Question of the Day | 04/21/2008 12:00 am

It's been 19 years since the protests in Tiananmen Square. What do you think about China today?

Read more about: China, Tiananmen Square

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Lin Si, Thank you for being completely open in your comments! Although I may not be in agreement with you regarding China’s government; I do respect your voice! China does in deed have a marvelous history with which the rest of the world has at one time or another expressed great admiration. In today’s world, it has become acceptable to criticize other cultures and practices because those practices do not fit neatly in our own societies. I do not hate the Chinese Culture, I admire it’s extensive history and cultural contributions. However, I find that all human beings should be able to fully express themselves without retribution from their government.

By Linda Clark on 04/21/2008 11:00 am

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Lin si, welcome to Wowowow! You never know how much change your voice may bring about. You are absolutely right! We all want to see our own country be strong and beautiful. And from the looks of things, many Americans don’t exactly feel that way about their own country right now. It’s probably more human nature than politics that makes us want to blame it on some other nation. I hope you’ll keep posting on this sight, keep our perspective balanced. Women around the world can make sense of nonsense if we talk.

By Ms. Dee on 04/21/2008 11:23 am

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Lin Si, please know that many people in United States are taking effort to learn what we can about the world. When we are honest, we understand the difficulties in effecting change in China with the government because we have few ways to change the behavior of our own government. Please do not give up on providing us with the understanding that comes from your opinions. All best, MP

By Mugsy Peabody on 04/21/2008 12:36 pm

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Lin Se, nice to meet you. I like your passion about your country, and I have learned many things from you. Your English is very good. Keep up the good work. I look at your country and marvel at what hard working people have done in such a short period of time. It is true, you should be proud, because there is so much the people have done to grow China out of the past. Much of what we know from the Cultural Revolution is what we read from Chinese who escaped at that time, and it is deep in our memory. I have studied China, I majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California in the early 1970’s. Mandarin was the dialect I studied. I have not kept it up as well as I should have, but am practicing again. China had just opened up and our nation was happy about that. I think our concern is that there is not much news coming out of China from the people. It is mostly about business and the rapid growth of your military. Unless someone has the opportunity to go to China, they can’t totally see what you are talking about. If you want us to learn more about China then tell us what it is like.

By Frannie Em on 04/21/2008 3:22 pm

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lin si—- it is so nice to hear from you in WOWOWOW.—- IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SITE! BECAUSE IT IS A SITE WITH THE MOST INTELLIGENT WOMEN GATHER TOGETHER AND EXPRESS THEIR INSIGHT ABOUT ALMOST ANY SUBJECT! WITH BRAVERY AND WITH TREMENDOUS DEPTH! I am a Chinese-American and have three lovely Chinese-Irish-American grand children. I was five When the Japanese invaded Hong Kong. When one young Japanese wrote and apologizesd to me in YouTube about the Rape of Nanking last week, I broke into tears. I said there is hope for humanity! But the sun also rises, every day is news as the world is getting more and more complicated! And, in my opinion, the world is heading to the end with the possibility, never before in history, that the nuclear weapons are every where. Any body can push the button to kill the enemy and himself—— no winners! The days of anyone felt at will to cut a peice out of “the Chinese sleeping lion”are gone, because China also has nuclear weapons too!…. One final word: Tibet is one of the provinces of China. I do not think the White House would appreciate if Berlin would comment that if the governor of California ever decided to be separated from the U.S.A.! After all, California is part of the U.S.A.!——dancewu(dot)net

By GEORGE WU, A.I.A. on 04/21/2008 4:16 pm

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In YouTube “Rape of Nanking”, I asked a question,” If the Chinese already had the Nuclear Weapons in 1930, would the Japanese still invade China in 1931, and Nanking in 1937 ?” My point is: Whenever we asked a question “What do you think about China today?” I always respond to this kind of question by ” A weak nation never has a foreign policy!” Now, can I give you my answer this way ——-“China is doing very well today. Thank you.”—— dancewu(dot)net

By GEORGE WU, A.I.A. on 04/21/2008 5:18 pm

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Lin Si, Welcome! You do have the gift of communication. We all should learn a lot more about each other. I enjoy reading about what you have to say. Please, keep on talking to us.

By Frau Quink on 04/21/2008 5:10 pm

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China is, on so many levels, just like the united states of amerika. They are in their industrial age, and the US has moved on to something different. I, like several others here, am more concerned with the amount of money the Chinese invest in amerika and it’s debt. I won’t go to China because of the repression and because of Tibet. I try to buy US made goods whenever possible. In as much as there has been change, China is still the same. Even if you don’t see Little Red Books, or people in those dreadful uniforms, repression is alive and well. When it comes to China, the skin of the orange might make taking a taste seem like a good thing, but the fruit of the flesh is still bitter.

By Jai Carney on 04/21/2008 10:46 am

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ooh! Jai. Loved that comment.

By Ms. Dee on 04/21/2008 11:13 am

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Yes, it is true, the industrial age leads to great advances and great destruction. Just look what the British did to the world during their industrial age. The world has certainly not recovered from that.

By Mugsy Peabody on 04/22/2008 1:12 am

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From Ian Buruma’s article in the New Yorker: “…the prickly nationalism of many Chinese may have less to do with their newfound prosperity than with China’s fraught combination of political autocracy and economic liberalism: nationalism and economic boosterism are all the autocrats have at their disposal to try and legitimatize their continuing monopoly on power.”

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 04/21/2008 10:47 am

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Great topic. Enjoyed reading comments. Sister-in-law from Shanghai—got physics masters in US, married a week after T. Square to brother-in-law and has two teenagers now. My daughter is learning Mandarin Chinese. Spent month in Shenyang college two summers ago and has job during Olympics in Bejjing. From what I hear and read: China, Chinese issues and the Chinese people are ALL of the Above comments at same time——complicated with many facets(pollution, huge industry growth,government control )———since Nixon, since T. Square, since Wal Mart, China is opening up and friendly to the US. Right now, that is. If those voices in power currently, are embarrassed as a result of US actions; there will be a change of government officials that will be negative to the US. The best thing that can come from the Olympics is DIPLOMACY. Truly. Being able to continue to talk. Let’s not suggest any path that takes us from diplomacy.

By Dorothy S on 04/21/2008 10:52 am

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Well, the Chinese were our allies in WWII. Gave our boys safe haven for retreat or escape. But Red China is still Red. PR is just that. They feel perfectly entitled to inflict cruelty on their own populace. What I didn’t know until this morning is that Rupert Murdoch married an Asian woman (1999). I guess I shouldn’t assume she’s Chinese, since Joan didn’t exactly say that. But if so, that explains a lot. Thank you, once again Ms. Buck. Another thing, my neice has been studying Mandarin since elementary school. I don’t know if it’s a standard course in the New Jersey school curriculum, but she’s fairly fluent at this point. If the vision is global community, learning the language is a good first tool for building it. If the goal is global domination, well, we’ve bred a few interpreters. We take on Iran, we take on China. We better learn to look at common threads (art, music, architecture) that can weave our world together. Maybe global disintegration will wake people up.

By Ms. Dee on 04/21/2008 11:06 am

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I pay more attention to “WOWWOW” since it was open. HOWEVER it is my first time to join in for this special comment. And I found there are too many misunderstandings in CHINA and CHINESE. That lets me believing that I and other CHINESE have the responsibility to spread our culture and thinkings. I am NEVER as PROUD as today that I found I can use English to express my ideas! Thanks Ms. Dee and The Ole Crone The Ole Crone very much, thank you for you could listen to a CHINESE carefully!

By lin si on 04/21/2008 12:06 pm

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Lin Si and Jai Carney, Nei How. Wonderful you were able to find your way to us here in the U.S.A. Your words and your thoughts are appreciated. Your efforts to communicate in our language is as precious as a golden peach. Please keep visiting. We want to hear from women all over the world! Maybe myths can be dissolved! Si si (spelling? Thank you?)

By The Ole Crone The Ole Crone on 04/21/2008 11:31 am