Why China’s Communists Love Jimmy Carter
Only democracies merit the 39th president's criticism.
Are the Chinese people more free at this moment? Today, China’s citizens certainly have more choice in their lives than they did when Mao died. They can, for example, marry whom they want, live where they choose, and work for the employer of their choice. These personal freedoms are significant, of course. The continuing withdrawal of the Communist Party from both the workplace and the home means that China is no longer a Maoist totalitarian state. And the state has continued to withdraw from people’s lives after Deng’s death.
But the advance of freedom has more to do with demands from the citizens than with the liberalization of the regime. And, while Chinese society as a whole has become freer due to grassroots demands, the country’s political system has become more repressive. China, unfortunately, is in the sixth year of a crackdown, sponsored by Hu Jintao, on everybody, from newspaper editors to the writers of karaoke songs. The Communist Party has recently added controls on internet cafes, closed nongovernmental organizations, and added even more restrictions on religious practices. The disastrous one-child policy is still brutally enforced.
Moreover, the room for political speech has narrowed considerably. Twenty years ago, in the first half of 1989, Chinese people could talk politics with far less fear of reprisal than they can today. Why? For one thing, the Communist Party has been unable to acknowledge responsibility for the Tiananmen slaughter and so has felt the need to stifle talk of democratization and other political topics. Moreover, today’s bland leaders simply feel less secure than the charismatic Deng Xiaoping.
In these circumstances, it is no surprise that there is not much “more participation in government by the people.” The central government has allowed citizens to comment on proposed rules and legislation and to sue officials in court in severely limited circumstances, but that is small beer considering all the time that has passed since Mao died. The Communist Party still demands that it alone exercise power.
What is the reality of political freedom at this moment? Let’s look at a series of events that started last year as an example. The Chinese government announced that it was setting up zones for protesters during the Olympics in August. Though many applied for permits, none were ever granted. The state detained those who wanted to demonstrate, including two women — aged 77 and 79 — who were sentenced to labor camp before an international outcry forced their release. Last week, one man who sought a permit got three years in the slammer.
Little that Carter said about improvement of rights in China is right. Yet Jimmy doesn’t have to worry about his personal safety while visiting his favorite authoritarian states, because their rulers will never put him in jail. His foreign trips now have a predictable quality about them. He chooses the most repressive country in the region, flies into its capital city, blesses the resident despot, then leaves with glowing press coverage from state media. No wonder Carter says we shouldn’t have an “inordinate fear of communism.” Communist leaders just love this guy.
Yet Jimbo Carter is a man who prides himself on championing human rights — he has been a vociferous critic of Bush administration rights practices, for instance. But during last week’s trip he had not one word to say in public about his Chinese hosts’ horrific human rights record. After all, it’s only democracies that merit his criticism. He can’t seem to stop praising communists.
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Gordon G. Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World and The Coming Collapse of China.
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71 Comments
1. kraythe:True. The totalitarian state has better PR because they control freedom of speech and the press. Its a lot easier to look good to the international stage if you shoot all your critics. Liberals in this country have abandoned rational thought, logic and discourse and replaced it with emotionalism. You can get elected as a liberal on the vague platitude of “change you can believe in” rather than any specific policy positions. The problem is that they are now in control. Carter’s friends have nearly the whole shooting match. Lets just hope the conservative supreme court justices can hold out 4 years.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:42 am 2. Carlos:The fact that he is even expected to discuss a country’s human rights record is due to the fact that no one has to ask if China’s human rights are as good as the West’s. They aren’t, and Carter doesn’t need to be more undiplomatic and emphasize that to people that -are thinking about exactly that-.
I’ve never heard of anyone asking him about human rights in Denmark, or about human rights in Britain. Why? Because it’s not worth briefing that human rights in the West are about the same as they were 10 years ago.
In the case of the -US-, however, there is an issue: The US is based on the idea of freedom. While it’s annoying to always be criticized when we are doing so much better than the world at large on freedom, we are -expected- to be the best of the best, and some citizens (the Jimmy Carters of the world) will not see -any- flaws as acceptable in -this- country.
It’s annoying, it’s ironic, but it serves a purpose: If we -weren’t- self-critical (as a nation) and willing to push to improve no matter -how- much better than the world we are, then we might not have gotten to where we are today. Can you imagine if “separate but equal” would still be here today simply because people point to China or Iran or Africa and say, “They act worse”? That would be ridiculous.
In other words, while there should be some temperance, the fact is, often we -don’t- measure the US with the same bar, because if we want to be the best hope of humanity, then we have to strike that much harder.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:51 am 3. Carlos:That’s “strive”… Please excuse that typo.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:53 am 4. kraythe:Carlos:
Your naivety is astounding. Do you actually think you can try military prisoners captured on the battlefield in an american jury system? Does the idea of giving away confidential and classified sources and putting men’s lives in danger not bother you? Would you throw the books open on the classified technologies and techniques to allow the enemies of the USA to train better and avoid those techniqes? Do you think CSI can swoop down from Miami and do an investigation on a live battlefield? Do you think it is ok to just release a terrorist because the chain of evidence required for a civil trial is impossible in a combat zone? Should we just release these terrorists on american streets? After all, their own governments don’t want them back and I assume you are for against sending them back to governments that might torture or execute them? Do we spend billions of taxpayer dollars for high priced attorneys to get a bunch of terrorists off who would rather burn our children alive?
You sit there begin glib and academic without thinking things through in practicality. We don’t live in a theoretical textbook, we live in the real world. Do not attempt a reply without answering the questions above. Platitudes don’t keep america safe. People putting their lives at risk keep it safe and the life of a special forces operative in Afghanistan is worth a hell of a lot more to me than that of some stupid terrorist. And I personally don’t care one whiff about Kalid Sheik Muhamed’s bloody rights, or the rights of any of these other psychos. However, I do know that any civilian trial of KSM would fail due to half a dozen technicalities. Shall we just let him go with a pat on the head?
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:19 am 5. Jim Baker:I actually liked Jimmy Carter when he was President, and I was in a small minority. But I was very young and I still imagined that all the social engineering programs could accomplish their goals. I don’t know what makes Carter tick, but I suspect he is still (after nearly 30 years) trying to improve his standing in history. Now this guy trots around the world, posturing to every 3rd world dictator as if he is the voice of America. He is the ONLY ex-POTUS who has ever tried to undermine sitting Presidents on foreign affairs, at least in my lifetime. Even Bill Clinton has known better than this. I hate this behavior and I am now ashamed to say that I once voted for him.
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:36 am 6. Anton:He was a bad peanut farmer, a disaster as a president and now suffers such anxiety over no one caring about him that he dodders about the world making an ass of himself. If he was a three year old he would be in “time out”.
It’s too bad his mother taught him to talk.
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:46 am 7. Lian:China close off China’s internal market to foreign goods and services is very smart, it’s called Infant Industry Promotion; Britain, United States and Japan all done the same during their own industralization period.
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:47 am 8. Kathryn (Petition: We Demand True Conservative Leadership):Jimmy Carter’s disdain for the U.S. and Israel and his love for dictatorships makes this guy, in a phrase, nuts. How can a former president be so far off the reservation to be arguably disturbed mentally. Talk about monumental self-delusion.
Jan 19, 2009 - 12:25 pm 9. Mike T:Instead, they can point to the fact that we have heavy restrictions on every single part of the Bill of Rights except for the 3rd Amendment. The only thing we are truly leading the world on is the absolute right to not have a soldier quartered in civilian homes against their will.
Jan 19, 2009 - 12:37 pm 10. dave:YES! Let’s keep bashing communist regimes (especially China, because they are rising fast), because that is what gives us Americans meaning! Just like how wishing for Israel’s destruction gives Islamic militant’s lives meaning.
Jan 19, 2009 - 12:44 pm 11. Victoria:If you agree with me that Carter is a scumbag, just imagine what he did to sexually abused kids in Georgia during his governor days. What he did to protect Louis Poetter and Jim Parham’s Annewakee’s pedophile school for troubled teens is a disgrace. Carter took Parham to the White House and then went on a national tour to launch Arafat as a legitimate Palestinian leader. Truly a sicko.
Jan 19, 2009 - 1:32 pm 12. johngaltlives:maybe JIMMY THE COMMIE LOVER should meet with his GLOBAL WARMING PAL Maurice “the Red” Strong while hes there. After all, STRONG, A CANADIAN EXPATRIATE AND FORMER KOFI THE ANUS DEPUTY AT THE UN, IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MOVERS AND SHAKERS, ALONG WITH FELLOW CAR DUH SUCKUP GEORGE SOROS OF THE GLOBAL WARMING SCAM. Just living in RED CHINA alone should tell you what a joke STRONG is and anyone who associates with him. We all know what a joke Jimmy the Car duh is. Lets add the likes of ALBORE, SOROS, OBAMASKANK, MCSHAME AND THE IDIOT “DR”(KEVORKIAN) JAMES HANSEN TO THAT LIST.
Jan 19, 2009 - 2:10 pm 13. lithium:They can, for example … live where they choose,
==================================================
The autor just has been out of our crapy country for too long. The truth is that, as if I were a rural Chinese working big city like Beijing or Shanghai or Guangzhou, I could only “temporarily” live in the city under a ceritificate issued by police and would be subject to humiliating scheduled and/or non-scheduled searches. Caught without that certificate at hand (even you have it at your apt.), I were gona be arrested at once, fined and kicked out from the city and highly possibly just beaten to death. We do have cases of death. And I would be driven out from the city at any time just when the city needs to like “neat” for some events like an international meeting or the Olympics. Thank God, this is not my life. But this is the true lives of many people I saw every day when I was in my hometown.
Jan 19, 2009 - 2:15 pm 14. Jim Baker:As a friend of Communist govenment, Carter is an enemy to Chinese people. I somehow wonder whether he receives money from Beijing.
dave,
Jan 19, 2009 - 3:32 pm 15. Dave(Different Dave):Does this mean you are a communist, or just that you don’t see how people can have a sense of meaning in their lives? It appears to me that once China gave up on communist economic principles, they began to make economic progress. Sort of the opposite of what we are doing. As far as the meaning of life? You can deal with that.
“YES! Let’s keep bashing communist regimes (especially China, because they are rising fast), because that is what gives us Americans meaning! Just like how wishing for Israel’s destruction gives Islamic militant’s lives meaning.”
Are you saying that dedicating ones life to murder, genocide of another people, and the destruction of a nation is the same as opposing dictatorship and oppression?
Seriously dude, put down the moral equivalence weed.
Jan 19, 2009 - 4:46 pm 16. Thom Fisher:Hey, quit picking on China. I have conference call with my China colleagues twice a week, driving the development and sales of American goods for an American Corporation. We’re capitalists first, and Christians second.
Jan 19, 2009 - 5:36 pm 17. Gordon Chang:China is a capitalist’s dream. We have workers who work two jobs – 8 hours at one job, 8 hours at another. They get $0.45/hour. No benefits. They pay their employer for room and board, and have nothing left for themselves. We do this so we don’t have to pay Americans wages for manufacturing anything. We don’t have environmental laws in China to worry about. We don’t have retirement benefits for workers in China. We don’t have unions that would hamper us from firing people and hiring younger, cheaper ones. In short, we in America can take our capital money, and earn huge returns on it, without any obligation to workers, or the environment or society. We exploit their resources, water, air, people, all for a healthy return. And since I’m in the white collar class of an American company doing this, I’m sitting sweet. And someday all this wealth will trickle down to common Americans in America. Someday. Keep waiting. But please vote for more tax breaks for me and my corpration. Make them permanent. And pray for your health and mine while you’re at it. suckers.
kraythe, yes, but China’s friends are about to get mugged by reality. From trade to security matters, Beijing is set to lose supporters in the United States due to things it is doing. The trend will pick up speed as the Chinese economy decelerates and fewer Americans see opportunites there.
Jan 19, 2009 - 5:48 pm 18. Gordon Chang:Carlos, thank you for pointing out that we Americans should always hold ourselves to the highest standard.
But once someone like Carter sets himself up as a champion of human rights, that person has a moral obligation to raise that topic in hardline states like China.
Jan 19, 2009 - 5:52 pm 19. Gordon Chang:Jim Baker, yes to all you write.
Carter would have been enraged if one of his predecessors did to him what he has been doing to his successors.
Jan 19, 2009 - 5:54 pm 20. Gordon Chang:Lian, China is no longer an “infant.” It has been manufacturing on a large scale for decades, even in the KMT period.
Second, China is a member of the World Trade Organization. The others were not during their manufacturing infancies.
Jan 19, 2009 - 5:58 pm 21. Gordon Chang:dave, China is “rising” at this moment? Looking at its economy and spreading social unrest, “falling” would be a better word.
What gives America meaning is its values, by the way.
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:01 pm 22. Gordon Chang:Victoria, thanks for the historical info.
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:02 pm 23. Gordon Chang:lithium, thank you for raising the hukou issue.
The system of residency permits has been breaking down in recent years, and hundreds of millions of Chinese are living in places without the proper hukou. So, I thought that statement was defensible.
You are absolutely right, however, that people are subject to official pressure because they do not have the proper hukou and some are even killed by police. China has a long way to go, even in the areas in which it is making progress.
I very much appreciate your comment.
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:16 pm 24. Gordon Chang:Thom Fisher, please let Jimmy Carter know what you have just written here about the plight of Chinese workers.
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:22 pm 25. dave:spreading social unrest? The country has 1.6+ billion people. Just because it has more unrest than the US doesn’t mean its unstable. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see the unrest in tibet as being western backed. Oh, and look at OUR (U.S) falling economy first before looking at China’s. And this is laughable, you say that “It [China] has been manufacturing on a large scale for decades” – China wasn’t even industrialized during the KMT era, which was part of the reasons why Japan was able to run all over China in the second world war. And Jim, you wouldn’t have agreed to the bailout of the banks and the Big 3 automakers because it was socialistic, right? (at least that’s what some conservatives are saying)
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:51 pm 26. dave:and “Dave”, there are radical militants in the Xinjiang province (and tibet as well) who would love to see China blown to smithereens. We support these “freedom fighters”, who we see as being “oppressed by the Chinese/Communists”. There are also a lot of people who wished we had nuked China during the Korean War. Sounds quite similar to what Hamas is preaching, the destruction of the state and all.
Jan 19, 2009 - 6:58 pm 27. dave:Mr. Chang, I am sorry but China isn’t falling anytime soon, despite what you wrote in your book 8 years ago.
Jan 19, 2009 - 7:01 pm 28. Jun Sam:we can always engage China to be more open and respect human rights and freedom of religion.
but the sad thing now is China is helping the US in this economic crisis. the USA may yet become a little isolationist to protect itself because it has been very democratic, especially at Wall Street.
maybe China is preparing their people for more openness. maybe they believe in giving them economic freedom before political. who knows a new Chinese leader will be like Gorbachev.
Jan 19, 2009 - 9:07 pm 29. Larry Hackett:Better go easy, China owns $3 Trillion of US debt. What is going to happen when they no longer buy our debt generated annually with deficit spending? What is going to happen when the world denominated currency becomes the EU Euro?
Long before the election last year, I pitied both John McCain and Barack Obama for the economic mess we have created.
By the way, I was disappointed in the Carter presidency because he never “turned the corner.” However, he is the most active former president in American history. Rutherford B. Hayes held that distinction before Carter.
Jan 19, 2009 - 9:13 pm 30. Knights13:I’m learning how to speak chinese.
Jan 19, 2009 - 9:48 pm 31. Zipper:What a bunch of hate rhetoric and pure bullshit about a good and decent man. Too bad, but all you redneck bastards couldn’t tie Carter’s shoe laces.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:04 pm 32. ChinaJoeBlue:Ladies and Gentleman,
I never get tired of hearing the rhetoric of my fellow Americans when it comes to the business of other countries. Their (your) opinions rarely fail to point out your perceived deficiencies of another country while ignoring our own. Most Americans think that our way of life and governmental system is by far the best. Yet, even with our short history as a glorious nation you simply cannot remember it.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:23 pm 33. righteous king:We are a nation of brats, spoiled to the core. The first settlers in America were a rag-tag group who couldn’t even farm or keep warm in the winter. However, some true Americans helped us out and aided them in their survival. How were they repaid? We murdered them. We stole their land. We refused to give them “civil rights”. All this after we refuse to pay our taxes to our mother land.
What if China called the reigning in of Tibet and Taiwan “Manifest Destiny”? Would that set better with the American people? Perhaps China could use a better PR firm but it’s no different than we as a nation have done since our inception. What about our governments need to establish other democratic outpost in the world? How many times did we stick our nose in South America and Southeast Asia only to get rebuffed? China has never, will never do things such as these.
I live in China. I have for nearly 3 years and I love every day here. The Chinese people as a whole are so welcoming, so humble, and so unbelievably hardworking that it never fails to impress me. Now, before you try and take my passport away I’ll give you a bit of my history. I am one of three children born to a man who served in Vietnam and a woman who raised us on her own. All of my siblings and I have served proudly in the US Army. I love my country and get back as often as I can. However, I’m not blind to the realities of it.
Over my time spent in China I have traveled extensively and spoke to a great number of Chinese people. All are proud of their country’s progress and look forward to a bright future in which China is larger player in world affairs. Patriotism is not limited to America. I have asked these people as well as my friends what types of changes they would like to see in the future. Most say a cleaner environment, better education, and things of that sort. They don’t say “we want more human rights”.
Is China tough on its criminals? Heck yes. But, you know, it’s refreshing. What happen to the man who was heading a food industry, milking millions, and allowed people to die to his incompetence? He was executed. Quickly. What is happening to Maddoff? He’s staying in his penthouse and will be sent to a country club jail at the American taxpayer’s expense. I prefer the first with no apologies.
People have stated that the police beat and kill civilians here. Oh really? Doesn’t that sound familiar? It happens on our streets in America nearly everyday. As a nation, we are only about 50 years removed from finally giving a race with darker skin their own freedoms and rights. How soon America forgets.
The one child policy? Ha! I have several friends who have more than one child. It’s that if you work for the government or are in the Communist party and have a second child you get fired or put out of the party. That’s it. If you aren’t in this type of situation you can simply pay a fine and have your child registered. Most people need to do a little homework before they start pointing fingers.
The Chinese economy? Let me see. Is China in debt up to its ears? No. Is China fighting a “war” that it can’t win spending billions each month? No. The Chinese economy will be fine. Search Zeitgeist on YouTube and you’ll get a better picture of our “economy”.
And the next time you would like to spout off about this horrible regime here in Asia, take a look around your house or apartment. All those things that you own that say “Made in China” help to prop it up.
Gordon Chan is such a lousy wirter that his books aren’t fit to be used to wipe the butts of living beings. If the US main creditor is heading for the fall, I suppose it is better to foreclose their number one deadbeat customer- the entire US of A, and evict the occupants from the foreclosed property. You can bet Gordon Chan would be the first to be kicked out – maybe to Mars. At least he may make history to reach there maybe in a stainless steel crypt if he’s lucky to have enough to pay for his one way ticket to the boondocks. Seriously, Gordon, why were you ever born? If you don’t have the brains to get by, at least, don’t keep your trap shut.
You are a sorry example of bad breeding. Your ancestors will not forgive you for bringing such dishonour to them. Honourable people of Chinese origins would have committed suicide long ago. But with your type of pedigree, you are an obvious example of very very bad breeding.
Jan 19, 2009 - 10:23 pm 34. Yambo:THis guy again? Jimmah is probably the most hated American in Israel and Taiwan.
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:28 pm 35. Liam:At first we all bitched about China being secluded, communist, closed from the surrounding world, isolationist, xenophobic, etc. Now they finally have opened up, practice capitalism and everyone is scared. What did you think was going to happen when a country of 1.3 billion people entered the global market ? Do you want to compete with a billion + people manufacturing things ? You asked for it, now deal with it. By the way, the Chinese workers actually build a physical product, whether it be a toy, a fence, an electronic component, a battery, etc. The Chinese people dig a ditch, raise a bridge, and lay thousands of railway miles a year. In contrast, here in the US, we enter APR rates into an excel spreadsheet, and call that a “market analyst” job, we calculate how much APR and what not minimum payment on a credit card should be, and call it a financial adviser, we still adhere to the philosophy of making a profit as quickly as possible; in this horrible economy Yahoo’s most widely read topic is “6 Figure Income Jobs without a college degree”, i.e. we still have people trying to take a SHORTCUT to making most money with least investment on their part; Who shall dig the trenches for our roads and infrastructure ? When will we be gutsy enough to tell a single mother of 5 offspring that sociology is not going to be a good major for her career ? When will we stop idolizing community colleges which are nothing but a playground for less than capable adults to obtain a framed diploma meaning ZERO ? Wake up people, put your hands on a hammer, a nail, a yard stick and produce something valuable – getting a history degree will not get you a job – I can look up when Napoleon was born in a second.
The Chinese work hard, they produce TANGIBLE, TOUCHABLE, USABLE objects – hedge funds and annuities don’t fall in that category. Stop making money off money – it will only go so far
Jan 19, 2009 - 11:34 pm 36. cedarford:Larry Hackett -
By the way, I was disappointed in the Carter presidency because he never “turned the corner.” However, he is the most active former president in American history. Rutherford B. Hayes held that distinction before Carter.
Active does not mean good. Napoleon was the most active deposed dictator. Certain career criminals impress prosecutors with their drive and dedication. And we all likely know someone of diligent stupidity that won’t quit embarassing themselves until they draw their last breath.
The mark of a President is set from their years in office and how history sees their decisions playing out (rewarding Truman, Eisenhower, and likely Nixon and LBJ…who keep rising higher in estimation than they were regarded when they left office.)
Post-office, many a good President did little, without hurting their reputation. A few diminished themselves.
But like other leaders in other countries, quality of post-office acts counts more than quantity or public visibility.
Grant lived a short time after office, but is hailed for his Autobiography – considered great literature. Hoover did not do much in public – especially since FDR and Truman, particularly FDR – froze him out of public jobs..But he worked behind the scenes on a range of public administration and civics issues at the Hoover Institute that helped elevate him again as a man of great consequence.
Nixon had nowhere to go but up, but when he died 20 years after Watergate – it was as a man who had counseled hundreds of American politicians, academics, many foreign leaders, 4 successor Presidents. The author of 6 major books on Statecraft, political history that upset the “narrative” in place of the 1940s through 80s. And a superb Autobiography. He died, his neighbors said, a well-liked guy who had found charm and his place with God – “A pity it didn’t come to him sooner”, one New Jersey housewife who met him several times on his walks, said “But it did come. He was not at all the person I was taught I would hate if I knew him..”
Carter’s journey has been active, but troubled. Like the guy who screwed up and then blundered about, trying to please too hard and wanting attention too much. He has directly interfered in each President’s foreign policy from Reagan onwards, so he is generally detested – what he did to screw up efforts in Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, Cuba, the ME, N Korea, Columbia, Peru, Bosnia, Iraq – has not been met by any respect from the foreign policy establishment.
Jan 20, 2009 - 12:14 am 37. Alex:Oh, he builds houses, and preaches about human rights – but his gransstanding activities undermining his elected successors have diminished him further.
It is professional and journalistic courtesy to address any ex president of the United States as president or former president. In this case former president Carter, not Jimbo Carter. The same would be extended to any world leader regardless if we agree with them or not.
I live in China and find it a fascinating Country with warm and incredibly interesting people. The politics are complex but the people are eager to learn and endlessly curious about other nations and people, what they think and what we can learn from each other. Chinese leadership is following time tested procedures for change; take each step carefully. Especially in China’s case, as a nation of 1.3 Billion cannot afford to make mistakes. Each step should be calculated carefully with thoughtfull deliberation.
As some of the posters have noted, China actually produces a tangible product as opposed to applying window dressing like so many other nations. Western Governments believed that their economies could simply ship manufacuturing offhore, let another country add value and allow western economies to add larger profit margins and all would be well? It was a house of cards and it fell in on itself. Specialized compartmentalization worked well 100 years ago, it will not work in todays economic system.
Most Chinese banks didnt understand how the subprime industry operated or could achieve profit, and ALL of them refused to touch derivatives market…they studied the sectors and could not understand where the money comes from so they refused to play along.
If more people had used this common sense approach, the banking system would not be in the mess we see today. The same approach must be taken with social structure in China. Change takes time and must be incorporated slowly, carefully and with care not to disturb existing foundation to economies and cultural foundation.
Jan 20, 2009 - 1:24 am 38. Steveoh:Did anyone else see the photos of all of the living presidents meeting Obama in the Oval Office. No one would get with in 4-5 feet of Jimmah. The worst President in modern times. His fear and indecision coupled with his flat out poor decision making left our country in shambles. His decisions regarding foreign policy still haunt us today. Did anyone catch the PBS special on his Presidency? The uber liberal PBS tore him to threads, and rightfully so, only to try to slip in a caveat at the conclusion that his library has raised so much money and done so many wonderful things. Yes, the same Saudi bought and owned library, driving his current anti-Israel lunacy. Yes this is the man who, hand picked the terrorist Mugabe in Rhodesia over Murowewa, the peaceful Christian African bishop, who would not have destroyed his country as Mugabe did. Carter has far more blood on his hands than any modern president and that includes George W. P.S. With his love of monitoring elections, why didn’t Carter travel to Zimbabwe when Mugabe murdered opposition and stole power once again last year? Answer, too busy with his agenda of eliminating the state of Israel in his time. I will rejoice the day the sick geezer croaks!
Jan 20, 2009 - 4:52 am 39. Brian:Carter is a lose cannon who has undermined past presidents of this country. The man has no class.
Jan 20, 2009 - 4:53 am 40. SAF:Jimmy Carter is a genius. He was the only person in the history of my life long democratic voting parents to get them to vote Republican in 1980.
Apparently not such a good carpenter. Some of the “affordable housing” he built with his own hands has collapsed.
Jan 20, 2009 - 4:54 am 41. Larry Hackett:In sheer intellect, Jimmy Carter is probably the most brilliant mind to ever sit in the presidency.
He has didactic imagery with 100% recall. He constantly dazzled his OMB people by quotating page after page of budget proposals.
His candidacy in 1976 was one primary at a time and was ready to fold his tent immediately if need be but he went all the way to the White House.
When facing reelection in 1980, on the Sunday afternoon before the election in November he was working the phones telling his family and closest friends that he had lost. Pat Caddell was one of the great opinion pollsters of his day. Regan did not have a clue he had won until election day.
The people who Carter inspired to build houses for the needy are still building houses. Six were recently opened in my hometown.
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:18 am 42. Gordon Chang:dave, we shall see the significance of protests in China today, but no analyst thinks the country is stable at this moment, neither friend nor foe.
China was in fact industralizing in the KMT period. The Japanese overran China–as they overran the United States and the Allies–because they had a superior military.
And although there is sympathy for the Uighurs and the Tibetans in the West, these minorities do not have that much support from Western leaders beyond permitting symbolic visits from the Dalai Lama. The minority unrest in China is due to Beijing’s unsustainable–and abhorrent–minority policies.
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:41 am 43. Gordon Chang:Jun Sam, maybe there will be a Chinese Gorbachev someday, but the senior leaders of the Communist Party at this moment are dead set against liberalization. There is no other interpretation that fits the facts.
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:43 am 44. Gordon Chang:Larry Hackett, China holds U.S. debt, but that does not necessarily means it has leverage over us. First, it has no choice but to buy and hold our paper because its economy is dependent on selling to America. Second, with American savings rates going up, we can finance our own needs. Third, China can dump our debt, but it will have to buy euros and yen, which means the Europeans and Japanese will have to buy dollars. There is, in reality, no debt weapon.
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:48 am 45. Gordon Chang:Knights13, good for you.
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:48 am 46. Gordon Chang:ChinaJoeBlue, there is much in what you say, but there is a lot that you are not seeing about China–and about America. One can write a book discussing the issues you discuss.
In the meantime, let me ask you a question: If China is so great, why does the Communist Party feel the need to be so repressive?
Jan 20, 2009 - 6:53 am 47. Gordon Chang:Liam, one the strengths of America is that we do not tell people what to do. We let people decide on their own, fail, and succeed. Government direction can only take a nation so far, as the Chinese people well know.
Jan 20, 2009 - 7:31 am 48. Gordon Chang:cedarford, your assessment of Carter is spot-on. He has interfered in the foreign policies of his successors in ways that have been injurious to the United States.
Ultimately, he will be remembered more for the harm that he has done than the good.
Jan 20, 2009 - 7:35 am 49. Gordon Chang:Alex, the Communist Party is deeply afraid of change these days. It has prospered in a globalizing world, but it is ill-adapted to the trends we see at this moment. It is unlikely to survive this global downturn.
Jan 20, 2009 - 7:39 am 50. Brad G:Jimmy should have stuck it out as a small southern town preacher; in that context, he would have been all that he could be. Him being elected president was as much a reflection of an electorates inability to make critical and reasonable decisions as it was an absolutely ruinous idea. And now, as he prances around the world, reviled by an sensible thinking American, hugging life snuffing dictators and pawning his never out of style America hating tripe, he looks just as ridiculous as ever. No wonder all the other presidents kept their distance from him in that pic…
Jan 20, 2009 - 9:06 am 51. johnLSS:In one word, this Jim Carter is living with a female mentality,the same as Chinese dictators, that is why the love each others so much.
And what he did during this trip to China to worship his everlasting be loved dictators is simply wish to prove what he did during his presidency with Chinese dictators is correct.
Just to enforce his own female “glorious” and “wonderful” feeling about China.
By just talking those “glorious” and “wonderful” will make him much more happy than to realize the reality of their “glorious” and “wonderful” China.
It is too late to stop our Chinese dictators,and the western countries has lost the manhood mentality to fight for justice.
Nowadays, I Just find there is two kinds of comments about China.
But there is no China as what the normal western mind can imaged and /or defined as an ordinary country should be at this moment.
That is why more and more of your politicians are eagerly looking into a Chinese Way of solution of western money system crisis.
Open your eyes, and watching what your ” O ” president will work with “China”.
Jan 20, 2009 - 9:09 am 52. Mr.Vic:If you think it’s bad that Jimmy (Satan’s Puppet) Carter continues to visit communist countries in hopes of showing the world the progress made… wait till Obama validates these dictators and terrorist groups.
Why do you think Democrats have a history of befriending our enemies? Not because they want true peace, but because the enemy of their enemy is their friend. The Democrats enemy is the free market, free enterprise, freedom of religion, Christian values and freedom itself. These are the same enemies of these communist regimes and terrorist organizations.
So the Democrats have found a friend to fight along side them in their ambitious plan to bring America to it’s knees. Don’t be surprised that Carter and Obama hand us over to our enemies, they’ve been promised unprecidented power when all nations unify under one world government.
We will see this in our lifetime… believe it or not.
Jan 21, 2009 - 8:20 am 53. tanstaafl:Yet again, he helped legitimize dictatorial leaders and thereby made the world a little darker.
Maybe dictators and charlatans are the only friends Jimmah can get.
Alternatively, I think he’s mired in a very gooey (and rigid) form of (what he claims is) “Christianity” that takes him to new lows of unctuousness.
Jimmy Carter Parades the World’s 10 Worst Dictators
Jan 21, 2009 - 8:21 am 54. tanstaafl:I love this line from Jimmah’s mom, Lillian Carter…
Sometimes when I look at all my children, I say to myself, “Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin.”
Jan 21, 2009 - 8:49 am 55. Horace Wells:And who here is willing to take China on now? Or should we? Certainly not Bush/Cheney. But I guess Carter baiting is one of the fave past times here.
Jan 21, 2009 - 9:15 am 56. Horace Wells:NOTE:
Jan 21, 2009 - 9:16 am 57. ChinaJoe Blue:“Jimmy (Satan’s Puppet) Carter ”
Anyone who writes like that is too mentally unbalanced to be taken seriously
Mr. Chang,
Thank you for promptly responding to my post. Irregardless of your opinions, courtesy is an act never to go unrecognized.
Gordon wrote:The Japanese overran China–as they overran the United States and the Allies–because they had a superior military.
HELLO? Overran the United States? Not hardly. Japan, did however, pull off one of history’s bigger military surprise attacks on a small outpost in the middle of the Atlantic. The US was solidly defeated, for sure, but defiantly not overran.
Gordon asked: If China is so great, why does the Communist Party feel the need to be so repressive?
To whom? Those that want to criticize a system that they have no remedy for? To those few that want to destroy what over a billion are sacrificing for? Oh, I know. To those who want to scar an unprecedented event in China like the Olympics on issues that have nothing to do with the Games itself?
Jan 22, 2009 - 5:00 am 58. Erik:Mr Chang, you, like countless others are comparing the freedoms and luxuries that we have in the US to other nations and their citizens. Therein lies the problem. Number 1: That’s what makes the USA so special. We can have any cognitive person or an idiot carry a sign and scream at our politicians at their place of business or near their home. This and countless other things is what makes our system of government and guaranteed rights so unique. Number 2: This ain’t America. This is a communists country who looks at our ‘way of doing business’ and says “No way. Not here.” I can tell you what the Chinese government represses: crime, murder, drug use, corporate greed, market manipulation, late response to national emergencies, and so on. You know, those things that we cherish so.
My opinon of Carter and Clinton rose greatly recently when they refused to talk to eachother. I agree with both that the other is a doshe.
Jan 22, 2009 - 1:35 pm 59. DONALD:Did Carter have a stroke after he left office? What a nut case.
Jan 22, 2009 - 3:32 pm 60. Gordon Chang:ChinaJoe Blue, Japan overran the Philippines, defended by MacArthur, as well. The United States was pushed back to the Hawaii-Midway line. In the early stages of the Pacific War, the Japanese suffered no defeats. It was not until the battle of the Coral Sea were they stalmated.
The answer is that the Communist Party surpresses 1.5 billion Chinese. And it has not been good in controlling crime, murder, and the other things you list. It was caught completely unprepared for last year’s snows, which became a man-made disaster. The central government did a better job on the Sichuan quake, but the collapsed schools were a national shame. And then there is the melanine scandal, which followed a dozen other ones. And please don’t forget about the world’s most degraded environment.
The Party’s record of achievement is rather mixed. No wonder Beijing surpresses open discussion. It has too much to hide.
Jan 22, 2009 - 5:38 pm 61. Gordon Chang:Erik, do you have any info about Clinton and Carter refusing to talk to each other? Thanks in advance for any enlightenment on this.
Jan 22, 2009 - 5:39 pm 62. Gordon Chang:tanstaafl, I did not know she had said that until I read your comment and googled the quote. Thanks for the great tidbit.
Jan 22, 2009 - 5:43 pm 63. tanstaafl:I can tell you what the Chinese government represses: crime, murder, drug use, corporate greed, market manipulation, late response to national emergencies, and so on. You know, those things that we cherish so.
Other things the Chinese gov’t represses…
…the text of Obama’s inauguration speech when he mentioned “communism” and American steadfastness in defeating it (the live stream of the speech was, reportedly, truncated)… freedom of the Internet, any semblance of taking care of resources (water resources especially) when they come up against the (relatively new) capitalist styled, Communist dream (so when do you think the Three Gorges dam might actually burst ? 7 of the 10 most polluted cities in the world are in China) freedom for people in the provinces who are viewed as fodder for the regime…any rights attaching to those individuals who have been imprisoned, rightly or wrongly, especially when some rich “westerner” might be paying a fortune for a replacement kidney or some other body part…
China Joe, China’s biggest (maybe only goal) is to be Top Dog and it seems like China’s leaders today will do (literally) anything to its people and its land to achieve that end.
The people who Carter inspired to build houses for the needy are still building houses.
Larry, you haven’t read recently of all those Habitat for Humanity dwellings that are, literally, rotting from the inside, having been erected by people who didn’t (exactly) know what they were doing in the area of home construction ?
Jan 22, 2009 - 6:59 pm 64. Danny:#ChinaJoe Blue, Hawaii is in Pacific not Atlantic… great grasp of geography you have there…
Jan 22, 2009 - 7:02 pm 65. Alex:“Alex, the Communist Party is deeply afraid of change these days. It has prospered in a globalizing world, but it is ill-adapted to the trends we see at this moment. It is unlikely to survive this global downturn”
Thank you for the response Gordon, civil debate is a lost art in the world today.
All governments are afraid of Change, it is anathema to their existance. If you want to truly frighten a politician in Washington DC, organize a grass roots campaign. This will scare them into action like nothing else, real change comes from the streets and neighborhoods of the city. Media is a mirror that reflects who we are at a given moment, but cannot effect change itself.
What causes Change? when a people have had enough of the status quo.
The Communist party ( the party) of China has a difficult job to balance the ebb and flow of markets, economies, social requirements and allowing change to occur in increments for a nation of 1.3 Billion people. This is a complicated dance and requires delicate moves. There are massive spending programs enacted in China, with more to come. These programs are paid out of cash reserves, china does not need to borrow funds, which is unique in the world today. Comparing China to western economies makes leadership in China appear downright visionary to avoid the banking errors now taking hold in the west.
Will the Communist party have the same appearance in 10 years that it has today..? no it wont, it will change to accomodate social and economic pressures we are witnessing. I believe it will be a better and leaner system than today, with greater social support along with greater economic freedom. China sits in the catbird seat, able to create economic programs that will transform entire regions into magnets of development and revitalization.
This is a difficult time for the world, but also time of great opportunity. China forges ahead with plans for reconstruction and redevelopment of large regions, continues to invite and welcome foreign companies to locate in China, continues to partner with world class companies on large overseas projects, and will continue to change in Small incremental steps.
Change always comes, no force on earth can stop it including the communist party of China. However it is how change occurs that will define leadership. Will it be based on thoughtful deliberation and careful calculation of the environment, or will it be let loose without care or concern for those that cannot fend for themselves. The communist party of China must control and guide change to allow benifit to as many people as possible and allow people to understand the benifits, pitfalls and responsibilities of Capitalism, Liberty and Freedom.
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:19 pm 66. Gordon Chang:Alex, maybe, but not likely given the magnitude of China’s problems.
The Communist Party prospered in a globalizing world. It is now facing a test with bland leaders and an inflexible political system. This is not Deng’s China anymore, and I don’t think its leaders have the ability to cope with adverse trends.
We’ll see, in the next few years, whose vision of the country comes closer to reality.
And I very much appreciate your perspectives on this critical issue.
Jan 24, 2009 - 9:37 am 67. Joel:If anyone here reads Chinese, I would recommend this commentary by a current affairs commentator from Hong Kong, Martin Oei, published on the Hong Kong Economic Times on 14 January 2009 about the latest standoff in Guangzhou when a 110kV substation is planned at less than 10 metres from a highrise residential apartment complex without any prior consultation with residents, and he extorts the government in Beijing to jumpstart political reforms:
http://martinoeiarchive.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-post_14.html
“Guangdong lays a political time bomb if political reform does not start immediately
政治不改革 廣東埋炸彈”
The conclusion:
“…in addition, on issues like urban planning, [China] should learn the example of Hong Kong where it is monitored by politically independent commissions, and not solely decided by the officials responsible. In fact, the current arrangement acts as an ideal breeding ground for corruption, and The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China is unable to stem the tide of corruption as long as the issue is not mitigated from an institutional standpoint.
In sum, the Pearl River Delta has become [China's] political powder keg, and as a critical region of Chinese economy, it benefits no one in China if a major political incident breaks out in the region. The cost of initiating political reform right now is much lower than letting the powder keg explode on its own.”
“…此外，在城市規劃等問題上，亦應學習香港，由獨立的委員會去把關，而不是由政府官員自己說了算。事實上，現時的制度，根本只是貪污溫床，而不在制度上減少貪污，中紀委三頭六臂都無補於事。
總言之，珠三角已經變成了政治火藥庫，而作為中國經濟的黃金地區，一旦出現重大政治事件對中國誰都沒好處。現時搞政治改革所付的成本，總得比任由火藥庫爆炸低一點。 “
Jan 26, 2009 - 1:50 am 68. Joel:To Alex, I’m not sure I can be as optimistic as you are towards Communist China, and I am presuming you assume the People’s Republic will stay. There are two commentators in Hong Kong today which are making assessments far more pessimistic than Gordon ever is. One of them is Martin Oei that I linked in a post above this, and he has even suggested the People’s Republic of China has written its own coroner’s report when the state-owned Xinhua News wrote an article that “2009 will be a year with a high incidence of ‘mass incident’ [read: protests], and the authorities have yet to deal with the issue in an appropriate manner”
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-01/05/content_10605345.htm
(Note: Martin Oei’s original blog post in Chinese here: http://martinoei.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E7%9F%A5%E5%BE%97%E5%A4%AA%E9%81%B2/ “It is too late for the [Chinese] Central Government to be aware [of the root cause of protests]” )
In sum, I think your hypothesis may become true, but my judgment is that it is unlikely the People’s Republic will be the regime/dynasty/government that oversees this.
Jan 26, 2009 - 2:18 am 69. Gordon Chang:Joel, many thanks for the info and the links.
Jan 26, 2009 - 6:13 am 70. Alex:Hello Joel, thank you for the response.
The Pearl river delta region is a disaster, hundreds of thousands of factories closing, millions of people laid off…this cannot be denied or covered up. One of the pitfalls of Capitalism and interaction with global economy is the exposure of economy to forces outside your country. This will take pre emptive steps by the the Party to avoid making the situation worse.
The region will need to focus on high tech manufacturing mainly on higher value processes; medical equipment, aerospace, heavy engineering, wafer manufacturing etc., which is occuring and will convert the region from generic manufacturing to high tech. and bring stability.
Another program is the recapitalization and development of Northeastern China. There are large construction projects and complete overhauls of regions that require workers and skilled individuals to complete. This is a large venture that will take decades to complete and set off another wave of investment in China. This will percolate to the delta river region as well and also absorb job losses there.
The Peoples Republic will stay but it will evolve from what it is today to continue managing Chinese economy and future. It will certainly give up power in the coming decade(s) to business and Government…that is a given. What i do not believe is the Communist party will be overthrown or dissolve or be forced to abdicate…China needs to have a group in charge to avoid repeating what occured in Russia; collapse of currency,economy and free for all in the market place.
Chinese people are highly resilient, independant, patriotic and passionate about their Nation. Philosophy in China is an artform, with resurgence of traditional lifestyles that support self sacrafice and the greater good. China’s atrength has always been the individual sacraficing for the greater good, and the ability to call up massive resources when required. This is a huge benifit especially in the bumpy road ahead.
Jan 26, 2009 - 6:25 am 71. Joel:I agree with your points on economic matters Alex, but I believe unless Beijing’s central government acts on Martin Oei and even the state media Xinhua’s suggestions quick and initiate political reform in Chiang Ching-kuo’s directions and much bigger in scale, we will be seeing a repeat of the constant theme throughout Chinese history – change of dynasty.
It is probably unwise to discount the possibility that we will witness the birth of a successor regime to the People’s Republic on the horizon. Some people in Asia are talking about this discreetly.
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:43 am