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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

lunarchick - 01:37pm Apr 4, 2001 EST (#1973 of 1978)
lunarchick@www.com

The Taiwanese and Chinese people are mostly interested in one thing -- GOOD COMMERCE. The ideology of the Mainland Chinese Government to contain and control everyone and everything East of the Great Wall is historical compulsion. Perhaps for reasons of 'defence'.

Speaking with a Chinese guy last week, he said that 95% fo Chinese are HAN. HAN regard an adult-child's marriage to anyone in the ranks of the 'outer' 5% as a matter to be actively discouraged. Translated those who are not HAN don't enjoy equity with those who are HAN. So it's my feeling that the Korean-Chinese and Tibetan-Tibetans etc are 'outcasts' in their own lands.

Back to the Taiwanese. Some of the Taiwanese are financially well established. Because of the continual threats from 'China', they have developed as a Global nation, having money and accommodation with dual citizenships where possible across the world.

The Taiwanese operate from both Taiwan (and back into China re business and commerce) and their adopted new nations. When the above article was written the Taiwanese men (here) were having interfamily meetings at which they were expressing real concern with regards to the 'actions' of China.

My thinking on this is that while China 'wants' Taiwan, it is currently enjoying all the Business and Commerce and Growth and Development brought to it (backwards into China) by the Taiwanese. They being the sophisticated link between that ensures the growth of the Chinese economy!

The Taiwanese state may have a framework that is enabling, whereas China and the Provinces are not as forwardly developed.

Were China to 'crush' Taiwan, the Taiwanese might look elsewhere to place their orders for GOODS that they currently have produced in China.

The concern shouldn't be America Taiwan relationship, rather China Government - China Provinces relationships. It's the internal development of China to a higher transparent standard that is the 'lag'.

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lunarchick - 01:55pm Apr 4, 2001 EST (#1974 of 1978)
lunarchick@www.com

The Taiwanese came out of China in the late Twenties with the overthrow of the old regime by the clumsey and cruel new brush of the then communism ... Taiwanese may even now genuinely believe that China would and will literally 'wipe them out'. Their panic and looking towards the USA will be a matter pertaining to their basic health and well-being .. in a word human survival. The Taiwanese know China, are 'chinese', yet don't feel that they can actually trust the Mainland Chinese.

If there are reasons why they distrust the Chinese Government - these relate to problems with that body, rather than problems with Taiwan. If they did trust Mainland Government - if it was open and honest and genuinely concerned to re-unite China for the RIGHT reasons with GOOD intention, then how could external forces prevent such a happening - they couldn't.

[The last paragraph might be re-read substituting the names: Russia and Chetnya ]

lunarchick - 01:57pm Apr 4, 2001 EST (#1975 of 1978)
lunarchick@www.com

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?13@@.ee80f83/0

rshowalter - 06:56pm Apr 4, 2001 EST (#1976 of 1978)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

If people have enough skills to have sophisticated economic cooperation , and there is something reasonably describable as good faith and good sense on both sides, they can live in peace. Especially if each side can both help and hurt the other in measured ways.

Historically, both Russia and China have had relatively thin cultural skills in accomodating flexible complex cooperation. With some learning, both countries could run better, and be more comfortable and richer. They wouldn't have to sacrifice national identy in any significant way to learn the things they need to learn. They's be not only richer, but prouder, if they gained new skills in complex cooperation.

The same thing is true, even more so, for many of the Islamic countries. In William McNeill's THE RISE OF THE WEST -- a very good survey of world history, he classifies Moslem history from 1460 to the present as " the moslem catalepsy." Catalepsy is paralysis. And historically, the word fits. The Arab nations, astride trade routes, close to all the technical developments of Europe, basically literate, have done amazingly badly compared to what one might have expected -- they often seem, still, to be a medieval culture not too different in basics from what their forefathers must have been like in the 1450's.

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