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Soft Power, Chinese-style, is a sexy term. Joshua Kurlantzick, in particular, has argued in his book Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming The World that China is gaining diplomatic ground at the United States’ expense, while America is preoccupied with Iraq and other issues. The results of the latest APEC summit could add credibility to this theory.
Countries should tell China to pressure Burma to open up. Countries should also boycott the Beijing Olympics. But these two actions shouldn't be mixed together.
HONG KONG -- Tibetan independence, as well as Taiwanese independence, are not lost causes, though their chances for success are very dim, at least for now. But Tibetans could make one fundamental compromise that would greatly enhance their chance of getting rid of Chinese rule: deal with what Tibet is today, and don't get bogged down in history.
In the Soviet Union's heyday, anyone who dreamed of the independence of any of the republics was considered insane. Then the USSR collapsed; today, Russia doesn't control any of the former republics. I certainly thought Indonesia would have never let East Timor go free, but I was very glad to be proven dead wrong. And Kosovo, amid very daunting circumstances, has recently declared its independence. China certainly won't give up Tibet given China’s current state of mind and status. But who knows what China will become in future?
In theory, Tibet is entitled to self-determination. A censored article written by a well-known human rights lawyer in Hong Kong presents a sound case for self-determination under international law. The question, as the current PostGlobal discussion is asking, is what its supporters should do to win it.
The Current Discussion: In his recent PostGlobal blog post, "The Ugly Chinese," commentator John Pomfret says the world's perception of China isn't as rosy as it used to be. Do you see China as a threat? Why? Why not?
HONG KONG – Clear-eyed observers of China are a rare breed, but Steven Mosher is one of them. In his brilliant 1991 book, China Misperceived: American Illusions and Chinese Reality, Mosher wrote:
"For the past two centuries, American perceptions of China have oscillated between the poles of love and hate. In brighter moments China was seen as the land of Marco Polo and Pearl Buck, peopled with wise, industrious, and courageous folk. But regularly, almost cyclically, the pendulum swung back, and the cruel and violent China of the Mongol hordes, the Boxer Rebellion, and the 'human wave' attacks reasserted itself. The Chinese heroes of the anti-Japanese resistance became the totalitarian masses of the 1950s, the riotous young rebels of the 1960s, the public-spirited proletarians of the 1970s, and the poor but deserving folk of the 1980s. The Tiananmen massacre has once again tilted the balance, and the pendulum has swung to the other dark extreme."
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