China: One world, one dream, and one multi-front protest
Last week's Olympics “angel” Jin Jing is on the traitor [zh] list now, after she spoke out against the upcoming nation-wide anti-Carrefour [zh] protests set for May 1 [zh].
People can't wait [update: yeah, it's totally on now] to get out to those, it seems, just like Chinese hackers, having already gotten into Carrefour.com.cn, weren't willing to wait until the 19th for the planned CNN.com DDOS attack to begin, all this against the backdrop of millions of netizens finding ways to display their patriotism.
As if that weren't enough, Jack Cafferty's remarks even got the central government on the anti-CNN bandwagon.
So now Saturday is looking like Chinese anti-CNN day in a number of different places [zh] around the world [zh]
At least one related post at China.com has over 27,000 comments over nearly 500 pages. As Heike The Dark Visitor blogger points out, the April 19 protests will mostly be held in western Europe:
1. 1500-1800hrs, 19 April 2008, at the Bundestag, Platz der Republik, Berlin
2. 1300-1500hrs, 19 April 2008, two routes (from Talie – Hotel de Ville – Bastille) or (Republique – Bastille – Hotel de Ville –Bastille, Paris
3. 1100-1500hrs, 19 April 2008, Downing Street outside of Whitehall, England
4. (No time given) 19 April 2008, Amsterdam, HollandThe protests appear to be well organized, with the coordination of donations, banners, flags, T-shirts…etc. While it is of course impossible to tell how widespread the demonstrations will be, an online keyword search, using Chinese, did produce several hundred hits.
One link Heike provides emphasizes that the protesters are furious and promising demonstrations that will flood Europe in a sea of red flags:
On April 18, one of the earlier members of anti-CNN.com posted the address and fax number for CNN's office in Beijing, along with a sample letter for anyone to send:
致美国有线电视新闻网负责人：
美国东部时间4月9日晚6点，贵台主持人Jack Cafferty 在“时事观察室”节目中发表了侮辱全体中国人的种族歧视言论，令人甚感震惊。他说：“他们（中国人）基本上还是五十年来的那群恶棍和暴徒。”
全世界华人充分理解贵国一贯秉持的言论自由原则，并尊重Jack Cafferty的政治立场，但是作为一个公众人物，一个新闻从业者，Jack Cafferty所说的已经完全超越了言论自由的底线，相信任何一个有尊严的华人都不会接受这种对于华人整个族裔的谩骂。
At 6pm EST on the evening of April 9, your network's anchorperson Jack Cafferty, made racist remarks on the program The Situation Room that insulted and shocked the entirety of the Chinese people. He said, “(the Chinese) they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years.”
The Chinese people of the world fully understand that your country has always upheld the principle of free speech, and respect Jack Cafferty's political stance, but as a public persona and a news professional, what Jack Cafferty said has gone way beyond the line of freedom of speech, and [we] believe that any respectable Chinese person cannot accept this kind of invective towards the entire Chinese race.
贵台稍候在15日发表的简短声明中辩解称Jack Cafferty所说的恶棍暴徒指的是中国政府，这样避重就轻没有诚意的道歉声明更是令人难以接受。首先，在Jack Cafferty的言论中，他反复多次说到中国，中国人，丝毫没有提到中国政府的地方；再者，Jack Cafferty在说到“恶棍”与“暴徒”时，使用的是复数，其意思非常明确，他口中的“他们”指的就是整个华人族群；最后，贵台的声明把矛头转向中国政府，这样牵强的强辩实际上是对中华民族的二度伤害！难道攻击一个国家的政府就不会伤害该国人民的感情了吗？
为此我致函向CNN以及Jack Cafferty提出严正抗议和谴责！
中国向世界敞开大门只有短短20多年的时间，全世界华人都能够理解各国人民对中国这个遥远的东方国家尚存在许多的疑问及种种误解。但是这并不意味着某些人可以不负责任、口无遮拦地攻击中国以及中华民族。即使不了解中国，任何一个有良知的人也不应该对发生在自己身边的事实选择性失明。
It is for these reasons that I have written to sternly protest and condemn both CNN and Jack Cafferty!
China has only opened its doors to the world for a short twenty-something years, but Chinese people from around the world are all able to see that people from every country around the world still bear many doubts and various sorts of misunderstandings toward China, this country far off in the Orient. But this does not mean that certain people can be irresponsible, and freely make attacks against China and the Chinese people. Even if one doesn't understand China, no conscientious person ought to be selectively blind to facts which lay before them.
以美国为例，华人移民多少年来都是社会中最遵纪守法和最友善的一群人。Cafferty先生是否记得， 9.11事件发生后 ，布什总统向劫机事件中表现英勇的华裔空姐邓月薇家属颁发奖状，称她是“美国的英雄”，事件中另一名中国学生曾喆在世贸大厦现场不停救人最终英勇牺牲，被追赠纽约市“社区贡献奖”的曾喆是美国历史上获此殊荣的第二人；Cafferty先生又是否知道，去年震惊美国震惊世界的弗吉尼亚理工大学枪击案中，有一名华裔女教师挺身而出带领学生顶住大门阻止了枪手进入，从而保护了全班学生。从何时起，善良、本分、为世界和平默默做出贡献的华人竟然成为了Jack Cafferty口中的恶棍和暴徒？
我相信，身为一名资深政治评论员，Jack Cafferty决非无知，他更没有失忆，促使他公开侮辱中国人的根本原因是他对我华人的种族歧视！他的言论无疑是对整个中华民族，尤其是在美华人最无耻的伤害，更造成了非常恶劣的影响，严重损伤了中美两国人民的友谊。
I believe, that as a senior political commentator, Jack Cafferty is in no way ignorant, as much as I don't believe he has amnesia: the underlying reason which led him to publicly insult the Chinese people is his racism towards Chinese people! His words undoubtedly referred to the entire Chinese race, shamelessly hurting in particular those Chinese in America the most, but the most terrible impact this has had is the serious harm it has done to the friendship between the peoples of America and China.
贵台多年来一直标榜CNN在全球树立了很强的公信度和良好的声誉，而现如今Jack Cafferty信口开河恶意攻击中国人的言论无疑是CNN甚至全美传媒界的耻辱！试问一个赤裸裸发表种族歧视言论的人有何资格站在道德高点批评他人为恶棍暴徒？
希望CNN及Jack Cafferty收起傲慢与偏见，立即向全世界华人进行公开、正式的道歉！
如果贵台及Jack Cafferty本人迟迟不愿就辱华言论事件向全世界华人做出诚恳回应，全球华人定将依法提起集体诉讼，追究CNN及Jack Cafferty的诽谤侮辱责任和相关赔偿。
期待你们的答复！
一名普通中国人：
2008年4月18日
I hope CNN and Jack Cafferty retract their arrogance and prejudice, and immediately issue a public and formal apology to the Chinese people of the world!
If this station and Jack Cafferty himself take their time in issuing a sincere response to the Chinese people of the world for this remark incident which has disgraced us Chinese, the Chinese of the world are firmly prepared to adhere to law and file a class-action lawsuit to look into CNN and Jack Cafferty's responsibility and appropriate compensation for this slanderous insult.
I await your response!
164 comments
As we are often labeled reserved, Chinese people seldom have protest, but when they do, that’s because they are badly hurt or indignant. We have the right to show our anger. We normally don’t ask the permission of others to show it as long as it doesn’t hurt others. Mutual understanding is a good thing. But when westerners are tied of our way of expressing ourselves, why we are always asked to think in theirs shoes?
Many people would say that the US government is currently run by “goons and thugs.” Many people would say the the Chinese government is also run by “goons and thugs.” To say that a country–whether or not it is your own country–has bad leadership does not pay any disrespect to the people of that country.
XniteMan: said :
“Why are they angry? No, it’s not just because you shouted “Free Tibet”, it’s not just because someone attacked Jin Jing, it’s not just because LV donated to Dalai Lama (this is obviously not the cause of the boycott, but rather a supporting evidence). This anger is resulted from all the events occured in the previous month, the sum of them, not any single one. This anger is resulted from the untimate cause behind these events, and admit it, most Europeans look down on Chinese.”
I think you further prove my point that China is not ready for democracy yet. So easily swayed you are by your own media , its scary. Sure the Western media lies and distorts reality. Even if we assume that the western media was 100% wrong about Tibet , how many people have demonstrated for Tibet in the West? no more than 5000.
The Chinese media have produced no evidence at all, not even one to show that the riots were orchestrated by the Dalai Lama., yet not a single Chinese questioned the media. It is quite possible that exailed Tibetans had a hand in it, but where is the proof?
Where is the proof that carrefour has dealings with Tibetan separatists ? Over 2 million Chinese (probably more by now) didn’t ask for a proof.
All those Westerners who try to artificially advance democracy in China are wrong. Leaving China to the hands of Hu Jintao and Wen Jaibao is the the only intelligent option.
I don’t know if my other letter went through, but what I do sense is the taking advantage of people’s pent up emotions, perhaps on both sides of the debate. Ask yourself if throughout history, has any government reached perfect standing? No. The U.S. is wrong about Iraq, though the debate is far from over. China is wrong about Tibet, though that debate will continue long after the Olympics. If people sense anger, they should ask deeply, Why? I think the Chinese are repressed and lacking freedom. I think, and in particular basing some of my thoughts on the fact that I am in South Korea, and there are some similarities, that people are under-employed, over crowded, mis-treated, and in general at the mercy of those who control the money. Change will come from within. I for one am glad this debate is occuring. It’s about time!
@ Amban: Seen you on some other blogs before. Thanks for the comment.
@ XniteMan: I expected many people to think my fact was not “good enough.” The facts and arguments of the other side are rarely ever “good enough” in this contentious issue. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and we’ll discuss logic here.
1. How is the People Daily’s suggestion that “the Dalai clique” believes attacking handicapped women to be a “human right” RIGHT?
2. The Dalai Lama consistently advocates peaceful means and has even condemned the Tibetan violence during the March protests. Yes, the TYC is a questionable organization that often tolerates, advocates, or flirts with using any means to advance their agenda. But does it represent the Dalai Lama? Or are Chinese people associating the two out of convenience to smear the Dalai Lama? Let me repeat the example that what some Japanese do does not represent all Japanese or the government. What some Taiwanese do does not represent all Taiwanese or the government. What some Americans do (Jack Cafferty) does not represent all Americans or the government. Likewise, what some violent Chinese do should not represent all Chinese or the Chinese government. The accusation is wrong because it is premised upon a logical fallacy.
3. I don’t think it is the same level when you look in context. Before I explain that, let me remind you that if us Chinese feel disappointed with Western reporting, aren’t we pathetically hypocritical if we do the same thing? If what our China Daily does is “at the same level?”
4. The West interviewing an exiled monk in India who criticizes the human rights conditions in Lhasa can be understood in the context that the CCP government does not allow the West to interview monks in Lhasa. If the government does not give access to the media, where else do you want the media to get information? The government? A government that has bankrupted its credibility in such situations time and time again with the Western media?
There are reasons why the West and its media are often skeptical of the official stories of the Chinese government. Even domestic Chinese are routinely skeptical of the government-controlled media when they’re not united by the fury of nationalism against some “foreign threat.” Unlike China, the media in the West is not a mouthpiece for the government. Instead, they are a CHECK against governments and corporations and whatnot. We are seeing this role of the media slowly manifest itself in China today too. We have news organizations and media who expose government corruption or scandals. While we haven’t gotten to the point where the media can always and freely criticize or expose the government, we’re seeing SOME of it. That’s good for China, but the reality still remains that the government has ultimate control over Chinese media and have consistently exercised that control.
Whether we Chinese like it or not, the Dalai Lama is still a revered leader for many Tibetan Buddhists within Tibet. He certainly has his agenda, no one denies that (just whether it is peaceful as he says or violent as the CCP government claims). If the Chinese government won’t let the Western media in to find out what’s going on and the CCP government has a reputation for offering state-spun propaganda instead of balanced facts while the Dalai Lama has somehow managed to win over the hearts and trust of the vast majority of non-Chinese, what makes you think the Western media WOULDN’T ask the exiled monk in India for what he thinks is going on?
The Western news media is all about finding information and reporting that information. They make mistakes too, but today many Chinese are insisting that the media willingly do no investigation themselves and willingly listen only to the CCP’s official story. It is “the Dalai clique” vs. the CCP government. Both have agendas and political motivations for their views, beliefs, criticisms, and propaganda. The difference is that the Dalai Lama has a reputation for welcoming communication and investigation while the CCP government does not. Who would you trust?
Peaceful protests began March 10. Riots began March 14. The government locks down the media and restricts access to Tibet. The Western media knows something big and important is happening in Tibet but they can’t get in to find out. The government won’t tell them anything until days later. What few bloggers and journalists are in Tibet can’t get information out. “The Dalai clique,” despite being exiles, have connections with the interior of Tibet and may know something. If the media can’t find out for themselves and can’t get any/sufficient information from the CCP government, who do you think they’d go ask for more information?
When “the Dalai clique” claims the government is cracking down on “peaceful protests,” Westerners automatically think about six/four/eightynine and they can’t help but assume the CCP is doing something that they disapprove. Without more information and not likely to trust the CCP information, the West jumps to conclusions…just like the Chinese who often automatically assume the West is always criticizing and slandering China.
Both sides have preconceived notions of each other, biases, and misinformation. As stubborn or ignorant as Western people are, many of us Chinese are no better. So all we do is criticize each other, blame each other, hate each other. The only difference is that the West rarely uses the excuse of “this is an internal matter” when they can’t convince the other side to agree with them. THIS excuse is what makes us Chinese look incredibly insecure and pathetic. We demand that others accept our view, and if they don’t, we then try to silence them and take away their right to think for themselves of have a different opinion by insisting that it is an “internal matter.”
5. You’re right, what often happens in Chinese media ISN’T in the same league as the Western media. In fact, often, it is far worse. No one denies that some Western media have made reckless mistakes in their reporting of the Tibet incident. Misidentifying Nepal as Tibet is one great example. Getting angry that a news agency cropped a photo one way even though they clearly wrote that a group of Tibetans were attacking a truck is another. Moreover, claiming that a few mistakes suddenly means all Western media are liars and cannot be trusted is even more ridiculous exaggeration, often aimed at inciting emotional nationalism instead of being fair and rational. Take a look at our news in China. How many times do we make mistakes? How often can we trust our media to speak the truth or present multiple sides? Is our media perfect? Have we never made mistakes before? Why do our news media rely on foreign news agencies for their international news coverage when we’re supposedly convinced that the Western media are all crooked and evil?
When the media makes mistakes, we should point them out. However, in doing so, we shouldn’t begin to make our own mistakes. Calling all Western media liars is JUST AS BAD as the some people in the Western media calling the CCP government a bunch of “goons and thugs.”
Again, I ask you, why are we allowing ourselves to make the same mistakes we are criticizing the West for? Is this really making us superior to them or showing them that we are just as bad as they are?
@ XniteMan re #32: The Olympics is about mutual understanding and friendship. If we feel the West is “expressing” their bias and prejudice against us, does doing the same thing back at them uphold our ideal of what the Olympics is about? How can we be friends if we refuse to listen to each other, communicate with each other, and discuss fairly? If our idiots behave like their idiots, then yes, we’re embarassing ourselves.
Your perspective is wrong from the start. You think this is a matter of “persuading the West or changing their minds.” Wrong. We do not have a monopoly on the truth, even though we’d love to think that. “The Dalai clique” doesn’t have a monopoly on the truth either. Nor does the West. The truth is almost always somewhere in the middle.
We shouldn’t be thinking about how we can change THEIR minds, we should be thinking about WHAT our mutual problems and disagreements are and HOW can we find ways to bridge our misunderstandings and arrive at mutually acceptable solutions. Too many people on both sides think they’re right and they other side should listen to them. This is not what the Olympics is about. This is not how we’re going to improve international understanding and cooperation for the future.
If you want to express your anger, go ahead. I will express that I think you’re an idiot. Wise men think before they act. Wise men do not find problems to be angry about, they find solutions for problems. Expressing your anger is a selfish act that might make you feel better but ultimately only contributes to the problem. With 5000 years of history, I would’ve thought my people would have learned better methods of diplomacy.
What IS this “western standard” you refer to? Please answer this question. Also, what is the “Chinese standard?” Don’t try to turn this debate into a “China/West different” thing. It is not. Being able to control one’s anger and use words instead of violence to find solutions instead of creating problems is very much a Chinese ideal as much as it is a Western ideal. Don’t try to create a China vs. West dichotomy when there isn’t one. Just as the intelligent, educated, rational people in the West should do their best to mitigate the knee-jerk idiocy of their ignorant, emotional masses, we too should do the same on the Chinese side.
Go ahead and express your emotions. If your goal is to just cause more problems, go ahead. However, if your goal is to actually improve the situation, expressing your anger probably will probably hurt more than help. If you don’t want to consider that and instead just be angry, fine. Congratulations, you’re no better than the pro-Tibetan protesters screaming and cursing at the Olympic Torch Relay.
One is always asking too much when one demands that others “understand them” without trying to understand others. It is a ridiculous proposition. It is even more ridiculous because many Chinese, more often than not, are not really asking the West to “understand” us. They’re asking the West to just accept our opinion or our version of the facts! Again, we either act as if we have a monopoly on the truth or, worse, we actually believe we know the truth 100%. Do you honestly think we Chinese know 100% of the truth? Even when our own government would not allow its own media to enter Tibet to report on what was happening?
Furthermore, we Chinese do plenty to criticize the domestic affairs of Westerners. Let’s not pretend we’re innocent. I agree with you that the CCP government is not as interventionist as the United States or many European countries (which may or may not be a good thing depending on the situation), but we Chinese DEFINITELY criticize the domestic affairs of westerners. How many of us have the misguided notion that America is a violent place full of guns, murder, and crime? Why? Because our media freely reports the latest crime statistics of America (interestingly, America doesn’t mind sharing that information with the world…unlike us). We’re popular for involving ourselves in the domestic affairs of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Don’t give me this nonsense that China doesn’t criticize others at all.
More importantly, what happened to the Olympic notion of “One world?” Why do we want the West to unite with us when it benefits us and then we try to shut them out if it doesn’t benefit us? How hypocritical is that?
How can you ask others to understand us when we’re not even really trying to understand why others have a problem with us? Are we honestly trying to understand the problems in Tibet and why the West seems to be against us? Or have we conveniently framed the entire situation as “some splittists” who have tricked the rest of the world because the rest of the world is already baised anyway? Aren’t we jumping to the same dead-end conclusions as those Westerners who think we’re all brain-washed?
I’ll give you some credit. You’re at least communicating about this issue in the comments of some blog. You might learn something new or change your mind, and you might teach someone something new and change their mind. That’s better than many of our fellow Chinese who stay in their nationalistic BBS forums cheering each other on whenever someone damns “the enemy.”
I think the first step in improving this terrible situation is to recognize that there are people on both sides who honestly want to understand each other and work together. We also need to recognize that we need to help control dangerous extreme prejudices and emotions on both sides so they do not create more problems.
@ Eric Hu: Despite using a quote, you didn’t actually analyze anything from the People’s Daily commentary I linked for you. All you did was use a string of irrelevant “appeal to emotion” logical fallacies.
That commentary was proof that the Chinese media does its fair share of spouting reckless inflammatory nonsense, just like Jack Cafferty. The thrust of that article as not to simply condemn the use of violence by Tibetan rioters in Lhasa. It was used to equate ONE protester’s violent actions in Paris to the official human rights policy of “the Dalai clique.”
Should I take the actions of ONE hypernationalistic Chinese person on Tianya threatening to kill the Duke University girl and her family as the official human rights policy for the CCP government?
I’m still waiting to see the tons of evidence the government and other Chinese people seem to refer to when they say they have linked the riots in Lhasa to the Dalai Lama himself. Do you have any? More importantly, how credible is it? Is it as credible as the information the United States had for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Can I trust the “evidence” of one side when that side was able to prevent anyone else from gathering or analyzing the “evidence?”
Let’s not be ridiculous. Didn’t our teachers teach us to be critical thinkers back in middle school? (maybe not)
Just as claim “the Dalai clique” used “modified information,” others can claim the CCP government ALSO uses “modified information.” Who is right? Do you believe the CCP government because you trust them or because you’ve gathered and analyzed the evidence from all sides yourself? Please figure this out for me.
As I’ve laid out before, a lot of Chinese anger towards the Western media is based upon a failure to understand how the news media works in the West. When something big happens, the news media in the west immediately reports on what they know and will revise their reporting as new information comes in. China may prefer to not report anything at all and wait for the government to have an official final story before reporting anything, if at all. When the West heard that something terrible was happening in Lhasa, they tried to get information. The government wouldn’t give them anything but the exiled Tibetan goverment did. The Western media reported that. As time went on and more information became available, the West reported those too. When the Western media was able to get reports from the few journalists they had in Lhasa, they reported them and those journalists did a good job of clarifying that the violence was from mostly from the Tibetans. Is there still prejudice and bias from some Westerners? Yes. Are there some Westerners who don’t accept that the rioters were Tibetans who were killing Han and Hui? Yes, they’re idiots. But did the West fail to report these when they found out? No. Did they report these things at the beginning? No, because they couldn’t have known in the beginning because they couldn’t get that information and the Chinese government is partially responsible for that.
You can blame “the Dalai clique” for initially presenting the riots as peaceful protests being cracked down by Chinese security forces and conveniently not mentioning that there were Tibetans attacking Han Chinese. However, you can’t blame the Western media for not wanting to go into Lhasa and find out more information themselves. You CAN, however, blame the CCP government for not letting the Western media see the truth themselves.
Does it make sense for us to hide the truth from the media and then criticize the media for trying to find out information through other sources? Do you think anyone really trusts us when we do so many things to make them feel like we just want to control the truth and what others think? We give other people the impression that we have secrets to hide. If we were so confident of the truth, why bother hiding?
Your last paragraph doesn’t make much sense and I don’t know what you’re trying to say. Very few people support killing and physically attacking disabled people. There is also no proof that “the Dalai clique” actually support the use of violence against disabled people. We know the TYC has a self-professed potentially militant agenda, but how is that the Dalai Lama or ALL “Tibetan separatists?” Do you really think all pro-Tibet people support the use of violence and specifically want to attack disabled people? That one attack in Paris single-handedly embarassed and set-back the efforts of the Dalai Lama. He probably hates that guy in Paris more than the CCP. In fact, I bet the CCP loves that guy right now. Why? Because that one guy’s actions single-handedly bolstered countless support for the CCP government from its citizens.
I applaud you for engaging in dialogue, and I welcome you to address these points. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ve been sufficiently addressing any of my points.
看到这个网站似乎有版主将中文评论翻译成为英文？本来自己也可以用英语，但终归还是没有母语来的痛快，所以既然有这个服务，我就索性用母语发表意见吧。
关于本次由于奥运火炬传递中一些西方国家发生的事情引起的中国国内目前抵制法国家乐福和要求CNN的主持人道歉仪式，作为一个来自中国大陆的年轻人，我的观点如下：
1、关于巴黎发生的抵制奥运事件，我相信这部分人只占法国6000万人口的很少比例。但需要指出的是，法国总统萨科奇的确比较过分，刚从中国拿走了200亿美金的关于京沪高铁的高额合同，这次立即公开抵制本应与政治毫无关系的北京奥运，这的确极大的伤害了中国人民的感情；
2、关于西藏问题，我很诚实的告诉大家，我来自中国新疆，我的一个堂兄就在拉萨做生意，3.14事件中，那些闹事的分子的确对平民实施了打砸抢，中国军队是事件发生后才进入拉萨的。 需要特别提醒西方国家朋友的是，关于西藏问题，在你们没有亲自到过西藏时，不要相信中国媒体的宣传，也别相信你们国家媒体的宣传，他们都是带有倾向性和目的性的。要了解真正的西藏，请你有时间自己到西藏亲自去看看。现在，西藏的旅游对国内外的朋友都是敞开大门的。
3、关于CNN主持人的辱华问题，我想不用掩饰自己的错误。无论他是有意识的还是仅凭一时过嘴瘾，更别说中国人民如何错误的解读了他的话，事实上，作为一个具有全球影响性的媒体的资深传媒人，他的话让人很震惊，至少我认为他很缺乏专业水准和应有的教养。
4、关于中国和西方国家之间的意识形态差异问题，我想，经过30年改革开放，中国的在各方面都取得了很大进步，尤其在经济方面。从抗日战争胜利连炼铁都不能的工业水平，短短50年间使得13亿人解决了温饱问题，共产党的确还是值得老百姓赞赏的。但是，我们在民主和法制上的确做的还恨不能令百姓满意，但是我想，民主、法制这个东西只有从一个社会的内部逐渐解决，绝非靠西方国家的施压就可以解决的。美国的种族歧视也是一直斗争了100多年，直到现在仍然存在，不是吗？
我想，没有哪个社会是完美的。就是在实行普选制的西方民主国家，一般一个执政党领导人上台的得票率一般也就50%多，这从另一个侧面也反应出也至少有其它接近50%的公民对目前执政的领导人是不满意的，因为这个领导人不是自己当时投票的那个人。
坦率的说，因为存在诸如腐败、贪污、践踏法律、不够民主等，作为一个中国人，我自己也对共产党不是很满意。但我爱自己的国家。我爱这片生我养我的土地，我爱我们的人民。
所以，西方百姓以后不要支持分裂那些企图分裂别人国家的行为，这如同如果我们支持加拿大的魁北克省独立、科西嘉岛从法国独立、北爱尔兰从英国独立一样，你们的百姓会舒服吗？
最后，希望西方的媒体拿出你们一直引以为自豪的客观公正来，不要受到你们国内利益集团和执政党的影响，如果对中国哪些地方不满意，可以指责中国政府，但请千万记住：中国人民是善良的、勤劳的、无辜的，不要用语言中伤我们的可爱的人民！
@ Steven Chang: I think you need to first figure out the reasons behind why you browse Western websites AND why you can read English? Then you need to put yourself in the shoes of Westerners who can’t read Chinese, haven’t felt a need to learn Chinese, and therefore don’t read Chinese websites like sohu.com. We Chinese study English because it has become a critical language for global communications and business. Prior to Deng Xiao Ping’s reforms to open up China economically, China was not an economically important country and there was little incentive to learn Chinese. Now that the world is globalizing and China is becoming more important, we see more and more foreigners learning Chinese and learning about China. As long as China remains economically important in the world, there will be more people learning our language and eventually browsing our websites.
You have to look at things withing context. Don’t assume that your experience automatically means Chinese people naturally understand the West more than the West understands us. You wouldn’t give a sh!t about English websites if the United States was an economic, political, and social superpower. You wouldn’t even understand the English language if it was not economically advantageous for you to have learned it. You learned English because it has been historically useful, not because you inherently want to understand the West. You want to understand the West because the West is economically important enough to help you economically.
I don’t think we’re doing a good job displaying our “peace-loving and harmonious image” to the West, especially when our own people want to kill our own people for just having different opinions or for even trying to engage in dialogue with those who have different opinions. Do you think that shows how “peace-loving and harmonious” we are?
You say you browse Western websites yet you still do not know why some people in the West want to boycott the Olympic Games? Are you reading those websites or are you just looking at pictures? These websites have many articles giving reasons for why some Westerners want to boycott the Olympics. I shouldn’t have to explain to you the various reasons. You can read those websites yourself. Whether you accept or agree with those reasons is up to you, but you should know what they are. If you don’t, then you’re choosing to hate the West without bothering to understand them. That makes you as guilty as Westerners who hate China without understanding us Chinese.
Is that the solution you want?
I’ve said this before, the Olympics will always be political and the Chinese have treated the Olympics as political too. Let’s stop pretending the Olympics can be separated from politics. It is just a convenient way to say “our political use of the Olympics is okay but your political use of the Olympics is not.” Anyone who says the Olympics has nothing to do with politics is being unrealistic at best, and hypocritical, at worst.
I really can’t beleive phrases like Dalai Lama Clique, only because I am not a member of such “clique”. I am however a supporter of a people’s right to self determination, and I don’t need the Dalai Lama to do my speaking. I love him for what he stands for, but I speak always for myself. To get some sense of what Tibetans and their supporters are actually saying, try tibet.org The Dalai Lama is controversial even in the Tibetan community. What we love about the Dalai Lama is the fact that he is a symbol for all Tibetan’s living in exile. No one should have to live in exile, yet this is the case. And while many Tibetans do live in exile abroad and in neighboring countries, they would live in Tibet if there had not been a reason to flee. Meanwhile, it’s true that China has tried to change the culture of Tibet through mining operations and by encouraging occupation by other groups. This seems similar to a situation in Israel along the Gaza strip. We don’t need to apologize for our media or anyone. (A collective we) I do say we need human rights in every part of he world. Because China is hosting the Olympics, they invited this criticism upon themselves. Did anybody really think that in consideration of coming to China, we would be quiet and never say a word. When have you ever known Americans to be quiet? Do you know anyone who works at a four or five star hotel. Do American complain and demand things? We want the best. For progressive and caring Americans, this means we want the best for your country, for Tibetans, and for the world. Your happiness means everything. Nobody wants to visit an unhappy country. We all have a long ways to go. This world is not fair, and if I start going on about why I think it’s not fair, I could open another box of worms. (an idiom, meaning, the discussion never ends. Peace to all.