Hu Jintao will visit the U.S. again very soon, and I have a few questions for my Chinese friends.
Why is it only the Falun Gong that protests? The last time Hu visited the U.S., in 2008, I went down to Washington Square, and was disappointed to find that the vast majority of protesters were Falun Gong. Why is it that ordinary Chinese citizens and immigrants living here don't also protest? Why is it that the only two choices are: to be with the Falun Gong, or to show support for the CCP?
Forget about the big, controversial issues like Falun Gong, Taiwan, and Tibet; I just want to ask all of you, are you all happy with the Chinese communist government? Happy with the fact that they have Liu Xiaobo in prison? What about their treatment of Hu Jia and a hundred other activists? Happy with the harassment and intimidation of human rights lawyers?
When was the last time you went back to China and tried to get on the Internet? Are you okay with the Great Firewall and the fact that people in China don't have the freedom to read what they want, so that they can make up their own minds about important issues? Don't you know you couldn't even have this discussion if you were in China -- that it's impossible to send any email in cleartext with the words "Falun Gong"? And forget about trying to write a blog post or a comment that's critical of the government - they are all deleted within hours (if not minutes) of being posted.
Are you happy with the one-party system in China? With the fact that it is not democratic - that people can't vote for their own representatives in government? With the fact that the state completely controls the media?
Protesting in front of Hu Jintao doesn't mean that you're betraying your country. There is a difference between China and the Chinese Communist Party. Americans protest their government all the time, and although a few right-wing extremists would call them traitors, they are not. Why should loving your country mean you're not allowed to criticize it?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
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The answer to your blog title question “why don’t the ordinary Chinese people here in the U.S. protest their government?”
ReplyDeleteis because the majority of the ordinary Chinese-Americans in US and their families and friends in China are happy with what is going on in China in general. Please see the following two links:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/23/chinese-satisfied-with-government/
http://pewglobal.org/2008/12/18/global-public-opinion-in-the-bush-years-2001-2008/
The short answer to other questions in your blog is NO. I am not happy with all the issues brought up in your blog.
However, don’t expect me to join the camp of such sinophobias as Falungong, Taiwan and Tibet separatists, etc. who protest everything Chinese.
By the same token, don’t expect to see me in all the protests against US government even though I have been very unhappy with such issues in this country as the invasion of Iraq, unlawful detention, torture, rendition, and our own human rights, liberties, treatment of its minorities, such as Native Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, Chinese-Americans, and on and on.
Thanks very much for commenting on my blog! I don't get many visitors here, so I am happy that you decided to read and comment.
ReplyDeleteI looked over that pages you linked to. They confirm what I already knew, that most Chinese are pretty happy with their government, whereas most of the people in the U.S. are not happy with ours. Your second has a lot of data about how the world's opinion of the U.S. was in steep decline at the end of the Bush presidency. I'm not sure how much it has rebounded since Obama took office, but certainly it has somewhat.
But both of these facts are irrelevant to my post. I attribute the biggest part of this disparity to the efficiency of the Chinese propaganda machine, and that is the whole problem -- that the government controls all of the channels by which most Chinese people get their news and information. If all one cares about is the rise in power and stature of China in the world, then that's a good thing. But I believe in deeper values, in the primacy of individuals' rights. That must come first, even if it means that it takes somewhat longer to lift the millions of people out of poverty.
You mention a lot things that people are angry at the U.S. about, but there is one huge asymmetry which is inescapable. Here it is: all of the information that we have about these problems in the U.S. comes from the western media. All of the information that we have about these problems in China comes from ... the western media. An open and free media, and open and free channels of communication (the Internet) are crucial to any society that wants to address any of these problems.
Finally, just a note, in case you misunderstood the title of my blog -- I'm not a "sinophobe". I think you probably "got it", but just to be clear: the title is "sinophibe". It's a portmanteau - a mix of "sinophile" and "sinophobe". In other words, mixed feelings. I could say I'm an Ameriphibe as well.
yyxd's attitude is very typical. It's deeply built in the Chinese culture: ordinary Chinese are not expected to express themselves. Small things such as when people cut their lines, take their seats...
ReplyDeleteBigger issues such as human rights, 拆迁。。。各人自扫门前雪，哪管他人瓦上霜。枪打出头鸟。多一事不如少一事。明哲保身。。。All the old sayings show the Chinese philosophy...
[Sent via email; copied here as a comment -- cfm.]
ReplyDeleteHello Chris,
Let me echo the previous poster, though this is not a discussioin forum and I refrain myself from triggering more discussion.
1. There is easten culture and there is wester culture,
2. there is eastern ideology and there is western ideology
3. there are estern values, and there are western values.
Respect other people's culture, ideology and values. Do not impose one's to others. Agree to disagree.
Since you 前几年在厦大海外教育学院读书, you must know this: 和为贵. This will keep the world in peace.
Hi, Ti,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the response.
Although I didn't study "以和为贵" specifically, I have heard and read many proverbs that are similar, and just did a little bit of reading about this particular one. It comes from the Confucian Analects, and I would translate it as, "harmony (和) is precious (贵)".
In your response, you're using this saying to tell me to be quiet, and not to make trouble. That's also the jist of your assertions that eastern and western culture, ideology, and values are different. The argument seems to be that the things that I'm complaining about don't apply to China, it's government, and it's culture.
This exactly fits what "Anonymous" said above, that "ordinary Chinese are not expected to express themselves". But not just ordinary Chinese -- me too, right? In fact, me even more so -- since I'm western, and have different values, and wouldn't understand.
While I agree that harmony is a wonderful thing, it seems to me that people only bring out these kinds of aphorisms when somebody around them is saying or doing something that makes them uncomfortable. The Communist party in China certainly uses these effectively, since it helps them cast dissent in a negative light, and ultimately helps them to stay in power. Personally, I think harmony is overrated -- things only improve when there is some agitation.
I also reject the notion that there's a deep chasm between the east and the west when it comes to values. Again, it seems that Chinese people only make this argument when it is convenient, to try to rebuff criticism. Wasn't the theme of the 2008 olympics "one world, one dream"? I always wondered what that dream was, that they were referring to? Was it harmony? Maybe, but then again, maybe it was human rights. Of course it wasn't an oversight that they didn't state it explicitly.
Since you threw out a quote from Confucious, let me give you a western quote, this one from Thomas Jefferson: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." If I had to choose between freedom and harmony, I'd choose freedom.
The Chinese people or at least the silent majority knows better. Much as the rest of the world may not like it, the present Chinese govt has succeeded in transforming China into a successful country. China now has the 2nd biggest number of billionaires in the world after US and is probably the biggest economy in the world. What is there for them to protest about?
ReplyDeleteHuman rights? Protesting for the sake of protesting is not going to get the protestors anywhere. There are different ways to do things in different culture and China being an Asian country where face is important will never bow to such tactics.
i am writing a paper on why U.S. will stay as the most powerful country in the world, dispute what they say on the news and what majority of the people believe.this is how i stumbled upon this blog. its shocking how Chinese people are absolutely fine about being brainwashed in to thinking they are the shit( in a good way). almost comparable to the terrorist believing that by killing infidels they are going to havens with virgins.
ReplyDeleteyes there are difference in society but we are all the same spices, if we dont critic each other or correct each other we can never prosper as human beings. i believe this is why one shouldn't just shut up when there is inequity and unjust happening to more than a billion people.
Hi, anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. I want to read your paper -- because I'm among those who doubt the U.S. will stay the most powerful country. China's surpassing the U.S. is inevitable, barring any unforeseen cataclysms. That's the reason that the I find the present situation so terrifying -- the Chinese government is autocratic and irresponsible, and anyone who believes they will be a benign force on the world stage is naive.
But I'd also say, in relation to your comment, that the Chinese aren't alone in being brainwashed that they're the shit. America has its share of brainwashed jingoistic automatons. You're writing a paper on why U.S. will stay as the most powerful country in the world, kind of makes me go hmmm. I hope your keeping sure that your own brain hasn't been washed.