[PEN-L:6846] The limits of Chinese "anti-imperialism" (fwd)

[Stephen E Philion <philion@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Recall what I said last week about the  often confused discourse of
anti-imperialism and neo-liberal ideology taking plaace in China at the
moment...

Steve
>
>HK Standard
>May 15, 1999
>
>Backlash against US goods could boomerang
>
>              STORY: SHANGHAI: Chinese citizens would damage their
>country's interests
>              if they heed calls by student protesters to boycott US goods,
>the official Youth
>              Daily quoted commentators as saying.
>
>              Scholars, analysts and students alike criticised the boycott
>proposals in a
>              ``forum'' article, saying they would rob people of jobs and
>slow the country's
>              efforts to develop into an economic power.
>
>              Students protesting on Shanghai's streets and on the Internet
>against Saturday's
>              deadly Nato bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade have
>urged people
>              not to wear Nike shoes, ride in Cadillacs or eat at
>McDonald's or Kentucky
>              Fried Chicken.
>
>              At one university a large crowd even criticised two female
>students after they
>              were seen drinking Coca-Cola, it said. ``I can feel (the
>student protesters) have
>              patriotic feelings but in other ways their thinking is not
>well-developed,'' said Ni
>              Jiatai, chairman of the Shanghai economic committee under the
>US-Europe
>              Overseas Students' Association.
>
>              The economic world was increasingly interconnected so if
>relations were cut
>              with a major foreign country ``it will affect China's
>economic development'', he
>              said. ``For example, if now we don't buy General Motors (GM)
>Buicks or stop
>              co-operation with GM, an economic pillar of Shanghai will
>feel the effects,'' he
>              said.
>
>              Shanghai GM's newly built plant, the biggest US investment in
>the mainland at
>              US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion), is expected to employ 3,000
>local workers.
>
>              Lu Deming, the director of the Chinese Economic Research
>Centre at Fudan
>              University, said: ``When foreign investment enters China, the
>foreign side profits
>              but the Chinese side also profits.''
>
>              ``It expands our employment capability and adds to local tax
>revenues,'' he said.
>              - AFP
>