“May you live in interesting times” is a Chinese saying meant to be taken ironically – it’s best appreciated by another saying, “Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos!” And against that background, the American economic and strategic moves to contain China’s rise just made our times much more “interesting”!! After all, look what poking the Russian Bear’s rump in Europe got us into a shortage of flour across the world since Ukraine and Russia are two of the biggest exporters of wheat.
But from a realpolitik standpoint, your Eyewitness sorta understands the situation in Europe. There, Putin the Authoritarian showed all signs of following in the footsteps of Stalin – or Fredrick the Great if you will – to build Russia into a “European” power. The USSR had fallen apart through the weight of its own pretensions and contradictions. If you think trying to have a Cadillac lifestyle in a donkey-cart economy is ridiculous, imagine trying to match the US militarily when you can’t even produce a tractor!! The US become the sole superpower left standing fter 1989!! But shorn of its restless satellites, Putin fels he can build Greater Russia into a power competitor in the heart of Europe.
He’d already challenged the US in the Middle East and come out on top in Syria; cosying up with nuclear-ambitious Iran as a card-carrying member of OPEC!! Not to mention undermining the fragile egos of leaders like Biden with his bare-chested wrestling with bears and suchlike!!! Can’t trust such a chap to know his place, can you??! So lo and behold, he took the bait when Ukraine signalled they were gonna be joining NATO – an alliance constructed to counter Russia – and attacked. Insisted needed “strategic depth”!!
And ditto for China – which the US carefully nurtured for 4 decades so it’s about to surpass them economically within a decade and militarily – maybe right now!! America knows from the days of Athens and Sparta that China’s gonna challenge their hegemony any day now!! So it’s been slowly trying to put together strategic alliances to contain the Chinese Dragon – with its pretensions of becoming the globally pivotal Middle Kingdom once again! Its latest gambit is the QUAD – comprised of itself, India, Japan and Australia.
So, is China gonna feel claustrophobic of being hemmed in by the American pincer moves in the South China Seas and the pacific?? You betcha!! Some feel the US’ insistence on taking on – and hopefully taking out – Russia, is simply a preliminary move to deny China an ally in Europe.
But it’s precisely when an aspirant to Great power status – Like Germany in 1939is stymied, it might overreach!!
…in Dragon here??
We had three hundred of colonization by the West – never mind Gabriel Marquez’ “One hundred years of solitude”!! We were never cut off from the tentacles of Western power through the myriad forms assumed – art, culture, language, politics, economics and so on. But in all those years we in the South were never “settler colonies”. The bottom line was, that the British for example would live here for a while, crack their whips but in the end return to Old Blighty to end their days.
Even when the Americans took over from the Brits – after installing Burnham in power – they never descended on us like the proverbial swarm of locusts. They even built our first Airport – where CJIA now stands – and stationed troops during WWII, but they got out before Sparrow could sing, Jean and Dina!! Well, there’s a new colonizer in town – the Chinese. Unlike the West, they send in their citizens to actually settle here.
How’d we deal settler colonialism??
…gender equality??
In a revolutionary decision our Chief Justice – who not so incidentally happens to be female – just ruled that men can sue their wives for alimony when divorcing!! With women rightfully fighting for equal rights, they shoulda be expected to be saddled with equal responsibilities!!
