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Ethos of a nation

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-10 07:49

Confucianism teaches us to stay calm in the face of provocations. Premier Wen Jiabao acted precisely that way when he kept his composure over the shoe-throwing incident at the Cambridge University auditorium. He, in fact, did better: He made it clear the ugly action of a youth cannot stand in the way of China-UK friendship.

Now the Premier has asked the university to forgive the student who is scheduled to appear before magistrates today. Wen hoped the university would give him an opportunity to continue his studies for he believes education is the best help for a young student.

There is a larger context to the Premier's response to the offensive act. It says an enormous amount about our country and culture. Wen's forgiveness reflects traditional Chinese values on how to treat people who are ignorant. The student's words and actions betrayed his lack of knowledge about China, as the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Fu Ying, pointed out. By urging the university to forgive the shoe thrower, the premier shows his tolerance toward people who do silly things because of complete ignorance of China-related issues.

The Analects of Confucius says men's faults are characteristic of the class to which they belong. By observing a man's faults, it is possible to know of the virtues he possesses. The shoe thrower represents a group of people whose knowledge about China comes mainly from biased media reports. Their judgment is not based on solid first-hand information about China, but on distorted images of the country.

As the Vice-Chancellor of the university Slison Richard said, Cambridge is a place for considered argument and debate, not for shoe-throwing. Considered argument and debate are not possible without a substantive grasp of the facts of the issues to be argued and debated about.

By hoping the shoe thrower will be allowed to continue with his studies, the premier has actually expressed his belief in the value of education in promoting better understanding that can fight ignorance and help form fair judgment. And, for someone truly interested in China, education does not stop at college; it should include visits to China and meetings with Chinese people so that he or she could see and hear what is actually happening on the ground here.

The premier's composure and forgiveness also reflect his inner strength and confidence. In his Cambridge speech, he talked of the unyielding spirit of the Chinese people. Minor - and ugly- irritations cannot dent his confidence in China's development path.

It is understandable that this incident has upset many Chinese people. However, we should not be overly anxious about those who do not know us or do not care to know us. The best strategy is to keep on focusing on our own development. We can always rely on the words of Confucius to deal with men and things: "I will not be afflicted by men not knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do not know men."

(China Daily 02/10/2009 page8)