Ru Zi Ke Jiao

The Guardian has an excellent article, Can China be an international leader?

“China has emerged as a world power far more quickly than most observers – and China’s own leaders – might have predicted as little as a decade ago. China’s rapid economic growth, juxtaposed against America’s problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, monumental debt and role in sparking the global financial crisis, have changed global power realities – and global perceptions of those realities even more. China’s current international influence likely outstrips its desire or capacity.”

NASH: Of course, I was the exception, teaching as far back as 2003 that China would be number 1 within 17 years (by 2020). Pretty much all of my students laughed at me and told me “Nash, you don’t know China.” To which I replied, “Indeed, that’s true. China is so vast, who can really ‘know’ China? But it’s even MORE TRUE that you, my dear students, don’t ‘know’ America.”

I was referring to America’s hidden, but-all-too-real downward trajectory. Today it isn’t nearly as well-hidden.

The big wild-card in all of this is, of course, the Chinese people. Will they STAND UP and demand to be treated with respect by their government? That is, will they demand FREEDOM of SPEECH? Will they demand FREEDOM of INFORMATION?

To the extent that they do – and that the CCP responds – to that extent China will rise to Number 1.

Oh yeah, about all those dollars China owns (see graph above), don’t ever expect to see them, at least in their current ‘worth’. Hmm, if China owns one million dollars, and the USD = 6.75 Yuan, that equals 6.75 million Yuan. But if the USD = 4.00 Yuan, then that’s only 4 million Yuan. Gee, I wonder if THAT is the reason that Americans want the Yuan revalued??? I’m just asking…

I just stumbled upon this website (www.ClassesAndCareers.com) and from the two posts that I’ve read, I’m impressed.

So impressed that I’m recommending them both to you. The first is what you don’t know – or refuse to realize – about American college life. http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2008/05/07/college-students-tomorrows-future-leaders/

The second is about how best to live your one and only life. http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2008/05/09/live-the-dream/

I could have written them both, but I didn’t, so go and read them. Or not. Your choice, choose wisely.

Nicolas Kristof writes in his New York Times column:

“One of the most important diplomatic relationships in the world is between China and the U.S., and it is deteriorating sharply. What’s more, many experts believe it will get considerably worse over the coming year…”

NASH: One of my objectives during my time in China was to strengthen the bonds between China and America. There really is no reason that the two countries cannot work together to tackle the problems that confront us. Kristof concludes his interesting article with this:

“The Communist Party’s greatest success is the extraordinary economic changes it has ushered in over the last three decades with visionary policies and impressive governance. Its greatest failing is its refusal to adjust politically to accommodate the middle class that it created. And its greatest vulnerability is the way it increasingly neither inspires people nor terrifies them, but rather simply annoys them.”

Having invested 6+ years of my life trying to build bridges between China and America, it’s more than a little distressing to hear prominent members from both countries talking of war, even if it is ‘just’ a trade war.

If you’re interested in the latest salvos, you can start here. Or just use your favorite search engine and type in America China War.

It doesn’t have to be this way. But unless OUR future leaders – and by this, I mean YOU! – stand up now, it’s probably going to be an ugly epoch.

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

BusinessWeek has an eye-opening article on how America’s best business school graduates are, upon graduation, fleeing America and rushing towards Asia.

Here are the two money quotes:

“I can’t get out of my head that two-thirds of Silicon Valley companies were started by non-U.S. citizens,” says Manpower CEO Joerres. What if, after Stanford University, Google co-founder Sergey Brin had returned to his birth country of Russia? What if James Tsai is about to do the Next Big Thing — but in his dad’s old country in Beijing?”

“The best and the brightest are leaving,” says the Rotman School’s Florida. “As a country, the U.S. has never confronted this before.”

NASH: I’ve written many times before about the secret to America’s success. It is a formula that any nation can copy. The richness that diversity brings simply can’t be replicated without that diversity.

One more thing, you’ll notice the caption under the Statue of Liberty. Well, that’s the verse that is inscribed in her base. Often times the “poor, tired and wretched masses” have more to offer than we realize.

One of my many objectives while working in China was to strengthen the bonds of friendship between China and the West. I understand – and am quite sympathetic – towards China and Chinese history vis-a-vis the West.

Nevertheless, in order for OUR world to make the progress that we all say that we want, then we MUST learn to work together.

The Washington Post has an article entitled Newly powerful China defies Western nations. It begins:

“China’s government has embraced an increasingly anti-Western tone in recent months and is adopting policies across a wide spectrum that reflect a heightened fear of foreign influence.”

NASH: Of course, China isn’t alone in stirring the pot. Many politicians in America find China to be an easy and convenient scapegoat for America’s problems.

We’ve simply too many important issues to tackle TOGETHER to waste our time fighting each other.

From The New York Times: “Several American government officials gave details about the raid on the condition that they not be named, because the operation was classified.”

NASH: Treason is a very serious charge and for much of mankind’s history, the penalty has traditionally been death. Of course, power corrupts and all sorts of people who dared to speak out against a king, dictator or president have been charged with treason and ‘eliminated’ – UNJUSTLY.

The quote that I started with is from this week. It involves at least one American government official betraying his or her sworn oath to not reveal classified information. In short, treason.

I know that the world is rarely black and white – that sometimes the greater good is served by those willing to break just such an oath. (For example, to reveal a president’s corrupt acts.) However, in this case, there appears to be no “greater good”, just some people who have no sense of honor. Nor love for their country.

SHAME on them. And shame on our Commander-in-Chief (President Obama) for letting them get away with it.

“We’re not only a scientifically illiterate nation, we’re a scientifically intolerant nation.”
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35412035#35406458

The issue under discussion is vaccinations and autism. Once upon a time, more than a decade ago, there was a ’scientific’ study done – and published by The Lancet - that showed a connection between the two. However, just last week, The Lancet took the highly unusual step of retracting the published study, saying that it no longer had confidence in the integrity of the study.

This topic reminds me of the philosophical question, “what’s the difference between a man who can’t read and a man who doesn’t read?”

And this entire, sad and sorry episode just goes to show, once again, that YOU are the ultimate person responsible for yours and your family’s well-being. Not the government, not some scientific publication, just you.

What you don’t know about something is more important than what you know about it. Here’s one more piece to the puzzle that is America.

As Chinese, you need to see how America’s MSM (mainstream media) presents China. “Know thine enemy better than one knows thyself” – Sun Tzu from The Art of War. Two videos because they’re two parts.

ALWAYS THINK….BOTH VIDEOS CONTAIN SOME INACCURACIES – as would be expected.

From the N.Y. Post’s article China’s Debt Bomb:

“Last March, the Pentagon held its first-ever economic-warfare war game, with China as the putative opponent and with economists and bankers (including from UBS) helping out.”

“Details of what unfolded are still classified. However, sources told Fox Business News that the scenario played out as planned. That was the good news.”

“The bad news is that China won.”

NASH: The world has entered another MAD (as in Mutually Assured Destruction) period. America is addicted to “easy” credit and China is addicted to “easy” exports. Were China to simply lose it’s entire dollar portfolio – some 2 trillion dollars – that wouldn’t be the worst of it. The worst would be the millions of poorly educated Chinese who would be locked out of their factories – losing their homes (dormitories) – as well as their income. The same results occur if China stops buying American debt.

In one sense, America has already lost, and the article talks about that, referring to Sun Tzu’s dictum about wars being won or lost before they’re actually fought. And I believe that’s right. America has already danced the dance and now must pay the piper.

China can (and eventually will) turn their factory workers productivity inward to build a more civil society. (Imagine a China with 100 Shenzhens!) Chinese will continue to live in a country with an increasing standard of living. But America is going to have to get used to the opposite, a lower standard of living, indeed a lower quality of life.

Go ahead and read the entire article. You need to know your adversary. (I wish that the Chinese/American relationship wasn’t defined thusly – I worked to prevent just that – but too few were interested in joining this cause. Sometimes it’s easier to be enemies than it is to be friends.) What a pity!

[This post is for EVERYONE.]

I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that China is poised to lead the world. Back in 2003, I predicted that by 2020 (just 17 years) China would be number 1. I wasn’t just referring to economics, I was referring to leadership. Back then, my students laughed at me and said “Oh Nash, you really don’t know China.” My reply, “Oh students, you really don’t know America.” Today, everyone knows America a bit better.

Everyone knew China’s upward trajectory, but few realized that America’s trajectory was downward. I did. My students asked how I could be so sure. I answered, “If you plant apple seeds today, tomorrow [in the near future] you’re going to get apples.” And so, the intersection of these two trajectories will occur much sooner than my students could have imagined back then.

I still hold to my 2020 prediction. HOWEVER, that prediction was ALWAYS based on the next generation of Chinese – I’m talking about people like you, the students of SZZX – standing up and leading their country. [LEAD = SACRIFICE = LOVE] Unfortunately for China, far too many (most?) of my former students aren’t interested in sacrificing for a better China. They would rather flee the country and take care of themselves and their families first. That is their right, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But thank God that Deng Xiaoping didn’t have that attitude, because if he did, then the students today wouldn’t have that option. They wouldn’t have ANY options.

I’m reminiscing about all of this because of a recent Boston Globe article subtitled: When will China lead the world? Don’t hold your breath The article’s overarching theme is the rise of Asia, but as a practical matter, it’s about China’s rise. Below are a few excerpts. Whether you agree or disagree, it’s important to have a variety of perspectives in order to see things clearly. So don’t hesitate to go and tackle the entire article.

“As Asia throws up barriers to immigration, in the United States immigration helps ensure long-term economic vitality. Chinese and Indian immigrants accounted for almost one-quarter of all companies in Silicon Valley, according to research by AnnaLee Saxenian at the University of California-Berkeley.”

“Most important, the United States is a champion of an idea that has global appeal, and Asia is not. During the opposition protests in Iran, demonstrators look to the United States, not China or Indonesia or even India, to make a statement. In a reversal of the Iranian regime’s rhetoric, some protestors even chant “Death to China” because of Beijing’s support for the repressive government in Tehran. As long as protestors in places like Iran, or Burma or Ukraine, call out for the American president, and not China’s leader or India’s prime minister, the United States will remain the preeminent power.”

“To be the global hegemon requires military, economic, and political might, but it also means offering a vision for the world.”

The Economist has this picture as its cover this week. The article - Facing up to China – is worth reading.

What’s America doing with all those U.S. dollars that China keeps giving, er, loaning us? Here’s what:
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35247110#35247211

That’s right, we’re tearing down perfectly good, but 34 year old stadiums and building newer, larger, more luxurious ones. And why not? When the time comes to repay China, all America has to do is to add a few zero’s to the printing presses, 6 to be exact. That way, instead of printing one dollar bills, we’ll be printing ONE MILLION DOLLAR bills. It’ll be easy to “honor” our debt this way. Suckers!