China: Why China's next earthquake might be political

World Tribune ^ | 05/26/08 | Sol Sanders

[TigerLikesRooster]

Why China's next earthquake might be political

The “c” in China has always stood for catastrophe. Whether it has been those of nature, man-made political disasters, or a combination of both, no other civilized society has suffered more down through the centuries than the ancient Chinese polity. That was true in the old, dynastic, traditional China, captured in the melodrama of Pearl S. Buck’s novels which despite their lack of sophistication were a representation of what “the real China” was like.

In our own time, the chaos, destruction and loss of life during the two-decade long Japanese invasion and Occupation followed by the civil war, took millions of lives. The incredible butchery of the Maoists cannot be exaggerated: as many as 50 million people died in the famines brought on by The Great Helmsman’s attempt to short circuit modernization [and hang on to power] with his Great Cultural Revolution.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[kms61]

fascinating article.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Right. It sums up nicely what Chinese regime faces.

[Carry_Okie]

I wonder if I see transport aircraft in China's future: We develop it, Airbus builds the prototypes, and then the Chinese manufacture them and sell them back to us?

Yeah, I'm getting that cynical.

[TigerLikesRooster]

I suspect that a real upheaval comes to China before your scenario materializes.

[Carry_Okie]

Hope so. It’s high time “investors” realized that there’s a down side to globalisation.

[GWB00]

Interesting article. I just got back from China on Friday and this earthquake is a much bigger thing than our Western media has portrayed it to be.

I believe it will have consequences on Bejing as the writer suggests and that is why the government has been trying to be so proactive & open about the situation.

This was my fourth trip to China. The one thing that has struck me is that globalization is here to stay and China will play a big role no matter what happens.

This may sound as controversial as saying to liberals the earth warming is not man-made, but we as country nor the West are not going to roll back and build TV & hand tool factories again. What has taken the West 150 years to achieve, China is doing it in 20 years driven by technology & cheaper labor.

We need to continue to look for ways to advance our economies and not play a victim to China's success. I think we can succeed (to borrow a phrase,"Yes We Can"!). One thing a Westerner will note immediately, our standard of living is exponentially higher than the average citizen in China. Having said all of the above, I think we should make it a priority to address the real potential military threat of China..

PS I realize my comments will inundate me with a barrage of hate filled mail and comments to the discourse level of DU.

[jdsteel]

Have you seen any indications in your travels that the Chinese people are now looking at their communist government as an impediment to stability? How obvious was the concerns of having enough food? Are they really blaming the Olympics for many of their problems? Thanks in advance for any insight into these issues.

[hobbitslikepotatoes]

http://www.aboluowang.com/news/data/2008/0602/article_50250.html

Nothing.Just tomorrow is a memorial day to 89’s Tian’an men massacres.

And I love this song very much.

[TigerLikesRooster]

That is right. Once a monumental event now faded from public’s memory, only to resurface on a bigger scale later. Probably in a not-so-distant future.