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My comment: Three articles are must-reads.
(a) The first two are about US, while the third apply equally to both US and
Taiwan, for it gradually came to focus in the past decade that aborigines
of Taiwan seeded the unpopulated islands from Easter to New Zealand starting
several thousand years ago.
(b) The first article, in particular, deals with a "rising" China (I do not
agree, for China's current GDP share in the world is about the same as that
in 1911, the last year of Ching/Qing dynasty). The third article reinforces
my argument that Taiwan has been a sea power since time immemorial.
(1) Joshua Kurlantzick, Dazzled by Asia: When Will China Lead the World? Don
't Hold Your Breath. Boston Globe, Feb. 7, 2010.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/02/07/dazzled_by_asia/
Excerpt in the window of the print: People in many Asian nations have
extremely negative views of their neighbors--even though they maintain
positive images of the United States.
Quote:
"The future of American power is a vital question. America’s foreign policy
choices will be directed by judgments about the United States’ staying
power, and how the United States, like Britain before it, should adapt to
new powers emerging on the scene. If, as [Martin] Jacques[, a prominent
columnist for The Guardian; see web page 1] argues, America’s influence
will naturally fade while Asia’s grows, Washington should adopt policies
similar to Britain’s in the mid-20th century - ceding influence over large
portions of the world while working to ensure that it remains an important
player on a few key issues.
"Conversely, if it is not to be Asia’s century, Washington’s strategy
would be radically different. No concessions of fading glory:
(2) David Sanger, The Debtor the World Still Bets on. New York Times, Feb. 7
, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/weekinreview/07sanger.html?scp=1&sq=sanger%20debtor&st=cse
("One of the many things that makes the United States different is that it
prints the world’s most important currency and can always print more * * *
There is also value in being the one nation on which the world still depends
for security." And another, arguably the most important, is confidence in
US.)
(3) Wendy Smith, Book Review | 'Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power,
and Civilization' by Steven Solomon. What substance has played the most
decisive role in human history? Is it oil? Gold? Think again, says the
author of a broad, provocative look at water as 'an agent of change.' Los
Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 2010.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-steven-solomon7-2010feb07,0,383078.story
I argue:
(a) Historically China has been a land power (when it was strong), and never
a sea power. Indeed China never had a navy.
(b) Historically Taiwan has been a naval power. It was not a nation. But
various forces (from Japanese to Koxinga, as well as his father) ravaged the
sea and Eastern Seaboard of China. In the two dynasties of Ming and Ching/
Qin 清朝, China was so afraid of pirates that it
imposed 海禁.
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发表于 2-7-2010 12:36:20
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