Today I read an article from the Washington Post titled “So Far, It Just Isn’t Looking Like Asia’s Century,” and to be blunt, it was a bunch of generic bullshit slapped together. Joshua Kurlantzick, apparently a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a fellow at the Pacific Council on International Policy, presents the argument that this is not “Asia’s century.” The problem I have with the argument is the author’s evidence to back up his statement, and to be blunt, he makes himself look like a ignorant fool. And I’m being kind here.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Asia over the past decade, as an expat and a traveler. From where I stand, the place is a geopolitical mess. Hogtied by nationalism and narrow self-interest, the countries of the East won’t be banding together to replace the West as the seat of global power — at least not anytime soon.
Wow, a whole decade in that country called Asia! He must know everything to know about Asia! Narrow self interest? You mean like Russia invading Georgia? Like America invading Iraq? Come on Mr. Kurlantzick, you cant deal in generalities here, I’m not as smart as you! Give me specifics!
Specific Evidence 1:
Of course, an Asian version of the European Union isn’t out of reach, as many Asian leaders know. But today, the continent battles a kind of split personality. On the one hand, many cultural, economic and political trends suggest that Asian nations are becoming more integrated than ever before. But on the other, a virulent nationalism is spreading in the region, one that feeds on reinterpreted — or even imaginary — history to gin up hatred and push small-minded agendas.
Reinterpreted or even imaginary history to gin up hatred and push small-minded agendas?
Yup, America would never pass nationalistic legislation based on imaginary thoughts to hinder foreigners. Europe would never do anything like that either. Only Asian countries do that.
Specific Evidence 2:
Elites in Asia clearly understand the benefits of integration, and businesses and officials together are promoting the trend … With the expansion of satellite television, Asian airlines and regional hiring by Asian conglomerates, businesspeople watch the same news, cool their heels together in a slew of space-age international airports and mingle at cocktail parties and pan-Asian business summits … At summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), I’ve seen packs of diplomats gathered at bars swapping stories in fluent English about their hijinks during graduate school at Johns Hopkins University.
“Elites?” So according to the author to be considered an Asian “Elite” you must:
a) Speak fluent English
b) Posses a western education
c) Attend cocktail parties at pan-Asian business summits.
…take notes, all you non-Asian elites.
Specific Evidence 3:
… most of the region’s multilateral institutions do little more than meet for the sake of meeting. In Cambodia and Laos, local officials and fishermen despair that dams built by China on the upper portion of the Mekong River are blocking water flow — and ravaging fishing in the southern stretch of that river that snakes through their countries. “But when we … try to bring this up at ASEAN meetings,” Sokhem Pech, a leading Cambodian Mekong expert, told me, “no one even wants to talk about it.” The committee officially monitoring the Mekong, which doesn’t include China, is so feeble that it rarely speaks out on the issue.
“…most of the region’s multilateral institutions do little more than meet for the sake of meeting.” For a second there, I thought the author was going to talk about the United Nations. Sorry, because everyone knows only Asian multilateral institutions have no power; no one would ever defy the United Nations, never.
Specific Evidence 4:
This sort of nationalism isn’t the stuff of a few firebrands. Across the continent, populist politicians have scrubbed school textbooks, whether to minimize Japan’s atrocities in South Korea and China during World War II or to erase the memory of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia — perhaps because Prime Minister Hun Sen was an officer in the genocidal regime before he turned against it.
GASP! Scrubbed school textbooks! In America there is no such thing! We learn about how our country committed genocide against Native Americans, murdered hundreds upon thousand of Filipinos during the Spanish-American war, and the fact the Thomas Jefferson plagiarized John Locke and only changed “the right to own property” to the “pursuit of happiness” because Americans couldn’t have slaves thinking that it is their right as humans to own property. Us Americans learn all the bad stuff our country has done in all of our textbooks.
Specific Evidence 5:
Traveling to Cambodia, I meet teenagers who know practically nothing about what happened in their country in the 1970s. China, too, has whitewashed the memory of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 4, 1989. When a “Frontline” documentary crew went to Beijing University a few years ago and showed students the iconic 1989 photograph of the man who stopped a tank in its tracks, no one recognized it.
Stupid, ignorant Asians. Ask any teenager in America, they know everything to know about the extensive activism that happened in the 1970s in our country. And every student would know exactly what is going on in this picture:
I mean come on, every American student knows this iconic photograph on the Kent State shootings.
Specific Evidence 6:
Politicians aren’t the only ones embracing nationalism. In 2002, when Thailand was still recovering from its financial meltdown, government-backed filmmakers produced “The Legend of Suriyothai” to restore their country’s wounded pride. One of the most expensive pictures in Thai history, it told the story of an ancient Thai queen who died fighting Burmese invaders — and compounded Thais’ hostility toward Burma, their neighbor to the west
Propaganda through film? Somebody needs to tell Hollywood about that great idea!
Specific Evidence 6:
The Internet has further empowered Asian nationalists, allowing them to air their vitriol unchecked.
I don’t know about Asia, but in America, the blogosphere is a place of articulate conversation and insightful dialog where there are no name calling, cursing, or inappropriate content that steers toward hateful exchanges.
Specific Evidence 7:
Whenever I visit Asia, I meet young people who detest neighbors they barely know. “The Thais, all they care about is money. Nothing else,” one Burmese acquaintance told me in Rangoon, despite the fact that he’d never actually been to Thailand. In one study taken last year by a leading Japanese nongovernmental organization, two-thirds of the Chinese polled said they had either a “very bad” or “relatively bad” impression of Japan.
We would never stereotype anyone without getting to know them first; Blacks & whites, Latino and Asians, Muslims and Christian all get to know each other personally before coming to any sort of conclusions here.
I have come to the conclusion that this guy that wrote this is a complete buffoon.
Asia has problems that they share with the rest of the world — racism, elitism and ignorance exist in Asia too, surprise surprise. People in Asia have trouble getting along with each other, but that is not a quality specific to Asians but of ALL HUMANITY. All this article does is add to the stereotype of elitist WASP views of Asian peoples.
On a side note: I have never, EVER read a article by a supposed “expat” of an Asian country that had any insight free of stereotypes and cultural judgment. People who call themselves “Expats” are just laying down the foundation to excuse their racist and ignorant views.
What next?
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21 Comments to ““It Just Isn’t Looking Like Asia’s Century”: Proof that Expats Have No Idea What They Are Talking About”
grace wrote:
You should send this to him (minus the name calling). His incredible ignorance is so clearly obvious that if he does not recognize it after reading your comparison..well, Washington Post is going downhill anyways.
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 8:23 am | Permalink
Confuse-us wrote:
That’s a really good post.
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 11:48 am | Permalink
Orange wrote:
Awesome analysis!
And the assumption that Asia wants to follow models like EU & USA in order to be “successful” is presumptuous to begin with …
Posted on 09-Sep-08 at 5:44 pm | Permalink
aj wrote:
GREAT post Jun. And Orange is spot on as well.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 1:13 am | Permalink
Chris Wong wrote:
Yo, although it does piss me off when white people judge Asians harshly and hypocritically, I think your post is a case of the hyper-sensative overly defensive Asian replies that I’ve seen way too many of.
The article has a point, and extreme nationalism and an ignorance of the many problems that plague the region while rapid development is happening is a huge problem in the modern mindset, especially in China.
I think Asian American should focus less on bashing every White person that criticizes Asian countries, and maybe become a non-biased, objective source of the many ways that Asia could be improved, which there are many of. Where are the blog posts about environmental issues, incredible wealth and social class disparity, lack of free speech, political problems, etc. I don’t want to hear about how America has the same or worse problems, I want to know how I can try to help fix these things.
I’m beginning to feel I’m one of the few Asian Americans that feels this way.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 7:45 am | Permalink
Allen wrote:
Maybe I’m ignorant, but the WP article didn’t outrage me. It’s a bit prescriptive, it’s a bit sensational, but I don’t think it’s an article that I dismiss out of hand as ignorant or racist.
In my opinion, the past two centuries (or four centuries) have been dominated by Western European civilizations, and in particular the past 60 years have been dominated by American civilization. I don’t think it’s presumptuous for the author to believe that some of the critical components that have led to American/European hegemony are equally critical to the rise of an Asian-dominated century.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 7:51 am | Permalink
jun wrote:
Chris Wong-
No where in my post did I inject or indicate that I am hyper-sensitive or defensive…
I just took a satirical method of countering the author of the article’s point of view…
If you understood my point what i AM being hyper sensitive about is that the author is a so called ‘expert’ of Asia and even is an important member of the “Pacific Council on International Policy”. He did not give me one piece of evidence of Asia’s problems and did not give one “source of the many ways that Asia could be improved”, as you put it..
he is an expert right?
shouldnt He be telling us about the solutions to the problems?
dont you get it???
hes NOT JUST ANY WHITE PERSON…
hes a person that is considered an expert concerning Asia…
that is what I am outraged about.
does it not concern you that he is an ‘expert’ of Asia and may be leaned on for advice in actions concerning Asia???
because it concerns me.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 1:04 pm | Permalink
Rob wrote:
My uncle hates Jews but he knows he can’t just say it upfront so all he does is criticize Israel all day or he only focuses on the bad thing Israel has done.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 3:55 pm | Permalink
Chris Wong wrote:
Sup. So from what I got from the article, it’s an opinion piece of how views of Asia’s forthcoming dominance are overrated. So your point is that an expert about Asia has racist and stereotypical views? Or is it that he doesn’t offer solutions? I’m not trying to be clever, I just am still unsure about what you’re mad about, your blog seemed mostly about how white Americans are hypocritical when they criticize Asians, as they share the problems I do agree that America and western powers are often a little hypocritical in that way.
If you’re upset about the tone, I guess that’s subjective. I didn’t find it demeaning. In terms of his evidence, I agree with a lot of it. Extreme nationalism is fairly strong in Asia, not just in China either. His point about cultural animosity between China and Japan is fairly true in my recent experience, as well. Your blog focused on how America failed at similar things (like not recognizing photographs, etc). I don’t disagree with your points about how Americans are judging other nations hypocritically while they suffer from many of the same problems. And you can make an inference that this hypocritical judgment is a result of racism. But I just feel the tone of your post seemed like an angry retort… a “well, you’re ugly too!”
Sorry if I’m hating, I’m really not trying to. I like Asian blogs and the online exchange of ideas and opinions.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 9:34 pm | Permalink
jun wrote:
Chris Wong-
yes my post WAS angry,
but I am angry at the fact (which in hindsight I did not get across that well in my post) that the author is considered an “expert” about the topic he is writing about.
Let me say this again:
I am angry at the fact that he wrote what he wrote based on the fact that he had a decade worth of traveling and teaching in Asia, and that is enough to qualify him to write an article about Asia’s lack of economic dominance. Not only are his mentioned qualifications a farce, but his evidence behind his argument are ABSOLUTELY ASININE AND INSANELY GENERAL.
seriously, one of his reasons was that there is “cultural animosity” (as you put it) between japan and China. Seriously, that is what he came up with? That Chinese people think they are better than Japanese and vice versa?
Another one was that Thailand’s government financially backed a film that made THEIR country look good.
Arent both of those similar to telling a college student that 1+1=2, or am I really being that harsh?
Come on Chris, I think you realize, if you read his article, that his guy knows very little about what he is writing about.
Its not like he’s some no name blogger like me.
Hes a writer for a well respected newspaper.
He is held to higher standards, at least thats what i hope.
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 10:42 pm | Permalink
Confuse-Us wrote:
So your point is that an expert about Asia has racist and stereotypical views?………your blog seemed mostly about how white Americans are hypocritical when they criticize Asians…….I’m not trying to be clever, I just am still unsure about what you’re mad about
Wouldn’t that be enough to get angry about? And why would anyone affirm the authority of an “expert” who in one paragraph criticizes the re-writing of history by Asia’s nationalists, whilst in another does some historical white washing himself?
Posted on 10-Sep-08 at 11:16 pm | Permalink
Nick wrote:
Gotta agree with cwong on this one. why get angry at someone you think is unqualified? isnt that just a waste of energy? his evidence is a bunch of bs but i think the problems he describes are real. why is the first instinct to fight back and discredit him instead of something more productive? chris hit the nail on the head when trying to describe asian nationalism. take the olympics for example. bash china to any local in hong kong and they would definitely become defensive. i can only imagine that the response would be stronger in mainland china. Other countries have done stupid things and china did a great job with the olympics, but that doesnt it make it wrong to criticize china.
we have this problem in america too. id love to see more blog posts about potential solutions for any problems in the world, rather than complaints and unconstructive criticism.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 7:08 am | Permalink
Rob wrote:
Because dangerous situations start with stupid people, not smart people.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 9:27 am | Permalink
jun wrote:
EXACTLY what Rob said…
unqualified ‘experts’ appear on CNN, FOX NEWS, and MSNBC telling people what to think..
unqualified ‘experts’ pass legislation in Congress…
unqualified ‘experts’ give advice to presidents who then invade countries…
unqualified ‘experts’ teach kids…
if you havent noticed unqualified ‘experts’ run this freakin country.
and as James Baldwin said, I will continue to criticize my country because I love it so dearly…
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 9:36 am | Permalink
scratchy wrote:
i think sarah palin is unqualified (and psychotic – abstinence only? banning books?) yet i don’t think it is a waste of energy to let people know about it.
Posted on 11-Sep-08 at 9:39 pm | Permalink
Allen wrote:
After reading the guy’s article, I’ve gotta say that this blog post really just seems defensive. Particularly frustrating is that you played the “racist” card, when there’s really no evidence of that anywhere in this article.
It’s not an article about whether or not this is “Asia’s century” (which in and of itself is a rather populist and simplified view of history); rather it’s an article about whether or not Asian nations can unite in a way similar to the EU or NATO.
Is he truly an unqualified expert? His evidence isn’t inaccurate or misleading, in fact it seems quite credible, even if it is hypocritical. What I’m getting from your blog post is that he can’t be an expert because you don’t agree with his viewpoint. I guess that means he must be a racist and an unqualified expert because it’s a white person talking about a continent that he’s not from. Let’s not confuse racism with geopolitical criticism.
Posted on 12-Sep-08 at 1:24 pm | Permalink
scratchy wrote:
It is racist when you consider the framework in which he is bases his article and analysis on. Yet again, it is another western perspective on eastern problems. It isn’t geopolitical criticism, it’s outsider perspective and that, my friend, is racist/ stereotypical/what have you because it is someone else telling you how you should live your live and how you should solve it when they have not lived in your shoes. It’s like my neighbor comes to my house and peers through my window and then subsequently sends me a letter as to why I suck. Outsider perspective only deals with the superficial. We should be critical because people of all races and colors will be exposed to this article, which will inform their perspective on it and consequently how they view/treat/respond to us.
Posted on 12-Sep-08 at 5:03 pm | Permalink
Akrypti wrote:
If I spent a decade traveling across Asia, would my opinions on Asia-related issues count as “expert”? I have a feeling that folks wouldn’t dispute too much what I said (albeit attributable more to the fact I’m Asian than the fact I traveled across Asia), even though the truth of the matter is that I’d be in the same exact shoes as the author of the above-referenced article.
His conclusions are grounded in his experiences. I wouldn’t reject him out of hand as “unqualified.” Rather, I’d contend that his conclusions are based on experiences that have been colored by latent Eurocentric biases. There’s a distinction between that and simply “unqualified.”
Posted on 12-Sep-08 at 5:56 pm | Permalink
Jeff C. wrote:
You guys DO realize that he’s classified as an “Expert” by the Carnegie Endowment Program, right? This is an international non-profit “think tank” for international relationships. They just don’t pick nobody’s off the street… he has to have proven himself in one way or another, most likely through research.
Not only that, but his book on China, “Charm Offensive”, was nominated for the Arthur Ross Book Award, an award specifically for books on foreign policy.
Article aside, I would say the guy himself is legit. Don’t attack his credentials based on one opinion piece he wrote for the WaPo… (why are you even READING WaPo? complete liberal trash!). Have you read his book? Read his research papers? Done anything other than a quick Google search of his name?
What are YOUR qualifications? How many years have you spent studying about or living in China?
Thinking that he can’t be an expert or that he’s an “outsider” just because he’s not Asian… that’s true racism.
Posted on 12-Sep-08 at 6:10 pm | Permalink
CanelaNYC wrote:
@ Jeff C. – While echoing Akrypti’s point re: perspective juxtaposed with qualifications, the source of one’s “qualifications” does not make the information they espouse any more correct, relevant or responsible than data from someone sans comparable “qualifications.” (See: all the “expert intelligence” sources quoted and referenced to support the Iraq war.)
That said, I read the article and some of the same statements Jun notes above stuck out to me to be devoid of any quantitative analysis and heck, even the qualitative was shaky. That sometimes happens when you use anecdotal evidence but it’s usually to bolster a more comprehensive statement. His WHOLE statement was a generalization supported by anecdotal evidence. And that just doesn’t hold water in a real and logical debate.
I don’t agree with the “liberal trash” statement – trash is trash – but I do agree that you probably wouldn’t see this published in The Economist. Well, not a few years ago anyway…
Posted on 22-Sep-08 at 9:26 am | Permalink
alex wrote:
Well that’s not really a surprise coming from an American perspective. Please recall that it’s the US that has played the most significant hindrance to progress in Asian progress:
- CIA interference in the China, Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, ok all of them
- Cambodians may not know their history but I don’t think many know Cambodia’s history. eg. that the good ol US of A was the prime reason for Pol Pots rise to power?
- “Elites” in many Asian (esp Southeast Asian) countries does mean speaking English and the rest of that. Thank you America.
But all this can change. Just look at what’s happening right now in South America with UNASUR. It can all change once American power end influence ebb—as is happening now. Interesting times are ahead….
[btw, please please please don't keep repeating the "Russian invaded Georgia" mantra that your news is feeding you. Only in North America reported it that way, check out the international papers--and I'm not talking small lefty stuff, I'm talking mainstream Europe--it was Georgia that invaded South Ossessia which was protected by Russian peacekeepers under an international mandate. The Russians were DEFENDING S. Ossessia, and the people there completely supported their actions and condemned Georgian aggression. Georgia is a US satellite and their president a puppet. What's happened and is happening in Asia, is happening everywhere!]
Posted on 27-Sep-08 at 6:39 pm | Permalink
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