For Your Blog

How should the US view China’s developing relations with her neighbors? Should the US modify its foreign policy toward these same nations in light of their changing relations with China?

The United States should view and modify its foreign policy toward the neighbors of China, by respecting historical perspective. China continues to utilize the Sino-centric bilateral relations with its neighbors. Sino-centric relations historically were based on tribute paid to China’s emperor. Even though, the Sino-centric viewpoint is shared to some degree by Asian countries, the Philippines for example does not formally refer to China as family by the use of language. These differences stem from historical divisions as well as, earned independence such as Vietnam. However, with Russia and America strategically strengthening ties to Asia for trade goods China must compete. Even though, China and the US are in completion they are dependent on each other globally for export and import trade affecting both economies. Our trade dependant economies should inspire a diplomatic effort on non-subversive, non-military trade treaties for domestic well-being in the face of globalization. It is globalization and dependence on Asian production lines that has determined a lack of counter balance for health of the US economy. Maintaining US economic stability will require establishing market regulating trade treaties for health and welfare of both the US and China.

For Your Blog

Choose a marginalized community in modern Chinese society from China Off Center,
Reflect on the survival strategies employed by this community in the face of state hegemonic power. How has this community continued to exist on the margins of Chinese society? What challenges does this community face for future survival?
The Falun Gong faces challenges to their existence and survival because of marginalization in China. They have utilized these survival strategies when facing the PRC on the margins of Chinese society with peaceful protest, daily practice without organization, and establishing a fundamental morality of qi. In China, religion is considered much the same as mysticism, a superstition not a process, science that is reason based. A reason based movement can be controlled by the PRC. It is for this reason that the Falun Gong is banned. The banning occurred when the Falun Gong gathered outside of PRC headquarters in large numbers, non-violently protesting the right to exist. The number of protestor was seen as a threat to the PRC and the people. Therefore the Falun Gong was singled out of the Qigong branches as being more of a threat. The Falun Gong mixed fundamental moralistic standards for qi and qigong practitioners in their version of qigong. This did establish better practitioners and masters but, made the PRC leery of them due to the communist discounting of religion.

In order to survive, the Qigong and Falun Gong must realize for the PRC, there needs to be a wide birth between fundamental moral principles and the market place. The PRC has forgone market regulation to the extent of not protecting its own people to maintain increases in growing markets. The Qigong during the 90’s and beyond was to a large extent, was a social gathering for the under and unemployed who had endured the Cultural Revolution. These revolutionists struggled by the use of fundamental beliefs to maintain some stability in the markets, using consumer education, Falun Gong, Qigong and traditional cultures to cope with the changing PRC economies. In spite of the resistance, some transition had to take place for the PRC and China to progress. If the Qigong and the PRC are to coexist they will have to come to an understanding that one offsets the others mistakes, and provides for a scientific traditional Chinese medicine to help ease the stress of transition into a healthy environmental socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics.