Seeing Obama's Win From China
The conventional wisdom on Sino-U.S. relations is that Chinese leaders prefer Republican presidents who would be less inclined to start trade fights or needle over human rights issues. Of course the leadership never explicitly says this. And the tough China rhetoric of presidential candidates like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush evolved into a steadier approach to engagement during the later years of their terms in office. There is only so much room for movement when the two nations' economies grow so closely dependent.
And yet on an individual level Barack Obama's victory seems to mean something special in China. Four years ago I was in a Hong Kong restaurant on election night, and the only responses were tepid nods and pats on the back. In the packed Beijing bar where I watched the election returns this year the mood was celebratory. I saw the first champagne drinker around 11:30 a.m. When Obama's win was declared by CNN a half hour later, the room erupted in cheers. A few people began crying.
The result touched off congratulatory calls and emails from Chinese acquaintances. One American friend was queried by a trashman on her thoughts on the president elect. That enthusiastic response was mirrored in many other countries. (Here is TIME's story and a photo gallery examining the response in China and elsewhere.) I'll merely add this brief note from Deng Zhuyuan, a young man I met in Sichuan shortly after the May 12 earthquake:
Nice to hear that Obama has won the election.
As a Chinese citizen, I am looking forward to see the changes.
Best wishes to you and your nation and the whole world.
-
1
[...] one reporter’s story about what he saw in a pub in [...]
-
2
The white racist Americans did it again. They forced a colored person to do the most most thankless and difficult job on earth. This is no democracy, it is just a lynch party.
Chinese are much better off. They are spared the trouble of choosing a leader. They can trust the Party leaders to pick the right one for them. They were never in doubt who will government them, forever. This kind of simplicity of life allows Chinese to focus on the most important activity in a Chinese's life: make money.
Looking it from another point of view, the American voters also discriminated against age and women and pick Obama. Instead of picking an experienced statesman and his women running mate, the Americans pick a young man with only a few years of political experience. This is discrimination at its worse.
Obama is only in his forties and he already has grey hair. Look at the Chinese leaders on stage. All of them, in the sixties, seventies if not eighties, all with jet black hair. Not a single grey hair in sight. That's a sign of healthy leaders, unlike Obama.
I think the US should just abolish elections and let the CCP pick leaders for them.
-
3
Strongly agree with you johnsmith with the point
"They can trust the Party leaders to pick the right one for them. They were never in doubt who will government them, forever. This kind of simplicity of life allows Chinese to focus on the most important activity in a Chinese's life: make money." -
4
I thought this was a blog about China, not about Mr. Obama.
And of course, what's most important for the majority of Chinese is to get out of poverty: make money. The social improvements must come first before Chinese worry about governing their own political future. This I also agree with Mr. John Smith, certainly a dispenser of wisdom from time to time.
PS: Have you submitted your resume to TIME?
- TIME Why it's time to give up the ghost on Bin Laden | http://su.pr/9KGpBa - 27 minutes ago
- TIME See Facebook's secret code | http://su.pr/2C8sAt - 2 hours ago
- TIME See the top 10 movies of 2009 | http://su.pr/21qEh7 - 3 hours ago
Most Popular »
- Best of the Decade: Sci-Fi Movies
- Is Harry Reid Burning Out?
- How Will Obama Pay For Stimulus 2.1? (or 3.0, 3.1, whatever you want to call it)
- "How Will Dave Ever Make Fun of Sex Scandals Again?"
- Why Wells Fargo isn't paying back TARP
- CNN Poll: Man Made Global Warming Takes a Hit
- The Health Reform Abortion Wars, Part Deux
- War of the Supermen: Q&A With Matt Idelson
- Quinnipiac: Obama Gets Bump on Afghanistan
- Economists Growing More Wary of the Senate Health Bill
- The Truth Behind the Leaked Climate-Change E-Mails
- Mexico Witness Protection: Corrupt Program, New Killings
- Tiger Woods Must Face His Fans' Moral Outrage
- Helicopter Parents: The Backlash Against Overparenting
- Taiwan: World's Lowest Birthrate Could Affect Society
- Creating Jobs: Can Obama Government Boost Employment?
- How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?
- Time to Give Up the Ghost on bin Laden
- Humanure: Goodbye, Toilets. Hello, Extreme Composting
- Study: Parents' Sex Talks with Kids Happening Too Late
Quotes of the Day »
RSS