National successes shouldn't stop race against time
- Source: Global Times
- [22:02 October 11 2009]
- Comments
By Tian Wei
It has been so fascinating to be a Chinese this autumn with exciting news everywhere.
The country just held one of the most stunning National Day celebrations in its history. Cameras and microphones from all over the world were trying hard to get sights and sounds from Tiananmen Square.
Not long after that, a so-called media Olympics was held in Beijing with 130 media representatives from 70 countries and regions meeting to discuss many key issues in the media industry. Almost all of the top names were present, ranging from Rupert Murdoch to Google.
Just to add to the experience, the China Open has become a crucial event for the world tennis with legendary names rushing to China to compete. Peng Shuai from the Chinese mainland and Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei even managed to claim the women's doubles title, a remarkable achievement for a country that has only been playing tennis seriously for two decades.
If those are not enough, there are also a series of diplomatic events taking place or about to take place with China at the center.
Regionally, right after Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to North Korea in early October, the three-way summit between China, Japan and South Korea took place in Beijing, focusing on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and regional integration and even the possibility of an East Asia Community. Altogether, the three nations account for more than 15 percent of the world's GDP.
Across the Pacifi c, the White House announced that President Barack Obama is about to visit China during his Asia tour. He will stay in China longer than in any other country on this trip.
Even when an event unrelated to China took place, for example, when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, US commentators rushed to say that Obama, in order to show that he can deliver the result of being the world leader for peace, will have to resolve a host of challenges for which China could be a big help. All of the above-mentioned, however, is only in addition to the already well-known achievements China has had: managing to feed the world's biggest population, keeping a relatively stable GDP growth even amid financial crisis, and growing to be one of the world's biggest exporters while maintaining the world's largest foreign exchange reserve.
It is wonderful to be a Chinese today because China is getting to be a place the world can look up to when it comes to its economic and even diplomatic power.
However, the question many find worth asking is still: is China good enough?
That is a naïve question, many would say. No nation in the world can claim to be good enough. China is no exception. Yet a certain self-satisfaction is growing which may threaten China's growth in the future.
If you ask anyone who spent their youthful days in China in the 1950s, they could easily hum for you a tune called "We Are Racing Against Time," one of the most popular songs for young people then. As at the time, the whole country realized that it was extremely important to catch up with the rest of the world after more than 100 years of wars and struggles in China.
The urgency for development was once again strong after the Cultural Revolution (1966 – 76).
Almost everyone was thinking about how to make up for the losses incurred during the10 years of political chaos. They were curious about how good others already were in every field and what China could learn, be it science and technology, education, agriculture, industry and even democracy.
How have things changed today? For one, China has already become relatively better than before, better than almost anytime in its history.
Are the Chinese still going to have the urgency to make progress? China is also already making tremendous progress in many fields, with its economy as the most obvious place. While people are somewhat enjoying their material life, are they still going to push for positive changes in fields which might be much more difficult and painful?
Finally, with a functional system after decades of reform, will there still be strong determination to improve further though that would lead to fierce debate and even resistance?
It is wonderful to be a Chinese today – one can enjoy the country's tremendous achievement today, and one can even strive to make a difference for the country's future.
Tian Wei is the host of “Dialogue” on CCTV's English Channel, and the main anchor of CCTV's special coverage of important domestic and international events. Previously, Tian worked in Washington D.C. as a correspondent, and covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her blog is http://blog.cctv.com/html/09/960109.html. Reach her at tianwei.gt@gmail.com
