Hidden Harmonies China Blog

In my prior post, “The 2010 USCC Annual Report is ‘truthless, prejudicial’,” I ranted about the 2010 USCC Annual Report and reiterated Chinese Foreign Ministry call that the report was “truthless” and “prejudicial.” Some of you expressed privately that I should address the report seriously, especially, as this is an “official” position taken by a branch of the U.S. government.

Some of you also responded, since the U.S. is not interested in addressing the systemic problems locally and rather blame foreigners (China especially in this report), then let the U.S. march forward with her madness. In the long run, it will only result in America’s decline. Let it be, so the argument goes.

After giving it some thought, I think China and the rest of the world have a vested interest in America seeing our world for what it is, not to be cloaked in lies and prejudices. Read more…

Recently, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released their “2010 Annual Report” (complete in PDF) to the U.S. Congress, criticizing China over many issues. The USCC’s purpose is as follows:

To monitor, investigate, and submit to congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action. Public Law 109-108 directs the Commission to focus its work and study on the following eight areas: proliferation practices, economic transfers, energy, U.S. capital markets, regional economic and security impacts, U.S.-China bilateral programs, WTO compliance, and the implications of restrictions on speech and access to information in the People’s Republic of China.

Read more…

America being the victor of the Cold War means she is the undisputed super power right now. The last two decades could have gone worse, but if we look back, there are a lot of positives. In the context of China, America finally accepted her into the WTO and abolished the discriminatory MFN exclusion. We saw inflow of capital into China which helped China’s continued growth lifting hundreds of millions of people out of abject poverty. We also saw the invasion of Iraq on false pretense of WMD. I am sure there are a lot on peoples mind when thinking about the USA. I wanted to make a list of top five things I think the world should thank this country. I also want to list the top 5 things I wish this country would aspire to. Below are mine. I am really curious what yours are.

Top 5 things the world should thank USA for:

Read more…

Here is a translation of an op-ed from a Chinese blog about Liu’s Nobel that we at FM found interesting.

So here goes the news again: Public Enemy Number One in China, Liu Xiao Bo, has been awarded the Nobel Prize!  Not sure where that infamous title of Liu came from.  But this latest Nobel prize must be giving people in the U.S. quite a laugh.

The award of a Nobel to Liu is certainly controversial. Allegedly, the Nobel committee itself was internally divided. But given Liu’s high profile conviction last year, this decision is not totally unexpected. I originally did not plan to write about Liu. However, given the renewed and widespread interest of Liu’s Nobel, I have decided to wade in with my thoughts. Here is a translation of what a typical report in the West is like. Read more…

“Liu Xiaobo Deserves an Ig Nobel Peace Prize” is a recent reaction from Barry Sautman (a political scientist and lawyer at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology) and Yan Hairong (an anthropologist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University) on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. Roland Song’s ESWN (東南西北) has also brought this to his readers attention. No doubt, this controversy is a huge stir in the West. Here is a copy of it forwarded to this mailing list by a David Thorstad with his short introduction:

Those who gave the Nobel Peace Price to a Chinese dissident explain that peace and human rights are inseparable. Yet the country that proclaims the loudest its attachment to human rights (the United States) is also the one that has the most soldiers in other countries and wages the most wars.
David

Read more…

On the issues of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and religion, the Chinese government actually has a very large constituent of compatible ideological “supporters” within the U.S.. Recently, the American Humanist Association (AHA) blogger, Luis Granados, published two articles: “India vs. China: Part 1” and “India vs. China: Part 2.”

In part one, Granados rejects the Dalai Lama’s recent admonishment of China about religious harmony. Here is how he starts off his article:

Read more…

Few days ago, I was talking to a friend over lunch, and the topic of modern hero came up.  We limited ourselves to identifying three who are alive today.  Jackie Chan (成龙) made my short list.   Of course, he requires no introduction.  In terms of worldwide popularity, I’d put him in the same league as people like Michael Jackson; very few stars can match.

Recently, he co-stared with Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, in “the Karate Kid” (see our post, “The Karate Kid – the biggest modern movie co-production thus far between an American studio and China“, by Allen). It’s an excellent movie having already surpassed $220million worldwide (source Box Office Mojo) in it’s 7th week. As relates to China, the film itself and Chan’s performance gave a nuanced view into Chinese culture and Chinese society that is simply rare in Western films. Chan is a Chinese cultural icon, and he is my hero because he can help bridge with those outside China.
Read more…

Today, President Obama made a few remarks on the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue and the importance such talks can have on further positive development of the relationship between the American and Chinese people.  Here is an excerpt:

Last summer, I was proud to welcome many of you to the White House as our two countries launched this Strategic and Economic Dialogue.  I want to thank President Hu, Vice Premier Wang, State Councilor Dai, and the entire Chinese delegation for their hospitality in hosting this year’s meeting.

…

As I said when we began this dialogue, the relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. Together, we set out to build a positive, constructive, and comprehensive relationship, and we pledged to cooperate to advance our shared interests.  That is what we have done.

As two of the world’s largest economies, we have worked together, and with our G-20 partners, to sustain the global economic recovery.  During my visit to China last fall, we forged clean energy partnerships, and at Copenhagen we made important commitments to confront climate change. Read more…

Last month, Xinhua News had an interesting piece of “被时代” – which translates roughly to “era of being forced” or “era of acceptance.” 被 (bei) in Chinese indicates a passive clause.  Thus when you get hit (撞), you say 你被撞了.

According to an Internet poll, the most popular Chinese character of 2009 was “被.” Why?  Part of the reason is that living in a society charging full steam ahead, many Chinese no doubt feel they are losing control of their lives. But the more important reason is that it provides a satirical platform for many to express the indignity many average Chinese have suffered at the hand of social inequity and irresponsible governance. Here is a rough translation of the Xinhua article. Read more…

So yesterday I was having dinner with a good friend from the East Coast. And the topic of Obama’s recent meeting with the Dalai Lama came up.

“Why does the Dalai Lama Visit anger China so much,” he asked, among other questions.

On the one hand, the question my friend asks is very legit.  The Chinese government holds all the cards.  With every passing day, Tibet is changing. What do they have to worry about an “old, limping, but kind and gentle-hearted monk”? Read more…

While the Chinese government prefers development over human rights (like freedom of religion and speech), the Indian government, while guaranteeing these rights, neglects development.

Both India and China face the problems of separatism. Indian Naxalite movements and the recent riots and uprisings in Xinjiang and Tibet further highlights the need for respective governments to tackle the issue seriously.
Read more…

Google’s recent drama in China has endeared itself to some human rights activists, democracy advocates, even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Many have applauded Google for taking a “principled stance” against the evil empire of China.  I find such rhetoric comical. Read more…

Google issued a press release on their blog just a few hours ago pertaining to their operation in China. It is big news and will take some time to digest. I don’t want to comment, just get the story out.  Read more…