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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Chinese general punished for nuclear gaffe |
| 2005-12-23 |
| [A] Chinese general has been punished for telling reporters China could use nuclear weapons in the event of a US attack over Taiwan, military sources said on Thursday. Major General Zhu Chenghu received an âadministrative demeritâ recently from the National Defence University, which bars him from promotion for one year, said the sources, who requested anonymity. âHe misspoke. But the punishment could not be too harsh or we would be seen as too weak towards the United States,â one source told Reuters. An administrative demerit is the second lightest punishment on a scale of one to five, but still potentially damaging to his career. The lightest is an administrative warning, while the heaviest is expulsion. âHis chances for promotion in the future are extremely slim,â another source said. The Defence Ministry declined to comment. In July, Zhu told a group of visiting Hong Kong-based reporters China would have no choice but to resort to nuclear weapons in the event of a US attack over democratic Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed as its own since their split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. The United States, which switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979 but remains the islandâs main arms supplier and has pledged to help Taiwan defend itself, criticised Zhuâs comments as irresponsible. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 PC9911: ZF, Thanks, though this makes Kaiser Wilhelm seem as sensitive as Alan Alda. These guys are dumb enough to start a war. Well, the Kaiser did say Once, a thousand years ago, the Huns under their King Attila made a name for themselves, one still potent in legend and tradition.[3] May you in this way make the name German remembered in China for a thousand years so that no Chinaman will ever again dare to even squint at a German!. The thing is - the Kaiser was in high dudgeon over the Chinese government having tortured a German envoy to death. In contrast, the Chinese emperor's missive to King George was simply over a British request for trade relations. As to starting a war, I doubt China will do it until it's good and ready. It's not an accident of history that China is one of the largest land empires in the world. It started out as a collection of villages on the banks of the Yellow River. The Chinese empire has endured even as European empires dissolved into their component provinces. That's not to say that its borders remained static. Every time the empire fell apart, some pretender to the throne always found a way to put it back together again, typically adding chunks of foreign territory in the process. China is a peaceful country - during periods of relative weakness. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-23 19:56 |
| #11 ZF, Thanks, though this makes Kaiser Wilhelm seem as sensitive as Alan Alda. These guys are dumb enough to start a war. |
| Posted by: Pheath Cruling9911 2005-12-23 17:52 |
| #10 I'd killed once for a nuclear gaf /Ted Williams, somewhere off Peru |
| Posted by: Leon Clavin 2005-12-23 17:40 |
| #9 An administrative demerit is the second lightest punishment on a scale of one to five, but still potentially damaging to his career. The lightest is an administrative warning, while the heaviest is expulsion.1 âHis chances for promotion in the future are extremely slim,â another source said. 1 I thought the heaviest punishment was a bullet to the back of the head at a packed soccer stadium at halftime... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-12-23 11:54 |
| #8 PC9911: Seriously, ZF, are the Chinese such navel gazers that they could not anticipate what the foreign reaction to this would be and that it is actually counter productive? I think this may be more a sop to Chinese doves than a concession to foreign disapproval. The issue isn't navel-gazing - it's that they don't feel they need to worry about foreign perceptions today, and will have even less of a need to do so in the future as China grows stronger due to its runaway economic growth. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-23 10:26 |
| #7 Gotta hand it to the Chinks. I like it! An âadministrative demeritâ is what our US Army RANGERS should have received for knocking around a few terrorist prisoners. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-23 10:21 |
| #6 PC9911: Is this an indication of how Chinese they are or how Communist? I'm afraid this is very Chinese. Two centuries ago, the Chinese emperor rejected Great Britain's request for expanded trade relations with China and urged that the subject not be brough up again, ever. He addressed King George (yes, that King George) thusly: O king, Tremblingly Obey and Show No Negligence! |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-23 10:17 |
| #5 This is eyewash, meant to mislead China's neighbors into thinking that China's long-term intentions are peaceful. Then it seems to me it will backfire. Seriously, ZF, are the Chinese such navel gazers that they could not anticipate what the foreign reaction to this would be and that it is actually counter productive? Is this an indication of how Chinese they are or how Communist? |
| Posted by: Pheath Cruling9911 2005-12-23 08:47 |
| #4 China says and does a lot but what they don't say is where you gotta look hard. This General is getting slapped for stating the obviouse but none the less something that was not supposed to be mentioned. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-23 08:45 |
| #3 MacArthur, a WWI and WWII war hero, was retired for speaking out of turn. This guy Zhu is a nonentity, and yet they are letting him keep his rank. This is eyewash, meant to mislead China's neighbors into thinking that China's long-term intentions are peaceful. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-23 06:43 |
| #2 Why don't they show us they really mean it and send him to bed without supper. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-12-23 01:50 |
| #1 "...would be seen as too weak towards the United States": IOW, in PC Commiespeak and Leftspeak it means being proven right/correct by being proven wrong, and vice versa. Never say never. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-12-23 00:55 |