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Globe & Mail, Canada

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China and Mitt Romney: Tale of the Mandarin and the Yankee Plutocrat (Folha, Brazil)

 

"The story involves the devil, an ambitious man and a powerful mandarin - a senior government official in ancient China. ... One day in a secondhand book shop, Teodoro, a low-ranking civil servant and a greedy individual prone to social climbing, discovers a book containing a certain fable. The book says that the mere ringing of a bell, at a specific hour, will kill the mandarin and that he, the assassin, will inherit his millions. ... Romney wants to ring the bell: he wants to formally declare China a currency manipulator, triggering a cascade of events that could be extremely detrimental to the global economic recovery."

 

By Monica Baumgarten De Bolle

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Translated By Brandi Miller

 

October 25, 2012

 

Brazil - Folha - Original Article (Portuguese)

In 1880, Eça de Queiroz wrote a short story [called The Mandarin] that completely clashes with the realist style that marked the body of his work. The story involves the devil, an ambitious man and a powerful mandarin - a senior government official in ancient China.

 

One day in a secondhand book shop, Teodoro, a low-ranking civil servant and a greedy individual prone to social climbing, discovers a book containing a certain fable. The book says that the mere ringing of a bell, at a specific hour, will kill the mandarin and that he, the assassin, will inherit his millions.

 

After this discovery, Teodoro has a vision. In it, the devil visits and tempts him to ring the bell. The protagonist doesn't resist. The tinkling of the bell sets in motion a series of events that will forever change Teodoro's life. Teodoro becomes rich but goes on to lead a life of betrayal and guilt.

 

Things don't end well. Teodoro pleads with the devil to take back his fortune and make everything go back to the way it was.

 

                                                ****************

 

The Republican candidate for U.S. president, Mitt Romney, isn't a "civil servant" - yet - nor does he have a middle-class salary like Eça's. However, according to his most recent statements, he is a restless man.

 

He wants to ring the bell: he wants to formally declare China a currency manipulator, triggering a cascade of events that could be extremely detrimental to the global economic recovery.

 

During campaign debates, Romney has said that if elected, this would be his first act as president. His timing couldn't be worse.

 

China is today going an extremely important process of political liberalization and economic transformation, both internally and in the context of the global economy. In recognition of this, the Nobel Prize in Literature, which traditionally implies a strong geopolitical element, was awarded to a Chinese writer who forms a part of China's domestic cultural milieu.

 

The unprecedentedly transparent Communist Party leadership transition to take place in November and the change from investment and export-led growth to increased domestic consumption are essential for China to elevate its geopolitical status and consolidate its position as an economic power, and reducing the risk of macroeconomic imbalance that come from maintaining excessively high growth rates.

 

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China is the global mandarin - the senior adviser presenting itself to the world. But Mitt Romney wants to attack the mandarin.

 

His threats are more than mere campaign rhetoric or a simple and inexpensive way to curry favor with American voters concerned with their jobs, with the growing influence of the Asian country, and with America's diminishing status.

 

He actually seems to believe in what he says. Moreover, his threats with regard to China are more credible than fears about the possibility of a Republican administration (or a Democratic one without support in the legislature) failing to restore the benefits that have sustained American middle class incomes. After all, once elected, no government wants to run the risk of antagonizing the middle class. But antagonizing China … well, that's another story.

 

Romney's provocation, if it happens, would entail innumerable risks to the global economy.

 

If China were formally accused of manipulating its currency, lobbies from a wide range of U.S. industries would gain strength and ask Congress to impose protectionist measures. China would certainly retaliate, which would have dire consequences on activity and jobs in the United Stated, since the Asian country is one of the main destinations for American exports.

 

It would set off a genuine trade war between the planet's two largest economic powers, with disastrous consequences on growth and inflation.

 

In this context, Brazil would face a very different picture from the "long-term scenario of low-growth and deflation abroad," which sustains the Brazilian government in relation to interest rates, exchange rates and controlling inflation.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

 

It therefore behooves us to reflect on Teodoro's final words, as he agonizes on his deathbed: "And to you men, I leave only to you, without further comment, these words: the only bread that tastes good is that which we earn every day by the toil of our hands: never kill the mandarin!"

 

Unfortunately, the plutocrat doesn't appear to be a reader of Eça de Queiroz.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

La Stampa, Italy: Europe Goes Missing in Obama-Romney Foreign Policy Debate

La Stampa, Italy: No One Can Say American Don't Have a Genuine Choice

Liberation, France: Europe Warrants Just a Single 'Derogatory Reference' in U.S. Debate

Xinhua, China: Obama and Romney Best Not 'Go Too Far' Bashing China

Corriere Della Sera, Italy: 'Obama Prototype': Rome's Black Emperor, Septimius Severus

Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Obama Fires, Romney Falters, but 3rd Debate Fails to find Flourish

BBC News, U.K.: Global Poll Shows Rest of World Favors Obama

The Economist, U.K.: A Win for Obama

Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Obama vs. Romney: Third Debate in Gifs

La Repubblica, Italy: Game Change: Obama Comes Across as 'Non-Leader'

El Universal, Mexico: U.S. Ruling Class Favors Obama Victory

El Pais, Spain: President Romney Will Come to Regret Damaging Remark about Spain

El Mundo, Spain: Romney Lies About Government Expenditures in U.S. and Spain

El Semanal, Spain: Spain Asserts it has 'Little to Envy' in Regard to U.S.

El Pais, Spain: Mitt Romney and Spain: Is Ours a Failing Brand?

Le Figaro, France: U.S. Presidential Debate: Pro-Obama Media Suffers Major Defeat

Handelsblatt, Germany: For Germany, a Romney Win 'Would Have its Advantages'

Guardian, U.K.: U.S. Debate: No Zingers, but Romney Finally Lifts Off

Guardian, U.K.: Combative Romney Comes Out on Top Against 'Lackluster' Obama

de Volkskrant, Netherlands: Why Should We Care About America's Presidential Election?

The Bohol Standard, The Philippines: We Filipinos Must Learn from the American Election

Huanqiu, China: China Must 'Strive to Influence' American Presidential Elections
Gazeta, Russia: Why America's Republicans have No Foreign Policy

 

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[Posted by Worldmeets.US Oct. 25, 4:42am]