There have been a lot of demonstrations in London, Paris, San Francisco and in other places in the world as the Olympic Torch relay makes its way to its eventual destination in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. As part of the protest against China, specifically for the events regarding Tibet in March, French Prime Minisiter Nicolas Sarkozy will not be attending the Olympic opening ceremonies. As a consequence, The New York Times reported recently that:
“On Friday and Saturday, protesters gathered in front of a half-dozen outlets of the French retailer Carrefour, including a demonstration in the central city of Wuhan that reportedly drew several thousand people, according to Agence France-Presse. On Saturday, about 50 demonstrators carrying banners held a brief rally at the French Embassy here before the police shooed them away… In the past, the government has encouraged nationalistic outbursts and then quashed them when passions grew too inflamed — or when the protests had achieved the political purpose officials envisioned.”
I was just thinking while reading the article, when the Chinese government becomes a bit concerned about nationalistic feelings going a bit overboard, that this reminded me of what happened with the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution. Of course, we are nowhere near that situation but thought I’d mentioned it to get your attention. In a country where where not all speech is welcomed, it’s refreshing to see Chinese protesting and expressing their opinions publicly. Though I am wondering why the protests took so long to take place, given that the torch relay in Paris was April 9th… Maybe there will be protests against British and American retailers soon as well?
The Wall Street Journal also reports on the situation in Monday’s paper with, “Games Tensions on Slippery Track – China Anger Grows As Rifts With West Appear to Get Worse.”
“The series of protests and mutual recriminations between China and its foreign critics has exposed a stark disconnect between how China views itself and how many people abroad view China. Foreign critics are focusing on issues, such as Beijing’s policies in Tibet, that many Chinese feel ignore decades of broader economic and social progress in their country. Condemnation of Chinese government policies is being received in China as attacking the nation as a whole, arousing public resentment. The most vocal responses are seen overseas as government-sanctioned nationalism run amok, further reinforcing negative images of China.”
I definitely have to agree – that there is a massive disconnect and ignorance on both sides, and I think it is only going to get worse (on both sides) as August 8th approaches.
