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Listed below are comments made by peter5566 between Wednesday, 18th June 2008 and Saturday, 26th July 2008.

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Protesters' parks 5:51pm on 26 Jul 2008 Post #33 by Peace_4_all

Here is some academic evidence as an answer to your doubt about popular support to the Chinese leadership by the majority of the population. It is a publication by the PEW Global Attitudes Project at the famed PEW Research Center in USA. Their research finding, published last week, is a commonplace sentiment among Chinese citizens, but is usually ignored (purposely?) by western media and hence unaware of by the western general public - the central government of China today enjoys the kind of popular support that leaders of the westwen democratic countries would envy. The west should objectively accept the fact that, whether they like it or not, Chinese people are highly satisfied with current direction of their country as managed by the Beijing leadership.

The following is an extract from it:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/906/china-economy

July 22, 2008

As they eagerly await the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese people express extraordinary levels of satisfaction with the way things are going in their country and with their nation's economy. With more than eight-in-ten having a positive view of both, China ranks number one among 24 countries on both measures in the 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center's Pew Global Attitudes Project. These findings represent a dramatic improvement in national contentment from earlier in the decade ....
Limited viewing 11:19am on 19 Jun 2008 Earlier in this blog, a Chinese Canadian friend @freeflowfox posted that "Soon enough, China will be the greatest power on earth........". While I appreciate and agree with most of his other points, I would humbly add that, if I may, the above concept is over-optimistic.

Euphoria and thoughts of grandeur help self confidence but they often make people complacent and erode their determination for improvement. More importantly, loud voices of China’s potential mightiness would reinforce the prejudiced western theory of “China Threat” regularly drummed up by their critics as part of their effort of demonization and rationalization for possible pre-emptive actions. The reality today is: yes, China is a giant nation - in quantity but not in quality. Any national achievement such as GDP or Foreign Exchange Reserve etc, when divided by 1.3 billion, is almost negligible. Any individual need such as healthcare or education etc, when multiplied by 1.3 billion, is astronomical.

There is a huge amount of really hard work ahead for years and years before China becomes a truly giant nation in a meaningful sense. Chinese people should stick to their traditional, virtuous culture of modesty and perseverance. The future is full of hope.
Olympic torch in town 1:38pm on 18 Jun 2008
Mr. James Reynolds appears rather ill-informed about the historic background of the militant East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) outlawed in China and its close connection with Al-Qaeda. It is a Muslim separatist group that has been listed as a terrorist organization in other countries including the US, Kazakhstan, Pakistan as well as the United Nations. Nowadays it continuously engages in terrorist activities in Xinjiang, supported by Al-Qaeda and often financed by some wealthy Uighurs in-exile.

Its sabotage acts have led to repeated loss of lives of innocent civilians and undermining social stability that is vital to ongoing economic development of Xinjiang. Security measures are never enough in such sensitive region, a prey to various unfriendly external forces.

I have traveled extensively in Xinjiang on several occasions in recent years. I have witnessed the continuous improvement of livelihood of the locals. Steady modernization is lifting more and more people out of poverty and illiteracy. The Uighurs, as well as the Huis who are also Muslims, are in general well respected by the Hans. Increasing number of them are getting richer and richer. Traditional ethnic cultures such as their unique grapes plantation, their lively dances, their colorful ethnic costumes, their charming songs and their tasty cuisines etc enjoy widespread, deep appreciation and popularity among the Hans, and their strong presence is seen across the country in the form of theatres, publications, art exhibitions, restaurants, street stalls and mosques in other provinces etc. Chinese are proud of the indigenous ancient construction of efficient underground water-supply system in Xinjiang, and of the amazing acrobatic skill of wire-walking of their Uighur compatriots. Not too long ago, an Uighur basketball player, a favorite member of the national team, became a national hero to every household in China when he was chosen by NBA, just like the Tibetan mountaineers who had scaled Mt Everest are highly regarded as national heroes.

I regret to learn that many shops and windows along the Olympic Torch relay path in Xinjiang were closed and many enthusiastic citizens were unable to come out freely to the streets to greet the great event. To many Chinese, it is quite understandable that special precaution measures need to be implemented at special times on sensitive occasions to avoid disruptive incidents. This inconvenience is only temporary. As the region develops further, there appears an encouraging sign of a general trend of growing peaceful co-existence, friendly exchanges and mutual tolerance among different ethnic groups in Xinjiang, to the benefit of all of its residents.

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