Matthew Forney, a former Beijing bureau chief for Time, is writing a book about raising his family in China.
From a different, and perhaps an "inside" perspective, on how the youth of China view all the brew ha-ha in relation to Tibet, the Dalai Lama and the upcoming Olympics, writing an op-ed piece in the NY Times Forney says:
"Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.
As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised her government for treating Tibetans better than New World settlers treated Native Americans.
It’s a rare person in China who considers the desires of the Tibetans themselves. “Young Chinese have no sympathy for Tibet,” a Beijing human-rights lawyer named Teng Biao told me. Mr. Teng — a Han Chinese who has offered to defend Tibetan monks caught up in police dragnets — feels very alone these days. Most people in their 20s, he says, “believe the Dalai Lama is trying to split China.”
From a different, and perhaps an "inside" perspective, on how the youth of China view all the brew ha-ha in relation to Tibet, the Dalai Lama and the upcoming Olympics, writing an op-ed piece in the NY Times Forney says:
"Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.
As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised her government for treating Tibetans better than New World settlers treated Native Americans.
It’s a rare person in China who considers the desires of the Tibetans themselves. “Young Chinese have no sympathy for Tibet,” a Beijing human-rights lawyer named Teng Biao told me. Mr. Teng — a Han Chinese who has offered to defend Tibetan monks caught up in police dragnets — feels very alone these days. Most people in their 20s, he says, “believe the Dalai Lama is trying to split China.”
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Your first sentence explains what you really hope to see. It is not what Chinese people, young or old, want for their lives or their political rights that you are caring about. You only feel disappointed because China, rather than "in the waning days" like the Soviet Union used to be in, is rising as the only power that could challenge the United States.
You think you know about China, since you lived in Beijing for so many years. But let me tell you several things:
First of all, in our high school textbook, there is a whole chapter talking about the Cultural revolution. Our teachers told us even more on that period since most of them suffered a lot during the Cultural Revolution. True, we learned a lot about how China was invaded, by the British, by the Japanese, and by the Americans(who also sold opium to Chinese people.) But why should not we about such things? ONLY THE INVADERS WANT THE INVADED PEOPLE TO FORGET THIS KIND OF HISTORY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Second of all, we are shamed of what the government does sometimes. As well-educated people who could get information from all sources, I guarantee you that "China's loyal youth" are more capable of introspection and critical thinking than American youth. To return to what the Chinese government did wrong. It should not sell weapons to Sudan. But why did it do that? Because America secured the oil access in the Middle East for itself (by the way, are you ashamed of what your government did there?) Chinese government want the oil in Africa. Weapons themselves are not evil--it all depends on how one use them. Although the Chinese government obviously did not support the genocide in Sudan, I think it should have known that those weapons will be used for that matter. But please don't Americans pretend to care about the people in Darfur. American people may care about them, but not your government and "elites" like you. You just use that to attack China. If you don't agree with me, then please tell me why you did not do anything with the genocide in Rwanda when the same thing happened?
All in all, you don't want to see that a rising China and its people to share the natural resources that almost exclusively belong to the United States and West Europe. Just say it, then. No shame on you. But don't be so hypocritical.
There are many things which, according to your standard, we should be ashamed of our government. Unfortunately, your standard is a double standard. The human rights advocates say that "one child policy" is evil. But do you realize that if there is no such a policy, the current Chinese population will be 3-4 billion, and will consume much more energy than it does now?
As to the issue of Tibet, go learn Chinese history first. Tibet was a part of China since the Ming dynasty in 1368 (actually, since Yuan dynasty, but it was a Mongal dynasty,so for the purpose of argument, we will just say Ming). If you don't believe in any sources of Chinese history, go read a autobiography of a Tibetan: "The Struggle for Modern Tibet: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering". It tells you what common Tibetan people really want, not what the Tibetan aristocracy wants.
If you still lack the ability to reflect on your words and your thoughts, let me tell you this: You are right, sir. We are China's loyal youth. Thanks to what Western countries and Western media did to China this time, we are growing more loyal to China and Chinese government. And to disappoint you a little more, China is no Soviet Union. You will never see its waning days.