China: the “Sick Man of Asia” is No More

By David Starr

 

China has come a long way over the years, being brutally exploited as a virtual colony by the Western powers and brutality attacked by imperial Japan before its 1949 revolution in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was born.

 

Before 1949 China was called the “Sick Man of Asia.” For example, Britain became a significant influence in China which led to a series of military conflicts from 1839 to 1842. The Qing dynasty was in power at the time and instituted a ban on the importation of opium, which British merchants were bringing in. 

 

This resulted in the First Opium War between Britain and China, whereby the British defeated Chinese forces and in the aftermath demanded ”compensation” for British merchants. Britian, as a colonial power, insisted on the practice of “free trade” and having “equal” diplomatic relations with China. Britain also took Hong Kong, aiming at making it a permanent colony.

 

Meanwhile the United States got involved in China’s affairs when it signed the treaty of Wanghia with the Qing dynasty in 1844. This resulted in the U.S. getting most favored nation status and U.S. citizens in China were granted extraterritoriality, i.e., they were exempt or immune from local laws.

 

In 1856, tensions continued to rise, resulting in the Second Opium War with the British, as well as the French. (France accused China of murdering a French missionary.)  That was in response to Qing officials seizing a British cargo ship to get rid of more opium.

 

Further, British gunboats shelled Canton, and Britian demanded “compensation” for China’s “aggression.” Eventually, the Qing wanted peace and a another “agreement” was signed in 1858, the Treaty of Tientsin.

 

China then refused to ratify the treaty and both Britian and France also burned down the Qing dynasty’s Old Summer Palace.

 

Moving up to 1899 and 1901, the Boxer Rebellion erupted. This was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist and anti-Christian uprising. But the Eight-Nation Alliance–consisting of American, Austro-Hungarian, British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian troops–crushed the uprising.    

 

In a nutshell, this characterized the actions of the colonial powers toward China. Suffering several defeats, China was humiliated.

 

China continued to be the “Sick Man of Asia” until 1949 when a communist-led revolution triumphed, beating the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) in the Chinese Civil War. 

 

Reforms were implemented which were characterized by democratic policies. For example, women were treated as equals, no longer subjugated by the feudal system.

 

While there were, and are, positive factors in the PRC, it also has had its negatives. The Great Leap Forward was implemented in the 1950s, where communes were established and the negation of private property. This did not turn out well. With the loss of Soviet aid due to an ideological conflict–the Sino-Soviet split–China was in a desperate situation and made serious economic mistakes.

 

However, at the time, Stalinism set a precedent for how socialism should be practiced, which became a perversion and violated the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin.

 

There was the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s – 1970s where many words can be used to describe it: tragic, inspiring, chaotic, revolutionary, etc. It was a case of ideological extremism, where it got to a point that Red Guards were fighting Red Guards. There was a cult of personality, with factions of Red Guards declaring that they were the real upholders of Mao’s ideas.

 

Essentially, what kept the PRC government running in the midst of the Cultural Revolution was the moderation of Chou En-Lai as the day-to-day affairs were put in order.

 

When the chaos got to certain point, the People’s Liberation Army was called in to restore order.    

 

It is possible that Mao was not fully aware of the consequences of Stalinism in the Soviet Union. It was a time when global communication was still limited, as opposed to today where news travels fast.

 

Today, the PRC is a dynamic country with technological prowess. And that’s what U.S. leaders fear. They fear-monger, accusing the PRC of being totally oppressive and authoritarian. And the Communist Party of China (CPC) is their 1950s-like bogeyman. But a lot of the accusations are more fantasy than anything.

 

The Global Times interviewed Wolfram Adolphi, a German political scientist who has researched the PRC for over 40 years. Adolphi talked about the CPC and, admittedly, romanticized the organization somewhat, but nevertheless brings out important truths. 

 

Here are some quotes from the interview:

 

“The CPC has led China out of the ashes of World War II, to a place among the economically and socially most successful countries in the world.”

 

“A stable and economically strong, ecologically responsible and peaceful China is essential for the ability of mankind to solve the big questions it is confronted with: secure peace, stop climate change, protect natural resources, find a way of digitalization which helps to make the world a better one for all, and overcome the growing rift between the rich and the poor.”

 

“Western imperialism is unthinkable without the conquest and semi-colonization of China beginning with the Opium Wars some 200 years ago. Since then, China was seen as a field of almost unrestrained economic exploitation and military and political oppression.”

 

“When the [PRC] was founded in 1949, the West fell back in the old scheme of regarding China as an enemy and nothing else. That leads me to the opinion that there is no ‘misunderstanding,’ but an unwillingness to understand the fact that the role the West has played in the world during the last 200 years has come to an end.”

 

There are attempts by countries, one being the PRC, to establish a multi-polar world in the face of a declining unipolar world dominated by the U.S. empire. But the latter won’t go quietly.

 

On Democracy Now!, hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez interviewed David Vine, an anthropology professor, about the threat of U.S. military bases around the world. Regarding the PRC, Vine had this to say:

 

“Do we want a war with China? I think the people of the United States absolutely do not want war. They are sick of war, sick and tired of war, after 21 years of war launched by the [Bush Jr. regime] with its ‘war on terror…’”

 

“China is not a conventional military threat to the United States. And that can’t be emphasized enough in this moment of ballooning China fear-mongering, a kind of really racist fearmongering that’s both fueled by anti-Asian racism and fueling anti-Asian racism in this moment.” 

 

“[T]he comparison with China’s military presence globally is helpful. China has about eight foreign military bases. This, compared to the 750 military bases outside the states and Washington, D.C., shows again how misdirected our priorities are, because of this foreign policy has been, in my mind, hijacked by the military-industrial complex, the people who are making a killing, often literally, off war, and a foreign policy elite that has taken us down the wrong path.”

 

“Imagine China was to announce that it was going to build a base, for example, in Mexico or Canada or the Caribbean. There would be calls for immediate military reaction. And meanwhile, the United States is in the process of encircling China with more and more bases.”

 

It is, thus, the U.S. empire that is stoking provocations and hostilities against the PRC. With the attempt to encircle the PRC with military bases, how more obvious can it be? 

 

And the CIA has of course been up to no good where China is concerned, conducting espionage activities since the end of World War II. It has especially been active in Tibet, launching attacks and aiding Tibetans to do likewise. But as Michael Parenti writes, Tibet was no Shangri la before the Chinese arrived. Still, Tibetans should have some degree of self-determination, without the Lamas or the right-wing in power. And without CIA interference. 

 

Those who have been involved in attacks in China have often resorted to chaos and violence, supported by the CIA. These “activists” are not there to benefit China. But that’s not to say that all activists take part in these activities.

 

The PRC is now a formidable power and its leaders have apparently prioritized peace and diplomacy over provocations and hostilities. But the Chinese are not under the illusion that the U.S. empire is totally innocent. And if it comes down to it, the PRC will defend itself. China is no longer the “Sick Man of Asia.”