Looking at China as it is

Brigadier (r) Abdur Rehman Tarrar wrote ‘Cheenami’ to present what China in reality is, which is way different from the perception created by west.

The book has 16 chapters, out of which five are about Chinese history, with first two about my motivation of writing in Urdu and about China. Thereafter, book is all about geo politics with focus on China’s past, present and future designs and challenges. Discussion on how successfully world is made to believe that China has colonial ambitions is phenomenal.

First chapter mainly is meant for Pakistani audience, who are sometimes forced to see China and Chinese through western lenses. The two nations are being targeted by the west with their regional allies with narratives designed to create fear of China taking over other countries.

Stories of massive debt traps which is beyond Pakistan’s capacity to pay and Pakistan being left with no option than to compromise on its sovereignty were critically evaluated.

Here, the writer also questioned Pakistani government and academia for failing to educate the nation about a country which is very important for its future.

How negatively China is being projected on mainstream western media and social networks is focus of this book. Stories of ordinary citizens’ difficult life due to wide spread corruption and nepotism and ills of a totalitarian regime were also evaluated. Here the writer tries to show to Pakistanis and the world how real China looks like. What are the priorities of Chinese leadership and how firm they are in their resolve to change the life of such a huge population?

It explains their success in ensuring peace and security at a time when the world is witnessing widespread fear and uncertainty, even the most peaceful nations all around the globe.

The book presents a brief history showcasing major social, cultural, economic and development mile stones reached during different dynasties. It also presented some conclusions about their impact on the Chinese society and the nation’s characteristics. A chapter dealing with history has been divided into various periods starting from era which saw influence of philosophers like Confucius to modern China’s leaders of time of revolution; Chairman Mao, Ding Zao Ping and Xi Jin Ping.

China after war of independence has been discussed in three sub parts of the book considering them as revolutions of different kinds; Mao’s ideological pursuits, Ding’s economic reforms and Xi’s cleansing of society from corruption and his resolve to protect nations overseas interests.

The book discusses characteristics of modern nation. An effort has been made to understand the pressures on Chinese customs and traditions after opening up to the world.

The author highlights violation of research ethics, principals and morals set by the western academia themselves when conducting any academic work about China and its leaders. He tried to discuss major reasons which in the past compelled nations to use as a pretext to invade and conquer foreign lands. A question has been raised about China’s ambitions of conquests at the cost of fighting poverty.

Here it has been discussed how during 20th and 21st centuries China’s relations with the world powers and the poor nation developed. Chinese leadership’s dedication and resolve in defying international pressure for reforms has also been discussed.

With a little mention of history of relations of two giants of the world residing in Asia - India and China - the book measures how China will deal with India whose aspiration to become a regional power with global influence do not have any boundaries. It says that India is a nation which has proven that it can go to any extent to materialize her goals and knows no ethics, does not care for morals of humanity and has no respect for international treaties. The author Brigadier (r) Abdul Rehman joined Pakistan Army in 1988 and during 29 years of service in different capacities, trained, worked and lived with a host of countries armed forces. Other than National Defence University of China, he attended training institutions of Germany, USA and Australia.

Book Title: Cheenami

Author: Brigadier (r) Abdur Rehman Tarrar

Publisher: Sangemeel publications

Price: Rs1,600