China Shouldn’t Be Inscrutable

To say that this new China is the same as the old is to be utterly ignorant or ideological—perhaps both.

By Fareed Zakaria | NEWSWEEK
Published Aug 2, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Aug 11, 2008

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  • Posted By: Aditya Mookerjee @ 08/19/2008 11:19:35 PM

    China is not a nation faced with internal instability. If the Chinese People considered themselves totally oppressed, then the nation would change its administration. That there is less instability, in the world now, than there was in the past is a tribute to the lengths citizens of nations go to be more understanding to each other, and to themselves. All nations, must exist peacefully within, and without.

  • Posted By: Aditya Mookerjee @ 08/18/2008 2:47:04 PM

    There is good reason why governments protect their national farmers. If farm produce produced in a nation is allowed to be sold freely internationally, on a large scale, then the price of farm produce which is exported from that nation, will rise considerably, for the citizens of that nation. This may be the considered opinion of governments around the globe, On China, I believe that China has a system of government, in which both the government and the people are dependent on one another. In the United States, The United States being a democracy, a section of the people and the government may not agree and work together on many policies, if they do not have similar opinions. In a democracy, it is imperative, that the population understand, that the government is totally in their hands, and the population function, having this idea in mind, and helping themselves, their nation, and all the nations of the world, with this idea. China is a Communist State, which has allowed a capitalist mode of existence for its economy. We say, that China is not Communist, at our peril. The President of China, may feel that China needs economic and financial growth with the help of western industry, but the Communist Party mechanism still exists, strongly represented at the head of the government. Perhaps, this economic scenario, makes the Chinese Government, be perceived as more accountable to it's nation. China, is doing well economically, because of its current national scenario. I believe, that the Chinese Government is powerful, but with economic freedom, the people of China, see themselves as very free in a different aspect of their national identity. One cannot have freedom in national economic activity, in sections of the economy. There will be angst in the population, if this be so. All the people of China, are economically free, but the Chinese People must make their nation enriched, with their new perception of wealth, and also themselves. Wealth is for peace of mind, and not for the destruction of peace of mind. If China is peaceful, then China will not only grow as an economic power, but also as a nation which is regarded well by all.

  • Posted By: jane lee @ 08/06/2008 10:33:46 AM

    I agree with the writer. I also think the west countries know little about China. When I talked with my foreign classmates about china, they just know china is a big city. In their view, china is still in the old time. The main reason is they cannot get more information about modern china in their own country. You know, most westerns don???t know Chinese. They depend on translation. The translations just introduce the old things which differ china from them greatly. This obstacle results the westerns have misunderstanding about china. When then come to china, they care about china traditional culture. They visit the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall in Beijing. They drink douzhier, eat roast duck. They listen the Beijing Opera. No one will sit down and try to understand the new china. The other reason, I think, is the different social system. Some west country have misunderstanding about the china government. Because china has different opinion with west country, some west country regard china is a different one. They just want to change china into their category. It is impossible. So the media maybe mislead the public.
    Compare with the westerns, Chinese people knows well about the west countries. One simple reason is many young people want to know the outside. They learn English well. They get the information directly from the newspaper, magazine or internet. They have no bias on west countries. This is quite different from the west countries.
    China has made great development since 1978. If you come to china, you will find globalization has influence on the social life. China has market economy. China government pay more attention to the citizen???s life. Chinese are satisfied with their life. China government is a responsible government in the world. For example, China has taken a lot of measures to protect the environment. This is part of participation in the world issues.
    If west country could knows china well, the world will get better. Just as Beijing Olympic said: One world, one dream.

    • Posted By: comradeyap @ 08/06/2008 9:29:04 PM

      Greetings Miss Jane Lee ! I live in the west and I am Chinese and I am very proud of my origin. My children and grand children do not have western names and we are proud to retain our Chinese names, so I recommend that you and our Chinese people do not take western names.

      Miss Lee, you need not feel defensive about our great motherland, because China today is the envy of the world and the west in particular. All that heat that is generated against China has grown out of jealousy. Be proud of China.

      • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 1:56:06 AM

        Ccomradeyap, allow me to assure you that, while we do admire the wonderful accomplishments of China, and all the great things they have been kind enough to share with us over the centuries, we in no way envy them; respect yes, but eveny, no. Obviously you are proud of your homeland, as you rightfully should be. We are happy to have you as a part of our American community, and hope you are happy here. Most of us in this country today were born in America, but our roots began with our ancestors who came from various countries; they all worked together to make this their new homeland, and they did a fantastic job of becoming what we are today and most of us would like to see it continue as a haven for anyone who wants to be a part of our country, as long as they come through legal channels. For any illegal to feel they deserve to receive the same benefits as those who came here legally, or were born here, is not acceptable. Even being born here does not assure you of any special benefits unless we work for them, as we expect to. As for your children having your ethnic names, that is strickly a personal choice. About the only thing some people know about China is where the best Chinese restaurant is located locally. But to their credit, they are willing to learn, for its by learning that we come to appreciate the many things another ethnic group can offer us in the way of crafts, food, interesting stories of their ancestors, ect. When we all begin to accept each other as fellow humans who share the planet, we would be amazed at how much more efficent & challenging & peaceful life could be by everyone sharing their particular talents instead of making unfounded harsh judgements about each other before all the facts are in. I, personally, am decended from Irish, German, English, & American Indian, & there are members of my family who have married those who are part Hispanic, and part Japanese, so we are a multi-culture; we all get along fine--well, most of the time, lol, but our dis-agreements never have anything to do with ethnic cultures, its more a personality clash that is over in a matter of no more than a day. We are all family on this planet, and as such, should help each other-not try to tear each other apart. Do I sound like a little Susie Sunshine? Yeah...well...if Dorthy could go over the rainbow to find the land of Oz, why can't I?

        • Posted By: Earthling @ 08/07/2008 6:38:13 AM

          Cool! It's good to hear some reasonable voices from America. I hope there are more people like you, the world will then be a better place.

          • Posted By: Californio 1 @ 08/15/2008 10:27:04 AM

            Actually I find most of us are like Star3 but they tend to put the idiots on TV so that is the view the world has on us.

  • Posted By: Michael DeZubiria @ 08/14/2008 10:57:14 PM

    I've lived in mainland China for two years and plan to continue to stay here, and I just have to say that your assertion that polls in China reflect content with the government are, as you say, utterly ignorant or ideological, perhaps both. I have taught hundreds of university students in my time in China, and have been surprised to receive the same happy responses to questions about their government, except that in about 98% of cases, when I become good friends with the students, their responses change radically. China has a vast history of forcing their people to obey, and not to complain, and to think that it has disappeared just because Mao is gone is astonishingly ignorant. What the polls represent are manufactured responses, not public happiness. And the sooner the world realizes this, the sooner more than one sixth of the world's population can have an oppressive regime forced to back off.
    And by the way, the "billion long-suffering men and women of the world's largest dictatorship" refers to the roughly 90% of China's population (or, just slightly over one billion) who are classified as "peasants."
    Mr. Zakaria, you claim that many China bashers have rarely bothered to visit the country. I dare say your own visits have been similarly few?

  • Posted By: Michael DeZubiria @ 08/14/2008 10:56:38 PM

    I've lived in mainland China for two years and plan to continue to stay here, and I just have to say that your assertion that polls in China reflect content with the government are, as you say, utterly ignorant or ideological, perhaps both. I have taught hundreds of university students in my time in China, and have been surprised to receive the same happy responses to questions about their government, except that in about 98% of cases, when I become good friends with the students, their responses change radically. China has a vast history of forcing their people to obey, and not to complain, and to think that it has disappeared just because Mao is gone is astonishingly ignorant. What the polls represent are manufactured responses, not public happiness. And the sooner the world realizes this, the sooner more than one sixth of the world's population can have an oppressive regime forced to back off.
    And by the way, the "billion long-suffering men and women of the world's largest dictatorship" refers to the roughly 90% of China's population (or, just slightly over one billion) who are classified as "peasants."
    Mr. Zakaria, you claim that many China bashers have rarely bothered to visit the country. I dare say your own visits have been similarly few?

  • Posted By: Tea6 @ 08/13/2008 5:51:10 PM


    FREE TRADE GIVE AND TAKE

    CHINESE FREE TRADE TAKE AND TAKE

  • Posted By: Manson @ 08/13/2008 5:01:53 AM

    I have been a Newsweek reader for more than 25 years, ever since I was a student in the UK. I am from Hong Kong originally. Like some readers perhaps, I first read Fareed Zakaria's article with skepticism as he discussed his view on Iraq, China & India etc. However, I find that Fareed's analysis is both unbiased and true in a sense that he knows what he's what about and further more, he is knowlegeable. He isn't just repeating the China-bashing rhetorics (which is becoming hip in the U.S., although not necessary), he has insight in the subject matter. As a Western educated & politically liberal person from HK, I couldn't agree more with his analysis on China's rise & how America should handle this relationship. I have to say that he really speaks out a lot of my compatriots thinking (almost all of my friends are Western-educated - U.S., UK, Canada & AUstralia). We know that political system in China has to change. However, the US media these days seem to lead the American people to think that nothing good comes out of China. Period. This makes us liberals in HK feel that this is far from reality & began to view these media as totally irrelevant. So when I read Farreed's articles, I thought "hey, this guy utters words of wisdom, he knows the subject". He's not a malfunctioned recorder who could only repeat rhetorics all day!! He is a gem that Newsweek could have. Please keep up the good work Fareed.

    MY
    Hong Kong

  • Posted By: star3 @ 08/09/2008 4:08:29 PM

    No victory, no peace
    Know victory, know peace

    No freedom, no peace
    know freedom, know peace

    No Jesus, no peace
    Know Jesus, know peace


  • Posted By: jarvie @ 08/08/2008 3:56:28 AM

    Great essay!
    I am an American living in China, and I have to say that from my observations, the Chinese government is not nearly as scary or evil as western media would have us believe.
    I believe that true peace comes from understanding. Americans should try to objectively understand China before critisizing and bashing it. It is really quite an amazing nation and I have really enjoyed getting to know it. I hope that others will get to know this joy too.

  • Posted By: Amma @ 08/03/2008 8:58:03 AM

    Great Article. It is appalling that Western thinkers are not delighted that the economies of China and India are emerging. This development is a great thing for mankind ??? the quality of life is improving all over the world. There are a great many things we can learn from these nations, like the importance of long-term planning.

    The U.S. economy has been dictated by short-term, quick money making schemes. As a result we have abandoned our own industries, steel, rubber, auto, etc. Our economy is essentially backed by worthless paper. That???s not Chinas fault! We invest in genetically altered food, so that farmers have to buy seed year after year. Our fruit and vegetation does not replenish itself, and nutrients are 75% of what it used to be. We want to force third world nations to take this crap, even if it means their own farmers cannot compete. We don???t support the self-sufficiency of our own farmers, or farmers of the world. We want the masses to be dependent on these conglomerate seed companies. Even if it means we will further poverty and despair for human beings in American and around the world.

    India has made a great investment in education; they plan and implement strategies to balance education of the rich and poor. The Chinese government supports industrial development -- and we complain that is unfair!? Our government should also subsidize our industries and farmers so that we are qualitatively competitive in the global economy ??? provided those companies make a long-term commitment to provide jobs and other benefits to the local communities, etc. It takes 100s of millions of dollars to get our industries, (i.e., solar) to state-of-the-art standards; albeit, we may not realize a profit in ten or twenty years. But, our banks and equity investors won???t fund these initiatives because they want to see a profit every quarter. We need government subsidies that secure our future.

    So what do our leaders do? Opt to spend billions a year on war, attempting to steal others nations resources on the auspices of lies! How many Iraqi people have died!! Been mutilated and raped, are homeless for no just cause ??? 100s of thousands if not millions! The leading perpetrators Bush, Cheney, Hillary, McCain and Liverman are all still in office justifying their decision to enter the war and vying for power. Win the war? There are no chemical weapons in Iraq, McCain. What do you really mean, steal Iraqi oil? Are we really barbarians? Are we willing to honestly compete and exercise fair trade, even though it is harder to be good, than bad? That is our moral and economic dilemma. Long terms good is stronger than evil!
    I agree with Fareed. We must be open-minded. It is a time for a change in direction.

    Perhaps we can become global leaders in solar energy. We must improve the education system and challenge our future leaders to rebuild this great nation. We need funds for education, progressive technologies and industrialization ??? not war preparatio

    • Posted By: comradeyap @ 08/03/2008 7:01:15 PM

      Greetings Mr Amma ! It is interesting to take notice that a sensible opinion has come from an Indian and I mean in the most flattering sense. Most Indians have been mostly disparaging towards everything that is Chinese; but having said that I entriely endorse your's and the views of Mr Fareed Khan. I find it most amusing to read your American & western streotypical cartoon caricature of our Chinese government and leaders. You are still mired in your propagandized & juandized view of everything that is Chinese. I am amused because if you care to admit, you seldom read Chinese opinion that is anything at all that criticises the USA & the West. Whether it is good or bad, it is all up to you but we Chinese do not find it necessary to voice our opinion unless we are contributing something towards any project. This pecular trait of the Chinese people has always been interpreted as being "yes-man" syndrome. Be that as it may, why do you in the usa & the west find it so satisfying to criticise us. This is what I do not understand. Another thing that amuses me is, IF YOU SO LOTH US,CHINESE THEN WHAT IS IT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS IF WE ARE COMMUNIST OR DEMOCRACY ? Does it really make you very happy if all Chinese become American ? But to what end.

      China is doing very well being a communist nation and thanks to our great communist leaders and no thanks to the USA, that China has within a span of 20 yers become again the modern Middle Kingdom of this 21st century; is it therefore this miraculous success of China's that grate on you ? Or is it that you would prefere the China that was the 173rd ranked nation in the world just a mere 20 years ago. Now that China is the world's number 2 behind the USA is what drives you mad as hell ?

      All the same, I enjoyed telling all of you out there who would wish our beloved China "ill". Read Fareed, he knows !





      • Posted By: star3 @ 08/08/2008 12:29:23 AM

        To coin a phrase from an old popular movie, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a dam". You can be communist, ruled by space aliens, or little monkeys, for all most of us care, so do it, but by the same token, allow us to make the same choice, we have chosen Democracy, so let us do our thing, and you do yours and we'll both live happily ever after--only not together. Why does some of the world feel so threatened by our freedom??!! We have not done anything to stop you from practicing what you want, as long as you keep it there, and don't bring it here, so show us the same respect. If your young people are copying western style and you're afraid of the influence of our culture, then, perhaps its time to ask yourself why, and to offer them something they can relate to. Our young people may appear to you as being selfish, spoiled, & mindless, but those same young people will, eventually, grow out of this stage of their life and grow up to be responsible, caring adults, just as we did, but we have our share of problems, as any country does with its youth, and without proper guidence, they may fall through the cracks of society to become less than we would like from them; we admit to not being perfect--do you? Remember its about free choice, and when you allow people to have that, then you make them responsible for the choices they make, they either reap the rewards of their choices or they pay the consequences. If the media is to be believed, the rest of the world has its mind made up about the U.S., so don't bother them with facts. Well, if you're going to have a reputation, anyway, may as well enjoy it...so...expect & you may recieve exactly what you expect...wouldn't want to disappoint you...so be very careful in what you expect. Seriously, I believe the media wants us to believe the world hates us, but evidence of the contrary has been reported, however, we saw just who our REAL friends were after 9/11. So, we believe what we see, and only half of what we hear. Are we YOUR friends in your time of need? Depends on your interpetation of "friend", and what kind of mood we are in at that particular time. Its late, I'm rambling...later...

    • Posted By: Amma @ 08/04/2008 12:11:45 PM

      BTW. I am an African American woman (technically my mother is white and father is black, but in this country if you are half black, you are considered black on your birth certificate and by law, and i dont have a problem with that).

    • Posted By: jxl269 @ 08/03/2008 5:27:48 PM

      Amma: allow me to cerrect a bit. It is $500 billions spent so far in IRAQ war. Another $167 billions is on the way out from Congress. Plus, we are not attempting to steal oil in IRAQ. It is done already.

      Report from Washingtonpost: Bush Officials Condoned Regional Iraqi Oil Deal. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203322.html

      Taxpayer spent billions so far, a few cronies of Bush regime harvested.
      Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: Ron Paul For Pope @ 08/04/2008 8:42:41 AM

    America spends too much time on Middle-Eastern politics. Yes, Iran *might* get a bomb, and that *might* set off an arms race. But in Pakistan, India, and China, you already have three nuclear powers that are at odds with each other. Furthermore, China has political objectives in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. These are places where we also have substantial strategic and economic interests.

    The focus on the middle east is fine, since we do need oil. However, we should be working on energy independence so that we can comfortably let that place go to hell or be fought over by other powers who still need oil. The only other reason we seem to give a damn about that area is that our policies are distorted by certain political groups in this country.

    And in anticipation of comradeyap / chongyeeyap / Little Daisy Mae Yap -- China is to be congratulated for its growth, and to be welcomed to the world table, of course. However, I don't think the Chinese will be as comical as you. They know the U.S., Russia, India, and if necessary, Japan have nuclear weapons and well-guided missiles. Should China forget that fact and start stepping on other countries' interests, it won't be too hard to remind them.

    • Posted By: comradeyap @ 08/04/2008 9:33:35 AM

      Hello Ron Paul for pope ! You are one real naive cat to think the USA somehow can use the atomic bomb to drive home an arguement. No nation and that includes the USA caan use the atomic bomb to win an arguement in this day and age; the USA having a stockpile of 65,000 atomic bombs is the biggest fool of us all. If the DPRK has one atomic bomb and is a damned fool for it then the USA is 65,000 times a bigger fool than is dear leader Kim. Forget the atomic bomb for all time and for all purposes. We will end the world if atomic bomb is used.

      China does not need the atomic bomb, swear to god we don't. Our glorious People's Liberation Army is purely defensive and god help America if the USA dares to invade China. We are prepared for any defensive wars but we are by nature a peaceful nation and we can defend ourselves; make no mistake about that. You Americans may as well know that your mighty carrier led 7 or 8 fleets are obsolete and from your woeful performance in Iraq and Afghanistan you have shown to the world that the USA can only face down puny 3rd world nations; against any well armed nations like China you may be suited to destroy but you cannot win in any such wars. The USA make war against the People's Liberation Army ? That is wishful thinking.


      • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 11:46:54 PM

        The U.S. doesn't start wars, we finish them. We went to Afghanistan because they are the ones who attacked us; we are in Iraq because Saddam Hussein invited us when he insinuated his country had WMDs and were prepared to use them. You don't do that to a country that has just been hit and is still in shock unless you are looking for trouble. Just plain dumb, but then no one had ever accused Saddam Insane of being smart and was able to make it stick for long. He was a tyrant who did not hesitate to shoot his own son. Yes, he invited us, and we RSVPed. Liberal say we should have tried to "communicate" with the terrorist and try to come to a "peaceable" understanding. Hummm...lets think about that for a moment...OK, enough thinking, time for action. We are communicating with them--in the only language they understand. What the liberals don't get, is that unlike any enemy we have ever delt with before. these do not care a fig about life--not ours or their own. They believe dying for their Allah will glorify them, so we are just helping them to become "glorified". Too bad old Bin Laden is too much of a coward to show his ugly rat face so we can help him become "glorified". We feel its God's job to judge Bin Laden, its our job to arrange that meeting. The God we serve is a God of love & peace, but He also can be wrathful when necessary. Our God gave us freedom to choose, he blessed us and a blessed nation, He expects us to be responsible. No, America is not perfect, if it were, it would be called Heaven, instead of America, but being located here on planet Earth, we have to contend with human frailties. So, having said that, why is it others expect America to apologize for being imperfect, but will not amit to any imperfections of their own? So, May I watch while you walk on water?: Last time I tried that, I sank right to the bottom. When you can do that successfully, then I may be sufficently impressed to listen to any other theories you may have.

      • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 2:23:31 PM

        Comradyap, I do have a few questions for you, if you care to answer, fine, if not, that is certainly you choice. !st question: Since you, obviously love your homeland, China, why are you living in the west? 2nd question: Why the name "Comrade"? That leaves the door open for a lot of speculation.

      • Posted By: Ron Paul For Pope @ 08/04/2008 11:49:07 AM

        Whether China goes to war is China's decision. We certainly don't want it. I assume China is not so stupid as to think (as you do) that the rest of the world is a bunch of unarmed children.

        Meanwhile, talk all you want about the glorious PLA. They haven't captured Taiwan in all these years, so talk about "three systems" is as ridiculous as you.

    • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 11:17:35 PM

      Ron Paul, well spoken! May I add that if the Chinese are as smart as they would have us believe, then they certainly would not want a confrontation any more than we do; it will be in the best interest of both of us to maintain a workable relationship, however, its really their call, as I'm reasonably sure, based on our past history, we will not attack them without provocation, but as you stated, neither will we back off should they challenge us.

  • Posted By: ChristianAmerican @ 08/03/2008 9:55:03 AM

    The U.S. has had democracy since 1776 but it did not prevent her from institulizing slavery of Blacks and genocide against native Americans (just counting the number of Native Americans before and now). Democracy is so overrated!

    • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 2:54:02 PM

      Once, when someone told me they did not believe in God, because they had never seen him, I replied " I've never seen China, either, but I believe it exsist." They then said: "But we have evidence that China exsist, and books that tell us about the country." To which I then replied: "We, also, have evidence of God, in the trees, flowers, animals, and even the air we breathe, and we, also, have a book which tells us about Him. Now, if you'll allow me to watch while you create a universe, I may be sufficently impressed to listen to any other theories you may have."

    • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 2:45:57 PM

      C.A. Its not Democracy that is the problem, its the mis-use of Democracy by some to explain away their actions. And fyi, it was not only white Americans who were responsible for slavery, many blacks were sold into slavery by their own tribes, & by other tribes, also, many tribes invaded other tribes, and took their captives as slaves. Slavery was in Egypt, its always exsisted in one place or another, and, practically, every ethnic group on the planet has been discriminated against at some point in time; an example is how the Irish were treated when they first came to America. I'm not attempting to excuse it, only to explain it. America has never claimed to be perfect, nor does it have a perfect history, if we did, we'd be called Heven, instead of America, but we are still located on planet earth, and therefore, subject to faults. Every country, without exception, has been guilty of behavior which is considered to be wrong, but would you call God wrong when he allowed his son, Jesus, to be born of the House of David? After all David was not exactly shy about going after what he wanted. Yet, God loved David. As the book says, "God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform." God bless America is not just a song, I believe God did bless us; how else do you explain the youngest nation becoming the most powerful in such a short time when other nations had milleniums to accomplish what we did (with God's help) in a few years-relatively speaking? The Bible is full of such stories. Just another person's thoughts on the subject...

  • Posted By: Young Hickory @ 08/04/2008 1:46:21 PM

    If the US government or the Chinese government happens to monitor and read this e-mail, then I have a message for both of you: Go stick in in your memory hole!

    • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 1:15:09 AM

      Well, now, isn't that about the most profound comment of the evening; must have taken you all of a micro second to come up with that. And just where would that "memory hole" be located, sweetie? perhaps you might try using your head for something other than holding your ears apart. When China & the U.S. A. have their next meeting, I'm sure they will want to consult you, should you have any other sage advice to offer.

  • Posted By: hooloo @ 08/02/2008 4:27:16 PM

    The West is digging its own grave as we speak.

    A strong and ultra-nationalistic China is now being pushed to the edge. One trigger point is all that needs to tick off this giant nuclear bomb.

    • Posted By: star3 @ 08/07/2008 12:51:09 AM

      The west may be digging a grave, but the only ones who will be buried in it will be anyone dumb enought to attack us. If China gets "ticked" off, they had better point that bomb in the direction of the nearest dump. Its doomsday soothsayers like you who are the problem makers. Why not put that energy to use doing something useful, like working toward helping to bring peace to our planet instead of plotting the demise of fellow humans for no other reason than you resent their lifestyle. So, ok, don't adopt their lifestyle if you don't approve of it, but don't attempt to instruct them in how they can live just because you don't understand what freedom is all about. We may be divided in this country as to how we precieve things politically, but don't ever make the mistake of believing we are so divided that we will allow anyone else to tread on us. It like this: Americans are family, and like any family, we may fight and argue amonge ourselves, but God help the person outside the family who would dare to harm one of our own. Most people don't care how another country wants to be governed--by communist, kings, Queens, or a group of green monkeys, as long as they don't try to attack us and take away what we have worked so hard to accomplish--freedom to choose how we will live, with laws WE make, and we will not apologize for being proud Americans and enjoying the legacy our forefathers left us, so if anyone has a problem with that, get out of our way or get trampled by our dancing feet! Oh, and by the way, we feel its God's job to judge Bin Laden, its our job to arrange that meeting.

  • Posted By: rover81 @ 08/05/2008 11:12:00 PM


    Which is more harmful and vicious to this world ?
    Between a drug labeled with "drug" or a drug labeled with "Candy",
    Between a known propaganda or a propaganda in disguise.
    and beteween the propaganda in China and America.
    The propaganda is known in China and people just don't take it seriously;
    However, the propaganda in America and the west is propaganda in disguise,
    The media are manipulateed by a very small but powerful intrest group in a cunning way,
    That's the ultimate drug will claim your mind and soul,
    Relax, you will not feel the least pain....

    • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/06/2008 6:22:54 PM

      Do Do Do Do Dooo Dooooooo

  • Posted By: cferns1530 @ 08/06/2008 2:06:56 PM

    Although i do feel China is progressing, i still feel majority of the Chinese national pride stems from the fact that their Govt. has a strong leash on them. When it comes to internet, protesting, religion, environment just to name a few, its like the Govt wont tolerate any criticism and only want the outside world to see what the deem positive. As a democracy the Chinese are still behind. Good article though.

  • Posted By: May Lee @ 08/06/2008 1:42:07 PM

    Great points. Very insightful and wise. Hats off toward you.

  • Posted By: jane lee @ 08/06/2008 10:57:49 AM

    Actually Chinese people do have very open attitudes toward outside world. This time, China invited many medias to China for the interviews, I think, Olympic Games this time is a good opportunity to shorten the distance between China and the rest of the world. Olympic Games this time will make more people know about China and begin to like China.

  • Posted By: jane lee @ 08/06/2008 10:56:22 AM

    Critics based on ignorance of the fact are ridiculous and unfair. China and the western Countries should know more about each others.

  • Posted By: jane lee @ 08/06/2008 10:38:29 AM

    China is complicated. Chinese people are complicated too. most of them support the goverment, But at the same time, they hate to see corruption and dereliction in the governing party or government. But overall, they are proud of his country, they do not like others to blame them. They thought they have seen all the shortages and they are correcting and approaching.

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