The other day I read an article from a well-known western writer/reporter/personality about how there is a form of self-censorship or pre-formated opinion in the west, about China and the Uyghour people in Xinjiang. I am not going to debate this question, as my knowledge is too limited, but reading this article made me think of something related.
I am a frequent reader of online news coming out of top name media organizations in England, France, Spain, Canada, and Argentina, and from time-to-time US. I am also very inquisitive about the world events, and reflecting about geo-politics is one of my hobbies. One day, a few months ago, I realized that in all these sources, except for one, I have not read a single positive/good thing about either China or Russia, as if these 2 countries only create trouble. Of course, none of them criticize the people of Russia or China, but they often, directly, or indirectly, publish critical or unpleasant things about these countries, and nothing positive.
So, I would turn to these organizations and ask: Really? There is nothing good that these countries have done recently to merit a mention? We mention all the awe over mRNA vaccines developed by western organizations, but nothing (except for one mention in a US weekly) about the Chinese scientist who identified the genetic code of the virus, nor much about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine being used (and its performance validated) in many countries (check Hungary and Serbia’s infection trend to see the effects of the Russian vaccine). And that is just one example.
The bottom line is that we, in the West, have cherished our un-censored media and a free press is one of the underwriters for democracy. So, I would appreciate it if while I read about the negatives of countries like China and Russia, I could also find out about some of their achievements and good things. As Sting sang in 1985, “there is no monopoly of common-sense, on either side of the political fence.”
Paris, April 29, 2021,
Zeejay