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This article comes to you by way of WatchingAmerica, which happens to be my favorite go-to site when I wish to know what the rest of the world thinks about the United States and the things that we do.
Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore
Obama’s Dimwittedness
and America’s Anxiety
By Xin Yishan
It is so obvious that America is a dying superpower. There’s no need to hurry a dying man to his grave, so let America play any trick it wants. Anxiety has deeply disturbed America’s bearing, and as long as China sticks firmly to its principles and steers away from the temptation of quick success and instant benefit, then America is powerless.
Translated By Qu Xiao
15 November 2010
Edited by Heidi Kaufmann
Singapore - Lianhe Zaobao - Original Article (Chinese)
Obama used to be quick-witted and eloquent before he became the president, but his intellectual cadre seems to have declined in recent months. At the G-20 summit in Korea, when facing Rui Chenggang, an unexpected journalist from China, we can clearly see Obama’s clumsiness — being caught in embarrassment and not able to come up with a clever-enough response to prove true to his name as a veteran politician and an elected president. Maybe he worried that the Chinese journalist would raise some tough questions, or he didn’t expect a Chinese journalist to be so bold as to press the president of America for an answer.
Obama went to India and promised to let India enter the United Nations Security Council. Then Obama landed in Japan and also promised Japan a ticket into the Security Council. What did he take the U.N. for? Besides, such a trick of throwing empty promises around can hardly fool a kid; yet, Obama keeps using it. We can say that Obama indeed has become dimwitted.
In fact, Obama hasn’t changed. It is the environment around him that has changed. Being a president, naturally he would have to consider the interests of his country, and it is not an easy task, because to achieve such a tough goal, first there must be plans for the whole situation. So whatever he does, Obama has to follow the instructions of his think tank.
Inevitably, a presidential candidate who played it by ear before the election would turn into a more clumsy and dimwitted order-follower after taking office. If Obama can just be himself, then not even 10 Chinese journalists like Rui Chenggang teaming up together would make any trouble for him. But if Obama’s think tank told him not to talk about China too much for fear of leaking information regarding America’s plots against China, then Obama’s unwillingness to take Rui Chenggang’s question could then be understood.
In addition, promising the moon and stars for someone would make him happy, but hardly anyone would believe such a promise. Although it’s not as hard as delivering the moon and stars to absorb new members into the Security Council, it’s still very unlikely to be achieved. After all, there are still four other big nations who hold veto power. Yet, Obama keeps fooling India and Japan with his promises. Why? It’s not that Obama is really a dimwit playing children’s games. He’s merely following the orders of his think tank, and only by acting like this can the Chinese people be tricked, and it has worked. Previously, it was just a little trick that had stirred up Japan’s hatred and jealousy toward China, and accordingly, China has paid a high price and used many diplomatic resources in objecting to Japan’s entry into the Security Council. Now the intention of Obama’s trip to India is to incite the deterioration of the relationship between India and China, a trick based on his earlier successful experience with Japan. The Americans think that it worked before, and that it will still work this time.
In fact, being the member that has used its veto power the most, America least wants to lose its privilege in the U.N., and its power would be greatly weakened if any more novices were to enter the Security Council. So why would America — the member who least favors any newcomers into the Security Council — run around the world and show a supportive gesture to other countries? Because America thought China was narrow-minded, and as long as America is supporting its neighbors, China would definitely stomp its feet and protest. Such is America’s thinking. In this regard, however, America has already succeeded once at sabotaging the friendly progress between China and Japan, which is the truth. America is now digging up this old trick and wants to use it again. So naturally the general public in China thinks Obama is acting like a fool — very dimwitted indeed.
And through Obama’s “intellectual degradation,” we can see that the American think tank is not bearing any good will toward China. Whatever America does, it does to make sure that no other country will surpass America. But when facing China, all the tricks and plots have failed. Military interventions like the Korean War, the Vietnam War and military relations with Taiwan failed; trying to lure China to take the path of the USSR’s downfall failed. In desperation, America can only pull some dirty tricks. So it is obvious that America is anxious.
The first cause of America’s anxiety is China’s rapid development and the prediction that China will surpass America shortly. Second, America is feeling powerless because of its economic downturn. What’s more, America has felt that its international influence has slumped, and the days when America could command whomever it wanted are long gone. Besides, the financial crisis has overwhelmed America with huge fiscal difficulties and slow economic recovery. All this has put an almost unbearable burden on the U.S. government, which can be easily seen from Obama’s hair — turning grey within two years of taking office. The American president’s anxiety, of course, is also the American government’s anxiety. And China doesn’t bother at all and ignores the U-shaped or C-shaped encirclement around its neighborhood. After all, what is the use?
Apparently, they are useless tricks. This is like a lame chess player, hurrying to attack his opponent when he has yet to build up his own line of defense, and the result is undoubtedly a clean loss. China has gone through all kinds of difficulties throughout its history, so America’s trick will not work on China. Besides, if we view things like a game on a chess board, then it would be one move on each side, so whatever America’s move is, China would make its countermove. Therefore, America should be anxious, and this shows it is ill-intentioned.
Obama makes a lot of promises, but not many of them are actually fulfilled, and a broken promise may incur hatred. This is something the trick-player rarely considers.
China can totally remain calm and peaceful, paying no notice of whatever farce America is putting on, as long as China itself keeps a watchful eye and makes sure not to step into America’s trap. As for the encirclement around China, it is quite impossible to do any damage, so we can just ignore it. As for America’s intention to start a fight between China and its neighbors, it can also be easily solved if we firmly stick to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. No country is so stupid as to sacrifice its own interests just to make America happy. So America is probably throwing good money after bad.
America now is like a clay idol fording a river — hardly able to save itself. America’s national wealth is closely linked to the stock market, and what if another crisis strikes? Where will its money go then? If America can maintain itself 10 more years without going downhill, then I’ll have no more to say. But it is so obvious that America is a dying superpower. There’s no need to hurry a dying man to his grave, so let America play any trick it wants. Anxiety has deeply disturbed America’s bearing, and as long as China sticks firmly to its principles and steers away from the temptation of quick success and instant benefit, then America is powerless.
On the one hand, America has a high ambition to undermine China; on the other hand, America’s economy couldn’t fund such a whim. It still has its political influence in the world, but its economic influence has been largely crippled. America only gave several million dollars in charitable funds to Indonesia, which is enough to show that its economy could no longer hold up its status of global domination. In contrast, China gave $1.6 billion in charitable funds to Cambodia. Make the comparison yourself, and you will see what I mean. Now China is doing whatever pleases it without any outsider’s interference. Let the Americans be anxious.
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