- Information
Editorial: Taiwan, flashpoint of inter-imperialist rivalry
- Information
- 15 December 2023 493 hits
Imperialist war drums are beating loudly in the Pacific as the U.S. and China vie to control resources, markets, and geopolitical leverage. At the center of this grab bag is Taiwan, the island republic claimed by China-- and viewed by the U.S. as a strategic counterpoint to China’s rising power. In advance of Taiwan’s January 13 elections, the two superpowers are competing for regional supremacy as they move toward World War III. Their maneuvers lay bare their bloodthirsty drive for profit and also expose the lethal dangers of nationalism.
Progressive Labor Party (PLP) stands firm that working people have no nations—and no side in the capitalist bosses’ dogfight. The bosses cloak their insatiable greed in nationalist rhetoric and calls for a false unity with “their” workers. But all alliances with capitalists offer workers only misery and death.
The working class can turn inter-imperialist war into class war, a revolutionary war for communism. We can connect our communist politics to every struggle we’re immersed in, from the fightback against racist cop terror to strikes and struggles for decent healthcare. We can call out nationalist misleaders who distract the working class and divert their anti-imperialist anger. It’s up to the workers of the world to reject all criminal bosses and respond with international working-class unity and communist revolution.
Imperialists at sea
The South China Sea, a major shipping route and fishing ground, is a linchpin in the global battle for supremacy between China and the U.S.—and a flashpoint for inter-imperialist war. More than 21 percent of the world’s trade, amounting to trillions of dollars, passed through it in 2016 (CNBC, 11/17). China and the U.S. are Taiwan’s two biggest trading partners. The Taiwan Strait, the main shipping route for "goods from Asian factory hubs to markets in Europe, the U.S. and all points in between” (bloomberg.com, 8/2), anchors global supply chains.
Perhaps most important, Taiwan produces over 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors and over 90 percent of the advanced microchips that power everything from mobile phones and artificial intelligence technology to weapons of mass murder (The Economist, 3/26). China’s threat to take over Taiwan and its claim to nearly all of the South China Sea prompted U.S. rulers to bar Taiwan companies from selling their most powerful chips to China (NBC News, 6/29).
Fighting a rising global power
A decaying, divided, and desperate U.S ruling class is straining to contend with China, an economic giant that now sees itself as a global power and is acting as such. “Long reluctant to inject itself into conflicts far from its shores, Beijing is showing a new assertiveness as Xi Jinping begins his third term as the country’s head of state, positioning China to draw like-minded countries to its side and to have a greater say on global matters” (Wall Street Journal, 3/22). China’s willingness to wade into international matters sends a message to traditional U.S. allies that the old world order, dominated by the U.S. and its NATO allies since World War II, is a thing of the past.
In planning their takeover of Taiwan, China’s bosses have studied the Russian playbook. They have repeatedly warned the U.S. to steer clear of Taiwan. After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the contested island last year, China defiantly conducted live military exercises in the area. While the U.S rulers want to avoid a military conflict with China until they are ready (Foreign Affairs, 8/23), make no mistake: War is coming. In a system based on theft from workers and the violent elimination of all competition, the imperialist bosses will ultimately have no other choice.
The dangers of nationalism
The poison of nationalism is an essential tool for the capitalists to win workers to fight in this impending war. China is fiercely promoting its nationalist “One China'' rhetoric (The Diplomat, 8/16). Taiwan and U.S. bosses use similarly divisive tactics. With the upcoming election around the corner, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has deployed former ambassador Hsaio Bi-khim to the U.S. to fan the flames of nationalist identity politics. Hsiao’s popularity with younger voters reflects a surge in Taiwanese identity across the island and diaspora. By contrast, the main opposition party, Kuomintang, which favors close ties with China, has chosen a hardline anti-U.S. media personality, Jaw Shaw-kong, as its vice-presidential candidate “to appeal to the party’s traditional base of mainland-descended voters.”
Whether pro-China or pro-U.S., no brand of nationalism serves Taiwan’s working class, which suffers from the diseases of capitalism: unemployment, inflation, stagnant wages, and housing shortages (The Diplomat, 5/15). Racism, a natural byproduct of nationalism, prevails as well. The country’s prosperity has been built on apartheid and the racist treatment of 700,000 migrant workers from Southeast Asia. They labor in unsafe factories and are exploited by third-party labor brokers (thediplomat.com, 10/10/19). Whether peddled by bosses in Taiwan or China, Gaza or Israel, Ukraine or Russia, all nationalism represents a counter-revolutionary attack on the working class.
Dark night shall have its end!
The Chinese bosses long ago reversed the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the historic uprising for communism, and plunged the world into a dark night from which we still struggle to emerge. But Progressive Labor Party declares that dark night shall have its end! Workers around the world are already showing it is possible to reject imperialist war and identity-based divisions. Anti-Zionist Jews in Israel and around the world have bravely called for an end to the genocidal war in Gaza. International protests against Israel’s vicious ethnic cleansing have been filled with workers of all stripes.
PLP must sharpen the struggle to turn struggles against imperialist war into struggles for communist revolution. Amid the growing danger posed by rival gangs of capitalist bosses, we must maintain our unwavering trust in and dedication to the international working class. Our goal is to end this criminal system and build a communist world run by and for workers. Join us!
WEST ORANGE, NJ, December 11—The attempted genocide by the Israeli government has sparked international outrage among workers around the world. New Jersey has been one of the sites where sharp struggles between antiracists and Zionists have been on display. Antiracist actions led by high school students and teachers have been a catalyst for students and workers to fight back in the area. The courage and multiracial unity of workers have also been met with nationalism and fear. The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) has been involved in such a struggle at the urging of one of the parents in town. We stand alongside these workers and struggle to win workers to see that capitalism is the main enemy that needs to be smashed.
Students lead the way
Though there have been several protests at U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s office, it was the students in West Orange who exposed the Zionists and their political misleaders. West Orange is a suburb of Newark and a town that likes to praise itself for its “diversity.” During the George Floyd protests, West Orange saw multiracial rallies chanting Black Lives Matter.
But when a Palestinian and Jewish student organized a walkout to protest the genocidal bombing of Gaza, the Zionist leadership responded by getting the Mayor and Superintendent to shut it down. Then, on a Zionist Facebook group, they exposed the names of these high school students who were planning the walkout.
In response, dozens of students, parents, alumni, community activists, and teachers filled the board of education meeting to support the students. The unity of Jewish, Arab, Black, and white workers showed the bravery and potential of the larger working class to fight back. As a result, the students held their walkout a week later. This shows that when workers fight back they can win.
Liberalism and nationalism - a tool of the bosses
Like many movements that we are part of, liberal misleaders make sure they can control the mass line of the movement. In this case, many of the leaders are winning workers and students to focus on city and school officials. At one recent town meeting workers and students were protesting the appointment of a human relations commissioner. This person was also head of the Zionist Facebook group that exposed the names of the students who were planning the walkout. Many members of the group spoke specifically about the commissioner. Some residents, however, made the wider connection to imperialist war and genocide by the Israeli government. One teacher stated, “I believe it is crucial to recognize that support for international wars will always impact our local dynamics. The ongoing support of a bloody war funded by the United States, driven by profit, has repercussions at the micro, local level.” Another worker also spoke out about the role of U.S. and British imperialism in the war - attempting to win workers to develop a more international, class analysis of the situation. The Party was also there to pass out a leaflet arguing that both nationalism and Zionism are two sides of the same deadly coin for workers. A Palestinian state will only funnel workers to be exploited by Palestinian bosses like Israeli workers are exploited by Israeli bosses. If workers are going to sacrifice their lives - it should be for a system that is going to free our class from these wars once and for all. We were met with positive reactions, particularly from some of the students who attended the meeting.
Overcome fear with struggle
Despite the growing anti-racist movement in West Orange, many of the organizers refuse to come out in person and instead participate through Zoom. The big reason is that Zionists have been doxxing (sharing personal information) of critics of the Israeli genocide. The town government has been supportive of the Zionists in trying to silence any opposition. At one of the meetings, a Zionist threatened the anti-racists by claiming “they are armed” at public gatherings. As a result many of the organizers, especially Muslim workers, stopped going to public meetings and instead attended through Zoom.
This was a temporary setback for the movement. As a result, the group was planning to speak at a town council meeting. Seeing that there were only a few workers there to speak out against the genocide and racist support by the administration, the council was able to delay the public speaking part until 1 am! Even those in attendance sat quietly despite attempts by more militant activists and PLP members to speak out against the silencing.
Some steps have been made, however, to try and fight this fear. A community group in the neighboring town of Orange held a potluck dinner to talk about and make plans for further fightback. This included parents, students, and organizers from West Orange, Newark, Orange, and neighboring towns. The dinner was opened by a long-time anti-racist fighter who connected the Palestinians to the millions of displaced workers all over the world. She also brought out the oil motives in the Middle East and connected them to the resources in Sudan, Afghanistan, and Haiti that drive imperialist ambitions. We then heard from various workers and students who reported on student walkouts, the desire to build groups that include working with organizers and their children, and how to build a movement that is going to fight both anti-semitism and anti-Muslim racism. The dinner was a perfect example of how workers overcome fear: by bringing workers and students together to organize and fight back.
Long road ahead
We have already learned many lessons. Whether it is struggling against the narrow liberal (and often nationalist) politics of the group or organizing social gatherings, we have learned that this is going to be a long-term struggle and we need to build stronger bonds with many of these members to win many of these students and workers to our line. When having one-on-one conversations when distributing our leaflet we see that students and workers are open to it. Still, as usual, the leadership of these groups ensures that the liberal line of the misleadership prevails. The potential is there, and we plan on being there for the long term to build the Party and win many of these courageous workers to fight for a communist future.
- Information
Justice for Murod - Expose bosses’ racist kkkourts
- Information
- 15 December 2023 510 hits
BRIDGEVIEW, IL, December 5 - The vicious and dehumanizing racist nationalism currently exploding across occupied Palestine by Zionist fascists was mirrored in a courtroom in the south suburbs of Chicago today. The family and community supporters of Murod Kurdi – a 28-year-old Arab worker who was struck by a vehicle and killed in June of this year – were forced to endure the cruel farce of what passes as legal proceedings under this capitalist system.
Murod was murdered on June 5th in front of his home in Oak Lawn by a white woman, Leanne Cusack. Cusack had been drinking at a bar before striking him and killing him just after he exited his truck on the street. The kkkops of Oak Lawn again proved their racist nature in failing to evaluate her sobriety and charging her only with “failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.” The killing of someone by vehicle merits, for these killer cops, a relatively minor traffic offense. Under this inherently racist system, the value of a worker’s life is next to nothing.
The racist murder of Murod, and the abuse heaped upon his family and so many other working-class people across this greater area are helping shatter many illusions among the masses that this capitalist injustice system exists to serve our needs. The international communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) has been active inside and outside of the courtroom to raise the demand that honoring Murod and so many other fallen workers means smashing this system that places private property and profit over all else and replacing it with a worker-run communist society.
Multiracial unity for Murod
A multiracial, multigenerational group of at least 30 workers came to the traffic court today and rallied outside to protest the pitiful charges made against Cusack, and to demand a penalty fit for the crime. Our presence inside the courtroom was certainly felt, as demonstrated by the beefed-up security presence.
The guards didn’t miss a beat ordering people in the courtroom to not read, write, or talk. But even with all the threats and intimidation, one university student from Students for Justice in Palestine boldly kept raising an issue of our newspaper CHALLENGE with the headline “From the rivers to the seas, communism will set us free” for all to see.
Leanne Cusack pleaded innocent before the judge, apparently not even willing to accept blame for the pathetic traffic violation charge. Her sleazeball attorneys made empty statements of sympathy to Murod’s family members in attendance, but in practically the same breath pushed to discredit and undermine the testimony and evidence of his brother Suphi when he took the stand. In a cynical twist, one of the kkkops from Oak Lawn brought up to testify and help absolve Cusack from blame, Mark Hollingsworth, was one of the kkkops involved in the vicious beating of Arab teenager Hadi Abutelah in August of 2022!
In the end, the judge ruled her guilty with a penalty of a fine of only $750 and thirty hours of community service. This is nothing even resembling justice or a victory for a worker like Murod or his grieving family. As his brother sadly commented after the ruling, “She gets to go home with a $750 fine, and we get to go visit my brother in a graveyard.”
The capitalist system is guilty as hell – fight for communism
Despite the non-victory, this antiracist fight is far from over. The community groups involved in supporting Murod’s family are calling for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to formally file criminal charges against Leanne Cusack and for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to launch an independent investigation into the racist terror of the Oak Lawn Police Department.
While those of us in PLP fully support efforts to expand the scope of the struggle, we caution against having confidence that we can use the master’s tools to dismantle the racist structure of capitalism. Trusting in liberal misleader bosses such as Foxx and Raoul to deliver justice for our class has historically proven to be a dead-end. Either they fail to hold these racist killers accountable at all, or they make minor reforms that give the illusion that the system can work for us when it overwhelmingly never will. And even if Cusack received a harsher sentence, it would not address the racist conditions that imperil our brown working class brothers and sisters.
What lasts longer than any specific reform is the multiracial working-class unity cemented in struggles such as this one. We plan to continue fighting side by side with our fellow workers to advance a greater understanding of how capitalism works and how true justice will not occur until this miserable profit system is buried for good.
2023 was the year of rising capitalist crisis. Inter-imperialist rivalry continues to heat up between China and United states. The planet was the hottest year on record. Russia-Ukraine war continues. Wildfires and earthquakes ravage lives and environment. Bloody war tears up the working class in Sudan. The Apartheid regime of Israel commits genocide against the working class in Gaza.
But, 2023 was also the year of fightback. It was the year of strikes, 354 to be exact (Wall Street Journal, 12/4). From autoworkers to writers, healthcare workers to pilots, hundreds of thousands are seeing that the world as it is now is unsustainable. From the climate march to the protests against genocide in Gaza, workers and youth took to the streets. We must continue the fightback against racism, sexism, and capitalism. PLP, wherever we were, waged struggles against the bosses’ deadly system. We continue to carry the fight for communist revolution.
NOVEMBER 29, OAKLAND, CA—Class consciousness and anti-capitalism were on full display during the past weeks of actions to shut down business as usual in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tens of thousands marched in Oakland, San Francisco and outlying areas. Multi-generational, multi-racial\ethnic, international groups took action & power in the streets, in Schools and on the job. The actions focused on stopping the genocide in Gaza, shutting down APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation), and stopping IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) & End Capitalist Destruction of the Environment. Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members urged all working people and students to follow the examples of the internationalist-minded Palestinians and non-Zionist Jews, who are not united with their ruling elites and who emphasized the commonality of their struggles. We had the opportunity to tie these immediate struggles to the need & goal to destroy capitalism with a world-wide revolution and to build a communist world.
Imperialist rivalry on display
After Presidents Biden & Xi Jinping met, Biden laid out his “calming” assurance that the two imperialists had reached mutual agreement on three items: 1) limiting fentanyl production. 2) Open military communication channels and 3) The impact of AI. Then he made a “gaffe", calling Xi a dictator. As the PLP leaflet pointed out: U.S. and China bosses do play buddy-buddy, but the clash of their empires is inevitable. The Real Agenda: Biden & Xi Jinping seek to exploit & divide workers around the world while they compete for “allies” in their imperialist ventures. The Biden administration launched IPEF in 2021 as a U.S.-led alternative for countries in the Indo-Pacific Area who developed deeper economic ties to China; also, as an alternative to the Belt & Road Initiative. IPEF excludes China and includes some countries, not in APEC, like India. Some U.S. allies in the Americas accept capital investments from China. Some, now, criticize Israel as well as Hamas.
Protests overwhelm police repression and media propaganda
Demonstrators denouncing imperialism and genocide joined up at the SF Civic Center, Market St, Black Rock headquarters, (asset management), Democratic Party Convention in Sacrament. Many called for Free Palestine. At one demonstration, protestors physically surrounded CEOs as they sought to enter APEC Sessions: yelling & booing: “Shame, Shame” “Blood on your hands,” videoing CEOs for further shaming on the internet.
A day after Biden & Xi Jinping met, a coalition against genocide, racism and imperialism shut down the Bay Bridge; stopping traffic from Oakland to SF & disrupting those attending APEC(similar action happened on a bridge between Cambridge & Boston Ma.)
In sharp contrast to anti-imperialist, internationalism actions, groups of pro and anti-China demonstrators waved their national flags. They clashed, on the side-lines of APEC, over which capitalist bosses to support. (Asian Diaspora from Tibet, Hong Kong & Uyghurs vs groups that support Xi Jinping ruling class in China & hoped to meet with him.).
Education workers in OEA (Oakland Education Association), UESF (United educators of San Francisco) & UAW 2865 (adjuncts, grad students and others in the UC System) passed resolutions for ceasefire and no weapons for the Israeli war machine. SEIU 1021 (service workers) & United Service Workers West(many janitors)passed resolutions calling for ceasefire.
The Belgian Transport Union has refused to load arms for Israel.
No war but class war
PLP members’ experience at these actions brought home, in a real way, that thousands have turned fear and cynicism into anger and solidarity; particularity against imperialist genocide in Gaza. We got a great reception to our posters, CHALLENGE and flyers. (see pictures) Many eagerly responded to “No War but Class War”; “Stop the Genocide”, “Read a communist leaflet about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza.” We focused on the interconnected oppression of capitalist rule in the USA to the oppression\genocide that imperialism brings down on workers around the world; especially with their junior partner, the Israel ruling class.
Tax dollars needed for public services like education and transit exported to fund the Israeli military, (i.e. cash for profit in the U.S. armament industry
Export of Israeli military training\intelligence to police departments in the USA which carry out racist attacks on Black, brown and low-income communities. C)$44 million for a new “Cop Campus”, regional training center, in San Pablo Ca. (near SF & Oakland). D) Needing to maximize profit demands that the US capitalists carry out with fascist attacks on immigrant labor with prisons, murder & family separation, similar to Israeli capitalists’ fascist attacks on immigrant labor inside Israel and Gaza. E) the history of US capitalism’s displacement of indigenous peoples from “manifest destiny,” westward expansion to US imperialist actions throughout the “Americas” with wars and support of fascist coups. Some people were not aware of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s infamous statement about the death of 500,000 Iraqi children from US war\sanctions: "I think that is a very hard choice, but the price, we think, the price is worth it.” Such conversations helped us to get names and several young people invited us to come to the actions they were planning to Shut Down APEC.
Internationalism & nationalism both on display
We, in PLP, learned a lot from the contradictions expressed in these actions. While groups were formed around nationality or national borders, expressed ethnic identity, carried Palestinian flags or focused on particular issues like climate, police terror, or the unhoused, they also contained multi racial\ethnic approaches and called for international unity among working people. In common struggle, there is plenty of room to argue that nationalism is no way out for working people. The worldwide solution is for the international working class to run society, with no borders; that means communism.
During the protests, we explained our communist goals: PLP strives to build the world-wide movement for revolution and for a share and share alike, communism: no capitalist profits, no wage-system, no national borders, no racism, no sexism, working class unity with class siblings around the world. We expressed our confidence that a mighty working class won’t be stopped when armed with commitment to production/distribution for the need and ability for all to contribute to an emerging communist world.
What is APEC?
In APEC’s own words: “Cooperation” means to “ensure that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders. by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.” APEC trade deals cover 60 percent of global energy systems and impact some of the most climate-vulnerable areas of the world ( https://www.apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/)
*1,200 global, corporate CEOs (including: General Motors, Exxon, Chevron, Citibank, Tesla, SpaceX’s Musk, Boeing & big tech like Microsoft), 20+ heads of state (including Biden & Xi Jinping), 30,000 lobbyists, corporate execs, & international media. President Xi Jinping met with American business leaders at a $2,000-per-plate dinner.
Trying to make SF look good on the world stage, the SF city bosses spent thousands to “clean up the City.” Homeless workers were removed from downtown areas. Some businesses were shut down. Bridge and freeway exits/entrances were blocked. There was a huge police\security presence. The media blasted that a great opportunity was coming to San Francisco to capture investments from “domestic and international” Finance Capital and to change its tarnished image as a failing city.