So the U.S., as expected, declared a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The athletes will go but no politician will represent the U.S. The main purpose of this boycott is to cement in the minds of Americans that China is evil. So if we declare sanctions, blockades or even war against China in the future, it will seem justified to most Americans. After all, most Americans will believe what the government and the media tell them and do not look to see what the truth is.
Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang are the three areas the U.S. point to human rights abuses to such a degree that warrant the boycott. I know the most about Hong Kong as I am from there. I think there is at least as much if not more democracy in Hong Kong now than under British rule. There was no democratic election for leader of Hong Kong under British rule. There was no killing by the police during the recent riot. China did not send in troops. Contrast that with the riots in the 1960s when the police killed many Hong Kong people, the anti-British newspaper were shut down, and the British army was used in controlling the riots. Why didn't the U.S. boycott the World Cup in 1966 when England hosted it?
Tibet has not been on the radar until now because it has been calm there. The Dali Lama has said that he does not favor independence. How many Americans know that he said that? Most think that Tibet is still fighting China. Well, the only time this was serious was in the 60s when the U.S. was training Tibet fighters in the U.S. There may very well still be some who want to fight China but I don't think outside of the U.S., anybody believe that this is a serious topic.
Xinjiang is the new area of propaganda for the U.S. But where is the evidence of genocide that the U.S. is claiming? There are satellites showing 100,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine right away. But there is no satellite showing a million Uyghurs are in interment camps. If there is genocide, wouldn't there be refugees streaming out of Xinjiang? Xinjiang borders 8 countries, 5 of them are Muslim majority. Yet none of these countries report a single refugee all these years. No Muslim country has agreed with the Western countries that there is genocide in Xinjiang.
China can careless about the U.S. and other Western countries not sending any politicians to the Games. They don't need people coming from countries with high incident of COVID. I think Biden should send Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley to represent the U.S. After all, they were the ones who went to Hong Kong to cheer on the protesters. Will see if they are brave enough to go to China. If they are, Biden will get rid of them for three weeks at least due to the quarantine in China.
But seriously, if politicians in both parties are going with the narrative that China is evil in an attempt to get people behind them, it will be dangerous for Asian Americans in this country. Remember what happened to the Japanese in WWII and during the auto war in 1970s and 80s? Racism, scapegoating and extreme nationalism are all alive and well in this country today.
There's a lot of posturing right now with the United States and China and Russia. As far as China goes, it'll be interesting to see how things turn out. I personally don't like the anti-China talk for obvious reasons. I do think the relationship is pretty solid still. I think both sides make these outrageous actions like boycotting with diplomats at the games just because they have to in public. Both countries need each other. I would argue that the U.S. needs China more but the U.S. cannot let China bully its way with Taiwan. I can't argue with what you're saying about HK, Tibet and Xinjiang.
ReplyDeleteI am more concerned right now with what's going on at the border with Ukraine. I don't know if Putin just sent the troops over there as a scare tactic or if there really is an invasion. The question is what do you do to counter it? Do you send troops there and play chicken or do you ignore it and see what happens? Obviously the UN has said it would rather they handle it as a group. But would the response be too late if there is an invasion?
I know you are joking about Cruz and Hawley. I wonder if we told Cruz that it a trip down to Cancun, maybe he would go!
-LBOAYM
The U.S. and most countries do not recognize Taiwan as an independent country. Since the U.S. recognized the PRC as the ruler of all China, she has said that Taiwan is part of China. The KMT, which lost to the Communists and had to go to Taiwan to survive, has written in the Taiwan constitution that Taiwan is part of China. The KMT do claim that they are the legitimate government of all of China. The DPP, which rules Taiwan today, got in power by the U.S. help and tell the natives that they can be independent. Both the KMT and DPP are delusional.
ReplyDeleteThis would be like the Confederacy went to Puerto Rico to set up a government and tell everybody they are the legitimate ruler of the U.S. Then the Puerto Ricans, with the help of China, outvoted the Confederacy and want independence. Do you think the Union government would allow China to meddle in their affairs? China has no intention of using force unless Taiwan declare independence. You know what? The people who voted in the DPP, when asked if they want to fight for independence against China, say no overwhelmingly. They just want to stay the status quo. So I think nobody wants to fight, especially the millions of Taiwan people who are working and doing business in China. So U.S. advisors and politicians showing up in Taiwan is not helpful.
Ukraine is another area of posturing on both sides. Putin doesn't want to occupy Ukraine. The Soviets and the U.S. couldn't occupy Afghanistan, so Putin knows that it will be a quagmire if they try to take Ukraine. What he wants is for Ukraine not becoming part of NATO or the European Union and thus put another Western alliance nation on its border. Putin took Crimea because the majority of the people there are Russians and so it is easy for Russian troops to occupy and put up a puppet government. There is another area on eastern Ukraine on the Russian border that is majority Russian. He may take that and try to make a deal that he would stop if Europe and the U.S. promise not to admit Ukraine into their sphere. I think that is his endgame. Taking most or all of Ukraine will be a political and economic disaster for Putin.