Letter to the Chinese Ambassador to the UK

 Dear Ambassador Zheng Zeguang

“Those who suppress truth, are those who are benefiting the most from lies”

China’s history clearly shows that there have been many wise people in China and I am in no doubt that this applies today, as it did in the past.

I came across the quote above and immediately though of China.  So I ask you, Ambassador, why does the Chinese State suppress freedoms of expression and stop the people telling what they see as the truth? The state says it is to keep order and prevent chaos, but is it because it is benefiting the most from the lies? Why does the Chinese State fear the truth so much?

In my studies, I have come to accept that the Chinese State system, ie Authoritarian rule rather than democracy, is a viable way of organising society, but for it to work the following conditions apply

a) The ruling elite, has to be composed of the most wise, learned governors, who are willing to put the interests of the country before their own.
b) The ruling elite must have access to the best knowledge and data, so it has a clear understanding of their country and the world
c) The ruling elite combines the wisdom and best knowledge to make the best decisions for the society as a whole..
d) The people are well informed of the actions of the elite and are happy that  the best decisions are being made on its behalf. They permit the elite to rule.
e) The ruling elite accepts that the world is constantly changing, and that past decisions, whilst not wrong in the past, will need to be adapted  to meet new circumstances.
f) The ruling elite accepts that in a world of constant change, it may need to change too.

The above points are very idealistic and in the real world of human social politics I think are very hard, if not impossible, to implement. So I think that the truth is that the Chinese State suppresses its own peoples freedoms because it has to hide the truth to protect itself. It fails on all the points a) - f), suppresses the truth and benefits from the lies. Meanwhile the people of China suffer. The Chinese people I meet are a timid, quiet people, afraid to open their mouths for fear of being punished.

How long does the Chinese State think it can keep this up? Does it think that starting a war over Taiwan will distract the people, so the truth can be hidden forever? This will only heap more misery upon an already suffering world.

So I appeal to the wise and good people in China not to hide from truth, but accept the world as it is, not as you want it to be. Just like the covid virus, truth, once discovered, cannot be eliminated, it will keep breaking out, and those who benefit from lies, will keep on having to suppress it. Until they are overwhelmed by it.

If I am wrong, and the Chinese State is meeting the conditions a) to f), then it has nothing to fear and should permit the people their freedoms.

Yours Sincerely    

Freedom Loving democrats Take Heart

 Recently, I’ve read in the press several letters and articles asking if this is the end of the enlightenment, or is democracy a passing fad. It certainly would appear so if you follow world events such as the failure of the Arab Spring, the increasing power of authoritarian regimes and the rise of Trump in America. Well, despite all the gloom for Democratic Liberals, I’m confident that the underlining trend is positive and although the road is currently bumpy, the world WILL emerge a better place. But we must endeavour to get there as rapidly as possible to minimise the harm to humanity.

The causes of the these rough times are rapid technological change, generational echoes  and globalization. (I’ve left out environmental change for now, as the full impact has yet to hit).

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is the  son of Communist revolutionary Xi Zhongxun, a member of China’s red aristocracy. He grew up in a family with strong roots in the Party and it’s ideals of a Socialist state providing for the good of all the people. However, with the relaxing of economic controls in the 1980’s, and globalisation opening up  worldwide markets, hard working Chinese entrepreneurs took full advantage and made themselves and China rich. This isn’t what Xi’s hero’s  fought the revolution for. Currently he is trying to get capitalism under control so that all of China can fairly develop to be the socialist super power the party has always dreamt of (with the Party on top living in sumptuous luxury)  The difficulty he faces is that to do this, he needs free thinking, richly rewarded, unrestricted capitalists, not state controlled business’ shackled by meddling corrupt party members. So what will happen in China? As we are seeing, covid and other regulations are slowing growth rates and the people are getting restless. If the Chinese Communist Party starts to be seen as the cause of this slow down, capitalism and more freedoms will be back on the table. Unfortunately Xi Jinping is currently using Military sabre rattling to paper over the cracks in his policies. The west must not over react, but be patient and let the cracks get bigger.

Similarly in Russia, Putin is an ageing echo of the past century. As he was losing popularity with his own people and as he has no intention of giving up power, he cracked down on the opposition, stamped out dissent and came up with a scheme to make him popular again, namely take over Ukraine and recreate the Russia Empire.. The only problem is, his military isn’t up to the job of overcoming highly motivated Ukrainians and he underestimated the western reaction, which hasn’t forgotten what happened when Hitler started invading neighbouring countries.  Also eastern Europeans and Russians have had 30 plus years of western freedoms and few want to go back to Soviet times, so Putin is in a very deep pit of his own making. As he continues to dig, the west must help the Ukrainians and freedom loving Russians, not to appease Putin but bury him and is authoritarian experiment once and for all. Russian joining the EU in 20 twenty years time? No lets make it 10 years.

Trump continues to worry liberals despite losing the last election. Will he run in 2024? Of course he will, he loves the adulation. He’s addicted to it. But the many criminal investigations against him will eventually catch up with him and then America will have to decide if they want a criminal in charge. Currently many love Trump and love is blind but hopefully they will do as we did in Britain. We got rid of our leader because he had a few knees ups, which were outlawed as deadly covid spreading events at the time.

And what is magnifying  all this global mayhem - the internet. It is allowing anyone with a computer or mobile to state their opinion, whether genuine or deceitful and have it instantly available, translated to any where in the world. Anybody at the touch of a few buttons can obtain information from others and chip in with their comments too. We are in the early stages of this world wide conversation, and it's not going to be possible to turned it off now, there is no going back. Each and every citizen of the world is capable of telling their thoughts, filming their experiences and sharing them with who ever is interested in reading or viewing. The internet is showing us the world as it really is, not as a few want it to be seen.

What has been the early results of this tech revolution? Well authoritarian regimes, who like telling their people only what they would like them to hear, hate it. Hence China’s massive attempts to control the internet. But they can’t get rid of it because they love the power it gives them to snoop on peoples private lives so they can arrest any hint of opposition. However in the long run people expressing their views online curbs their power, as right is might not might is right. There are many examples of people protesting on line in China, but after an initial crack down, the party takes note and sorts out the protesters concerns. This trend will only increase as people realise it gets results.

Another early effect is that extremists, who always shout the loudest (often when holding a gun), embraced the internet to spread their views and encouraged others to join them. However in the long run the exposure they get back fires as the flaws in their ideas are examined and exposed for what they are, out dated historic rubbish which has no place in a globalised world of freely mixing people and ideas. No wonder they hate the west so much - their beliefs are doomed once the next generation, who love the internet and global travel, replace them. .

 So Liberal, freedom loving democrats of the world do not despair. Continue to shout out our values. The West is not perfect but better than alternatives. That is why people the world over want to come and live and work here. More people are leaving Russia and China than arriving. Who wants to live in Belarus or North Korea? Why do people risk their lives to enter the USA or cross the Channel. This is the reality of the World politics.

People Choose freedom not oppression. Truths withstand lies. Respect is better than hate.

A Gift from Mr Putin

 Dear Mr Russian Ambassador to the UK

A Gift From Mr Putin

Last night I had a dream. A package from Russia arrived which turned out to be a gift from Mr Putin. The package, which was a bit battered from its travels, contained 6, dusty old Chateau Lafite wine bottles with half used candles stuck into their necks. They reminded me of candle stick holders from a gothic Victorian film and would not look out of place in Miss Haversham’s house of decay. The accompanying note explained that Mr Putin enjoyed the Raspberry jam I sent to his ambassador and in return for my gift, though I might appreciate a means of lighting my house during this winters power cuts, due to Europe’s lack of gas.   
 
What a brilliant gift! It not only highlights Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, but the empty vintage wine bottles demonstrate what a rich and powerful man Mr Putin is, how he enjoys his great parties and what a contemptible  poor peasant I am, having no means to buy expensive wines and having to light my house with candles. After laughing at the irony of the world, I chucked the lot in the shed, suspecting that if I lit the candles they would give off novachock, or explode or some other deniable way of bringing about my demise,  which Mr Putin wanted for no other reason than to demonstrate he could do it.. However, all was not lost, as I did rip off the fine high value Russian stamps on the package for my collection.

What a wonderful dream, how I wish it was true. Mr Putin sending me a gift, (thus boosting my ego) and also living up to his reputation as the cunning and fiendish bad boy of Europe. How the UK press and media love to pump out the anti Russian stories  We in the West just love it. However could you tell me if Russia wants to play this role or does Mr Putin just want to stay in power (by what ever means), sell some gas, and have a normal relationship with the West? Well I don’t know, but I can’t believe the Russian police are so incompetent, or Russian agents so out of control, that murderers are never brought to trial or anyone can poisoning who ever they like without repercussions. I don’t believe Mr Putin would allow such anarchy in his Country. I also don't believe Mr Putin would be such a very bad sales man with "buy my gas or I will cut you off" tactics, especially when the world is talking about switching away from fossil fuels and seriously investing in renewables.

Did you see my letter to the Chinese Ambassador to the UK? I copied it to you (the Russian Ambassador to the UK), because I get the impression that in order to stay in power, Mr Putin is copying the way of the Chinese Communist Party ruthlessly stamps down on everyone and everything that could be judged as a threat to those in power. I explained that ultimately this will fail as they are always working against human nature. The same resulting failure applies to Russia, but even more so, as Russia has no Confucian culture which for 2000 years has drummed into the Chinese that they should be satisfied with their place in society and not challenge the wise rulers. The Russian people are not the Chinese, which probably explains why the Soviet Union collapsed and the Chinese Communist Party is still in power.

Going against human nature is a totally inefficient way to organise  a society. Not allowing people to express their differing views means a large expensive state organisation to suppress it with fear and force and a smaller pool of people to come up with good decisions. Not allowing individuals to use their talents to gain status and wealth is a waste and will make the country poorer in the long run. This is why I believe democracy and capitalism are the best systems for societies..

Does Mr Putin think he has come up with a better system of Government? If he is just playing the tyrant, I suggest he reads a few history books and reads what happened to them and their countries. In his actions, I see no long term strategy that will be of benefit to anyone, least of all Russia, a country which has such potential.


Yours

Why the West is Best and the Evidence to Prove It

 Why the West is Best and the Evidence to Prove it

The leadership of China often says that their method of Government is superior to Western democracies and that ignorant people like me should shut up and stop criticising China’s way of doing things.

Well they may have a point, as I have never been to China, but based on the fact that all the people of the world I have met, seen or read about, have similar goals and drives in their lives, I assume that the Chinese people have similar ambitions ie to live their lives peacefully, strive for happiness, acceptance and wealth and continually improve their lives for the benefit of not only themselves but their family, friends and the society and environment they live in.   

So why do I not agree with and admire the Chinese authoritarian style of Government? Well it is because the method it uses is not aligned to the reality of basic human nature and to overcome this fundamental nature it needs to use force in order to get people to comply to its methods and goals.

Because  human genes are constantly shuffled and mutated at birth, every human being on the planet is biologically slightly different. Also, as each person grows up, what they experience and learn is also unique, No two people can live exactly the same lives at exactly the same place, time and circumstances. (Even one identical twin will leave the womb before the other and so have a very small circumstantial difference to its twin ). Therefore as each persons brain develops, the synapses connect in different ways and the memories and learning stored internally are uniquely personal and given different value and importance by the thought processes (Evolution of the Sensitive Soul. Ginsburg, Jablonka 2021).

It is because of these biological and neurological differences, that every single person will think in a different way, have a different personality, different skills, interests, values, motivations, creativity, and ideas on how they should live their lives and what’s best for the future. It’s what makes people so special and wonderful, we should celebrate and enjoy all the marvelous variety of humanity and its different cultures. “Vive le difference” as the French would say.

As everyone is unique and thinks in a slightly different way, any system of organising society, which aims to increase the happiness of the society it manages should acknowledge and accommodate human nature,  accept different ways of thinking and provide an outlet for these views and resulting behaviours. It should allow people to express themselves,  to  be heard, tolerated' It should then  debate and judge if their ideas are of any value. If these ideas are widely accepted they can be implemented sensible policy or rejected as folly. Obviously negative behaviours that affect other peoples happiness must be enforced by the law, but the law is a human construct and should also be discussed and changed as and when required by the society to which it is relevant.

In my society in the UK, freedom to think and express your own views is accepted, and after debating and deliberating, a consensus is eventually reached and this usually arrives at a good decision. Even if a bad decision is made this is highlighted ,challenged , reviewed and altered if necessary. Although to people in China this may look like chaos and disorder. everyone can have their say and so feels valued and a part of the whole. The differences of human personalities are acknowledged and accommodated as the unstoppable, changing world, increasing human knowledge and new technologies of humanity demands.

However in China, the expression and debate about different views only appears to take place out of sight at the highest level of Government, and very recently only seems to take place (if at all) by a very select few at the very top level . How these few can know everything that is best for the other 1.4 billion people is beyond me. Assuming they are just people and not all knowing gods (which seems a safe bet ) they will not have perfect knowledge, wisdom and predictive powers and so not all their decisions will be perfect or correct. Like every one else they will make mistakes and lessons will have to be learnt, as we often say in Britain. The current Chinese system of government is based on  fallacy, It assumes the leader(s) know best, will make the correct decisions and that people can’t and don’t think  differently and if they do are automatically wrong.   So as the Chinese system of Government dose not accommodate people being who they really are and goes against human nature the system has to be kept in place by constant surveillance, policing, imprisonment, and force. This method may bring order, harmony and peace, but does it bring happiness? The evidence suggests not.

As China has no free and fair elections,  the views of the Chinese people are unknown. However there is a way of judging what ordinary people think of how the Chinese Communist Party runs China, and these are the net migration figures. These are as follows (from macrotrends.net)

UK        1986 - 2021 always positive and currently +2.9 per 1000 ( i.e.  more arriving than leaving)
USA      1950 - 2021 always positive and currently +2.8 per 1000 ( i.e. .more arriving than leaving)
Russia   1975 - 2021 always positive and currently + 0.9 per 1000 (i.e.  more arriving than leaving).
China    1950 - 2021 always negative and currently -0.25 per 1000 (ie   more leaving than arriving).

Therefore, even with the recent Chinese (capitalist) economic boom, for the last 71 years more people have voted with their feet and decided that they would be happier out side of China than within it. If the Chinese way of doing things is so great, why are not people  flocking to your shores asking to live under the Chinese system? If  it is the best way to Govern why isn’t China's migration figures well into the positives numbers? From the statistics, it would appear that people would rather move to Russia than China!

I would suggest that the vast majority of Chinese people are good hard working people (all those I have met are), who, because of their Confucian culture of knowing your place in a society and being ruled by wise leaders, they keep their heads down and do not challenge the status quo for fear of their “heads being bashed against the iron wall“. The Chinese communist party takes advantage of this culture, and also China past history of massive tragic civil wars, as an excuse to rule using lies and extreme force whilst living a life of luxury, as has been done so many times in the past by other tyrants, dictators and despots.

If Mr Desmond Shum (Red Roulette 2021) is to believed, Xi Jinping is president not because he has been elected by the people or is a competent politician  but because he is the most ruthless, and he is using the Chinese State for his own benefit rather than for the good of the Chinese people. Well, I don’t know if this is exactly true and I sincerely hope it isn’t, but from what I see reported in the West, the Chinese leadership is trying to justify it’s position by talking tough and “Making China Great” as fundamentally they have no legitimacy. They are only sons of the original revolutionaries, (just like the European Medieval kings who claimed divine right to rule) and are using old 20th Century outdated ideology well into the 21st Century. No wonder they hate the internet so much and have seized on the pandemic as a way of shutting China off from the world.

How long can the Chinese Communist Party keep their system going? How long can they keep fighting against human nature, the modern world, the internet, global trade and travel? Well no one can know that but such a  system is ultimately doomed to failure, it’s just a question of how may millions of lives will be destroyed when it breaks down. However there is hope, Russia’s Communist System fell apart with few casualties, because the leadership controlling the guns faced up to the reality of the day. Hopefully China’s leaders  will act wisely too.

Letter to Chinese Ambassador to the UK - Super Hero Xi

 Dear Ambassador Zheng Zeguang

Super Hero President Xi Jinping

What a Great and Superior man President Xi Jinping is. Not only is he the Wisest, most Knowledgeable and magnificent man on the planet,  but he is also the funniest.

I loved his pronouncement that the internet and media should be controlled and censored as he didn’t want Western ideas polluting Chinese culture and ideology. Well, as Communism and Marxism are ideologies that both  originated in the West, and only took hold of China in 1912, I assume his next pronouncement will be to abolish the Chinese Communist Party, as it is a result of Western pollution. A return to good old Confucian values of wise leadership, not stepping out of line etc would be much better for everyone (but mostly him)!

I was also very much impressed by his decree that children should only play on their computers for a maximum of 3 hours at the weekend. What a master stroke and massive demonstration of intellect it is to stop children playing, because it is, after all,  for their own benefit. I’m sure they are all very grateful for being saved from them selves and will grow up thanking and loving their glorious leader even more for turning  them all into non thinking, working automatons, serving the good of the communal ant hill that will be the Chinese State of the future.

May I ask how this enlightened decree will be enforced? If children who spend a minute or more over 3 hours  playing a computer game go unpunished, they will grow up knowing that they can defy and disrespect the decrees of their Supreme and Glorious Leader who knows what’s best for them. A failure to clamp down immediately on such outrageous behaviour, will lead to disharmony, chaos, barourism and the end of 2000 years of Civilisation. Therefore, I assume that such evil children will be swiftly declared enemies of the state and that their heads will be dashed hard against the iron wall forged by the blood and sweat of 1.4 Billion Chinese.  .  

However, If Mr Xi Jinping perhaps sees the folly of this decree, but doesn’t want to lose face and admit that such a wise, perfect and superior President such as he has made a mistake, may I be so bold as to suggest a solution.

This would be to copy the west (as China has done with communism, industrialisation, capitalism, internet, sky scrapers, moon shots, universities, Olympics, CO2 emissions  etc) and invent a superhero computer game with President Xi Jinping as the main character. Why should all the super heroes be American?. Isn’t it time for a Chinese Super hero? Superman Xi could not only have super powers of infinite wisdom, heroic strength and all the usual super hero attributes, but he could also have the power to paste the image of his face all over the place, (so people constantly see how great and good looking he is), the power to brain wash everyone so they all think as he does, and the ability to see everything on the internet and control the media so only his perfect ideology is seen. Obviously the goal of the game is to kill and destroy everyone who has a brain and decides to use it and disagrees with him on any subject whatsoever, which is probably every one else on the planet. How the kids will love it and I’m sure they will be allowed to play it all day if they want.    

If the game is a great success, as I sure you agree it will be, then you could bring out a comic book too.
That would also be very funny!

Yours Sincerely




Trevor Prew  

PS If you wonder why I write to you and think I should mind my own business, then do not worry you are not alone, I also write to the Russian Ambassador and the British Prime minister whose Governments I also hold in complete contempt. I think Putin and Johnson are also hypocrites of the first degree and I, unlike  yourself and 1.4 Billion Chinese people, I’m completely free to tell them precisely that.

Fun and High Jinks at the Chinese Communist Party's birthday Bash

 

Dear Ambassador Zheng Zeguang

What an ordinary Man in Sheffield thinks of the Chinese Communist Party

How I laughed at Xi Jinping’s pronouncement that he will “dash enemies heads against a great wall of steel forged from the flesh and blood of 1.4 billion Chinese”. Having just read Don Quixote by Cervantes, I see such rantings as coming from a madman living in a bygone world created by his own delusion. Who does Mr Jinping think is really threatening China?. America may be annoyed about trade and adjusting to China’s increasing power, but does he really think American windmills will need such an attack? Surely they have enough internal problems of their own than to start trouble abroad.

As far as I understand, the only threat to Mr Xi Jinping and his dinosaur of a party, comes from his own people, which is why he stamps on the internet (presumably with his iron foot of a million tons, ha ha!!!), locks up those that criticise the party (presumably with the mighty lance made of the sweat of the Chinese people, tee hee!!!) and has concentration camps for minorities (presumably whilst wielding the invincible sword of Chinese justice guffor guffor!!!). Doesn’t the Party realise that taking away peoples freedom of speech and liberty are acts of weakness and cowardliness, not strength.. If the Party can’t take on and defeat it’s critics and political opponents with sound arguments, correct policies and beneficial actions for the majority then it should seriously think about what it is doing and where it is heading.  And don’t try to justify the parties actions by saying that if there is unrest in China then millions will die as they did in previous civil wars, because that was then and this is now. Civil wars start because entrenched inflexible views don’t change with the times and so force is the only way to make those in power face up to the new reality. So the Chinese Communist Party must change with the times rather than retreat back to Maoist mid 20th century thinking. If it wants the world to respect China, then it should start acting in a manner that makes the world a better place, not only for the Chinese people but also for all peoples of the world. Wouldn’t that be better than using outdated military might, that just shows how backward China is, not modern and progressive?

Following this disrespectful letter from a foreigner, which is obviously a major threat to the Chinese state, I await my head to be dashed to pieces. Such an act will no doubt enhance the might, prestige and glory of the Chinese Communist Party which is all conquering and invincible. Especially when taking on the defenseless but outspoken.

So happy 100th birthday Chinese Communist Party. Long may you be tolerated by the Chinese people. But will you ever be loved by them?


Yours Faithfully






Trevor Prew  

CC Various Newspapers, Organisations.

PS If you find this letter offensive, I make no apology. I am most offended that fellow human beings continue to act in such an horrific and appalling way towards other fellow human beings in the 21st Century. Everybody is genetically and environmentally different (by their nature and nurture) and everyone has differing thoughts and views on the matters that concern them. To  deign this simple truth and to attempt to make 1.4 billion  people all think the same way by fear and persecution tactics is shear folly and doomed to failure in the long run.