Africa: US, In; China, In; France, Out.

No continent suffers violence today on the level of Africa. Nor is there a land so massive and so poor. In the past few years, superpowers have ramped up strategies to exploit the land's resources and angle for military superiority. China has been building infrastructure in the south, to be paid in future oil deliveries. At the same time, the US has launched AFRICOM, a centralized military command.

One would think that the European Union would follow suit. Lest we forget that the most powerful nations in Europe a hundred years ago colonized all of Africa, divided the spoils, and left it in tatters after World War II. However, the EU seems to be turning the other way.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, midway through a trip through the continent has announced sweeping changes in his country's military power in Africa. Lately he's come under fire for France's recent involvement in the Chadian crisis. (Chad is a former French colony.) He said, "Defense agreements must reflect the Africa of today and not yesterday."

France has four bases throughout Africa, some of which are now rumored to be shut down. "It is unthinkable that the French Army should be drawn into domestic conflicts," Sarkozy said.

Western involvement on the continent, even when done with the best intentions, so often seems to be a refashioned colonialism, minus the guns, plus the paternalism. Only, France's move presents the quandary: naming quickly five massive conflicts -- Darfur, Southern Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and Kenya -- would the continent fare better left to its own devices?

 

The thought exercise may be a worthy one as France retreats, but neither China, nor the US, are going anywhere anytime soon.

[Image: movie poster for L'Afrance, 2001.]

ETA of China's Rise? Delayed, 100 Years.

Playing catchup is a tough game, especially when you're talking superpowers. And according to a piece in the Times by MIT Professor Lester Thurow, while many believe China will, in effect, catch the US this century, for a range of reasons--which include the Chinese government exaggerating the reporting on their economy--Thurow argues that China's century will not be this one, but the next.

Thurow ticks off a list of "implausibilities" put forth by official Chinese statistics. For instance, if the Chinese economy is growing at 10% or more annually, and 70% of the economy in rural areas were not growing, then (according to his math), cities would be growing at 33% a year. Thurow dismisses this as inflated.

Next, he matches economic growth rates to electricity consumption, and he finds provinces where GDP is outpacing energy use. And after a little more math, he decides that the Chinese economy is growing at 4.5 to 6% annually.

These seem worthwhile points for discussion, yet, where is the incentive for the Chinese to inflate their own numbers. With global markets so interconnected, and more, emerging markets taking so much money in from institutional investors, any gains reaped by exaggerated numbers would surely be paid for by the penalties incurred once push comes to shove, no?

Russian and China to Washington: Watch Us Play War!

It was a nine-day event that went by the name "Peace Mission 2007," and it took place in Chebarkul, Russia near the country's southern border with Kazakhstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao peered through black binoculars at their armed forces making an allied attack. On what? Empty houses that had been built to be blown up.

This wasn't the first time that the former superpower and soon-to-be superpower had played wargames before, but this was the largest display of unified power with 7,500 troops from the six countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) driving tanks across grassy fields and repelling out of helicopters, simulating an attack on a terrorist holdout.

The origins of the SCO date back to the mid-1990s, and today members (colored blue on the map at right) include: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer countries, and possible candidates to later join the club (colored in green): India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan.

According to Reuters, Putin said that the SCO does not serve as a countermeasure to NATO, despite the fact that "The SCO on Thursday sent NATO a thinly coded warning at its summit, saying the world must let the region resolve its own security."

It has also been said that the SCO was created in response to the threat of a US missile defense system. Interestingly, the US reportedly applied for observer status and was denied.

Considering the strained relationship between Russia and the US of late, are US and Western leaders sweating more than usual on their summer vacations this week?

Is China Communist? No.

by Andrew Bast

Pop Quiz! One question, and it seems simple. Q) Is China Communist? A) Yes, there are more than a billion commies living the Marxist utopian ideal in the East. B) No, they’re unforgiving, shrewd, money-hungry capitalists like the rest of us.

Correct answer: B.

China’s no more red than Michael Moore telling his accountant to buy low and sell high.

Where Has the Falun Gong?

Whither the Falun Gong?

As early as last summer, they seemed like they were everywhere. But for almost a year now, the Falun Gong, a.k.a. Falun Dafa, a religious and meditation group founded in the early 90’s by charismatic leader Li Hongzhi, have been conspicuously absent from the streets of New York.

Learn English the INSANE!!! Way

As Chinese citizens rush to become active members of the world economy, the demand for English speakers in China is skyrocketing. Among the many who are profiteering from this trend is Chinese-native Li Yang. His “Crazy English” method of teaching has an estimated 20 million devotees. In response to his success, several imitators have sprung up. What you are about to read is the press release of one such imitator. Any similarities to Li “Crazy Lee” Yang or his Crazy English method of teaching English are purely coincidental.]

Hi!!!

I’m Li Wang!!! You might know me from my English instructional tapes and books: “Insane English with Li Wang.”

But if you don’t know me, now you do!!! Hello, Insane Americans!!! Haaaahahahaha!!! I’m Li “Insane Lee” Wang, inventor of the “Insane English” method of teaching English to God’s Chosen people.

No, silly, not the Jews. The Chinese!!!!

You might be asking yourself: “Li, what is this ‘Insane English’ you speak of?”

Well, be patient, and I’ll tell you!!!! Haaaaahahaha!!!!

China's 21st Century

The Inquirer caught up with Ted C. Fishman this week to find out what he had to say about China. Fishman speaks often about the country and has authored China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World (Scribner, 2005), which has been translated into 25 languages.

The Inquirer: Let’s cut to the chase. China: should we be scared?

Ted Fishman: Yes, because facing the gallows focuses the mind. There has been a tendency to either stand petrified, or to analogize China to Japan in the 1970s as a benign and ultimately ineffectual challenger to U.S. economic interests. Both impulses are wrong. We should fear China as we did Japan, because out of that fear come solutions to every challenge we face.

You argue that the 20th Century belonged to the U.S., and the 21st will belong to China. Has the U.S. dropped the ball?

One-Party Rule's No Fun

Any dicussion of China would be incomplete without sufficient mention of human rights violations. There's the case of Zhao Yan, made quite public in the States by the New York Times, but it's hardly emblematic of the systematic abuses regularly carried out. A few instances:

• Seok Jae-hyun, a South Korean journalist was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of “trafficking in human beings” after he photographed Korean refugees boarding boats for South Korea. China regularly refuses to honor its commitment under the UN Refugee Convention to allow refugees access to refugee determination procedures.
• Lobsang Dhondup, a Tibetan, was executed only hours after his trial for “causing explosions” despite repeated reassurances to the U.S. and EU that his case would receive a “lengthy review.” Amnesty International recorded at least 726 executions in 2004 though they believe the true number to be much higher.
• Shaheer Ali, a member of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority who fled to Nepal and was granted refugee status by the UN, was forcibly returned to China where he was executed for “terrorist offenses.” Before his death he secretly provided testimony in which he describes being beaten and kicked unconscious and given electrical shocks during a previous detention. China has repeatedly used the “war on terrorism” to justify harsh repression of the restive Uighurs.
• Deng Shiying died the day of her release from prison where she was serving a seven-year sentence for disseminating information regarding persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. According to Falun Gong, immediately before her release, prison officials prompted other inmates to beat her. Since 1999 more than 800 people detained in connection with Falun Gong have died as a result of abuse or torture.

Eight-Minute Dating and the Ensuing Divorces in China

by Elizabeth Keenan

My perceptions of Chinese culture were formed early. A documentary that I watched in middle school about how much schooling Chinese kids were forced to endure—eight hours in regular school followed by several more after school—led me to believe that the Chinese never actually slept.

I can thank Amy Tan for my fear of female babies near bodies of water; when I see an adult Chinese woman walking around, I think she is “one of the lucky ones.” Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth shaped my theory that every Chinese couple is in an arranged marriage and secretly hates each other. I'll spare you my unhealthy fixation of older Chinese woman and their feet after learning about foot binding.

So imagine my surprise when my research into modern Chinese dating felt more like a trip into Western culture.

China's Investments in the Third World

China makes huge loans and donations of aid to neighboring countries for gargantuan construction projects quite often. The tradeoff is clear: poor Asian countries get roads, dams and other infrastructure. China gets a stable and accessible neighborhood in which to trade and develop its economy.

The Chinese loans compete with the World Bank and other traditional aid sources but offer funds without requiring environmental impact studies, relocation assistance for displaced people or penalties for corruption. Call it a competitive advantage.

A summary follows.