Maybe it’s just the growing pains of an adolescent superpower, but China has begun to flex its newfound muscles in ways inconsistent with its “peaceful rise.” Its bullying behavior demands a firm pushback from the United States – starting next month when Chinese President Hu Jintao comes to Washington for talks with President Obama.
The unmistakably imperious trend in China’s conduct has definitely caught the world’s attention. Take its recent arm-twisting campaign to prevent nations from participating in a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Liu Xiaobo, a prominent democracy activist serving an 11-year sentence for subversion. Nineteen countries caved shamelessly to China’s demands. In a display of insecurity worthy of Burma’s insular and paranoid junta, the government also cracked down on domestic dissidents and barred travel to Oslo.
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