There is something troubling going on in China these days, but it has nothing to do with the financial crisis or the plethora of food products that can sizzle your kidneys or give you the shakes. It is, rather, the return to the scene of one of the worst mass murderers in history.
During his rule as Chinese Community Party (CCP) leader and until his death in 1976, Mao Zedong (毛澤東) was revered as a great tactician and the father of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Starting in the late 1970s, however, the CCP began pulling down the ubiquitous statues of Mao across the country, arguing that it encouraged, in biographer Philip Short’s words, “feudal superstition.” There was also a general agreement that his policies — epitomized by the Cultural Revolution — had been a catastrophe for the country.
His successors, especially Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), dropped Maoist politics, embraced capitalism and opened China to the world, in the process distancing themselves as much as possible from the tyrant.
It is therefore odd that 30 years later, with China better integrated into the global capitalist system and portraying its “rise” as a friendly one, Mao’s image could be rehabilitated. On Sunday, state media reported that Chongqing Medical University had erected a 20m, 46-tonne stainless steel statue in honor of the man who established the PRC. Visible from 5km away, the statue was erected “to encourage and give confidence to our teachers and to instill national character and patriotism in our students,” a university spokesman said.
The man who masterminded the deaths of 30 million Chinese, for whom the end, or belief, justified the means, was also banalized by the CCP during the Olympic Games in Beijing, with large portraits of him looking on while the world feted the Olympic spirit, his past deeds whitewashed in the name of better relations with China.
Even more worrying is the fact that university students, those whose “character” and “patriotism” are to be awakened by the reemergence of Mao as part of the Chinese pantheon, are too young to be aware of what it meant to live under the tyranny that he imposed. Evil, in Hannah Arendt’s turn of phrase, is being made a banality, a means to an end, an acceptable cost in the pursuit of stronger nationalistic fervor.
For the rest of the world, this development cannot be comforting, especially for those who have long argued that China’s “rise” is a benevolent one and that the CCP — now a supposedly far more pragmatic party — is more concerned with national development and the economy than exporting ideology. A return to the past, brought about by renewed reverence for a mass murderer, is not an encouraging sign, especially for Taiwan.
Fueling nationalism is a dangerous strategy. While it can buy a leadership some time by distracting or energizing the masses, it can come back and bite with full force. Performing an endless balancing act to maintain its legitimacy, the CCP could come to regret instilling a Maoist fervor that elevates public expectations. It could force it to depart from its pragmatism of recent years to remain in power.
Odd as it seems, the world could soon be nostalgic for the days of Deng and his milder kind.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath