Prof. Yang Ganfu
16 May 2008
opinion
Windhoek — "Shame" has been recently highlighted in The Namibian since it first carried "ship of shame" headline about a Chinese ship carrying arms ordered by Zimbabwean government long time before the election. On 9 May, The Namibian published another article by Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari named "China and flame of shame".
The impression these publications gave me is that The Namibian is not just, as it is supposed to be, reporting what is actually happening - say, how and why the shipment of arms came to be and how and why the flame of the Olympic torch relay in France became shamed and by whom?
Doubt of how the Zimbabwean government planned to use that ship of arms to fight against its own people further kept echoing in my ears. It seemed that the Zimbabwean government was just waiting for the arms to equip its soldiers for fighting. Given as it is, may I know why The Namibian failed to employ "ship of shame" to shame the American government, the western governments who delivered and sold US$ billions of destructive weapons to Iraqi, Asian countries and other parts of the world every day?
May I also know why The Namibian did not use "shame" to describe the killings that happened recently in Kenya? Can I therefore draw a conclusion that The Namibian just tried to shame the Chinese government? If yes, then, from what intention, out of stereotype or political propaganda?
Or as an SMS published in The Namibian on 9 May read "Is The Namibian an intelligence masquerade of the west"?
In his opinion piece Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari wrote that, "However, the flame never made it to City Hall; its tour de Paris was shortened as a result of a kaleidoscope of protesters, ranging from Reporters San Frontiers demanding more freedom of the press and respect for human rights."
According to Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari, the flame of shame happened because China doesn't follow the post-cold war norms and values, because China breaks human rights, because China doesn't free Tibet, because China is asserting itself in the international platform on its own terms, at its own pace and in line with its tradition.
Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari concluded that if China wants to be a political power to be accepted notably by the west, China must be a responsible sovereignty by adopting the western norms and values because, to him, national sovereignty and integrity are but subject to human rights and freedom of speech and other norms and values.
Human rights encompasses a rich connotation - from the basic needs human beings are entitled to have, to other rights in political and social life. There should be no bias between human rights albeit each culture might have a different interpretation of human rights. That is, all human beings, no matter whether you are from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, enjoy human rights.
As such, we must clearly keep it in our minds that when you are abusing or attacking or shaming others under the pretence of performing your human rights or under the slogan of freedom of speech, you are also at the same time breaking others' human rights. These "others" no doubt will have full human rights to fight you back.
In international life, there are some cultures that always advocate that their cultures prevail over others and thus force other cultures to accept their norms and values. Although this is culturally illiterate and politically naive, yet, if you don't follow them, they will shame you as breaking human rights.
"The civil society and public opinion in the west" will make noise to defend their norms and values. If it is a serious case, they will declare wars on you.
This happened from ancient time to current days and it seems, it will continue so long as these idiots exist.
The crusades, to exemplify, in the 11, 12, 13th centuries were the military expeditions undertaken by those Christian cultures to win Holy Land from the Muslims. Then came the Middle Ages wars in Europe, the wars by the West against the Asian peoples in the 19th century, the first and second world wars in the 20th century, the colonial wars by the West against the African peoples in the 19th and 20th centuries, the wars in which millions of local Indians were killed in America and the wars by Western nations against Iraqi and the Middle East, to list just a few.
Clearly, Western cultures got actively involved almost in every war in history, whether the wars happened in Europe or in other parts of the world. Millions of millions of people have been killed or slaughtered.
Today, people are still dying in Iraqi and Afghanistan. I wondered and am still wondering why the Western media never "made a fuss" as they did about the Tibet issue and Olympic flame of the torch relay.
Now I come to realize that "China's entry into international relations as a great power will not be without its pitfalls" and I am quite awake today that it is those culturally illiterate and politically naïve people who designed the pitfalls for Chinese to pass through.
However, China as a nation, like the African people, is a brave nation. The unprecedented overseas Chinese demonstrations in Europe, esp. the record-hitting Chinese marching to support the Chinese government and to defend the Olympic flame of the torch in Paris, America, Asia and Australia declare themselves that China has power to defend itself and Chinese will never bow to those evil forces.
As I often claim, different cultures have different cultural ways of doing business. The culturally rooted religion, values, beliefs, thought patterns and other cultural dimensions determine how the people of that culture live their social and daily life.
Each culture has its own norms and values. Some cultures might share some norms and values to some extent and in some period of time. Even in the global village today, the international community still differs greatly in interpreting the so-called post-west international norms and values.
Mr Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari, why should China be forced to accept the Western norms and values? Did you create "flame of shame" by showing off your feeling bad and sad when China refuses to follow western norms and values?
China's fast economic, social and political development has to some extent resulted in some evil and malicious jealousy from some western cultures. The western media or the pro-west media twisted the facts and instead of reporting facts, maliciously tried to stain the Chinese reputation by some tricky make-believe to blind the international community. They, perhaps born blind, turn blind eyes to what the Chinese government did for Tibet.
They try to exert their wisdom to shame China's international status as a peaceful, harmonious and responsible nation.
These media, in addition, maybe out of being culturally illiterate, try to preach western cultures' superiority and force China and other non-western cultures to accept western norms and values.
They, by inciting some political dissent and separatists like the Dalai Lama clique, make use of every opportunity to tarnish China's reputation. "Flame of shame" is an example.
As known, the Dalai Lama clique has long prepared to ruin China's Olympic torch relay and even planned to use weapons to realize their notorious and evil ideas. They, with the financial support from some western cultures, flew here and there to obstruct the Olympic torch relay across the world.
They injured the participants and destroyed properties to show off their disappointment. However, most of the international communities and millions of overseas Chinese upheld the just and defeated their plot.
The Olympic torch relay in Paris, although experiencing some shameful acts, is totally successful. Unfortunately Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari forgot mentioning that the French government, like all other international governments, refuses to support Tibet's independence, refuses to free Tibet; , unfortunately Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari forgot mentioning again, that the French sent its senator head to visit China to apologize himself to the Chinese disabled lady who was guiding the holy Olympic torch from those evil Dalai Lama supporters and he also brought a letter by the French president who also apologized to the Chinese lady and Chinese people; unfortunately Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari still forgot mentioning, that soon after the Paris torch relay the French presidents sent his special envoy, composed of the former prime minister and current French UN ambassador to visit China last month to discuss business with Chinese governments.
Furthermore, more and more come to realize the malicious plot behind shaming the Olympic flame and support of the Dalai Lama clique. German students who studied in China, former German Embassy officials in China, German scholars, even French politicians, scholars and business people and the Professor from Finland Eirik Granqvist, some politicians from America, among others, all strongly support the Chinese government and bombarded the malicious and inciting reports by some western media.
CNN also apologized to the Chinese people for its nonsense report. Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari published his opinion in The Namibian just at the time when the international community came to realize who are the real troublemakers.
May I ask Mr Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari, don't you feel shameful with your "the flame of shame"?
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Prof. Yang has managed to write an entire diatribe without addressing the basic issue: Is it moral for anyone, including China, to sell arms to someone who is actively murdering it's own citizens? Apparently his answer is "yes" and his justification is"everybody else does it. so you can't say anything critical about me". I'm afraid that many people across the world, even those whose governments are guilty of equally shameful behaviour, would not agree. Some of those who point out the immorality of the act are reporters. That fact and the national identity of the person in question has no bearing on the inherent rightness or wrongness of the sale. This is a basic Fallacy of Rhetoric which the Prof. should be aware of: arguing against the man rather than the argument. Even journalists in China have criticized the Govt. for it's policies in Tibet and Africa, only to lose their jobs. Here's a point blank question for the Professor, and it only requires a simple yes or no answer: Is it moral to sell weapons to people who will use them to commit murder? Yes or No, no elaboration is required.