The Gathering Storm in the Pacific

Even before Hawaii became a state, its position in the Pacific made it a strategic asset. The infusion of Chinese buyers is a concern, as it appears that many of the purchases were made on behalf of the Chinese government.

That situation, a foreign power taking over a strategic asset, was foretold in the Tom Clancy book, Debt of Honor. In that book, China Japan prepares for war with the USA, and, in the process, uses the tactic of inserting Chinese Japanese citizens into the Marianas Islands, through land purchases. The new residents push for “free elections”, in which the new residents will out-vote the actual Marianas inhabitants.

[NOTE: I misremembered the enemy in Debt of Honor – it was Japan.]

[I just tried to get an e-copy of the book from my local library. NONE available? This is raising my paranoid suspcions!]

Now, is this a possible scenario? Unlike the Marianas, Hawaii is an actual state, and it is engrained in the history of the USA that once joined, states may not secede.

Unfortunately, there is a portion of the Hawaiian people who cling to their indigenous status as a reason for Native Supremacy – forcing use of the Hawaiian language, restricting the vote to those of Hawaiian heritage, and otherwise putting the Woke Agenda into place.

Periodically, that contingent gains some support. Long before a critical mass is reached, cooler heads prevail, and it is pointed out that, without the influx of money that their status as a US State brings, the Hawaiian economy would go into freefall.

However, if the Chinese government is prepared to spread money lavishly around, that resistance might be overcome.

China is NOT all that powerful a country. True, they have impressive numbers in the military, and some of its citizens, with more money than sense, have spread it around, hoping to curry favor with the international community, or its more easily bribable politicians.

But, China’s prosperity is a nanometer thick. Their country’s businesses operate on a shoestring, with little profit. A few of the highly-connected crowd have managed to acquire a fortune – however, KEEPING that fortune rests on the dubious benevolence of the Chinese government.

That is just ONE of the stories – another one is here:

Larry Xiangdong Chen, the CEO of Chinese online education firm GSX Techedu

And, Forbes Magazine has a story about others who have raised the Chinese government’s radar, and lost out.

The Chinese housing market has already cratered, leaving many citizens completely dependent on the government – a government that has already shown considerable indifference to its citizens.

Other facets of the Chinese economy are also tanking; the Chinese market doesn’t have a lot of ‘give’ to it. Once people’s saved assets in housing disappeared, that left them with little reserve for emergency situations.

Forbes agrees with the idea that China is balanced on a narrow edge. In such a situation, it doesn’t take much to trigger a collapse.

Such as a default by the US government on its debt? That scenario is not beyond imagining – the national debt, of which China holds ONE TRILLION, is still growing (and, even Donald Trump did little to stop that).

Many economists believe that China holds the whip hand with their ownership of that debt – should they sell off, the USA would be facing increased interest rates for those debts.

Me, I’m not so sure.

And, THAT’S why we need Trump back in 2024 – he understands that attitude.