On April 21, Christian Poncelet, President of the French Senate, came to Shanghai and brought a sympathy letter by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Jin Jing, the Chinese Paralympic fencer and torch bearer during the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris. Jin Jing was repeatedly attacked by Tibet-independence protesters, an incident that sparked overwhelming indignation among the Chinese worldwide.
Chère Mademoiselle Jin Jing,
Je voudrais vous dire toute mon émotion pour la façon dont vous avez été bousculée à Paris le 7 avril dernier lorsque vous portiez la flamme olympique. Vous avez fait preuve d’un courage remarquable qui vous fait honneur, et à travers vous, à tout votre pays.
Comme j’ai eu l’occasion de le souligner le lendemain même du passage de la flamme olympique en France, je comprends que la sensibilité chinoise ait été blessée par ce qui s’est passé, et en particulier par l’attaque inadmissible dont vous avez été victime et que je réprouve avec la plus grande vigueur.
Ce qui s’est produit à Paris le 7 avril a engendré dans votre pays de l’amertume. Je tiens à vous assurer que les incidents de cette triste journée, provoqués par quelques uns, ne reflètent pas les sentiments de mes concitoyens pour le peuple chinois.
Pour tenter d’effacer ce moment pénible, je souhaite vous proposer de vous rendre en France dans les prochaines semaines comme mon invitée personnelle, et celle du peuple de France.
Dans l’attente de vous accueillir à Paris, je vous prie de bien vouloir accepter, chère Mademoiselle Jin Jing, l'expression de ma profonde sympathie, et vous demande de bien vouloir transmettre à l’ensemble de votre famille et à vos proches l’expression de mes sentiments les plus cordiaux.
Nicolas SARKOZY
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/world/asia/02china.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/education/29student.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
This is simply stupid... these people have fallen into the trap. The more rigorous they react, the worse they and their nation look. These acts are going to ruin the game, ruin the interest of people going to China, ruin the imagine of Chinese... (Let's imagine Chinese audience booing when the French Olympic players compete during a game).
After hundreds of years of under-development, and contemporary history of being bullied by nations around the world, Chinese people can easily have some sense of inferiority, at least hidden if it is not too obvious. Feeling of inferior of identity (民族自卑感) may have turned into these kind of twisted patriotism. These feelings of some people can be easily provoked and manipulated.
Let's think of promoting a country like the "branding" process as in marketing. Will these activities do any good as in a "branding" process? NO definitely, and actually stupidly in the opposite direction. If the original aim of holding an Olympics game is to promote something about the country, with these protests going on around the world, it is definitely not serving the purpose well at the moment.
As for real branding for a country, making good products (as in Lenovo) and finishing tasks professionally and in high quality are some of the concrete activities that I can think of. One should not be provoked so easily, and should show people around the world about the higher qualities that people and companies and organizations in China can achieve and demonstrate. And let some of the countries around the world really admire (e.g. HTC, Asus are both doing a good job). That is the REAL branding.
The secret of branding is influencing and winning the heart of people, gradually event by event. Definitely not shouting and quarreling and protesting...
I write this to you because I think you are open-minded, and not one of those irrational, uncivilized and strongly reacting stupid people
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