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I was making small talk with a medical technician during a health check a few months ago. After hearing I was a senior lecturer teaching Chinese politics at the University of Sydney, she commented: \u201cIt must be very hard for you.\u201d My first thought was that she meant it must have been hard to teach online during the pandemic lockdown. But then she asked: \u201cHow do you manage to overcome your bias?\u201d<\/p>\n
I am an academic of Chinese background in Australia. So am I necessarily biased in my approach to Chinese politics? Is it indeed possible that my upbringing in China has made me a blind supporter of the Chinese system? Or has my embrace of liberal values turned me into a militant \u201cChina basher\u201d?<\/p>\n
These questions had occurred to me before, of course. But against the background of the recent\u00a0souring of China-Australia relations<\/a>, they have become more acute than ever before.<\/p>\n In November 2020, for the first time in ten years of teaching, a student who described themselves as a \u201cChinese patriot\u201d accused me of being a \u201cTaiwan independence supporter\u201d. The reason was my comment in class that, after the election of Joe Biden as US president, issues such as Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan were likely to cause tensions between China and the United States. On the same day in the same class, a non-Chinese student protested that, while wishing to avoid turning academic analysis into a moral judgment, I should have remembered that \u201cauthoritarianism is evil\u201d.<\/p>\n Teaching the topic of Chinese politics is becoming more challenging in a world increasingly divided by ideas, beliefs and interests. Of course, our own values and experiences always influence and even drive inquiry and the extension of knowledge. But if students come to class with pre-existing rigid mindsets and refuse to engage with different opinions and viewpoints, then education simply fails in its purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should support whatever the enemy opposes and oppose whatever the enemy supports,\u201d Chinese leader Mao Zedong\u00a0said in a 1939 interview<\/a>. Taken out of context (Mao was describing the rivalry between the Chinese Communist Party and the\u00a0Japanese puppet government in Nanjing<\/a>) this sounds one-sided and superficial. But if we succumb to nationalistic emotions, moral values and political ideology, then this perspective is exactly how we see the world.<\/p>\n Attitudes to China have hardened dramatically since 2014 when President Xi Jingping addressed the Australian Parliament. Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/p><\/div>\n In the study of politics in China, I have endeavoured to teach students that things are often not as clear-cut and absolute as many expect. In other words, nuance is the key to understanding China.<\/p>\n It is valid to question the legitimacy and stability of any system, particularly if the system may rely on censorship and coercion. But over the years, all the predictions of the system\u2019s collapse have proved wrong. China\u2019s one-party rule has been firm and strong to this day.<\/p>\n We need to consider the question of what explains the resilience and prosperity of the Chinese system. Before we criticise it for its lack of liberal democratic values, it is important to first understand what the system is and how it operates \u2013 that includes its economic drivers, its sources of legitimacy, its historical legacy and its developmental trajectory.<\/p>\n Why is it important? Such understanding will help us better cope with a world where China is a significant power and will likely remain so in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n We have seen the rise of a new generation of patriotic Chinese \u201cwolf warriors<\/a>\u201d who aggressively defend the state\u2019s positions. But it is equally important for them to engage with different opinions and perspectives.<\/p>\n For one thing, when defending China against Western countries\u2019 frequent \u201cattacks\u201d on \u201csensitive issues\u201d, they need to understand that such issues might reflect the inherent problems of China\u2019s system. These problems include economic inequality, ethnic tensions, vulnerable property rights, lack of individual freedom, and many more. Moreover, they could benefit from a self-recognition of the origins of their own strong feelings of pride and loyalty to the Chinese nation as a result of how it constructs their identity and sense of belonging.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wolf warrior diplomacy on steroids. Zhao Lijian\u2018s tweet promoting the conspiracy that COVID-19 had been brought to CN by US soldiers led to a significant increase of tensions between CN and US back in March. Now, he takes this “sophisticated” approach to China-Australia relations pic.twitter.com\/DZTVmlrCK4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ChinaObservers (@chinaobservers) November 30, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/XiJingping.jpeg\")
Understanding China \u2013 and ourselves<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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