What if China is Right About “Western China?”
In the long view, China has a tenuous claim claim, at best, to the region I will henceforth refer to as “TWC.” Yet, despite their shaky moral standing, it is possible, just possible, that Beijing responded appropriately this time around. However, their shutting down of the international media sealed the negative storyline that has emerged.
The coverage, and specifically the lack thereof, makes me wonder what’s really going on. My gut reaction is to believe that the Chinese are cracking down brutally. However, the admittedly limited, reports coming out of TWC seem to paint a different picture. It is not that I believe the Chinese are blameless–far from it. Instead, it appears that the Chinese are attempting to show restraint, but failing miserably to convey this message to the world.
Surely, were this one or two decades ago, all dissent would have long been crushed. And indeed, it appears that many TWCers have been killed, and probably most of these were needless. However, I get the nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, the Chinese have been somewhat cornered here. What response, exactly, were they to have to a rebellion in TWC? Sure, they could have conceded the territory, but what country would do that at the first hint of an uprising? Condemning them for this is not assessment of the current policy, but rather a reflection of mistakes made in the past.
All of this makes me wonder if the Chinese Government’s biggest miscalculation was blocking out media. I’m sure many will accuse me of being naive or brainwashed, but I think my record of criticizing China when necessary speaks for itself. When I see a government, be it mine, or others, doing wrong, I speak out. Yet, in this case, it seems like China was so afraid about what might be reported, that they hid a truth that was less bad than reports would indicate.
From afar people expected the worst. And it’s entirely possible that things are really as bad as being portrayed. However, I wonder if foreign media would be reporting more favorably if they had access to the areas. There have been reports of guns being fired, but what else would you expect when people are looting and rioting? People have said that TWCers have been beaten, but there has not been any context. It is nearly impossible to get proper perspective on what is happening.
And if the Western media has been wrong, if the reports have incorrectly condemned China, I point a finger not at the journalists trying to get the story right, but instead at the Chinese Government, which has stopped reporters from seeing the truth, whatever it may be. I find the reports that China has responded responsibly credit. But without a proper means to verify them, I remain extremely skeptical.
It as almost as if China does not trust itself to act responsibly. The country is afraid of what it is capable of doing, because the leadership knows what has happened in the past all too well. And in this mistrust of itself, China is unable to escape from its past and embrace its future.
I am in no position to calculate the propriety of China’s response to the recent developments in TWC. However, I am certain that the country will never escape its past if it cannot trust itself to react responsibly under the watch of a concerned international community. How can a country expect the world to see China differently if it still sees itself through the same old lens?
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ERIC responds:
Posted: March 20th, 2008 at 11:16 pm →
i highly doubt that international media would paint a just picture of whatever the response is. this is not so much bias for china as media’s natural tendency for the melodramatic. drama sells.
Skoal responds:
Posted: March 21st, 2008 at 9:37 am →
Josh, I agree with you. What suprises me most is that it seems to have caught them off-guard, so I think their first reaction was they didn’t know what to do, other than seal off the area in case they need to control the information. Everything I have read indicates that the initial responses were justified. The only thing I feel is wrong is them trying to lump the riots with the protests. They seem to have let the protests progress, as long as they were peaceful, but when gangs of youth (for lack of a better description) took advantage of the situation and became violent, that seems to be when they responded. Now, they are blaming the violence on the march. I think they would have been much better off to just come out and say they realize the riots were different, then it would have looked like they respected the peaceful acts.
The problem is that most of the information is coming from the groups just across the southwest border, since they were not allowing more coverage, so many foreign news services seemed to include that information since there was so little to go on. That agrees with Eric’s point, as western media is a business instead of agendas (unless you believe the likes of Fox News). So, media needs to report something, so with no actual journalists there they can only report both sides of the propaganda war.
There is no room for violence, so the powers are right in stopping violence to protect people (on both sides, since more violence results in casualties on both sides) and to prevent property damage. Also, they need to keep it from escalating, as some will be more and more bold as August grows closer (who’s brilliant idea was it to have the torch pass through that area?). If they let if keep flaring now, it will only cause more mayhem closer to the games. As far as rounding up people, I hope they are able to get the ones involved, and not just suck up a bunch of people who they want to associate with the riots. What good comes from these actions anyway? I don’t care which side of the issue is right in regard to the past (well, I do care but I am not sharing my view with anyone, since it is just an opinion). I just hope everything is peaceful, both in the times up to the games, but far beyond that.
Scott
hehe responds:
Posted: March 21st, 2008 at 5:50 pm →
The news picture “harmonisation” mustered by CNN just tells you what the Chinese government is afraid of. Remember, CNN, like it or not, is powerful, and CNN is not the only one which is capable of harmonising.
stan responds:
Posted: March 22nd, 2008 at 5:43 am →
It is interesting seeing westerner being not as negative against the chinese government for a change. I think how the chinese government reacted towards the media was very communist like when a riot occur, and they are a communist country after all. However, from what i saw from Hong Kong news report and video from youtube(Thank God for camera phone and the internet) you can clearly see that the riot was a riot and not a peaceful protest. Both side just exaggerated something that was very simple, and what disgust me is when people bring Olympic to the picture. People like Richard Gere who wants to boycott the Olympic is what bothers me. Have him ever consider the atheletes who put all their hardwork for this event and the nation who spend years for it.
ps. nice site by the way
nanheyangrouchuan responds:
Posted: March 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 am →
What a bunch of wet noodles. Do you really think that the PAP and PLA are acting any differently against upitty TWCs than against peasants who protest about being driven out of their homes for a brand new factory/apartment complex/etc?
China is reacting the only way it knows how, with brutal and devastating force and that is why there is a territorial lockdown.
Now about the riots, ask yourselves why is it that a Xinhua camera crew “just happened” to be in the area with a camera rolling when “TWC monks” kicked down the door of a Han owned business?
And there should be riots, this country has been getting squeezed and its people “harmonized” for 50 years while the world turned its back in favor of the potential of 1 billion customers.
Shame on all of you.
Josh responds:
Posted: March 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 am →
Shame on me indeed!