World News and Trends: The Growing Danger of China and Russia
American network television anchorman Dan Rather soberly reminded newspaper readers recently that "the world remains a tough, dangerous neighborhood" and that big trouble may be brewing for the West in China and Russia.
He concluded his article in The Houston Chronicle with a comment the two nations bear close watching, especially in the near future.
This year the news out of Beijing has not been good for the West. For instance, President Jiang Zenin asserts that socialism will defeat capitalism and China will continue its path under Marxism. The Chinese government frequently makes threatening noises against Taiwan, which the Western press used to refer to as Nationalist China. Beijing thinks in terms of "one China" and has sold Western countries on this concept. Even so, the West does not want Chinese unity with Taiwan if it involves military force from the mainland.
The disturbing news that China has the technology to build a neutron bomb greatly concerns Western nations. This type of nuclear weapon is designed to kill many people with deadly radiation while leaving inanimate objects—buildings, bridges, roads, etc.—intact. Beijing is supposedly making "final preparations to test-fire a new mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that the CIA believes will incorporate stolen U.S. missile and warhead secrets." And we thought the Cold War was over.
The Russian danger is similar. Consider a recent report from The Times (London): "American officials believe that Russia may have stolen some of the nation's most sensitive military secrets, including weapons guidance systems and naval intelligence codes, in a concerted espionage offensive that investigators have called operation Moonlight Maze."
Spying in cyberspace apparently is the means. American experts talk of a "digital Pearl Harbor." Hackers have entered U.S. systems from an overseas site. A White House official said, "It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of this problem. The president is very concerned about it."
Another cause for Western concern is the political, social and economic sickness plaguing the Russian state. Cabinet members are changed and exchanged like a pair of gloves. Public health is in crisis, and the national economy is in tatters. The West fears severe economic pressures will tempt some to sell nuclear technology to unsavory nations and terrorist groups. Russia looks like fertile ground for more intrigue or worse.
Mr. Rather pointed out that both China and Russia "may not be headed for a new alliance against the West," but "vigilance in the West is needed more than ever, along with a willingness to consider the unthinkable." (Sources: The Houston Chronicle; The Washington Times; The Los Angeles Times; The Times [London], The Express [London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 1999
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
