Comments on: Why the Media is Wrong About Chinese Democracy http://depolitik.com/2008/08/27/why-the-media-is-wrong-about-chinese-democracy/ Taking the Politiks out of Politics Thu, 14 May 2009 07:25:33 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Echil http://depolitik.com/2008/08/27/why-the-media-is-wrong-about-chinese-democracy/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Echil Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:46:46 +0000 http://depolitik.com/2008/08/27/why-the-media-is-wrong-about-chinese-democracy/#comment-3 I think your arguments about the Chinese people's feeling towards their government and the popularity of the Communist Party are perceptive. While I have been consistently surprised with the amount of government-sponsored media censorship in China, I think it's important to consider why the Western media seems to have misapprehensions about the Chinese opinions of their government. I believe that the media's error, if you will, stems from the fact that it is Western-centric. It inherently believes that everyone has certain inalienable rights and that individuals are incomplete as human beings without them. I'm not saying that the Chinese don't want human rights, but the fact of the matter is that China has a different set of values from the West. It could also be true that Chinese people have a different set of standards of what these inalienable human rights are. I don't know the answer to these questions, but I think the problem in the media's portrayal of this matter is that it believes what it wants to believe and colors its opinions based on Western philosophies which aren't as applicable to Eastern mindsets.<br><br>Thoughtful article, and look forward to reading more in the future. I think your arguments about the Chinese people's feeling towards their government and the popularity of the Communist Party are perceptive. While I have been consistently surprised with the amount of government-sponsored media censorship in China, I think it's important to consider why the Western media seems to have misapprehensions about the Chinese opinions of their government. I believe that the media's error, if you will, stems from the fact that it is Western-centric. It inherently believes that everyone has certain inalienable rights and that individuals are incomplete as human beings without them. I'm not saying that the Chinese don't want human rights, but the fact of the matter is that China has a different set of values from the West. It could also be true that Chinese people have a different set of standards of what these inalienable human rights are. I don't know the answer to these questions, but I think the problem in the media's portrayal of this matter is that it believes what it wants to believe and colors its opinions based on Western philosophies which aren't as applicable to Eastern mindsets.

Thoughtful article, and look forward to reading more in the future.

]]>