I watched The Tank Man when it was released in 2006. I found it fascinating then. Coming back to it after these years I was able to view it in a different light and evaluate my thoughts.

All good leaders should know that their ability to lead comes from the consent of those govern. Don’t open fire on your own people, when you do, you transition from a government to a War Lord or a Dictator. The Tank Man showed the Chinese Politburo that they were on the precipice of massive change.

Bruce Herschenshon noted that The Tank Man was the inspiration for the collapse of the Berlin Wall later that year. The Tank Man changed the world. It’s fascinating that he is up there with Hitler and Einstein as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He was one man, but in reality, during those protests, there were millions of The Tank Man (and women and children) 1 in 10 were protesting in Beijing.

It’s amazing see how Tienanmen Square mirrors the protests of Arab spring. When protests in one country spread like pollen in the wind through the Arab world.

The orders are always the same “Clear the Square” and the military or the police . Even in America, whether it’s at Kent State or UC Davis, the military and the police always react the same — The citizens become the enemy and the government forces attack.

I think the Chinese Politburo reacted this way because they didn’t know they were on the worlds stage. They we naive to modern media. They thought they could contain it. And they couldn’t

Why do I think the current youth are pro-government? I think it’s because the government changed. There’s no way the government of 1989 would stand today. I also think that in general, youth don’t know history. With Chinese censorship, they probably don’t know the real story. I can only think of my understanding of the 1960s. I wasn’t alive then and it’s not really talked about today.

In my opinion China has yet to have their worker rebellion, rebelling for worker rights. I view The Tank Man as part of the freedom movement in China. Some time in the future, there will be the worker revolution, demanding good jobs and conditions. It was 150 years from the Revolutionary war until the 1900s. China’s will come faster. It will come during pour lifetime.

There’s even more to this video on PBS website. There’s an online dialog on PBS’s website. There’s also a chat with the producers of this Frontline.

As far as changing the curriculum in schools to start earlier, I believe it could make learning a language like Mandarin a lot easier – just look at that YouTube video. Having the ability to absorb a language at a young age engrains it in you more so than learning it at a later time – it makes the use of the language more inherent.

I have three young cousins, whose mother started their foreign language lessons in first grade, who are fluent in Spanish – the oldest child being 10 years old. They all proclaim that it was really easy for them to learn. If we were able to offer the option of learning Mandarin at this young of an age, imagine the benefits it could have when these children move into the work force. Even though the presence of translators allows us to get by without knowing Mandarin, it wouldn’t hurt to learn the language ourselves.

Fallows states, “Our American republic may prove to be doomed, but it will make a difference if we improvise and strive to make the best of the path through our time—and our children’s, and their grandchildren’s—rather than succumb.” We have to remain optimistic that something can be done – the point when we give up is the point when we should really worry.

One of the main things Fallows brings to light is that the United States has the power to correct itself and realign its course of action. The main concerns boil down to jobs, debt, military strength, and overall independence. In each case, we can make a difference by taking steps towards curbing the problems and highlighting the strengths that already exist.

There are lessons to be learned from other countries, both economically and politically. Our government is a major cause of the restriction of our development. We must reassess our needs as a country and find a new way forward with the state of our political system. We will see what the future holds for America – hopefully we can recognize our flaws and take action to work on them.

Kuo worries about what will happen the next time Chinese are attacked but he doesn’t mention that the Chinese embassy was attacked by suicide bombers in Iraq? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCw6XIQSsh4. Where was the uproar?

I desperately wanted to enjoy this video. It’s easy to tell that this is the most meaty video we are asked to watch. Kaiser Kuo (mouth in Chinese) had a lot of important things to say. However, I found the video excruciating to watch. 1.5 hours of a long-winded speech, with nothing but the speaker sitting at podium is a horrible way to convey this knowledge. The 3 other long videos: “Locked Up”, the 3 Brits try to strike it Rich and “TankMan” were much more engaging to watch.

The take away from this video is that your viewpoint comes from your world view. At 53 minutes in, Kuo gives his insights. 1) Don’t’ be condescending. 2) Try to learn about Chinese when their defenses are down and the foreigner is not present. And 3) Read some Chinese history.

He also suggests reading Chinese blogs in Translation. This a good start. A better method would be to learn Chinese.

He mentions that in the Q&A, he’ll give a lot of good sites to read Chinese translated blogs, but alas, the video doesn’t have the Q&A. I’ve written Kuo to see what some of these sites are. I’ll post if he responds.

He pointed out that many Chinese believe that if they let other countries in that chaos will break out. Half of the Chinese people living today have memories of periods of chaos. This transforms people to act in a different way. It reminds me of America after WWI. We became very isolated and we had to be pushed into fighting WWII. But the difference is that our “threats” were external while China’s are internal.

The Internet has allowed China a public sphere where opinions can be shared. We have come so far from information traveling at the speed of a horse. It is great that the internet can be used to keep people in check. It is a vehicle for immediate discussion, but it can also facilitate a spiral of dissent which can lead to public outcry. I think it is easy to point fingers and place all the blame on someone else. But this does not make the problem go away. Constructive dialogue is needed in order to bridge gaps and bring people together.
I liked Kuo’s three points:
1. Don’t condescend, don’t act like they are ignorant or brainwashed. It doesn’t advance anything.
2.Try and learn what Chinese people think when their defenses aren’t up. Just listen without judging. I like how he said that radicals are not representative of all in China, just the same as in America. I would shutter if a Chinese person believed that a racist, bigoted person was an average American.
3. Read some relevant history. So important! China is a country that has deep roots that are visible today.
I liked his discussion on being multicultural. It brought out the fact that both America and China have moments to be proud of and moments to be disgraced by. Neither country is perfect and it is important to keep this in mind, instead of just judging the wrong.

The importance of the gift itself and the wrapping is mentioned, but what about the actual presenting of the gift – is the formality and proper etiquette as strict as Japanese gift giving? I know in Japan the angle of the bow represents the amount of respect being shown – is there an equivalent gesture in Chinese culture? Also, an American custom is to top a gift with a big bow, I wonder if this is something we should incorporate into our wrapping.