Re: [Swprograms] CCTV International CCTV-9

[Joe Buch <joseph.buch@xxxxxxx>]

At 05:42 PM 10/1/04 -0400, Maryanne Kehoe wrote:
>
>My point being, is we can *not* trust the Chinese.....period. Ever since
>the Communists took over the mainland, every successive US President has
>tried and tried to get the government over there to open up to no avail.

Maryanne,

I think you overstate your case.  Much progress has been made.  You may not be old enough to remember Radio Peking from the pre-Nixon-visit days (1972).  I think many would agree that the China of today is still not what we in the West would consider an open society.  Today's China is, however, light years ahead of the country I remember listening to on Radio Peking in the 1960's.  Radio Peking would never have allowed its reporters to operate a Washington, DC office or send representatives to a convention of potential CRI listeners in Kulpsville, PA for example.

China is moving quickly to become an economic power.  They are today the fourth largest exporter in the world, and the third largest importer.  With that much international trade going on, there is no way that the government is going to restrict the flow of information or ideas across its borders.  There is just too much outside person-to-person contact these at least among their business, technology, and academic classes.  China recently announced they will now permit ordinary Chinese citizens to travel to most countries of Europe.  Travel agents in Shanghai are scrambling to organize tour groups.  With every contact our societies grow closer together.  CCTV-9 will serve that convergence.

Our differences are still many.  Their approach to contract law leads to people in the Western World believing, as you do, that the Chinese cannot be trusted.  Doing business with China requires us to understand how their contract law operates for example.  If the Chinese sign a contract, they believe thay have a right to abrogate that contract when the conditions that existed at the time the contract was signed have changed.  That is just one example of the kinds of things we need to know about the Chinese in order to deal with them both in business and international affairs.  Bridging such gaps in our basic understanding of each other must happen as the world grows smaller if we are to peacefully negotite our differences.  CCTV-9 will help make that happen.

To censor CCTV-9 is not only dangerous because it would justify Chinese retaliation, it is counter productive.  We should be applauding anything that makes the people of the USA more aware of the world we all live in instead of the world we think we can bully and dominate.  Some day average high school graduates in this country might even be able to find China on a map as a result of exposure to such a channel as CCTV-9.

Chinese society has existed for thousands of years.  Because of this long history, their time scale is not the same as ours when it comes to change.  Look how long they waited to peacefully absorb Hong Kong and Macao back into the fold.  Their attitude toward open reporting will slowly come around on their time scale, not ours.  Be patient and be open to anything that will hasten the convergence of our two economic and political worlds.

Respectfully,

Joe Buch


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