Taiwan and China are not “one nation”
Mr. Varoufakis, your tankie talking points on Taiwan are wrong
Getting into a heated argument about whether or not Taiwan and China is “one nation” with the world’s most famous former finance minister of Greece while in Kilkenny, Ireland wasn’t on my 2022 bingo card. But you know, sometimes life is wild.
Yanis Varoufakis and I were both contributors at a panel called “China’s path to global domination” at the wonderful Kilkenomics, the world’s first economics and comedy festival. His opening move was to protest the very title of the panel as “wildly irresponsible.” America is cast as the belligerent instigator that is hounding China into a corner with punishing economic sanctions. And it just got worse from there.
I knew that Varoufakis leans verrrry left, but I was also a fan of Adults In the Room, his compelling narrative of his short tenure as the finance minister of Greece during the Euro crisis. Despite Varoufakis’ eloquence (and he is a very elegant speaker) this is a level of discourse I expect from a twitter rando, not a man of his stature. Incredibly disappointing.
Since this is my substack and I can do what I want to, I would like to have the last word, perhaps with a cooler head than I had in Kilkenny. Here are the top 5 “tankie talking points” I heard from Varoufakis at the panel, and why I think they’re wrong:
US is the instigator, pushing the Chinese towards war
Varoufakis specifically pointed to the recent US sanctions on chips as proof that belligerent Uncle Sam is goading China into war. This is backwards. The war in Ukraine recently demonstrated that high-performance chips now make-or-break battles. It’s China’s increasingly-obvious warlike intent that makes it absolutely imperative that they are cut off from those chips. Varoufakis seems to have a history of confusing who the aggressor is, as he described the war in Ukraine in a recent stream (with Roger Waters 🤮) as something perpetrated by NATO.
By decoupling with China, we’re setting back our climate change goals
This is probably the point with the most merit, but it is still incorrect. Yes, a vast amount of our renewables technologies, specifically solar panels, but also rare earth metals used in wind turbines and batteries, are sourced from China. But there’s no real reason why this should be so. We will not necessarily reduce our commitment to renewables, just making sure we are not letting a rival control our source of energy by diversifying our supply. By the way, if Mr. Varoufakis would really like to do something about climate change, he should reconsider his anti-nuclear position.
By predicting/preparing for a Chinese invasion, you’re manifesting it.
“Don’t you see just by saying it’s going to happen, you’re making it happen.” I wish I had such magical powers of manifestation, I would instantly manifest some lottery winnings for myself. I take the point that it is utterly stupid and irresponsible to mouth off about Chinese invasion for clout on twitter like Seth Abramson. But it’s equally ridiculous to refrain from noticing things like Xi stating he’ll like to get Taiwan done on his watch and recent moves to consolidate power.
It’s for the greater good of the people of Taiwan to avoid war at all costs
Yo. Nobody wants to avoid war more than the Taiwanese people but it is in no way shape or form in our best interest to pander to China.
Taiwan and China are one nation.
This was when I really lost it. I said, “Mr. Varoufakis, I am Taiwanese and you insult me by calling me Chinese.” My grandparents might have come from various localities in China, but my parents and my siblings were all born on Taiwan. If you want to do nationalities by blood you might as well call the United States and the United Kingdom one nation. It’s irredentist nonsense!
Anyhow. I think if it had been circa 2016, before Xi revealed himself as so determined to become an absolute strongman, maybe some of Varoufakis’ points would be more tenable. I myself bought into the notion that if only we traded with China enough and bought them into the global economic fold, liberalization would be inexorable. How wrong I was. To think that even in 2016 was perhaps naive. To think so in 2022 is something worse.
"irredentist" is a new word for my vocabulary, thanks! I totally agree with your points and I find people completely irresponsible for openly suggesting and arguing that war is inevitable. Biden is modeling the behavior and language focusing on competition in business instead of listing them as one of the axis of evil or other derogatory comment.
Mr Hanley is a conspiracy theorist, reading intent into the actions of the US and other countries - not helpful when it comes to Putin's attack on Ukraine, the morale of the army and citizens of Ukraine, and the willingness of Republicans to continue funding. Loyalists are the reason Ukraine is winning, and while the story of David and Goliath is centuries old, it is possible today. The rule of law, which Russia agreed to as a UN member, is worth fighting for to the end. Considering past wars where the US won and did not "take over" the country or its assets needs to be mentioned. Biden does want business partners (Taiwan) but not business larceny (China). When you believe in Democracy you choose to do business with other democracies, not dictatorships. I for one am comfortable purchasing goods made in Taiwan where people are paid a good wage and the intellectual property rights respected, but I am not comfortable purchasing goods from China where the quality is often inferior, the "employees" may or may not be paid a good wage and treated humanely, and the intellectual property may be stolen. Stick with the verifiable facts in all instances. When considering underlying intent - abstain from stating it as a "known fact" because it is disinformation.
Could it be that Varoufakis is simply an attention seeker ? What is he without controversy ? a failed economist and politician ? OH - he can be both at the same time.