Trying to educate the world just furthers mistrust

• Source: Global Times
• [21:22 November 22 2009]
• Comments

That doesn't mean China should just give up on expanding its media structure, since information from Chinese media sources plays an important role in overseas media reports.

But China should accept that the information will be filtered through knowledgeable editors, and realize that this is different from being distorted.

This loosening of control may seem like a scary prospect, but it really isn't. At its heart, the story of China in 2009 is a positive one, warts and all. It is the story of an ancient civilization rising from a century of decline and turbulence and accelerating at breakneck speed into the future.

The context of so many of the negative stories that appear in the foreign media, such as social inequality, corruption, and pollution, is economic growth. There is not yet a sense of impossibility of addressing these problems, rather, people read about China and feel a sense of possibility.

Of course some people will fear China. Because the growth is so rapid, the system of government is complicated, and the army is well equipped and well manned.

But as people study Chinese history, and learn about the national psyche, they fear it less. In general, China has been self-contained, and the most successful periods have been the most peaceful ones.

In short, China should care less about what the world thinks about it. There is no cultural war going on in which China must aggressively win hearts and minds.

Instead, it should just be patient. Continue acting in a globally mature and responsible way, promulgate positive policies and make it easier for foreign people to visit China and do business here, eventually people will come around.

China talks about how the world must trust it. First, it must trust the world.

The author is a Beijing-based news editor specializing in China's social and political affairs. He can be reached at chinamatics@ fastmail.net