The "Way-of-Nature " forward
Look at the picture below. Maybe it can offer us some wisdom. Few had heard of Taliban, despite the fact that not even the mighty Soviet Union could subdue them - until September, 2001. Afghanistan was blamed for the al-Qaeda terror. The country was duly invaded. At that time, the world was on America's side.
Howsever, after spending a trillion US dollars and sacrificing 2500 American lives in Afghanistan , America is now calling it quits. The Taliban have always been thought of as a bunch of medieval Islamic fighters that are incapable of institutionalized governance. They must have thought very deeply about their future before they made this trip to China, which has been branded anti-Islam by the West in the first place.
It is time for the leaders in the West , Japan and India to realise the world has changed. In this internet world no lies can stand long. America's hegemony is going to be a thing of the past. No ideology can last forever. Neither can any doctrine. To the Chinese nothing is set in concrete. The Ying and Yang forces are at work all the time. Its I - Ching ( Scripture or Sutra of Change ) has for millennia advocated the constant need for one to adapt - when the situation arises is written in these two characters ( Wei - Ji ), literally risk - opportunity. The Western paradigm tends to be linear, the Chinese multi-dimensional.
The world economy has largely been a zero-sum game in the past - one country would gain at the expense of the other or vice versa. The Chinese believe in win-win , which they have abundantly demonstrated since their joining the World Trade Organisation.
The West can never change China, neither is China interested to change the West or the rest of the world, which it has declared time and again. What you are seeing China today is just emergence of another Confucian Dynasty in Chinese history. Its rulers are not emperors; they emerged through a multi-layered filter-from village functionaries to city bureaucrats to provincial and finally national decision-makers. The "emperor" is simply the most hard-driven, the creme-de-la creme, of the lot. And most importantly he is not vulnerable to short or even lon-term political pressures or threats, from both within the country or outside.
Thanks to the failure of Soviet Union, Communism has always been thought of as a form of evil system which the masses will naturally reject when they are liberated like what has happened to East Germany. This has also been held true in hitherto satellite states of Soviet Union in West and north-west Europe. However, chances of that happpening to that of China are NIL. If the West understands the two characters, namely kung-chan, taken together , the term simply means "produce together [ for the greater good of society" ] Who can fault that sense of mission?
Japan understands Confucianism and much of its people's lives also evolves around the ethos of this philosophy. Chinese forgive but not forget. If Japan can own up to their World War 11 guilt and make it a point to live with China without playing the US card, then the future of the region is certainly assured, thanks to East Asians great strengths in STEM. Korea is a very strong part of this equatio, and its unification with North Korea should be encouraged genuinely.
If Modi can shake off his pseudo-sainthood and humble himself to learn a little from China and the Indians in Singapore, then Indians can also look forward to a better life faster. It is now lulled by the West's constant pat on their back. No, The Economist's praises are shallow, you need to transform your country and society and that's a long haul. Who else can show you the way? Think about it. Deluding yourself and acting beyond your pay-grade is the surest way to fall flat.
The West has their niche, Its universities will continue to be the incubators of great scientific ideas and breakthroughs. But the US is in a precarious position. Biden says he protects Asians, but perception is everything. Chinese and Chinese students simply don't feel safe in America and many parts of the Western world today. The US needs to reconcile itself to the fact that it is no longer able, or even necessary, to contain China. It should just live the world as a prosperous and don't-bother-me gentleman in the upmarket neighbourhood of the city, like what they did before World War 11.
As for the rest of the world, be yourself. You don't have to join or attach yourself to any alliance or coalition. Slavery and subserviency are things of the past, and nobody can exploit your resources any more. You want? You pay. Some may still harbour delusions about themselves, about their faith, about their race or about their destiny , no one is going to give two hoots what they think - if they don't work hard enough to earn them."
Acknowledgement
My good friend Lilian Low , who is the author of The M-Quotient : From Muar to Singapore ( 2017 ), helped me to put many pieces together. Without her input, the message I wanted to send would have been quite incoherent. My many thanks to Lilian!
Yu-Book Lim 6:09PM
Southernglory1
3 comments:
Few had heard of Taliban, despite the fact that not even the mighty Soviet Union could subdue them -
Actually, many people around the world had heard of the Taliban long before 9/11. The Taliban were seen as the most backward people in the world who made women wear burkas, stopped them from going to school, outlawed television and music, and also destroyed the centuries old statues in Bamiyan. The destruction of the statues were seen on televisions worldwide and caused a lot of outcry even in non-Buddhist countries.
On the contrary, actually the whole world has heard of the Taliban when they blew up the Buddha's statues. Afghanistan was previously a Buddhist country for more than a thousand years.
The Taliban was exiled into the wilderness for 20 years by the US-UK-EU clique of Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic Forces for their total disrespect for and destructive treatments of the other religions and their symbolic representations. That was immediate Retribution or Karma.
The Taliban will be punished again by Natural and Spiritual Forces as further Retribution. This time the punishment will be in a different way and form. It will be even longer than 20 years. Perhaps for the next 200 years!
Just watch. They cannot escape Karma.
Afghanistan War Is Over, What Next?
To what extent the Afghan Taliban will honor its promises to govern inclusively and to respect women's rights is the main criteria that the international community will use to decide whether to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate long-term government of Afghanistan or not.
There is no denying that the Taliban has so far told the world that it has changed, compared to 20 years ago - such as claiming that they respect women's rights and that girls can receive education. However, those claims are only rhetorical unless put into practice over a long and sustainable period of time. Only time will tell and show the truthfulness of their words.
Of course, it will be unwise to expect the Taliban to reform its 2000 years old religious ideology over night. If anything, the philosophy of the Taliban's top leadership will likely be the same as the existing Islamic countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE.
Therefore, foreign countries had better advise their nationals in Afghanistan to abide strictly by the Islamic culture, norms and habits and be sensitive to what clothing they should wear and the food they eat in the public places of Afghanistan. Not from intimidation or undue fear but for the purpose mutual respect and peaceful existence.
It is unrealistic to expect the Taliban to suddenly, like magic, become modernized and secularised like the first World countries immediately. Individuals' rights and liberty can only improve after the overall country's economic development is realized and sustained. Only after that can modernization and secularism gradually follow suits. This is the natural progression of a long-lasting peaceful development of human endeavors. It requires cooperation from every quarter, sect and faction.
To the Afghans, who else could stop foreign interventions and foreign-initiated wars and certain economic ruins, and return stability and peace to the country if not for the Taliban nationalistic forces? The other splinter groups of warlords have been divisive and disunited all these years, mainly because of their own selfish interests, which is the main reason why the US-propped-up Afghan government's army collapsed so easily in just ten days, without putting up much effective resistance against the Taliban forces' onslaught.
From now on, while the Afghans begin the process of repairing and rebuilding their country and livelihoods, Western or Eastern powers should not interfere, instigate or intervene. Only the Afghan people have the right to decide what to do in their own country. Others, if they are really kind to wish the Afghan people well, can help by foster trade, investment and economic and infrastructure developments. Otherwise, keep your devious, mean and nasty hands off the Afghan people, no matter which group they belong. What is most dreadful and unnecessary is to start a civil war or an internal strife which the CIA is well-known for.
The international community can set conditions with the Taliban to make sure it brings no harm to its neighbors and fulfills its promise to cut off ties with terrorist groups.
The Afghan people should be allowed to restart economic and trade activities without sabotage or subversion from any mischievous or vengeful propagater.
With the re-establishment of economic and trade activities, the Afghan people could at least begin to develop their country and establish stability internally and with its surrounding neighbours, and therefore internationally.
Let's watch how the various players show their hands openly and surreptitiously.
LIPS At Your Service.
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