China: Growing Pains
May 15th, 2008It is of passing interest to those interested in karmic events that both Burma and China have experienced cataclysmic disasters within a week of each other. Does repression carry its own energy?
I’ve talked about Burma but for China this is becoming a very difficult year. It was supposed to be a huge celebration, the coming out party for the slightly post-communist leviathan and a party to show the world what an amazing country it was. Alas the Tibet demonstrations rained on that parade and now the earthquake has really taken away the focus. Indeed many Chinese were unhappy that the Olympic torch procession was carrying on as normal and this saw an immediate response by the authorities who scaled back the daily relay.
This shows that the Chinese government is very senstive to public feeling within China and is keen to always be on the right side of its citizens if not those who live outisde its borders. This sensitivity has been increasing over the last 10 years and with the Olympics putting China centre stage, the rallying call for a strong sense of nationhood has been blasted out from all points. From all accounts it seems to be working.
It’s nearly 20 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. It holds memories for me because I was in Northern Pakistan at the time, coming to the end of nearly 2 years away backpacking and working during my OE from London, and getting ready to cross the Khunjerab Pass into Western China. The idea was to head across China and catch the Trans Siberian home. It didn’t happen. I was with my Kiwi girlfriend (now my wife!) and we met an English guy who had just crossed over from China and told us the news. We were completely cut off and had no idea what ws going on. This was from the days of getting your post from the GPO Poste Restante service. Oh for an internet cafe. It was clear then that it wasn’t a good idea to cross over so we abandoned that idea and headed back down.
China has come a long way in 20 years. Sure it still is pretty ruthless when it comes to repressing dissent or “dangerous groups” like Falun Gong. And yes it still executes a lot of criminals though they say that rate is falling. It has built an enormous economy with a massive trade surplus which has enabled it to move overseas to secure resources and assets. It is however still unsure of its rightful place in the world. It’s military continues to expand posing a threat to Taiwan as well as giving itself plenty of muscle in the worlds’ oceans historically the preserve of the US Navy and before that the Royal Navy.
2008 is a big year for China. How it handles it should give us some idea of how it will turn out in the years ahead. Can it open itself up and with that accept the good and the bad, the praise and the criticism or will it revert to control and repression. Let’s hope its the former.
Tags: china, economics, human rights, repression, war
May 20th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Asia certainly has had more than its fair share of misery recently. But if there is such a thing as Karma, did the gods really need to inflict this suffering on the poorest and weakest? Hard to reconcile.
Clearly there is a connection between political/economic status and the degree to which natural disasters impact on ordinary citizens. Rapid economic growth in China has clearly led to some cutting of corners on the construction front. Schools and offices don’t just fall over for no reason. Is there such thing as an earthquake building code? My heart broke when I saw them pulling that little boy out alive from under a jumbled wreck of concrete. The kid was the same age as my son.
I shouldn’t be so smug. A 7.8 quake would wipe out much of downtown Wellington, despite our high building standards. But at least the Chinese government are mobilising fully to help their people. Contrast this with the absolutely pathetic response by the idiot generals in Burma. Their lethargy could prove to be their undoing in the long term.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:24 am
You’re right that studies show poorer countries (ie per capita income) suffer more from natural disasters. It makes sense when you think they have poorer infrastructure, less income to spend on regulations around safety and the environment.
But China has shown how much it has come on in recent years. It’s more open and reacts more swiftly to these types of events. It is acutely aware of its image to foreigners unlike Burma. So it shows that more open economies can help societies to open up. The Olympics has been a huge part of that process.
Burma, on the other hand, is still a monstrous regime and has reacted in the manner of an abusive system in meltdown, unaware of its actions, unable to see itself as others see it. And all reinforced by the lame regional and global organisations that fling wet bus tickets at it from time to time whilst quietly doing business in arms and resources.
Eventually the generals will go. Quietly or noisily it rarely matters. The people have suffered for a long time. I remember back 20 years when i was near the Thai/Burma border with the Karen people. Even then it was bad.
I’m surprised the UN didn’t do a targeted air drop under humanitarian regulations. And maybe one day we will see the generals in the dock at the International Court of Justice.