Why the Hell Are You so Soft?

Chinese, Japanese and Koreans and Russians around the world are amazed at the CCP's soft stance against Japan's aggression in Diaoyu Island.

Diaoyu Island is historically an offshore island under Taiwan's jurisdiction. It was took over by Japan, and at the end of WWII was transferred to the US military, and had been used as a targeting proof ground. Although the US had promised to return it to China, which means ROC or Taiwan at the time, they instead transferred jurisdiction of the island to Japan in 1972, without transferring ownership. In the past 40 years or so, both Taiwan and Japan claimed ownership, and it had been handled as a disputed territory by both. Although pro trolling the area with fishery agencies, Japan had refrained itself from actual landing on the island of 6.7 square miles, and prohibited any Japanese private citizen to access the island. The government of Taiwan also avoided confrontation with Japanese officials, but claimed full territorial claim on the island. The current ROC/Taiwan President, Mr. Ma Ying-jeou was an activist of campaign of Keeping Diaoyutai Island. In 2008, when a Taiwan fishery boat was sunk after a coalition with Japanese official ships, he ordered Taiwan official ships to a standoff with Japanese official ships.

The Communism China, on the other hand, had been absent from the scene for a large part of the dispute until recently. Prior to the handover in 1972, the CCP government was afraid US would return the island to Taiwan, its political rival. Therefore, the CCP argued extensively that the island should belong to Japan, a rare sympathizer of the regime at the time. Entering 21 century, with increasing naval and air military strength and growing economics appetite, Beijing quietly joined the choir of claiming sovereignty over the island. Indeed, without the island, China will loose hundreds of thousands square miles of water territory. Equally important, Chinese navy, submarines in particular will loose the only path to the Pacific. Not willing to make a scene, China also restraint itself from alerting the Japanese by actual accessing the island. The Chinese government counts on the dispute could be dragged on to the next millennium and resolved by itself by then with China's ever growing military might.

While all government imposed self constraint, the water around the island had been relative clam in the past, until the climax of last week, when Japanese officials arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain on criminal charges. And this is seen a no-return point. The captain was sentenced to a 10 days jail time, but the significance is that or the first time in history, Japanese government applied civil code and claimed sovereignty in addition to jurisdiction rights.

As expected by the Japan government, CCP backed off.

What many Chinese people around the globe do not understand is that CCP has always placed the interest of the Party on top of everything else, including the sovereignty of the country and welfare being of the people. When the Chinese government (ROC by then) took over the Middle-East Railroad from USSR in 1929, CCP announced its military and political forces would 'defend USSR by force', even though it was USSR who occupied Chinese territory in Northeast. While the Communist Party leader of North Korea begged for a couple of mountains on the Chinese-Korea border for propaganda purpose, the CCP redrew the border to Korea's satisfaction in a matter of days. When KMT troops hided out in a disputed area along China and Burma, CCP disavowed the area so that Burma military could attack the Chinese troops.

For CCP, the Party's interest is the No. 1 priority and the only essential interest. Everything else could be sacrificed for the sake of the survival of the Party. Knowing this helps to understand why the CCP is avoiding any serious conflict internationally at all cost.

In other country, a mishandling of a potentially explosive evident may leads to the crash of a government. In China, it could threaten the ruling of the Party. That's why the CCP has been soft on not only Japan, but also Korea, and Vietnam, Philippine, etc., etc.

For the interest of the Chinese, and of the country, CCP must go, one way or another.