Concurring (From the Left)- Two China's-Not One

I have recently read Mr. Carden’s article “Two Chinas- Not One” in his blog the Carden Chronicle’s. 

I have known Mr. Carden for many years.  He sees the world from a much more conservative view point than I do,  I am a self-described liberal,  I am sure he is not.  Despite the fact that on many levels our politics are very different, it is amazing how much common ground still remains.  This is true of our view of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).  In this article, he calls for standing up to the People’s Republic and for the recognizing of the Republic of China (Taiwan).  Let me look at his reasoning and try to determine if there is common ground in this area.

The article states a list of reasons  why the Republic of China is far more deserving than the People’s Republic of China to receive benefits from doing business with the US.  He lists the fact that it is a democracy, this seems to be tough criteria for the United States to apply in the world we find ourselves  today.  The US has to ask itself if this is something that we should support on its own merit, too many times we are faced with the choice between a pro- United States dictator or a Democratically chosen Jihadist government.  The article also goes on to argue, Taiwan being capitalist should be considered in its favor.  Capitalism is not a philosophy that creates friendships, it puts countries in competition.  Mr. Carden then goes on to describe conditions in the People’s Republic of China both currently and historically, and this is where Mr. Carden and I find our common ground.  The People’s Republic of China has a long track record of being on the wrong side of human rights. The PRC is a place where workers have no rights.  They work six days a week in poor conditions and work 12 or more hours a day.  There is no such thing as overtime in the PRC or the right to collective bargaining.  The PRC also has a horrible track record on women’s rights. For decades the People’s Republic had a one child rule.  Yes, abortion was legal in China, but not because they believe in a woman’s right to choose.  No, it was very much the opposite, a woman could not have a second child in the People’s Republic, they are forced to kill their unborn child without any say. And just months after PRC reverses policy on one child, they go after Guo a lawyer once recognized as a champion for woman, the PRC in February of this year closed her NGO after 20 years of providing legal service to poor woman in Hong Kong.  Woman’s rights have always been on attack in the PRC. As the article states there is also no freedom of speech or right to dissent in the PRC, those of us who were alive have no trouble remembering  the scene at Tianaman Square. For those who were not alive the Peoples Republic of China attacked protesters at “the gate of heavenly peace” killing hundreds and perhaps thousands.  It is estimated that over 10,000 people were arrested for doing nothing more than peacefully protesting.  The People’s Republic also does not give its people the right to worship freely as they choose.  Even removing democracy and capitalism from the list laid out by  Mr. Carden it is still a very large list of reasons to oppose the PRC.

Workers’ Rights, woman’s rights, the rights of a free press, freedom to worship or not worship how you please and the right to peaceably disagree with your government are lynch pins of the progressive or liberal agenda.  The People’s Republic does not just limit one of these but all of them.  As a liberal I agree with Mr. Carden and say it is time we quit doing business with the People’s Republic and also that we formerly recognize Republic of China.  It is very simply the right thing to do.  And as Mr. Carden states PRC will react, and taking a stand will cost us something but America has never been afraid to stand up and be counted on to side with what is right.

The “Two China’s- Not One” article goes on to say we should give the jobs that are currently in the PRC to the Republic of China.   While this is not a bad idea, after all Taiwan is a friend of America and is in a very strategic place for US interest in the region. I think this misses an opportunity to address another issue.  Both those on the right and the left believe in doing something on the subject of illegal immigration from Mexico.  Whether you believe in a limited amnesty program or building a wall and beginning deportation, they are treatments to the problem but are not the cure.  Mexico needs a growing economy that puts its own people to work.  Many immigrants from Mexico do not want to leave behind families and home to work in the United States but the lack of quality jobs forces them to do so in order to provide for their families.  If we took the manufacturing jobs that are currently taking place in the People’s Republic and moved them to Mexico we could significantly bolster the Mexican economy and help create a Mexico that can employ its own people.  The question many might ask is how much will this cost the American consumer.  Or to put it another way how much more will my Arizona Cardinals jersey or a new DVD cost if we do this.  Surely Mexican workers would make more money a Chinese worker?  I originally thought I would have to make the argument that yes it would cost more but it is a small price to pay but the truth is when researching this question, I found some interesting information.

A study by the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness at the University of Texas at El Paso shows factory wages in Juárez are among the lowest in Mexico, and plant manager salaries are among the highest. When compared to manufacturing wages in China, Mexico is now 40 percent cheaper.

The jobs can be moved to Mexico without labor costs skyrocketing.  If the US does move the manufacturing taking place in the Peoples Republic of China it is an opportunity to raise wages and create jobs in Mexico which is the best long term approach to dealing with illegal immigration into the United States.  I believe doing so would not only send a strong message to the People’s Republic but allow us to address a critical issue effecting the United States at home.
The United States has failed to stand up to the People’s Republic for far too long.  It is time to support Taiwan and Mexico and call out a repressive regime for what it is.  And this is an area that Americans can find common ground and reject gridlock.

Concurring (From the Left)- Two China's-Not One

Two China's - Not One

It's been a week or so since the President-Elect spoke to the President of Taiwan.  The world has not ended and so far all we are hearing is a US Automaker (unnamed) is going to be penalized.  Besides a lot of drum beating and chest pounding the PRC has little it can do.  


It is time we come to terms with the fact that there are TWO CHINAS (and my post just got blocked in one of them) - the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan).   
The People's Republic of China are communists, and  

People's Republic of China Flag

have in the recent past forced abortions on women who violated the one child policy (up to an including killing full term children just before it took its first breath), suppresses religion brutally, executed God only knows how many in Tianaman Square and is responsible for more executions than old Adolf.  

The Republic of China (Taiwan) is the last hold out of the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Flag

last legitimate government of China led by Chaing Kai-Shek.    When the Mao Revolution came after WWII, the government fled to Taiwan- the last Chinese territory.  This would be analogous to a rebellion in the US. The President & Government flees to Hawaii and continues to call Hawaii the USA while the lower 48 changes its name to the "Associated States of America" - same idea.

The Republic of China, is for all practical purposes a democracy. Many people in that small island speak English. When I visited Taipei, I was stunned at the number of churches-practically one on every corner if not more. The "Bible Belt" seems to have fewer churches than the Republic of China.  The Republic of China believes in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press -unlike their communist brethren across the Taiwan Strait. 

Perhaps even more importantly, the Republic of China believes in capitalism not communism. There is absolutely nothing which we import from the PRC that we could not get from the ROC.
The human rights abuses in The Peoples Republic of China alone should be enough for the United States to stop doing business with them. We have a huge trade deficit with the PRC, and they need our money much more than we need their trinkets. Thailand, Japan, the Republic of China, and many other places in Asia would gladly pick up the business if we stopped sending our money to China (PRC). 

If we were to acknowledge the Republic of China-Taiwan-as its own country, yes the PRC would react. Aircraft orders from Boeing would be canceled. Equipment orders from Catapillar would be canceled. There may be even a ban on the sale of US vehicles in China.
But by acknowledging Taiwan, the Republic of China, as its own government, we would be sending the strongest message that we could. America stands for self-determination, for freedom of speech, for freedom of expression, for freedom of religion, and for freedom of the press- concepts on which our country was founded.

Acknowledging the Republic of China, would cause a reaction from the peoples Republic of China.  Would they launch nuclear missiles at the United States? Probably not. They would shut their doors to us. But the fact still remains, that our trade agreements with the Peoples Republic of China, and the products we buy from the Peoples Republic of China are not being purchased from private enterprise for the most part, they are being purchased from government owned factories. The Peoples Republic of China is after all a communist country. 

We must stop supporting a government that in-prisons

Unknown man stopping tanks in Tienanmen Square

or executes people for having religious beliefs, that in-prisons or executes people for speaking out against their government, that prevents freedom of speech, that prevents freedom of expression-even to the point of having a national firewall to block anything on the Internet they don't like-and that will execute people, for no other reason then what those people think. We saw it at Tiananmen Square. We saw it during the Cultural Revolution.  We saw it during the "Great Leap Forward", where 45 million people were starved beaten or worked to death. Most outshines Hitler, and Stalin, in the number of people he had executed...in fact neither Hitler or Stalin come close to Mao's numbers.  

The difference between Hitler or Stalin and Mao? The country of Germany and even the country of Russia admit Hitler and Stalin committed mass atrocities- and that they were evil men, while the People's Republic of China, bows and "worships" at the feet of Mao, and carries his "Little Red Book" in the pocket over their hearts. 

It's time we stop playing games. It's time for us to call the Peoples Republic Of China what it is, and the Republic of China what it is. They are separate countries. 

There is more than just one China. 

Two China's - Not One

Let "The Games" Begin

Today it began. From across the world the athletes have gathered for the one event in sports at seems to bring the world together, the Olympic Games.

I am not a huge sports fan, but, I do always watch the Olympic Games, winter or summer, and I always feel a sense of pride in my country as I watch team USA take the medal stands.

These Olympic Games are even more exciting, I personally believe, because of where they are-- the People's Republic of China.

I remember fondly the Olympic Games of the 80's at the end of the Cold War. There was excitement as Team USA went up against athletes with CCCP on their uniforms. It was us against the Soviets and even if the finals of an event did not include an America, we could always root for the British, or Aussies or for ANY NATO/Allied Country… all to beat the commies and the Warsaw Pact.

In the 90's and through 2004 some of that rivalry was lost… There was no Communist Evil Empire for us to compete against. I mean I just could not get as excited about us against the Australians, or the Japanese or British.

But these Olympics bring some of the "Old Rivalry" back for me. Team USA is once again in a Communist Country. Again, Team USA will have the chance to show that FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY can prevail over Totalitarianism and Communism…

GO TEAM USA!!!

Lest we forget about the host country and lest we think from the Opening Ceremonies that they are open, free, and respect people and human rights… just a quick note from news I have archived--

February 5, 2008- BEIJING - A court Tuesday sentenced a Chinese democracy activist who wrote about corruption to four years in prison on subversion charges, his wife and lawyer said.

Lu Gengsong was convicted of "inciting subversion of state power" by the Intermediate People's Court in Hangzhou, a resort city near the eastern commercial center of Shanghai.

And, of course, we should never forget what happened just down the street from the new Olympic Stadium--

Let "The Games" Begin

ChiCom Information Warfare

As an Information Technology professional, I end up dealing with network attacks on a daily basis. Some of the more interesting that I have noted lately are from both Iran (top-level domain .ir) and the Peoples Republic of China (top-level domain .cn). A large amount of spam that I see every day and automated penetration attempts have come from IP addresses that trace back to these two countries. It has become bad enough that I routinely block traffic that resolves to China or Iran (traffic that is actually resolving to a domain name). I have often postulated that this activity is organized and an attempt to attack American businesses. This is not a new theory. It has been suggested and reported on since 2001.

Today however, I read that the attacks from the ChiComs have been aimed at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and other such labs around the US.

It should be noted that these attacks are listed as sophisticated. It also should be noted that ALL Internet traffic in and out of the PRC is controlled by the Commie Government. I personally have been told that American Citizens that are in the PRC are not able to get to sites like BlogSpot, etc. and that all traffic is monitored. Therefore it is easy to assume that these attacks are government sponsored or controlled.

ChiCom Information Warfare

ChiComs's New Showers- Cause for Concern?

The Peoples Republic of China (ChiComs) announced today a new shower truck that can be set up in 5 minutes and allow 20 men to shower simultaneously.

The ChiCom press is stating this for the "comfort" of troops.

However-
The ChiComs made a point of announcing that this could be set up in less than 5 minutes. After a week in the field, why is it necessary to have a shower vehicle that can be rapidly deployed? Is this truly just for hygiene?

In my opinion, probably not. Water showers are also used for decontamination from biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. The only military purpose to have a vehicle that can be so rapidly deployed is for this purpose.

I do not believe it to be unreasonable to believe that the ChiComs were sending a message that they are prepared for engagements that may involve these horrific weapons.

ChiComs's New Showers- Cause for Concern?

China Pushing US to Block Taiwan Seperation Moves

The ChiComs (aka the PRC) are "warning" the US to stop selling arms to Taiwan and to oppose the proposed referendum on UN Membership for Taiwan.

I find it repulsive that the US should even consider such a thing. The PRC is a COMMUNIST COUNTRY. The Republic of China is a Democracy and it is the legitimate government of all China.

Lest we forget, during the Communist Revolution in the Republic of China, the government of China fled to its last remaining province, Taiwan. That government, the ORIGINAL government of China, was and is, democratic and is still standing on the island of Taiwan.

We should have a One China policy- Supporting the Democratic China, the Republic of China, until the PRC surrenders.

From Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has again prodded the United States to oppose a controversial referendum on U.N. membership by Taiwan and warned Washington to stop arms sales to the island China claims as its own, state media said on Tuesday.

China Pushing US to Block Taiwan Seperation Moves