Why "the West" gets China wrong
- Thread starter solarz
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in canada, people don't have to pay compensation out of pocket because insurance companies are required to cover it. in china, this is what happens because insurance companies will often simply refuse to provide coverage even when insurance has been bought (not enforced in the first place)
what is false about this article is that it claims foreigners are blamed for accidents they didn't cause. fact of the matter is, a chinese tourist involved in a similar situation would be treated the same way if not worse. it's nothing against foreigners, it's simply china's dysfunctional traffic law system.
i've seen that movie! truly groundbreaking stuff.
the chinese government is only hardcore on one kind of crime: subversion. (or what they deem to be subversive)
on matters of subversion, (or activities deemed subversive) the chinese government is most definately like a police state and will disregard any of their own laws to get you depending on the case. however, america of all people most definately can't point fingers because its own internal security apparatus and citizen monitoring programmes are much more extensive and violates constitutional rights just the same.
anything else short of murder or drugs the chinese authorities are pretty lax with. hell alot of crimes are committed by connected people or members of the authorities in the first place. cops often break "the law" outright; in a country under 人治 as opposed to 法治 the authorities are first about power/stability, not upholding written laws.
sadly i think america is also leaning more and more in this direction as the establishment leans progressively toward the right over the years.
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AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Yes I've seen stuff like that before. On Youtube there was a show posted from Great Britain hosted by Paul Merton. I can't seem to find that segment there anymore. I don't who he is but I guess he's some TV personality in Great Britain. So he goes to China to tour for his show. There was a segment in Shanghai where he came across some get together by Western expatriates where they take Chinese women who hang out with them and make them do lewd acts in order to be able accepted in their "club." Even Paul Merton thought that was wrong.
solarz
Brigadier
There's insurance in China too. However, I'm pretty sure that kid did not have liability insurance for driving a rickshaw. Therefore, if this happened in Canada, there would be no insurance company to cover his ass.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
From the people that brought aparthied...
Do we get to shoot the Dutch? Isn't it interesting how someone who isn't a victim of an accused crime can have so much passion? You generally see that with the China-haters. They aren't the victims but use someone elses victimization to express the most passion in their hate. I guess that's to hide that they're hate is really personal in nature and not altruistic as to justify it. Just imagine if the Chinese adopted someone elses victimization to use as an excuse to hate. It's not like it would be hard to find.
Do we get to shoot the Dutch? Isn't it interesting how someone who isn't a victim of an accused crime can have so much passion? You generally see that with the China-haters. They aren't the victims but use someone elses victimization to express the most passion in their hate. I guess that's to hide that they're hate is really personal in nature and not altruistic as to justify it. Just imagine if the Chinese adopted someone elses victimization to use as an excuse to hate. It's not like it would be hard to find.
Over the years, I've seen a lot of pandering in the Western media to China's weaknesses, and why China is backward, and things to that effect. In fact these voices have only grown stronger in recent years... Why? Obviously because China as a country is becoming stronger and this makes many people uneasy. Sensing this, politicians and media in the West exploit this psychology in a game in which they play up China, then reassure people that China is still weak. They drum up the China threat, and then calm people's fears with how China is backwards.
These pundits and politicians do this because it wins them an audience, and it exploits people's insecurities and gives a reason for self-gratification. (because we're still on top!) At the same time, it makes people nationalistic (by antagonizing China) and builds political cohesion against a perceived outside threat. The same psychology can be applied to individuals: some people like to gloat and dump on others because it makes themselves feel better.
I think as Chinese people, the best thing we can do is to avoid a reciprocal mindset. Some people in the West like to point fingers at China, but we must realize that this strategy comes from the position of weakness, not strength. Chinese people have been pointing fingers at the outside world for many years, this is partially justified because of a history of colonialism and foreign subjugation, but at the end of the day the downfall of Old China came not at the hands of foreigners but at our own hands. The foreigners were merely the vultures that came to pick China apart.
Now that China is on the rise, the Chinese government still makes use of this anti-foreign mindset to build cohesion and make us forget about our own weaknesses. In my opinion, we should approach things from a position of strength; by facing up to China's own shortcomings instead covering them up and pointing fingers at the West, (like many post-colonial governments in the Mideast, South America, etc) because that is the easy way out and does not lead to progress. I notice many forum members getting caught up in a sort of reactionary pissing contest with Western China-bashing pundits. My own view is that we should see them for what they are and ignore them, even take pity on them for being so blind.
I know exactly how teeth grindingly difficult it may be to see obvious lies being spread about China in service of some insecure people's self gratification, but in the end we must realize that these comments do not really hurt China, they only hurt the people who believe them and who thereby bury their head in the sand.
However if we let them drag us into such a meaningless contention, we are encouraged to discount constructive criticism and truth when we examine China, which DOES hurt China because there are still many big problems in China that need to be addressed. I get the impression that many members of this forum are Chinese patriots who wish nothing but the best for China's future, thus I feel that this is an important message to try and get across.
I'm going to end my tirade with a famous quotation from the great philosopher and revolutionary 梁启超:
“中国人之心理，与之言排外，则煽动极易，与之言对抗政府，则瑟然不敢前。实则国人苟无对抗政府之能力，安能对抗外人？不过如谚语所谓躲在床底下骂人耳。办报馆者，多作反抗政府之论，则易见忌而惹荆棘；多作无责任之排外论，则易买一般人之欢心。故曲学阿世之徒，每舍此而就彼。”
A rough translation: "When Chinese people are confronted with anti-foreign rhetoric, we are easily roused; however when we are confronted with rhetoric in opposition to government, we fear to voice our concurrence. If we have not even the ability to confront our own government, how can we expect to oppose foreigners? In laymen's words this attitude is compared to "insulting someone while hiding under your own bed." When the newspaper publishers post discussions opposing government policies, they often find themselves in deep trouble; however when those publishers talk up anti-foreign theories without demanding any domestic responsibility, they can easily win the joyous support of many people."
-100 years later, this is exactly the stance that these China-bashing journalists are taking today. Let us heed Mr. Liang's words and not subject ourselves to the same pitfalls of this sort of psychology.
These pundits and politicians do this because it wins them an audience, and it exploits people's insecurities and gives a reason for self-gratification. (because we're still on top!) At the same time, it makes people nationalistic (by antagonizing China) and builds political cohesion against a perceived outside threat. The same psychology can be applied to individuals: some people like to gloat and dump on others because it makes themselves feel better.
I think as Chinese people, the best thing we can do is to avoid a reciprocal mindset. Some people in the West like to point fingers at China, but we must realize that this strategy comes from the position of weakness, not strength. Chinese people have been pointing fingers at the outside world for many years, this is partially justified because of a history of colonialism and foreign subjugation, but at the end of the day the downfall of Old China came not at the hands of foreigners but at our own hands. The foreigners were merely the vultures that came to pick China apart.
Now that China is on the rise, the Chinese government still makes use of this anti-foreign mindset to build cohesion and make us forget about our own weaknesses. In my opinion, we should approach things from a position of strength; by facing up to China's own shortcomings instead covering them up and pointing fingers at the West, (like many post-colonial governments in the Mideast, South America, etc) because that is the easy way out and does not lead to progress. I notice many forum members getting caught up in a sort of reactionary pissing contest with Western China-bashing pundits. My own view is that we should see them for what they are and ignore them, even take pity on them for being so blind.
I know exactly how teeth grindingly difficult it may be to see obvious lies being spread about China in service of some insecure people's self gratification, but in the end we must realize that these comments do not really hurt China, they only hurt the people who believe them and who thereby bury their head in the sand.
However if we let them drag us into such a meaningless contention, we are encouraged to discount constructive criticism and truth when we examine China, which DOES hurt China because there are still many big problems in China that need to be addressed. I get the impression that many members of this forum are Chinese patriots who wish nothing but the best for China's future, thus I feel that this is an important message to try and get across.
I'm going to end my tirade with a famous quotation from the great philosopher and revolutionary 梁启超:
“中国人之心理，与之言排外，则煽动极易，与之言对抗政府，则瑟然不敢前。实则国人苟无对抗政府之能力，安能对抗外人？不过如谚语所谓躲在床底下骂人耳。办报馆者，多作反抗政府之论，则易见忌而惹荆棘；多作无责任之排外论，则易买一般人之欢心。故曲学阿世之徒，每舍此而就彼。”
A rough translation: "When Chinese people are confronted with anti-foreign rhetoric, we are easily roused; however when we are confronted with rhetoric in opposition to government, we fear to voice our concurrence. If we have not even the ability to confront our own government, how can we expect to oppose foreigners? In laymen's words this attitude is compared to "insulting someone while hiding under your own bed." When the newspaper publishers post discussions opposing government policies, they often find themselves in deep trouble; however when those publishers talk up anti-foreign theories without demanding any domestic responsibility, they can easily win the joyous support of many people."
-100 years later, this is exactly the stance that these China-bashing journalists are taking today. Let us heed Mr. Liang's words and not subject ourselves to the same pitfalls of this sort of psychology.
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Equation
Lieutenant General
I agreed but the problem with this solution is that for every constructive criticism Chinese people did the western pundits will exaggerate the problems 10X in order to keep China down or contained because they hold the soft power of the world. Until China is safely developed and no longer had to worried about some cheap pundits from the west interfering with its progress, THAN can we have a constructive dialogue without the loud mouths disrupting us.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Anyone can be a philosopher if you can get enough people to listen to you. One can argue Hitler was a man of peace if everyone just obeyed his wishes without question or challenge. Because if everyone had instead of fighting him, that would be peace. In the 1990s when the revolt against affirmative action especially in college admissions in the US heated up, the Democrats were trying to figure out a solution where both sides could agree. What did they come up with? A new term called "under-representative minorities. " Translation... In order to keep whites happy while not diminishing affirmative action, they would instead discriminate against Asians because there were just too many of them disproportionately taking up slots in college compared to their percentage of the population despite being the best academically qualified. So for the so-called greater good someone was to going to get screwed and be a sacrifice. Hitler could make that same argument.
Why should the Chinese take abuse? Because it's natural that others fear new powers on the rise? Yeah and they can expect retaliation because it's natural for one to defend themselves when wronged. For all the people who call for the Chinese to accept being abused, your names and address should be put on a list and anyone who fears the Chinese can come visit you and do anything they want to you since you think it's okay.
Why should the Chinese take abuse? Because it's natural that others fear new powers on the rise? Yeah and they can expect retaliation because it's natural for one to defend themselves when wronged. For all the people who call for the Chinese to accept being abused, your names and address should be put on a list and anyone who fears the Chinese can come visit you and do anything they want to you since you think it's okay.
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