China is Not Happy (1)

In 1996, almost every Chinese scholars read the best seller "China Can Say No". Many readers commented that they felt that book vented their anger towards "western bullies". At that time, the western world was lifting the sanctions imposed on China in the wake of crackdown on student movement in 1989. Chinese economy was growing at an eye-popping pace. The authors felt it was time for their country to stand up to the western world and make decisions free of western influences.

The famous quote from that book said it all: " America can't lead anybody. America can only be its own leader. Japan can't lead anybody. Sometimes Japan can't be its own leader. China doesn't want to lead anybody. China only wants to be its own leader."

13 years later, the same authors felt they needed to revise their statements. Maybe China can be a leader, and maybe China does not want to just be its own leader. Maybe China can be the new America. After all, America is experiencing the worst crisis while China is still growing rapidly and continuing to buy up American debt. China's Premier Minister Wen Jiabao excluded France in his European itinerary after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Tibet spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

This year, the same authors published another best seller "China is Not Happy". The book has attracted lots of debate on the nationalism promoted in the book. However, the authors contended that the nationalism they supported was different from the western definition. The nationalism in China should be called "New Patriotism". The book also faulted China's liberal elites for corrupting the country by glorifying western values.

Regardless how Chinese people reacted to this book, it is obvious that China has gained tremendous confidence through the economy growth. It also reflected the conflicts between the liberals and the nationalists.