""If you don't know the past, you are a victim of any story that comes along, and you don't know what to believe - and you just believe something that is said more often than others," warned Prof Wang.

"The past does not guarantee anything; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it."
....
On the geopolitical competition between the United States and China, Prof Wang underscored that China represented a civilisation rather than a country - with a particular fundamentally different view of the role and function of the state.

While some 80 per cent to 90 per cent of China today is modern - as in the West - its leadership had decided that liberal capitalism with its emphasis on individualism, and liberal democracy of the kind that the US stands for, did not suit China's society and "certainly did not suit the Communist Party, which had become the emperor, replacing the emperor".

"They like the capitalism part, but they want the capitalism to be in the traditional Chinese way, in the historical Chinese way, to be under the state," Prof Wang said.

Economic development and political responsibility could not be separated, and capitalists cannot be allowed to run the state.

"The state must ultimately be in control of economic development," he said.

This is a very serious challenge to what had been the dominant western discourse, Prof Wang noted.

"Because the dominant discourse was not satisfied with teaching neuroscience and technology and finance and money making," he said.

"They also want you to be like them in believing in individualism, human rights, liberal democracy and liberal capitalism. And if you don't believe in that, because it's a universal, as they have decided, universal and the most important part of... a modern civilisation... you are heading in the wrong direction."

Prof Wang added: "Of course, the two conclusions could be made: You will fail, or, in case you might succeed, we will make sure that you fail. And... I think what we're looking at today is actually something like that."

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 5:32:47 PM UTC-4, ltlee1 wrote:
> ""If you don't know the past, you are a victim of any story that comes along, and you don't know what to believe - and you just believe something that is said more often than others," warned Prof Wang.
>
> "The past does not guarantee anything; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it."
> ...
> On the geopolitical competition between the United States and China, Prof Wang underscored that China represented a civilisation rather than a country - with a particular fundamentally different view of the role and function of the state.
>
> While some 80 per cent to 90 per cent of China today is modern - as in the West - its leadership had decided that liberal capitalism with its emphasis on individualism, and liberal democracy of the kind that the US stands for, did not suit China's society and "certainly did not suit the Communist Party, which had become the emperor, replacing the emperor".
>
> "They like the capitalism part, but they want the capitalism to be in the traditional Chinese way, in the historical Chinese way, to be under the state," Prof Wang said.
>
> Economic development and political responsibility could not be separated, and capitalists cannot be allowed to run the state.
>
> "The state must ultimately be in control of economic development," he said.
>
> This is a very serious challenge to what had been the dominant western discourse, Prof Wang noted.
>
> "Because the dominant discourse was not satisfied with teaching neuroscience and technology and finance and money making," he said.
>
> "They also want you to be like them in believing in individualism, human rights, liberal democracy and liberal capitalism. And if you don't believe in that, because it's a universal, as they have decided, universal and the most important part of... a modern civilisation... you are heading in the wrong direction."
>
> Prof Wang added: "Of course, the two conclusions could be made: You will fail, or, in case you might succeed, we will make sure that you fail. And.... I think what we're looking at today is actually something like that."

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/seek-the-truth-or-be-a-victim-of-any-story-that-comes-along-historian-wang-gungwu

On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 5:32:47 AM UTC+8, ltlee1 wrote:
> ""If you don't know the past, you are a victim of any story that comes along, and you don't know what to believe - and you just believe something that is said more often than others," warned Prof Wang.
>
> "The past does not guarantee anything; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it."
> ...
> On the geopolitical competition between the United States and China, Prof Wang underscored that China represented a civilisation rather than a country - with a particular fundamentally different view of the role and function of the state.
>
> While some 80 per cent to 90 per cent of China today is modern - as in the West - its leadership had decided that liberal capitalism with its emphasis on individualism, and liberal democracy of the kind that the US stands for, did not suit China's society and "certainly did not suit the Communist Party, which had become the emperor, replacing the emperor".
>
> "They like the capitalism part, but they want the capitalism to be in the traditional Chinese way, in the historical Chinese way, to be under the state," Prof Wang said.
>
> Economic development and political responsibility could not be separated, and capitalists cannot be allowed to run the state.
>
> "The state must ultimately be in control of economic development," he said.
>
> This is a very serious challenge to what had been the dominant western discourse, Prof Wang noted.
>
> "Because the dominant discourse was not satisfied with teaching neuroscience and technology and finance and money making," he said.
>
> "They also want you to be like them in believing in individualism, human rights, liberal democracy and liberal capitalism. And if you don't believe in that, because it's a universal, as they have decided, universal and the most important part of... a modern civilisation... you are heading in the wrong direction."
>
> Prof Wang added: "Of course, the two conclusions could be made: You will fail, or, in case you might succeed, we will make sure that you fail. And.... I think what we're looking at today is actually something like that."

A lot of local leaders in some countries are yes-mam and ball-carrier of Western leaders in order to secure themselves from danger of being accused of human right in their country.

Hence, they conduct themselves to hide the past problems of their country. They are better educated and yet they pretended nothing of that history past had ever happened.

No only they deliberately pretended nothing had happened, they went on to shamelessly submit themselves to other opponents to shape their country into another form of society of culture and race, too.

Seriously, as leader of their country, how could they not know the past? Do they ever think they are a victim of any story that comes along?

As highly educated leader of the country, why do they want to change the constitutional make-up of race in the society even as they know it was not the past history at all?

Do they think they don't know what to believe or they just believe something that is not there in the past in order to lie to themselves or lie to the people for the sake of being managed and directed by other peers in their team who want to alter the past form of society of race and culture to their own preference, too?

If they know the past, how did they adopt to become a victim of any story that comes along?

And don't they know what to believe by their own self or they just believe something or everything that is said more often than others?.

Don't they know as leader of the country, knew that the past does not guarantee them any future thing; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it?.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 5:32:47 PM UTC-4, ltlee1 wrote:
> ""If you don't know the past, you are a victim of any story that comes along, and you don't know what to believe - and you just believe something that is said more often than others," warned Prof Wang.
>
> "The past does not guarantee anything; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it."
> ...
> On the geopolitical competition between the United States and China, Prof Wang underscored that China represented a civilisation rather than a country - with a particular fundamentally different view of the role and function of the state.
>
> While some 80 per cent to 90 per cent of China today is modern - as in the West - its leadership had decided that liberal capitalism with its emphasis on individualism, and liberal democracy of the kind that the US stands for, did not suit China's society and "certainly did not suit the Communist Party, which had become the emperor, replacing the emperor".

China does not want Western NON-EDIFYING liberal democracy. China as well as other nations
certainly want EDIFYING liberal democracy as well associated set of human rights.
>
> "They like the capitalism part, but they want the capitalism to be in the traditional Chinese way, in the historical Chinese way, to be under the state," Prof Wang said.
>
> Economic development and political responsibility could not be separated, and capitalists cannot be allowed to run the state.

Or it would have inverted totalitarianism as detailed in late Professor Sheldon Wolin's book: “Democracy Incorporated: Managed
Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism”

>
> "The state must ultimately be in control of economic development," he said.
>
> This is a very serious challenge to what had been the dominant western discourse, Prof Wang noted.
>
> "Because the dominant discourse was not satisfied with teaching neuroscience and technology and finance and money making," he said.
>
> "They also want you to be like them in believing in individualism, human rights, liberal democracy and liberal capitalism. And if you don't believe in that, because it's a universal, as they have decided, universal and the most important part of... a modern civilisation... you are heading in the wrong direction."
>
> Prof Wang added: "Of course, the two conclusions could be made: You will fail, or, in case you might succeed, we will make sure that you fail. And.... I think what we're looking at today is actually something like that."

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 5:32:47 PM UTC-4, ltlee1 wrote:
> ""If you don't know the past, you are a victim of any story that comes along, and you don't know what to believe - and you just believe something that is said more often than others," warned Prof Wang.
>
> "The past does not guarantee anything; but not to know it is far more dangerous than knowing it."
> ...
> On the geopolitical competition between the United States and China, Prof Wang underscored that China represented a civilisation rather than a country - with a particular fundamentally different view of the role and function of the state.
>
> While some 80 per cent to 90 per cent of China today is modern - as in the West - its leadership had decided that liberal capitalism with its emphasis on individualism, and liberal democracy of the kind that the US stands for, did not suit China's society and "certainly did not suit the Communist Party, which had become the emperor, replacing the emperor".
>
> "They like the capitalism part, but they want the capitalism to be in the traditional Chinese way, in the historical Chinese way, to be under the state," Prof Wang said.
>
> Economic development and political responsibility could not be separated, and capitalists cannot be allowed to run the state.
>
> "The state must ultimately be in control of economic development," he said.
>
> This is a very serious challenge to what had been the dominant western discourse, Prof Wang noted.
>
> "Because the dominant discourse was not satisfied with teaching neuroscience and technology and finance and money making," he said.
>
> "They also want you to be like them in believing in individualism, human rights, liberal democracy and liberal capitalism. And if you don't believe in that, because it's a universal, as they have decided, universal and the most important part of... a modern civilisation... you are heading in the wrong direction."
>
> Prof Wang added: "Of course, the two conclusions could be made: You will fail, or, in case you might succeed, we will make sure that you fail. And.... I think what we're looking at today is actually something like that."

Don't understand Western thinking concerning its version of liberal democracy. Francis Fukuyama is, without doubt a true believer in Western liberal democracy. And his book has greatly popularized the concept of "The End of History" as well as Western triumphalism. But he later explained that most people had misunderstand his view. He book was not about "IS" but "OUGHT TO." In addition, he also pointed out that the second part of the book on "The Last Man" is a lot darker. It foreshadows the rise of ethno-nationalism and religious fundamentalism.