I know we've been over much of this, but I got this email from my step-sister today, and it sort of frightened me. People really should be more informed, before they try to influence US policy. This is also why I don't like forwards: too often people just send them along without THINKING. I just wanted to share this, and ask the rest of you what you think. My response to the email is below it. >===== Original Message From "Laura Roberts Korns" <janalar@hotmail.com> ===== >Are we Americans as dumb as we appear, or is just that we do not think? > >While the Chinese held our plane and its crew hostage, (they are free >now, thank the Lord) presumably to get more time to inspect the plane, >the media wrangled its hands and criticized the Bush Administration for >perceived errors. > >Yet 70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the >Chinese should be suspended. Well, duh ...why do you need the government >to suspend trading privileges? DO IT YOURSELF!! > >Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says "Made >in China" or "PRC" (and that now includes Hong Kong), simply choose >another product or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you >are on Chinese products, however you will be equally amazed at what you >can do without. > >Who needs plastic eggs to celebrate Easter? If you must have eggs, use >real ones and benefit some American farmer. Easter is just an example, >the point is ... do not wait for the government to act. Just go ahead and >assume control on your own. > >If 200 million Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese goods, a >billion dollar trade imbalance would be resolved in our favor ... fast!! > >The downside? Some American businesses will feel a temporary pinch from >having foreign stockpiles of inventory. > >The solution: Lets give them fair warning. So, we will not implement this >UNTIL May 1, and we will only continue it until June 1. That is only one >month of trading losses, but it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the >total or 8% of their American exports. Then they will at least have to >ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were >worth it. > >Remember, May 1 to June 1. > >Send this to everybody you know. > >Show them we are Americans and NOBODY can take our people and hold them. > >Pass it on America!! My response: This isn't such a good idea. 1. Nations democratize though interaction. The best way to make China more stable and pacific internationally is through a free flow of economics and hence ideas. 2. China doesn't trade enough with the US for it to make a difference. Their GDP is NOT based on US trade. We couldn't inflict enough pain to convince them to change their policies. 3. Economic sanctions rarely work in ANY event. The only way they're effective is if one side gets all of an essential product from another country, and cannot ifnd an alternative source. This certainly isn't true with China. 4. It would hurt us as much as it hurts them, and more. They can export cheap products anywhere, but China is the only source of unusual US products such as tickle-me-elmo dolls. 5. If countries all acted like you're proposing, we'd be the ones under sancitons. In the past century, we've propped up countless dictators, overthrown democratically elected governments, assassinated leaders, and allowed our companies to exploit little children in sweatshops in foreign labor. We complain about apartheid, but discriminated openly against African-Americans for most of the 20th century. We've shot down planes flying in other nations airspace, and then given the captain of the ship that did so a medal... for committing an act of internaitonal terrorism. Maybe we should be under a boycott. 6. Doing this would only antagonize China. Their regime isn't friendly to us already. This is partly due to America's aggression in the region. We support a renegade province, Taiwan, which used to belong to them. We condemn them all the time. Right or wrong, they WILL respond negatively to such policies. China has more than 1 billion people. Eventually, they *will* surpass the US for global hegemony. Act rashly now, and you'll reap negative consequences in the future. 7. Boycotts and sanctions don't hurt the leaders... just the people. Look at Iraq: the people are starving and dying, while Saddam is sitting pretty... the populace has become too weak to challenge him BECAUSE of the sanctions. This email was ignorant. Please think twice before spouting aggressive, uninformed rhetoric. ------------------ I would believe only in a God who could dance. - Friedrich Nietzsche Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
I completely agree with #5. Americans are ignorant, arrogant hipocrites. The U.S. probably would have done the same thing had the situation been reversed, yet our citizens are calling China the great devil for doing it. ------------------
Timing: Ahhh... but the problem with even a relatively high number of trade income is that it's a patheticaly minute fraction of GDP, and it's replacable through other countries. The US and China trade includes no nation-specific items. Your belief that economic trade doesn't cause liberalization just isn't correct. If you look at the past 20 years or so, China has liberalized greatly... and it has mostly come since we opened relations with them. There's also a great deal of evidence that economic ties have caused democratization in Brazil, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The theory isn't proven yet... but in most foreign policy circles, it's widely accepted. Create an economic middle class, and you create people who demand political power commensurate with their economic clout. That seems to be a new emerging law in international politics. OTOH, studies have shown boycotts and even trade embargoes to be sadly ineffective. I refer to a lot of Johan Galtung's essays...who is probably the most currently active influential member of the foreign policy academia. On an examination of every embargo since around 1850, he found NONE to be truly effective, save MAYBE our embargo of Rhodesia... which was extremely small, and it only worked over decades... AND it resulted in massive death. Not worth it. Democracy in action? Lunacy in action. ------------------ I would believe only in a God who could dance. - Friedrich Nietzsche Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001 [This message has been edited by haven (edited May 01, 2001).]
What the hell were we thinking? Next time China takes some hostages we'll just all sit on our asses and play with our tickle me elmo dolls until China can build an economic middle class that will protest hostage taking until they're run over by tanks in the streets. No doubt that our people will be swiftly released right after that. Nice call haven. =) ------------------ The ox is slow but the Earth is patient. [This message has been edited by Timing (edited May 01, 2001).] [This message has been edited by Timing (edited May 01, 2001).]
Boycotts and trade sanctions are even less effective. In fact, completely useless. It's easy to attack Enlargement theory as being too gradual, but unless you have an alternative theory... it's the best one out there. We take a hard-line with China... then what? What good does it accomplish? What coercive measures do we have to threaten them with? We can't invade them. Trade sanctions are useless. Should we turn them into an international pariah? Assuming we're CAPABLE of rallying that much support... that would only make their natural allies current rogue states. Best to allow normative models to coax China to obey international rules. They're desperate for legitimacy right now, as a great power. Allow them that legitimacy, and they'll be co-opted into the international community, peacefully. Give them no alternative than aggression, and that's the result. You really don't know what you're talking about. Look at the ramifications of your claims. Look at what you're *saying*. I let this slide at first, but for example, you argue that boycotts are "democracy in action." Sorry, democracy is a political participation process at a governmental level. Boycotts are an informal attempt at gaining economic leverage over an economic entity. That's not democratic: takes place more in fascist/totalitarian regimes that democracy. If you study the internal dynamics of China, you find that true progress is being made. For example, their society is becoming more pluralistic with the devolution of power from the central government to the regional province leaders... they're becoming less autocratic. Progress is being made... but aggression will reverse this by giving China an external threat to unify against. ------------------ I would believe only in a God who could dance. - Friedrich Nietzsche Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
So what you're saying is that you could have had the hostages released in about 50 years? Good work! If these boycotts are useless then what do you care? Sounds like you just want to gripe about Americans showing pride by exercising their rights. Boycotts are often a symbolic gesture. Nobody thinks they will bring down China by boycotting tickle me elmo dolls and Christmas ornaments. I'll tell you what though, since you seem such a big proponent of Communist China, why don't you get the ole passport out, move on over to beautiful China, and go study the internal dynamics of China first hand! Then you could tell us all about how wonderful China is becoming. Sounds like a GREAT idea! ------------------ The ox is slow but the Earth is patient.
We have $100 billion in trade with China and $80 billion of that is in IMPORTS from China. Some of that is definitely from US companies who manufacture goods cheaply in China but this scare tactic about not boycotting Chinese goods because it will piss them off is just stuipd. Boycotts are Democracy in action. China could care less about free flow of ideas and all of this other rubbish you're talking about. ------------------ The ox is slow but the Earth is patient.
