China

I know that neither of these countries are technically a part of South Asia (although I’ve included China in the list of countries I intend to discuss), but since I live in Paris I feel I should discuss elements of French foreign policy from time to time, especially since it often goes unnoticed abroad, and yet cannot be dismissed too quickly. By the way, just because I live in France doesn’t mean I’m an expert on its foreign policy, which is one of the reasons why I don’t intend to write about it too often.

Now, I’m not talking about the seeming inability of print and broadcast news outlets to successfully adapt to newfangled inventions like the Internets and Electronic Mail, but rather their slavish dedication to a peculiar worldview where the Cold War never ended.

“I reject your reality and substitute my own.”
- Adam Savage, Mythbusters

Perhaps “reality” can be added to the list of products being produced in great quantities by China these days. In the past year, China talked boldly about their environmental leadership, military prowess and effectiveness in dealing with separatists within their own borders – all topics where the Chinese version of events sounds impressive, at least until you compare it with reality.

As 2009 fades into history the urge for anyone with access to a media outlet is to compile some sort of year-end list. I am not going to put together a list of top stories or year end awards, but in the column below I am going to highlight seven stories that I think deserved more attention than they received, either because they challenged the conventional wisdom in international affairs, help to explain where our world is or where it may be heading, or, in the case of the science story at the end, because it is just too bizarre not to note. So without further ado, here is my humble year-end collection:


The US Navy, Climate Change Believers

Hi everyone,

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be joining the talented team of bloggers that Shaun Randol has assembled here at The Mantle. Although I’ll mainly comment on things happening in South Asia, I also intend to make use of the freedom provided by the “-ish” in the title to discuss other issues, generally related somehow to something in South Asia (no, I can’t be more specific – that’s how great the “-ish” is).

It could have been a powerful image – America’s first multicultural president promoting the benefits of an ethnically-diverse society to the Chinese – but during his trip to China this week, Barack Obama chose to steer clear of comments that could be perceived as lecturing the Chinese on their (poor) human rights record, and that included any reference to their treatment of their Tibetan and Uyghur ethnic minorities.

"We both stressed that to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and to appropriately resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations is very important to stability in the Middle East and in the Gulf region" (Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, on the outcome of his talks with the U.S. President Barack Obama concerning Iran's nuclear program, November 17, 2009).

Saturday night I had the pleasure of listening to some really excellent indie rock coming straight out of Beijing. Santos Party House's basement venue felt like a roller disco: its mirror ball and neon graphics on the walls gave the small space more depth than it actually has--a great venue to see and hear up and coming bands up close.

An email from the PEN American Center on the plight of recently arrested Liu Xiaobo says, "Recently we learned that Liu is going to be tried on charges that could result in a 15-year prison term. I am now asking you to add your voice to the chorus of Liu’s supporters around the world by sending a letter to Chinese authorities protesting the charges and urging his immediate release." Liu is one of the originators of Charter 08, a document calling for greater openness, democracy, and respect for human rights in China.