This page authored by: Michael Wenderoth
Copyright © (a little) China Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated: April 15, 1998.
It was interesting to see how many letters and e-mails the Newsweek article generated from readers. The staff there was kind enough to snail mail me all of them. Comments were surprisingly split almost exactly evenly between agreement and disagreement. I've finally sifted through the stack, picked out some of the more interesting ones and published exerpts for the first time anywhere here on China Insight. (Names, addresses and e-mails have purposely been ommitted). Four letters, not listed here, were printed in the subsequent issue of Newsweek Magazine last fall.
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"As a Chinese student having studied here in America for the past two years... When I first came here, I was excited to read the news that I could not have access to. However, after a while, I reazied that all I read about China was the political prisoners, Tibet and human rights issues, plus economic problems and developments. I could not find the accounts of the lives of those who were often found around me when I was iin China. If I were not Chinese and had never been to China, I would have thought, by reading those accounts, what a terrible country China was." -- Middlebury, CT
"I too hope for some patience and deeper understanding of the emerging China... The U.S. should not forget that even though they emerged from a unique, briefly established culture, their foray into the industrial revolution was "aided" by limited human rights, slavery - up to the point and substandard employment conditions for men, women and children - not to mention women without the right to vote until this century!" -- Stafford Springs, CT
"As a middle-aged Black American, I am offended by the righteous hand-wringing regarding human rights violations in China. Our nation's criminal justice system, and the massive overrepresentation of people of color ensnred in it, is but one example of national hypocrisy. That nearly 50% of all Black Americans live at or beneath the poverty line is another...My goodness, [the My Turn piece] has barely scratched the surface! Nevertheless, it is indeed refreshing to know that those outside the Black community, like Wenderoth, are sensitive to how offenseive national hypocrisy can be." -- AOL.com member
"We must remember that China, like America, has many faces, only one of which is ugly." -- Eugene, OR
"The article you wrote was excellent, extremely insightful, and, most important of all, sincere. Since my job involves meeting with US visitors to discuss China and Hong Kong, much of what you wrote resonated with my own experiences... in trying to portray a more complex picture of events in China and Hong Kong. For me a meeting with a group of US journalists or Congresspeople has been successful when someone walks away thinking, "maybe China isn't as monolithic as I thought." " -- Hong Kong
"It was great [trip to Beijing last year] and we saw "Westward Ho the Wagons" in the eyes of all the young aggressive adults. We are sure the internet will open the eyes of these youngsters about the whole of the "outside" world. At age 75, I just hope I'm around to witness the coming out party when those youngsteres get into control seats. I sure hope our government doesn't "screw" things up." -- Manchester, MO
"Thanks for a beautifully written article that articulates what so many of think and feel." - Beijing/Chicago, IL
"I wonder how he wound up in that magazine-- it's a strange world to move in, usually immune to non club members (and usually hurting for being so immune). I fear, though, that speaking toAmerica is like speaking to a four year old who is so fascinated with his toys that he sees and hears nothing else except as a momentary distraction. Perhaps that is as it should be." -- Madison, WI
"[Wenderoth] should be immediately transferred from his current project management position into the China Section of the U.S. State Dept." - Bantham, CT
"[the piece] offers a much needed perspective on China in the context of myopic rhetoric and sweeping generalities." -- Kettering, OH
"[The piece] is refreshing and courageous, and it reflects similar experience from my frequent trips to China. In a country where freedom of speech is guaranteed, there is much difference between having the freedom to tell the truth and having the willingness and courage to do it." - Charlotte, NC
"a voice of moderation in a chorus of confusion regarding China." - Evanston, IL
"[the piece] is the most lucid, insightful, impartial and "real" discussion I've ever come across on the many issues about China that seem to bother many Americans...This should be recommended reading for all our Senators and Congressmen and women, and everyone in the Administration, and indeed every American." -- Randolph, NJ
"Thank you for printing in "My Turn" Michael Wenderoth's experiences living in China. Ours would be a better world if the media presented such balanced and sensible reporting." -- Louisville, KY
"When I finished reading it for the first time my first thought was that there is so much obvious truth here. The sad part is the "obvious truth" doesn't make a good movie." -- Baltimore, MD
"It is my opinion that China will change by evolution not revolution; and we would do best to take firm, unwavering stances only where absolutely necessary, to give a broad spin of positivism to the changes that are, even if ever slowly, taking place, and try ignoring what may eventually resolve itself as nonessential problems." -- Angel Fire, NM
"I wish to commend both the contributor and the Editors for making a small but significant attempt to redress the massive anti-China bias that characterizes much of the Western newsmedia, as well as many members of the United States Congress and Hollywood elite... Obviously, there have been, and are, numerous cases of human rights abuses in China...What I believe to be also significant is the spectacular change that has occurred in China (certainly before my eyes) over the last two decades. " -- Ottawa, Canada
"In my 47 years of life... I have rarely seen anything as digusting as [the piece]...Don't waste our time and valuable newsprint publishing Wenderoth's view of the world tainted by his end of the year bonus, his company's bottom line at the end of the fiscal year and his propoer place as a lap dog. I'm sure there were other immoral Americans who apologized for Hitler in the 1930's. Wenderoth is adequately fulfilling the role of a Tokyo Rose or Hanoi Hannah. I hope Wenderoth can sleep at night with his conscience. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and Chinese will sleep forever because of the oppression he so loves. I'd rather see an essay by Richard Nixon on political honesty than ever hear from Wenderoth again." - New York, NY
"It's the (chinese) government, stupid! This guy sounds like Vicun Quisling or a sycophant for Marshal Petain. He just can't understand that a few brutal acts in America are not government policy, but individual practices. In China, brutality is government policy, while [sic] some of the one billion Chinese feel it or not... I am sure Wenderoth is enjoying a comfortable life in China on the rubble of the torn down McDonald's, but don't spread your swill just because you made a few bucks in China. Take a trip to Mongolia or provincial China and see the truth... (Is this guy for Real?)" - Palm Bay, FL
"..search under the veneer for the truth of the society you defend in China, and take a closer look at what we have here in this God blessed country." - East Quogue, NY
"This is a nation which has no regards for human rights, no ideals, just a narrow sense of nationalism. The real China of the future will dictate the rules of cooperation and the rules of trading to the rest of the world. How does it matter to us, Mr. Wenderoth, if your Chinese Joe or Zhang is happy and enjoying the highest standard of living because that reality of China is not going to affect the rest of the world." -- Bothell, WA
"I would point out that the difference in levels of oppression between our two governments is that ours is not a government policy, and, in case he has forgotten, the officers who pummeled Rodney King were punished - unlike the Chinese officials who ordered hundreds killed in Tiananmen Square. Mr. Wenderoth is resurrecting the old "we're not as bad as the North Vietnamese" argument." -- Phoenix, AZ
"The only thing I disagreed with was the U.S. police brutality/Rodney King reference. In those instances, the rule of law applied, and the LA cops were arrested and went to trial. In China, at least the China of three years ago, the rule of law still doesn't apply. There wasn't enough accountability to law in the most basic sense; that very well may be China's greatest challenge in the next century. Whether it's a black cat or a white cat, China's government still has to catch the mouse, it still has to uphold basic laws. Hopefully, that's changing for the better." - Washington, DC
"Perhaps he does not understand the difference between a problem and a way of life. Yes, the U.S.A has incidences of oppression, discrimination, poverty and other injustices but it is not a way of life and the U.S. media and System of Justics is very capable of dealing with these issues and is completely independent of government control. Clearly such is not the case in China where it is a way of life for majority for thousands of years and no clear outlet for justice [sic]" - Tallahassee, FL
"The error of "Your Turn" is that you seem to equate material prosperity with democratic freedom; what good are TV's when you can only watch government approved stations, what good are cellular phones when your calls are monitored, what good is your statement that your "Chinese business colleagues" share their anger of the Tiananmen massacre when they cannot protest or send letters demanding that those responsible be tried for their cowardly deeds. Wake up Michael and see the Chinese government as it truly is, an authoritative regime that will murder countless individuals to stay in power and that is devoid of moral consciousness and humanitarian values." --San Antonio, TX
"Mr. Wenderoth's friends have apparently never been forced to have an abortion eight months into pregnancy because they forgot their official pregnancy approval forms at home that day. Those he comes into contact with are evidently not the orphans strapped to their chairs with legs withered from lack of use and who are unresponsive to affection. Mr. Wenderoth's acquantinces must never have disappeared suddenly for weeks because they attended a group bible study session in someone's home the week before. If quality of life is measured solely in financials terms, then maybe China isn't in much bad shape after all." -- St, Louis, MO
"..furthermore, the situation in Beijing today, (apparently representing the whole of China), is very different than the situation in Tibet (as well as Xinjiang). Do not forget that the "average Tibetan Tsering" lives under the occupation of a foreign government that kills monks, nuns, and laypeople, forces sterlizations, and is attempting to wipe out an ancient culture by making them a minority in their own country, controlling their religion, (think of Gendun Chokyi Nyima, the real Panchen Lama), and supressing the use of the Tibetan language in schools serving native Tibetan speakers. While the "average Chinese Zhang" may live a life of relative freedom and affluence, please remember that this does not represent the lives of everyone living under the red flag." -- Portland, OR
"Perhaps Wenderoth should use his passport and newfound ability to travel to Tibet and give himself a picture of that side of China. I know the "average" German Joe was probably a likeable (and misunderstood) person also. That didn't change the fact that millions of people died, and are still dying, just because of the "darker oppressive side"of their governments. That's really what people with a conscience object to." - Lewisberry, PA
"Mr. Wenderoth seeks to compare events in an American movie, which, someone should tell him, is fiction, with real events in China (Tiananmen Square's massacre) which isn't fiction. His long stay overseas appears to have deprived him of the ability to distinguish between the two. ...I fear Mr. Wenderoth has been hoodwinked by the Chinese and at the same time has forgotten how things work in America. Perhaps he should come home for a time and forget what he has learned from American life in the movies." -- San Jose, CA
"THERE ARE NOT "MANY DIFFERENT AMERICAS"; we are one FREE country." - Compuserve member.
"Let me see if I understand. The average Chinese joe is prospering - buying all kinds of stuff - and working to provide for their children. So we should pull a "see no evil, hear no evil" when it comes to China's policial prisoners and religious persecution... We need courageous leades to act in the best interests of those who are suffering - no matter how silent, no matter how hidden they are from the daily life of the average Joe." - Avon, NC
"The major differenc in the [U.S.] is that in China these intolerances are a matter of policy...The problem is: What is politically acceptable?...If has been said that we often try to force our morality on other cultures. But to be silent in the face of such blatant atrocities would be akin to condoning such actions." - Oak Lawn, IL
"I am sure that the Chinese Communist Party propagandists were thrilled with Michael's comments... I respect Michael's right to his opinion and of Newsweek to print the "other" side of the story. But I am saddened by the idea that any American could miss the point. A billion Chinese have a right to basic human rights, which are denied to them by the ruling Communist elite in the PRC." - Bellaire, TX
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This page authored by: Michael Wenderoth
Copyright © (a
little) China Insight. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated: April 15, 1998.