James R. Rummel

I am a self defense instructor who lives in Columbus, Ohio.

A Question About the Middle Kingdom

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A reader named Paul Stinchfield left a very interesting question at this post.

I have seen accounts of Chinese citizens becoming violently enraged at even the most polite disagreement with Chinese policy regarding Taiwan, Tibet, etc. And yes, I mean literally, not figuratively, violent. What do you know about this, Mr. Rummel, and what clues might this give us to what the Chinese government might do?

For many years Chinese children were educated to hate ‘foreign [capitalist] devils’ as the ruling elite found that fear and hatred of a foreign menace was an effective method of control. (See Natan Sharansky’s “The Case for Democracy”.) Now, perhaps, we have a ruling elite which was itself educated to believe the propaganda that an earlier generation of rules cynically implemented.

I would be very interested in the thoughts of somebody who has actually studied China.

I’m more interested in military history than current political reality, so most of my studies have concentrated in that area. But there are a few things that jump out when someone takes even a casual glance at China.

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Free Will

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Last year, Ohio passed a law which allowed people to apply for licenses to carry concealed firearms in public.

It’s not easy, though. The applicant has to pass a minimum level of training, submit their fingerprints, allow the sheriff to conduct a background check, and pay a fee.

Even after all that, the CCW license holder has many restrictions as to where they can go while armed. For example, they can’t enter a school building or loiter on a campus. (And we all know how effective restricting legal firearms is when it comes to reducing school violence.)

One of the provisions in the law is that private citizens can bar CCW license holders from entering their property while armed, even if the property is a business open to the public. This is particularly distressing to me, a fully qualified self defense instructor, since it means that I probably won’t be able to protect anyone from violent attack even if the crime should happen right in front of me. Even so, I can’t say that I object to the owner of a private business barring me from their establishment. It’s their property, after all, and they have the right to make such decisions. I just go somewhere else.

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It’s Nice to Have Outside Verification

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There’s been some discussion here about China’s continuing hostility, mainly because they want to gain control of Taiwan while Western states are reluctant to abandon a fellow democracy, however flawed, to a Communist regime. If you’re interested, you can check out the previous discussions here, here, here and here.

My position is that the Chinese military isn’t in any shape to take on the US Navy, and it won’t be for at least another twenty years. Even one carrier group in the area would devastate an invasion force moving towards Taiwan, and the Chinese really don’t have anything that has a good chance of countering that. Instead I saw all of this bluster and aggression as a way to gauge the reaction that the West would have to military action. If we indicate that we’re not interested in fighting for Taiwan then the landing craft would launch, otherwise not.

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Reversal

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One of the major stories that has been getting some play in the US media is that of Terri Schiavo. (If you’re unfamiliar with the case, the author of this blog has written up all of the info you need in a thorough and non-biased way.)

Unlike many pundits who are interested in this case, I can’t say that I have any direct opinion. But I was rather startled by how people have become sharply divided along political lines, and the positions that have been assumed.

If my impressions are correct, the Republicans want the Federal government to step in and overrule state law in order to keep Ms. Schiavo alive. Basically they’re advocating central control and increased government involvement in private affairs.

Democrats want Ms. Schiavo’s feeding tube removed. They say that not only should an individual’s wishes be respected, but that it’s wrong for the Feds to interfere and trample states’ rights.

I was under the impression that the two major parties usually have ideologies that are directly opposite to those shown in this case. Isn’t it the Democrats who usually say that big government is desirable, while the Republicans want to limit the growth of powerful central authority?

Just wondering.

There’s Still Hope

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It would seem that France is going to abolish their legally mandated 35 hour work week.

The article linked to above makes some good points. One of them is that the biggest source of French foreign investment came from the US, and we just didn’t want to pour money into a culture that is that restrictive when it comes to business.

But there were also some unintended consequences that are biting French lawmakers.

Often touted as the working mother’s godsend, the 35-hour week actually made life harder for poorer women and single parents, according to women’s organization CLEF.

“The women that suffered were the lowest paid, who needed all the overtime they could get to make ends meet,” said CLEF president Monique Halpern. “I think this is one of the reasons that Lionel Jospin lost the elections.”