(I haven't given them any for a while. They think they've been doing OK without me! Ha!)
Now, I don't at all wish to make light of the earthquake tragedy in Sichuan this month. I don't mean to suggest that this terrible event was in any way welcomed by the Chinese leadership, nor do I doubt the sincerity of the grief and sympathy they have expressed (I rather think Wen Jiabao and a few others might need some trauma counselling after their extended visits to the scene).
However, there's no getting away from the fact that, in PR terms, this has been an absolute godsend for the Chinese leadership. A month ago, there was a blizzard of negative China stories: the oppression in Tibet, restrictions on foreign media, the sorry state of the environment, cack-handed "preparations" for the Olympics. For the last three weeks, the earthquake has dominated the headlines (prior to that, the government here was spending a small fortune mounting a succession of media junkets around the country to try to draw journalists out of Beijing; then, for a week or two at least, every foreign journalist in the country headed off to Sichuan), and these other issues have scarcely been mentioned. Quite apart from the imperative of topicality in our attention-span-challenged world, and the unfortunate fact that disasters are such 'sexy' news, the recent suppression of negative comment can be attributed, I think, to an exaggerated delicacy that grows out of our sympathy: we are all - political leaders and common citizens alike - nervous of saying anything that might cause offence to the Chinese while they are still reeling emotionally from the shock of this enormous catastrophe.
This tactful self-restraint isn't going to last too much longer. The Chinese government is already showing signs of overplaying the 'positive' aspects of its own and the country's response to the tragedy. They appear to believe that they can ride this wave of sympathy and goodwill all the way to the Olympics. You'll be lucky. (I have a nasty feeling they might wipeout this week!)
The sense of solidarity the Chinese people has shown in recent weeks, and the generosity with which they have contributed to earthquake relief funds, has been quite inspiring. It is a much softer and more appealing manifestation of the country's powerful nationalism than we usually see. It is, however, all part of the same beast. And some state-run media here are now seeking to employ this more humane expression of national unity in the service of the tired old 'Tibet is rightfully a part of China/Taiwan is rightfully a part of China' arguments.
Yang Rui is - for foreigners living here - quite possibly one of the most reviled and derided personalities on Chinese TV. He's a regular presenter on 'Dialogue', a current affairs discussion programme on the 'international channel', CCTV-9. I like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt as much as possible. He's clearly very intelligent, and speaks good English. It's just that his English isn't quite good enough: he's a perfect embodiment of The Peter Principle. Tasked with hosting a high-level panel discussion, often live, and with little time for preparation, he is constantly being called upon to exceed the parameters at which he can comfortably function in English - and so he falters, stumbles, makes little gaffes...... and from time to time comes out with comments or questions that are just crashingly inept. Oh yes, I daresay most of it is carefully scripted, and not by him: he may not necessarily believe half the twaddle he comes out with. But for us foreigners who watch CCTV-9 occasionally (not that I think any of us watch it a lot; quite a few don't watch it at all), he has come to represent all that is most objectionable and inane in official thinking here.
A week or so ago, I caught Yang Rui saying that earthquake donations from Taipei proved that the Taiwanese wanted to be part of China - "because we are all one blood". Great! Superb! Make a really fucking stupid political argument, and then go and play the race card on top of it, just for good measure. Outstanding stuff!
People all over the world have given money. It's about common humanity, not common 'blood'.
Perhaps people in Taiwan do feel a closer sense of identity with mainland China, do feel more closely impacted by the disaster; perhaps they have given particularly generously because of common ties of race, culture, or family. But the generosity of their donations does not say anything about their political views on reunification with the mainland. Doubtless, many overseas Chinese communities - in San Francisco, Vancouver, New York, London, Manchester - also felt an especially close sympathy with the victims and made exceptional donations accordingly. Do they want to be governed by Beijing? I think not.
It's really not poor Yang Rui's fault. He's just a mouthpiece for the Chinese government. And the Chinese government are a bunch of assclowns.
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