Oslo puts on a farce against China Source: Global Times [08:11 December 10 2010] Comments A farce that puts China on trial is underway in Oslo. This is not the first time that the Norwegian Nobel Committee has judged a country's politics by its own ideological standards. Even more bizarrely, a Chinese criminal named Liu Xiaobo is being honored today at a grand award ceremony in Europe.
It's unimaginable that such a farce, the like of which is more commonly seen in cults, is being staged on the civilized continent of Europe. Tonight's political show is not an easy task for the Norwegians. They have to ignore the signs of China's drastic changes and social progress, in a bid to convince themselves that China's "darkness" is real.
In a world characterized by competition, estrangement and an uncertain future, perhaps the Nobel Committee will always be able to find a way to attack China. The real conditions faced by China are too complicated, and probably only history can pass the proper judgment. However, the committee now uses just an empty chair reserved for Liu to carry out its judgment on China. The China they depict is inevitably a stereotyped, false one.
Since the Cold War era, the Nobel Committee has sought supporters for the Western hemisphere's universal values, and rebuked regimes that do not fall in line with Western standards. The politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize has long been criticized. The committee has already betrayed Alfred Nobel's will, and become a mere tool of ideological prejudice. Many developing countries refuse to attend today's ceremony, the best indication of the unexpected moral support China has won around the world.
China's rise does not manifest itself only in its economic expansion. Both its politics and culture are traveling a road different from the one taken by the West. The Nobel Committee refuses to embark on a journey to experience China's thinking, but instead insists China will end up losing its way. Such ignorant judgment wins acclaim in the West. It's a shame that Western thought, once nourished by great philosophers such as Rousseau and Hegel, has fallen into its political ossification of today.
China's renaissance is an indisputable fact. It is witnessing a vigorous process of reform and opening-up. One can hardly say that China, while seeking its own political path, will be worse off compared with Western countries firmly entrenched in their political traditions. China is incomprehensible in some Westerners' eyes, and it's hard to tell whose tragedy this is.
China won't be easily moved from this path, regardless of whether this decision meets with applause or catcalls from the rest of the world. The nation will only become more mature and better equipped to deal with future troubles. On the contrary, those who painstakingly take aim at China will be proven wrong by history. As for the Nobel Committee and the forces that support it, China's gradual progress will continuously demonstrate their absurdity.
Today's award ceremony is not an end, but rather a real beginning of another trial: A trial by history against the Nobel Committee