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There's a third way; getting "Singapore-d". In the 1960s Singapore annoyed Malaysia so much they were essentially ejected from the federation against their wil
by Mengkudulangsat 7y ago
There's a third way; getting "Singapore-d".
In the 1960s Singapore annoyed Malaysia so much they were essentially ejected from the federation against their will.
It was a major shock at the time, but decades later the two countries are still mostly amicable. I sincerely hope China would consider this route.
- culturestate 7y agoThis will never happen under the current regime, if for no other reason than it would embolden Taiwan to "declare" independence and give the world cover to acknowledge it. Taiwan is far too strategically important to China to allow that.
- loyukfai 7y agoAgree. Don't count on PRC under the current leadership to think anything remotely like that.
- mytailorisrich 7y agoWhy would China even consider "ejecting" a part of its territory that they fought over for a long time to finally get back? Recovery of lost territories and reunification of the country is a core policy of the Chinese government(s) since 1912... And as noted in the replies, striving for national unity is an ancient theme of Chinese national psyche.
- loyukfai 7y agoFor some perspective, in 1912 the Communist Party of China wasn't even a thing.
- mytailorisrich 7y agoYes, for Chinese these territorial issues are bigger that the Communist Party. In Western countries they would be called "bi-partisan" or "cross-parties" because there is a national consensus on them.
- danieltillett 7y agoAbout the only thing you will get unity on from the Chinese people is unity.
- Nasrudith 7y agoNot really. Tibet and Taiwan say hi and something about grass-mud-horse. There is their whole mythology of "centuries of humiliation" and their warlord period for actual stand together or hang apart sentiment. However the sort of "unity" talked about is really just propagandized expansionism. I see it no different than Putin's foolish revanchism for the former USSR.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- loyukfai 7y agoAm not so sure about this, the current emphasis on "territorial integrity" is IMO as much, if not more of, a result of PRC propaganda as established on any historical basis.
- mytailorisrich 7y agoIt is not PRC propaganda. It's the other way round: PRC propaganda exploits this national feeling.
- loyukfai 7y agoSource?
- markus_zhang 7y agoHistory book.
- 7y ago
- Mengkudulangsat 7y agoWhich I find to be irrational. Stamford Raffles "took" Singapore from the Malay sultanate in the 1820s. In 1963, we finally got it back, but let them go barely two years later due to ingrained cultural differences that manifested during the meantime. With the rise of so many capable cities on the mainland, perhaps pursuit of unification is just not worth the trouble anymore.
- nesadi 7y ago> With the rise of so many capable cities on the mainland, perhaps pursuit of unification is just not worth the trouble anymore. Maybe to you? It's clear from China's actions that they think otherwise and they're willing to do whatever it takes to ensure control and unification.
- Aeolun 7y agoYou can’t really have a bastion of free speech and democracy on your doorstep as an authoritarian state.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago"ingrained cultural differences" -> read: Malay politicians didn't want to deal with a large Chinese-majority city run by a headstrong union leader (Lee Kuan Yew) who could not be counted on to play ball with UMNO. This is very different from HK and China.
- danieltillett 7y agoUnity of China as a concept is far older than 1912.
- incompatible 7y agoSure, why not. Perhaps at the same time they could organize referenda on independence for Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang. Maybe they could open the global Internet to their citizens and abandon the ridiculous censorship programs they run. They could also submit to international adjudication on the South China Sea. They would be reasonable things to do.
- odiroot 7y agoAs far as I've heard from Singaporeans, they didn't "annoy" Malaysia. Ethnic Chinese politicians got popular (well, especially Li Guangyao) and threatened the stability and harmony of majority Muslim Malay country. As one Chinese taxi driver in Kedah told me, they were supposed to keep quiet and stay away from politics. At least back then, especially influential Malays feared their absolute power is in danger. Didn't help that Li (who always wanted Malaysia to be a state were every ethnicity has equal rights) openly spoke about how poor Malays are held back both by their religious and lay leaders.
- C1sc0cat 7y agoThat's not what the research I found I did when considering working out there - basically racism.