dan ho

I got this off Jason’s Facebook note:

This is from Brendon Zhang’s note which shows a poem written by one Chinese person’s questions for the western world.

What do you want from Us?
A Poem Dedicated to the last 150 years of this planet.

By a Slient, Silent Chinese.

When We were called Sick man of Asia, We were called The Peril.
When We are billed to be the next Superpower, We are called The threat. When We closed our doors, You smuggled Drugs to Open Markets.
When We Embrace Freed Trade, You blamed us for Taking away your jobs. When We were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your fair share.
When We were putting the broken pieces together again, Free Tibet you screamed, it was an invasion! ( When Woodrow Wilson Couldnt give back Birth Place of Confucius back to Us, But He did buy a ticket for the Famine Relief Ball for us.)
So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being Communists.
When We embrace Capitalism, You hate us for being Capitalist.
When We have a Billion People, you said we were destroying the planet.
When We tried to limit our numbers, you said It was human rights abuse.

When We were Poor, You think we are dogs.
When We Loan you cash, You blame us for your debts.
When We build our industries, You called us Polluters.
When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming.
When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide.
When You fight for oil, You called that Liberation.
When We were lost in Chaos and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us. When We uphold law and order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights.
When We were silent, You said you want us to have Free Speech.
When We were silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophoics.

Why do you hate us so much? We asked.
No, You Answered, We dont hate You.
We dont Hate You either, But Do you understand us?
Of course We do, You said, We have AFP, CNN and BBC
What do you really want from us?
Think Hard first

My comment on there was that generally, people wanting to be in your position will try to knock you off that position with ridiculous allegations. People who are secretly doing what you’re doing, will try to detract attention from themselves by placing the negative spotlight on you.

Chinese human rights violations? Hey, how about Abu Ghabi prison and other US soldier attrocities?

China used to bomb Tibetan temples? Doesn’t the US bomb mosques and homes fairly frequently these days?

I’m not a big supporter of bombing Tibetan temples, nor am I am advocate of destroying mosques and homes.

However, one thing sticks out: It’s always about propaganda. The problem here, is the title of the poem.

“by a Silent, Silent Chinese”

The Chinese just don’t care about what people say or think, and forge along on their own path. The United States and Western world, however, make sure every negative scenerio is deflected off them and every positive moment lasts for as long as it can.

It is not that either is completely right or wrong. Both countries have their good and their bad but while one just doesn’t care and forges ahead, the other tries to control public perception.

It is intriguing how people “blame the press” for exaggerating stories and portraying China in a negative light. I have always been taught that the press “is the eyes and ears of the public”. We generally just report on what we see.

As for those pro-Chinese people who blame the press for the “Free Tibet” issue going out of hand, think about it from this perspective: the “Free Tibet” movement is a lot more eye catching. Someone geting beat up at the “Free Tibet” rally is a lot more emotional than a bunch of people standing around waving Chinese flags.

A “Free Tibet” rally is more emotional than a pro-Chinese movement at the moment it happens and when publiczed to the world, it will carry that emotion. Granted too that pro-Tibet demonstrations vastly outnumber pro-Chinese ones, the media will focus it’s lenses on that movement.

Last is my answer to the question that the poem above ended with: “What do you really want from us? Think hard first.”

When people think say “I have a problem with you doing X.” If X is the real problem, then when you come to a solution, a compromise, or stop doing X, then the conflict should be resolved.

On the other hand, like in the poem, people come to you saying they have a problem with “X”. Then when you talk to them and arrive at a solution “Y”, they publicly say that you’re not doing the “right thing” with solution “Y”.

So you think hard and ask them to think hard what do they actually want? Afterall, this is probably a mis-communication. They then talk to you privately, so as not to cause a scene, that perhaps solution “Z” would be the best of all.

Finally, after solution “Z” is implemented, they announce to the world through the media that you’re the evil of the world because solution “X” is the way it should be.

Meanwhile, the “silent silent Chinese” simply sits there scratching his head, wondering what went wrong with this “peaceful, discreet” solution? They ask “what do they really want from us?”

That situation really gives you the truthful answer to that question “What do you really want from us? Think hard first.”

China is the world’s largest population, with one of the cheapest labour costs. They are an economic dragon waking up in the far east. Their military might, while currently inferior to the United States, grows rapidly. They are one of the biggest creditors, while the United States is in debt.

Contrary to the writer’s request, they have thought hard. The answer is simply this.

“You are in a postion that I want to be, or you are in a position to catch up and surpass me. So I will use propaganda to force you aside, because I want to be the only one on top and in first place.”