The brutality of Tiananmen square and Tibet crackdown, these are some of the negative incidents that people cite whenever they think of China. However, during the recent Sichuan earthquake, the Chinese Government and the people proved to the entire world that they are more compassionate than how others perceived them to be. I found this article in TIME Magazine (June 23, 2008 issue) and I think that the author had effectively provided insights to the dynamism of the Chinese's collectivist culture.As mentioned by the author, the Chinese people had captured the true essence of the human spirit during these difficult times.
During this period of time, the whole world had seen how effectively the rescue teams worked, how the Chinese pull themselves together to ensure that those trapped beneath the rubble will have a chance to see their loved ones again.
As compared to the Individualistic culture in the West, I believed that China's collectivist culture is far more effective when it comes to handling nation wide disasters such as this. The fact that the Chinese are highly dependent on each other will ensure that they are more ready to work together and willing to make sacrifices for the well being of each other. This is the time when mutual sympathy comes into play - Funds raised and pouring in from all over the country!
During this period of time, the whole world had seen how effectively the rescue teams worked, how the Chinese pull themselves together to ensure that those trapped beneath the rubble will have a chance to see their loved ones again.
As compared to the Individualistic culture in the West, I believed that China's collectivist culture is far more effective when it comes to handling nation wide disasters such as this. The fact that the Chinese are highly dependent on each other will ensure that they are more ready to work together and willing to make sacrifices for the well being of each other. This is the time when mutual sympathy comes into play - Funds raised and pouring in from all over the country!
Premier Wen Jia Bao visited disaster site in Sichuan.
What about propaganda? I believe that a good dosage of propaganda messages to give a little push to the people's morale is not a very bad idea. I have seen before a video footage shown on TV in China when the snow storm hit them early 2008. It is a video of a policeman who had fallen sick while trying to clear the thick and heavy snow off the highways and eventually he was sent to the hospital after falling unconscious. He woke up and tried means to get back to work even though he had not fully recovered. Thus, I think that the media just want to portray a sense of heroism and self sacrifice of their civil servants. This way, the people will be confident to leave things for the Government to handle. It is still healthy after all, I do not see any harm in doing so. There is no doubt that there are pros and cons in a collectivist society but we should always look at how selfish and reward-oriented the human race have became over the years. Thus, it might be good to have a culture where we are all interdependent on each other, You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
1 comment:
i believe that a small dose of propaganda can prove beneficial to a country. however, overdosage of it will make the citizens of the country lose sense of reality. thus it is important for the government to know what is the correct amount.
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