Feb 13, 2023·edited Feb 13, 2023Liked by CDR Salamander
A couple of things, both tied to their cultural mindset. First, they tipped their hand too soon on the military front, got belligerent before they were actually ready, and people got wise, hopefully in time to counter their military build up but you never know until you either deter them or have a war (and then only after it is over). Second, their Belt-and-Road Initiative failed because of the same attitude and bullying outlook. Their ham-handed approach very soon looked like a mob protection racket, "You know, you owe us the vig on that loan we made and we need you to do us something to make good. Otherwise, it is a great little country you have here - hate to see anything happen to it!" Didn't take long for most countries to wise up to that, either (though there are some short-sighted individuals who are opportunists who haven't gotten it <cough> Solomons <cough>).
We are sometimes lucky in our enemies. Their faults, which lead us to oppose them in the first place, aid us immensely.
The BBC article explains absolutely nothing, as expected by the fake news flagman. The dispute goes back to control of parts ot Tibet that are now in India. China claims to be successor to all three Tibet regions: one in China as Autonomous region, another (Amdo) split between Sichhuan and Qinghai and part of the third (Kham) is in India. Same with Ladakh - part of Ngrari (Western Tibet, kind of subregion of Tibet proper). Chinese claims are also racial - read the UN docs. India fears they will claim more lands as many people in East India speak Tibetian languages (Tani, Meitei, etc). But of course, nowadays BBC does not make the effort to inform the public. This is the "root cause".
I was 3 when the PRC annexed Tibet. Have always been able to locate Tibet on a map, but never knew much about the country other than the Dalai Lama popping up at the occasional news conference. The "root cause" of the China-India border tensions kind of makes more sense to me now. Chinese claims based on reclaiming racial areas "controlled" by India don't look like peaceful negotiation will solve the problem. Thanks for the insight.
In the article, it described the people who hang out with the insecure middle school bully that is China as "odious" individuals. That gave me an immediate flashback to James Clavell's novel, Tai-Pan, in which it says that William Longstaff, the fictional British plenipotentiary in the Hong Kong area, is referred to by the Chinese as "Odious Penis". Not meaning to litter your substack, but that implies to me that dicks were and are on both sides of this long game.
The upcoming population crash is not going to be a Good Thing for China. There will be a lot of old doors needing looking after, and no one to do the looking. Artificially controlling the populace with one child policies is not how maintain a healthy, stable population.
On the money, as usual.
A couple of things, both tied to their cultural mindset. First, they tipped their hand too soon on the military front, got belligerent before they were actually ready, and people got wise, hopefully in time to counter their military build up but you never know until you either deter them or have a war (and then only after it is over). Second, their Belt-and-Road Initiative failed because of the same attitude and bullying outlook. Their ham-handed approach very soon looked like a mob protection racket, "You know, you owe us the vig on that loan we made and we need you to do us something to make good. Otherwise, it is a great little country you have here - hate to see anything happen to it!" Didn't take long for most countries to wise up to that, either (though there are some short-sighted individuals who are opportunists who haven't gotten it <cough> Solomons <cough>).
We are sometimes lucky in our enemies. Their faults, which lead us to oppose them in the first place, aid us immensely.
The BBC article explains absolutely nothing, as expected by the fake news flagman. The dispute goes back to control of parts ot Tibet that are now in India. China claims to be successor to all three Tibet regions: one in China as Autonomous region, another (Amdo) split between Sichhuan and Qinghai and part of the third (Kham) is in India. Same with Ladakh - part of Ngrari (Western Tibet, kind of subregion of Tibet proper). Chinese claims are also racial - read the UN docs. India fears they will claim more lands as many people in East India speak Tibetian languages (Tani, Meitei, etc). But of course, nowadays BBC does not make the effort to inform the public. This is the "root cause".
I was 3 when the PRC annexed Tibet. Have always been able to locate Tibet on a map, but never knew much about the country other than the Dalai Lama popping up at the occasional news conference. The "root cause" of the China-India border tensions kind of makes more sense to me now. Chinese claims based on reclaiming racial areas "controlled" by India don't look like peaceful negotiation will solve the problem. Thanks for the insight.
In the article, it described the people who hang out with the insecure middle school bully that is China as "odious" individuals. That gave me an immediate flashback to James Clavell's novel, Tai-Pan, in which it says that William Longstaff, the fictional British plenipotentiary in the Hong Kong area, is referred to by the Chinese as "Odious Penis". Not meaning to litter your substack, but that implies to me that dicks were and are on both sides of this long game.
"Wolf warrior" is an ancient Chinese expression that means "someone who says and does stupid things loudly in a quiet and crowded room".
The upcoming population crash is not going to be a Good Thing for China. There will be a lot of old doors needing looking after, and no one to do the looking. Artificially controlling the populace with one child policies is not how maintain a healthy, stable population.