Unhelpful, abrasive

According to the Chinese, we shouldn’t read too much into that e-passport map, as it was not targeting any particular country by it. If we are to believe them, the new e-passport where a map of what they perceive and believe to be an accurate illustration of China’s territory, merely strengthens its technological abilities and make it more convenient for Chinese citizens to enter or leave the country. Since when does the presence of a map, an obvious wrong one at that, make it easier at the immigration booth? If it has accomplished anything at all, aside from distorting the truth, it is to further delay Chinese citizens from smoothly entering countries the map was clearly a target of!

Vietnam was the first to show its protest of the new map by not stamping its entry visas into the new passport. They stamp the visas somewhere else, symbolically, outside the erroneous map. Other countries that have also complained about this latest Chinese jab at reality is Taiwan, who have also refused to stamp the same. I never even knew that India has its own territorial issues with China, which was also shown on the map, causing India to likewise refuse its stamp on it. And now, finally, the Philippines has followed suit in the non-stamping of this obviously abrasive travel document.

So much so that America has taken notice and wants to discuss the ‘unhelpful’ travel document with this belligerent nation. It really does not do anything to defuse an already tense region, and runs contrary to what everybody wants to achieve. The problem with the Chinese, is that they think the whole world is numb and stupid to its actions. Which is why you have poisoned milk that is passed off as safe, you have toxic toys that are passed off safe, you have poor quality products that are passed off as world-class, all from China. They actually think that the world is dumb enough not to notice these things, just like an erroneous map on a passport.

What China must do is remove this map from its passport, until the world does give its approval of its territorial claims based on international law and common sense, which China does not want to be subjected to. It cannot continue, at least morally, which is another foreign concept for China, to have this map on an international travel document. I totally doubt that removing the map causes delays in processing their nationals from entering or leaving. What if a country did the same thing and printed a map saying that a certain part of the world was theirs? The effect is the same anywhere. What is even more revealing is that the offensive map did not show its claim to the Senkaku islands in which China has an ongoing bitter dispute with Japan! Typical. Let’s just pick on the smaller guys. Let’s not ruffle the feathers of the guys with the more powerful military!

Gone are the days when all a country or an empire had to do to claim land was to start sending its army and kill everyone. The world just doesn’t work that way anymore. It works on intelligent dialogue and facts. If they are certain of their facts and can have intelligent dialogue, then the international forum is just waiting. You cannot do it by just printing a map out, and expect people not to read too much into it!