China’s Agony of Defeat

Chinese wearing silk while Europeans were running around in animal hides (or naked in dirt -- take your pick)... ha ha, that's a good one. The article anticipates defensiveness and anger from those who feel criticized and offended by the analysis, and that's exactly what I see in many of these comments. On the other hand, I have learned a lot from the more informative and civilized posts. If you want to construct a convincing counterargument, how about providing factual examples (per compare and contrast) instead of bloody getting mad about it?

Unlike some of the paid embassy staffers posing as members, eulogizing Communist China - I beg to differ. While the Chinese civilization is old - it is just that and not superior in any way shape or form. Modern day China is a large prison run by an oppressive regime that is communist only in name. The common Chinese is a captive in his/her own land - where one gets sent to labor camp for posting pictures of earthquakes or gets mauled by battle tanks when protesting the lack of liberties. China is just that - a state that systematically oppresses its own people, has little or no global responsibility as it encourages states like Iran and Burma through trade and proliferates nuclear technology to pariah states like Pakistan to keep other democracies in check. China is also the last state where soldiers are authorized to shoot unarmed citizens *leaving* China as evidenced by videos captured by mountaineers who witnessed the slaughter of Tibetians trying to cross over into Nepal from China. Such a state is a true pariah and deserves isolation and scorn. I am sure that Chinese government staffers will itch to respond to this post with a pen-name like AussieLouis but before you do - ask yourself - do you feel free living in Communist China? Do you see a future for you children who may not agree with the party line? Do you want to feed on the propaganda the government disseminates? Do you want the uncensored truth? If you answered "yes" to any of these - you know what really needs to be done. Stop hiding behind assumed identities like "Wonderful" and face the truth - and post your own views using your real name.

You are right that the past is, in fact the past. You missed one fact though, the modern histry is still repeating the past history: Made up a lie to invade the other country -- repeating the bloody history again. The Chinese learned the leasson quite well because they have a long, long history.

Apparently Stephen Lin is a person originated from Taiwan, so his view is not representative; Your comments, therefore, hurt most Americans as well. :)

-- You have my apology!

rover81 @ 07/29/2008 11:33:07 PM

Comment: Taiwan is not part of China???
-- Agree, as long as Texas, New Mexico, California and the whole North America do NOT blong to pale people, RETURN THEM TO THE MOANING SOULS OF AMEIRICA INDIANS!

*
Posted By: alberta.xy @ 07/29/2008 23:55:34


Comment: Apparently Stephen Lin is a person originated from Taiwan, so his view is not representative; Your comments, therefore, hurt most Americans as well. :)
You have my apology!

I will PROTEST in Beijing Olympics, with this:

CNN: COOKED NEWS NETWORK!
BBC: BIASED BROADCASTING COMPANY!

Taiwan is not part of China, stupid editor.
Haven't you done your history and geography?
I am unimpressed, Newsweek Editors has never been to Taiwan.
You don't find Taiwan in China.

Stephen Lin,
San Jose, CA

I am an unemployed American (laid off from Bear Stearns in 114/07) who works for less then half of what I once made (s a Human Resource Administrator at Bear Stearns) at a retail arts and crafts store, where 90% of the inventory comes from China. I refuse to not only buy the Chinese products asz I'm old enough to remember "Buy American" but I also will not view a single moment of the summer olympics; no matter how many Americans are participating. The cost of trade agrrements, outsourcing and the end result to my familiy and countless others is TOO extreme for me to fanthom with even the least bit of patriotism in the olympics. Get REAL people!

I am an unemployed American (laid off from Bear Stearns 11//07 after 12 years of service) who works for less then half of what I once earned as a Human Resource Administrator at Bear Stearns, at a retail arts and crafts store, where 90% of the inventory comes from China. I refuse to not only buy the Chinese products as I'm old enough to remember "Buy American" but I also will not view a single moment of the summer olympics; no matter how many Americans are participating. The cost of trade agrrements, outsourcing and the end result to my familiy and countless others is TOO extreme for me to fanthom with even the least bit of patriotism in the olympics. Get REAL people!

China is a rising power in rapid transition in the last 30 years. It doesn???t surprise me to see China exhibits a bipolar state where the behavior is overly confident and aggressive at one time and is unsure of itself and suspicious of every move made by Western governments and media at other times.

The cold reality of today???s world affairs is that most Western countries do have their own motives while acting as the protector for the Human Rights of Chinese people. Hey, President Bush, President Sarkozy or Premier Brown was sworn in to protect the best interests of America, France or England, not China. No adult should be surprised this kind of cold geopolitical facts. Since today???s Western media are mostly under the control of big corporations, they have to please their biggest customers, i.e. their own governments, and therefore become their government???s mouth-piece but in a sublime way, e.g. expressing their concerns for the human rights of other countries while skipping over their own records at home. Not only Westerners expect to use this kind of pressure to extract business concessions from China or other developing countries, it also affords them a sense of superiority to look down at other cultures. The original title of this article, ???China???s Inferiority Complex???, clearly demonstrates that some Western???s superiority complex was working in the mind of the author or the editor.

As for Beijing government, I???d suggest them to take a serious self-examination soon after the hang over of this Olympics vanishes. China will not need Western-style person freedom but it definitely needs an independent Justice built with some democratic system to deal with inequalities currently being suffered by ordinary Chinese people. The past Chinese history has demonstrated that it is not demand for personal freedom but demand for fair equality that has caused ordinary Chinese to rebel and eventually overthrow their central government that either could not provide a fair equality or showed indifference to their suffering.

The thesis of this article that somehow China suffers from victimization is fallacious. China is the victimizer not the victim.

A country that occupies Spratley island -- triple the distance from China than the other claimnant Philippines -- suffers from thick faced superiority complex.

Any more efforts to provide China with self-assurance would make them arrogant enough to invade Taiwan.

I don't think people are assigning blame for China's inferiority complex. I think it is neither the conscious fault of the West nor a state of mind that is consciously cultivated by the Chinese regime. Nationalism has always been present ever since the rise of nation states. Nationalism is exacerbated in China's case because it is the world's most populous nation, was always a centralized entity, and historically, has always thought of itself as "the central kingdom." Chinese know that China has the potential to be a world power given these characteristics. And, over the past two decades, as China has been increasingly "modernized" and has "opened up" to the West, Chinese have seen how much more advanced Western nations are as well as how important China can be or has been in the world economy. All these forces have abetted nationalistic tendencies. So, why should anyone be surprised? And why should people attribute "blame?" China should win more gold medals than any other nation, so barring a catastrophic event, China should walk away from the Olympics with a feeling of superiority.

To those who blame western interference: No astute observer could argue that the Opium Wars and the Japanese occupation were not atrocious events. But can these events solely explain the state of contemporary China? How do you attribute to the West the decisions of Mao to "cut the trees from his beautiful mountains" and "clear the skies of those horrible birds". Both decisions had catastrophic outcomes that still have an affect today.

It's not, it???s self-inflicted. Did the West push China so hard that there was no other choice than the Boxer Rebellion? Were the atrocities committed by some of the Red Guard, in the 1966-76, somehow a response to something the West did? Was the Gang of Four in 1976-78, the mandate of heaven? NO! There were alternatives. As a collective, China made these choices, and many were bad decisions. We in the West, as a collective, have also made bad decisions. Nobody has a monopoly on bad decisions.

Deng Xiaoping was a brave and insightful man (and one of the last survivors of the Long March). To make the changes he did, at great peril to himself and his family (e.g. his son), there had to be something wrong, else, why change if all is right? His vision of the SEZs will be recorded as a powerful set of tools for controlled and orderly social and economic change. To understand why, go to Shanghai and walk along the Bund. One can find answers, if the time is taken to understand the stories behind those magnificent builds.

In the criticism of "big noses", many wield the very positions you say we are guilty of. As time unfolds, watch carefully the moneyed interests around the world that have fueled your economic revival. As soon as per capita income rises to the point where China no longer provides cheap labor, they WILL move elsewhere, and you, can join the rest of us as we struggle with the consequences of their greed.

While chastising us, remember, many of us came to China and helped re-establish the infrastructure, transportation systems, banking and economic systems, and manufacturing capabilities. China didn't re-emerge in isolation; in fact, many of us helped you, lived amongst you, and taught you.

Also, everything from the West hasn't been horrible (e.g. without the West, how was economic revival even possible without access to western markets). Many here have mentioned the Japanese occupation as an example of how the "we" harmed China. Do you know Gen. Joseph Stillwell? He is from the same time, and maybe, if you research him and the role he played in China during the 1940s, you may find something of value.

One of the most profound descriptions I know of China is this; China is "sweet and sour". Through the two extremes, one can find the balance needed to move forward in a strong, but peaceful manner. While focusing on the sour things, maybe a few moments to remember the "sweet" may allow us to move forward peacefully into t

The author seems surprised that many of those criticizing the West during the recent Tibet debacle were young, educated Chinese. He suggests this is "because they, too, have been subject to the party's propaganda."

I would argue that rather than propaganda, it is a question of having an outlet for dissent. Most educated Chinese are aware that China faces many challenges and that their govenment isn't perfect. But the Chinese govenment discourages and actively suppresses criticism of itself; it tolerates and sometimes encourages criticism of foreign governments and organizations. For all but the most fearless young, educated Chinese, the choice is obvious: if you need an outlet for your pent-up frustration, take aim at foreigners. Criticizing the Chinese govenment (at least in public) will invite trouble.

From this well-written article, it seems that China was mentally sick old man. The West should nurture the patient by pretending that every is OK in China . The question is: how a kindergaren teacher behaves to help a spoiled brat?