Other countries must be convinced that they are as
threatened as Filipinos are. China is in a Manifest Destiny mode and would not
hesitate to grab needed resources wherever they are available; that it is just
a matter of time before they, too, are reached by the tentacles of a voracious
China.
Doubly important is to inculcate in the minds of
the citizens of ailing and moribund economies that China is to blame for their
woes because China sucked off their manufacturing capabilities because of
exploitation of labor through conscription and the enforcement slave labor cost
in their production; stymied their export thrusts through unfair currency
manipulation of the yuan. All these have prevented their benighted
economies from recovery.
Within China, the exploited labourers must be made
aware that they are not getting their rightful share of the economic bonanza
and rouse discontent strong enough to foment a protest. The inequalities in
Communist China has become worst than those happening in democratic countries.
Already the very of China are contemplating to leave their country bringing the
wealth that they have amassed. They are aware that sooner or later the masses
will not have any of the oppression and the unfairness in their system.
I think this is a job for those who have experience
in communications work whether as creators of communications and/or those adept
in their dissemination. The objective is to arouse an international collective
rage against an imperialist China, a rage that will find expression in a
boycott of “made in China” products. As a starter one could campaign for n
international week of boycott for China made products and gauge its effects and
monitor their reactions to it.
Some thoughts on the Boycott
China Products Movement:
The idea of a boycott is effective because it goes
directly to the heart of China’s strength, the power of their exports which
stems from their cheap production costs and their currency advantage that wreak
havoc on import dependent countries.
Boycott is an attractive prospect because people
can easily participate in it and have a “feel good” experience about it; almost
similar to having joined a rally, a people power march (EDSA, OWS, etc). It can
also be a “work at home” participation.
For it to be effective it has to reach a critical
mass, a global critical mass. It is not enough that only the Philippines with a
few third world countries engage in it but also other countries who are
bankrupt and near demise, who can be easy prey to unjust aggression by a bully
nation; countries whose economic woes may be traced to China’s economic
hegemony.
China is a world problem; because of its currency
advantage, cheap labour combined with an innate Chinese ruthless business
acumen, it has cornered most of the large scale manufacturing requirements
internationally to the chagrin of the businesses all over the world.
We cannot have a China that is so powerful; even as
early as now they have shown a propensity to lay aside common propriety,
respect for other sovereignties in their quest for world dominance. The world
cannot have an unfettered dragon rampaging and laying waste those that are in
their path towards global supremacy.
The Philippines is seen by China as a pesky
tiresomeness that blocks them from pursuing their ultimate quest. There are
natural resources in our land that are vital to the engine of the Chinese
industrial juggernaut and acquiring them through any means is paramount in
their minds. They are resorting to a complete bullying act; apart from sabre
rattling they are applying economic thumbscrews to lessen our resolve to
resist.
This is one of the problems that we have to wrestle with. Can our manufacturing, engineering, service industries, construction, retail survive with a China boycott? Even now I know of some sectors who are already complaining that the Chinese are making it difficult for them to source their requirements from China. Apparently they know that we need them more than they do us. What is the need for a boycott when they refuse to provide our industries their needs? Even if the Filipino consumer sector is successful in boycotting China products would our industries large and small be able sustain being resilient and as unrelenting to starve the evil dragon.
Will the Chinese miss a quarter of a billion
dollars (someone’s estimate of our China imports) a year? Shouldn’t the
campaign include the rallying of Americans and other western countries that are
near demise as a result of Chinese domination in manufacturing? All of these
countries would have a beef against the Chinese for undermining their economies
as a result of currency manipulation and dirt cheap labour costs.
Governments should support a boycott by the citizenry.
In the same spirit as the Occupy Wall Street
Movement the China boycott movement should rally enough adherents who are
militant enough to resolutely do a boycott of Chinese made products. In the US
it could be an issue that a political candidate may want to champion and would
have as audience the “99” Americans who have been oppressed and victimized the
most by the downturn of the economy, a situation that could easily be linked to
the Chinese economic hegemony.
What sacrifices are involved here for the countries
joining the boycott? Surely there will be quite a few. For a China boycott to be
effective it has to enjoin the business community to do their own form of
boycott. Necessarily, their businesses will be affected as most of them have
China as primary sourcing origin for raw materials, the merchandise to sell,
the machinery and technology (big and small) required by manufacturing and the
IT hardware and software that is indispensable to most businesses. They will
either have to do without or buy more expensive alternatives.
For the citizenry it would mean having to forego
little luxuries and buying more expensively.
At the homefront:
For us Filipinos, is this just a middle “class”, middle income group sentiment; a mere
10+ percent of the population (they will be the ones who will have to weather
the storm), the rest of the population cannot be expected to worry about this
problem, the rich 1% may not even feel inconvenienced and the poor, they will
use and they will eat whatever is cheap and available regardless of where they
came from. As in most cases, the rich would be indifferent, the poor does not
have a choice; only the middle class may be challenged.
Business and Industry; for sure profitability will be cut and some businesses would probably
close shop, investments and industries will be at a standstill, entrepreneurial
activity will momentarily freeze. China would have made the decision for them
by refusing exports of raw materials and products for they know that economic
squeeze play would bring the Philippine economy down and its government to its
haunches.
Government move; this will be a test of political will, of being resolute, of being
firm, of being a persuasive leadership, perhaps something akin to the special
powers of a “martial law” to have people and institutions conform to national
directives. It would be a time that cannot afford to brook any form of dissent
or protestations to government moves which in the situation may be draconian at
certain times.
From an international
perspective:
Can it be an international move (how many countries
would join?) Would ASEAN be sympathetic? Would the distraught nations in Europe
go along with a boycott?
It is necessary that the US will be in on it; would
it be easy for the citizenry convince their government to support their boycott
this being an election year? Would Wall Street and big business be supportive
of this; time for Wall Street and the Corporate world to make amends to the
“99”.
Public Relations and propaganda; is it time to play up the yellow peril warning internationally, can the
suffering of bankrupt nations be attributed largely to China’s currency
manipulation and have China’s cheap labour as the source of economic ills, loss
of jobs, dissipation of manufacturing capabilities from the suffering nations.
The Americans are vaunted propagandists and with the help of their extensive
media network (inclusive of the internet) convince enough of the nations in the
world to join up in defence of a country’s well being, a threatened way of life
against the creeping yellow tide.
A military move
Would America make use of the only existing
dominant power left with them; military prowess of the US is still way ahead of
China. This may be used to persuade China to be more acquiescent to the demands
of the civilized world to quit its swaggering imperialist stance and stop the
bullying of small defenceless sovereignties?
Can a mutual defence agreement amongst smaller
nations be forged with the assistance of bigger and more powerful nations?
Will the Philippines be the first to be aggressed
by the Chinese militarily? What will be the American response to this
aggression?
Would China’s trade allies be military allies as
well?
Sacrifices to be made
It is going to be a long protracted struggle and
pinned on the hope that other countries will get involved to summon up a
critical mass that will snowball into a worldwide movement that China cannot
ignore.
There will be dire consequences. Shortness on just
about everything for the people and shortfalls to those in business and
industry.
How much suffering can populations bear and for how
long?
Boycott is an attractive move but
is easier said than done. It has to be of global proportions and not only from
a handful of small wimp nations that China can ignore if it so chooses.
Citizens of the world should arise and oppose the excesses of an emerging
superpower. It is only with a concerted effort of all freedom loving people
that can make China desist from its imperialist aspirations.
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