China rewrites its own history

John Barth's short story "Lost in the Funhouse" (1968) is about a family outing to Ocean City, but it is continually interrupted by the narrator's own reflections on his use of various methods of narration. Ultimately, these digressions prevent the telling of the story. The narrator is lost in his own narrative threads and options. The confusion and loss of self the narrator suffers become the central metaphor of the story. \nA similar dilemma can be seen in the Chinese government's handling of the United States-China standoff. The leaders' agonizing wordplay and self-spinning reflect a tortured and pathetic rationalization. \nNegotiating with China can be a maddening experience. The midair collision between an American reconnaissance plane and a Chinese F-8 fighter jet could have been resolved earlier, if not for the Chinese government's unyielding insistence on an American apology. \nSuch behavior casts serious doubts on the Chinese government's ability to adhere to international laws and trade standards once China enters the World Trade Organization. During the 11-day standoff between the United States and China, both President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed regret for the death of the Chinese pilot Wang Wei, but it did not satisfy the communist leaders. \nThis engaged both sides in a protracted semantic game. It was not until Ambassador Joseph W. Prueher submitted what the Chinese called a letter of "contrition," stating that the Americans were "very sorry" for the loss of the Chinese pilot and for landing on Chinese soil without verbal permission that China released the 24 crew members who had been held close to hostage status. As is typical of the Chinese government, it claimed moral victory.\nChinese leaders were not really splitting the semantic difference between "regret" and "sorry." To them, all texts are subject to misquoting, misreading and rewriting. \nThe Bush administration achieved a diplomatic solution without giving in to China's unreasonable request for a full-fledged apology (daoqian in Chinese), because an American apology would give China a stronger legal position. The American plane was over international waters at the time of the collision. And all evidence points to the Chinese pilot, whose aggressive and reckless behavior (coming as near as three to five feet to the American plane and displaying risky bravado) might have caused the collision. \nSensible people know that "very sorry" (yihan or wanxi in Chinese) is an expression of regret without assessment of blame or guilt. But the China News Agency translated it as "shen biao qianyi," which implies culpability as well as regret. The most pathetic statement was uttered by China's foreign minister, who declared that China released American crew members for "humanitarian reasons." \nThe Chinese media create a new type of inner colonialism, whereby the public is duped and controlled with a false picture of themselves and the world around them. In the past few months, the Chinese government, threatened by the free flow of information on the Internet, blocked disagreeable Western sites such as The Washington Post and Amnesty International. Last year, several people were arrested for posting political dissents or articles on Web sites about China's human rights abuses. The Propaganda Department continues its Internet surveillance by regularly issuing detailed instructions requiring Web sites to use news from the state-run media.\nThis standoff is a poignant reminder for the Taiwanese people of the ongoing semantic war with China concerning Taiwan's status. Recently, China's Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qichen announced that the term "one China" implies a kind of confederation, which includes both Chinese mainland and Taiwan. \nWe need a reality check before losing ourselves in the obsessive act of rewriting. Taiwan has been a de facto independent country for more than half a century; the historical relations between Taiwan and China are tenuous. Since its colonization by the Dutch in 1624, Taiwan was a Chinese province only between 1887 and 1895. In 1895, the Qing dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan after their defeat in the Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese government then gave up its sovereignty over Taiwan after its defeat in World War II in 1945. Now Taiwan and China have different governments, constitutions, political and social systems. Chinese territorial claim over Taiwan has absolutely no historical basis.\nThis month, the Bush administration will decide which weapons systems to sell to Taiwan. China has increased its defense budget and expanded its arsenal of missiles, aircraft, submarines and destroyers in recent years as its economy has grown. So far, 300 short-range ballistic missiles have been placed near Fujian Province along the Taiwan Strait; the Chinese are expanding that force at a rate of 50 missiles a year. \nTaiwan has long hoped to purchase the Aegis missile defense system to neutralize China's missile threat. Given the intransigent nature of the communist regime and the constant barrage of military threats issued from Beijing against Taiwan, the Bush administration should sell the Aegis radar system to Taiwan to help it defend itself against China, a rogue country that threatens its neighbors, represses its citizens and thumbs its nose at rules of law.