Of economic leadership, political morality
Published on: Sunday, June 23, 2019
By: Datuk John Lo
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[a] USA is feeling threatened as China will surpass USA as the No. 1 economic power by as soon as 2030. India will do so too. The 1st and 2nd economic powers will be Asian. USA will be 3rd.
[b] China is proving to the world that democracy is not the only path to developed nation status. In fact, Tun M, in his speech at the Cambridge Union, said that the West are hypocrites in imposing so called democratic values on other countries and changing the rules/values as they go along.
These are designed to lock in these countries subservient to them, like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Countries which have fallen into this western trap are like the proverbial guinea pig in the running wheel. These countries can never be good enough for the west, no matter how hard they try.
Malaysians are well versed with the West’s democratic system and values. Many are hardcore anglophiles in our corridor of power, trying to be whiter than the whites. Malaysians need to understand what has propelled China to her current economic status. China is showing to the world that her system of government [seemingly undemocratic to Americans] is better than USA.
China is the first country in human history to have uplifted more than 800 million from dire poverty [more than 10pc of world population], has made rapid advance in education and technology. China is no longer a “factory” churning out cheap products for the world.
She has sped ahead in space technology [1st to land on the dark side of the moon], 5G [leader in patent registrations], electrical vehicles, quantum physics, super computers, robots, high speed rail [latest research on 1,000 km per hours under experiment], highway, tunnelling, de-desertification and in many other sectors.
More importantly, China is much more peaceful than US. One week of random shooting deaths and injuries in US can be more than China’s 1 year. How can this system be no good? Can the American system do better for the 1.4 billion Chinese?
In her 5,000-year history, China has become the super power at least 10 times. Whereas, this is US’s first time and Trump is already so arrogant.
China has a long history of endurance in the face of severe adversity like the Opium War from which many western billionaires have derived sleazy wealth in selling opium to Chinese by force. To understand the Chinese success, one has to devolve into her history and culture.
I must pre-empt myself that I have little Chinese education and comprehension of Chinese culture. China has become economically powerful within the last 30 years.
In 8 short years, it has caught up USA in high tech, so much so that 70pc of world’s robot is in China. Why robots when China is already jam-packed with 1.4 billion people? Reasons are
[a] economic future is in high tech.
[b] Higher productivity.
[c] Higher income.
[d] higher value of employment. Malaysia should take note that cheap imported labour is not sustainable nor will it enhance competitiveness.
In my humble opinion the Chinese success story thus far and future direction, which Malaysia can emulate, are guided by following economic leadership and political morality factors.
Confucius teaching. The Confucius teaching which is about 2500 years old has dominated the Chinese in all aspects of their lives except for a brief period during Mao’s rule. Since Deng Xiaoping has opened up China in 1979, the Chinese government has adopted many Confucius teachings, especially in governance, hard work, saving and humility.
Chinese system of good governance started 4,000 years ago which Confucius has codified, is more superior than western democracy. Chinese governance is based on following quotation:
The Master [Confucius] said, “Lead them by means of regulations and keep order among them through punishments, and the people will evade them and will lack any sense of shame. Lead them through moral force [道德] and keep order among them through rites [禮,] and they will have a sense of shame and will also correct themselves.”
The western democracy model relies on law and punishment and the politics of democracy is confrontational. Winners take all.
The clearest difference of Chinese and US system is reflected by the styles of Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in the current trade war. Xi keeps his cool, no harsh words, no threats, no condemnation.
Trump’s obnoxious, uncouth behaviour borders on gangsterism and is a direct product of confrontational politics in democracy. He is pinning blames on all other countries but unwilling to accept America’s own internal weakness.
By acting as persecutor judge, and jury, Trump has destroyed the rule based international economic order which the west has created to perpetuate their hegemony.
The new Chinese leadership has adopted the dictum of one of China’s earliest kings who was well known for his wisdom and love for his people.
Here is the quote as recorded in Confucius sayings. “If the ruler has committed sins [or corruption], it is not the people’s fault. If the people have committed sins [or corruption] it is the ruler’s fault. [my translation]” Chinese history has shown that whenever a ruler is morally upright, benevolent and caring for his people, the country would become great and vice versa. “The buck stops” at the highest-level political leadership in China 4000 years ago. No passing the buck.
The new Chinese leaders since Deng Xiaoping has adopted a truly responsible leadership style which I think is far more superior than American leadership.
Instead of adopting American brand of human rights, China has uplifted 800 million out of poverty into middle class.
This is the best human right the Chinese leaders can give to the Chinese people – a decent life with economic dignity.
What human rights can Trump give to the many homeless Americans sleeping in the streets? Or to the majority of the blacks?
Likewise, what more can Malaysians ask for if our political leaders can give middle class income to all Malaysians?
The new Chinese leaders have succeeded the greatest test of all – uniting 1.4 billion people to have pride in being Chinese under the unique Chinese concept of nation. Achieving this is no easy feat. The western concept of nation is manifested with a flag. It is just a nation. The Chinese notion of nationhood consists of 2 Chinese characters.
The 1st character is nation. The 2nd character is family. These two Chinese characters, when combined, are inalienable in the Chinese concept of their nationhood – no nation no family and no family no nation. Or put it more succinctly, “Nation is family. Family is nation”.
This simple concept is a very powerful uniting force which connotes, controls and unites the Chinese in loyalty, political thoughts, cultural, social and economic behaviour.
It has united and held China as a nation longer than any nation in the world. China has endured without breaking up for more than 5000 years. USA has existed less than 10pc of that time as a country.
“It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.” With this simple sentence in 1979, Deng Xiao Ping has transformed China.
He is reputed to have said “To get rich is glorious”. These two statements are the best manifestation of adaptation of MERITOCRACY and showcase of economic leadership .
At the same time, corruption is not tolerated, punishment for illicit wealth is death by firing squad. With these directions, a latent Chinese economic power has been released.
The rest is history. The Chinese took to business and competition like ducks to water. Had China indulged in giving out privileges, crony concessions and policy of “easy way out” like Malaysia, it would never have attained super power status.
From above, it is obvious that Chinese leaders have exhibited the highest degree of economic leadership and political morality. Tun M is right to incline towards eastern values, first to Japan, lately also to China, in economic and social development for Malaysia.
Donald Trump has thrown all the western values of fair competition, globalisation, free trade, globalization etc out of the window now that they are losing their superior position. The west was play-acting virtuous angels when they were strong.
Now, US is turning ugly in its declining years. Tun M is right – the west are hypocrites. To strive forward economically, what is important for Malaysia is not to mimic political ideology of western democracy or Chinese socialism with special characteristics. It is for Malaysia to emulate the high standard of economic leadership and political morality which China has espoused and exemplified and which has elevated China from poverty to super power status. When they are in place, most of Malaysia’s problem will automatically evaporate away.
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