The Chinese government has once again conveyed a clear indication to the world of its ability to administer the local media in its favour during natural and human disasters. Even the government can mould the media reports for its own interest, as happened during and after the Sichuan earthquake. The Chinese media has shown contrasting behaviour with respect to two disasters- the SARS epidemic (2003) and the Sichuan earthquake (2008).
Analyze this: A week-long protest, riot and looting in Haiti due to spiralling food prices led to the ouster of the Prime Minister and the announcement of a $10 million feeding program by the World Bank during an emergency meeting in Washington in April. The 9000-strong UN peacekeeping force is still in a dilemma to face the ‘hungry mob’ in Haiti. Approximately 10,000 workers clashed with police near the capital in Bangladesh over the rising food price. At least dozens of people, including 20 police officials, were injured in the violence in Dhaka.
China’s October 24 launch of its Chang-e 1 (Moon Goddess) Moon survey satellite has been heralded by the Chinese government as a “giant leap” for China’s peaceful exploration of outer space. But the launch of Chang-e, as well as subsequent Chinese Moon missions, to very likely include manned Moon activities, should also be viewed as a major step into space for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which controls all of China’s space activities.
The fundamental cultural influences [mentioned in the first part of the article, “Negotiating with China-I”, Article No:120, June 14, 2007] have left their imprint on the Chinese negotiating style. Scholars like John Graham and Mark Lam (The Chinese Negotiation, Harvard Business Review, October 2003) have identified and defined a set of eight elements that one would have to contend with when dealing with the Chinese.
After four decades of a political standoff, the recent thaw in Sino-Indian relations has seen a renewal of dialogue and the start of substantive negotiations between the two countries. But negotiating with the Chinese—the inscrutable Orientals, as the Europeans called them—requires a very different set of sensitivities and skills from what we Indians are accustomed to.