The 60th Anniversary — Out of China Perspective

The more I have been traveling and speaking with companies and friends in the US, the more apparent it becomes that very little is still known about China. I don’t meant to put my 愤青 (fenqing) hat on here but yes there does seem to be a bias in the western media towards China. Whether this is a more fundamental issue with our media structures today (i.e. it bleeds it leads) or it is somehow purposeful, solid analysis and reporting of the bigger picture in China is often lacking. I found this especially true with the 60th anniversary.

The 60th anniversary was a momentous occasion for China. It was a celebration of the great strides China has made over the past 60 years. Whether you are in support of the government, apathetic, or question its legitmacy, it was a moment to reflect and celebrate the past 60 years. Yes, it was part military parade and I have read numerous articles over here Stateside that the parade was meant to be a show of force and economic might, and if you were in the US during that time, I understand how you may have gotten that impression as noted in the following from ABC News:

The highlight of the parade was undoubtedly the dazzling display of military hardware. Rows of tanks rumbled through the square, followed by more than 50 new types of weapons — all made in China — including intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear capabilities. The demonstration was punctuated by 151 planes blazing through the sky, some trailing brightly colored smoke.

But as the Atlantic’s James Fallows, who has both lived and reported extensively about China, points out,

For each regiment of goosestepping female soldiers, all exactly the same height and with skirts exactly the same length, there has been a group of Clean Energy workers, accompanying a display of wind turbines and solar panels — or a group of athletes from the Phys Ed university.

In the end, it is not too useful to debate the merits of various media perspectives as the anniversary has now come and gone. The bigger picture I have taken from this recent trip is the assumed knowledge all of us working on the ground in China have about the rest of the world’s view on China. Here at enoVate we will continue to bring the detailed and nuianced China perpectives that our clinets on the ground require but we will also take a step back every once and a while and give some more general feedback on the large issues and forces at play.

In closing, here are a few great links and an awesome video from the parade:

• National Day – The view from beida. A westerners perspective in Beijing during the 60th anniversary celebration through six local youth perspectives. Great insights and a blog to watch (thanks Joey).
• 60th Anniversary Hangover. A comparison of the 60th anniversary to the movie The Hangover. Hilarious.
• Shooting China’s 60th Anniversary Day Parade. Awesome time-lapsed video. (posted many places now but saw it first on China Music Radar)