Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Vanguard of the People?

Revolutons need leaders and weapons-savvy foot soldiers.

During the Korean War, the Chinese communists sent former Nationalist soldiers to fight the American-Led United Nations' forces. The communists figured that we'd kill them off and lose a good chunk of our own soldiers in the process. Mao understoon the danger of having men who know how to fire weapons and lead men in combat just lying about. Power and gun barrels, don't you know?

So this is interesting:


Thousands of demobilized Chinese soldiers rioted last week at training centers in at least three cities in an extremely rare series of coordinated demonstrations, a human rights group said Tuesday.


Soldiers who loyally served the regime were pushed to rioting by the government's failures to help them adjust to civilian life. If these men, who once protected the Chinese Communist Party, are willing to fight the CCP-run government, how many more Chinese already disgruntled are willing to be led against the central government by such men?

There are a couple hundred million peasants left behind by the Chinese miracle and tens of millions toiling in urban sweat shops. They aren't happy.

A prosperous China that challenges us for dominance in only one path that China might take.

I'm sure that Peking leaders spend some sleepless nights worrying that the former soldiers will get together with the unhappy masses and alter the long march to world dominance that Peking is counting on following.