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| Jacob Abrahamson Class of 2017 |
Beijing has perhaps been the most enlightening part of my visit to China, and it is the perfect culmination of a month-long trip where I have been beginning to understand Chinese political culture a little bit better.
One topic that came up often is that one obstacle to U.S.-China relations is ideological differences. It will always be easier for the U.S. to work with other democracies, so China is seen as less friendly to our national ideals. In my view, we already have close economic ties, but I agree that we will never really be friendly to one another as long as we have this ideological difference. That is why seeing the cultural and political sites in Beijing has been some enlightening: they have shown me how powerful rhetoric is in China, but how far it can be from reality.
On day one in China you see that every common piece of paper money has the same picture of Mao Zedong on it. One of the most famous spots in Beijing, the Tianamen gate, is adorned with a massive portrait of him. Directly across from the gate is Mao's mausoleum, a very interesting (and somewhat creepy) display in which Mao's body is draped within a flag in a glass case. As you leave the mausoleum, you are surrounded by salespeople selling Mao-themed everything. To us it is a goofy souvenir, but to many of the people visiting it is a way to pay homage to their nation's founder. And that is where what looks like Mao-worship interests and amazes me.
I won't contest that in America we do very similar things. A look at our national mall tells you that we at least to some extent worship our nation's heroes. But imagine if every memorial and every currency had George Washington on it. And then imagine that no one is critical of anything he ever did. And that there are military surrounding each monument making sure no one is disrespecting the hero by offering criticism of any sort. That, to me, takes the rhetoric to a whole new level. We were yelled at by a soldier for having a Louisville flag in front of the gate because, as our guide said, he was worried it may have been anti-Mao. Deeper than that, the government will never admit that Mao made any mistakes, even when they are accepted internationally and even many students realize them. For example, even when the government admits that the Cultural Revolution was a bad policy, absolutely no blame is placed on Mao, the chief architect of it. The list of similar situations goes on and on.
Jacob Abrahamson is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science and history at the University of Louisville.