China!

The ambivalence of U.S. policy towards China may beeasier for you to get into university. You are in the
perhaps best characterized by the incident of thecity, you can work at all the large companies and
spy airplane back in 2001. While gathering intelligencegovernment agencies in the city. If, conversely, you
off the coast of China, a U.S. Navy EP-3 electronicare registered as a rural person there are very
spy plane, piloted by Lt. Osborn collides in mid-air withsevere restrictions on where you can live and work.
a Chinese F-8 and is forced to make an emergencyAnd this is actually the biggest human rights problem
landing at Hainan Island. The Chinese pilot, Wang Wei,in China today. You have a majority of this population
is killed in the incident. China charges that the U.S.of 1.3 billion that are, by law, second class citizens.
plane illegally entered Chinese airspace, and detainsFurthermore, there are the other matters of the
the 24 U.S. crew members for 11 days. It demandsmore than 20 million people who have no social
that the U.S. take full responsibility for the incidentsecurity net whatsoever to assist taking care of their
and issue a full apology. In the end, the United Statesbasic needs, as well as the environmental concerns
offers a letter in which it says it is "very sorry" forthat the new era of industrialization is bringing up. Of
the loss of the Chinese pilot and "very sorry" thatthe ten worst polluted cities in the whole world
the aircraft landed in China without permission. Theaccording to the World Environmental Agency, eight
damaged U.S. airplane is not returned for threeare in China. And, finally, the PRC accounts for 23
months. Together with the letter of apologies,percent of the global population while supply of fresh
however, China also gets a U.S. aircraft carrierwater is less than 6 percent.Yet, the social and
battlegroup of the Seventh Fleet permanentlyeconomic improvements are huge as anyone who
stationed off the coast of Taiwan.On the other hand,saw China in the '70's will confirm. Three decades ago
Chinese ambivalence towards the United States canthere were no automobiles, no super markets, no
be perhaps best described by the statement of ahighrise buildings. And there were no consumer goods
Chinese official to a visiting American delegation toto speak of. It was a Stalinist society, and a very
Shanghai in 2001: "I surely hope that you and thepoor Stalinist society at that. So the economic
American economy do well in this global slowdown,system has totally changed, and the private sector is
because your economic interests and your economicnow the dominant sector of the economy. It didn't
development are critical to the welfare of the peopleexist at all as late as 1979. The political system has
in Shanghai and China.". This remarks comes at a timechanged as well, albeit not nearly as drastically as the
while China is intent at stealing U.S. military secretseconomic system. The China of the twenty-first
from Martin Lockheed - and it is caught with bothcentury is a one-party state without a firm ideological
hands in the bag doing so.And then, of course,foundation, more similar to Mexico under the PRI
American and Chinese joint ambivalence towards thethan Russia under Stalin. It is certainly difficult today
rest of the world must be perhaps encapsulated into call China a Communist State, and the regime is no
the philantropic website maintained at where bothlonger the party of workers and peasants. Mao
sides are trying to convince the rest of us in English -Zedong would be unpleasantly surprised at how
and for those who do not get it the first timethings got out of hand. But then, even this political
around, in Chinese - that seldom have there been intransformation is nothing new to the Chinese. In fact,
the history of humanity two great pals like the Baldhistorically China has often gone through periods of
Eagle and the Red Dragon. Well ... well ...China's giantconsolidation followed by periods of weakening of
leap towards a Western-style, capitalistic economythe central authority. And the inequality of wealth is
presents an increasingly urgent set of challenges thatjust a consequence of it all.No issue is more pivotal
must be resolved by the leading elite if they hope toand controversial in the U.S.-China relations than the
sustain the miraculous economic growth, which hasquestion of Taiwan. On October 1, 1949 after nearly
averaged eight percent a year for the past decade.two decades of civil war, Chinese Communist Party
When you consider that the People's Republic ofleader Mao Zedong declared victory over the
China (PRC) has 1.3 billion people, more than fourU.S.-supported Nationalists (Kuomintang or KMT) led
times the population of the United States, theby Chiang Kai-shek. Mao proclaimed the establishment
implications of its radical economic transformation areof the People's Republic of China (PRC) and instituted
sobering. In 2004 the Chinese added 1.8 million cars toa new communist system modeled after the U.S.S.R.
their roads, bringing the national total to well over 10After his defeat Chiang Kai-shek fled to the Chinese
million. At recent growth rates, the number couldisland of Taiwan, then called Formosa, along with two
very well double every three to four years. Shouldmillion Nationalist refugees. Taiwan is located about
car ownership ever match that in the United States100 miles off China's coast. There he established a
(135 million vehicles in 2002), there would be about"provisional" Nationalist capital in Taipei and declared
600 million cars on China's roads - more than all themartial law. The Nationalists claimed to be the sole
cars in the world today. A statistical comparisonlegitimate government of all of China, and set up the
between the two giants compiled by the Worldsame political bodies on Taiwan which had ruled on
Resource Institute of the United Nations revealsthe mainland. Under Chiang's authoritarian leadership,
even more staggering figures:CHINA vs. UNITEDthe Nationalist government established a successful
STATESAREA: 3,705,820 square miles vs. 3,717,796land reform program during the 1950's which helped
square milesPOPULATION: 1,288,700,000 vs.transform the country from an agricultural to a
291,500,000DENSITY per square mile: 348 vs.commercial and industrial economic powerhouse.It is
78ENERGY CONSUMPTION per person: 880 Kg/oil perdifficult for Westerners to understand why the PRC
year vs. 7,960 Kg/oil per yearMEAT CONSUMPTIONis so adamant about reunification with Taiwan, until an
per person: 104 lbs. per year vs. 269 lbs. perexample is brought up by the Chinese. "Think of
yearPAPER CONSUMPTION per person: 73 lbs. perCalifornia as an island off America's West Coast and
year vs. 730 lbs. per yearAVERAGE NUMBER OFinhabited by Americans but under a different regime.
PERSON : 1.1 per room vs. 0.5 per roomWATER USEWouldn't Washington want to seek reunification ?"
per person : 116,000 gals. per year vs. 484,500 gals.The analogy made by Yang Jiechi, Chinese
per yearTV SETS per 1,000 persons: 292 vs.Ambassador to the United States, makes perfect
844VEHICLES per 1000 persons: 16 vs. 774Since itssense. Taiwan is the PRC's unfinished civil war. They
onset in 1949 the People's Republic has gone throughfought a civil war with this Nationalist government.
a lot, including a famine where 20 million to 30 millionThey essentially won. The Nationalists escaped out to
people died in the early 1960s; a cultural revolutionan island which the Chinese consider an integral part
that went on into a decade; and a skyrocketingof China. And then, because of American support and
national suicide rate as well. Yet, never in the historyother intervening factors, they never finished their
of the world have so many people been lifted fromcivil war. In terms of the military, the PRC is also
poverty so rapidly. President Clinton, in one of his lastdeveloping very rapidly. It is acquiring a modern
speeches, said that 200 million people in China wereaircraft and modern battleships. Its naval force and
lifted from absolute poverty from 1978 to aboutair force are developing so fast that China is now at
1999. That's equivalent to about two-thirds of thethe forefront of Asia's military innovations.
entire population of the United States in twentyAmbivalence exists both in the political relations of
years. The economic achievements, therefore, areChina and the U.S. with Taiwan as well as between
huge. But so are the problems. The factors ofChina and the U.S. over Taiwan. China pursues a
economic instability are many and worry thepolicy of "One Country - Two Systems" , a policy
leadership. In fact, the leading elite justifies some ofthat is working well with Hong Kong and Macau after
the repressive political measures precisely because oftheir return to the PRC. The United States pursues a
what they call "the factors of instability." Thesestrategy aptly called "Strategic Ambiguity": it
factors include a financial and banking system that isrecognizes Bejing as the only legitimate government
basically bankrupt, with bad loans out greater thanwhile at all times investing in and supplying weaponry
the real net reserves of the entire bankingto Taiwan. And Taiwan's strategy is to court the
system.There are perhaps between 80 million toUnited States while increasing its trade with the PRC,
100-plus million people that are moving from thenow amounting to over US $40 billion per year.It is in
countryside on a kind of temporary contract laborthis complex context of political and economic
into the Chinese cities. And yet a large number ofbalances and counter-balances that the Eagle and the
urban unemployed are getting put out of businessDragon are eyeballing each others. A context
from non-competitive state enterprises. As a resultcertainly not for the faint of heart. And yet, in the
China has got urban unemployed, rural unemployedgeopolitical situation of Asia the United States and
coming into the cities, unsound financial system, andChina make a very good team. Both are disdainful of
general resentment against a regime that has, in theabsolutist chieftains the likes of North Korea's Kim Il
past, grotesquely mismanaged things. And then, ofSung, both want peace and relaxation in the region,
course, there is the widespread problem ofboth are fervent in their plight against terrorism and
corruption that permeates every facet ofboth are eager to improve trade and cultural
society.Indeed, corruption is not a Chineseexchange with each others. The Chinese - founders
characteristic per se. It has, however, developed in aof civilization are now meeting and talking to the
world where old, antiquated and inefficient laws areAmericans - spearheads of contemporary society.
not being replaced fast enough to keep up with theTwo great countries, two great people.Will the Eagle
speed of present times, and the vacuum has to beand the Dragon find a common ground for peaceful
somehow filled. Experts think that on one hand theco-existence and mutual understanding?Stay
economic opening will bring more outside influencestuned.Luigi FrascatiLuigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent
and in a way more chaos to the country which is notbased in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a
a bad thing in some ways. But, conversely, expertsBachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog
agree that the leadership will try to keep a tightentitled the Real Estate Chronicle at where you can
control so that, at the end of the day, there mayfind the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated
actually very well be more human rights violationswith the Sutton Group, the largest real estate
than ever before.There is also an imbalance of wealthorganization in Canada, and is based with
between the thirty-five percent of the populationSutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.Luigi is very
that lives in the cities and the sixty-five percentproud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author.
inhabiting the countryside. There is a system ofYour rating at the footer of this Article is very much
residence controls. If you are lucky enough to beappreciated. Thank you.
born in a city - and registered as a city dweller - it is