6 Comments Add your own

• 1. Steven Rodger  |  January 11th, 2007 at 12:39 am

  This PBS documentary was rather informative giving a view into the lives of people in China, providing the positive and negative factors about how Chinese citizens view their government. Additionally, the program displayed how women’s lives have been affected by the exodus of workers from the countryside to the cities and how women are still much discriminated against. Though some biases of opinions seem to be stronger than the opposing positions, the editors of this production did a decent job balancing these views.

  The program also showed how China is dominating Tibet. With a new railroad being constructed connecting this previously relatively isolated region of the world, the Tibetan officials see it as a way to bring wealth into the region. The connection also provides a chance display how China’s communist party is assisting to bring wealth and tourism into the region. Not all Tibetans seem to stand behind how their country is changing. The film portrays the people as they are being taken advantage of by the Chinese, because they are less educated and hold less political power. For example, most of the entrepreneurs and new businesses in the country are originally from China. While the Chinese may bring wealth, it seems that Tibet has will loose part of their culture as a result.

  Corruption is also highlighted in the documentary, explaining how 300,000 communist party members have been caught being fraudulent. While some fled the country, others got caught. Penalties are severe and death is not uncommon for embezzlement or other dishonest activities. I find it shocking that so many of China’s own government members have been caught in the act against their government. Why are so many government workers corrupt? Wouldn’t the fear of being killed if caught prevent this? We find out that greed is a driving factor, or simply ignorance to the Chinese. Some Chinese see the ruling class members of society as a “Gang of Elite robbing the masses.” No doubt this is true to some extent, yet we must look at the larger issue. With so much corruption will their government fail? Let’s hope not, but something more needs to be done, as without a good image of the communist party it will not be strong enough to rule the masses.

  Similar to the China rises presentation, PBS documents how some female factory workers are liberated by their factory jobs prefer this work rather than returning to their hometowns. Not only are they paid better, but they have time to form relationships and save money for a better future life. While this type of work sounds pretty miserable to most Americans, perhaps it is better than the lives these women would have lived elsewhere. On the other hand, the film shows women breaking down in tears as they are stuck in a production line and are not allowed to talk all day at work from 6am and 6pm. Could you imagine this? It is no wonder that the suicide rate of Chinese women is a bone chilling 150,000 a year. I think I would join in that statistic if I had to live that lifestyle. Despite the fact that working in factories brings Chinese people better living conditions than they would have otherwise, one still needs to wonder if these conditions are ethical…

• 2. Chris Carr  |  January 11th, 2007 at 8:14 am

  Good comments, Steve.

  I too was shocked to learn of the suicide rate among women in China, and how it’s the only country in the world where the rate of suicide among women is higher than men.

• 3. Brian McCarthy  |  January 11th, 2007 at 8:18 am

  There were many topics covered in the PBS show “China From the Inside.” I want to comment on a topic in the first section of the four part documentary, the “Power and the People” segment.

  Just prior to the PBS show, I watched the US president address the nation and explain his rationale for deploying more troops in Iraq. I watched the Presidential address, noting inconsistencies and questioning the logic behind not only the deployment of more troops, but also why we are there in the first place. The reason I mention this is as a caveat that the Presidential address may have made me sensitive to use of military power.

  As I watched the “Power and the People” segment, I found myself with similar confusion over the use of military force in China, especially in Tibet. In the past I knew a little about Tibet from attending Tibetan Freedom Festival concerts, from observing Buddhist monks and learning about their beliefs, and from a base understanding of the Dalai Lama.

  From what I saw on the show last night, I do not understand what the Chinese military is protecting against in Tibet. I saw timid farmers in the countryside. I read quotes from the Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, espousing the use of non-violent methods to obtain freedom. From what I read and saw, I see a group of peaceful people who want their freedom. Maybe there is something the public does not know, but these people do not seem to be a threat to China’s national security.

• 4. Chris Carr  |  January 11th, 2007 at 9:03 am

  I enjoyed how the show talked a lot about the regions in China of Tibet and Xinjiang.

  Most shows I have watched on China talk a bit about Tibet and the Tibet issue; almost none discuss or address Xinjiang.

  Brian raises a good point. To learn more about these regions of China I recommend that you check out a book that has a nice chapter on Tibet and Xinjiang — Ross Terrill’s “The New Chinese Empire.” In his book, he is quite hard on the elites of China, the central government and in particular the Communist party. For the most part, I found the book hard to get through and not one of the more attention grabbing books I have read on China, but I thought his Chapter 9 on Tibet and Xinjiang (”Steppe Empire”) to be very good and informative.

  Basically, he takes the position that China’s claim to these regions/provinces is a ruse and fiction, and that the Chinese who contend these regions are and have always been a part of “China” are smokin’ crack and they are trying to reinvent history.

  His Chapter 8 on Taiwan (”Maritime Empire”) also echoes a similar message, and also takes any Mainlander claim to Taiwan to task.

  These two chapters are consistent with Dr. Morris’ note during his talk that like all other countries, including the US, the Chinese are also guilty of engaging in interpreting (distorting?) history in a way that favors geopolitical interests and/or nationalistic agendas.

  Again, other than those two chapters and two others in the book, I don’t know that the book would be my first recommendation for you to check out. Having said that, I slogged through the book and did learn a few things that were helpful.

• 5. PBS web site producer  |  January 18th, 2007 at 2:27 pm

  Thanks for the positive words about our PBS series, China from the Inside. I invite you to share your perspectives in our very active discussion boards. The site also offers a series of provocative projections on China’s future authored by a range of academics and experts which you might find interesting. See: pbs.org/chinainside.

  Thank you,
  Colleen
  China from the Inside web producer

• 6. Evelyn Ma  |  February 24th, 2007 at 12:07 pm

  In Women of the Country, I was shocked to see that China has one of the highest suicide rates for women in the world. However, with the following mentality, I can begin to understand the reason behind this statistic: “There’s a saying among men, ‘Marrying a woman is like buying a horse: I can ride you and beat you whenever I like.’” This statistic represented to me the injustice that women in China still face. In general, baby girls are unwanted and serve more as a burden than an asset to a family. Even though China set laws against aborting or abandoning baby girls, the financial hardships many Chinese families face lead them to this action.

  Another topic that this documentary showed was the lack of power women had, especially in the Muslim community. PBS showed a world where little girls coudn’t even walk outside their own home, and a place where grown, married women couldn’t speak their minds. There was a time when a woman was speaking to a group of Muslim women, trying to convince them to work. The women, with their husbands watching them closely, denied this suggestion and criticized it’s logic. They stated how they didn’t need to work and how they were happy with the way their lives were. Once their husbands were told to leave the area so they could not listen, the group of women’s perspectives changed 180 degrees. They stated how working would help them bring more to their family. They would be able to buy books and school supplies for their children, and give themselves a better life. However, they aknowledged that their husbands were an opposing factor to this change, and stated the difficulty they would face if they did pursue this activity.

  A final area that struck my attention was when women who worked in factories were interviewed. Americans would never work in the conditions that these women work: the long work days, the no-speaking rule, the low pay. However, take it from the perspective of a Chinese woman, especially from a poor rural home, and the conditions are completely different. One of the women interviewed stated how the work was long, hard, and boring, but the benefits outweighed the costs. She was able to make money, join a performance group, and even find love. These were benefits she would never have seen if she stayed in her home village.

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