The People's Daily Online on How East Asians View Democracy

Needless to say, it’s not every day that one of our books gets mentioned in The People’s Daily, published by the government of China, so we thought their article Social stability spells well-being for commonality, was worth mentioning.

The article cites the book How East Asians View Democracy and its examination of how Asians view their governments and their roles as citizens. Not surprisingly, the article points to the book’s findings reflecting the relatively high level of support that the Chinese express for the government particularly when compared to that of the Japanese or the South Koreans.

The article ends with some subtle or perhaps not-so-subtle propaganda aimed at those who might criticize China’s rulers (the United States?). The concluding paragraphs are also interesting in light of recent ethnic unrest in Xinjiang:

“Indeed, the understanding of democracy may be different from people to people, and nation to nation. But the findings also ring an alarm to those who like to impose upon others their accepted values and ideas, or force others to believe what they believe is right or wrong.

Like any other people, the Chinese remain their uniqueness in culture and traditional values and also have their own understanding of freedom and democracy, ‘If you feel happy, you are happy,’ as a popular saying goes. The Chinese people of all ethnicities are savoring the most satisfactory moment in decades as a result of a booming economy and a stable political environment. They are bent on creating more wealth and happiness at the time and, therefore, will value more than ever a prosperous and harmonious society, with nary others’ meddling.”