The China That Can Say “Naah Naah Naah Naah!”
February 28th, 2007 | by This is China! |Yesterday’s Financial Times had an excellent commentary “China’s great wall of intransigence” by Jonathan Fenby. The upshot of the article is that a combination of Chinese leadership and entrepreneurial classes hardened by the vagaries of the Cultural Revolution supported by the success of economic reforms that have raised more individuals out of poverty in the shortest amount of time in human history culminate in a China that is not willing to be pushed round by foreign powers as it had been in its recent history.
This does not imply an agressive China; but, instead, a China more confident and assertive in its role on the world stage. Essentially, then, the editorial proposes, wishful thinking on the part of Western powers that China can be contained is not going to move China closer to the West’s world view. Instead, the West has to first accept that China will have a full-on impact on world events and then develop a strategy of engagement based on that axiom.
I always bring to students’ and participants’ minds when I lecture that until the mid-1800s China represented 30% of the world’s GDP for more than a thousand years. As one Chinese put it, “China just had a bad couple hundred years.”
William Dodson
SUZHOU, China
3 Responses to “The China That Can Say “Naah Naah Naah Naah!””
By Mauri G Gronroos on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
East and West come closer!
There might be some hope that the Chinese adopt Western concepts, indeed.
A new entertainment initiative aims to bring the Chinese and Western thinking closer to each other.
The so called “Trem Trekker Diaries” is a Web 2.0 concept initiated at Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian.
A short detective story is published every week. The hero, Krem Trekker, solves criminal cases and at the same time comments the life in China. The idea, however, is that the Chinese readers can influence the story by voting.
The ultimate goal seems to be to give the (so far unheard) voice to the Chinese youth. This is why the adventures are published in real-time in English, too.
There is also quite a lot of insider information and interesting background material. The whole stuff is at:
http://www.kremtrekker.com
By Brianna Smith on Mar 1, 2007 | Reply
i really like this page if u could email me back because im doing a project on The great wal of china and i really need hepl i also wanna go to China to visit this site!!!
By js on Mar 1, 2007 | Reply
I’m a wuxiese.In China ,talk the history of the aboved mentiond “hard period” in public is inappropriate or illegal.
to Mauri G Gronroos — Maybe China Great Firewall is more appropriate for you.