One giant leap
Were you watching? China's just carried out its first ever space walk (broadcast live on almost every channel here).
Colonel Zhai Zhigang - the son of a woman who used to sell sunflower seeds - squeezed himself out of the hatch of his Shenzhou 7 spacecraft. As he got out, he made sure to tether himself with red cables - you don't want to become your country's first ever spacewalker only to find yourself floating away.
For China his mission is as much about national pride as anything else. So, Col Zhai made sure to wave a Chinese flag during his quick hover above his spacecraft. For China this single image is worth all the money it's spending on its space programme.
After a quarter of an hour, the astronaut got back inside. China says that his short walk is a vital step in its plans to build a space station, and then send men off to the Moon and Mars.
This is a country that spent decades feeling left behind - and even picked on - by the rest of the world. But this year that feeling has begun to change. It's hard to carry on feeling like a victim when your country hosts the Olympic Games and then does its victory lap in space.
I’m 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~50~RS~)
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I find your mentioning of “use to sell sun-flower seeds” utterly disgusting. You must be jealous.
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It is incorrect to refer China's space explorer as "astronaut" because that is for American spacemen.
Chinese spacemen are called "Taikonauts" since they rode on a Chinese spacecraft and launched in China. In the future when a foreign space traveller ride on a Chinese space vehicle they too will be refer to as "taikonauts".
BBC news should follow Xinhua News and properly use the name "Taikonaut". Space exploration is not and never was a Western or American English speaking monopoly.
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sure people are proud. The space programme reminds me how they built the Great Wall. Great effort.
It happens as if the timing of the milk scandal were planned. I hope people will stop complaining about the milk and let's keep talking about China's space achievements instead.
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Congratulations to all the astronauts on-board Shenzhou 7 for their outstanding achievements, and many thanks to all the scientists behind the Chinese Space Programme for their dedication and efforts in making all this possible.
Today, the dreams and aspirations of 1.3 billion Chinese (plus all the oversees Chinese like myself) are being realised. New China is beginning to lead the world again in the arts and sciences, restoring - quite rightly - some of the previous glory of Imperial China.
And just as Admiral Zheng-He led expeditions across the high seas without ever invading or occupying other terrorises, China will explore space peacefully and for the benefit of mankind. The Chinese, unlike the ancestors of the author of this blog, are not imperialists.
We were once coined the 'Sick Man of Asia'. We were once told - in the jazz bars of Shanghai and in the foreign concession areas all around China - that 'Chinese and dogs were not allowed'. Our great land was carved up like a turkey on Christmas Day and distributed to the Eight-Power Allied Forces. James Reynolds, not surprisingly, refers to this only as 'being picked on'.
My fellow Chinese, let us celebrate this momentous day in our history, and redouble our efforts to bring more glory to China.
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Whoops... it looks a bit contradictory between your second and thrid last paragraphs, James.
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The picture looks good, but it cannot shroud the fact that so many babies are suffering from pain by the poisonous milk.
China is still a third-rate country. Don't tell me China poses any thread to anybody.
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When China does anything 'big' like hosting the Olympics or carrying out a spacewalk, it must have something to do with 'national pride'. When others do the same thing, it's all about sports and science. Maybe that's why some people always see China as a victim.
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national pride costs much, but the inovation and technology advancement is the practical drive to carry this space mission. don't miss it again, boy.
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Please, no more complaining about the way James writes. This is a BLOG, for goodness sakes, and he is allowed to insert his personality in his writing. I suppose you have legal grounds on sueing him for libel if this was a proper news article, but its not.
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Feeling like a victim or not, I am not sure about that.
What I do know is that the West is definitely not feeling well watching the successful Olympics and now this great achievement. I bet we can soon enjoy a big show of another wave of China-basing as we've seen many many times.
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James Reynold needs to his high horse and , he should appreciate achievments by the chinise, name me one British or American space person whos mother sold sun flower seeds
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BBC and world media were so slow on this breaking news: Chinese Xinhua News Agency published a report, including second to second description of what our Takonaut did, said, and thought while walking in the space on its website, 24 hours before it happened!
That's 24 hours ahead of time!!!!!
Now, anyone trust anything Chinese say must be drunk or brain washed.
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For once, everyone, let's leave behind politics, faiths and egos. A space walk IS a space walk. It is the uttermost advancement of human courage and imagination.
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I am immensely proud of our Chinese friends, onwards and upwards. I ts great seeing such pride in your country, I only wish we Brits shared as much passion as yourselves, instead we have become leaders of binge drinking and teenage pregnancies..how times have changed.
Well done to everyone involved in this successful mission.
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It's just another amazing example of how far the Chinese have come so fast. The next space race is to the moon...again:
http://nahummer.hypocrisy.com/
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Isn't perfect? I mean picture perfect!!
As perfect as the Olympic fireworks. As perfect as the Olympic singing girl.
Our Taikonauts must have perfect teeth to be selected for such a showing of our face.
5 thousand year dream came true today.
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Why is it that the BBC always nitpicks at China's achievements in space.
Always putting down China's achievement in space (not to mention the horde of China Bashers out there too).
Highlighting inconsequential things like the 'red' cable used to attach the astronaut to the spacecraft.
Making stupid and silly comments like "you don't want to become your country's first ever spacewalker only to find yourself floating away".
Looking for the 'threat' and 'rival' angles to incite fear and hatred in the west.
Prefixing 'communist' to China (Communist China) whenever possible. When does the BBC use 'Capitalist US' or 'Capitalist UK'? I think everyone knows the political structure in China now. We don't need constant reminders or does the BBC have ulterior motives?
You keep making comments about how China cannot still feel being victimised by the world, yet your attitude to China (and many others in the West) is still full of condescension, bias, prejudice and delusions of superiority.
It is so obvious it is still politcal OK to bash and demonize China in the eyes of the western media and population, unlike it being political incorrect to bash other subjects and peoples, which I leave for you to guess as to what, as I would probably be censored by the BBC.
It seems so 'hard' for the BBC to just write a facts based, non biased, non prejudiced, non put-down article about China. I can envisage a BBC reporter sitting at his computer, struggling and in pain to write even one positive unadulterated comment about China. Every article will always, always!, include some sort of put down as well.
Of all the mainstream News organisations, the BBC is the worst! It is staffed by activists and what's worse is that the BBC is financed by public funds...... taxed in other words.
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I was watching with my colleagues and we felt excited. Needless to say if there were no milk powder crisis we would be in a much better mood for celebration.
However I am a bit tired of hearing James brining up the "victim mentality" in every single blog. Almost every single blog talks about China in an either sarcastic, or critical or derogative way, yet James keeps telling us that it is wrong for Chinese to feel hurt.
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i like James‘ articles?he is very humourous?
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bless my country
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Congratulations. 3 farmers' sons out in the space. There should be a female astranaut for next mission. Good job. Great achievement in science and technology, China.
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I was worrying he would become the 1st ever human satellite, glad it didnt happened! The national pride generated isn't that strong though, coz other countries has done it long time ago. It's time the gov employs better funding schemes to encourage more fundamental scientific research and stops our best science and tech nerds going to north America......and make the Mars landing stuff happen soon!
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For the record, Colonel Zhai Zhigang does not appear to let go of the space capsule and hence cannot be said to have walked in space. Takes a lot of strength to hold on; takes guts to let go. Maybe next time, eh?
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Indeed, China as a whole has improved by leaps and bounds, economicially as well spacially.
How come the country is growing bigger and stronger, whereas the heart of some our compariots is shrinking to such a degree that any criticism from both inside and outside is treated with petulance and arrogance?
Deep down and behind all pompous political talks and national boundaries, people everywhere go about their lives on similarlly personal levels.
How many of us are employed by or would-be politicians who participate actively in national decision-making that bears importantly on ordinary people's lives?
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The image is very cute.
There is an old Chinese saying: "Thrive in calamity and perish in soft living."
Thanks to those who worry about our country for being left behind, and to those who keep it in our mind.
And, no matter what you say, history will never change, victim is still the victim. But we don't pay too much attention to it. You don't need to care about it either.
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As a Chinese outside China, I think this space trip is for the country's self-esteem, more than military or scientific purpose.
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Well, congratulations to China.
But in the context of all of this, I am somewhat puzzled that president Hu Jintao refered to China as a "developing nation" (at least 2x) in his speech to the UN?
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4* beijing_2008
PLEASE, don't assume, again and again, you are in a position to speak for all our Chinese people both at home and abroad
I don't care how provincial your views are, just bear in mind that you are just a single tiny one of the 1.3 billion Chinese.
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As I read the words "sunflower seeds" and "red cable" I knew straight away that one or more crazily paranoid ultra-nationalist Chinese net-police would be seeking out the full potential for implied abuse in these innocuous observations. I am glad Voodoohaze did not let us down.
Voodoohaze do you want to know why James often refers to a "victim" mentality about the Chinese? Because you keep showing us all how true it is.
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voodohaze #18
Things are written about because they happened. It's your attitude that bias and distorts every word that you read.
Don't go victimise your country again just because someone wrote on his blog about the red cable your Taikonaut (stupid word anyway, if people are so obsessed with the Chineseness of this achievement, why didn't they just go and use 'Taikonren' etc. all the way instead??) got stuck with. Nobody actually highlighted the cable and tried to dub this entire thing as a second-class achievement. No sense of humour shall I say ?
The more people moan for no reason about being mistreated, the smaller they make themselves look.
One suggestion that will make your life a lot easier - I got over the worst propaganda news report from CCTV ages ago when I stopped reading/watching it.
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When sour grape turns bitter, you get "breaking news" about a purported "post-dated Xinhua report" on the Shenzhou VII mission........
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#29
I really don't care what you think. If I don't speak for you, then I believe I speak for
1,299,999,999 Chinese when I say that our dreams are being realised.
If you have no aspirations, then that's your prerogative. If you want China to still exist as a third-rate, backward and impoverished nation, then that's your prerogative. If you want to dance with the Western press and take their opium, then that's your prerogative.
You may not be willing to fight for China's greatness, but I am.
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what many pro-China posters here are saying is not wrong.
in a few other blogs I have read some real funny posts.
like this one, where a person from Texas says that China can not do this spacewalk cos the Chinese people still live in mud huts, the farmers are backwards and poorly educated, and many have no western living standards.
here's more, the Chinese don't have PCs and high tech stuffs, they can not read, write or speak English enough to understand rocket science text.
some thinks that the fake fireworks show in th BJ Olympic Games is proof that China can fake anything.
now, where do you think these people get their info from?
from the news media? I don't know where they get it?
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Our Taikon-nuts have only "Colonel" ranking?
I can not believe it!
Our singers, two of them, are generals! Peng Liyuan, the wife of future emperor Chairman Xi, and Song Zhuying, the favorite ErNai of Chairman Jiang.
We Chinese are the first to rank singes to Generals. And they are females.
Next Opium war they would lead our brave army to conquer all.
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beijing_2008 #29
You are sounding like speaking against you, the supposed spokesperson for the entire Chinese poplulation, means having no aspirations, wanting China to exist as a third-rate, backward and impoverished nation and taking the "Western Press Opium" ??
There's really no need to fight for China's greatness in this way on this blog. It's also interesting to see you labeling something that you don't like reading/watching as 'Opium', a supposedly poisonous, evil substance?
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#32 aeroarchie
I guess it's quite unusual to see prophecies in news reports, at least I'm not used to that and I bet most people in rest of the world aren't either. The detailed dialogues between the "Taikonauts" that got reported even before the launch is really John Titor material.
Perhaps news prophecies are quite usual in China? No idea. I'm given a cultural shock again.
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*33 , beijing_2008
To be honest, that is a great insult to the diversity and intelligence of our 1.3 billion Chinese people.
I don't know which part of the history and the world you are living now.
Contemporary China is already a powerful country on the international stage, economically and politically, with or without 'your fight for China's greatness'.
On personal levels, a growing number of foreigners are learning Chinese and various aspects of China--which is perhaps more acutely felt by overseas Chinese.
Instead of fighting windmills and speaking like performance-conscious politicians, has it ever occured to you that the well-being of ordinary Chinese people in real life should be our aspirations?
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This blog has always contained some interesting arguments and perspective for me. Now that Voodohaze (that should be Voodoo by the way) has started to contribute with such aggression and disproportionate defence, I feel there is no point in contiuing to read it. Sorry to feel this way. This is what your kind of ideas will do to people.
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Well I hope the BBC is going to spend tax payers money doing an investigative report on how Ukraine, a US, European and Western ally, is sending weapons, and not just small arms but tanks, to the conflict zone in Sudan.
I remember when the BBC made such fanfare about discovering some Chinese made trucks in Sudan and then writing a special article about China breaking the UN arms embargo on Sudan.
Here we have a western ally trying to send tanks to the Sudanese conflict zone and it just gets a passing mention in a BBC article about Somali pirates hijacking the ship loaded with Ukrainian tanks. 99% of the article is a hollywood script about how wonderful and brave US heros will come to rescue the hijacked ship.
This is the kind of 'fair' and 'unbiased' reporting that China has to contend with in the western media, especially the BBC.
Which extends into the BBC's reporting of China's space program, which in the eyes of the BBC is a threat to western society and democratic freedom.
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in repsonse to #31. At 1:52pm on 29 Sep 2008, heyone wrote: "Things are written about because they happened. It's your attitude that bias and distorts every word that you read......................"
You are a typical westerner, you've already been brainwashed by western progaganda.
The western media writes about things that have happended, true, but anything can be manipulated to give a different view on any subject. A view that reflects the views that the writer wishes to portray as the truth or as progaganda to the writer's benefit. This doesn't make that view correct or the truth does it necessarily. eg. "Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction" by the US Bush government. The western media soaked this one up and joined in the western propaganda machine willingly and without pause for thought.
It's your attitude and bias that causes you to attack me when I am expressing my freedom of expression.
You accuse me of the very same things you are doing in attacking my freedom of speech. Your western double standards at work again.
You're are trying to put me down even in your comment. What more proof do you need?
Please do not suppress me. Please do not deny my rights, Please do not censor me. It's the democratic thing for you to do, right?
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in response to #30. At 12:52pm on 29 Sep 2008, Doogletastic.
Typical brainwashed westerner.
And as if your western governments and media are the most trustworthy, righteous, agenda free and whiter than white regimes.
You accuse me whilst you defend James of bringing up the victim issue time and time again and dismissing it like you. It takes two to tango.
Do you ask the bully or do you are the bullied who is the one being victimised, where is your sense of justice. Do westerners always just dimiss the views and feelings of the victim? I guess you do because it's integral to capitalism, make yourself rich at everyone else's expense. US sub-prime debacle for example.
Are the north americans indians victims?, Yes? No? Are the indigeneous aboriginal populations of Australia victims? Yes? No? Were the jewish people during WWII the victims? Yes? No? Are the Africans who were made slaves the victim? Yes? No? Were the Chinese in their own country treated as second class citizens, like dogs the victim? Yes? No? Why does the US, German, Japanese, British and Australian governments have to apologize then? Do any of the races mentioned above still feel victimised.....YES!
The thing is, when it comes to China it is still politically correct in western eyes to demonize and patronize the country and the Han Chinese. When does the western media and westerners tell the African slaves to just forget it and move on? When does the western media and westerners tell Isreal and jewish people to forget it and move? Westerners harp on and harp about the holocaust, why don't you just forget it as you keep telling China and the Chinese to do. Why?
So I guess it's just an anti-Chinese agenda here, which would make it rascist.
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In response to #31. At 1:52pm on 29 Sep 2008, heyone wrote: "Nobody actually highlighted the cable and tried to dub this entire thing as a second-class achievement".
James pointed out that it was a 'red' cable in this very blog, did you read it. Why would james point out it was "red"? unless he was making some connection to communism and the color red. Maybe james with just being specific about it being red but with James's current and past blogs he has been very condescending and patronizing towards China and Chinese. Of course you can't detect that because you have been brainwashed by a biased western media already, who needs waterboarding when you have the western media.
And generally to all the posters flaming me, if you're all dismissing my feelings as incorrect and irrelevant maybe you should also dismiss the feelings of the Tibetans as irrelevant and just a false sense of victim mentallity. But you won't because that's a pet cause of the west, thinking all Tibetans are exactly like the Dalai Lama.... wrong!
There are many ways to victimise someone or something. Just calling someone names is a form of victimisation. So don't dismiss so easily the feelings of the Chinese.
Maybe we should dismiss the feelings of the families and friends of the thousands of innocent civillians killed by western forces in the Afgan and Iraqi wars. Wait, that's exactly what the US government does anyway, fact! And all the biased westerners turn a blind eye to it all anyway.
And is it so hard for you to accept a Chinese person's personal comments without someone calling it some conspiracy of some phantom "Chinese Net Police" monitoring all net communications, talk about brainwashed. The US probably monitors more Net traffic than China does, but you'll never hear about it as it's US national security. Where's the transparency in your western governments. Wiht it's many secrets to protect your "freedoms". As we can see in a time of crisis, all your democratic freedoms and laws are thrown out the window, just look at recent US actions for proof.
So just let me have my say without flaming me. Or is it so hard for you to accept someone with a difference of opinion?
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The color of two cables the taikonaut used to keep attached to the space ship is red, I noticed that when I was watching TV live. FYI.
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Voodoohaze - you are very quick to complain about censorship. Have you ever reflected upon the irony of that?
As for people flaming you, your posts are inflammatory enough already.
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voodohaze, you sound like and intelligent person. Do you mind if I go through your arguments with you?
1."You are a typical westerner, you've already been brainwashed by western progaganda"
> Your prejudice is showing. Again, you portray as malicious, misinformed entities who are trying to put down your beloved country. And I'm not even an american/european national.
2."The western media writes about things that have happended, true, but anything can be manipulated to give a different view on any subject. A view that reflects the views that the writer wishes to portray as the truth or as progaganda to the writer's benefit. This doesn't make that view correct or the truth does it necessarily. eg. "Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction" by the US Bush government. The western media soaked this one up and joined in the western propaganda machine willingly and without pause for thought."
> You seem like an expert on propaganda, would you mind using your extra-fine tuned analysis to your own Chinese media? At the very least, western media writes about something that DID happen, whether good for them or not, whereas it seems that it is standard policy fror chinese media to try to cover up any blemishes/stains on your so-called chinese reputation, ja?
3."It's your attitude and bias that causes you to attack me when I am expressing my freedom of expression. You accuse me of the very same things you are doing in attacking my freedom of speech."
> Well, lookie here. Shall we rephrase that? Voodohaze, it's your attitude and bias that causes you to attack westerners/non-chinese expressing their freedom of expression. You accuse us of the very same things you are doing in attacking OUR freedom of speech.
4."Please do not suppress me. Please do not deny my rights, Please do not censor me. It's the democratic thing for you to do, right?"
> If you've been suppressed in any way, we would not even know you existed. And please educate, what is the communist thing to do in this kind of situation? Put someone in jail?
5. "Typical brainwashed westerner."
> Typical brainwashed ultra-nationalist chinese...
6. "And as if your western governments and media are the most trustworthy, righteous, agenda free and whiter than white regimes."
> And yours is?
7. "You accuse me whilst you defend James of bringing up the victim issue time and time again and dismissing it like you. It takes two to tango."
> Mind if I tango with you? you complain on bringing up the victim issue whilst in the next paragraphs you babble on and on about it. In any case, to add another example to your victims, are the tibetans and other minority groups in mainland china victims? Do THEY feel victimized? Ask them. Does the Chinese gov't feel the need to apologize to them? Should the Tibetans just move on and forget about it?
8. "So I guess it's just an anti-Chinese agenda here, which would make it rascist."
> Based on your posts, I believe you have an Anti-Western agenda here, which would in kind make you also racist.
voodohaze, for an intelligent person like you, I can't believe that you're this narrow-minded and arrogant. Pity really.
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Are people really so naive that they fail to see what's going on here?
The British press (opium traders masquerading as journalists) has carried out a systematic campaign to discredit China. If ever there is any mud to stick to China, they have a field day... It is their intention, along with their friends across the Atlantic, to seep the seeds of sinophobia into the subconscious of the English speaking world.
They have the advantage of course of being able to use beautiful English while hiding their agendas. After all, is England not the birthplace of Shakespeare and Keats? Is it not also the teacher of hypocrisy and the master of irony? James Reynolds - our esteemed BBC Beijing Correspondent - is a child of Cambridge. I believe he is quite capable of writing one thing and mean something else entirely.
As long as there is bias against China, there will be someone standing up for her.
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Among the many Chinese posters here, apparently you are the only one who managed to relate the red cable detail that James wrote with Communism and actually feel offended. Sometimes we call people conspiranoia when they can see conspiracy in everything and that eveything they see is hostile. These people would be a lot happier if they stop trying detecting and analysing anything too hard to try to figure out a hidden agenda out of it.
Why are you offended by the Chinese government being referred to as 'Communists' anyway ? It is how they name themselves. Obama is frequently referred to as a Democrat and McCain is referred to as a Republican and I don't see American people complaining about this ? Calling the Chinese government the Communists can't be wrong anyway since these officers can only be members of the Communist Party, not the Democratic Party and Republican Party.
You are free the express your opinions here and no one is going to suppress it. In fact, I can do nothing to stop you from talking about the Bush administration's evil deeds on this CHINA BLOG. So, don't feel too sensitive and feel attacked when you see someone commenting on what you wrote and stop complaining your freedom of expression being suppressed. How paradoxical is the fact that I can actually see your post here about how your freedom of expression is suppressed on this very blog.
From what you wrote, it seems to me that everyone who doesn't agree with you must be 1) Westerner 2) brainwashed. You have constantly dismissed these people's views just by claiming that they are just being biased and anti-China. I was looking for more creative and valid rebuttals from you. What makes you think anyone who writes against you can only be anti-China, brainwashed and "Westerner" anyway ?? I don't know what your backgrounds are, but it seems to me that you are not used to hearing different opinions and you just don't seem to understand that one's views have nothing to do with his/her race or nationality. Now who is the racist?
It's interesting how you say "Westerners" turned blind eyes to some of the issues that you seem to care most. In case you don't know, your favourite Iraq and Afganistan issues are constantly the subjects of various protests and there's no shortage of news reports on the evil facts that you seems to think you know exclusively. In fact, if the Western media really turned blind eyes to these wars and how some civilians were killed, I wouldn't think you would have access to these information anyway. It also interesting that you seem to think one who writes against you can only be pro-war and pro-US government? You just can't stop pigeonholing people can you ?
Perhaps it's just you turning a blind eye to what happened to people like Hu Jia and those children who died from drinking Sanlu milk. Whenever these bad news get talked about here, basically all you say is look, BBC is biased, you people are brainwashed, what about those in Iraq etc. etc. I don't believe I need to talk about Iraq everytime I talk about China here ? This blog is called James Reynolds' CHINA, not James Reynolds' IRAQ or James Reynolds' UNITED STATES or James Reynolds' BRAINWASHED WEST.
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#51
..............it seems to me that everyone who agrees with or praises China must be (1) Chinese; (2) brainwashed......................
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Do all people responding to my posts.
I am not bothered by any of them as I didn't bother to read them.
To the BBC censor, this is a fair comment, so will you stop censoring me! I haven't written anything different to what you have Ok'ed in the past.
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aeroarchie #51
I'm not sure where you got this impression from. If you think my comments imply what you just said, you are welcome to quote me and point out how my comments makes you feel like that.
Voodohaze has been shouting definitively at people who wrote against him/her as 'typical brainwashed westerners'. Did you find anything like this in my comments?
Voodohaze has already indicated that he/she's Chinese, so have many others here. So I guess it's quite fair to say Voodohaze is one of the many Chinese posters here?
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Voodoohaze what a great idea - just don't bother to read any critical posts. I mean why encumber yourself with a balanced perspective?
Do they have biscuits in China? It sounds like you need one, together with a nice cup of tea and a sit down.
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Hey Voodohaze,
It seems you don't respond well to criticism, as shown by your reluctance to read responses to your own arguments.
I hope your not too narrow-minded to dismiss any divergent opinion to your own as either
1. FALSE, 2. IRRELEVANT, or 3. WESTERN ANTI-CHINA PROPAGANDA.
Now, if you don't want anyone to disagree with you, I suggest you go back to populating chinese chat rooms and bash westerners as much as you like there, I'm sure someone there agrees with you.
All in the spirit of fairness, my friend.
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Voodohaze, you are embarrassing your fellow countrymen. This is a discussion about matters in China and your constant talking about war in Iraq is off topic. Do you feel so upset when someone says something negative about China you have to say something negative back? Of course, we need to admit the problems which China have and discuss them like adults.
If you talk about something bad in the west, like the people who just get benefits, does a western person just say something like "Oh in China, your people have to beg to get money". I don't think they would say this things. They would probably agree with you.
Do you want BBC to just say "things are great in China, well done China, we love you"? Is that right? This would not be great journalism. Does CCTV and Sina just say the good things about the west? Are Chinese people sometimes racist towards westerners (call them 'da bizi' and 'houzi')? Has anyone in the west been racist to you and called you bad names? I think my country and people like you need to mature a little.
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#56
I wasn't referring to your comments. That's the general impression I got from most of the comments in internet forums. The first sentence, para 3 of post #51 reminded me of such stereotyping.
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Well, it seems that voodohaze and beijing have stopped responding to his blog, I wonder why....
In any case, back to the main topic.
It is uplifting to know that outer space (and hopefully, the moon) is no longer the territory of the west (I am asian, just so you know)
In a few year's time, it is a strong possibility that the title of "World's most powerful nation" will soon change hands.
Here's to the future, then.
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Tang1976:
I share your concern and shame for the youth of China these days. They dress in stylish Western fashion, walk and talk with Western technologies-cell phones, and yet they have this vitriol about the West. Just because China is coming up economically is no time to be so arrogrant and full of false pride. They seem to want to leave all the problems to CCP and the leaders to work their magic, preferring one party rule without the check and balance, They feel no personal responsiblity in making change. Instead, One lone voice of truth from Hu Jia is condemned by the government with the support of the Chinese people.
Should China become a world power, China needs to act as a responsible member of the World community even more so. Or, China will face internatinal boycott in trade. America consumes the majority of what China produces. There is no guarantee that America will continue to have open trade unless China is a more responsible partner. Since WWII, America has been the only country strong enough to stand up to the Soviet Union's territorial ambition. China in the shadow of the two big powers benefited from this stand-off. But the Chinese Communist propaganda remains as the core belief of young Chinese, that America is the only aggressor in the world.
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#64, democracy101,
so the problem with Chinese youth nowadays is political apathy?
"Just because China is coming up economically is no time to be so arrogant and full of false pride"
It is really good to hear that there are people like you and Tang1976 there, because if there are two of you who think alike, then there should be more of you there, right?
P.S. >Please correct me if I'm wrong on what I said above, ok?
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