Please let me know if you have any valuable insight on the
political situation in China at the moment - re: the
attitude to foreigners particularly those from NATO
countries. I'm planning on a trip to China in late July.
Thanks
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hi,
don't worry, i really don't think you'll have pbs in China,
my parents are french and are living there currently and
they had no pbs, even those last days...
have a nice trip!
I posted some of these comments further down in response to
another inquiry. Probably 98% of the population believes
this was anything but an accident for whatever reason or
motivation. There is no shortage of scholars from this
Academy or another giving their rationale on TV news
programs, there is nightly coverage of the "U.S. led NATO
bombing of Yugoslavia", and CCTV runs a very solemn
remembrance daily (most conspicuously during their
English-language news program on CCTV-4) showing pictures of
the embassy on fire, the father of one of the victims crying
while holding a bloody sheet, and clips of the arrival of
the flight carrying home the injured and the remains of the
dead. Jiang Zemin's speech following the attack has been
published and the media is carrying stories of its
bestseller status...this issue isn't going away anytime soon
in the minds and hearts of a lot of Chinese people.
No, you probably won't have any difficulties in July;
hopefully some questions will have been resolved by then.
If no, and if the media and government continue to prod NATO
and the people, then all you're likely to encounter are
people interested in your thoughts and feelings on the
matter. Probably the main reason Lea's parents (post
#1) arent having any trouble is that it's the U.S., not
other NATO countries, that's playing the heavy (i.e. see the
"U.S. led NATO bombing..." above); it's easy to tell if
you're about to get questioned because often the question
will begin, "Excuse me, are you from America?" Right now,
it's pretty easy for any question-answer session to
degenrate into an accusational/confrontational-type
situation if you let it.
Having said all that, it's hard to precisely say what the
climate will be like in July (again, hopefully, some closure
will have been achieved), but overall, you certainly
shouldn't postpone your trip based on what has happened to
now.
Don't worry about post-poning your trip. Things have
quieted down considerably. I am an American currently
living in Shanghai and the most common question I get is
"Why did you bomb our embassy?" (mainly from college
students) and my reply usually is "I'm from Australia."
Like Chris said before me, it's really easy to get into an
argument with someone who's looking for one, so it's just
easier to avoid the situation. We are affected because we
live here. As a tourist you may encounter no interest at
all.
Chris, what (local) time is the English language news program broadcast? Thanks
CCTV-4's English-language broadcasts air at 7 PM and 11 PM
daily in my neck of the woods. If you like your news heavy
on the relentlessly sunny economic and cooperative
forecasts, you'll love it. Better is Sunday Topics, airing
right after at 7:30 PM and 11:30 PM on Sundays, featuring
the smart, sharp, and stunning Chen Xiaowei (OK, I like
her). The program offers Ms. Chen's counterpoint to her
guests views, pushing the envelope on open debate in the
media I suppose about as far as state control allows.
I am living and teaching in China and people are saying
overwhelmingly that it is the American govt. not the
AMerican people - that American people are friends of China
(Exactly what the govt. here has been saying. There is
nothing to worry about but of course don't be belligerent
about the situation.