In the National Interest

March 1, 2010

In World War II, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and woke the sleeping tiger, America.

Then in the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy, during the Cuban missile crises, brought the United States to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. He did this believing it was in the National Interest.

Last night (2/28/2010), I watched an episode on 60 Minutes about a Taiwanese man in the pay of China gathering information about the 6.5 billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan. Does that make China evil? This morning, I had my answer.

From the dawn of rival civilizations, there have been spies.  It’s all about survival and the national interest. Robert Hart (19th century), who knew the Chinese better than any Westerner, wrote, After China picks its conquerors’ brains; it will be a super-power again. I don’t know what they will do when that times comes. They will decide to either get along with the world or seek revenge for what the world did to them.

In the 19th century, France, England, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the United States attacked China in a series of wars. The devastation visited on a peaceful China started with the Opium Wars and ended with World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Those wars woke the sleeping dragon.

America supports Taiwan—China’s Cuba. The difference is that China sees Taiwan as part of the mainland. What would America do if Hawaii separated from the union, and China supplied the islands with weapons to defend itself? Don’t be surprised if China responds the same way over Taiwan.

The China Americans learned about in school has changed. See Deng Xiaoping’s 20/20 Vision

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

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Rediscovering China

February 15, 2010

China has turned into a tourist destination—for the Chinese.

Before Nixon visited China, the country was surrounded by an invisible bamboo curtain. It’s citizens were not allowed to travel far—even from their homes. In September and October 2008, there were so many Chinese tourists, that we were the minority.

Sedan Chairs Waiting to Climb the Dragon's Back

The Dragon’s Back is in Southeast China near Vietnam. After our bus climbed a narrow, winding mountain road, we reached a parking lot. For a few yuan, we gained entry and men with iron legs were willing to carry us to the top in sedan chairs. We walked.

The construction of the Longi Rice Terraces started during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368). Today, many Zhuan and Yao ethnic people live simple lives that honor the laws of nature. China’s central government encourages that life.

A hundred feet further, vendor’s stalls lined both sides of the road. It was China’s market economy in action reminding me of Disneyland and the shops that sold trinkets no one needs.

Halfway to the top, we reached a village built on stilts clinging to the mountain. The steep slopes were terraced to grow rice. Since it was mid afternoon, we stopped to eat local rice cooked in sections of bamboo on a hot bed of coals.

Cleaning Home Grown Rice Safe from the Sun

Mao’s Cultural Revolution ended decades in the past, and China is moving on while time seems to stand still on the Dragon’s Back.

See About iLook China

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

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Wearing China’s Shoes

February 4, 2010

“Beijing – China suspended military exchanges with the United States and threatened sanctions against American defense companies Saturday, just hours after Washington announced 6.5 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan.” by Cara Anna, Associated Press Writer

The private sector’s American Military Industrial Machine thrives on wars like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Military industrial tycoons would have strokes if America didn’t have any enemies to scare the public with. Without fear of the boogieman, would America need the second-largest military on earth? Would America need to spend more money on weapons than the rest of the world combined? These Military Industrial types are like greedy Christmas morning kids who pout when there aren’t enough presents to open.

Don’t read me wrong. We need to fight the nasty Al Qaeda terrorists (the ones hiding in Pakistani caves like flea ridden Neanderthals) who want to burn our underwear and sink our cities from global warming.

Now, slip into China’s shoes. During the 19th century, China was the victim of Western Imperialism. The Chinese emperor didn’t want his people to have access to opium. The West did, and the British and French waged war against China forcing China to allow opium in. American merchants benefited from those wars too. Then China fought with Russia, Germany and Japan and lost more territory. Then along came WWII and a Japanese invasion that cost at least thirty million Chinese their lives.

Is it any wonder that China is upset that the United States industrial military machine is selling Taiwan $6.4 billion in weapons. Geez, these industrialists should be making enough off Iraq and Afghanistan and this “war” (oops, we aren’t supposed to say that—political correctness you know) on terror. Prior to 1949, Taiwan was part of China. After the Nationalists lost China, the people in Taiwan lived with martial law under a dictator for thirty years before being forced to hold democratic elections.

Think about this from the Chinese point of view. The Chinese want was lost to Western Imperialism in the 19th century and the early 20th century. Check China’s maps to see what was lost. Mao reclaimed Tibet, and China has been badmouthed in the Western media ever since. With this history, how would you feel if you were Chinese?

How many wars has China started with other countries in the last century?  Make a list and compare it to the wars started by the other major powers (don’t forget America). Once you finish the list, tell me who should worry the most?  China or America.

Of course, the Chinese could change the name of their political party to Republican or Democrat. They could do away with the yellow stars on their flag and replace those symbols with a red ass or a blue pachyderm. They could even vote to join America as the next state, but that would make the dreaded double “L” happy.  No, not me—Lawyers and Lobbyists.  Right now, China has about 110,000 lawyers for 1.3 billion people while America has more than a million to rob less than a quarter of China’s population.

Isn’t it bad enough that we’ve already given China fast food and Ford?

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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The First of all Virtues – Part 4/9

January 31, 2010

I am sixty-four. I served in the United States Marines and fought in Vietnam. For more than four decades, I have lived with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

I spent close to a decade attending universities to first earn an Associate-of-Science degree and next a BA in journalism. The remainder of those ten odd years was spent at night in a variety of universities earning an MFA in writing. I spent my weekdays working as an English teacher. For a few years, I even taught journalism working some days from six in the morning until midnight.

I also held a number of odd jobs like being a maitre d’ for a Southern California nightclub called the Red Onion or as a supervisor for Pacific Motor Trucking. I worked for forty-five years starting at fifteen washing dishes nights and ended a thirty-year career at sixty as an overworked and underpaid, ‘often verbally abused’ teacher in California’s public schools.

Strange, I searched for a Blog that talked about teachers being abused by students and found thousands that did nothing but bash teachers. Then I found Who’s to Blame …  (a dim light in the wilderness). It seems that few in Western cultures care what happens to teachers. We are the one to bask or kick when you want to bash or kick something.

Go to The First of All Virtues Part 5 or return to Part 3

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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