Wandering China

A commentary by Chinese historian Wang Gungwu draws lessons from the Chinese language through the window on how Chinese see the paradigm of change. Anyone thinking that an Egypt is about to occur in China should read this. By addressing the parallels of an explosion for democracy some have painted between Egypy and China, he says, ‘China is not Egypt, and biantian 变天- making changes to meet Heaven’s wishes – is not something that any Chinese should fear.’

He also adds, ‘In China, the stress has been on concerns for stability. The range of emotions on display in Cairo’s Tahrir – or Liberation – Square was largely downplayed. Not surprisingly, words such as freedom, democracy and revolution were not to be found in Chinese reports.’

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Change of political weather
By Wang Gungwu
Source – Straits Times, published February 16, 2011

Photo - ST

One aspect of the reports deserves attention: These noted that China’s media kept its reporting of the events in Cairo low-key and that the word ‘Egypt’ was kept off the Internet. Ever since the middle of last month, when the Tunisian President fell, the Western media has noted what the Chinese press has failed to report.

In China, the stress has been on concerns for stability. The range of emotions on display in Cairo’s Tahrir – or Liberation – Square was largely downplayed. Not surprisingly, words such as freedom, democracy and revolution were not to be found in Chinese reports.

However, in anticipation of President Hosni Mubarak’s departure, Chinese blogs did compare Liberation Square with Tiananmen. The consensus was that China was different from Egypt but that there were lessons to be learnt. Read the rest of this entry »

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