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Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the People’s Republic of China. With the Beijing Olympics close by and the recent events that have occurred over the past few months, such as the riots in Tibet and the catastrophic earthquake in Sichuan, this country has gained much international attention. Many view the country as a despotic dictatorship where dissenters are promptly arrested, where freedom of speech is unheard of, and where pleas for independence or autonomy are answered with a fierce brigade of tanks. However, most of these claims are not true. While China does not exhibit the traits of a Western liberal democracy, be it Parliamentary (like Britain or Japan) or Presidential (like the United States or France), China is not as undemocratic as the media puts it out to be. It’s true that the Chinese do not democratically elect their own leader, rather the Chinese president is chosen by an inner circle of government officials. But one can equate Hu Jintao’s ascension to office with the 2008 Democratic Primaries in the United States, except that the selection is only decided by the superdelegates (and, to my knowledge, there is less immature bickering over who supports/opposes what). However, since I admittedly do not know much about the Chinese Communist Party (except for the fact that it is one of the most misleading names in today’s political atmosphere, abandoning hardline Communism in favor of free market economics) I will instead focus on Chinese society.

The Chinese people are not silenced. In fact the Chinese are just like the Americans when it comes to their politics, talking fondly about the government, speaking about who would make a good successor to Hu Jintao and who is his or her favorite government official. However, I have yet to hear from someone who has denounced the government, but in terms of domestic affairs, the Chinese government has done little wrong in comparison to the performance of the Bush administration, both in foreign and domestic affairs. Sure, the Chinese are trading openly with totalitarian nations in Africa (selling arms to Robert Mugabe, for example), but is the People’s Liberation Army throwing its weight around senselessly in a country where its government has economic interests? Is China sending its special forces to oust a dictator only to install another one? I cannot answer for China during Mao’s reign of terror, but I can answer for the China that we know today. The Chinese place pragmatism over ideology. After Mao Zedong, who, much like his Soviet counterpart, wanted to spread the influence of Communism and create a socialist utopia, Deng Xiaoping said “it does not matter if the cat is a black cat or a white cat. As long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.”

To this day, the Chinese government has followed Xiaoping’s doctrine of common sense over political fantasies. During my visits to China, I do not see crowds of people bowing before a small picture of a Chinese leader, nor do I see the Chinese military handcuffing people left and right. Instead, I see a society that, aside from cultural differences and the usual set of customs, behaves and functions normally by Western standards. Call me crazy, but I have seen only one Mercedes Benz S600 (the best of the best, in other words) in the United States during the seventeen years of my life. In Shanghai, I have lost count of how many S600s I have seen. The same goes for other really luxurious cars that mainstream rappers bloat about. In Shanghai, every single object is a possible billboard, features that would normally describe New York City. WalMart- styled grocery shops (such as Carrefour) that are big enough to fit in around ten supermarkets, maybe much more dot Shanghai. In Beijing, there are many shops that cater to the financial elite, a designer clothing store whose primary marketing target consists of rich older women. To call China a “Communist country” would be an unfounded remark, as China eagerly embraces capitalism with open arms. The government still has a hand in economics, but rather than reject capitalism, which Mao Zedong tried to do with the Cultural Revolution, the government is simply participating in the free market, as some of the companies are controlled by the government, and the government sometimes helps CEOs. If “Beijing decides that the country needs new airports, eight-lane highways, [and] gleaming industrial parks” then “they are built within months” (Zakaria 133-134). Thus, China is not a Communist state in practice, rather, the Chinese economy is a form of state-sponsored capitalism where the government is not commanding the economy, but rather actively participating in it.

The Western press often speaks negatively about China’s domestic policies. With the recent riots in Tibet, such bias was only exacerbated by the way China dealt with Tibet. As I had predicted, people are treating the riots in Tibet as if it was a repeat of the Tiananmen Massacre. But one must ask oneself the following question. Were the rioters protesting peacefully? No, they were violently rioting, not peacefully protesting (which was the case for the students at Tiananmen). The rioters were destroying property and threatening the lives of innocent people. The Dalai Lama did not even support the riots. The rioters in Tibet remind me of the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, which is considered by the American and British governments as a terrorist organization. What else can a government do when a group of rioters run amuck and threaten the welfare of society? I could care less about the issue of Tibetan independence, but the protests of the torch relay disgust me to no end. The Olympics is an event of unity. After all, the motto is “one world, one dream.” And yet people are using Tibet, an event unrelated to the Beijing Olympics, to create divides and spur needless conflict, something that the Olympic Games is not for. In fact, the torch bearer in Paris that got violently assaulted was a handicapped woman in a wheelchair. Is that respectful of human rights? If there is one thing I can support President Bush on, it is the fact that he is ignoring pleas to boycott the Games. Putting an end to a violent riot is not a good excuse for boycotting an event that seeks to bring the world together.

Confucius said “do not insult the filth on your neighbor’s rooftop when your doorstep is unclean.” China is just as good and as bad as the United States when it comes to domestic and foreign policy. The country still has to work to get to where the United States is as with most countries of today, but on the whole, the People’s Republic of China is not the demon that the West puts it out to be. The security measures are just as tight as America under the PATRIOT ACT (perhaps even looser than America, since I do not have to take off my shoes and glasses when going through the metal detector) and its military spending is a small fraction of America’s military spending. Thus, I would say that one should not be afraid of China, but rather look upon the country as he/she would any other country.

Description
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the People’s Republic of China. With the Beijing Olympics close by and the recent events that have occurred over the past few months, such as the riots in Tibet and the catastrophic earthquake in Sichuan, this country has gained much international attention. Many view the country as a despotic dictatorship where dissenters are promptly arrested, where freedom of speech is unheard of, and where pleas for independence or autonomy are answered with a fierce brigade of tanks. However, most of these claims are not true. While China does not exhibit the traits of a Western liberal democracy, be it Parliamentary (like Britain or Japan) or Presidential (like the United States or France), China is not as undemocratic as the media puts it out to be. It’s true that the Chinese do not democratically elect their own leader, rather the Chinese president is chosen by an inner circle of government officials. But one can equate Hu Jintao’s ascension to office with the 2008 Democratic Primaries in the United States, except that the selection is only decided by the superdelegates (and, to my knowledge, there is less immature bickering over who supports/opposes what). However, since I admittedly do not know much about the Chinese Communist Party (except for the fact that it is one of the most misleading names in today’s political atmosphere, abandoning hardline Communism in favor of free market economics) I will instead focus on Chinese society.

The Chinese people are not silenced. In fact the Chinese are just like the Americans when it comes to their politics, talking fondly about the government, speaking about who would make a good successor to Hu Jintao and who is his or her favorite government official. However, I have yet to hear from someone who has denounced the government, but in terms of domestic affairs, the Chinese government has done little wrong in comparison to the performance of the Bush administration, both in foreign and domestic affairs. Sure, the Chinese are trading openly with totalitarian nations in Africa (selling arms to Robert Mugabe, for example), but is the People’s Liberation Army throwing its weight around senselessly in a country where its government has economic interests? Is China sending its special forces to oust a dictator only to install another one? I cannot answer for China during Mao’s reign of terror, but I can answer for the China that we know today. The Chinese place pragmatism over ideology. After Mao Zedong, who, much like his Soviet counterpart, wanted to spread the influence of Communism and create a socialist utopia, Deng Xiaoping said “it does not matter if the cat is a black cat or a white cat. As long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.”

To this day, the Chinese government has followed Xiaoping’s doctrine of common sense over political fantasies. During my visits to China, I do not see crowds of people bowing before a small picture of a Chinese leader, nor do I see the Chinese military handcuffing people left and right. Instead, I see a society that, aside from cultural differences and the usual set of customs, behaves and functions normally by Western standards. Call me crazy, but I have seen only one Mercedes Benz S600 (the best of the best, in other words) in the United States during the seventeen years of my life. In Shanghai, I have lost count of how many S600s I have seen. The same goes for other really luxurious cars that mainstream rappers bloat about. In Shanghai, every single object is a possible billboard, features that would normally describe New York City. WalMart- styled grocery shops (such as Carrefour) that are big enough to fit in around ten supermarkets, maybe much more dot Shanghai. In Beijing, there are many shops that cater to the financial elite, a designer clothing store whose primary marketing target consists of rich older women. To call China a “Communist country” would be an unfounded remark, as China eagerly embraces capitalism with open arms. The government still has a hand in economics, but rather than reject capitalism, which Mao Zedong tried to do with the Cultural Revolution, the government is simply participating in the free market, as some of the companies are controlled by the government, and the government sometimes helps CEOs. If “Beijing decides that the country needs new airports, eight-lane highways, [and] gleaming industrial parks” then “they are built within months” (Zakaria 133-134). Thus, China is not a Communist state in practice, rather, the Chinese economy is a form of state-sponsored capitalism where the government is not commanding the economy, but rather actively participating in it.

The Western press often speaks negatively about China’s domestic policies. With the recent riots in Tibet, such bias was only exacerbated by the way China dealt with Tibet. As I had predicted, people are treating the riots in Tibet as if it was a repeat of the Tiananmen Massacre. But one must ask oneself the following question. Were the rioters protesting peacefully? No, they were violently rioting, not peacefully protesting (which was the case for the students at Tiananmen). The rioters were destroying property and threatening the lives of innocent people. The Dalai Lama did not even support the riots. The rioters in Tibet remind me of the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, which is considered by the American and British governments as a terrorist organization. What else can a government do when a group of rioters run amuck and threaten the welfare of society? I could care less about the issue of Tibetan independence, but the protests of the torch relay disgust me to no end. The Olympics is an event of unity. After all, the motto is “one world, one dream.” And yet people are using Tibet, an event unrelated to the Beijing Olympics, to create divides and spur needless conflict, something that the Olympic Games is not for. In fact, the torch bearer in Paris that got violently assaulted was a handicapped woman in a wheelchair. Is that respectful of human rights? If there is one thing I can support President Bush on, it is the fact that he is ignoring pleas to boycott the Games. Putting an end to a violent riot is not a good excuse for boycotting an event that seeks to bring the world together.

Confucius said “do not insult the filth on your neighbor’s rooftop when your doorstep is unclean.” China is just as good and as bad as the United States when it comes to domestic and foreign policy. The country still has to work to get to where the United States is as with most countries of today, but on the whole, the People’s Republic of China is not the demon that the West puts it out to be. The security measures are just as tight as America under the PATRIOT ACT (perhaps even looser than America, since I do not have to take off my shoes and glasses when going through the metal detector) and its military spending is a small fraction of America’s military spending. Thus, I would say that one should not be afraid of China, but rather look upon the country as he/she would any other country.