West\'s Upcoming War Against China?
(2008-05-05 10:28:43)
下一个
Just google "most evil country", you will find that "China" popping up in several top links. With daily doses of negative news about China, of which some China deserves and some does not, it is not a surprise that some Americans already consider China the most evil country in the world. Is China destined to become West's enemy No. 1? Would demonization of China lead to a collision course between China and the West?
One may brush away some of the extreme opinions against China as non-governmental or unofficial positions. But the fact is, public opinions play a much more important role in a democracy. Once a foreign country is considered evil by the public, it is really just a matter of when and how by policy makers, although there is a difference between what the West wants to do, and whether they are capable of.
In addition, GWB's preemptive strike doctrine changed all the game playing rules. With China being demonized as the next Evil Empire that exceeds anything Saddam had done in Iraq, it is not a matter of whether the West has a moral authority to launch a war against China (some think they have it already), it is rather a question of West's capability of doing so.
On the positive side, cultural and economic ties are certainly the core of the bridge to connect China and the West that Iraq did not have. However, this economic tie is not without danger of being severed. With a perfect storm of the West in an economic recession, demonization of China in full swing, and with China not helping either with strong nationalistic counter-reactions, public confidence of such a tie with China is eroding fast in the West. In the end, it is not just a single factor, but rather the sum of all the interests of trading partners, military industrial complex, labor unions, etc, that will decide West's policies against China.
If a condition of war develops, Tibet or Taiwan might provide just the right spark to trigger.
Keep in mind that I do not intend to be an alarmist. And I am not saying this is a certainty. I am merely pointing out that such a probability is non-zero. Nobody can predict the future. But I believe we can influence it. Didn't they say tomorrow's position is today's decision?