Should The US Even Discuss Human Rights With China?

January 19th, 2011

In the US, different constituencies like to focus on different issues, not realizing that Chinese tend to see issues as a whole, with everything connected in one way or another.

President Obama has said that he intends to draw a harder line with China on human rights, and recently invited some China human rights experts to discuss the issue with him.

At the same time, former vice president Cheney said that the Obama administration had come around to its hardline point of view on the war on terror, and was now following closely in the Bush administration’s footsteps.

The problem here is that the policies that the US has done in the Bush version of the global war on terror have made the Chinese government’s human rights violations look small in comparison. Many Americans would contest this view, but the better part of diplomacy is about being able to understand how others view issues in our globalized world.

If this is indeed the case, then Obama is at a distinct disadvantage in even bringing up the issue with the Chinese president, and should even consider not broaching the subject. Bringing it up would get a quick rebuttal from the Chinese president for its own human rights violations, and helping him to win points with Chinese, and the current and future Chinese leadership, for standing up to the US’s interference in domestic affairs.

When It Comes To China, Outside Pressure Doesn’t Work

January 18th, 2011

In the frequently sad history of China’s relations with the west, the predominant narrative in the west is an often exaggerated belief in the power to influence events in China. In fact, when the west tries to exert its influence, it frequently fails. This is because of:

  • The Chinese tend to be nationalist, resisting outside interference, and different Chinese governments have used that to their advantage.
  • The westerners often pick the wrong horse to back, choosing the horse they like and communicates with the west better, but who is often held in disdain, even contempt, by the Chinese.
  • Especially in the US, legislators and media pundits who don’t understand China try to set the agenda on China, even though they have no understanding of China. Their own PR needs outweigh the need for real understanding.
  • The west emphasizes the power of the individual, while the Chinese tend to weigh the interests of the whole.

On the eve of President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US, this is made clear by Senator Charles Schumer’s promise to start a trade war with China. If Congress jumps on this bandwagon, things will get tough.

In my next article, I will talk about how the Chinese make things tough for the interlocutors.

Discussing China on Quora

January 16th, 2011

With the recent test flight of the new Chinese J-20 stealth fighter, China’s growing economic influence, and the upcoming visit of President Hu Jintao to the US, 2011 promises to be yet another interesting year. In addition to writing for Forbes.com and Business Insider, I have also recently been posting a lot to a relatively new startup, Quora, which can be simply described as a question and answer startup.

I was invited to Quora (you need an email invite) in June, and started posting questions and answers. Since then, it has started to grow on me. It’s more than a Q&A site, it’s a knowledge network, and has managed to attract some serious and interesting China observers. If I can make a small claim, it was that I felt that the quality of discussion on China was not good on the Internet; the general media took a generally hostile attitude to China, then there are those in China who have had to filter their opinions because, well, they are working in China for Chinese employers, supporting them and their families. There wasn’t much of a middle ground, and there was little room for nuance. For this reason, I made some contributions to the discussions in the form of questions and answers, just to get the conversation going.

I am happy to say that I now feel some of the best discussion of China on the Internet is now on Quora, and it draws a very knowledgeable crowd, including people living inside and outside China. From reading the discussion, I think that you will find that there is a wide variety of opinions, but they do agree on some key issues.

I have pulled out three discussions which give you some idea of the level of conversation: