Mycernius said:
What do you mean by reclaim? I don't think China was ever the worlds most powerful nation. Powerful in its geographical area, probably, but never worlds.
A good example on how misinformed people are. Many westerners like to remember the Roman Empire to be a 'world leader' of civilization and economics, but invariably forget that
Han China dwarfed Rome on all counts.
And do you really want to compare the economy of Tang or Song China with that of the early medieval kingdoms? The european economies were very tiny compared to those of Byzantium and the Ayuubids, which in turn were quite small compared to China.
And even Ming China was clearly the first world economy in the XVth and early XVIth centuries...
It was not until the late XVIIth century that China lost the edge it had for millennia. It is now reclaiming the place that historically always belonged to her. Not to mention that, since it has the largest population, it is normal that it should strive to have the largest economy.
Only a very removed-from-reality mind could believe that nations like the US (5% of worlds' population), Japan (less than 2,5% of the world population) and Germany (just over 1%) can remain unchallenged as the first, second and third largest economies of the world, respectively.
Maciamo said:
Interesting point, but interpretations also change because values change. 100 years ago, nation-states were supposed to be "ethnically or culturally pure". So the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a bad example. Nowadays, cultural and even ethnical diversity is favoured, so it becomes a good example.
Correct. And that is what I mean - History is always adjusted to fit the eye of today, so the "Truth" that Lexico speaks of is, consequently, nothing but a mirage that nobody wants.
Look at Alexander the Great - a great conqueror, which today more people think about as 'gay' (unaccurate as that portrayal is), only because it fits more the modern eye to focus on his sexual life than on his conquests.
Maciamo said:
I doubt that US media be less biased than the Chinese ones. I watched CCTV9 (in English) when I was in China, and I have to say that it seemed both high-quality (in content and presentation) and quite unbiased (although obviously China-centred). They reported the Japanese elections and postal reform system as well as the Japan Times, NHK or the BBC. In fact, I felt less criticism or prejudices toward other countries than in the Japanese media toward China.
Indeed. And that was my point when Lexico spoke about the state of the media - ALL the media are very similar in their general attitudes towards reporting.
Maciamo said:
Well, it really depends on the topic raised. Let's say Chinese people are free to express themselves on as many subjects as they want, as long as they do not criticise the government or 'cause too much trouble'
Yes. And I did say why that was - the criticism of the government will invariably lead to the search of an alternative that most will only find in the foreign powers, with the net result that those will end up becoming advocates not only of adapting an alien form of government (a 'western-style' democracy), but also one that would create needless divisionism and disunity in China, putting at risk the development of the country, the prosperity of its citizens and the stability of its borders.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to prevent such misguided people to upset the balance of the nation. Those that legitimately believe something is not right can perfectly join the system and push for reform from within, as has been historically the case - remember Chou En-Lai or Deng Xiaoping.
In other words, China is very capable of seeing what is wrong and correcting itself without having to break its political system into a myriad of parties, which in turn would spend their time chasing votes with promises that they would not intend to keep and then ending up with a hung parliament that cannot take decisions and/or a leader that is not seen as legitimate by half the population.
Maciamo said:
Sometimes I fear that you may be right.
There is *nothing* to fear from China, nor from a government that just wants what is best for the country, and neither you nor nobody else have anything to be afraid of in China, unless those persons have the active desire to subvert the country and make it submissive to the West, like Japan is today. It is only those (and also the criminals that break common Law, of course) that have anything to fear from China, IF they live inside the borders.
Regards,
Keoland