It's too simplistic, but mainstream American politics can be divided into a line between left and right. To use personalities, it goes from

Far Left (Dennis Kucinich), Left (Howard Dean), Center Left (Hillary Clinton), Center (John McCain), Center Right (George Bush), Right (Newt Gingrich), Far Right (Patrick Buchanan)

All of these people either have or will run for a major party's nomination for President. Farther left than Kucinich, or farther right than Buchanan, someone can't even do that.

Websites also mirror this spread -- Democratic Underground is far left while Free Republic is far right. In a future post I'll look at with the Far Right is saying about Asia today, but below are average Democratic Underground "far left" comments on Asian issues...

On Human Rights

Art_from_ark
Mr. Hu should own up to what his own farkin government did in Tiennamen Square on June 4, 1989

Pigwidgeon
So, does anyone know when Mr. Hu is scheduled to submit China's apology to the Dalai Lama for the rape of Tibet?

On Japanese-Chinese Relations

aneerkoinois
Chinese goal is regime change in Japan and cutting alliance and servitude to US, after which Taiwan will fall into Chinese lap like a ripe fruit.

aneerkoinois (again)
We in the West always think in terms of Aristotelian 'Law of the Excluded Middle', but in the East they don't. They accept the 'both and' also as logically valid.

orwell
So while the US bludgeons its way across the world stage, leaving car bombs and prison scandals in its wake, China puts another boot squarely up the ass of Uncle Sam, expanding their sphere of influence through trade and third world development.

igil
France and China have no such scruples. China says it can legally and properly invade Taiwan; France says, Fine ... now, about that contract?

And China has the cash to buy loyalty. As the US once did.

On Koizumi's Apology

"LostinVA
Exactly,. I think people are too quick to gloss this over because of the Chinese government's less-than-stellar actions. There are still people alive who suffered horribly. China definitely experienced a holocaust at Japanese hands, and the lack of official remorse by the Japanese government has been a continual slap in the face to WWII's survivors. Not teaching what really happened -- or worse, making it sound like it was a GOOD thing they did for China -- is a punch in the face after the slap. I think the rise of RW Nationalism in Japan is directly related to people not being educated about this.

Durant
Makes you wonder if Chinese textbooks.. contain references to the people murdered in the Cultural Revolutionthe millions slaughtered by Mao and his henchmen during his reign of terror. Or how much the people of Tibet (what few Tibetans there are) love the Chinese occupation of their homeland. Somehow I doubt it...

ClarkUSA
Do we judge Israeli policy now when analyzing what Jews had to suffer during WWII under the Germans? Japan brutalized Asia as much as the Germans brutalized Europe during WWII. Japan may want to get a clue and emulate the Germans post-war, too.

Conclusion: the far left of mainstream American politics share the following beliefs on Asia

• China's government is repressive
• China's government was even worse in the past
• Japan's World War II actions are equivalent to genocide
• China is deeply hostile to American and Japanese interests in Asia
• China's leadership is much more competent than America's leadership, including their non-Western though patterns

Whether these views are accurate, or whether I accurately captured the mainstream far left, is left to the reader.

What are the views of the mainstream far right? That is a post for another time...