Can China Avoid the Soviet Union's Fate? | Asian American Issues

CAN CHINA AVOID THE SOVIET UNION'S FATE?

he People's Republic of China likes to compare itself with the United States. Both governments were forged to throw off the imperial yoke. Both are amalgams of many races and nationalities. Both are great continental powers capable of harnessing immense resources to promote national agendas around the world.
     Beijing's bosses cite these parallels to justify China's ambition of returning Taiwan to the fold -- forcibly if necessary -- and violently suppressing movements for Tibetan independence, Moslem separatism and religious tolerance. The party line: "In a few decades we will be as prosperous, unified and democratic as you Americans."
     Unfortunately, some observers see closer parallels to the former Soviet Union.
     Founded in 1910 to free Russian peasants from oppressive landowners and a weak imperial government, the Soviet government quickly and ruthlessly expanded into a superpower that rivaled the United States in military might and reach. On top of nearly 300 million citizens of several dozen captive nationalities, the Soviet Union became the puppetmasters of virtually every Eastern European government. By 1989 it was buckling under the burden of superpower competition. In 1991 the communists lost power to the reformist Yeltsin. The Soviet Union broke apart into Russia and a dozen independent republics. Today Russia is a nation of 150 million struggling to build a capitalist economy from the rubble of the communist meltdown.
     Among the Soviets' earliest converts were Mao Tsetung, Zhou Enlai and other young Chinese intellectuals who saw in communism salvation for the Chinese people from western imperialism and internal corruption. Mao's long struggle against Chiang Kaishek and the Kuomingtang would have ended disasterously without the support of dozens of ethnic minorities in northwestern China who believed his promise of ultimate political autonomy. Their help proved more valuable to Mao than the billions in American aid and direct military assistance to Chiang. By 1949 the Kuomingtang had fled to Taiwan and the PRC ruled the mainland.
     Beijing's bosses have been as ruthless as the Soviets in consolidating territory and suppressing separatist movements. But they have been far more successful in creating a functioning economy. They began capitalist reforms in 1979. By 2001 China's economy had become free enough to enter the World Trade Organization. For the past two decades it has grown at an average annual rate of 9%. Few of China's 1.25 billion go hungry and about 125 million enjoy living standards comparable to Malaysia and the Philippines. By some measure China has just surpassed Japan in GDP and will surpass the U.S. by 2025.
     But China's future as a united nation is far from assured.
     Even assuming peaceful reunification with Taiwan and victory over Tibetan separatists, Beijing's leaders face some big hurdles. They must integrate a billion subsistence-level farmers and workers into the consumer economy of the east coast or face ethnic discontent on a scale that would dwarf America's racial strife of the 1960s. Yet burdening the developed regions could breed separatist sentiment in Guangdong, Fujien, Manchuria and other regions. Over 100 languages and dialects are spoken in China. Long-suppressed religious minorities are becoming better organized thanks to the internet and other communications technology.
     Are China's prospects for staying united more like those of the U.S. or of the former Soviet Union?

(Updated )

What good is philosophy when you live in America? People are ignorant all over, and economic success does not mean philosophical sophisication.
AM
Thursday, May 16, 2002 at 04:07:10 (PDT)

I have visited mainland China quite a few times. It hurts me to say this. The mainland Chinese are selfish, disrespectful, and have very poor mannerism. They spit, sneeze, pick their nose in public. This applies not only to the peasants and the uneducated but the wealthy and educated as well. I visited a hospital and saw physicians smoking in the presence of their patients. I have visited skyscraper architectures that would rival those in New York. However, when I got inside the building, it was filled with the stench of urine. In any event, I have come to the realization that I am more Chinese than the mainland Chinese. Sometimes I wonder how is this possible when my parents and I were born in Vietnam. Needless to say, I felt very disappointed and hurt visits after visits to China. To see a 5000 year culture full of vintage values and beauty reduced to this level; it's heart wrenching. It really hurts. In spite of it all, I still embrace and love the Chinese culture and hope of a brighter and prosperous future for my Chinese brothers and sisters in the mainland.

Teochew Forever,

ChinaManRising
ChinaManRising@yahoo.com Wednesday, May 15, 2002 at 20:06:51 (PDT)

>>. In terms of cutural and moral >>values, Chinese do not need western enlightenment. In my lifetime, I hope to see the China Men rise above Americans.

-Southern Chinese

That is the old song and dance, and it's not so. China has no moral foundation, and its culture is stagnant. China is atheist, and the few value systems available to Chinese- buddism, taoism, confucianism, are all garbage.

WITHOUT western enlightenment, China will never catch up. Japan is a warning; they copied 95% of what was good about the West, but did not grasp the hardest to understand 5%, and now you see their nation is collapsing from within because their value/philosophical systems is insufficiently robust to sustain further complexity and advances. Their population decline & recession are only one of many symptoms of this.

Again what is critical is that Chinese lack an adaptive value system; even athiests, maybe especially athiests need one. If one is not created then each Chinese will live with direction or spend much time figuring everyone out, as opposed to say, Christianity and Judaism, as imperfect as they may be, they still capture the wisdom of the ages and spare every 1.2 billion average person from having to figure most things out on their own.

Again, I think a value system, along with the transfer of western philosophy would dramatically alter the future of China, and probably add several points to annual economic growth.

gzus in NYC
Wednesday, May 15, 2002 at 13:43:07 (PDT)

gzus in NYC,

You're smoking crack in the city aren't you.
AC Dropout
Wednesday, May 15, 2002 at 11:14:21 (PDT)

In a recent issue of the Taipei Times (an English language Taiwanese newspaper), there was an article (compiled by interviews with some scientists and historians). That article showed that Hakkas and Hoklos actually have common origins, but later branched out. They were both the same people prior to assimilation into the Han culture. We also know that Hoklos and Teochows are related people. Quite often a Teochow can understand a Hoklo speaking Hoklo. But for some reason, it's more difficult for a Hoklo to understand a Teochow speaking Teochow.
Hoklo, Hakka & Teochow Are Related
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 13:28:06 (PDT)

. In terms of cutural and moral values, Chinese do not need western enlightenment. In my lifetime, I hope to see the China Men rise above Americans.

This indeed true but I hope many Chinese will appreciate Western Values and the Western "way". I think being bi-cultural gives us an advantage. If you are comfortable and familiar with both, just imagine what you can do with both cultures in terms of opportunity....the opportunities are great and immense...

Yes, Cantonese are more clever and shrewd however I find them to be less open-minded and like you said less ambitious and courageous as the Teochew.

Very true. I actually find many of the Cantonese to be "cowards" at times. For example, Cantonese are very suspicious of people they don't know and they rarely greet unfamiliar people.

They don't have the friendliness found in many Teochew and Hakkas which is very natural among them. That's why I see Teochew and Hakka people settle down in very strange countries and rarely the Cantonese.

Southern Chinese
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 11:49:31 (PDT)

The biggest problem with China is their information/philosophy gap with the West.

China will never measure up to the West unless they expose the masses to what is the foundation of all that is good in the West, that is Western philosophy from Plato to Rand to the Judaic Talmud. Without this, China's directionless atheists will never approach their full potential.

gzus in NYC
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 11:31:18 (PDT)

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