President Clinton And Chinese Tobacco

By Norman E. Kjono

Los Angeles CA - How would you react if you knew that President Clinton used the office of the President of the United States to destroy Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, while promoting the interests of Nissan and Toyota through APEC and the World Trade Organization(WTO)?

Would it occur to you to ask why the President was destroying American corporations and jobs, while promoting economic opportunities for foreign interests? Would you begin to consider serious questions regarding the national security of the United States?

How would the mainstream press and media networks report Bob Dole and the Republican National Committee (RNC) accepting a $250,000 campaign contribution from Philip Morris? Would there be an uproar about big tobacco buying influence at the White House?

What would Project ASSIST anti-tobacco activists say if Dan Quail attended a fund-raising event where the R.J. Reynolds CEO's daughter was an honored guest? How would the activists respond if the RNC was the recipient of $60,000 in donations at that fund-raiser?

How would the media report a political event where the CEO of Brown & Williamson was an honored guest, sitting at the right hand of the President of the United States?

What would the public perception be if the export manager for Philip Morris donated $50,000 to the Dole election campaign?

And what would the antis say if R.J. Reynolds donated $200,000 to sponsor a sports tournament in California? Would President Clinton send a letter of thanks to R.J. Reynolds?

Each of these events happened, though involving parties other than stated above. Each of the events described occurred with President Clinton, Al Gore, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Chinese tobacco magnate Ted Sioeng as participants.The question I have is why is the Clinton-tobacco connection ignored?

Read The Wall Street Journal on campaign finance, August 11, 1997. Why was there no meaningful investigation into influence peddling DNC donations by Mr. Sioeng?

Retrieve from the Los Angeles Times archives an extensive article dated May 18, 1997, Page A1, (Byline K. Connie Kang and David Rosenzweig) that outlines in detail the DNC campaign finance skulduggery of Mr. Sioeng.

Then sit down and reflect on the facts, preferably while listening to the lyrics of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, The Sounds of Silence. Reflect on the vision that softly creeps into one's mind when considering those articles. Listen to the sounds of silence.

According to the Los Angeles Times, tobacco magnate Sioeng donated $250,000 to the DNC. Sioeng's USA import associate, Kent La, donated $50,000 to the DNC. Mr. Sioeng put up $200,000 in prizes for badminton championships in Orange County, California. And Al Gore did attend a Buddhist Temple fund-raiser that produced $60,000 in contributions to the DNC.

Mr. Sioeng's Worldwide Golden Leaf is the global distributor for Hongtashan cigarettes. That company manufactures cigarettes and distributes them worldwide, including Red Mountain Pagoda brand, under license from the Chinese Government. The state owned tobacco monopoly provides a major source of income for the Communist Chinese government.

Mr. Sioeng was an honored guest at a 1996 DNC dinner, sitting at the right hand of the President. Mr. Sioeng's daughter, Elnitiarta, was an honored guest, along with Al Gore, at the Buddhist Temple event. Mr. Sioeng received a letter of thanks from the White House for sponsoring a badminton tournament.

President Clinton also supports limiting the export market for US tobacco. This, while promoting the interests of Communist Chinese who export Red Mountain Pagoda to the USA.

Why would our president destroy USA tobacco manufacturing while promoting the interests of Communist Chinese tobacco distributors? More important, why do congress and the media continue to ignore it?

Are the purposes of anti-tobacco to hurt USA manufacturers while promoting foreign interests? The facts say this is a serious possibility. The facts say the only tobacco companies President Clinton doesn't like are those in the USA.

We had better start asking questions. We're betting a nation on the answers.

Meanwhile, silence like a cancer grows.

November 24, 1997 Redmond WA