F.B.I. to Open Liaison Office in Beijing, Ashcroft Says

The US will set up an F.B.I. liaison office in Beijing to help the Chinese in their fight against terrorism as well as smuggling and money laundering – two criminal activities often found to provide material support for terrorists. In a country where the police are weak, due process is sparse, and the legal system is relatively undeveloped, how this help will manifest itself is still uncertain. While this new move shows increasing goodwill between the US and China, there is still a conflict over the status of Taiwan. Many outside China have also questioned recent actions by the US in applying a terrorist label to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. And there are fears that the US has allowed China to co-opt the war on terrorism: China has launched a large campaign to crack down on the Falun Gong spiritual movement, and Muslim separatists in the Uighur communities of the far west. Do the recent links between the US and China suggest a new era of multi-lateral crime fighting or a new era of logrolling? – YaleGlobal