I found out something I didn’t know today. If you happened to walk around mainland China with a photograph of the Tiananmen Square “Tank Man”, something strange happens. You, know. That guy with balls too large to contemplate who stood in front of a column of Chinese tanks twenty years ago. Photograph below.
Tiananmen Square, June 5th, 1989.
If you asked an average Chinese citizen what this photograph meant to them, they wouldn’t say it was a timeless symbol of standing up to oppression like most westerners would. In fact, some wouldn’t even recognize it, especially younger Chinese. This may seem as disturbing to you as it did to me, since there is now a large generation of capitalistic young Chinese that are bringing their country into the forefront of the developed world this century, but they don’t understand the terrifying realities of their own history. This can be dangerous in light of China’s accelerated rise.
We need China, and they need us, but not as much. What Niall Furgeson called Chimerica was the driving force in the global economy before the recent great recession, but now we have a new dynamic where China truly dominates during a time when we are declining as a world power. Make no mistake, we are following the same path as past hegemonies. Just like Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece, the Mongols, Rome, the Ottoman’s, Spain, and Great Britain; what goes up must come down and we, ladies and gentlemen, are coming down. Spain and Great Britain succumbed to massive debt owed to up and coming foreign powers; sound familiar? You are witnessing this happen now and China is only the largest of several up and coming powers of this era.
Now we begin to see the importance of how these young hard working Chinese see the world and their own history. The budding tradition of civil discourse occurring in China can be thought of as a substitute for the heady spirit of change present in the late 80s, but this is a low grade substitute at best. The demand to know the names and numbers of children who died in the Szechuan earthquake school collapses has become a painful experience beyond the actual loss of the children. Inquisitive and defiant parents are being watched by Chinese security forces for asking about what happened to their babies. Chinese growth and capitalism is still vigorous and coming straight for us, but a lack of openness and consideration for the individual has brought us dangerous toys, deadly milk and a deep mistrust of Chinese progress that will be hard to reverse.
This week’s twenty year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre should be a time to contemplate what kind of China the world should have today, but doesn’t. Hopefully, this ancient and wise nation is still heading towards the same destination, but has only taken a longer path.
How soon will you update your blog? I’m interested in reading some more information on this issue.
I appreciate your interest. I am actually just working through an update on this post regarding China’s recent gay pride event. I’ll honor your request by finishing up on this post soonest. The slowly growing acceptance of this gay pride event in China is a snapshot of the peaceful frontline of freedom in China and how the authorities are becoming more respectful of the citizens they oversee and protect. Coming soon!
I’m trying to finish the updated blog on China, but got swamped with the Iran issue today. Guarantee post tomorrow, thanks for your patience.
I know! It is crazy that this bit of history, so on the tip of our tongues, is literally omitted from the history books of Chinese youth. The Chinese have a lot going for them – size, population, nationalism, natural resources, strategic positioning, and a rich history filled with mistakes and triumphs. Wouldn’t a lot of administrations just loved to shoot all of the young, radical critics? Oh, wait a minute, a lot have…
Mao pushed the value of fake it ’till you make it on all of those intellectuals he sent to the countryside to do the farming for the country (grave consequences). I think that same ethic created the issues of tainted foods and lead in children’s toys; all from a country still reeling from their most favored trade status. I digress.
Our own country’s media dampers our access to information, colors our responses (ex. there are people our there who support GW Bush – still!). And yes, whatever happens with China as a world power we truly have influenced and guided them. And China has been watching our failures and our mistakes and has learned from them. It begs the question – have the communist years built up the infrastructure necessary to propell them as a capitalist power? (do they have the technical know-how to upgrade?)
Maybe they don’t have enough liability lawyers yet to force them to think about the individual – more liability, more rules.
As far as the issue of gays in China – interesting. There’s not a big sexual identity in China today, they seem so much more reserved in that way. I assume the idea of keeping that sphere of your life private does lend itself to acceptance. I think it all folds itself into their nationalism. Chinese is an identity, with all that comes along with it. I would be interested to know what it is like to be gay in a Chinese family.
Politics can be like parenting – some countries yell and spank, others exhibit quiet disdain and time outs.
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?
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