April 24, 2002

THE POWER OF SAYING 'NO' OR DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

By Tom Plate

The Asian penchant for avoiding public negativity has its positive side

(C) 2002 Asia Pacific Media Network

LOS ANGELES --- It’s terrible the evil that people can do to each other, primarily the violent sins of commission, in the Middle East -- which is the most obvious example these days -- and other places. But in Asia of late, the opposite syndrome has been playing out. “Non-sins” of omission -- things that could have been said or might have been done but deliberately were not said or done -- are making the region a better place. So let’s celebrate some bad things that didn’t happen in Asia -- with a huge sigh of relief.

For starters, the planned visit to Washington later this year of Hu Jintao, heir apparent to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, has not been canceled, despite continuing tensions with Washington over Taipei. Chalk that one up to mature mutual recognition of important interests.

And Megawati Sukarnoputri’s big foray into international diplomacy -- as the conveyor of conciliatory messages between the leaders of North and South Korea -- was not a diplomatic disaster. This leader of Indonesia not only didn’t drop the diplomatic ball, as some mean-spirited pundits had predicted, but set it up nicely for South Korean national security advisor Lim Dong Won’s long, deep and meaningful chat with the North’s ever-reclusive Kim Jong Il. The North-South atmosphere seems a little less chilly now.

Note, very gratefully indeed, that the weak-kneed Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, usually cowering in the shadow of Hanoi, did not turn down the request from an alert Bush administration State Department for almost a thousand Christian Vietnamese fleeing Hanoi’s religious persecution to be permitted to enter the United States as political refugees. If Phnom Penh had sent them back home, as has been customary, these defiant and Christian tribesmen would have been slaughtered. Evidently, Hanoi intends to wipe out all Christians, perhaps by the end of this year. Let’s all pray that does not happen.

And let us cheer that the Bush administration again -- this time for not hitting Australia with most of the ill-considered U.S. tariffs now being slapped on foreign steel imports. Give credit to deft diplomatic work by Australian ambassador to the U.S. Michael Thawley, who might have reminded Washington that his country sent troops into imploding East Timor in 1999 when the United States wouldn’t, saving countless lives, not to mention a great deal of Western face (anyone remember Rwanda?). And that the government of Prime Minister John Howard uttered an absolutely unhesitating “yes” last fall when the Bush people were scouting the world for help in the anti-terror war. It’s not surprising that such pointers would have worked.

For once, Beijing did not ignore the devastation of an earthquake in Taiwan, as has been its insufferable tendency. Instead, sincere condolences and genuine offers of aid after the Richter hit 7.5 came from both the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Red Cross Society of China. Want to forecast more pleasant cross-straits weather?

Speaking of quakes, Chinese officials flatly refused to endorse a prominent Russian scientist’s conclusion that the recent seismic shifts in the remote Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan were caused by heavy U.S. air attacks. Beijing passed up an opportunity to bash the United States. What is the world coming to?

Amazingly, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were not downbeat in their official, semiannual assessment of the region’s economic health. In fact, the World Bank is predicting that, on the whole, the Asian economy will grow by 4.7 percent this year, which would mean more than a 1 percent improvement over 2001. The ADB is estimating 2002 growth at 4.8 percent. (Alas, Japan, suffering through a decade of downturn, was not included in either assessment for the obvious reason.)

Speaking of the Japanese economy, in the recent Hainan Island summit, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji did not raise the apology issue, as many Asian politicians invariably do (more for domestic consumption than out of expectation that public Tokyo-bashing will bring Japanese militants to their knees). Nor did Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi complain about China’s growing economic muscle in the region. In fact, Koizumi said just the opposite: “Some see the economic development of China as a threat. I do not.” Zhu returned the favor by praising Koizumi’s reforms and predicting, with an optimism almost unique in the region -- or indeed anywhere else -- that they will succeed.

Might the Asian penchant for avoiding negativity even lift the Japanese economy out of its funk? Let’s not get carried away -- but it’s worth a shot! Never underestimate the positive power of saying no or doing nothing.

Previous Columns:

American Culture: When the Stars Come Out to Shine -- Or Plea Bargain (April 22, 2002)

Odd Couples and Bad Practices (April 17, 2002)

How to Solve the Middle East Crisis (April 15, 2002)

Asia's Press is Getting Better -- But is it Improving Fast Enough? (April 10, 2002)

Women Who Come and Go May Almost Be as Smart as Michelangelo (April 3, 2002)

In Asia, Women Rule! (March 27, 2002)

(C) 2002 Asia Pacific Media Network