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AnonymousI just finished reading Tom Plate's article "Is Asia's Iron Lady Steeling Beijing's Anger?" For many years I have been hearing many people talking about the Taiwanese formally declaring independence from the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "PRC") and the potential global reprecussions. Is war inevitable if Taiwan one day does declare independence? Will the U.S. side by our long time ally Taiwan in order to support "freedom" and democracy or will we side with the PRC in order to prevent a massive war with the PRC or a loss of trade with China?
It is interesting that in terms of foreign policy, both candidates for U.S. president have extensively addressed the War on Terror, the war in Iraq, and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. But the topic of Taiwan and the PRC has been ignored. What either candidate do if the PRC moved to invade Taiwan remains an enigma. Should this topic be an important topic for candidates to address? Do you think it is preferable for the U.S. to stand by its long time ally or do you think it is best to shun Taiwan in favor of global security? Do you agree with the Taiwanese vice-president's view that due to the PRC's lack of resources the PRC's aggressiveness will not stop at Taiwan, and will undoubtedly spill into the rest of East Asia?
The article mentioned can be found at the following link:
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=14911
AnonymousTom Plate's article "Is Asia's Iron Lady Steeling Beijing's Anger?" raises quite a few issues. I think one aspect he discusses is that the Taiwanese Government might not be completely independent or free of their ties with the People's Republic of China, but still Taiwan has become a very strong and powerful government. Of course, the United Nations does not acknowledge the Government of Taiwan as a different entity from China, but still a nation has emerged despite threats of eventually being attacked.
I think the strength of Taiwan and what it's becoming is the miracle in the picture. Even though at any time the People's Republic of China could be attacked militarily they aren't because of the international outcry that would occurr. International pressure may be what is protecting Taiwan more than anything else and allowing the country to grow and develop.
I think that's why this situation is never discussed from a presedential candidate or openly debated, because currently the lid is still on the pot--so to speak.
AnonymousI just finished reading Tom Plate's article entitled "China: The Bad Guy Never Looked Better."
I really enjoyed reading this article. Tom Plate's style and humor is great.
I was surprised to read that according to a Zoglby poll, most Americans value China more than they fear it. The reason I was surprised is that usually when I read or hear about China in mainstream media outlets, China is portrayed negatively. Most articles or news reports focus on China's human rights record, crackdown on dissidents, and military buildup. Even the news of China's economic boom is sometimes written to make China seem like a threat to U.S. prosperity.
One of Plate's arguments is that the Republicans are going to have a hard time blaming China for the fall of the dollar and the weak American economy.
If the survey (which had 1200 participants) can hold true for the general American population, then it will be interesting to know what has changed American perceptions about China in the last 10 years. Is it the media, education or Yao Ming?
The funniest thing about the poll cited by Plate was that most American's surveyed felt that China was a closer U.S. ally than France!!! While our "Freedom Fries" conservatives would applaud this, I can see some of our Cold War leaders, like General MacArthur, turn in their grave.
One critique of this article: show us the numbers. It would be great if Tom Plate either cited exact figures from the survey taken or would provide a link so that we could use some of the data in our teaching.
The article can be found at:
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=20066
AnonymousI just finished reading Tom Plate's article "Japan Through Twenty-Something Eyes" and I was glad he started out with Japan's Prime Minister's visit to Graceland. I had read the LA Times article about the visit and chuckled to myself at the picture of the PM doing an amusing impersonation of Elvis (One has to give Koizumi credit for at least trying). Plate's description of who's a big fan of whom was a very interesting way of describing the relationship between the leaders of the US and Japan. With the help of his 25-year-old course assistant, he said he now had a better understanding of the twenty-something Japanese perspective. Eventhough I'm just barely past the 30 mark, I can understand the lure of having a leader who seems hip and with-it, knows what they are doing and is not afraid to stand up for what they believe in (and in this case, as the article quotes the assistant, "...stands up to the Chinese, he's not afraid of them"). These above character traits are very attractive in people, especially people who are in leadership positions (though hip may be of less importance on that trait ladder). I think Mr. Plate is right on to deem the importance of listening very carefully to the twenty-something generation, seeing that they are, or are becoming, the next wave of movers and shakers of society.
clay dubeTom Plate, former editor of the Los Angeles Times editorial pages and a longtime journalist with New York and Time, has taught in the Communication Studies Department at UCLA since 1996. His Pacific Perspective is distributed by the UCLA Media Center that he heads. Tom established the Asia Pacific Media Network in 1998 and was director of AsiaMedia and Asia Pacific Arts until 2003. The UCLA Asia Institute began publishing AsiaMedia and Asia Pacific Arts in fall 2003.
Tom's column is the only one of its kind: focused on Asia and its relationship with the United States and appearing twice a week in newspapers in Asia and the U.S.
Please use this section of the AsiaMedia discussion board to take up the issues Tom's raised and the arguments he's put forward in his column. [Edit by="Clay Dube on Apr 17, 3:47:10 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousOh, I really enjoyed reading this article. Tom Plate's style and humor is great.