4/17/2005
Is history repeating itself?
While I understand that no analogy runs one hundred percent true, I don't think I’m imagining things. Am I the only one who sees China's behavior as an eerie echo of that of Japan's a century ago? Back then, Japan fought two wars almost expressly for being seen as a regional, if not world power. They did it for respect in the same way school yard bullies will pick fights just for the sake of looking good and not over anything worth fighting for. Currently China is rattling its saber at two, or three nations and making all sorts of noise while simultaneously building up its defenses. China is taking pains to appear warlike and has reiterated its "One China" policy so many times in the last year I suspect newsies could probably stay home from the press conferences and just change the dates of their reports. With all the time they spend spitting at Japan, the US, and Taiwan it’s amazing that the entire Chinese government hasn't collapsed from dehydration yet.
