Comments by "Alan Friesen" (@alanfriesen9837) on "How to End Tension Between the US and China" video.

  1. Since we're talking about books, I just finished Klaus Mühlhahn's book "Making China Modern: From the Great Qing to Xi Jinpeng" which I had been told was the most authoritative book on modern China since Jonathon Spence's "The Search for Modern China". It had a lot of good information in it, but still it's portrayal of China followed the tired narrative that while Chinese progress to this point has been impressive, if they don't move closer to liberal democracy than what they have is unsustainable. There's a part of my that just wonders how much do these China experts have to see before they start to believe what's in front of their eyes. The best book that I have seen written on China (and I have to admit that I'm monolingual so I can't read what the Chinese themselves are writing) is Henry Kissinger's "On China". Whether you love or hate Kissinger, and I'm well aware of his controversial past, the man understands China like few Westerners do.
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  2. A patriotic education, whether in the United States or China, is brainwashing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's okay to be taught about the awesomeness of your country, so long as the teaching doesn't disparage other countries who may have a different point of view.
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