The West, Colonialism, and China

Many people hate "the West". Understandable. UK, USA, France, etc. are responsible for colonialism all over the world. Let me stress this, colonialism is NEVER pretty. It encapsulates racism, economic injustice, political injustice, slaughter, and so many other horrible things. It creates misery, resentments, and so many other "negative feelings."

Unfortunately, some people lost perspective. They confuse the cause and effect, the ends and means. They forget that it is colonialism that we must avoid at all cost, NOT THE WEST. 

What? You think only the West can practice colonialism? Do you think People's Republic of China is your savior?

Here, let me give you some example of Chinese colonialism:

1) The occupation of Vietnam. (111 BC - 39 AD, 43 - 544 AD, 602 -938 AD, 1407 - 1427 AD)

Yes, the Chinese repeatedly ruled Vietnam. Other than those 4 periods of domination, maybe you still remember how they invaded Vietnam after Vietnam stopped Pol Pot and his Cambodian slaughterfest. Wait, what? How come China tried to punish Vietnam for stopping the Killing Field? Sorry, my bad. Pol Pot is a friend of China. The Killing Field is worth defending.

There is an old Polish saying: "Under the German, we lost our freedom. Under the Russian, we lost our soul." I suspected Vietnam has the same view on France and China. It has been confirmed. My Vietnamese friends has said the same mentality exist in VIetnam. One of them even going further by saying that most Vietnamese won't admit that they were and are influenced by China culturally and politically, that Chinese occupation left many legacies that still important until today. They are just too ... careful not to be colonized by China again.

No, this is not paranoia because of history/the past alone. The Vietnamese have good actual reasons to be fearful and suspicious of its gigantic neighbor.

2) Spratly Islands (Late 20th century - today)

This islands is a hotpoint. Philippine, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei contested that island. So does China. How does the gigantic China claim those islands? Does it has any merit? Not really. If you see the map on the right, Philippine is nearby, Vietnam is nearby, Malaysia is nearby, and Brunei is nearby. Not China. They only nearby if we count Paracel Islands which they wrested from the Vietnamese after the Vietnam war.

Check the map again. This is not only about Spratly. This is about total control of South China Sea. The border claimed by China will leave other countries with only a tiny strip of sea in front of their coast. Appalling. 

And how China assert its control? Simple: they send warships, marines, and fighter jets to attempt a de facto domination there! Who said the Chinese are ABOVE military action?

Oh, they also interested in Spratly because most likely there is oil deposit there. So ... if USA tried to conquer Iraq for oil it is colonialism, while China trying to conquer Spratly is only ... let me gues ... conflict of interest? HURRAA FOR DOUBLE STANDARD!

Oh yeah, similar case happens in Senkaku/Diaoyu. I already pointed out  that such conflict is utterly stupid. That, and an example of Chinese expansionism and attempt at colonialism. The Vietnamese indeed have good reason not to trust the Chinese. And that is not all.

3) Burma/Myanmar (Middle-late 20th century)

In the past, the Qing dynasty tried to conquer Burma. They sent 4 expeditions. Bad idea. VERY BAD IDEA! All of them were devastated by malaria and Burmese army. 

That was the past, how about today?

Well ... the military junta in Myanmar think that since the West refused to help them in any way, they can get helps from the Chinese. Bad idea. VERY BAD IDEA. The Chinese, hungry for natural resources, dictated every single contract. They pushed their luck with the Myitsone dam. Nobody in Myanmar wants that dam. Only the Chinese benefit from it. That is the last straw for the Myanmar people. Finally, the junta had enough and decided to open their country to democracy and western ideas. Heck, they even released most of their political prisoners!  

This is really a sobering experience. If you think US and Western domination is bad, Burma just show that Chinese domination is far from pretty or mutually beneficial. 

4) Rare earth mineral

Some year ago, some Chinese fishermen did illegal fishing in Japanese water. The Japanese coastguard apprehend those fishermen. So ... how does China reacted?

They used their monopoly on rare earth mineral to squeeze the Japanese to release those fishermen. It worked.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is economic colonialism in action!

EVERYONE learned the importance of rare earth mineral, so Australia and USA start re-open their rare-earth mineral mines again. Better late than never.



5) The Passport Controversy
China also used trickery to get what it wants. Sometimes, it is borderly juvenile. Like ... when they printed their territorial claim into their passport. Let me be clear: EACH PAGE of their passport displays China as the owner of Spratley, Senkaku, and many other contested regions. My guess is, they wanted to use any stamp on any page as prove of APPROVAL of Chinese territorial claim.

Nope, not working. India, Vietnam, etc. refuse to stamp those passports.

This is not a sign of good intention. It is a sign that the Chinese will use all means to grab new territories.

This sign was send not only to countries with territorial dispute with China: it was send to all countries. Unfortunately for them, once again they pushed their luck here. Now everyone know that China is willing to trick, to deceive, in order to got what they want. Smart people already know this, but this should enlighten all western haters to leave "China fans club".


You see, we have to be careful, watchful, and critical not only to West. The Chinese or ANY OTHER POWER also can be as ruthless, as exploitative, and as devious as the West and more! Time to ditch the mentality that only the West can practice colonialism. Time to ditch the mentality that the non-West are always the victim.