Wednesday, October 16, 2019
The China Problem
It’s a pity that concocted scandals have recently overridden items of genuine importance in the news cycle. Hong Kong is still teetering on the edge of a commie bloodbath.
We can hope that sober minds prevail but the “party” that brought us the Tiananmen purge is still as ruthless, cruel, and totalitarian as it was from the days of its inception. This is a country that literally censors a cartoon character (Winnie the Pooh) because some citizens were saying he looked like their “leader for life.” What utter fools.
The issues of our time that annoy me most — like the current fabrications against the American president — are the one’s that defy the most basic attributes of common sense. Citizens of Hong Kong — a free and prosperous region under China’s...thumb — wish to remain free. This should hardly be an issue for debate. The Communist Party of China (like most communist institutions) has never been about debate anyway, and certainly not about the freedom to do so. Collectivism is always about power. In practice its brutality drawfs the accusations directed at capitalism. At a communist “revolution’s” start, they may throw in a few ineffective welfare programs to get the ball rolling but, in the end, socialism’s only goal is to establish total rule by “philosopher kings” — people who think they should control your life (and, think they are philosophers).
The Chinese Communist Party’s circumstance this time around is very problematical for them. They don’t really care if they are seen by the world as cruel or evil so a Tiananmen-style crackdown wouldn’t be beyond their options. Their concern now is that a major cash cow and conduit to world finance isn’t cooperating with the latest attempted power grab.
The protesters — common citizens — who are now defying these ruthless and dishonest tyrants are the true heroes of our time. They wish to be free...and China doesn’t want them to be — it is that simple (!)
I don’t think anyone is in a position to guess how this will play out in the end. The authoritarian government in Beijing is waaaay overextended in energy, money, and resources. The mass-surveillance state is expensive and, with Obama and other globalist hacks no longer occupying the White House, the gravy train isn’t as reliable as it once was (Obama certainly could not have been accused of following a policy of “America First”). A massive system of domestic spies, “reeducation” camps, and propaganda crusades are costly, particularly in view of the fact that they are spread out across western China and Tibet as well as ....everywhere else in China.
I went to China a distant seventeen years ago. I keep a blog account up describing my experience there, even though it was so long ago. Most of what I had written is still quite valid today. Under Xi Jinping, a massive campaign to reinvigor the party’s grip on society has no doubt made things as bad or worse for those who wish to live freely. Add to that the technological edge the surveillance police state now holds over everyone.
Unfortunately, as in every country, there are fools who are more than happy to kiss the ass of tyrants — the result of being too stupid to question one’s circumstance or lacking the will to challenge injustice. A more reasonable cause for concern is fear. The party can hurt you, as they usually do to anyone who disagrees with their self-deification. I still find it rather amazing that more citizens of China can’t effectively discern the difference between China and the communist party. It’s understandable that one would have feelings of patriotism for one’s country and culture. It’s ridiculous that a sane person would have feelings of fondness and loyalty for a 19th century German ideology (Hegel and Marx) that was imposed on them and, in practice, can do little more than enslave, coerce, and murder on a mass scale. The fact remains, “China” and “The Communist Party” are not the same thing. China is a great culture with a remarkable history that contains unlimited potential for good in the world and its future. The Communist Party is a cruel authoritarian/totalitarian enterprise born of foreign philosophies that seek to subdue the human spirit for the benefit of a small clique of elitist social planners.
Does anyone truly believe that Tibet, Taiwan, and Hong Kong would not actively seek affiliation with China if it were a free and open society?
Excuses excuses... the Communist party often tries to justify its oppressive and violent hand as the necessary means of keeping order. In their fanciful view of life, without them in charge, all manner of chaos would break loose. Thus we again see the pendulum-paradox of radical politics. Forces of chaos seek to destroy traditional stable society, and once in power, seek to maintain their grip with rigid inflexibility. Hannah Arendt said it best, writing something to the effect that “It is widely known that the most radical revolutionary becomes a conservative the day after the revolution.” Of course, by “conservative” she didn’t mean a 19th century free market believer in natural rights but, the more generic definition as one opposed to change.
Everywhere communism has been imposed, people have lived in bondage under threat of imprisonment, torture, starvation, or execution. The “justice and equality” promised is nonexistent and the collective journey to hell is codified and enforced. Communism has always been a disease that spreads. If China is permitted to continue its influence and domination, it will eventually be at our door step — no matter where you live. Does any sane person really want to live in a society where all hope, progress, and happiness is constrained by a small group of cruel overlords?
There truly is an evil empire in our midst. Stand with a future where the pursuit of happiness is not a crime. Stand with the heroic citizens of Hong Kong!
