Quote:
Originally Posted by astralis
tronic,
i highly doubt the quest for greater power or territory, by military means or otherwise, came in the 20th century with the nazis and the japanese. this is something nation-states have been dealing with since the beginning of history.
|
You are right; but those nation states have evolved and have left behind imperialism. China has not.
Quote:
|
i believe you're conflating two issues here, the first being china's vision of itself and the second being china's political structure.
|
They are both connected, no? Chinese political structure is bad, yes. But it becomes a convenience for a lot of these Chinese folks who are in full support of their government's imperialistic actions.
Quote:
|
obviously territorial desires over (for lack of a better term) "non-core area" is not restricted to something only non-free states do. you, of all people, should know this- was it not liberal england that turned india (not that indians considered themselves indians at the time) into a colony?
|
No, it was not liberal England. It was Imperial England. And yes, Indians considered themselves as Indians, just called themselves Hindustanis. India may have had different kingdoms by the time the British arrived, but the entire subcontinent did always see themselves as the one and same; and did often unite to expel 'foreigners'. Be they Greeks, Afghans, Turks or the British.
Quote:
|
for that matter, if the US weren't there, the south koreans and japanese would quite willingly resort to force to settle their territorial issues, as well.
|
Sure, territorial disputes are there even between Canada and the US. But these points of contentions are much smaller then the vast amount of land claimed by China, using just plain stupid historical claims. Going by the Chinese logic, India should start laying territorial claims all the way from Indonesia to Afghanistan.
Quote:
|
so now comes the question: if china were a democracy and had these same territorial demands, would your criticisms of china remain the same?
|
Would the need be there? If they were a democracy, they would rather be holding referendums; then forcefully shoving down Chinese nationalism down someone else's throat.