Almost a year ago today, I posted a link to China’s Charter 08 and mused about a possible “transition” led by China to a more ethical and just governance …
Well the architect of the Charter is in jail and was sentenced recently, according to BBC reports, but that is just a small indication of the pipe-dream of an “ethical China.”
Folks, it is not going to happen. Even taking into account the real national security reasons for China’s scuttling of the Copenhagen talks, as reported by the Guardian, what we can look forward to is a China confident and arrogant enough to do whatever it pleases.
My friend Zhuang once pointed at a nouveau rich Chinese guy we saw at a restaurant and said:
“When China gets powerful enough, that’s exactly how they will act.”
Needless to say, the guy was arrogant, brutal, venal and self-serving at the expense of anyone who stood in his path. Superpowers come, superpowers go but the corrupting influence of power is immortal and universal. War between China & Co. and US & Co. in 2012 as the catalyst for the mystic Mayan prophecy? Not outside the realm of possibility.
6 thoughts on “No surprises anymore”
A. Keaton–
S. Matuszak's commentary is sub-standard.
Please forward my comment on "China's Manifest Destiny" to Justin & staff:
Arrogant? This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black! In truth, it is Matuszak who is arrogant. His attitude is that of a white colonial master who is resentlful of his declining position while the natives are starting to take over their own destiny.
Matuszak should read some of Paul Craig Robert's excellent articles on arrogant American attitudes.
Matuszak's low-quality and racist articles don't deserve a place on an excellent site like Antiwar.com. Get rid of this asshole and bring back Bevin Chu. Henry Liu is great, too.
thanks i am aware of paul craig roberts and american arrogance, as perhaps a more thorough reading of my columns might demonstrate.
Sascha, you are a sharp observer, but on this, you have to think deeper. The value of democracy, in it is current form, is a joke, and you know that. People here vote, but for what? You fooling yourself if you have faith in so called democracy. In the case for China, such a large population without so called western democratic tradition, it is a prescription for trouble. The ends do not justify the means. Most people of Chinese culture see through this easily, and people of other cultures don't. It shows, and that's why the commentator call you a racist.
actually i wasn't promoting democracy in china with this post or with the column i wrote. i think for me it has more to do with anger at the CCP for stomping on the necks of its best and brightest. In the column i don't think i said anything that could be construed as supporting a democracy — which as we who live in the US all know is truly a farce. I tried showing what I feel is a part of China's rise (and actually has been and maybe always will be a part of any nation's rise).
If you read Chinese, maybe you could read this. http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t2/Military/32940573.html
Basically the point is, when considering everything in context, Liu, is being used by western countries to challenge legitimacy of CCP governance. That's not even good for western countries. Putting him away, for greater good, that's a Chinese culture thing.
Sure all good people feel for him, I do too. But he got to realize his moral has no higher value than the welfare of 1.3 billion people.
you know that's a very interesting point, that one man's life is not worth steering 1.3 billion lives into chaos, but i think what Liu is trying to do is stand up for his people because he feels CCP governance is destroying China.
Most people might agree that things under the CCP now are bad in many ways — but like you said if we check out the context, i suppose things are better now than they were 100 years ago.
1910 – 2010 … hard to make a comparison like that 😉
but for sure everyone alive from 1930 till now will say that things are much better. No invading armies, food on most every plate and money to be made.