March 1, 2005
THE REALIST LOST--YOUR PEOPLE ARE OUR BUSINESS:
Asian Nations Respond Angrily to Annual US Human Rights Report (Luis Ramirez, 01 March 2005, VOA News)
Asian nations are reacting harshly to the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report, released Monday. Leading the criticism was China, which accused the United States of implementing a double standard on human rights, and interfering in its internal affairs.
Apparently they haven't been payoing attention--we no longer recognize the concept of "internal affairs" where tyrannies are concerned. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 1, 2005 1:56 PM
Yes, so now that they're our business, what are we going to do to them? They own an outsize share of our debt.
Posted by: Derek Copold at March 1, 2005 2:35 PMYes, they're royally screwed.
Posted by: oj at March 1, 2005 2:38 PMThey have us as much by the short and curlies as we do them. In fact, judging by our behavior with Orion in 2001, they might even have an advantage in their own area.
Posted by: Derek Copold at March 1, 2005 2:47 PMyes, they're left holding paper worth as much as pubic hair. We already spent the money.
Posted by: oj at March 1, 2005 2:51 PMIf we devalue that money, we screw ourselves just as badly, if not worse.
Posted by: Derek Copold at March 1, 2005 3:30 PMThe notion that the PRC will even be in one piece in 2010 is far from certain. The centrifugal forces have always existed and they are exacerbated by the grotesque economic disparities among the regions. Warlordism is very definitely part of the equation. Almost every Chinese policy decision has a pushmi-pullyu quality about it due to factional fighting.
While I agree we have too much debt, I'm really not clear what the PRC could do. If they were to dump the debt on the market, or refuse to buy new debt, it would cause American interest rates to rise, but then who would buy all that crap they produce? There are millions and millions of people employed at slave wages producing stuff for the American market. If they declared economic war by playing nasty with the debt, we would close our borders to their goods or put on a huge tariff. They would have to close their factories and staggering levels of unrest would result. The Europeans, even if they wanted to buy more Chinese stuff would never lower the tariff walls. As it is, the PRC is bedeviled by the presence of tens of millions of itinerant workers. Why do you think the renminbi is not allowed to float to its market level?
Americans have dealt with rising interest rates before. Hell for cash-rich, real estate bottom feeders like me, they're like manna from Heaven. It will blow the budget out of whack, as the debt service would go through the moon, but we'd handle it within a year or two.
Posted by: Bart at March 1, 2005 3:56 PMThe Chinese must really be embarrassed to be this angry in public. Too bad for them.
When the next Tienanmen comes, it will end quite differently. Perhaps a revolution, or perhaps a much greater slaughter. But it will not be like 1989. And the leadership knows it.
Posted by: jim hamlen at March 1, 2005 4:20 PM