China needs to take moral lead

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 10/24/2007 4:17 PM  |  Opinion

Iyan Nurmansyah, Sussex, UK

Beijing has strongly protested the award of the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama. President Bush however defended the decision saying the Dalai Lama deserves the award since he is a ""universal symbol of peace and tolerance"". For China, meanwhile, the Dalai Lama is no more than a troublemaker who undermines Chinese sovereignty.

This event is interesting as it coincides with the 17th congress of China's Communist Party. The political stance expressed by the Chinese leaders at the congress is important, not only for the Chinese, but for all of us.

The West is particularly concerned with China's reluctance to embrace Western-style democracy. As quoted by Michael Bristow of BBC News, Communist congress spokesman Li Dongsheng has said China will never adopt Western political norms and values, domestically or internationally.

The statement is fair enough, since it is true that every nation has a right to choose its own path to democracy. It is also true that importing Western norms and values does not guarantee development within non-Western countries. However, there is always confusion as to where to draw the line between Western and universal values.

In an era where people can more easily communicate with each other, people from culturally different backgrounds have more opportunity to discuss comparative norms and values. Essentially, there is nothing more universal than the moral value which rejects the oppression of human beings.

Thus, when the World criticizes China for not doing enough in response to events in Myanmar, this is very normal. The same world reaction should also be expected if China continues to pursue business and energy deals in Sudan, without taking into account the horrendous human rights violations that have been going on there for years.

We shouldn't be too quick to agree with the argument that China shouldn't be ""bullied"" since the West has behaved far worse than China in the past. Indeed, European colonialism and imperialism, slavery and the catastrophic world wars are obvious examples of bad behavior; and the scars left by those monstrosities are still evident today.

However, world citizens are anxiously awaiting a country with the potential to be the leader of the future. Just because the West, in the past, employed all types of evil to gain power does not mean that other potential 21st century world leaders should take this same path.

The new world leader should fully understand the importance of social responsibility. A leader driven by a cash machine mentality is undesirable, since this kind of mentality has created many of the chronic problems in the world today.

We expect China to be more committed and show that it is serious about crucial issues such as Myanmar and Darfur. Meanwhile, concerning the award given to the Dalai Lama by the U.S., it would be wiser for China to stay ""cool"". This is in the best interests of image-conscious China, which is working hard to impress the world, particularly as it prepares to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

Recently, international media reported that China has organized several ongoing campaigns to prove to foreign visitors that the Chinese are willing to wholeheartedly embrace an international standard of ""civility"". The focus goes beyond building modern sport stadiums, transport systems, athletic villages and public parks. Most important are efforts to promote ""manners"" among the Chinese, so that foreign visitors will not be shocked by local habits.

A campaign to encourage people to stand in line is one example. Each month, on the 11th, Beijingers commemorate ""queuing day"". According to the municipal government it is one of the efforts to encourage the public to be more ""civilized"". Another ""civilizing"" campaign, involving massive amounts of money, is the campaign to curb public spitting.

Thus, if China is willing to spend millions on campaigns aimed at making China more appealing to Western visitors, I do not see why China has to be shy in promoting universal moral values with global appeal. Being more critical about events in Myanmar and Darfur would be a good start.

The writer holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the School of Social Science and Cultural Studies, University of Sussex. He can be reached at RN28@sussex.ac.uk.

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