On the surface, the current upset between China and Japan seems ridiculous. (Illustration from Paulnoll.com. Mr. Noll was a corporal during the Korean conflict.)

That the heirs of Mao , that the Butchers of Beijing should lecture anyone about human rights seems absurd.

China puts more people to death each year than any country in the world. (Yes, even more than Texas.) China is a brutal dictatorship that oppresses its people as no other country, the most Totalitarian regime on Earth. My mentioning this may get Corante blocked to all of China, by the state's firewall system, the most extensive Internet censorship regime on the planet.

By contrast, Emperor Hirohito and the brutal system he led are dead. Japan acknowledged its sins in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco and has since been a functioning democracy where politicians must accomodate the views of voters. Japan's Constitution forbids it to make war on its neighbors. Japan contributes more to good causes than any other national governnment.

This is power politics. China is pushing Japan out of the world power picture, letting Taiwan know that resistance is futile, and successfully challenging America's status as a Great Power. Just 12 years ago we were The Hyperpower. Now we're becoming second rate, losing our status to tyrants.

The reaction in the U.S. to all this has been silence. Deafening silence.

Few U.S. outlets have covered the story. The right-wing Cybercast "News" Service actually offered a balanced perspective. The New York Times offers only a fearful editorial on possible Chinese revaluation of the Yuan -- at another time this would be called appeasement.

The reason for this silence is not subject to dispute.

China has us by our toaster ovens. (I'm trying to run a family blog here.)

Britain addicted China to opium in the 19th century. We're addicted to the product of cheap labor in the 21st.

We've sold our collective soul for the bargains at Wal-Mart.

Declan McCullagh of News.Com warned yesterday against breaking the silence. Our technology sector is more dependent on China than any other. Democrats can bleat because they are powerless. The Administration must be more circumspect.

In a way, he's right. As I noted in my novel The Chinese Century , China could bury our economy with the stroke of a pen. In my novel the Chinese leaders are benign, even heroic. It's a novel. I have no idea how they are in real life, but these latest moves disturb me. They show a China more interested in dominance than stability.

So what can be done?

First, break the silence. The time has come for some serious self-criticism (the illustration is from a Canadian study guide on China's Cultural Revolution). We need an economic game plan that works for our nation, not just our consumers. Free trade and suicide should not be the same thing.

Second, acknowledge that winning back our independence won't be the work of a day. There's no quick fix.

Third, start implementing the game plan. That means education, science, technology, economic nationalism, and incentives for bringing chip plants (for starters) back home, at least to Mexico and Costa Rica, within our sphere of influence.

Fourth, use the truth. Demand freedom for the Chinese people. Break the firewall. Sell more of our degenerate culture. You know their kids want it. They should have it.

The short-term outcome of all this is going to be extraordinarily painful. But the sooner begun, the sooner done. Waiting for the rug to be pulled out on China's schedule will just make our country a permanent Chinese satellite.

Admit the truth now. Break the silence.