Reflection On Watching Numerous Recent Documentaries On China -- Information Dissemination
Last week, I officially quit from my job. I am currently in the middle of an one-week hiatus before starting my new job. As such, I've had some time to watch Ted Koppel's piece on China (People's republic of capitalism) and part of Paul Merton's trip to China. I think Ted Koppel's 4 part mini-series on China was simply brilliant. For anyone who is trying to learn about future US-China relationship, that series would be a good place to start off. As I watch the series, I really begun to think about several major questions. How did China change so quickly? Were the policies of economic liberation really as great as people think they are? Why are Chinese businesses so competitive now and can they be this competitive in the future? Why is the politburo so paranoid about social stability and order?
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My Comment: A rather interesting piece on China through the eyes of a young (and former) Chinese citizen. My perspective is a bit different. I have been involved with China since 1986. I lived there in 1988, and I was the host for many Chinese dignitaries to Canada in 1989. I also helped the children of Chinese officials (two who now hold very senior posts in Fujian Province and one who retired a few years ago from their version of the Politburo) who defected right after the Tienanmen Square massacre.
In short .... my contacts are deep and personal .... relationships that were formed almost 25 years ago.
I concur with Feng's observation that Beijing is paranoid about security and national stability. But the reason why they are like that is simple .... many of the men who run China today were witness to the suffering and hardships that instability and chaos brought to China during the Cultural Revolution. When I first started to visit China and to meet all of my contacts in 1988, all of these officials were very open in describing the horrible conditions that they had to endure during the Cultural revolution .... and as a result many of them have made an unspoken commitment to themselves that such an event will never happen again. No one talks about what needs to be done .... they all understand that security and stability must be maintained at all costs .... a state of mind that pervades throughout the Chinese bureacracy and the levers of power.
As to their economic growth and development .... this is also not a surprise. The concept of capitalism is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and philosophy. It was suppressed during Mao's rule .... but once he is was gone the shackles were released and we have the China of today. For this, a great deal of acknowledgment should go to Deng Xiaoping
There is more in Feng's commentary that I can comment on .... but for the moment just read the rest of what he is written.
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