The Yellow Peril.

I do recall our reaction against the Yellow Peril when Japanese products and capital began to flood the American markets. But there are differences. I wanted to emphasize that China as the undisputed superpower in Asia has an imposed leadership role that will largely determine the Asian personality in the decades ahead. Thus far, China has not performed well in this role. I am not talking about the childish currency devaluation game that the US and China are playing, but rather the manner in which China governs it people and its behavior regarding regional diplomacy.


China has not used its influence to reduce tensions with North Korea. Nor has it made any efforts to mollify age old antipathies between itself and South Korea. It has an ongoing stand off with Japan, that as I write is heating up, over some unoccupied islands that are geographically closer to Japan. Watch this space as the island story is just beginning.

When China's President Hu Jintau was recently interviewed by Fareed Zacharia, the former spoke eloquently and unhesitatingly about China's determination to allow and indeed foster freedom of speech among its citizens. Each time this interview was broadcast in China, Hu's statement about freedom of speech was edited out. There are much better ways of managing China's need for controlling its dissidents than ham fisted editing of the President's proclamations. It is this lack of finesse that compels me to think that Hu Jintau is behaving more like Chairman Mao than the future leader of East Asia.

How about simply stating that China's history of war lords and competing peoples needs to be respected while at the same time a central authority is needed to coordinate much needed human and physical infrastructure development. One byproduct of this effort is to gradually and resolutely open up political life to what the West calls freedom of speech. Allowing this to happen overnight has potential consequences that are best avoided at the present time.

Now for the troubled Euro. One proposal is to divide the Euro into two different geographically based units; the Northern Euro and the Southern Euro. What a smashing idea; a Euro for the rich and one for the poor. It could also be called the PE for Protestant Euro and the CE for Catholic Euro. One can easily imagine having the Industrial Euro and the Wanker Euro, or how about the Ritz Euro and the Club Med Euro. A European competition could be held to name the two Euros from the above possibilities to an endless number of others. What fun.