American Media Coverage of China
Since returning to the States I have noticed that American TV news talk-shows frequently mention China, and the talking heads pretty much always show that they don’t have a clue what they are talking about. Just to show the level of ignorance, one financial expert talking about Chinese monetary policy pronounced “yuan” as “u-on”. Here’s an example of some of the crap and hyperbole:
Now the evil Chinese regime is hitting us where we sleep. A new study shows that some pajamas made in China contain levels of Formaldehyde 900 percent above what is considered safe.
The discovery was made when pajamas worn by two different children in New Zealand and made in China, literally caught on fire. So, if you are wearing Chinese pajamas right now, take them off slowly before you combust spontaneously.
Tucker, I don‘t know. I know your kids wear exclusively Chinese pajamas, so this one hits home for you.
CARLSON: Not only Chinese pajamas, but Chinese pajamas made by political prisoners about to be executed so their organs can be harvested. Yes.
On the other hand, I was very much impressed when I read this article in U.S. News & World Report:
With its rapidly aging population, China must scale the global production chain faster than any country has done before. That means China, along with Asia in general, must replicate its own success story by developing markets elsewhere and eventually exporting its less-advanced industries.
This is what Europe did to North America in the 1800s, and—in turn—what America achieved in East Asia in the last half-century. Now it’s Asia’s turn to engineer globalization’s spread, and Africa, with its natural resources and cheap labor, is the next logical target.
It’s time to shelve antiquated balance-of-power strategies and end China’s free riding on our global security system. Our nations’ strategic goals coincide: globalization’s preservation and continued expansion in the face of radical extremist challenges.
All we lack—on both sides—is the next generation of visionary leaders to make this strategic alliance happen. Until then, both capitals remain trapped in myopic arguments about Taiwan, tainted products, and trade deficits.
I know there is a lot more good coverage on China out there too, mostly in print, it would seem. When I lived in China it was easy for me to just filter in the good stuff. Now that I’m in the States though and I can just turn on the TV or radio and get non-censored English language coverage on China, I’m having to diligently filter a bunch of junk out. Americans who have spent little to no time in China, however, I fear, are unwittingly being filled with all this rubbish.
Tags China, American Media
August 25, 2007 at 6:57 pm
What is so exacerbating(sp?) is that the same crap just gets recycled as though it is pearls of wisdom. But, I have to say that the writing is better than it was even just a year ago.
August 25, 2007 at 9:45 pm
It was a similar thing last time I was back in New Zealand about four and a half years ago, but judging by what I see of the NZ media online, I’d be very, very surprised if there’s been any improvement.
September 3, 2007 at 12:44 am
After your time in the capitalists’ paradise it may be hard for you to accept that China is bad, dirty and broken…but in fact China is truly bad, dirty and broken.