*originally posted on Facebook*
“This is a growing nation in every single which way...but nobody has ever focused on the growing psyche of the Chinese you know.
What IS our national identity?
What IS our culture?
Do we have a new culture?
Can we develop something that we are proud, of spiritually, and be able to transmit that spirit across the world as the Chinese spirit?
And we haven’t really processed that.
I think one of the problems is that you know when you see that anger in the Chinese, it’s because their expectation of the world’s reaction is totally different than how the world actually reacted. I think the Chinese feel very proud that they've somehow turned the page.
BUT do we have the maturity to handle that power? To actually be able to say, okay now we can't behave like, beating up kids, teenagers anymore, we gotta be grownup about this. We gotta reason with people. We gotta behave in a way, we gotta have a way of conduct that somehow befits a super power, and somehow be able to contribute, to major issues in the world, like environmental issues, like world peace what not.
I don’t think, we've thought through as a people, what that particular confidence or what that particular focus give you, its not just glory; it’s a huge responsibility as people, to behave, better.
And you get that, along with all of the other things. But I don’t think that has quite sunken in yet; we're just feeling very good about ourselves right now.”
- Hong Huang 洪晃*
an interview with MSNBC on Chinese Nationalism
http://shanghaiist.com/200
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Three and a half years ago, when I expressed interest to move to Shanghai, majority of my friends thought I was crazy. Gone nuts. Chi seen. A lot of people questioned, why the hell would you choose to leave Hong Kong - one of the most international, modern and civilized cosmopolitan city of Asia - back to the Motherland?
No I wasn't crazy...innocent and naive, but definitely not chi seen. Yes, I've heard about the pollution, the dog eating habits, and also the cheap massages, facials, manicures and pedicures.
And while every other foreigner thinks "us", the ABCs/CBCs/Overseas Chinese, have the best of both worlds here in China...dude, we also got the worst of both worlds. How do we define, being "Chinese", when we (luckily) didn't have to go through poverty, lack of education, war, famine...or Cultural Revolution? We're really not THAT Chinese - or as I like to always say, we're just 翻版老外s!!
At the same time, living and studying in the States, doesn't mean we support Bush or the war on Iraq, that by fighting terrorism means we support killing more innocent lives, and to built security and stability in another third world country means stealing their oil. Besides, who cares - aren't we all here to manipulate cheap labor and live like Queens? Oh right, and to build our careers - almost forgot about that.
So in my mere three and a half years, I don't quite understand the purpose of current media-bash towards China. Yeah, dog-eating is sick, but it's okay for French to eat snails. Peeing on the streets is unhygienic, while drunk Brits relieving themselves are okay. Oh yeah and selling weapons of mass destruction is NOT okay, you poor Chinese people; but I guess it's okay when the Bush family supported the Iraqis to fight their civil war, back in their days. I hate double standards, yet I've adapted to another set of culture.
The media, plays an important role in our lives. The media is somewhat like mosquitoes, ridiculously pricey ones, sniffing out the right blood (locating the right target groups to send a message) and sucking a bit of us, a bite at a time. We are consumed by media, regardless of blood types. News, is media. Ads, is media. Magazines, is media. FACEBOOK, is media!! http://www.ivivi.cn is HOT, new media.
So back towards China and nationalism...is it just me, or is the media taking advantage of a global sporting event to create a political and (a rather negative) social awareness of China? So aside from free media we've received lately, I wonder if Chinese government officials and the BOCOG knows of any good PR agencies.
"Oh, our people are peeing on the grass? We're encouraging a pesticide-free-environment
You never know...may come in handy some time.
I (L) China but it's not the perfect place in the world either. When little kids come up to beg for money, when that bitch didn't wait in line and cut right in front of me, or that (rather-not-so) gentleman stole the one and only empty cab...I do ask myself, why am I here taking this crap on a daily basis? Screw China pride, where's the next perfect place?
Yet as I try to remind myself that "patience is a virtue" (before screaming on top of my lungs), I remember...this is the moment I'm witnessing my own country grow. While I'm fortunately living this semi-tai tai life, there are 1.3 billion other people lack of education, in poverty, and the government is doing whatever it can (corrupted or not) to build its economy and infrastructure, to provide the simple necessities of electricity and water...what's the value-ratio of 100 deaths in a land mine vs. 1299999900 people's access to energy and fuel? I stop, take another deep breathe of polluted air and think...wow the Chinese government actually do know wtf they are doing. And it makes me proud. This is where I claim myself to be a damn proud Chinese.
Are we ready for the Olympics? Time will prove to all, as it always does. Be prepared Mother China, coz all the ta-ma-de eyes are on you now. China is China, and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
*misspicy's note:
Miss. Hong Huang is one of my most admired Chinese woman, and what she says amazes and inspires me every single time. Grew up as a diplomat's daughter in China, she was educated in New York before moving back to the motherland. In the eyes of the public, she is viewed as a blogger, producer, publisher, and one of the most influential entreprenuers of print media, China Interactive Media Group. It is people like Miss. Hong Huang, that understands truly her culture yet expresses her views and beliefs with eloquence and wisdom.
