My Take | Good or evil? The world is divided on China
- Many writers and talking heads pretend to be nuanced and objective about the Middle Kingdom, but most really are neither
First, an apology. I am going to make some big generalisations. Columnists aren’t supposed to do that, but we do it all the time. They will be about how China is being reported on or written about nowadays. I am going to say they fall roughly into two schools: China is the best; China is the worst.
Yes, there are more knowledgeable, nuanced views. Unfortunately, they don’t sell or attract too many eyeballs on YouTube. Also, many writers and talking heads pretend to be nuanced and objective, including yours truly, but most really belong to the one or the other school. If you think you are nuanced and objective, then God bless you!
Here’s what an Egyptian admirer wrote in Malaysia’s Daily Express. This guy would make the editors at China Daily and Global Times blush: “It doesn’t matter who we are … We can’t do what they do … Next to China the entire Western world from Alaska to New Zealand has stagnated. Next to China the entire developing world from Brazil to Madagascar has progressed only at a crawl.
“China is the greatest country on the face of the Earth. It makes all other countries look insignificant and contemptible.
“It is the most brilliant, most industrious, most ambitious, most educated, meritocratic and technocratic, most modern, sophisticated, and civilised, and best-governed by far.”