October 25, 2003

To 'Patriotic Fervor and National Cohesion'
by Sascha Matuszak

I posed this question to students and friends this week: Which is more important to you, China hosting the Olympics or shooting a man into space.

Most answers revolved around questions of economics, pride and China's increasing contact with and role within the international community. Virtually, all answers were given with the qualification: I have more important things to think about.

It came out even, with the Olympics running away with the "international cooperation," "involving all of the Chinese people" and "economic benefit" titles while Shenzhou 5 took "national pride" and "technological progress."

"1.3 Billion People Watched You Return Home"

read the headline of the Chengdu Evening Daily on the 17th. Giggles all around.

Nobody I asked admitted to watching much of anything concerning Shenzhou 5 except for the news briefs the day after and the commercials that now pop up inviting more "patriotic fervor and national cohesion."

Compared with the hand-wringing that proceeded the announcement that Beijing would indeed host the Olympics, Shenzhou 5 was a breeze, it blew through, made a little splash and is on its way to being forgotten.

It is nice however, to be one of three nations in the world to have launched a space shuttle and it does a lot for the self-esteem to hear things like:

"Our astronaut returned in much better condition than the American astronauts" as the Chengdu Economic Daily put it.

or

"We spent much less than $100 million and our shuttle is far superior to that of the Russians" as the Chengdu Evening claimed.

Chinese are much more sophisticated than the crude propaganda machine spun by Hu and Jiang and the layers upon layers of suits that make up the Chinese bureacracy.

Sophisticated enough to chuckle when reading lines such as these and others that spun out of the media blitz that followed the mission. Or busy and/or broke enough not to notice. As with most huge face projects that Beijing cooks up, the people express their pride in the progress of the nation, give praise to Old Deng and then resume the quest for fortune.

"China is just like that"

The word was passed down quickly from suit to suit and reporters were sent scurrying to hospitals to see if a Shenzhou had been born that day and out to my bar to ask if I would sport a "China Pride" headband for a photo. Everybody grinned sheepishly as I said "sorry."

I sat with a reporter here in Sichuan and he talked of his frustration with the memos that float down from Beijing everyday describing how certain things should be covered and with "suggestions" as to which phrases to use.

Members of the Chengdu Municipal Science and Technology Bureau were baffled when I mentioned the Galileo project that China and the EU are working on. While the papers went in-depth to cover Lt. Col. Yang Liwei's son and his thoughts and preparation for the mission, nary a word was wasted on this very important project. The Galileo project's goal is to compete with (and perhaps replace) the US-controlled GPS system. Shenzhou 5 is a high-profile trumpet out of Beijing heralding (yet again) China's resurgence. The Galileo project is the sword.

More than 4000 Sichuanese were involved in the Shenzhou 5 project (part of the Sichuan Aviation Indiustry's contribution) and many of them will be involved in the launches to come (two years or so as the crow flies) yet their colleagues back home are still in the dark about the space program.

An event that Hu and Jiang hope take the nation by storm is censored and coddled so much that people here find themsleves defending the propaganda more often than they are praising the event.

"China is just like that"

A New York Times article by Joseph Kahn on the Shenzhou 5 mission commented rather snidely on the technological prowess (or lack thereof) of the Chinese and their latent insecurity vis a vis the West. According to the leading papers, insecurity and the university diplomas of the leadership (engineering-heavy) tend to be the main factors driving the various projects and international events that China is involved in.

Both definitely have their roles to play, China today does resemble the USA of the past in many ways. But underneath all the crude propaganda and face building that goes on here, there be a billion+ a'toiling and – as the Southern Weekend pointed out in their in-depth articles on the 10,000 people that made it all happen – they are not in the slightest bit insecure.

–Sascha Matuszak

comments on this article?

Please Support Antiwar.com

Send contributions to

Antiwar.com
1200 Hamilton Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301

or Contribute Via our Secure Server
Credit Card Donation Form

Your contributions are now tax-deductible

Sascha Matuszak is a teacher living and working in China. His articles have appeared in the South China Morning Post, the Minnesota Daily, and elsewhere. His exclusive Antiwar.com column (usually) appears Fridays.

Archived columns

To 'Patriotic Fervor and National Cohesion'
10/25/03

Chinese Big Bosses Rule – with the Backing of Beijing
10/11/03

Mao Exonerated – by Chinese Capitalism
9/20/03

Let's Hope Nobody Calls the US's Bluff
9/6/03

The Best Possible Course for North Korea
8/30/03

Crouching China, Paper Tiger
8/16/03

Adjust or Fall
8/2/03

Americans Are Crazy
7/12/03

Democracy with Chinese Characteristics
6/28/03

Safe Sex in China
6/13/03

Summertime Plotting
6/6/03

A Sino-Russian Bloc?
5/30/03

Lessons of SARS
5/23/03

Powers Behind the Thrones
5/16/03

Know When to Lie, Know When to Shoot Straight
5/3/03

Rumors and Leavetakings
4/18/03

'Americans Like War, Huh?'
4/11/03

A Beautiful Morning for a War
3/21/03

Soft Power Moves Abroad
3/15/03

The Safest Place in the World
3/1/03

A Curious Absence
2/22/03

Sliding off the Fence
2/14/03

Villages in Transition
2/7/03

Smiles and Nods and Handouts
1/31/03

China: Straddling the Fence Just Right
1/17/03

Don't Count on China
1/10/03

Merry Christmas from China
12/27/02

Don't Believe the Hype
12/20/02

Crackdown!
12/6/02

The Incoming Hu Era
11/22/02

Jiang's Theory Is a Smokescreen
11/15/02

The Last Emperor
11/8/02

'We Make You Play Bad Card'
10/25/02

The Future of East-West Rapprochement
10/16/02

Lamenting Funk Street
10/4/02

Tiananmen's Legacy: The Forgotten Rebellion
9/21/02

Deciphering the Chinese Smile
9/13/02

Why China Can Disregard US Anger
9/7/02

Arming the World: What the US Fears
8/30/02

What Taiwanese Fear
8/23/02

What Military Might?
7/26/02

Protection
7/10/02

Ties That Bind
6/21/02

Tight Spot
6/6/02

Fake Friendships
3/28/02

1.3 Billion Problems For China
3/8/02

China's New Post-9/11 Status
2/21/02

Soybeans
2/1/02

Patriotism
1/25/02

Room for Growth
1/19/02

No Peacemaker
1/11/02

Back in the USA
1/4/02

Missing the Boat?
12/14/01

Sweep 'Em Off the Streets
12/7/01

Chinese Embrace Progress
11/30/01

Risk and Promise
11/9/01

Standing Aloof?
11/5/01

China's Afghan Agenda
10/26/01

New War May Reveal New Superpower, Part II
10/9/01

New War May Reveal New Superpower
10/3/01

A Chance for a New Friendship?
9/25/01

Watching the Disaster
9/18/01

Cheating as a Way of Life
9/11/01

China's Internet Generation
9/4/01

China's Expansionism
8/28/01

Free Markets or Supermarkets
8/14/01

Trailblazing
8/7/01

Too Much Face
7/27/01

Olympic Pie
7/19/01

Culture of Pollution
7/10/01

Sailing Towards World Significance
7/3/01

China's Youth Revolution
6/19/01

China on the Road to Capitalism
6/5/01

An American in China
5/15/01

On the Street in China: A Report
4/13/01


Back to Antiwar.com Home Page | Contact Us