经济合作伙伴同样不能拯救中国。外国不会因为经济原因和中国成为朋友，就像你不会和你家旁边杂货店的收银员成为朋友是一个道理。的确，发展中国家今天可能为了分得中国经济的一杯羹而支持中国，甚至其他的超级大国们也无法忽视中国，但这只是做生意的需要。虽然生意关系在中国经常意味着友好的关系，在国外却经常不是这样的。这都是经济；中国不会因为夸耀自己的经济力量而被喜爱。
即使那种可能是存在的，中国的地位也使中国不可能那么做。不管他们的抱怨是否公平，越来越多的外国公司高管抱怨说外国公司在中国市场上受到了不公平待遇，而且政府在给本地公司不公平的优势。这种处理问题的方式当然不会为中国在海外赢得很多朋友。
而一个由虽然微笑但“依然默默承受着过去贫穷的记忆以及因此而带来的耻辱”的明星组成的，向世界展示着一个经过漂白了的中国形象的商业广告也不会对中国的形象有所帮助。全世界都知道中国不是一个完美的地方，因此试图将它展示成完美的，并且掩盖那些缺点的行为只会被认为是不诚实的。
虽说对存在的缺点更诚实会让人们愈加喜欢中国的说法似乎听起来有些矛盾，但这也是道理所在。在人际关系中，那些把自己展现成完美无缺的人是不受欢迎的；他们被称作傲慢的人，而且在背后被人取笑。当这些人失败的时候，那些看热闹的旁人会感到高兴。而中国现在就处在这种情况之中。外国人嘲笑新华社和其他国内的媒体。不是因为工作在那里的人不优秀，他们是优秀的，而是因为那些加在他们身上的限制，什么能说，什么不能说的限制实在是太大了。他们不可以诚实，因为那是不允许的。结果就是，当世界看他们的时候，带着的是猜疑，而不是喜爱。
回到人际关系的比喻中，谦虚的，自贬的人一般是很容易找到朋友的。人们更愿意信任一个不把自己装做是完美的人。那为什么根据BBC今年四月的一个调查，一个现在正在进行不止一场，而是两场在外国土地上不受欢迎的战争的美国，在国际上依然比中国更受欢迎。我觉得，一个原因是，在美国，信息的流入和流出是相对自由的，这使得它的政府看上去相对来说更诚实，即使它本身也有相当多的缺陷。
当然，承认一个人的错误，不等于宣扬这些错误。举例来说，没人会建议中国购买外国电视的广告时间，然后做一个关于中国煤矿如何危险的广告。但是，更多的诚实将会是一个良好的开端。
如果中国不能通过一个更诚实的国内媒体吸引其他国家，那这将清楚的表明相对外国人是否喜欢中国这个事情，中国政府还有更重要的问题去解决。如果中国希望被喜爱，那它就需要更诚实的面对自己的缺点，而且要认真的解决那些问题。
如果中国不这么做，它可以继续增强自己的实力和勉强获得的尊重。但是中国不会因此被喜欢。而且几乎毫无疑问的，它会得到更多的敌人。
【原文】
A few days ago, the Global Times ran an opinion piece called “How can we make the world like us?”That’s an interesting question, and one that China seems to be asking a lot these days. The government has put a lot of money into expanding their media outlets with the hope of gaining global acceptance, and recently announced a plan to create a short film and accompanying thirty-second commercial that will run on TV in various foreign countries. The commercial will feature a fifty Chinese celebrities.
Wednesday’s opinion piece praises this as a big step forward over China’s previous attempts to rebuild its image, which mostly invovled news stories about economic progress. But actually, I think the opposite is true. News stories about China’s economic growth – which were based in undeniable and clearly evident facts – were a remarkably successful way of changing people’s perceptions of China’s development. But neither those stories nor the commercial is going to help much in terms of making people like China. Neither is the Expo, and neither did the Olympics, really. These show a China that is powerful, yes, but not necessarily one that is likeable. So where has China gone wrong?
The original article says “the Chinese people have long regarded national strength as fundamental to winning respect and affection from the rest of the world. Many Chinese people still swallow the bitter memories of past poverty and the humiliation associated with it.” And while strength may be instrumental in winning respect, it has nothing to do with winning affection. Some strong countries are liked internationally, but others are despised, and the tides turn easily. America, for example, has seen its international image go from “the promised land” to “bully imperialist” primairly because it was demonstrating its military strength. Strength does not breed affection. Too often, in fact, what it breeds is fear.
Economic partnership will not save China either. Foreign countries are no morel likely to be friends with China for econimic reasons than you are likely to be friends with the people working the cash register at your local grocery store. Sure, developing countries may toady up to China for a seat at the table, and even other superpowers can’t afford to ignore China, but that is business. And while business relationships are often also friendly relationships in China, they generally aren’t abroad. It’s all economic; China cannot win affection by flaunting economic power.
Even if that were possible, China certainly isn’t in a position to do so. Whether their complaints are fair or not, an increasing number of foreign CEOs are complaining that foreign companies aren’t treated fairly in the Chinese market and that the government gives unfair advantages to local companies. That kind of approach certainly isn’t going to win China many friends abroad.
Neither is a commerical full of smiling celebrities who quietly “swallow the bitter memories of past poverty and humilation” while presenting a whitewashed image of China to the world. The world knows that China is not a perfect place, so presenting it as one and trying to cover up all of its flaws comes off as dishonest.It might seem paradoxical that being more honest about flaws will make people more likely to like China, but it makes sense. In interpersonal relationships, people who present themselves publicly as perfect are disliked; they are called arrogant and mocked behind their backs. When they fail, bystanders rejoice. This is essentially what is happening to China now. Foreigners laugh at Xinhua and other domestic media outlets. This isn’t because the people working there aren’t talented – they are – but the limits placed on what they can and cannot say are too great. They are not allowed to be honest. And as a result, the world sees them with suspicion rather than affection.
Returning to the metaphor of interpersonal relations, humble, self-deprecating people generally have little trouble finding friends. People are more likely to trust someone who doesn’t pretend he’s perfect. Why is the US, which is currenly engaged in not one but two unpopular wars on foreign soil, still more popular internationally than China according to a BBC World Service poll from April of this year? I suspect one of the reasons is that the relatively free flow of information into and out of America makes its government seem comparatively honest, even if it is also deeply flawed.
Of course, there’s a difference between admitting one’s faults and advertising them. No one would recommend that China purchase airtime in foreign countries and then run an advertisement about how dangerous Chinese coal mines are, for example. But more honesty would be a good first step.
And if China can’t attract foreign countries by being more honest in its media output, then that’s a clear sign that the government has more important problems to attend to than whether or not foreigners like China. If China wants to be liked, it needs to get honest about its flaws and serious about fixing them.
If it doesn’t it may continue to gain strength and a grudging respect. But it wont gain affection. And it will, almost certainly, gain enemies.
狗仔卡
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千斤顶
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发表于 2010-8-15 03:17
