Photo from BostonGlobe.com - Image by Liu Jin

I just had a little dispute with my grandmother over the political situation in China because she had just read an article in Boston Globe about the government in China gaining strength in authoritarian rule and is promoting its political power to other countries and also relationship issues between China and the US.  Like many people in the Western world, I believe that my grandmother was under the impression that people in China are living with lack of freedom and are constantly being controlled and watched by the government.  I explained to her that life is really not all that bad as she may imagine and Chinese people still have more freedom than she may realize – Chinese people can still discuss political issues openly with their friends and family without being prosecuted including online although they acknowledge that the government has the right to censor certain political opinions Chinese people may post online, and they have their own Chinese version of Facebook and YouTube.  Plus, Chinese people can meet with politicians at local meetings and have their say, and they can also vote.  I also mentioned Chinese government have valid reasons to create certain stances such as blocking many of the American social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube and they are not in to be cruel people.  I said the government are in for the best interests of people – they censor not only because they want to show that China is a great country but also to prevent the spread of misinformation.

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the article.  One question I do have though is do you ever sometimes feel that the government is taking away your freedom, such as not having the right to access many of the American sites and the possibility of your opinion that you may post online being deleted by the government?

Then I also have to ask you about the story of the high speed train accident in China that occurred fairly recently and the Chinese government tried to prevent part of the story from being shown to the public.  Now what’s up with that?  I understand that the government was trying to cover it up not only because they wanted to ensure that their country is portrayed as a great country, but also because they were embarrassed as the accident was due to “man-made,” not natural disaster.   I also see that according to the article in the Guardian, the government was trying to present the story in a different angle in order to present a positive portrayal of the country by showing greater coverage of people making blood donations in honor of the disaster.  In my opinion, I think that’s not acceptable not to present all information as the public deserves to have transparent information about current issues.  Plus, we should realize that we’re not perfect, and we’re humans who can make mistakes in building infrastructures although I do not wish that the accident had occurred and my sympathies go out to the families who lost their loved ones from the accident, and I hope that the government will improve the situation of the infrastructure of the train system.  I’d be curious to hear your view as a Chinese person.

Designed by Rachel Chaikof © 2012 - Rachel Chaikof and Sophia Li. All Rights Reserved.