On Sinophobia

Leung Wan To (trans; 梁文道), a prominent Hong Kong commentator and social activist famous for his long-time harsh stance against communist dictatorship, recently wrote an interesting article on the so-called "communiphobia" (恐共).

Re-reading this article today, I've come to realization that the West can best be described as suffering from "communiphobia", given what happened lately in Tibet. And that fear comes from the lack of understanding of the real China and the Chinese.

Here's a translated synopsis:

When many Hong Kong people, including politicians, talk about politics in China, it's easy to note that they suffer from two kinds of phobias. First, it's the fear for the "infiltration of foreign powers". This kind of Cold-War thinking is inherited from contemporary Chinese ideology believing that there exists some "secret powers" whose "wish to see us die never goes away". It's under this state of mind that when Martin Lee was crowned "traitor" after he wrote an article in New York Times demanding foreign powers to push for better human rights in China during the Olympic year.

The second phobia is the fear for "Red China", or "communiphobia". Naming it phobia because people having this mindset fear not only the Chinese communists, but the entire China or anything China.

A die-hard anti-communist friend of mine was surprised to learn recently that I also write for some mainland publications. He asked me, in a demeaning tone: "So now you too have 'changed direction'?" He was even more surprised when he heard that the publications I write for are subsidiaries of the Guangdong provincial government. In his mind, these are all "mouthpieces" of the communist party.

But excuse me, mouthpieces? I think of those young people who fight so hard seeking ways to expose more... I think of the difficulty they face striving to work for a freer press in disregard of the "daily instructions" from above... their young faces, their passion... and you call them "mouthpieces"?

In another public speech, I talked about the roles of NGOs and reformists under the Chinese system and how much effort they put in looking for gray areas that they can thrive. At the end of the speech, one person walked up to me: "What you just said didn't hide a fundamental fact; that is, China does not have freedom of speech and freedom of society. China is still the same old China."

Yes, China still has serious problem of lacking freedom of speech and freedom of society. But is that the responsibility of those who want to make changes? What kind of environment you think these people are working in? And why? Should their effort and contribution be wiped out just because you say there is "no democracy and no freedom" in their country? What exactly do you want? A revolution?

To people who suffer from "communiphobia", the Chinese government is still that almighty mega government. It still has the power to control everyone in the most strictest way. So much so that editors who spend their entire life trying to make public dissenting viewpoints and news are doomed to be the mouthpiece of the party after all. So much so that the several thousand civilians who "peacefully walked out" in Xiamen demanding a cleaner environment were just wasting their time. So much so that China is still covered by a huge dark cloud...that if we couldn't change it, then we have to prevent it from infiltrating by erecting a great firewall in between each other.

Honestly, some Hong Kong politicians and their supporters are also infected by the "communiphobia". They thought nobody in China, other than a few jailed dissidents, should be respected. On the other hand, they believe the keyword to their understanding of China is the oversimplified slogans of "democracy, freedom and the rule of law". No matter what happens in China, these keywords are to be used to explain things.

To people infected by "communiphobia", if somewhere in China a local official beat up and kill someone, the ultimate explanation is because "China does not have democracy and the rule of law". There is no need to do any analyses. If some say China has changed and has grown stronger, these peeople would sneer: "So? It's still a country without democracy and the rule of law."

Taiwanese professor Chao Kong (趙剛) wrote in an article named "To understand and to reconciliate" that:

Everyday in China, there is corruption going on. Everyday in China, we can see farmlands being forcefully confiscated from farmers because local officials are pairing up with developers to maximize their personal gains. And yes, everyday in China, workers are being abused and exploited.

But are all these problems solvable by textbook democracy? According to my humble experience living in China last year, I feel that many intellectuals and activists are more concerned and worried about these problems than anyone else outside of China. But they also know the complexity of the problems and their historical roots, as well as the difficulty to take actions.

I feel that they are trying in a low-key way to minutely make some shaking here and there. Their work is tiring and difficult. They contemplate deeply and look for the minimum legitimacy of their actions in the current system. In fact, this pattern is very similar to the early phase of Taiwanese movement that protested against the establishment.

See also:

Global TV fabrication
CTV, TorStar blasted for biased reporting on Tibet issue
We demand honesty from our 'free' press: activist
He may be a God, but he’s no politician
The voices of Han Chinese in LhasaWestern Tibetophilla = escaping disgust with modernity
Mainstream media bias against China is live and thriving: US tourist
'There're no innocent Chinese bystanders': pro-Tibet blogger
On Sinophobia
Biased media reports 'unite all Chinese'
Evidence of Western media bias
Tourist video of Lhasa riot shows mob violence
'Chinese authorities exercise great restraint': CTV
Accounts from Lhasa and beyond
'Howling' mob attack anything, anyone looks Chinese: Western tourists
Hong Kong reporters, foreigners expelled from Lhasa (footage)
Tibet riot - BBC
Tibet riot photos taken by eyewitnesses
'They don't even let go women and children'
Tibet riot - great INDEPENDENT accounts
Rioter to Dalai Lama: 'Please don't ask us to stop'
Han Chinese not humans?
Latest AP photos of the Lhasa riot
Beijing, Dharamasala both use heavy propaganda machines
Tibet riot - more eyewitness accounts
'They stopped throwing stones at the boy when I rushed forward'
Tibet riot - the other side of the story