Press journalist Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Ex-Californian pleads not guilty in terrorism case

SACRAMENTO , Calif. ( AP ) - A former California prison counselor pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he lied to the FBI during an international anti-terrorism investigation .
Brian Arthur Dempsey , 48 , entered his plea in a federal court in Sacramento .
He was extradited from the United Kingdom last Friday after a 3 1/2-year legal battle , the U.S. attorney ’ s office said in a statement .
Dempsey lived in Sacramento and from 2001 to 2012 he was a youth counselor for the juvenile justice division of the California Department of Corrections and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Dempsey , an convert to Islam , flew to Syria to join Islamic militant fighters in that country and stayed for less than two months before trying to fly home .
He was detained by an FBI agent at an airport in Rome , where he was stopped because he was on a no-fly list .
He is accused of lying to an FBI agent by falsely claiming he had gone to Syria to help refugees .
He was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2017 .
If conivcted , Dempsey could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison .

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A former California prison counselor pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he lied to the FBI during an international anti-terrorism investigation.
Brian Arthur Dempsey, 48, entered his plea in a federal court in Sacramento.
He was extradited from the United Kingdom last Friday after a 3 1/2-year legal battle, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Dempsey lived in Sacramento and from 2001 to 2012 he was a youth counselor for the juvenile justice division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Prosecutors said that in 2013, Dempsey, an convert to Islam, flew to Syria to join Islamic militant fighters in that country and stayed for less than two months before trying to fly home. He was detained by an FBI agent at an airport in Rome, where he was stopped because he was on a no-fly list.
He is accused of lying to an FBI agent by falsely claiming he had gone to Syria to help refugees. He was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2017.
If conivcted, Dempsey could face up to eight years in federal prison.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Miles Yu, Mike Pompeo adviser, discusses Reagan inspiration, China Cultural Revolution

Miles Yu , who witnessed the devastation of Mao ’ s Cultural Revolution as a boy growing up in China , has now emerged as one of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ’ s most influential advisers on U.S.-Sino relations .
Below are excerpts of an interview Washington Times correspondent Bill Gertz recently conducted with Mr. Yu , now a senior member of the policy planning staff in Mr. Pompeo ’ s office .
: TWT : Tell me about your background .
Where were you born and what was it like growing up during the Cultural Revolution ?
Miles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscure small place in eastern China ’ s Anhui province but grew up in the Chongqing area in southwestern China .
My primary and middle school years were during the Cultural Revolution .
Although I was too young to actively take part in the political madness , my childhood innocence was brutally upended by the communist revolution ’ s violence , absurdity , ideological shriek , destruction of social trust and public mores , and utter hatred for anything Western or “ bourgeois ” .
These childhood experiences and memories have forged my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep disdain for Western apologists for the Chinese communist government and its many crimes .
TWT : What role did the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests and subsequent massacre play in your life ?
Yu : If Ronald Reagan inspired me to come to America , Tiananmen rekindled my hope for freedom and democracy for China .
Tiananmen turned me from a nerdy graduate student into a vocal supporter for Tiananmen protesters .
The biggest thing I did after Tiananmen was for nearly four years , I hosted a lecture series at Berkeley called the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese dissidents such as Harry Wu , Wuer Kaixi , Liu Binyan and Fang Lizhi , and provided a public forum for marginalized American scholars to show their vindication on the CCP regime ’ s nature , and for many mainstream scholars and officials to deliver their mea culpa , offer analysis and re-evaluation of the China situation .
Other speakers included Ambassador James Lilley , Orville Schell , Thomas Metzger , Tu Weiming , Frederic Wakeman , Jr. , Bette Bao Lord , and Martin Malia .
We printed the English transcript @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from all over the country .
TWT : Tell me about your work as a Naval Academy professor .
What are some of the highlights of teaching Naval Academy students ?
Yu : I have been a professor of modern China and military history at the Naval Academy since 1994 , straight from Berkeley .
It ’ s both an honor and a privilege to be able to teach the defenders of American liberty and democracy .
It completely fulfills my intellectual aspiration inspired by Ronald Reagan back in the early 1980s .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a classroom , I see not only college students eager to get a good education , but also the faces of midshipmen who voluntarily pledge their lives to make sure American democracy will not die .
That means a tremendous amount to me , especially in this cynical age of ours when the fundamental goodness of the American system has even to be questioned by many among ourselves .
Having grown up in communist China and now living my American dream , I think the world should be incalculably grateful to America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America represents “ the last best hope of man on Earth.
” I truly believe that .
TWT : As a China expert , what are some of the shortcomings of past U.S. policies toward the PRC ?
Yu : There have been some successes for the U.S. in dealing with China and a great number of Americans have dedicated to improving the bilateral relations .
Yet until very recently , U.S.-China policy had been dominated by what I ’ d call the “ missionary sentiment ” toward China and the Chinese people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China needs America ’ s altruistic help to step into the modern world , make it a responsible stakeholder , teach it how to behave in a civilized world .
And we believed that .
America ’ s founding creed is “ all men are created equal , ” and if we provide China the chances — get them into the [ World Trade Organization ] , open up our markets , science labs and weapons depots , etc .
— China will surely begin behaving just like us , following the rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this approach is that the Chinese communists are not really communists .
They are pre-industrial and incapable of carrying out a grand communist experiment guided by modern Western radical ideology , with its roots in Germany and Russia .
So this kind of missionary sentiment effectively ruined our China policy during World War II , when a group of China-born young men of American missionary parents dominated our China policy ethos , which was carried on for many decades at the State Department and other U.S. government agencies , even long after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1972 .
With such mentality , the U.S. made monumental blunders — related to the outbreak of the Korean War , the ideological roots of the Soviet-Chinese split over the purity of Marxism-Leninism ( not Soviet communism vs. Chinese nationalism ) .
There are more reasons , but I won ’ t get into detail for sake of time and space .
TWT : What has President Trump brought to China policy ?
How as Pompeo developed and implemented new policies toward the PRC ?
Yu : Recently I attended an event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a previous administration who ran our China policy state that the Trump administration has no China policy , only a China attitude .
He was completely oblivious to the fact that China policy under his shop didn ’ t have [ a policy ] either .
We not only have the right policy but also the right attitude toward China based on principled realism .
Under the Trump administration and with Secretary Pompeo at the helm in the State Department , we don ’ t just “ manage ” the bilateral relations with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and modify some basic precepts of the relationship that are dinosaurs not reflective of reality .
President Trump and Secretary Pompeo ended the long-practiced “ anger management-based ” China policy model — formulating our policy by calculating how not to make China sufficiently angry at us to save the constantly strained relationship — that had become a vicious cycle whereby the [ Chinese Communist Party ] essentially dictated much of our China policy and initiatives .
President Trump came along and cut out the mumbo-jumbo .
The result is that the U.S. has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regained our China policy initiative in such a way that we now dictate the terms of bilateral discourse based upon results , transparency , reciprocity and most importantly , our national interest and founding principles .
The Trump administration started big and decisively , because we not only want to do things right , but also make sure we are doing the right things .
We changed some of the conceptual foundations .
At the outset of this administration , the White House revamped our strategic outlook and the president issued a landmark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 .
Subsequently , the Pentagon issued the companion document known as the National Defense Strategy .
Both documents ushered in an age of Great Power Competition in which China no longer will be treated by the U.S. as merely a “ card ” to be played in order to reach other strategic goals .
Instead , China is at the top of our national security agenda , as there is no bigger threat than China and no other more important strategic goal than stemming China ’ s threat to the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump administration is the only American administration in nearly seven decades that effectively holds the [ Chinese ] government accountable for its malign actions in a meaningful way , whether they are related to Xinjiang , Hong Kong , predatory trade and currency manipulations , industrial , military and cyber espionage against the U.S. We also began to robustly , without apology , uphold rules and laws governing the international commons , standing up against China ’ s bluffs and gaining more peace and security as a result .
The Navy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the Taiwan Strait , an international waterway , more than 15 times in under two years despite China ’ s warnings , a feat unimaginable under any previous administration since Nixon .
This act alone essentially internationalizes the waterway vital to Taiwan ’ s defense .
American leadership in the Taiwan Strait [ has been ] followed by navies of many allies .
On a strategic level , President Trump singlehandedly changed the global dialogue on China , placing China at the top of America ’ s national security priority , re-orienting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not just with empty talk but with real commitment .
Secretary Pompeo has repeatedly stated that the challenge to the world posed by the Chinese regime is “ the central threat of our times.
” He made an important speech last October at the Hudson Institute in which he announced that the U.S. government could no longer ignore the political and ideological differences between China and the United States .
We are not seeking confrontation — we are interacting with China based upon what China is but not what we wish it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Secretary Pompeo also clearly stated that the Chinese Communist Party today is not the same as the Chinese people .
We have fought back against China in its attempts to dominate the world ’ s critical communications networks through Huawei and its 5G equipment , gaining more and more support from friends and allies .
We are the only major nation that actively exposes the CCP ’ s wholesale cover-up of the Wuhan virus that has ravaged the world , and demanded transparency from the Chinese government .
Secretary Pompeo has spoken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s pro-democracy protesters , condemned in the strongest possible terms against the [ China ’ s ] racist atrocities against the Uighurs in Xinjiang and other places in China .
Upon Secretary Pompeo ’ s certification of Hong Kong ’ s lack of sufficient autonomy , the president ordered the termination of Hong Kong ’ s special treatment .
Unlike previous presidents , President Trump respects the will of the American people and without much hesitation signed overwhelmingly passed congressional bills into law , including the Taiwan Travel Act , the [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the TAIPEI ACT .
Under Secretary Pompeo ’ s leadership , the State Department has also placed religious freedom and global women ’ s right as part of the core actions of the American diplomacy .
The list goes on and on .
All in all , this administration under President Trump and Secretary Pompeo ’ s strong leadership has been conducting a most realistic , most active , most productive , most efficient China policy in recent memory , with strong bipartisan support , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the CCP government .
Yes there have been fewer banquets and fruitless “ strategic dialogues ” with the Chinese leaders , but today ’ s bilateral interactions are of substance and results-oriented , either on trade , reciprocal exchanges or demand on coronavirus transparency .
The new American national security agenda treats the Chinese communist government as a worthy and serious strategic competitor armed with a Marxist-Leninist ideology and a hijacked , China-centric Chinese nationalism that places China as the moral and governance leader of the world at the expense of freedom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new Strategic Approach on China was issued by the White House and it faulted past policies for not producing the desired results .
How should the United States approach China strategically ?
Yu : What ’ s so interesting about this document is that it says we have been wrong about China for the past several decades .
Richard Nixon in 1972 said similar things about how we had been wrong about our then-China policy .
Before that , in 1949 , when the [ Communist Party ] took over China , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that also said we had been wrong about China for the previous decades .
This is a sad history of constantly getting China wrong .
The reasons for this peculiar phenomenon are the ones I mentioned earlier .
TWT : What role does Marxism-Leninism play in China today ?
What do people need to know about the role of ideology by Beijing ?
Yu : [ Chinese President ] Xi Jinping is a diehard Communist who believes in the ideology .
In 1954 , Mao Zedong laid out what has been considered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation : “ The essential force that leads our cause is the Chinese Communist Party ; the theoretical foundation that guides out thinking is Marxism-Leninism.
” That fundamental CCP governance philosophy has not changed a bit in today ’ s China .
Anyone in today ’ s China who openly challenges this precept will end up in jail or worse .
For many Americans , especially , and sadly , for many key U.S. policy makers who have spent a career on China affairs , this is completely unknown to them .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Man , ” the black protagonist in the book lamented his problem , “ It ’ s not that I am invisible , it is that you refuse to see me.
” This remains also true in the China field — It is not that the CCP is not ideologically driven , it is that we refuse to see it that way .
Without understanding the deeply ideological impulses of PRC domestic and international policies , we can not grip how the communist theories such as epic struggle between the socialist and capitalist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Mao Zedong ’ s “ Continuous Revolution ” and other Marxist-Leninist dogmas dominate the CCP ’ s strategic calculations .
Look at today ’ s CCP ’ s initiatives : the Belt and Road Initiative gambit , its ruthless war against organized religions of all kinds , its crusade against the American “ Black Hand ” forces in Hong Kong ’ s protests , and its Leninist approach that can be seen in the latest Hong Kong national security law abomination — all have their Marxist-Leninist theoretical justifications .
Even fighting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the CCP ’ s glory and communist invincibility — the day after Xi Jinping convened a Politburo emergency meeting on the Wuhan outbreak , the CCP general secretary called for the party members ’ sacrifice in fighting the outbreak , and instructed , ” The advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party will not persist naturally with the passage of time .
… Every party member must constantly purify his thoughts , rid of spiritual virus and pollution through ceaseless self-inspection , self-analysis , and self-reflection.
” That was on January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Wuhan outbreak .

Miles Yu, who witnessed the devastation of Mao’s Cultural Revolution as a boy growing up in China, has now emerged as one of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s most influential advisers on U.S.-Sino relations. Below are excerpts of an interview Washington Times correspondent Bill Gertz recently conducted with Mr. Yu, now a senior member of the policy planning staff in Mr. Pompeo’s office.:
TWT: Tell me about your background. Where were you born and what was it like growing up during the Cultural Revolution?
Miles Yu: I was born in an obscure small place in eastern China’s Anhui province but grew up in the Chongqing area in southwestern China. My primary and middle school years were during the Cultural Revolution. Although I was too young to actively take part in the political madness, my childhood innocence was brutally upended by the communist revolution’s violence, absurdity, ideological shriek, destruction of social trust and public mores, and utter hatred for anything Western or “bourgeois”. These childhood experiences and memories have forged my elemental distaste for revolutionary radicalism and my deep disdain for Western apologists for the Chinese communist government and its many crimes.
TWT: What role did the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests and subsequent massacre play in your life?
Yu: If Ronald Reagan inspired me to come to America, Tiananmen rekindled my hope for freedom and democracy for China. Tiananmen turned me from a nerdy graduate student into a vocal supporter for Tiananmen protesters.
The biggest thing I did after Tiananmen was for nearly four years, I hosted a lecture series at Berkeley called the China Forum where I gave voices to Chinese dissidents such as Harry Wu, Wuer Kaixi, Liu Binyan and Fang Lizhi, and provided a public forum for marginalized American scholars to show their vindication on the CCP regime’s nature, and for many mainstream scholars and officials to deliver their mea culpa, offer analysis and re-evaluation of the China situation. Other speakers included Ambassador James Lilley, Orville Schell, Thomas Metzger, Tu Weiming, Frederic Wakeman, Jr., Bette Bao Lord, and Martin Malia. We printed the English transcript of these talks and the subscribers came from all over the country.
SEE ALSO: Miles Yu, Mike Pompeo adviser, helps form China policy
TWT: Tell me about your work as a Naval Academy professor. What are some of the highlights of teaching Naval Academy students?
Yu: I have been a professor of modern China and military history at the Naval Academy since 1994, straight from Berkeley. It’s both an honor and a privilege to be able to teach the defenders of American liberty and democracy. It completely fulfills my intellectual aspiration inspired by Ronald Reagan back in the early 1980s. All these years, when I walk into a classroom, I see not only college students eager to get a good education, but also the faces of midshipmen who voluntarily pledge their lives to make sure American democracy will not die. That means a tremendous amount to me, especially in this cynical age of ours when the fundamental goodness of the American system has even to be questioned by many among ourselves. Having grown up in communist China and now living my American dream, I think the world should be incalculably grateful to America, because, as Reagan said, America represents “the last best hope of man on Earth.” I truly believe that.
TWT: As a China expert, what are some of the shortcomings of past U.S. policies toward the PRC?
Yu: There have been some successes for the U.S. in dealing with China and a great number of Americans have dedicated to improving the bilateral relations. Yet until very recently, U.S.-China policy had been dominated by what I’d call the “missionary sentiment” toward China and the Chinese people. Under such a conceptual frame, China needs America’s altruistic help to step into the modern world, make it a responsible stakeholder, teach it how to behave in a civilized world.
And we believed that. America’s founding creed is “all men are created equal,” and if we provide China the chances — get them into the [World Trade Organization], open up our markets, science labs and weapons depots, etc. — China will surely begin behaving just like us, following the rules and respecting intellectual property rights. Implicit in this approach is that the Chinese communists are not really communists. They are pre-industrial and incapable of carrying out a grand communist experiment guided by modern Western radical ideology, with its roots in Germany and Russia.
So this kind of missionary sentiment effectively ruined our China policy during World War II, when a group of China-born young men of American missionary parents dominated our China policy ethos, which was carried on for many decades at the State Department and other U.S. government agencies, even long after the Nixon’s trip to China in 1972.
With such mentality, the U.S. made monumental blunders — related to the outbreak of the Korean War, the ideological roots of the Soviet-Chinese split over the purity of Marxism-Leninism (not Soviet communism vs. Chinese nationalism). There are more reasons, but I won’t get into detail for sake of time and space.
TWT: What has President Trump brought to China policy? How as Pompeo developed and implemented new policies toward the PRC?
Yu: Recently I attended an event and heard a former senior official from a previous administration who ran our China policy state that the Trump administration has no China policy, only a China attitude. He was completely oblivious to the fact that China policy under his shop didn’t have [a policy] either. We not only have the right policy but also the right attitude toward China based on principled realism.
Under the Trump administration and with Secretary Pompeo at the helm in the State Department, we don’t just “manage” the bilateral relations with China, we innovate and seek results and modify some basic precepts of the relationship that are dinosaurs not reflective of reality. President Trump and Secretary Pompeo ended the long-practiced “anger management-based” China policy model — formulating our policy by calculating how not to make China sufficiently angry at us to save the constantly strained relationship — that had become a vicious cycle whereby the [Chinese Communist Party] essentially dictated much of our China policy and initiatives. President Trump came along and cut out the mumbo-jumbo.
The result is that the U.S. has extracted far more concessions from China and regained our China policy initiative in such a way that we now dictate the terms of bilateral discourse based upon results, transparency, reciprocity and most importantly, our national interest and founding principles.
The Trump administration started big and decisively, because we not only want to do things right, but also make sure we are doing the right things. We changed some of the conceptual foundations. At the outset of this administration, the White House revamped our strategic outlook and the president issued a landmark and far-reaching National Security Strategy in December 2017. Subsequently, the Pentagon issued the companion document known as the National Defense Strategy. Both documents ushered in an age of Great Power Competition in which China no longer will be treated by the U.S. as merely a “card” to be played in order to reach other strategic goals. Instead, China is at the top of our national security agenda, as there is no bigger threat than China and no other more important strategic goal than stemming China’s threat to the world.
All in all, I would say the Trump administration is the only American administration in nearly seven decades that effectively holds the [Chinese] government accountable for its malign actions in a meaningful way, whether they are related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong, predatory trade and currency manipulations, industrial, military and cyber espionage against the U.S.
We also began to robustly, without apology, uphold rules and laws governing the international commons, standing up against China’s bluffs and gaining more peace and security as a result.
The Navy, for example, has sailed American warships through the Taiwan Strait, an international waterway, more than 15 times in under two years despite China’s warnings, a feat unimaginable under any previous administration since Nixon. This act alone essentially internationalizes the waterway vital to Taiwan’s defense. American leadership in the Taiwan Strait [has been] followed by navies of many allies.
On a strategic level, President Trump singlehandedly changed the global dialogue on China, placing China at the top of America’s national security priority, re-orienting America’s strategic assets toward Asia-Pacific, not just with empty talk but with real commitment.
Secretary Pompeo has repeatedly stated that the challenge to the world posed by the Chinese regime is “the central threat of our times.” He made an important speech last October at the Hudson Institute in which he announced that the U.S. government could no longer ignore the political and ideological differences between China and the United States. We are not seeking confrontation — we are interacting with China based upon what China is but not what we wish it to be. In that historic speech, Secretary Pompeo also clearly stated that the Chinese Communist Party today is not the same as the Chinese people.
We have fought back against China in its attempts to dominate the world’s critical communications networks through Huawei and its 5G equipment, gaining more and more support from friends and allies.
We are the only major nation that actively exposes the CCP’s wholesale cover-up of the Wuhan virus that has ravaged the world, and demanded transparency from the Chinese government. Secretary Pompeo has spoken out forcibly in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters, condemned in the strongest possible terms against the [China’s] racist atrocities against the Uighurs in Xinjiang and other places in China.
Upon Secretary Pompeo’s certification of Hong Kong’s lack of sufficient autonomy, the president ordered the termination of Hong Kong’s special treatment. Unlike previous presidents, President Trump respects the will of the American people and without much hesitation signed overwhelmingly passed congressional bills into law, including the Taiwan Travel Act, the [Asia Reassurance Initiative Act], the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the TAIPEI ACT.
Under Secretary Pompeo’s leadership, the State Department has also placed religious freedom and global women’s right as part of the core actions of the American diplomacy. The list goes on and on.
All in all, this administration under President Trump and Secretary Pompeo’s strong leadership has been conducting a most realistic, most active, most productive, most efficient China policy in recent memory, with strong bipartisan support, without apology, without illusion about ourselves and the CCP government. Yes there have been fewer banquets and fruitless “strategic dialogues” with the Chinese leaders, but today’s bilateral interactions are of substance and results-oriented, either on trade, reciprocal exchanges or demand on coronavirus transparency.
The new American national security agenda treats the Chinese communist government as a worthy and serious strategic competitor armed with a Marxist-Leninist ideology and a hijacked, China-centric Chinese nationalism that places China as the moral and governance leader of the world at the expense of freedom and democracy.
TWT: Recently a new Strategic Approach on China was issued by the White House and it faulted past policies for not producing the desired results. How should the United States approach China strategically?
Yu: What’s so interesting about this document is that it says we have been wrong about China for the past several decades.
Richard Nixon in 1972 said similar things about how we had been wrong about our then-China policy. Before that, in 1949, when the [Communist Party] took over China, the State Department issued a China White Paper that also said we had been wrong about China for the previous decades. This is a sad history of constantly getting China wrong. The reasons for this peculiar phenomenon are the ones I mentioned earlier.
TWT: What role does Marxism-Leninism play in China today? What do people need to know about the role of ideology by Beijing?
Yu: [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is a diehard Communist who believes in the ideology.
In 1954, Mao Zedong laid out what has been considered the foundational creed and motto for the communist nation: “The essential force that leads our cause is the Chinese Communist Party; the theoretical foundation that guides out thinking is Marxism-Leninism.”
That fundamental CCP governance philosophy has not changed a bit in today’s China. Anyone in today’s China who openly challenges this precept will end up in jail or worse. For many Americans, especially, and sadly, for many key U.S. policy makers who have spent a career on China affairs, this is completely unknown to them.
In Ralph Ellison’s “the Invisible Man,” the black protagonist in the book lamented his problem, “It’s not that I am invisible, it is that you refuse to see me.”
This remains also true in the China field — It is not that the CCP is not ideologically driven, it is that we refuse to see it that way.
Without understanding the deeply ideological impulses of PRC domestic and international policies, we cannot grip how the communist theories such as epic struggle between the socialist and capitalist systems, the Leninist “weakest link,” Mao Zedong’s “Continuous Revolution” and other Marxist-Leninist dogmas dominate the CCP’s strategic calculations. Look at today’s CCP’s initiatives: the Belt and Road Initiative gambit, its ruthless war against organized religions of all kinds, its crusade against the American “Black Hand” forces in Hong Kong’s protests, and its Leninist approach that can be seen in the latest Hong Kong national security law abomination — all have their Marxist-Leninist theoretical justifications.
Even fighting the coronavirus is viewed as a manifestation of the CCP’s glory and communist invincibility — the day after Xi Jinping convened a Politburo emergency meeting on the Wuhan outbreak, the CCP general secretary called for the party members’ sacrifice in fighting the outbreak, and instructed, ” The advanced nature and purity of a Marxist party will not persist naturally with the passage of time. … Every party member must constantly purify his thoughts, rid of spiritual virus and pollution through ceaseless self-inspection, self-analysis, and self-reflection.” That was on January 8, 2020, at the peak of the Wuhan outbreak.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--Portland police say they'll remove fence from downtown jail

PORTLAND , Ore. ( AP ) - A chain-link fence that blocked the downtown Portland , Oregon , jail from nightly protesters will be taken down .
Portland police announced on Twitter Monday afternoon that they planned to dismantle most of the fence .
They did not say when they would remove it .
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that police set it up around the perimeter of the Multnomah County Justice Center on June 1 , after protesters on May 29 broke in and set a fire on the first floor of the building .
Protests over police brutality following the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued every day since then .
The fence became a point of contention where protesters and police often faced off .
“ We are removing the fence to show our willingness to have dialog and peaceful communication toward starting to heal our community , ” the bureau said .
“ We are open and listening to discussions of how the community envisions its police serve them in the future .
Our hope is that the nightly violence and destruction around the justice center will stop and the focus can be directed toward peaceful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers would leave up some fencing close to the jail while workers repair some of the damage from the second nights of protests on May 29 .
Protesters broke windows , sprayed graffiti , stole merchandise and clashed with police throughout downtown .

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A chain-link fence that blocked the downtown Portland, Oregon, jail from nightly protesters will be taken down.
Portland police announced on Twitter Monday afternoon that they planned to dismantle most of the fence. They did not say when they would remove it.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that police set it up around the perimeter of the Multnomah County Justice Center on June 1, after protesters on May 29 broke in and set a fire on the first floor of the building. Protests over police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have continued every day since then.
The fence became a point of contention where protesters and police often faced off.
“We are removing the fence to show our willingness to have dialog and peaceful communication toward starting to heal our community,” the bureau said. “We are open and listening to discussions of how the community envisions its police serve them in the future. Our hope is that the nightly violence and destruction around the justice center will stop and the focus can be directed toward peaceful conversation.”
The police bureau said that officers would leave up some fencing close to the jail while workers repair some of the damage from the second nights of protests on May 29. Protesters broke windows, sprayed graffiti, stole merchandise and clashed with police throughout downtown.


washingtontimes--2020-06-15--19 deaths and 473 new COVID-19 cases announced for Illinois

SPRINGFIELD , Ill. ( AP ) - The number of coronavirus deaths in Illinois increased by 19 to 6,326 , the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Monday .
An additional 473 new cases of COVID-19 was reported Monday by the health department , bringing the state ’ s total to 133,016 cases .
It was the lowest daily tally of cases since March 30 and were the result of 18,627 new processed tests .
The state ’ s preliminary seven-day positivity rate for cases remains at 3 % .
On Sunday , Illinois also saw 19 deaths from COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statewide , 1,853 beds out of 3,882 beds in intensive care units were available , while 4,373 ventilators , out of a possible 5,983 , were currently available .
As state officials announced new coronavirus numbers , the University of Illinois at Chicago announced that next month , it will begin testing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 .
The university said it expects to enroll next month , with expectations of enrolling at least 1,000 local participants in the clinical trial .
According to university officials , the vaccine was developed by biotech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , which is part of the National Institutes of Health .

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The number of coronavirus deaths in Illinois increased by 19 to 6,326, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Monday.
An additional 473 new cases of COVID-19 was reported Monday by the health department, bringing the state’s total to 133,016 cases. It was the lowest daily tally of cases since March 30 and were the result of 18,627 new processed tests. The state’s preliminary seven-day positivity rate for cases remains at 3%. On Sunday, Illinois also saw 19 deaths from COVID-19.
The Public Health Department reports that statewide, 1,853 beds out of 3,882 beds in intensive care units were available, while 4,373 ventilators, out of a possible 5,983, were currently available.
As state officials announced new coronavirus numbers, the University of Illinois at Chicago announced that next month, it will begin testing a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The university said it expects to enroll next month, with expectations of enrolling at least 1,000 local participants in the clinical trial.
According to university officials, the vaccine was developed by biotech company Moderna, and the trial is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.