minipost-Universal Rights as National Identity?
25 Comments » newest 2010-03-04 03:05:53
(Guest post) The difference in the Indian and Chinese governments’ approach towards Separatism and Development – and what they can learn from each other
45 Comments » newest 2010-03-01 04:04:16
Both India and China face the problems of separatism. Indian Naxalite movements and the recent riots and uprisings in Xinjiang and Tibet further highlights the need for respective governments to tackle the issue seriously.
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Chimerica: James Fallows & Niall Ferguson
144 Comments » newest 2009-07-24 23:08:45
This is the full session between Niall Ferguson and James Fallows at the recently held Aspen Ideas Festival. Allen had posted excepts and we promised you the complete discussion as soon as it became available. Niall Ferguson had coined the term “Chimerica” to describe the symbiotic relationship between the economies of China and the United States. He currently sees this relationship as being in jeopardy, while James Fallows feels the relationship is far stronger the most realize. This video is slightly over 75 minutes.
minipost-India: Friend, Enemy, or Both?
267 Comments » newest 2009-12-02 11:35:11
Chinese President Hu Jintao and India PM Manmohan Singh recently appeared together at the BRIC summit in Russia. Things seemed friendly enough at the time. What has changed since then? And why would China have a problem with the Asia Development Bank financing development projects in Arunachal Pradesh? I would think economic development in an area that China considers to be a part of her territory would be viewed by China in a positive manner, as it would be beneficial to the people of that region.
Iran & China: Is World Press Coverage Similar or Different?
55 Comments » newest 2009-06-27 22:56:42
Events of the last week in Iran have been widely reported by the world press. Not long before, the press also reported on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989. Were these two distinct events reported in a similar manner or were they treated as different and unique events? Let’s take a look at each and see what we can find.
1) Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?
Based on the coverage I’ve seen, both governments were cast as being in the wrong and both protest movements as in the right. In the case of China, the government sent in tanks and used live ammunition to break up a protest movement that was alleged to have turned violent. Most of the reporters in the world press were located in or near the same area, and their reports reflected what occurred in that vicinity. Analyzes of this event in most cases pointed to the government as the culprit and the demonstrators as being victims and responding in a suitable fashion. Is this an accurate assessment? The Chinese government attempted to confiscate film of the event from foreign sources but those attempts were successfully evaded in most instances.
minipost-Perception vs. Reality?
41 Comments » newest 2009-04-06 15:16:34
minipost-Letter:No Such Thing as China
38 Comments » newest 2009-05-05 16:38:19
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This post was submitted by Lime.
minipost-(Letter) The Chinese essay BBC was dared to publish (contrasting argumentation styles)
93 Comments » newest 2008-09-22 13:45:14
This post was submitted by Joel.
minipost-(Letter) East is East and West is West… will they ever meet? (a famous poem)
32 Comments » newest 2008-09-13 17:05:00
This post was submitted by Joel.
(Letter) Where does China fit in the West’s understanding of the world?
68 Comments » newest 2008-08-18 15:32:22
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This post was submitted by Joel.
minipost-New Yorker’s “Angry Youth” a must-read
45 Comments » newest 2008-07-27 22:33:20
minipost-Why the Beijing Olympics are already a success
40 Comments » newest 2008-07-20 18:01:00
Try to view Amnesty International calmly (translated)
172 Comments » newest 2009-05-04 18:07:41
An advertising campaign commissioned by the human rights group Amnesty International has raised flames of anger throughout China. For previous discussions, see ESWN and Danwei.
Wall Street Journal has more details on the backlash, reporting:
Weeks before the Olympics put Beijing and the Games’ corporate backers on the world stage, an advertising heavyweight has stumbled over the divide between how some view China and how the nation views itself…. Word of the human-rights campaign is now spreading through China, and TBWA and Amnesty International are disavowing the ads.
Chinese bloggers, spurred by a report in state-run media of the Amnesty campaign last week, are now calling for a boycott of all TBWA ads, among other measures.
And many in China are indeed very angry. But there are other voices as well; below is a translated internet post from Xinmin Net: (原文):
As far as unhealthy nationalism is concerned …
10 Comments » newest 2008-07-10 09:25:06
What does it mean to be Chinese?
245 Comments » newest 2010-02-03 15:08:00
Here is one answer, translated from a post written by an American-raised Chinese on MITBBS (原贴):
I was eating lunch with a good friend (both a colleague and a classmate) a few days ago. He’s a true Englishman, having lived in England from birth through university. Although he’s now attending school with me in the United States, he naturally does so with the identity of an Englishman. Whereas I, as an ethnic Chinese person raised in the United States, have in his eyes been categorized as an “American”. And I will often correct him by saying “I’m Chinese”. This time, when the topic popped up again, he laughed and asked: “From your point of view, what is a Chinese person?”
I believe “Chinese” has three different meanings.
“True Pride” – Time magazine
211 Comments » newest 2008-10-19 10:05:03
Money quotes:
Just a few weeks ago, the west’s view of china was dominated by thuggish torch guards, hypersensitive nationalists and a repressive government. But since the earthquake in Sichuan, the immense state-led rescue effort and the outpouring of charity from the Chinese people has taken center stage. Has the country really changed that much? Not really. The two phenomena on display — nationalism and compassion — are related facets of the vast, multidimensional nation that China is. When it comes to my homeland, I feel them both.
Wang Qianyuan and the Internet Lynch Mob
33 Comments » newest 2008-06-30 02:39:12
The debate over the Internet lynch mob’s attack of Wang Qianyuan continues. Roland at ESWN brings us this exchange between one of Grace Wang’s supporters at Duke and members of the Chinese community. Grace Wang’s self-stated goal was to help the two sides “communicate”, but the final results show that hasn’t happened.
Unfortunately, many in the West continue to conflate the Internet mob’s behavior with Chinese nationalism at large. The truth is, the two are not directly related. As a proud Chinese nationalist who “defended” the Olympic Torch, I too am absolutely appalled by the Chinese Internet mob.
As far as Wang Qianyuan’s rough treatment being used to criticize those of us who love China… enough is enough. If the verbal attack on Wang Qianyuan suggests something is wrong with Chinese nationalism, then what does the physical attack on Jin Jing in Paris suggest? That something is fundamentally wrong with French liberalism?
The Creationist Myth of Chinese Nationalism
28 Comments » newest 2008-05-21 14:56:34
The LA Times follows in the footsteps of the New York Times in publishing an article discussing Chinese nationalism. See the LA Times article here , and previous NY Times editorial here.
These articles do insert some much-needed balance into the Western understanding of Chinese nationalism. The LA Times article is especially notable for offering a view that most Chinese would agree is mostly balanced. However, even in the excellent LA Times article, it seems the journalist buys into a persistent Western myth.
Myth: Chinese nationalism was recently created by the Communist Party.















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