Tag Archives: United States

Dalai Dilemma

Since the Dalai Lama’s exile from Tibet, it has become a tradition that the Dalai Lama meets with the American president—and this has not changed. However, as China’s power has grown, it has begun to stand up to the United States on issues that the Communist Party views as key. The relationship between the United States and the Dalai Lama is one of these issues. For China, the visit between the President and the Dalai Lama is more than respect for a leader of one of the major religions—it is an insult.

The relationship between China and Tibet has always been tense, and as the Dalai Lama’s international popularity continues to rise, the situation has grown worse. China’s long time history of relations with Tibet led to their invasion on the claim that Tibet is part of China—and this stance is one that they aggressively seek for the other countries to recognize. This has been a particular problem for Chinese internal politics because of the immense nationalism fostered by the Communist Party, which is continuously offended by Western actions towards Taiwan, remembrance of the events of Tiananmen Square, and common perspectives on Tibet. Throughout modern history, Chinese sovereignty has been trampled by the West, as was seen in the Opium War with Great Britain, the presence of spheres of influence, and the Boxer and Taiping Rebellions that had to be put down with European troops. Continue reading

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On-Screen Interview with Chris Brown on Alternative Energy

The Lexington Universal Circuit interviews Chris Brown, a China energy consultant with Guymard Consulting, on the domestic and international future of alternative energy. More specifically, Mr. Brown delves into the obstacles that obstruct the global shift away from oil and other fossil fuels. A great deal of discussion is focused on the positions China and the United States of America’s have on this issue. Special thanks to the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute for hosting the interview. Continue reading

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Kinda Late to Help Haiti

As everyone now knows, on January 12th Haiti had been struck by a devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people. According to the United States Agency for International Development, the estimated death toll is 100,000, and nearly 3 million people have been affected. Clearly, this is a terrible tragedy.
So, what was the U.S. response to this catastrophe? Surprisingly, America had a better response time to supporting Haiti than it did its own city of New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Within a day, the U.S. sent over American soldiers, firefighters, paramedics, and humanitarian workers. In fact, President Barack Obama promised Haiti $100 million in hard earned taxpayer dollars, and has stated that much more aid is on the way. Continue reading

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I Love the Game Google is Playing

The New York Times reported that Google plans to shut down all operations in China due to assaults from hackers, as well as, China’s attempts to limit free speech online [1]. Although this makes Google sound heroic, it hardly sounds like the truth in its totality. Google is a multinational corporation that has to cater to shareholders, so financial straits are most likely the real reason for the anticipated departure.Google has been cooperating with the Chinese government’s demands for internet censorship for years. In fact, Phillip Lenssen’s blog, blogoscoped, provides some shocking screenshots of how the censorship materializes itself on Google’s China based search engine [2]. After viewing Lenssen’s blog post, it is clear that search engine censorship is probably the least important reason why Google is planning to leave China. With over 1.3 billion people to capitalize off of, there is no reason why human rights trump the prospect of profit. Continue reading

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U.S. Foreign Policy: Time to Plant Olive Trees in China’s Backyard

Shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it became unquestionably clear that the United States of America had eluded the lion’s share of World War 2’s unprecedented damage, and emerged a superpower. In light of the rapid technological and economic developments America had undergone during and after the post-war period, the country’s borders had transformed themselves into gates which opened into the kingdom of heaven. The nation was not only recognized as the land of abundance and prosperity, but was also given the great responsibility of acting as the world’s sole guardian and protectorate. Uncle Sam even established himself as the de facto policeman of the global community, orchestrating everything from the international flow of wealth, to the political affairs of any one nation Continue reading

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