Olympic Flame-Out, Revisited

Last week I posted a piece titled Olympic Flame-Out, in which I suggested that the ongoing anti-Chinese demonstrations against the Olympic torch relay were counterproductive. That post generated nine comments (including my response to comments by Anonymous and Chimera, who strongly disagreed with me).

I haven't changed my opinion, and I doubt that my readers have changed theirs. But I'd like to offer you the opportunity to read an article that provides a thoughtful and important perspective on understanding Chinese behavior.

My friend Jake sent me this article, China's Loyal Youth by Matthew Forney, which was published in the New York Times last Sunday. Mr Forney, formerly Time Magazine's Beijing bureau chief, draws on his experience of living in and reporting from China to remind American readers that the world looks like a very different place from the perspective of a young, educated, urban Chinese. The article begins with this observation:

"Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet."

Mr Forney goes on to enumerate the reasons that young Chinese are so patriotic. Indoctrination-style education which minimizes the more negative parts of Chinese history and stresses past injustices directed against China is one; effective spin and management of the news is another. He points out that the average young adult Chinese has no memory of the Tienanmen Square massacre, and will probably never hear about it in school. The horrors of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution are glossed over with the observation that Chairman Mao was "30 percent wrong." Young urban Chinese see a booming economy that's producing a good life, but don't see the inequality and misery of the more remote provinces. They study hard, but lack an international outlook and understanding of foreign perceptions. They can't fathom why crazy and ungrateful people in Tibet should be rioting, because as far as they know, China has - at great sacrifice and expense - dragged a poor, feudal society into the 21st century...as Mr Forney writes, "They can’t imagine why Tibetans would turn up their noses at rising incomes and the promise of a more prosperous future. The loss of a homeland just doesn’t compute as a valid concern."

I strongly recommend you read the whole article. I think it will give you a new perspective on how to reach the mind of the young, educated Chinese. It also, I believe, supports my contention that noisy demonstrations against the Olympic flame relay make good news reporting, but don't have the desired effect on the government and population the demonstrators most want to affect.

As I wrote last week, there's nothing wrong with demonstrating against injustice. The Chinese government has acted reprehensibly in Tibet and Darfur. But if you're going to demonstrate against Chinese government actions, you need to know what you want your demonstration to accomplish, and structure it accordingly. Looked at in this way, I don't think demonstrating against the torch relay accomplishes anything except piss off a billion and a half people who lack the political and historical background to understand what's going on.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo