Out and about in Beijing

One dry observation repeated by nerdy cynics is that the proof of intelligent life in the cosmos lies in the simple fact that none of it has yet stopped by to introduce itself. The nearest any aliens have probably ventured is a quick flyby of Jupiter to snap the famous red spot for their bucket list. A brief interception of our daytime TV programming would quickly convince potential visitors that the Humans of Earth need several more centuries of evolution (and possibly then some !) before we are mature enough for First Contact. Of course we like to reassure ourselves that in a scrap, a couple of 'Independence Day' heroes like Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum would step up to the plate, but the harsh reality is that we would fail miserably if we needed to field a global leader anywhere near the calibre of Bill Pullman. 

Bill Pullman - a presidential Thomas Whitmore, delivers bad news in Independence Day

If there really is any doubt then just try this brief thought experiment; a peaceful species of sentient mushrooms lumbers into our solar system in a faulty space-craft the size of Tasmania. They assume a discrete orbit, explain that their primary engine has blown a gasket and they'll be on their way as soon as they can fix it. They just need to open a quarry the size of Wales somewhere on Earth to mine the rare earth elements needed for the repairs. They then ask innocently; "Please take us to your leader". Now the $64,000 question is; if this happened tomorrow, who would we really want to step into the spotlight to speak for all humanity at this critical juncture in Earth history ?

"Take us to your leader !"

Of course, if the sentient mushrooms study our Earth history, they might easily suppose that our Global Leader is somewhere in China and most probably in Beijing. After all, China's population is 4 times larger than the USA and 8 times larger than Russia. No surprise then that Beijing and Shanghai are now the world's two largest urban populations, featuring the world's most modern infrastructure and global concentrations of trade and finance. This development is not merely a recent achievement. A quick peek through history shows that 6 of the world's 15 largest empires were based in China and that Beijing especially was the world's most populous city for much of the last millenium. Accounts of early 15th century Chinese trade and diplomatic missions westwards to India, Arabia, East Africa and eastwards to Asia Pacific (and quite possibly Australasia and the eastern Pacific) offer a definitive guide on what it meant to be a global superpower, in an era before the same term eventually became synonymous with a nuclear arms race. 

The westward voyages of the voyager eunuch Zheng He

Today's Beijing proudly displays a rich history of ancient dynasties, grand military and engineering projects and cultural revolutions in the forms of squares, parks, palaces, temples, walls and canals which can be easily enjoyed by anyone - who has the right documents.  

Oldies playing board games in the shade around the Temple of The Sun in Ritan Park

Whether it's a wasteful communist trait to employ as many unproductive minions as possible or whether there is a real need to prevent western ideas contaminating the population, the Chinese authorities still follow the old adage "Trust is good but control is better".  Hence a tourist visa application requires a daily itinerary of everything you plan to do and everywhere you plan to go.  A foreigner wanting to leave a city hotel to visit the country must list the people he will visit and the addresses he will stay at and must register his arrival with local police during the excursion. Meanwhile the internet is widely available but external news and social media are blocked and therefore inaccessible without Virtual Private Networks. Curiously a visit to the Forbidden City requires proof of ID such as passport or driving licence simply to buy a ticket. Basically it's a pretty good reflection of Poland in the early 1980's.

The Forbidden City
- where entry is forbidden without formal ID, but cycling is permitted, evidently

Paperwork aside, the sights are indeed amazing. The unique size and richness of of the Forbidden City seems special enough to have survived the heavy boot of the state, which seems to have made no effort to eradicate the ethereal names of the buildings, such as; the Palace of Peace and Longevity, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, The Palace of Earthly Tranquility, etc, etc.  

Temple of Heaven

Likewise the majestic Temple of Heaven set in huge leafy cherry orchards is surrounded by the spiritually uplifting Garden of 100 Flowers, the Palace of Abstinence and the Imperial Vault of Heaven.

SuZhou Street at the Summer Palace
- complete with weeping willows, arched bridges, lilly ponds and traditional stores
as featured on all blue and white Chinese-themed crockery since time began 

Traditional Spode pottery from Staffordshire featuring all the same signature themes

It is perhaps at The Summer Palace, a collection of temples and gardens around a huge lake system, overlooked by the Temple of the Fragrance of the Buddha where you start to wonder if the designer was trying just a little too hard to impress his royal patrons. 

The Summer Palace - a quiet little palace outside the city for an emperor to get away from it all

As you walk through the gardens up the hill you pass through the Valley of Fumbling Discovery, along the Path of Breathless Anticipation which leads up onto the Peak of Heavenly Euphoria. 

And finally; depending on how touchy-feely you are, for decades China's greatest treasure has been either their irresistible pandas or the famous Great Wall. It long since passed into common consensus that the Great Wall is visible from space, some said from the moon and others even suggested it is visible from Mars.  Sadly nothing of the sort seems to be true, as confirmed by astronauts who squinted in vain from many space vehicles, including the International Space Station.  

https://m.thevintagenews.com/2017/02/12/the-myth-that-the-great-wall-of-china-is-visible-from-space-originated-before-anyone-had-ever-been-into-space/


https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html

This sad realiasation proved to be very upsetting, not least to Chinese astronauts who, it was suggested, needed more training to learn how to identify the Great Wall.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-chinas-great-wall-visible-from-space/

The Great Wall - easily visible at Mutianyu, 75km north of Beijing.
Started in the 6th century, then rebuilt in the 15th and 16th century.
It is up to 8.5m high and 5m wide, the best preserved part of the Great Wall today. 

However the amazing good news for the touchy-feely types is that pandas are indeed finally visible from space.  

The 100 MW Datong Solar Power Plant in Shanxi Province
- designed to raise awareness and be visible from space - finally.

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Chinese_Solar_Farm_in_the_Shape_of_a_Giant_Panda_Can_Be_Seen_From_Space_999.html

No lack of 'resolve' on the Korean Peninsula

After the deep chill of winter finally thaws, the sure sign that spring has sprung comes when Korea's famous cherry blossom starts to appear.  Trees bloom in a wave which rolls up the country from south to north, city by city, over a period of about 2 weeks. 

Cherry Blossom : winter finally over

This is not only a sure sign that March is upon us, but perhaps more ominously that the marching season has also returned. With tedious inevitability the North Korean govt is preparing another round of huge military parades to be staged in Pyongyang. April 15th marks the 105th birthday of Kim Il-Sung, founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or perhaps more meaningfully, the start of the Kim dynasty's rise to power. Meanwhile April 25th marks the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/north-korea-hints-massive-military-parade-mark-two-big-anniversaries-amid-nuclear-threats-1615074

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/16/north-korea-kim-jong-il-birthday

Pyongyang's parades feature vast formations of people, arguably surpassing any US presidential inaugurations - and with nobody daring to dispute the official figures given to the media.

If past events are anything to go by, this is when Kim Jong-Un, the salad-dodging sabre-rattler with delusions of deity, will show the world the size of his weapons. Meanwhile intelligence analysts will use the same opportunity to comb through every pixel to see if the missiles on display are The Real Thing or just convincing cardboard models. If they are real, then what could be their likely range and payload capacity ?

"My hands are clean !"

"My hands are clean !" - obviously Kim Jong-Un's answer to awkward questions about February's assassination of his half brother Kim Jong-Nam with nerve agent VX in Kuala Lumpur airport. This conveniently eliminated any rivalry to the title of Super Supreme Leader, a post held by Kim Jong-Un since late 2011. At the same time, this incident confirmed that as well as wielding absolute power at home, feisty young Kim has a long reach and will not let his guard down, or indeed his hair down, with respect to adversaries at home or abroad. 

Simmer down
The last year saw simmering North-South tensions rise close to boiling point on several occasions with each short-sighted judgment by one side being compounded by another by the other side. Contributing factors (in no specific order) include;

• South Korea's (newly indicted, former) president Park abruptly curtailing all regular dialogue with counterparts in the north. Euphemistically this technique was described as; '...taking a tough line with the leadership in Pyongyang...'

• North Korea's resumption of processing nuclear fuel
  http://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160817001026&ntn=0
  
  
• NK openly broadcasting code decryption numbers to secret agents stationed in South Korea
  http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/phone/news/view.jsp?req_newsidx=215656

• NK hacking SK's cyber military command centre
  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38219009

• NK's 5th nuclear detonation in January 2016 - claimed to be its first hydrogen bomb

• NK's 6th nuclear detonation in September 2016 - claimed to be its first nuclear payload which can be delivered by ballistic missile.

• NK's mostly successful launches of short and medium range ballistic missiles in February, March and April 2017

• SK's annual joint military exercises with the US in March 2017 under the guise of the Combined Forces Command to test battle readiness.

War Games

The annual Foal Eagle exercises of the Combined Forces Command
Jeux sans frontiers - "Whistling tunes we hide in the dunes at the seaside "

North Korea's often-cited justification for its nuclear weapons program is the need to be able to stave off an invasion by 'US imperialist forces and their allies' (= South Korea, Japan). NK claims that the evidence for this malicious intent is clear from the south's annual Foal Eagle joint military exercises. These were last held in March 2017 and typically involve 300,000 South Korean combat soldiers coordinating with a further 17,000 US troops to rehearse tactics and manoeuvres to repel an invasion by North Korea.  So while the south annually holds one of the world's largest military rehearsals to show its 'resolve' to deter aggression, the north develops weapons of mass destruction to, er, show its 'resolve' to deter aggression.

Kung Fu Panda
2016 saw the waters muddied further with proposals to install a US-supplied high-altitude missile-interception system (THAAD) in South Korea to destroy missiles fired by North Korea .  

THAAD: officially 'Terminal High Altitude Area Defence
Promoted as a gentlemen's missile interception system

This proposal soon pricked up the ears of the mighty Chinese Panda, which traditionally prefers to snooze through the tiffs and spats of other nations. Rightly or wrongly China believes that the THAAD radar system can see deep into Chinese territory and monitor China's own military operations. This is strongly denied by the US but China seems very certain of its information, suggesting that China may know more details about THAAD than the US thinks China knows.

In any event, the THAAD debacle has spurred the mighty Chinese Panda to demonstrate a little 'resolve' of its own, with a quietly understated reminder to Seoul just how much the South Korean economy depends on Chinese good will. Seoul's decision to accept THAAD was met with an immediate boycott of Korean stores in mainland China, with South Korea's Lotte department stores being forced to close almost all branches due to lack of custom. Simultaneously Chinese tour groups canceled visits to South Korea en mass while Chinese cruise ships decided to either bypass Korean ports or else the Chinese tourists simply declined to disembark after dropping anchor.        

http://shanghaiist.com/2017/03/13/chinese_tourists_refuse_jeju.php

The Chinese cruise ship Costa Serena docked in South Korea's holiday hot spot Jeju Island.
3,400 Chinese passengers on board, not one of which disembarked.
Lesson to South Korean govt: - don't poke The Panda 

What the Korean peninsula requires right now is a finely crafted mix of diplomacy, intelligence, experience and foresight. 
What is coming is an armada.