I was impressed with an article appearing in the U.K.’s Independent today entitled, “China: the true costs of success.” While the Independent seems to concentrate on anti-U.S. rants, today it was no-holds-barred critical of China’s communist thugs. Some excerpts:

China executes about 10,000 people a year. …in any three-month period, it kills more of its people than the rest of the world does over three years. …

Disappearances and torture of supporters of the Dalai Lama are commonplace. …

Police psychiatrists systematically misdiagnose political dissidents, religious nonconformists, persistent complainers and petitioners, independent trade unionists, and whistleblowers against corruption as being “dangerously mentally ill”. They are “treated” at mental asylums.

As China’s economy expands with double-digit growth, it is becoming probably the single greatest threat to the planet. With a population of 1.3billion, it has overtaken the US as the world’s leading consumer of grain, meat, coal and steel. …

No organisation is tolerated that could challenge the Communist Party’s control over aspects of society it deems crucial.

Definitely worth reading.