In his December 14 column, Thomas Friedman deplores China’s handling of the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, now serving 11 years in jail for the crime of free speech. Noting that China would not allow Liu to attend the ceremony (not that surprising, really) and even went to the length of erecting massive screens around the apartment house of Liu’s wife (placed under house arrest since the announcement of Liu’s selection) to prevent TV cameras from, God forbid, taking her picture, Friedman goes on to state the following:
“Honestly, I thought China’s leaders had more self-confidence than that. Clearly, they are feeling very insecure. Think if China had said instead: “We disagree with this award and we will not be attending. But anytime one of our citizens is honored with a Nobel, it is an honor for all of China — and so we will pass this on to his family.” It would have been a one-day story, and China’s leaders would have looked so strong.”
Yes, that’s the way a real totalitarian government handles criticism! Just keep the dude locked up and go about your business! You’ll look so “strong”! And that’s what counts.
Friedman’s idiotic worship of China’s faaabulous renewable energy technology, faaabulous educational system, and well, just about faaabulous everything never fails to astound and horrify. But now he’s managed to top himself. When he does criticize China, it’s not for its totalitarian oppression; it’s for failing to carry off said totalitarian oppression with sufficient aplomb.
For an intelligent critique of the continuing massive moral failure that is contemporary China, read Perry Link’s superb article, “China: From Famine to Oslo” in the NY Review of Books here.
