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May=20 2010

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China/USA

Do American= Sinologists and Reporters Really
Understand= China?

By Emily=20 SUN

CWR Student = Correspondent=20
City University of Hong Kong - Hong Kong,=20 = China

Before our this month's article, please&nbs= p;just have look at the following
news:=

Reprinted From the Washington=20 Post

By John Pomfret
Washington Post&nbs= p;Staff Writer
Monday, March 15, 2010

BEIJING --China's government has embraced= an =20

increasingly anti-Western tone=20 in recent months

and is adopting policies across a wide = spectrum=20

that reflect a=20 = heightened fear of foreign influence.

The = ;shift has accelerated as China has emerged= stronger from the

global financial meltdown, with a world-bea= ting=20 economic expansion

rate and a growing nationalist = movement. =20 China has long felt bullied

by the West, and its stronger stance is = challenging=20 the long-held

assumption shared among Western and Chinese = businessmen,

academics and government officials that a = more=20 powerful and

prosperous China would be more positively = inclined=20 toward Western

values and=20 = systems.

China's shift is occurring thro= ughout society, and is reflected in

government policy and in a new attitud= e toward the West. Over the

past year, the government of President = ;Hu Jintao has rolled back

market-oriented reforms by encouraging = China's=20 state-owned

enterprises to forcibly buy private firms. = In=20 the past weeks, China
announced plans to = force=20 Western companies to turn over their most

sensitive technology and patents to Chinese = competitors in exchange

for access to the country's=20 = markets.

Internally, it has carried out&= nbsp;more arrests and indictments for

endangering state security over the past&nb= sp;two years than in the

five-year period from 2003 to 2007, = according to a=20 report released

Friday by the Dui Hua Foundation, a San=20 Francisco-based human

rights=20 = organization.

China has also reined in&n= bsp;the news media and attempted to control=

the Internet more=20 = vigorously than in the past. This month,&nb= sp;it

announced regulations designed to make it&n= bsp;harder for China's fledgling

community of nongovernmental organizations to&nb= sp;get financial support

from overseas. In foreign affairs, after&nb= sp;years of playing down differences,

it has reverted to a tone not hea= rd in more than a decade, condemning <= /DIV>

recent=20 = U.S. decisions to sell weapons to Taiwan&nb= sp;and to have President

Obama meet the=20 = exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama.
=
"This is a fundamental shift, and I've&= nbsp;been here a long time," said
James= L. McGregor, a=20 senior counselor with the public affairs firm =

Apco China. "It's a change in = national=20 attitude.

For their part, senior Chinese leaders = ;bristle at the notion that China is <= /DIV>

turning away=20 = from reforms or is reluctant to cooperate&n= bsp;with Western

nations. In a news conference=20 = on Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao said he =

was aware of "theories about China's a= rrogance, toughness and

triumphalism," but rejected them. Asked abo= ut widespread criticism of

China's hard-line position at the U.N. = Climate=20 Change Conference in

Copenhagen, for example, Wen replied: = "It=20 still baffles me why some

people continue to make an issue about=20 = China."

Nonetheless, China's legislature, who= se annual session ended this

weekend, also showed the trend toward = toughness. With a reported

700,000 security personnel=20 = posted throughout the city for the 10-day=20

session, Beijing was in a virtual = lockdown. =20 Inside the Great Hall of the

People, the proposals -- albeit spurious -- = put=20 forward by the delegates

to the National People's Congress included = calls=20 for all Internet cafes to
be taken over by = the=20 government and a declaration that all cellphones =

should be equipped with surveillance=20 = cameras.

The shift does not bode we= ll for U.S.-=20 China relations. The Obama

administration=20 = entered office with an ambitious China agen= da

comprising plans to cooperate on climate=20 = change, curbing the nuclear

ambitions of Iran and North Korea, and= stabilizing the global financial

system. In China, those plans are gene= rally viewed by the party
leadership as= a trap to overextend and weaken the&n= bsp;country, according

to a Chinese official who=20 = spoke on the condition of anonymity because=

he would lose his = job if his=20 name=20 = were published.

In his news conference, W= en also seemed disinclined to bend to =

another American demand -- = that=20 China allow its currency, the yuan,

to appreciate against the dollar,=20 = which (theoretically) would boost

U.S. exports. Wen countered that he di= dn't think the yuan is

undervalued and that the U.S. method o= f seeking to enlarge exports
through tw= eaking currency exchange rates is "protectionist= ."

The change comes during what a&n= bsp;leading Chinese economist, Hu

Angang, in an=20 = interview called "the longest golden era in= China

since the opium wars" of the=20 = 1840s, when British warships forced

China to open to trade. From its = position as=20 an impoverished,=20 = developing country, it has jumped into the&= nbsp;ranks of the powerful.

But the = ;closer China gets to a variety of fir= sts --=20 No. 1 exporting

nation and even No. 1 economy=20 in the world -- the more its =

government seems to exhibit a nagging = insecurity=20 and opposition to

the=20 = West.

"The Chinese people are no lo= nger embarrassed about being Chinese,"

said Wang=20 = Xiaodong, a leading nationalist writer who = has co-authored=20

a series of popular books with titles such = as=20 "China Is Unhappy," which

capitalized on the growing anti-Western=20 trend. "The time when China

worshipped the West is over. We have = a=20 rightful sense of=20 = superiority."

"People are now looking do= wn on the West, from leadership circles&nbs= p;to

academia to everyday folk," said Kang = Xiaoguang, a professor at Renmin

University who studies=20 = NGOs and Confucius.

The turn away from&nb= sp;the West is evidenced within China's lea= dership.
China's previouspresident, Jiang Zemin,&= nbsp;is widely thought to have been

pro-American. He was fond of reciting = the=20 Gettysburg Address and

crooning American songs. During a = trip to the=20 United States in 1997,

he took the politically risky move of = announcing=20 that China welcomed

continued U.S. engagement in Asia -- = including the=20 stationing of

American troops. On the other hand, = Hu, who=20 took power in 2002,

is the first Communist leader with no = experience=20 outside the current

system.

Other factors are at play.&= nbsp;It is campaign season in Beijing. In&n= bsp;two years,

the leadership=20 = of the Communist Party will undergo a = huge transition,

with as many as seven of the nine= seats of the=20 Standing Committee of

the Politburo --=20 = the center of power --up for grabs. No= thing looks

better=20 = in China than being tough on the West.=

Secondly, despite its apparent successes,&nbs= p;China's leadership continues

to be alarmed by=20 international developments -- such as = the=20 "color

revolutions" inside the former Soviet Union = -- and=20 domestic ones as well,

such as the anti-Chinese riots in Tibet in = 2008 and=20 the northwest

province of Xinjiang last=20 = year.

A recent example is how the&n= bsp;party reacted to the threat by the = ;Internet

search company Google,=20 = which said it would leave the country = if China

continued to censor the=20 = Internet. Concerned about an outpouring of =

support in China for the American com-= pany, the Ministry of Propaganda

framed the=20 = ssue not as an argument over freedom b= ut as part of a U.S.

strategy to contain and isolate China.
<= BR>On Friday, Li Yizhong, China's minister = of industry and information

technology, issued China's toughest statement&nb= sp;on the dispute yet. "If

you want to do something that disobeys= Chinese law and regulations,
you are&n= bsp;unfriendly, you are irresponsible, and you&n= bsp;will have to pay the

consequences," he warned.

China's policy= changes have met with opposition. Not = ;all of its efforts to

nationalize=20 = private companies have succeeded. And China's&nb= sp;plans to

compel Western businesses=20 = to share their technology have prompted a&n= bsp;

backlash from a community that does no= t like to criticize China openly.

On that front, Wen on Sunday seemed&nb= sp;to give in a little.

"I must say&= nbsp;I am still not in very close touc= h with foreign businessmen

doing work in China," he acknowledged. = ;"In the next three years=20 I will

create more opportunities...to listen to = your=20 = views."

Commentary

=

Nowadays, it seems there are mo= re and more news or articles by =20 =
criticizing China from kinds of aspects,&nb= sp;such as politics, economy and
so on,= and most are these=20 = articles are written by American sinologists&nbs= p;
=
or reporters. And maybe just because=20 = these articles are written by

those=20 = sinologists who are considered as owning pr= ofessional=20 knowledge

about China and=20 = those reporters who are considered as=20 = spreaders of
immediate news, those articles&= nbsp;are likely=20 = convincing to most of American

readers,=20 = especially those who know little=20 about China (e.g. Chinese
=
Culture, Chinese history, Chinese people an= d so on). However, even=20 =
those sinologists, do they really=20 = understand China? Do they really

understand the ideas of=20 = Chinese decision makers, as well as the&nbs= p;ideas
=
of Chinese civilians?

=
A sample example: to an American joke,= Americans can laugh to death

because they=20 = think it very funny, however, Chinese peopl= e may not feel
=
that joke funny, and even can not = ;understand that joke. Why? Because it =
is not just a joke, but it contai= ns=20 some=20 = American culture background and

elements. Also,=20 = to a Chinese joke, Chinese people think&nbs= p;it funny, but
=
Americans can not understand. Even those&nb= sp;American sinologist, if Chinese
=
civilians tell them some Chinese jokes = ;which, will they really feel those
=
jokes funny as Chinese people? Even th= ough those American sinologists
=
may study Chinese culture and think th= emselves know well about China,
=
they never merge in this culture, they= are never born or live in this c= ulture,
so they may not understand Chin= ese culture deeply. Besides, about this article, don't you find any doubtful ideas= ?

Firstly,=20 the writer of this news thought that The = turn away=20 from the
West is evidenced within China's=20 leadership. And he thought the=20 proof

was China's previous president, Jiang = Zemin, is=20 widely thought to have

been pro-American. On the other = hand, Hu,=20 who took power in 2002,

is the first Communist leader with = no=20 experience outside the current

system. However, if based on = the=20 writer's view, the recent prime

minister in Japan should have to be closer = to=20 America than his precursor

was, because the recenr prime minister has = even=20 studied and taught

in some American university. But in = fact, we=20 cannot see such evidence

that is closer to America at all.

=20 =
Secondly, in a society or nation, = ;its own culture elements may be
=
contained or hidden in kinds of aspect= s, including a policy's making
=
and so on. People may can not acc= ept some other culture, but=20 can

we really decisively identify some culture = is=20 correct or some culture

is incorrect?

And if you force = some=20 people to accept your culture or you force =

them to change their culture into your own = culture,=20 then isn't it an

invasion to a = culture?

Thirdly, the=20 writer said: Concerned about an = outpouring of=20 support
in China for the American company, the = Ministry=20 of Propaganda

framed the issue not as an argument = over=20 freedom but as part of

an American strategy to contain and = isolate=20 China. Then we have

no doubt that since the White House has = meddled in=20 immediately,

why should Chinese government only = considered it as=20 an issue

about the freedom of information because it = will be=20 the business

of China itself?

In the next month's articles, there will be = some=20 other Chinese civilian's

comments about such news and = articles.

To be continued... ...

Reading=20 Lincoln's Death, I Cried ...=20 ...

=

Abraham Lincoln, it is sure tha= t this name is well known by us. = Abraham =20
Lincoln,=20 = among the more than thirty American preside= nts, the presidents
=
that truly interest Chinese people=20 may be only four: Geroge Washington,

Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and = Franklin=20 Delano Roosevelt.

Among them, Lincoln may be the most = admirable one=20 in Chinese people's

heart.

The reasons why Chinese people admire = ;him is not only that his efforts and&= nbsp;=20 =
achievements on the unification of America&= nbsp;and the liberation of slave, but =
also his respectable character. In the = ;hearts of Chinese people who know
=
Lincoln, he is an honest, modest, dili= gent and great man.

Even lots of young children in China&= nbsp;are admire to Lincoln. There is story&= nbsp;=20 =
about Lincoln in the textbook of sixth= grade primary school pupil, named
=
the son of shoemaker. The story tells&= nbsp;that Lincoln's family was very poor when he was young, however, he still=20 worked hard and studied hard even

though he was too poor to study at = school. =20 The story also tells that

Lincoln was once laughed by a senator when = he was=20 elected the U.S.

president, but he was not angry, instead, = he said=20 calmly to the senator:

"I am appreciate that you draw my memory = about my=20 father. He has

passed by. But I am the son of a = shoemaker=20 forever. I will never be

a remarkable president as my father did as = a=20 shoemaker." Also, he

said to the senator: "As far as I = know, my=20 father has also made shoes

for your family before. If your shoes = are not=20 comfortable, I can help

you fo fix it, even though I am not a = shoemaker as=20 great as my father

was."

This story abo= ut Lincoln is used to educate children = ;how to be a tolerant, =20

confident=20 man. Actually, this story not only moves = those=20 young students

but also=20 lots of adult.=20

= A friend once&= nbsp;told me: "I admire Lincoln so much.&nb= sp;How much I wish that I =20
can see this&n= bsp;great man! =20 When I read his death in the biography about=20

him, I=20 cried."

=

Contact = Information:=20
Emily=20 SUN

Email: =20 Emily@CWRMagOnline.com
Blog: VCXChinaUSA.spaces.live.com/=20 =

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