China: Dialogue with Anti-CNN · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On Monday (11 April), Rebecca MacKinnon, Global Voices Online co-founder and former CNN journalist, was interviewed by core members of Anti-CNN website.
This is a significant event as the Anti-CNN website was launched to counter the western media's (represented by CNN) reports on the Tibetan unrest and crackdown in May last year. As it has been pointed out by Rebecca during the interview that many people regard Anti-CNN a community of 50 cent for spreading Chinese government's propaganda. This interview can give people a glimpse of this community of patriotic young people.
The conversation was mainly about western media “impartial” and “bias” report on news related with China, including Tibet issue, Olympic torch relay protest. Rebecca has written a detailed summary in Rconversation. She expects to see more interaction between the Anti-CNN community with the outside world:
My purpose in doing this interview was primarily to understand the Anti-CNN community better as part of my book research. Communities of enthusiastic, patriotic young people like the Anti-CNN volunteers are part and parcel of the phenomenon I call cyber-tarianism.
It will be very interesting to see how the Anti-CNN website continues to evolve. Rao Jin (founder of the website) has plans to develop an English-language platform – with a less provocative, more friendly name – through which his community can engage in dialogue and debate with the English-speaking world. I think it's great that they're looking to expand their dialogue and engage with the world. It's important that the outside world understand that China's patriotic youth, like young Republicans or young Tories, feel that they are acting on their own belief systems and get angry when characterized as brainwashed puppets. It will be fascinating to see how the outside world reacts to these efforts, and how the Anti-CNN website administrators handle conversations that foreigners want to have with them involving events, people, or points of view that Chinese websites are generally required to censor in order to avoid being shut down.
In the Anti-CNN website, the organizer has transcribed in brief the conversation in the forum and here is a selection of carry on discussion:
happy: 看完了，至少代表了一个理性的国外记者的成熟看法，当然，我听得出来她对一个没有自由，特别是没有舆论自由国家的失望以及不满，当然分寸都是恰到好处，可以通过网络审查聊起来。
再者，Rebecca回答问题中流露出来的西方思维以及那些关于独立思考、言论自由、动机和目的区别对待的理性精神，都是我们“先天”缺少的，这种对话很有意义，真实多了。比看100条CCTV新闻联播内容有收获多了。
Moreover, western ideas of independent thought, freedom of speech and rational thinking that differentiate means and ends are implicit in her answer. These are something we missed in our culture. This kind of conversation is very meaningful and concrete, a lot more fruitful than 100 items in CCTV news broadcast.
superstar: 感谢Rebecca。相对来说，对中国的看法比较客观。
不过Rebecca的回答，也没啥新意。西方人对中国的看法都那样，我们国家重要的还是自己解决好发展的问题，其实不太用得着别人如何看。
当然，实际上CNN们的某些针对中国粗糙加工或者巧妙加工的新闻，我感觉他的读者并非西方人，而是我们中国内部。西方人充其量也就是个看热闹的，好点的也就是同情加理解而已，品行不端的可能期待着乘火打个劫什么的。
我想，实际上，中国跟西方的交流已经越来越多，虽然中国对西方某些方面保持着自我保护。但随着中国国家不断的发展，自信力的增长，针对中国的双重标准的事情会越来越少。我们会逐渐的敞开胸怀拥抱世界。
However, there is nothing new in her answer. Westerners share similar view on China, we have to solve our own developmental problem and should not care too much on others’ opinion.
My feeling is that the main audience of CNN's cropped photo and carefully processed news are Mainland Chinese, westerners are onlookers. Some with good intention may read it with sympathy, some with vice intention may take advantage of it.
In reality, there is more and more communication between China and the West. In some aspects, China is being self-defensive. However, China will gain more confidence when it continues to develop and there will be less and less double standard judgment towards China. We can embrace the world then.
ry1808: 中国的媒体给我的感觉是漂亮话说得太多，主旋律过于旺盛（当然现在有所改善，但是还是不够），但是刻意颠倒黑白的事情并不多见。国内媒体对于自己不便说的事情一般采取噤声的态度，也就是回避，根本不说。而西方媒体往往会自己另外编一个故事，让这个故事更符合自己的价值观。
四月社區初中一年級：AC提问过于温和，没有抓住一个问题深问，让她避重就轻绕过去了。还有，对暴徒袭击金晶，西人疯狂反华，西媒践踏中国民意(北京奥运)等违背人类基本道德规范，违背西方一直对别人说教的“人权”等的丑恶，此人根本没有认识到这是西方道德沦丧，是一种虚伪，双重标准的突出表现。她还是一付道德优越感的样子。每当问题涉及到西媒偏见，她就提中国媒体如何如何不好，这是两码事，至少中国媒体不自封是世界上最客观，公正的媒体。她既然懂中文，难道不知道中国媒体，从主流到网络，对政府的批评有多自由？多利害？希望AC以后这种访谈不要中了西人圈套，让此类人士借此机会收集所谓材料好写书，然后在书中以所谓“中国问题专家”口吻，再来一个重复西人对中国的深刻偏见和傲慢。老实说，我很失望…
Aircraft: 建议AC把这位记者在访谈后用英文写的一篇文章翻译出来。她的文章已经被美国人放在网上来批评中国人了。此人的文章将网友的提问断章取意，还是不断重复自己已经形成的偏见，吹捧达赖。
Hu Yong writes a blog post commenting on the difficulty in this communication:
沟通，还发生在两种不同的思维范式之间，一种范式总是使用“你们”这个词，把对方视为一个步调，一种声音，乃至一个蓄谋已久的阴谋；另一种范式总是使用“我”这个词，“我不会说中国人都怎么样之类的话，因为不同的人有不同的看法、利益、动机”；还发生在两种不同的政治文化之间，一种文化中，总理遇鞋后说：“这种卑鄙的技俩，阻挡不了中英两国人民的友谊！人类的进步、世界的和谐，是任何力量也阻挡不了的！”另一种文化中，总统遇鞋后说：“我能告诉大家的是，这只鞋子是10码……通过这么做来吸引注意力，这是一个人在自由社会所能做的”；还发生在两种不同的交流话语之间，一种话语体系中，由于管制的不对称性，支持政府的声音、支持主流立场的声音高亢嘹亮；另一种体系中，掌握政权的群体和无政权的群体相比，更重视后者的声音。
这是一场极为艰难的沟通，我要因此向小麦老师致敬，有勇气、有智慧进行这样一场跨文化、跨年龄、跨范式的沟通，给我们提供了一个观察部分中国年轻人所受教育和所持思维的窗口，更提供了一个和这样一种教育和思维下的年轻人进行对话的范本。
This is an extremely difficult communication. I have to express my respect to Rebecca. It takes much courage and wisdom to have this kind of cross-cultural, cross-generational and cross-paradigm communication. It gives us an opportunity to observe Chinese young people's education and mode of thinking and provides us with an example for future dialogue with them.