China is "demonised" by Western media

The Chinese Ambassador for Great Britain has criticised the Western media for “demonising China” and denounced demonstrators who disrupted the Olympic torch relays. Calling the protesters “violent”, Fu Ying has told the Daily Telegraph that many Chinese felt personally attacked by the barrage of criticism. She said one girl had asked her, “Where is the gentlemenship?” The Ambassador who wrote at length in the British newspaper, said the Western media “needed to make an effort to earn respect” adding that there were risks because “demonisation leads to counter reaction”. She said that many did not understand the history of Tibet and that China “loved” the “Autonomous Region” which had seen great improvements over the years. “Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet,” Fu Ying said, “Four million tourists visit Tibet every year. The past five years saw the income of farmers and herdsmen increasing by 83.3 per cent. In 2006 there were more than 1,000 schools, with 500,000 students.” While she conceded there were “complicated problems of religion mixing with politics“ she insisted that Tibetans were “well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed.” She said that China was resolute in its ambition to open up and that she had personal experience of seeing great moves forward “from small steps to bigger strides.” But she was concerned that the recent ‘China bashing’ that has been widespread in Western media might have disastrous consequences. “The latest events have led the younger generation of Chinese, those born since the 1980s, who grew up in a more prosperous, better-educated and freer China, to begin a collective rethinking about the West” the Ambassador said. Fu Ying recognised that many of the problems in Western reporting resulted from “language and cultural barriers” but hoped this would change as Westerners understand China better. However, she said that the Chinese population also has to have “patience to wait for the world to understand China”. The Ambassador’s comments have been reported on the BBC as well as several news websites, and have already prompted angry statements from ‘pro-Tibetan’ and ‘anti-China’ protestors. One website aired views that were dismissive and scathing of Fu Ying’s comments. In a reaction to her comments about a ‘counter reaction’, one writer asks, “Oh really ambassador and what might that counter reaction be ? Smashing up of shops in the UK ? such as happened to the Futon shop in Sheffield a few weeks back because the Chinese Nationalist student did not like the Free Tibet Poster in the Shop ? Or do you mean attacks on Tibetans and Tibetan supporters as happened in Paris ?”

The Press Association reported the attack on the futon shop on 28th March, but the incident has had little publicity. According to the owner of the Natural Bed Company, the shop had been targeted because of his support for Tibet. Peter Bennion told reporters his shop in Devonshire Street, Sheffield, had been targeted by the students because it displayed a Tibetan flag in its showroom window. He claimed two students said the flag offended them and said more students had since visited the shop to take photographs of the window and make "aggressive gestures". Police have said they are trying to identify the students from CCTV footage. "Two Chinese students came to the shop complaining the flag offended them and if we didn't take it down they would come back the following day to tear it down themselves” Mr Bennion said, “They didn't wait that long, they came back at night and photographed themselves breaking the window”. The owner said he was saddened to see other Chinese students “coming down the road to photo the broken window and make aggressive gestures" [Pocklington Post]. While incidents such as these are isolated events, they are a worrying sign of how feelings can run high and escalate out of control. The issues surrounding China, Tibet, human rights, Darfur and the environment must be solved through dialogue or they may become an excuse for racist behaviour.

In The Toronto Star, Raymond Wang, a Chinese national who has lived in Canada for several years, defended the actions of the Chinese authorities in cracking down on rioters in Tibet. "I was in Beijing during the (Tiananmen Square) June 4th massacre in 1989," says the Markham investment adviser, 45, who moved to Canada six years ago. "China handled it poorly. They made a mistake. I'm not a Communist. I'm not a fan of the government. I know there's no freedom of the press there. But the Tibetans and the Western boycotters are hurting Chinese people a lot. We do have the human rights to join the Olympic games and to share the spirits of the Olympics."

Wang is not alone in his seemingly contradictory views. Many Chinese Canadians condemn China's human rights records yet support its iron fist on the Tibetans, and loathe the worldwide protests along the Olympic torch run. In this Olympic year it is becoming an issue of national pride for many Chinese. In the eyes of many expatriates, an attack on the Chinese government becomes an attack on their homeland and its 1.3 billion people, even though many hold grudges against the Communist party for a variety of reasons. "It's like me and my mom," says Victor Wong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council in Toronto. "I can complain about my mom's cooking, but if a friend comes to my house and complains about her being a bad cook, I'm going to be all over (him)."