President Donald Trump is not quite the fool or the subjective (or subliminal) genius that pundits make him out to be. However, if there is one trait that his recent pronouncements point to it is that of a quintessential real estate mogul. (more…)
Teow Loon Ti
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The North Atlantic allies are killing democracy
Historically, many of its members have waged and/or supported wars in the name of democracy. (more…)
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We need PM Ishiba’s NATO like we need a hole in the head…
It is difficult to reconcile new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s expressions of concern for the security of his country with his advocation of an Asian version of NATO. (more…)
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The democracy metanarrative
In its strategic competition with Russia and China, the United States has constructed a metanarrative based on democracy versus authoritarianism (i.e. good versus evil). Such a narrative harks back to the political thinking of the first half of the 20th century which saw the fighting of two world wars. (more…)
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When Confucius meets Machiavelli
The title of “Empire” is not ascribed to the United States by observers but revealed by astute journalists as indeed what the powers that be in the US think of itself. (more…)
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Chinese imperialism?
I read Professor Percy Allen’s interesting article (P&I, 28/03/24) and was astounded by the claim based on a list of “invasion” he was given that China was historically an imperial nation and thus dangerous. (more…)
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The sordid geopolitical saga of TikTok
The US considers TikTok a national security threat. It wants to ban TikTok or transfer its ownership to an American company. In doing so, it is displaying the very behaviour that that it ascribes to China and of which it does not approve. (more…)
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Curing Australia’s dependent personality disorder
I arrived in Australia with my family at the time when Malcolm Fraser was the Prime Minister of Australia. He was preceded by Gough Whitlam and succeeded by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. They were all intellectual, individualistic and humane leaders. I had never felt more secure and proud to be Australian. (more…)
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Why the West sees China as a threat
China is threatening to the West because it provides an example of how a poor and technologically backward country can effectively defy Western domination of the mind and body. (more…)
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“Don’t worry, we have your back” – think again…
If the countries in the East Asian region allied to the United States think that the US has their back and therefore they are safe, think again. (more…)
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Saving Australia from China?
Talks in public forums of saving Australia from China are disappointingly unrealistic. (more…)
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The Di Sahn Duong case
As a member of the Chinese Australian community, the Di Sahn Duong trial is yet another one of those “Here we go again!” cases that disconcerts and exacerbates the subliminal anxiety we bear whenever Australia’s relationship with China sours. (more…)
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Anti-Sinoism in Australian media
The article titled “’Golden visas’ are known to attract dirty money around the world. Why does Australia still offer them?” by Linton Besser was published on ABC News (31/10/2023). Taken at face value, it appears as another piece of usual media reporting. However, read with an awareness of the scourge of recent mainstream media proclivity for racial profiling of the Chinese, it can be disquieting. (more…)
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The brave man
There was a time not so long ago, especially after the Vietnam War, when leaders in the advanced countries such as the United States, Britain, France and Germany gave us hope that the mistakes of the past had been learnt and that we were heading for a fairer and more ethical system: when Nelson Mandela led negotiations to end apartheid ended in South Africa; when the Soviet Union ended in 1991; and when Angela Merkel led Germany as Chancellor (2005 – 2021); and when China opened up its economy (1978) to the world. (more…)
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Strategic ambiguity: a weapon of mass destruction
Strategic ambiguity is the greatest oral weapon of mass destruction that the Western world has ever invented. (more…)
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Filling the ricebowl: The mainstream media’s anti-China obsession
I chanced upon an article written by Peter Hartcher in The Age today (12/09/2023) and was astounded by how puerile the present mainstream media can be. (more…)
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Do we need an arms industry?
Australia needs an arms industry like it needs a hole in the head. It will only contribute to flooding the world with more weapons of destruction when we are already being killed by floods, fires and irresponsible politicians through human induced global warming. (more…)
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China’s “security through prosperity” undermines Western colonial hegemony
It was in 1982 in Calcutta, India, on my way to a conference in Bhubaneswar in Orissa state when I was confronted by the sight of homeless people sleeping on the pavement right in the heart of the city in the early nightfall. This morning (01/08/2023), I was confronted again by the sight of homelessness on BBC TV news. This time it was in the streets of London. It was not just a sporadic affair but rows of people shrouded in sheets (the only difference being that in Calcutta they were under cheesecloth while in London they had blankets and sleeping bags). (more…)
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Is NATO suffering political psychopathology?
Even as the war in Ukraine is raging, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is now turning to Asia in an attempt to fan the flames of dissension in the region. (more…)
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The discourse of dominance
I was rather amused, or to use the American expression “tickled pink”, when I read the article titled “Coexistance: the only realist path to peace” by Stephen M. Walt in Pearls & Irritations. The article’s claim to the “realist path” to peace would make sense only to those who have dominated others for so long (albeit only a blip in the history of the people whom the author is giving a talking to) that they have forgotten the language and discourse of equality. (more…)
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How serious is the Australian propaganda infection?
Propaganda is a potent weapon used by politicians and rival nations to wage a war of words, especially those abetted by a biased media. (more…)
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Democracy versus socialism in the US-China relationship
There are two major dimensions to the US/China strategic competition. One is ideology; the other is economics. Who will eventually win depends on who has a better combination of the two; discounting a war in which all will lose. (more…)
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The contracting echo chambers of the Transatlantic powers
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
The pithy words spoken by US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 has been said to be his ideal policy for the US. But in recent years, the “big stick” diplomacy has proven to be too simplistic for the world they used to dominate. (more…)
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A mind held captive
Edward Said’s “Orientalism” encapsulates the essence of why the West resists the rise of China as a major economic and military power. (more…)
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The American way: exporting US dysfunction to the world
The United States of America is not well, a fact that even as an acolyte the Australian government does not seem to be aware or care about, on account of our unconditional love for the Americans. (more…)
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Chinese voters in Australian democracy
The last Federal election in 2022 saw a massive swing of voters of Chinese heritage away from the Coalition to Labor and Independents. The pattern was the same in the recent NSW state election and the Aston by-election in Victoria. All these indicate is that a long suffering marginalised victim of Australia’s geopolitics has finally awakened from their political slumber. (more…)
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The US wants TikTok banned or sold
The United States’ issue with TikTok is uncannily reflective of its ongoing problem with China. It grew too fast for their comfort, is too economically and technologically successful and so deeply enmeshed in their lives that they felt the impulse to disengage. (more…)
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The Australian media cries wolf
The major Australian media, SMH and The Age, are crying wolf again. Whether they will lose their credibility depends on whether Australians’ rationale prevails over their prejudices. (more…)
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Sanitising the unforgettable
I hope this article will turn out to be a short communication because my hand trembles with indignation as I write. I refer to the article “Why history does not disqualify Japan as an ally: a reply to Richard Cullen” by Robert Cribb Feb 21, 2023. (more…)
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Democracy and the winning formula
The rallying call of the Western democracies to form a united front against those who dare to challenge their supremacy has always been “common values”. Our hearts burst with pride and gratitude to think that we have the freedom of speech, of assembly, of dissent and other such privileges that those in other systems do not enjoy. They set us apart from the “others”, be they communists, theocracies or autocracies. (more…)