War with China

[Linette]

James Kroeger rails against the nut cases who want us to view China as our enemy:

"In yesterday’s New York Times a senior Chinese military official, Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, was quoted as saying, “If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China’s territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons.” Hawks on China are already waving this report around as ‘evidence’ that the Chinese are some kind of great threat to America and that we need to start preparing for war with them. This kind of talk makes me feel like the world I’m in is truly insane."

"The revelation that the Chinese would use nuclear weapons to defend themselves from an attack by the United States should be a surprise to no one. The single most important question we can ask right now is why should Americans be stupid enough get themselves involved in another country’s civil war? That’s precisely the mistake we made in the 1960’s, when we inserted ourselves into Viet Nam’s civil war. Great outcome. Why would we expect to fare any better inserting ourselves into a civil war that happens to involve the most populous nation on the planet?"

"America’s commitment to Taiwan has got to be one of the most profoundly stupid commitments that the American people have ever been “saddled with.” No vital American interest is served by our pledge to defend Taiwan’s present rebel government from attempts by Beijing to impose its sovereignty on them. We no longer have any rational reason to fear the “spread of Communism.” After all, the People’s Republic of China is communist in name, only. Their economy’s dynamism is driven by free enterprise and profit incentives. They might not have property laws that look anything like ours, but they are still free to obtain the right to use property to make themselves rich. With the success they’ve had with this approach, there is a zero percent chance that they would ever decide to follow the Stalinist model of economic organization."

"Why then should American leaders risk the lives of millions of American and Taiwanese and Chinese citizens? To help the inhabitants of Taiwan to avoid the nightmarish alternative of living in modern China? Nightmarish? Precisely what kind of horror would the Taiwanese people be subjected to if they were to simply submit to the political authority of Beijing? None, that I can see. It is a given that the Chinese people in Taiwan would have just as much autonomy as Hong Kong has experienced since 2000. There is no reason to believe that the insurrectionists in Taiwan would suffer in any material way if they were to submit to Beijing. Besides, life in China these days is pretty good because their economic future is looking very, very bright. Anyone who has a decent grasp of history should be able to see that democracy in mainland China is an inevitability, perhaps in the next couple of decades."

"Let’s just hope that maybe with some People Power we will be able to pressure the war-crazy lunatics in Congress to return to the realm of sanity."

Let's hope...

[wli]

1. petropolitics

The Sino-Russian alliance is competing for oil and China's playing "beggar thy neighbor" games against the US. They aren't letting the economic hitmen in the door. You can see where this is going.

[Emendator]

8. There won't be a war

There is too much mutual investment between China and Taiwan. Things will probably stay as they are now. Someday, as the situation in China continues to imrove, there will probably be some sort of agreement where China is recognized as the true government in return for Taiwanese autonomy and de facto independence.

[HawkerHurricane]

2. Just so you know...

when (NOT if) China invades Taiwan, China will consider it a attack if we try to defend the island.

[tmooses]

3. If China is not a communist country, what is it? A capitalist country

that stifles political dissent and is ruled by a group a privileged individuals?

[idlisambar]

4. couple of points

First, there is no inconsistency between a country being capitalist and at the same time stifling political dissent.

Second, China's economic system cannot be described accurately as communist or capitalist. More accurately it can be described as a "loose" command economy; a command economy because the main thrusts are pushed by the state, and "loose" because the details are often left to lower level institutions and agents, including individual capitalists and markets. This contrasts with the Soviet-style total-control command economy.

[Old and In the Way]

5. I've yet to meet any communists in my travels there.

The only political doctrine they seem interested in is making money. I agree with the writer...this dispute should not involve us at all. I cannot see what advantage either country has in going to war over this issue. Our meddling into this only increases the chances to ignite something that will spell disaster for millions on the mainland and on Formosa/Taiwan.

[agincourt]

6. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be insane,

Of course, one could argue invading Iraq was insame too. I hope the Chinese are more sane than the Jack a Napes running our country.
China could control Taiwan better with economic or political pressure.

[bpilgrim]

7. the crazies miss the cold war funding cake walks to the hill...

war on terror and the threat of the most populous nation on the planet will have the spigot open permanently and allow further reductions of our liberties.

they got a stiffy that would make viagra users green :evilgrin:

peace