The news this morning gave me a strange feeling. Twice. Here’s the first:
If you’ve read ‘Gate of Tears’ you’ll know how the plot involves growing Chinese naval power and their first aircraft carriers. The facts: China bought the ‘Varyag’ aircraft carrier (and plans) from the Ukraine some time ago, and has been refitting her for several years at Dalian shipyard. Many sceptics argues that she would never see the open sea. Well, she has seen the open sea, and the news is making the rounds in world naval circles.
She is now called Shi Lang. She is named after a Ming-Qing admiral who was commander in chief of the Manchu fleets. Wikipedia tells me that he conquered the Kindom of Tungning.
Tungning is now known as Taiwan. Is this a coded message here from the Chinese Navy?
In Gate of Tears, the Shi Lang (yes, I got that right in the book) sees action in the Gulf of Aden against NATO forces.
It’s eerie – this stuff I wrote about is turning into fact. I hope Taiwan is off the menu for now.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the other strange feeling, another aspect of the story becoming reality…
The story about the carrier Shi Lang can be found here
