Tiananmen Square Revisited !

For thirty years China's Communist rulers have meticulously scrubbed any mention of the events of 1989 from the Chinese history book.  Censorship is imposed on the internet and the net has been so tightly closed that a whole class of people are totally unaware that thousands of students were gunned down by the PLA when tanks rolled into Tiananmen square to put down a demonstration demanding democracy.

China's defence minister, General Wei Fenghe was attending the Shangri-La security summit in Singapore when he openly applauded his governments action and claimed that the action was justified and enabled the long period of stability that followed.  General Wei chose to introduce the topic of Tiananmen square in his speech warning America against getting closer to Taiwan.

This speech had an air of belligerence.  The defence minister also mentioned the confrontation that is happening in the South China sea where China has created artificial islands and installed airfields and defence equipment contrary to international law.  He cited the collapse of the Soviet Union and claimed this was because they failed to take the necessary action to defend Communist party rule.  He was quick to quote the observation by Chairman Mao that " political power grows from the barrel of a gun " and added that " the regime has a firm grip on that gun ".

It was noticeable that this hard line stance reflected the high level of confidence that China now had on the ability of its military.  General Wei went on to warn Taiwan not to seek independence from China and suggested others would be wise not to interfere in the Taiwan question. He also took a swipe at Donald Trump's " America First " trade policy and said.  "  If the US wants to talk, we will keep the door open.  If they want to fight, we will fight to the end ".

This comes at exactly the same time that China is threatening to use the acceptance of its technology giant - Huawei - as the dividing line to separate nations into either a pro China or pro America block.  It seems likely that this will determine the way trade preferences are decided in the future.

It is unlikely that General Wei made this speech without the sanctions of his president and it may be the first step in a more abrasive China outlook to the rest of the world.   Sooner or later the question of Taiwan needs to be settled and China may be warning that the time of a settlement is fast approaching.

Taiwan has sheltered behind an American guarantee on its security since the defeated Nationalists moved to the island of Formosa at the end of China's civil war.   Renamed Taiwan, it is a functioning democracy and engages in world trade. Communist China has been tightening the screws and eventually threatening an invasion across the Taiwan strait.

China would claim to be restoring a rebel province and that could be accepted in much of the world.  It is doubtful if a war between America and China could be limited to just Taiwan and the clash of such super powers brings the prospect of Armageddon.   It depends if General Wei's sabre rattling heralds a more militaristic China cementing its place in the world order !