Comments from Walla on my article “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Outright Stupid”

Readers might have noticed that my articles would at times attract lengthy comments and additional facts or information from a certain Walla. Walla is an extremely knowledgeable man; he did his degree at the University of Malaya. Even though he has some health issue to cope, he lives happily with his wife in a suburb of Petaling Jaya. One of his great granduncles was none other than the great physician Dr Wu Lien-teh who was the first medical student of Chinese descent to study at the University of Cambridge and the first Malayan nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935. Another uncle of his was tasked with launching Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman, which is now called Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT).

I thought I should do justice to his effort and taking the liberty to forward his four sets of comments on my article to friends…

First Set of Comments:

Voltaire, France's greatest man of letters, Goethe, Germany's greatest poet, once wrote:

Reason, sensibility, philosophy, elevation, originality, nature, intellect, fancy, rectitude, facility, flexibility, precision, art, abundance, variety, fertility, warmth, magic, charm, grace, force, an eagle sweep of vision, vast understanding, instruction rich, tone excellent, urbanity, suavity, delicacy, correctness, purity, cleanness, eloquence, harmony, brilliancy, rapidity, gaiety, pathos, sublimity and universality—perfection indeed—behold Voltaire.”

Trump? the opposite, presumably. In fact, Greenstein of Princeton suggested six qualities that bear on presidential performance. They are: public communication, organisational capacity, political skill, vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence.

He opined Trump scores low on all except for public communication (read: lies) and political skill (read: mass manipulation); those skills were practiced by no less than Goebbels who said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

And their belief in him which has swept him into high office after two dramas in the mould of Sky TV's The Day Of The Jackal (psst: weekly episodes 6 & 7 of Season 1 a click away - now) will enable him to roll out the biggest mass deconstruction of US institutions, apexed in the US Supreme Court whose composition has been tilted by his first-term appointments of like-minded Kavanaugh and Barrett; as President-elect and with all three wings of the government under him, he will no doubt next fill the other posts being vacated by two retiring judges, thus paving the way for him to be not just President but also El Presidente, “Teflon-ized’ from all prosecutions of his past misdemeanours and paving the way for him to install the most right-wing conservative protectorate in American history since the days of the Roman Empire.

While his campaign to make America Great Again may carry a point or two, it will come at cost of seeding institutional chaos which in turn provides the very justifying excuse to grab more political power in the land of so-called democracy, thus self-reinforcing his core craving for reality-tv mass adulation.

That craving can be understood; enriched by his father's legacy, he went bust 6 times to the extent of even going broke running cash-cow casinos while stiffing payments to his suppliers, preening by allusion how smart was a relative in MIT, and saying as a property developer, it's all about construction, thus that Wall, however unfinished for being tunnelable, and yet Mexico has failed to pay for it. That's why by climbing to the land's highest office, he can now claim instant erasure of his past failures before the eyes of his frenzied supporters.

Today, this Wharton product, albeit of charlatanry not wall-street sell-side analysis, is ready to unleash the most disruptive force in global trade policy based on questionable tactics that remain the nightmare not just of world leaders but also bankers, traders and industrialists who think he is likely to do what he, fed on cheeseburgers and fringy tv news, has promised in his campaigns, all without facts and reasoning but only made up inchoately as only a perambulating Jack Sparrow might. To wit? the antithesis of his German roots. Except for a certain OCD fastidiousness.

Could it all be his poker play charade at the art of the deal by disrupting the cards table so as to pre-scare others to foist give-away concessions before sealing MOUs?

Alas for him, he forgets in the case of China which is his primary target for all blames, the Chinaman who is behind you as you enter through the hotel revolving door miraculously appears in the lobby in front of you. So said of the Shanghainese. China has more others; he has yet to meet a Fujianese. And the Teochew is on reserve.

Second Set of Comments:
Meanwhile, Trump has picked the following:

Marco Rubio (State); Howard Lutnick (Commerce); Matt Gaetz (AG); Peter Hegseth (Defense); Tulsi Gabbard (Intelligence); Robert F Kennedy, Jr (Health); Michael Walz (National Security) Kristi Noem (Homeland Security); Thomas Homan (Border); Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy (Efficiency); Lee Zeldin (Environment); Susie Wiles White House); Elsie Stefanik (UN); Douglas Burgum (Interior); Linda McMohon (Education); and John Radcliffe (CIA).

At time of going to LYB Press, the following have not been filled – Kash Patel (FBI); Lighthizer (Trade); Kevin Warsh, Marcus Rowan, William Hagerty, Scott Bessent (Treasury).

In any case, Trump rewards supporters, so behind Lutnick will be Lighthizer behind whom Navarro behind whom Bannon; all four are unreconstructed anti-China tariff-men and decouplers.

Unlike Xi’s technocrats who have already displayed publicly recorded achievements on their way up, it is apparent the abovenamed are just Trump loyalists who happen to be chosen because they are trumpeteers and Trump is insecure, thus needing yes-men who will toe his line and do as he has promised to his voters who remain bestirred and clueless to a fault on all important matters, and plainly too lazy to research and think through more thoroughly; even Musk almost came undone with Tesla and SpaceX but for a subsidy.

Furthermore, Trump has just asked his Vance to prevail upon the bipartisan Ethics Committee not to make public any report after it investigates Gaetz and Hegseth on their peccadilloes. What is there to hide if one is to be publicly answerable – unless there is, and one isn’t.

Third Set of Comments:
The other tedious note is on trade balance, tariff, and decoupling. Trump is under the mistaken notion trade deficits can be reduced and more jobs created by just tariffing imports.

However doing so will instead cause tariffed exporters to reshore to other countries so that as long as the US imports to consume, its overall trade balance is not reduced.

Is Trump to tariff those other countries next? As a major consumer economy, the US will soon have to tariff every other country which exports into it who have reshored assets from the tariffed countries.

The result will be the US ends up isolating itself by tariffing itself in effect; at the same time, its own exports won’t find ready markets in other countries which will seek friendlier substitutes.

As for jobs, the last time Trump did it, US overseas companies moved their assembly lines to other countries instead of their US and absorbed his tax reductions in share buy backs. By example, the US steel and aluminium industry remains subdued despite protectionist tariffs.

There is historical precedent in the Smoot–Hawley Tariff of 1930; the US tariffed 40% of imports; other countries retaliated with their own tariffs; global trade crashed by 65% and the US exacerbated its own Great Depression; in the post-crisis aftermath starting 1938, the trade-to-GDP ratio was 20% lower than what it was in 1929. Everyone suffered.

Some may argue that during Biden’s carry-on of Trump’s first-term tariffing, the US economy grew. But that’s ignoring the economic growth came from pent-up consumerism by spending covid-dispensed helicopter money, debt-inflating tax reduction, government projects, and oil and arms exports to Europe.

Moreover, it’s a given that richer countries will face manufacturing job declines because their output per worker grows faster in manufacturing than in services by dint of automation and systems replacing workers, and secondly, people will spend more in services than on manufactures as they become richer – whatever the trade balance.

But this will unfortunately be lost on Wharton-trained Trump et al who thinks for the US, it should still be in the 50s.

The bromide is simple – Trump should ask Lighthizer and Lutnick to survey how many rustbelt workers are still unemployed owing to jobs emigrating overseas by globalization.

If the US economy is said to be humming, all would already be employed so why the need to tariff imports for purpose of creating jobs by import substitution for them?

In fact, they may lose their present jobs when US tariffs make their purchases pricier, inflation comes back post-Powell to trigger higher interest rates and thus magnify financing costs and reduce new investments amidst retaliation by other countries.

European plants are already mulling to move to the US to avoid Trump’s 10-20% preannounced tariffs but what be their workers?

The world is too integrated down to supply-chain nerve endings for Trump’s madcap trumponomics.

Fourth Set of Comments:
Whether it be Biden or Trump, the US is in a diddly-squat mess.

On the other hand, across the oceans, China remains consistent, calm and collected.

Xi told Biden but for the ears of Trump ahead that China’s four redlines must not be crossed – Taiwan, sovereignty, system and development – and these redlines are canopied in the context of US-China relations by two remits – that China harbors no direct intention to displace the US, and that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation must form the underpinning principles of healthy and progressive relations.

However, one is not naïve to think the US vulgarians can fathom the depth of these practicalities.

This means China may hope for the best from the US but be prepared for worse to come. She has already been doing so since 2012.

Many moons ago, I was in an SME hub in Dalian. The toner maker said two things – that he was upgrading with new machinery for value-adding, and that it’s all about supply chains.

Despite roiling turmoil, China has reemerged again and again. The Chinese are proud survivors and verdant pragmatists. Of the last 20 out of 22 centuries, China was the biggest economy in the world; in 1820 alone, China comprised one third of the world’s GDP, more than the US and Europe combined.

Maybe that’s why the lion still roars:

End.

 

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Outright Stupid

I remember an old western film starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach – three gunslingers competing to find a fortune in a buried cache of Confederate gold amid the violent chaos of the American civil war in a movie called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I cannot remember the plot, but the title has stuck in my mind. Reflecting the players of the geopolitics of today, I thought it might be a good title for me to write about some of the world’s political leaders, but with an addition to the cast: the “Outright Stupid”.

To me, bad leaders are also ugly leaders, not in the physical sense, but certainly in the way they behave.

Let me start with America’s incoming president, Donald Trump:

Donald 2.0 and his nominees

A podcaster Mark Dallas says an English writer Nate White describes Donald Trump as a man who has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no wisdom, no sensitivity, no humility, no compassion, no warmth, no subtlety, no self-awareness, no wit, no humour, no wisdom, no sensitivity, no humility, no grace, no honour, no soul, etc. He is crude and nasty; he bullies crows, jeers, sneers, punches below the belt, and kicks the vulnerable. He is full of prejudices, extremely vindictive and artless in artform. Even a gentle and polished diplomat George Yeo can term him a liar. I am just paraphrasing what these people think of him. In a nutshell, he is to many of us the ugliest form of ugliness.

I love Chinese idioms. There is one that parallels “A leopard cannot change its spots” which reads 江 山 易 改, 本 性 难 移 (Jiāng shān yì gǎi; běn xìng nán yí), which literally says it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character. Many Chinese characters share more or less the same pronunciation. 姓 (xìng) and 性 (xìng) are two of them. The former stands for surname (or family name) and the latter, one’s moral character. There is a line of wisdom connecting these two words here. One can easily change one’s identity to hide past embarrassments or misdeeds, but one’s true character will always remain. You can this time call Donald 2.0, but the fact remains, he is the same Donald in his true self.

Except Donald 2.0’s ugliness is going to be even harsher.

Let us look at some of Trump’s nominees for his 2.0 team:

Many of them are outright not fit for high offices, but Susie Wiles might be an exception. In his first term, Trump changed his chief of staff four times, one of whom was a four-star general and the other three were politically pretty high-powered. This time around he has picked Susie Wiles to fill the hot seat. Wiles has previously managed several politicians’ election campaign, including Trump’s. There is not much about her political stances. I suppose she will survive in her gatekeeper role longer than her predecessors.

The most controversial of his choices so far is Matt Gaetz, the Florida lawmaker, who has been nominated to be the country’s Attorney General. Like Trump, he is, to our sense of commonsense justice, a felon. (The US House Ethics Committee’s investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds. Trump is obviously trying to tell the America’s present judiciary who the boss really is.)

Trump has also picked a leading critic of China, Republican Representative Mike Waltz, to be his national security adviser. Waltz has often criticized China’s activity in the Asia-Pacific and has voiced the need for the United States to be ready for a potential conflict in the region with China.

Trump’s pick of Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be the Secretary of State is certainly most concerning to China. Rubio is a Cuban American who holds a biblical hatred for anything “communist”. To him, “Communist” China poses the greatest threat to American workers, families, and communities. He had labelled Trump a "con artist" in an earlier primary and passed some nasty remarks on Trump’s attitude towards women. Will Trump really forgive him for making those “aberrations”?

I believe Rubio has never stepped foot on China and is still thinking that China is a Stalinist world – totally authoritarian, oppressive of the minorities and aggressive towards its neighbours. He naturally supports the DPP leaders in Taiwan. Rubio’s support for Hong Kong democracy protesters earned him Chinese sanctions in 2020.

Nominated as Defense Secretary is Pete Hegseth, who is a Fox News anchor. He is said to have serious character issues. And Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic has been named for the Health portfolio. However, I believe the latter, though idealistic in nature, is a good man at heart.

Everyone knows Elon Musk; he is a buddy of Trump. Musk will be Trump’s point man in his effort to turn things upside down. His pick of young Hindu-American billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to be Musk’s deputy does raise some eyebrows. The latter is someone who wheels and deals in a manner that are usually more than meets the eye. (Remember, he himself harbours presidential ambitions.)

Trump rewards those who are loyal to him regardless of situations and is vindictive to those who have “betrayed” him. His defence lawyer John Sauer as the solicitor general and Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence are cases in point in respect of the former category; and Mike Pompeii and Nikki Haley are examples of the latter.

Steven Cheung is the sole yellow-skin Trump has named to his team. He is going to be Trump’s director of Communications. There is also a press secretary; I do not know how they can separate their duties. Maybe “director of Communications” is the more gloried term for Cheung when he escorts Trump around.

Despite his popularity, Trump is an outlier. His unconventionality may ruffle the Deep State’s feathers if it cuts too much into the latter’s grand scheme of things. And the power of the Deep State may prove to be too great for him to survive.

One thing is clear: Trump is indeed predictable. He is Dennis the Menace. He really has no concept about how to make America great again; his MAGA slogan is designed to make the vulnerable and ignorant, who comprise maybe 60% of the country’s population, place hope on him as their solution to the state America is today. But they refuse to see or seem oblivious to his meanness. (Her own niece authored a book about him and tells us how nasty the man is, even to his close relatives.) Those who have been following his business “achievements” know they were built on the very weaknesses of America’s wheeling and dealing culture, not on a foundation of good corporate practices. Character quality is no issue to him, as long as they are happy to do his biddings. He will sack anyone who tries to be too clever. (Remember the number of “professionals” and “experts” he sacked during his first term? Most Biden appointees stayed with him through his four years.) He hates intellectually looking women – people like Hillary Clinton and Ursula von der Leyen – and loves erotically dressed women, not necessary the pretty looking type, though.

And the outright stupid…

Biden will have to vacate the Oval Office on 20^th January, which means he only has about two months left to pack up. Yet he saw fit to attend the 2024 Lima APEC summit. And look at how pathetic he was placed! (In better times, he would surely be standing next to the host in the front row.)

Where is Joe?

He is already a lame duck president, since Trump has served notice that he will reverse many of Biden’s policies and stances (except the anti-China part). Yet, he is giving greenlight to Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia. Is he deliberately trying to create a situation for Trump to get stuck in the Ukraine cesspool?

In the world today, there are many who also fall into this category. Just a couple of days ago, France’s Emmanuel Macron and the UK’s Keir Starmer in Armistice Day ceremony, pledged to support Ukraine for as long as necessary “to thwart Russia’s war of aggression”. Doesn’t armistice mean “an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time, or a truce? Didn’t Trump say he was going to end the war “in one day”? And we just heard that Zelenskyy is about to give up? What are these two morons up to?

Von der Leyen lost no time in congratulating Trump but what did she get from Trump? A cold thank you! By doing everything to decouple from China, she is going to bring more hardship to EU countries during the next four years. A dumb blonde indeed!

The biggest loser is going to be Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His life might even be in danger. The war will end soon, but much destruction has already been done to Ukraine. It is time for Ukrainians to realize the folly of trying to upset their Russian cousins with their NATO and EU membership pursuits. You should live with your neighbours and cousins who, in the first place, had not caused you miseries, unlike those who suffered in the Baltic satellites in the Soviet time.

The smarter ones…

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un know Trump’s soft spots. Trump secretly admires machos like Putin and autocrats like Kim. Kim’s Intelligence knew Trump would triumph and lost no time in sending his troops to aid Russia in the Ukraine war.

Trump will be asking to see them, and countries like Singapore will be most happy to play host to such meetings.

Trump’s presidency will not be generous to anyone. For many leaders in Southeast Asia, West Asia, Africa and Latin and South America, they have already seen enough of the true colours of American leadership during the last eight years. They know which side of their bread is best buttered and are likely to chart their own destinies.

And those who are stuck

Regardless, some countries will find themselves stuck because they have elected leaders who do not seem to be able to think beyond their personal agenda and to name a few: Yoon Suk Yeol, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Javier Gerardo Milei, and the most dangerous of all, William Lai of Taiwan. Will Trump be kind to them? I doubt. Ditto Australia’s Anthony Albanese (Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd should also be packing up soon and the need to write off billions out of the expensive nuclear submarines his predecessor had signed the country into.) and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, not to mention NATO, the QUAD, AKUS and what-have-you. But regretfully, Trump will also sideline or desert UN, WHO, WTO and worthy world organisations that seek to protect humanity.

Mandate of Heaven
I am no expert in the histories of other pre-modern states. However, as a student of leadership studies, I do take pride in my understanding of the ups-and-downs of China and what it is today.

Historically and culturally speaking, China has been around – continuously – for five thousand years. It has gone through many tumultuous times – civil wars, foreign occupations, calamities that caused widespread famine and disease, etc. A ruler is expected to rule with 仁 (ren – humaneness, kindness, benevolence), i.e., a tall degree of moral conduct. When a ruler lost his “mandate of heaven”, he would be overthrown, usually in a bloody way, and a new ruler would rose. This concept of Mandate of Heaven is often attributed to Confucius. However, the credit should actually go to Zhou-gong.

Zhou-gong was Duke Wen of Zhou (周文公, Zhou Wen-kong; personal name Dan 旦 1042–1035 BC). He was member of the royal family of the early Zhou (周) dynasty who played a key role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother. He was renowned for acting as a capable and loyal regent for his young nephew King Cheng (周成王) and establishing firm-rule of the Zhou dynasty over eastern China. Confucius credited him for the authorship of the I-ching (易經 – Scripture ) and the Xer-ching (詩経 - Classic Poetry), as well as the establishment of the Rites of Zhou.

King Wu died three years after founding the dynasty and the throne was passed to his youngest son King Cheng. Zhou-gong became the regent and administered the kingdom. Zhou-gong was credited with the introduction of the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. (The preceding dynasty – Shang – was plagued by injustice and decadence and so had offended Heaven leading to its downfall.) It is said that he administered the kingdom with great benevolence and once King Cheng came of age, Zhou-gong stepped down. The later rulers considered Zhou-gong a paragon of virtue and honoured him posthumously and one even elevated Zhou-gong to be the 文宪王 (Wénxiàn Wáng or King of Cultural Exemplariness). He was also known as the First Sage (元圣, Yuán Shèng). (In 2004, Chinese archaeologists reported that they may have found his tomb complex in Shaanxi.) In the Analects, Confucius is said to have said, "How I have gone downhill! It has been such a long time since I dreamt of the Duke of Zhou." This was meant as a lamentation of how the governmental ideals of the Zhou-gong had faded. In short, Zhou-gong is said to exemplify the highest form of benevolence and people-first philosophy in statecraft. These were the sage rulers!

Xi Jinping is a modern-day Zhou-gong. And China’s reemergence to help balance bring hope to the Global South is just the beginning.

End

Trump is Back: World Outlook for the Next Four Years

I wrote in July that “The Sudden Collapse of the Biden Puppetry” that Kamala Harris was certain to lose the election in November. (Her star did brighten a little followed her anointment, but that was largely the “honeymoon period” phenomenon.) I am now on-board a flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and the Wi-Fi was good; I could access the internet to follow the results of the 2024 US Election.

A conman is back to be America's next president! Any surprises at all?

Not at all. The mainstream media has been saying that it was going to be a close fight. It was clear to me that Trump would carry the day. The mainstream media are just trying desperately to sway voters to Harris’s side. (I always argue that the Democrats are too dumb, intellectually so for that matter, to know that 70% of Americans so not make use of their brain!) It appears that the Republicans would also control both the Senate and the House of Representatives!

With Trump returning, the world has to prepare for the worst, China especially. It is not that I prefer Harris, I thought her Ha-ha blonde inadequacy would be the lesser of the two evils for China and by extension, for the world too. But with the outcome known, maybe I should try to find some positive things about Trump’s incoming presidency.

Yes, it was Trump who woke the Chinese up; maybe his new term will also awaken the rest of the world – not only the Global South which have more or less known the true colours of Americanism, but also its Ukraine, EU, NATO, pro-West allies like Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Argentina, semi-ally like India, and “wedlock child” pseudo-state like Taiwan. Israel is perhaps the only exception; regardless of Democrats or Republicans, the Jews are the first amongst equals in the USA!

The US has become a very strange country. It has the best universities in the world; yet, 70% of its population knows very little of anything that is outside America. Its politicians are largely humbugs even though many are alumni of Harvard or Yale or other Ivy League universities. The more outrageous Trump spoke, the more popular he emerged.

Trump the Lion King

Trump thinks he is a Lion King. Nobody can be his equal. As a businessman, he was unscrupulous, and that mindset will continue. Unlike Biden, who rallied all and sundry to be his allies to fight Russia and retard China, Trump would try to extract every ounce of flesh from everyone, ally or foe alike. He is likely to walk away from Ukraine, and with his German heritage, he has no love for the Jews but will also be happy to leave Israel alone to destroy the Palestinians. (It is believed he is beholden to the Adelson casino fortune, which is do everything to promote Zionist causes.) The ingratiation of South Korea and Japan is unlikely going to change his latent admiration for Kim Jong Un. He will ask Taiwan to pay heavily but will only provide lip-service rather than solid commitment to defend the island.

He knows many western leaders do not accord him with any great regard. (Even a minion like Justin Trudeau would dare to belittle behind his back.) He is going to kick them hard. And Narendran Modi be aware: Trump will rush to the toilet to wash himself if you give him a hug.

Trump’s way of making America great again

Trump wants to use tariffs to bring back manufacturing. This might reduce its trade deficits initially, but there is no way America can create – within his reign – the necessary supply chain infrastructure to produce affordable goods within Ameica. His tariffs against friends’ and foes’ goods will only make life more difficult for Americans eventually.

As of October 29, 2024, the U.S. national debt is $35.85 trillion. The cost of servicing the U.S. federal debt is $1,133 billion, which is 17% of the total federal spending. (But as a country, the United States is actually still very wealthy. Its national wealth is estimated to be around $137.6 trillion.) Instead of getting the rich to pay more taxes, he will continue to borrow to fund the federal needs. He will surely continue to count on the US Dollar to harvest the world by printing more money and manipulating interest rates.

But it is already too late

Fortunately, America is no longer able to awe the world. Two companies epitomize the state of America today – Boeing and Intel. They have all the knowledge but no longer the ability to make or execute things properly. Two astronauts were left stranded for months in the Internal Space Station after Boeing’s Starliner could not fly them in scheduled time. And despite billions of subsidies, Intel is now a laughingstock in the world of semiconductors. And remember we would always insist that our computers we wanted to buy should carry the label “Intel Inside” just not too long ago?

They have few shipyards to produce ships now, let alone big-ticket naval vessels. Ditto the situation with their fighter jets. Soon they might have to tout them as flying coffins.  

Devoid of a strong determination to increase national productivity, America’s decline will surely accelerate. 

Philosophy and Missions

In a world that is full of MBAs and DBAs from the world’s top business schools, I am most surprised that their political leaders are much devoid of a basic understanding of these terms.

America leaders generally do not demonstrate that they can conduct themselves or lead with a head and heart that is anchored on philosophy. Good philosophy is driven by virtue, which is usually a life-long belief. Trump’s “Make American Great Again” and Biden’s “America First” are not philosophically anchored; rather, they are mere slogans. (Malaysia, under Anwar Ibrahim, has also come up with a set of values called MADANI, which stand for Prosperity, Respect, Trust and Compassion. He seeks to transform society through Economy and Finance, Legislation, Institution, Education, Community, Culture, Urban and Rural Developments. But given the country’s racial and religious entrenchments, these again may just not be executable. They are largely empty pledges!)

Biden’s mission, though not expressly spelt out, was to retard China. And his team, led by Antony Blinken went all out to create a Mafia fraternity to break China. But as the country’s top diplomat, Blinken appears like a headless chicken, hopping from country to country but bringing back nothing. Janet Yellen is a has-been economics professor. Gina Raimondo’s sanctions are driven by her hatred of China, not foresight or strategy. Katherine Tai wants to show that she is whiter than the whites. As for Llyod Austin, in our jargon, he is a dai-funshi (big, sweet potato),

Against a sage-like leader in China, and against the strength and depth of China’s cultural roots (resilience, perseverance, innovativeness and entrepreneurship, biases towards STEM education, amongst them) and its huge internal markets, can such a mission accomplishable? My answer is also a big No. With a rising China, the obvious option is to work with each other to make the world a better place for everybody, which China will strongly support.

China is a country that does not believe in Zero-sum game. Xi Jinping’s Belt & Road Initiative was designed to improve connectivity, trade and economic growth between Asia, Africa and Europe and the progress and results are obvious for all to see. Hitherto land-locked and left-out countries are now able to move the goods across borders. People become richer. Unfortunately, thanks to American pressure, many countries have opted out or not to join the BRI.

A policy that is based on supremacism and arrogance, which America has been practicing all this while, is surely untenable in the long run.

Biden and his team have caused America to be the “Who cares?” of the world. Even Benjamin Netanyahu is bold to say this to America in the face.

The Biden administration has brought China and Russia closer, and alienate the Global South, who now sees the US as the supporter of many bad causes in the world today.

Biden squandered his four years in the Oval Office!

China
Its philosophy-driven policy – centred on people’s needs, global good, etc – will certainly prevail. It does not need elaboration. I dare say China has long braced itself for the Trump eventuality. Its industries will certainly suffer initially, but its overall ascendency is unstoppable.

A Fragmented Europe
Thanks to the Renaissance, Europe had been the masters of the modern world – until America became No 1 after World War II. For some years Europe under the EU seemed determined to reassert itself and its Euro also became a reserve currency. But now it is a sad union. Its president is an American stooge. Her policies are against the interests of many Europeans. (A case in point is the recent tariff against Chinese EV vehicles, when China’s market is open to all world makes.) Their sanctioning of Russia and refusal to but Russia gas is making their production cost too prohibitive and the lives of their citizens tough. For a very sophisticated society, you cannot imagine they can be so beholden to America that is egging them on to fight their neighbour. NATO’s decision to expand eastwards will certainly go down in history as another example of shooting one’s own foot.

Trump has already said he will end the Ukraine War if he becomes the President. The Europeans would certainly be wondering why they had chosen to fight Russia in the first place. The war was brought about by a joker’s fantasy with NATO in the first place.

Much of Ukraine has been destroyed. Vladimir Putin’s red line – DO NOT BE PART OF NATO – is simple for Ukrainians to respect. It simply must kick out Zelenskyy, who is Jewish in the first place. (Some political observers even speculate that behind him is the big Zionist conspiracy to turn Ukraine into a Jewish homeland, since much of it is now owned by American Jewish interests.)

Europe is where the Renaissance began, and many great philosophers and thinkers hailed from. But the people like Stoltenberg, von der Leyen, and leaders of Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, etc are intellectually incongruent with this greatness.

Fortunately, they still have people like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić that have exhibited good sense.

The Outlook of BRICS Plus
The BRICS Summit 2024 (the 16^th, in Kazan, Russia) earlier this month, attended by 36 world leaders, including the United Nations secretary general António Guterres, has clearly demonstrated that Putin is not a pariah as the West Plus wants us to believe. Every clear-headed person now knows that Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine was not premised on a Czarist’s expansionist mission. The West has simply created a monster which Putin has to destroy. (Unfortunately, many countries are still behaving like ostriches!)

Even though BRICS has expanded, one of its original pillars is its Archilles heel. That is India. Modi harbours global leadership ambition. He is NOT happy for India to be lumped into the Global South. Indeed, it has the population to support this ambition. Individually, many Indians are academically and professionally very brilliant. And they speak the international language English. But its cultural, social and religious are too fossilized for great nationhood. Its rich are getting richer; its poor remain downtrodden, value-lacking and behaviourally wanting.

BRICS Plus could easily pave the way for an alternative financial system to overcome the SWIFT, which has largely been weaponised by the US. Unfortunately, India is not quite in favour of the new system, which obviously has to be led by China. The only thread that is holding India in BRICS is perhaps Russia, a country that India depended on weaponry for many years and has benefited a great deal in the Ukraine War. The latter is a classic example of America’s not wanting to sanction India despite this belligerence, thanks to Modi’s ability to hypnotise Biden. But I do not think he can have his way with Trump.

The Other Parts of Global South

The genocide in GAZA has killed their trust of America. Saudi’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman had taken a rain cheque in the recent BRICS summit, but it does not mean that he is abandoning the cause. Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and several others are hoping to join. They are all members of ASEAN, and ASEAN is the biggest trading partner of China today. As long as America’s ZIMM (Zionist-Industrial-Military-Media) complex and Dollar hegemon are still terrorizing the world, these countries will continue to balance their acts carefully. But they certainly know what side of their bread is buttered on.  

Conclusion
With a conman at the helm, the US is doomed.

Sanxingdui (三星堆, Three Star Mounds) - Beyond Comprehension

I have always been mystified by its discovery and mentioned it in my book “Knowing Your Roots: In the wake of the new Xiong-Nus at China’s gate”. To me, the artefacts found were totally outlandish to the China we understand for that period.  

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to be in Chengdu and thought I should pay the museum a visit.

The very impressive Sanxingdui Museum at Guanghan (广汉), just outside Chengdu, was only opened last year. (Apparently, there was an old museum near the excavation site before this.)

     

This is how the discovery was made: In 1927 a farmer while dredging an irrigation ditch in a village north of Chengdu unearthed a large stash of jade relics. However, it was not until 1934 that a regional university organised an archaeological excavation of the site. Nonetheless, the bulk of the discoveries came much later – in 1986 when thousands of gold, bronze, jade and pottery artifacts were unearthed from two pits 20-30 metres apart.  

Intricate bronzes (masks, heads, statuettes, trees, birds, bells, axes and “hybrid” animals), gold objects (tables, masks, and belts), jades (axes, tablets, rings, knives and tubes), elephant tusks, pottery, and cowrie shells were uncovered. One bronze statue featuring a figure with a slender waist, elegant robes, and giant, grasping hands stood 2.6m high in total. The bronze masks, heads, statues, trees and “hybrid” animals discovered in the pits were unparalleled in China, and indeed anywhere else. It seemed that this artistry, completely unknown in the history of Chinese art, was expressing a unique view of the world that had developed in the Sichuan basin of the Yangtze River, which was then a remote region ringed by high mountains.

Clockwise from top: Jade blade (54cm); Bronze head (27cm); Bronze tree (396cm); gold mask; and hollow inside figure 2.62m)

Six more pits were discovered at the same site between 2020 and 2022 during renewed excavations. More than 500 relics, including a gold mask, were discovered. The mask is estimated to be made from 84% gold and weighs 280 grams (0.6 pounds).  

Archaeologists have dated the relics to be between 3,100 and 4,500 years ago, roughly corresponding to the late Xia and early Western Zhou periods, with largely Shang in between. 

The masks and heads show angular human features, exaggerated almond-shaped eyes – some with protruding pupils – and large upper ears.

There were also traces of paint smears – black and vermillion – on them.

Many of them appear to be meant for ritual practices, however, they do not seem to conform to those understood during the period.

Researchers speculated that the human sculptures, in ceremonial costume and possibly including a mask, were meant to commemorate a dead ancestor to whom sacrifice was being offered.

Since these four animals – birds, dragons, snakes, and tigers – predominate the finds at Sanxingdui, the bronzes might represent the universe. It is unclear whether they formed part of ritual events designed to communicate with the spirits of the universe (or ancestral spirits). As no written records remain it is difficult to determine the intended uses of objects found. Some believe that the continued prevalence of depictions of these animals, especially in the later Han period, was an attempt by humans to "fit into" their understanding of their cosmology.

And Sichuan was certainly not a place where elephants or mammoths could be roaming at that time; neither was it where cowrie shells could be found too.

And why are these things clustered in a relatively small area. And most significantly, despite the fact that their craftsmanship – intricate in details and forms – was far superior to that of the Shang’s, they did not seem to have any form of writing, when Shang has always been credited with the dawn of Chinese written characters.

This “prehistoric” settlement was abandoned around 1000 BC and many of the artefacts appeared to have been deliberately smashed or burnt before being buried. And no human or settlement remains were found at or near the sites.

Nonetheless, the finds do include jade artifacts that are consistent with earlier neolithic cultures in China (the Baodun culture, 宝墩文化,2700–1700 BCE).

Did they belong to Ancient Shu (古蜀, Gǔ Shǔ)?

The visit of the museum did not shed much light about its origin. I decided to pick up a book that was sold in the souvenir shop there. The author was apparently trying hard to fit the Sanxingdui culture into the legends of the ancient kingdom of Shu – its possible lineage to the tribal chiefs during the early days of the Chinese civilisation. The book does make interesting reading, but it is short on facts.

To me, this Sanxingdui culture must have predated Ancient Shu, which was conquered by Qin (秦)in 316 BCE.  蜀 evolved from , which is a character composite of 目 (eye), 人 (human) and 虫 (worm). The importance of silkworm to the fortune and symbol of the kingdom could not be understated. Historical records are scant about this kingdom. The kingdom is mentioned in Shi-ji (史記) and Shu-jing (書經)as an ally of the Zhou who defeated the Shang. The Shu kingdom is said to be founded by Cancong (蠶叢) – one who had protruding eyes, a feature that is found in many of the masks and figures of Sanxingdui. 

The Contemporary Shang
Let’s see the parallels in the Shang (商)dynasty (sometimes called Yin (殷) dynasty), ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dynasty. Modern scholarship dates the dynasty between the 16th and 11th centuries BC.

               Above are a Shang nephrite statuette (apparently housed at Harvard University) and a Shang jade human figure. Do they look like those of Sanxingdui’s?

Compared to what you see in Sanxingdui, they are many classes below.

Conclusion
There are many speculations about Sanxingdui’s origin. Some argue that they were from an extraterrestrial culture; others relate them to the legends described in Shanhai-jing (山海经, a Chinese classic of mythic geography and beasts.) I have a different take. Maybe they were the valuables and treasures left behind by an advanced migratory tribe who had to flee the Shang in a hurry? Jew-like people looking for a homeland and chased out after some years?.

The Shang practised human sacrifice, and they were Shang’s genocidal trophies. (The majority of victims were war captives taken the minority tribes.)

Sanxingdui must rank one of the great discoveries and mysteries in modern China. It is indeed necessary for China to do a complete rethink of its prehistory.

One for the album!

End

My Silk Road Tour, September 2024

My wife Saw Hwa does not write or read Chinese. But she loves to tour China. We have been to many places in China, but we have yet to cover the Silk Road. She does not quite like to follow tours organised by Malaysian or Singaporean agencies – the tour guides of the former tend to conduct themselves in Cantonese and the latter, in Mandarin; she knows neither. Moreover, they are too good in terms of delivering value for money – tours usually last seven to fourteen days, and they are packed solid with heavy itineraries. But this is dreadful for both of us, most of the spots are jammed packed with local tourists, whose fear of missing out can be very annoying. She decided to sign up with Sydney’s Wendy Wu Tours for this visit. There were 17 of us in the group, four were from the UK, three from New Zealand, 12 from Australia (two of whom were Australian Chinese); we were the only two from Malaysia. Most of us are in our sixties or seventies. Several of them have visited China before.  

Although the starting point is the historic city of Xi-An, which we have been to a few times before, we still like the city. Things do not stand still in China; you get surprises in every visit. From Xi-An, we took a HSR to Lan-Zhou, and from Lanzhou we visited a couple of nearby smaller cities, including the Tibetan city Xia-He, where the Labrang Monastery is located, Xi-Xia, which is well-known of its biggest Sleeping Buddha statue, and Jia-Yu Guan, where the western end of the Great Wall is located. Apparently, President Xi was visiting Lan-Zhou at that time.

The next stop was Dun-Huang, which was a must-visit city along the Silk Road. The highlight was of course the grottoes there. Not too many foreign tourists were visiting at that time; we were treated like celebrities in a cultural theatre show there.

From Dun-Huang, we took an HRS to Turpan. From Turpan we went to Korla by coach. The National Highway was impressive; it traverses awesome mountains and deserts along the way. We celebrated the mooncake festival in Korla. From Korla we continued to Kuqa and that was where we first experienced “security” check. We were constantly reminded of the need to have our passport with us, giving us the impression that security was tight along the Silk Road. Indeed, the local guide had to file our presence there, but it is not the type of fearsome procedure that the western press had wanted us to believe. Indeed, from thereon, each time we entered a small prefecture city, we had to do the same. But nobody was inconvenienced; as a matter of fact, some police officers even boarded the coach to welcome our visit.

From Kuqa we went to Aksu to visit a cave temple, which predates the grottoes in Dunhuang.

We arrived at Kashgar, the Silk Road’s most western city in China on September 20. We were pretty done with the Silk Road by then. Before we flew out to Urumqi, we visited the Sunday market where live cattle were traded in a big way.

Urumqi was essentially a modern Han Chinese city and the must visit spot is the Heavenly Lake.

From Urumqi, we flew into Beijing. We did not join some of the tours save for a climb to the Great Wall again.

Wendy Wu’s local tour leader Gary Guo was superb. My wife and I survived the 28-day journey without any drama! 

* * * * *

Although several of our tourmates have visited China before, I could see that some were still not convinced that China was far from the Stalinist or totalitarian state they believe it is still one today. When I asked if one who still held the view since we had gone into the countryside only to see that people were generally happy and no poverty or economic or social or religious deprivations were in sight, he said in a democracy one could “moan” and not get into trouble. Saw Hwa was happy to ask if he preferred to see people leading a miserable life in many parts of the “democratic” world, he reluctantly conceded that the Chinese leadership had indeed done much for its people. Another was more accepting; he agreed that all the talk about oppression, or suppression, or forced labour, or genocide was a load of bulls from the western politicians and press.

Yes, Hans, Huis, Uyghurs, and other Central Asian minorities live harmoniously everywhere. Two of local tour guides were Uyghur. I asked them privately if they were proud to be “Chinese” and they responded without hesitancy that they are were. I could tell the answer was genuine.

Be that as it may, there is still much China can do to bring their perceptions to a higher plane.

First…

Yes, the Chinese economy is indeed slowing down. The malls are pretty empty, so are restaurants which boast huge dining rooms and tables. We know what has contributed to this situation. The sanctions by the west have caused China’s supply side to scale back, hence resulting in higher unemployment especially amongst its youth, and the policy clamp down on real estates has caused many Chinese to hold back spending on bigger ticket items. But you do not see any sign of desperation.

We all know the four components of GDP are consumption, investment, government spending, and exports. China is not lacking in the last two. Thanks to western sanctions, investment does suffer. However, it is the consumption component that is troubling the Chinese government now. (The exception is perhaps in the cars you see on Chinese roads – they are generally pretty new; not the old jalopies we often see in developing countries.)

But let the westerners continue with their cacophemism (a new word which I have just learned from my friend Tan Jin Hwee – a hard term pinned on something good to make it look bad). Xi and his team know what is good for the country. And the Chinese have the resilience to go through hardship and turn things around.

Although Chinese cities generally are well planned – broad tree-lined and well lighted boulevards and generous parks and lakes, – even the modern buildings can be described as “nice from far, but far from nice” in terms of upkeep. Their glass facades are crying hard to be cleaned. Most of the shop fronts and apartment blocks are also in dire need of a new coat of paint, not to mention broken tiles in pavements and ugly patches on sidewalks. China should introduce an urban redevelopment authority like what Singapore does. People need to be “forced” to spend to keep their living spaces look clean and orderly. This will certainly add tremendously to “useful” consumption in GDP at this time of need! (Chinese are not poor; they certainly can well afford it.)

However, I should not generalise too much. The Hui precincts, especially their apartment blocks, are remarkably cleaner; even their mosques have traditional Chinese “temple-like features, like those in Xi-An. (I would have thought Uyghurs by the virtue of their religion would have a higher standard of personal hygiene, but this trip tells me that it is a wrong assumption, maybe the nomadic instinct is still present in their culture.)

Public toilets, despite frequent efforts by cleaners, are generally smelly even though some laybys boost state-of-the-art features – electronic panels to tell visitors which is occupied, and which is empty. It is simply a result of poor habits.

These are some of my observations about the hotels provided by Wendy Wu Tours: they are generally adequate; some even have robotic features which did appear a little outlandish to me. But fittings and fixtures found in them, except the two operated by Mercure, still look sloppy in terms of upkeep and maintenance. And the corridors do not smell fresh. I suppose smoking in the room is still hugely tolerated, although no-smoking signs are there for all to see.

Now that China is opening to the world to allow them to see the true situations in Xinjiang, they need to “inform”. Chinese hotels only offer CCTV channels. Few know how to tune in, let alone enjoy their coverages, since instruction is only in Chinese. They should start to cater to western visitors with objective programmes and narratives about China. So are the road signages, since they are only in Chinese and Uyghurs only.

China’s HSRs are an eye-opener to westerns. The stations are awe-inspiring, and their locomotives are sleek. The trains are punctual and the ride smooth. Nonetheless, they look a little tired, though. Many need a good bath. Many users have still not been conditioned to exercise civic-conscious; littering is still evident, even though they have cleaners to do the job. The service’s hawkers seem not very interested in promoting F&B sales, except the ladies who were assigned to sell locally made cosmetics.

Smoking and spitting in public places are still noticeable, and this largely irks westerners. This, I often advocate, is something they need to learn from LKY. Throughout my trips to China, I have always taken pain to convert unthoughtful Chinese to be more civic-conscious and this trip is no exception. I believe I have made at least ten Chinese better citizens by whispering these lines into their ears: 老兄，有外国旅客. 文明旅游，不好随地吐痰 , or 老兄，有外国旅客, 不好在此吸烟 (Dear Friend, there are foreign visitors, let’s do not spit or smoke in this public place.)

We flew out with great optimism for China. My earlier book - China's Arduous Journey to Earn Its Place, From Mr Q to President Xi Jinping - has not been written in vain after all. 

Postscript:

Saw Hwa helps to proof-read my writing. She just reminded me to include this: She picked up an English-edition of a publication called "Valiant Imperial Warriors 2200 Years Ago" sold at the Emperor Qin Shi-Huang’s Museum at Xi-An. Millions of copies must have been sold already, yet the publisher is totally oblivious to the un-English English that can be spotted throughout the entire volume. Another aspect of Chinese-ness that has to be corrected?