Go Too Far East frequently receives really cool reader-contributed comments that deserve to be read by everyone … and to receive an answer from the author. Your two cents are what make this blog worth it.
In a recent post, “Give me a (prison) break,” I railed against the “ridiculous” stories that appear in the Chinese media that I feel are a result of government propaganda.
Go Too Far East reader, Philip, commented (here), very eloquently, that when talking about the Chinese media, there is more to the story:
I never liked CCTV or the similar official media, and i think the NPC and CPPCC are just 2 big shows with set scenarios. The president and premier are just 2 leading actors reciting their lines.
But you should not blame China for these. She has a distinctive history far different from that of the US. She has her own problems and dreams you can not understand from American eyes. She is trying hard to make the people live better. You can’t criticize China for she’s not like other countries, that’s unfair.
If you want more opinion from an excellent Chinese citizen, we can talk about it later;)
This is really fair feedback. And I think Philip brings up a good point that I want to elaborate on.
As a foreigner living in China, my perspective can be either objective or out-of-touch. In this case, I think it’s probably both. What deserves to be pointed out about China’s government–when it comes to news/propaganda–is that it sounds much different to foreigners than it does to Chinese.
I have learned that Chinese are very smart about this; they know what the headlines REALLY mean. Just like Americans. We don’t take all our news seriously, right? Knowing what’s happening is a combination of listening to leaders, reading the news and putting it in a historical, cultural context. The last step I am unable to do. That is what Philip has graciously pointed out, and I humbly admit it is true.
So here is a little cultural/historical context for Go Too Far East readers: China has come a long way since the Cultural Revolution days in terms of political/economic development. One of the key things is that if you don’t have food to eat or your life is threatened, freedom of speech and other civil liberties don’t matter (as much) — you can’t take advantage of them anyway. So Lesson 1 of “Governing a Developing Country” is keeping things stable so that the economy can flourish (America take note in Iraq).
In light of that, I think we can understand why the Chinese news media seems to be one-sided sometimes. Even if you don’t agree, at least you can understand why.
Two cents taken. Thanks, Philip.
3 Comments
Good insight. Just like after the President’s “State of the Union Address” there is always a political response from the opposing party. But what more people are interested is the late night comedy response. Real life.
At times people in the free world are idealistic about China. Take the family plan for example, China is criticized for violation of human rights, for imposing abortion, and blah… I think the criticism, in theory, is valid. If China were some affluent, neutral country with a small population, everything would be easy. But China was dirt poor, bruised by political turmoil and burdened with a huge population in the 1970s. It would’ve never lifted itself out of destitution or achieved economic boom or grown stronger diplomatically or gained respect in the world — in this order, if it hadn’t put a curb on population first.
Chinese desire and deserve freedom, democracy and all that good stuff just as much as anyone. But for developing countries, there’s a matter of priorities. What’s more urgent? Which problems have to be solved first? Criticism is relevant, necessary and progressive. In the meantime, patience and priorities are crucial to ensure China’s development.
About that particular prisoner story, though, I thought it was a joke, quite laughable. I bet late night talk shows could make fun of its homosexual undertone — it might just be easier for a Chinese dude to be openly gay in prison than in the real world, so he keeps going back to the Brokeback Prison ,-)