03-20-2018, 10:32 PM
*** 21-Mar-18 World View -- Xi Jinping invokes the 1840s Opium Wars to justify military action for China's 'rejuvenation'
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Xi Jinping invokes the 1840s Opium Wars to justify military action for China's 'rejuvenation'
****
![[Image: g180320b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180320b.jpg)
Framed portraits of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping hang above a TV screen showing President Xi Jinping. (Reuters)
Analysts are saying that China has entered a new era with the recent
meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), with president Xi
Jinping becoming a dictator and the most powerful leader in China's
history, possibly even more power than Mao Zedong.
The most significant visible change is that the constitutional limit
to two terms as president has been removed, essentially making Xi
Jinping a dictator for life. Furthermore, the constitution was changed
to incorporate "Xi's thoughts." Less visible, but related, is that Xi
has been able to purge the government of most of his opposition, by
accusing them of corruption. Xi is now in charge of all organs and
branches of government, and cannot be challenged. Many people are
excited by this development, because they say that Xi has done so much
to make China more powerful, and now can continue to do so.
However, many other people are pointing out. Absolute dictators are
not infallible gods. Hitler was an absolute dictator, but the
Holocaust was a disaster for Germany as well as the world. Mao Zedong
was an absolute dictator, but Mao's Great Leap Forward resulted in the
deaths of tens of millions of peasants from starvation and executions,
which was a disaster for China. The problem is that absolute
dictators are no different than you and me in the ability to make bad
decisions, but when you and I make a bad decision then someone stops
us, but no one stops an absolute dictator. Just as Mao could launch
the disastrous Great Leap Forward without being questioned, Xi could
launch a disastrous war without being questioned.
A good example of how delusional Xi is can be shown from this claim in
his final speech to the NPC:
<QUOTE>"China is a socialist state under the people's
democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the
alliance of workers and peasants, noting that all power in the
country belongs to the people."<END QUOTE>
This doesn't even make sense. China is a "dictatorship," but there is
nothing "democratic" about it. All of China's elections are
predetermined, and peasants and workers are permitted to vote only
for the chosen candidate.
Xi talks about the "rejuvenation" of China through "Socialism
with Chinese characteristics." He calls this a "New Long
March," alluding the Mao Zedong's Long March that began in 1934
and marked the beginning of the extremely bloody 16-year Chinese
civil war. According to Xi:
<QUOTE>"China has continuously striven for its dream of
realizing great national rejuvenation for over 170 years.
History has proved and will continue to prove that only socialism
can save China. Only by sticking to and developing socialism with
Chinese characteristics can we achieve the rejuvenation of the
Chinese nation. ...
Turning the grand blueprint for China into reality is new Long
March. We need to uphold the great banner of socialism with
Chinese characteristics. China's goal is to build a socialist,
modern country by the middle of the 21st century."<END QUOTE>
The reference to "170 years" is very interesting, because it
reveals the core resentment and bitterness towards the West
that guide Xi's thinking. Xi and many Chinese blame China's
poverty and backwardness on the Opium Wars with Britain in
the 1840s, 170 years ago. According to this view, China would already
be a great nation, if it hadn't been forced into submission by
Britain at that time.
Once again, this is totally delusional on the part of Xi and other
Chinese. Since the 1840s, China has had two extremely destructive
generational crisis wars -- the Taiping Rebellion and Mao's Communist
Revolution -- both of them civil wars, both of them enormously
destructive to China, and neither of them the fault of Britain or
anybody but the Chinese themselves. But the delusion of blaming
everything on a war that occurred 170 years ago is extremely
dangerous, because it can be used to justify such things as annexing
other countries' regions in the South China Sea.
Xi added the following:
<QUOTE>"Since ancient times, the realization of the great
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has become the greatest dream
of the Chinese nation. The Chinese people are indomitable, and
will persevere. They have the courage for bloody fights against
their enemies, and they are determined to restore their former
glory. Today the Chinese people are more confident and more
capable, and closer than ever before of realizing the great
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."<END QUOTE>
This is extremely ominous, since Xi is justifying in advance any
pre-emptive military attacks that he may decide to make. And being an
absolute dictator means that the decision will be entirely his.
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and China Daily and South China Morning Post and BBC and
National Interest
****
**** Xi Jinping stokes China's nationalism with harsh threats to Taiwan and Hong Kong
****
According to a new "ethnic identity poll? by Hong Kong University, 68%
of the respondents identified themselves as "Hongkongers," while only
31% identified themselves as "Chinese," down 7 points from just six
months ago. Among young people aged 18-29, only 0.3% consider
themselves "Chinese."
In the past, we've described polls
that show that support in Taiwan for independence from China is
growing each year, as younger generations grow older.
Xi Jinping addressed this problem in his speech:
<QUOTE>"We will continue to implement 'One Country, Two
Systems' principle, Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, Macao
people governing Macao, and high degree of autonomy in the special
administrative regions.
We should continue to stick to one-China principle, 1992 Consensus
and advance the peaceful development of the cross-Straits
relations and expand the economic and cultural exchanges between
the two sides.
Safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, completely
uniting China are Chinese people's common goal and the country's
fundamental interests.
Every inch of the Chinese territory absolutely cannot be separated
from China.
All acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail and
will be condemned by the people and punished by
history."<END QUOTE>
Of course, these remarks are directed at the United States, especially
after president Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act last week,
which allows high-level
visits between American and Taiwanese government officials.
But Xi's remarks are really directed at Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
Their purpose is to stoke nationalism in the Chinese people in order
to prepare them for preemptive military action.
In 2005, China passed the Anti-Secession Law,
which orders the army to invade Taiwan if any
Taiwanese official makes any move toward independence, whether by word
or by deed. Since then, Taiwan has made many moves toward
independence, and Xi is signaling that he's losing patience. He's
aware that time is not on his side, as younger generations in Taiwan
are increasingly pro-independence.
As I described last year in "24-Oct-17 World View -- Xi Jinping's 'Socialism with Chinese characteristics' is identical to Hitler's National Socialism"
,
Xi is following the same path to total war that the Nazis followed,
with the same inevitable disastrous results.
Xi's claim of China's humiliation in the Opium Wars to justify any
Chinese action is similar to Hitler's claim of Germany's humiliation
in World War I to justify any Nazi action.
Xi's use of the Opium Wars to blame Britain for all of China's
troubles is the same as Hitler's blaming the Jews in World War I
for all of Nazi Germany's troubles.
China has been preparing for war with the U.S. in every possible way.
They've built large, illegal military bases in the South China Sea,
and repeatedly lied about them. They've developed numerous
nuclear-tipped ballistic and hypersonic missile systems designed to
successfully strike and destroy American aircraft carriers, American
cities, and American bases. They've demonstrated a capability to
destroy American communications and GPS satellites. They have
thousands of missiles ready to launch against Taiwan, and they have
large military deployments in western Tibet ready to invade India.
Xi's speech advances China's war preparations by providing
justifications for future military action, and by stoking nationalism
to prepare the Chinese people for war. This war could begin next
week, next month, next year, or whenever China wants. As China's
dictator, Xi Jinping will decide when this war will begin, and when he
decides, there will be no one to stop him. Hong Kong Economic Journal (28-Dec) and Hong Kong University (27-Dec) and South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and BBC and
South China Morning Post
Related Articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, China, Xi Jinping, National People's Congress, NPC,
Mao Zedong, Great Leap Forward, Opium Wars, Britain,
Taiping Rebellion, Communist Revolution, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao,
University of Hong Kong, Taiwan Travel Act, Anti-Secession Law,
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, National Socialism, Nazi
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Xi Jinping invokes the 1840s Opium Wars to justify military action for China's 'rejuvenation'
- Xi Jinping stokes China's nationalism with harsh threats to Taiwan and Hong Kong
****
**** Xi Jinping invokes the 1840s Opium Wars to justify military action for China's 'rejuvenation'
****
Framed portraits of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping hang above a TV screen showing President Xi Jinping. (Reuters)
Analysts are saying that China has entered a new era with the recent
meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), with president Xi
Jinping becoming a dictator and the most powerful leader in China's
history, possibly even more power than Mao Zedong.
The most significant visible change is that the constitutional limit
to two terms as president has been removed, essentially making Xi
Jinping a dictator for life. Furthermore, the constitution was changed
to incorporate "Xi's thoughts." Less visible, but related, is that Xi
has been able to purge the government of most of his opposition, by
accusing them of corruption. Xi is now in charge of all organs and
branches of government, and cannot be challenged. Many people are
excited by this development, because they say that Xi has done so much
to make China more powerful, and now can continue to do so.
However, many other people are pointing out. Absolute dictators are
not infallible gods. Hitler was an absolute dictator, but the
Holocaust was a disaster for Germany as well as the world. Mao Zedong
was an absolute dictator, but Mao's Great Leap Forward resulted in the
deaths of tens of millions of peasants from starvation and executions,
which was a disaster for China. The problem is that absolute
dictators are no different than you and me in the ability to make bad
decisions, but when you and I make a bad decision then someone stops
us, but no one stops an absolute dictator. Just as Mao could launch
the disastrous Great Leap Forward without being questioned, Xi could
launch a disastrous war without being questioned.
A good example of how delusional Xi is can be shown from this claim in
his final speech to the NPC:
<QUOTE>"China is a socialist state under the people's
democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the
alliance of workers and peasants, noting that all power in the
country belongs to the people."<END QUOTE>
This doesn't even make sense. China is a "dictatorship," but there is
nothing "democratic" about it. All of China's elections are
predetermined, and peasants and workers are permitted to vote only
for the chosen candidate.
Xi talks about the "rejuvenation" of China through "Socialism
with Chinese characteristics." He calls this a "New Long
March," alluding the Mao Zedong's Long March that began in 1934
and marked the beginning of the extremely bloody 16-year Chinese
civil war. According to Xi:
<QUOTE>"China has continuously striven for its dream of
realizing great national rejuvenation for over 170 years.
History has proved and will continue to prove that only socialism
can save China. Only by sticking to and developing socialism with
Chinese characteristics can we achieve the rejuvenation of the
Chinese nation. ...
Turning the grand blueprint for China into reality is new Long
March. We need to uphold the great banner of socialism with
Chinese characteristics. China's goal is to build a socialist,
modern country by the middle of the 21st century."<END QUOTE>
The reference to "170 years" is very interesting, because it
reveals the core resentment and bitterness towards the West
that guide Xi's thinking. Xi and many Chinese blame China's
poverty and backwardness on the Opium Wars with Britain in
the 1840s, 170 years ago. According to this view, China would already
be a great nation, if it hadn't been forced into submission by
Britain at that time.
Once again, this is totally delusional on the part of Xi and other
Chinese. Since the 1840s, China has had two extremely destructive
generational crisis wars -- the Taiping Rebellion and Mao's Communist
Revolution -- both of them civil wars, both of them enormously
destructive to China, and neither of them the fault of Britain or
anybody but the Chinese themselves. But the delusion of blaming
everything on a war that occurred 170 years ago is extremely
dangerous, because it can be used to justify such things as annexing
other countries' regions in the South China Sea.
Xi added the following:
<QUOTE>"Since ancient times, the realization of the great
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has become the greatest dream
of the Chinese nation. The Chinese people are indomitable, and
will persevere. They have the courage for bloody fights against
their enemies, and they are determined to restore their former
glory. Today the Chinese people are more confident and more
capable, and closer than ever before of realizing the great
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."<END QUOTE>
This is extremely ominous, since Xi is justifying in advance any
pre-emptive military attacks that he may decide to make. And being an
absolute dictator means that the decision will be entirely his.
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and China Daily and South China Morning Post and BBC and
National Interest
****
**** Xi Jinping stokes China's nationalism with harsh threats to Taiwan and Hong Kong
****
According to a new "ethnic identity poll? by Hong Kong University, 68%
of the respondents identified themselves as "Hongkongers," while only
31% identified themselves as "Chinese," down 7 points from just six
months ago. Among young people aged 18-29, only 0.3% consider
themselves "Chinese."
In the past, we've described polls
that show that support in Taiwan for independence from China is
growing each year, as younger generations grow older.
Xi Jinping addressed this problem in his speech:
<QUOTE>"We will continue to implement 'One Country, Two
Systems' principle, Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, Macao
people governing Macao, and high degree of autonomy in the special
administrative regions.
We should continue to stick to one-China principle, 1992 Consensus
and advance the peaceful development of the cross-Straits
relations and expand the economic and cultural exchanges between
the two sides.
Safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, completely
uniting China are Chinese people's common goal and the country's
fundamental interests.
Every inch of the Chinese territory absolutely cannot be separated
from China.
All acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail and
will be condemned by the people and punished by
history."<END QUOTE>
Of course, these remarks are directed at the United States, especially
after president Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act last week,
which allows high-level
visits between American and Taiwanese government officials.
But Xi's remarks are really directed at Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
Their purpose is to stoke nationalism in the Chinese people in order
to prepare them for preemptive military action.
In 2005, China passed the Anti-Secession Law,
which orders the army to invade Taiwan if any
Taiwanese official makes any move toward independence, whether by word
or by deed. Since then, Taiwan has made many moves toward
independence, and Xi is signaling that he's losing patience. He's
aware that time is not on his side, as younger generations in Taiwan
are increasingly pro-independence.
As I described last year in "24-Oct-17 World View -- Xi Jinping's 'Socialism with Chinese characteristics' is identical to Hitler's National Socialism"
,
Xi is following the same path to total war that the Nazis followed,
with the same inevitable disastrous results.
Xi's claim of China's humiliation in the Opium Wars to justify any
Chinese action is similar to Hitler's claim of Germany's humiliation
in World War I to justify any Nazi action.
Xi's use of the Opium Wars to blame Britain for all of China's
troubles is the same as Hitler's blaming the Jews in World War I
for all of Nazi Germany's troubles.
China has been preparing for war with the U.S. in every possible way.
They've built large, illegal military bases in the South China Sea,
and repeatedly lied about them. They've developed numerous
nuclear-tipped ballistic and hypersonic missile systems designed to
successfully strike and destroy American aircraft carriers, American
cities, and American bases. They've demonstrated a capability to
destroy American communications and GPS satellites. They have
thousands of missiles ready to launch against Taiwan, and they have
large military deployments in western Tibet ready to invade India.
Xi's speech advances China's war preparations by providing
justifications for future military action, and by stoking nationalism
to prepare the Chinese people for war. This war could begin next
week, next month, next year, or whenever China wants. As China's
dictator, Xi Jinping will decide when this war will begin, and when he
decides, there will be no one to stop him. Hong Kong Economic Journal (28-Dec) and Hong Kong University (27-Dec) and South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and BBC and
South China Morning Post
Related Articles:
- Xi Jinping's 'Socialism with Chinese characteristics' is identical to Hitler's National Socialism (24-Oct-2017)
- China's warplanes conduct 'encirclement' patrols around Taiwan's and Japan's islands (13-Dec-2017)
- China repudiates its Hong Kong 'One Country, Two Systems' agreement with Britain (01-Jul-2017)
- Despite warnings from China, Trump signs the Taiwan Travel Act (17-Mar-2018)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, China, Xi Jinping, National People's Congress, NPC,
Mao Zedong, Great Leap Forward, Opium Wars, Britain,
Taiping Rebellion, Communist Revolution, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao,
University of Hong Kong, Taiwan Travel Act, Anti-Secession Law,
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, National Socialism, Nazi
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
