The People’s Republic of China,
now the second largest economy by nominal GDP in the world is aiming for
greatness once more.
This vying for international
and economic dominance became noticeable starting in 2013, when the East Asian
giant became to assert its “undisputed” sovereignty over swaths of sea islets
way beyond its coastal borders. Not content with simply occupying small islets
and reefs, it started reclamation projects in order to build artificial island
where construction of lighthouses and other similar outposts can be built.
Strategically speaking, one viable rationale for doing such an effort is that
the Spratly Archipelago and the surrounding reefs are lying on top of vast oil
and gas deposits.
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| Spheres of influence in the Chinese Empire, two years before the last Emperor of China abdicated. (Source: http://www.slideshare.net/Elsa2010/effect-of-imperialism-to-china) |
The desire of the socialist
state stems back centuries ago. One hundred and fifty years ago, generations of
Chinese have pursued one nationalistic goal: to restore China’s greatness – Fu Qiang, or “wealth and power” (or
sometimes translated as “prosperity and strength”). The book “Weath and Power”
by Orville Schell’s and John Delury’s explains in detail about this valiant
determination catalyzing the desire of Chinese leaders to embark on projects
aiming to make China a superpower. The authors argue that such undertakings were
partly driven by a sense of shame and humiliation. In the book “A History of
the World” by Marvin Perry illustrates how the Manchu-Era Chinese Empire viewed
themselves as the only civilized country in the world, a prideful view that
didn’t go well with militarily-superior western imperialist nations who wanted
to establish regular trade with China (starting in the 1700s). In the early
nineteenth century, China was shaken by the western imperialist nation.
Conflict sparked in the form of the First and Second Opium Wars with the
British, and coupled with devastating wars with “barbarians” - the French,
Portuguese, and even the Japanese, the defeat of imperial China signaled the
start of the “century of humiliation”, a term they referred to these events.
The Psychology of "Victimhood"
Victimhood is a powerful
unifying emotion that fueled the determination of the Chinese people, as I have
observed. Sometimes, it is said that the Chinese authorities see it as a tactic
to deflect criticism or bolster public opinion against “western imperialism”.
This feeling of victimhood is
also being used as a tactic by some powerful Filipino politicians facing
serious corruption issues, as the masses’ “mapalad
ang inaapi” mentality is strong.
In China, “making our nation
strong so that nobody can mistreat us anymore” overrides all other agendas.
This vindictive psyche, however, makes it appear aggressive among its geographically
smaller Asian neighbors, the latter labeling China as a “bully”. Its disputes
with Southeast Asian neighbors are still thankfully benign.
However, one must be careful especially
when a nation’s pride is sensitive. In a Forbes article, it was reported that “the
sense of humiliation is so deeply entrenched in the Chinese psyche, that even
today while the rest of the world considers China a strong and powerful nation,
many Chinese still behave as the ones being bullied and mistreated, with a
watchful eye for “hostile foreign forces.””
It is no wonder that the
People’s Republic of China is still hell-bent on “expanding” its control towards
it claims to be under their “undisputable” sovereignty (which is loosely-based
on historical records). Indeed, I can only marvel how a feeling of victimhood
can drive one nation (or one person) to prosperity – all in the name of restoring past glory.
