To Beijing, it is far better to have death camps across the border than refugee camps along them, and if there is plenty of coal for the factories of Harbin and plenty of meat for the whorehouses of Dandong, so much the better.

Brilliant turn of phrase. It blows my mind: Wen was on TV this weekend talking about exchange rates and foreign currency reserves (and other financial bullshit, including, of course, a lecture to the U.S. Treasury). How the hell does the world take this guy seriously? He’s going to drone on about trade and finance…and we’re going to treat him like a respectable world leader? He explicitly allows the terrible abuses of defectors in China and provides the Kim regime with its only lifeline. China is some hybrid of an enabler and a collaborator. This isn’t a question of whether China is a big economy or an important power, but for the world to respect and admire this country? Well, I can only ask the eternal question: what the fuck?