Magnified Anglo-American and Sino-Latino Differences

Historically, the differences -- rather than the similarities -- in Anglo-American and Sino-Latino societies have been emphasized, leading to the belief in America that Chinese and Latinos are not just different, but in many ways inferior. The jokes that the reason the Florida recount was taking so long was because Manuel was doing it are a glaring recent example. This image has been magnified in recent years by self-serving zealots. Some argue that if Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union were the monsters of the 20th century, Chinese societies have all the makings of becoming the monsters of the 21st century. A “21st-century version of the Soviet bear,” America’s top military official pronounces. The Chinese government buys American politicians with illegal contributions, steals nuclear technology from the U.S., illicitly sells arms and technology to other countries, violates human rights with impunity, amasses nuclear weapons, continues to occupy Tibet and threatens Taiwan’s safety and security. Yet it always gets a sweetheart deal from the U.S. and is crowned a most favored trading nation.

China, unlike illusive, faceless, shadowy corporate and foreign terrorists, is an easily identifiable target for America’s career politicians with all their shortcomings and frustrations. Conservative Republicans add China to the list of countries that harbor terrorists and should be bombed. China is mentioned in the same breath as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya! Not being included in the “Axis of Evil” was a progressive millennium step. My hope is this trilogy can contribute to the education needed to dispose of the negative image of Chinese ingrained in America’s national psyche.

American career politicians who are loyal party cadres, in both parties, perpetuate the differences by fear-mongering. The Republican Party millennium platform regards China as “America’s key challenge in Asia”. The start of the 2004 presidential election saw China again made a political scapegoat. Faced with a sputtering economy and increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, China again became the whipping boy. It was blamed for the failed 2003 WTO meeting in Cancun and accused of keeping the value of the yuan artificially low to maintain a trade advantage over U.S.-based manufacturers. Economists who warned the Bush administration of the potential of a trade war that will destabilize China’s economy and set off a global financial crisis were shunted aside in favor of the political spinmeisters who wanted to appease the voters in the critical rust-belt states of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. To listen to some of the politicians on the right, you’d think the old Japanese internment camps were being dusted down for new occupants. Chinese are about the same color and size. They’ll do. Oops, actually South Asians and Arab Muslims will do for now.

However, American and Sino-Latino civilizations have much in common, as well as much that is different, that can be used by America to learn, understand and grow. A “marriage of East and West” similar to what Alexander the Great did when he officiated at a mass wedding of 9,000 of his soldiers to Asian women, a conscious act of state. Even President Bush acknowledged this is needed to President Jiang Zemin at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2002.