Chinese people do not need a pro-Taiwan “white” man opinion on the development of mainland relationship and possibly, future integration with Taiwan

By China Watcher

I just happened to read an interview on the Taipei Times, a pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) organ, with a Danish citizen of Caucasian origin and a strong pro-independence supporter with his very strong pro-independence comments.

First of all, he is not Chinese and thus, his authority to comment does not carry much weight except perhaps to the 30% pro-independence minded Taiwanese.

I am not a racist person but what is this middle aged “white” man doing in this part of the region other than trying to spread its so-called democracy ideals and their forever pure “rightists” values to mankind in other parts of the world, which he deemed is not as civilized as his home country in Denmark or Europe. I suggest he makes his next stop in Africa, in which his values and contributions are much more appreciated, provided he did not get murdered in a civil war (Note: The Europeans are responsible for pillaging the resources of Africa during the colonial days).

His name, I don’t even bother to remember, it is not worth it.

In his comments, he constantly criticized the current Taiwan’s President friendly policies towards China. He claimed that the President is sending out very confusing signals to the world that Taiwan is a part of China. Hey Mr. White Man, Taiwan is an island which was part of Beijing’s territory and recognized by the world since the Ching dynasty until the losing KMT made it as a rebel base in 1949 at the end of the civil war, and ultimately the island became its only area of administration till today. So, legally speaking it is still Chinese owned.

The people in Taiwan can called itself Taiwan or Republic of China, it is still owned by the Chinese people and what this “white man” is insinuating is that if it is called Taiwan then it had a more independence fervor. I sense quite a lot of rubbish coming out from his mouth. Mainland Chinese and Taiwan’s Chinese are the same yellow skinned people from the same source and they speak the same language except for a few leaders who tried to mislead the general public that they speak Taiwanese, a mix of Mandarin and local dialect, and hence are not CHINESE. Rubbish, again.

The international community, even the State of Denmark, recognized China’s standing in the United Nation and that there is only one China. He must be the odd one out trying to convince the Taiwanese that they had the sympathy of the EU residents. I am not quite sure of this fact but I also know there are a lot of PRC’s sympathizers in his country. What he is trying to create is a big divide between the same people from two sides of the Straits so that future reconciliation would be impossible.

I supported the Ma’s administration of conducting pragmatic polices with China in order to develop closer economic cooperation that would benefit people from both sides of the Straits. I would not call it “concessions” as the Mainland would also have to “give a bit more” to arrive at a workable solutions. Chinese people, in limited batches, are now allowed to travel to Taiwan on sightseeing tours which would be deemed impossible just 10 years ago. Isn’t this a slight concession on Chinese side of it? And in future, Chinese students would also go to the island to gain knowledge from Taiwanese lecturers learning and understanding the Taiwanese way of life and that in future, these future leaders would have a say in how the two different rules of governments can integrate. It could be possible, perhaps, in another 30-40 years.

The political confrontation during the tumultuous era of the previous President between China and Taiwan have almost resulted in a war between the two sides, thus drawing in the only country which would come to her assistance, the US. The US heaved a sigh of relief that it did not take place because that would mean more stretched military resources considering the US is involved heavily in Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe, his home country, Denmark could help in times of war.

Since the KMT came back to power early this year, I am sure most political analysts would agree that the political tensions were very much reduced. The possibility of a conflict is no longer present.

In the light of the improved relationship, I believe that China would allow Taiwan a bit of international political space to conduct its non political business especially in the areas of health and environment, which is better than the condition in which there is none. Taiwan is already suppressed in the international arena and having negotiations with China is the only practical and feasible way forward for the continued economic prosperity of its people. The future prospect of the Taiwan economy is tied to the economic success of the mainland and many Taiwanese have gradually comes to realize this but this “white man” thinks otherwise.

Cross-strait disputes are resolved by Chinese people from both sides and if I am not wrong, the Chinese government has never resort to any moderator role from the US or remotely the EU or Japan.

If there is any change in government in China, it is up to the Chinese people to decide and not from this “white man” or others like minded person of Caucasian origin who believed that they could spur the seed of change. There were already changes going on in mainland China and the voices of the people are slowly getting across to the government. The political developments from Hong Kong and maybe, Taiwan will play a stimulus role in the changes in the rule of government in China. It may not be multi-party at first but the vote will come from the people ultimately as a people based government is more sustainable in the long run.

The Anti-Secession Law is not ridiculous as it would prevent any Chinese province from breaking away from the motherland. If it is deemed ridiculous, what about the US’s Taiwan Relations Act, which I perceived more like a nosy piece of legislation which is legally binding on the US citizens that has nothing to do with US sovereignty.

Yes, Taiwan is a democracy and China is not but that does not mean that everything about democracy is good. I am of the opinion that various stages of economic development require different types of government and every particular political and economic model has its strong and weak points.

Even if China adopts a democracy system (one-party disguised as multi-party) like Singapore in the future, I doubt that the “white man” would be given a say in how things should be run. If he loves Taiwan so much, he should take up Taiwanese citizenship. But he is not. I wonder why?

China should initiate a strategy to bring EU ties to a level befitting the present circumstances

By China Watcher

Earlier, the European Parliament ignored China’s request not to award the Human Rights award to one of its dissidents in October 2008. I was actually taken aback when China proceeded to hold the Asia-EU Summit in Beijing about a week after the announcement. I guess that this could be due to the agreed hosting commitment and that it is an Asian’s role played by China before the snub.

And yesterday, the arrogant, shallow minded and “less refined” French President stated that he will go ahead with the side-lined meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland, next month further affecting Sino-France relationship which has yet to reach the level of cooperation enjoyed during the years of Jacques Chirac.

There is no doubt that France as an independent nation, will not listen or follow the instructions of another country in its foreign policy but the Sino-EU relationship is a core partnership of which free trade linkages coupled with joint ventures, technical engagements and climatic cooperation could benefit the people from both sides. France, being the current EU Presidency, should demonstrate its leadership in bringing the Sino-EU partnership to a new level and to view the progressive development from a bigger perspective than one which narrowly provides moral support to a political religious leader dream of achieving covert independence. One of the covert independence aims of the Tibetan exiles is to drive all Han Chinese from Tibet and the three surrounding provinces, which obviously cannot be supported by the Chinese – both within and abroad.

As such, it is of no surprise when Beijing announced unilaterally that it has cancelled the summit with EU next week. In fact, most of the European leaders’ political actions are playing to the tune of the human rights activists and Tibetan sympathizers, which is of no benefit to the economic prosperity and well being of people from the two emerging and complementary entities.

What is reported by the Western media that the Sino-EU summit is being postponed is untrue. In actual fact, it is deemed CANCELLED because there is suppose to be two summits every year and not one. If a meeting is held next year, then it will be a fresh NEW SUMMIT for a brand new year – 2009, which I believe will remain tumultuous with the rotating Presidency of the EU going to the Czech Republic, another human rights’ sympathetic country.

By canceling the event, the Chinese government has demonstrated the right thing to do reflecting the will of all prideful Chinese people. Bravo!

As a potential superpower, it is China’s right to close the gap in space technology with the US

By China Watcher

It is already a known fact that China is seeking accomplishment in space over the past decade and, it is possible that they may even pay a huge sum of money to acquire the necessary technology to close the gap with the US in this important scientific field, which to a certain extent, is a measure of a country’s high technology advancement.

Last week, a naturalized US citizen, of Chinese origin, is charged for violating the US Arms Export Control Act from 2003 to 2007 for providing “valuable assistance” in the design and development of a cryogenic fueling system (including pumps, valves, transfer lines, refrigeration equipments and components critical for liquefied hydrogen) for future space launch vehicles to be used at the heavy payload launch facility located in the southern island province of Hainan. He has also been accused for arranging for Chinese officials to visit various European space launch facilities and hydrogen production/storage facilities (yes, European owned and not US).

I would not call this as espionage as spun wildly by the US media (they just love to do this every time it involves China) with such reports constantly following a very familiar theme that the Chinese are “evil” (and communists in particular) and, they will use whatever means to acquire the technology to be used militarily to strike at the US and its residents. Why must the Chinese attack the US if it is not provoke? Isn’t the US the most powerful military in the world with a strong global presence? This is all hyped-up phobias with a hidden agenda.

A political analyst put this appropriately by saying that the accused did not “steal” the technology but he has breached his employment terms using his personal knowledge, overstepping the arm control laws, to generate income for himself. This kind of shady business deals are transacted daily all over the world that would include the Arabs, Russians, Indians, Iranians and Israelis but nothing was as much played up by the US media as those that concerns China. Why? Possibly, China is the only visible country in this world that would pose a strong threat to the US continued dominations in the political, economic, cultural and scientific realms in the future.

Does the world needs a country voted by only 250 million people to decide the world’s fate with a population of more than 6 billion? A multi polar world with the US, China, Russia and probably the EU is more tenable and accepted than one that is overly dominated by a single power.

The accused is one of the few persons of Chinese origin being systematically prosecuted by the US’s Justice Department. Let this be a clear warning to all bright Chinese students and for those dream of making the US as their home that getting a citizenship is not an insurance that those constant surveillance activities are kept out of your life especially if you are engaged in a high technology related employment.

A lot of the new scientific improvements seen in the US to a certain degree were contributed by scientists of Chinese origin who graduated from the US and reside in the country (About 26% of MIT students are of Asian origins) since the 80s. The trend of graduated students moving back to China is on the increase and in a survey conducted more than 40% of the Chinese students in the US is keen on contributing to the scientific development of China. Can the US stem the flow of this massive brain power in due course? Ultimately, the “imported” Chinese will be able to develop indigenous technology for the homeland and hopefully, China may not need to source its technology from the fearful US anymore.

There is no doubt that the US will continue to strengthen its monitoring mechanism and also, to enhance its arms control laws to deal with this so called “high technology proliferation” to China. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has stated in its annual report to lawmakers that aggressive Chinese space programs are allowing Beijing to more effectively target U.S. military forces. The report is hypothetical and it treated China as an “enemy”.

The US claimed that whatever technology gain by China in the course of cooperation with them will immediately be applied to China’s Military, which are deemed not “peaceful” because it is a communist state which ultimately threatens the freedoms which has made these successes possible.

The US has made no complaints about seeking technology cooperation with Russia, which is deemed a “democracy”, but the recent differences over the placement of defense shield right in front of Russia’s doorstep had created suspicions. Does a “democratic” state and a one-party state made any differences on technology cooperation? Even if China is a democracy, I still do not think the US would cooperate fully with one that does not share close values with them.

China will be forever a strong competitor to the US and, in a zero sum equation; one country’s gain is another loss to the other. China must follow Russia in developing its own technology. The increased spending on Research and Development in China bodes well for the development in this direction.

The new US President-elect Barrack Obama said in one of its campaigns during the US Presidential election that China is rising and it is not going to go away and added that Beijing is "neither US enemy nor US friend; they're competitors." Probably the many US neo-cons should take note of this. And I would point out also that China will definitely close the gap in technology between the US and them and it is their right to do so and not a single country would be able to take that right away by using man-made restrictions.

Chinese President’s visit to Latin America underlined China’s growing economic and political diplomacy in the region

By China Watcher

Latin America, the backyard of the US, had been a monopolized stronghold in political and economic influence of the US for the past 80 years but lately these countries have slowly come out of its “past economic bondage” and accepted that the US is not the only nation that could guarantee its economic prosperity in the future.

China, a growing economic power, had started to make dramatic inroads outside its normal spheres of influence in nearby Asia and stepped up the economic and political linkages, most prevalent in Latin America and Africa based countries.

This is also part of its global strategy to diversify its over-reliance on “Caucasian” ruled Western countries like the US and EU in the medium and long term so as to reduce the effects from unfair trade tariffs and the expected “boycott threats” from mainly Western governments arising from pressure of these various human rights groups and other Western based non government organizations openly unfriendly to China and its people. I strongly supported this move as it was suggested in my earlier articles.

In DEMOCRATIC Costa Rica (once again, the Western media proudly highlighted), China had started bilateral free trade talks and signed a number of business deals including a joint venture in which the Chinese will help modernize the country’s only state-owned oil refinery. And in COMMUNIST Cuba (there it goes, highlighting the anti-communist fervor of the Western media) the Chinese leader brought millions of dollars in aid and promises of closer future trade ties.

Though communism had been accepted as another political model in so-called “freedom of speech” countries like the US but the journalists and editors from the West are still a bunch of anti-communist people.

Personally, I have come to accept that China is not a Communist state but a “one-party” socialist country. If a country is truly communist, the economy should subscribe totally to a centrally planned model. But China’s economic system is deemed capitalist with a high degree of government interference as presently being practiced in the emerging economies of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Costa Rica trip’s also demonstrated to the many Taiwan’s allies in the region especially Paraguay and Nicaragua that cementing relationship with China is long term and, economically beneficial as compared to “the friendship with aid packages” deal handled out by the former. With the passing of time, China will grow stronger and it is only practical to have a meaningful relationship with a potential superpower.

Even the present Taiwan’s leadership under the Kuomintang is aware of the trade and economic dynamics but unfortunately, the opposition party which had led the provincial island astray for the past 8 years, still wanted to play politics recently by protesting close ties with mainland China.

Peruvian President Alan Garcia, the host for this weekend's summit of leaders from the 21 countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, has warmly welcomed the Chinese President and the two countries are expected to finalize a bilateral free trade agreement.

Trade between China and the region remains relatively small but is growing rapidly. According to Xinhua news agency, exports to Latin America grew 52 percent in the first nine months of 2008 to US$111.5 billion dollars.

This is really impressive considering the insignificant volume just a few years ago.

China aircraft carrier project is a Chinese right and it is not a threat

By China Watcher

Whether the western journalists and the surrounding countries are assured or convinced that the Chinese plan for a blue-water navy – one that project naval power well beyond its coastal waters – in the next 3-4 years is peaceful as being enumerated countless times by China’s Defence or Foreign Ministry spokesperson, their views are not relevant anymore.

The building of an indigenous aircraft carrier by China to protect its security interest is a RIGHT of the Chinese, similar to the RIGHT of the US or the Russians to do so. I do not see any difference. It could be a ploy of the Western media to exaggerate or to highlight a threat which does not exist at all. It is quite common whenever China launches, build or plan to build and test new technology and highly proficient military goods and equipments.

On November 16, a senior officer in a rare Interview with the British’s Financial Times at Chinese Defence Ministry, hinted that the world should not be surprised if China builds an aircraft carrier and he continued to assure the interested groups within China and abroad that the deployment of the battle craft is only for offshore defense and possibly, to protect its commercial shipping lanes from enemies or terrorists attacks.

Personally, I believe the speculation has been going on for the past decade and it is not new if the Chinese navy embarked on such an aircraft carrier program. Even the Pentagon said during the year that China is now actively engaged in aircraft carrier research and would be able to start building one very soon. There were also reports that the Chinese air force had begun training 50 selected pilots to operate fixed-wing aircraft from a ship and that there are modifications being made to the J-10, an advanced Chinese made jet, to land and takeoff from a moving ship.

The Chinese military officer has declined to comment whether China has started to build one but he pointed out that it is the dream of every great power to have one or more aircraft carriers. He also clarified appropriately that the purpose and the use of the aircraft carrier is more important than having one just to show off or to project one country’s as a superpower. The purpose would be different from the US which is to pursue the nation’s own global military objectives and for speedy military deployments in every corner of the world.

If you visualize a threat, it will be the country’s with the most advanced aircraft carrier and also, one that actively uses 11 carriers group to project its military powers throughout the world.

The US, however, will be worried of any matching Chinese military deployment as it is the only nation that will come to Taiwan’s defence in the event of an attack by the Chinese as a result of a declaration of independence by the ruling government on the island. Countering the island’s air force is not the only perceivable issue but the blocking of any military assistance from the US is possible with an aircraft carrier group supported by air power and naval vessels.

The introduction of aircraft carrier in China's military is long overdue and it should have been established more than 10 years ago, to reflect China’s growing status as a regional power.

I stressed, once more, the military deployment of aircraft carriers, possibly one or two in 3-4 years’ time, is not a threat but more of a Chinese RIGHT and it should not cause any unnecessary concerns as claimed by certain military analysts from the US and the West.

Credit Crisis: China is ready but not the US

By China Watcher

The credit crisis over the past few months has one major telling factor – the gradual decline of the US influence economically and the importance of China in the global financial system.

In short, are we saying that the US had lost its economic leadership status to the Chinese? No, not yet. Let us get real. The US is still the dominant economic power with a US$13 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) clearly well ahead of the second largest Japanese Economy at US$4.5 trillion. China’s GDP is expected to surpass the German’s economy to become the third largest with a US$3.4 trillion size by the end of 2008.

The US is currently the biggest debtor, owing creditors – both domestic and foreign - at almost the same level of its present GDP size of US$13 trillion. In fact, most of the world’s exports are being shipped to the US, a strong engine of growth for the world’s economy for the past 40 years.

With the credit crunch affecting liquidity in the US that has now spread across the Atlantic to the closely knitted European Community, the attention is now focus on China, which currently hold almost $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves. Certain national leaders had urged China to become a more responsible stakeholder while undertaking a leadership role in shaping the new world’s economic order. This will be one of the many important agendas in the coming special G20 meeting in Washington, initiated by the US to discuss affordable and feasible solutions to prevent the world’s economy from sinking into a deep depression.

But China also has its own share of problems and it is not completely insulated from the economic woes. The slowdown in orders from abroad has already resulted in the closure of many small to middle sized factories which inevitably will affect the growth of the Chinese economy and the loss of thousands of jobs that are critical for maintaining social order in the developing country. The good news is that the inflationary fears have more or less abated.

By announcing a fiscal stimulus package of US$586 billion to face the effects of the financial troubles coming from the US and also, perhaps on a bigger scale from Europe, China has prepared itself socially and economically, to bear the full impact of the recession. The fiscal amount announced represented 18% of China’s GDP, which may be sufficient to tie the Chinese through the tough period ahead.

On the basis of comparison, I am of the opinion that the U.S. is still not fully geared up to handle the problem, as the financial packages announced so far totaling US$700 billion constituted only 6% of its GDP, which is perceived by analysts to be inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the credit crisis. An adequate stimulus program would need to be in the range of 10% of the GDP, let say, at US$1.3 trillion.

China's stimulus program is meant for injecting money into the real economy like in infrastructural constructions and not into the balance sheets of troubled financial institutions while the US funds raised are more for bailout of illiquid financial institutions. The US is moving into a stage of the crisis in which the real economy needs direct intervention and not merely buying into the equities of US financial institutions. Unless there is another new pledge of funds going into the direct components of the economy, the recession could get worse.

There is also a fear in China that the present US government budget which is already in double digit deficit every month would go much higher with some analysts predicting that it will balloon to well over US$1 trillion for this fiscal year. It was reported that the US holds 8,133.5 tonnes of gold reserves valued at US$188.23 billion. Printing more money and issuing more debt instruments logically will continue to weaken the US currency, and that is why, there is an urgent need to expand its real economy to generate exports and bringing it the hard earned currency to lubricate its economy.

Just a few months ago in the run-up to the Olympics, right activists and Western governments were actively demanding more human and religious rights reforms in China but the tone now has changed to one, in which they are praising China for its existing efforts to stabilize the global financial system and hope that it could do more.

Let us face the fact that it is difficult for one nation alone to resolve the problem considering the size and it may require a concerted effort from the largest economies and trading nations at the G20 meeting to ensure the imminent recession from getting any worse than it is and, if possible speed up the recovery from its current state.

Arrogant Chelsea dumped by lowly Burnley

By China Watcher

I am not an avid fan of the English Premier League but there was certainly a piece of pleasing news as arrogant Chelsea was brought down to earth when the team lost to lower-league Burnley 5-4 on penalty kicks after the score is tied at 1-1 even after extra time.

What has this sports news got to do with China? Well, if we could recall not too long ago when Chelsea went on a tour of Asia to promote its “brand” and to reward its so-called legion of crazy supporters across Asia, the Executive Chairman said that Asian players (including Chinese players) do not have the caliber, competence level and the required skill set to make it big in the most competitive soccer league in the world. That was his basis when he was asked why there is not even a single Asian player on the team (including players in the reserves and the junior ranks).

I am impressed by his frankness but to me, it is just plain humiliating because I do sincerely believed that there are certainly a few good Asian players around and also, there must be a few junior openings at the club’s academy for Asian players.

I feel very sad to notice so many of our youths saluting and worshiping the so-called “stars’ of these teams who are not even from Asia. If Chelsea wins, what did you get in return? Probably just a heart warming psychological satisfaction that “YOUR” team had won and, that is about all you will get with no real monetary rewards or no presence of patriotic feeling or nationalistic pride.

To me, Chelsea and the many European clubs are only interested in signing lucrative advertisement contracts and making business deals to enhance its coffers so that they could buy more foreign players but not Asian players. With an impressive economic growth and the flow of funds in the Asia-Pacific region, it is not surprising that the European clubs are aiming for the riches of the region rather than genuinely contributing to the development of soccer in Asia. The many youth programs and joint soccer academies set up 10 years ago across Asia have yet produced any noteworthy talents.

It is a good time for the Asia Football Confederation to reflect upon the many unproductive tours made by these European clubs to Asia and ponders over an integrated self-development plan to raise the soccer standard in this part of the world.

We have to be extra firm and united, to tell these European Clubs to stay at home or go somewhere else when their season ends.

As for arrogant Chelsea, even with the best from Europe, Latin America and Africa, your management stinks and it is very unlikely that you will reach your target in 2008/2009.

Taiwan's ex-leader on corruption charges trying to hide behind the veil of democracy

By China Watcher

Taiwan’s former President Chen Shui-bian who escaped prosecution in 2006 while he was holding office over the embezzlement of US$480,000 from the government coffers has conveniently tried to hide behind the democracy shield by saying that going to jail is worth it as he is doing it for Taiwan’s independence and democracy.

What a load of rubbish!

Practicing democracy ideals do not allow an elected office bearer to misuse public funds which was originally made available for the benefit of the country and its people. Prosecutors have found that at least a portion of the money was spent on diamond rings and other luxury items for Mr.Chen’s wife. The former first lady is also facing an ongoing trial for corruption and document forgery in connection with the same case.

The line of questioning by the special investigators on the corruption case and the subsequent arrest was definitely not “political prosecution” as alleged by the former President and was also refuted by the present administration.

Throughout Mr.Chen’s 8 years of Presidency, he had nearly caused a full scale war with mainland China over his confrontational policies and his stance on independence which had encouraged or provided the necessary boost to his hordes of pro-independence supporters or trouble-makers.

The largely Western media who is quietly supportive of Taiwan independence in its many comments during the period from 2000 to 2008 has only within the last few days made factual account of the case. Maybe these editors who suddenly felt that the leader who had been using the cause of democracy and human rights in all his campaign against China is not so “clean” after all.

Chen also took the opportunity to level accusations at the present Kuomintang’s government for being too close economically to the mainland. His mainly pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party supporters were actively involved in demonstrations during the Chinese envoy visit to the island from November 3 to 7.

During the envoy visit, the protests, at times, turned violent and ugly with demonstrators seen throwing stones and objects at the police. The protesters surrounded the hotel where the Chinese visitor was having dinner and prevented him from leaving until after midnight.

Adopting democratic principles of voting on the basis of one vote one person is certainly the ultimate form of people represented government but copying blindly Western liberal standards of protests with violent tendencies are certainly not for Asian societies in which I believed there are other avenues to express dissatisfaction and grievances in an orderly and peaceful manner. If there are ineffective platforms to express one’s opinion, then peaceful protest can be conducted provided it does not cause inconvenience to the people at large and the local laws must be respected.

The Taipei District Court must have discussed the issue at length before ordering the arrest of the once powerful man in Taiwan for suspicion of graft, bribery, forgery, money laundering and illegal possession of state assets.

I have mentioned in my earlier write-ups on the election of the new President from Kuomintang in March this year that the next step is to investigate Mr. Chen many suspicious financial dealings and if there are any incriminating hard evidences, there should not be any let up in bringing him to books. Mr. Chen is an intelligent man and he will willfully twist the facts using his cause for democracy, human rights and independence to shield him from the arms of the law.

I do hope the Taiwanese people especially the pro-Independence camp are smart enough to see through his many masquerading acts. At least, I do not need any gadgets to do so.