China has just made plain its contempt and hatred for the United States; and certainly has shown its contempt for President Obama.
During the state dinner at the White House, Hu Jintao and his entourage, including the pianist Lang Lang, made it clear that they have no respect for either the USA or its current president. Among Lang's pieces played for the entertainment of the Chinese and American presidents was "Wode Zu Guo" (My Motherland), a piece from a 1950's propaganda film extolling the killing of Americans during the Korean War. After the non-mainstream media broke the story, Lang professed innocence of the origin of the song. I frankly think he's lying through his teeth.
The Chinese Communist government is very careful about the image it projects, yet still likes to prod for weaknesses in its interlocutors. It is why Hu made the right noises about China having "a long way to go" in implementing human rights and the rule of law while making no commitments. But under the smooth exterior, is the head of a ruthless oligarchy that understands its historical mission as being the last, best hope of 20th century totalitarianism. Had Hu wished to simply have a smooth, both-sides-satisfied summit, he would not have allowed such a piece to be played (would the Germans play "Die Wacht am Rhein" when having diplomatic negotiations with the French?). It seems that the Chinese government was betting on general American ignorance of modern Chinese culture, and pulled the stunt to show the folks back home that it is humiliating and insulting America at the heart of American power.
The fact that Lang chose a piece from a post-Korean War propaganda film may also signal that any Chinese noises that it may accept the disappearance of the Communist Kim Dynasty in Pyongyang is probably a subtle trap designed to lull the USA into a new confrontation in northeastern Asia in order to test the prowess of China's rapidly modernizing forces. It should therefore be a signal to any alert officials in the US Government that China is not a friend, but an enemy whose contempt for the USA--accompanied by an underestimation of American strengths and sensibilities--could very well lead to a general conflict in the Western Pacific.
The fact that official US responses to this plain insult are muted is no proof of the patience, forbearance, and wisdom of our leadership, but of their ability to be taken off guard by people who sincerely and deeply hope to catch them off-guard. It seems that nothing has changed since the Chinese General Staff caught former President Clinton off-guard by asking if the US would tolerate a nuclear blast over Los Angeles as retaliation for supporting Taiwan in the face of a Mainland Chinese assault. It would be far better for Obama and Mrs. Clinton, as Secretary of State, to clearly state that the US government feels that Lang Lang's repertoire at the state dinner was in poor taste, suggests that official China has no respect for the USA, and may even hint that Beijing's long-term view of Washington is hostile.
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http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=133187969
ReplyDeleteI don't have time for a really long discussion now, but i want to talk about a few points regarding your view on US foreign policy and Asia, and the views of Americans i know.
ReplyDeleteIf you are an avid reader of the news, you'd know that India and Russia are just as big, if not on the same level as the PRC of supporting undesirable regimes abroad.
India has very, very, close relations to gulf arab states, and the rest of the arab world, for that matter. Pakistan's relations are almost a joke compared to India, which has promised to bring up arab issues in the United Nations security council and militarily protect them from attacks.
in some news reports, it stated that India also offered Iran assistance in chemical weapons manufacture.
and regarding the muslim population of India, if you think pakistan is radical, take a look at Indian Imam Zakir Naik's teachings before being tempted to blast pakistan for being intolerant and praising india for being a democracy.
Russia is also a very inhospitable country for non slavic looking people. Every day, blacks, asians (central asians, vietnamese, chinese, etc.), Indians, and people from the caucasus are knifed to death by russian skinheads. The slurs Russians use and their stereotypes make Chinese ethnic prejuduce look like a total joke. Russians routinely call central asians and africans "blackarses", and once it was reported in the news, that a Russian police officer told an African to go elsewhere for bananas, after the africa was assualted by Russian skinheads.
not to mention Russian antisemitism, and Russian's belief in conspiracy theories like jews control the USA.
Russia allows neo nazi skinhead groups to thrive.
and alot of Russia's foreign policy goes uncriticized. Russia sells massive, big missles, tanks, and even sends mercenaries and instructors to the Sudanese government, while the PRC sells small arms and does investment in business in Sudan, and suddenly everyone jumps on the anti China bandwagon, and don't say a thing about Russias masssive arms sales.
i notice alot of americans like to think Russia and India are potential friends, while china is an enemy, while other more intelligent people correctly note that Russia is not friendly, they are still lured into Indias trap of presenting itself as the switzerland of Asia.
i doubt that it is driven by anti communism, i sense an underlying tone of anti asian racism regarding some americans blindness to Russia and India and blaming China for everything.
The CCP needs to be gotten rid of, and Chinese society cleaned of gangsterism, but Russia needs to also be cleaned of its dirty racism, nationalism, mafias, and Indians are quite rude in their manners and racist as well.
right wing hindus in india once forced a christian to drink cow feces after making him convert back to hinduism.
Thanks for your comments, Horse.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I'd like to see the USA enjoying friendly relations with everyone, Russian and India included.
But you did indeed note rightly that there's nastiness everywhere.
Its not just about Russia acting contrary to American interests, Russian language media, in both Russian AND English, is quite nasty in its anti American pronouncements.
ReplyDeletecheck out the youtube channel english version of Russia Today, the state funded russian news network, and do a search of their english version of pravda. It is rife with anti americanism, one Russiatoday video even included a pro Hamas children's show (with the mickey mouse like creature farfour), and came up with conspiracy theories on how jews are killing black babies. One video included a Russian "professor" who suggested america be split in multiple countries, all conducted in English.
The fact that they feel bold to diss America in their English language media frankly is representative of the average Russian's manners. China does the dissing behind the back, defintely not in english.
Russian media is rife with conspiracy theories about the USA
ReplyDeletehttp://english.pravda.ru/
type "America" into search
http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday
The Russian government isn't afraid to dis america in its face, unlike Hu, who will do it behind its back
and Russian language media is one of the most prolific spinners of 9/11 conspiracy theories. If you'd read half of their english language versions you'd throw up. Reading their russian language versions would probably cause a brain hemmorage
ReplyDeleteIn this article, RussiaToday extols Islamist leader Hassan Al Turabi, the one who declared "jihad" on south sudan, and invited bin laden to sudan as his guest
http://rt.com/news/turabi-sudan/
and i remember once it was reported that a Russian duma member, an anti american, suggested establishing relations with the Taliban.
by the way, the Russian orthodox church is very hostile toward american protestant evangelicals, who are under heavy restrictions by Russia if they overstep their bounds.
Horse, I have a few of my own ideas about all of this.
ReplyDeleteSoviet Communism was very exploitative towards Russian nationalism, especially during and after WWII, and I don't doubt that there are quite a few who still hold to a combination of Communist and Russian Nationalist views. And, seeing how Carter, who desperately wanted to call it quits in the Cold War, felt constrained to re-enter it by beginning aid to the Afghan Mujaheddin, and then gave way to Reagan who out-and-out decided to push and prod everywhere where the Soviets were weak and then went into retirement to see the fruit of his work in a general Soviet collapse a couple years later, I cannot doubt that many Russians suspect the USA of only hostile intentions.
Frankly, I myself thought that the immediate post-Cold War period was a time when the USA and Western Europe should have completely re-thought NATO, and tried to find a way to accommodate a democratizing Russia as a partner rather than as a potential rival.
I'm going to put up a new post about Evangelicalism vs. Orthodoxy.
One other thing, Horse. You seem to be a Muslim, so some of my thoughts on Evangelicalism and Eastern Orthodoxy may seem a bit like the conflicts between Sunni, Shi'ah, 'Ibadi, Ahmadiyya, and Bahai seem to Christians. I'd be happy to explain things later.
ReplyDeleteIn the Arab world where there are Orthodox christians, they also tend to dislike protestant evangelicals.
ReplyDeleteIn Syria, the government monitored evangelical protestant house churches, then the local Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches demanded that the Syrian government crack down on them, accusing them of "stealing their flock".
There is a strong sense of tradition among religions in the levant, so they don't really like the "new protestants" that are appearing at their doors. And the Orthodox christian arabs seem to have inherited some anti semitism along with the Russians from the Byzantine Empire, so they would not like Evangelicals telling them jews are the chosen people. And the existence Israel caused whatever traditional antisemitism there was to grow
The Syrian government policy is to watch out against all types of extremism, when the baath party took power they monitor all religious schools, both muslim and christian. Syrians have freedom of religion, the one they were born into, but not freedom to convert to new religions like protestanism
this is still anti semitic sentiment with other orthodox chrisitans like serbs.
I just think that Russians are really anti semitic and buy into the theory that Jews run the American government.
ReplyDelete