Civic duty
Chinese volunteers in the quake zone
Just a few weeks ago, the west's view of china was dominated by thuggish torch guards, hypersensitive nationalists and a repressive government. But since the earthquake in Sichuan, the immense state-led rescue effort and the outpouring of charity from the Chinese people has taken center stage. Has the country really changed that much? Not really. The two phenomena on display nationalism and compassion are related facets of the vast, multidimensional nation that China is. When it comes to my homeland, I feel them both.
I left China in 1989, just after Tiananmen,...
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