The Winner is the King

There are many political heroes in the world today, because they have attain valuable achievement for their own country, namely Ho Chi Minh (Vietam), Mao Tse Dong (China), Samdech Hun Sen (Cambodia), Franklin Roosevelt (U.S.A) and the list goes on. However, I have some questions that remain unsolved about some heroes if there was some slight change in history.

What if Pol Pot remained in power until today and achieved his Great Leap Forward policy and consolidate Kampuchea Krom and Cambodia, would he be called a hero for Cambodia today, although his regime left more than 2 millions Cambodian dead? Would he be charged of Crime against Humanity and War Crime?

Would Mao Tse Dong still be considered a hero for China if after his death Taiwan invaded Mainland China and successfully overthrew the Communist government? Let’s not forget that Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution is responsible for the lives of more than 40 million innocent Chinese?

What if Adolf Hilter won the World War II and conquered the world, would people call him a criminal and sent him to the court? Would he be called an ultimate hero of the world?

“The winner is the king, whereas the loser is the criminal.” This sentence is nothing but the true when it comes to politics. As you can see, there are many political prisoners nowadays and they are not called “HEROES”, because they are losers. Losers have to bow down to the winner. However, heroes today may not permanently be the heroes in the future.

Sanction against Libya will not end Gadhafi’s Reign of Terror

By: LENG Bun Meng 


Security Council has unanimously voted to impose sanction against Libya because of Moamar Gadhafi’s violent crackdown on the innocent protesters by means of using machine gun to fire live ammunition, using bombing planes and helicopters to bombard the protesters. The sanction is to pressure Gadhafi to step down. The main question is “Will the sanction be able to make Gadhafi resign?” In my view, I doubt it. Sanction alone will not help Libya but only destroy the Libyan people.

Throughout the course of history, how many times has sanction imposed against a country work effectively? For instance, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government is known to have survived for more than 10 years despite the sanction until the invasion of the United States. Sanction against Burma and North Korea are other clear examples. The leaders of Burma and North Korea show no sign of backing down. The bottom line is that the Libyan government would not collapse even with sanction because Gadhafi can still do business in black market as Saddam did. He can still reign in his throne, killing and oppressing many more civilians.    

Furthermore, sanction against Libya will only harm the lives of many more innocent lives. Let’s take Iraq as an example. The sanction did not hurt Saddam and his top elite but only starved a massive number of innocent Iraqi people to death. Saddam could still kill those who oppose him; Saddam could still kill more women and children. Gadhafi can do the same thing. 

Gadhafi has crossed the border and arrived at a point where there is no way of turning back. Gadhafi’s scenario is completely different from Mubarak’s. If Gadhafi decides to step down as Mubarak did, he will definitely face trial in the International Criminal Court, charged with crime against humanity and war crime. If he wants to live in exile, which country would allow an international criminal to stay? As a Chinese quote says: “A dog at deadlock has no choice but to bite back.”, Gadhafi will not give up his power easily without a tough fight. He will do whatever it takes to keep his position even if he has to kill his own people again.

The future of Libya is in a dark prospect more than ever. The Security Council must consider military intervention in Libya before it is too late. It appears that civil war in the country with the population of just 6 million is inevitable. If civil law really happens, bloodbath and annihilation is to be foreseen.

The Dynasty of Kim – Kim Jong-un to succeed Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il (Left), Kim Jong-un (Right)

As we can see in Chinese epic movies, there are several dynasties ruling China. That is, the Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Ching Dynasty and so on. There is obviously no difference in North Korea, although it practices Communism – from-father-to-son succession policy is used to handle the absolute power from one generation to another. Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, handed the power to his son, Kim Jong-il and in the near future Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s youngest son, will lead this lonely country. The main controversial question about this succession is “Is Kim Jon-un the right person for this top job? What the future lies for North Korea?”

According to the media, little is known about Kim Jong-un, besides he is 27 years old and was educated in Switzerland. Based on the facts, we can conclude that he is an inexperience leader, but now he is destined to hold the power to rule the country, will he be able to cope with the immense pressure in the nation such as poverty, food insecurity and pressure from foreign superpower? That is, America repeatedly asserts influence on North Korea to give up its nuclear program. There are tough decisions waiting for him to make when he steps in the office and these decisions are the matters of life and death. This lonely country cannot afford any wrong decision; otherwise, the country will totally fall into the jaw of destruction. Will he decide to give up its nuclear program or still stubbornly follow the same footstep of his father? If he chooses to eliminate the country’s nuclear program, the tension between North Korea and South Korea America will be eased. North Korea will definitely receive massive amount of human aid and financial support. This move would drastically save most North Koreans from poverty and starvation. The future of North Korean lies in this 27-year-old man’s hands.  

The DRPK Army

 

Looking at the fact Kim Jong-il points his finger to his son to succeed him, significant changes in the country would hardly take place under Kim Jong-un’s new leadership. Kim Jong-il may have already set the path for his youngest son to follow. Therefore, it would still be the same old policies. Will there be any economic reform – from planning market to free market? The answer is: not likely.

As he is young, inexperience and he has not accomplished any major achievement, it is absolutely difficult to gain respect, trust and confidence from the seniors of this communist government. The future unprecedented situation will be fragile and sensitive. Any conflicts among the top leaders with Kim Jong-un will definitely shake this country. On top of that, any significant decision made by this young man does not mean that every senior member would agree. For instance, if Kim Jong-un finally chooses to neglect the planning market to adopt a free market as the western style, not many top generals would be convinced. Such conflicts could trigger off civil war in the country, which will be devastating for the people. In some ways, Kim Jong-un may have the same fate as Mikhail Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union and may be recorded in history as the last leader of North Korea.

The future of North Korea is in a dark prospect more than ever. Kim Jong-un must be vigilant of his decision and do the right thing. He must make the best use of his recent promotion as the 4 stars general to prove himself to the public and the top senior members of the party that he possesses all the qualities to rule the country; otherwise, it would not be a happy ending for Kim Jong-un’s story of being a premier.

The Nobel Peace Laureate and the Prisoner of Conscience - Liu Xiaobo

By: LENG Bun Meng

Liu Xiaobo, a 2010 Nobel peace prize laureate, was born on December 28, 1956. The 54-year-old is a great man of integrity who took a lot of audacity to stand up and criticize the Chinese Communist government, who dared to sacrifice his freedom and who had the courage to call for democracy and human rights in China. His journey to fight for democracy began in 1989 when he took part in the bloody demonstration in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, which received violent crackdown from the government. Consequently, he was sentenced to serve a 2-year term in prison. This suppression did not discourage him, but only made him stronger and motivated him to strive for democracy and justice in China. Since then he was recaptured twice and sent to prison again. In December 2008, he published a document online that made the government sentence him to 11 years in prison for “subverting state power”. The document is called “Charter 8” which calls for a new constitution, social and political change in China. Liu Xiaobo is now compared to other heroic people who symbolize freedom and democracy such as Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and South Africa's Nelson Mandela. Although the Chinese has tried everything to paralyze him, his vision will still remains intact and stay with him for the rest of his life. 

Do you want to make a change for your country and your people? I strongly believe that one man can truly make a difference. Many heroes have sacrificed themselves for the sake of freedom and democracy. That is, Aung San Su Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Dr. Luther King. Perhaps, one day Liu Xiaobo's wish to see China transform into a democratic government and allow its people to enjoy more freedom may not be an elusive dream anymore.