Don’t Buy the ‘Peace and Love’ Party Line

Regional tension in Europe has largely disappeared since the end of the Cold War. In Asia, however, the region faces a crisis greater than any during the Cold War because of China’s insistence on establishing hegemony and its support for North Korea.

At a time when most political activities are motivated by economic interests rather than ideology, communism is still used to justify dictatorships in China and North Korea. At a recent conference in Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao reportedly stated, “In terms of ideological management, we must learn from North Korea and Cuba. Pyongyang is currently facing economic difficulties, but on a political level, it has consistently remained correct.” Hu’s remarks are surprising. They inadvertently reveal the real nature of communist rule.

China and North Korea censor ideas and exercise tight control over free speech as they seek to silence any philosophy other than communism. It is a historical fact that before communism, mainland China lacked a civil society. Following the demise of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, strife among warring factions continued to cause havoc and disorder. Except for Hong Kong and Macau, which were under European sovereignty for nearly 150 years, and Taiwan, which freed itself from the legacy of Chiang Kai-shek’s repressive rule through democratization, the people of China have not had the chance to experience a civil society.

When we consider China’s growing global presence, it is important to know the central government’s true intent. One indicator is Beijing’s persistent territorial claims and military buildup. This hegemonic stance is outdated. China has already annexed Tibet (a region inhabited by a different ethnic group with a unique culture) and continues to claim sovereignty over territories near the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan.

Beijing’s nature can also be seen in its pretext of its “one nation, two systems” principle, under which China’s leaders falsely tout their economic liberalization. We can liken the industrial process to a river: Creating and developing new products represent the upstream. Mass production forms the midstream. The ability to distribute and market the goods is the downstream. China’s economy currently functions in midstream only, with its economy depending on excessively cheap wages earned under inhumane conditions, with no labor unions allowed.

China’s recent acquisition of IBM’s personal computer division -- no longer on the cutting edge in the United States -- also demonstrates the nation’s limited ability to develop new technology. China has shown no scruples in its blatant pirating and counterfeiting of new products created through the economic upstreams of other nations. The World Trade Organization must monitor such behavior.

Although China’s growing economy is seen by the West as a new global market, this growth serves to maintain Beijing’s military modernization and also acts to justify the authoritarian rule of the Communist Party, which has achieved success through its hegemonic stance toward the rest of Asia. The nation’s uncontrolled development, much like the disorganized state of its construction sites, has caused an apocalypse of environmental destruction. In some parts of the Yellow River, one of the world’s major rivers, water flow has come to a virtual standstill.

There are also countless contradictions in China’s massive income gap. At a motor show held in Beijing, several Chinese millionaires vulgarly displayed their wealth by purchasing top-of-the-line DaimlerChryslers. In an interview afterward, one of the wealthy customers said nonchalantly that luxury goods are a status symbol. Although several thousand of the new rich earn more than $930,000 a year, the annual wages of the more than 1 billion poor in China barely reach $350.

Despite official media restrictions, there are reports of public corruption being whitewashed by the government, whose desire to maintain a one-party dictatorship prevents it from questioning the abuses. Instead, the government incites a dangerous kind of patriotism to divert public frustration. Both implicitly and explicitly, the government has been supporting anti-Japanese sentiment by taking up the issue of wartime history between Japan and China.

A territorial dispute is also a convenient way to foment public sentiment. China has voiced outrageous claims to Japanese territory that was officially returned to Japan after an agreement with the United States.

Amid this climate of tension, the European Union is considering whether to lift its arms embargo against China. This derives from commercial greed among European nations. This is not simply a regional issue. As the world becomes smaller, the entire globe could easily be affected.

Many of us in civil society have been able to achieve freedom because of the great sacrifice made by our forebears. Can we really allow China, a defiant nation with massive political energy, to blatantly pursue its economic interests in the Asian region?