Sascha Matuszak

A recently published book by two US Department of Defense insiders and Cold Warriors, Edward Timperlake and William C. Triplett II provides an extremely one-sided yet nevertheless sobering account of China’s arms dealings. In Red Dragon Rising, Timperlake and Triplett point to "Communist China" as the chief threat to World Peace (i.e. Pax Americana), surpassing … Continue reading “Arming the World: What the US Fears”

As one moves from Japan through Taiwan and Hong Kong to Mainland China, a visible transition from extremely orderly to extrememly chaotic takes place. In Japan, the streets all seem newly paved and swept, the houses quaint and sparkling and the streams running through the Tokyo suburbs contain edible fish. People quietly play with their … Continue reading “What Taiwanese Fear”

The night is rounding down and my friend downs the rest of his beer, takes a slow look around the emptying club and announces: “I’m gonna get me a xiaojie!” (little sister/one-night lover) He whispers and chuckles the finer points of xiaojie hunting to me as we exit the club along with similarly conspiring well-dressed … Continue reading “Protection”

Here in the Twin Cities Governor Jesse Ventura has just announced that he will not run next term, to everybody’s surprise. His was a reign of frustration and entertainment and I am one of the few who will miss him. His replacement will surely be boring and bursting with platitudes. One of the last great … Continue reading “Ties That Bind”

Along with the long term and painful solutions of economic (and political?) reform and personal sacrifice, Zhu also provided a short-term solution to the problem: a 17.6 percent hike in defense spending to combat "hostile forces inside and outside of China." Targeted aggressors included the convenient Fa Lun Gong, religious extremists and terrorists and generally … Continue reading “1.3 Billion Problems For China”

If anyone had any illusions concerning China’s WTO membership, recent events should have dispelled them. Drooling suits are now wiping themselves clean and taking a good look at semi-accurate translations of semitransparent regulations the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) released earlier this month concerning the import of soybeans. The issue of … Continue reading “Soybeans”

Nicholas D. Krystof, longtime China hand and co-author of the book, China Wakes, wrote on January 22 of the growing Chinese nationalism and the issues it poses to the rest of the world and particularly the US. Krystof wrote of the gloating to be read in chat rooms and websites throughout China following Sept. 11 … Continue reading “Patriotism”

Premier Zhu Rongji’s trip through India has produced the statements of cooperation and mutual development that every trip by any Chinese politician to any foreign country routinely elicits. More often than not, these statements do result in increased cooperation in tourism and trade. The difference with India is that the fractious democracy is the other … Continue reading “Room for Growth”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official declared today that China will not engage in peacemaking efforts in South Asia. The conflict between Pakistan and India is an affair that should and will be resolved by the two longtime enemies and all China can do is offer "moral persuasion." The official, Ms. Fu Ying, emphasized the vital … Continue reading “No Peacemaker”

There is no denying the vast gulf of difference separating the USA from the PRC. No two countries could be more dissimilar in so many ways. Minneapolitans have been whining for years about the traffic jams clogging up all the major highways in the Twin Cities. I can now guffaw, for I have seen true … Continue reading “Back in the USA”