tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post390887668033106928..comments2024-03-19T08:42:45.690-04:00Comments on The Delaware Libertarian: Chinese People on the Olympic Torch FiascoSteven H. Newtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097470960863103473noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-21402581143940647852008-04-16T21:58:00.000-04:002008-04-16T21:58:00.000-04:00The issue that came to my mind was South African a...The issue that came to my mind was South African apartheid, which DID have significant foreign activism.<BR/><BR/>My three years in China by no means make me an expert, but one thing I've witnessed is something I can only describe as a simultaneous superiority complex and inferiority complex.<BR/><BR/>That's part of the reason they get annoyed at outside commentary. They don't have a free speech tradition, obviously; even many western countries don't truly respect free speech, so it's an even more difficult concept for a Chinese to grasp.<BR/><BR/>Also, beware of a Chinese using the word "harmonious"; it typically means "I wish you would do what I want you to do." (Much like when a US politician calls for an end to "partisanship"; he really just want the other side to stop arguing with him.) The conformity of opinion over here (which this gentleman shares) is astounding.Bowlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08368370082055845451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-277563121231721972008-04-16T19:09:00.000-04:002008-04-16T19:09:00.000-04:00Steve thank you. I think we should both bitch abou...Steve thank you. <BR/><BR/>I think we should both bitch about each other's hypocricies through our media outlets and use that as a springboard toward honest dialog on areas of agreement and disagreement, but many times in Chinese culture it is better to do so behind closed doors. <BR/><BR/>I wasn't even thinking of Castro, but that is an excellent point. I will keep that in mind for the future. Castro continues to point out problems in US foreign policy....and lambast the president despite his age. I think that will continue until he dies, and then Chavez or someone else will take over the bitching for him. Both of them however are pragmatic leftists. Kruschev is a different story, he may have brought up balcks at the UN but there was not much study of the issue in the USSR unless you were an anthropolgist. In China however there was widespead education about racial discrimination in America, I have a book here from 1970 that says "repeat after me...Johnny is a black boy. He plays at home with his mother and brothers. His father works at a factory. Johnny sleeps on a wooden bed with his brothers and sisters. Johnny's family are poor. That is becuase they are black. They would like to play with white children but they cannot, becuase black people are poor and cannot play with white children." That is from a Chinese children's reader. <BR/><BR/>I think every time we bring up Tibet, China should bring up American Indian health. It balances things out. They are both serious issues that both countries need to address delicately.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556693043870733177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-91295278913279059372008-04-16T17:45:00.000-04:002008-04-16T17:45:00.000-04:00Brian,During the 1960s Khruschev and Castro and a ...Brian,<BR/>During the 1960s Khruschev and Castro and a number of socialist leaders repeatedly DID bring up the treatment of American blacks and Indians, especially during Castro's carefully orchestrated UN appearance in (I think) 1964. He made a point of meeting with Malcolm X and widely publicizing the meeting.<BR/><BR/>The policy of non-interference in the affairs of other nations is always tricky. Does it extend to genocide? If so, how does one determine genocide has occurred, will occur, or is occurring?<BR/><BR/>As much as the Prime Directive made sense in the Star Trek universe, both Kirk and Picard found ways around it.<BR/><BR/>Nor does China follow a non-interference policy with respect to the US.<BR/><BR/>Just food for thought.Steven H. Newtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09097470960863103473noreply@blogger.com