¶ The Chinese Navy is rattling sabers, or whatever it is that gunboats do, in the surrounding seas, irritating Japanese, Vietnamese, and Philippine neighbors. This quasi-belligerent activity is one thing that is truly new about China, which has not been much of a maritime presence since the Ming emperors scuttled Zheng He’s flotilla in the Fifteenth Century. With no traditions to guide the captains of its expanding, up-to-date fleet, this land of venerable traditions is bound to behave with adolescent rashness. ¶ Which isn’t to say that traditions are necessarily a good thing. China’s lead-poisoning nightmare couldn’t have a more familiar ring. Sharon LaFraniere writes,

Such scenes of heartbreak and anger have been repeated across China in recent months with the discovery of case after case of mass lead poisoning — together with instances in which local governments tried to cover them up.

Drop me a line at rjk@dailyblague.com
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 at 10:30 am.