|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Can China Avoid the Soviet Union's Fate?
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:08:49 PM)
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?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
"Sad, but no different than little blond girls dying in the basement or being kidnapped from their bedrooms in the USA."
Is that seriously the best rebuttal you can come up with? There is a HUGE difference between the occasional pedophile kidnapper that abducts a girl AGAINST THEIR PARENTS' WILL and parents that would SELL THEIR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD for cold hard cash. I find that incredibly immoral. Women seem to be thought of at about the same level as animals in China- I read an article about the streets of Chinese cities being clogged with the fetuses of dead baby girls. They were just left out there to starve to death, and people WALKED RIGHT BY without doing anything.
No matter what weak, predictable, "turn it around on the US" type of argument you come up with, you can not ignore these egregious human rights violations in the 21st century.
NS PHD EMP- Your post was hilarious. You were right on target about his weak response. How can a country move forward into the 21st century and become an economic superpower when it treats women and children in such a manner?
behind the headlines
Monday, March 31, 2003 at 10:17:33 (PST)
[207.183.118.61]
LSD,
The tech bubble was the ultimate fleecing of the people in the USA. That was a total American invention. Selling promises of e-whatever for a quick IPO to the public who were not tech educated.
Those who understood the concept of this confidence game are on top. Those that did not are now not at top.
But the Chinese way is to really evaluate if a new concept is suitable for the advancement of China. Not just to accept anything American on face value, just because it is from America. Taiwan, Japan, and SK have failed at this and this is way their society is struggling compare to China. Also Taiwan, Japan, SK are dependent on the USA ever since after WWII. As USA decline so will they.
Places like Singapore and China that are determined to improve their society on their own terms will be those that succeed in their region.
Once again you have misinterpreted my comment to be that the Chinese Way is good for everyone. That is not what I stated. What I stated is that the Chinese Way is good for China.
Just as conversely the American Way is good for America. Mutually exclusive processes you understand.
Just like online auction sites in China have a totally different flavor and are not riddled with transaction fruad as those in the USA. Similar process but different executions of the transactions.
Just as it is fair to say whatever happened to social security, medical care and rising income? Or 2.5 kids and 1.5 cars for every home? Instead all we have in the USA is rising debt and soon uncontrolled inflation.
AC Dropout
Monday, March 31, 2003 at 07:40:51 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
behind the headlines,
Sad, but no different than little blond girls dying in the basement or being kidnapped from their bedrooms in the USA.
AC Dropout
Monday, March 31, 2003 at 07:23:12 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
TSJ,
"Uhh... was it not the CHINESE Triads who capped him? =P"
Nah it was his white wife that introduced him to heroin and then spiked his stash. :P
The Chinese Traid was only trying to warn him.
AC Dropout
Monday, March 31, 2003 at 07:21:57 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
Behing the Headlines
I read the review and totally agree with it. However, I pointed the FEMALE situation in CHINA out a hell of a long time ago. I pointed out Females being kidnapped from those Internet cafes to be sold as Wives
(read: Houseslaves), and pieces of sex.
I pointed out the fact that the Rural areas of China were really poor and there were even some areas that had provinces consisting of families where every family's female was a kidnapee.
I pointed all of this out already and even put links on the page that AC dropout and a couple of other weak-namers tried to shoot down.
Frankly, you wouldn't believe it but when I was traveling in Tian Jing's outskirts with a friend and collegue, Proffessor Xu from Guilin, a family offered me their daughter to marry providing I give them a few thousand RMB and take her back with me to America. I turned them down and they then offered her to Xu. Xu was already married. They scolded her for "not being pretty enough" and hurt her feelings. This was not the first nor last time something like this happened.
It is obvious the human rights situation in China and neighboring East Asian countries right near itlike Burma and Macao, etc still have serious issues. Unfortunately, it seems that te Chinese government is quick to shoot down these reports and then tell questioning countries how badly they are run...like Acd.
Im going to do you a favor ACD and keep you from having to retort on this one... I'll do what you usually do by retorting with attacks on the US and Africa.
Hey Behind the Headlines! Why don't you tell us all about the problems women have in America. The rape allegations are 50% higher in the US and then you have all te Child molesters. Are you going to ignore the fact that their are shady surrogate mother's who ssell their baby's for quick cash and/or kidnap babies to sell. Don't be so one sided.
And I have read reports that in African countries, they eat kids.
There, I'm done.
NS PHD EMP
Sunday, March 30, 2003 at 11:59:58 (PST)
[68.161.72.167]
1 America, #2 Britain, #3 Russia....
Britain, being #2, cannot produce military boots that withstand the heat of the desert. Some soldiers are wearing Iraqi boots which endure desert heat better.
FOP
Saturday, March 29, 2003 at 03:44:30 (PST)
[65.147.93.19]
"Bruce Lee. You're the one that brought him up. But his life is a good lesson for China. The west will corrupt you and cause your demise."
Uhh... was it not the CHINESE Triads who capped him? =P
TSJ
Friday, March 28, 2003 at 20:23:35 (PST)
[67.116.231.121]
Therefore, I believe something catastrophic such as a terrorist attack or otherwise will happen in China within the next few years if not during the 2008 Olympics
***Nop,don't think so. In my opinion, since the US had angered Muslims across the world by defying the UN in its unilateral war against Iraq,it is most likely that the US will suffer from most of the catastrophic terrorist attacks in the future.
if US attacks North korea, do you really think the south korean people will be happy abt that? I doubt the south korean people will support any aggressive action towards the north.
Kim
Friday, March 28, 2003 at 19:59:32 (PST)
[210.187.156.159]
'Bruce Lee. You're the one that brought him up. But his life is a good lesson for China. The west will corrupt you and cause your demise. For success to occur in asia, things must be done the asian way, not the American way.'
Wrong! A person must be adaptable. There are great things about the West and there are great things about the East. One must take advantage of both.
What do u mean the Asian Way? Better yet, what is the Chinese Way? Is selling cheap and frivilous items for extremely low prices ur idea of the Chinese way. Instead of having dept stores like the West, China should encourage all business activities be conducted in the open street like a flea market!
Look at all the arrogant AA's who followed the tech bandwagon of the 90's. Where are they now? Didn't the West corrupt them and cause their demise. They should've taken their parents's advice, yes, the Asian way, don't be too ambitious and arrogant like Bruce Lee, it will be your downfall. They should have studied medicine, accounting, law or taken a modest paying gov't position.
Btw, what ever happened to so called 'Asian Century' and little 'Asian Paper Tigers'? I guess Asia westernized and failed!
LSD
Friday, March 28, 2003 at 10:55:11 (PST)
[66.212.81.229]
NS PHD EMP,
The only reason Japan decided to restart their satelite program was because the USA has ground all our satelite deployment missions for the next 2 years or so. How quickly you forget the NASA accident.
Also they sent up inferior spy satelites by Mitsubishi that are no better than commercial satelites that anybody can buy pictures from. 1 meter is the resolution of the Japanese so call "spy satelite," you can get better resolution off any website these days.
Just to give you a sense how common place these satelite photos are, in my past two real estate purchases the agents provided satelite photo of the property in question which had more than 1 meter resolution.
Yeah, whatever, if the USA started shooting every satelite out there that wasn't the USA, that would be another 75 billion dollars down the drain.
AC Dropout
Friday, March 28, 2003 at 08:43:20 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
Read this article on the thriving market of Chinese families SELLING THEIR OWN BABY DAUGHTERS for only $100. Apparently that's all their lives are worth.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGBHSWRMQDD.html
With a population so desperately poor that they will sell their own children, you can't seriously say that China's economy is on the rise.
And you can't seriously say that women are treated and valued just as well as men in Chinese society.
behind the headlines
Friday, March 28, 2003 at 08:39:08 (PST)
[207.183.118.61]
Two spy satellites rocketed into orbit from this remote southern island Friday, boosting Japan's ability to monitor North Korea's missile and suspected nuclear weapons programs. The two satellites, the first of at least four in the $2.05 billion spy program, were launched into clear but windy skies above this rocky island atop an H2-A rocket, the centerpiece launch vehicle of Japan's space program
----Japan's Satellite launches are obviously attempts to become less dependant on American tecno-espionage. The Japanese launches totally over shadow China's current space tech because currently, Japan now is the only Asian country with Spy satellites. Coming from the country that gets its missile targetic systems from SONY's warfare division, I can applaud the Japanese for their accomplishments and their willingness to SUPPORT American Foriegn Policy in East Asia in specific, our upcoming aggressions against the North Koreans.
No AC, I do not think the Japanese will be turning on the Americans for the Chinese. In fact, those sattellites will probably be turned towards China after N Korea is "fixed". You could argue that they might turn them towards America but, rest assured, they would be shot down an hour later by an ASAT missile.
How enlightening is it to know that the Chinese military technologically is now behind the Japanese?
In order of Strongest to Weakest we have...
#1 America, #2 Britain, #3 Russia
, #4 Japan , #5 China, #6 India
,#7 NKorea.
NS PHD EMP
Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 18:25:05 (PST)
[68.161.72.167]
NS PHD EMP,
WTO? America has just been found illegally imposing import steel tarrif the other day. It would seem the economic opposition are galavanizing against us.
Terrorist Attacks. China been dealing with those a lot longer than the USA. They had armed Muslim and Tibetian that have been put down rather decisively in recent history.
Yeah Yeah, kick serious ass. Or have our ass serious handed back to us. There have been so many miscalculation in Iraq in this war already. Everything from how much it would cost, to strength of local resistance, to how many troops it would take, etc. I suspect similar miscalculations will occur in NK when that conflict arises.
Japan is rather quaint. A majority of the girls don't look anything like what their media protrays them as. I like visiting countries that preserve ancient Chinese ways. But with USA withdrawing their Cold War support, Japan is on a slow and steady decline.
Bruce Lee. You're the one that brought him up. But his life is a good lesson for China. The west will corrupt you and cause your demise. For success to occur in asia, things must be done the asian way, not the American way.
I'm sure your 2 years working in Japan, the management must have hammered you with the "Japanese Way" of doing things.
AC Dropout
Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 09:10:39 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|