Red Star Over China

It is great to see that regardless of how modern China is becoming they still hold some of their traditions very tightly.

First off this is a great interview and I would love to be able to read Prof. Zhang’s book. Hopefully an English translation is out there.  Prof. Zhang brings up many arguments that may be valid but at the same time show how different the mind set is for Chinese political scientists and Western ones. One example of this is was when the argument for China’s ability provide competent moral leaders without an election process for the general public to choose these leaders.  Prof. Zhang told how leaders for the politburo have to have two years of successful leadership at the provincial level.  This success most likely in terms of economic success of the province.  This implies that economic success equals and equal level of morality. In western eyes, this is not the case all of the time. It would be assumed from the western perspective that morality comes from the basic beliefs that one holds and the values they act on. On the question of foreign diplomacy coupled with relative history of countries, Zhang made the argument that because of China’s title as the longest continuous civilization on the planet they have a better sense of how to operate in the international system.  Afghanistan was the example for the lack of acknowledgement towards history in American foreign policy.  However, I must disagree with this argument because Zhang is making the assumption that the interpretation of China’s history is a correct one.  This aspect can be debatable.  

Also the issue of democracy for China’s future was being brought often and Zhang pointed out that most nations pushing for China democratization democratized after their industrialization.  Zhang believes that China has not been given this luxury and has been expected to democratize while during their industrialization.  This implies that China cannot take on social issues and economic ones at the same time. This hurts the professor’s thesis that China is an exceptional country that most people do not give enough credit to. Also the issue of China’s growing middle class is something that should definitely be taken into consideration.  This growing middle class will become a dominate political force in China that I feel the Chinese government will have to deal with in a new way.  This way could be democracy or a form of it but either way this huge force could be something that China will have to compromise with in the future.  

Yet another self-immolation has occurred but what has set this one apart from the others is the fact that it sparked a violent conflict between Chinese police and protesters.  This could be a sign of things to come if these self-immolations continue. However, I do not see an end to the use of self-immolation by Tibetan monks. Historically self-immolation has been the method of choice by Buddhists monks who are trying  protest something, the burning of a Vietnamese monk before the start of the Vietnam conflict being the most famous in the United States’ memory.  However, I feel that parallels cannot be drawn for Tibet and Vietnam because based off of recent US action towards the Tibet issue has been nonexistent.  This is either because the US does not see it as something big enough to make a formal grievance towards China or they are waiting to use it as a playing chip in another issue.  Hopefully this clash does not set a precedent for future clashes and open dialogue is pursued. Also, China should allow the international press to report more in detail on the issue, even though we all know they will not. 

I think that the platform that Ma has run on and going off of his past policies we will see more stability between China and Taiwan. While the issues of sovereignty for Taiwan is still a heated subject, the economic benefits that these two countries can gain from one another seem to be outweighing the more controversial issues.  For now, I feel that economics and improved trading, tourism and transportation will be the name of the game.  However, the recent increased interest of the United States in the region could prove to force these controversial issues to the surface. That would only lead to the increased potential of armed conflict. I would like to see stability and demilitarization be pushed more as Taiwan and China begin to become closer trading partners.  

These actions by the Chinese prove how assertive they have become with their power in the world. The Chinese have let the international community that their economic interests trump any interests driven by the United States. While I feel that this will not strain US-China relations greatly, it is letting the world know that China will not be coerced into actions simply because it is in the interest of a few big powers in the international community. 

lauracricket:

In recent years, you have merged the Internet with political activism. How did that happen?

Even though writing is the most admirable skill, I had no chance to become a writer because of my educational background. I hadn’t really studied it except for Chairman Mao’s sentences. So I just started to type. My first blog post was one sentence, something like “To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.”

Later I became very involved in writing. I really enjoyed that moment of writing. People would pass around my sentences. That was a feeling I never had before. It was like a bullet out of the gun.

…

So, what would you like to see in China?

We need clear rules to play the game. We need to have respect for the law. If you play a chess game but after two or three moves you can change the rules, how can people play with you? Of course you will win, but after 60 years you will still be a bad player because you never meet anyone who can challenge you. What kind of game is that? Is that interesting? I’m sure the people who put me in jail, they’re so tired. This game is not right, but who is going to say, “Hey, let’s play fairly”?

Second, they cannot stop people from communicating freely, to get information and to express themselves. When they do that, this nation is not a right place to live. They sacrifice generations of people’s opportunities. This is a crime.

…

If you had a chance to go overseas, would you?

I have to evaluate, Is it better to stay in a jail here or go abroad? If you go, you really have to say goodbye.

You feel you wouldn’t be allowed back?

Not only that. I’m afraid I would lose the sensitivity to this reality. There are so many things you can do in life, and of course, activist isn’t my top choice. I think I would lose touch with here, and I certainly feel I owe a lot of people. If I can make a good effort, I would continue to do that.

I feel like this recent wave of self immolation incidents in Tibet should be getting more international attention. Then again I doubt that China is opening up about this issue to have it dissected by the international and local media.  Regardless this wave is either the last desperate attempt by a small group to bring its grievances to the attention of the world or the start of a real free Tibet movement. We will need to see much more transparency on the issue by the Chinese government if the real situation on the ground is to be illuminated.

I think this looks really cool. 

I can’t say that I agree with the Chinese government’s move on this issue.  While I understand their concerns with influence of Western powers through entertainment, I think that the results from policies such as these will only fuel the opposition. I think that we will see entertainment become an underground commodity much like the western entertainment in the later years of the Cold War in the Eastern Bloc. However, the US and China are not in a cold war. I feel that China is experiencing the effects of a lack of production of entertainment. It is no wonder that western entertainment is sought after by Chinese satellite channels if China does not produce any of its own.  I would think that encouraging the production of entertainment and the cultivation of creativity that produces it would solve that problem.  However, that is risky to do in a authoritarian state that relies heavily on its image.