Predatory Republic of China

If you had any doubts about China’s agenda for using North Korea at the expense of Taiwan’s independence and Hong Kong’s freedom, this transparent bit of extortion ought to remove all doubt.

“The important thing is for the United States to honor its commitments,” [the Chinese Embassy’s spokesman] said, calling the situation across the Taiwan Strait “severely tested.” Otherwise, he warned, it would harm bilateral relations and affect China’s cooperation on such issues as the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Indeed, China cynically adjusts the dial on North Korean disarmament every time there’s a protest in Hong Kong or shipment of Patriots to Taiwan (pardon us for not realizing what a looming threat Taiwan’s missile defenses pose to China; put that one next to Hamas’s objections to the Israeli wall, under the dictionary definition of “chutzpah.)” China is now accusing the U.S. of having a secret “regime change” agenda. If only we had the balls.

Which brings us to this breathtaking view of that other, Marxian alternative reality:

[Y]ou know, I know and everyone knows before 1997 there was no democracy. Democracy has been expanding in Hong Kong over the years [since Beijing took control].

It took China’s own arrogance and stupidity to turn Hong Kong into a threat to its grip on power. In the same manner, their too-clever-by-half handling of North Korea will push the Bush administration to adopt regime change, remove the nuclear hobbles from China’s neighbors, and even build an East Asian NATO to fence China out of the Pacific in the event of war. Nice going, guys.

And on top of everything else, even the Sinophile Korean press has added China to the list of targets for its obsession with ancient history. Who knows? It might eventually lead to South Koreans caring what the Chinese do to North Koreans.