China's Role in Darfur — It's about Oil, Stupid

The situation in Darfur is getting worse all the time; nearly 5 million people face violence, malnutrition, and disease. China didn't create the tragedy of Darfur, but it enables the atrocities to continue.

• Few have been exempt from violence, murder, rape and torture. The Sudanese government is ceaselessly cruel in its objective to clear the land of the people of Darfur. For example, the Sudanese military paints its aircraft the same color as U.N. humanitarian planes. A plane approaches, but the villagers don't know what to do. Will the plane help them or bomb them?

• Chinese-made AK-47's are the weapon of choice. They have been used to slaughter several hundred thousand people in Darfur. And that's not all. You can spot Chinese-made machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades all over Darfur.

• China funds — and props up — the Sudanese regime (and the murderous Janjaweed militia).

• China is Sudan's largest trading partner and largest donor of aid. China doubled its trade with Sudan in 2007.

• Why is China doing this? Quite simply - oil. China needs oil to fuel its rapid growth. China gets 7 percent of its total oil imports from Sudan every year, and Sudan exports 70 percent of its oil to China. China owns two major oil companies which puts millions of dollars of revenue into the regime's coffers. China has signed large-scale oil exploration deals with Sudan.

• This is not the first time China has sponsored genocide. Don't forget that China gave millions of dollars worth of weapons to Pol Pot's Cambodia.