More than twenty years ago I traveled to China for work, meeting with government officials and business leaders. I was struck by the fierce nationalism - in a way that made Germans and Americans look, frankly, wimpy. The clear message, "Say what you will and do what you want with your little policies, but we've been around a billion years and there are a billion of us, and we're not going anywhere."
Yesterday, that fierce intent of the Chinese to dominate was once again on my radar. The morning Washington Post had an ad for the state-run newspaper, China Daily, encouraging me to download it on my Kindle. Heading into the Metro station, I noticed a newspaper box with copies of China Daily.
Then, on a visit to a prominent U.S. education association, what to my surprise do I see on the coffee table in their lobby? China Daily! Really?
Truth is, other that that one-time visit, I haven't invested much time in learning about this country. I don't recall any of my K-12 education addressing Chinese history or current affairs. At Duke I learned about all the Kissinger and Nixon stuff, five year plans and how they reversed the direction of a major river, which sort of freaked me out. Lately I've become aware that they are investing heavily in solar energy. I follow the ocassional state visits between our nation's leaders. But that's about it for my in-depth knowledge.
I'd prefer to not start reading China Daily, but I'm starting to think that given it seems to be everywhere I am, I should.
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