日本高清色视频在线视频在,国产香蕉97碰碰视频碰碰看,丰满少妇av无码区,精品无码专区在线,久久无码专区免费看,四虎欧美精品永久地址99,亚洲色无码一区二区三区

您現(xiàn)在的位置: Language Tips> Columnist> Patrick Whiteley  
   
 





 
Striving for peace and harmony

A Beijing newspaper was recently critical of its fellow citizens for trying too hard...

[ 2008-08-19 15:26 ]

By Patrick Whiteley

Striving for peace and harmony

A Beijing newspaper was recently critical of its fellow citizens for trying too hard to paint a perfect, unrealistic picture of their country. "We should exhibit the true and natural China to the outside world," the editorial said. "We also have problems, but we should not be afraid for everybody to see them."

It is a sentiment shared by many of my Chinese friends, but they are still very sensitive to barbed criticism about their complex homeland.

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal," I tell them. "Us Westerners, generally speaking, like to complain loudly about pretty much everything."

"You'll get used to it, and after a while, you'll learn to ignore it like we do."

While many in the West struggle to try to understand the Chinese psyche, my Beijing friends are sometimes bewildered by the Western media's never-ending moan about China's differences.

"Foreigners only read that we're all poor, corrupt, polluters, human rights abusers and we have no rights," my 23-year-old Chinese language teacher told me. "I know this because I read these stories on the Internet, which the foreign media says I'm banned from reading," she said laughing.

She stops laughing when I tell her it is common practice for my home newspaper in Australia to run a monkey cartoon of our state leader.

"That is so disrespectful!" she cries. "Why would people want to see their leader like that. How would that help him do his job?"

"We don't take it seriously," I explain. "It's just one newspaper editor's point of view and he thinks it's funny."

My teacher cannot see the humor. "Leaders, teachers and parents should be respected," she says. "But you can still debate an issue without being so rude."

A senior Chinese editor told me he would not dare be critical about the government during his university days in the late 1960s. "You might not be arrested but you'd be heavily criticized," he said. But times are changing, thanks to the world wide web.

"Today you can go online and people will be criticizing former and even current leaders," he says. "This was unheard of five years ago. But in these chat rooms there are people also supporting these leaders too. There is healthy debate."

Another example of recent online debate revolved around a man who burst into a Shanghai police station and stabbed six police officers to death. People were asking: "What drives a man to do this? He must have hated the police so much. What did they do to him?"

The issue of police abusing their authority was discussed at great length.

In the West, debate on a subject like this would be a lot more simplistic. Right-wing media commentators would demand the man be lynched from the nearest tree. The left-wingers would argue his action was a symptom of a failing society.

A raging debate would ensue and under the banner of free speech and the rights of the almighty individual, everybody would be invited to join the melee.

The issue becomes irrelevant after a while because it is all about heated conflict.

When I first came to China two years ago, I kept hearing the mantra of "harmonious society" and it never failed to amuse. I started working on Australian newspapers more than 20 years ago, and thrived on social conflict. Controversy sold newspapers and everybody was fair game except my newspaper owner, of course.

But the senior Chinese editor told me that if everybody in China emphasized their individual freedom without restraint and without considering the impact it may have on others, there would be chaos.

And he said the Chinese people have had enough of chaos. They now wanted to enjoy peace and strive for harmony. And they wanted to do it their own way.

How can you argue against that? Isn't that what everyone wants.

E-mail: patwhiteley@yahoo.com

(China Daily 08/17/2008 page10)

我要看更多專欄文章

 
英語點(diǎn)津版權(quán)說明:凡注明來源為“英語點(diǎn)津:XXX(署名)”的原創(chuàng)作品,除與中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)簽署英語點(diǎn)津內(nèi)容授權(quán)協(xié)議的網(wǎng)站外,其他任何網(wǎng)站或單位未經(jīng)允許不得非法盜鏈、轉(zhuǎn)載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯(lián)系;凡本網(wǎng)注明“來源:XXX(非英語點(diǎn)津)”的作品,均轉(zhuǎn)載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉(zhuǎn)載,請與稿件來源方聯(lián)系,如產(chǎn)生任何問題與本網(wǎng)無關(guān);本網(wǎng)所發(fā)布的歌曲、電影片段,版權(quán)歸原作者所有,僅供學(xué)習(xí)與研究,如果侵權(quán),請?zhí)峁┌鏅?quán)證明,以便盡快刪除。
相關(guān)文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本頻道最新推薦
 
Walking in the US first lady's shoes
“準(zhǔn)確無誤”如何表達(dá)
英國新晉超女蘇珊大媽改頭換面
豬流感 swine flu
你有l(wèi)ottery mentality嗎
翻吧推薦
 
論壇熱貼
 
別亂扔垃圾。怎么譯這個(gè)亂字呀?
橘子,橙子用英文怎么區(qū)分?
看Gossip Girl學(xué)英語
端午節(jié)怎么翻譯?
母親,您在天堂還好嗎?

 

<strong id="xdwva"><div id="xdwva"></div></strong>
<label id="xdwva"></label>

<thead id="xdwva"></thead>
    <label id="xdwva"></label>

  1. 日本高清色视频在线视频在,国产香蕉97碰碰视频碰碰看,丰满少妇av无码区,精品无码专区在线,久久无码专区免费看,四虎欧美精品永久地址99,亚洲色无码一区二区三区 久久九九久精品国产日韩经典 国产国语国拍精品 啊v在线观看高清无码 视频一区二区欧美 久久精品爱爱唉爱