Tom Plate, syndicated columnist and head of UCLA's Asia Pacific Media Network (motto: Toward a keener sense of community in the Pacific region), on the differences between China and the United States:
Hu -- a cool, Machiavellian bureaucrat who has masterminded his way to the top -- represents an ancient culture of millennial maturity. Bush a former Texas governor who hop-scotched into the White House on his father’s hard-earned name (and a quirk in U.S. elections law) -- represents a brilliant nation that is, in China’s eyes, a relatively unproven teen.Plate also has a high regard for China's foreign policy, civil liberties and its attitude toward the people of Taiwan:
China generally takes the long view of history. Its diplomacy is driven not by adventurism or romanticism or benevolence but by logical self-interest. Its control over domestic opinion, though far from absolute, permits patience in dealing with important issues, such as reunification with Taiwan, which can come in the course of time (i.e., not necessarily tomorrow).Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 29, 2003 10:43 AM
Yeah, it's kind of quirky that our election process has to follow the US Constitution and all that.
Better to be a dirt-poor Commie, I suppose, but, hell, I don't know ...
Posted by: Jimmy Antley on October 29, 2003 11:29 AM"Millenial maturity"?? This IS the same political system that produced Mao Zedong, who in turn produced the famines of the Great Leap Forward and the anarchy of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, yes?
And "logical self-interest" in its foreign policy? This for a nation that has managed to fight EVERY ONE OF ITS NEIGHBORS over the past fifty years? (India '62, Russia/USSR '69, Korea '50, Vietnam '79)? Which self-interest was this?
The sheer romanticism of the view, utterly devoid, it appears, from history, is simply stunning.
Why go that far back? Here's a nice recent USA Today article that chronicles the People's Republic's coal mines, and their oxymoronic safety record.
http://www.ecology.com/ecology-news-links/2003/articles/7-2003/7-7-03/coal-mines.htm
I really love the picture of the men pushing the coal cars along the rails in place of a locomotive.
Now that's progressive!
Posted by: Mike Kole on October 29, 2003 08:58 PMHu also benefitted in his rise to the top by being hand-picked by Deng Xiaoping, who is only second in the Chinese Communist pantheon to Mao Zedong. Hu enjoyed the patronage of Song Ping, one of the last remaining old guard revolutionaries who, though you will never see his name in the papers or in government office, is one of the most powerful men in China and is virtually untouchable.
I'm sure Hu can take credit for much of his own success, and for managing to keep a grip on what was handed to him. But it is odd to suggest that Machiavellian masterminding is somehow superior to democratic elections where, yes, name recognition matters.
It would also be more accurate to say "millennial stagnation" than "millennial maturity". Unless by mature you mean tens of millions starved, millions humiliated and tortured, and hundreds of democratic activists jailed.
China "takes the long view of history" because its leaders are unaccountable for anyone and will likely have a couple decades to accomplish their goals. Deng Xiaoping kicked off economic reform at the start of the '80s, and it was firmly entrenched by the time he died in 1997. What Plate is actually saying is that China can afford to not take action on pressing issues because nothing will happen to them if they don't.
Posted by: Scott Hillis on October 29, 2003 10:04 PMMillennial maturity? Talk about uninformed drivel. The Communist Dynasty is 54 years old. Using Plate's logic he would have used "Millennial maturity" to describe Saddam's regime. After all, civilization can be traced further back in Iraq than China.
Posted by: Reid on October 30, 2003 03:35 AM