Since China is well on its way to reclaim its rightful title of the worlds' most powerful nation and will dwarf Japan even in economic terms in about 15 years, it is best to thread carefully and avoid rocking the boat, letting it instead sail quietly and surely to its intended destination.
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.
And what makes it its rightful title? Odd that a country that has spent it's last 60 years oppressing and killing it's own people should 'rightfully' be the most powerful nation in the world. I hope you were being saracastic when you made this comment.
maybe, world`s and rightfully - it is an exaggeration (which would be for any country), but many admit China was quite powerful even in 19th century (though state always faced various problems through all its history)
The "Truth" is always being rewritten by historians, so that the past can be seen with the eyes of today - for example, where once the Austro-Hungarian Empire was seen as a weak state due to its multi-ethnic compostion and an example of what should not be a country, today it is regarded as an example of civilization and liberties for a multicultural society, an example for modern Europe.
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.
Try asking that to the american media, which has been doing its best to whitewash what took place in New Orleans and masking the full extent to which the United States lost control of its 'free, prosperous and happy population'.
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.
Firstly, there is ample freedom of expression in China now, with the exception of some selected political issues that would be used by outside powers and malignant people to upset and possibly block the prosperous road the chinese population is currently undertaking.
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' (see this article).
Second, an increase of the prosperity of the individual brings about the desire for the continuation of that prosperity, and it is clear to all except the weak-minded and the malignant that anything that may bring upheaval to the society will disrupt the current prosperous tendencies. It is, therefore, by no means correct, nor logic, to assume that greater wealth by the chinese = more desire to bring about a foreign system into China (all the more because said system has clearly shown, in Japan, South Korea and Europe, to be quite unable to deliver continued prosperity to its populations. In the German case, for example, it is even a clear case of a system that promotes devisiveness and is unable to bring about a proper government).
Sometimes I fear that you may be right. Democracy is not fool-proof, and we could imagine that an enlightened government caring about the nation's prosperity before all (like the PRC is becoming) could produce better economic results than democracies. This could only work in a country where most of the population is disinterested in politics (like Japan) or completely trust their leaders. China has the advantadge that its people have never tasted to true democracy, and after decades of misery are quite satisfied by a government that bring money and material goods to their home.
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.
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.
The CPC Central Committee held that its investigation into Chen and his subsequent punishment "demonstrated the CPC's resolution to build a clean Party and to fight corruption".
The purge will probably supress Jiang Zemin's minions posting messages whining how passionately they hate Japan for a while, although Shanghai would try to fight back sometime before 17th CCP National Congress in July 2007; Jiang's son still keeps controls over Internet there.
Originally Posted by Maciamo
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'
The biggest threat in the US from China is the flooding of our markets with cheap goods. Mega-stores selling cheap Chinese goods like Wal-Mart send prices down and force smaller stores and domestic manufacturers out of business.
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