Below from McGregor of the FT, recommending a time-out for the torch run. Nah. Cadre cannot pause. Cadre is not one voice, it is a fist fight amongst less than equals. Hu is trapped by his torch run. It is his policy until he isn't. If Hu does not send the torch into Tibet, Hu is without power in his own conquered occupied Tibet.
The cadre derives power from the GDP of China only because the cadre claims to be China. The torch run lights up the fact that China and the cadre are not the same. And that China is not China. Tibet is free because it says it is free. Same for East Turkistan and Taiwan and Mongolia.
Hu and the cadre are now frightened of the torch that is coming their way. They guard the torch they fear. The torch is freedom. What else can it be but the torch on the model of the Statue of Liberty that was raised in Tiananmen Square in 1989 that the cadre crushed with weapons. Torch runs, cadre quakes and moans.
Olympic protests will inflame nationalism
By Richard McGregor
Published: April 9 2008 18:44 | Last updated: April 9 2008 18:44
.........A China that was much poorer and less of a pivotal player in global diplomacy survived years of western sanctions and pressure of different kinds in the wake of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing and elsewhere in 1989. There is no reason to suggest its reaction will be any different now.
After five straight years of 10 per cent-plus growth, the political leverage that China wields from its economy and industrial and consumer market is also greater than ever. The foyers of five-star hotels in Beijing and Shanghai are awash with bullish multinational chief executives. The US may be in, or on the brink of, recession but in China the biggest problem of many foreign companies remains capacity constraints, not falling orders.
Is there any way in the short term to bridge the gap between the west and China in the aftermath of Tibet and the torch relay protests? Probably not, but there may be ways to stop them widening.
China and the grandees at the International Olympic Committee will not countenance in their public pronouncements any disruption of the international leg of the torch relay. But it is clear that it should be cancelled. Certainly, any cancellation amounts to a loss of face for China. But with another 15-odd countries on the agenda and about three to four weeks to go, allowing the torch relay to go on might be much worse. Some breathing space is needed to try to renew a dialogue ahead of the Games. At the moment, there is none in sight.
Send your comments to Richard McGregor at rmcg@uninet.com.cn
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