Defining "the west" and its role in the torch protests
At the Danwei Plenary Session last month, moderator Jeremy Goldkorn issued a proviso before the discussion began: he would be referring to the western media and the Chinese media, even though "western media" is not, by any stretch, a homogeneous creature. One of my good friends, and sometimes contributor to this blog, has complained vociferiously that "the west" doesn't exist and should, at the very least, be defined before discussion can continue.
Traditionally I have overlooked this. To me, "the west" means white, English-speaking countries: Europe, the UK, Ireland, Australia, United States, Canada. Perhaps it's also a code-word for "colonial" powers (although it doesn't fit each of the countries I listed). Chinese people I have met have told me that media from these countries - and the power they hold as a collective - is unduly influential on a global scale; thus the campaigns against networks such as CNN over their news coverage.
"The West" is now the bogeyman to the Chinese: "The west" was responsible for past humiliations, "the west" is ruining the torch relay, "the west" doesn't understand Chinese culture. In fact, in a previous post, we get a psycho-analysis of a western mind.
This is all fine and good, but overlooks some glaring omissions which came to light this week. First, to blame "the west" for the FT movement is ridiculous; the Tibetan Government-in-Exile is based in India, for starters, and last I checked it wasn't a card-carrying member of the west. Nor is Japan part of the definition of "the west" that I offered above, and look how they handled this past weekend's torch relay stop in Nagano:
Protesters hurled rubbish and flares Saturday at the Beijing Olympic torch and brawled with Chinese supporters in a chaotic Japanese leg of the troubled round-the-world relay.
At least four people were injured in the scuffles in the mountain resort of Nagano, where more than 85,000 people packed the streets including Chinese students who turned the town into a sea of red national flags.
After relative calm elsewhere in Asia, the torch met at least hundreds of protesters here ranging from Buddhist monks and pro-Tibet demonstrators to nationalists, who provocatively waved Japan's old imperial flag.
Protesters threw trash, an egg, a tomato and flares as the torch was paraded through the streets despite more than 3,000 police guarding the route, who had raised security to a level usually accorded to Emperor Akihito.
The torch, which was run through Seoul on Sunday, didn't fare much better:
The Olympic torch relay has met with more protests and scuffles on its latest leg in Seoul, the capital of South Korea....
...One human rights demonstrator tried to rush at the torch shortly after the run began from Seoul's Olympic Park, in an attempt to hinder the relay.
South Korean policemen rescued a man after Chinese students attacked him during the torch relay.
To be fair, the report from Al Jazeera says that pro-China demonstrators vastly outnumbered the people protesting Chinese government policy. But the conclusion remains the same: people feel angry enough about China's policies that they are compelled to turn out and protest the torch relay.
There will be conspiracy theorists, probably in this comments section, that will say India, South Korea, Japan, et al have all been influenced by the west, are "slaves of the west", or whatever convenient excuse people choose to create. But the bottom line is the FT movement - and the backlash against the Chinese government (not the people, I'm at pains to add) - is far from a western phenomenon.
My colleague at Tianjin Television asked me over the weekend why "westerners" like the Dalai Lama so much. My response was that the Dalai Lama is, largely, respected by people in countries all over the world. China is the lone country which continues to demonize him. I suppose there is a possibility that China's assessment of the Dalai Lama is correct, but I doubt it.
What I'd like to know is how "the west" is defined in China, and how China feels about fellow Asian countries also protesting the torch. Because this time, France had nothing to do with it.
Mind you, neither did Carrefour.
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Poor Carrefour. Kind of like all Arab people are suspected terrorist in USA right now. Just as FT and movement is steeling mainland Chinese towards Nationalism, CCP media is adding juice to FT movement by incessant demonizing DL and FT movement.
China shouldn't homogenize 'the West'. Neither should China treat a few thousand protesters in France, Japan, Korea, USA and many countries as their government and the whole population of those countries protesting against China. Good point. China is taking a few 'Westerners' far too seriously, too personally.
Why "westerners" like the Dalai Lama so much? Exotic culture, charismatic leader, gifted spokespersons, beautiful Tibetan landscapes, non-violence front, Buddhism and Buddhism, spiritual air etc etc, all help a lot in securing good media attention. As contrast to Chinese regime: a communist that become too capitalist, image of ugly materialism, pollution, giant appetite in limited world resource etc etc, almost guaranteed to get China bad media attention.
As for DL, many people in the world, like me probably have neutral feelings towards him. However, it is understandable how, just like Princess Diana before him, he is class A material to be a celebrity of celebrities.
If only the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria , the inhabitants of Western Sahara, whose territory is occupied by Morocco, the Basques in Spain, the Corsicans off the coast of France, not least the majority Shi'ttes in Iraq have the same charm. Their fight for freedom would be far more hopeful.
1. What happened in the torch relays was just the last straw, period.
2. China is also the lone country to have conflicts in interests with Dalai Lama, and China is the lone country to have negotiated with him on these issues before.
Cam,
"First, to blame "the west" for the FT movement is ridiculous; the Tibetan Government-in-Exile is based in India, for starters,"
You are arguing against yourself basically. The Chinese are not blaming the west for the FT movement per se, they are blaming the west for the unfair, biased reporting, some of which board propaganda and brainwashing.
So, what are you talking about? Shooting a self-created target?
bolelander,
"non-violence", lol.
The Chinese brain thinks in terms of Guonei and Guowai. Once they go beyond that they struggle with anything beyond accepted truths like "London is a foggy city"; "Italians are excitable" and "Westerners want to keep China down.
India has large number of Tibenten in exil.
China and Noth Korea fought a bloody war with South Korea and US 50 years ago. Korea is still divided.
China and Japan has very unhappy time in the past 100 years.
we have enough reasons to protest every world sports events.
Although geographically Japan lies in Asia,
it is not really regarded as an Asian country, at best it is a country with a western master. I assume you remember the " Plaza Accord " in 1985, which saved USA from a recession at the expense of Japan's decade-long stagnation. No real sovereign country in its right mind would sign such a treaty. It can be explained as either Japan is insane or USA's pawn. I prefer the latter.
As for South Korea, it boasts 45 million Christians of a 80 million population, which is very atypical of an eastern culture. After 50 years of nominal independence, militarily and politically, it is only slightly more than a protectorate of USA.
In a nutshell, Japan and South Korea are very much westernized, figuratively domesticated by USA. It would be more appropriate to categorize them into the western camp.
If you really want to make a valid point, please pick some compelling examples.
The Case Study of Marketing Strategy: Boycott Carrefour
In 2007 Carrefour China has been seeking a new marketing strategy to increase the brand awareness in Chinese market. But nothing really exciting has come out.
In April 2008, after the violent Olympic Torch relay protestin Paris. The marketing manager Pierre Wang in Carrefour head office China saw the great opportunity had come. There was anger among many hyper nationalistic internet youth in China after protest in London, Paris and San-Francisco.
Pierre Wang set up a special team of 10 to use all different names on all the major Chinese internet forums and blogs to call for a boycott Carrefour. This boycott Carrefour call spread all over China via internet and SMS just in three days.
In the next three weeks, there were protests led by High school and uni students in front of few Carrefour stores cross China. The crowed has been well controlled by police. There was no damage or sales decline in the stores. In the mean time, boycott or not boycott Carrefour has been hot topic on all the Chinese media. All the celebrities came out and talked about their opinions.
By the beginning of May 08, the majority of Chinese people from Kindergarten to retiree village agreed Carrefour was innocent and boycott was senseless. Carrefour became the top branded store among Chinese people as a result.
In 2009, Carrefour opened another 200 new stores in China. Pierre Wang was promoted as the global marketing director in Carrefour.
Hey Jerry,
Following your logic, I guess Saudi Arabia is also part of the west.
You haven't scored a single point.
XniteMan said:
bolelander,
"non-violence", lol.
non-violence 'front'. They preach a non-violence 'philosophy' and it work out fine. Western Media suck up to it anyway. To be fair, compare to freedom fighters who are forced by Western blocs into training their daughters to be suicide bombers, Tibetans are so very non-violent. In a skewed sense of logic, we can see that the level of oppression is different here too.
Bing Ma Yong said:
The Case Study of Marketing Strategy: Boycott Carrefour......In 2009, Carrefour opened another 200 new stores in China. Pierre Wang was promoted as the global marketing director in Carrefour.
This is too genius and risky to be true. Anyway to verify it?
Hi Mistah Kirtz,
I think Jerry means South Korean and Japanese people are more towards the west. I don't think Saudi Arabia have the same attitude except the government.
Hi bolelander,
the case was just my joke. the fact is carrefour has achieved their branding goal they only could dream of. they must be laughing rather than crying now.
Japan and South Korea have been more progressive in past years than other Asian countries in trading with the West and other parts of the World.
I don't for a moment believe that makes them less Asian.
In fact, if anything, other Asian countries have followed their lead.
It's good to be that way. Always surround yourself with people who are more successful than you are.
Hang out with people who can teach you things.
Hi Mistah Kirtz,
I know superior white men are more successful than the other. So I hang out on this blog with people like you who can teach me things.
People the world over, no matter what their ethnicity, would be wise to learn Mandarin.
It is the language of money.
You can be my teacher!
Sarcasm is my second language, so I'm right there with ya!
Kidding aside, Mandarin is the language to learn NOW.
Bing Ma Yong,
Unfortunately, supermarkets sell by price competitiveness and convenience of location, not brand recognition. I don't see how being a famous name helps its sales.
I am often dismayed by the monolithic view of "the West" that I see in many of the Chinese academic articles I translate. You will often read a perfectly justified bemoaning of outsider's failure to understand the present complexities and particular historical context of China, followed immediately by a set of broad-brush statements about the West with all the same faults. I suppose the message is so many of us are given to accepting simplistic explanations of things we don't know about if they fit our preconceived agendas.
Jerry: As for South Korea, it boasts 45 million Christians of a 80 million population, which is very atypical of an eastern culture. After 50 years of nominal independence, militarily and politically, it is only slightly more than a protectorate of USA.
In a nutshell, Japan and South Korea are very much westernized, figuratively domesticated by USA. It would be more appropriate to categorize them into the western camp.
As a South Korean, I am offended by this categorization, which just sounds like Cold War era propaganda ("South Korea is just a puppet of the US Imperialists!"). If you're using the popularity of Christianity in Korea in your argument that South Korea is 'western', consider that 1. Christianity first came to Korea via China, and 2. 'eastern' religions like Buddhism and Confucianism are also flourishing in South Korea unlike in anti-religious China. One could just as well argue that China meanwhile has adopted Communism, a western 'religion' created by Europeans, so it belongs in the western camp.
It is offensive to reduce and dismiss any actions or opinions of South Koreans as symptomatic of belonging in some camp. Have you considered that as a free society, we have a plurality of diverse opinions rather than a single party line?
@Jongseong - Christianity originated in the Palestine - to the east of Europe, and Bhuddism originated in India - to the west of China. It seems that ideas can run in both directions!
At any rate, was China part of the 'west' when Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT were in power?
The more I look at the current situation, the more I think of George Orwell's essay "notes on nationalism". I suppose the best thing for all of us is to remember the conclusion of that essay:
FOARP, thanks for that George Orwell quote. In South Korea now there is a strong anti-Chinese backlash, much of it with more than a tinge of xenophobia. As a Korean, I too was shocked and angered by the pictures and videos of Korean demonstrators, police, and bystanders being beaten up in their own capital by Chinese students. But I hope Koreans won't let our emotions get the better of us and descend into a war of competing nationalisms. I also hope Koreans can learn from these events how damaging unchecked nationalism can be and examine our own nationalistic tendencies.
Cam has a point when he criticizes China's conceptions of the monolithic "West". Yet to cite Japan, South Korea, and India as examples of a "global" backlash against China is problematic. All three countries are proximate to China and are disgruntled with the Dragon for their own complex reasons.
It is more fruitful to consider Brazilian critiques of the Argentinian torch relay, for instance (see Estado de Sao Paulo, for those of you who read Portuguese), as an expression of "global" backlashes against China. In other words, developing countries not directly related to China, with post-colonial legacies and anti-Western sentiments of their own, have also voiced criticism. This is worth taking note of, and goes further towards proving Cam's original argument.
Cam,
The following might sound funny: The Chinese did not invent the term "the west", the west did. The west often talk about "us vs. them" and it clearly knows what the west entails. I think the definition of "the west" is universally accepted as "White, Judeo-Christian liberal democracies" Is it not?
The reason why the west is sympathetic toward FT might be slightly different from say how the Thais might be. China is constantly painted as a threat, a bad guy in the west. Not so much in Thailand, for example. It is natural to sympathize the enemies of a perceived bag guy.
Mick, misconceptions and preconceptions are not exclusively Chinese. You have ignorant folks everywhere.
the FT movement does have support in many countries.. but it really is mainly the West. Japan and Korea were not on the scale of Paris and London.
When We were called Sick man of Asia, We were The Peril.
When We are billed to be the next Superpower, We are called The threat.
When We closed our doors, You invaded us to open our market to your Opium
When We Embrace Free Trade, You blame us for Taking away your jobs.
When We were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your "fair share".
When We were putting the broken pieces together again, "Free Tibet" you screamed, "it was an invasion!"
(Woodrow Wilson Couldn't give back the Birth Place of Confucius back to Us,
But He did buy a ticket for the Famine Relief Ball for us.)
So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being Communists
When We embrace Capitalism, You hate us for being Capitalists.
When We have a Billion People, you said we were destroying the planet.
When We tried to limit our numbers, you said It was human rights abuse.
When We were Poor, You think we are dogs.
When We buy your bonds, You blame us for your debt.
When We build our industries, You called us Polluters.
When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming.
When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide.
When You kill for oil, You call that Liberation.
When We were lost in Chaos and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us.
When We uphold law and order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights.
When We were silent, You said you want us to have Freedom of Speech.
When We were silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophoics.
Why do you hate us so much? We asked.
"No," You Answered, "We don't hate You."
We don't Hate You either,
But Do you understand us?
"Of course We do," You said,
"We have AFP, CNN and BBCs..."
What do you really want from us?
Think Hard first, then Answer...
Because you only get so many chances,
Enough is Enough, Enough Hypocrisy for this one world.
We want One World, One Dream, And Peace On Earth.
- This Big Blue Earth is Big Enough for all of Us.
In Hong Kong, my home, I'm considered Chinese. I'm ethnically Chinese, I speak Cantonese every day, I have Chinese parents, a Chinese name, etc.
On the Mainland, I am constantly told I am not Chinese. Why? I am overseas. I've had angry Beijing taxi drivers demand 'why aren’t you more Chinese?' as if I had a choice in where I was born and raised!
I write and work in English, as that is my first language and my job. Two years ago, I married a lovely Westerner, who has lived in HK for 12 years. Does that make me Chinese or Western? And does it matter?
I suppose that, according to some angry Chinese bloggers, no matter what I say or believe, I am part of the awful Western media conspiracy, since I work for the International Herald Tribune and New York Times Co.
Recently, I wrote an slightly humorous article about critical China coverage in the Hong Kong media. Does that mean Hong Kong is part of the “Western” media? Is any media that angers Beijing part of the “West”? Another blogger told me any satire or poking fun was "Western." Are Japan and Korea also the "West"? That would surprise anyone who owns a map.
Like any journalist -- Chinese, Western or otherwise -- I ask questions, I doubt things, I dig out information, I offer contrary opinions. I write what I see, and edit to let the opinions or our writers come through. (I do much more editing than writing). Like anyone, sometimes I get things right, sometimes I get things wrong. But that does not mean my colleagues or I have a desire to harm China, sabotage the Olympics or plot dissent in Tibet.
I've visited the CNN Asia headquarters in HK; and the BBC, Bloomberg and Reuters offices in London. I know many good (and a few bad) people of different nationalities who work at these places. "Western" editors and producers are definitely not perfect, but they do not sit around plotting to destroy China. Why would they? To tell you the truth, "Western" editors sit around stressed, trying to juggle everything from violent Zimbabwe elections to Myanmar killer cyclones to the U.S. sub-prime crisis to the Iraq war. We are critical on all these issues – not just China.
But back to the original question: What am I? Chinese? Western? HK Chinese? Canadian-born Chinese ? Canadian-born-HK-Chinese? These definitions get silly after a while.
What matters is whether journalists are given the access to report. I have Chinese journalist friends who speak of direct censorship. That should stop. Let China open Tibet up to both Chinese and Western journalists. Let them un-censor newspapers, unblock the TV waves and bring down the firewalls. Let Chinese people actually view all this media.
We are getting Xinhua articles calling the BBC and CNN “Nazis” (Never mind that the Brits and Americans were the ones that fought AGAINST the Nazis in WW2.) At the same time, many of the people on the anti-CNN crusade don’t actually get CNN at home, and are basing their anger of a huge, highly complex industry on one or two comments. That’s like judging a whole book based on one bad word.
Maybe Chinese will still disagree with "Western" or international media, as some overseas Chinese do. That is their right. God knows I often disagree with Western media. But at least the Mainland Chinese should be allowed to make up their own minds based on all the available information.
And, to answer that very angry poem - none of my American colleagues or foreign friends hate the Chinese people. My French husband does not hate the Chinese people (he married one!). There is no hate, just criticism - and those are different things. In fact, almost everyone I talk to wants China to improve -- we just have very different views on what path that improvement will take.