弱國無外交 [Weak states ~ no diplomacy] (#196, Topic H)

Today's Washington Post's headline reads: "U.S., France Agree On Plan to Halt Lebanon Fighting - Beirut, Hezbollah Balk at U.N. Terms." This reminds of a Chinese saying, which is the title of today's entry. It may be translated as: "Weak states conduct no diplomacy." In the early part of the 20th century, China was a weak country -- she still is, now known as a developing country. After WWI, the League of Nations, the U.N. at the time, had meetings after meetings, mainly to decide on how the world should be carved among the powers. At that time, Germany had territorial concessions from China -- as I noted, China was a weak country. With Germany defeated, one would think that Germany's concessions in China would be returned to China. Perish the thought. The powers had better ideas; they gave these concessions to Japan. Why? No reason -- at least none was communicated to China. Was China at the negotiation table when such decisions were made? At, no; on, yes. China was not at the table; China was on the table. If these powers sitting around the table were gourmets, China was a dish placed on the table, ready to be carved and dished out as those sitting around the table saw fit. Did China object? Of course, China had its diplomatic delegation at the League of Nations. But, 弱國無外交; the Chinese delegation was not there to participate in the decision making; the delegation was there to receive whatever the powers decided. Today's WP ends with a quote from a scholar at Brookings (as well as at U of Maryland): "They ['primarily France and the United States'] have been doing it [drafting a U.N. resolution] in a vacuum; they haven't been talking to Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is a key party here." So, this Chinese saying, which was true in the 20th century, remains so in the 21st century.