by Wu Zhang
From: Chinese Community Forum, Wednesday, October 23, 1996
The most recent Chinese Community Forum(CCF) issue has some discussion entitled "Nationalism vs Patriotism", suggesting nationalism and patriotism may be mixed up recently. I kind of agree.
I only individually sent my opinions letter to NBC to show my thanks for their broadcasting work and also my concerns about their undue disrespect for some individual athletes, as if America respects individual rights, individual atheletes should be respected.
This time, I joined the FHY protest about Diaoyudao, because I see essential difference between the two incidents.
NBC incident is an issue of miscalculation and misunderstanding of both sides. NBC had the right to speculate, also had the obligation to take the responsibility if the speculation hurt others. The protest itself is justified, but the public and politically charged way and its fixed goal of protest were not.
At the very beginning of public NBC protest, I disagreed on that proposal. The postings 'warning', 'serious warning' on two Chinese Olympic web sites were posted by me, then some friends told me the tale of 'farmer vs. snake' to differ with me. I argued that there were no farmers and snakes in this incident. Just one day before the public protest was published in a Washington Post, I further sent my concerns article to CCF (later withdrawn) and NBC protest informant about the way and goal of protest. Later, I found my concerns were not unnecessary in the following aspects or at least due to following reasons if we really want to learn lessons:
1. We wanted to have our voices heard, but failed to have our voices understood, sympathized and accepted, but created confrontation and tension. We actually didn't understand American people either.
2. Both NBC protest and China can say no book were kind of encouraged and praised by government, and many ordinary people got the wrong part of the encouragement.
3. NBC protest was hot also due to the fact that many Chinese-American business friends donated much to join forces to show their anger for discrimination they encountered in America.
4. Mix up protest with business. Protest is protest, it's not business. A goal(for an open apology) was set and even fixed to achieve in the protest, maybe to attract more supporters and business donations. That protest is enhanced by business and patriotism. The result is sending the signal of anti-American to show pride by repeating the mistake made by NBC.
5. If the nationalism in NBC protest and China can say no book is considered to have gone sour, that's majorly due to that we tried to use wrong way to get too much something(face, dignity, etc.) out of nothing (speculation and criticism, etc.).
But this Diaoyudao issue is different. It's an issue of calculation and game-playing. It's about concrete islands and together with fishing rights and many more belongings and expectations beyond.
Diaoyudao protest is necessary and should not be discouraged.
1. In this protest, we don't have to expect understanding and sympathy, because Japan won't give these anyway. But it's very important for us ordinary people to let Japanese government know our disagreement and disappointment in this dispute, we should send signal to Japan it's a dispute, we disagree with their occupying actions.
2. In mainland about Diaoyu issue, it's reported the protest to debate and protect Diaoyu is not encouraged. Chinese-Americans will not necessarily be so enthusiastic this time. Not much side effect will occur. So the responsibility to protest to show disagreement will be on a limited number of overseas students and scholars, and won't be as hot as before, I'm afraid.
3. Diaoyudao are concrete islands together with fishing rights, possible minerals and oil underneath, which are important to our future economy if we value our economic development. This time we are not trying to get something out of nothing, the fact is we have got nothing out of something and we are just protecting our sovereignty or belongs, concrete belongs.
4. Some people asserted if we expressed disagreement too loud and did similar things as Japan, we would have a war, a huge war, and our economy would be disturbed. Let's do some reverse thinking. Japan also needs stable economic development; who knows she wants war? one hand can't clap; and if China troops first patrolled the Islands like that, 'China threat' must have been made in good shape. Then Japanese militarism has an excuse. So why not take this opportunity to publicly and officially protest, to expose Japanese militarism to the world, to avoid arms competition between countries around Japan, that might be a great save for the world economy.
Major protest was held in Canada where majority overseas C students and scholars are not there. This is also due to potential organizers in America are afraid of repetition of last NBC incident. Actually American people have as much dislike for Japanese militarism as ours, although government may want to do weapon business with Japan. Otherwise a large protest is expected in America.
This is a sad story to me, because when we really need a large protest in America for our lands, we don't have one. It's not because we don't love or want the disputed islands, but partly because we had some unhappy experience.
Like the encouragement of public NBC protest and China-Can-Say-No has been backfired, discouragement of Diayudao protest with insufficient essential progress made in settlement may also backfire too in the near future.
Public NBC protest should be for more respect for individual rights and Olympic spirit. Then it makes sense to more peoples.
Diaoyudao protest should be against (potential)Japanese militarism, suggesting we love peace and nonmilitary settlement, and also showing our disagreement with Japanese occupying actions. It may attract more attention from different peoples and put Japanese government in a more difficult situation to argue.
When we protest to protect Diaoyudao, that could again confuse average people in telling patriotism from nationalism.
Like some others, I tend to treat Diaoyudao protest as patriotism, not nationalism. At least if this is also called nationalism(blind and excessive patriotism), I value it differently and more this time.
After all, it's yourself to draw your own line between patriotism and nationalism. I understand patriotism in a simple way as when one becomes Chinese, he loves China, and when he becomes American, he loves America.
If we can't do much to protect our islands, let's remember those islands.
Then when they are finally returned to their owners, one should be proud that he is part of it.
