Unity, honor central to Chinese ethos

Photo taken on July 6, 2008 shows the embroidery work named The Olympic Fu (Fu, descriptive prose interspersed with verse) in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.(Chinese media/Xu Zhiqiang)
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By Liu Shinan

BEIJING,

July 9 -- Today marks the 30-day countdown to the opening of the 29th Olympic

Games.

The media have reported that state leaders of about

80 countries will come to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Games.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the latest to express his intention to

attend the gala event on August 8. Earlier he had said he might boycott the

Games pending the result of the talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama.

Over a period of time, there has been some clamor in

a few countries calling for boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games. Some

politicians and social celebrities were particularly vociferous in advocating a

boycott of Beijing. This is understandable because politicians and celebrities,

especially those from the entertainment industry, need constant public

attention. Blaming China is always a felicitous topic and an effective way to

establish an image of a hero.

Statesmen, however, should be farsighted and know

more about the art of handling international relations. This knowledge includes

that about the people and culture of the nation they are dealing with in a

particular event.

What EU Chamber of Commerce President Joerg Wuttke

recently said about having dealings with Chinese people provided much food for

thought. He urged European leaders to learn from Australian Prime Minister Kevin

Rudd, who "knows Chinese people's character and ways of thinking pretty well"

thanks to his many years of studying and working in China.

Wuttke is right. Chinese people have their own way of

thinking, just as Western people have theirs.

Take the hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games as an

example. Chinese people regard it as an important event that merits the whole

nation's devotion to its success. This explains why China has been working hard

on the face-lift of major cities' environment and why the Chinese demonstrated

what many Westerners thought to be a "crazy" enthusiasm during the Olympic torch

relay.

Two things account for this Chinese-style patriotism.

First, Chinese people believe in collectivism in their innermost nature whereas

patriotism is the supreme form of collectivism; second, Chinese people tend to

attach the greatest importance to a matter of honor. Olympic Games is a rare

occasion in which an unprecedentedly large number of foreigners will come. The

Chinese are a nation of hospitality. For them, any event that will attract many

guests should be run in style.

Some Western media jeered China for its ardent effort

to prepare for the Games. They should try to understand the Chinese culture.

And, honestly, it is universal for a family to tidy its home before hosting a

friends' gathering. Does a Western man not tuck those pairs of his smelly socks

under the sofa before opening the door to let in a visitor?

Threats to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games

grievously hurt the hospitable Chinese people. We have been sincere in

anticipation of the arrival of guests but find that there are so many people in

this world who are hostile to us; at least they are doubtful about our

sincerity.

Frankly, we do not need the Olympic Games to prove

anything. Not to mention what we have achieved in the past three decades, the

numerous disasters that have happened to China in the first half of this year

and our triumphs over these difficulties are evident enough of the good quality

of our people, the strong national unity, the government's and the people's

anti-disaster capability and the strong economic power to back this ability.

Is making the Games a success more difficult than

fighting the freezing snowstorms in January, the devastating earthquake in May

and the ruinous floods that swept across many provinces recently?

(Source: China Daily)