To dominate the West Pacific, China is orchestrating Orwellian word games. Beijing knows its absurd efforts to subjugate the region into feudalism are unpopular. In turn, President Xi Jinping needs diplomatic cover and space for his ongoing aggression.
George Orwell’s masterpiece, 1984, is thus perfectly suited to Beijing. Set in an autocracy ruled by a supreme totalitarian, Big Brother, 1984 is a guidebook to political domination. Most relevant here is 1984‘s “Newspeak” construct. Newspeak is a constantly devolving language designed to obstruct individuals from independent thought. In 1984, Newspeak officer Syme explains the premise to Winston, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. … The revolution will be complete when the language is perfect.” Put another way, the key to power is to limit the adversary’s ability to understand it.
That takes us to a column on Wednesday for the regime loyalist Global Times newspaper. Written by an academic, Ding Gang, it outlines how Xi intends to negotiate a code of conduct with its regional neighbors under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional body. Considering that China’s Pacific interests exist mutually independent of all others, Ding says that when it comes to reaching a deal, the “difficulty lies not in rebuilding understanding of history, but in reconstructing rules. Western-led concepts and rules need to be transformed or even rejected for Asia to tell its own stories … The next step is for Asia to establish its own rules.”
Ding then appears to contradict himself about history: “Our task is not to merely find a more accurate description of our history. The rediscovery process can only be stable if we can extend this historical logic to the future.”
This is the babble it sounds like, but it’s not mindless — because Ding’s words fit well with the Newspeak construct of 1984. The only difference between China’s Newspeak and that of 1984 is clarity. Where the inner party in 1984 sought simplicity of language as a means to simplicity of minds, China seeks complexity of language toward simplicity of its own action. If, as Ding notes, the Chinese government can replace the U.S.-led system of “rules” with a nominally Asian version, Beijing will be able to achieve its economic, military, and political interests with a pretense of buy-in from its neighbors. After all, China will not accept any “Asian” code of conduct rules that obstruct its own interests. Hence why Ding adds that “Almost all of the existing territorial disputes in Asia are inseparable from the Western colonial legacy.” This, of course, is the 180 degree opposite of the truth. The U.S. is leading efforts to protect free navigation of international waters in the West Pacific. It is China’s imperial and colonial strategy that is disputing Asia-Pacific interests.
It is in this sense that Ding’s article has great value. He reminds us that Beijing is both aggressive but also clever. Where he can, Xi will deceptively but creatively use diplomacy to advance his agenda.
