This past weekend, Chinese people around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year. The People’s Republic of China has wisely capitalized on this event to improve its image in the United States. The relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly complicated with the recent rise of China’s economy and the United States’ questionable financial stability. Today a general sentiment held by some Americans in regard to China is that of apprehension and mistrust. Many Americans see China’s ever-expanding economy and increased military budget during peacetime to be cause for concern. In fact, the Pew Research Center released a poll last week that declared only 33% of American people think favorably of China. This is a significant decrease from the 2011 poll that stated 51% of Americans held a positive view of the People’s Republic. In response to this rapid decline in likeability among Americans, the Chinese government has sought to use the New Year celebrations as a means to alleviate the building tensions between the United States.
China decided to focus its efforts in New York, which has a significant Chinese population, to promote not only the Lunar New Year, but also the 35th anniversary of Sino-American relations. While in previous years the celebrations were limited to the Chinatown area, this year’s events were advertised all over the city. On January 6th, Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai, among other diplomats, was asked to ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, the lights for the Chinese New Year celebrations on the Empire State Building were turned on by China’s Consul General Sun Guoxiang. However, the main attraction was held on February 1st at the Lincoln Center. The event consisted of Long Yu, conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, leading the New York Philharmonic in a program of classical Chinese music. To further the cultural experience, the Lincoln Center also hosted a group of seventy-five children hailing from New York’s own National Dance Institute, which has been cultivating an exchange program with China.
I believe this type of cultural exchange is likely to help soften the harsh image of a rising nation that is sometimes perceived as aggressive and power hungry. Inviting Americans to join in the celebration of a Chinese holiday provides a forum for Americans to deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and history. The more a person understands the other, the less likely he or she is to fear the other. Humans are often apprehensive of the unknown, and a cultural exchange is a neutral, engaging way to educate the American public.
This is the article I referenced: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/world/asia/on-35th-anniversary-of-diplomatic-ties-with-us-china-tries-to-soften-image.html?_r=0
China decided to focus its efforts in New York, which has a significant Chinese population, to promote not only the Lunar New Year, but also the 35th anniversary of Sino-American relations. While in previous years the celebrations were limited to the Chinatown area, this year’s events were advertised all over the city. On January 6th, Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai, among other diplomats, was asked to ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, the lights for the Chinese New Year celebrations on the Empire State Building were turned on by China’s Consul General Sun Guoxiang. However, the main attraction was held on February 1st at the Lincoln Center. The event consisted of Long Yu, conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, leading the New York Philharmonic in a program of classical Chinese music. To further the cultural experience, the Lincoln Center also hosted a group of seventy-five children hailing from New York’s own National Dance Institute, which has been cultivating an exchange program with China.
I believe this type of cultural exchange is likely to help soften the harsh image of a rising nation that is sometimes perceived as aggressive and power hungry. Inviting Americans to join in the celebration of a Chinese holiday provides a forum for Americans to deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and history. The more a person understands the other, the less likely he or she is to fear the other. Humans are often apprehensive of the unknown, and a cultural exchange is a neutral, engaging way to educate the American public.
This is the article I referenced: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/world/asia/on-35th-anniversary-of-diplomatic-ties-with-us-china-tries-to-soften-image.html?_r=0
No comments:
Post a Comment