July 03, 2006

• 
• teh b00lsh1t.
• Not so much the post as the purported "propaganda".
• "the film is made by Jon Daniel Ligon, whose bio at his firm Improved & New Advertising, lists him as a former J Walter Thompson Senior Vice President with an MFA in creative writing from Brown University. In other words, it’s not the translated work of an angry young Chinese filmmaker" - more comment at this blog
• Still, it does point out the complete and utter stupidity of the U.S. policy towards China.
• Really? How is that Berek? What is the the policy of the United States with regard to China? Where is that policy so obviously flawed? Curious fools wish to know.
• China's gonna eat America's lunch in a couple years when it starts flooding our market with cheap Chinese cars.
• China offers only a single over hyped threat to the US. It's a simple one luckily, ready for this? Stop buying oil in dollars. Helpfully that wouldn't be a good idea for China either. Like it or not China and the US are a tag team. Irony.
• Fuck'n USA! (Warning: Quicktime, autoloading, Japanese intro to Korean punk song, does not necessarily reflect the views of chimaera, monkeyfilter, blah blah, but fun to watch, you betcha.)
• Hm, I think they did get to say what they wanted to, at least on my computer. But, how did we steal an Olympic medal from them? Anybody?
• The problem with U.S. policy towards China is that our present policy, such as it is, encourages companies to export jobs to China. At the same time we are helping to arm their military. And of course we are fianancing our deficeit by borrowing from them. We are making them rich and strong at our own expense.
• Links, please. What you say may be true to some degree or other, but right now all we have is opinion.
• The problem with China's policy towards the US is that it is supine. Positing a 'peaceful rise', China has effectively ceded hegemony to the US so it can develop its economy without getting dragged into a pissing match. The military might of the PLA is exclusively reserved for threatening the Chinese people should they ever have the temerity to demand equality, liberty, justice and good government.
• I voted for Kodos
• There isn't nearly enough shaking of fists at fragrant monkey tails in short films these days. Thank goodness this one includes that.
• The military might of the PLA is exclusively reserved for threatening the Chinese people Yeah, right, that's why they have forces stationed in Mongolia, are patrolling contested sea lanes, have had repeated skirmishes with neighbors Russia and Vietnam over the years, and have a military space program.
• Fragrant Monkey Tails - wasn't Marlene Dietrich in that one?
• Berek - China has no troops staioned in Mongolia, unlike the US, which has provided a number of military advisors. The border conflicts you cite occurred in a previous era, when China was also happy to come into conflict with the US in proxy wars, both in Korea and Vietnam,as well as to call the bluff of Soviet attempts at encirclement which is what their invasion of Vietnam was intended to do. This (nor the modernisation of their military including the space programme) does not discount the basic point of the 'peaceful rise' doctrine. It is a signal to the US that China does not intend to compete, in the short to medium term at least, with US military dominance. I strongly suspect any arguments to the contrary made in America are motivated more by a desire to find a justification for continued high levels of US defence spending.
• Well, I do feel that our defense budget is artificailly inflated but the fact is that the Chinese export a lot of weapons and technology and continue to expand and modernize their military, especially naval forces capable of controlling sea lanes and oil ocean areas. The other thing to consider about this is that China is not a monolithic entity but is auctually more akin to the old Soviet Union. Thus a lot of their forces are employed in keeping together peoples that if left to their own devices would most likely breakaway and become independant entities. I'm curious how China's rise can be called peaceful. This is a country that has used military force to keep its empire together and ruthlessly stamp out any dissidence. I imagine that if you were to ask the Nepalese they would not call China's rise peaceful.
• Wikipedia does a better job than I can of explaining what the doctrine of 'peaceful rise' amounts to. I am certainly not saying we should accept this official formulation at face value, just noting its existence and offering my understanding of the reasons for it and its goals. Note especially the exclusion of Taiwan from the equation. I remain convinced that in the near term the most significant function of the Chinese military (I include the People's Armed Police) will remain coming down hard on any kind of internal dissent. Quite simply, the Party sees threats to its rule as more likely to arise at home than abroad, and staying in power is the core of their purpose. In the longer term I have no doubt there are many in the Party and outside here who would like to see China extending greater power internationally. One to watch is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a fine assemblage of human rights high-achievers.
• China is definently looking at the possibility of force projection. Personally I think that one day, it might be a few years yet, we will see the Chinese federation implode like the Soviet Union did. As the old gaurd dies off, there can't be too many of them left, I think it will become increasingly likely.
• Berek, i'm not sure why you are convinced China will "implode". My understanding is that they have been a stable society since the warring states period finished (2200 yrs ago) and ushered in the Han dynasty. To me there appears to be no rift between different regions of China with most mainland Chinese people referring to themselves as "people of Han". If you know different enlighten me.
• How on Earth do you arrive at the idea that they've been a stable society for the last 2 grand?! Just look at the last few hundred years. You had destabilization by foreign powers, religious fanatacism and extremism, invasions, political upheavel, etc. The culmination of all this was a bloody civil war that destroyed the old order and ushered in the communists. Whatever was left of the old elite was pretty much finished off by Mao and his funny little pograms. Geonicide on a stalinesque level at its finest. Admittedly there are villages in the remoter parts where things haven't changed much, but that's not true for the majority of the country.
• So lets apply your same discussion to America within the last few hundred years, Wars with foreign powers - check, bloody civil war - check, religous fanatacism - check. When is the US imploding? You're right though stable society was probably not the best description. Stable identity is perhaps more apt. Across mainland china they all feel chinese, I dont believe it to be akin to the Balkans for example. Also I am not aware of any religious fanatacism within china, would you perhaps be referring to the muslim population. i believe they account for something like 2% of the pop probably comparable to the American population.
• I don't know. I think that if you look at several of the farflung provinces you'll find populations that would disagree with the idea fo Chinese identity being their primary one. The religious fanaticism I was referring to took place during the time the old Chinese monarchy was collapsing. I think that what happened during the Boxer Rebellion is an example of this. For whatever it's worth this discussion has made me realize that I need to read up on my Chinese history. I used to read tons of history but I'm afraid, like all monkeys, I now spend too much time online and watching Dr. Who. As to your other point I believe that America is definently in danger of imploding if several serious issues like illegal immigration, the gap between rich and poor, exportation of jobs, an increasingly imperial (some would say facist) presidency, the dominance of the military, centralization of press ownership, are not addressed.
• The solurion: go online and ask the BBC to do an episode of Dr. Who set somewhere in Chinese history.
• HA! At them moment the Dr. is watching the world boil. I am as wed speak watching Sci Fi. They are showing the first season of Dr.
• D'oh! I have got to learn how to use this newfangled thing called a preview button!
• If those Chinese are so advanced, how come there is no rapper throwing rhymes at me in English?
• Abiezer_Coppe's analysis is accurate. China has not been expansionist for at least the last thousand years, & does not look to be expansion oriented (pun) any time soon, Taiwan excepted. They have all the liebensraum they need & can administer. But if they wanted to be, America would be fucked. Seriously.
• :-) lieben = to love leben = to live /agree with the rest
• I TRIED TO BE CLEVER FUCKYAZ
• What a great epitaph that would make.
• I need the loveroom!