House of Cards author eager to boost Sino-British understanding

Lord Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards. [Photo by Wang Mingjie/chinadaily.com.cn]

Michael Dobbs, author of the successful "House of Cards" book and television series, says the West has spent too much time telling China how to run its politics and it's time for it to step back, adding that China never tells the West how to run its politics.

"I have never seen any indication that China wants to turn the rest of the world and remake the rest of the world in its own image," says the former Conservative Party Chief of Staff in an exclusive interview with China Daily. He now sits as a peer in Britain's House of Lords as Lord Michael Dobbs.

"House of Cards" was first published in 1989 and later turned into a UK television mini-series which received two BAFTA awards. Netflix made a US political drama based upon Dobbs's first novel and its BBC adaptation.

During President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK last October, Dobbs presented the original copy of "House of Cards" as a gift to Xi, on which he wrote a note reading "where we agree, let us rejoice; where we disagree, let us discuss; where we cannot agree, let us do so as respected friends."

Dobbs is keen to help raise the level of mutual understanding between China and the UK, saying it is inevitable that there may be disagreement in important areas, because the world is changing, China is growing, and there are bound to be points of friction, just like tectonic plates.

"What you do with that is you analyse them and try to arrive at an understanding and conclusion," he adds.

China has become a major world player after a rollercoaster of change, says Dobbs, and the future of the West, whether the West likes it or not, is linked with what's going on in China.

Due to its geographic and economic size, Dobbs contends that anything that happens with China makes greater waves than almost any other country around the world and the ripple effect is far greater than almost any other country.

"China is a huge tanker and you do not turn a tanker around in a very short period. It takes time and it requires constant pressure on the tiller in order to turn that around," says Dobbs.

What inspires Dobbs about China is that it has a much more interesting time span and sense of perspective, particularly in tackling deep-rooted problems.

"We have become very short-term in the West and I would argue in some cases very short-sighted and that gets in our way. China is not like that," says Dobbs.

Admitting himself to be a huge fan of western culture, Dobbs says "that does not mean that I close my eyes to some of the weaknesses that we have, and stop looking for inspirations how some other cultures deal with these things. Sometimes some of the areas they deal with it better than we do."

Anti-corruption

Upon taking office in 2012, Xi vowed to crack down on "tigers and flies", both high-level officials and lower-level civil servants alike. By the end of 2014, 414,000 officials have been disciplined by the party for corruption, and 201,600 prosecuted for the infraction in court, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the government body spearheading the campaign.

Dobbs commends China's efforts in tackling corruption, saying one of the reasons that he wants to embrace so much of what China is doing is because the government seems to set out a series of steps and challenges, corruption being one of them, which seems to me to be very "sensible".

One of the underlying problems of corruption in China is the huge difference between the rich and poor, says Dobbs, and that is what helps encourage corruption.

"Putting pressures on all those areas in the long term should have a beneficial effect. It is the sort of language and the sort of objective, which I think is hugely helpful that is set out there very much in public," he adds.

Anti-graft cannot be achieved overnight, says Dobbs, and it is not a matter of passing laws but a matter of changing people's understanding, such as what is required at business and what it is in everybody's interest.

'House of Cards'

The Netflix's political drama "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, which paints a dark and corrupt picture of American politics, has received a wide range of positive reviews all over the world, including China.

Set in present-day Washington, D.C., "House of Cards" is the story of Frank Underwood, a South Carolina Democrat and House Majority Whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of greater power. The series deals primarily with themes of ruthless pragmatism, corruption, manipulation, and power.

China's SohuTV which streams the show on its website, reported that the second season of 'House of Cards' was ranked No. 1 among the lists of their American programs.

Dobbs believes the success of the show lies in the fact that it is the examination of the human condition and the human soul.

"As human beings, we enjoy analysing theatrical terms, the condition of man and the vulnerability, the strengths as well as the weaknesses, and the 'House of Cards' concentrates very much on weaknesses,'' Dobbs says.

He thinks the timing of a successful political drama is often dependent as a counter point to the actuality of the politics at the time.

"For instance, the original 'House of Cards', dark and cynical, came out at a time when Ms Thatcher was just beginning to fall from power in very tragic and dramatic circumstances, so it sort of matched the cynicism of the time about politics and politicians," Dobbs continues.

In present day, Washington seems to have come grinding into a halt, nothing seems to get done right now, says Dobbs, "so what people want? They want someone like Frank Underwood who can get things done; it does not matter what it takes but he gets it done."

Dobbs thinks that Frank Underwood may become the next President of the US on a write-in vote, because "there is a balance in these things between the reality of the time in a way what people want to see and the drama of the time."