tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post5496186038631234596..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: China expert's Testimony before US China PanelMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-64225280772026003282007-04-10T10:00:00.000+08:002007-04-10T10:00:00.000+08:00I think it's incredibly arrogant for Westerners to...I think it's incredibly arrogant for Westerners to think it can "change" the oldest and most populous in the history of the world. Levi's and McDonald's have about as much influence in China as they do in Europe - people ostensibly like to consume, but it's not going to change anyone's national identity.<BR/><BR/>7000 years, people.<BR/><BR/>In the long run, China will do whatever it wants. Its ruling classes KNOW that China is extremely susceptible to violent revolution, and will act accordingly. Hence the focus in the last 25 years on wealth creation and political stability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-70126956009658199772007-02-06T23:27:00.000+08:002007-02-06T23:27:00.000+08:00Asia Times Online has a good article about the USC...Asia Times Online has a good article about the USCC hearing and discusses the possible fall-out that the recent ASAT test:<br /><br />http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IB06Ad01.htmlJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09759067282582187193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-88484787878063415692007-02-06T21:20:00.000+08:002007-02-06T21:20:00.000+08:00The last thing the America wants to see is China a...The last thing the America wants to see is China adopts the "American style democracy" because that is what makes America the only superpower in the world!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493056273825907844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-4427899769058614262007-02-05T22:24:00.000+08:002007-02-05T22:24:00.000+08:00I agree that he's taking Westerners to task for th...I agree that he's taking Westerners to task for thinking that, and he is right to do so. The whole 'China will one day be like us' fantasy I think stems from the weird, almost messianic patronizing view many Westerners have regarding China, particularly Americans. It's like they think that inside China is an America bursting to get out. There is an almost missionary quality to this vision.<br /><br />Where I strongly disagree with Mann is with his characterization of China as a static, unchanging entity. That model doesn't even accurately describe China as it exists <i>now</i>.<br /><br />I'm not ready to write off participatory government in China in my own lifetime; certainly it will happen sooner than Mann believes, but people need to quit thinking that it will look like America, or even Taiwan (though it will more closely resemble the latter).<br /><br />But China has far more pressing concerns now than its eventual political system.Prince Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15450025030425929910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-63015981498631779592007-02-05T20:59:00.000+08:002007-02-05T20:59:00.000+08:00Mann is not making the slippery can't-pin-me-down ...Mann is not making the slippery can't-pin-me-down argument that China's democracy won't be western. He's making the "hard" argument that China will not be a democracy in any form even after all the political change.<br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-14414509081396576512007-02-05T20:45:00.000+08:002007-02-05T20:45:00.000+08:00If Mann is arguing that China's political system w...If Mann is arguing that China's political system will remain unchanged, which I don't think he necessarily is, he's dead wrong. Nothing remains the same. China is a vastly different country than it was in 1975, 1985 or even 1995. Not just economically, which is the most obvious, but even politically. To argue that it is unchanged defies logic and I can't accept it as a serious argument.<br /><br />I do agree with him that any change in China's political landscape will not result in the country becoming 'like us'. I think this is a point that many people in the West fail to understand. <br /><br />I don't rule out the possibility of China developing a more democratic system, but even if it does, it won't be like ours, and the mistake all too many Westerners make is to equate 'democracy' with Western democracy.Prince Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15450025030425929910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-2644918612794769792007-02-05T13:27:00.000+08:002007-02-05T13:27:00.000+08:00James Mann's accessment of china is right on the m...James Mann's accessment of china is right on the money.<br /><br />But one'd never know, china might become a democracy at a most unexpected moment, in the remote future.<br /><br />There is nothing American can do about it in a hurry imo.<br /><br />-tsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-3189431043922040622007-02-05T11:45:00.000+08:002007-02-05T11:45:00.000+08:00Yep. I've never felt that there was much hope of C...Yep. I've never felt that there was much hope of China becoming a democracy. And Mann has put his finger on many reasons.<br /><br />MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-55151853117409359972007-02-05T11:42:00.000+08:002007-02-05T11:42:00.000+08:00The point about Taiwan and Sth Korea democratising...The point about Taiwan and Sth Korea democratising under US pressure and their need for US for their military security is, I think, very very important. The example of Russian "democracy" is a case in point too, of a country that is largely immune to US pressure. It is interesting that while the consensus now seems to be that Russia will not be democratic, that the same conclusion has only now been drawn about China. <br /><br />And even if China did become a democracy, there is no reason to believe that it would listen to the US any more than say, India, does.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com