The Occasional Observer

China Erects Fence Along N. Korea Border
Oct 16 8:43 AM US/Eastern

By NG HAN GUAN
Associated Press Writer

HUSHAN, China

China has been building a massive barbed wire and concrete fence along parts of its border with North Korea in the most visible sign of Beijing's strained ties with its once-cozy communist neighbor.

Scores of soldiers have descended on farmland near the border-marking Yalu River to erect concrete barriers 8 to 15 feet tall and string barbed wire between them, farmers and visitors to the area said.

I can't believe this. They're erecting this fence, and it's the first I've heard of it? Whither all the hand-wringing? Is this fair to North Koreans who want to smuggle through China? After all, Korean smugglers are just poor people in search of a better life. The Chinese should be flattered that Korean smugglers think so highly of Chinese roads and their black market.

And what message does this "wall" send about China's ethno-superiority complex? Clearly racism against Koreans lives on.

China should forget their physical fence. They need to be seeking a "comprehensive solution." No border security until root causes have been dealt with. First China must agree to spend billions on humanitarian aid to Korea, give Korean manufacturers unbridled access to their market, increase their Korean immigration quota by 3000%, give a guest worker card to any Korean citizen who wants to work there, and put in place a structure by which any guest worker has a guaranteed path to Chinese citizenship and government benefits. Then, and only then, can they start erecting a virtual fence using cameras and loudspeakers. Anyone who puts up barbed wire could injure an innocent refugee and should be dealt with accordingly--as a war criminal.

Liberal Americans, to the barricades! Let's confront this Chinese racism and stop it in its tracks!