China Daily, thank you for helping me to grasp the essence of being Chinese

For most of my life, I was profoundly fascinated by both the Chinese culture and the Chinese glorious history. Consequently, I was aching for an opportunity to quench my thirst for knowledge about China with a chance to visit it and interact with its people.

My dream of visiting China was put on the back burner for few years as I left Egypt to establish my new home in Canada. Nevertheless, I couldn't help myself but to scan all venues of the media in search for information about my dream destination, China.

The biased negative perceptions of the Western media with regard to China and the Chinese people didn't succeed in altering my deep respect and admiration of the Chinese people.

After few years of procrastination and hesitation, in 2003, I fulfilled my dream and came to China.

Being an avid reader with an eternally inquisitive mind, I searched for English newspapers to satisfy my curiosity. Fortunately for me, I came across a copy of the China Daily newspaper. I was pleasantly surprised by its uncomplicated coverage of the current affairs in China and internationally.

After reading few issues of China Daily, I discovered that Western newspapers' tendency to portray China as a hostile environment, and the Chinese people as aggressive individuals, is based upon misconceptions and motivated by political ideologies.

From reading China Daily, I came to the conclusion that Chinese people are friendly, hospitable and peace-loving human beings. My conclusion about the nature and essence of being Chinese was corroborated by having the opportunities to interact with them and know them closely.

For certain, Chinese have different customs, traditions and trains of thoughts that are different from their Western counterparts.　However, portraying them as being aggressive by the Western media is nothing but a biased misrepresentation. In my more than 12 years of living among them, I found no evidence to support the claim of the Western media.

For certain, China Daily helped me to grasp the essence of being Chinese. That prompted me to seize every opportunity to rectify the injustice inflected upon China and the Chinese people through misrepresentation of their nature and their attributes by the venues of the Western media.

Whenever I had the chance, I wrote articles to the English newspapers, including China Daily, to defend it against biased views of the Western media

Finally, on your 35 years of enlightening people worldwide about China and the nature of the Chinese people, I like to extend my best wishes of a happy anniversary. May you prosper and expand to keep us informed for many years to come.

I, also, wish to express my thanks for making my stay in China enjoyable through reading your daily English issues.

If you also want to share with us your story with China Daily, please check the activity information: China Daily, 35 years on: your memories.