Stephen Mosher, Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order
2017
This book provides a historical perspective to try to explain China’s current hostile behaviour to the US, ASEAN and the world.
Intro
-While other conquerors allowed subjects independence, China rules with dominance in all aspects of life, using the mandate of heaven
-China looking to dominate the world in order to bring harmony, peace
-US idealists: work with China, find common ground, find a mutually beneficial solution
-US offensive realists: world is a perpetual competition, China wants to dominate
-China are offensive realists, for a very long time, always perpetual war, which is why they want to dominate SCS, the world
-China need for domination deeply rooted in history
-in order to maintain order, China uses nationalism, patriotism
Ch1 Disease of the Heart
-“You die, I live” mentality of the CCP
-Chinese ideals:
- -totalitarianism
- -own civilization, sees surpassing the West
- -believes owed deference
- -sees racial superiority, believes natural right of ascention
- -feels historical humiliation
- -wants to reign over the world
- -teaches kids to hate other countries
- -sees current world order as unjust
- -world will appreciate China’s new world order
-SCS dispute China acts to dominate the area, sees itself as benign ruler
-US led world organizations perceived by China as “containment”
-China takes new SCS islands, then says it will attack if attacked, but otherwise it is peaceful. In reality this is offensive
Ch2 Hegemon: Totalitarian State
-historical precedence for enriching obedience, punishing those who disobey
-Ruler’s hand, Legalist
- accumulate people is useful in order to have power
- suppress voluntary associations
- establish informer networks
- use punishment instead of reward
- harsh punishments for violations
- mutual surveillance, collective punishment
-“a wise prince doesn’t ask his subjects to behave well-he uses methods that prevent them from behaving badly
-legalists: for major capital crimes, also punish families
-ordinary people are disposable resources of the state
-Confucian outside, legalist inside
-no plan by CCP leaders: China sees existing countries as anarchic, which eventually will all die out except for China, China should rule everything, so no need to publish any map, that would be insulting
-CCP: hegemony or annihilation
-cultural assimilation is deep, Han culture thought to be superior, so no multiculturalism
Ch3: Hegemon Awakens
Autocratic Legalist tradition
- official Communist ideology
- concentrate political power to a few
- treat legal system as tool of governance wielded bu ruler, above legal constraints
- dominate all domestic commercial, economic life
- control all forms of social organization outside of family
- engage in political practices: censorship, large-scale persecutions, bureaucracy purges, factional conflicts
- regard people as property of state and not citizens
Ch7 Han Chauvinism
-patriotism as a weapon, whipped up by the CCP press
Ch9
-Cyber espionage: China steals plans instead of innovating
-unfair economic trade: currency manipulation -> Chinese goods artificially cheap
-worldwide race for natural resources
-China soft power movements: Not working well
US could:
-ratify relations with Taiwan: Close location, unsinkable, ally, democratic
-blame China for NKorea issues; China could cut off NKorea, but is not willing.