A China-Free Election
By Chip Tsao | published Nov 06, 2008
While the American presidential election has created a global furor of gossip over the past few months, many Chinese friends of mine sternly refused to share any happy-hour chat on the big trendy topic. They found the presidential election boring because neither candidate mentioned China very much in their platforms. This was interpreted as a sign that neither candidate was taking China—a future superpower on the rise—very seriously.
“But no news is good news,” I argued. When Clinton, Bush, or Reagan mentioned China while they were campaigning as presidential candidates, how was the country presented? Wasn’t China the bad guy locking up dissidents, bullying Taiwan and the Dalai Lama, and exporting cheap socks and jeans that put millions of American workers out of jobs? Now—just for once, for Heaven’s sake—Obama and McCain, while touring around America with their key-note speeches on the economy and Al-Qaeda, have dropped China and stopped “demonizing” the peace-loving nation. We’re no longer the slanty-eyed Dr. Fu Manchu brewing an evil plot to conquer the world. Isn’t that something worth celebrating with a glass of uncontaminated Mau Tai?
But my friends were not convinced. If China is mentioned in the campaign it makes them lose face; but not being mentioned at all has them pull a long face. The Middle Kingdom, placed directly in the center of the earth, should enjoy every courtesy of being mentioned, and only with all due respect, in every American presidential election.
That’s why the splash story of Allan Zeman, a local Canadian Jew who rules the territory of Lan Kwai Fong, has caused such an uproar of joy in Hong Kong, his declaration of being naturalized as a Chinese citizen nearly eclipsing the American presidential election. It is a rare and emotional moment of pride for all Chinese. Yes, all the gweilos take it for granted when tens of thousands of faceless Chinese restaurateurs and professionals queue up for a US green card or a Canadian passport as an insurance policy. But suddenly, it is no longer one-way traffic. China has adopted a barbaric alien child, dressed him up, pardoned him for the sins of a century’s imperialistic invasion that he represents, and anointed him with the balm of a 3,000-year-old civilization. It’s a odd new version of the Tarzan story. What a change.
Zeman caught the limelight at just the right moment. It is a historic episode that symbolizes the crucial place of China on the world stage, which Obama and McCain, to the dismay of many Chinese, failed to see. No wonder so many Chinese people felt offended at being neglected, even by Sarah Palin, who mentioned only Russia as the big country she could see from the back garden of her home in Alaska. China can be seen everywhere, omnipresent in every T-shirt, every pair of jeans and shoes, every Christmas tree, and until recently, every can of milk powder. And if you found the latest American presidential election campaign the most refreshing one yet because it was China-free, just don’t tell your Chinese friends.
While the American presidential election has created a global furor of gossip over the past few months, many Chinese friends of mine sternly refused to share any happy-hour chat on the big trendy topic. They found the presidential election boring because neither candidate mentioned China very much in their platforms. This was interpreted as a sign that neither candidate was taking China—a future superpower on the rise—very seriously.
“But no news is good news,” I argued. When Clinton, Bush, or Reagan mentioned China while they were campaigning as presidential candidates, how was the country presented? Wasn’t China the bad guy locking up dissidents, bullying Taiwan and the Dalai Lama, and exporting cheap socks and jeans that put millions of American workers out of jobs? Now—just for once, for Heaven’s sake—Obama and McCain, while touring around America with their key-note speeches on the economy and Al-Qaeda, have dropped China and stopped “demonizing” the peace-loving nation. We’re no longer the slanty-eyed Dr. Fu Manchu brewing an evil plot to conquer the world. Isn’t that something worth celebrating with a glass of uncontaminated Mau Tai?
But my friends were not convinced. If China is mentioned in the campaign it makes them lose face; but not being mentioned at all has them pull a long face. The Middle Kingdom, placed directly in the center of the earth, should enjoy every courtesy of being mentioned, and only with all due respect, in every American presidential election.
That’s why the splash story of Allan Zeman, a local Canadian Jew who rules the territory of Lan Kwai Fong, has caused such an uproar of joy in Hong Kong, his declaration of being naturalized as a Chinese citizen nearly eclipsing the American presidential election. It is a rare and emotional moment of pride for all Chinese. Yes, all the gweilos take it for granted when tens of thousands of faceless Chinese restaurateurs and professionals queue up for a US green card or a Canadian passport as an insurance policy. But suddenly, it is no longer one-way traffic. China has adopted a barbaric alien child, dressed him up, pardoned him for the sins of a century’s imperialistic invasion that he represents, and anointed him with the balm of a 3,000-year-old civilization. It’s a odd new version of the Tarzan story. What a change.
Zeman caught the limelight at just the right moment. It is a historic episode that symbolizes the crucial place of China on the world stage, which Obama and McCain, to the dismay of many Chinese, failed to see. No wonder so many Chinese people felt offended at being neglected, even by Sarah Palin, who mentioned only Russia as the big country she could see from the back garden of her home in Alaska. China can be seen everywhere, omnipresent in every T-shirt, every pair of jeans and shoes, every Christmas tree, and until recently, every can of milk powder. And if you found the latest American presidential election campaign the most refreshing one yet because it was China-free, just don’t tell your Chinese friends.
Labels: Politically Incorrect, 陶傑
posted by Gemini Saga at 12:00 AM
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