Posts by Charles Mabbett
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How about the 'Clean China Party' or 'China Century Project' or 'Collegial China is Polite' or 'Chinese Community be Peaceful'? Something along those calming tones ....
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Very good IHT article.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/29/america/29student.php
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I don't think any of this comes as a surprise to the Taiwanese. They've been living with the potential threat posed by mainland China for decades. And yet the Taiwanese public still elect pro-independence leaders. However the incoming president Ma Ying Jeou is said to be more favourably disposed towards China.
and in terms of what happens when a super power becomes upset - well, we've already seen that with Iraq and Afghanistan. However the Chinese government has been very careful to cultivate a 'peaceful rise' line through its soft power.
I think it is in everyone's interests that there is little disruption to the Olympic Games because if China is humiliated, it will only play into the hands of hardliners in the government.
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I think the Chinese government has a very poor understanding of public relations.
But yes, Stephen, you're probably right. The counter-demonstrations were likely aimed with the Chinese domestic public in mind.
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Good one, Keith. Clear and insightful.
I was having a discussion with a Japanese journalist this week about this issue. He had been to Canberra to cover the torch relay and he noted that the pro-China demonstrations in Australia had also sparked fear and unease amongst the Australian public.
I do think that the demonstrations in Wellington and Auckland were unnecessary - after all the torch didn't come here.
But at the heart of the demonstrations is a persecution complex that many overseas mainland Chinese have developed about the way their country is perceived internationally. This made them ready and willing to participate in these counter demonstrations.
The strategy that Beijing has clearly adopted is that in view of the organised pro-Tibet protests that they face, they will organise counter-demonstrations.
It isn't a particularly productive public relations strategy that will win many friends around the world but their thinking is fairly predictable and not exactly creative.
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Mark, the way i read it 26 percent of the over one million overseas educated Chinese have returned to live and work in China.
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China is fortunate in that it has brought prosperity to millions of Chinese by manufacturing for its export markets. Now if those export markets stall, it has a rapidly growing domestic market to keep its economy surging along.
The $64 thousand dollar question is how China's looming energy demands and growing environmental crisis will impact on its economic growth. One to watch.
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Quite a few grammatical errors in my previous post - but never mind.
Anti government demonstrations do happen in China. As I mentioned earlier, some commentators estimate there are up to 40,000 demonstrations annually over issues such as corrupt and incompetent officials, land seizures, environmental degradation, food prices etc.
The two big issues that got quite a bit of attention recently were over public opposition to the extension of the Maglev train route in Shanghai and a proposed chemical plant near Xiamen in Fujian province.
Asia Times story here:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/JC20Cb01.htmlVideo of the Shanghai protest here:
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/01/14/maglev_protest_1.php -
I agree with Simon. The China story is one of three huge themes of the late 20th entury and early 21st century. I believe the other two are the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and climate change.
The thing about China is that many New Zealanders still talk as if choosing to engage or ignore China was a choice that was still open to us. There is no choice. There really is no alternative but to learn how to live with China. And I do believe engaging and trying to influence China's political and economic development is a better option than trying to isolate (as if we could).
We need to develop a more nuanced and sophisticated in our understanding of a country that is shaping the world. And it is doing it at speed.
The product recalls and quality control issues that were news in New Zealand (and around the world) last year really brought it home just how dependent we already are on China. And from that stemmed quite a bit of discussion about poor quality Chinese made goods and products. Well, the news is that China makes low and high end products - including luxury cars, iPods, plasma screen television and laptops.
There are parallels with the way Japanese made goods were regarded as inferior in the 70s ('Jap crap'). No one says that about Japanese made products now.
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yes, I agree. Having studied Greek and Roman history, I'm conscious that for the ancient Greeks and Romans, Asia began on the other side of the Bosphorus with Asia Minor and from there to Asia Major or the Far East.