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Originally Posted by Billy
I can understand the story well. My problem is why the NYT like cast this type stories. They can report the China economy status, people life. Why do they find one bad case (for us) to misubderstand the readers. I talked with the American friends who live in China. They told me that it is very different between the American media & China reality. The American media like report the very few bad things to show China. They like China want to live here for a long time. Some western friend can speak Manderian well.
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My guess is that you mean the NY Times has 'type cast' an image of China. From my perspective, it does just the opposite. It actually humanizes Chinese country life. In many ways, it is the same story that was written in 1920s Chicago when crime bosses ruled that city and when the federal (central) government had little power to combat the corruption. It is similar to the Freedom Riders of early 1960 American South who were promised protection if they rode in a segregated bus. Instead the bus riders (black and white) and all nearby news reporters were severely beaten with baseball bats and other bone breaking weapons. An event that both confused and angered Attorney General Bobby Kennedy so much that he has to change how he thought.
Do we 'type cast' America because some 'nigger hating' southern racists, with the cooperation of both local Montgomery (city) and Alabama State Police, could beat the crap out of honest people ... and not even be prosecuted? No. Instead we published the story even on the front pages of European newspapers. It is what news is about and why honest news is so dangerous to the criminals.
The NY Times story says China is still stuggling with classic examples of new freedoms, the resulting corruption, leaders who are more interested in power than in working for the people, and a centralize government that is just too far away to help. It is a classic story told, at some point, in every nation. It does not give China a bad image. It says even China is going through what every nation must do to eventually empower its little people. These, unfortunately, are the stories we must all read about so that a country will not let its little people be subverted, intimidated, and hopelessly damned.
I see nothing disparaging about this article. Because this article exists, instead, it says even China has now become part of the world community. Some parts of China now suffer from the same few corrupt or misguided people that we all suffer from. And China is willing to let us all know who these people may be.
Don't worry about being 'politically correct'. 'PC' only leads to lies and corruption. Worry more about telling the honest truth no matter how much it hurts. In the long term, PC means more pain and corruption.
Notice that others do not see from a same perspective. If you tried to tell me that local provincial official were always honest, then I would say you are lying. Unlike others, I see this article as proof that China does have a long term, productive future. Every country has corrupt local officials. That is the imperfections of a more democratic system. An imperfection that only gets worse if we all - everywhere - don't openly discuss it. The most important image that China can project is honesty - which means even these type of stories must be told. The NY Times article also says that honest stories can now be reported in China. That is important for a positive Chinese image.