Chewang Ngokhang
CALIFORNIA, US, 17 January 2017
It is both amazing and delightful to learn that our President-elect Donald Trump has read several meaningful books. Consequently, he has listed a few books for us to read. The list of books he has read also contains two books on Tibet, according to our representative Penpa Tsering. This is music to my ears.
Now may I recommend three books for Mr President-elect to read, if he has not come across them already.
The first book is titled The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to supplant America as the Global Superpower, by Michael Pillsbury. The book is succulently filled with many relevant bits of information, and details the shifts in political strategies in order to further one’s political ambitions. About half a century earlier, the Soviet Union was accelerating both in power and influence, and was conceived as a threat to global peace by both the United States and China.
This new threat had naturally compelled the United States and China to get closer together, culminating in normalizing relationships between the two, sagely engineered by President Richard Nixon and Dr Kissinger. This was a romance of convenience and necessity. But now things are changing very rapidly, and the romance is beginning to sour. The US pivot to the Pacific is losing its traction, while China is brazenly flexing its muscles in the South China Sea. The Pacific is no longer placid; there are already dark ominous clouds rolling over the troubled seas.
The One Hundred-Year Marathon starting from 1949 is aimed to reach its secret goal of global domination by 2049, and supplant the US. This lofty ambition is in line with a quote from Confucius: “There cannot be two suns in the sky nor two emperors on the earth.” However, having a solitary emperor on the earth today is not very realistic. As such, the “one emperor on the earth” fantasy is wishful thinking in today’s topsy-turvy world of geopolitics. For instance, an axis of mutual cooperation among the three marque democracies can be efficacious and resourceful. Like a massive dam the unity of the three can be beneficial to humanity in many ways. And the word dam can be equated to Donald, Abe and Modi — the axis of three democratic states.
Humour aside, the next book is Connectography: Mapping The Future of Global Civilization authored by Parag Khanna.
“Connectography is ahead of the curve in seeing the battlefield of the future and the new kind of tug-of-war being waged on it. Khanna’s scholarship and foresight are world-class … A must-read for the next president.” — Chuck Hagel, former US Secretary of Defense.
Since Donald had read two books on Tibet, I would highly recommend another book which hit the bookstores in October. Unlike numerous books on Tibet, this book is not authored by a Tibetan or a Westerner, but by a Chinese lady. She had travelled extensively in Tibet, China, and India, and interviewed many elder Tibetans and the Chinese generals who had numerous dealings with HH the Dalai Lama and many government officials during the 1950s. The book is titled Tibet in Agony, the author’s name is Jiang Li, and it is translated by Susan Wilf. It’s obvious the author had spent many years in researching and writing this book. It’s a must-read.
About the author
Chewang Ngokhang studied in the traditional Tibetan school and communist Chinese system in the 1950s in Tibet, and later at St Augustine's School in Kalimpong, India. Graduated from University of Redlands, US, with a bachelor's degree, his professional enterprise involved managing and overseeing operations of several KFC stores in Southern California since 1979 till he retired in 1997.
I am a regular reader of Tibet Sun and many of us love reading articles by Laden Samdup la. His writings are well researched and he often tells us the story of past events connected to Tibet and Tibetans. I met a few loyal friends of Tibet Sun and they also have similar views like me regarding Laden la. I hope he will respond to our request soon. I wish him good luck wherever he may be now.
The article is very interesting and clearly reflects the power game that is likely to emerge for some time. No doubt, China has started to show its military and economic might by claiming ownership over entire South China Sea, and this will not go down well with other nations of the region.
An axis among three great democratic states is a must to ensure peace and stability in the region and the world. Let’s all pray for peace and happiness of all people, including Tibetans.
I am sure this article reflects the present ongoing challenges between the superpowers of the world. To say the least, I am greatly interested in reading the book suggested by the author.