Malaysia’s rethink on deals with China and Singapore is in keeping with ancient Chinese statecraft
In fact, ancient Chinese history is full of examples where treaties are broken and, far from being condemned, the instances are held up as examples of good statecraft.
During the Spring and Autumn period, prominent Yue state strategist Fan Li was held captive along with his king Guojian by the state of Wu. For three years, both men repeatedly pledged loyalty to the Wu. Upon their return to Yue, both men worked to rebuild their state, finally successfully destroying Wu in 493 BCE.
In 207 BCE, Liu Bang, the future founder of the Han dynasty, found himself in a greatly inferior position relative to his rival Xiang Yu. At the famous Hong Men banquet, Liu Bang pledged total subservience to Xiang Yu. Barely five years later, at the battle of Gaixia, Liu Bang destroyed the army of Xiang Yu, whose suicide was immortalised in the opera, Farewell My Concubine. Had Liu Bang kept his word, the Han dynasty, one of the longest reigning dynasties in Chinese history, would never have existed.
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Again, during the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Bei and his famed adviser Zhuge Liang went into Yi province, supposedly to help governor Liu Zhang against the warlord Cao Cao. Barely two years later, Liu Bei's army defeated Liu Zhang's and took over full control of Yi. Rather than a display of treachery, the battle of Yi province is considered a wonderful display of military strategy.
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As Mao Zedong said, a revolution is not a dinner party. Malaysia has undergone nothing less than a democratic revolution and change of government. It is totally appropriate and in keeping with the finest tradition of Chinese statecraft that Malaysia's government seeks to overturn unfair treaties and treatment.
Dr Ong Hean Teik, Penang, Malaysia