ObergComment: Pivot to Peace!

📌 We know that many of our readers would like to see some short, pointed posts here. So, in contrast to the longer, more analytical articles we usually publish – normal for an academic institution – an Oberg Comment is a short text by the editor of The Transnational, Jan Oberg. It alerts you to one or two main points, offers some informative links for self-study or is simply a recommendation or “MustRead/Watch” with lasting educative value. It will be maximum 600 words and, thus, easier for the media to use. We hope you will like this format too.

July 31, 2020

With statements such as these by US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo:

“Securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time! and

“If the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will change us,”

– it’s time to see the danger that is mounting.

During the last few months, a systematic Sinophobic (anti-China) policy has been rolled out all over the world by the US and its obedient mainstream media. It is so uniform in content and style that it deserves to be categorized as a ‘campaign.’

It has nothing to do with critical media, questioning and diversity of perspectives. You are being taken for a ride!

It revolves around the following 7 themes – all negative, of course: CCP/Dictatorship, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hongkong, Taiwan, human rights, China as a threat in several ways, particularly militarily.

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A new US/Western Cold War with China is the top thing neither needs and the rest of the world also does not need.

We need all intellectual, creative and economic resources now to solve humanity’s problems – those before the Corona and those that the Corona is creating, including a world economic crisis, bigger class differences and more nationalism.

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For the US itself, starting such a Cold War in addition to the one already in place against Russia will be self-defeating. At this moment of global history, the US has a manifest, declining destiny and such a Cold War will only accelerate that decline and the fall of the United States and its Empire (the first will be terrible, the latter is desirable).

Cold War thinking in this situation must be countered. It puts humanity’s future, the future of all of us, at risk. No one has the right to do that for selfish purposes. No single nation should follow the US down that road.

It simply must not happen.

Therefore, Westerners and Chinese of all walks of life must now be mobilised to come together and prevent this strategy from taking hold. It’s high time to shout with the Danish philosopher, Piet Hein: It’s co-existence or no existence!

No one is threatening the US, it’s citizens or lifestyle. The Chinese do not want to develop and become masters of a new world empire. It’s simply not part of their thinking and attitude to the rest of the world. It never was. Chinese influence around the world comes neither with a Bible nor a Sword. It’s essentially defensive and non-missionary.

Sadly, the US seems, fundamentally, to be unable to live without imaginations of an enemy.

At the moment the main ones are China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria – and even the allies are scolded for not doing this or that and forced to apply secondary US sanctions on Iran, Russia etc. – at tremendous costs to Iran and the allies themselves.

In addition, the US has left one international agreement and organisation after the other – grumpy, threatening, hurt, arrogant – whatever youare inclined to call it: It’s self-defeating.

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The world is no longer bully-able, doesn’t obey orders, won’t be mastered or exploited any longer.

The world has changed already – by will and by necessity: Towards multipolarity and cooperation or, as the Indian slogan goes – unity in diversity. The US – and perhaps NATO and the EU – will have to adapt or they will become obsolete.