Letters | Ukraine war: the ghost of Yamamoto is haunting the West
- Readers discuss the lessons we should learn from Japan’s defeat in World War II, the wisdom in Hong Kong’s district council revamp, and the appeal of a Biden-Trump rematch in the 2024 presidential election
I’m a student at an international school in Beijing. This week we had an interesting lesson about the Imperial Japanese Navy commander Isoroku Yamamoto, whose plane was shot down 80 years ago by American pilots over the Pacific Ocean.
Yamamoto was a great gambler. But his strategy to defeat the Americans went terribly wrong in the early 1940s despite the early success in attacking Pearl Harbour. Yamamoto knew Japan had no hope of subduing the United States: the Japanese navy could not reach the American west coast, yet American bombers could attack Tokyo.
After the loss in the Battle of Midway, his days were numbered. He was killed in an air ambush in April 1943 and Japan was defeated in World War II two years later.
Elon Musk has pointed out that dollar is already a victim, because when the greenback is used as a weapon over and over again, fewer countries will trust it.
Yamamoto was a brilliant tactician but a poor strategic thinker. Eighty years later, good strategic thinkers are equally hard to find. It seems being politically correct is more important than formulating a wise strategy to end the conflict and finding a way for Europe to live and let live with Russia.
Adam Zhu, Beijing
Efficient Legco shows wisdom of district council reform
We have learned the painful lesson from 2019 that there must be an effective mechanism to properly screen candidates and implement the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong.
Under the proposed reform, district councillors will be composed of three groups of members – those directly appointed by the chief executive, those selected by three committees, and those directly elected. Such a mix would be conducive to good governance on the local level. It would prevent populism and allow the government to invite high-calibre patriots to join the district councils.
No political system is universally applicable. The one-person-one-vote electoral system touted by the West, with its dark underbelly of enabling populism, does not solve every problem.
Political systems must suit the actual circumstances of a place, and in Hong Kong, that means falling in line with the “one country, two systems” framework.
We trust that the reformed district council, as a genuine consultative body, will better serve the public.
Holden Chow, Legislative Council member and DAB vice-chairman
US presidential race needs an injection of youth
Biden is the oldest president in American history. But then Trump is only four years younger and did not make any brilliant presidential accomplishments while in office.
I do not wish to discriminate against old men, but evidently younger presidents such as JF Kennedy and Bill Clinton were good examples of young and energetic presidents who accomplished a lot.
Though I am not American, I received a good education from this great nation, and wish to see it led by some younger and better political talent. I really would not like to see the sequel of Grumpy Old Men, the Grumpier Old Men, being played in a year or so. God bless America!
Randy Lee, Ma On Shan