Tell the truth | “Why are the anti-China narratives in Western media so hysterical?” Guangming.com 2023-05-25 09:46 Xinhua News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, May 24th (Reporters Mao Pengfei [毛鹏飞] & Wang Yi [汪艺])
Why are the anti-China narratives in some Western media currently showing a kind of hysteria? Based on his many years of personal experience and first-line observations across East and West, Chandran Nair, founder and CEO of the Global Future Institute, pointed out that this is driven by ideological bias. In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Nair said that the Western media’s concerted efforts to smear China are rooted in racism and “white privilege” thinking. He reminded that the world is facing an unprecedented war of public opinion and people “need more non-Western news sources.”
Prejudice has roots Nair pointed out that as a country that did not develop according to the Western political and economic model, how could China develop so fast? So successful? The Western media does not understand this, and is not willing to try to understand it. The biggest characteristic of its anti-China narrative is that it is driven by ideological bias, constantly attacking China with fictional facts, and thus falling into a kind of hysteria. All kinds of routines are boring—— Either it promotes the China threat theory, or it tries to blame China for everything. “Why is China a threat? They have not given an explanation.” Faced with anti-China narratives produced by Western media without evidence, Nair often feels confused and angry. “Is it just because China’s economy is getting bigger? I don’t understand why this is a problem.”
Nair said that the Western media went from attacking China’s economy to attacking China’s political system. In their view, “China and the Chinese Communist Party must be demonized,” but they were unable to produce evidence. “The Chinese Communist Party is governing its own country, not theirs. Besides, just look at their respective development data.” Nair believes that the Western media’s arrogance, prejudice and concerted smear campaign against China are also rooted in deep-rooted racism, with the purpose of continuing to maintain its “white privilege” around the world.
When the West faced a non-Western civilization of comparable strength for the first time in centuries, the United States, paranoid about “I am the boss,” was unwilling to accept this fact. The so-called “rules-based international order” led by the West is motivated by its own selfish interests, and its inner drama is – “This is our order, not your order” and “other types of orders are not allowed to emerge.” On March 18th, anti-war activists held a rally in Lafayette Square, north of the White House, in Washington, the capital of the United States, urging the U.S. government to reflect on the Iraq war and calling on the United States to shut down the “war machine.”
Some people held balloons or placards with words such as “China is not our enemy” and “Build schools, don’t build bombs.” Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie For example, Nair said that the Western media deliberately tied Sri Lanka’s debt issue to China’s “One Belt – One Road” cooperation project, and Sri Lanka had to come forward to clarify that the facts were not as described by the Western media. “This is how the Western media will continue to demonize China.” Distortion has no bottom line Since moving to Hong Kong in the 1990s, Nair has traveled to most of China. From the eastern coast to the western region, from rural towns to first-tier cities, he closely observed China’s earth-shaking and rapid development in recent decades, and the huge role played by China’s political parties and political system in it.
Nair pointed out that compared with what he saw with his own eyes, the anti-China narrative in the Western media just revealed their lack of proper understanding of China. “On the night when China’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games was successful, I happened to be in Beijing. I went to Tiananmen Square and saw the Chinese people celebrating with joy. But when I turned on the international media the next day, I saw almost all negative reports.” He Say, “This is so unfair!” Since then, he has increasingly seen the Western media’s “one-sided” anti-China narrative. “No matter which (Western) country’s media, they cannot say that China has any advantages.” In 2019, the “extradition bill storm” occurred in Hong Kong, China, and the distorted reports of the Western media made Nair even more stunned. “I was in Hong Kong at the time, but when I saw Hong Kong reported on the BBC and CNN reports, I thought it was two different places.” Nair grew up in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Malaysia. In order to understand China’s ethnic policies, Nair visited many ethnic minority areas in China and felt the local people’s sense of identity with the country.
Nair pointed out that the negative reports in the Western media that there are “Concentration Camps” for ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are “complete lies” and “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist’s mind to see through them.” In Yuli County, Xinjiang, cotton farmers conduct spring sowing operations (photo taken on March 29, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hao Zhao Before Eid al-Fitr, Nair posted a video on social media showing how Muslims in different countries celebrate Eid al-Fitr. It started with a scene in Xi’an, China. “When I shared this video with some friends, they actually asked, ‘This is China?'” Nair’s reply to his friends was – “You should really go to China and see it with your own eyes.” “More non-Western sources are needed”!
Malaysia was once a Western colony, and Nair recalled that when he was young, he also fell into the information cocoon spun by the Western media. “When I was listening to the BBC broadcast when I was 10 years old, I thought to myself, this is the language of the Queen of England, and the Queen also listens to the BBC. The BBC must be right, and I must believe it,” he said. As an adult, he lived and worked in Africa, where he became more deeply aware of the exploitation and control of the world by Western colonial rule and the role that Western media played in it. Nair believes that the various attack patterns of the Western media are not only unfair to China alone. Their target is China today, and they can target any other country and region tomorrow.
On February 5th, 2003, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed a public meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the so-called evidence that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. More than a month later, the United States and its allies ignored the strong opposition of the international community, bypassed the Security Council and launched the Iraq War on trumped-up charges. Powell has since publicly admitted that this speech was his “stain”.
“I am not a fool. I know how the Western media distorted the facts when they reported that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.” Nair said, and went on to emphasize a helpless reality – Western imperialism still affects the world today, especially thanks to technological advantages, the powerful Western media still controls international public opinion to a large extent. Nair pointed out that people should be aware that the world is facing an unprecedented war of public opinion, and he hopes to see more reports from global media in Asia, Africa and the Middle East in the future. “We need more non-Western news sources so that readers can learn more about global issues and avoid falling victim to Western public opinion wars,” he said. -END-
Planning: Ni Siyi (倪四义) Producer: Feng Junyang (冯俊扬) Coordinator: Xie Peng (谢鹏), Yan Junyan (闫珺岩), Qi Zijian (齐紫剑), Xu Haijing (徐海静), Liu Chang (刘畅) Executor: Sun Hao (孙浩) Reporters: Mao Pengfei (毛鹏飞) & Wang Yi (汪艺) Video: Wang Pei (王沛) Editors: Sun Hao (孙浩), Zhang Dailei (张代蕾), Liang Shanggang (梁尚刚), Cheng Dayu (程大雨) Produced by Xinhua News Agency International Department Produced by Xinhua News Agency International Communication Integration Platform
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Chinese Language Text:
讲真｜“西方媒体反华叙事为何歇斯底里？”
光明网
2023-05-25 09:46
新华社吉隆坡5月24日电（记者毛鹏飞汪艺）当前西方某些媒体反华叙事为什么会呈现一种歇斯底里？基于自身多年跨东西方的亲身经历和一线观察，全球未来研究所创始人兼首席执行官钱德兰·奈尔指出，这是受意识形态偏见所驱动。
奈尔近日在吉隆坡接受新华社记者专访时直言，西方媒体如此步调一致抹黑中国，根源在于种族主义和“白人特权”思维。他提示说，世界正面临一场前所未有的舆论战，人们“需要更多非西方的消息源”。
偏见有根源
奈尔指出，作为一个没有按照西方政治经济模式发展的国家，中国怎么可以发展这么快？这么成功？西方媒体对此并不理解，也不愿意试图去理解，其反华叙事最大特点是被意识形态偏见驱动，用虚构事实不断攻击中国，并由此陷入一种歇斯底里，种种套路已让人厌烦——要么就是宣扬中国威胁论，要么就是凡事拉中国“背锅”。
“为什么中国是威胁？他们并没有给出解释。”面对西方媒体毫无证据支撑的反华叙事，奈尔常常感到困惑而气愤。“难道就因为中国经济规模越来越大？我不理解为什么这会成为一个问题。”
奈尔说，西方媒体从攻击中国经济进而攻击中国政治体制，在他们看来，“必须妖魔化中国和中国共产党”，但他们无法拿出证据。“中国共产党是在治理自己的国家，又不是在治理他们的国家。况且，看看各自的发展数据吧。”
奈尔认为，西方媒体对中国的傲慢和偏见、步调一致的抹黑行为，根源还在于根深蒂固的种族主义，目的在于继续在全球维持其“白人特权”。当西方几个世纪来第一次面对一个实力相当的非西方文明，偏执于“我是老大”的美国不愿接受这一事实。西方主导的所谓“基于规则的国际秩序”是出于其私利，其内心戏是——“这是我们的秩序，不是你们的秩序”，“更不允许其他类型秩序出现”。
3月18日，反战人士在美国首都华盛顿市白宫北侧拉斐特广场举行集会，敦促美国政府反思伊拉克战争，呼吁美国关停“战争机器”。有人举着印有“中国不是我们的敌人”“要建学校，别造炸弹”等字样的气球或标语牌。新华社记者刘杰 摄
奈尔举例说，西方媒体故意把斯里兰卡债务问题和中国“一带一路”合作项目捆绑起来，斯方不得不出面澄清事实并非如西方媒体所描述那般。“西方媒体就要这样不断妖魔化中国”。
歪曲无底线
自上世纪九十年代移居香港后，奈尔已走访大半个中国。从东部沿海到西部地区，从乡村城镇到一线都市，他近距离观察中国近几十年来翻天覆地的迅猛发展，以及中国政党、政治体系在其中发挥的巨大作用。
奈尔指出，与他的亲眼所见相比，西方媒体的反华叙事恰恰暴露出他们对中国缺乏应有认知。
“中国申办2008年奥运会成功的那天晚上，我正好在北京，去了天安门广场，看到中国人民喜悦地庆祝。但第二天当我打开国际媒体，看到的几乎都是负面报道。”他说，“这太不公平了！”
此后，他越来越见识到西方媒体在反华叙事上的“一边倒”，“不论哪个（西方）国家的媒体，都不能说中国有任何优点”。
2019年中国香港发生“修例风波”，西方媒体的歪曲报道更让奈尔瞠目结舌。“我当时就在香港，但看英国广播公司（BBC）和美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报道中的香港，还以为是两个不同的地方。”
奈尔在拥有多种族、多元文化的马来西亚长大。为了解中国民族政策，奈尔特意访问不少中国少数民族地区，感受到当地人对国家的认同感。
奈尔指出，西方媒体所谓新疆有少数民族“集中营”的负面报道“更是彻头彻尾的谎言”，“识破它可不需要动用一个火箭科学家的头脑”。
在新疆尉犁县，棉农进行春播作业（3月29日摄，无人机照片）。新华社记者 郝昭 摄
开斋节前，奈尔在社交媒体上发了一条不同国家穆斯林如何庆祝开斋节的视频，开篇就是中国西安的场景。“当我把这个视频分享给一些朋友，他们竟然问，‘这是中国？’”奈尔给朋友的回复是——“你们真该去中国亲眼看看”。
“需要更多非西方的消息源”
马来西亚曾是西方殖民地，奈尔回想自己年少时也曾落入西方媒体编织的信息茧房。“我10岁听BBC广播时心想，这可是英国女王的语言，女王也听BBC，BBC一定是正确的，我必须相信。”他说。
成年后，他到非洲生活和工作，更深刻认识到西方殖民统治对世界的剥削和控制，以及西方媒体在其中扮演的角色。
奈尔认为，西方媒体的种种攻击套路不仅是中国一家所面对的不公，他们今天的目标是中国，明天就能针对其他任何国家和地区。
2003年2月5日，时任美国国务卿鲍威尔在联合国安理会公开会议上通报所谓有关伊拉克藏匿大规模杀伤性武器的证据。一个多月后，美国及其盟友不顾国际社会强烈反对，绕过安理会，以莫须有罪名发动伊拉克战争。鲍威尔此后曾公开承认这次发言为自己的“污点”。新华社记者彭张青摄
“我不是傻子，我知道西方媒体当初关于伊拉克有大规模杀伤性武器的报道是如何歪曲事实的。”奈尔说，并进而强调一个无奈的现实——西方帝国主义依然影响着当今世界，尤其是凭借技术优势，强大的西方媒体仍在很大程度上控制着国际舆论。
奈尔指出，人们应该意识到，世界正面对一场前所未有的舆论战，他希望今后能看到更多来自亚洲、非洲和中东等地区全球性媒体的报道。“我们需要更多非西方的消息源，让读者更多地了解全球问题，避免沦为西方舆论战的牺牲品。”他说。
-END-
策划：倪四义
监制：冯俊扬
统筹：谢鹏 闫珺岩 齐紫剑 徐海静 刘畅
执行：孙浩
记者：毛鹏飞 汪艺
视频：王沛
编辑：孙浩 张代蕾 梁尚刚 程大雨
新华社国际部制作
新华社国际传播融合平台出品
来源：新华社
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 