I am now giving my best respect to our great China and the heroic people!

Wish you have a good time in both Beijing and Shanghai!

Hope you have a good meeting with Aw and other ifgogo members!

I will be at a trip in the middle ten-day of May and I am thinking now if I can manage to get to Beijing from Hangzhou directly before your arrival, and then come back soon right after meeting you...

I talked my boss into allowing me to travel to China and will be:

Beijing - 5/21 evening - approx. 5/27
Shanghai - 5/27 - departing 5/30 morning

I would love to meet up with any of the ifgogo community members or bloggers. I'm especially interested in meeting with Chinese bloggers who are interested in making contact with more foreign bloggers. You can contact me by email: (firstname) at ngventures dot c om. Aw I hope I can meet you!

(Lisa, I think you live in Jinan. I would love to meet up with you but I don't have time to come up to Jinan to see you. :) Maybe someday!)

No, the birth of the CCP was also because Mao and the Communists were unsatisfied with the Nationalists and thought they had better ideas for government. The Nationalists themselves were also unhappy with the imperialism of colonial powers (including Japan). In fact, so were the dynastic powers. The difference between them were their political ideologies. Let's not overglorify the CCP, okay?

However, I understand and agree with your argument that the Chinese mentality and reaction has been molded by history. You actually don't need to teach me that whatsoever because nothing I've said requires that explanation. Your explanation further doesn't change any of the facts or points I've stated.

I think you misunderstood what I meant by "they simply choose to ignore it." My point was that China invoking sovereignty is the same thing as people invoking human rights. China says, "this is my country, we are a sovereign country, so everyone else butt out." People say, "we are people, we all have human rights, so everyone should respect these human rights." It is the same argument. China, or the CCP, simply values "sovereignty" and claims it is absolute while ignoring "human rights" and claiming it is not absolute. Other people have the opposite, vice-versa perspective. Again, neither is right, neither is wrong, it is just a value-judgement, a difference of opinion, or at least a judgement of convenience.

I find it really amusing that you think the root of all this evil are Western countries. I'm sorry, but it is childish and short-sighted. Let me ask you, why were these Western countries able to take advantage of China? Why were we Chinese so weak and easy to bully? Was it because we were too busy fighting each other? Was it because we thought our society and culture was so much more superior to those Western barbarians that we didn't bother to learn from them or interact with them? Was it because our belief-systems and Confuscian valued conformity and discouraged independent thought and innovation? We can blame ourselves for letting the West attack us. We had thousands of years of civilized society and we allowed the West to conquer us.

Sooner or later, we have to take responsibility for our own mistakes and short-comings. Blaming the West for our own historical complacency and inability to compete is childish whining. If we're so much better than the West, let's prove it instead of crying about it.

I already stated above that people can use the "human rights issue" for different purposes and different people may have different motives (whether sincere or ulterior). The point is that Lee Ching was still oversimplifying and dismissing the entire issue of human rights as some "plot by the West to keep China down."

For some people, that is exactly what it is. But for many others, it is a sincere AND legitimate complaint against Chinese government policies and actions. Do you disagree?

Now, why are you so preoccupied with "showing off?" I thought being "qianxu" was a Chinese virtue, unlike those arrogant cocky Americans, right? China has much to be proud of. 5000 years of history? The world's next economic super-power? Geez, those two alone puts the vast majority of other countries to shame already. Why the overwhelming insecurity?

Governments and countries have always sought to use various means to promote and protect their interests. China, like all countries, is a victim to this reality of world politics. China, like many other countries, is also a perpetrator. Please don't tell me that you actually believe that China DOESN'T exert its political, military, and economic influence to advance and safeguard its own interests. It DOES, both past, present, AND future. Don't be naive or willfully ignorant.

China using military power? Ask Vietnam, Korea, India, certain African nations. China using political power? Ask Japan, the United States, NATO, and the UN. China using economic power? Definitely ask the United States.

In fact, you should be happy that China is one of the few countries with such power to project. Think of all the smaller, less powerful countries in the world that have much more cause to complain than China. Don't pretend China is some innocent child that gets bullied by all those evil Western countries. That is ridiculous. China will exert its power when it can and when it has cause to do so. It has before, it does today, and it will tomorrow. It may not be as bad as the United States, but you never know how things will change. Good husbands can become bad husbands when they become rich and powerful.

Yes, an autocracy that can successfully develop economically DOES challenge the Western ideal of economic development through democracy. Yes, China's model COULD be a significant and profound paradigm shift in political theory. Just as the United States was the great democratic experiment, maybe China will be the great autocratic experiment. Maybe China CAN show the West (and all of the other undeveloped/developing countries) that there can be an alternative political system that can modernize and develop a country to first-world status. Who knows? So what if they feel threatened? It is natural, just as the imperial dynasties feared change, just as the Nationalists feared the Communists, and just as the Communists fear the West. So what? If you understand why some people in the West are afraid of the Chinese autocratic model competing with the Western democratic model, then why are you upset with them being afraid? It is natural, normal, and understandable. Why? Because we Chinese have our own fears too. We too criticize, fight, and resist many things that challenge our own deeply-held values and preferred world-view. Why CAN'T "the West" be concerned? Why SHOULDN'T the West be concerned for their own interests and beliefs?

In fact, you should be GLAD that our world has moved beyond using the threat of force (military blockaged and nuclear intimidation) against China. You should be GLAD that other countries are trying to appeal to ideology, thought, and values instead of using coercion. You should be GLAD that Western countries like the United States and the EU are not building missles across your border hoping to intimidate China. You should be GLAD that these countries are engaging in political discussion and economic trade to handle China. If China wants to be part of the global community, it is going to have to learn how to play with other countries. The sooner China learns this, the better. Insisting that others never criticize China and only shower China with praise is the behavior of a child. It is time for China to grow up, grow some thicker skin, and be an adult. The world is a tough, competitive place. Get used to it.

Your example of the girlfriend and handsome man doesn't make anything sense nor does it make anything clear. I'm sorry, but feel free to try rewriting it or explaining it further.

Yes, we know that many Western people do not understand or misunderstand China. We also know that many Chinese people do not understand or misunderstand "the West" as well. We know that there is bias in the West. We also know that there is propaganda and bias in China as well. We know that the vast majority Western people are ignorant. We also know that the vast majority of Chinese people are ignorant as well. Do you disagree?

Look, there are many logical and understandable reasons for mutual misunderstanding. The solution is not for Chinese people to continuously whine about Westerners misunderstanding them ("You don't understand me, you don't understand me!"). The solution for increasing mutual understanding is for those of us who DO understand to encourage patience, tolerance, and more communication with and between those who do not understand. Do you disagree?

Yes, both China and the United States are hypocrites. I was specifically referring to the issue of human rights. The United States government has violated human rights when it has professed to champion it. However, so have the Chinese. Have you never read the Chinese constitution? Tell me, how many of the rights "guaranteed" in the Chinese "constitution" are actually "guaranteed?" Few, if any. Even most Chinese acknowledge that the same human rights supposedly promised in both China and the West are better protected in the West. We also understand that the Chinese government have their reasons and arguments for what they do, but that doesn't absolve the Chinese government of being a hypocrite. Again, both are hypocrites. You can criticize the United States if you want, but it won't change the fact that China is still a hypocrite as well. You just need to accept that hypocrisy is universal, especially in global politics.

Overall, I found that the vast majority of your arguments are borne out of cultural projection and a certain misunderstanding of the West.