From: kemnitz@rlyeh.multisys.com (Greg Kemnitz)
Subject: Re: China? What China?
Organization: Multimedia Information Systems Corporation, San Jose, CA                        TEL: (408) 436-8929            E-mail: info@multisys.com
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 09:08:56 GMT

In article <zhu.715989502@menaik> zhu@cs.UAlberta.CA (Eric Y. Zhu) writes:
>
>China is a country that it is simply too big to be ignored by 
>the rest of the world. 
>
>As some of you may have noticed if you've followed America's
>Presidential campaign close enough that both Clinton/Gore and
>Bush/Quayle have repeatedly claimed that the cold war is over,
>Communism has disappeared from the surface of this earth, etc.
>I would agree with the first point. But Communism no longer 
>exists? What about China, then? 

China may call itself Communist, but the USSR was Communism itself.  There
may still be a CCP running Chinese affairs, but nobody takes its Marxism
seriously (as you hint at below), and certainly nobody in the Chinese
government talks about seriously exporting Chinese communism abroad, although a
few American Maoists do so from time to time :-)

>When Soviet Union was changed color, one may have imagined that
>China would've probably emerged as a main threat to the ``free 
>world''.

Fortunately, this seems not to have happened, despite the efforts of cold
warrior politicians and military contractor types who are trying to justify
their continued existence...

>However, it seems to me that US has never taken China 
>very seriously when it comes to the possible rivalries on the
>international arena. China's repeated abstantion from UN's
>resolution (Desert Storm, etc.) has also supported such a claim.
>And now that Bush has lifted 10+year ban on arms sale to Taiwan 
>(F-16) and totally ignored China's protest. It again shows yet 
>another evidence that China has no impact whatsoever in America's 
>decision-making and play insignificant role in world's politics. 

Does China really want to be a world superpower?  Be careful what you wish
for - you might get it.  Of course, Chinese better be prepared to die in
faraway lands for causes they don't understand if they really want to be
a superpower.  Does China, for example, really want to step into the ancient
pile of nasty hatreds, with roots that go back 7000 years, that is
Middle-Eastern politics?  It comes complete with (Western) religious fanatics
of all stripes, terrorists, etc etc.  Once you do _anything_ there, _someone_
will hate you.  And these days, they may have nukes.  But such is the life of
a superpower.

About Chinese influence in US affairs, certainly what happens in China
influences American politicians and their positions, but the Chinese government
is extraordinarily unpopular with the US public.  This is more of a factor
in the decisions of American politicians in a tough election year than any
long-term geopolitical advantages that good relations with the CG will bring.
This is why the F-16 deal will NOT be reversed until after election day if
ever, and why the White House really enjoys the loud noises Beijing is
making about it.

>Another possibility, of cource, is that in Bush's mind (and Clinton's),
>China has moved away from Maxism far enough in its market-oriented
>economic reform that is no longer considered to be an authentic 
>Communist country in following Marxism doctrine.

This is more the truth.  Few have thought of China as "Red China" since 1979.

>===
>Zhu Yuchen, Edmonton

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Kemnitz                        | "I ran out of the room - I
MultiMedia Information Systems Inc. | didn't want to be killed by a pile
kemnitz@netcom.com                  | of VMS manuals" :-)
                                    |
                                    | --A friend at DEC Palo Alto in the Quake
Newsgroups: talk.politics.china