Posted on 10/22/2001 11:07:18 PM PDT by tallhappy
As soon as the tragedy occurred on Sept. 11th, the whole of the US was gripped by grief and anger. Heads of state the world over immediately issued statements condemning terrorist violence and expressing sympathy and support for America. Countries and organizations which usually regard the US as their enemy also made statements, one after another, as they sought to distance themselves from the terrorists. Each denied having any connection to the attacks. Even Muammar Qaddafi of Libya pledged to offer assistance to the US. This shows that the attacks were so inhuman, so beyond the pale, that even America's enemies refrained from supporting them in public.
After watching on television a group of Palestinians celebrate the attacks by firing shots into the sky, people around the world immediately identified them as evil, a label that will go down with them in history. This prompted an immediate crackdown by Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat on public displays of support for Osama bin Laden.
Reaction to these events in China, however, was worrying. Although it strains credulity, in the wake of this devastating human tragedy, the Qiangguo Forum, an official Web site run by China's state-run national newspaper, The People's Daily, displayed dozens of postings from visitors to the site hailing the terrorist attacks. According to media statistics, about two hours after the tragedy occurred, the Qiangguo Forum displayed a total of 47 postings on its homepage, including as many as 20 praising the attacks. Only seven messages urged people not to take pleasure in the tragedy. Three of those messages, however, were written by the same visitor to the site.
It is noteworthy, that foremost among those who regularly visit the Qiangguo Forum are young Chinese students and scholars, as well as people who are concerned about, interested in, or eager to discuss current issues in world affairs. Such people are by no means weak or neglected. Nor are they people without influence in Chinese society. Rather, they form a key part of the group at the heart of China's current social development and economic progress. Yet, this group of people seems to be the one group in China to celebrate the terrorist outrages, without the slightest trace of human compassion.
"The Americans," one wrote, "who have betrayed themselves, deserve this!" Their postings on the Web site also turned a blind eye to the fact that the victims involved in the tragedy were civilians like themselves. One posting even read: "After watching this, Wang Wei may rest in peace!" Another read: "This is good! Blasting Yankees to death!" or even suggested: "This should be celebrated with firecrackers!" Here is a mindset, it seems to me, that is little different from that of the terrorists. For people holding such views, human life holds no value whatsoever. Nor does it matter very much how many people were killed or injured, provided that the US was wounded.
Seeing the messages posted at the Qiangguo Forum and realizing how much this form of Chinese nationalism resemble the ways od thinking of the terrorists, I couldn't help but worry more than ever about China's future.
It seems to me that by falling under the spell of a "strong" China, the country could move toward fascism in the future, bringing ruin upon the nation. But it is too simple to condemn these young Web site visitors for their lack of humanity and compassion, for their feelings are the product of long-term, official government manipulation of their nationalist sentiments.
Indeed, the manner in which the Chinese government reacted to the attacks on New York and Washington was little better than that offered by those hysterical Web site visitors. President Jiang Zemin (¦¿¿A¥Á) sent a telegram of condolence to US President George W. Bush and the American people on the night of Sept.11th. In a break from his usually verbose prose, Jiang's message was not only brief, but half-hearted, and without human feeling. In covering the tragedy, CCTV (the official government television network) focused on Arafat as he issued statements intended to distance himself and his movement from the terrorists. Without doubt, such subtle tactics lay bare the mindset of China's rulers. But no matter how subtly manipulative China's rulers are, I feel compelled to condemn any Chinese who has taken pleasure in the terrorist attacks on the US. Such people tarnish the image of all Chinese, reducing us to a status approaching barbarism.
Wang Dan was one of the leaders of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989 and is currently studying at Harvard University.
Most people didn't notice this comment by Bush in his APEC speech. That he said it in China and that China is a one of the places referred to may not have been noted by many, but the ChiComs understood.
Remember the ChiCom delegation that was told to leave after they cheered the attacks? The ChiComs remember.
Dynamite Bush Bump.
Nice hit count...CU or Red Salon?
During my time as an undergraduate, aside from the Taiwanese (depending on whether you consider them Chinese or not) I never met a pro-American Chinese. They simply want to learn our techniques and use them to take over our position when America has its "inevitable downfall." (Imagine a Chinese-led world!!!) When you see the way the Chinese throw their own baby girls into gutters and rivers, or how they stand by while Falun Gong are beat on the streets of their capitol, how can anybody be surprised that they'd rejoice in seeing some dirty Yankees exterminated?
Screw the Red bastards as well as the Palestinians.
"In ordinary healthy thinking and analysis there is a sequence of events where a given cause creates or justifies a consequent effect. But in the leftist mind there is a paranoid reversal of reasoning in which a reasonable later consequent of their actions is used to justify the action preceding it. If a communist revolutionary attempts to kill you and you defend yourself by killing him, the revolutionary movement will say your act makes you an oppressor even though they initiated the foreseeable sequence of events. Under this reversed logic, you are never allowed to defend yourself from attack by a leftist because the act of defense makes you guilty of actions that justify having tried to kill you initially. Since most sane people who are shot at will shoot back, in the leftist mind the world is filled with oppressive people who leftists feel uniquely justified in killing or destroying."
How in the world you can stick up for them is something a sane person can't understgand.
I realize there are a LOT of younger folk running around loose rather ignorant of the more nitty gritty issues of life.
I realize there are a LOT of younger folk running around loose rather ignorant of the more nitty gritty issues of life.
Their postings on the Web site also turned a blind eye to the fact that the victims involved in the tragedy were civilians like themselves.
If they get to zealous we should start a publicity campaign that says "the women of NanJing were hookers" and "NanJing was deserved". It would be about the same spirit in which these punks think.
But no matter how subtly manipulative China's rulers are, I feel compelled to condemn any Chinese who has taken pleasure in the terrorist attacks on the US. Such people tarnish the image of all Chinese, reducing us to a status approaching barbarism.
Agreed.
That whole notion that Chinese people never have done anything wrong to anyone, ever, and Americans are some mean oppressors that are picking on some blameless angelic Chinese man is ignorant.
The CCP hates America because we teamed with the KMT to fight WWII.
Americans hate the CCP. Their revolution caused many problems. Now they refuse to admit it. Many Mainlanders promote ignorant but rampant and radical nationalism. There is no such thing as a 'fair assessment' in the Chinese mind. China is the strongest, and best nation on earth and you better think so too...
To the Chinese, if an American says 'your legal system needs work' they interpret that as "Why do you hate all Chinese people???!!!" Next thing you know they are throwing a tantrum.
The Mainlanders have been far too influenced by the CCP and their ideologies. To them, all white people are created equal. It was white people who sold Opium, therefore all white people are bad.
The Mainlanders operate in 'movements'. Whatever happens to feel good at the moment, lets do it.
Between 1949 and 1969 they killed 50 million Chinese citizens because those people were insufficiently communist in the eyes of the Chinese rulers. Oh pardon me if I'm anti-Chinese in your eyes for saying so.
The Chinese government has a bureaucracy that supervises the systematic killing of people so that organs from their bodies can be sold for money. According to the US government they kill 7-10 thousand people a year in just this manner. Populations of prisoners are surveyed to find the healthy ones. They are taken to a special room where one bullet is administered to the head and then they're immediately taken by ambulance to the hospital where the organs are taken.
In China people are thrown in jail for having possession of a bible, for meditating in public. The individual so widely shown on American tv in 1989 for having stood in front of a tank and stopped the whole column of tanks just by being willing to die was in fact arrested and executed by the current Chinese government. In China American visitors are routinely followed by secret police who make sure that the Americans don't have the wrong types of discussions with Chinese.
For more than 20 years in China the government has tried very hard to restrict their population. Pursuant to this they have bureaucrats in every locale in charge of this who apply strong pressures to keep each family having one child only. The result has been that 50+ million girl babies have been killed at birth during that time. This is done even though China's population density, that is people per square mile, is not very much different from England's, Ireland's, Italy's or Germany's.
About 50 years ago China invaded a very large neighboring nation named Tibet and subjugated it. About 25% of the Tibetan population has been killed in this effort. But today Tibet has been integrated into China successfully. Taiwan is the next target even though Beijing has ruled Taiwan a grand total of 7 years out of the last several thousand years.
Many of us believe that the US should not empower such a regime. Our government gives China special low or non-existent tariffs for their exports to the US. We do not extend that courtesy to most other nations. We also facilitate the transfer of much technology that can be used for military purposes.
Many of us at FR would like a change in tone in our nation's posture towards China as a result of this line of thinking I've outlined. We haven't called for nuclear strikes against China or war in any way whatsoever. You've lied to us on that point and I ask that in the name of jesus you examine yourself and try to let Light into your mind as the Darkness has muddled your thinking.
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