BBC Blog Network

User Profile

kklimmy

Listed below are comments made by kklimmy between Saturday, 19th July 2008 and Tuesday, 7th July 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Three years in China 03:20am on 07 Jul 2009 I think the one thing you need to remember is the Chinese can endure things many people will not. To "EAT BITTERNESS" is what anables them to survive!
About Stephanie Flanders 11:55pm on 30 Apr 2009 I well remember Michael Flanders and Donald Swan as I have their LP of "At the drop of a hat", and especially the song "I'm a Gnu". I was a student in Imperial College then in the late 50's. I trust your blogs will be as "entertaining" in content as their performances! Good Luck. Incidentally I'm from Malaysia which was then a colony!
Optimism about China's economy 11:29pm on 30 Apr 2009 Re #23 Beijing2008 --- It seems to me you have a great deal of assumptions in reaching your conclusions on China's future. While not denying the tremendous economic advances made by the Chinese government, the total development must also include many other features which will promote a just and stable civil society. On this point as far as I can understand China has a long way to go. There were some 70,000 demonstrations in China in 2008. One questions why? Civil unrest usually means peopel feel deprived of what they perceive should be theirs. The reponse from officials is frequently some form of exercise of power. This means society in China is far from stable! When power is used and not legal recourse things cannot be satisfactory. As far as I am able to understand human history, through the millenia ordinary people have always sought the resolution of their grievances fairly. I believe that in China you are sitting on a unstable chair! As far as the West is concerned, don't forget it has indepth wealth --- especially intellectual and a much longer experience of how to engender stable societies. This is no mean feat !
Optimism about China's economy 11:41pm on 29 Apr 2009 Re #6 by Tweedy and #8 by Janchild

I believe the main problem with the situation is that except for international businessmen, most people in the West only know about China in terms of Tibet, etc! While there are obvious undesirable features in the present Chinese government, it is also true that they have done a lto for their citizens. Janchild said it all --- the country is so large it can actually be an integrated economy in every way.

It would be good if the general public in the West is given a more balanced view of China. They would then be more awake to the opportunites open for the taking. The West is not short of products, material, intellectual, and others that it can offer to that country if only it would open it's eyes more. For UK one of it's strong offerring could be education which is highly valued!
Super China 9:48pm on 14 Mar 2009 A well balanced report. I like your style --- no moral high ground, no polemics, just a hard look and analysis.

In Asia as a whole, people believe good neighboursliness means not sticking your neck into other people's houses unless you are asked too. We do no like adversarial approaches. Wen Jiabao's comments are in line with this. But it may not impress Western readers --- so what. China is big enough in the long run to have self contained economy if it manages itself with internal and external trade balanced!
Whispers of the Dalai Lama 08:08am on 13 Mar 2009 Seek and you shall find --- you looked for dissident voices and so you shall find them. However is it possible that not a single Tibetan can be found who does not think the Beijing government has done good for Tibet?

I notice foreign correspondents always want to seek dissident voices. Is it because it gives you a cause and a voice to be heard?

Patrick French in the Guardian wrote : "Adversarial contest is at the heart of the west's legal, political and academic life, and the Tibet movement operates within that paradigm, unaware that public humiliation of visiting Chinese leaders does nothing to improve the situation for Tibetans inside Tibet. I noticed during last year's Olympic torch procession that when rival groups of Han Chinese and iridescent pro-Tibet supporters stood waving flags, neither side attempted to speak to the other. The way in which China was routinely abused at this time caused distress to many Chinese, and led to counter-protests and the creation of websites such as anti-CNN.com."

Worthwhile considering. So what has the West done for the Dalai Lama except hea[p praise on his "holiness" !
Regaining parents' trust 09:00am on 19 Sep 2008 Very sad. It all point to the lack of a system with feedback embedded into it. One effective way of doing this would be to mobilise the power of citizens through the Internet to give feedback. The central government shoudl create the mechanism of direct feed back to a sort of Ombudsman. This will act as a check to abuses by provincial authorities and well connected businessmen.
The benevolent emperor 11:25pm on 29 Jul 2008 James, To make another point there are many Chinese who believe the greater good is more important than the individual good. The word "we" is taken to be more important than "I"!. In old days when Chinese was the linbgua franca of East Asia, Chinese thought was influential throughout the East. In Japan there si a saying "the nail that stand up must be hammered down"! However even in China there is now great debate. Your best guide to this is Mark Leonards "What Dose China Think".
The benevolent emperor 11:05pm on 29 Jul 2008 James, You are just beginning to understand one of the basic features of Chinese culture and what makes the Chinese different by way of their value system. Please read more about the "mandate of heaven" and perhaps fter that you will see more things understandable "through Chinese eyes"! For China to eveolve into Western style democracy a great deal of "baggage" has to be left behind. The reason for the progress in the Chinese diaspora is they, in many instance, threw of some of the baggage but kept those which are useful, e.g. their belief in eduaction as an innate means of furthering their respective future. Western people have yet to understand that cultural baggage does determine present day behavior and with China, the baggage is very large indeed. Logic is not everything!
Olympic evictions 10:52pm on 19 Jul 2008 The Chinese as a whole have a great distrust of authority. Since Imperial says the "lau bai-sing" viewed the appointed officials in the provincial "yamen" with suspicion and that is why they submitted petitions for justice directly to the Emperor. The same system is still in use now --- petitions for justice are submitted in Beijing.
A common saying was "good iron is not made into nails" --- referring to good men not wanting not to serve in the army and in law enforcement ! Apparently the saying still applies --- the law enforcement in China still employs "thugs"! So where does law enforcement stand in China. The clear answer from all the reports I have read is --- there is no justice for the "lau bai-sing" !!!!

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

kklimmy