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Useful People
For most Chinese, Hu Jia is an unfamiliar name. But it is red hot in the Western media.
Formerly known as the EU's Sakharov human rights award winner and an "honorary citizen of Paris," Hu Jia was described as China's "most famous" and "most influential social activist" in the Western media's recent reports about his release following three years in prison. Hu was reportedly a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, almost outshining the final winner Liu Xiaobo.
People cannot help wondering: there are millions of people devoted to the progress of China, why is it this Hu Jia who has won such great acclaim in Western mainstream public opinion? Is it just because he ... was imprisoned in China?
Although Hu's relative obscurity in China could partly be due to political reasons, presenting his social activities for open public discussion will still not necessarily convince most people that he did a greater job than other Chinese people who have impressed the nation with outstanding performances in their specific fields.
We are not going to judge the value of Hu's social activities. But we want to question the political motive behind the Western media's campaign to make him a saint.
It will be left to future generations to better understand what role Hu has played in the progress of China's reform and opening-up and whether his efforts will push forward or pull back the strides of the country. The fact is that he was found by China's judicial system to have broken the law. He was released from prison on Sunday.
From Liu Xiaobo and Hu Jia to Ai Weiwei, from Wei Jingsheng and Rebiya Kadeer to the Dalai Lama, these political "fighters" and "heroes" as they are portrayed in Western media are without exception opponents of China's current political system.
We are forced to conclude that the West's general selection criteria when picking their heroes is to choose whoever is standing up against the Chinese government. Hu and other people win Western applause not because of what they have done for Chinese society and world peace, but simply because they are anti-Chinese government.
The Western media is powerful enough to create shocking news to shake the world. But the final word on a Chinese person depends on Chinese society, not Western countries.
The West will forget about China's "social activists" soon, just as the "democratic activists" of 20 years ago have been gradually marginalized in Western society. The West only cares about useful people now.
Mr Hu had better keep a sober mind in the face of Western praise, just as China should also keep its eye on the various comments coming from the West.
We'll listen to the comments, but we'll do so using our own judgement.
From 环球时报: The Campaigns to create Heroes.
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