Rich and Chan, Best Buddies?

Some nationalistic people may think that my writing is anti-Chinese, but before you decide, consider the following allegoric story.

-------------------------------

Rich and Chan were best buddies and always watched each other’s backs.

Chan had a cute, little girlfriend called Tai. One day Tai ran off with the local gym owner, Tyson. Tyson, was a gnarly, old fighter with muscles on his muscles and experienced at breaking people’s skulls. He didn’t really care too much for Tai and just dallied with her for his own amusement and also to see how much it enraged Chan, who he saw as his younger competitor.

Every time Chan saw Tyson and Tai together he would fly into an uncontrollable rage. He promised himself he would get revenge upon Tyson and win back Tai, if it was the last thing he ever did.

At Chan’s suggestion, they both joined Tyson’s gym. Rich thought it would be a cool way to get fit and meet some hot-chicks, but for Chan, it only served one purpose. It was all part of his revenge plan to win back Tai. Both Rich and Chan worked hard at the gym and were soon fit looking guys, but for Chan, it wasn’t enough. He wanted bigger muscles, ones that could match Tyson’s pound for pound. So, he started looking around for people who could help him. At the same time, Chan landed a great job and started earning lots of money. Chan’s plan to avenge himself on Tyson and win back Tai now had no bounds. He had limitless money, and so people, who didn’t have Chan’s best interest at heart, but rather his money, started supplying and promising all kinds of things.

“Yeah man, if you ever get into trouble with Tyson, we’ll help you, for sure. Erh, can you lend me a $100?”

“Dude, if you really want to beat Tyson, then you have to take these drugs. They cost $1000.”

By now, Chan’s mind and body was so full of weak promises and body enhancing drugs that he stopped listening to his best mate, Rich.

“Hey, let’s go out and party tonight? Pull some chicks and have fun.” Rich would suggest.

But Chan was not interested, all he wanted to do was go to the gym, so that one day he could match up to Tyson, beat him and win back Tai.

Oh, by the way, so much time had passed by now that Tai wasn’t even seeing Tyson anymore. In fact she was spending most of her time with Chan, who she secretly still loved, but Chan couldn’t see it because he was still too angry. Tyson would occasionally give her gifts, which would send Chan into another downward spiral of anger and hatred.

Rich would try to counsel Chan,

“Dude, Tai’s yours man, all you have to do is accept her for who she is and you can be together.”

But Chan wouldn’t listen. The only way in his heart he could take back Tai is by humiliating Tyson in a fight and regaining the face he had lost. For him, this was the only way Tai would respect him. So their relationship remained stunted for years. What a pity.

One day the time came, Chan looked in the mirror, he saw his huge bulging muscles, full of youth and vitality. He looked over at Tyson, who looked tired and slightly off colour. Now was HIS time. Time to teach Tyson the long awaited lesson for the loss of face he’d suffered all these years. As the argument between Tyson and Chan escalated, everyone in the gym took sides. Many of Chan’s pretend friends encouraged him on.

“Yeah man, you can have Tyson now, you can be the new man on the block.”

But really they didn’t care, they only cared about the money they made from him and how much more money they could make from him if he was the new number one.

Only Rich and Tai stood in the way of Tyson and Chan fighting.

“Dude!” Rich cried, “It’s not worth it. You could lose everything. Think about it. Look at us, we’re good looking guys, we can have any girl we want. Why are you going to throw it all away over this crazy bitterness you've held all these years? Plus, Tai is yours, she loves you. Just accept her, and let go of the anger.”

Tai was standing right next to Chan and pleaded with him not to fight. "Chan, I love you, but you have to let go of the anger."

But Chan could not hear his best buddies, Rich or Tai. He pushed them aside and lashed out at Tyson’s face with a wicked left hook.

For a few minutes it looked like Tyson was going to go down, Chan’s youth, vitality and passion burst out in a vicious onslaught. But Tyson was a tried and tested, old fighter. He slowly rallied until he reigned down the most ferocious of all attacks upon Chan. In the melee Tai was also hit and lay on the floor struggling for life.

By the end of the fight, Chan’s ‘pretend’ friends had all slipped away, realizing that Tyson had comprehensively won and was still number one. Only Rich was left to help Chan and Tai to the hospital.

Tai died from her head injuries and Chan had suffered so terribly that he was never able to recover to his former self.

Old Tyson got off scott-free, because he was able to convince the court that it was Chan that attacked him, so he was only acting in self-defense. As for Tai’s death, the court was not able to prove whether it was Chan or Tyson that hit her, so he got away with that too.

Rich had done everything he could to prevent the fight, but it just wasn’t enough, because Chan’s hatred was just too great. Rich was Chan's greatest buddy and supporter and tried everything he knew to get Chan off his self-destructive path of bitterness.

THE END

For those of you who are really no good at Allegoric stories.

Rich is me, or any other China watcher who loves China and doesn’t want to see in get into a war it can’t win

Chan is obviously China

Tai is Taiwan

And of cause Old Tyson is the United States and its Pacific allies.

Oh, and all of the ‘weasel’ friends that Chan made are all the authoritarian regimes that say they’ll support China, but in reality are as good as useless.