The Weasel Pays Respects to the Hen – No Good Intended
Published in Oriental Daily
(Hong Kong) on 2 June 2009
by Chan King Lap (link to original)
American officials have been busy paying visits to China in recent days. The United States Presidential Special Envoy to the Sudan, the U.S.-China Working Group of the House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner flocked to China, one after another. A truly magnificent sight.
Such courtesy must have its reasons. America’s sudden interest in China cannot be just for fun. Take Pelosi, for example. She is renowned in the U.S. for her tough stance toward China, criticizing Beijing without reserve, and vigorously attacking China’s human rights policies. By contrast, her recent visit focused only on environmental protection. The human rights issue was never once mentioned. Why the change?
And Geithner. He was never friendly to China. Since Obama appointed him Treasury Secretary early this year, he has branded China, ruthlessly, as a currency manipulator. However, during his recent visit to China, he seemed very humble. Not only did he not criticize, but he even praised China, claiming that China played an important role in restoring global financial stability, and that China’s responses to the economic crisis were something to be emulated. This was, truly, very flattering to Beijing.
The change in U.S. position - flattering China - is of course not due to a genuine change in opinion. To offer such homage demands a return. Put simply, the Americans are interested in the Chinese purse. It is known that the financial tsunami has damaged the core of the U.S. economy. It takes money to save banks; it takes money to save auto makers; it takes money to save her citizens. The debt-ridden U.S. government is at the end of its tether. The friendly gestures toward China are not the result of love for the Chinese people, but love of China’s U.S. $2 trillion foreign exchange reserve.
For more than 100 years, China has never been so flattered by a Western power. No wonder our Chinese comrades are feeling a bit light-headed. Nevertheless, don’t forget the Chinese saying, “The weasel pays respects to the hen – no good intended”. If Beijing takes the flattery literally and thinks herself the world’s savior, that will be a joke, indeed.
Such courtesy must have its reasons. America’s sudden interest in China cannot be just for fun. Take Pelosi, for example. She is renowned in the U.S. for her tough stance toward China, criticizing Beijing without reserve, and vigorously attacking China’s human rights policies. By contrast, her recent visit focused only on environmental protection. The human rights issue was never once mentioned. Why the change?
And Geithner. He was never friendly to China. Since Obama appointed him Treasury Secretary early this year, he has branded China, ruthlessly, as a currency manipulator. However, during his recent visit to China, he seemed very humble. Not only did he not criticize, but he even praised China, claiming that China played an important role in restoring global financial stability, and that China’s responses to the economic crisis were something to be emulated. This was, truly, very flattering to Beijing.
The change in U.S. position - flattering China - is of course not due to a genuine change in opinion. To offer such homage demands a return. Put simply, the Americans are interested in the Chinese purse. It is known that the financial tsunami has damaged the core of the U.S. economy. It takes money to save banks; it takes money to save auto makers; it takes money to save her citizens. The debt-ridden U.S. government is at the end of its tether. The friendly gestures toward China are not the result of love for the Chinese people, but love of China’s U.S. $2 trillion foreign exchange reserve.
For more than 100 years, China has never been so flattered by a Western power. No wonder our Chinese comrades are feeling a bit light-headed. Nevertheless, don’t forget the Chinese saying, “The weasel pays respects to the hen – no good intended”. If Beijing takes the flattery literally and thinks herself the world’s savior, that will be a joke, indeed.
we americans need the money.
we have a mega industrial military complex to support for our so called freedoms and maintain our super power status.
plus we have two unwinable wars to fight.
the most interesting part of all of this.
we brag how great capitalism is and we do nation building to enforce our capitalism on the rest of the world while we borrow from communists, kings, and social democracies to keep our capitalism from completely self destructing.
we even use taxpayers money the very essence of socialism to crop up and save capitalism. socialism to protect capitalism while the middle class goes down the tubes. got to love politics.
and meanwhile obama talks about how great reagan was. the very president that bought us the trickle down theory which put capitalism on steroids. go figure.
you got to smile at the human species how it can deceive itself.
we will learn just give us time. we are like a teenager and have all the answers and will not listen to anyone but ourselves as we race towards third world status.
that is the power of paradigms.