英国卫报报道原文如下(节选北京部分):
Beijing: 'America is going down while China is rising up'
Rao Jin has a soft spot for Barack Obama; he's drawn to his friendly face as well as admiring his personal achievements. But the hero of young Chinese nationalists stops well short of an endorsement.
"I hope the next president can really change the way the US deals with things, always using weapons or economic sanctions," says the 24-year-old founder of anti-CNN.com. "The election has been a hot topic on our site. [But] one individual can't change much. Both Obama and McCain are standing for certain interest groups, and both of them will serve for America's benefit."
Rao's website became a rallying point for fenqing ("angry youth") after the international storm over Tibet this year. He says it is not nationalist; merely a counterweight to western media bias and hegemony.
For many in China, the US epitomises Occidental aggression and hypocrisy: preaching free trade but practising protectionism; idealising democracy while allowing vast donations; using human rights to justify invading Iraq.
Some hope that Obama's mixed parentage and peripatetic childhood have made him more sympathetic to other cultures. He's popular among the young and there's fascination at the prospect of a black president - and what that would say about US tolerance of differences.
But younger people are not counting on America to change itself. Many see the end of its global dominance as inevitable, given China's growing economic and international power.
"America is going down, while China is rising up," said Rao.
Hu Ben, erstwhile Chinese subtitler for The West Wing and international editor for a major portal, added: "A lot of young people still think America is our enemy. They're quite happy with the sub-prime crisis - they think this is China's chance."
Officials and analysts also seem relaxed about the election result. The "China card" has been waved less often in this race than previous campaigns. They sense an emerging, broadly optimistic bipartisan consensus on Sino-US relations. John McCain appears more hawkish on security issues and relations with Taiwan, but Obama seems tougher on trade, Tibet, human rights and environmental protection.
"There will be differences on detailed issues, but the big picture won't change whoever wins," predicted Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University.
Tania Branigan |