Chinese nationalism

Over last several decades, the Chinese government has replaced communism with both capitalism and nationalism. Nationalism is the ideology that holds the nation of 56 different ethnic groups together and sustains the support for single party rule. And in many ways, nationalism is just as powerful and dogmatic as communism once was. Any disagreement with the Communist Party is seen as an attack on the nation, so political dissent is still branded as treason.

So it’s no surprise that criticism of the government’s policy on Tibet invokes a strong nationalistic response. A recent NY Times article gives a good description of the nationalistic attitudes that most young Chinese hold (and I’ve come across some of the same arguments cited in the article).
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/opinion/13forney.html?em&ex=1208232000&en=3f78fd18ca46542b&ei=5087%0A

Another point the article brings up is how Chinese youth grow up with a very intense and narrow education, and enter adulthood with little of the real life experience or knowledge that is gained through work or travel abroad. I’ve found the same thing. Although most of my students are well-off and a few have traveled abroad, they know very little about what goes on outside of China or even in Beijing. I’ve even had a hard time getting information on what is in town and how to get around. They know where their house and their school is and the few blocks in between, but not much else.

There is a backlash against CNN and other western media sources for their “ant-China bias,” such as labeling photos of Nepalese or Indian authorities beating monks as Chinese police.

http://www.anti-cnn.com/
And then a shocking story came out recently about a Chinese-born student at Duke University whose life was threatened (as well as that of her parents in China) when she did not unconditionally support the Chinese students counter protesting Tibet supporters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/17student.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

Not good p.r. for China. But their accusations of hypocrisy do make you think. If a number of western countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the USSR’s human rights abuses and the invasion of Afghanistan, would it be well-reasoned to boycott an American Olympics over Guantanamo and the Iraq War? Are we worrying more about human rights abuses of other governments than of our own?