Foreign news

American Exceptionalism Is Not The Only Model

Published

5 years ago

July 20, 2020

An important and eye-opening study was published last week whose findings may come as a hard to believe shock to some. The unprecedented report, “Understanding CCP Resilience: Surveying Chinese Public Opinion Through Time”, examined the relationship between Chinese citizens and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2003 to 2016.

The study found a near-universal rise in average satisfaction toward all four levels of the Chinese government – township, county, province, and central levels – in this 13-year period based on more than 31,000 interviews in both urban and rural areas.

For example, in 2016, the last year the survey was conducted, 93.1 percent of respondents were either “relatively satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with the highest-level central government’s performance, representing a rise of 7 percentage points from 2003. In the same period, township governments, the lowest level of government examined, received the approval of 44 percent of respondents in 2003, but the number jumped to 70 percent in 2016, a 26-point rise.

By way of contrast, Americans’ satisfaction with the comparable U.S. federal government ranged from 39 percent in 2003 to 37 percent in 2016, according to Gallup polls.

Too good to be true? Communist propaganda? Fake news? Well, consider the source. In this case, the source is the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and the report’s lead author is its China Programs Director, Professor Edward Cunningham.

The study has the distinction of being the longest academic study of Chinese public opinion ever conducted by a research institution based outside China. According to Harvard, it used “the most objective and quantitative methods” currently available.

So, why do President Trump and his aides continually try to demonize China and encircle it politically and economically when Chinese citizens’ satisfaction levels vastly eclipse those of Americans? That’s even well before Trump’s incompetent handling of the COVID-19 crisis?

Can’t they concede that American Exceptionalism is not the only model and that the Chinese have crafted a different viable system, albeit with an ideology they don’t like; a system that works well enough to have lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty and this year, with all China and the world have been through, domestically eliminated basic poverty to guarantee all Chinese citizens a moderately prosperous society in all respects?

Why do they even have to consider a policy that would exclude all CCP members and their families from entering the U.S. (or booting out ones already there), about a tenth of China’s population? If and when the U.S. ever gets over Trump’s mishandling of the medical emergency and the tens of thousands of deaths and permanent disabilities he has caused, this potential exclusion does not sound like either a way to win friends and influence people or a great idea to help jumpstart the American economy’s comatose tourism industry.

And what about the now reversed proffered policy to expel or exclude foreign students, of which Chinese students are by far number one, from American universities in order to force live classes on potentially dead students, depriving the universities of essential funding and depriving the country of potential talent? It makes no sense unless there’s a pathological jealously or envy of China’s accomplishments. After reading Mary Trump’s book “Too Much and Never Enough” about Trump and his dysfunctional family, this is a distinct possibility.

As the strongest country in the world, America has to find a way to accommodate the second-largest economy. Bilateral relations will still be strained, but they will be conducted seriously, professionally, and competently. Institutionalized bilateral dialogues begun in the Bush years but dropped by Trump on key issues like trade, defense, cyber, military-to-military relations will likely resume. Talking is certainly superior to fighting.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

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Foreign news

French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

Published

1 month ago

February 5, 2025

The Gleamer

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.

He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.

He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.

In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.

According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.

“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.

“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.

“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.

The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.

He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.

“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.

“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.

Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.

Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.

“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.

“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.

The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.

He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.

“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.

“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.

He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.

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