Chinese Nationalism Fights Back
Chinese nationalism in light of the protests in Tibet seem to be this week’s hot topic. A Fistful of Euros, The Economist, and the Washtington Post* have all commented on the dynamic change this is producing. Interestingly enough, one can quite easily tie all three articles and see clearly the following picture.
Taking a break from the fired up media reporting the Chinese Government’s brutal response to the protests in Tibet, the Economist reports that the Western media has been one sided, obviously failing to cover the violence committed by the Tibetans. A Chinese colleague of mine had expressed the same frustrations, bringing proof of pictures being revealed in their entirety which seemed to have previously lacked the crucial part of the people “attacking” the Chinese forces. More photos she brought to light described the Chinese forces brutally suppressing the protesters when the soldiers were actually Nepalese. However, as the media were quite restricted in the forms of media they were allowed to bring back with them, as access to such photos were limited to only having one source, the Chinese army, it is easy to see why such photos were provided.
A Fistful of Euros blogged that the main source of Chinese Nationalism is actually a “middle class” phenomenon mainly producing a strong feeling toward the ability to being able to consume non-Chinese products. In short, a consumer culture where patriotism mainly comes from the rich, whereby making a boycott of western luxury goods very likely.
The Chinese nationalists are fighting back against the Western nationalists. The Washington Post has reported that the welcoming of foreigners in China is slowly changing. According to the article, a survey shows that 80 percent of those that were questioned, believe that the Western media is biased towards China. Furthermore there is a talk of boycotting Western goods. (Though Western companies are getting blasted for having their products sponsored at the Games, in particular Coca Cola. – Here) Security has also been considerably tightened making identification checks more frequent to foreigners and providing restrictions through additional requirements of paperwork for foreigners.
In short, the Olympic games are supposed to symbolize a world coming together, setting aside their differences while competing against each other on a level playing field where economics, politics, or any feelings of inequality are checked at the door. This years Olympic Games will prove to be very interesting, especially in light of the drug scandals that almost completely demoralized the Tour de France. The decision to have the Games take place in China was applauded by many as being a symbolic step into the right direction to open up a previous land who was seen as being quite secretive to the rest of the world. The irony of this would naturally be if the Games in the end produced the opposite effect.
*A quick apology for using the Washington Post as a source. I feel it to be a very good newspaper with good media coverage on their web-site. However, they require registration if you view more than one article, and thus am very hesitant in providing links to any of their news stories, as that naturally disrupts the whole “blogging” experience. My sincere apologies.
