Don Tow's Website

Image of China from U.S. Government and Media:

If your knowledge of history is based only on the recent comments and headlines from the U.S. government leaders and media reports about China, the image that you paint of China will be something similar to the following:

• China is engaging in territorial expansions toward many of her neighbors in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and all these are aggressive acts without justifications
• China is engaging in unprecedented and unreciprocated cyber attacks on the U.S.
• China is aggressively increasing her military strength so that she can threaten her neighbors
• China is a great destabilizing force in peace and security in Asia and the world at large

Is that image consistent with facts? Let’s analyze each of these issues.

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Analogy:  Suppose a robber with many armed men came to your house and stole your baby sister while you were a small child and your parents were old, frail, and powerless to fight against the robber..  Then many years later you grew up to become a strong young man and you go to confront the robber to get back your sister who rightfully belongs to you and your family.  Sensing that he may no longer be able to defeat you, the robber then enlists a powerful partner to try to keep the stolen girl.  Furthermore, the robber and his partner would cry wolf to the world making accusations that you are trying to steal their daughter.  I am sure that you will say that this is totally unjust.  Shame to the robber.  Shame to his powerful partner because he should know better than to intervene.  And shame to the mass media who portrays you as the villain, and portrays the robber and his partner as upright citizens.

This article explains why the above example is a good analogy to the controversy over the Diaoyu Islands (called Senkaku Islands by Japan).  In this analogy, China in the late 19^th century is the defenseless family with old and frail parents, the Diaoyu Islands is the baby sister, Japan is the armed robber, the U.S. is the powerful partner of Japan, and modern China is the strong young man.

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