最近奥运圣火的传递和围绕奥运和中国人权主权状况的一系列争端，可以说是席卷全世界的热点事件。国际媒体也纷纷予以报道。

Economist杂志，是英国杂志，而英国民众因为种种历史问题，一直都是支持藏独的意见占了上风。看看这本著名的杂志怎么看待这一系列的事件，显然是件有趣的事情。

还是老话，大家要辨证的看。既要看到正确的成分，也要看到过激偏颇的一面，反之亦然。

加斜的部分写的很有趣或很有用。

部分时髦的词汇另附了解释。

Angry China

May 1st 2008

From The Economist print edition

The recent glimpses of a snarling China should scare the country's government as much as the World

CHINA is in a frightening mood. The sight of thousands of Chinese people waving xenophobic[D1]  fists suggests that a country on its way to becoming a superpower may turn out to be a more dangerous force than optimists had hoped. But it isn't just foreigners who should be worried by these scenes: the Chinese government, which has encouraged this outburst of nationalism[D2] , should also be afraid.

For three decades, having shed communism in all but the name of its ruling party, China's government has justified its monopolistic hold on power through economic advance. Many Chinese enjoy a prosperity undreamt of by their forefathers. For them, though, it is no longer enough to be reminded of the grim austerity[D3]  of their parents' childhoods. They need new aspirations.

The government's solution is to promise them that China will be restored to its rightful place at the centre of world affairs. Hence the pride at winning the Olympics, and the fury at the embarrassing protests during the torch relay. But the appeal to nationalism is a double-edged sword: while it provides a useful outlet for domestic discontents, it could easily turn on the government itself.

A million mutinies[D4]

The torch relay has galvanized[D5]  protests about all manner of alleged Chinese crimes: in Tibet, in China's broader human-rights record, in its cozy relations with repellent regimes. And these in turn have drawn counter-protests from thousands of expatriate Chinese, from Chinese within the country and on the internet.

Chinese rage has focused on the alleged “anti-China” bias of the Western press, which is accused of ignoring violence by Tibetans in the unrest in March. From this starting-point China's defenders have gone on to denounce the entire edifice of Western liberal democracy as a sham[D6] . Using its tenets to criticize China is, they claim, sheer hypocrisy. They cite further evidence of double standards: having exported its dirtiest industries to China, the West wants the country to curb its carbon emissions, potentially impeding its growth and depriving newly well-off Chinese of their right to a motor car. And as the presidential election campaign in America progresses, more China-bashing can be expected, with protectionism disguised as noble fury at “coddling[D7]  dictators”.

China's rage is out of all proportion to the alleged offences. It reflects a fear that a resentful, threatened West is determined to thwart China's rise. The Olympics have become a symbol of China's right to the respect it is due. Protests, criticism and boycott threats are seen as part of a broader refusal to accept and accommodate China.

There is no doubt genuine fury in China at these offences; yet the impression the response gives of a people united behind the government is an illusion. China, like India, is a land of a million mutinies now. Legions of farmers are angry that their land has been swallowed up for building by greedy local officials. People everywhere are aghast[D8]  at the poisoning of China's air, rivers and lakes in the race for growth. Hardworking, honest citizens chafe at[D9]  corrupt officials who treat them with contempt and get rich quick. And the party still makes an ass of the law and a mockery of justice.

Herein lies the danger for the government. Popular anger, once roused, can easily switch targets. This weekend China will be commemorating an event seen as pivotal[D10]  in its long revolution—the protests on May 4th 1919 against the humiliation of China by the Versailles treaty (which bequeathed German “concessions” in China to Japan). The Communist Party had roots in that movement. Now, as then, protests at perceived slights against China's dignity could turn against a government accused of not doing enough to safeguard it.

Remember the ides of May

Western businessmen and policymakers are pulled in opposite directions by Chinese anger. As the sponsors of the Olympics have learned to their cost, while consumer- and shareholder-activists in the West demand they take a stand against perceived Chinese abuses, in China itself firms' partners and customers are all too ready to take offence. Western policymakers also face a difficult balancing act. They need to recognize that China has come a long way very quickly, and offers its citizens new opportunities and even new freedoms, though these are still far short of what would constitute democracy. Yet that does not mean they should pander to China's pride. Western leaders have a duty to raise concerns about human rights, Tibet and other “sensitive” subjects. They do not need to resign themselves to ineffectiveness: up to a point, pressure works: China has been modestly helpful over Myanmar, North Korea and Sudan. It has even agreed to reopen talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives. This has happened because of, not despite, criticism from abroad.

Pessimists fear that if China faces too much such pressure, hardliners within the ruling elite will triumph over the “moderates” in charge now. But even if they did, it is hard to see how they could end the 30-year-old process of opening up and turn China in on itself. This unprecedented phenomenon, of the rapid integration into the world of its most populous country, seems irreversible. There are things that could be done to make it easier to manage—including reform of the architecture of the global institutions that reflect a 60-year-old world order. But the world and China have to learn to live with each other.

For China, that means learning to respect foreigners' rights to engage it even on its “internal affairs”. A more measured response to such criticism is necessary not only to China's great-power ambitions, but also to its internal stability; for while the government may distract Chinese people from their domestic discontents by breathing fire at foreigners, such anger, once roused, can run out of control. In the end, China's leaders will have to deal with those frustrations head-on, by tackling the pollution, the corruption and the human-rights abuses that contribute to the country's dangerous mood. The Chinese people will demand it.

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[D1]If you describe someone as xenophobic, you disapprove of them because they show strong dislike or fear of people from other countries. (FORMAL)

[D2]You can refer to a person's great love for their nation as nationalism. It is often associated with the belief that a particular nation is better than any other nation, and in this case is often used showing disapproval.

[D3]Austerity is a situation in which people's living standards are reduced because of economic difficulties.

[D4]A mutiny is a refusal by people, usually soldiers or sailors, to continue obeying a person in authority.

[D5]To galvanize someone means to cause them to take , for example by making them feel very excited, afraid, or angry.

[D6]Something that is a sham is not real or is not really what it seems to be.

[D7]To coddle someone means to treat them too kindly or protect them too much.

[D8] If you are aghast, you are filled with horror and surprise. 

[D9]If you chafe at something such as a restriction, you feel annoyed about it.

[D10]A pivotal role, point or figure in something is one that is very important and affects the success of that thing.

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