Xi Jin Ping in the USA

Xi Jin Ping is in the US and meeting the CEOs of America’s top corporations to discuss cooperation in trade and joint ventures. This is the top agenda for his visit. His dinner chat with Obama is secondary, just a courtesy call to appease the American President and to whet his ego of power and being the top dog in the world. Xi Jin Ping probably does not care what Obama is going to raise but would pay some lip service to his show of anger and concern over matters that the Chinese President did not see as problems.

China has no problems with the US and has more important things to do, to engage in mutually beneficial trade and exchanges of commercial activities, cooperation and investments in both countries.  What cyber securities or cyber attacks? The Americans are the experts in these areas and are indulging it at a scale second to none. Remember what was disclosed by Edward Snowden? The Americans are attacking every country, commercially, militarily and politically, to extract as much intelligence as they could for American interests. What Obama is claiming about breaches by Chinese hackers is children play.  Is Obama saying that the Americans could not do what the Chinese were doing, did not have extracted as much confidential data from China but not disclosed, and that the Chinese are more advanced and superior to the Americans? The answer is obviously no. The Americans are doing far more and far more sophisticated cyber attacks against the Chinese and the Chinese are taking it in their strikes without making an issue out of it like many other areas of American infringement, violations and bullying.

What about the spy plane incident in the Yellow Sea? The Americans could not see anything wrong with flying spy planes daily along the coast of China. China is just playing along but would do the same one day when there is parity in military forces. China would then fly their spy planes along the American coasts. What would the Americans say or do when it happens? Cry father and cry mother and declare war with China? There is no point for China to make it a big issue against the Americans today when militarily they are much weaker and raising it would be in vain. They would raise it with the Americans when they are able to tell the Americans that they would knock down the spy planes should they persist in spying along the Chinese coast. That day has not come but will be, sooner or later.

What about the Chinese reclamation of islands in the South China Sea? Now what has that to do with the Americans? Oh, the Americans have a strategic interest in them and so it is American’s right to interfere with China reclaiming islands that are part of Chinese territories. Again, China would take note of the American’s posturing about the island issues and even toast to it. But China would continue to reclaim as many islands as they want within its national boundaries and territorial sovereignty and build what it wants. What is Obama going to do about it other than making a big show of it? There are many things the Americans are doing that are offensive to China and affecting China’s strategic interests. China is not harping about them or making an issue of every one of them. It is pointless. Likewise the American President and Administration can keep harping at China on these issues or any issue, human rights, climate change, North Korea, Iran etc etc, but they would just remain as American rhetoric to be ignored after the dinner party.

Xi Jin Ping has more strategic and tangible matters to deal with corporate America than to waste his time parrying with Obama in futile and unproductive discussions. China seeks to grow economically, scientifically and in technology exchanges and needs the assistance and cooperation of corporate America to work hand in hand for mutual benefits, for the good of Americans and Chinese.

Obama and his soldier boys can play their game of one upmanship, to show who is mightier with the gun and who is boss. Xi Jin Ping would smile and have a good laugh after he wrapped up his commercial agreements, his sales and marketing bags would be full with satisfied customers from both sides and with many jobs to go with for the American and Chinese workers.

Many Obamas will come and go, and many will come after him, to tell the Chinese Presidents that they have problems with China.  China will say thank you very much, let’s trade more, let’s have more exchanges and cooperation in other areas of mutual interests that we can cooperate and to benefit from them.

Yes we can have more dinner discussions about America’s China problem and drink to that. Xi Jin Ping would not sleep on them, would not have sleepless night because of them. There are more important and fruitful things to occupy his time to build China into a more prosperous and developed country. China has no problems with the USA, only the USA has problems with China. They created and fabricated their own problems and got consumed by them in their own fantasies for the grandeur of the Empire. The American govt can continue to spend their money on military weapons and soldiers, China will spend its money and time on economic development and the pursuit of scientific and technological advancements. China only needs to spend enough on military to keep the Americans from any military adventure in China and that would be good enough.

They would not be inviting Obama to Beijing after this visit. They will be inviting the next President in waiting for more dinner talks and food tasting.

Racism hitting a new high in Malaysia

In my last article I thought by telling the ethnic minorities to steer clear of the current political tussle and fallouts they would be safe. By the look of things, they cannot walk away from trouble and trouble is going after them. And they know the situation is dire and MCA President Liow Tiong Lai made a call to Najib to express his concern for the safety of the Chinese.

After the Red Shirt rally many thought it was over and peace would return. There is a Jamal Md Yunos bent on holding another rally tomorrow to march into Petaling Street to protest against the shops mostly owned by the ethnic Chinese. Jamal has been alleged to have threatened the Chinese community during the 16 Sep rally.  His agenda is quite obvious and this time sparks will fly as they are more prepared to do what they failed to do in the last rally.

Najib on the other hand has been very supportive of the Red Shirt rally and likely to support this rally tomorrow. Fear is every where.  Liow Tiong Lai, the Transport Minister, has been quoted in an Agencies report to say, ‘It is obvious that the rally goers intended to stoke fear and create racial tension. BN must take stock and put a stop to this unhealthy problem immediately.’

The big question is whether Najib would do anything and it is looking very unlikely while he is fighting for his own survival. A rioting on the streets would be a great reprieve to take the heat off him and redirect the attention away. The ethnic minorities in Malaysia, particularly the Chinese, would bear the brunt of any break down of law and order tomorrow. Their are well being and safety are hanging on tender hooks.

What is going to happen tomorrow is harrowing.

Why build universities?

Yes, why would govt and people build universities? To ask this question here is already a sign of strong misgivings and a sense of despair. It is so pathetic to have to ask such a question, but it must be asked. Would anyone expect me to list down the reasons here why govt and people built universities? Anyone who can read and understand this question would be most able to provide himself all the answers to it. The reasons for building a university are so fundamental and so basic that there should not be any need to raise it again. The very fact that it has to be raised is proof that something is seriously wrong with the universities and the important role and purpose for their existence.

If anyone still demands an answer, pay a visit to the Chinese High School in Bukit Timah. Read the carvings inscribed in stones at the entrance of the main building. Yes, they were set in stones like the Ten Commandments as if the pioneers knew that people down the ages would forget the purpose of building the school. The very reasons for building the Chinese High School are the same reasons why universities were built.

In 1958, hundreds of thousands of people marched to Jurong to witness the opening of Nantah, 南洋大学. Millionaires like Tan Lark Sye, 陈六使, donated $5m to build the university. This princely sum could be the equivalent of $5b today in purchasing power. The Chinese community, from the rich towkays to the dance hostesses and rickshaw pullers also answered the call for donation for the university. Why would every one of them think it important enough to want to contribute to this cause, to build a university?

The reasons for building Nantah were not different from the reasons to build the University of Singapore and the renamed Nanyang Technological University. There are now many new universities, many built for commercial reasons and did not share the common altruistic goals of Nantah and the University of Singapore, now NTU and NUS. The commercial universities can be excused for doing things differently as their purposes are slightly different with money making a key objective. The purpose of building universities like NUS and NTU may have changed to some degrees, but the fundamental and basic reasons for their reasons must not changed.

Have they changed? Some may be thinking that the universities existence is to be ranked highly by farcical ranking organizations and to gain frivolous honours for being ranked among the best. Is this the reason for the building of universities?

Again I would ask, what is the purpose of building universities? Have our universities lost their direction and purpose of existence? Universities are not like F1 or Garden by the Bay, some feel good stuff for the rich to have a little fun and fake importance. They have very important roles to play in the lives of the people and the well being of the country.

The haze must be dealt with in haste

Since Wednesday, the haze has been getting worse and air quality has reached a stage when schools have to be closed. And Singapore is several hundred kilometers from the sources of the haze. It does not need much imagination to know how bad the air quality is in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Social and commercial activities in the city state have hit a new low with visibility in many parts of the island falling to less than 50 metres. And some residents are complaining that they have difficulties watching what is on the TV screens.

And we have heard only words, words of what the govt on both sides are doing to curb the haze. Probably in another 50 years we would still be talking and exchanging words. The govt has been telling the people that they have identified some companies involved in the haze and would be taking legal actions against them I supposed. Is it really so difficult to identify the culprits causing the haze, particularly the big companies? Perhaps we need to send a few satellites into space to do so. By the satellite images produced in the media, it is quite obvious that the whole of Sumatra and Kalimantan are on fire. What would that say about the companies involved or how many companies are involved?

A few things can be done immediately instead of acting like lost sheep or headless sheep not knowing what to do. What about imposing an immediate ban on all imports of palm oil and related products from all the companies with plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan for a year for a start? And the ban should include by products from companies that used palm oil from the same companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The ban should be taken up to Asean and all Asean countries should also ban the import of palm oil and related products from these companies. And if needed be, a complaint can be tabled at the UN to impose a world wide ban on these companies.

There must be many things that the affected countries can do instead of sitting haplessly waiting for a miracle to happen. If words are the only instrument available , the haze problem will still be around in the next 100 years and nothing would be done about it except words and more words.

Have we run out of ideas as usual in dealing with this hazardous environmental threat to the health and lives of out people? Maybe we need to bring in a few more foreign talents to help us solve this perennial problem. Oh, an easier way is to engage some top notch consultancy firms from the US or UK or Europe to think up a solution for us. QED.

PS. There is something to be learnt from Mahathir in interstate problems. If the other side cannot or unwilling to tackle the problem seriously, think what Mahathir will do like the crooked bridge issue? Mahathir will solve the problem himself unilaterally without needing the other party to do anything.

The Philippines – Asean’s most power country preparing to take on China

A NYT article appearing in the Today paper on 21 Sep 15 discussed the thinking process of the Philippines and how it is trying to take on China in the boxing ring. In the 80s there was a surge of nationalistic pride among the Pinoys that eventually wrought back their independence from the USA and sending the Americans packing from two of the biggest American military bases in the world in Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base.  Both bases were the homes for the Americans in their Vietnam War and a home away from home in the USA. The infringement on the national sovereignty of the Philippines, in a way turning the Philippines into a semi American colony did not go unnoticed. The nationalists in the Philippines took to the streets to demand the GIs to go home. That victory was to the credit of the Pinoys unlike the Japanese and South Koreans where the Americans would not go home.

Today, the turn of events in the South China Sea with the Philippines at loggerhead with China, competing with China to claim islands for themselves is making the Pinoys thinking of reinviting the Americans back. They wanted to take on China militarily and are depending on the Americans for more financial and military aid and the possibility of stationing troops in Subic and Clark again.

The Philippines have chosen to fight China head on with the encouragement of Japan and the USA. While neighbouring countries of China chose to cultivate good relations with China and live in peace, the Philippines are thinking that they could take on China with the help of the USA and Japan. Once this mindset and policy are in place, it is all one way, to build up a strong military and even compromising their independence by allowing foreign military bases in their country.

Putting up a China threat with a China not interested or has no intent to set foot on the Philippines, the Pinoys have chosen or are in the process of choosing to become a semi colony of the USA by voluntarily inviting foreign military forces into their country.

No one can beat the Philippines in strategic military planning, in resolve to take on a super power and in nationalistic pride. That’s the way to go Pinoys. The Chinese are shivering in their pants. The GIs will roam the streets of Manila again. The bravery of the Philippines is best demonstrated in the spirit of Ello Ed Bello.