US China expert Kenneth Lieberthal criticises Japan

Kenneth Lieberthal is talking in riddles. Some say he is quoted out of context by the Chinese media. Others thought that he was speaking with a conscience. Or was this a Freudian slip? 

China's economic and military leverage has certainly strengthened in recent years. 

Unlike most who sided with Japan recently, Lieberthal ought to know the history well. Japan's acquisition of the islands was a gift on the silver platter from American troops at a time when China was weak and rebuilding the country, unable to resist losing its territories to aggressors. 

Japan and its supporters cannot change the facts that the islands were under Chinese jurisdiction during the Ming dynasty with documented evidence and the recognition accorded by the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration.   

If Japan indeed believes that it has a strong case, it would not need to posture, nationalise or buy up the Diaoyutai islands. Whether by historical or territorial boundaries, Japan lacks ammunition to stake claims, except with its loud complaining voice and encouragement of its military ally. It is orchestrated with the Philippines and Vietnam to exert pressure on China when it's vulnerable during leadership change.

Japan broke consensus with China on Diaoyu Islands

Updated: 2012-09-21  

WASHINGTON - The Japanese government's bid to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands hadbroken its consensus with China to shelve the territorial dispute, a US expert said Thursday. 

"First of all, I think that Japan's actions have been key in explaining what China has done," saidKenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who had been the seniordirector for Asia at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration.

Speaking at a symposium at the Washington-based think tank, he also admitted it was a "hugemistake" when US government officials made comments that suggested Washington did have aposition on the dispute. 

"I think that does us no good. And occasionally, some comments like that have come out,"Lieberthal said. "I think that they are regrettable."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-09/21/content_15774792.htm

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63260542-brookings-s-lieberthal-interview-on-china-s-diplomacy.html

Nevertheless, China should not, has not and would not throw away what its hard won respect and gains built up over the years through diplomacy.  As we write, both countries are holding consultations. Clearly escalation would neither benefit China nor Japan. 

The onus is really on Japan to resolve the crisis fairly. This is unlikely with a right-wing domination of the Japanese government bent on militarising bilateral issues at the expense of economic benefits and regional stability. However, China unlike the US does not partake in regime change around the world. 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/25/c_131872241.htm

London Riots - the case for strong family values, security forces, leadership, but no time for social excuses to dodge problems

In the absence of effective policing and clear guideline of when and how to intervene, the mobs which were ignited by an apparent vendetta crossed the acceptable threshold and all hell broke loose. It had never crossed their mind to call in the military for backup as it is inconsistent with democratic practices. Affording human rights to those who dare has deprive basic rights to the majority who abided by the law. Where is fairness?

No matter what humanistic socialists argue and seem bought over by lame excuses by rioters of the social and economic causes and citing similar stealing by filthy rich bankers in the subprime crisis, the bottomline is that violence is unjustifiable. Two wrongs will not make one right.

Have sympathy for the middle class being squeezed and has to bear the brunt of societal problems.  Many were innocent victims of unscrupulous capitalists and greedy looters. The rights and safety of the majority of good people ought to be protected by the state.

Consequently, the horrors have led some to call for a review of unchecked and ill-disciplined "liberalism".  Prior to the London riots, no one has acknowledged or taken notice of the continuing decay in western society decades.  While religious studies have taken a back seat in the name of secularism, it was moral hollowness with tacit support from government and society that should be blamed.

The decline of family education and imparting ethics and values is the foremost and primary cause for the decline in reason and decency. Families have become utterly dysfunctional. Though not all single parents are non-chalant about educating their young, many struggle with jobs to make ends meet and family support from spouses (whether former or current partners) is sorely lacking.  Is it better to have "tiger mums" than no control at all? People are now paying for the price of freedom.

A handful of middle class individuals who partook in the looting were not poor but driven by greed, self conceit and malice.  There is no fostering of ethics or morality at home as parents are too busy trying to make ends meet or are cursed as single parent families.  Who would provide the guidance when politicians, big businesses and military did not live by social norms, ethics, incorruptibility and public good.

Two generations ago, many in our extended family lived in poverty but it never crossed their mind to enrich by dishonest means or steal from those who have more, even if they possess are ill-gotten wealth. The stories of seizure of lands by landlords and hard-hearted factory owners are familiar and had at one time formented pressure for socialist revolution. These were averted because conditions improved. Majority of the poor were able to climb the social ladder through education, apprenticeship, small business and working overseas.  What we are certain is that tsituation for the have-nots will worsen if they harbour negative thoughts, get addicted to drugs and live socially irresponsible lifestyle.
As concerns surface over the security of Olympics complex in the wake of the riots, notice that China did not do the ungentlemanly act of criticising London's incapability in hosting the Olympics 2012. This is a stark contrast to western media and official jeering and support for riots and killings in Tibet in the runup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Events similar to the London riots could happen anywhere in the world's big cities where social tensions, dysfunctional families and ineffective state protection.  Some cities in the US, such as Philadelphia, are on high alert to avoid similar disorder and damage to the infrastructure. According to recent BBC news reports, curfew has been imposed on youths entering the historic part of Philadelphia. But is that too little too late to overhaul societal ills?

Who is Chinese defector / dissident / blogger / spy novelist Yang Hengjun?

Before anyone throw their weight behind dissidents who dared to stand up against the mighty Chinese government, ask if you really know who is this latest enigma who disappeared and reappeared : Yang Hengjun 杨恒均.

http://baike.baidu.com/view/1005189.htm

After the big uproar over secret police detaining Yang, he has emerged and appeared to have taken ill and was hospitalised. His mobile ran out of power.  Many speculations have been thrown up, the most popular being the all powerful Chinese government bowing down and seeking compromise? More like journalists who built up a storm in the teacup trying to save face. Firstly, it is unlikely that the Chinese authorities would arrest and release a criminal so quickly. Don't they always plan and plot against the enemies? One possibility is some upstart in the police had overreacted and acted on the own accord. Yang's activities are indeed dubious and cause some concern. It is not suprising that it should come under scrutiny.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/03/30/mystery-deepens-as-missing-australian-writer-contacts-friends/

Yang Hengjun is no innocent retiree contented with writing spy novels. He has an axe to grind. He even has a website which churns out dozens of articles a week which are strident and harsh towards the Chinese government. In an interview conducted by danwei in 2008, Hengjun acknowledged that the Chinese authorities are less stringent and have not been as rigorous in censoring his blog articles.

http://www.danwei.org/blogs/cnbloggercon_2008_interview_se.php
http://yanghengjun.com/

Before becoming an Australian, Yang Hengjun worked for China's foreign affairs department.  He "retired"  from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and became a successful businessman.   Yang is by all counts a part of the Chinese elite, having received his education in Fudan university and later worked as a senior government official, coveted position hankered by millions of educated Chinese. Yang had also earned two higher degrees from Wales and University of Technology Sydney.

Should we believe the words of people in the likes of Yang wholesale without questioning any more than we distrust and condemn the CCP so willingingly? We know some former Chinese officials who live among us who have conducted businesses on the sideline and accumulated wealth.  The likely path was to empty their assets from China, a common figure of speech for planning an escape after one has dug enough gold and want to avoid being caught. Yet many of us in western countries and the free world admire these ex-Chinese officials who denounce their former governments even though they have much unexplained intrigues attached to their biodata. Those who are always inclined to point to the massive corruption of the Chinese bureaucracy and CCP are willing to forget Yang and the others' past. To give them the benefit of doubt, maybe Yang and others have reformed. But the bottomline is that these dissidents capitalising on their advantage of possessing a foreign passport have no right to claim moral high ground.
The backdrop of liberal democratic 'jasmine' revolutions in the Middle East would have caused many long reigning governments and regimes to take precautions. The jitters have rippled to the ordinary folks as well. Upheavals, no matter how one justifies it, would be disruptive in the short run.  It is certainly difficult to rationalise one happening in China now. More unacceptable is when these are supported by external parties.

Yang is utterly irresponsible when he called on Chinese citizens to go to Tiananmen if they wanted to show patriotism. Must change necessarily accompany bloodshed? The TAM incident was a grave mistake on the part of the intransigent students and the government crackdow. It is not unique in the history of developing country and developed nations in the past. Like some so-called victims Tiananmen many of us may know personally, stories were often exaggerated or even concocted to gain a passport to a better life overseas.  The true heroes stayed behind - some unfortunately sacrificed their lives, some were detained and many more are living a peaceful lives now. There are many channels Chinese citizens could express their views on social issues and complaints are taken seriously and do see the day of light.

When the populace and netizens rally behind the Chinese government, it is not considered democracy. It must be brainwashing based on the assumption that Chinese people have no minds or voices or their own at all.  Freedom of speech does not work both ways. Pro-western idealists, activists and liberal commentators who criticise the CCP and Chinese patriotism are beyond reproach.

Thousands of years ago when Chinese historians first documented significant events, there have been numerous cases of insiders who either failed in their duty as gatekeepers or collaborated with foreigners to invade China. Some are deemed traitors who worked solely for their personal interests and gains while others' motivations and goals are less clearly defined or determinable when they claimed to save the populace from tyrants. The Chinese civilisation has lasted many centuries, longer than the glorious Romans and Greek could claim credit for. Surely, they must have got many things right.