BY: CHRISTOPHER FERNANDEZ
The Chinese race, as a people, from mainland China to the Chinese diaspora now spread throughout the world are intriguing, to say the least, and in the past two decades they have made great strides in many fields of endeavour.
For this, credit must be given to China’s paramount leaders, past and present, who adopted economic reforms and opened the doors of the country to a waiting world who long considered the Middle Kingdom as being deep, dark and mysterious.
With the booming economic reforms, mainland China and the Chinese diaspora prospered rapidly and have now become a major force to be reckoned with in the world but opinion is divided as to whether their rise is really “too good to be true.”
While examining the depth of the Chinese race is not a work that can be done in a brief narrative such as this, it is nevertheless possible to establish certain truths about them and also, hopefully, the shape and direction they should actually take from now on.
The coining of the term ‘inscrutable Chinese’
It was the British colonialists who described the Malayan Chinese as inscrutable probably because they had poker faces and gave nothing away while playing their cards close to their chest which the British Empire found totally exasperating.
But there was a reason why the Malayan Chinese expressed such a front. For them, at that time, they were hard pressed playing a game of survival and did not trust the imperialistic nature of the Caucasians who wanted to rule over them.
This cat-and-mouse game was played by the Malayan Chinese and their “in and out running” bewildered the British who reacted in a hostile manner as evidenced by the massacre at Batang Kali which caused the Malayan Chinese to balk further inwards.
But the oppression wielded by the British upon the Malayan Chinese caused them to become resilient and to unite and pull together and to pool their resources to watch out for each other and to endure a dark period in the history of Malaya.
The rape of Nanking and Chunking
If this wasn’t bad enough, the rape of Nanking and Chunking by the Japanese forces caused the mainland Chinese to also taste the bitterness of war and the ensuing cruelty and mayhem which caused them to withdraw further inwards.
For decades, the mainland Chinese was considered a mysterious state and what was going on within the “Bamboo Curtain” was anyone’s guess as the Communist party ruled with an iron fist and cut off China from the rest of the world.
It was only when Deng Xiao Peng became the paramount leader, and as President of China, he waved the banner of economic reforms and the ubiquitous military green or grey suits of the Chinese people were transformed into a riot of colours.
Subsequently, each paramount leader of China made formidable thrusts to cause runaway economic growth and within decades China became a world power to the amazement of the watching world.
The rise and rise of the Chinese
Other Chinese countries such as Taiwan and Singapore and the Special Autonomous Region of Hong Kong and the former Portuguese colony of Macau and the annexation of Tibet caused a paradigm shift in the fortunes of the Chinese.
The founding father of the island-state of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, while expressing caution of the rise of mainland China as a world power, extended warm and blossoming ties with the giant country.
While all this played out well for the Chinese, Mr Lee sent a veiled warning to China that if it was to sustain and remain as a global powerhouse, it would have to act and exercise great responsibility.
He stated that China should leave nothing to chance and should not take for granted the equal might of the Atlantic powers which is the United States and Canada or North America and the Western European countries.
Coming full circle
While the phenomenal rise to the world stage by the Chinese was and can be considered as a miracle of sorts, there has emerged evidence and proof that they are set to dig in for the long haul and be a major power to reckon with now.
It looks unlikely that the Chinese can be moved or shaken. However, they need to consolidate their position and embark on transferring their expertise and knowhow and sharing their resources with the rest of the world.
China and the Chinese diaspora, wherever they may be, must reach out to assist and build relationships that matter with other countries in the world and already now this is beginning to happen all over the world.
The Chinese must not rest on their laurels but learn from the bitter lessons of the past to break new ground and as a leader of the world to ensure that prosperity is shared by all for the creation of a better world.
The future of the Chinese in this world
While there is ongoing fierce criticism and condemnation of the Chinese by the detractors and the less sanguine, the Chinese must dispel these notions and strive to embrace peace, prosperity and progress for all people.
While China is prospering, this is not enough. They must step out of the shadows of other Great Nations and pull its weight on their own accord to lead and show the way for the world to enjoy a better tomorrow.
The importance of giving back to the world must be fully understood by the Chinese and they should not be selfish or irresponsible but go to the ground to level the playing field for the world especially in boosting the global economy.
There are indications by China watchers and those who study the Chinese diaspora all over the world that racial supremacy should not be their quest as it will spell their fall from grace but creating a partnership of equals with everyone is a must.
**Christopher Fernandez has been teaching and writing throughout Asia since 1984
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
(The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher)
