The rise of nationalism in China

In an era where almost all issues of global concern cannot be solved without international cooperation, what we see, however is a diminishing prospect of having multiple powers come together to agree on a common course of action. As the wealth gap between the west and the rest of the world converges, a relative decline in American power has weakened its world leadership. Too many powers are now eager to have their voices heard - China, India, Brazil to name a few and some powerful international institutions also want their say in world affairs. It is becoming visibly difficult to accommodate everyone. Most notably in the climate change conference last December in Copenhagen, the divide between emerging and industrialized countries is anything but bridgeable. In light of the economic crisis of which China has emerged relatively unscratched, the western media is especially alarmed by the spoiling role that China has played resulting in the failure to reach any meaningful deal.

As the economic center of gravity shifts from the west to the rest of the world, what accompanies the rise of fortune in the emerging countries is the rise of nationalism. We tend to think of nationalism as a backward ideology that can be eliminated by modernity. The handy examples are Germany and Japan - both evolve from being an aggressive hostile power to become democratic cooperative members of the world order. But they might just be unique examples because of their roles in the war; To avoid becoming pariahs, they succumb to United States as two silent countries, a non-factor in most international issues.

In China's case, it is quite different. Economically deprived from the 2nd world war and the cultural revolution, China has its disheartening aspects of the history that this rising power is eager to shrug off. The desire for international recognition as a world power is stronger than ever. And the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression proofs to be just the perfect opportunity for China to flex its muscles. Not only is China one of the first countries to emerge out from the crisis, it is now seen as the world economic engine that helps other countries to come out from their recession. From the unusually harsh sentence on its political dissidents to the strong denouncement of the United States' decision to sell military arm to Taiwan (which is anything but surprising), what we see is China's new assertiveness in facing up pressure from the West. Among the Chinese locals as well, this sense of the rise of national pride is also strong. The eye-popping Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing is nothing but a cultural and economic extravaganza that conveys one single message, "The Chinese is here".

This rise of nationalism can be dangerous if mistreated. We all know too well that dictators rise above in such situations through the manipulation of people's patriotism. Too easily it becomes us VS the rest of the world when in today's globalized economy it's really cooperation or destruction. Another fear is that the media will intensify its self-censorship, dangerously brewing a kind of new McCarthyism. In Hong Kong where citizens enjoy high degree of freedom in speech, it might become (or has already?) very easy for one to be branded as "unpatriotic" when his/her view disagrees with the party's direction and politics. As China's stock continues to rise, we should play our part as responsible world citizens. The power and influence due to a giant comes with responsibility also.

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