In The Middle of China's Future

Tom Plate

Description

The best journalism tackles the really tough questions! Was the U.S. asleep when China was waking up? Or was its engagement too timid? Will Washington find conflict with Beijing unavoidable? Or has the U.S. policy of engagement and accommodation been the best way to go? Award-winning journalist and syndicated columnist Tom Plate reviews his own two-decade record of newspaper commentary on China in a searching re-evaluation of where he was right and where he went wrong - and where the U.S.-China rivalry and relationship may be headed.

Sujets

• International economics
• International relations
• China

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 15 août 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814561907
• Langue: English

Extrait

In the Middle of China s Future
TOM PLATE ON ASIA
What two decades of worldwide newspaper columns prefigure about the future of the China-U.S. relationship
By the author of the Giants of Asia series and In the Middle of the Future
2014 Thomas Gordon Plate
All columns by Tom Plate are and originally were the copyright of Thomas Gordon Plate, or of the Pacific Perspectives Media Center, Professor Plate s nonprofit in Los Angeles. Any other fragmentary usage - in prose or generic pictures - is asserted via Creative Commons License and Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.
Cover photo of Tom Plate by Jon Rou/Loyola Marymount University Design by Bernard Go Kwang Meng
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail] . Website: www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Floor, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Plate, Tom. In the middle of China s future : Tom Plate on Asia / Tom Plate. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2014.
pages cm ISBN : 978-981-4516-62-4 (paperback) eISBN : 978 981 4561 90 7
1. China-In mass media. 2. China-Foreign relations-United States. 3. United States-Foreign relations-China. I. Title.
DS779.27 327.51073 - dc23 OCN881508679
Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
SPECIAL APPRECIATION
To the enlightened management at the late and oft-lamented Times Mirror Corp. that in the 1990s created the core conditions that helped launch my column on Asia, for the first five years appearing on the distinguished op-ed page of the Los Angeles Times . I praise David Laventhol, Richard Schlossberg, Shelby Coffey and the late Robert Erburu for allowing me the opportunity to do something that had never been done before. And I salute Cheong Yip Seng of Singapore for pointing me in the direction of the future - that nothing is more important for us would-be international journalists to understand than China.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD BY KISHORE MAHBUBANI
INTRODUCTION
Confessions from an American media man
The judgment of two newspapers
A visit from two VIPs from Beijing
A Chinese intelligence agent rings me up
The CIA lady has a drink with the columnist
From Long Island to the Long March
THE BASIC THEME OF THE BOOK
Question 1: How will China behave?
Question 2: How will the United States behave?
PART ONE
THE SETUP - SOME MAJOR THEMES
01 1999 CHINA DECIDES TO JOIN THE WORLD And the world will never be the same
02 1999 TOWARD A NEO-COLD WAR WITH CHINA? President Clinton caves to Congressional pressure
03 2002 CHINA TAKES THE MIDDLE ROAD But Bush people take a turn toward a historic error
04 2006 THE MYSTERY OF CHINA S BUILDUP Maybe the U.S. Pacific buildup is partly a cause?
05 2008 CHINA AS A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHERS? You d have to be kidding - even the Chinese agree!
06 2008 AN OLYMPIAN LIFT NOT JUST FOR CHINA Now the sense is that Asia isn t just playing games
07 2008 A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED Could China perhaps fill the bill for the U.S?
08 2009 WANT CHINA TO BREAK UP? THINK AGAIN! World needs U.S and China working well together
09 2010 INTERESTING TIMES ON THE HIGH SEAS Roiling waters in South and East China Seas
10 2013 CROUCHING DIPLOMACY, FLYING WORDS Thoughtless language can push in a wrong direction
11 2014 A CONSPICUOUS TENDENCY Hope for the best, but risk ignoring the worst?
PART TWO
BACK STORY - ICONIC HONG KONG
12 1995 WILL BEIJING SWALLOW HONG KONG? Out on a limb, all alone, I say no - foolish me, eh?
13 1996 NO WAY THE PRESS CAN STAY FREE, RIGHT? But perhaps Beijing would be crazy to snuff it out?
14 1997 BIPOLAR ABOUT HONG KONG? Beijing s too smart to let thugs run this show
15 1998 DON T MESS WITH HONG KONG! Don t you love the way they punched them out?
16 1999 SUCH A RUSH TO DECLARE A FAILURE But one country, two systems hangs on anyhow
17 2000 SCARED LADIES HEADING FOR SINGAPORE Oops, cancel that - staying in Hong Kong!
18 2003 A PLAYER WITHOUT ENOUGH MOVES? A tough job even for a Bill Clinton!
19 2005 HONG KONG MEDIA PROCEED APACE Just don t say boo about Taiwan, I mean Taipei!
PART THREE
SOME CHARACTERS IN THE CAST
CHARACTERS AMERICAN
20 1996 TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT CHINA Does one good cop and one bad cop = policy?
21 1997 SEND CONGRESS TO CHINA COLLEGE Ambassador to Beijing wants to school our politicians
22 2000 KNOW YOUR MAINLAND CUSTOMER! Murdoch caters to China by customizing his product
23 2001 HAWKS PLAY A HIGH-RISK GAME Meet a major-league Bush neo-cold warrior
24 2003 NO WAY TO TREAT A FIRST LADY Clinton book reveals serious China weak spot
25 2005 GIVING CHINA THE RED HOOK Powerful U.S. senator flexes some muscle
26 2014 THE SMART LADY LOOKS A WINNER Impressive people diplomacy by Michelle Obama
AND NOW SOME CHINESE CHARACTERS
27 1997 THE SLYEST FOX IN SHANGHAI Wang Daohan, more grandfather than godfather
28 1998 NOW - A NEW SLYEST FOX IN SHANGHAI As sharp and grumpy as an American mayor!
29 2000 KEEPING THE NATION S MIND OPEN Ideas and the Internet are not the enemies
30 2000 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY ABOUT TAIPEI Leave it to the businessmen to work the politicians
31 2002 READ ALL ABOUT IT IN CHINA DAILY North Korea should take out a subscription
32 2004 HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT Taiwan invasion scenario not so unlikely?
33 2013 A STRONG-MINDED TUTOR ON CHINA Even Deng listened to this Confucian gentleman
PART FOUR
THE PLOT THICKENS - SUMMITS
34 1996 WHY CLINTON SHOULD GO TO BEIJING We pitch the idea that it d be good for re-election!
35 1997 NOW CHINA S BOSS GOES FOR THE SUMMIT But the worry is that too little will come of it
36 1997 A SUMMIT OF FRUSTRATION? Pessimism that just won t go away
37 1998 DON T HESITATE - JUST GO! Politics almost pulls down good international relations
38 1999 NOW CHINA S NUMBER 2 IS ON HIS WAY! And so here I go, worrying again
39 1999 AND WHAT A BIG MESS IT WAS! China premier s trip was almost his last
PART FIVE
WAR, SPIES AND SOLDIERS - PLOT POINT COMPLICATIONS
40 1996 AN OLD SOLDIER WITH A LOT ON HIS MIND Gen. Haig always worried about China relations
41 1997 DARK NIGHTS OF THE PESSIMISTS No one wants war with China, right????
42 1998 ADMIRAL HOPES FOR CALM WATERS Pacific Command has a better feel than Washington
43 1998 TREASON PROBE - OR WITCH HUNT? Perhaps the Grand Jury could just plead insanity
44 1999 HEADING TOWARD A BREAKUP Stupid spying report may blow the roof off
45 1999 FLY BY NIGHT CHINESE SPIES? Keep a level head over engagement with China
46 1999 BUT WHEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ IT Report was exercise in amateur-hour paranoia
47 2002 REGARDING TAIWAN - DON T SAY A THING! Hard for Americans to mind their own business
48 2005 SOLDIER SEES CHINA FOR WHAT IT IS Maybe Colin Powell would have made a great president
49 2007 SCAREMONGERING AS USUAL This time it s product safety a fair question, but
PART SIX
BACK STORY 2 - HOLLYWOOD ISSUES
50 1996 WAS THIS A MICKEY MOUSE MOVE? The Disney dustup signals a long road ahead
51 2007 DIRECTOR: NO MUNICH APPEASEMENT Spielberg takes an unusual stand
52 2011 CHINA S BRUCE LEE SYNDROME Nationalistic pose makes for a difficult role
53 2011 LI NA GETS A STARRING ROLE Beijing might be wise to clone it
PART SEVEN
HOW WILL IT END? - THE RESOLUTION
54 1999 HAWK PLUS DOVE MAKES FLIGHTY POLICY But a little of this and a little of that won t add up to much
55 2000 REMAINING ITS OWN WORST ENEMY Some say trouble is unavoidable, Beijing s hopeless
56 2001 WE JUST KEEP GOING WITH ENGAGEMENT It s okay, nothing else needed to keep China happy
57 2001 GLOBAL CONTAINMENT OF THE U.S. A disturbing case of mistaken enmity?
58 2008 RELAX, U.S. POLICY IS BASICALLY WORKING Polls show Americans and Chinese at peace
59 2008 NO WORRIES, CHINA WILL SELF-DESTRUCT Growing laundry list for Beijing
60 2013 NOW IS THE TIME IF EVER THERE WAS A view of the future that won t kill
CONCLUSION IN SEARCH OF A HAPPY ENDING
AFTERWORD MY TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR REPORTING IN ASIA
A NOTE ABOUT THE COLUMNS
Giving Thanks
Works Consulted and Recommended
Index
About the Author
FOREWORD BY KISHORE MAHBUBANI
ONE OF THE FEW WESTERN JOURNALISTS WHO HAS GOTTEN THE WORLD S BIGGEST STORY RIGHT
The world s biggest story is the rise of China. The world s biggest media is the Western media. The world s biggest mystery is how the world s biggest media got the world s biggest story wrong. This is why this book is worth reading. Tom Plate is one of the few Western journalists who have gotten the world s biggest s