Despite what it calls its "peaceful rise," China is an abnormal country. The US Department of Defense has said that the Chinese military's development of long-range missiles, submarines and fighter jets exceed its national security needs.
While China's military technology is highly advanced, most of its people live in poverty.
The quality of life is low and some of the country's exported food and toothpaste products are even toxic.
China espouses a peaceful rise and the creation of a wealthy country with a strong army. Although these are legitimate goals, the problem lies in China's definition of what a wealthy country and a strong army mean.
China also pursued these ideals toward the end of the Qing Dynasty (清) but failed to take the needs of the public into account and in the end the dynasty could not be saved from itself.
The US became a superpower after the end of World War II. It built a wealthy country and a strong army based on a democratic liberal system.
On the other hand, the Soviet Union adopted a communist dictatorship at the cost of freedom, with the result that neither the country nor its people prospered.
The Soviet Union did manage to build a strong country, but it nevertheless collapsed.
Japan and some European countries adopted democratic, liberal systems without vowing to become rich countries with strong militaries and still managed to prosper.
China has adopted a dictatorial communist political system and an economic system with some capitalist characteristics. This mix contains both the strengths and the weaknesses of the two systems.
On the one hand, China's long-range missiles are capable of threatening the US and are able to shoot down satellites.
On the other hand, China seems incapable of resolving its serious environmental issues, such as water pollution, mining disasters, rampant corruption and food safety challenges.
China relies on cheap labor and foreign investment to mass produce products it then dumps overseas.
In light of its enormous foreign reserves, it appears to be a rich country, but this wealth is spent expanding the military and not on improving living standards.
In the coastal areas where the corrupt privileged class relies on foreign investment and profits from the privatization of state-owned businesses, some people are wealthy enough to be listed among the world's richest people by Forbes magazine.
In the country, though, most farmers are so poor that they can't manage to make ends meet.
The tremendous gap between rich and poor in China is worse than that in capitalist countries.
The dictators in Beijing have no international enemies but are still rushing to strengthen the military.
On the domestic side, though, laborers are being abused and farmers are being oppressed.
This is not the image of a strong country.
With such a rigid political system, inflated and unbalanced economy and chaotic policies, China is its own worst enemy.
Thus, talk of making public welfare the first priority has become just that -- talk.
If China's only pursuit is to build a rich country and a strong military, the bursting of its economic bubble will cause it to collapse in the same way the Soviet Union did.
Shen Chieh is a US-based freelance writer.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS