Although there are still many difficult mountains to climb, if China succeeds in delivering a new social contract to its people and a new custodianship in the global commons, China's real renaissance could well be just around the corner.
Although there's no mention of how this renaissance is to be achieved, it only buries a brief contemplation of how social governance and corruption can be managed. While the Chinese government has done an excellent job of selling the idea of reform to western news media, Xi Jin Ping wants both liberals to power a new age of reform and innovation, at the same time, he is honoring the ghost of Mao by having his state security goons placing a good number of activists, protestors and dissidents under house arrest.
Last but not least, we should ask whether China, a rising world power, could learn to be at peace with itself and the world. In recent years, China has become the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces among permanent members of the UN Security Council. It also chairs an anti-piracy co- ordination committee, plays a crucial role in six-party talks on North Korea, and most recently hosted separate meetings in Beijing with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. A rising China is thus likely to embrace a greater role in maintaining world order. What remains unclear is how it will respond to rising domestic social and political aspirations.
China does seem to be more interested in it's position as a superpower, although meddling in the issues of other countries puts it in an embarrassing position when news of it's own crackdowns and political missteps eventually leaks out.
Related articles
No comments:
Post a Comment