China's dream of harmonious existence Lun TanChina Daily Updated: 2005-11-10 05:57
President Hu Jintao suggested in his September 15 speech at the United
Nations General Assembly that a "world of harmony" be brought about by all
nations on Earth.
This signifies first of all the importance of the co-existence of diversified
civilizations on our planet.
About 6 billion people of 2,500 ethnic groups in more than 200 countries
dwell on Earth. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and many other faiths exist side
by side.
Pluralist civilizations constitute a very important driving force for the
progress of the human race.
Tolerance, which is free of restrictions by any ideologies and social
systems, plays a role of paramount importance in bringing about peaceful
co-existence for different civilizations. Only respect for each other, equal
treatment, learning from each other and being considerate can ensure harmony in
the world.
Applying this in the international political arena means consultation among
all parties involved, not unilateralism driven by hegemonic ambitions.
This calls for democracy in international politics, instead of "what I say
goes."
This is based on an optimistic judgment of international politics over the
last six decades since World War II, when the idea of "world of harmony" was
yearned for and conceived.
Fully-fledged wars and the Cold War in the 20th century were waged by big
powers whose mutual relations were strained over a long period.
Looking to the future in the new century, we can be sure the big powers will
alternately encounter times of strained relations and enjoy relaxed exchanges.
Although the possibility of a deterioration of relations should not be ruled
out, the big-power relations are poised to develop in a benign direction. The
international community should help make this happen because the nature of
relations between the leading global powers will determine war and peace on the
world stage and the smooth running of world affairs and upheavals, as historical
experience tells us.
In addition, countries are becoming more and more dependent on each other
economically, taking into account the accelerating economic globalization
process, which will help foster better ties between nations, big powers
included.
At the same time, the negative aspects of globalization should by no means be
ignored. While driving world economic growth, globalization is making the
world's wealth disproportionately concentrated in the hands of a small number of
countries and a handful of individuals.
The ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots has become the root
cause of upheavals and social unrest, which renders this world disharmonious.
The gap between the least developed nations and the most developed widens
each day, as does the disparity between the poorest populations and the richest
ones.
According to a UN report on the development of the human race released this
year, the total income of the richest 500 people in the world is higher than
that of the 416 million poorest people put together.
The unfair and unjust world economic order is seriously hampering the
harmonious development of the world economy.
Take aid to poor countries. Some rich countries that have enjoyed sustained
prosperity since the end of the Cold War have not become more generous. Their
per capita income has increased by more than US$6,000 but their per capita aid
to poor countries has dropped to US$1.
Poor countries often run into tariff barriers set up by rich countries that
are three to four times higher than those between wealthy countries.
Taking all this into account, eradicating world poverty and redressing the
current unfair world economic order are pre-conditions to the world's balanced
development, and, in turn, harmony.
Viewed from other angles, the idea of a "harmonious world" has been put
forward because this world is not harmonious at present.
After September 11 and the Iraq war, profound changes have taken place in the
world political arena. Contradictions have become unprecedentedly acute - the
clashes between terrorism and anti-terror campaigns; the contradiction between
the United States' unilateralist inclinations and the world's general trend
towards multilateralism.
Wars and armed conflicts are posing a large threat to the harmony of the
world.
Twenty-three serious armed conflicts are going on in the world today,
including those raging and those cooling down.
Environmental damage, refugees, deteriorating public hygiene, proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and cross-border organized crime are other
factors threatening the harmonious development of the world.
In view of this, a common security mechanism, common prosperity and pushing
for the reform of the United Nations, in addition to tolerance, are the remedies
prescribed by China.
In particular, the role of the United Nations, which is at the core of the
world's collective security mechanism, should be strengthened, not weakened.
The idea of harmony is rooted in traditional Chinese thinking.
The Chinese word "he" has not only the connotations of "harmony" and "unity"
but also those of "centripetal" and "coherence."
For the ancient Chinese, "harmony" was always at the core of dealing with
everything from state affairs to neighbourly relations. The concept has always
had a profound influence on the country's relations with the rest of the world.
At the same time, the Chinese have always emphasized the importance of
"ruling a country benevolently," instead of "rule by force." This is a different
expression of "harmony."
Putting forward the idea of bringing about "a world of harmony" today is also
a way of promoting Chinese culture in the modern context.
The article is based on a discussion by international affairs specialists
that appeared in Global Times
(China Daily 11/10/2005 page4)
|