There are a few things that the CCP has in common with the Qing Dynasty, mostly about China's sphere of influence and how it is perceived or expects to be perceived by other countries.
The first is the act of prostration known as the kowtow. Modern China like its Qing Imperial predecessor expects other countries (in Asia) to kowtow to its believed superiority in regards to being the premier power of Asia, just as the Qing Dynasty expected diplomats from other countries including all of Europe's Great Powers, Japan and the USA to accept the superiority of the Emperor of China over their own Monarchs and Presidents. Not surprisingly this didn't work out to well for the Qing, and it is a reason why almost every country in Asia distrusts China and wants the United States to maintain military forces in the Far East.
The second is the believe that all territory that was once part or controlled by China or is inhabited by Chinese people is part of China or within its sphere of influence. The Qing were quite forcible in bringing semi-Independent and rebellious parts of China back into the fold, and in controlling Mongolia, Hainan Island, Formosa, Manchuria and Inner Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Chinese Communists started the ball rolling once again after 1949, with the annexation of Tibet, the war with India over Aksai Chin in 1962, the violent border disputes with Russia in the 1960's, the invasion of Vietnam in 1979, the clampdown on Islamic insurrection in Xinjiang, the building of artificial island fortresses in the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands dispute with Japan, and of course Taiwan. The Chinese may secretly consider Chinese majority Singapore or maybe Malaysia and Indonesia with significant Chinese populations as part of its sphere of influence. Japan and Taiwan generally get the worst of Chinese propaganda, but other nations can get the treatment if China is in the mood. This is the main reason why almost every country in Asia distrusts China and wants the United States to maintain military forces in the Far East.
Surprisingly the Russians seems to be off limits at present, and they annexed 600,000 square kilometres of Chinese territory in the 19th Century including were the city of Vladivostok is located. Arms and technology imports from Russia and the fact that they have ten times as many nuclear weapons as China is probably the reason for this
The third thing that the CCP has in common with the Qing is revenge on the West and Japan for China's century of humiliation. The Opium Wars, Treaty Ports, Taiping Rebellion, more wars with Britain, France, Japan and Russia, the Boxer Uprising, Japanese invasion of Manchuria and war with Japan running into WW2 didn't go well for China. The collapse of the USSR and the return of Hong Kong and Macau in 1997 probably got the British and Russians out of the firing line, although I suspect that China still has secret ambitions on the Russian Far East and Siberia. America and japan seem to be the focus of their attention, although the fact that America greatly helped China during its darkest hours in WW2 seems to have been forgotten.
|