The Torch descended upon Canberra on 24th April amidst high media coverage following the demonstrations and disruptions to the relay in other parts of the World. In the lead-up to the event, Posters have been put up around campuses rallying the Chinese students to head up to Canberra (a Good 6-hr drive at Least?) to support the relay and defend China's position on Tibet. Or maybe I should correct that. They don't necessarily want to defend China in that very sense but or of, making a plea to everyone not to be mis-guided about the skewed media coverage of the situation in Tibet and only make informed judgements having gained a deeper understanding of the history of this delicate situation.
It's the first time I've seen Chinese students rallying support for an event. Throughout my time here, there've been countless activities organised by Singapore Association, Malaysian Club.. ASEAN club.. and even sometimes the Indonesian and Hong Kong student associations. For the locals, there've also been numerous rallying calls for demonstrations against the War in Iraq and the Human Rights abuses in Darfur. But never have I seen any sort of activities organised by Chinese Students. In fact, I don't even know if there's an Association here in Monash for Chinese students. Until Now. And boy did they show their support. The MSN nicks have turned into a display of their unity and affection for the nation. I know a lot of students actually did make that trip up to Canberra on that day and the Chinese in my assignment group would have joined but for our group meeting on the same day. Of course, there's no lack of Media Coverage of whatever has happened in the Australian Capital, even in ChannelNewsAsia. On my way home from Library on that very night, there were a few seniors wearing Caps printed with Australian and China Flags and the Wordings, "Canberra, 24 April 2008". It doesn't take a scholar to tell that they've just been back from the event earlier in the day given the tiredness that they were showing. And it's even more amazing when I saw the difficulties in walking that they had when they alighted the tram. It's a touching moment I must say. To see people of all ages coming together, and form a united front to stand for their beliefs and values, defend your own nation. It's indescribable.
And who could blame them. Chinese has historically not been an aggressive culture. Except for that Genghis Khan era. But now, they are under siege. The worldwide condemnation of China for its handling of Tibet based on biased media coverage has certainly stoked the sense of injustice in the hearts and minds of the Chinese. And I'm not just talking about China's Chinese. It's a feeling that I feel all Chinese should share. No doubt, questions will be raised about China's human rights record. Prior to Tibet, there was already heavy criticism on China for failing to exert more pressure on Sudan for the violence in Darfur. But Tibet is a totally different ball game altogether. I shall not go to the extent of calling the whole episode as Conspiracy but there is undeniably uncanny coincidence in the timing of the riots and the Beijing Olympic Games. The resulting avalanche of criticism has been overwhelming to say the least and just by looking at the newspaper reports and forums here alone, you can't help but laugh at the ignorance and skewed judgements of the comments made.
First of all, most people overlooked the fact that no civilised and "free" country would tolerate the outbreak of violence. (A certain country in Asia wouldn't even allow peaceful gatherings and demonstrations) It will be interesting to see how much restraint the Australian police would have shown if rioters start to burn, smash and loot vehicles and shops in the city. Second, a lot of these so-called activists and members of the general public do not even have a clue of the history of Tibet, not to mention the delicate relationship between Tibet and China.
The IOC president Jacques Rogge finally said something sensible recently. "We owe China to give them time....It took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in 1949" He really did the the jackpot there. The human behavior is going to take far longer than just 59 years to evolve. It's not something which you could improve simply by producing more Mattel toys or Levis Jeans. And of course, over here we are not simply referring to the human rights issues but also the broader behavioural inadequacies. It's difficult enough to get our elders to change their poor habits, let alone 1.3billion people. And yes, we all get a good laugh at their not-so-proficient English. "Harsh Browns".. "Welcome for Coming".. "Don't press the glass to get hurt". Just some of the things we see from emails being forwarded. Sure, it's all for the fun and laughter but before we laugh at their English, think about how laughable our own Mandarin is. And this despite us being Chinese. Now, let's see who's got the last laugh here..
Been talking too much. . . .Here's to a Successful Beijing Olympics.... We've got a point to prove.
It's the first time I've seen Chinese students rallying support for an event. Throughout my time here, there've been countless activities organised by Singapore Association, Malaysian Club.. ASEAN club.. and even sometimes the Indonesian and Hong Kong student associations. For the locals, there've also been numerous rallying calls for demonstrations against the War in Iraq and the Human Rights abuses in Darfur. But never have I seen any sort of activities organised by Chinese Students. In fact, I don't even know if there's an Association here in Monash for Chinese students. Until Now. And boy did they show their support. The MSN nicks have turned into a display of their unity and affection for the nation. I know a lot of students actually did make that trip up to Canberra on that day and the Chinese in my assignment group would have joined but for our group meeting on the same day. Of course, there's no lack of Media Coverage of whatever has happened in the Australian Capital, even in ChannelNewsAsia. On my way home from Library on that very night, there were a few seniors wearing Caps printed with Australian and China Flags and the Wordings, "Canberra, 24 April 2008". It doesn't take a scholar to tell that they've just been back from the event earlier in the day given the tiredness that they were showing. And it's even more amazing when I saw the difficulties in walking that they had when they alighted the tram. It's a touching moment I must say. To see people of all ages coming together, and form a united front to stand for their beliefs and values, defend your own nation. It's indescribable.
And who could blame them. Chinese has historically not been an aggressive culture. Except for that Genghis Khan era. But now, they are under siege. The worldwide condemnation of China for its handling of Tibet based on biased media coverage has certainly stoked the sense of injustice in the hearts and minds of the Chinese. And I'm not just talking about China's Chinese. It's a feeling that I feel all Chinese should share. No doubt, questions will be raised about China's human rights record. Prior to Tibet, there was already heavy criticism on China for failing to exert more pressure on Sudan for the violence in Darfur. But Tibet is a totally different ball game altogether. I shall not go to the extent of calling the whole episode as Conspiracy but there is undeniably uncanny coincidence in the timing of the riots and the Beijing Olympic Games. The resulting avalanche of criticism has been overwhelming to say the least and just by looking at the newspaper reports and forums here alone, you can't help but laugh at the ignorance and skewed judgements of the comments made.
First of all, most people overlooked the fact that no civilised and "free" country would tolerate the outbreak of violence. (A certain country in Asia wouldn't even allow peaceful gatherings and demonstrations) It will be interesting to see how much restraint the Australian police would have shown if rioters start to burn, smash and loot vehicles and shops in the city. Second, a lot of these so-called activists and members of the general public do not even have a clue of the history of Tibet, not to mention the delicate relationship between Tibet and China.
The IOC president Jacques Rogge finally said something sensible recently. "We owe China to give them time....It took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in 1949" He really did the the jackpot there. The human behavior is going to take far longer than just 59 years to evolve. It's not something which you could improve simply by producing more Mattel toys or Levis Jeans. And of course, over here we are not simply referring to the human rights issues but also the broader behavioural inadequacies. It's difficult enough to get our elders to change their poor habits, let alone 1.3billion people. And yes, we all get a good laugh at their not-so-proficient English. "Harsh Browns".. "Welcome for Coming".. "Don't press the glass to get hurt". Just some of the things we see from emails being forwarded. Sure, it's all for the fun and laughter but before we laugh at their English, think about how laughable our own Mandarin is. And this despite us being Chinese. Now, let's see who's got the last laugh here..
Been talking too much. . . .Here's to a Successful Beijing Olympics.... We've got a point to prove.
