Revenge of the Cookie

When I first started keeping track of my personal experience here in China I had called this Blog "Behind the Iron Fortune Cookie" but the name really didn't fit. There was no resemblance to the previous communist era in China during that time. Before I came many of you, many of the people in my family and many others who I never met tried to tell me what I could expect in China. I heard everything from being told that I would have no electricity or water available in my home to being told that I would be arrested by the military and interrogated.

Neither of those are even slightly plausible realities, then or now. There has been no change recently in the Chinese government with regards to the protests of the Olympic Games being held in China or the more tangible disruptions to the progress of the Olympic Flame.

In China right now there is a strong atmosphere of Nationalism very similar to the state of the US shortly after the 911 attacks. Part of this has to do with the fact that China is still very Nationalistic (a trait rare in the first world in recent days) and also due to the fact that what little outside opinion they hear is currently negative of their country.

The facts:
+ Many foreign protesters are using the Beijing Olympic games as an opportunity to put pressure on the Chinese government to change their approach on issues in Tibet.
+ The Dali Lama has openly called for non-violent protests and does not wish for protests to halt the Olympic Games in China and has openly stated that he feels China deserves the games.
+ In London, France, and San Fransisco, pro-Tibetan protesters have tried to interrupt the progress of the Torch relay even up to attacking a handicapped athlete.
+ Many foreign media groups, some of them tabloids like the German magazine Bild and other usually credible news agencies such as The BBC, CNN, and The New York Times, have used images which are unrelated to their topic and or made unsubstantiated claims at a point in time where the Chinese Government decided to stop blocking the English language version of these websites giving China's educated population more access to them.

The results:
The Chinese people have over reacted to what they viewed as an Anti-Chinese bias in the western media and world. What is truly nothing more than capitalistic sensationalism has been misunderstood to be designed malice.

The Internet using population, always indicative of the most fanatical and least socially adjusted individuals of any population, has taken extreme stances and actions which are being further highlighted in Western Media, detracted from the real issue and pouring gas on the flames.

Internet rumors from Chinese sources are excepted with less questioning than before because the supposedly superior western media has presented untrue or questionable information lately.

One such rumor has been of a French company which supports pro-Tibet groups and a full Boycott has been called for in China.

The Chinese people are still reacting in a mostly peaceful fashion, though just like in the US as of 911 it is wise to keep you head down and not openly express views that conflict with the majority.


The change is not a pleasant one and the reaction is both more severe and has less grounds than the reaction in the US following 911. This reaction has not negatively affected me here in China though I find the general attitude towards foreigners changed somewhat in the last week, I also know that because of how fast the change happened and how temporary the cause was, it will be gone again shortly.

I wanted to assure any family member who reads the news that I am in no real danger because of the events lately and that I continue to have a peaceful and fun time in China.

These recent events have given me a much deeper perspective into notions such as Democracy and Nationalism so as to understand the theories which went into the formation of the United States America all the better. I regret that these events haven't changed my perception of the current state of America.

This was just a short blog post before anyone sent me email's asking me questions about the reaction to Olympic protests.

I can honestly say, I am now eager for the Olympic games to be over though, the fierce pride that the Chinese people have over being recognized as equals by the great powers of the world can be a very comforting and very good thing, but it can just as easily turn into a nasty circumstance. I would like to see what the nation is like when it is more, at rest. I think that life here wouldn't be too different from life back home if there wasn't such a galvanizing point of conflict to deal with.