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Media Ignites Chinese Anger
By Jack Huang, China
27 year old Jin Jing is very famous in China today. She was recently named "the most beautiful Chinese girl in April" in an online election because of her role as the torchbearer for the Paris leg of the Olympic torch's world journey.
"While their negative words about China have spread rapidly in Western media, this one-sided coverage has unexpectedly caused nationalistic emotions to climb in China and the Chinese people are getting angry." -Jack Huang
Jing earned this title when the Olympic torch came under attack close to the Eiffel Tower. An audacious pro-independent Tibetan protestor broke through police barricades and assaulted Jing, punching her so she would be forced to relinquish the torch. Jing fought off her attacker, heroically defending the torch.
What makes this story particularly awful is the fact the media covered the protests and Jing's attacker but it seems no one outside of China was given any information about Jing.
Well let me fill in the blanks. Jing is disabled and she fought off her attacker from her wheelchair. Jing is an amputee who was a member of the Chinese wheelchair fencing team. She has won a silver medal (Asian Games in Pusan) and a bronze medal (World Championships). Fighting off her assailant was yet another feat that won her the respect and acclaim of her country.
But what disturbs me about what happened to Jing has more to do with the fact that Western media dismissed her story in favor of covering the protestors disrupting what China was hoping would be a "harmonious journey" of the Olympic torch around the world. You really have to wonder whether this kind of media is setting the world up to have only a negative perception of China.
Over the last few months pressure on Beijing seems to have been mounting. While negative words about China have spread rapidly in Western media, this one-sided coverage will eventually cause nationalistic emotions to climb in China because the Chinese are getting angry.
I think Western media is intent on making enemies for China. Will this negative coverage discourage visitors from attending the Olympics? I really hope not. But I am very concerned about what is being shown and said about the Olympics - some of which are lies just to get the audience's attention.
Recently CNN ran a segment that was filmed in Nepal a few years ago. It showed Chinese policemen beating Tibetan monks. Editing tricks gave the impression that what viewers were watching was the Chinese Han people taking advantage of Tibetan monks. In a voice-over viewers erroneously learned that Chinese soldiers were apparently wearing cassocks pretending to be monks so they could commit violence in order to frame the Tibetan monks.
Despite the lack of truth to this segment, no one at CNN has so far had the guts to stand up and say the video was a mistake and an unfortunate affront to China and the Chinese people. Sadly until that happens, people will continue to believe this mistaken "truth" told by CNN and by perpetrating lies CNN is creating prejudice.
Why is it when thousands and thousands of Chinese people flood into the street to cheer their motherland's success, Western media focuses on whatever tiny material they can get that defames China.
Recently a story was widely circulated online showing a CNN journalist approaching a young person in Beijing trying to lure him into creating a false story about there being a lot Chinese people who are against Beijing's actions in Tibet. This is not journalism it's coercion.
If CNN is looking for a story, perhaps they should have done one with Jin Jing. It's getting to the point where more Chinese people feel we are being cheated by the Western media. In fact, many people are learning that they can never believe CNN again.
Who is standing up for China? Certainly not the French who said they sent more than 3000 policemen to maintain order while the torch was on route through Paris. As the so-called father of the spirit of the modern Olympics as a symbol of light and peace, France should be ashamed.
Is China only good for France when there are corporate profits to be made? Sarkozy's announcement that he would not be attending the Beijing Olympics came after he got the business contracts he sought in his meetings in China. I guess when there is a contract of 160 airbuses and eight billion euro on the line for the French nuclear industry President Sarkozy can give a passionate speech in Tsinghua University saying that France needs China and France wants to cooperate with China. But can we believe President Sarkozy is a gentleman when he chooses to behave so dishonestly?
When Australian Prime Minister Kelvin Rudd gave a speech at Peking University in Beijing he spoke about Tibet and his concerns about human rights in China. Not one of the attendees felt offended and many applauded throughout his remarks. Why? Because he gave his speech in Chinese.
I think it all boils down to respect for the truth. Know this truth - the Dali Lama is trying to spread peace and to negotiate with Beijing in a peaceful way. But TAY (Tibetan Assembly of Youth) represents something very different. Most of the violence people have learned about in Tibet has been conducted by TAY. TAY's leaders even announced that they would sacrifice many Tibetans in order to reach their goal of creating Tibetan independence. This is a group that never hesitates to use violence. You can compare them to Al Qaeda in their tactics.
It's true that for the common Tibetan, the Dali Lama is their god. The Dali Lama is the incarnation of Arya Avalokiteshvara. One can't arrive at the West Land of Utmost Happiness if they can't receive his blessings. Besides the Dali Lama, there are four or five living Buddhas in Tibet and the Dali Lama is the most honored one. So you see, the situation in Tibet is much more complicated than what you learn from TV or what you read in your news publications.
Surely every place on earth can be made better for the people who live there. That's a truth. But Western media needs to know that there are many good things to report about China and the Chinese people. If protests against China and boycotts against the Beijing Olympics persist, it seems we will have a very long road to go before we can meet the Olympic challenge to become friends.
