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THE leader in this week’s Economist magazine addresses the
“Chinese rage” over the disruption caused to the world-wide tour
of the Olympic flame. It cites the rage as being “out of all
proportion to the alleged offenses”, an opinion with which I
agree.
During the initial demons-trations over Chinese
rule in Tibet (Xizang), the Chinese authorities undertook to educate
(or re-educate) Tibetan monks in national patriotism. This statement
begs the question as to why it should be thought necessary to
educate people in national patriotism? An Orwellian idea. What
appears to have happened over the few weeks between the torch’s
departure from Olympia in March and its arrival in San Francisco is
that there has been a worldwide mobilization of Chinese nationalist
sentiment, to the point where in Australia the pro-Chinese
spectators outnumbered the anti-Chinese spectators. Is this because
the Chinese people, as Xinhua would have us believe have been
“righteously indignant” about criticism by much of the world
over their human rights record and have decided to go out and show
public support for China centered nominally around the flame tour,
or is it something deeper than that?
I was living in Beijing at the time of the
rocketing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Although warned
against it, I went out to watch the Chinese laobaixing (ordinary
people) expressing their “righteous indignation” over the event
at the US and British Embassies. The demonstrators had been brought
by numbered buses from the various universities in Beijing to the
diplomatic quarters, they were led off the buses by people carrying
flags, to positions outside the relevant Embassies and then, on a
signal, started their demonstrations. After a while at the blow of a
whistle, the students all returned to their numbered buses and were
driven away whence they had come. TV and newspaper coverage showed
wild looking crowds of demonstrators outside the Embassies throwing
rotten eggs and other missiles—the wrath of the Chinese people.
The power of Xinhua news-agency is not to be
underrated. It is the national propaganda agency of China and has
astonishing influence on Chinese opinion and Chinese thought, not
only in China but worldwide. There are over 2,000 daily newspapers
produced in China and with very few exceptions, they all say the
same thing and contain the same opinions and views! There are also
countless TV stations giving the same opinions and views—woe
betide any journalist who writes something counter to the best
interests of the “Party”.
The Chinese government has for many years tried
very hard through educational curricula and the media to instill
correct political thinking and behavior into its subjects. Pride in
national identity (and xenophobia) is a key element of this, and
these bits seem to stick (“one nation one family”) when every TV
station closes down for the day. Any Chinese can tell you about the
awfulness of the Opium Wars and the sacking of the Summer Palace. To
sustainably instill correct political thinking is more difficult it
seems, laobaixing do not have too much time for political dogma and
as China’s economy develops further in its skewed looking unequal
way, then about 80 percent of the population (involved in
agriculture) will have even less time for politics and will need to
spend more time on worrying where the next meal is going to come
from.
China desperately wants to be seen as a world
power after so many years of isolation and so many perceived
historic slights to its national pride at the hands of “evil and
rapacious” foreigners. It demands respect from the rest of the
world, yet in today’s world respect has to be earned, it must not
be demanded, that turns people against you. Despite the undoubted
and growing economic clout of the nation (supported by the
multilaterals who continue to pour in development aid to the
World’s biggest foreign exchange reserve country), it will not be
earned by mobilization of the “righteous indignation of the
Chinese people” at every incident of external criticism. Is there
any other country in the World which would exhibit the same
widespread level of national fervor over a perceived slight which
damaged the public relations surrounding China hosting the Olympics
? Do they really want the world to tremble at China’s wrath? I
hope not.
It’s time to mature and to start to integrate
with the developed world, not to shout at it and vilify winners of
the Nobel Peace Prize and respected international media whilst at
the same time exhibiting a distinct lack of transparency over human
rights (“internal matters, not anybody else’s business”). Who
is it that is politicizing the Olympics?
The laobaixing are no doubt pleased and proud
that the Olympics are to be held in China and those who can afford
the tickets and the travel costs are looking forward to seeing an
extravaganza of an event and much good sportsmanship. Let’s hope
there is not too much loud trumpeting about the number of gold
medals that the Chinese athletes win beating the foreigners. Turn
down the volume China please, it’s unbecoming.
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Mike can be contacted at mawootton@gmail.com
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