Posts by Russell Brown
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ust on the last chapter of China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford, NPR's Beijing correspondent, published last year.
Russell's 'it's good, bad and ugly rolled into one' is put to the test on a road trip from Shanghai to the Kazakhstan border.
Really- really great read.Thanks! This summary did it for me too:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9781400064670-1
The all-is-not-well-in-the-heartland implication makes me think that that's why the exiled Tibetan leadership is willing to play a long game. As Samdhong Rinpoche said in the Good interview: "The people will achieve autonomy sooner or later, because China is changing very rapidly and China cannot remain as it is today."
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How are your views "contrarian" Russell?
Well, amongst most of my friends and most PA readers, I would think. An "evil China" rant seems to be the more socially acceptable line at the moment.
It's not "kowtowing" or "genuflecting" or being brainwashed (as you accused Simon of being). I'm just trying to avoid taking a monolithic view of things, as seems to be the current fashion. I found Tom's paranoid post upthread quite alarming.
I'm sure it's partly because I know people like Justin Zhang, who Charles mentioned earlier. He's a smart guy, not a nationalist robot, so I'm interested in what he might think as a person, rather than a political cypher.
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Oh, and Trevor Mallard has emailed me to point out that anyone who had seen the TV clip of him and Pete Hodgson dancing would surely not wish for a repeat.
He has a point.
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and every album since is maybe a little bit more disapointing than the last....but in the periods between world cups one can see the Shihad Blacks devastating all in their path at stadiums up and down the country.
Damn. My simile was better than I thought!
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Rich, I think that's a good point that you make. Most of the mainland Chinese students in NZ are likely to be patriotic because they are relatively privileged.
But there is also a huge amount of arguably misplaced faith in the government within China as well. There have been many demonstrations in China objecting to a perceived bias in the international coverage of the Tibet issue and the torch relay.
I seem to have my contrarian hat permanently clamped on over this issue, but the criticism sometimes seems a bit glib to me.
The people I was with on Saturday were all immediately of the mind that "they couldn't do that in China". There was rather less interest in what the students thought and why they might think it. Might some of them been expressing pride rather than scary nationalism?
It also seems clear to me that, on the ground (and as Simon Grigg's thoughtful blog posts pointed out), China is not an unremitting chamber of horrors. The Good magazine feature on Shenzen that I linked to upthread is a nice example: it's good, bad and ugly rolled into one.
And, as you say, Charles, it might be useful for us to develop some sophisticated thinking about the next superpower.
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__Stupid young men don't need flags to be stupid.__
However, flags are one of things more likely to bring out the stupidity.
Can't argue there. The Sydney Big Day Out on Australia Day comes to mind ...
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I hope for their own sakes most of the people engaged in their pro-China demonstrations on the weekend are students here temporarily, because to my mind their demonstrations clearly renders them unfit for a whole raft of New Zeland jobs. How could the the civil service, the military or even private sector companies with economically sensitive functions employ anyone whose loyalty is first and foremost to a foreign country?
I know! How's about we discourage them from staying with, say, a hefty poll tax?
Tom, sometimes it seems like you don't really think when you type.
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i was at the hawthorn lounge playing baccarat with tom beard and hadyn green.
And meanwhile I'm in yr city reveiwing yr signature waterfront eventz?
For shame.
Although we were at the Hawthorn the night before.
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The very good Good magazine had a great bunch of features in its recent China-themed issue, covering the bad and good.
It included an intriguing interview with the exiled Prime Minister of Tibet. He's a very patient man:
**What is the significance of the Beijing Olympics for China and Tibet?**
We wish that these games be successfully conducted. At the same time, we wish that a large number of free countries will participate in these games, and that that will have some kind of positive effect on the Chinese government for more transparency and more individual freedom. If these games could bring these changes, then I think they are a boon. Apart from that, there are many pro-Tibet groups and individuals who think this is an opportunity to pressure China. We do not agree with that. We are looking more to the post-Olympic era.
But might there be ways to make your cause visible during the Olympics?
The Olympic Games are a playful occasion. To disturb them is not a good gesture. All the international parties are willingly gathered there. If they have any resentment about the Chinese human-rights situation, or China having no rule of law, then these free countries should not participate. It is their choice. I was very much surprised to hear recently that the Olympic committees of some European nations have instructed their players not to wear any slogans on their shirts during the games.
Some of the athletes wore shirts that said “Free Tibet.”
Yes. I understand they were told that “Free Tibet” should not be there. That is okay. But to prohibit any kind of slogan, any kind of quotation? I don’t know why the Western nations are so eager to appease China. It is very strange.
And consistent. It appears they have brought the same message to all six rounds of their talks with the Chinese leadership: autonomy for all six million Tibetans. But it's hard to see how that happens, given that many of those ethnic Tibetans are scattered through multiple provinces that the rest of the world emphatically regards as Chinese. They seem to be relying on very major change to the whole shape of China in the next few decades.
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It's good that the organisers of the rally worked to avoid violence and protect the rights of counter-demonstrators. It's bad that some of the participants seem to think their pride in and love of their country (or, less charitably, the pile of patriotic bullshit they've been fed since day one) gives them a licence to assault and intimidate those who disagree with them.
Yes. I just think it's wise to be careful with the collective "they". I recall you being pissed off when a mob of anarchist ninnies pursued and beat up a few National Front counter-protesters at the anti-racism rally in Wellington a couple of years ago. Stupid young men don't need flags to be stupid.
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