On Tuesday 16 Jul 2002 10:34 pm, you wrote: > July 16, 2002 12:51 pm, Anne Wilson wrote: > <snip> > > > My 2p worth - > > > > I was in China last October - well after the dates in the article. We > > found the Chinese people talking much more freely than we expected about > > past and present difficulties. One guide (remember, paid by the state) > > told us that the government still only allowed foreign news channels into > > the 4* hotels, for tourists, and that they could not be received by > > locals. He went on to say that he expected that too to give way in the > > not too distant future. He confidently talked of a large proportion of > > the city dwellers having access to the internet, and said that it was > > expected that even the government would have to admit defeat on that > > score. > > > > The impression we got was that change was still painful to the > > government, who wanted it in theory but were still afraid of it, and that > > many of the people, the more educated at least, had confidence in the > > country to change at a pace that was right for them, even if they > > sometimes felt impatient. > > > > Anne > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > <opinion>The biggest problem facing any repressive government is the fact > that the human race doesn't 'tame' worth a damn. The Chinese government > (and a few others) is eventually going to have to awaken to that, and stop > trying to run their countries as though they were a "collective of > emperors." All rights and privileges for party members, and the back of the > hand to the peasants. They get only what they are given by the magnanimous > all knowing rulers. They seem to all be dinosaurs, with no clue yet that > their philosophies are never going to work no matter how they're applied. > </opinion> > > If they don't believe it perhaps they should ask the Russians. > > On the same subject; I read this morning (at The Reg I believe) that Yahoo! > caved in to the censorship demands of the Beijing government. <sigh> > > They'll cave in to anyone, won't they?
I can believe that. It goes hand-in-hand with capitalism, I guess. However, I have a strong belief that organisations are much easier to control than individuals, and that makes me optimistic. Views we heard from individuals in China make me feel that freedom of speech and thought cannot be entirely stifled. You may have to remain silent to stay out of trouble, but the thoughts have still been there. The people I'm thinking of were not foreign educated, but still had a good grasp of wider issues. China is very different from Russia. There is a vigour and drive in the people that is very interesting indeed. Anne
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