(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-21 07:21

China should learn how to deal with situations in which it faces undeserved blame, says an article in Global Times. The following is an excerpt:

There are always some people in the international community who are quick to find fault with Chinese-made goods at one time and to attack China's human rights record at another. Right after cribbing about China's air quality, they turn to attack China's policy toward ethnic groups. No matter what China does they just keep hitting out at it.

How can we live a normal life in a world where irrational opinions on China flow thick and fast?

As world citizens, we should give an equal treatment to foreigners and our countrymen. In the age of globalization, it is hard for us to say which goods and services are meant for foreigners and which for our countrymen. Therefore, we do not need to make painstaking efforts to produce healthy green vegetables just for foreign guests. Instead, we should make realistic endeavors in the long term to offer high-quality products, services and environment for everyone in our society.

Specifically speaking, we should enable both the Chinese and foreigners breathe fresh air, eat safe food and use clean toilets. I believe, when we can make these come true, we can win over more sceptics from the international community.

Second, we do not need to be frustrated by their unfair opinions aired abroad. Rather, we try to rationally respond to such opinions.

Praises from outsiders should not make us complacent. Today, China's many successes have attracted the world's attention and won it wide acclaims from different countries. The praises make us happy but it would be harmful if the praises make us conceited. If you believe yourself to be among the top in the world just because others are praising you, you would not only incur others' jealousness but also allow the conceit to block your own progress.

To avoid this pitfall, we should be tolerant toward the criticism from other people and countries. Since the Lhasa riots and during the Olympic torch relay, we see sections of the Western media indulging in distorted reportage of events in and about China. This indicates that no matter how hard we try, there are always a handful of people in Western countries ever ready to make irresponsible remarks about China.

It is common for people to hold different opinions on the same matter. So it is normal for China, a large country marching toward progress, to face misunderstanding, distortions and malicious attacks. We must learn to survive in a situation in which we often face flaks. Just feeling frustrated by these takes us nowhere.

If the criticism is well meant, we should have an open mind to it and if necessary, accept it. As for evil attacks, we should fight them with the help of facts.

Third, we must remember that anger cannot solve a problem.

We need to learn to solve a problem with a dispassionate mind. We should realize that with the spread of economic globalization, the relations between countries could become more complicated and that different kinds of contradictions and conflicts could arise. This can often lead to misunderstanding and hostility between countries.

We must have confidence in the justice of our own positions and also in the basic justice of the international society. We should believe that time will test everything.

(China Daily 04/21/2008 page4)