Joshua Kurlantzick has written an incisive, well-thought-out, and profoundly disturbing article for the Los Angeles Times -- disturbing to those, that is, who cherish American sovereignty, America's generally positive influence on foreign affairs, and who grasp the increasing military threat that China represents.
Kurlantzick, using the recent pro-Tibet protests that followed the recent trans-global trip of the "Olympic torch" as a case study, astutely observes that, while much of the rest of the world hailed the pro-Tibet protestors, the Chinese themselves -- and younger Chinese, in particular -- seethed with anger at the perceived slights to China's good name.
I was surprised to read of disruptive pro-Chinese protests by Chinese students (many, of course, from China, but are some also Chinese-Americans?) on US campuses against Tibet and/or the Dalai Lama.
Most disturbing of all was the story that Kurlantzick relates of one female Chinese student at Duke University who -- when she attempted to act as a peace-maker between pro-Tibet and pro-China activists on campus -- was photographed and depicted on the Web as a "traitor," complete with both her and her parents' names and contact information.
As the article points out, even if China's political system becomes freer, the result might be an even more dangerous international rival for the United States, as today's college-age Chinese assume the reins of control.
Very sobering indeed.
Hat tip: RCP.
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