Dick was a gem of a guardian, and I light another candle for the passing of a beloved and respected colleague. On occasions like this, it might seem appropriate to discard what we normally do, but I am also on the last month of my "opinionating" in the Saipan Tribune before I turn to being just a reader so the following sent for the 12th is forward as an "objective" read. Besides, I am sure Dick would not have minded! Jaime The Silk Road Economy The passages are the inland road and the maritime route, theformer going through Central Asia, and the latter sailing through the IndianOcean to the Red Sea on to Europe. Of the articulated civilizational dreams, Europe's Dream wasexemplified by the claim that the "sun never sets on the BritishEmpire". The American Dream hadbeen a two-century experiment on political arrangement that allowed individualsto achieve goals in a country that encourages talent and will to go on meritrather than status and family connection; sadly, deteriorating to police insolencein turning their backs on their own city Mayor at a funeral of two of theircolleagues. (We'll stick to the"dream" rather than NYC and the new nationwide police movement.) China's President Xi Jinping refers to the China Dream,traceable to the history of the PRC though of varying emphasis since Sun Yat-sen(aka Sun Yixian) deviated from theimperium of the Qin to the Qing dynasties and their claim to heaven'smandate. Mao Zedong focused on peasantsand workers to lead party decisions, denied by the social elite in academe,thus, the Cultural Revolution. Deng XiaoPing released the power of the economic jugular arteries to allow some to get richfirst before others. Beijing now pulls togethera three-pronged dream. First, a democratic impulse invites all 1.3 billion Chineseto be part of the dream, not just the 80-million member CPC; the criticalsectors of energy, military and finance are being pruned of wayward branches. This impulse is up against the comfortable accommodation to CPC's decision-making that curtailed initiative. But the impulse is in place. Second is an egalitarian yearning meant to counter China'sstruggle with the elitist intelligentsia, a mainstay in China's society. This is systemic as the registration hu kuo system favors the urban dwellersagainst the rural. While PM Li Keqiang looksat a 60 percent urban population in the next decade, fifteen percent of China'spopulation that are registered in the countryside live in cities where theywork but are deprived of urban amenities that their urban registered kin enjoy. Aside from revamping the system, the current strategy toremedy the situation is two-prong. Oneis to bring urban features to the rural, a tall order as expensive infrastructureand housing are beyond affordable. Theother is to make the city a place where nature thrives; verdant commons, roofgardens and "green" parks to prevail, the maintenance of traditional practicesthat remarkably hold ecological ethos. Third is a win-win outcome of economic exchanges,international and intra-country. This isreally not just equity in numbers as it is an affirmation of the ancient wisdomof yin-yang, valuing harmony andcooperation, collaboration and mutual trade even in the midst of differences. If the democratic impulse invites reforms, this lastrequires deep cultural roots of fairness and justice, of course, with"Chinese characteristics". The last Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit inBeijing saw the China-Japan lukewarm handshake, the signing of the China-USA FreeTrade Agreement, and an OZ Tony Abbott vowing to "front shirt" RussianPresident Vladimir Putin. President Xi stuckto promoting an Asia Pacific Dream of shared destinies in glocal development,peace and mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly working for the prosperityand progress of the region. The dream can be just a PR jingle with a squirm and a giggle; it canalso be held in mutual trust, pursuing win-win cooperation, building on open tradeand economy. Premier Li took the same toMyanmar for the ASEAN meeting, President Xi to G20 in Brisbane, signed an FTAwith OZ, affirmed Kiwi that the 6-yr old FTA is still in place, and conferredwith 8 Pacific Island leaders in Fiji. The Silk Road Economic Circle maritime route just drew in Oceania! On territorial disputes, the US protects Japan/South Korea frombeing gobbled up by China, much the same way it kept Eretz Israel from being overwhelmedby the Arab States. In both cases, thepolitics of oil is slick and sleazy. The WH and the Pentagon are separated by more than just thePotomac. Obama campaigned to close downGuantanamo's military prison but six years into his term, he has yet to getcivil law into martial compounds, and not for lack of trying. BHO's strength is his ability to flauntmilitary machismo without losing political points, or compromise his wit in thehaze of uniformed oxymoron. He avoids deployinginto conflict grounds GI Joe and Jane. Themedia claims that US male whitey gave Obama a trumping in the last election. The US has a fourth of China's population, onein every five humans. China has thelongest continues civilization in the planet, and its China Dream is on. The Opinion page last Friday had two articleson China. So, why not let the Dream playthe full course? Better yet, why notjoin 'em and add one's two-cent piece in the process? j'aime la vie yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. in all, celebrate!