That's right, China is going to the moon. The country has income per head of only some $2700 per year, but they do have 1.2 billion of those heads hanging around. If they all pitch in, and there isn't much opposition in China to say they shouldn't, the People's Republic should be able to do it.

I think that's just great. They invented gun powder, after all. Why should they miss out on rocket fun?

Yet, it does seem somewhat out of place for such a poor country to spend such effort on what remains, 30 years after the United States accomplished the task, largely a publicity stunt. Plus, despite recent economic progress, I still picture China as very backwards.

It is a haven for piracy. Not just piracy of intellectual property, but raids on the high seas where cargo and crew are lost and Chinese authorities are lax in persuing the violent criminals incolved. The imbalance between the sexes in the adult population hints that boys are treated preferentially over girls, to the point where girls may be dying because of cultural bias againts them. From Tibet to Tiannanmen Square, China's government retains power through violent oppression.

I suggested to Nina that it would be no more outlandish if the Taliban, Afghanistan's brutal Islamic fundamentalist regime, wanted to go to the moon. She remarked maybe the Taliban should go to the moon, and then stay there.

Despite all this, however, I welcome China's attempt to go to the moon. It can only bring about good things. I anticipate either of two responses from the United States: an invitation to work with China in space exploration, or outright competition and a new kind of space race.

Cooperation would be wonderful. As I mentioned, this is a publicity stunt for China. Better said, an attempt to earn respect. China has one fifth the world's population, but like India, very little place in world affairs. China has campaigned vigorously for a place in the World Trade Organization, and that is still facing US congressional approval. China is now an outsider. Building ties with the Chinese will make them less mistrustful of the West, and more open to change.

But even a space race would be good. There are projects worth doing, such as a lunar astronomical observatory (no interference on the dark side of the moon). Work is starting on standards for an interplanetary Internet. No better way to test it than to put a webserver on the moon. And if you're going to have science geeks on the moon, you know they're going to need Chinese takeout. Yahoo!

Furthermore, if an arms race in the Eighties could bankrupt the Soviet system, isn't it likely that a space race in the 21st century could cripple the People's Republic?

Go to the moon. I dare you.

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Last Updated: 16 January 2000
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