Readers might have read my book China’s Arduous Journey to Earn Its Place, From Mr Q to President Xi Jinping. Much of it was about the humiliation suffered by the civilisation as a whole – from the decline of the Qing dynasty in the mid-1800s to the 2017, when Donald Trump paid a state visit to China.
Even though it is generally believed that Sun Yat-sen was not an effective leader, his name stands tall in Chinese history, for he was the one who helped overthrow the feudal Manchu court. But many Chinese were still very Ah-Q in psyche. Mao made China stood up, but he was not really a leader that could bring China and Chinese to face the West eyes-to-eyes. China was still inferior to the West in many areas, even in etiquettes. Xi changed that. He literally makes the West fear China! Good or bad, let us talk later.
After reading my recent book, an acquaintance wrote to me to suggest that for my narrative to be complete, I need to tell readers what I think the outcome will be. I thought the “outcome” has already been subtly discussed in my book. As a matter of fact, the last sentence in the above paragraph is also an outcome, even though it is not the intention of Xi. But I suppose he wants me to be more exact. Where is exact place that China is heading to – Politically, Economically, Culturally and Scientifically/Technologically speaking?
It is a big topic. In fact, I am actually working on a sequel which I hope will serve as a complete painting for me to share with friends.
I was very concerned about Xi’s wherewithal in the wake of the actions that are being taken by the West against Russia in its effort to subdue Ukraine, and the various measures that the US are taking to deprive China of chips. Happenings in the last couple of weeks did raise my spirits.
Malaysia held its 15th General Elections on November 19. After the results were officially confirmed, I was all apprehensive, thinking that Perikatan Nasional would be asked to form the government. It was not Muhyiddin whom I feared, rather, it was the fact that PAS would be the real power behind the coalition if a PN government was formed. To my happy surprise, Anwar was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister of the country. Although he is able to rein in UMNO and Sarawakian and Sabahan coalitions to support him, his sustainability is going to be a big question mark, given the fact that his very own party only commands 31 seats. But I am hopeful, since Anwar is a very charismatic leader and is capable of rallying the masses to his cause. Hope he can offer more than Harapan (Hope)!
There are several rays of light that are finally piercing through the Biden curtain. The first was the visit by the German chancellor Olaf Scholz on November 5, just before the G7 meeting in Bali. Most younger politicians in Europe have swerved right – thanks to the unrelentless indoctrinations of liberal democracy by the West’s media, and surprisingly, by their own laziness to find out things themselves. Scholz’s own ministers in Economics and Foreign Affairs are as anti-China as Liz Truss. Notwithstanding, he made the trip. Of course, few political leaders in Europe are strong enough to last very long, but at least, he knows what is good for Germany. Uncoupling with China is not an option.
The second is the meeting between Xi and Biden in Bali. If I were Xi, I would have declined to meet Biden. Time and again the latter has shown that he cannot be trusted. But the meeting did give the world the opportunity to see who is the stateman and who is the Mickey Mouse amongst the two.
Xi’s programmes in G7 in Bali and APEC in Bangkok were packed with meetings with attending heads of governments. From the clips I watched on CCTVs, it was clear to be that Xi had won many over, maybe not on issues, but at least on genuineness. Justin Trudeau and Rishi Sunak are perhaps the only two sour grapes left. One must give Wang Yi credit; he truly deserves the promotion after the conclusion of CPC’s 20th National Congress.
The fourth ray came from the results of Taiwan’s mayoral elections last Saturday. Tsai Ing-wen had the decency to resign as the chairperson of her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the wake of the party’s poor showings in the elections. It is time for Taiwanese to throw out DPP and live under China’s one-country-two-systems. I suspect the US Intelligence must have foreseen this outcome which may be the anxiousness to force TSMC to relocate its high-end chip-making facilities or capabilities to the US. Tsai has been increasingly understood to be a huge liability for the Taiwanese. She does not even have the character to be a decent academic, let alone the national leader.
Biden’s clay mask is cracking up; people can take a better look at his face now. He is ugly, soul-wise, of course!
You pity the Ukrainians for the sufferings that are being inflicted day-in-and-day-out now. Of course, it is the Russian army that is causing their pains. But had the hitherto comedian T-shirts wearing president been wise, he should have just assured Vladimir Putin that Ukraine would keep to its promise in not joining NATO. He would have the best of all worlds! And the person who is egging him on is none other than the present godfather of the Deep State. The war has destroyed much of Ukraine. It is also draining Russia economically. Most amazingly, the Europeans are happy to allow Uncle Sam to help train their pistols to shoot their own feet! The cold is coming, and their economies are tanking. I suppose we have to thank NATO’s trigger-happy Jen Stoltenberg and EU’s pseudo-bosses Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel. And as all already know, the only part that is laughing all the way to the bank is the US.
In August, Biden signed off the Chips and Science Act. Everyone knew it was aimed to kill China in chips. Before the ink could dry, and just days before he had requested to meet Xi, America rolled out a very extensive list of new restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductors and equipment used to make them. It seeks to deprive China of the computing power it needs. Of course, China will be handicapped in the short- to the medium-term, but from the recent rumblings heard from the major chip equipment makers, like ASML in the Netherlands and a couple of others in Korea and Japan, you can bet to your last dollar that the US will not be able to achieve its evil intention. It is too late to rein in the Chinese horse.
China is about to blast off another crewed spaceship in the name of Shenzhou-15. Three new astronauts will join the existing three in Tiangong Space Station. And the recent Zhuhai air show was meant to send America this message: Hi, Yankees, come with all your carrier groups if you want, we are happy to send them to rest in peace in the deep East and South China Seas. And this message to the rest of the clear-headed world: Hi Friends, do not be afraid of bullies. We are happy to supply you with the most advanced missiles and drones to protect yourself!
The next thing is for the world to unite to bring down the USD! Deprived of cheap dollars and ability to sell arms, America’s military-industrial complex will also wither in no time.
Hypocrisy and Hegemony Never Pay!
Awaiting your wisdom on the White Paper Movement...
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