MANY sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record,rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.
As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised her government for treating Tibetans better than New World settlers treated Native Americans.
It’s a rare person in China who considers the desires of the Tibetans themselves. “Young Chinese have no sympathy for Tibet,” a Beijing human-rights lawyer named Teng Biao told me. Mr. Teng— a Han Chinese who has offered to defend Tibetan monks caught up in police dragnets — feels very alone these days. Most people in their20s, he says, “believe the Dalai Lama is trying to split China.”
Educated young people are usually the best positioned in society to bridge cultures, so it’s important to examine the thinking of those in China.The most striking thing is that, almost without exception, they feel rightfully proud of their country’s accomplishments in the three decades since economic reforms began. And their pride and patriotism often find expression in an unquestioning support of their government,especially regarding Tibet.
The most obvious explanation for this is the education system, which can accurately be described as indoctrination. Textbooks dwell on China’s humiliations at the hands off oreign powers in the 19th century as if they took place yesterday, yet skim over the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s as if it were ancient history. Students learn the neat calculation that Chairman Mao’s tyranny was “30 percent wrong,” then the subject is declared closed. The uprising in Tibet in the late 1950s, and the invasion that quashed it, are discussed just long enough to lay blame on the “Dalaiclique,” a pejorative reference to the circle of advisers around Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Then there’s life experience — or the lack of it — that might otherwise help young Chinese to gain a perspective outside the government’s viewpoint. Young urban Chinese study hard and that’s pretty much it. Volunteer work,sports, church groups, debate teams, musical skills and other extracurricular activities don’t factor into college admission, so few participate. And the government’s control of society means there aren’t many non-state-run groups to join anyway. Even the most basic American introduction to real life — the summer job — rarely exists for urban students in China.
Recent Chinese college graduates are an optimistic group. And why not? The economy has grown at a double-digit rate for as long as they can remember. Those who speak English are guaranteed good jobs. Their families own homes. They’ll soon own one themselves, and probably a car too. A cellphone, an iPod, holidays — no problem. Small wonder the Pew Research Center in Washington described the Chinese in 2005 as “world leaders in optimism.”
As for political repression, few young Chinese experience it. Most are too young to remember the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 and probably no body has told them stories. China doesn’t feel like a police state, and the people young Chinese read about who do suffer injustices tend to be poor — those who lost homes to government-linked property developers without fair compensation or whose crops failed when state-supported factories polluted their fields.
Educated young Chinese are therefore the biggest beneficiaries of policies that have brought China more peace and prosperity than at any time in the past thousand years.They can’t imagine why Tibetans would turn up their noses at rising incomes and the promise of a more prosperous future. The loss of a homeland just doesn’t compute as a valid concern.
Of course,the nationalism of young Chinese may soften over time. As college graduates enter the work force and experience their country’s corruption and inefficiency, they often grow more critical. It is received wisdom in China that people in their 40s are the most willing to challenge their government, and the Tibet crisis bears out that observation. Of the 29 ethnic-Chinese intellectuals who last month signed a widely publicized petition urging the government to show restraint in the crackdown, not one was under 30.
Barring major changes in China’s education system or economy, Westerners are not going to find allies among the vast majority of Chinese on keyissues like Tibet, Darfur and the environment for some time. If thedebate over Tibet turns this summer’s contests in Beijing into theHuman Rights Games, as seems inevitable, Western ticket-holdersexpecting to find Chinese angry at their government will instead findChinese angry at them.
Dear Elegant, I've been stalking ur articles on Time for several weeks.I have to say that u r the most talented journalist I've ever seen. Ur simile "circus" of Chinese Nationalities Committee is hilarious. It reflects on u,as a good writer,or rather a fictionalist,has done a wonderful job creating a preconception for those who know little about China. Ur follow-up articles about the protests hit up the headline of Time almost everyday. U must have done a lot of job making up stories for that. U r just beyond imagination. U r born in Hong Kong? Nice,huh? How's life in Beijing? People r too kind to u there, I guess.Now u have plenty of time speaking ill of China,while being treated like their friends,right? I do admit that China has a lot of flaws: the human right, the censorship, the pollution. But if u need explanation for any of those, find urself a comfortable chair and I can talk for several days. Just think of ur own country decades ago, is it as liberal,clean,free as u think it is? Don't be too ridiculous to say no. We all know it's not like that. Then what's the point of smothering China to death with media no matter what? Can u just stop a while and take a breath? Wipe ur eyes and see things clearly. Journalist s should be the one with integration,responsibility,insight and most important honesty. Ask urself,will u be eventually sick and tired of the same old arguments against China?
Echo
Not the People's Daily(on Time Chin Blog) By Simon Elegant
Below is a mock/humorous edition of the overseas edition of the People's Daily currently circulating on the net. Every country has its nationalist nutters of course. But there's something particularly scary to non-Chinese about this sort of thing, which seems to reflect a combination of patriotic pride and lingering resentment over past wrongs (Opium War etc) that makes for a very volatile brew in a nation whose power and influence are growing so strongly. Historians sometimes cite similar mix as being prevalent in Germany between the wars. That's not to say China will turn into Nazi Germany. Just that it will be fascinating to watch attitudes change in coming years. I'd guess that as the country's self-confidence grows there'll be less of this sort of thing, which speaks more of insecurity than anything else.
Here are the headlines (thanks to David Cowhig for permission to use his translation):
-- Chinese Test Atomic Bomb in San Francisco -- UN Headquarters Moves to Beijing -- Premier Wen Jiaobao is accompanied by Gov. Ma Yingjiu on a visit to Taipei -- Yao Ming recovers, leads Rockets to NBA championship -- China Apologizes to U.S. for mistaken bomb attack on the Pentagon -- Giant Earthquake in the Japanese islands; Chinese government sends assistance; no survivors found thus far -- Chinese Aircraft Carrier returns to Hawaii base to replenish food and ammunition -- Chinese Military Destroys East TurkmenistanTurkestan organization -- Dalai Lama assassinated -- Cross Taiwan Straits Bridge completed -- China Establishes second patriotic military base on the Moon.
I'm always wondering what life really is. Sometimes it's just one lie after another.I can't even bear a mere mention of it. The rest of the time it can be insanely wonderful,although I'm sadly drenched in fleeting moments. The cold rain yesterday was overwhelming. I was in the Migrant Children school, standing right on the stage made of broken stone. Wind squeezed in from the gap of the door, gloomy clouds were all over the sky, heavy and dense coldness broke into the classroom. Kids were still cute and nice, willing to learn everything Nick and I taught. I was just inevitably saddened by the atmosphere, sick and tired of a life in a limited sense.Nick is always quiet and polite. Working with him is always efficient and satisfying. It's just me. I'm living in the imagination, yet my feet are still on the solid ground. Life cheats me of the best things in the world. I couldn't think of her, it disarmed me. Her beautiful hair and seductive eyes were just part of the glamor. She was sitting there,eying me up and down. No one could get through that stare without being shuddered. A quick and unnoticeable shock went all through me. She was the girl who squeezed soul out of men, I could easily tell. She was embarrassed to see me. The past she was reluctant to recall was knocking at the door. Sorry,the very existence of me,being patronized, was more than just embarrassment. The bed was burning, the heavy coat was burning, she just couldn't clear up the thought out of her mind. Impulsive night was nothing but a humiliation. I don't know why, but when I left there, I was upset beyond remedy. My soul was also squeezed out. I barely hold it to a standoff,more lethargically than ever. The attempting lure was just there, twenty minutes' bus ride away from me. I read the message for ten times, struggling whether or not to go. He was cute. He was hard working,serious yet humorous, decent and easygoing. I was head over heels in love with what he showed to almost all the girls. Now that he invited me, in a flirtatious tone,I was losing the grip. He could stand there and give me his straight face as being serious while also being humorous. Those images I saved during the conference was activated.It was hard as hell to resist the temptation... This morning I was sitting on my own, without going anywhere last night. I was shocked by the tragedy happened a few hours ago,again. The girl and the accidental call from another girl were the duel crises. The invitation was a huge distract. I should have gone there and washed my depression away,but I didn't. Something inside of me was telling me not to be light headed. It's not easy to go this far, and it's not easy to feel this fitted in.Gratitude is one thing, eternal feeling is another. I like laughing "pompously" as if no one is around, superficially enough, I love to stay like this forever. And I made my choice, half painfully,half joyfully. Go on with what life gives me, good or bad, I'll embrace it with stupidity. Though eventually it'll spelled as Wisdom, in its essential sense.
If u r in love, do not watch this, I assure u that ur heart will be ripped out. If u have never been in love, do not watch this, both of us don’t want another love-phobia patient. Well, I wish I knew the aftermath from the very beginning, now there is no way back…
Amazing prelude, classical type of character Dan cast by Jude Law was walking through the crowd. He wore a pair of dull glasses, hiding his seductive eyes behind. Alice, hair like fire, striding across the street, with her head held up high. Bomb, a car ran into her, it seemed to me that she did that on purpose, which made the prelude even more dramatic. Dan rushed to her, thrilled to hear Alice come back to consciousness saying:” Hello, Stranger.” To me, this may well be a ridiculous encounter, but it magically added color to Alice---A boat drifting on the sea of this vulgar world, having no choice but to be as strong as nomads.
An obituary writer and a stripping girl, what a polarizing couple…Natalie Portman is among the top three gorgeous in my heart. She is glamorous, glorious and ruthlessly beautiful, and so was Alice. Dan was obsessed with Alice’s prettiness, smartness, and most apparently her rebellious wilderness. After her exhausting expedition, there finally came a man who Alice found joyfulness in. Until Anna appeared, everything seemed to be fine. She was a photographer, full of passion about people’s look, describing this world using her lens. Love is love, and it can never block off any affection. Dan fell for Anna, in a bizarre way. He kissed her out of eagerness, and tried to cover it up from Alice. Alice was a stripping girl! How could she pass for a tiny difference in men’s expression? She was furious, but the fury was restrained. She asked Anna to take some pictures for her, which put both Anna and Dan in embarrassment. Instinct of women told Anna that Alice knew sth, seeing through her misty eyes, Anna was done capturing Alice’s tears bursting out. It was a breathtaking picture, every detail of Alice's face was fabulous, even the glittering tears….
The new book Dan was working on was based on the story of Alice, but it was Anna that gave him the book’s name---The Aquarium. On a sex-matching website, Dan hooked up with doctor Larry in the name of Anna. What they talked about online was second to none nasty, but Larry liked it anyway. Dan lured Larry to the aquarium, but this joke brought Anna and Larry together. They got married, with respectful misgivings in their hearts---Anna knew she still loved Dan, Larry knew the existence of Dan would strain their marriage.
A gloomy day, Dan eventually let out the secret which he found hard to forget. He said to Alice:” This will hurt, but I have to say. I've been with Anna. I'm in love with her. We've been seeing each other for a year. It began at her opening.” Alice soberly brushed by him and walked past him into the room. But finally, she cried and screamed. She couldn’t believe how he didn’t even try to resist the temptation since she had given him her all. Dan said:” Deception is brutal.” Alice was stop dead in her track, she packed up all her stuff—a bag, and slammed the door. Then Anna told Larry about Dan, too. Larry was a fickle-hearted and lustful man, and I think he had an omnipresent sense of possession. Anna was his wife, and Dan was only the joking Jupiter--the devil seed in their marriage. Larry was angrier about being deceived rather than about losing his beloved. He agreed to sign on the divorcing paper at the expense of having sex with Anna for the last time. Anna was convinced by the love she got from Dan, and she sacrificed her dignity. Kind of artist as Anna was, she still lost her track of understanding the essence of love. She was shocked when her sacrifice ended up disgusting Dan.Dan was such a narrow-spirited man that he pushed Anna back to Larry.
Dan was torn, he broke in Larry’s office, condemning him for all the things he did to Anna. Dan was cowardly, no doubt of it. That was hy he was derailed into looking for Alice, not Anna. He failed in this battle getting back Anna, but he summoned up courage to find Alice. She was found in a stripping pub, wearing a blonde wig displaying her body on the stage. They brought each other back like glue again, Alice was relieved cause Dan finally understood where he belonged. But unexpectedly, Dan asked about the night Larry saw Alice in the pub, whether they had sex together. Alice was frozen, she thought they could start over again, but this thought was shattered by Dan. Dan cared too much about his girls’ loyalty, while he himself was nothing but a woman-hunter. Alice was, again, disillusioned. She articulated, when Dan understood he shouldn’t have asked that question, :” I don’t love u anymore, goodbye.” She was tough, tough enough to see through Dan’s real personality. He wasn’t the one she could trust in.
I love the ending of this film. Anna got back to Larry, a man she hated. She thought she had no choice,but in fact, she was just too timid. Dan almost died missing Alice only to find that Alice was a fake name Jane got from a tomb. Alice should be JANE, but Jane had never told him this. All the things they went through was like never happened, what a disaster this was for Dan!Jane had had her last but winning revenge.
The same prelude came in again. This time it was Jane walking on the street of US, her long hair, her white tank top and the glow of confidence on her perfect face suggested that her new life had begun. Closer, if u want me, please get closer. But if u wanna leave me, fuck off.
Men may be mad at how the story was interwoven, cause men are not always this shameless by hooking up with lovely girls. And women may be disappointing about love, which used to be sacred in their hearts. But take cheer, I believe What Closer wanted to tell the audiences was to treasure the love we pursued. Even when there are better ones distracting us, the final haven we would dwell in will always be the one we previously left behind.
It will be my fifth week here soon,but it feels like five years... I was running out of control last night. Reading what I had written on my tiny diary, I was devoured by sadness. For those days we spent in the back yard of our temporary home, I should say a million thanks. Friendship nourished me,making a smart girl out of me. However, I feel that the older we are, the less senstive we will be. At least for me, I pay little attention to those things I treasure,cause all through my teen years I've had it enough. Not until last did I find myelf aloof with the damn indifference to everthing. It's like I am a leech inside a human body. The moment I need to suck blood, I will lose consciousness.Though I am still living, some parts have been deprive of from my heart. I find it really hard to concentrate even in something I like. I wrote about my memory which floored me last night. The breeze of late spring lingered in the air when we were riding bike home. There were songs we'd loved to sing, as no one else was listening. I still remember that night we held a party for Gemma's birthday.We sang so many old songs together,even danced for a while,though they were all thumbs. Later we played hide-and-seek, which people take leave to believe right now. Playing childish games needs courage now more than ever, and that's a tragedy. We are gradually cheated of the best thing in our life. The pure happiness of sharing, of tickling, of gossiping, of worrying for the homework.... Girls, I miss u all.Peolpe are all addicted to their past with a strange passion. I'd rather look back than look forward right now. As an outsider to watch what we have gone through,I felt jealous, jealous of what we took granted for. Those nights we sat togther, watching film with profoundity. We screamed for the cute guys, our laughters roared up to the roof for the funny features, and those classic conversation were practiced again and again by us...Learning used to be so easy when I was with you. Those nights we slept on the same bed, talking about our stupid romance and our cult for those movie stars...I used to stay up so late just to share with u some essentials of life. I have to admit, no matter being forced or spontaneously, you are those who can understand me and are willing to do stupid things with me. Friendship was what I neglected at that times, I thought it would come in it's own way to me naturally. However, only when I lost them all had I noticed that all I could do to make up for it was to mourn. It's not that I am unhappy here in University, but that I can't find anybody to confide in. No aim is looming large upon the horizon as it used to be, I am feeling like a lost kid crying for a way out of the maze. We used to be together, though sometimes a little bit uptight for academic reasons. I enjoyed so much to stay like that forever!! Friendship always pays dividends......Love U as always!
邦妮死了，瑞德的心也快要死了，他那么精心掩饰着自己的情感，他习惯挖苦和讽刺，可谁知道他是世界上最爱思嘉的人呢？他好像花花公子一般，说“除非这个女人我除了结婚无法得到，否则我绝不会考虑结婚”，他不失神气地向思嘉求了婚，报着对她回心转意的一点点信心，那时我还抱着书祈祷思嘉不会拒绝，她太忠实于自己的梦想，其实瑞德才是真正能给他依靠的人…..邦妮的出生使思嘉更加相信自己应该对艾希礼执行肉体的忠诚，这真是好笑的想法，然而又何尝不让人心痛呢？已经是接近结尾的时候她还是这样固执，直到邦妮死了，女神般的媚兰也死了，她才仓皇地悟到，是瑞德用他宽容的心和热忱的爱给了她一切，她跌跌撞撞跑进温暖的家，却发现瑞德已经在等待中苍老了心情，她在塔拉的热情给她留下了一句话：tomorrow is another day.作者是不是想说，思嘉会振作的呢？她怎么如此热爱自己笔下的思嘉呢？其实我不喜欢她，她太能勇敢地重新站起来，而这又给她带来了太多不肯认输的因素，其实媚兰又有什么不好呢?用精神来伟大，更是一种值得敬佩的品质。其实，我想说的是，思嘉是新时代的女性，她只是没有经验，不屑于从媚兰那里学到旧时代的优点，然而这么多年过去了，我们依旧还是应当感谢思嘉的，毕竟她把新时代带给了我们！
不想深究什么种族的问题,每个人在芒果街上找到的截然不同,她们哪里有肤色,我读到的只是一串一串的青芒果,香香涩涩的涨满了夏天的味道。今天很闷热，Coldplay的声音在徜徉，芒果街所有的故事化作照片一样的心情点点滴滴融进潮湿的空气里。这样纯真的叙述里何尝没有生活的黑暗：想脱离父母太早出嫁而被禁在新家的Sally，她和男孩子玩的kiss and give的游戏让我对她的美一点都不感兴趣，反而是拎着砖头和木棍准备打过来的Esperanza让我爱之不及，她的愤怒她的不解她的羞赧，她自嘲：”that’s a joke I didn’t get.”她想挖一个洞钻进去，她对着老树喃喃自语，然后慢慢释然….而Liar Sally再次伤害了她脆弱又坚强的心，她没有如约出现，而一个白人男孩强行吻了Esperanza，这给她带来的伤害决不仅仅是他身上的难闻味道…到了后来，Esperanza居然还依然同情Sally的遭遇，是不是太早出卖了灵魂？美丽也有错的时候…
这44个短小的章节里，我喜欢写她名字的，写她抱着爸爸哭泣的，写她和小伙伴们看云的，写她和叔叔一起跳舞的，写她模糊感觉一个男孩的炙热眼神的，写她观察胖女人不愿意说英语不愿意下楼的，写她被欺骗被歧视她却能用童心融化伤痛的，写他渴望一座属于自己的山上的房子，写她在三个神秘老姐妹面前许下为那些走不出芒果街的人而努力的…她童言无忌的叙述把幼时人们都有过的思想的片断粘贴成了一个亮黄色的芒果街。听见妈妈说：If we win the lottery, we’ll….” 她会stop listening,把一个旧音盒的声音描述成as if you were running your fingers across the teeth of a mental comb,不知是同情还是理解，她说她知道Marin在等a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life.男孩子说的：“I am in love with those two green apples you call eyes, give them to me why don’t you?” Esperanza从来没有经历过什么，但她却常常对自己解释她看不懂的事实，如此头头是道如此不知疲乏….
有很多句子是很有趣的，Nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just like a falling star, and exploded down to earth without even an “Oh”….作者的比喻总是这般有灵性…You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky and keep you safe when you are sad.我想我最理解这句话，多少次在看不见边际的蓝天下浅浅睡去，醉了的时间摇摇摆摆再也走不动了…
The Protégé This is a wonderful film cast by Daniel Wu, which is full of unorthodox ideas translating a hidden emotion in a perfect way. He is nothing but an actor in the real life, actually, what he plays is sort of an actor as well. As a policeman who has never been in the police office for seven years, he is also a protégé of the illegal drug-selling group who makes his identity a secret. I can clearly see from his eyes that he is so torn between choosing from his captain and the outlaw he is investigating. When an actor does really well in films, we can totally forget who he in fact is. Even without his good-looking face, I feel obsessed with this man wearing v-collar T-shirt. He carefully kneels down for a dying dog which is neglected by the passers-by; He helps a desperate woman with drug abuse in an invisible way; He sleeps with the one who loves him so much that he feels guilty to turn down (maybe he is forced to do so, who knows….); He jumps out of the window on eighth floor only to save that old man in charge of the drug-processing factory….I just love the last minute he hugs the little girl, and trying to forget the past he went through. Another actress who pushes this film to the climax is Jingchu Zhang. Her performance is beyond any possible description. I bet she has never taken drugs before, but her role as a woman who is trapped into the devil spirit of drugs is definitely intangible. She may have done a lot of working looking deeply into those addicts. The way she quivers, cries, screams, begs is so vivid that I can’t even believe my eyes. Even when she is looking for the thrill of body in a vulgar way, I feel exactly the same. She is a great actress, sacrificing her all to the role she plays, revealing a 3-dimension episode. The roles she and Daniel plays have a very ambiguous relationship. One is a policeman who has to live a humble life, one is a mother who has to live under the fright of her addicted husband. There was chemistry between them at the time Daniel met Jingchu in the window opposite to him. He helped her with her kind heart, but later was scared by her weird behaviors when she is taking the drug. He was lost in thoughts….Why do people take drugs? It’s not tasty or funny….. A Fen (Jingchu) was finally killed by her cruel and cold-hearted husband with too much drug. A Li (Daniel) found her corpse (hope it won’t be too bad to say so) on her sofa with mice running all over. He was totally depressed and intimidated…Realizing the horrible effect of drugs, he turned his boss in to the police. However, this directly led to the suicide of him. He lost the one he wanted to save and the one he wanted to protect….He lay in the sofa and thought it was the emptiness of life which killed their passion for living on. Emptiness… He took A fen’s daughter as his own in the end, and they hugged each other in front of the memory of A fen…His face is no longer twisted by the reality, and his pain is alleviated… This is a world full of wonders if they keep on going. I should say this is not merely a typical Hong Kong film; it conveys a meaning of trusting and being trusted, of loving and being loved, of betraying and being betrayed. You may find yourself end up groaning deeply in your heart, cause you can hardly bear some of the bloody truth. However, you may also keep a track of faith deeply rooted in a film. The protégé…The director deliberately combined some different impacts together, sometimes making people laugh, sometimes disgusted, sometimes exhilarated, sometimes greatly frightened. It’s just like a roller coaster which takes you to anywhere possible in the emotional part of your body. Try it and you’ll never be regretful.
Thank you for yourapplication for HSYLC 2007!This year, we received far more applications than we are able to accommodate: approximately 400 enthusiastic applications were submitted.The caliber of individual application meant that competition for places was especially fierce.
Because of the exceptionally high quality of your application and interview, we are happy to offer you a position as a volunteer for HSYLC 2007.
Your position as a volunteer would include many important responsibilities during the coming months as we prepare for HSYLC 2007, and thus we are asking that—if you decide to accept our offer—you have frequent internet access throughout the month of July and be able to submit work online.You will also need to arrive on campus by August 2nd to help with immediate preparations for the conference.
As a volunteer, you will be participating in HSYLC 2007 either as a course assistant (CA) or as part of the administrative staff - we will inform you of your precise position shortly . The 39 CAs will assist the Harvard seminar leaders in teaching their seminars by researching and providing supplementary reading materials as well as facilitating discussions within the classroom. The 27 members of the administrative staff will help HAUSCR officers with the daily administrative tasks of the conference as well as with important preconference preparations, such as logistics and PR. Our decision will be based upon your past leadership experiences, teaching experiences, expertise, and former involvement with HSYLC. Please let us know if you have a strong preference for either position. We will do our best to keep these preferences in mind when we make our decision.
Please inform us of your decision to accept or reject your position as volunteer as soon as possible.The very last date to send us your decision is the June 24th.
Thank you for your application—and we are looking forward to working with you to build a successful 2007 conference!
