Irvine Mailers: Krom on China, China on Krom

In response to a hard-hitting independent expenditure piece blasting Irvine Mayor Beth Krom’s ill-starred agreement with communist China to ditch Irvine’s Taiwanese sister city, Mayor Krom sent out a full color piece of her own with the following whopper of a line:

“Now my opponents crossed the line from negative campaigning to outright slander, accusing me of making myself ‘a hero to the government of communist China.’  There is just no excuse for this kind of insulting name-calling in any political campaign.”

 

Interesting, especially in light of a letter from the Chinese communist government to Mayor Beth Krom dated August 28, 2006 and available online at: big5.fmprc.gov.cn/gate/big5/losangeles.china-consulate.org/chn/news/topnews/t275439.htm

The letter from China says, in part:

“Dear Mayor Krom,

“We both believe that the sister city relationship between Irvine and Xuhui will facilitate our mutual exchange and cooperation, and it will be a very good way to strengthen our friendship and benefit our communities. Through our past contact, we have seen the efforts contributed by the Irvine city leaders and communities to set up our sister city relationship. Also we have seen the hard working dedicated by the City to build a strong economy and create a harmonious community. We have our great respect and appreciation to you.

“We sincerely hope that we can continue our sister city relationship based on the One China Policy. We understand that what is needed is more time and our mutual respect and efforts to reach this consensus. In the meantime, we hope that further communication can continue between our tow (sic) communities to fulfill this good will.”

The letter is signed by Lin Longbin, Deputy Director of Xuhui Foreign Affairs Office.

When the Chinese communist foreign ministry official writes to Mayor Krom, “We have our great respect and appreciation to you” even after Irvine back-peddled on the deal after tremendous pressure from the Taiwanese American community in Irvine – that sounds an awful lot like confirmation to me of “hero” status “to the government of communist China.”

Now, Mayor Krom said the piece indulged in “outright slander.”  Question for the Mayor Krom: isn’t the truth a defense in slander?

Finally, by way of a reminder, check out what O.C. Register columnist Frank Mickadeit wrote about Krom’s trip to Shanghai earlier this year in a piece entitled City of Irvine ditches democracy for dictatorship:

“In a stunning display of ham-handed diplomacy, the People's Republic of Irvine has broken from the policy of its former imperialist occupier, the United States of America, and agreed with its new overlords in the People's Republic of China to no longer allow city officials to travel to Taiwan or otherwise consort with Irvine's established sister city on the island.

“Irvine, a tiny nation-state that seceded from the Union during the early Agran Dynasty, entered into an agreement with China during a goodwill trip that was ostensibly to welcome a Chinese mainland city into the Sister City program but which turned into a coup for the dictatorship. (The Chinese dictatorship, that is.)

“The above two paragraphs bear the improbable and tragic burden of essential truth.

“Attending the ceremonies in China were Mayor Beth Krom…

“(Jack) Wu likened it to signing sister city agreements with municipalities in Palestine or North Korea that deny the independent existence of Israel or South Korea - something Irvine officials would clearly be more sensitive of because two council members are Jewish and two are Korean.

“Like all things Irvine these days, it may have something to do with the Great Park. Perhaps a nice big contribution to the park from the new sister city? Why would Great Park board member Michael Pinto have wanted to go on the trip when he's not on the City Council - he doesn't even live in Irvine - if there were no Great Park link?”

I hope the members of Irvine’s large and vibrant Asian community do not forget this incident and vote accordingly tomorrow.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District
www.ChuckDeVore.com

Comments

[Bladerunner]

Chuck, Face it....the Richard Nixon and the Republican Party turned its back on Taiwan in 1972. Had a Democrat done what Nixon did you(or someone like you) would have gotten Kenneth Star and launched an impeachment drive.

Krom's handling of this situation was sophmoric and it gives us another example of why local governments should stay out of foreign policy. But your attempt to project Irvine Reds as the savior of Taiwan is not much better.

[Curious]

Chuck, you may be in a position to know this. Did or does the State Department have anything to say about these agreements? Or are they what most of us suspect they are...excuses for boondoggles and travel on the taxpayer's dime?

[Elroy El]

Chuck,

What is your point?

[Chuck DeVore]

Curious: the U.S. Department of State has no control over this -- other than when someone tries to travel to a nation such as North Korea or Cuba where travel is severely restricted.

On the flip side of it, such agreements as that Irvine signed with China are big propaganda victories for the Chinese who miss no opportunity to soften their terrible human rights record and massive military buildup.

Bladerunner: Pres. Nixon’s opening to the PRC helped win the Cold War by dividing one ruthless dictatorship from another. Irvine’s opening to the PRC just wins the communists in Beijing points as they try to show their people and the rest of the world just how legitimate they really are.

Pres. Nixon was playing what is known in geopolitics as realpolitik (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik).

What Mayor Krom was playing at in Shanghai, I don’t rightly know, other than that it was not helpful to the cause of freedom and liberty.

Elroy, see above, plus, my point was that Mayor Krom called the IE against her last week “outright slander” and “insulting name-calling” whereas I called it the truth.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

[Elroy El]

whereas I called it the truth.

Yes. I'm sure every word written in these types of letters is absolutely unequivocally true about all parties concerned.

Like the majority of political mail it gets a three second glance before it goes into the recycle bin.

There are no pressing issues in Irvine that warrants anyone who lives there to want to change. And as you know from your experience running for local office that is what rules the day.

Chuck,
Steven Choi was on the trip too (Article), so therefore, he must have sanctioned the agreement as well. If guilt is being doled out by association, then Councilman Choi is equally guilty.

We all know that a Staffer signed the agreement and didn't tell anyone about it for over a week. This is just pathetic to continue to focus on this.

[DanC]

Chuck -- through your silence on repeated requests to this question, you must approve of your GOP administration allowing ne Communist Chinese to hold Billions of our Federal debt. Mr. Duong is a senior executive of a company that has invested millions in the Communist PRC and Communist Vietnam. Guess you'e OK with that. Has Frank Jao cut you a big check?

Most of the Taiwainese who protested at City Hall had to be bused in to Irvine. My next door neighbor is Taiwanese and she could care less about this issue.

The only thing missing here is a plug for your book, China Attacks. Oh wait, I just did it.

Irvine is a Pacific Rim city and like it or not, the PRC is and will be important trading partners. Why don't you hold Choi as accountable as Krom and Agran? Because he is the Republican.

One last question; where is the American Embassy in Taiwan? I am sure you know the answer based on your taxpayer funded education and vast military experience.

[Chuck DeVore]

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) serves as the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan. It is in Taipei and for the first time in decades, an active duty Army colonel heads the military mission there. His posting in Taipei (I met him last year at a party the grounds of the president's house) is a significant sign of American support for the maintenance of freedom and liberty in Taiwan. (For more data, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Institute_in_Taiwan.)

I'm not a huge fan of China holding our debt, but look at it this way, their buying of dollars invests in our economy and helps keep interest rates low. As they grow and their economy can absorb more investment (assuming an increase in rule of law), they will buy less of our currency. Last note on foreign currency exchanges: for most of America's history we have been a net importer of capital because we have been the safest place in the world to invest and still get a good return. Now, if your friends win tomorrow and hike taxes, then you may see your dream of capital flight from the U.S. coming true.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

P.S. I will say one thing nice about Rep. Nancy Pelosi: she is far more skeptical of China than is Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

[Elroy El]

I'm not a huge fan of China holding our debt, but look at it this way, their buying of dollars invests in our economy and helps keep interest rates low.

Do some reading on the Tulip economy. We're whistling past the graveyard with that as a fiscal policy.

I am amused that a conservative would approve of this tactic given the increasing amount of the federal budget that is now committed to INTEREST on the national debt.

All that borrowed wampum has to be paid off with dollars from the US Treasury. Someone down the road will have to raise taxes to pay off that debt. It's only a matter of time before our profligate spending catches up to us.

Thanks Dubya. We got the worst of both ends of economic policy. Low taxes and boosted spending. I can only hope this is the last MBA president for a while if this is what it brings us.

[Chuck DeVore]

Elroy, Elroy, Elroy, I do indeed know all about the "Tulip economy" but tell me, what in the heck does a bunch of irrational people buying tulip bulbs for inflated prices a few hundred years ago have to do with international currency flows and capital investments today? It's like you say a string of words that individually have meaning, but together don't mean a thing and we're supposed to say, "oooo! Elroy, smart, Bush, dumb.”

All things considered, I would rather have foreign investment pouring into America to improve our productivity than the opposite (as was happening during the Great Depression).

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

[DanC]

Thanks for answering Chuck. There IS no American embassy in Taiwain. The country isn't recognized. And thanks for the "I don't like it but it's okay" response to China holding onto lots of our debt. Perhaps as an assemblyman, you could actually speak out against this "investment" by the PRC, but I love your attempt to use the sister city case to drive a wedge through this community while "not liking" the PRC holding so much debt run up by your party. No if you do get re-elected, let's do something about prob

[DanC]

(damn laptop)...properly funding Irvine schools.

[Stephen]

One frequent excuse used by the Agranistas is that the agreement was signed by a staffer without Krom's knowledge.

There are several problems with that:

(1) The main one being, Krom sent a letter to the Mayor of Xuhui one month before, in which she committed Irvine to abide by One China. The letter was sent April 27, two days after the City Council voted to approve a Sister City relationship with Xuhui. Never did the Council vote to abide by One China. It was never even discussed. Yet here's Krom sending a letter in which she commits Irvine to One China, right out of the blue. So it certainly implies that there was a secret understanding between Xuhui and Agran/Kang (who negotiated the deal through Agran's ally Henry King) that Irvine would commit to One China in exchange for something.

(2) The main document Krom signed in Xuhui on May 31 also committed Irvine to One China. Again, there was never any deliberation by the City Council or any authorizing vote by the Council to allow her to sign an agreement that committed Irvine to One China. She just did it.

(3) The side agreement signed by staffer Valerie Larenne was negotiated by Agran's ally Henry King. He's the one who steered Valerie into the room to sign the agreement while Krom was signing the main document. That's on the public record, testimony given in City Council meetings, so it can't be denied.

As for Steven Choi's presence on the trip, he was simply part of a delegation. Like everyone else except Krom, he had no role other than to be present. Krom's job was to review and sign the documents. Choi had no such authority, or responsibility.

[Elroy El]

we're supposed to say, "oooo! Elroy, smart, Bush, dumb.”

Your words, not mine.

....but tell me, what in the heck does a bunch of irrational people buying tulip bulbs for inflated prices a few hundred years ago have to do with international currency flows and capital investments today?

Nothing. You know everything. That increasing debt has no bearing on the amount of interest needing to be paid out of the US Treasury. That increasing debt has no bearing on propping up an insane fiscal policy.

Nope, no effect at all. I can't help you if you can't see the parallels.

[Chuck DeVore]

Elroy: So, by your reasoning, a tulip bulb, which has little inherent value, is to be compared to a $1 billion of capital investment that increases our productivity? When the Dutch madly bought up tulip bulbs a few hundred years ago they had nothing left when the speculative bubble burst -- except tulip bulbs. When foreigners invest capital into the U.S. market, they are investing in our future and increasing our productivity. Would you rather have Chinese currency flowing into India?

Whatever.

Methinks you got into some of that industrial hemp I tried to legalize.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

[DanC]

Hate to break the bad news guys, bu t OneChina is and has been federal policy for years. Complain to the preznit if you don't like it.