Imagethief

ha! Now that's funny!

All of this reminds me of international protests against the war in Iraq. On one side, you've got a bunch of "brainwashed foreign critics who don't understand" and on the other side you've got a bunch of "brainwashed crazed nationalists" who wonder why everyone "hates America\China." That is a vast oversimplification, but apt nonetheless.

If you don't want people protesting against your government's idiotic policies, then get your government to change its idiotic policies.  The problem comes in, of course, when a large percentage of the population not only agrees with the idiotic policy, but think the government hasn't gone far enough in its idiocy.

This is more likely a PR disaster for western media and governments to Chinese

Here is what is like to some people in the west:

we white people are not happy so there must be something wrong with you

@ wk

Of course it would be some idiotic CCP lover that believes that only white people would stand up for Tibetans.  

What are you saying about non-whites?  Non-Westerners?  Non-Americans?

>>we white people are not happy so there must be something wrong with you

I assume, then, that anytime Chinese criticize American policy, the following statement is similarly valid: "We yellow people are not happy so there must be something wrong with you."

I wish the New York Times had been so forceful with its editorial over the years with the President of the United States. Impeachment springs to mind.

Groan, groan, groan. It really is getting a bit cartoonish.

I wonder what things would be like if it was Cuba that was holding the Olympics? Anti-Western communist regime, no freedoms, but at least they have a charismatic (formerly) cigar-smoking leader. They have kitsch value.

No, seriously, they have a POSITIVE narrative to reply with.

It's easy to lose track of all the positive PR that China has quietly been amassing over the past years. Not through any particular strategy, mind you; it's just that whereas ten years ago ordinary Westerners didn't tend to talk much about China (whereas activists and right-on people did), nowadays it's very much on those same ordinary Westerners' radar screen, as another (newish) important part of the world.

The activists and political types are still making the headlines, but that could make us overlook all the planeloads of ordinary people, including lots of retired people (several members of my grandmother's bowling club) who visit out of pure curiosity, and all the conversations where it seems natural to people to add "What about China?" when discussing any major issue.

Wasn't it at the start of this year that The Economist gave us "Chindia" as a new word? That's not because of politics, or the battle of values, but simply because of the scale of (mostly economic) interaction. That's where a lot of the progress has happened.

But that won't change journalists' first instincts when it comes to writing headlines. The Tibet stuff has become too much of a Nice vs Nasty Punch & Judy show for China to be able to react well there. So steal the headlines with something else. Jackie Chan doing an impromptu kung fu demonstration (on inanimate objects). Tang Wei. Huang Jianxiang. Beijing punks. Weird artists (and there are plenty).

Or start producing cigars.

@Charles Frith: trust me, once the Monkey-in-Chief "W" is out of office, he will be as busy, if not more so than Bill C. was, defending himself from lawsuits, etc. for his horrific "performance" the last 8 years. Luckily, a mostly functioning and impartial (yes, I said "mostly") legal system will ensure people will get their chance. He may not end up fully accountable but neither will he spend his retirement years basking in a glow of accomplishment and respect.

All these Olympics shenanigans have brought one thing to fruition: the Chinese Gov't never, ever intended to "honor" any promises they made. They are just backwoods factory owners that promise "no problem" to anything to secure a contract and once they get it, they expect the money to roll in without having to deal with QC, laborer welfare, on-time delivery, etc.

@Kebab Boy: wk thinks the way he/she does because it is common knowledge that the Chinese think any persons of a dark shade of skin are mere simple, uncouth barbarians. Their attitudes make Apartheid policy look like misguided treehouse club boys.

When is the West gonna give it up, telling other country what to do just for the sake of feeling superior and good about themselves.  Guess what, finally for the first time in the last 600 years (since your emergence from your cave during the time of the Renaissance), somebody is standing up to you and tell u to get lost.  China's rise is all about giving the West the finger and re-writing some of the rules in global politics.  Deep down, westerners can't bear the idea that they and their children might have to march to the orders of China, or worse, a non-whites.  My goodness, the thought of subjugating the West wets my pants everytime.

Dear Sunset Time: Why, oh why is it then that China, of all the Asian or developing nations, is the one most brown nosing and desperately seeking approval from Western nations? They are not, in fact, giving the finger. They are trying TO BE a Western power.

If they truly were giving the finger, and truly being defiant, they wouldn't have acquiesced and rolled over so easily for the Olympics, WTO membership, Free Trade agreements, and even starting to do something about Darfur after the Spielberg pullout, right??

Defiant? No. Pathetic sellouts? Perhaps.

sunset,

there's less racism in this than you imagine, at least as far as the united states is concerned.  america is at least considering electing a black man.  people work for bosses of various races and that trend is only going to continue, especially considering the education levels being attained by americans of asian descent.

just cause china is not a multiethnic place and is often filled with racism (see attitudes toward tibetans, blacks, etc.) doesn't mean you can generalize.

[Deleted by editor. This isn't a comment, it's a spam.]
 

im just wondering, in amongst all this PR advice, is there any one who thinks that the CCP should do fewer nasty things to people within its borders and talk about that, rather than discussing how to 'package' those nasty things when they make it to media?

I dont mind the CCP becoming more sophisticated about communicating it's view of its policies or the wider world - thats how it works for all governments. But i DO find it distasteful to suggest that they should use better PR to 'fool' the rest of us about what is being done in China/Tibet or to shift the news agenda so they can carry on without us nasty westerners (and Tibetans) sticking our nose in where it's not wanted (despite the fact that the CCP consistently does this in other Western countries).

I hope that's not what PR specialists are meant to do? Or?

wow??? dear editor, where's the freedom of speech now??  no it's not a spam, it's my attempt the highlight the truth about the Dalai Lama...

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hey,nihao

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