The imperfect art of China bashing

I went to see the movie The Campaign recently and found that a good part of the movie made a villain out of Chinese businesses. I enjoyed the movie, it focused on making fun of people such as senators and lobbyists, who in their depravity made the evil Chinese businessmen look almost decent, but I don't know how many of my countrymen will enjoy it. Yet then on second thoughts that doesn't really matter, as the movie will not be released in the Chinese market anyway. The US movies targeting the Chinese market, such as Kung Fu Panda, and 2012, all cast China in a positive light to please potential Chinese audiences.

I occasionally feel flattered that people bash China based on the assumption that it is a threat, the way the former Soviet Union was perceived as a threat by the West during the Cold War. But are we really such a threat? China faces too many domestic challenges to pose a threat in the near term.

While living in the US, I have encountered organizations and people who bash China in all sorts of ways. There was a bookstore in upstate New York that poked fun at Confucius in their advertisements, and an Amish furniture store in West Virginia promoted their products as superior to "Made-in-China" products. All sorts of political candidates huff and puff about how they will stand up to China whenever they want public support.

All these China bashers have one thing in common: They are trying to sell something, be it books, furniture, or some political credibility.

But if people insist on bashing China they should bear a few things in mind.

First, do not make fun of people like Confucius. Confucius and his family are held in high esteem in China, and people don't like them getting a bad press even today. By the way, Confucius does not use awkward sentence patterns like "He who". Bad translators write that for fortune cookies and rotten movies.

Second, try to bash realities, not straw men. In The Campaign there are images of large numbers of child workers toiling away in Chinese factories. But child labor is an exception rather than the rule. Earlier this year, the influential radio show This American Life retracted its Jan 6 program titled Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory because its allegations about child labor in China turned out to be fabrications. Most Chinese children are from single-child families. It would make you a better China basher to poke fun at the little princes and princesses who do not do any work.

Third, if you are a politician wanting to score political points by bashing China, remember that you operate differently from comedians, who can get away saying all sorts of things to be funny. When Mitt Romney declared, "China stole our jobs", it was neither funny nor true. "Stealing" is a strong word, and it does not apply to scenarios in which companies have voluntarily moved their production to China due to business considerations, such as lower costs and higher productivity.

Bashing China to gain business or votes is understandable, but those who try it are likely to shoot themselves in the foot.

Few people in history leave a legacy by defining themselves simply by what they are against, rather than what they are for. People remember Martin Luther King Jr for the dreams he had, not because he was against social inequality. One does not become a better American by attacking China, and vice versa.

The author is a US-based instructional designer, literary translator and columnist writing on cross-cultural issues.

(China Daily 11/27/2012 page8)