Replies

i’ve been around a lot of chinese immigrants all of my life.

they’re hard-working.

i expect china to transcend the same road as other industrialized nations

and hopefully someday they will have more freedom.

in this context i don’t think using their opportunity for world attention to protest makes sense, nor is would it be productive.

so, i agree with the president.

As an American with many relatives in China, I’m with you. In addition, what a lot of people here don’t seem to realize, either through lack of travel or interaction, dealing publicly and then privately with Chinese officials can, in fact, accomplish quite a lot.

One Wisconsin-based company used that strategy for over 10 years. Their pleasant public statements masked some bare-knuckled negotiations. However, by allowing the Chinese to save “face”, they were able to build “guangxi” or influence among the Chinese company’s junior managers and employees. The Americans were able to get a foothold in the Asian market from South Korea to Australia and have done fairly well.

As you stated, the Chinese (the vast majority of whom aren’t Party members) are slowly treading the road to greater freedom. The recent rioting over the death of a teenager in southern China and the firing of the county offcials, as well as frank discussions in the local papers about the cause of his death, exemplify that. Chinese bloggers, whose xenophobia can be a bit much at times, were key in generating interest in the case.

Remember Poland; a little more candor and freedom eventually meant the doom of the Communist military dictatorship there. So, in fits and starts, China will hopefully head in the direction of South Korea and Taiwan.

i’ve been around a lot of chinese immigrants all of my life.
they’re hard-working... i agree with the president.

I agree with your assessment of the Chinese people. But the issue is not the people per se, its the evil Godless system of Communism. Communism is the antithesis to a Christian America. I do not agree with Bush on this.

i’ve been around a lot of chinese immigrants all of my life. they’re hard-working.

So what?

Ya think the Chinese Communist peasants are attending the Olympics? No, of course they're not. The Chicoms will sweep them off the streets, to get out of the way.

so, i agree with the president.

Some of you people would agree with Bush regardless of what he did.

The problem is, this isn't about the typical Chinese person - I agree with what you've said, they are hard working, good people for the most part.

This, however, is about the Chinese government, and about their quest to be seen as a bigger player than they currently are, and the Olympics, and Bush's attendance, play into their image campaign. Of course, I'm not arguing that China is not a major player in the world - they are, but they are doing so at the expense of many other nations (the US included).