BALANCE of CULTURE

Rising Issues of Our Pivot to Asia

China's latest national defense paper, published today, has some fascinating notes on "some country" that has "strengthened its Asia-Pacific military alliances, expanded its military presence in the region, and frequently makes the situation more tense." 

While the paper's significance is mostly symbolic (such publishings are rarely read by the country's military higher-ups), most strategists would probably agree that the overall message dances around the United States and the Obama administration's "pivot to Asia." This Asia pivot, or "rebalancing of Asia," was actually established by the Obama administration a couple of years ago but for some reason seems to be all over the media lately--even more than when it was introduced. 

Despite the specific label, the pivot does not mean that the administration is turning away from our nation's other pressing engagements in the Middle East. However, the one thing it does indicate is our government's prioritization for future growth and sustainability. As we clean up and extricate ourselves from our volatile ME commitments, the Asia Pacific region's concerns and opportunities are becoming harder to dismiss or contain. While the Asia pivot isn't an exact synonym for the popular "Asian century = 21st century" concept, it is most definitely related.

I recently attended a meeting on Asian security where a US government official stated, "The most pressing issues of our time, such as climate change, will be won or lost in Asia." China is ready to assert more influence in the region--which is understandable because the region is literally its own backyard--while the US aims to at least maintain its historical regional interests while carefully balancing out China's ambitions. It is clear that both the US and China are ready to actively engage in these global concerns--let's hope that both countries' future policies are based on mutual gain and diplomacy instead of hegemonic, zero-sum approaches in the Asia Pacific. 

To Protect and Surf in Shenzhen

Water issues, both resource-based and purely territorial, garner plenty of attention in China (and Asia overall) right now. This recruiting advertisement for the Shenzhen police seems to reflect local maritime tensions, such as spats with Vietnam's fishing industry as well as the ongoing conflict in the East China Sea.

Ai Weiwei Wears Sold-Out Gas Mask in Beige-ing

Most people who go to China (or even Hong Kong) for the first time often end up catching a little cough--I'm one of those people who rarely gets sick yet I was no match for the smog there a few years ago. But Beijing's hazardous air quality is way beyond what travelers expect now, even from rapidly-industrializing China.

Above is Ai Weiwei's Twitter photo of himself donning a gas mask in Beijing yesterday; these cumbersome masks are long sold out in the capital. The one "silver lining" people are discussing regarding the city's hazy beige-ness is that Chinese face mask manufacturers and pollution control equipment companies (such as Shanghai Dragon and Fujian Longking) are enjoying soaring stocks and robust trading as they take advantage of the circumstances. 

The World Health Organization warns that 25 is the highest air pollution level to reach before tiny PM2.5 particles penetrate into the deep crevices of the human lung. Beijing got up to 993 a few days ago--that's 40 times the recommended safe limit. Unsurprisingly, today the US Embassy in Beijing again cited pollution levels that are higher than that of the China National Environment Monitoring Center: an "unhealthy" 153 compared to a "medium pollution" 161. 

To their credit, local Beijing officials have reportedly ordered a number of factories and construction sites to idle, but they now have a bit of a PR disaster on their hands. Not only are people all over the world witnessing remarkable levels of air pollution that seem inappropriate for a would-be superpower in 2013, but more attention is being placed upon the source of the issue: China's questionable approach to industrialization. I think this is the true potential "silver lining" here, as it gives Beijing the opportunity to show more systemic accountability in how it manages its position as a top global manufacturer. The question is, will they go for it?

China and India Use Buddhism For Regional Influence

As China and India continue to escalate their separate efforts in exerting influence around South Asia by funding tangible infrastructure--roads, ports, dams, and even an airport in Nepal--the two potential superpowers also are using a "softer" approach to shape perceptions: Buddhism. Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka are three key states in the region that all have deep cultural ties to Buddhism and thus are being courted by various "carrots" from both India and China. Some of these carrots include displays of ancient Buddhist relics, funding religious sites, and the sponsorships of international Buddhist conferences. 

Not surprisingly one of these Buddhist conferences, India's Global Buddhist Congregation, became a thorny issue for Beijing in 2011. The reason? The congregation ended up casting the Dalai Lama as Buddhism's global leader, in a sense solidifying India's agency over the Buddhist tradition while indirectly criticizing China's policies on Tibet.

Beijing's response: they actually delayed a scheduled meeting with Indian officials on Sino-Indian border negotiations. This is just one example of how soft power is in no way confined to abstract intangibles such as culture.

Niall Ferguson wrote an interesting piece on power back in 2003 where he states, "But the trouble with soft power is that it's, well, soft." Unfortunately this is true only when soft power is regulated exclusively to the realm of cultural and commercial goods, such as Michael Jackson and Big Macs. Today, soft power can directly and indirectly influence things once considered the domain of hard power, such as regional containment--one only has to look at China's "strategic encirclement" of improving relations (whether it's through direct foreign investment or Confucius Institutes) with most of India's neighbors to see this. 

Soft Power and Threat

One of my favorite soft power mentors Joe Nye has a brief interview out where he continues to offer new insight on research, foreign policy and, of course, power relations:

e-IR: Can soft power ever be threatening, and if so, is China's soft power a threat?

Nye: Like any form of power, soft power can be benign or threatening depending on the context and how it is used. It is not necessarily better to twist minds than to twist arms. If China uses its soft power as part of a campaign to expel the US from East Asia, that would be threatening. If Chinese soft power grows in the US and American soft power grows in China so that it becomes easier to manage conflict, then it is a joint gain situation. 

I really appreciate his acknowledgement of the threat of soft power. Compared to even just five years ago, soft power is swiftly becoming more mainstream--but the nuances of the theory haven't quite tipped yet, in my opinion. This "threat" aspect is one of those nuances. It's inspiring to see the concept's creator stay ahead of the conversation.

Read the full interview.  

North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket Launch

North Korea ended up launching their rocket on Wednesday, after weeks of rumors that the launch would be delayed. South Korea, Japan, and the US are looking to China to step up its involvement in the matter. 

For whatever it's worth, China's official statement expressed "regret" for the launch--a term their spokesmen have never used before when referencing their neighbor's provocations. But they still have not clarified how such action is a violation of UN resolutions. And while these test launches indicate a possible path toward a nuclear warhead, so far it looks like the North Koreans do not have a nuclear weapon that is small enough for a missile to properly carry. 

Look for more of these attention-grabbing events from the DPRK in 2013 as long as their food aid remains cut off from the West. 

The Flowers of War

If you've watched the 2011 film The Flowers of War, we can probably agree on the loaded historical controversies well-depicted in nearly every scene of this fast-paced experience. We can also probably agree that this isn't the movie you'll want to choose if you're looking for a quiet, relaxing couple of hours. This was a big movie with an even bigger vision--and East Asian politics aside, it was clearly produced by expert filmmakers. 

Director Zhang Yimou, a veteran director/producer from mainland China, is no amateur when it comes to his country's oftentimes stringent and complex approaches to artistic expression. Starring Christian Bale, the film documents the story of a Westerner stuck in Nanking during the then-capital's fall to the Japanese army.

Zhang shared his perspective on being an internationally-successful filmmaker vis-a-vis China's political landscape at last week's Marrakech International Film Festival (interview highlights here), where he was given a special festival tribute for his works. 

While Flowers of War wasn't the biggest commercial success in the US, other aspects of the project seem to continue to move forward. Christian Bale was soon involved in a highly-publicized situation regarding an attempted meeting with blind activist Chen Guangcheng, and Hollywood now looks abroad for future film projects more than ever before. This kind of movie--not Hollywood-based but starring well-known Western actors--is probably a sign of more to come. 

Surfing at China's Hainan Island

Surfing continues to grow in China, thanks to Hainan Island's temperate climate and ideal waters. Although many Chinese citizens aren't completely familiar with the sport, surfing is swiftly expanding throughout the country as both young men and women are finally beginning to take advantage of their attractive coastlines. 

This is only a win-win for everybody. Surfers tend to be really in tuned with the world's water issues for obvious reasons, so hopefully this new generation of surfers in China will propel more environmental education and pollution awareness in their country. 

Ancient Chinese and Greeks Look Up

I grew up studying the night sky through my little telescope, so this astronomy comparison between the ancient Greeks and Chinese is highly entertaining and intriguing. Both cultures probably wondered if and how others were interpreting these celestial bodies, not knowing that parallel civilizations were documenting the same scenes from opposite ends of the planet. 

The night sky according to the Greeks, from about 1850 years ago:

The same night sky according to the Chinese, from about 2100 years ago:

Love the names for the Milky Way belt: "Spilled breastmilk" (Greek) vs. "The Silver River" (Chinese)…

Reactions to Red Dawn's North Korea

MGM's Red Dawn remake sparked plenty of controversy even before the film's release just before Thanksgiving last week, mainly for the producers' decision to swap the "bad guy" roles from Chinese to North Korean people. For most viewers, North Korea hardly represents a feasible existential threat of any kind.

Strangely, emotions continue to run high regarding the portrayal of North Korea. In a Times Square theater in the middle of New York, a handful of North Korean sympathizers actually picketed outside the film's screening and later stormed the venue to protest the "complete nonsense" showing inside:

These individuals, who are associated with the World Workers Party, are clearly an extreme side to this dialogue. As a Korean American highly interested in North Korean issues, I question the motives behind this incident.

But this doesn't mean there aren't any other issues, such as the backlash towards the archaic "yellow peril" theme of the movie. A snippet of post-Red Dawn tweets shows how volatile our country's racial atmosphere is even today:

While a movie is just a movie--just as a book is just a book--stories are powerful things that can both inspire as well as stain minds. I think the only valid criticism of using North Koreans as villains (nobody wants to anger Chinese viewers anymore because big projects now depend on that very audience) is that the plot seems to take the easy way of storytelling by reliving the ignorant days of old Hollywood. Remember "classy" movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's, where some white actor depicts an Asian character with astounding amounts of aggressively-racist features, most of which are far from realistic or accurate. 

Red Dawn didn't fare too well at the box office. Maybe that's just because the movie itself sucked, but it certainly is a positive sign that old-fashioned racism as a premise is no longer compelling and simply isn't what moviegoers wish to spend their time on any longer. 

Video of the NYC protest: