Matthew Forney

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MundoAsia, ,

Like the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, China is looking to make a statement by winning more Summer Olympic gold medals than the United States. Both countries will doubtless honor the systems that they say produce victories — Chinese authoritarianism versus American liberty.

But China has added an interesting twist to an old cold war story. Unlike in the Soviet Union, capitalism has infiltrated nearly all aspects of Chinese life — except sports. Chinese compete like Adam Smith in the marketplace but like Vladimir Lenin in the arena.

As a result, the way Chinese experience sports is vastly different from the way that Americans do.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia,

Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.

As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.”…  Seguir leyendo »