Opinion | America is sick, and needs therapy

By Philip Yeung, university teacher

PKY480@gmail.com

It is getting more ludicrous by the day! The debt ceiling crisis looms over the US. But guess what? Its politicians are crying wolf, warning that this crisis is "playing into the hands of China". These days, in shambolic America, everything problematic has a China angle, including debt ceiling. They blame Chinese imports for their industrial decline. Soon, they will blame China for their constipation or erectile dysfunction. It's Sino-phobia gone mad!

Unfortunately for China, irrational fear of China is the only thing that unites a bitterly divided Congress and country. Politicians speak the same language only when attacking China. Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has gone so far as to declare: "The more we play with default….the more we prove that China and our competitors are right." Has US-China relations reached a point of no return?

Post-Trump, America is a hotbed for extremists. So far, not a single official, elected or appointed, is brave enough to step forward to dilute the venom against a peaceful country whose only sin is outshining America. China is busy supporting infrastructure projects in more than 150 countries, while the US has poured hundreds of billions into needless wars. Insanely jealous, America finds in China its convenient bogeyman.

Then there is Republican Senator Susan Collins. She says: "The world faces an authoritarian government that seeks to regain its hegemonic past and dismantle the international order created by the United States and our allies following World War II." What a load of nonsense! For two centuries, China was a humiliated, not a hegemonic, country. Where is this hegemonic past that Collins speaks of? Her historical ignorance is alarming. As for "dismantling" the international order, look who's talking? Who's behind the military conflicts, big and small, in the last 75 years? China merely defended its territorial integrity. It has never disrupted the international order, whatever that is.

What then about the South China Sea? Well, you are talking about China's own backyard through which more than 50% of the world's commerce flows. It is a choke-point that China must either defend or be strangled by US encirclement. Militarizing these islands is a must for self-survival. Or else, China might as well sign its own death warrant.

What about Taiwan? Under America's one-China policy, it is a part of Chinese territory, and thus strictly a domestic issue, and in no way a slice of the global order. Ditto Hong Kong and Xinjiang. All internal affairs, all exclusively Chinese concerns.

Whipping up anti-China hysteria is America's biggest con job, thanks to Trump the pathological con artist.

Want to know a little secret? China owes its stupendous success in the last 40 years, largely, to one thing: national unity.

While America is paralyzed by partisanship, and India is torn apart by genocidal village-burning religious or ethnic hatred, China promotes ethnic harmony and shared prosperity, bestowing preferential benefits on its minorities. Free from division and distractions, ethnic peace is in China's vital national interest. That's why, there is zero hate crime in every street across every city in China. Minorities coexist peacefully. I totally discount the possibility of persecution of innocent Uyghurs. Why should Xinjiang be a singularity? It's illogical. It's unChinese. It rings untrue. China doesn't have a history of mistreating minorities. Its respect for ethnicity is miles ahead of racist America.

China, however, won't tolerate foreign-fomented Muslim terrorism. Like any country targeted by Islamic terrorists, China acts forcefully to contain them. There are re-education centers, yes, but they exist to re-absorb indoctrinated trouble-makers into society. Discrimination runs counter to China's pacific approach to inter-ethnic relations. If anything, there is reverse discrimination in favor of ethnic minorities. I trust my own eyes. I distrust American disinformation.

Pre-Trump, America used to enjoy a rosy and cozy relationship with China. Now it seems like a distant memory.

Today's America is a troubled nation, angry at itself, and angrier at others who know how to govern. It's no longer fit to be in the world's driver's seat.

The US is deeply troubled by China paranoia. Uncle Sam, you'd better book an appointment with your therapist, and have your head examined.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Philip Yeung:

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