Actions speak louder than words.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Bold hypocrisy of the Western world
Bem, para quem tem acesso apenas às notícias via imprensa ocidental, aqui vai um artigo de opinião publicado no China Daily. Vale sempre a pena ler as duas partes da história. Confesso que não tenho argumentos para algumas das coisas aqui publicadas.
By Sava Hassan (China Daily)
"As long as I can remember, the Western universe has been using double standards to evaluate historical or day-to-day events. One could argue that I am being harsh and may be biased against the West. For certain, that would be a wrong assumption. To prove my point of view, one has to refer to the recording of historical events of the last few decades.
If a struggle occurred in any country to gain its freedom, such as the events that are taking place in the West Bank, the West calls it terrorism while it becomes heroism if it happens in the Western world.
If a country uses force to protect its people, the West would categorize it as oppression and a violation of human rights yet such actions become rational and an essential measure if it is done by any Western nation. "World urged to defend Tibet" is a headline from a Western media. Observing the coverage and reaction of the West to the events that are taking place in Tibet, one can clearly see the West in general is magnifying the negative aspects of those events.
However, looking back a few decades ago, one might discover that interventions by federal governments to deal with riots in parts of the Western world were common practices. Waco, the US and Montreal, Canada are perfect examples to illustrate my point of view. American forces intervened to end an incident in Waco, Texas while Canadian forces ended an attempt to separate Quebec from Canada.
Invading Iraq by the Allied forces that led to the destruction of its society and the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives will never be perceived by the Western world as an oppression and infringement of human rights.The West is forgetting a fundamental fact that Tibet is perceived by the world in general, and the Chinese in particular, as an integral part of China. Consequently, intervention by the Chinese government to protect the lives of Tibetans is an internal matter and should be left to the Chinese government to take the necessary measures to achieve a peaceful end to the riots in Tibet.
The devious hidden motives of the Western media became apparent when they were eager to link the events in Tibet to the 2008 Olympics. "Chinese may prevent broadcasting the Olympic events" - that was a headline in one of the Western media. How did they come to the conclusion that the Chinese government may prevent broadcasting the Olympic events? What do the events in Tibet have to do with the 2008 Olympics?
The Western media jumped on the announcement of Steven Spielberg to link the Olympics to the Darfur events. However, when they failed, they grabbed the latest events in Tibet to put a shadow of doubt over the 2008 Olympics."
If a struggle occurred in any country to gain its freedom, such as the events that are taking place in the West Bank, the West calls it terrorism while it becomes heroism if it happens in the Western world.
If a country uses force to protect its people, the West would categorize it as oppression and a violation of human rights yet such actions become rational and an essential measure if it is done by any Western nation. "World urged to defend Tibet" is a headline from a Western media. Observing the coverage and reaction of the West to the events that are taking place in Tibet, one can clearly see the West in general is magnifying the negative aspects of those events.
However, looking back a few decades ago, one might discover that interventions by federal governments to deal with riots in parts of the Western world were common practices. Waco, the US and Montreal, Canada are perfect examples to illustrate my point of view. American forces intervened to end an incident in Waco, Texas while Canadian forces ended an attempt to separate Quebec from Canada.
Invading Iraq by the Allied forces that led to the destruction of its society and the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives will never be perceived by the Western world as an oppression and infringement of human rights.The West is forgetting a fundamental fact that Tibet is perceived by the world in general, and the Chinese in particular, as an integral part of China. Consequently, intervention by the Chinese government to protect the lives of Tibetans is an internal matter and should be left to the Chinese government to take the necessary measures to achieve a peaceful end to the riots in Tibet.
The devious hidden motives of the Western media became apparent when they were eager to link the events in Tibet to the 2008 Olympics. "Chinese may prevent broadcasting the Olympic events" - that was a headline in one of the Western media. How did they come to the conclusion that the Chinese government may prevent broadcasting the Olympic events? What do the events in Tibet have to do with the 2008 Olympics?
The Western media jumped on the announcement of Steven Spielberg to link the Olympics to the Darfur events. However, when they failed, they grabbed the latest events in Tibet to put a shadow of doubt over the 2008 Olympics."
The author is a Canadian Egyptian
Fonte: chinadaily
Fonte: chinadaily
A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Conflitos
Por estes dias as coisas andam estranhas ... youtube bloqueado, principais sites das agências noticiosas não funcionam, ninguém fala do assunto.
Aqui não chega nada. Parece que o Dalai Lama está fortemente armado (quiça com tesouras e corta-unhas) e anda a incitar os seus seguidores a começarem uma revolução. Vai daí, toca a mandar uma porrada de tropas para Lhasa e abafar tudo e todos.
Segundo números do governo chinês, 10 pessoas morreram resultado dos fogos atiçados pelos próprios seguidores do Dalai Lama. Segundo o resto do mundo, pelo menos uma centena de pessoas foram mortas pelo governo chinês.
Vá-se lá saber quem fala verdade ... Giro é tentar procurar alguma coisa no google acerca do "tibete" e receber como resultado:
Segundo números do governo chinês, 10 pessoas morreram resultado dos fogos atiçados pelos próprios seguidores do Dalai Lama. Segundo o resto do mundo, pelo menos uma centena de pessoas foram mortas pelo governo chinês.
Vá-se lá saber quem fala verdade ... Giro é tentar procurar alguma coisa no google acerca do "tibete" e receber como resultado:
... hipócritas, bah! Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Lado lunar
O Peng é um dos meus colegas de trabalho chinês com quem costumo trocar algumas impressões. Aproveito para praticar o mandarim e ele aprimora o inglês. No outro dia saíu-se com esta pérola ...
Eu: Peng, sabes quem disse a frase: “um pequeno passo para o homem, um grande passo para a humanidade”?
Peng: Não faço idéia ...
Eu: Foi o Neil Armstrong, o primeiro homem a pisar a lua.
Peng: Primeiro homem a pisar o lua?! Mas Hugo, o homem nunca foi à lua ... ha ha ha!
Education is a progressive discovering of our own ignorance.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Ten things never to do in China
Never accept a compliment graciously
You may find yourself at a loss for words when you compliment a Chinese host on a wonderful meal, and you get in response, "No, no, the food was really horrible." You hear the same thing when you tell a Chinese parent how smart or handsome his son is — he meets the compliment with a rebuff of "No, he's really stupid" or "He's not good looking at all." These people aren't being nasty . . . just humble and polite. Moral of the story here: Feign humility, even if it kills you! A little less boasting and fewer self-congratulatory remarks go a long way towards scoring cultural sensitivity points with the Chinese.
Never make someone lose face
The worst thing you can possibly do to Chinese acquaintances is publicly humiliate or otherwise embarrass them. Doing so makes them lose face. Don't point out a mistake in front of others or yell at someone.
The good news is that you can actually help someone gain face by complimenting them and giving credit where credit is due. Do this whenever the opportunity arises. Your graciousness is much appreciated.
Never get angry in public
Public displays of anger are frowned upon by the Chinese and are most uncomfortable for them to deal with — especially if the people getting angry are foreign tourists, for example. This goes right along with making someone (usually the Chinese host) lose face, which you should avoid at all costs. The Chinese place a premium on group harmony, so foreigners should try to swallow hard, be polite, and cope privately.
Never address people by their first names first
Chinese people have first and last names like everyone else. However, in China, the last name always comes first. The family (and the collective in general) always takes precedence over the individual. Joe Smith in Minnesota is known as Smith Joe (or the equivalent) in Shanghai. If a man is introduced to you as Lî Míng, you can safely refer to him as Mr. Lî (not Mr. Míng).
Unlike people in the West, the Chinese don't feel very comfortable calling each other by their first names. Only family members and a few close friends ever refer to the man above, for example, as simply "Míng." They may, however, add the prefix lâo (laow; old) or xiâo (shyaow; young) before the family name to show familiarity and closeness. Lâo Lî (Old Lî) may refer to his younger friend as Xiâo Chén (Young Chén).
Never take food with the wrong end of your chopsticks
The next time you gather around a dinner table with a Chinese host, you may discover that serving spoons for the many communal dishes are non-existent. This is because everyone serves themselves (or others) by turning their chopsticks upside down to take food from the main dishes before putting the food on the individual plates.
Never drink alcohol without first offering a toast
Chinese banquets include eight to ten courses of food and plenty of alcohol. Sometimes you drink rice wine, and sometimes you drink industrial strength Máo Tái, known to put a foreigner or two under the table in no time. One way to slow the drinking is to observe Chinese etiquette by always offering a toast to the host or someone else at the table before taking a sip yourself. This not only prevents you from drinking too much too quickly, but also shows your gratitude toward the host and your regard for the other guests. If someone toasts you with a "gân bei," (gahn bay) however, watch out.
Gân bei means "bottoms up," and you may be expected to drink the whole drink rather quickly. Don't worry. You can always say "shuí yì" (shway ee; as you wish) in return and take just a little sip instead.
Never let someone else pay the bill without fighting for it
Most Westerners are stunned the first time they witness the many fairly chaotic, noisy scenes at the end of a Chinese restaurant meal. The time to pay the bill has come and everyone is simply doing what they're expected to do — fight to be the one to pay it. The Chinese consider it good manners to vociferously and strenuously attempt to wrest the bill out of the very hands of whoever happens to have it. This may go on, back and forth, for a good few minutes, until someone "wins" and pays the bill. The gesture of being eager and willing to pay is always appreciated.
Never show up empty handed
Gifts are exchanged frequently between the Chinese, and not just on special occasions. If you have dinner in someone's house to meet a prospective business partner or for any other pre-arranged meeting, both parties commonly exchange gifts as small tokens of friendship and good will. Westerners are often surprised at the number of gifts the Chinese hosts give. The general rule of thumb is to bring many little (gender non-specific) gifts when you travel to China. You never know when you'll meet someone who wants to present you with a special memento, so you should arrive with your own as well.
Never accept food, drinks, or gifts without first refusing a few times
No self-respecting guests immediately accept whatever may be offered to them in someone's home. No matter how much they may be eager to accept the food, drink, or gift, proper Chinese etiquette prevents them from doing anything that makes them appear greedy or eager to receive it, so be sure to politely refuse a couple of times.
Never take the first "No, thank you" literally
Chinese people automatically refuse food or drinks several times — even if they really feel hungry or thirsty. Never take the first "No, thank you" literally. Even if they say it once or twice, offer it again. A good guest is supposed to refuse at least once, but a good host is also supposed to make the offer at least twice.
Adapted From: Chinese For DummiesLearn to walk before you run.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Mandarim - Lição 4
Uma das primeiras coisas que se aprende assim que se chega a um novo país é a "linguagem de transportes". A lição 4 é sobre isso.
The teacher has not taught, until the student has learned.
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