Alan Brain <aebrain_at_...> writes:
> Oki Purwanto wrote:
> >
> > >About 100-150 years ago, the Chinese under the Manchu (ie from
> > >Manchuria) dynasty had a little Contretemps with the Brits. The Opium
> > >Wars. What had happened was that the Brits had developed a taste for
> > >tea. The Chinese would only accept payment in silver. Not in Gold. Not
> > >in Goods. Silver, and only silver, usually Mexican dollars.
> >
> > Huh ? I thought the Brits should then just trade/sell their gold/goods for
> > silver. Is that really that difficult ?
Not really, but the Brits, understandably, were greedy and
wanted the tea *and* the silver. :) I would too. They're a bunch of
non-Christian heathen, after all. (Not to pick on any particular
religion, but the sentiment can be seen in a lot of them and makes a
wonderful justification)
ObEpic:
For the Emperor!
> > >Chinese history, like the history of the USA from 1770-1820, is
> > >particularly interesting, and not very well known.
> >
> > Kinda true. Most of my friends (me inclusive) are not very in tune with the
> > history of China, even though it is our ancestral land.
>
> Oh, it's well worth studying! The Tai-Ping period in particular.
It's hard to find someplace to study it. China's been
revising the history books, and Taiwan has a very subjective view of
things, and a lot of the history books are in Chinese (I can't read it
well enough). I've been working mainly off of older history from a
course I took last semester (we covered the dynasties until about 19th
century, and the culture more than the history) and some books I've
read on Taiwanese and Japanese history.
> > It is kinda surprising. They did a small and informal survey in
> > Singapore on the eve of the handover. Practically all Asians
> > interviewed (not just Singaporeans Chinese) felt
> > happiness/elation/gladness at the handover.
Well, sure. It's like a relative that was never all that nice
to you, but y'know, it's still family. You don't just abandon family,
especially in Chinese culture. Besides, it's a developing country.
There's a *lot* of money to be made there. A lot of the Tiananmen
(sp?) Square protest leaders don't care as much any more about the
massacre because they've become businessmen.
Were they truly happy about it, or did they have mixed
emotions? I got the impression that most of the people interviewed
were both hopeful and kind of twitchy.
> The attitude in Australia is IMHO more one of concern. How long will
> Beijing be able to keep its promises?
Long enough, I'm sure. I would guess that they're not going
to get all that pushy. They'll keep pushing the limits for a while,
but probably nothing more than intimidation until they're a
well-established superpower. As a Taiwanese American, I'm more
concerned about American interests in Taiwan. They keep vacillating.
It's like every 4 years, the policy in America changes. :(
But it's probably irrelevant. America's far more interested
in some money than any amount of human rights violations.
> Still, to have a European colony on the shores of China was a constant
> source of friction. An irritation, one that the world is better rid of.
> Fortunately, the local people _seem_ to be very glad of the change.
> Certainly when I was in HK several times during the 90's there was
> plenty of enthusiasm for it. And a lot of fear. We shall see... and HK
> immigrants bearing large amounts of hard currency are always welcome in
> Oz.
And Australian tourists are probably just as welcome in HK.
:) How much vacation time do you people get?
Which reminds me... (I found this hilarious)
I met a Royal Marine who was stationed in Hong Kong during the last
weeks. After a few beers, he told me:
"I could have trouble for saying this, but I think we ought to keep
Hong Kong and give them Northern Ireland."
-rec.humor.funny 7/4/97
Mark
Received on Mon Jul 07 1997 - 17:47:40 UTC