Sunday, July 26, 2020

Defiling And Destroying



Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner argues that Donald Trump and William Barr have declared war on China because they know Trump is going to lose. They will claim that China has interfered with the American election, and attempt to negate Joe Biden's election victory. Whether that's the real reason for their hostility to China or not, Ezra Vogel writes it's a huge mistake -- because it pits not just China but a good portion of Asia against the United States:

U.S. officials are now attacking the Chinese Communist Party — and reportedly weighing a sweeping travel ban against members — without realizing its complexity and diversity. It is no longer the party that exemplifies the communist goals of Stalin or Mao. After Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978, the party was transformed into an organization to represent the nation. The Party includes people who have been pro-American, including business people, scientists and intellectuals. But when Americans attack the Communist Party as a whole, members — particularly those who would like to see more democratic procedures — rally to support the Party and, by extension, the nation.
In the half century since I became a professor of East Asian studies at Harvard, I have had the pleasure of teaching many Chinese students, some of whom stayed in the United States and others who returned to China. I have also come to know many Chinese students and faculty who studied at Harvard but were not my students. I have visited China at least once a year over the past four decades and have often met those students and scholars who returned home to China.
Many were excellent students in the United States. They were open to new ideas and enjoyed the intellectual freedom. In the past several years, as U.S.-China relations have become more polarized, returnees have faced new constraints on their freedom in China. Many find creative ways to stretch their freedom while staying out of trouble. They want to be loyal to China while remaining friends of the United States. But when they read of Americans attacking China with accusations that are not true — such as saying that the coronavirus was purposely engineered in a Wuhan laboratory — this strengthens their patriotism and willingness to support the Chinese government against Washington.
Many returnees have advanced important policies, such as establishing rules that required payments to American firms for intellectual property or standards applied by institutions such as the United Nations. Former premier Zhu Rongji fought to gain membership in the World Trade Organization so that China would be forced to make internal changes that meshed with those of international organizations. China chose as the head of its new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) someone who had served in both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and who wanted to make the AIIB one that followed world standards. 
Our Americans sent to China by the Fulbright program have done a marvelous job of establishing academic relationships and making important connections. Now the United States has said that it would be suspended. Americans who took part in the program and Chinese friends who responded positively now feel abandoned by the country that once sought their friendship.

Just as Trump threw out Barack Obama's infrastructure to deal with pandemics, he's now burning the bridges the United States built with China. It should be patently obvious: Trump defiles and destroys everything he touches.

Image: You Tube

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

As always, cui bono? Seems to me that China's northern neighbour has the most to gain from these developments.

Cap

Owen Gray said...

Point well taken, Cap. Trump is making the world safe for thugs.

The Disaffected Lib said...

My, my, my. Is this plausible? Entirely. I subscribe to Kirshner's YouTube channel. He posts almost every day. Good stuff.

Today the Times of London has a report claiming that BoJo and company are "desperate" for a Biden win in November. The reporter cites as sources a member of the Johnson cabinet and a serving diplomat. In other words this isn't gossip, it's a deliberate leak.

BoJo has apparently concluded that Trump is a dead man walking. Trump is legendary for his reaction to perceived disloyalty. I can't imagine No. 10 risking that without having done the calculus.

"One senior UK diplomat, who asked not to be named, told Insider earlier this month that a Biden presidency would bring a welcome end to the "venal corruption" of the Trump era.

"'A lot of stuff will change if Biden wins," the diplomat said.

"'The venal corruption of the Trump family and the nasty narcissistic aspects of his behavior — all that will go with a different sort of president," they said."

Trump must be seething.

Owen Gray said...

I'm sure he is, Mound. And if he can't win the prize, he'll try to take the whole house down with him.

jrkrideau said...

The idea of banning CPC members and families is brilliant. It must have taken Trump, Millar and Jarred working on it.

The South China Morning Post has published estimates that the ban would cover 80 million party members and round out to a total of 300 million people overall. That's about 20% of the population of China. So much for any contact between the US and China; I can see a glut of soybeans in the US Mid-West.

Owen Gray said...

Remember, jrk, Trump declared bankruptcy six times before he became president.

jrkrideau said...

@ Owen 5:03 pm

Ah yes, I keep forgetting it was six times. Once or twice, bad luck, six times a real talent.

Possible planning and foresight are not his strongest points.

Owen Gray said...

It seems pretty clear, jrk, that Trump doesn't learn from his mistakes.