Anti-China round up

With the Olympics underway, it's interesting to note some of the recent anti-China commentary by people who refuse to be taken in by a good opening ceremony. (Well, I assume it was good.)

First, Nick Cohen rips into China as being an environmental disaster zone (my words, not his), and yet his ability to annoy Guardian readers still means that many in the comments section have rushed to criticise him.

Next, a Tory (Edward McMillan-Scott) also writes in The Guardian reminding us of China's human rights abuses, and in particular the unresolved matter of whether Falun Gong members are (or were) the subject of organ harvesting. (I mentioned this allegation, which is believed by some quite credible sounding Canadian investigators, 2 years ago on this blog, noting then that it was a topic which seems to attract little attention in the West. Nothing much has changed, it would seem). Of course, the fact that a Tory should write about human rights is just too much for some Guardian readers, and there is one amusing comment to the effect that because Conservatives supported Pinochet, they have no right complaining about China!

Thirdly, Mark Mardue in The Age complains that business interests are only too willing to support the China government and its abuses. He also believes that it is by no means clear that the current crop of young adults will have reforming zeal:

Brought up in a post-Mao era and a system that blanketed out events like Tiananmen Square, talk of such historical moments is as tiresome and vague to them as Woodstock and Altamont are to Western youth. Indeed, young Chinese regard Tiananmen as the ultimate in sentimental Western fantasies, a cliche we hook ourselves on to slight their country's ascendancy.

It's unclear how much the Government will be able to ride the nationalist fervour of this new generation, and how much it has the potential of creating instability even for it.

I don't know. I think instability is still pretty likely.