Chinese Juggernaut (not economics but politics)

The Chinese regime has shown itself to be one of the least humane and continues to roll over other nations and people with complete disregard. In March, China proclaimed that any movement by Taiwan to declare itself independent will be seen as a criminal act. The Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in his speech to the Chinese Congress said, "We firmly believe that with the efforts of all Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots, complete reunification of China will definitely be realised." China has also increased its defence expenditure for 2007 by 17%. Looks like the plans for world domination continue apace.

One cannot dismiss China's regular spats with Taiwan as internal politics. The one-China principle which China has consistently pushed is a very scary notion for the world because China does not seem to stop aggresive incursions on its neighbors. Its boundaries keep expanding and one has to wonder whether one-China will eventually lead to world domination, especially keeping in mind the emphasis on military expansion.

A few examples of China's designs. Tibet was invaded in 1959 by China. Tibet is a peaceful Buddhist nation that presented no threats to anyone. This nation has suffered tremendously under China's military boot. There is systematic negation of the Tibetan psyche and culture. Over a million Tibetans have died or disappeared since China decided that Tibet was part of one-China. Tibetan leaders have either been killed or have fled and sought refuge in other countries.

In 2005 Chinese soldiers entered the independent kingdom of Bhutan under the pretext of bad weather and they were granted permission by the kingdom on humanitarian grounds. Since then infrastructure for transportation is being built by the Chinese on Bhutan's territory. When Bhutan raised the issue with the Chinese, it was told that it was "over-reacting" and that the border remains disputed.

China has another land dispute on the borders of Tibet. India's eastern-most state of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China as, in their words, "Chinese territory." While no overt hostilities have resulted, army presence of the respective nations is heavy in this area. In my opinion, China has put this issue on a back burner till it has more resources to free up after having absorbed some other more key areas such as those mentioned previously. It is futile at this point to bring up another region of northern India that China usurped in the 1950s claiming it was Chinese.The sad fact is that China does not believe in dialog or respecting people. It only cares about territory. And it is a creeping giant whose boundary lies just outside its boundary.

I am a big admirer of Chinese history and the former Chinese culture. The latter was annihilated by the communists. I can be persuaded that most of the troubles of the region have their basis in short-sighted and, in some cases, malicious policies of colonizing nations. However, at least at this juncture, nations who in ancient texts referred to each other as brother and sister cultures, should find common ground and work together. China's need for an ever-expanding border is not one that bodes well for the South-east and South Asian region. The next major world conflict could have its roots here and we need to work to forestall it.