19 August 2006
The Middle Kingdon: Part 2
If one was to take a snapshot of a typical scene and China and typical scene in Japan and was to ask some unfamiliar with the area which society was democratic and which was authoritarian, it is likely that they would confused democratic Japan with authoritarian China. The sheer aggressiveness and boisterousness of Chinese culture seems more similar to the American way of life as opposed to the more sedate and mellow character of the Japanese. Even my friend Patrick, after spending two weeks in both countries, said that China seemed more familiar to him than Japan.
I definately did not have an overt sense that every aspect of the average Chinese was being curtailed by the Chinese Communist Party, or that anyone seemed upset that they were denied their political rights and civil liberties - although this is what happens when the government is highly skilled at suppressing dissent while ensuring stability and producing noticable results in the form of economic growth and development. Outside of major urban centers and tourist attractions, things are likely to be very different.
Unfortunately, I found out my potential blog audience was reduced by nearly a quarter by the CCP who has taken the liberty of blocking Blogger and its blogs. Wikipedia was also blocked and don't even bother with the three Ts: Tibet (part of China), Taiwan (part of China), or the Tiannamen Square Incident of 1989 (zilch).
One of the more interesting conversations I had was with a former roommate from London and her husband. Both of them work for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both have lived for years in the Middle East, the husband was actually a member of the delegation that helped set up the Chinese embassy in Bahgdad. The conversation inevitably turned toward Japan and - more precisely - Sino-Japanese relations. They had very critical things to say about Koizumi's insistence to visit Yasukuni, and expressed concern that while the Chinese government was handling things pragmatically, the Japanese were risking their own standing with these official visits. They said that every time they spoke about Japan to other Chinese, most Chinese would grow almost instantly hostile.
Of course a lot of this IS the government's doing. The CCP, under Mao Zedong, was the established as the party of the people, the workers and peasants that made up the vast majority of the Chinese population. In the 1970s, after the disasters that were the Great Leap Forward the Cultural Revolution, as well as with the death of Mao, the party opened its economy, repaired its relations with the west, and seemed to abandon its working class, anti-capitalist ideology. Today, this is even more apparent, and the CCP knows it. As a result, it has tried to maintain its legitimacy by identifying itself as the champions of the Chinese nation, the result of which has been a surge in nationalist and patriotic sentiment, and along with this identity has come an increase in anti-Japanese sentiment. Hostility toward Japan has grown so strong, the CCP may be unable to curtail it.
I will continue this tomorrow...
I definately did not have an overt sense that every aspect of the average Chinese was being curtailed by the Chinese Communist Party, or that anyone seemed upset that they were denied their political rights and civil liberties - although this is what happens when the government is highly skilled at suppressing dissent while ensuring stability and producing noticable results in the form of economic growth and development. Outside of major urban centers and tourist attractions, things are likely to be very different.
Unfortunately, I found out my potential blog audience was reduced by nearly a quarter by the CCP who has taken the liberty of blocking Blogger and its blogs. Wikipedia was also blocked and don't even bother with the three Ts: Tibet (part of China), Taiwan (part of China), or the Tiannamen Square Incident of 1989 (zilch).
One of the more interesting conversations I had was with a former roommate from London and her husband. Both of them work for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both have lived for years in the Middle East, the husband was actually a member of the delegation that helped set up the Chinese embassy in Bahgdad. The conversation inevitably turned toward Japan and - more precisely - Sino-Japanese relations. They had very critical things to say about Koizumi's insistence to visit Yasukuni, and expressed concern that while the Chinese government was handling things pragmatically, the Japanese were risking their own standing with these official visits. They said that every time they spoke about Japan to other Chinese, most Chinese would grow almost instantly hostile.
Of course a lot of this IS the government's doing. The CCP, under Mao Zedong, was the established as the party of the people, the workers and peasants that made up the vast majority of the Chinese population. In the 1970s, after the disasters that were the Great Leap Forward the Cultural Revolution, as well as with the death of Mao, the party opened its economy, repaired its relations with the west, and seemed to abandon its working class, anti-capitalist ideology. Today, this is even more apparent, and the CCP knows it. As a result, it has tried to maintain its legitimacy by identifying itself as the champions of the Chinese nation, the result of which has been a surge in nationalist and patriotic sentiment, and along with this identity has come an increase in anti-Japanese sentiment. Hostility toward Japan has grown so strong, the CCP may be unable to curtail it.
I will continue this tomorrow...
